# About Name: The Vedic Pond Description: The Vedic Pond is a Setu (Bridge) that re-orients present education with Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com # Navigation Menu - About us: https://thevedicpond.com/40pgnd7o - TVP Offerings: https://thevedicpond.com/lu4bagyg - Connect with us: https://thevedicpond.com/avf6fslj # Blog Posts ## Is Today's Education Truly Nurturing a Child's Senses and Mind? Author: srihari vittal Published: 2024-12-20 Tags: parenting, education URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/is-todays-education-truly-nurturing-a-childs-senses-and-mind-cm4wo9eig00azo6htno59yk5y Why should education train the senses? -------------------------------------- ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/designer-1734783825233-compressed.jpeg) Sensations are an excellent instrument for knowledge and education. It is through sensations that we learn: by seeing, observing, hearing. Training our senses significantly shapes the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us. The real question is, does our education help the child see consciously? To hear, smell and feel with attention?  The difference lies in a little more presence, a little extra consciousness that transforms our perception and adds a new dimension to our rather ordinary sense-making faculty. Let’s say we need to put something in a container. Is it possible to do that simply by looking at the object and deducing which container can hold the totality of that object?  This is what one develops when one can consciously enhance the sense of sight. This kind of training is not only restricted to the eyes, but can be given to the ears to observe sounds and understand the nature of something simply by hearing the sound. Training the sense of smell can help us identify the different types of smells and the quality of them. Similarly for taste and touch as well.  This training transforms our relation with the world from a transactionary, inattentive and transient experience to a conscious, wholesome awareness of our connection with the world.   It is to design a space with different objects not merely from a perspective of comfort and convenience, but to harmonise all the different parts to create a conscious space.  > This new kind of perception that springs from a conscious identification carries the secret of welcoming the joy of ever new and deeper discoveries of ourselves and the world ~ The Mother Rightly pursued, the development of the senses can shape the way the child relates with the world. Why should education train the mind? ------------------------------------ There is something between the sense perception and the reception of the brain. A very subtle presence, it collects the data provided by the senses and evaluates the messages it receives. It is during this evaluation that the response gets muddled by feelings and triggers. > According to Swami Chinmayananda, the mind is a flow of thoughts that is constantly changing. The mind is a persuasive authority that can make the world look worthless or buoyant, depending on its state. It is this tendency of the mind that falsifies our experience of the world.  This is why the training of the mind also becomes essential. A mere training of the senses or a mere training of the mind is incomplete. The mind can be considered the sixth sense making it part of  the senses.  ### The Bhagavad Geeta also speaks of training both the senses and the mind simultaneously. कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् | इन्द्रियार्थान्विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचार: स उच्यते || 3.6|| karmendriyāṇi sanyamya ya āste manasā smaran indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā mithyāchāraḥ sa uchyate Those who restrain the external organs of action, while continuing to dwell on sense objects in the mind, certainly delude themselves and are to be called hypocrites. यस्त्विन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेऽर्जुन | कर्मेन्द्रियै: कर्मयोगमसक्त: स विशिष्यते || 7|| yas tvindriyāṇi manasā niyamyārabhate ’rjuna karmendriyaiḥ karma-yogam asaktaḥ sa viśhiṣhyate But those karma yogis who control their organs of perception (senses) with the mind, O Arjun, and engage the organs of action (leg, hands, speech, functions of reproduction and elimination) working without attachment, are certainly superior. How do we train the senses and the mind? ---------------------------------------- It is pertinent to look at a story from Mahabharata relating to Arjuna in order to delve into this question. Arjuna approached his father, Indra to train and learn under his guidance. What are the necessary skills a warrior must inherit is a crucial question to ask. The use of weapons, building physical strength and resilience, war strategies and overall the science of warfare are the core competencies a warrior seeks to develop.  _This might sharpen the senses and imbue a deeper consciousness through attentive endeavor of these practices. How then, do we nurture the mind?_ Indra observed Arjuna’s steady progress. He summoned him and expressed his wish to train him in other areas as well. He invited Chitrasena, the king of Gandharvas and asked him to train Arjuna in singing, dancing, arts and aesthetics.  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/arjuna-brihanalla-1734783332369-compressed.png) _Image courtesy: Subhadeep Bhadra_ Indra’s parenting teaches us something extremely profound here: > As the child becomes aware of his creative potentialities, his sensitivity and his sense of beauty are awakened. This can have unexpected consequences on his way of being and thinking ~ Sri Aurobindo Applying our senses and mind in both masculine and feminine forms can help develop a well-rounded and conscious individual.  The system of education which, instead of keeping artistic training apart as a privilege for a few specialists, frankly introduces it as part of culture no less necessary than literature or science, will have taken a great step forward in the perfection of national education and the general diffusion of a board-based human culture.  It is not necessary that every man should be an artist. It is necessary that every man should have his artistic faculty developed. His taste trained, his sense of beauty and insight into form and colour and that which is expressed in form and colour, made habitually active, correct and sensitive.  So as parents can we stay with the question, how do I nurture both the senses and the mind of my child? How can I enhance both the feminine and the masculine forms of my child? More reflections on education to follow… References:  1\. [A New Education for New Consciousness: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Education](https://amzn.in/d/6XK7dVC)​ 2\. [Srimad Bhagavad Gita | Elixir of Eternal wisdom](https://voiceofrishis.myshopify.com/)​ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Inviting the Higher Intelligence into our offering - Tirūvonam Āśamsakal Author: Namrata A Published: 2022-09-08 Tags: #thevedicpond, #Tirūvonam Āśamsakal URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null Replete with festivities, boat rides, kathakali performances, beautiful kollams and sadhya, Tirūvonam is here again! The festival celebrates prosperity and abundance to its fullest! Music, artwork and food are at their vibrant best. In many ways, even nature is at her fullest during this time and the festival is but a reflection of this. Bhāratīya Paramparā has always given prime importance to inner spiritual growth. This is described through beautiful stories, which are actually pregnant with philosophical and spiritual wisdom. Often, while we are in touch with the outer form, we seem to forget to reflect on their deeper essence - the tattva behind these stories. What is the deeper essence of Tirūvonam? We may be aware of the story but it is useful to revisit it. Mahābali, the great Asura king, had amassed wealth and riches. He had come to rule the three worlds - Bhū Loka, the heavens (Satya to Bhūvar Loka) and the nether regions below (Ātala to Pātāla Loka).  He performed a mahā-yajna or an offering for the devatās which was extremely grand and powerful. The air was filled with the divine Vedic chants, the aroma of delicious food and the abundance of nature. However, they had an unexpected visitor - _**a young Brahmin boy of about eight years old**_. His face shone with brightness and all the attendees were drawn to him.  The little boy greatly lauded Mahābali for the grand festivities that had been organised. Mahābali was pleased and paid his respects to the young boy. Mahābali was curious to know who this young boy, resplendent in form and presence, was and where he had come. The little boy replied saying that he was Vāmana Murty, son of Mātā Adītī and Māharishi Kaśyapa.  Mahābali was extremely pleased to know this! He asked the little boy to ask for anything that he desired - cows, riches, land, food, anything at all! Nothing was too much or impossible for the supreme Mahābali to give - the Brahmin boy just had to name it and he would be flooded with gifts and riches. Vāmana Murty humbly folded his hands and said he was a Brahmacāri boy and did not desire much. _**All he sought was three footsteps of land.**_  Mahābali, extremely amused at this pithy request roared with laughter and granted his request.  All of a sudden, the young boy grew in size - so huge that his head touched the skies! He took one step covering the entire Bhūloka (Earth) and Nether regions. In the second step, he covered the heavens. Mahābali’s entire kingdom had been covered in just two steps! He was left transfixed at this wondrous phenomenon! _**He realised that this was no ordinary being but MahāViśṇu himself!**_ He bowed down in humble surrender and asked Vāmana Murty to complete his last step by placing his foot on his head! ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/26440012609a526cc57f7b-1662618049461-compressed.jpeg) There are several layers of meaning that come forth from this seemingly simple story. Unfortunately, it seems that the festival has been reduced to just materialistic celebrations of indulgent eating. If we look deeper, we will be able to appreciate that there is so much more that we can do to celebrate this festival! The Bhagavad Gīta talks about three types of Dāna (offering or charity) - Sātvika Dāna, Rājasika Dāna and Tāmasika Dāna. Sātvika Dāna refers to offerings that have been offered as one’s duty, being offered to the right place, time and to right person. Rājasika Dāna on the other hand has been described as offerings which are given with the intention of receiving something in return, therefore, leading to mental agony due to expectations. Tāmasika Dāna has been described as that which has been offered without a sense of respect or with contempt/malice while offering. This is said to bring extreme sorrow to not just the giver but also to the recipient. We will be able to note that though the act of charity is often considered to be extremely pure, the underlying intentions or motivations driving such an endeavour have been given paramount importance. Rāja Mahābali thus exhibits the lakśaṇa (characteristics/properties) of one who is into **Tāmasika Dāna** because he was doing it from a space of arrogance, pride and contempt. It seems that he was driven by **Asuric qualities** - those that tend towards **hoarding, contempt, excessive indulgence** and so on.  > **Mahā Viśṇu or Vāmana Murty comes as the Higher Intelligence to wash out the Asuric qualities in the great Mahābali so that his true potential of selfless giving may emerge through the process. This is thus a story of deep transformation from contemptuous charity to humble offering.** From the Sāmkhyan cosmic world-view, we understand that there are three types of Dukhā or sorrow that we experience in our lives - Ādi Daivika, Ādi Bhautika and Ādhyātimika. Ādhyātimika Dukhā refers to the sorrow and suffering one causes to oneself on account of one’s limiting tendencies and conditioning. Ādi Bhautika Dukhā refers to the sorrow created because of one’s interactions with one’s environment and external factors. Lastly, Ādi Daivika refers to the suffering caused by factors that are beyond one’s perception capabilities. > **The three steps of Śri **Vāmana Murty** also seem to represent these three Dukhās that exist. The only way one can cross the ocean of sorrow is by a humble surrender to Nārāyaṇa much like how Mah**ā**bali humbly bowed down his head to **Śri **Vāmana Murty****.** ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/whatsapp-image-2022-09-07-at-7-1662618023444-compressed.jpeg) This Tirūvonam, let us reflect on the Tāmasika and Rājasika manner in which we are offering in our world.  **Let us strive to surrender our Dukhā to Nārāyaṇa and invite Sātvika energies to enliven us.** **Tirūvonam Āśamsakal!**  **Om Namo **Nārāyaṇ****āya******!** PS: Here is the link to the Tirūvonam story shared by Sri Hari with The Vedic Pond community last year!  ​[Tirūvonam story - The Vedic Pond](https://www.facebook.com/vedicpond/videos/744883439613971)​ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Re-Awaken your Heroic Potencies - Meditating on the Symbolism of Gaṇeśa Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-08-30 Tags: festivals of india, Ganesha, thevedicpond URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null The material, secular worldview determines one’s success by the number of possessions and property one owns. It measures the success of nations by the military-economic-territorial influence; in short, the material prowess that a nation achieves in its life. But does life, whether that of a nation or an individual, have only to do with material prosperity? What truly is our blessing in life? