దీపావళి నాడు 5 ప్రదేశాల్లో దీపాలు

దీపావళి నాడు 5 ప్రదేశాల్లో దీపాలు తప్పక వెలిగించాలని శాస్త్రం చెప్పింది.

వంట గదిలో(kitchen),ఇంటి గడపకు ఇరువైపులా(both sides),ధాన్యాగారంలో(బియ్యం,పప్పులు మొదలైనవి నిలువ ఉంచే ప్రదేశంలో,తులసి కోటలో లేదా తులసిమొక్క దగ్గర,రావి చెట్టు కిందా దీపా

రాధన చేయాలి.

అంతేకాదు,పెద్ద వయసు వారు నివసిస్తున్న ఇళ్ళ దగ్గర,దేవాలయాలు,మఠాలు,గోశాలల్లో,పెద్ద వయసున్న చెట్ల వద్ద,ఆకాశదీపం(దేవాలయాల్లో అయితే ధ్వజస్థంభానికి వెలిగిస్తారు,మనం ఇళ్ళ పైకప్పు మీద పెట్టాలి),నదుల్లోనూ,చెరువుల్లోనూ దీపాలను వదలాలి.ప్రతి గదిలోనూ,ప్రతి మూలలోనూ దీపం వెలిగించాలి.అలాగే నాలుగు వీధుల కూడలిలోనూ(నాలుగు రోడ్లు కలిసే ప్రదేశంలో) దీపం వెలిగించాలి.

నువ్వుల నూనె దీపాలనే వెలిగించండి.మట్టి ప్రమిదలనే వాడండి.పర్యావరణాన్ని కాపాడండి.

అందరికి దీపావాళి శుభాకాంక్షలు.

DIWALI MESSAGE FOR STUDENTS

DIWALI MESSAGE FOR STUDENTS

ఓం గణపతయే నమః;ఓం సరస్వత్యై నమః;ఓం మహాలక్ష్మ్యై నమః

దీపావళి అమావాస్య రోజున జరుపుకుంటాం.అమావాస్య అంటే చీకటి.చీకటి రాత్రి ఎవరి ఇంట దీపాలు ఉంటాయో వారి ఇంటికి లక్ష్మీ దేవి వస్తుంది.మనం కాస్త తాత్వికంగా ఆలోచిస్తే ఇది విద్యార్ధులకు సందేశం ఇస్తుంది.చీకటి అజ్ఞానానికి,దీపం జ్ఞానానికి ప్రతీక.మొత్తం లోకమంతా అజ్ఞానంలో మగ్గుతున్నా,ఎవరు తమలో జ్ఞాన దీపాలు(చదువును)వెలిగిస్తారో వారిని మాత్రమే లక్ష్మీ అనుగ్రహిస్తుంది.అంతేకాదు దేవాలయాలు,మఠాలు,పెద్దల ఇళ్ళవద్ద,నాలుగు వీధులు కలిసే చోట దీపాలను వెలిగించాలన్నారు.అంటే నీకున్న జ్ఞానంతో సమాజంలో అజ్ఞానమనే చీకటిని తొలగించే ప్రయత్నం చెయ్యి.అప్పుడు లక్ష్మీ అనుగ్రహం ప్రాప్తిస్తుంది.లక్ష్మీ దేవి పూజలవల్ల కాదు చదువు వల్ల వస్తుంది.అందుకే విద్యార్ధులారా!మీలో జ్ఞానదీపాలు వెలిగించండి.దీపం(చదువు,జ్ఞానం)లేకుండా లక్ష్మీ రాదని గుర్తుపెట్టుకోండి.  

అందువల్ల విద్యార్ధులు సరస్వతి దేవి అనుగ్రహంతో బాగా చదివి లక్ష్మీ దేవి అనుగ్రహం పొందమని దీపావళి గుర్తుచేస్తోంది.

అందరికి దీపావళి శుభాకంక్షలు.
         

