END OF DAYS?

                END OF DAYS? (English)    

    Every now and then, somebody asks me "What will happen in 21-12-2012?
    The Mayan Calender ends on that day.
    As some of you are aware, the Mayans were a mysterious people who lived in Central America.
    The Mayan civilisation was already around in 2000 BC. It is said to have reached its zenith from 200 AD to 900 AD. Although the civilisation as such, declined, the people are still around - just like the Tamils.
    It had a fully developed writing system, language, and it was far advanced in astronomy, architecture, mathematics, geometry, etc. They are considered by some people to have had Extra-Terrestrial connections.
    When the Mayan Empire was at its greatest extent, it covered a large area - in present day Mexico, Honduras, etc.
    As I said, they had a Calender system - the thing that we Tamils call as Panchangam. It is a very very very accurate Panchangam. Their solar year is 365.2522 days. Our modern atomic clock calculates it as 365.2420 days.
     Such an accurate calender ends on the 21-12-2012.
    The calender's present era started on 1th August, 3114 BC.
    The era lasts for 5125 years.
    And ends on 21-12-2012 AD.
    After that what will happen is not noted. Will there be some event? Will the world as we know come to an end - with the calender? 
    Not known.
    There were 4 more eras before the present era.
    They ended and the 5th Era - Present Era came about.
    After this ends, there is no mention of another era.
    But there 5 eras seem to be parts of another bigger era.

My observations -
If the other 4 eras were also 5125 years long, then the larger era would be 25625 years long.
Let us go further....
The Earth spins on its own axis in 24 hours. This axis its tilted at an angle of 23 degrees 20 minutes.
The tilted axis itself is also rotating in a circle - like a spinning
top(Pambaram). This spinning causes the Precession of Equinox, changes in seasons, etc.
And the circle is completed in about 26000 years.
There CAN be connections here.
But let us see it this way.......

    Let us continue with the Mayan Calender's End.....

    We also have our own eras. But they are said to last fantastic number of years.
    The present era is known an as the Kali Era or Kali Yugam. This is supposed to last 432,000 years. Preceding this, was the Dvapara Yugam.
    Dvapara Era ended in 3102 BC. Compare it with Mayan - 3114 BC.
    The calender ends in 2012.
    This year according to Kali Era is 5014. Compare it with Mayan 5125 years.
     Some similarities here and there.
    According to puranas, we have a long long way to go before the Kali Era ends.
    But there may be a catch here.
    Perhaps, we also have minor eras like the Mayans. But that has be researched in depth.
    So.....
    The Dvapara ended in 3012 BC.
    What was happening at that time?
    The Mahabharatha War was going on according to one tradition. The date of the MahaBharatha War has not been decided concretely yet. It is still controversial.
    But let us take the most popular tradition.
    3012 BC.....
    What happens next....?

    The Dvarapara Yuga ended in 3102 BC, At that time the MahaBharatha War was going on.
    Our people have also done accurate astronomical and Panchnga calculations.
    According to our calculations, there are actually 426,988 years more to go before the end of Kali Yuga.
    What was happening at the end of Dvapara Yuga?
    The MahaBharatha War between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
    The MahaBharatha War lasted for 18 days.
    During the first 10 days, Bhishma, the Grand Patriach of the Kauravas/Pandavas led the army of the Kauravas.
    He was incapacitated on the 10th day.
    Dronacharya, the Grand Martial Preceptor of both the clans took up the command.
    He had to be killed by guile rather than straight honest fight.
    So on the 16th day, Yudhishtra, who was the eldest among the Pandavas told a terrible lie. Yudhishtra was the avatar of Dharma Devatha.
    He would not tell a lie.
    But Drona beleived the lie and laid down his weapons.
    At that time, Drishtadhyumna, the brother-in-law of Arjuna and brother of Draupadi, rushed forward and cut off the head of the invincible Drona.
    So.....
    At exactly the time when Yudhishtra told the lie, his chariot which was held up by Dharma, and which was running 9 inches above the ground without touching it, dropped down and started running on solid terrestrial ground.
    At that time.....
    Dvarapa Yuga ended.
    And Kali Yuga began.
    According to a popular version, it was claimed that Kali Yuga began on the 16th day of Mahabharatha War, at the moment that Yudhishtra spoke a lie.
    In the Mahabharatha War, the armies of Duryodana out-numbered the armies of Pandavas in the ratio of 11 to 7.
    And there were very great invincible warriors in the Kaurava camp.
    And the commanders were above comparison.
    Bhishma the Patriach led the armies during the first part of the war.
    He had the power to choose when to die. But then he let himself to be defeated.
    Then Drona took over the over-all command.
    He was the acharya who taught all martial arts including archery, and other forms and technics of war-fare.
    He was a Brahmin who took up martial arts.
    His only son was Asvaththama who was also a very great warrior. And Drona held him very dear to his life. And he was an immortal. He would not die.
    During the war, Drona caused very great damage to the Pandya army.
    And he was adept at creating army formations which nobody can break into.
    And he caused the death of Abhimanyu, who was the son of Arjuna.
    Drona had to killed before he could destory the whole armies of the Pandavas.
    So Lord Krishna asked Yudhishtra to tell a lie that Asvaththama was killed. But Asvaththama was invincible and was also an immortal. Naturally he cannot be killed.
    So it had to be a lie - or at its very best, a partial lie.
    Bhima, the strong Pandava went and killed an elephant, the name of which was also Asvaththama.
    Then he went in front of Drona's chariot and shouted that he had killed Asvaththama.
    Drona would not beleive this.
    He asked Yudhishtra whether it was true.
    Yudhishtra was a personification of Dharma Devatha and he had never told a lie.
    Yudhishtra at that instance said, "Asvaththama has been killed - the elephant".
    At that moment, Lord Krishna took his conch Panchajanya and blow a very loud blast of triumph. This drowned the words of Yudhishtra - "The Elephant".
    What Drona was able to hear was, "Asvaththama has been killed".
     Whether the words were minced or not, the intention was there - a lie.
    So Drona threw down his weapons, spread a covering of NaaNal reeds and sat on it in deep meditation. There is a version which says that he used his super-conscious soul to search for the soul of Asvaththama in the realms of the spirits.
    At that moment, Dhrishtadhyumna, the brother of Draupadhi, rushed towards Drona and cut off his head. Thus Dhrishtadhyumna fulfilled his own pledge to kill Drona.
    But he only cut the head off the body, because Drona's soul was already elsewhere, searching for his son.
    As soon as Yudhishtra uttered the words, "Asvaththama has been killed - the elephant", his chariot which was hovering one jaaN (9 inches) above the ground, immediately touched the ground and started running on the terrain.
    Dharma which was holding up his chariot just let it down.
    Precisely at that very moment, Dvapara ended and Kali began.
   