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We must explore one of the most misconstrued stories from the Puranas to understand what truly our blessing is. The Story of Gaṇeśa’s birth has a deeper meaning embedded in it, which gets neglected when it is taken literally. Stories in our Purāṇa literature are meant to be excavated to discover their deeper significance through the right methods of interpretation — methods which our many spiritual traditions have perfected and which the various modes of sādhanā  offer us. Taking these stories word for word does a great disservice to them. These stories have a subtle symbolism embedded in them at multiple levels which are deeper than the literal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Symbols make our life easier in that they help communicate our ideas and ideals to others more accurately than mere words could ever do. These symbols are all around us. The words we use to communicate are nothing but symbols themselves, but they are very basic symbols. Images, signs, stories — these are more sophisticated types of symbols. Even within the category of words, metaphors and imageries make for immensely potent symbols. They make stories more interesting and meaningful — they make stories more relatable to our feelings and lived experiences.  In our country’s traditions, we have used symbols of various kinds to express the Transcendental Truth, The Supreme Reality. These symbols open a new dimension where we can merge the mundane with the Divine in order to express what is inexpressible in common speech. These Symbols are meant to facilitate our contemplation on higher realities and our pursuit of a deeper spiritual life, leading to the direct experience of the Ultimate Reality which is the substratum of all realities. We must learn the language of symbols to make progress in our spiritual pursuits and manifest our true potential. According to one story in the Purāṇa literature, Pārvati, the Great Mother Goddess, created Gaṇeśa through the dead skin that she collected from her bath. She was very attached to Gaṇeśa as she had created him. The collection of dead skin symbolizes the three obstacles in our spiritual path that exist within us, Mala (attachment), Vikṣepa (projection), and Āvaraṇa (veiling).  These are the sources of the various ailments that one goes through internally – Anger, Greed, Lust, Pride, Jealousy, and Attachment. We do not let go of these ailments quickly. We are often driven by them. We need a yogi like Śiva to destroy these negativities. He is not just an unassailable Tapasvin but also self-content and self-sufficient. Śiva is omnipotent. He could have reduced Gaṇeśa to ashes if he had merely thought of doing so. The negative tendencies and impressions are nothing but energies that are the hurdles in our life. Negative energies can be destroyed to pave way for the positive dynamic potential to manifest.  Pārvati did not create Gaṇeśa by herself. Śakti, the dynamic force behind creation cannot operate without Śiva. Śiva is the substratum through which the dynamic play of creation happens. But Śiva has deeply concealed himself in the work and play of Pārvati and Gaṇeśa.  Gaṇeśa, the prototype of perfection has not met his father before and so stops him at the door while his mother was taking a bath. Pārvati was washing herself after all the hard labour in creating Gaṇeśa. This was an unfathomable feat achieved by her. As a result of such heroic accomplishments, arrogant claims for all the credit in achieving that feat emerges. We readily reject the hand of the divine in our work as an unjustified intrusion in our lives. Hence, Lord Śiva chops off Gaṇeśa’s head with his trident. Śiva cuts off the materialistic māyāic head which does not recognise his own father, the divine. This epitomizes Knowledge triumphing over Ignorance. Śiva then realizes that he has to replace Gaṇeśa’s head with something else as Pārvati laments and asks Shiva to do something. An elephant’s head is preferred to replace Gaṇeśa’s head. An elephant’s head is enormous. They have an exceptional capacity for memory. Not just representing the remembrance of detail but also remembering what one truly is, who one’s father is and what is the relationship between oneself and one’s father i.e the divine. This represents the mysterious upliftment in our evolution not just as living and conscious beings but also as self-conscious beings constantly discerning between the Real and the Unreal in the path of self-discovery. The Power of Discernment is Man’s true blessing. Claiming it and tapping into its reservoir is the Real Achievement of man. The ability to discern in our traditional knowledge is called Viveka. Viveka is the first step in our spiritual journey.  This meta-ability of Viveka catapults us into deep thinking beyond the impermanent nature of things and circumstances around us.  Now we are stuck in the realm of the impermanent world. To move away from it, we need to live a life guided by Viveka – Discernment. It will enable further progress in our spiritual journey and the pursuit of a meaningful life. That is why we worship Lord Gaṇeśa before undertaking any task. Through this, we invoke the Higher Intelligence and the power of discernment which is symbolized by this deity. This way, we can wade through the muddy waters of unbridled materialism that permeates and traps us in our worldly life. In our spiritual journey, the obstacles are created by the inner and outer world of the seeker himself.  We are attached to physical objects, emotions and thoughts at the body, mind and intellect levels.  > If we can transform like Gaṇeśa, invoking the assistance of Divinity and consistently applying our ability of Viveka in all our heroic endeavors through committed and compassionate living, true transformation will happen in the world.  This transformation is gained through the blessings of Gaṇeśa when he cuts off all our obstacles both internal and external with his paraśu (axe) and holds our attention towards the Divine by tying us up with the Transcendental Truth with his Pāśa (rope). As we evolve as seekers, he feeds us the delicious modakas which is the joy in seeking the Divine through spiritual practices – sādhana. Gaṇeśa continuously blesses us with more and more progress until at last the seeker on the path of Divine perfection themselves become the Lord of obstacles, Śrī Vigneśhvara. ### It is beautiful to see that in India most Hindu households have a Ganesha altar at the entrance. It could  be helping the householder live a life guided by discernment.  We must also bring out our innate Viveka Śakti – the Power of Discernment present in the chambers of our inner household.  Invoking Śrī Gaṇeśa with this awareness and a sense of devotion will help us develop this meta-ability.  Let us partake in the celebrations and rituals of Lord Gaṇeśa this Gaṇeśa Chaturthi to connect with the Unborn, Attributeless, Formless, All-Pervading Consciousness (Ajam Nirvikalpam Nirākāramekam). Let us fill our minds with the Spirit of Gaṇeśa as we fill our bellies with the Prasada that he grants us. Śubha Gaṇesh Chaturti, Śrī Gurubhyo Namaḥ, Śrī Mahā-Gaṇapataye Namaḥ ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/festivals-7-1661840801495-compressed.png) Courtesy: This article was posted in the Rashtram blog. This is being published in the Vedic Pond blog after receiving consent for the same. Link: https://bit.ly/3Q3eg87 References: 1\. Symbolism In Hinduism – Swami Chinmayananda  2.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIFc2U-7lfY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIFc2U-7lfY) 3\. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fmJ1WaE6ao](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fmJ1WaE6ao) 4\. Hindu Iconology The study of symbolism and meaning of icons – Pandit Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari 5\. [https://www.artofliving.org/in-en/wisdom/knowledge-sheets/symbolism-ganesha](https://www.artofliving.org/in-en/wisdom/knowledge-sheets/symbolism-ganesha) 6\. Gandhi, R. (1984). I am Thou, Indian Philosophical Quarterly Publications, 58-61 --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## How is Varṣā & Bhakti interconnected? - Reflections on Sant Tulsidas's Sriramacharitamanas Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-08-20 Tags: bharatiya tradition, thevedicpond, bhakti, srirama URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null वर्शा ॠतु रघुपति भगति तुलसी सालि सुदास ----------------------------------------- राम नाम बर बरन दोऊ सावन भादो मास -------------------------------- Varṣā ṛtu raghupati tulsi sāli sudāsa Rāma nāma bara barana doū sāvana bhādau māsa ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/30134436846595db3a7b8b-1660991275044-compressed.jpg) Devotion for Śri Rāma is the rainy season and the devotees are the crops. The two letters ra and ma are the two main months - Śravaṇa and Bhadrapad Bhārata experiences respite from the scorching heat of the summer as it enters the monsoon season during the months of Śravaṇa and Bhadrapad (July - August). Majority of our rainfall happens during this time where we are blessed with bountiful water for the rest of the year. It is due to this abundance of water we are able to sustain ourselves, mother earth receives the water to nourish the crops and the soil gains a striking fragrance. Rivers flowed in full might and ponds filled up to its brim. These changes in the environment brought a new ray of hope into the minds of the people. This was a moment to celebrate and receive the blessings of Varṣā (abundant rainfall). From the dry, barren and dreary phase of heat, we enter a phase of fulfillment, joy and abundance. Our minds are facing dryness, barrenness and dreariness due to the emotions of bitterness, jealousy, hatred, and greed we entertain. How can we move away from this phase to a phase of  fulfillment, joy and abundance? > Even an iota of love entertained towards an object or person bestows us with a sense of relief. When there is a bountiful rain of love in our lives, we experience fulfillment. To sustain this fulfillment is Devotion.  Sustaining the emotion of Love is no trivial task. This can be empowered only through the company of the great (Satsanga) and the repeated chanting of the name of the Divine. (Japa). The devotees who are empowered by these and are able to sustain the fulfillment of Love through their Devotion are indeed a splendid lot who nourish and support the entire society.  The scriptures maintain that Lord Śiva, the deity presiding over the holy city of Kāśī, whispers into the right ear of every creature, dying within its boundaries, the name ‘Rāma’ and thereby brings emancipation to the dying soul.  We also have the well-known story of a robber, Ratnākara who transformed him into a seer - Vālmīki who later went to immortalize the story of Rāma. In the  Padmapurāṇa, Bhagwan Śiva says chanting the name of Rāma is as powerful as chanting the Viṣṇu-Sahasranāma.  Hence the repetition of Rāma’s name is the sure path to sustain the bounty of love in our hearts and receive the blessings of devotion.  All our worldly achievements lose their meaning without the fragrance of devotion. The nectar that emerged from the churning of the ocean, where even the ones who had the opportunity to partake in it were not rid of the qualities that made their hearts dry and barren. (anger, greed, etc.). This is the case with all our worldly achievements devoid of devotion.  On the other hand, the nectar of Bhaktí (Devotion) is ever expanding and never ending. The more you share this nectar with others the more it increases. There is no anxiety or fear of losing it and there is joy in the other’s gain. Bhaktí is fulfillment in itself and so beautifies and divinizes all our worldly achievements, as in the case of Sudāmā. May we empower ourselves with devotion by sustaining our Love for the Divine with the help of the two letters ra and ma. May Śri Rāma bestow us with abundant love for Him that flows through us to the world around us divinising and beautifying our lives. Dāsarathāya vidmahe, Sītā vallabhāya dhīmahi, Tanno Rāma Prachodayāta  Rāma Rāma Rāma  Rāmāyaha Namaha #srirama #bhakti #ramcharitamanas #varsha #love #devotion #thevedicpond --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## The symbolism of the Ṣri Krṣna Avatara and Reflections on Avataraṇa Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-08-18 Tags: festivals of india, thevedicpond URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null _**Om Ṣri Gurubhyo Namaha**_ This blog attempts to reflect on questions such as - What are the circumstances in which the Krṣṇa Avatar happened? When does the Divine manifest in the world? How can we relate to the mystical stories of Avatāras? & finally, how can we understand the impact of an Avatāra on our civilization? In order to answer these questions, we draw from Ṣri Krṣṇa Avatāra. I offer my thoughts and efforts at His lotus feet.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _**Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevāya**_ ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/srikrishnauseweaponinkurukshetra-min-1660799511744-compressed.jpg) **What are the circumstances in which the Krṣṇa Avatāra happened?** ------------------------------------------------------------------- A common notion about Ṣri Krṣṇa Avatāra - he was a carefree boy playing pranks on young maidens, stealing butter from their houses, and enjoying the attention of all the people. He lived a colourful life as a God amongst the humans. Is this the Truth? He was born in prison. He had to part ways with his parents on the day he was born and lived with his foster mother, Yaṣodhā. He was being attacked by demons frequently. He met his biological mother only years after his birth. He had to guide his cousins, for which he had to take drastic resolutions. It is paramount to understand the generation in which Ṣri Krṣṇa existed. During the Mahābhārata time, the population was alarmingly high. When the population is high, morals and ethics are on the decline.  