THE STORY OF "BHAGIRATHI"

THE STORY OF “BHAGIRATHI”

According to legend it was Bhagiratha, son of the great king Dilipa who brought river Ganga to earth! His father and grandfather tried their best to get the river to earth but failed. His ancestors who angered the renowned sage Kapila were reduced to ashes! To get them a place in ‘Pitru Loka' river Ganga had to be brought down to earth. It was the indefatigable effort of Bhagiratha

that made it possible for river Ganga to arrive on earth from heaven! He was fired with the zeal and obligation for his ancestors and performed severe penance meditating on the river. Pleased with his devotion and commitment Ganga presented herself before Bhagiratha. He was happy at her presence. He reminded her how she took birth from the sacred feet of Lord Vishnu when as Vamana he took Viswarupa! Emperor Bali had then performed abhishekam to the lotus feet of the Lord with the water from his kamandalu! That water became river ‘Mandakini’ and called  ‘Vishnupadi!’ also!

Goddess Ganga asked why he performed such a severe tapas. Bhagiratha told her about the fate of his ancestors and how they can attain Pitru Loka by her touch! While agreeing to his desire, she said that she would be descending to earth with terrific speed and reach the nether world-- patala loka!’ Then all his efforts would be in vain! She was reluctant to come down to earth as she would be polluted when sinners and others bathe in her waters! Bhagiratha said that she would be purified when great saints, sages and seers take bath in her waters. He said that only Lord Siva could control the speed of descending Ganga and that he would request the Lord to help him! Goddess Ganga agreed to descend on the head of Lord Siva first! With redoubled energy once again Bhagiratha performed penance propitiating Lord Siva! When the Lord appeared Bhagiratha explained his aim and how his ancestors could reach ‘Pitru Loka'. He requested the Lord to receive the speeding Goddess Ganga in his matted locks and release her  slowly later so that she could follow him!

Lord Siva stood firm with raised chest and with both hands on the back with his ‘trisula’! Ganga came down with terrific speed! Creator Brahma and Indra and all the other Devas stood in utter amazement to witness the grand spectacle! Bhagiratha was extremely happy at the thought of his ancestors reaching their destined Pitru Loka'! But suddenly Ganga  became proud at the thought of Lord Siva receiving her on his head! Sensing her pride and arrogance the Lord imprisoned her in the maze of his matted locks! Ganga disappeared in the matted locks of the Lord! Bhagiratha was shocked at this and prayed to the Lord for the release of Ganga. Pleased  with Bhagiratha the Lord released Ganga slowly through a branch of his matted hair! Ganga followed Bhagiratha as he led her to the place where his ancestors were reduced to ashes by the furious look of sage Kapila. On the way the waters disturbed the penance of sage Jahnu who took the entire river into his kamandalu!! Bhagiratha had to beg his pardon for the release of water from sage Jahnu! Thus Ganga came to be called “Jahnavi!”

The water that fell in drops on earth formed into “ BinduSaras” and was called “ Sapta protsava.” It branched out into seven streams. Three streams ran towards the east, three to to the west and

the seventh followed Bhagiratha to the spot where his ancestors were reduced to ashes! As soon as the waters of river Ganga touched their ashes all the ancestors of  Bhagiratha reached ‘Pitru Loka' that was denied to them for long! Called as ‘Mandakini’ in heaven, the river came to be called as Ganga on earth! Since it was considered as the daughter of Bhagiratha, it was named BHAGIRATHI the holiest of all rivers!

Thus through the tenacity, perseverance and hard work of Bhagiratha river Ganga descended to earth! It is an inspiring story for all to work ceaselessly for the achievement of an ideal! There is no substitute for hard work in achieving our goal! impediments and obstacles would be there but we have to overcome all with faith, devotion and prayer! ancestors could not achieve in their lifetime! Let him be our role model in our life!