    I was talking about Yudhishtra's lie and Drona's demise and the birth of Kali Era.
    Then KarNa took up command, but was killed by Arjuna.
    Then the last day, Salya, the maternal uncle of the two younger Pandavas led. But the army was destroyed with Salya's death.
    Duryodhana left the battle field. Then Bhima took up his challenge and both fought a duel with the Gatha - mace weapon.
    In the course of the duel, Duryodhana sprang into the air and aimed a blow to Bhima's head. At that moment, Krishna gave a cue to Bhima to strike the left thigh of Duryodhana and break it. Bhima did just that.
    Duryodhana fell and was left to die.
    Asvaththama came in search of Duyodhana. Duryodhana asked Asvaththama to seek revenge. Then died.
    Asvaththama went on a rampage with the sword which was given by Lord Siva. He killed all the sons of Draupadi. Drishtayumna, her brother who beheaded Drona, met with a worse fate. Asvaththama did not want to kill him in a duel with normal weapons and thus give him a hero's death which would earn him a place in Veera Sorgam - the Paradise of the Heroes. So he caught him and tied him up with a bow string into a bundle and trampled him to death with his feet.
    Yudhishtra was crowned after that.
    The puranas say that with the coronation, Yudhishtra Era was born.
    The Pandavas performed the Asvamedha Yagam - Horse Sacrifice and brought much of India under their control.
    After some time Kunti, Dritharashtra the blind king, his wife Gandhari who were the parents of Duryodhana.
    Then Dvaraka, the city of Lord Krishna sank under the sea.
    The Yadhava males died, and their women were abducted by the Abhiras - a fierce tribe of hunter/robbers. Arjuna lost his strength.
    Soon after that, the Pandavas died.
    But their line continued with Parikshith, the grand-son of Arjuna and he was follwed by his son Janamejaya.
    Thus their line continued.
    Malayadhvaja Pandya who was one of fathers-in-law of Arjuna died in the war. But his lineage continued and went on through the Sangam Age and then it is still around.
    So were the other dynasties.
    The Yudhishtra Era was a minor era within the Kali Era.
    There were other Eras like Maurya, Guptha, Saka, etc.
    All were within the major Era of Kali.
    Things continued. One thing after the other.
    There were holocausts, cataclysms like the sinking of Dvaraka, Kumari, Atlantis; super volacnic eruptions, tsunamis, violent earth quakes, great  epidemics, and wars.
    There were super villains like Attila, Chengkis Khan, Timur, Hitler.
    We can say that they were representations of the Kali Purusha.
    So....?
    21-12-2012?
    There could be super volcanos like the Yellow Stone volcano. The St.Andreas Fault might shift by a hundred miles. Or a super epidemic. Or a meteorite or astroid which might hit.
    There are pressure points like Iran, Central Asian Muslim republics, Taiwan, North Korea, Syria, etc. Just to start a new Super War.
    And.....
    The Kali Purusha representative is already here.
    Barak Obama.

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FESTIVAL OF SRIDEVI

                  FESTIVAL OF SRIDEVI

In 1991, I was asked to write in the magazine 'Mayil' of Malaysia about the significance of Deepavali.
At that time, I wrote about the religion Jainism's connections with Deepalavali. That was the day that the last Theerthankara of Jainism - Vardhamana MahaVeera attained MahaKEvala - state of birthlessness.
The Jains all over India celebrate Deepavali grandly.
   
The present day Hindu Tamils, celebrate it as the day that SathyaBhama, the wife of Krishna killed Narakasura who happened to be her own son during the time when she was BhuumaaDevi.
The story related to this is found in KaaLika Purana which is a sub-purana - UpaPurana where it is a subsidiary story.

If Deepavali is a day connected to the killing of Narakasura in war with SathyaBhama and Krishna, then it would be considered as a Vaishnava festival. It would belong to the followers of MahaVishnu. As such it would rank with the other Vaishnava festivals such as Gokulashtami, SriRamaNavami, Vaikunda Ekadasi, Garuda Panchami, SathyaNarayana Viradham, etc. It would have been another Asura Samhara Festival.
Thus it would not have been recognised by the Saivars who happen to be the dominent and majority sect among the Hindus. It should be remembered that Saivism existed as a separate religion all the while, until the late 19th century.
But we see that the Saivars also celebrate the Deepavali.
Therefore the story connected with Narakasura massacre is just a concocted piece of fantasy.
    Deepavali is the only festival which is universally celebrated by a very large number of Hindus from most areas of India.  The Holi Festival which is celebrated in North india is not celebrated in Tamilnadu. The Pongal Festival of the Tamils is not celebrated by the Maharashtirans.. The Onam of Kerala is not known in other places. But Deepavali is celebrated overall by most Hindus in all parts of India. The Jains also celebrate it.
    But each ethnic group has its own reason and story for Deepavali.

    The majority or Hindus who celebrate Deepavali are celebrating to commemorate the avatar of SriDevi from the Ocean of Milk. That is, they celebrate it as the birthday of SriDevi.
    In some other places, they celebrate it as the day that SriRama returned from exile.

    In Hindu Cosmology, you will find Eras of time under various names. We have nodi, vinaadi, naalzigai, muhuurtham, jaamam, ahorathram, and day. This is known as 'siRu polzudhu'.
    Then we have days, thithis, pakshams, Mandalam, months, years, maamaanggam, shashtiyabdhams, yugams, manvatharams, kalpams, etc.
    MahaLakshmi takes an avatar each Manvanthara.
    I have to explain what is a manvanthara.
    The present Era is known as Kali Yuga. Its length is 432,000 years. Preceding it, there 3 more yugas called Kirutha Yuga, ThrethaYuga, and Dhvapara Yuga. Added with Kali Yuga, they are known as the Chathur Yuga. A Chatur Yuga is 4 million 320 thousand years in length.
    These Chathur Yugas come in a recurring cycle.