Kauravas were having a sensual longing for material wealth and were only bothered about secular values. Meanwhile, The Pāndavas had a larger perspective of a Cultural and National identity. But they were outnumbered by the Kauravas. Ṣri Krṣṇa was a diplomat, a mysterious person of inner perfection & beauty. He was the complete manifestation of the all-pervading divinity to guide the Pāndavas and direct, lead, guide, and correct the mistakes in the world at that time. ### The Supremehood descends on earth as an Avatāra at a time of gloom in every generation. IT hastens the clearing of the path for seekers filled with unrighteousness and darkness.   It is through adopting the standard of that time that Avatāra becomes the answer to the Age.  In the Dwāpara Yuga, it was Ṣri Krṣṇa who was the answer to the wretched Age. When politics was divorced from righteousness and spirituality, Krṣṇa had to align the two to re-establish balance in the world. ### **When does the Supreme Divinity manifest in the world?** The immutable, eternal, and infinite Supreme Reality takes a form to re-establish Dharma. It is not a wild imagination of any rishi.  In the 3rd chapter of Kenopaniṣad, there is a story that elucidates this concept. Hence, this concept of supreme reality descending to the gross world has the Upaniṣadic sanction. The Devas were mighty and irreplaceable. It made them feel invincible and led to their arrogance. They identified themselves as separate deities without realizing that the source behind them is the one Supreme Reality.  The Supreme Reality manifested into a Yakṣa and descended to the heavens to guide the devas and help them realize the Truth.  The Yakṣa challenged the Devas. All the devas decided to send Agnī first. The Yaksha challenged Agni to burn a blade of grass. Agni tried with all his might but failed miserably.  Every Deva went one after the other to win the battle with the Yakṣa, but no one could. When Indra approached the Yakṣa, IT transformed itself into the Divine Mother, Goddess Devi. Devi is the symbol of compassion, surrender & sensitivity.  Indra just surrendered to her. The Divine Mother reminded him that the victory of the Brahmaṇ (Supreme Reality) is the victory of everything. Indra was purely thrilled by this. He discovered who the Yakṣa was and what the Truth is. The Devas realized their folly and identified with the Supreme Reality again. _**This wisdom is a gift to all humanity. That we are part of the whole, the whole is a part of us.**_ It is this reason the Supreme Consciousness manifests as an Avatāra. To reorganize the society for good people to grow, to facilitate their spiritual evolution during obscured times.  ### How can we relate to the mystical stories of Avatāras? - Story from Krṣṇa’s Life ​ The Avatāra of Ṣri Krṣṇa, explained by Rṣi Ved Vyāsa, has so many lessons for seekers to stay on the path of seeking and realising the Truth. Every story has an esoteric import. The artist in Rṣi Ved Vyāsa has beautifully given us timeless portraits through these stories. Let us look at one incident of Ṣri Krṣṇa to understand this better. While everyone in Vrindāvan lived merrily with Krṣṇa at the centre of their lives, no one dared to go to the Yamunā river. There was a humongous, venomous snake with many hoods in the name of Kāliyā. One day Ṣri Krṣṇa jumped into the river filled with the dangerous poison of Kāliyā. Everyone in the village watched with anxiety. Krṣṇa rose from beneath the water, standing atop the snake's hood. He played the flute and danced atop the multi-headed snake as the snake tried to dislodge him. The weight of every step as Krṣṇa danced kept increasing until finally, the snake dropped down and surrendered. Now, this might seem like a meaningless mystic story. But the compassionate Gurus of our land have given us the esoteric interpretations of these stories to understand them better. _**Swāmi Chinmayananda has given an interpretation of this story.**_  > **The poisonous snake Kāliyā represents the baser, sensuous mind. Its multiple hoods and mouths represent the incessant chatter the mind creates in the form of thoughts and emotions.**  > > **Lord Krṣṇa dancing on top of Kāliyā signifies holding the Supreme God as the center of focus during our contemplation and meditations.**  > > **The more we focus on the Lord in our meditations, the force of the Supreme grace gets heavier. The Supreme splendour tames the baser mind and leads to the manifestation of perfection in man.** Now, this is a complete symbol for the seekers to draw inspiration. This way, every story of Ṣri Krṣṇa has a deeper meaning for the seekers. The symbols behind the stories of Purāna are unfathomable. They can even have multiple interpretations, not only in spirituality but in various strata of life. We must work on bringing these symbolic imports of stories back into the consciousness of the people. These symbols will help those seekers who have gone astray to come back to the path of liberation (Mokṣa). _**Shubha Janmashtami. This Janmashtami, while we celebrate the birth of Ṣri Krṣṇa Avatar, let us also take a step towards achieving perfection by constantly contemplating and meditating on Bhagavan Ṣri Krṣṇa.**_ ### How can we truly understand the impact of an Avatāra on our civilization? ​ Dharma (loosely translated as benevolence in all endeavours) and Mokṣa (Pursuit to achieve freedom from one’s limiting tendencies and false values) are wedded together. Both act upon each other. When society is following Dharma, its Mokṣa is conducive. Likewise, when people pursue the path of Mokṣa, Dharma eventually becomes embodied by that society. This is the central characteristic of the Bharatīya Civilization.  Every Avatāra re-established Dharma and simultaneously cleared the path for the seekers to pursue the path of Mokṣa (Liberation) _**Let us collectively worship Bhagavan Ṣri Krṣṇa this Janmāṣtami. Seek his guidance for society to follow the path of Dharma. At the same time, remove the obstacles in the journey towards Mokṣa for the Seekers.**_ #srikrishna #janmashtami #festivalsofbharat #avatara _**Om Ṣri Gurubhyo Namaha** **Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevāya**_ References: 1.  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beFKOaEJaYc ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beFKOaEJaYc)2\. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_f89740vOmM ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f89740vOmM)3\. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiG1DcqYjXU ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiG1DcqYjXU)4\. Kenopanishad - [https://www.shankaracharya.org/kena\_upanishad.php ](https://www.shankaracharya.org/kena_upanishad.php)5\. [https://wisdom.srisriravishankar.org/story-of-the-devas-yaksha-kena-upanishad/](https://wisdom.srisriravishankar.org/story-of-the-devas-yaksha-kena-upanishad/) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Reflecting on the essence of Swatantrata - Celebrating Swatantrata Diwas Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-08-15 Tags: festivals of india, #thevedicpond URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null How do we refer to independence day in our Matru Bhasa? - स्वतंत्रता दिवस ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Swatantrata Diwas). Have we stopped to reflect on the word Swatantra? What does it mean? How do we embody Swatantrata in our lives? Let’s explore this profound word through this blog! ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/737808102471dd4c9440b-1660545492253-compressed.jpg) ### Sva refers to self and tantra stands for system/technique. Hence Svatantra denotes one’s own system/technique. Celebrating Svatantrata must be the remembrance and revive our own systems. The methods we have adopted today in various walks of life such as Education, Health, Clothing, Architecture and much more, are they our own? Now one might argue this statement seems biased in the sense that anything foreign is irrelevant and so needs to be rejected vehemently.  It is not the adoption of foreign methods/systems that is problematic but the disregard to doing it on our own terms. The Indian ways of thinking and being are branded superstitious, dogmatic, unscientific and repressive. This is obnoxious as we look at our ways from the lens of an outsider.  We look at our own History from a Western perspective. We learn about British civilizing India and a picture painted as if a nation never existed before the reign of the British. Indians always believed in a strong sense of community and were ready to sacrifice their individual urges for the larger good of the community. The West views an individual’s right as supreme and so from such a standpoint, the Indian perspective of community over self is tagged as low, primitive and barbaric. The West invests itself in studying the world objectively through repeated experiments and observation. The focus is on the material, while Indians for eons have studied the nature of Reality through a process of profound inquiry, contemplation and inner work. Hence, the focus is on the metaphysical.  In terms of Culture, the West has given unbridled emphasis to an individual’s rights and this is the focus of our modern democracy as well. While, In India the centrality of duties has been passed on from generation to generation through the Pancha Maha Yajnas (5 Great offerings to pay one’s debt to various stakeholders of the society). > In the words of [K.C.Bhattacharya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna_Chandra_Bhattacharya), How far have assimilated our western education? How far has it become an obsession? Perhaps there is some assimilation. But has this assimilation happened after a full and open-eyed struggle between it and our indigenous culture? It appears not. For we generally receive the alien culture first and then peer at our own as a matter of curiosity. When we begin to do things on our own terms, grounded in our own ways of thinking and being is when our mind opens up. A light dawns in one’s existence that leads us closer to our deeper essence. This is when we truly experience Freedom - Swantantrata. Let us take efforts in knowing and embodying the systems/techniques from our glorious past. This offers the rooting which gives birth to a deep reverence. May this reverence guide us in our lives to break the barriers that stop us from truly achieving Swatantra. Swatantrata Diwas Abhinandan Jai Hind --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Renewing and seeking forgiveness - reflections on Upakarma Dinam Author: Namrata A Published: 2022-08-11 Tags: #thevedicpond, #Upakarmadinam, #renewing, #seekingforgiveness URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null SanAtana Dharma placed immense focus on renewing and fresh beginnings. It revers the continuous movement of time and one’s ability to be able to let go of the past hurts, and sorrows and seek forgiveness for offences committed. When we hold on to the past version of ourselves - whether, in our thought or action, we are stagnating. Stagnation is considered extremely inauspicious in the culture. All efforts are made to clear the burden of the past to make space for the inflow of fresh prAna and knowledge.  Today, the day we commemorate the annual Upakarma ritual also referred to as Aavani Avittam (in Southern parts of  India) is one such opportunity. The process is to enable the householder to seek forgiveness for all the actions (and inactions), thoughts and offences that he may have knowingly or unknowingly committed over the past year.  These include a detailed list of offences committed such as (and not limited to) offences committed during childhood, youth and adulthood; in the various levels of consciousness, while awake and while dreaming; wittingly and unwittingly, in delusion; by our actions, speech and mind; through all our senses and through our acts of daily living; eating contaminated food, destruction of trees and plants, discussion of unbeneficial literature, disrespecting elders, community leaders and priests, and failing to remain neutral and balanced, committing transgressions knowingly once and unknowingly many times, offences done repeatedly, deeds that have spiritually contaminated us, and made us unworthy of our status as dvijAs (twice-born).  > "**Misdeeds committed in our minds, thinking badly of others, the bad forms of speech such as lying, slander and gossip; bodily offences such as taking that which was not given, causing injury to other living beings, and not rendering assistance to others in time of need and sexual misconduct."** **Source:** Online article written by Paṇḍit Srirama Ramanujacari  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/upkarma2-1660198206648-compressed.png) **Just like food loses its life and efficacy after three hours of preparation, we are inspired to give up those objects, thoughts and actions that do not serve us, our society or the larger world, anymore. All of these indicate our need to move towards prAyaschittam (prAyaha - chittam) - or the returning of the mind to its blemishless state.**  **This festival also marks the re-start of the Veda-adhyAyanam (study of Vedas) after a gap of six months.