Amma's message on World Environment Day

Children, natural disasters, global warming and other climatic changes are ruining humankind’s peace of mind. Because of our thoughtless exploitation of natural resources, the harmony in nature is being lost. Our air, our water, our very soil—all have become poisonous.

In the olden days, people travelled in bullock carts and horse carriages. Then came scooters and cars. Now, a single person may have two or even three cars. In olden days, we served our food on banana leaves. Today we chop down entire trees to make paper cups and plates and then throw them out after just one use. In these and other ways, because of our selfish desires, we are exploiting Mother Nature and wasting her resources.

We used to think of Mother Nature as Kamadhenu—the wish-fulfilling cow that bestowed all auspiciousness upon us. Now she is old and dried up. Our forests are diminishing. Our food supplies are vanishing. Pure air and water are a rarity. Diseases are on the increase.

Where did we go wrong? When we stopped being able to distinguish between a need and a luxury. We have to restore this understanding. It is adharmic (unrighteous) and sinful to take more from Nature than we justifiably need. I am remembering the story of a social worker. Early one morning, he went to the riverside to brush his teeth with water in a pot. At the same time, he was discussing some important matters with his colleagues. When he took the pot to rinse his mouth, he saw that there was no more water in it. “O God! I have been so careless,” he said. “I used up all the water before I even finished brushing my teeth!”

His colleagues did not understand the reason for his sadness. They asked him, “What’s the big deal? You have an entire river of water flowing right before you.”

The social worker replied, “There may be water in the river, but I have no right to take more than what is necessary.”

If our generation can reclaim the dharma bodham—the awareness of righteousness—displayed by this social worker, then famine and poverty can be eradicated. Amma has no doubt about this. Take from Nature only that which you need for your sustenance. Then humankind will still have all the food, water and clothing it needs, and Mother Nature will once again become a Kamadhenu.

A scientist once said, “If all the worms and microorganisms were to disappear from the world, life on earth would be completely wiped out within the next 50 years. On the contrary, if the human race were made extinct, then all the other living beings on earth would be thriving again within 50 years.” Children, humankind should not have to perish for the earth to live.

This world which was handed down to us by our forefathers is so beautiful! Are we going to pass it down to the next generation only after destroying it? We are bound by dharma to offer it to the next generation without even a tiny crack in it. It is our duty to protect and preserve Mother Nature as if she were our very birth mother. We have to open our eyes to this truth. In reality, this dharma is not only our dharma towards Nature but our dharma towards the entire human race as a whole. That is because humankind cannot survive without Nature.

The writer is a world renowned spiritual leader - Mata Amritananda Mayi

http://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/spirituality/Restore-Harmony-with-Mother-Nature/2014/06/01/article2252556.ece

The 36 Contemporary Dharmic Principles by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniaswami.

The 36 Contemporary Dharmic Principles by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniaswami.

1. Simplify life and serve others.
2. Live in spiritual company
3. Seek fresh air and sunshine
4. Drink pure water. 
5. Eat simple, real foods, not animal flesh.
6. Live in harmony with nature.
7. Consume what you genuinely need rather than desire.
8. Revere the many forms of life. 
9. Excercise 30 minutes every day.
10. Make peace, not noise.
11. Make a temple of your home.
12. Develop an art form or craft
13. Make your own clothing and furniture.
14. Express joy through song amd dance.
15. Grow your own food organically.
16. Plant twelve trees a year.
17. Purify your environment.
18. Leave beauty where you pass.
19. Realize God in this life.
20. Be one with your guru.
21. Be nonviolent in thought and action.
22. Love your fellow man.
23. Rely on the independent energy in the spine.
24. Observe the mind thinking.
25. Cultivate a contemplative nature by seeking the light.
26. Draw the lesson from each experience in life.
27. Detach awareness from its objects.
28. Identify with infinite intelligence, not body, mind or intellect.
29. Be aware in the Eternal Now, not in the past or future.
30. Do not take advantage of trust or abuse credit.
31. Keep promises and confidences.
32. Restrain and direct desire.
33. Seek understanding through meditation.
34. Work with a spiritual discipline.
35. Think and speak only that which is true, kind, helpful, or necessary.
36. Create a temple for the next generation by tithing.

Ashtavakra Gita - Instruction on Self-Realization

Ashtavakra Gita
Instruction on Self-Realization

Janaka said:
1.1 
Master, how is knowledge to be achieved,
detachment acquired, liberation attained?

Ashtavakra said:
1.2
To be free,
shun the experiences of the senses like poison.
Turn your attention to
forgiveness, sincerity, kindness, simplicity, truth.

1.3
You are not earth, water, fire or air.
Nor are you empty space.
Liberation is to know yourself
as awareness alone—the Witness of these.

1.4
Abide in awareness
with no illusion of person.
You will be instantly free and at peace.

1.5
You have no caste or duties.
You are invisible, unattached, formless.
You are the Witness of all things.
Be happy.

1.6
Right and wrong, pleasure and pain,
exist in mind only.
They are not your concern.
You neither do nor enjoy.
You are free.

1.7
You are the solitary Witness of All that is,
forever free.
Your only bondage is not seeing This.

1.8
The thought, “I am the doer,”
is the bite of a poisonous snake.
To know, “I do nothing,” is the wisdom of faith.
Be happy.

1.9
A single understanding, "I am the One Awareness,"
consumes all suffering in the fire of an instant.
Be happy.

1.10
You are unbounded awareness—bliss, supreme bliss—
in which the universe appears
like the mirage of a snake in a rope.
Be happy.