    72 Chathur Yugas make what is known as a Manvanthara. It is 311 million,  and 40 thousand years in length.

    14 Manvantharams make 1 kalpa kaalam. This is equivalent to 2354560000 human years.   
    This is considered as one daytime for Brahma. Brahma's night would follow which would last for another Kalpam. This is filled with what is known as a PraLayam.
    Both of them constitute a Brahma's day.
    That is 8709120000 human years.
    Thus 360 of this make one Brahma's year.
    100 of these years mae one lifetime of a Brahma.
    That would be 3135283200000000 human years.

    The Manvathram at present is known as Vaivasvatha Manvanthara. Each Manvanthra is presided over by one Manu. Manu is the progenitor of Man. The word Manushya and Man are derived from the name Manu. It is named after Vaivasvatha Manu. He is the son of Surya. Surya has 12 forms. They are known as the Dvadasa Adhithyas. One of the forms is known as Vivasvan. His son is Vaivasvatha Manu.

    In the previous Manvantharas, SriDevi was born in the Lotus, Bilva, Bhumi, etc. In Vaivasvatha Manvanthra - that is this Manvanthra, SriDevi was born in the Ocean Of Milk. That is why she is also known as Ksheera Samudra Raja Dhanaya.
    There is a very powerful Rishi known as Durvasa. He is known for his extreme anger, In his anger, he would cast curses and cause great hardships and damage.
    He was doing a very intense Yagam. A divine garland appeared.
    He took this to Indra, the Lord of the Devas.
    At that time, Devendra was riding on a divine elephant.
    The MahaRishi extended his arm with the garland.
    By right, Indra should have got down from the elephant, fell at the feet of the MahaRishi, and very humbly received the garland.
    But he did not do so.    
    He extended his Vajra Ayudham weapon and hooked the garland and took it.
    The MahaRishi was ferocious.
    He cast a curse, dispelling SriDevi away from Indra. Thus Indra lost all his prosperity.    So all his and other people's prosperity vanished
    So the Devas came together and thought hard about how to get back  SriDevi.
    They all found out that SriDevi would only appear in the Ocean of Milk.
    They had to churn the ocean to get SriDevi to appear.
    They got the cooperation of the Asuras who were the mortal enemies of the Devas.
    They took the Manthra Mountain which was one of the Ashta Kula Parvathams. Then to use as the rope, they used Vasuki which was one of the eight Great Serpents - MahaNagas.
    The Asuras held on to the head-end of the serpent. They had an anchor man who was the great warrior Kshatriya - KaarthaVeerjya Arjuna. He had thousand arms and was known as SahasraBahu. He was a great warrior who was the incarnation of the Chakra weapon - Sudharsana of MahaVishnu.
He was one of the two warriors who defeated Ravana. He was killed by ParasuRama who was an avatar of Vishnu.

    The tail-end was held by the great Vaali, who was the king of the Vanaras. He was the son of Indra. He was killed by SriRama, another avatar of Vishnu.

He was the other warrior who defeated Ravana.
    The Mount Manthara began to sink because of the great weight.
    Maha Vishnu took the form of a giant tortoise and went under the mountain and held it up with his back.

    This was Kurma Avatara, another of Maha Vishnu's avataras.
    When the churning was nearing completion several things apeared.    
The first one was the Haalahaala poison. This was radiating very harmful irradiation and fumes so much so that the universe was affected greatly. It was under threat of extinction.
    Siva held up His palm and all the poisonous fumes condensed as a drop in His palm. There was no place to throw it away.
    So Siva simply swallowed it.
    If the Haalahaala went into the belly of Siva, it would destroy the universe, because the universes were inside the belly of Siva in the Hyper Space. So the Goddess Uma, placed Her hand over the throat of Siva and stopped the Haalahaala from descending. It stopped short and stayed put within the throat of Siva. However it coloured the throat of Siva giving it a blue tinge.
    Thus Siva became the Neela Kanta.
    HaalaHaala was followed by Jyeshta Devi, the Elder Devi. After her, SriDevi who was the Adhi Lakshmi appeared.

She was accompanied by the Divine horse Uchchaisravas, the divine elephant Airavatham, Kaamadhenu the divine cow, Karpaka Vruksha, Chintamani, etc. Finally Dhanvanthri, the Divine Physician appeared bearing a jar of Amrutha which gave immortality with everlasting youthfulness and health,

    Adhi Lakshmi went and joined MahaVishnu as His spouse. She also appeared as the Ashta Lakshmi and bestowed all sorts of prosperity to the worlds.
    This occasion of the arrival of SriDevi was celebrated with lighted lamps.
    It became the Festival of Deepavali.

    Three days before Deepavali, the rakshasas, demons, and other evil beings and spirits would come to the Earth under the leadership of MahaBali, the Asura ruler of Patala - the under-world. They try to take over the world. The evil effects of Jyeshta Devi would also try to spread.
    On the evening before Deepavali, Jyeshta Devi is dispelled and the denizens of the underworld and MahaBali are driven back to the Patala again with the help of rows and rows of lamps and fire-works. With that Jyeshta Devi's negative effects will be overcome.

    The sending back of MahaBali and his hordes is happily celebrated.
    On the evening of Deepavali Eve, Lamps are lighted in front of the entrance to the house after cleansing the floor, and adorning it with Kolams. Then SriDevi is worshipped.
    On Deepavali day, just before pre-dawn hours, when the crescent moon rises, all the water in the earth will become Ganga Jala - Ganges water.
Goddess Ganga Devi undergoes Aavahanam in the waters.
    The Goddess SriDevi appears in Gingelly oil.
    So Gingelly oil is smeared over the body with the chanting of Lakshmi Manthra.

    Then the Shikai Kaay powder is smeared and then with the chanting of the Manthras for Ganga Devi, the oil bath is taken and completed.
    This is known as Ganga Snaanam. New clothes are worn.
    Then a special pujai is done.
    In traditional Tamil households, a padaiyal is put for the Kula Devathas.
    Then sumptuous sweets and cakes are eaten together with kins. Elders are visited to pay respect.