**  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/screenshot-2022-08-11-at-11-1660197729021-compressed.jpeg) > **_“After Upanayanam (or the initiation into Vedic studies through the sacred thread ceremony), the study of Vedas commences on the first Aavani Avittam day. Utsarjana karma is done in the following Pushya (Thai) month when the study of Vedas is halted and in the next six months, as much as possible of the six VedAngas, viz. Siksha, Vyakarana, Chandas, Niruktam, Jyotisham and Kalpasutram is studied. Then in the SrAvana month of the following year, on the day of Upakarma, Upakarma is performed and the study of Veda mantras is commenced again. This karma of starting the study of Vedas is known as Upakarma. Only if Upakarma is performed in this manner, will the meagre store of Veda mantra with us have power. If not, it will become ‘yatayama’ (stale, losing its power and efficacy) like the food described in Bhagavadgita.”_** **Source:** **Publication by VEDA DHARMA SASTRA PARIPALANA SABHA, Kumbhakonam** **The festival also marks offering gratitude to the Rishis and DevatAs without which our life and sustenance would be impossible on this Earth.**  **So this Upakarma dinam, let us take the sankalpam to drop our limiting tendencies, seek forgiveness for our deeds and direct our efforts toward our highest potentials and the welfare of the world.**  **Hari Om!** --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Revisiting bhArat's kesari, Lokmanya Tilak - his life and ideas Author: Namrata A Published: 2022-07-22 Tags: #thevedicpond, #bhArat'sKesari, #NationalEducation URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null **Ganeshotsav** \- one of the most celebrated festivals in Maharashtra is around the corner. Every year, we welcome the Elephant God to the tune of vibrant festivities, music and modakams. During this festival, there is an automatic and instantaneous bonding among all sections of the society - regardless of their personal biases and preferences. The feeling of togetherness is palpable and we often even wonder why at all He had to leave! How come we celebrate this festival in this manner in this region? Have we ever stopped to wonder?  The efforts of Sh. Bal Gangadhar Tilak (endearingly referred to as Lokmanya Tilak), was instrumental in bringing together the entire society to taste this sweetness of community. Festivals, not just called for ritual offerings but were a way to really tap into the unity of this land. Lokmanya Ji was one of the forerunners of the Indian freedom struggle against British Rule.   ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/lokmanyagangadhartilak-1658490702455-compressed.jpeg) He was born in a Marathi Hindu Chitpavan Brahmin family in Ratnagiri. His father - Gangadhar Tilak Ji, was a school teacher and a Sanskrit scholar who unfortunately passed away when Tilak was just sixteen years old. A few months before his demise, Tilak was married to Tapibai. He obtained his BA in Mathematics and also pursued law thereafter. After graduating, he taught mathematics but withdrew therefrom on account of ideological differences with his colleagues in the school. He thereafter took to journalism.  Tilak actively participated in public affairs and was deeply concerned about his fellow countrymen. He would say: _**"Religion and practical life are not different. The real spirit is to make the country your family instead of working only for your own. The step beyond is to serve humanity and the next step is to serve God."**_ His contribution to the Indian freedom struggle was invaluable. However, some of the thoughts he seeded in the minds of the common man were revolutionary, no doubt, but deeply enlivening and liberating. He publicly opposed several policies of the British by publishing strong-worded articles in his papers. He was a living example of how the pen could be mightier than the sword, with the Kesari and Maratha (leading newspapers published by him), which soon became the voice of revolution. ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/kesari-1658490763805-compressed.jpeg) ### On his birth anniversary, reproduced below are critical portions of a speech he delivered in 1908 at Barsi. The topic of discussion was National Education.   Education, he believed was not restricted to merely reading and writing, which were actually just _means_ of attainment. _**“That which gives us knowledge of our ancestors is education”**_. There were many ways of educating - books just being one of these.   Just like a potter who knew how to make a pot out of clay but did not know what the clay was made of, he remarked how businesses in India were completely handed over to other people by the people of India.  On secular education, he stated _**“How can a person be proud of his religion, when he is ignorant of it?”**_. He believed that it was this dissociation from religious education that led to the influx of missionary activity in India. He mentioned how the tradesmen would not send their children to schools as they were not receiving the kind of education that was required. Moreover, their sons, having received “formal” education and becoming “fashionable” do not seek to take up the gaddi (seat or ownership) of their ancestral estates as they are very ashamed to do so. They infact want to become clerks to the British Government instead! Condemning the education system as being one-sided, he mentioned how the British Government **only wanted engineers, doctors and clerks** and so only gave the people sufficient education to become these to serve their own goals. The schools they ran therefore only served this purpose and the students who passed out of these naturally only sought to take up service with the Government.   He sought a **complete reform in the education system** that prevailed then - including the transfer of textbooks. It was quality education that would enable the nourishment of good citizens.   He stated, _**“The Government cannot give us religious education, and it is well that they are not doing it; because they are not our co-religionists.”**_  Moreover, education that inspired patriotic sentiments was not at all given in India. He cited the examples of America - where the Proclamation of Independence is taught in V or VI classes, and Germany where scientific and mechanical education was flourishing, which led to a rise in commerce. Quality education was the duty of the Government which instead actually wanted to keep the common man lame.  _**“There is a conflict between the commercial interests of England and India. The Government, therefore, cannot do anything in this matter.”**_  He declared that **National Schools** ought to be setup because even the private schools were not doing a good job for fear of losing their grants.   What would these National Schools do?  He envisaged the need for **religious education** which would keep the people away from evil pursuits as “secular” education was not enough to build character.  > “Religion reveals to us the form of the Almighty. Says our religion that a man by virtue of his action can become even a god. When we can become gods even by virtue of our action, why may we not become wise and active by means of our action like the Europeans? Some say that religion begets quarrel. But I ask “Where is it written in religion to pick up quarrel?” If there be any religion in the world which advocates toleration of other religious beliefs and instructs one to stick to one’s own religion, it is the religion of the Hindus alone.” He, therefore, explained that Hinduism ought to be taught to the Hindus and Islamism to the Musalmaans in these schools. The children would be most importantly, taught to forgive and forget the differences in these at these schools. Another important aspect of this form of schooling is to **lighten the load of the study of foreign languages**. He stated, “In spite of a long stay in India **no European can speak for a couple of hours fluent Marathi**, while our graduates are required as A rule to obtain proficiency in the English language.” The goal of education had been reduced to the mere knowledge of the English language! However, such compulsion of studying foreign languages did not exist anywhere else in the world!  > “**We spend twenty or twenty-fire years for the education which we can easily obtain in seven or eight years if we get it through the medium of our vernaculars.”**  He, therefore, pushed for education in India’s native languages. The Vedic Pond deeply resonates with these ideas presented by Tilak Ji. **The purpose of education or all learning, when reduced to proficiency in a foreign language, deeply undermines the inherent potential existing in the child**. Moreover, if children are introduced to the vast treasure-trove of knowledge that we as bhAratiyas have inherited from our own civilisation, they will certainly experience an opening of their minds and hearts!  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/362d18ad-5309-4d9a-a109-11864c38c7e11201a-1658490523041-compressed.jpeg) Translation of Tilak's last words on a Jury's verdict to imprison him Let us pledge to work for our civilisation by amalgamating dharma (profound order existing in the universe that is enlivening) in education. _**Only then can we ensure real swarAj (self-direction).**_  Jai Hind! --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## An exploration into Guru Tattvam this Guru Purnima Author: Namrata A Published: 2022-07-13 Tags: #thevedicpond, #GuruPurnima , #Guruwithin, #Gurutva URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null **Who is a Guru?** ------------------ The term Guru in Samskrtam throws up some very interesting connotations such as - “great, difficult, hard, important, serious, momentous, valuable, highly prized” in addition to ‘preceptor’ being the commonly understood meaning. Who then is a Guru? Or rather what is Guru-ness or Gurutva?    The meanings indicated in the devabhAsha are indeed very useful and insightful to understand. Gurutva refers to that essence that guides us during difficult and momentous times. Gurutva refers to the vast intelligence that is like a light when we are roaming in the darkness of samsara.   **Why is a Guru essential?** ---------------------------- If Gurutva refers to the guiding light of intelligence, would it not be critical to examine whether we ought to seek this light within us or outside of us?   The external Guru, our Acharyas, are definitely there in the external realm. But a true Guru only facilitates the unfolding of this intelligence that is always available within us. A true Guru is he who guides us to ourselves, our highest potentials.  In this context, the Yoga Sutra very poignantly points out:  **_“निमित्तमप्रयोजकं प्रकृतीनां वरणभेदस्तु ततः क्षेत्रिकवत् ॥”_** #### _“Perceivable/external causes can only help remove obstacles, but cannot cause (and are not capable of) transformation of one’s Prakriti. This is like a farmer clearing the land and breaking bunds for water to flow.”_ Here, the external causes, refer to the knowledge one receives from the books he reads or his preceptor. The Yoga Sutra categorically admits, that both of these are ‘aprayojakam’, meaning thereby, that they are only external causes that only remove obstacles from one’s path. If one has to truly transform oneself, the work has to be done by them only. There can be no substitute for that, despite having the best of Gurus. ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/srifield2-1657685314120-compressed.jpeg) Source: Wikimedia Commons We can envision our life’s purpose to be similar to climbing a mountain. Our Gurus serve as milestone indicators - that guide us on this path. Whenever we are lost, they show us the light, help us course-correct and inspire us to keep moving. But to completely delegate our transformative work to the hands of the Guru is in fact very detrimental.  Today we are witnessing several new-age Gurus that seem to assure us spiritual liberation by merely falling at their feet! This is not Gurutva but cowardice and contributes only towards soothing the ‘Guru’s’ personal ego.  ### A Guru awakens one’s Viveka-buddhi (the power of discernment or the ability to discriminate that which is enlivening from that which is not) which is already present within all of us. He places great emphasis on one’s independence - that is he focuses on _**how**_  to think rather than _**what**_ to think. He deeply trusts this ability of the student to be able to guide himself and is not in a state of insecurity whether the student outgrows him! It is also pertinent to note the importance of kaala (time) and one’s peers in the learning and growing process. In this regard, the Mahabharata declares: _**“आचार्यात् पादमादत्ते पादं शिष्यः स्वमेधया ।**_ _**सब्रह्मचारिभ्यः पादं पादं कालक्रमेण च ॥”**_ _**“One fourth from the teacher, one fourth from own intelligence,**_ _**One fourth from classmates, and one fourth only with time.”**_ The Mahabharata categorically tells us that only one-fourth of our learning is from our external Gurus. Time or one’s own life experiences is a great teacher in itself - provided one is able to reflect on the same continuously. Moreover, samvaada or seeking truth with a friend or peer is also profoundly transforming and is said to contribute to another one-fourth of one’s learning.  **Nature,** or the world around us is also an important Guru for the seeking mind. This was explored in great depths by **Shri Dattatreya** in the **Uddhava Gita**. We can discover the hidden secrets of this world by observing Nature through this beautiful narration by Bhagawan Krishna. Shri Dattatreya’s 24 teachers were - Pruthvi (Earth), Vayu (Air), Akasha (Ether), Jal (Water), Agni (Fire), Chandra (Moon), Surya (Sun), Kapotha (Pigeon), Ajagar (Python), Sagara (Ocean), Pantagavat (Moth), Madhukari (Bee), Gaja (Elephant), Bee Gatherer, Hiran (Deer), Matsya (Fish), Pingala (Court Dancer), Kurura (Sparrow), Bala (Child), Kumari (Young girl), Arrow-maker, Sarpa (Snake), Spider and Wasp. Each of these led him into a profound exploration of reality by their very existence as they ignited the fire of seeking within him.  