1.11
It is true what they say, “You are what you think.”
If you think you are bound you are bound.
If you think you are free you are free.

1.12
You are Self—the solitary Witness.
You are perfect, all-pervading, One.
You are free, desireless, forever still.
The universe is but a seeming in You.

1.13
Meditate on this: “I am Awareness alone—Unity itself.”
Give up the idea that you are separate, a person,
that there is within and without.

1.14
You have long been bound, thinking, “I am a person.”
Let the knowledge, “I am Awareness alone,”
be the sword that frees you.

1.15
You are now and forever
free, luminous, transparent, still.
The practice of meditation keeps one in bondage.

1.16
You are pure consciousness—the substance of the universe.
The universe exists within you.
Don’t be small-minded.

1.17
You are unconditioned, changeless, formless.
You are solid, unfathomable, cool.
Desire nothing.
You are consciousness.

1.18
That which has form is not real.
Only the formless is permanent.
Once this is known, you will not return to illusion.

1.19
Just as a mirror exists both within and without
the image reflected,
so the supreme Self exists
both within and without the body.

1.20
Just as the same space exists
both within and without a jar,
the timeless, all-pervasive One
exists as Totality.

~Ashtavakra Gita

Via Sri Ramana Maharshi Teachings. श्री रमण महर्षि के उपदेश

Pantajali and the siddhis :

Pantajali and the siddhis :

Patanjali, a sage of ancient times wrote in his scriptures about the eight siddhis, what we call supernatural powers.

1. Anima- The siddhi by which a yogi reaches a minute state. As small as an ant or totally invisible.

2. Mahima- The siddhi by which a yogi is able to be so big that he may even tear apart the clouds and looks as if he has reached the sun.

3. Laghima- Making the body as light as a feather or cotton. The power to levitate; to make yourself light so that one could float in the air or walk on the water.

4. Garima- Heaviest body like a mountain by swallowing draughts of air.

5. Prapti- Yogi attains the power to change any object from one state to another, as he desires. Can predict future events, gains the power of clairvoyance, clairaudience, telepathy, thought-reading, etc. He can understand any unknown language, the language of any beast or bird. He can cure all diseases.

6. Prakamya- Entering the body of another (Parakaya Pravesh).

7. Vashitvam- Power of taming wild beasts and bringing them under control. It is the power of mesmerising people by the exercise of will and making them obedient to one’s own wishes and orders. It is the restraint of passions and emotions. It is the power to bring men, women and the elements under subjection.

8. Ishathvam- Attainment of divine power. The Yogi himself becomes the Lord of universe.The Yogi who has this power can restore life in dead bodies.

http://vivekananda.hubpages.com/hub/supernatural_powers_and_indian_yogis

Shiva temple in Agar Malwa, Madhya Pradesh

ॐ om nama shivaya ॐ 

The British ruled India for hundreds of years, and built many churches and cathedrals. But in the 1880s, a Shiva temple in Agar Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, was rebuilt by Lt. Col. Martin — the only temple ever made by an Englishman in India.

Col. Martin was in the Afghan wars. He used to regularly write to his wife, informing her of conditions there. It was a long war, and gradually the colonel’s letters stopped. Mrs. Martin, who then lived in the cantonment of Agar Malwa, was besides herself with grief, fearing the worst.

She would spend time riding for hours to calm herself. One day she rode her horse, past the temple of Baijnath Mahadev. It was in a decrepit state. It was the time of arti, and the sound of conches and the chanting of mantras compelled her to stop. She went inside to see the worship of Lord Shiva taking place. The priests saw the grief on her face and asked her what was wrong. Mrs. Martin narrated her sad story. The Brahmins told her that Lord Shiva listens to sincere prayers of all devotees and saves them from difficult situations. She was advised by one of the priests to start chanting the mantra: “Om Namah Shivaya” for 11 days. The Englishwoman prayed to Lord Shiva for the colonel’s safe return, promising she would rebuild the temple if he came home safe from the war. On the 10th day, a messenger arrived from Afghanistan with a letter from her husband. It read, “I was regularly sending you letters from the battlefield but then suddenly the Pathans surrounded us. I thought there was no way of escape. Suddenly I saw an Indian yogi with long hair, wearing a tiger skin carrying a trident. He had an awe-inspiring personality and he started wielding his weapon against the Afghans who ran away from the field in fright. With his grace what was certain death our bad times turned into victory. Then the great yogi told me that I should not worry and that he had come to rescue me because he was very pleased with my wife’s prayers.”

Tears of joy and gratitude welled up in Mrs. Martin’s eyes as she read the letter. Her heart was overwhelmed. She fell at the feet of Lord Shiva’s image and sobbed. After a few weeks Lt. Col. Martin returned and his wife told him her story. The couple became devotees of Lord Shiva. In 1883, they donated Rs 15,000 to renovate the temple. This information is engraved on a slab kept in the Baijnath Mahadev Temple.

The Martins sailed for England with the firm resolution that they would make a Shiva temple at their home and pray to him till the end of life. And they did.

ॐ om nama shivaya ॐ

Debunking the misquoted and half quoted verses of Atharvaveda and Rigveda

"Debunking the misquoted and half quoted verses of Atharvaveda and Rigveda by zakir naik."

!! Please Tag and share!!

!!Please read till the end.!!