    In places like Orissa, it is customary to collect cow dung and other refuse. This will undergo chemical changes and in due course will become very good rich manure. The Orissans used to do pujai for this dung hill and offer worship to SriDevi.
    In those days, it was beleived that SriDevi resides in cow dung heap, mud, etc. This beleif was prevalent even during Vedic times.
    In the Vedas, it is mentioned that Kardhama, who is the Manasa Putra of SriDevi was born in the dung heap under the shadow of SriDevi.

One of the fifteen verses of SriSuktham which is dedicated to SriDevi says,
"Kardhamena prajaapuura mayi sambhva kardhama"

    There are several places which are considered as the residential areas for SriDevi. One of them is the Lotus. Lakshmi has several names like Padma, Kamala, which mean Lotus. She also has some more associated names like Padma Hasta, Padmasani, PadmaMalini.


She is also associated with Gold and Silver.

HiranyavarNaam Harineen swarna rajath dhasrajaam
Chandraam hiranmayeem Lakshmeem jaathavEdho ma aavaha

Even the Moon and Shukra planet.
Hema Malini is also Her name.

SriSuktham is a Manthra Song of 15 verses which is found in Atharva Veda and Rig Veda. It contains 15 verses. It is very potent manthra packed with much power. There are some Malaysian priests who have made millions just by using its name 'SriSuktha Homam'.
It is that much powerful.

In Tamilnadu, the merchants and business men rather than the farmers who hold Deepavali in esteem and celebrate grandly.
    We must dispell the effects of Muudevi and enhance the effects of SriDevi and celebrate Deepaval in SriDevi's honour, beseeching Her boons and blessings.
    
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BOOKS THAT INFLUENCED GANDHI

மஹாத்மாவை மாற்றிய நூல்கள்

   மஹாத்மா காந்தியின் பல கோட்பாடுகளில் Personal Hygiene முக்கிய இடம் பெற்றிருக்கும். அவர் சொன்ன கிராமராஜ்யத்தில் கிராமப் புனருத்தாரணம் என்பது மிகவும் அடிப்படையான விஷயம்.
    'சுத்தம், சுகம், சுந்தரம்' என்பது ஒரு தாரக மந்திரம்.
    அந்த அடிப்படையில் sewage and sewerage மிகவும் முக்கியமானவை.
    எளிமையான கழிவறைகள் கட்டுவதையும் அவற்றைச் சுத்தப்
படுத்துவதையும் அவரே நேரடியாக மற்றவர்களுக்குச் சொல்லிக்
கொடுப்பதுண்டு.
   
    மஹாத்மா காந்தியின் வாழ்வியல் சிந்தனைகளை மாற்றியவை
மூன்று புத்தகங்கள்.
    அவர் தென்னா·ப்ரிக்காவில் முதல்முதலாக ரயில் செல்லும்போது
முதல் வகுப்பில் சென்றார்.
    .
    ஆனால் அந்த நாட்டில் நிறுவப்பட்டிருந்த 'அப்பார்ட்டைட்'
இனவெறிக் கொள்கையின் விளைவாக நள்ளிரவில் ஏதோ ஒரு ரயில்வே
ஸ்டேஷனில் பெட்டிபடுக்கையுடன் தூக்கி எறியப்பட்டார்.
    அப்போது அந்தக் குளிரில் அவர் நினைவுக்கு வந்தது 'பகவத் கீதை'.
    இயற்கையிலேயே கூச்சமும் அச்சமும் மிகுந்த காந்தி, அந்த இருளின் குளிரில் வெடவெடத்துக்கொண்டு பகவத்கீதையின் அடிப்படையில் ஒரு தீர்மானத்தைச்செய்துகொண்டார். 

    "இனிமேல் எதற்கும் யாருக்கும் மசிந்து கொடுப்பதில்லை".

    அதிலிருந்து அவருடைய வாழ்க்கையே மாறியது.
    அவருடைய வாழ்க்கையில் ஒரு mission and vision ஏற்பட்டு விட்டன.
   
    பத்தாண்டுகளுக்குப் பின்னர் இன்னொரு பயணத்தின்போது அவர் John Ruskin எழுதிய 'Unto This Last' என்னும் புத்தகத்தைப் படித்துக் கொண்டிருந்தார்.
    இது இன்னொரு திருப்புமுனையை ஏற்படுத்தியது.
    அன்றிலிருந்து  உடமைகளின் மீதும் பணத்தின்மீதும் இருந்த பற்றுக்களை நீக்கிக்கொண்டார். தமக்கென வாழா, பிறர்க்கென வாழும் பெருந்தகையாக மாறினார்.
    ஜான் ரஸ்க்கினின் இறவாத்தன்மை பெற்ற வரி:

    "Riches are just a tool to secure power over men. A labourer
with a spade serves society as truely as a lawyer with a brief,
and the life of labour, of the tiller of the soil, is the life worth living".

    ஏற்கனவே அவர் தம் வாழ்க்கையிலேயே சில பரிசோதனைகள்
செய்துகொண்டிருந்தார். பகவத்கீதையின் அமர வாக்கியங்களின்
அடிப்படையில் அவருடைய வாழ்க்கை அமைந்துள்ளதா? பற்றின்மையைப் பற்றி பகவான் கூறியுள்ளாரே?
    ஆகையால் தம்முடைய மயிரைச் சொந்தமாக வெட்டிக்கொண்டார்.
கக்கூஸ் கழுவினார். தாமே துவைத்துக்கொண்டார். அவருடைய மனைவிக்குச் சொந்தமாகப் பிரசவம் பார்த்தார்.
    ரஸ்க்கினின் நூலைப் படித்தபின்னரே தென்னா·ப்ரிக்காவில் அவர்
·பீனிக்ஸ் ஆசிரமப் பண்ணையை ஏற்படுத்திக்கொண்டார். அதுதான்
அவருடைய கூட்டுப்பண்ணை, community living போன்ற கொள்கைகளுக்கு ஆரம்பமாக விளங்கியது.
    தென்னா·ப்ரிக்காவில் வாழும் வெள்ளையரல்லாதாரெல்லாம்
அடையாளக்கார்டுகள் வைத்திருக்கவேண்டும் என்ற சட்டத்தை எதிர்த்து
மறியல் செய்தார். அதற்கு அவர் 'சத்யாக்கிரஹம்' என்ற பெயரிட்டார்.
   