None of this is in any way to belittle the contribution made by a preceptor in the transformation of a student. A Guru’s contribution is probably as close to the contribution made by Ishvara himself - as he is the one who channelises the daivik possibilities within us into a purposeful manifestation in this world. Definitely, this is why we consider Guru as a Deva himself (“Acharya Devo Bhava”; “Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo, Mahesvara, Guruh Sakshat Param Brahma, Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha”). ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/guru-purnima-1657685070986-compressed.png) This Guru Purnima, here is an invitation to our readers to visit our Gurus - within and outside of us. Let them guide us in mundane and profound ways. Let our seeking become our greatest Dakshina (offering to the Guru).  ****श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः ॥**** **May we stay blessed by their anugraha (grace)!** --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## The Sacred Chariot Journey of Odisha - Rath Yatra (1/2) Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-07-05 Tags: #Rathyatra, #thevedicpond, #Sacredchariotjourney URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null ![Wikipedia Commons](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/rathyatra-1657023124184-compressed.jpeg) PC: Wikimedia Commons It is that time of the year when the **Lord of the Universe**, **Bhagwan Jagannatha** is out on his celestial chariot. Rath Yatra is the celebration of Bhagawan Jagannatha’s annual visit to Gundicha Temple via his aunt’s residence, Mausi Maa Mandir near Saradha Bali, Puri. During this Chariot Festival, Jagannatha is accompanied by his siblings, Balabhadra and Subhadra along with the celestial wheel - Sudarshan Chakra. Jagannatha’s chariot is referred to as Nandighosha with 16 wheels, Balabhadra’s chariot is called Taladhwaja with 14 wheels and Subhadra’s Chariot is referred to as Darpadalana with just 12 wheels. The streets are strewn with huge gatherings of Bhaktas who throng to get a glimpse of Bhagwan on the main thoroughfare of Puri known as Bada Danda (Grand Road).  Eternal beings, living transient experiences -------------------------------------------- While the festival is widely known to commemorate the pomp, festivities and tribal culture of Odisha, it also has deep spiritual connotations. The movement of the deities on their celestial chariots is a personification of the imagery described in the Kathopanishad - the Divine Chariot representing the body, the horses symbolising the indriyas (senses) and the charioteer - the Divine Intelligence or the mind capable of channelising the senses.  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/1600px-chaturdhamurttiatsnanamandapanalconagar-1657023399888-compressed.jpeg) Chaturdha Murti at Snana Mandapa. PC: Wikimedia Commons The festival, however, is not just an esoteric representation of Bhagwan, but in fact, also has several references to stories that portray him to have human experiences! It is said that on the day of Devasnana Purnima, Bhagwan falls severely ill for about two weeks during which time, He is fed ‘chakta bhogo’ (prasadam made of wheat, sprouts, jackfruit and mango) and modak. It is said that once He fully recovers, He decides to visit his aunt at Gundicha temple for a change of mind! Another legend refers to how Lakshmi Devi is very agitated that Bhagawan had left her alone and was happily enjoying with his siblings at their aunt’s place. She visits their aunt’s place on the fifth day known as Hera Panchami to check if He was doing alright. However, she is unable to meet him properly. Terribly upset, Devi destroys a part of the Nandighosha in anger and returns back to the Srikshetra, Puri. It is said that Jagannatha has to cajole Devi with various sweet preparations once he returns!  The ancient Nabakalebar Ritual is undertaken according to astrological positions, once every 12 or 19 years (in Adhik Maas falling in Ashada month) signifies the death and re-birth of Jagannatha himself. It involves a detailed procedure wherein the wooden images of Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra are replaced with a new set of images involving the sacred search of the trees to be used for making the images. It is said that the tree used to make Jagnnatha’s image ought to have four principal branches, symbolizing the four arms of [Narayana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayana). The tree must be located near a three-way intersection or surrounded by three mountains. A hermitage and a temple to Shiva must be nearby, and natural impressions of a conch shell and chakra (wheel) must be on the trunk.  ### Continuing with the imagery of the impermanent body and the permanent atman, during the Nabakalebar ritual, only the body of the gods is changed, but the Brahman or the “Brahmapadartha (soul-substance)” within the wooden body (called “Daru Brahma” or the “Prime-Soul enshrined in wood”) is transferred from the old images to the new through a secret religious ceremony. The Ratha Yatra immersion will be incomplete without the mention of Bhakta Salabega. We will look at this story more closely in the [next blog of the Rath Yatra Series.](https://blog.thevedicpond.com/the-sacred-chariot-journey-of-odisha-rath-yatra-22-cl584csoj229951jm8zkn6a5o3/)​ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## The Sacred Chariot Journey of Odisha - Rath Yatra (2/2) Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-07-05 Tags: #Rathyatra, #thevedicpond, #bhaktasalabega URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null In the [previous blog in the Rath Yatra Series](https://blog.thevedicpond.com/the-sacred-chariot-journey-of-odisha-rath-yatra-12-cl584mdji231351jm8b4qb57dp/), we looked at the various rituals and traditions related to the celebration of the celestial festival. We also got a glimpse of the spiritual connotations that the festival embodied along with its extremely human-like representations of Bhagwan too. Let us now dive into the story of **Bhakta Salabega.**  Bhakta Salabega's tales ----------------------- He was the son of the Mughal Subhedar - Jahangir Quli Khan, also known as Lalabeg. Lalabeg was involved in various conquests and tyrannical rule over the Hindus living in the area of Odisha, including the destruction of various temples, looting and killing them indiscriminately. During one such conquest, he abducted a Brahmin widow from Dandamukundapur village and took her to Cuttack, where he forcefully made her marry him. From their union was born Salabega.  The first incident that established his deep connection with Jagannatha and Krishna was when he was terribly injured, one day, while he accompanied his father to a battle. Despite all royal medicines and care, the wound did not heal. Unable to bear the pain, he wept to his mother. She asked him to surrender himself to **Brundabanchandra** (Bhagwan Krishna) and convinced him that if he prayed to Him with all dedication, his wound get healed. He began praying earnestly to Bhagwan hoping to get deliverance from this extreme pain. On the twelfth day of his prayers, he had a strange dream! Bhagwan Damodar appeared in his dream and offered him the sacred ash or Vibhuti to apply to his wound. After this application, he got sound sleep, only to discover that the wound had completely healed the next morning! He remembered the dream vividly and was so astonished to see that his wound had completely healed! This incident strongly established his faith in Bhagwan Krishna. He decided to devote his life in Bhakti of the Lord as a sannyasi.  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/20b6a3bc-8209-476d-ac74-3dcecda23ee71201a-1657024720870-compressed.jpeg) Patitapaban Jagannatha  He sought to receive Darshanam of Jagannatha at Srikshetra but was not allowed to because he was not a Hindu. He wept copiously at the gates of the temple because of this separation from the Lord. Bhagwan could not watch his Bhakta in such pain, and it is believed that Bhagwan appeared at the gate to render Darshanam to Salabega! Salabega was now fully convinced that Bhagwan Krishna was the same as Jagannatha! After this incident, an idol of Jagannatha was placed at the gates for non-Hindus to also receive Darshanam - under the name, **Patitapaban**. Another incident of divine providence occurred shortly before the Rath Yatra festival. Salabega was at Vrindavanam and was to walk back to Puri to witness the grand festivities. However, on the way, he fell extremely ill and was unable to make it in time for the festivities.  > His body trembled with fever, and tears rolled down his cheeks incessantly, but his mind was completely focused on reaching Bada Danda avenue of Puri.  He kept praying to the Lord so that he could have a glimpse - and lo and behold, the Nandighosha was stuck in the sand of Bada Danda! As soon as Salabega arrived at the spot and had Darshanam of the Lord, the wheels were freed and the yatra was completed.  Since then, Salabega would stay at the place where the wheels of Nandighosha were stuck, and he devoted his life to bhajan of Jagannatha!  ### Even to this day, Nandighosa waits near the crematorium of Bhakta Salabega, a Muslim by birth, but a true Bhakta by devotion, to pay him tribute. ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/unknown-1657024540999-compressed.jpeg) Salabega Samadhi Pitha Let us all celebrate this festival as a process of visiting Jagannatha within us. Let us dedicate our lives to Him. Let us surrender our greatest worries and offer ourselves completely at his feet. ### **Jai Jagannatha!** --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Ganga Dussehra - an opportunity to Cleanse ourselves through Divine Grace Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-06-25 URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null **H**ave you wondered what are some of the most innate qualities that Jal Bhuta or the Water Element holds? Some of these are - taste, form, movement and sound of flow. Yet the defining quality of this Element is its ability **to purify and cleanse** the objects with which it is in contact. The Bharatiya Parampara has recognised this quality of the Element by emphasizing the importance of deep reverence and protection of Bharatvarsha’s water bodies - especially of its rivers. There was a deep understanding of the irreplaceable and divine service that these rivers have on all living entities, which needed due care and reverence on our part for their conservation.  The tradition also had a unique way of expressing defining moments in our planetary evolution in a simple yet very poetic manner. **The use of metaphors and vivid imagery was prevalent as it offered the reader’s eye the chance of experiencing these defining moments as they engaged with these metaphoric passages**. One such important moment was the descent of the sacred Ganga Nadi on Prithvi Loka.  **The tale is very well known but definitely worth a retelling. There was once an Rājā by the name of** Sāgara **who ruled Ayodhyā. He had two queens named Keshini and Sumati. Keshini had a son named Anshuman and Sumati had sixty thousand sons. As was the custom in those times, Rājā Sāgara performed the Ashwamedha Yagna. During the course of this, a horse was left for the Yajnā fulfillment. Indra Devatā stole the horse and tied it in Kapil Muni's Āshram to dissolve the Yagna. Kapil Muni was in a state of deep Tapas at this point of time.**  The Rājā asked his sixty thousand sons to bring the horse. Rājā Sāgara’s sons reached Kapil Muni’s āshram which led to the disturbance of his deep Tapas. This greatly infuriated the great sage and his fiery rage consumed Rājā Sāgara’s sons. Keshini’s son, Anshuman visited the sage’s Āshram to seek his brothers. Unfortunately, that was not to be! Kapil Muni told him that his brothers would attain liberation only once their ashes would be immersed in the holy waters of the celestial river, Ganga.  Rājā Sāgara, his son Anshuman and even his grandson Dileep meditated on Ganga Maa for her to grace their ancestors, but this was of no avail. Finally, Rājā Dileep's son Bhagiratha went to the Gokarna Tirtha to do austerities to bring Ganga Maa to Pruthvi Loka. Pleased with the austerity of Bhagiratha, Brahma bestowed upon Ganga Maa the boon to be born on Pruthvi Loka.  However, a very intriguing conundrum followed. While Ganga Maa was now able to descend on Pruthvi Loka, the latter was not strong enough to bear the magnificent flow (Vega) of the former. To solve this, Brahma called upon Bhagawan Shankara to absorb the enormous velocity of the River Goddess within himself. Rājā Bhagirath stood on one toe and started worshiping Bhagawan Shankara.  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/gangavataran0-1656156499237-compressed.jpeg) After great austerities, Bhagawan was appeased and agreed to absorb this terrific velocity in his jatā or matted locks of hair. Ganga Maa flowed magnificently from the heavens. Ganga Maa kept revolving around Pruthvi Loka for many years and soon disappeared from sight.  > **Concerned with this Rājā Bhagirath, requested Bhagawan to release Ganga Maa. Granting the wish, Bhagawan released Ganga Maa and she got disintegrated into seven parts. Of these, three flowed eastward, three flowed westward and one flowed southward in the direction that Rājā Bhagirath directed.**  ### **At one level, the story speaks of the power of deep penance and intent. At another level, the story also helps us reflect that no matter how much effort an individual makes, he is governed by his ancestry and factors that are beyond his control. For this, he needs divine intervention, without which he may not be successful in his endeavors. The story is a reminder for us to continuously purify ourselves from our limiting tendencies and habitual patterns that seem to bind us.