LASTDAYS OF DHRITARASHTRA

LAST DAYS OF DHRITARASHTRA

The famous Kurukshetra war ended and all the Kauravas met their deserved and tragic end.  Vidura, after a few days of stay in Hastinapura returned to meet his brother Dhritarashtra. He did not desire to waste his time but wanted to tell his mind firmly to his brother. He felt sorry that Dhritarashtra never cared for his advice. Now was the time for him to tell his brother very strongly! He must leave Hasthinapuram and go to the forest! It is high time he renounced all his Royal glory and retire into the forest! Dhritarashtra did not understand the words of his brother Vidura. He remonstrated and asked Vidura why he should go to the forest in his old age. But he felt that there should be some valid reason behind the words of Vidura. He requested him to explain why he wanted his brother to retire into the forest.

Vidura told him gently that death was approaching him. It is inevitable. None can stop it. One has to give up his dear and sweet life at the touch of the hand of death!  He has to leave his kith and kin, kingdom, riches,and everything! He has become very lean and lost weight! The present home is not his own! His sons have died in the hands of Bhima. He now ate food served by the Pandavas! This is utter humiliation for king Dhritarashtra! Even at this stage of life he wants to live! His obsession for life is ununderstandable! Vidura reminded his brother of the evil deeds that he,along with his son Duryodana, had committed to wipe out the Pandavas. It was his destiny that he should suffer and endure this unbearable agony of losing everyone in the war!

In spite of knowing that Duryodana was wrong he had not prevented him from doing wicked things. He attempted to wipe out the Pandavas in the wax house! He disgraced Draupadi and disrobed her in the full court in the presence of the great Bhishma and Dronacharya and others! He took away their kingdom and refused to offer even the smallest extent of land for  the pandavas! At every step he tried to destroy them without realizing that they were the children of his brother Pandu! Still they have protected and treated him with great respect! What is the use of such life? Death shall grab him whether he likes it or not! His body will decay like a torn cloth! He should think about this and be courageous to welcome and face death! One who realized this, and after losing all and everything, secretly retires into the forest is really a courageous person!

Detachment is a rare and noble quality! It should not come through others! The greatest merit is to be prepared to leave the body and welcome death! Such a person shall be hailed as a very great Individual! He has lived a full life though it was full of his ego and misdeeds and cruelty to his own children, the Pandavas! There is nothing for him to enjoy in the world now! Nothing is left for him except to leave this painful existence and retire into the forest secretly! Vidura thus told his brother to travel towards the north in search of Swarga! Dhritarashtra listened to these words of Vidura silently and with remorse. All the dark deeds done by his sons  flitted across his mind! He knew that he was a lost soul! He felt that there was no redemption for him!  The words of Vidura seemed sensible and soothing. At length he decided to follow Vidura’ s suggestion!

Dhritarashtra was restless and could not sleep that night. His heart was full of commotion! But there was nothing that he could do.The words of Vidura, though true, were sharp and hurt him very much! He was helpless and felt like an orphan! Somehow he pretended to sleep. In the later part of the night he got up. He saw his wife Gandhari sleeping.  She did not know anything that transpired between him and Vidura! She was such a great and chaste woman that bound her own eyes as her husband was blind! She didn't want to see the world that her husband couldn't see! Dhritarashtra woke up his wife and told her of his decision to leave the palace and everything. She Implicitly obeyed him! Led by Vidura the senile couple left the Palace secretly and went into the forest never to return! “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown!”

IDOL WORSHIP

There are two ways in worshipping God. When we worship Him within ourselves and meditate, it is called “.nirgunopasana”, that is worship without name and form. The second type is termed  “sagunopasana” where the Divine is worshipped with a name and form according to the preference of the bhakta or devotee. While the former is rather strenuous and and involves   concentrated meditation, the latter is comparatively easy as there is an idol with a name and form on which the devotee can concentrate his vision and meditate.The difficulty with the first type is that there is no object or idol to see and meditate! The mind cannot remain steady in the absence of some idol with form. Muslims do not have idol worship. Hinduism practises both the two types of worship-- “ nirguna and saguna” types. While the former is resorted to by jnanis, the latter is practised by the common devotees.