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"OM NAMAH SHIVAYA"
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Sanatana Dharma do not denote to a creed like Christianity or Islam, but represents a code of conduct and a value system that has spiritual freedom as its core. Any pathway or spiritual vision that accepts the spiritual freedom of others may be considered part of Sanatana Dharma. First and foremost, Sanatana Dharma is anadi (without beginning) and also a-paurusheya (without a human founder). It is defined by the quest for cosmic truth, just as the quest for physical truth defines science. Its earliest record is the Rigveda, which is the record of ancient sages who by whatever means tried to learn the truth about the universe, in relations to Man's place in relation to the cosmos. They saw nature — including all living and non-living things — as part of the same cosmic equation, and as pervaded by a higher consciousness. This search has no historical beginning; nor does it have a historical founder.
By its nature, Sanatana Dharma is…
• God-centered rather than prophet-centered.
• Experience based rather than belief based.
• Beyond any historical date of founding.
• The process of growth, which comes from the seed.
• Inherent in, and inclusive of all.
• In the world, while above the world.
• Both immanent and transcendent.
• The whole and the parts.
• Loving of all and excluding of none.


Now a day’s Internet becomes biggest source of knowledge and learning. When one searches about Sanatan Dharma on internet. He\She will found several forums of communist writers and missionaries of Islam and Christianity. Their goal is to make 1 billion hindus to lose believe in their faith and convert to their believes which they believe is the final message.

The defence of Sanatana Dharma on the internet is very weak. As Hindus are less versed in their scriptures they are easy prey to these faiths. As a Hindu it is our duty to defend our faith. Because we believe

"Dharmo Rakshati Rakshita"
In the protection of Dharma is our protection.

One of them is Zakir Abdul Karim Naik president of IRF ( Islamic Research Foundation).

This is the third article about lies of Zakir naik describes how he used some quotes of Atharvaveda and Rigveda not in wrong way but modify them according to his need or mistranslated them.


Zakir naik :: "Dev maha osi"
"God is verily great"
[Atharvaveda 20:58:3]9

The truth: baṇ mahāṃ asi sūrya baḍ āditya mahāṃ asi |
mahas te sato mahimā panasyate 'ddhā deva mahāṃ asi . [Atharvaveda 20:58:3]

Verily, Surya, thou art great; truly, Aditya, thou art great.
As thou art great indeed thy greatness is admired: yea, verily, great art thou, O God



Zakir naik: The Rigveda states in Book 1, hymn 164 and verse 46: "Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names."
[Rigveda 1:164:46]

The truth: índram mitráṃ váruṇam agním āhur / átho divyáḥ sá suparṇó garútmān
ékaṃ sád víprā bahudhâ vadanty / agníṃ yamám mātaríśvānam āhuḥ [Rigveda 1:164:]

He is called Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, Divya, Suparna, Garutmaan, Yama and Maatarishvaa etc. God is one, wise call him by many names.

In this hymn Zakir naik provided only the translation not the part of hymn. But the question is if zakir naik uses this hymn will he asked to his followers to use Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, Divya, Suparna, Garutmaan, Yama and Maatarishvaa etc. in place of God/Allah??.


Zakir naik: The next Hymn he uses is Rigveda Book 2 hymn 1 but he only describes Brahma and Vishnu as qualities of God as creator and sustainer. But why he doesn’t quote this Hymn?? The answer is within below Hymn.

The truth : tvamaghna indro vṛṣabhaḥ satāmasi tvaṃ viṣṇururughāyo namasyaḥ |
tvaṃ brahmā rayivid brahmaṇas pate tvaṃ vidhartaḥsacase purandhyā || [Rigveda 2:1]

Hero of Heroes, Agni! Thou art Indra, thou art Viṣṇu of the Mighty Stride, adorable:
Thou, Brahmaṇaspati, the Brahman finding wealth: thou, O Sustainer, with thy wisdom tendest us.


Zakir naik: "Ma cid anyad vi sansata sakhayo ma rishanyata"
"O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone."
[Rigveda 8:1:1]10

The truth: mā cidanyad vi śaṃsata sakhāyo mā riṣaṇyata |
indramitstotā vṛṣaṇaṃ sacā sute muhurukthā ca śaṃsata || [Rigveda 8:1:1]

GLORIFY naught besides, O friends; so shall no sorrow trouble you.
Praise only mighty Indra when the juice is shed, and say your lauds repeatedly.


I don’t know what he meant to say, he mixed meaning of first and second verses cleverly and showed only first verse. Zakir naik why are you so afraid of using both the verses completely??


Zakir naik: "Devasya samituk parishtutih"
"Verily, great is the glory of the Divine Creator."
[Rigveda 5:1:81]11

The truth : yuñjate mana uta yuñjate dhiyo viprā viprasya bṛhato vipaścitaḥ |
vi hotrā dadhe vayunāvid eka in mahī devasya savituḥ pariṣṭutiḥ || [Rigveda 5:1:81]

THE priests of him the lofty Priest well-skilled in hymns harness their spirit, yea, harness their holy thoughts.
He only knowing works assigns their priestly tasks. Yea, lofty is the praise of Savitar the God.

How can Zakir Naik, who claims to be a teacher of comparative religion ignore the whole verse and take only a part of it and distort the meaning of this verse to suit his interests? Either it is due to his sloppiness or his slyness. We leave the decision up to our intelligent readers.

Suggestion to zakir naik:

Zakir Naik should not refer to speculations on Vedas by those who study Vedas with an ulterior motive, but rather he should study the Vedas under a guru, a spiritual master, who comes in the proper disciple succession.

===========================================

"OM NAMAH SHIVAYA"

===========================================

Friends of course, Zakir Naik is unlikely to change his perverse ways, but we request our truth-cherishing, intelligent readers to help innocent people to see through the fallaciousness and the maliciousness of Zakir Naik’s presentation by widely circulating articles like these.