**  There are also certain studies being conducted regarding the fact that the descent of Ganga Maa coincides with an asteroid crash on Planet Earth which was the carrier of water. A scientific study points out that: _“The legend of Ganga has many similarities with the impact event of a comet that might have occurred in southern Tibet behind mount Kailash. Various stone carvings and descriptions in the local legend indicate the similarity with the impact of a celestial body. Modern findings of rare minerals and other findings support the impact possibilities. The lakes in the proposed impact region play an important role in the water cycle of Yarlungzangbo (Bramhaputra), however, as on date, no evidence is available that can co-relate these lakes in the possible impact sites with the source of river Ganga. It also does not provide any evidence that the flow of the existing river Ganga was initiated as a result of this impact. Thus it is possible that the legend was a result of observations mixed with belief. Ancient rock art in Kashmir and possible comet impact descriptions in the Veda strongly support the possibility of such an event being observed by early settlements in India. This also supports the modern belief that comets might have played a crucial role in getting water to the planet Earth.”_  ![Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Paudi, Haridwar](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/b1020d43-0b70-4e7f-8711-a04aa7e40cc21201a-1656156945414-compressed.jpeg) _**Ganga Arti at Har Ki Paudi, Haridwar**_ Regardless of whether it was indeed a scientific epoch moment, for the spiritual seeker, every such event is just a reminder of the need to cleanse himself in various realms. **This is the true purpose of celebrating Ganga Dussehra - the tenth day of Shukla Paksha of Jyeshtha month**. Let us invoke the purifying water element within (Ganga Maa) and offer ourselves to the Divine (Shankara). **Har Har Gange!** **​** **​** --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## TVP turns a year old! Reflecting on the path so far Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-06-25 Tags: thevedicpond, TVPturnsone, thejourneysofar URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null **2 years back** this time (i.e. June 2020) a lockdown was imposed to contain a pandemic that was brewing up. It was this time when my best friend fell sick terribly. He was having an existing health condition and having contracted the virus, his health was deteriorating rapidly. I tried my best to be with him during this phase but I was not allowed anywhere near him as I could succumb to the virus. I stayed away but my thoughts were fully with him. At the same time, some of my relatives fell sick. One of my closest friend’s father passed away due to the pandemic. He was devastated by the turn of events. I was pained to see people not being able to gain access to food. I was constantly updated by the number of people who came in contact with the virus and how many have succumbed to it. > ​**I wondered why it seemed to me as if all the awful things that could happen, happened at once.** ​ ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/6124564027386f3d2161z-1656155002163-compressed.jpeg) There was fear, anxiety, stress, restlessness and a sense of hopelessness filled me. **It was during this time I spotted an old book in the cupboard**. It seemed like no one bothered to read it in a long time that they might have even forgotten that such a book existed. I was spontaneously drawn to this book and started flipping through the pages. There were many exquisite stories of Bhagwan Sri Krishna which took me on an emotional roller-coaster ride. **Stories of Prahlad, Parikshit, Krishna, Vyasa inspired me.**  I contemplated how Raja Parikshit was able to soothe his agitated mind during the last 7 days of his life through the stories narrated by Suka Rishi. I observed how the stories of Itihasa and Purana have helped me by keeping me engaged in inquiring about the deeper import of these stories.  > ### That’s when a question came to me: how would it be if children can listen and learn from these stories right from their early ages instead, during their final days? That's when The Vedic Pond was born, a year back on June 7th.  ### **We envision ourselves to be a place where one can dive deep within oneself and discover their INFINITE Potential. INFINITE expanse is not just outside, above us, but also within, inside us. This is symbolic of The Vedic Pond.**  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/tvp-turns-one-year-old-1656154523643-compressed.png) **Join us in building this sacred space to realize this vision.**​ --- --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Maharishi Narada - an Embodiment of Love for the Divine Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-06-25 Tags: thevedicpond, emodimentofloveforthedivine, shubhanaradajaynathi URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null Narada - the trouble-maker? ------------------------------ Do you believe that Narada was a trouble-maker? Do you believe that he was crooked and that he always did things that put people in a difficult situations? We also would have experienced someone calling another person a Narada because they are mischievous. This stems from a misconception that Narada is mischievous, and a trouble-maker and wherever he goes the situation goes from bad to worse. The Propounder of Bhakti - Love for the Divine ------------------------------------------------- ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/3d2f23a7-a65c-477b-87fa-2740c56968d51201a-1656153757164-compressed.jpeg) If you see his entire life, he is a Rishi who gave us the philosophy of love for god. His whole life was an embodiment of Love for the Divine, which is Bhakti. Bhakti is a pouring of our hearts and completely losing oneself to something higher. We are devoted to our parents, we are devoted to the nation, and we are devoted to god as these are examples of those parts of our lives that are bigger than us. Narada saw divinity everywhere around him and through him, others were able to reach divinity. Narada helps a young **Dhruva** in his Tapas. He protects **Kayadhu, Hiranyakashipu’s wife** and nurtures Bhakti in **Prahlad’s** heart when he is still in Kayadhu’s womb. He tricks **Kamsa** into killing infants and persuades **Ravana** to get entangled in Bali’s tail. He plays upon the weaknesses of the devotees and makes them suffer more and as a result, the devotee becomes free from all their weaknesses and walks consciously towards their chosen form of Divine. There is a very famous traditional story of Rishi Ved Vyas in deep remorse and agitation. He was not satisfied even after producing one of the longest and most scholarly Itihasa ever written in human history. It was not just a storyline but brought to everyone’s awareness the important pursuits of life and fundamentally explained the human condition through engaging narratives.  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/narada-and-vyasa-came-to-stop-brahmasironamakastra-used-by-aswatthama-and-arjuna-6446f2-1024-1656153307150-compressed.jpeg) > ### Rishi Narada met Ved Vyasa in such a situation along the banks of Sarasvati and helped him realize that he had been pursuing the path of knowledge without simultaneously focusing on devotion towards the Divine. Narada expounded that Knowledge and Devotion are intertwined deeply and each without the other is dry and sapless. It is after this incident that Vyasa starts his work on the most sought-after Puranas by devotees the world over, the Bhagavatam. On the occasion of Narada Jayanthi, **let us invoke the greatest champion of Love for the Divine**, the inventor of one of the sweetest musical instruments, the Vina through which he pursues devotional music that touches devotees life and evokes a sense of joy and ecstasy. May we plunge ourselves into the path of devotion and re-discover INFINITE Love for the Divine within ourselves. May we live this INFINITE Love throughout our lives in all our experiences and engagements.  **Shubha Narada Jayanthi!** --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Bharatiya Itihasa-Purana: Gateways to Timeless Wisdom for the Common man Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-06-25 Tags: thevedicpond, mirrorstotheself, gatewaystowisdom URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/krishna-narrating-the-story-of-mahabharata-war-to-his-parents-421eb9-1024-1656150581340-compressed.jpeg) Retelling the Mahabharata Within -------------------------------- Mahabharata is not just another mythical story of vengeance between brothers. It is not just a story about war. It is not an imaginative narration of a person given 1000s of years ago which is irrelevant in present times. Mahabharata is still relevant to all of us today, as it is a treasure handed over to us by our ancestors containing the values, ethics, morals, and virtues inherent in our civilization. It is these values and virtues deeply embedded in our society that protect our society from being destroyed. These are narratives that play out in our lives every day. These are stories that are deeply linked with our tendencies, propelling us to behave a certain way.  > All of us have an overprotective and over-attached tendency like that of Dhritarashtra. We have a tendency to be hierarchical and textbookish like Yudhishthira. We have a tendency to seek more and more deep knowledge like Sahadeva. We have a tendency to master a skill and be focused like Arjuna. ### Knowing the stories of Mahabharata helps us connect deeply with ourselves through the narratives that are constantly playing out in our own lives. Mahabharata is a story of constantly fighting our inner battles and emerging victorious having overcome our innate tendencies. It is a story of breaking through patterns. It is a story of immense transformation.  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/whatsapp-image-2022-06-25-at-3-1656150416645-compressed.jpeg) Chakravyuh carving - Hoysalesvara Temple, Halebidu Our Sankalpam ------------- Imagine the sheer intelligence of the person who has given us this. Rishi Veda Vyasa is the genius behind such a glorious work for humankind. It is said that he started writing the Mahabharata today on Akshaya Tritiya. This is one of the reasons, this day is considered auspicious to begin a new initiative. It was on this occasion a year back, that The Vedic Pond was conceptualized. From then on, every action we do has been an offering to our great  Rishis preserved and propagated our civilizational wisdom. We pledge to continue on this journey of nurturing the INFINITE Potential in the young generation through the ancient knowledge our masters have given us. We seek the blessings of Sri Narayana and the Guru Parampara to lead us on this path of Rishi Yajna! Hari OM! --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## The Hidden Power of our Intentions - Kindness over Competition Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-06-25 Tags: theraceoflife, thevedicpond URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null The "race" of life ------------------ It was scorching heat on a Monday morning when my school organized our sports meet. It was my first ever sports meet when I was in kindergarten. I distinctly remember that my parents were also present to cheer for me.  We began with a parade and a few demonstrations of drills. We were really exhausted by then but the excitement had only just picked up as it was time for the running race. I was super energised about my first ever race. I had even imagined myself on the podium after winning the race, wearing the medal and smiling for photographs!  The time for the race had finally come. I occupied my respective lane and stretched myself a bit. I saw the finish line very clearly. I told myself that I wouldn’t stop until I reached the finish line. Suddenly there was a silence in me. I was feeling extremely alert. The announcer took his position to begin the race. He gave a loud, clear call, Ready….Set….Go!!!!! I heard each call perfectly. My mind was in the present moment completely. I felt super alive at that moment. ### I had a great start and gave it my all in the race. I felt my legs flapping like the wings of a bird! I was able to pierce through the air. I felt as If I was as fast as the wind and that I am unstoppable. It was such an unforgettable moment.  I took an amazing lead ahead of the others. But still, I wanted to keep going as fast as I could. Just when I was a few meters away from the finish line, I heard a loud cry, ‘Ammaaaa!!!’ My friend Subbu twisted her ankle and fell down. We are the choices we make ----------------------------- I turned back to see what the noise was and found her in pain. I turned towards the finish line and noticed how I was just a few meters away from winning the first prize. I turned towards Subbu and found her still crying in pain. > ### I was able to feel her pain. I felt disturbed and agitated to see her in pain. I thought to myself, I cannot just go on to finish the race. Subbu needs my help! I lifted her up and helped her cross the finish line along with me. But by then, others overtook us.  I came 4th along with Subbu. Subbu was very happy to at least complete the race and thanked me for helping her. Just then the winners of the race were called to the podium. I felt really sad for not being able to win a medal. I was imagining what would have happened if I had just gone on to complete the race.  ‘Checking…’said the announcer. Seems like another announcement. He said, ‘We witnessed something really exceptional today! And for that, we call upon SriHari & Subbu to receive special gifts for their act of kindness. > ### My father told me that day, ‘I am very proud of you! You taught me how Life is not about winning but about helping others.’  ### The happiness I felt had no bounds. It was nowhere close to the happiness of winning the medal but infinite times more than it! These words of his have remained with me ever since.  Have we ever taken time out every day to do a simple deed for someone? Go ahead! Find someone who needs your help and help them with the ebay of intentions.  I can vouch that it would make you feel like a SuperHero!  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/untitled-design-3-1656144488849-compressed.png) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Buddha Purnima - invoking the Divine Stillness within Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-06-24 Tags: thevedicpond, buddhapurnima, mind'smirror URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/bp-1656151807048-compressed.png) Purnima - the Mind's Mirror ------------------------------ How do you feel on a full moon night?? The beaming light of the moon is profusely intoxicating when one is able to turn one’s attention and awareness towards it. It has such a nourishing and soothing effect on us that it helps us glide deeper into ourselves if we are able to align with it. It is so powerful to the extent that it has facilitated people to uncover the **INFINITE Potential** that’s inherent in them. Today is one such Purnima when a Great Monk discovered his true nature on the auspicious occasion of Purnima (Full Moon).  Today is the day Prince Siddhartha transformed into Buddha. It was predicted that he would either be a mighty emperor or a noble sage. His father ensured he grew up without experiencing any sorrow so that he doesn’t turn to spirituality. Siddhartha grew up in the best of luxuries and pleasures. He was protected from the outside world at all costs. He never experienced life beyond the confines of his palace until the age of eighteen.  One day he decided to go on a ride into the kingdom. He was escorted by his charioteer. He first noticed an old man who could hardly stand straight. Upon questioning he understood **at some point in time, that even he would grow old.** This was a huge revelation to him. He saw a man who was ill lying on the streets. He learnt from his charioteer that **even he would experience illness in his life.** Finally, he saw a funeral and discovered that **this body inevitably will die and be as good as a pile of ash.** **The journey of eternal seeking ** ------------------------------------- These experiences initiated a deep seeking in him, to understand _**what is the purpose of Life.**_  > ### What is it that he is investing himself in? What is the point of living if we are to die ultimately. Why at all take efforts to survive if we are going to die.  He left his royal life and started walking in search of an answer. He just kept walking, not wanting food, or water. Due to his severe endeavour, he soon was reduced to bones.  As he kept searching for answers, he landed at a river called Niranjana and wanted to cross it to reach the other bank. It was a shallow river and got into it, but once he reached halfway he couldn’t muster the energy to cross it. He held onto a stick right next to him and stood still right there. He just waited and did nothing, but knew that he could not take a step further. He trembled in pain, palpitating out of exhaustion. He asked himself what is that I am after? Why haven't I found the answer yet?? ### He realized there is really nothing to be sought. The phenomenon of Life is to be celebrated and embraced completely. Life is thriving right here and now.  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/festivals-1656152064372-compressed.png) As soon as he realized this, a newfound strength helped him cross the river slowly and sit under a bodhi tree. He sat there with a firm determination to not budge until he realizes his potential. He understood that there is no time involved here as it is not a destination that he needs to reach, it is right here, at this present moment fully vibrating and thriving - Life! As soon as he realized this he shone as bright as the Full moon and it is on this day that he transcended the barriers that stopped him from knowing his true nature. Let us invoke his blessings on us and follow his path of compassion. Let us tap into the power of the full moon tonight and remind ourselves of our Inner Divinity. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Power of Intellect - How to overcome hurdles in life? Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-06-20 Tags: bharatiya tradition, festivals of india, Ganesha URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/website-photos-38-1655720714375-compressed.png) Sri Gurubhyo Namaha Sri Maha Ganadhi Pathaye Namaha Today, we determine success by the number of possessions and property we own. We measure success by the material prowess we achieve in our lives. Does life have only to do with material prosperity? What truly is our blessing? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We must explore one of the most misconstrued stories from the Puranas to understand what truly our blessing is. The Story of Ganeshas birth has a deep meaning which gets neglected while holding on to verbatim.  Stories in Purana are for deeper analysis and interpretation. Taking it word for word does a great disservice to them. These stories have a subtle symbolism at a deeper level. Symbols make our life easy. They are all around us. The words we use to communicate are nothing but Symbols.  > In our tradition, we used symbolism to express the Transcendental Truth, The Supreme Reality. It opens a new dimension where we can merge the Divine and the mundane to express the inexpressible. These Symbols are for contemplation and spiritual pursuit. We must learn the language of symbols to progress in our Spiritual lives and unveil our true potential. Ma Parvati created Ganesha through the dead skin she collected from her bathes. She was very attached to Ganesha as she invented him. It symbolizes the three residues that exist within us, Mal (attachment), Vikshepa (projection), and Avarana (veiling).  These are the sources of the various ailments one goes through internally - Anger, Greed, Lust, Pride, Fear, and Attachment. We do not let go of these impurities quickly. We are attached to them. We need a yogi like Shiva to destroy these negativities. He is not just an unassailable Tapasvin but also content and satisfied.  Shiva is omnipotent. If he had thought, he could have reduced Ganesha to ashes. The negative tendencies and impressions are nothing but energies.  Negative energies can be transformed to positive dynamic potential if wisely channelized. Turning it into ashes is not going to benefit us. We will have nothing to work efficiently. Hence, Lord Shiva chops off Ganeshas head with his trident. The trident has three spokes implying the three modes of nature - TriGunas. These are the diverse climatic conditions that impact our psychological make-up.  All three Gunas are present in us but have different combinations and proportions. These variations in Gunas impact our minds. It decides the distinct flavor in every individual. To overcome our inner ailments and follies, we need to understand the TriGunas and use them. To cut off the ego (obstructs knowledge). Shiva cutting off Ganeshas head epitomizes knowledge triumphing over Ignorance. Shiva then realizes that he has to replace Ganeshas head with something else to complete himself. Parvati laments and asks Shiva to do something. It embodies the fact that we need a balance between the masculine and feminine qualities within us. Men have Feminine qualities while Women have Masculine characteristics in them. An elephant’s head is preferred to replace Ganesha’s head. An elephant’s head is enormous. They have exceptional memory. What does this convey? Our confined intellect is ordered, regulated by our ego and vanities. This limited intellect gets vanquished when we come under the influence of the scriptures. In its place, we get a higher intelligence with better discriminative abilities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The elephant’s trunk protruding in the middle from the head is very deft at lifting a tiny pin and at the same time uprooting a tree.  When we develop the discerning capability within us, how does it help us? It helps in differentiating between what is real and unreal in the outer world. It also helps us subjectively understand our weaknesses within us. > The Power of Discernment is Man’s true blessing. Claiming it and tapping into its reservoir is the Real Achievement of man.  > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/website-photos-39-1655720806651-compressed.png) The ability to discern in our traditional knowledge is called Viveka. Viveka is the first step in our spiritual journey.  This meta-skill of Viveka catapults us to deep thinking behind the impermanent nature of things and circumstances around us.  Now we are stuck in the realm of the impermanent world. To move away from it, we need to live a life of Viveka - Discernment. It will unleash further progress in our spiritual journey and pursuit of life. That is why we worship Lord Ganesha first before doing anything in the world. We invoke the Higher Intelligence and the power of discernment. Through this, we can wade through the muddy waters of unbridled materialism that permeates and traps us in our worldly life. It is beautiful to see in India that most Hindu households have a Ganesha altar at the entrance. It could have helped the householder to live a life of discernment.  ### We must also bring our awareness of the innate Viveka Shakthi - Power of Discernment present in the chambers of our inner household.  Invoking Shri Ganesha with this awareness and a sense of devotion will help us develop this ability.  Let us partake in the celebrations and rituals of Lord Ganesha this Ganesh Chaturthi to connect with the Unborn, Attributeless, Formless, All-Pervading Consciousness (Ajam Nirvikalpam Niraakaaramekam). Let us fill our minds with the Spirit of Ganesha as we fill our bellies with the Prasada he gave us. Subha Vinayaka Chaturthi Sri Gurubhyo Namaha Sri Maha Ganadhi Pathaye Namaha References: 1\. Symbolism In Hinduism - Swami Chinmayananda  2\. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIFc2U-7lfY ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIFc2U-7lfY)3\. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fmJ1WaE6ao ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fmJ1WaE6ao)4\. Hindu Iconology The study of symbolism and meaning of icons - Pandit Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari 5\. [https://www.artofliving.org/in-en/wisdom/knowledge-sheets/symbolism-ganesha](https://www.artofliving.org/in-en/wisdom/knowledge-sheets/symbolism-ganesha) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Varalakshmi Vratam - Invoking 8 Fold Wealth for the Family Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-06-20 Tags: bharatiya tradition, festivals of india URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah --------------------- Om Mahalakshmai Namah  ------------------------- ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/website-photos-35-1655709133583-compressed.png) Goddess Lakshmi is portrayed as sitting on a lotus with four hands. 2 hands holding one of the most sacred symbols in Hinduism, the lotus. With one hand she blesses the devotees and with the other, we could see gold coins flowing from her hand. This famous representation of Ma Lakshmi has created an image in the devotees that she is the giver of material wealth. This is apt as Ma Lakshmi is the consort of Sri Vishnu Bhagavan who ensures the sustenance of the creation. It is hence logical to say that to sustain life, we need wealth - Artha. What needs to be paid attention to is the over-importance given to material wealth. Wealth is not just about material possession but has 8 aspects. Each aspect is conceived to be a form of Mahalakshmi - Ashta Lakshmi. Adi Lakshmi - This form of Lakshmi bestows the Sadhak (Seeker) with Spiritual Wealth to further their Sadhana (Worship/Seeking) to reach the Ultimate experience of Bliss. Adi means first or primeval, giving great significance to Sadhana. Dhana Lakshmi - She bestows the seeker with material wealth to fulfill one's basic needs to sustain oneself. Dhanya Lakshmi - She bestows agricultural wealth such as paddy, fruits, vegetables, and so on. This also signifies the worldly pleasures the Sadhak will be blessed with to experience and relish. Gaja Lakshmi - She grants the Sadhak power and strength to protect and preserve Dharma. She symbolizes the strength women provide to the family by nurturing the entire family with her warmth and unrelenting love. Santana Lakshmi - She grants the Sadhak with the blessing of an off-spring. She is depicted with weapons signifying the readiness of the mother to protect their child from any danger. Veerya Lakshmi - She grants courage to the Sadhak to face challenges and overcome hurdles while striving in the world. She symbolizes the undeniable fact of women exuding courage to everyone in the family and standing by them to face life’s challenges. Vijaya Lakshmi - She grants success to Sadhak in their fields of activity and life in general. She symbolizes all the women who back their husbands selflessly in their endeavors and provide a helping hand to them to realize their goals.  