Idol worship is looked down upon by the followers of some religions. What is there in one stone or a metal object in  the shape of a God or Goddess? It is lifeless and is it not meaningless to worship such idols in temples and shrines? This is the question that many people ask. The idol is a means to the end! It is not an end itself! It is through the worship of God with name and form that we are able to realize the Divinity without name and form. Like the mother showing the child the branch of a tree first and later the moon beyond it, the direction and the object are pointed out gradually but not suddenly! This is called “ sakha chandra nyaya” in Sanskrit language. The idol is a symbol representing a God or Goddess. It is not a mere stone! It is the faith of the devotee that enlivens it. He looks at it and meditates on it as the embodiment of Divinity. “ It is the outer form; the inner content is Divinity. Western critics laugh at idol worship and say that Hindus reduce God into stone; but the truth is, Hindus elevate stone to God.”states Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba.

The devotee considers the idol as the living form of the chosen deity, the one who is all pervading. That form is invoked and perceived in the idol and approached with great faith and reverence! The real bhaktha attempts to merge himself in the Eternal and the universal! A few others consider image worship as superstition and condemn it. But for the Bhaktha endowed with pure faith, it is the Omnipresent God who is embodied in the form of the image, in the stone or metal! When it is considered as a stone it has no value. But when faith ,devotion, and emotion permeate the stone image is transmuted into the very person of one’s beloved form of God! Here is a story that demonstrates how faith and devotion compel the Lord to fulfill the  desire of his devotee! Ramanna was a village lad at school. He heard that his friends’ sister and brother in law were arriving to visit the famous Siva shrine at Srisailam. He wanted his sister and brother in law too to visit the shrine. When told that he had no sister or brother in law, he insisted that they should come! To satisfy the boy, his mother said that Bhramaramba and Mallikarjuna were his sister and brother-in-law!

Ramanna believed the words in faith but didn't realize the they were the presiding deities of SriSailam! He went there with his neighbor, saw the idols and wanted them to come home with him!! When there was no reply he fell at the feet of the idols and pulled them! When the priests of the temple saw this they were shocked at the foolishness of the young boy. They forcibly separated the boy, reprimanded and sent him away. Dejected and disappointed, the boy wandered along and did not know what to do. But he did not want to return home without his sister and brother-in-law! He finally decided to end his life. He went to a steep cliff at the SriSailam hills to leap down to death! When Ramanuja was on the verge of jumping down,he heard a voice, “Ramanna, don't jump! We are coming with you!”

Soon the Divine Couple presented themselves before Ramanna at which his happiness knew no bounds. He left for his village along with Lord Siva and his consort Bhramaramba! It was a sight to see and enjoy the incredible  and indescribable experience! Ramanna’s mother was really fortunate to have such an exceptional son who could, by his faith and devotion, bring down the God and the Goddess to her home! Through this story Sri Satya Sai Baba points out how implicit faith and devotion lead to the realization of Divinity!  It is faith and undiluted devotion that breathe Divinity into the lifeless images of stone and other materials! Many a bhaktha has realized Godhead through worshipping his chosen deity! Let us not think that images and idols are lifeless stones!

STRANGE STORY OF SAGE VISWAMITRA

STRANGE STORY OF SAGE VISWAMITRA

Gadhi was a descendant of the great clan of Pururava. Kausika, his son was also a great king who ruled the country righteously.How Kausika transformed himself into sage Viswamitra and later into “ Brahmarshi” is very strange and interesting! On one occasion Kausika went into the forest with his followers. He happened to see the ashram of Sage Vasishta situated in the beautiful Sylvan surroundings! Sage Vasishta gave the king a warm welcome and enquired .  about the well-being of the people. The King also enquired about the safety of the sage and others in the forest.The sage prevailed upon the king to partake of the feast that he wanted to serve him and his followers. Though unwilling at first, the king consented to stay on and enjoy the hospitality of the sage. But a great surprise awaited him! Sage Vasishta called the holy cow, Surabhi, which he owned and ordered it to provide a grand feast to the king and his followers. Sabali (another name of Surabhi) obeying the command of the sage, immediately brought forth a grand feast full of delicacies! The king was amazed at this incredible sight!