References:

http://www.irf.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146&Itemid=129 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/av/av20058.htm

http://literature.awgp.org/hindibook/vedPuranDarshan/atharvaved/athaveda2c.25

http://www.aryasamajjamnagar.org/athrvaveda/atharvaveda.htm

http://www.aryasamajhouston.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=139&Itemid=118

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala_1 

Women in Hinudism

❁ Women in Sanatan Dharma ❁

All the The ancient scriptures starting from Rig-ved to Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the Manu Smriti all talks about the equivalent place of a women to a man.

☞ “O women! These mantras are given to you equall

y (as to men). May your thoughts, too, be harmonious. May your assemblies be open to all without discrimination. Your mind and consciousness should be harmonious. I (the rishi) give you these mantras equally as to men and give you all and equal powers to absorb (the full powers) of these mantras.” Rig-veda 10-191-3.

☞ There are more than thirty women sages (Gargi Vachaknavi , Lopamudra, etc.) in RV with specific hymns associated with them. In all the Semitic religions like Christianity, Islam etc., there is no mention of any revelation to women and no woman is listed among the prominent disciples of the founders or prophets of those religions.

Birth of the Goddess:
The feminine forms of the Absolute and the popular Hindu goddesses are believed to have taken shape in the Vedic era. These female forms came to represent different feminine qualities and energies of the Brahman. Goddess Kali portrays the destructive energy, Durga the protective, Lakshmi the nourishing, and Saraswati the creative. Here it's notable that Hinduism recognizes both the masculine and feminine attributes of the Divine, and that without honoring the feminine aspects, one cannot claim to know God in his entirety. So we also have many male-female divine-duos like Radha-Krishna, Sita-Rama, Uma-Mahesh, and Lakshmi-Narayan, where the female form is usually addressed first.

✮ Education of the Girl Child:
Vedic literature praises the birth of a scholarly daughter in these words: "A girl also should be brought up and educated with great effort and care." (Mahanirvana Tantra); and "All forms of knowledge are aspects of Thee; and all women throughout the world are Thy forms." (Devi Mahatmya)

Women were considered to be the embodiment of great virtue and wisdom.
☞ “The sun god follows the first illuminated and enlightened goddess Usha (dawn) in the same manner as men emulate and follow women.” Athravaveda Samhita, Part 2, Kanda 27, sukta 107, sloka 5705.

☞ Katyayana's Varttika 125, 2477 mentions that there were female teachers of grammar. Patanjali wrote in his comments to Ashtadhyayi 3.3.21 and 4.1.14, that women undergo the thread ceremony before beginning their education, and says that women studied grammar

☞ Women, who so desired, could undergo the sacred thread ceremony or 'Upanayana' (a sacrament to pursue Vedic studies), which is only meant for males even to this day. Co-education seems to have existed in this period and both the sexes got equal attention from the teacher. Moreover, ladies from the Kshatriya caste received martial arts courses and arms training.

✮ Women & Marriage
☞ The wife "should address the assembly as a commander."~ RV 10.85.26

According to Manusmriti there are eight types of marriage, of which four were more prominent. The first was 'brahma', where the daughter was given as gift to a good man learned in the Vedas; the second was 'daiva' , where the daughter was given as a gift to the presiding priest of a Vedic sacrifice. 'Arsa' was the third kind where the groom had to pay to get the lady, and 'prajapatya', the fourth kind, where the father gave his daughter to a man who promised monogamy and faithfulness.

☞ In the Vedic age there was both the custom of 'Kanyavivaha' where the marriage of a pre-puberty girl was arranged by her parents and 'praudhavivaha' where the girls were married off after attaining puberty. Then there was also the custom of 'Swayamvara' where girls, usually of royal families, had the freedom to choose her husband from among the eligible bachelors invited to her house for the occasion.

☞ The hymn 10.85 of the Rig-veda states that the daughter-in-law should be treated as a queen, samrajni, by all the family members especially the mother-in-law, husband, father-in-law.

✮ Polygamy:
Thus certain mantras in Vedas describe demerits of Polygamy.
☞ compares existence of multiple wives with multiple worldly miseries. ~Rig Veda 10.105.8
☞A man with two wives is pressed from both sides and weeps like a horse that neighs when pressed from both sides by spokes while driving a chariot. ~ Rig Veda 10.101.11
☞ Two wives make life aimless. ~ Rig Veda 10.101.11
☞ May a woman never face threat of another co-wife. ~ Atharva Veda 3.18.2
☞ "As yearning wives cleave to their yearning husband, so cleave our hymns to thee, O Lord most potent." ~ Rig Veda 1.62.11

✮ Wifehood in the Vedic Era
As in present, after marriage, the girl became a 'grihini' (wife) and was considered 'ardhangini' or one half of her husband's being. Both of them constituted the 'griha' or home, and she was considered its 'samrajni (queen or mistress) and had an equal share in the performance of religious rites.

☞ Rig-veda says the freedom of choosing of husband: A woman can choose her own husband after attaining maturity. If her parents are unable to choose a deserving groom, she can herself choose her husband." ~ 9.90-91.

☞ The Manusmriti enjoins, "'Let mutual fidelity continue until death.' This may be considered the summation of the highest law for husband and wife. ~Manu Smriti IX 101

☞ “O bride! May the knowledge of the Vedas be in front of you and behind you, in your centre and in your ends. May you conduct your life after attaining the knowledge of the Vedas. May you be benevolent, the harbinger of good fortune and health and live in great dignity and indeed be illumined in your husband’s home.”
~ Atharva Veda 14-1-64

✮ Divorce, Remarriage & Widowhood
Divorce and remarriage of women were allowed under very special conditions. If a woman lost her husband, she was not forced to undergo the merciless practices that cropped up in later years. Both the Manusamhita and the Arthashastra state that if a husband is impotent, a traitor, an ascetic or an outcast, or missing for a prescribed number of years, the wife take her property ('Stridhan'), leave him without blame and marry again. The Arthashastra also declares that in other circumstances, divorce can take place only by mutual consent.Prostitution in the Vedic Age.