ధన్వంతరి జయంతి

ఆశ్వయుజ బహుళ ద్వాదశి,ధన్వంతరి జయంతి

పాలసముద్రంలో మందరపర్వతాన్ని అమృతం కోసం దేవతలు, రాక్షసులు  చిలికినప్పుడు అమృతభాండాన్ని ఒక చేతితోనూ, శంఖువును మరొకచేతితోనూ, మూలికలు, చక్రం మిగితా చేతితులలో ధరించి ఆశ్వయుజ బహుళ ద్వాదశి నాడు ఉధ్బవించాడు ధన్వంతరి అంటూ పురాణ కధనం. ఈయన శ్రీ మహా విష్ణు అంశ.

సుశ్రుతుడు ఈ ప్రపంచంలో తొలి శస్త్ర వైధ్యుడు(world's first surgeon).1120 రోగాల గురించి,700 మూలికల గురించి,శరీరం గురించి,300 రకాల శస్త్ర చికిత్సల(300 types of surgeries) గురించి,120 surgical instruments గురించి సవివరంగా వివరించిన గ్రంధం అది.అది 6 BC కంటే ముందే రచింపబడిందని తెలుస్తొంది.ధన్వంతరి మహర్షి ప్రజాహితం కోసం ఉపదేశించిన ఆయుర్వేదతంత్రాన్ని అనుసరించి తన పేరిట సుశ్రుతసంహిత రచించినట్లు సుశ్రుతుడు తన రచనలో పేర్కొనాడు.ధన్వంతరి లక్షశ్లోకాల ఆయుర్వేద శాస్త్రాన్ని ఉపదేశించాడని,ధన్వంతరి ఆయుర్వేద మూలపురుషుడని సుశ్రుతుడు చెప్పాడు.

మన దేశంలో 3000 ఏళ్ళ క్రితమే తొలి ప్లాస్టిక్ సర్జరి(plastic surgery)జరిగింది.ఆ కాలంలోనే తోలి   open heart surgery జరిగింది.అది 36 గంటలపాటు జరిగిందని,అలాగే cataract operations కూడా మొట్టమొదటిసారిగా 3000 ఏళ్ళ క్రితమే అనేకం జరిగినట్టు గ్రంధాల ద్వారా స్పష్టం అవుతోంది.ఇలా అనేకం కనిపిస్తాయి.వీటన్నిటికి మూలం ఆయుర్వేదమే.అటువంటి ఆయుర్వేదాన్ని ప్రచారం చేసిన వారు ధన్వంతరి.

వ్యాస మహాభారతంలో మనకు వైద్యానికి సంబంధించిన విషయాలు కనిపిస్తాయి.భీష్మ పర్వంలో బాణాల చేత గాయపడిన భీష్ముడు అంపశయ్యమీద ఉన్నప్పుడు ఆయనకు చికిత్స చేయడానికి శస్త్రచికిత్సలో(surgery) నిపుణులైన కొంతమంది శస్త్రవైద్యులు(surgeons)తమ పరికరాలతో(surgical instruments) భీష్ముడి శరీరం నుండి బాణాలు తీయడానికి రాగా భీష్ముడు "అంపశయ్య మీద పడుకున్న నాకు ఈ చికిత్స చేయించుకోవడం ఇష్టం లేదు.క్షత్రియుడైన(warrior)నేను నా బాధ్యత సక్రమంగా నిర్వర్తించాను.యుద్ధంలో పోరాడి ఉన్నతమైన స్థానాన్ని నిలుపుకున్నాను.ఇప్పుడు నాకు వైద్యులతో (physicians and surgeons)పని ఏంటి?అందువల్ల వారికి తగిన ధనం ఇచ్చి గౌరవ మర్యాదలతో సాగనంపండి"అని పలుకుతాడు.అక్కడికి physicians and surgeons అందరు వచ్చారని మనకు మహాభారతం చెప్తోంది. మహాభారతం జరిగి 5000 సంవత్సరాలు దాటింది.అంటే అంతకు పూర్వమే మన దేశంలో వైద్య శాస్త్రం(medical science) ఎంతో గొప్పగా అభివృద్ధి చెందింది.    

"ఆయుర్వేదం శ్చికిత్సాశాస్త్రం ఋద్వేదస్యోపవేదః"
అంటే ఆయుర్వేదం అనే చికిత్సా శాస్త్రం ఋగ్ వేదానికి ఉపవేదమని శౌనకుని చరణవ్యూహం పేర్కొంది.