King Kaushika grew jealous. He felt that Surabhi can serve a better purpose for him and the kingdom if he owned it. He requested the sage to gift it to him. In return he would offer whatever  the sage wanted. He offered a thousand elephants and various other gifts to the sage but the sage refused. He said that Surabhi was his life and breath! Furious at the refusal, the king ordered his people to seize the holy cow and bring it to his kingdom! While being dragged , Surabhi put on a pale face and wondered why the sage was silent and nonchalant. It wanted the sage’s permission to resist and fight the king’s followers! The sage saying yes, Surabhi readied itself for a fight! Immediately it shook itself and shuffled violently when hundreds of soldiers emerged out of it! They defeated the king’s men. When the king’s sons came forward to fight, the sage destroyed them with a ‘hunkara’! Humbled and humiliated, king Kausika returned home dejected and crestfallen!

Being a Kshatriya he could not digest the utter defeat in the hands of the sage, a brahmin! Crowning his only son and leaving the kingdom in his charge, King Kausika set out to the Himalayan forests for penance. He performed severe penance propitiating Lord Siva and to avenge his defeat at the hands of sage Vasishta! After a long tapas, the Lord presented himself before Kausika! He granted innumerable astras that Kausika wanted! Delighted and reinforced with the Godgiven weapons, Kausika went straight to Vasishta 's ashram and rained a battery of arrows and astras on it! Sage Vasishta was needlessly disturbed at the commotion created by Kausika’s sudden attack.To save the ashram and the inmates he placed his ‘yoga danda’ in front. All astras sent by Kausika were swallowed up by the the ‘yoga danda’! Even the terrible ‘Brahmastra’ could not enter the ashram!! Disappointed and feeling that his penance was not enough to defeat Sage Vasishta, Kausika went southward to do penance once again! He wanted to become a “Brahmarshi” like the sage Vasishta!

At every stage ego and revenge ruled the mind of Kausika! He tried to send the renowned King Trisanku to heaven with his mortal body! When the Devas disallowed it and pushed him down, he challenged the Devas and created a new heaven, stars and even a new Indra also! He made them allow Trisanku to remain in the new Swarga between earth and heaven! He lost his spiritual power because of these events! His concentration in penance was extraordinary and  scared by his tapas, once Indra sent a heavenly damsel, Menaka, to spoil his penance. Kausika fell a victim to the wiles of Menaka and thus Sakuntala was born. Kausika deserted her and went away into the forest for penance once again! He thought that physical strength or that of astras was of no use before spiritual strength of penance. He wanted to be like sage Vasishta in his spiritual strength!

Persevering and with indefatigable zeal, Kausika went to the forest to perform tapas once again. It is believed that he continued for a thousand years. Creator Brahma , pleased by his penance appeared before him and granted him the position of “Brahmarshi.” But Kausika was not satisfied. He wanted that Sage Vasishta should call him a “Brahmarshi.” Accordingly sage Vasishta arrived and called him a “Brahmarshi.”  Thus King Kausika became the sage Viswamitra! It was the great sage Viswamitra who has given us the greatest and the most powerful GAYATRI mantra for which the world is indebted!

Lol

KOTI KUMKUMARCHANA AT FREMONT

KOTI KUMKUMARCHANA AT FREMONT

It was a rare opportunity for the diaspora of Fremont, Bay Area to witness and enjoy the Koti Kumkumarchana for Sri Lalitha Maha Tripura Sundari Devi considered as the Universal Mother! It was an unprecedented sacred function in the whole of America! So far It was not even contemplated by any other Temple in the United States! The chief priest of the Fremont Hindu Temple, Sri Viswa prasad, the devout, dynamic and selfless  bhaktha of Lord Someswara and the Goddess, thought about the Koti Kumkumarchana soon after the strenuous daily Rudrabhishekam during the month of Karthik.There were doubts about the success of such a huge program for it entailed a lot of funds and manpower to conduct it!  But the green signal was given by the goddess and the grand function was scheduled to take place from December 2 to December 10, 2016 at the Temple! The temple is under a private Trust and not much could be expected from them. But the strong determination of Sri Viswa prasad and the Divine Will made it possible to conduct the Koti Kumkumarchana successfully and splendidly!