☞ In NAsmR 12.45-48, there are three types of punarbhu, or a remarried widow: The virgin widow, the woman who abandons her husband to take up with another man and then returns to her husband, and the woman who has no brothers-in-law who can give her offspring.

✮ Unfortunately today some orthodox persons deny the right of women even from chanting the Veda and Bhagwat Gita. Persons from other religion like Islam and Christens try to defame the moral value of women in Hinduism. However, they cannot cite any authoritative scripture to support their views. Any book in Sanskrit cannot be accepted as a scripture or divine revelation. In the past when the famous poet, Sanskrit scholar and spiritual savant, Vasishta Ganapati Muni, the foremost disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi, challenged these orthodox persons to provide evidence to support their claims, no evidence was forth coming. Even today they can’t fool people with their propaganda.

Facts about Cow

1. The scientific findings about cow milk

According to Shantilal Shah, President, International Cardiology Conference Cow’s milk is specifically beneficial to heart patients.

Cow’s milk is easily digestible and reaching the nerves of the brain it acts as a brain tonic.

The cow’s milk contains a yellow substance called Kerotin (Vitamin A) which increases the visual strength. Cow’s milk is the best tonic for health.

Cow milk contains 8% Protein, 8% Carbohydrate, 0.7% minerals, 100 I.U., Vitamin A, B, C, D and E.

According to Bhav Prakash Nighantu, Cow-milk contains tonic, dieting, energetic, conducive to heart and Brain, advancing age, potency and the three metabolic defects are removed.

2. Scientific Facts About Cow Ghee

The modern doctors recommend not to use any fat except cow ghee by a cholesterol patient. The use of cow ghee does not increase cholesterol. It gives no bad effect on heart.

According to Russian Scientist Sirovish, Cow’s ghee has immense power to protect human body from the ill effect of radioactive waves.

10 gms. of cow ghee used in fire sacrifice produces one ton of oxygen. When cow’s ghee is burned with rice it produces Etholine oxide, propylene oxide and Foramaladeyore. Ethelene oxcide and Formaldehyde give immunity against bacteria which are used in operation theatre. Propylene oxide induces rain. Therefore, sacrifice done with cow ghee purities atmosphere and induces rain.

According to Bhav Prakash Nighantu, cow-ghee is helpful for eye sight, improving digestion. ‘Tridosh Nashak’, energetic, brain tonic, ageing factors, Tonic, fragrant, ‘Madhuri’, Cold and over all the best of the ‘ghee’.

Cow butter raises the beauty, is blood purifier, paralysis and Asthma are controlled.

3. The Scientific Facts about Cow Urine

Cow urine contains copper which transforms into gold in human body. Gold has the power to destroy all diseases and is an antidote.

Besides copper, cow urine contains Iron, Calcium, Phosphorus, Salts, Carbonic Acid, Potash and lactose.

Cow urine contains 24 types of salts and the medicines made from cow urine are used to cure several diseases.Also for diabetic youngsters it controls sugar level and keeps fit.

Cow urine is disinfectant and prophylactics and thus purifies atmosphere and improves the fertility of the land.

Through many experiments on cow dung the famous Italian scientist Prof. G.E. Bea God has proven the fresh cow dung kills the germs of Malaria and T.B.

Japan used cow dung to get protection from atomic emissions.

Cow dung is the best fertilizer.

4. Environment Protection from Cow dung

Cow dung from a single cow in its life span can produce 4500 liters of bio gas which is equivalent to burning 6,80,00,000 tons of wood. This will help us save 14 crore trees from cutting and burning and thus give environment protection.

In Mahabharta Yaksa asked Yudhisthira “What is nectar?”

Yudhisthira replied “Cow’s milk is nectar.”

Among 84 lakh species of life only Cow’s faeces are not impure but purifying.

5. Contributions of mother cow to the Indian economy

Cows alone add to the national income to the tune of Rupees 15000/- crore.

30 thousand megawatts of horse power is yielded by the cows.

We get milk worth rupees five crore tons of milk from the cows and buffaloes.

We have 22 lakh tons of cattle dung, worth rupees 55 crores per day.

We receive 36 bag full of urea, 18 bags of super phosphate and 54 bags full of potash from a single cow or the bull’s dung alone.

A dried cow (not milchy) alone yields every year 2 tons of cow dung and urine to the society at large.

Poor families of rural and backward areas can earn Rs.18500/- per year by installing bio-gas plants of their own, from the dung of the dried cows and bullocks.

7.76 million tons of Khali Cakes was exported in the year 1992 for worth Rs.600 crores, while the same amount of Khali given to the milchy cattle would yield 38.8 million tons of milk to the country, for worth about Rs.38,000/- crore (42 times more than what the export money was received).

Lakhs of tons of cow urine (an indigenous natural disinfectant) is available every year, which is the best disinfectant for our crops and for use in medicines for the cure of several diseases.

In Indian Agricultural operations, a maximum of 66% cattle-power, 20% manual power and 14% other live power is available for use.

It was only owing to unlimited use and the gains on account of Agriculture and the cow and the cow lineage that the supreme court pronounced the cow as the backbone of Indian culture.