    சிறையில் இருக்கும்போது அவர் Henry Thoreu எழுதிய
'On Civil Disobedience' என்னும் கட்டுரையைப் படித்தார்.
    அது இன்னொரு திருப்புமுனையை அவர் சிந்தனையில் தோற்றுவித்தது. 
    தோரோவின் வரிகள்:

    "An individual had a right to ignore unjust laws and refuse his
allegience to a government whose tyranny had become unbearable. To be right, was more honourable than to be law-abiding.
    ஒத்துழையாமை இயக்கம் போன்ற சில கோட்பாடுகளுக்கு
இவ்வரிகள் வழி வகுத்தன.
    இன்னொரு புத்தகம்?
    Leo Tolstoy-யின் 'War and Peace'.

    இத்தனைக்கும் அடியில் இருந்த அந்த 'சுத்தம்.,சுகம், சுந்தரம்'. 

    "The lessons which I propose to give you are how you can
keep the village water and yourselves clean. What use you can make of the earth, of which your bodies are made; how you can obtain the infinite life force from the infinite sky over your heads; how you can reinforce your vital energy from the air which surrounds you; how you can make proper use of sun-light".
    "Those who are in my company must be ready to sleep upon
the bare floor, wear coarse clothes, get up at unearthly hours, subsist on univiting, simple food, even clean their own toilets".
    அப்பேற்பட்ட காந்தியின் நாட்டில் இந்த கதி!

    காந்தி கக்கூஸ் கழுவினார்.

    நீங்களெல்லாரும் காந்தியையே கைகழுவிவிட்டீர்கள்.

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THE SIXTY FOUR ARTS

SIXTY FOUR ARTS OF ANCIENT INDIANS

(List According To SriLalitha SahasraNama Bhashya By BaskaraRaya Mahi)

The sixty-four activities in fine arts and crafts are the following:
(1) gIta - art of singing.

(2) vAdya - art of playing on musical instruments.

(3) nAtya - art of dancing.

(4) nauya - art of theatricals.

(5) AlEkhya  - art of painting.

(6) vichEnyaka chedya - art of painting the face and body with colored
unguents and cosmetics.

(7) Art of preparing offerings from rice and flowers.

[8] Art of making a covering of flowers for a bed.

(9) dacana-vasanaiga-rAga - art of applying preparations for cleansing the
teeth, cloths and painting the body.

(10) maNi-bhUmika-karma - art of making the groundwork of jewels.

(11) cayyA-racana - art of covering the bed.

(12) udaka-vAdya - art of playing on music in water.

(13) udaka-ghAta - art of splashing with water.

(14) citra-yoga  - art of practically applying an admixture of colors.

(15) mAlya-grathana-vikalpa - art of designing a preparation of wreaths.

(16) Art of practically setting the coronet on the head.

(17) nepathya-yoga - art of practically dressing in the tiring room.

(18) karnapatra-bhaiga  - art of decorating the tragus of the ear.

(19) sugandha-yukti - art of practical application of aromatics.

(20) Art of applying or setting ornaments.

(21) aindra-jAla - art of conjuring

(22) kaucumAra  - a kind of art.

(23) hasta-lAghava - art of sleight of hand.

(24) citra-cAkApUpa-bhaknya-vikAra-kriyA - art of preparing varieties of
salad, bread, cake and delicious food.

(25) pAnaka-rasa-rAgAsava-yojana - art of practically preparing palatable
drinks and tinging draughts with red color.

(26) sUca-vAya-karma - art of needleworks and weaving.

(27) sUtra-kriyA - art of playing with thread.

(28) vEyA yamuraka-vAdya - art of playing on lute and small x-shaped drum.

(29) prahelika - art of making and solving riddles.

(29-a) pratimAlA - art of caping or reciting verse for verse as a trial for
memory or skill.

(30) durvacaka-yoga - art of practicing language difficult to be answered
by others.

(31) pustaka-vAcana - art of reading books aloud.

(32) nAdikAkhyAyikA-darsana  - art of enacting short plays and anecdotes.

(33) kAvya-samasyA-pUraya - art of solving enigmatic verses.

(34) Art of designing preparation of shield, cane and arrows.

(35) tarku-karma - art of spinning by spindle.

(36) Art of carpentry.

(37) vAstu-vidyA - art of engineering.

(38) raupya-ratna-parIksha - art of testing silver and jewels.

(39) dhAtu-vAda - art of metallurgy.

(40) maNi-rAga jnyana - art of tinging jewels.

(41) Akara jnyAna - art of mineralogy.

(42) Art of practicing medicine or medical treatment, by herbs.

(43) Art of knowing the mode of fighting of lambs, cocks and birds.

(44) Art of maintaining or knowing conversation between male and female
cockatoos.

(45) utsAdana - Art of healing or cleaning a person with perfumes.

(46) kEsa-mArjana-kaucala - art of combing hair.

(47) Art of talking with letters and fingers.

(48) mlecchita-kutarka-vikalpa - art of fabricating barbarous or foreign
sophistry.

(49) desa-bhAshya-jnyAa - art of knowing provincial dialects.

(50) pushpa-chakatikA-nirmiti-jnyAna - art of knowing prediction by
heavenly voice or knowing preparation of toy carts by flowers.

(51) yantra-mAtrakA - art of mechanics.

(52) dhAraNa-mAtrakA - art of the use of amulets.

(53) samvAcya - art of conversation.

(54) mAnasa kAvya-kriyA - art of composing verse mentally.

(55) kriyA-vikalpa - art of designing a literary work or a medical remedy.

(56) chalitaka-yoga - art of practicing as a builder of shrines called
after him.

(57) abhidhAna-kosa-cchando-jnyAna - art of the use of lexicography and
meters.

(58) vastra-gopana - art of concealment of cloths.

(59) dyUta-vicenya - art of knowing specific gambling.