Vidya Lakshmi - She grants the Sadhak with Knowledge and resembles Ma Saraswati. She symbolizes the importance of our mother as our first teacher in our lives. > These 8 aspects are the 8 manifestations of Goddess Lakshmi - Goddess of Wealth. This gives us a picture of how the Indian thought had a holistic vision towards wealth. It is our common experience today that we have fallen to the level of assigning everything that is of value to currency and so making all interactions and relationships transactional. This eliminates the beauty in human interactions. Beauty is in the spirit with which one approaches and interacts with other people. The spirit of giving, loving, caring, and sacrificing has to be the driving force behind human interactions and relationships. This has been beautifully depicted through a Puranic story. There lived a woman by the name Charumathi. She was pious and a devoted woman. She depicted all the 8 aspects of wealth we saw earlier. She was a source of strength and courage to the family, she enabled the spiritual progress of everyone in the family, ensured the prosperity of the family, took equal part in the enjoyment of worldly pleasures, bore the descendants of the family, protected their child, she was the first teacher for her child and played a vital role in the overall well-being and happiness of the family.  She is an inspiration for all women, being the binding force of the family by living these 8 integral aspects of Wealth as per Hinduism.  Looking at her devotion and dedication to her family, Ma Lakshmi was very impressed by her. The Goddess found her to be an embodiment of all the aspects of herself and hence descended to meet her. She came in the form of Vara Mahalakshmi in Charumathi’s dream. Vara means wish/boon. She was the manifestation of Lakshmi, who bestowed the Seeker with what they wished for. Goddess Vara Lakshmi told Charumathi to invoke her through a Vrata (ritual) and ask for anything she wished. The Goddess informed Charumathi of the right time to perform the Puja and the way to perform the ritual. Ma Varalakshmi said that those who perform this Vrata and invoke her would invite the goddess to stay in their house and bestow the family with all the 8 aspects of wealth.  She narrated her dream to her husband and the other women in her community. All the women in the community wished to take part in it to invoke the goddess to their households for the well-being of their families. All the women observed fast until completing the Vrata and participated in it with a pure heart praying for their families. This was how the Varalakshmi Vrata Puja was passed on to us. This is especially unique as the goddess herself has given this ritual to us unlike usual, where the rituals are conceived by the rishis. This itself reinforces the importance of such a festival.  Varalakshmi Vratam Puja is celebrated on the last Friday of Shukla Paksha (Waxing Moon period) during the Shravan month just before the Purnima. The optimal time to perform the Puja was in the evening. This festival is celebrated widely in the southern states of India such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra while it is not so popular in the Northern states. Married women perform this Puja invoking the grace of the goddess to bestow the 8 fold wealth to their families and young women who are yet to be married pray for a desirable husband and family to get married into. In a modern-day world, the qualities of man such as strength, ambition, and aggressiveness are given undue importance. Women are expected to care for all but at the same time be seen as a weakness, hindrance to progress. The Bharatiya Culture always valued tenderness, care, love, unselfishness, and forgiveness. These values were the core of women in Bharat and this invoked a deep reverence and acknowledgment of the significance of women in the family by the men. ### Swami Vivekananda said, ‘Still, on this sacred soil of India, this land of Sita and Savithri, among women may be found such character, such spirit of service, such affection, such compassion, contentment, and reverence, as I could not find anywhere else in the world. To the true Indian, the woman is a mother first and mother last.’ These qualities must be brought back to consciousness in a present-day society where there is a healthy mix of nurturing qualities of the feminine and ambitious qualities of the masculine. This synthesis has the power to resolve conflicts not just at the family level but also at the society level. To achieve this, a great means would be by glorifying the Varalakshmi Puja and promoting it nationwide, and even expanding it globally.  An ideal society is one where men also have a lot of feminine qualities, and where women are partners both in the secular and sacred lives of their men. Manu, the great lawmaker, declared: “yatra naaryas tu pujyante ramante tatra devataah” “‘Where women are worshiped, there God lives,’ says Manu. Wishing all the Women a Happy Varalakshmi Puja. May the Divine Goddess bless us with the knowledge and willingness to perform the Vrata. May all the men also take part in this Vrata by supporting the women in performing the Vrata. Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah Om Mahalakshmai Namah ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/website-photos-36-1655709250242-compressed.png) **References: 1\. [https://www.rudraksha-ratna.com/articles/varalakshmi-vratam ](https://www.rudraksha-ratna.com/articles/varalakshmi-vratam)2\. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow85QPNSfP4 ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow85QPNSfP4)3\. [https://www.oneindia.com/india/varalakshmi-vratham-2020-date-significance-puja-vidhi-all-you-need-to-know-about-varalaxmi-vrat/articlecontent-pf36494-3126676.html ](https://www.oneindia.com/india/varalakshmi-vratham-2020-date-significance-puja-vidhi-all-you-need-to-know-about-varalaxmi-vrat/articlecontent-pf36494-3126676.html)4\. [https://www.amritapuri.org/49560/03-swniranjanananda.aum ](https://www.amritapuri.org/49560/03-swniranjanananda.aum)5\. [https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/more/resources/gender-and-culture-in-india/](https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/more/resources/gender-and-culture-in-india/)** --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## How can INDIC stories help children in today’s world? Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-06-20 Tags: indic storytelling, cultural storytelling URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/null ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/ganeshawritemahabharata-1655704557798-compressed.jpg) How have we passed on ancient knowledge for generations before the invention of paper?  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ### How have we as a community passed on our values and lived experiences to the next generation?  ### How can we preserve culture and ensure its progression despite frequent invasions?  How do we reconnect to our native culture when the influence of foreign cultures is strong? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The answer is through storytelling. Humans have used Stories to communicate and cooperate in large numbers. Stories have helped us pass on knowledge from ancient times until now in a simple and relatable way. Stories help us reconnect with our native worldview, values, and culture. It ultimately leads to the embodying of them in our lives.  It ensured the continuity of ancient wisdom, values from generation to generation, and the preservation of the culture. More importantly, it enabled each generation to journey beyond the intellect to a space of insight and intuition through the support of these grappling stories. The Itihasas and Puranas are living examples of this.  Our Rishis and Masters understood this phenomenon. They employed storytelling to convey complex, cryptic, and esoteric divine revelations in a simple, comprehendible way. Through stories, one understands and appreciates the truths revealed by the Rishis. Once we connect with these stories, we can explore these revelations deep within ourselves and in our lives.  The stories in Itihasa and Purana are not just historic but essentially spiritual, which talks about the inner battles one goes through in their life and how to face them. These battles within are not subject to particular land, religion, race, community, or country. These are universal. Wherever we can find a human, we find these inner battles.  Ramayana, Mahabharata on the outset would look like a narrative of the lives of kings and their struggle to win wars with opposing kings. At the core, they talk about the battles within us. Lust, Anger, Greed, Delusion, Arrogance, and Jealousy are internal enemies which hinder our progress. These are also called the Shadripus (inner enemies).  We have the image of Rama, who was calm and settled at the Warfield. Even when Ravan lost his weapons during the battle, he did not take advantage of that and attack him. He asks him to leave and come back the next day.  Mahabharat personifies these six enemies vividly through the different characters such as Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana, Dushasana, Sakuni, Karna, and Shishupala. The struggles Pandavas go through to ensure justice is the struggles we encounter in ourselves, to ensure harmony and peace in ourselves.  What is the ultimate goal of our culture? It is to grow out of the inner enemies, limitations and discover our true selves for the complete fulfillment of our lives.  What happens when a child constantly listens and reflects on these stories? The essence of the story gradually percolates and becomes a part of the child's consciousness. Children will start using the wisdom from these stories imprinted in their subconscious in daily life and decision-making.  What is needed now is for our children to reconnect to our culture. Reconnecting to our culture would mean to re-route their lives in a way that aligns with the ultimate goal of our culture. There is also a tremendous responsibility to make Indian characters and the Bharatiya values they symbolize well-known amongst our young kids.  We can observe how children are getting influenced by pop culture, western media, and television. The culture promoted there instills the Shadripus and diminishes the power of their intellect, creativity and intuition.  There is no other effective and entertaining alternative to overcome this challenge than through our Itihasas and Puranas. Let's take stories from them and see how we can explore these narratives within ourselves in the following blogs. ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/istockphoto-1167750676-612x612-1655704599392-compressed.jpg) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## What is New Beginnings: in the Bharatiya Tradition? Author: srihari vittal Published: 2022-06-20 Tags: new beginnings, bharatiya tradition, new year URL: https://blog.thevedicpond.com/ ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/frunhappymanmasksad-image-kybcfnva-1655700313299-compressed.jpg) People around the world look forward to celebrating the New Year. During this time, we try to inculcate new habits, reconnect with nature, go to our favorite places, and bury all misunderstandings with closed ones.  **Why should we observe such a beginning and shift only once a year?** Why not make every day a celebration of life and divinity within and around us?  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We often think of time as moving in a straight line, and this perception informs the culture of celebrating the new year. Thus, we wait for it throughout the year, hoping for better moments to come.  The idea of time in Bharatiya culture is starkly different. Our worldview is that a day from sunrise to sunset is one lifetime in essence. We are born every morning at sunrise and start dying gradually by sunset. Imagine how it would be to live by this worldview? Would it not help you forgive the mistakes and start afresh every morning? Would it not give you a chance to become a better version of yourself every day? Then there is the question, “Is time real and the same for all?” Think about it: a human's lifetime is much longer than that of a mosquito. But the time is a great deal for the mosquito for its limited existence! So, the experience of time differs for different forms of life.  The Vedic Idea of Time is that we experience time depending on our energy levels and mental state. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Surprisingly, that is why we greet each other with ‘Good Morning.’ We hope to have a good time, which informs how we greet each other. It is the experience of time that matters to us.  That said, can we connect our daily new beginning with the will to experience time? Do you think joining both ideas can enrich your life? ### A Sanskrit word can help us with the task. The word is: ‘Mangala’ (मङ्गल). Let us try and decipher the embedded knowledge in this simple term. Anything that moves is known as ‘Mang’ (मङ्ग् ). Bharat considers anything that moves as auspicious, from our rivers, fountains, and streams. If time and life are also constantly moving, aren’t they auspicious, too?  The head of a boat is also referred as ‘Manga’ (मङ्ग). In our tradition, whenever we embarked on a journey, we performed a prayer at the boat’s head to have a prosperous, safe, and successful trip without any obstacles and dangers.  > Therefore, Mangala (मङ्गल) talks about goodness, auspiciousness, prosperity, anything that brings the best. This year onwards, can we resolve to follow a simple habit of starting our day with the sincere meditation and affirmation of Mangala? The practice will drastically affect our experience of time, bringing a fresh glow to our lives. Wishing you a Shubha Nava Varsham! Mangalam! Mangalam! Mangalam! #newbeginnings #thevedicpond  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl4m8rpz156601jmonberidcu/images/156925342441c05b4ebe2b-1655700208911-compressed.jpg) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---