One crore rupees received on export of meat is equivalent to the loss of 15 crore rupees to the country.
http://www.love4cow.com/virtues.htm

Sanatana Dharma

What is Dharma? What is Sanatana Dharma?

Dharma is so called, because it holds; Dharma alone holds the people, etc. The word Dharma is derived from the root Dhr—to hold—and its etymological meaning is ‘that which holds’ this world, or the people of the world, or the whole creation from the microcosm to the macrocosm. It is the eternal Divine Law of the Lord. The entire creation is held together a

nd sustained by the All-powerful Law of God. Practice of Dharma, therefore, means recognition of this Law and abidance by it.

No language is perfect. There is no proper equivalent word in English for the Sanskrit term Dharma. It is very difficult to define Dharma. Dharma is generally defined as ‘righteousness’ or ‘duty.’ Dharma is the principle of righteousness. It is the principle of holiness. It is also the principle of unity. Bhishma says in his instructions to Yudhishthira that whatever creates conflict is Adharma, and whatever puts an end to conflict and brings about unity and harmony is Dharma. Anything that helps to unite all and develop pure divine love and universal brotherhood, is Dharma. Anything that creates discord, split and disharmony and foments hatred, is Adharma. Dharma is the cementer and sustainer of social life. The rules of Dharma have been laid down for regulating the worldly affairs of men. Dharma brings as its consequence happiness, both in this world and in the next. Dharma is the means of preserving one’s self. If you transgress it, it will kill you. If you protect it, it will protect you. It is your sole companion after death. It is the sole refuge of humanity.

BENEFITS OF THE PRACTICE OF DHARMA

Of the four grand objects of human aspiration—Purusharthas—viz., Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, Dharma is given the foremost rank in the scriptures. Dharma alone is the gateway to Moksha, to immortality, infinite bliss, supreme peace and highest knowledge. Dharma alone is the primary Purushartha. Dharma is the first and foremost Purushartha. Through the practice of Dharma alone can you ever hope to achieve the crowning glory of all human endeavours, viz., Moksha which is the best and the highest of all desirable things.
Practice of Dharma leads to the perfect realisation of essential unity or the final end, the highest good, namely, Moksha. The practitioner experiences peace, joy, strength and tranquillity within himself. His life becomes thoroughly disciplined. His powers and capacities are exceedingly intensified. He realises that there is one underlying homogeneous essence, a living truth, behind these names and forms. He is transmuted into divinity. His whole nature gets transformed. He becomes one with the Eternal. He beholds Brahman above, Brahman below, Brahman to the right, Brahman to the left, Brahman in front, Brahman at the back, Brahman within, Brahman without and Brahman pervading the whole world.

KINDS OF DHARMA

Dharma can be classified under two heads: (i) Samanya or the general, universal Dharma and (ii) Visesha or the specific, personal Dharma. Contentment, forgiveness, self-restraint, non-stealing, purity, control of senses, discrimination between right and wrong, between the real and the unreal, spiritual knowledge, truthfulness and absence of anger come under the general or universal Dharma. The rules of the castes and orders of life are specific Dharmas. These are the tenfold characteristics of Dharma according to Manu
Dharma assumes various kinds: Sanatana Dharma (Eternal Law), Samanya Dharma (general duty), Visesha Dharma (special duty), Varnasrama Dharma (duties of Caste and Order), Svadharma (one’s own duty), Yuga Dharma (duty of the Age), Kula Dharma (duty of family), Manava Dharma (duty of man), Purusha Dharma (duty of male), Stri Dharma (duty of female), Raja Dharma (duty of king), Praja Dharma (duty of subjects), Pravritti Dharma (duty in worldly life) and Nivritti Dharma (duty in spiritual life).


SANATANA DHARMA

Sanatana Dharma means the Eternal Religion, the Ancient Law. This is based on the Vedas. This is the oldest of living religions. Hinduism is known by the name Sanatana Dharma. What the Vedas alone declare to be the means of attaining the summum bonum or the final emancipation, is the Sanatana Dharma or Hindu Dharma. The foundation of Sanatana Dharma is Sruti; Smritis are the walls; the Itihasas and Purnas are the buttresses or supports. In ancient times, the Srutis were learnt by heart. The teacher sang them to his pupils and the pupils sang them after him. They were not written in book form. All the sects, all the philosophical systems, appeal to the Sruti as the final authority. The Smriti stands next in authority to the Sruti. Hinduism stands unrivalled in the depth and grandeur of its philosophy. Its ethical teachings are lofty, unique and sublime. It is highly flexible and adapted to every human need. It is a perfect religion by itself. It is not in need of anything from any other religion. No other religion has produced so many great saints, great patriots, great warriors and great Pativratas. The more you know of it, the more you will honour and love it. The more you study it, the more it will enlighten you and satisfy your heart.

Follow your Dharma with zeal and enthusiasm. Discharge your duties faithfully. Develop all the virtues which constitute Dharma. Never deviate an inch from the path of righteousness. Stick to Dharma with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your soul. Performance of one’s duties brings happiness, quick evolution and freedom. You will soon attain immortality, eternal bliss, supreme peace, perennial joy, absolute freedom and perfection. Glory to Dharma, the supreme light that leads you to the kingdom of eternal bliss and everlasting peace.
May the eternal Dharma of Hinduism be preserved for ever!

-Swami sivananda

Tulasi as sacred

Why do we consider Tulasi as sacred?