(60) AkarshNa-kriyA - art of playing with dice or magnet.

(61) bAlaka-kriyanaka - art of using children’s toys.

(62) vainAyika vidyA - art of enforcing discipline.

(63) vaijayika vidyA - art of gaining victory.

(64) vaitAlika vidyA - art of awakening master with music at dawn.
=======================

HINDU PURANAS

AN OVERVIEW ABOUT THE HINDU PURANAS

I was about to give an explanation and overview of  what are puranas in a general sense and then describe the Kandha Purana and its author and the background to it. 
But it would be better to create a new thread for the puranas and let it flow side by side with Kandha Puranam and the story of Agasthya.
Please read on.......
What is a puraanam in the first place? Very briefly....
In Hinduism, the puraanas play a great part. 
        The puraanas are supposed to be a compilation or collection of stories and histories. But that would be an understatement at its best. 
        There are somewhat like the encyclopaedias of various  branches of knowledge. The stories are actually interwoven into the fabric of the puraana.
The puraana contained religious knowledge, Vedic knowledge, and science, technology of the times, war-craft, politics, history, geography, rituals, philosophy, linguistics, ethnology, ethics, code of conduct, law, dharma, and many other things.
For instance, the puraana would say that so-and-so worshipped Siva at such-and-such an occasion for such-and-such a purpose. It will elaborate on what mantra he used; what rituals he performed; what austerities did he observe; what sthothra accompanied it; what offerings were used; what was the outcome. If it were done wrongly, what went wrong and how not to do it wrongly. How to do the remedial measures 
if something was done incorrectly. How to do which prayOga, which one, for what purpose.
When a king or somebody meets with a sage, the sage would give a rather long discourse about dharma and other relevant matters. 
The puranic source has often been used as a pretext in legal matters in those days.
It would describe the universe and its creation; the worlds within it; the continents and countries in a particular world; the inhabitants of the world; the races and languages; the dynasties; the origins of those dynasties; the lineage of kings; the history of the country and its kings. 
The stories would usually contain sub stories, mini-stories, and micro-stories.
Before I go any further, I wish to emphasis that the puraanas have their negative aspects as well. 
For one thing, there have been a lot of interpolations. There have been distortions and additions to suit certain groups of people. There are also countless instances of  prejudice and double standards.
The ancient narrators did not understand what was exactly handed over to them. Because they lacked the advanced technical knowledge about things that were there, so many galaxies away, in the very distant remote past. The resultant was something that looked like a fantastic fabrication of the wildest imagination possible. But, there have also been advantages and uses. 
        The puraanaas have also been used to spread superstitions. They are too voluminous. That makes it too difficult to separate the chaff from real grain.
  Those who wrote the puraanas were called the pauraaNikas. 
        Usually the purana would be quoted as the narration of  some sage or deva or god. Sometimes, it would be a discourse, or question and answer session between two people or gods/goddesses. It would accordingly be named. Some puraanas are named according to the god or goddess about whom the puraana is written.
Although the puraana passes under an authorship, there have been innumerable additions that have taken place during the course of these thousands of years that have passed. A puraana can be deemed as having collective authorship. 
Some of the puranas are huge. Skandha puraana has more than 100,000 verses.


There are 18 major and 18 minor puraanas. 
Apart from these, there are innumerable 'sthala puraana's. 
A sthala puraanam is dedicated to a particular place. It extols the virtues of that place. It was a custom in those days to have somebody compile or compose a puraanam for a particular sthalam.
Thamilz Thaaththaa U.VE.Saaminaadhaiyar's preceptor, MahaaVidhvaan Thirusirapuram MiinaatchiSundaram Pillai has composed quite a number of sthala puraanams during the second half of the l8th century. 
VEdha Vyaasa is said to have been the for-runner of all the major and minor puraanas.
He is considered to be an incarnation of Naaraayana during the Dvaapara yugam. 
We may find that more than one avathaaram or amsam to be living at the same time In Raamaayanam, we find Raama, and ParasuRaama. In Dvaapara yugam, we find Krishna and ParasuRaama. In addition we also find partial avathaarams like VEdha Vyaasa also.


Once upon a time, it is said that there were thousands of vedhas. Vyaasa is said to have compiled them into the 4 vedhas - Rig, Saama, Yajur and Aharvana vedhas. 
He gave the 4 vedhas to 4 rishis. 
Rig to Paila, Saama to Jaimini, Yajur to Vaisambaayana, and Atharva to Subhandhu.
Then, from the immense available sources, he compiled  the 18 puraanas - 


Braahma, 
Padma, 
Vishnu, 
Siva, 
Bhaagavatha,
Bavishya, 
Naaradha, 
MaarkandEya, 
Agni, 
Brahma Vaivartha, 
Lingga, Varaaha, 
Skandha, 
Vaamana, 
Mathsya, 
Kuurma, 
Garuda, 
Brahmaanda Puraanam.


Originally Siva, Bhavishya, Lingga, MaarkandEya, Varaaha, and Skandha puraanams had 300,000 verses. All these extol Siva. 
Bhaagavatham, Garuda, Naaradha, and Vishnu puraanas are dedicated to Vishnu.
Brahma had Braahma puraanam and Padma puraanam.
Brahmaanda puraanam contains the story of SriLalitha MahaThiripurasundhari as LalithObagyAnNam. In it Sri Lalitha Sahasranaamam is found. Details about its recitation are given.It is in the form of a discourse between SriHayagrivar and Agasthya where Agasthya learns about SriVidya from SriHayagriva.
Hayagriva is a form of VishNu.
MaarkandEya puraanam has the Sri DEvi Maahaathmyam.
Thus we find several gods/goddesses being extolled in these puraanas although the puraana may be dedicated to a particular god.
Among these, Skandha puraanam is made up of six books called 'Samhitha's containing 100,000 verses. 
Sanathkumaara samhithai - 55000,
Suutha samhithai - 6000, 
Brahma samhithai - 3000
Vishnu samhithai - 5000 
Sankara samhithai - 3000
Saura samhithai - 1000 


The six books are subdivided into 50 kaandams. 
Sankara Samhithai contains a subsection called 'Siva Rahasya Kaandam' of 13000 slokas. 
This is subdivided into seven sub-kaandams called:  
Sambhava, 
Aasura, 
ViiraMahendra, 
Yuddha, 
DEva, 
Dhaksha, 
and UpadEsa. 


