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.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