A special Sri Chakra was brought from India for the purpose of Koti Archana! It weighed a thousand pounds and it arrived just a few hours before the function overcoming all the impediments on the way by the grace of Devi. No proper publicity or invitation was given. The big hall in the temple was rearranged to suit the function as hundreds of devotees were expected to participate in the chanting of Sri Lalitha Sahasra Nama daily in the morning and evening sessions. The expenditure was huge and annadanam had to be done daily for those  who chant as well as to others! Initial funds were provided by Sri Viswa prasad himself and that included the cost of the Sri Chakra it self! With a band of a few dedicated volunteers, helping in every way, the function began on the 2nd of December,2016. Starting with Navavarana puja to the installed Srichakra daily in the morning, chanting Sri Lalitha Sahasra Nama by the suvasinies continued.

Initially the strength of ladies who volunteered to chant was not much. But it soon grew and reached its maximum within a few days! The devotion and the special mantras recited by Sri Viswa prasad who lost himself in performing the puja, attracted the devotees and they came in large numbers from different cities nearby like Sunnyvale, Milpitas and SanJose. Diksha was given to many ladies who had to chant both in the mornings and evenings. Surprisingly the number of chanters either in the morning or evening was 108 which was very auspicious. Starting at about 11am chanting went on till 1pm when there came the lunch break.On week days chanting was both in the morning and evening. On weekends there was an additional session of chanting in the afternoon with an hour break for lunch. Everyday a chosen suvasini was worshipped specially as she was the embodiment of Sri Lalitha Maha Tripura Sundari!  “suvasinyarchana pritayai namo Namaha” A Vipra, Vedic scholar was honored daily! The scholars addressed the gathering briefly and offered their blessings to the suvasinies gathered there. A few men also took part in chanting!

Slowly the number increased to 150,200, 250 and on the final day it crossed 300! The spiritual vibrations generated by the unified and continuous chanting of Devi’s name could be felt and experienced by each and every individual! Many were elevated to spiritual state! I had the rare chance of singing my composition “ Sri Raja Rajeswari pancharatnam” in the presence of Devi! I sang Sri Adi Sankara's famous stotra “ Tripurasundari Ashtakam” also. Puja was performed to to a young Brahmachari as it was the custom. “ Shodasopachara--16 types of worship at the end of the session were offered everyday. Though it was a herculean effort to have sufficient members to chant a crore namas, it was by the sheer grace of Devi that made it possible! On the final day of the Koti Kumkumarchana the hall was filled to its full capacity. Suvasini puja was done for all and thambula with a blouse piece was offered to every suvasini present! Temple authorities were honored. The chief priest, who had conducted the Koti archana so  diligently and with a religious and spiritual fervour was felicitated. Annadanam was arranged for all and the koti archana concluded on a grand scale to the delight and satisfaction of all! It was the grace of Devi that brought enough members to chant her name within nine days!

The Koti Kumkumarchana had the salutary effect of bringing in all the diaspora, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam families together! It was a treat to watch their interest and enthusiasm in the chanting of Devi’s name. Many came, with their kids, to chant despite the rain that came to inconvenience them. The other temple authorities in Fremont were amazed at the scale of the arrangements made. They are now thinking of having a similar archana in their premises! Let religious and spiritual fervour increase and bring peace and happiness to all! “ Sarve Janah sukhino bhavantu” “ Samastha Loka sukhino bhavantu!”