Murugan's story is told in these seven sections.
I will give a short synopsis of the Tamil KandhaPuranam and its composition by its author, Kachchiyappa Sivachariyar.

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SAVE REDEEM SALVAGE

MY VIEWS-#1

SAVE, REDEEM, SALVAGE

Here are some of my views that I made I Forumhub in April 28, 2000.
That is 12 years ago. 12 years. One Maamaangam.
Nothing has improved.
Things have only worsened.
But there are scoundrels who will lie and mislead.
Dont beleive them.
Know the Truth.

 I beleive strongly that the Tamilnaadu organisations or the govt. or the universities should set up panels of historians/archeolists and assign them into units which are given specific tasks in the compilation of history. A particular group collects,researches, compiles, analyses and publishes volumes on a particular topic in history, eg., Pallavas.
 This is not even going to be a fraction of the cost of holding one 'maanaadu'. It would not even be a fraction of the cost of petrol for the lorries and buses for a 'pEraNi'.
 It will not even be a fraction of the amount of money spent in annual festivals and kumbaashikams of the temples in Malaysia. (You will be surprised to understand the amount that such a small community spends on that.)
 And a great deal of books and manuscripts are being lost every minute of every day of the year.

 Many works have not seen the light of the day.
 The pitiable thing is that most monumental works are very old. After them, deeper research has not been sufficiently done. No proper updating has taken place.
 I am not confining this general remark to just history only.
 It applies to all, I repeat - all, of Tamiliana.
 Say, for instance, the Siddha Medicine. Some of us take pride in claiming Sumerian or Sumatran Medicine as Siddha Medicine. But have we sufficiently researched Siddha Medicine?
 How did 'salliyakaraNi' work?
 What exactly is 'salliyakaraNi'?
 Is it muuligai?
 Or was it a mixture of ingredients?
 If it was a muuligai, what was the active component which was responsible for the effect?
 Was it an alkaloid?
 Can that effective component be syntesised?
 How did Vijayalaya ChOla survive 24 battle wounds?
 How did those 'vilzhppuN's heal?
  What sort of plastic surgery did they perform in order to promote a rapid healing and prevent deformity?
 Well! This is Medical History or Historical Medicine. This can be very useful to the present generation.
 Simply saying that 'Oh Tamils had this.Tamils could do that', is just not enough.
 How do you land an elephant from a ship and take it to the shore? Rajendra Chola did that in his naval campaign.
 This are deeper aspects of historical research.
 How do you polish a perfectly round ball of stone within a cage, both of which has been sculpted in situ together?
 What ingredients and technology do you have for making glazed wall plaster?
 How do you make a brick that is one and a half foot in length which is stone-hard?
 How did you cement it together so that even after a thousand years, you can't prise it loose from one another?

 There you are! You see what we lack and where we slack?
 Just a wee bit of examples.
 We just are'nt organised enough.
 Our priorities are jumbled up also. In all fields.
 Can we 'kaizan' our way up? Or do we 're-engineer' our way out of it?

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LEFT SHIFT

THE LEFT SHIFT OF NATARAJA

 Although the great temple of Madurai is known as Sri Meenakshi Temple, the presiding deity is Thiruvaalavaayudaiyaar or Sundaresvarar; otherwise known as ChokkEsvarar, Chokkalingam, Alzagu Chokkan, and Chokkanathan along with His consort Meenakshi, AngaiyaRkaNNi.
 Just to the northern aspect of the SriSundaresvarar shrine, there is 'VeLLiyamabalam'.
This is the shrine of Nataraja performing the Cosmic Dance. The Dancing Nataraja is said to perform his Cosmic Dance in five places. They are known as the 'Sabha's or 'ambalams. The sabha at Chidhambaram is the Golden Sabha or 'Pon Ambalam'. Madurai is the 'Silver Sabha' - 'VeLLi Ampalam' or 'Rajitha Sabha'.
 The Nataraja here, is known as 'athira viisi aaduvaar'.
 Normally, the Dancing Nataraja stands on his right leg and throws across the left leg.
 According to the ThiruviLaiyaadal puraaNam, there was a Pandya king called Rajasekara Pandyan who was grief-striken because of this. He felt that Nataraja has been standing on his right leg for eons of time. He prayed ardently to Nataraja to shift his stance and change his posture. He wanted to Nataraja to stand on His left leg and lift up and throw across His right leg.
 For that he performed many austerities, pujais, penances. If Nataraja did not comply, he pledged that he would fix his 'surigai' sword on the ground and fall over it and impale himself thus.
At one point of time, he decided to kill himself and prepared for that.
 Immediately Nataraja appeared and hearing the Pandya's plea, shifted his legs. He stood on his left leg and lifted his right leg and danced thus. 

 

 This is known as 'Kaal maaRi aadiya patalam' among the 64 ThiruviLaiyaadal's - 64 Divine Sports of SriChockanatha Peruman of Madurai.
 This one of the most dynamic and beautiful parts of the ThiruviLaiyaadal Puranam.
 The Nataraja here is ten-armed. He is a very dynamic and versatile figure as depicted by ThiruviLaiyaadal puraaNam.
 The shrine of Nataraja in the VeLLi Ambalam faces south.
 VeLLi Ambalam is a very powerful node of Cosmic Power. The power gets enhanced with the performance of Manthra recitation and prayers. The overflow of power takes place once in a while in regular intervals. This outsurge of the Cosmic Energy may take the form of certain manifestations . Usually it would be in the form of fire. Certain areas used to catch fire because of the outsurge of  Cosmic Energy. This was known as the 'Paarvai'.
 This was solved when they built a wall and closed the doorway and housed the MukkuRuNi PiLLaiyar there.
 VeLLi Amabalam is covered totally with silver pltes. Lord Natara's statue is larger than life-size. It is adorned with gold and silver kavacam and ornaments.
 His festivals are aavaNi muulam and aadi muLaikkattu festivals.
 In those days, free food was given to thousands of people on these days. Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan I has made thEr chariots for Nataraja. ThEr festival was in the month of panguni.
ThEr stand had been built by Dalavaay Ariyanatha Mudhaliyar, the de facto founder of Madurai nayak kingdom. Thiruvempavai was recited in the month of Maargalzi.