ఇంత గొప్ప వైద్య విధానం మన భారతీయుల సొంతం.ఆయుర్వేదం కేవలం ఉపవేదమే కాదూ మన భారతీయ ఋషుల గొప్ప ఆవిష్కారం. allopathy కూడా నయం చేయలేని ఎన్నొ రోగాలను ఆయుర్వేదం ద్వారా నయం చేయవచ్చు. మన పండగలలోను,మన హిందూ సంప్రదాయ వస్త్ర ధారణలోనూ,వంటకాలలోనూ ఆయుర్వేదం తనదైన ముద్ర వేసింది.అంతేందుకు 3 సంవత్సరాల క్రితం ప్రపంచమంతా స్వైన్ ఫ్లూ(swine flu) వ్యాపించింది.భారతదేశంలో దాని వల్ల జరిగిన నష్టం తక్కువనే చెప్పొచ్చు.అది మన దేశంలో వ్యాపించకపోవడానికి  ఒక కారణం తులసిమొక్క,రెండూ మన వంటకాలని ఒక విదేశి వైద్య బృందం చెప్పింది.ఈ రెండు కూడా ఆయుర్వేదం ద్వారానే వాడుకలోనికి వచ్చాయి.అంతేకాదు ఆహారంలో పసుపును ఉపయోగించి క్యాన్సర్(cancer) ను అరికట్టవచ్చని,కొత్తిమీరను వంటల్లో వాడి food poisoning ను అరికట్టవచ్చని ఆయుర్వేదం చెప్పడమే కాదు మనం ఆచరించేలా చేసింది.ఇప్పుడు మనం వాటిని వంటల్లో వాడుతున్నామంటే అది ఆయుర్వేదం కారణంగానే.

అటువంటి ఆయుర్వేదాన్ని భారతీయులం మరచిపోయాం.అమెరికా వాళ్ళు పసుపు క్యాన్సర్ ను అరికడుతుందని అది తామే కనుగొన్నామని చెప్పుకుని పసుపు మీద "పెటెంట్"పొందారు.అదే కొత్తిమీర విషయంలో కూడా జరిగింది.అంతేకాదు మన ఋషులు చెప్పిన ఆయుర్వేద గ్రంధాలను ఎత్తుకుపొయి 30,000 ఆయుర్వేద మూలికల మీద "పెటెంట్స్"పొందింది ఆ దేశం.వేప,కలబందల గొప్పతనం,ఔషధి గుణాల గురించి ఆయుర్వేదం,భారతీయులు చెప్పినంత గొప్పగా ఇంకేవరు చెప్పలేదు.అటువంటి వేప,కలబందను మన ప్రభుత్వం  ద్వారా అధికసంఖ్యలో తమ దేశానికి తరలించుకుపోయి వాటి మీద పెటెంట్స్ పొందింది చైనా.ఇలా భారతదేశం మీద  bio-piracy యుద్దం ప్రకటించాయి.కాని మనం ఏమి పట్టనట్టు,మనకు సంబంధం లేని విషయమైనట్టు భావిస్తున్నాం.మన దేశ మేధాసంపత్తిని(intellectual property) ఇతర దేశాలు దొంగిలించిపోతుంటే సిగ్గులేకుండా చూస్తూ కూర్చున్నాం.ఇప్పటికైన మనము,రాజకీయనాయకులు కళ్ళు తెరవాలి,మన భారతీయ సంపదను కాపాడుకోవాలి.

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."

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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.

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"OM NAMAH SHIVAYA"

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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 

✡ Pranayama ✡

✡ Pranayama ✡

✒ Pranayama is an exact science. It is the fourth Anga or limb of Ashtanga Yoga. It is the regulation of breath or control of Prana.

✒ Pranayama steadies the mind, augments the gastric fire, energises digestion, invigorates 

the nerves, destroys the Rajas, destroys all diseases, removes all laziness, makes the body light and healthy and awakens Kundalini.