Either in the front, back or central courtyard of most Indian homes there is a tulsi-matham an altar bearing a tulsi plant. In the present day apartments too,many maintain a potted tulsi plant. The lady of the house lights a lamp, watersthe plant, worships and cirumambulayes it. The stem, leaves, seeds, and even the
soil, which provides it a base are considere

d holy. A tulsi leaf is alwaysplaced in the food offered to the Lord. It is also offered to the Lord during poojas especially to Lord Vishnu and His incarnations.

In Sanskrit, tulanaa naasti athaiva tulsi - that which is incomparable (in itsqualities) is the tulsi. For Hindus, it is one of the most sacred plants. Infact it is known to be the only thing used in worship which, once used, can bewashed and reused in pooja - as it is regarded so self-purifying.

As one story goes, Tulsi was the devoted wife of Shankhachuda, celestial being.She believed that Lord Krishna tricked her into sinning. So she cursed Him tobecome a stone (shaaligraama). Seeing her devotion and adherence to righteousness, the Lord blessed her saying that she would become the worshiped
plant, tulsi that would adorn His head. Also that all offerings would beincomplete without the tulsi leaf - hence the worship of tulsi.

She also symbolises Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu. Those who wishto be righteous and have a happy family worship the tulsi. Tulsi is married tothe Lord with all pomp and how as in any wedding. This is because according toanother legend, the Lord blessed her to be His consort.

Satyabhama once weighed Lord Krishna against all her legendary wealth. The scales did not balance till a single tulsi leaf was placed along with the wealthon the scale by Rukmini with devotion. Thus the tulsi played the vital role of demonstrating to the world that even a small object offered with devotion means more to the Lord than all the wealth in the world.

The tulsi leaf has great medicinal value and is used to cure various ailments,including the common cold.

It symbolises,

1)Kalyani - Normally poisonous snakes and mosquitos do not come close to it due to some smell that it emits. That explains why it is a must in every house. The leaves as well roots are a cure for several diseases like malaria, cold, fever. The wood of this plant is used for Mala, ie a rosary for worship of Lord Vishnu and when worn in the neck it prevents diseases of the throat.

2) Visnu Priye - Tulsi has been described as the beloved of Lord Vishnu since he is the creator and Tulsi helps the health of human beings and animals, prevents soil erosion.

3) Moksa - prade - By keeping the body healthy, it keeps the mind healthy and free of worries enabling us to concentrate on worship of the Ultimate Reality in comfort.

Tusli, along with all other species of basil, possesses remarkable physical and spiritually healing properties, as author Stephen P. Huyler summarizes, "Aside from its religious merits, Tulsi has been praised in Indian scriptures and lore since the time of the early Vedas as an herb that cures blood and skin diseases. Ancient treatises extol it as an antidote for poisons, a curative for kidney disease and arthritis, a preventative for mosquito and insect bites, and a purifier of polluted air. Generally prepared in medicinal teas and poultices, Tulsi's widespread contemporary use in India as an aid to internal and external organs suggests these traditions are based upon practical efficacy." One finds descriptions of basil's health benefits in any of the books on herbs and ayurveda readily available today.

Tulsi is also extensively used to maintain ritual purity, to purify if polluted and to ward off evil. A leaf is kept in the mouth of the dying to insure passage to heavenly realms. During an eclipse, leaves are ingested and also placed in cooked food and stored water to ward off psychic pollution. Funeral pyres often contain tulsi wood to protect the spirit of the dead--as Bhutagni, destroyer of demons. tulsi leaves and sprigs are hung in the entryways of homes to keep away troublesome spirits, and the mere presence of the Tulsi shrine is said to keep the entire home pure, peaceful and harmonious

Heart touching history of Somnath

Heart touching history of Somnath Jyotirlinga temple- It was destroyed 16 times by invaders and looted tremendous wealth!!!

The following extract is from “Wonders of Things Created, and marvels of Things Existing” by Asaru-L- Bilad, a 13th

 century Arab geographer. It contains the following description of Somnath temple and its destruction:

“Somnath: celebrated city of India, situated on the shore of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnath. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below, or to suspend it from above. It was held in the highest honor among the Hindus, and whoever beheld it floating in the air was struck with amazement, whether he was a Musulman or an infidel.

“When the king asked his companions what they had to say about the marvel of the idol, and of its staying in the air without prop or support, several maintained that it was upheld by some hidden support. The king directed a person to go and feel all around and above and below it with a spear, which he did, but met with no obstacle. One of the attendants then stated his opinion that the canopy was made of loadstone, and the idol of iron, and that the ingenious builder had skillfully contrived that the magnet should not exercise a greater force on anyone side-hence the idol was suspended in the middle. Some coincided, others differed. Permission was obtained from the Sultan to remove some stones from the top of the canopy to settle the point. When two stones were removed from the summit the idol swerved on one side, when more were taken away it inclined still further, until at last it rested on the ground.”

The Hindus used to go on pilgrimage to it whenever there was an eclipse of the moon, and would then assemble there to the number of more than a hundred thousand. They believed that the souls of men used to meet there after separation from the body, and that the idol used to incorporate them at its pleasure in other bodies, in accordance with their doctrine of transmigration. “The ebb and flow of the tide was considered to be the worship paid to the idol by the sea.

Everything of the most precious was brought there as offerings, and the temple was endowed with more than 10,000 villages. There is a river (the Ganges) which is held sacred, between which and Somnat the distance is 200 parasangs. They used to bring the water of this river to Somnath every day, and wash the temple with it. A thousand brahmins were employed in worshipping the idol and attending on the visitors, and 500 damsels sung and danced at the door–all these were maintained upon the endowments of the temple.