 I have uploaded two photos from the Photos section of Agathiyar. 

 One is the normal Cosmic Dance. The other is the Left Shift.
 You can compare both.

FROM THE THIRUVILAYADAL PURANAM OF MADURAI

THE ENCHANTING EYES

THE ENCHANTING EYES -

There was this wrestler called 'uRangga villi dhaasan'.
'uRanggavillai' is one of the titles of Lakshmanan.
'Sundaravilli' is the elder brother.
Our dhaasan was obsessive and passionate about
his wife to whom he was very very much attached.
One day, Ramanuja asked him why he was so much
attached to his wife.
uRanggavilli told him that it was ther astounding
beauty; especially those breath-taking eyes which
were totally captivating.
So Ramanuja threw a challenge to him:
"If I showed you a pair of eyes which are more
captivating than your wife's eyes, would you discard
that obsession?"
"If you can show them....", scoffed our friend.
Ramanuja asked him to follow and took him straight
to the sanctum sanctorum of Thiruvarangganathan.
He pointed.
uRanggavilli dhaasan saw....
Those eyes......
Beyond any description.
Nor comparison.
Thus uRanggavilli dhaasan lost himself and became
a monumental model of the prabhathi margam that
Ramanuja was striving to show the world.
Well.....

Such were the eyes.

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DARE TO FAIL

DARE TO FAIL

This is about abook which was written at a proper time and served as a source of inspiration for thousands of Malaysians, Singaporeans and Thais. And it became an international best-seller.

        And this is dedicated to RathaKrishnan who has 'fuel'ed the inspiration to write this.


There are umpteen books written and released about succeeding in life. But they all give only particular perspectives about succeeding. All those approaches will only lead in one direction only.
There is a book of a totally different nature and calibre. It was written by a Malaysian. Chinese. The book's name is 'Dare To Fail'. Author: Billi P.S.Lim.


The greatest weakness of human society at the present times is a morbid fear of failure. 
If there is this amount of irrational crowds in the temples, it is all because of fear. If there are so many abhiskekhams, yaagams, homams, special worships, it is because of fear. And also lust and greed. 


The prolific growth of Swaminijs - Kumudhanandha, Anandhavikataanandha and the habits of washing their unholy feet with fragrant water and sprinkling their heads and drinking that.... its all underlying fear which propels them. And a pathological degree of greed.
There no rational approach. 
"Is that Swamiji authentic?"
"Who is he? Is he real?"
Very few people think along these lines and approach a swamiji. 
"This swamiji will make it shower with gold and dollars..... That swamiji will make me get that contract. This swamiji will make me win this case. This swamiji will cure my sickness. That swamiji will make me strike a lottery. This swamiji will make me get the electoral seat and win this election. That swamiji will make my son become a doctor......".


Such great expectations, and fear.  


Fear of "What if.....?"


Among these, the fear of fear itself is the greatest. 
Those who have succeeded in life will fear an impending failure.
Those who are damn rich will always harbour a mortal fear about poverty. What if we dont earn enough! What will the society think about us?
Such sorts of fear.


The Malaysians always say that the Singaporeans have these fears. They call this state as 'Kiah(ng) Suu'. But nowadays, we see this HiahSuuism afflicting the Malaysians also. Malaysian Tamils seem to be most afflicted. I hear Tamilnadu is also affected. 
This book acts as a medicine for KiahSuuism.
Most of the people will be affected negatively by failure immediately. Others get their spirits killed by repeated failures and so they give up.
It is for these people that this book is meant for.


'Never Say Die' is the Manthra of this book. The author has investigated and researched failure and its nature and impact very carefully. That is why, he has chosen this title - 'Dare To Fail'. 


Even to fail, you need courage. 


There is a picture with the frontispice. This picture is that of a Thai man. Name is Srivat Voravetvuthikun.  He hangs a box over his neck. He prepares sandwiches and takes them road by road and sells them. The name of the sandwich is 'Srivat Sandwich'. 


There is nothing special about selling sandwiches. The speciality is that HE is selling sandwiches.


Just a few months before that photo, Srivat was a multimillionaire. He was Thailand's leading stockbroker. He was also a condomenium developer. He had tremendous losses and became a debt-ridden bankrupt. But he was not overcome with remorse or shame. He just picked the box and started selling sandwiches. 
"There is nothing wrong with selling sandwiches. As long as there is no theft of cheating". He was an exemplary monument of courage and steadfastness and not giving up.


You must understand the time period during which Lim wrote this book. There was the greatest stock market crash in South East Asia. Thousands lost everything and many commited suicide. 
That is the time that Lim wrote and published this book.

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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

LATERAL THINKING - THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

The classical story that Edward de Bono, the Guru MahaRaj of  Lateral Thinking tells, is oft quoted. 
        There are several varients of the same story.
Its about a Beauty.


Her father had borrowed heavily from an old Jewish money-lender. He could not repay the loan. 
The Old Jew took him to debtors court. 
In those days, they had debtors courts. In these courts only debt cases were heard. If the debtor could not repay, he was jailed for a certain period. Confiscation, etc., usually went with the jail term. 
In the court, the old Jew made a term. In lieu of the loan, he asked the debtor for his beautiful daughter. 
The daughter cried and begged and pleaded.
At long last, the court came up with some terms.
It was decided to draw lots.
If the lots said 'Yes', she was to marry the Jew. If 'No', she was exempted from the marriage and the loan was also abbrogated. 
Accordingly, they asked the town clerk to make arrangements for the lots.
But the town clerk was bribed secretly by the Jew and he wrote out the words 'Yes' in both the slips of paper for drawing lots. 
The Beauty guessed as much.
When both the slips of paper were cast, she took one and said, "I am taking this. I will do according to what it says." 
And then she swallowed it.
A rukus ensued. 
But the Beauty said very coolly, "Look inside the other slip of paper. What I swallowed must contain a word which is contradictory to what had been written on the slip that I swallowed".
They opned the other paper and read, "Yes".
"Which means 'No' for me", the Beauty said blithefully.

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