✒ Pranayama should be practised when the stomach is empty. Be regular in your practice. Do not take bath immediately after the practice. Do not practise Kumbhaka or retention of breath in the beginning. Have only slow and mild Puraka (inhalation) and Rechaka (exhalation). Do not strain the breath beyond your capacity. Keep the ratio for Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka as 1:4:2. Exhale very very slowly.

✒ Sit on Padma, Siddha or Sukha Asana. Keep the head, neck and trunk in a straight line. Inhale slowly through the left nostril and retain the breath according to the ratio, then exhale slowly through the right nostril. This is half process of Pranayama. Then inhale through the right nostril, retain and exhale through the left nostril. Do not retain the breath for more than one or two minutes.

✒ Do ten or twenty Pranayamas according to your capacity. Do not fatigue yourself. Increase the number gradually. You can go up to 16:64:32. This is Sukhapurvaka or easy comfortable Pranayama.

✒ Practise Sitali in summer. This will purify your blood and cool the system too. Practise Bhastrika in winter. This will cure asthma and consumption. Repeat 'Om' or 'Rama' mentally during the practice. Observe Brahmacharya and diet-control. You will derive maximum benefits and will quickly purify the Nadis or nerves.

✒ Prana and mind are intimately related to each other. If you control Prana, the mind will also be controlled. If you control the mind, the Prana will be automatically controlled. Prana is related to mind, and through it to will and through will to the individual soul and through individual soul to the Supreme Soul.

✒ Start the practice this very second in right earnest. Control the breath and calm the mind. Steady the breath and enter Samadhi. Restrain the breath and lengthen the life. Subdue the breath and become a Yogi, a dynamo of power, peace, bliss and happiness

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.

Science Behind The Extraordinary Purifying Power Of River Ganga

Science Behind The Extraordinary Purifying Power Of River Ganga

Millions of people bath in the River Ganga, or Ganges, during Kumbh Mela, Magh Mela and on other auspicious days? But rarely have we heard about the breakout of a major epidemic like Cholera or other waterborne diseases. Industrial waste and human waste is dumped into Ganga at several points but Ganga continues to amaze everyone with its purifying power. So what is the science behind the extraordinary power of Ganga? And does science have the all the clues to the purifying properties ofGanges?

In Hinduism, there is frequently a connection between mythology and science. Hindu scriptures say that bathing in Ganga purifies the sins of this birth and previous birth. Ganga Ma, or Mother Ganga, is a Goddess in Hinduism. Puranas and epics extol her greatness and she descends to the earth from the matted locks of Lord Shiva. A dying Hindu’s last wish is to have a few drops of Ganga water. Hindus have always believed that River Ganga has extraordinary power and it prevents diseases.

Julian Crandall Hollick in his series on River Ganga in NPR explores the science behind the extraordinary purifying power of River Ganga. You canlisten to the audio here.

Hindus are known to keep Ganga water in closed containers for various religious purposes. The water never goes bad or putrefies. This means that Ganga water contains lot of oxygen which can assimilate organic matter like human waste and vegetable matter. This property of Ganga is 25% more than any other river.

The amount of organic waste that goes into Ganga should have already exhausted the amount of oxygen. But this has not happened. There is some material present in Ganges that replenishes the oxygen content and kills the pathogens.

Interestingly, boiled Ganga water does not have the capability to kill pathogens. Similarly, Yamuna, a river which joins Ganges, does not contain the special material present in Ganga.

The most convincing answer to Ganga’s purifying property or to kill pathogens is associated with the bacteriophage present in its water. Bacteriophage enters bacteria present in the water and destroys it and multiplies inside it in millions and then bursts out searching for new bacteria. This one reason why there are no epidemics in Ganges when millions of people take bath during melas.

In simple terms, organic matter is assimilated by the special molecular structure of Ganga water and the bacteria is destroyed or maintained in the optimum level by bacteriophage. And thus the pathogens are contained by Ganga.

But bacteriophage, or phages, are present everywhere, it is not unique toGanges alone.

So the mystery still continues and one question still remains unanswered what is that particular property that allows Ganga to retain extraordinary amount of oxygen which is the root cause of all purifying activities taking place in the river.

link:http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/02/science-behind-extraordinary-purifying.html