The edifice was built upon fifty-six pillars of teak, covered with lead. The shrine of the idol was dark. hut was lighted by jeweled chandeliers of great value. Near it was a chain of gold weighing 200 mans. When a portion (watch) of the night closed, this chain used to be shaken like bells to rouse a fresh lot of Brahmins to perform worship. “When the Sultan Yaminu-d Daula Mahmud Bin Subuktigin went to wage religious war against India, he made great efforts to capture and destroy Somnat, in the hope that the Hindus would then become Muhammadans. As a result thousands of Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam. He arrived there in the middle of Zi-l k’ada, 416 A.H. (December, 1025 A.D.). “The king looked upon the idol with wonder, and gave orders for the seizing of the spoil, and the appropriation of the treasures.

There were many idols of gold and silver and vessels set with jewels, all of which had been sent there by the greatest personages in India. The value of the things found in the temples of the idols exceeded twenty hundred thousand dinars.

Lane Poole, author of Medieval India, has said that Mahommad of Ghazni, "who had vowed that every year should see him wage a holy war against the infidels of Hindustan" could not rest from his idol-breaking campaign so long as the temple of Somnath remained inviolate. It was for this specific purpose that he, at the very close of his career, undertook his arduous march across the desert from Multan to Anhilwada on the coast, fighting as he went, until he saw at last the famous temple.

Mahmud Ghazni attacked this temple in 1026 A.D. and after a week-long resistance, captured it. When the soldiers scaled the walls with ladders all they found inside were defenseless worshippers. Fifty thousand devotees praying to the linga and weeping passionately with hands clasped were massacred in cold blood. The Shiva Linga, adorned with gems and precious stones was broken and the temple burnt. After the battle, Mahmud and his troops are described as having carried away across the desert the equivalent of 6.5 tons of gold. The fragments of the idol were carried off to grace the conquerors' palace and the temple gates were set up at Ghazni.

Mahmud was hailed throughout the Islamic world as a second Mohammed and his smashing of Somnath was lauded in the Sufi poetry of Attar, Sanai and Omar Khayyam. These poets equated Somnath with the temples to the pagan goddess Al-Manat destroyed by Mohammed and viewed its destruction as the 'will of Allah' and the 'enlightened march of Islam.' The sack of Somnath made Mahmud of Ghazni a champion of the faith in the eyes of every Muslim.

Minhaj-as-Siraj tells us how Mahmud became widely known for having destroyed as many as thousand temples, and of his great feat in destroying the temple of Somnath and carrying off its idol, which he asserts was broken into four parts. One part he deposited in the Jami Masjid of Ghazni, one he placed at the entrance of the royal palace, the third he sent to Mecca, and the fourth to Medina.

The folding doors shown were reputed to be the famous Sandalwood Doors, carried off in 1026 by Mahmud after his destruction of the Somnath Temple in Gujarat, during the last of his devastatingly successful forays in India. The British removed them from the tomb in 1842, laboriously transporting them to Agra Fort, where they were found to be replicas of the original.

In 725 Junayad, the Arab governor of Sind, sent his armies to destroy the second temple. The Gurjara Pratihara king Nagabhata II constructed the third temple in 815, a large structure of red sandstone. Somnath temple, 1869 .

In 1024 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud Ghazni who raided the temple from across the Thar Desert. Ghazni was challenged by the king, Ghogha Rana, who at the ripe age of 90, sacrificed his own clan fighting against Ghazni. The temple was rebuilt by the Paramara King Bhoj of Malwa and the Solanki king Bhima of Gujarat (Anhilwara) or Patan between 1026 and 1042. The wooden structure was replaced by Kumarpal (r.1143-72), who built the temple of stone.

In 1296 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Sultan Allauddin Khilji's army. According to Taj-ul-Ma'sir of Hasan Nizami, Raja Karan of Gujarat was defeated and forced to flee, "fifty thousand infidels were dispatched to hell by the sword" and "more than twenty thousand slaves, and cattle beyond all calculation fell into the hands of the victors". The temple was rebuilt by Mahipala Deva, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra in 1308 A.D. and the Linga was installed by his son Khengar sometime between 1326 and 1351 A.D.

In 1375 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Muzaffar Shah I, the Sultan of Gujarat. About 1400 A.D. it was reconstructed by the local public.

In 1451 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud Begda, the Sultan of Gujarat. It was reconstructed again.

In 1701 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb built a mosque on the site of the Somnath temple, using some columns from the temple, whose Hindu sculptural motifs remained visible.

Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore rebuilt the temple in 1783 A.D. at a site adjacent to the ruined temple which was already converted to a mosque.

The present temple, Kailash Mahameru Prasada, is built in the Chalukya style of temple architecture and reflects the skill of the Sompuras, Gujarat's master masons.

The temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in between from Somnath seashore to Antarctica. Such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the ARROW-PILLAR erected on the sea-protection wall at the Somnath Temple.

Thus, the Hindus rebuilt the temple several times, but the Muslims destroyed it again. The temple was last destroyed by the Mughal tyrant, Aurangzeb. In 1701 A.D. he ordered Prince Mohammed Azam, the Viceroy of Gujarat, to destroy the temple of Somnath. Aurangzeb, as history records, was a brutal ruler who left a trail of genocide and destruction, mainly aimed at converting Hindus. Aurangzeb built a mosque on the site of the Somnath temple, using some columns from the temple, whose Hindu sculptural motifs remained visible.

Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore built the temple again in 1783 at a site adjacent to the ruined temple.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somnath

http://occidentalsoapbox.blogspot.in/2009/07/destruction-of-somnath-temple.html

Note: This is not against any faith but to show the true historical facts to the present day youth to protect our heritage for future generations.