SAGE PARASURAMA

SAGE  PARASURAMA

Sage Parasurama is one of the greatest sages of ancient India who is unforgettable!  He was the son of King Ghadhi of the clan of Pururava! Gadhi had only a daughter married to a brahmin by name Ruchika who was pious and powerful. Ruchika wanted to help Gadhi in getting a son. Ruchika himself desired a son and kept sacred water in two pots, one for Gadhi’s wife and another for his wife Satyavati. But by a strange stroke of destiny the water in the pots were exchanged and Satyavati had a son who was the epitome of saintliness and satwa guna! He later flowered into the famous sage Jamadagni! Jamadagni married Renuka and had five sons of whom (Parasu) Rama was the youngest. The life of Parasurama is quite interesting. Though a brahmin by birth he had warlike qualities of a Kshatriya! Being considered as the sixth avatar of  Lord Vishnu, Parasurama lived in the last part of Treta Yuga and DwaparaYuga and is reckoned as one of the chiranjivis! It is said that he received the famous Axe-parasu from Lord Siva after a terrible penance! It is also believed that Lord Siva taught him Kalaripayattu the mother of all martial arts!

On one occasion, the Haihaya king Kartaviryarjuna happened to visit Jamadagn’s ashram with his train. Jamadagni feasted them with the help of the holy cow Kamadhenu gifted to him by Indra. Growing envious, the king’s followers stole the cow, in spite of objection, after beating up the sage! In terrible anger at this unholy act, Parasurama, after his return to the ashram, killed many sons of Kartaviryarjuna. To avenge the death of their father, a few of the king’s sons beheaded Jamadagni and took away his head! Later Parasurama chopped off all the king’s thousand hands and killed him! Enraged Parasurama, vowed to decimate all the Kshatriyas twenty one times and offer tharpanam to his father in blood. This blood is believed to have filled five lakes called “Samanthaka Panchaka”! It is said that Indrajit and Parasurama are the only owners of Brahmandastra, Vaishnava and Pasupatastras! Parasurama is believed to have saved Konkan and Kerala from the advancing sea! Lord Siva once tried to test his student Parasurama in fight! In the severe fight, protecting himself, Parasurama inflicted a severe wound on the forehead of the Lord! Siva cherished the wound and from that day he was called “Khanda Parasu”.

Young Parasurama exemplified implicit obedience to his father Jamadagni. On an occasion, Renuka, Jamadagni’s wife,who used to bring water in an unbaked earthen pot, arrived late at her home. She spent a few minutes admiring the beauty of Chitrasena, a Gandharva who happened to come to the lake! Sensing this through his spiritual powers, Jamadagni grew angry  and ordered his sons to kill her! When they refused, he turned them into stones! Obeying his father implicitly, Parasurama beheaded his mother! Pleased with his son, Jamadagni offered him two boons. Parasurama got back his mother with one boon and with the other his other four brothers! He went to the Himalayas and performed severe penance. He visited a number of shrines, performed many Aswamedha Yagas and conquered many Kingdoms. But he finally gave away everything to sage Kasyapa! It is interesting to note that Parasurama is the mentor  of the illustrious warriors Bhishma, Drona and Karna of Mahabharatha!

Parasurama fought with his own student Bhishma when Amba sought his help to persuade Bhishma to marry her! Having taken the oath of celibacy, Bhishma would not marry her! The fight ended to the great disappointment of Amba! To a great extent Parasurama was responsible for the downfall and miserable plight of Karna at the end of the Mahabharatha war! Karna had disguised himself as a brahmin to learn archery from him. While Parasurama relaxed with his head on the lap of Karna, Indra, as a beetle, drilled into Karna's lap and it bled profusely! Parasurama woke up and wondering at his student’s endurance demanded the truth! Knowing that Karna had lied, Parasurama cursed that Karna would forget whatever he had learnt from him at the crucial moment of his life! It was at that point of time, Arjuna, goaded by Krishna, killed Karna at the end of the Kurukshetra war!

In his travels, after killing various Kings to avenge his father’s death, Parasurama happened to meet Dasaratha who was returning with Sri Rama after his wedding at Mithila! He challenged Sri Rama to aim with the Vishnu bow offered to him by Indra! King Dasaratha trembled in fear! Sri Rama remained calm, and took the great bow even as he drained away the strength of the warrior Brahmin Parasurama! It was the fag end of the avatar of Parasurama! He realized it soon and blessing Sri Rama and others left for penance once again! Thus the life of this avatar was very eventful, interesting, and incredible!