Guest guest Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 GoddessDurga, "Srinath Ram" <srinath_atreya> wrote: mantra_tantra, "Srinath Ram" <srinath_atreya> wrote: || Jai Sadguru Dutta || In my knowledge, the animals that are depicted as vehicles of Hindu dieties represent the different aspects of human mind and intellect. Normally, we associate worldly desires [worldliness - "BhavarOgam"] and nonvirtuous behaviour ["anArya"] of humans to animals and call it as "animal instinct". The diety riding/sitting over a particular animal signifies the control of senses and mind and shunning the low instincts that the particular animal stands for. For example, 1. Lord MahaagaNapathy's vehicle "mooShika" (mouse) stands for undeveloped/narrow mind/intellect. Hence by worshipping Ganesh, one's intellect would be sharpened. 2. Lord Shiva's vehicle "nandi" (bull) signifies the wavering mind and thoughts. Hence by worshipping Shiva, the devotee becomes a yogi who has a balanced mind. 3. Mother Durga's vehicle "vyAGhra" (tiger) and "sinha" (lion) signifies "karma" ["karma PhalEShu juStAm" --- durgaa sooktham] and anger/arrogance. Hence by worshipping the Mother, we would be able to burn our karma and remain polite and humble. 4. Goddess MahaalakShmi's vehicle "gaja" (elephant) stands for greed and dissatisfaction. Hence by worshipping Mother Lakshmi, one can overcome greed, sorrow and dissatisfaction. 5. Lord SubrahmaNya's vehicle "chiki" (peacock) stands for egoism and proudness. Hence by worshipping Subrahmanya, the devotee can shed his ego and "hail-the-soul" attitude and thus becomes elgible to secure "brahma jnaana". 6. Vedamatha Gaayathri's vehicle "hansa" (swan) signifies the ability to make the distinction between the good and the bad and knowledge and ignorance. Hence the worship of Mother Gaayathri reveals to us the secret knowledge of the Vedas. Often, the Goddesses are depicted as sitting in a lotus. Here the lotus signifies the "heart lotus" which stands for "Bhakthi" - devotion and "vairaagya" - detachment. This conveys to us that by worshipping the goddesses, we gain devotion and detachment. I'am sure, the other learned members of the group can provide still better explanation. regards. mantra_tantra, "spiritual68" <spiritual68> wrote: > DEar Friends > > i would like to know what is the significance of animals that god & > goddess use? > > spirit --- End forwarded message --- On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 17:53:07 -0000, Srinath Ram <srinath_atreya> wrote: > > || Jai Sadguru Dutta || > > > Garuda is the son of sage couple Kashyapa and Vinutha. Kashyapa had > a second wife by name Kadru who was always jealous of Vinutha's > virtuousness and wanted to spoil her reputation. Since Garuda and his > brothers were son of Vinutha, they are called as "vainatheya"s and > the sons of Kadru are the snake gods. To cut the story short, once, > Garuda besiezed the Moon God and relented to spare him upon request > from the gods. He defeated all gods but himself got defeated by Lord > Mahavishnu. When Garuda unconditionally surrendered and begged the > Lord for mercy, Vishnu forgave him and also gave him the honour of > carrying Him. This is how Garuda became the "vahan" of Vishnu. > > The symbolism/message here is that one has to surrender to the God, > however strong he is. No one is above God. Whenever we act in > arrogance, without any regard to the Lord's wish, we are sure to > fail. Still, the Lord's compassion knows no bounds. When we surrender > at His holy feet, he will for sure, forgive us and lead us from > darkness to enlightenment. > > Later, Garuda was given the task of carrying the pot of "amrth" > (ambrosia). He is responsible for the "kumbh mel". Since then, he is > associated with immortality. A devout Hindoo should chant the > following shloka while going to bed so that he doesn't get bad dreams: > > "raamam skandam hanoomantham vainatheyam vrkodaram | > shayanena smarennithyam duswapnam thasya nashyathi ||" > > [ I contemplate upon the great divine personalities like Lord Ram, > Skanda, Hanuman, Vainatheya (Garuda) and Vrkodara (Bheemasen) so that > bad dreams don't bother me ] > > There is bitter enmity between the Garudas and the Naagas. Always the > Garudas have an upper hand over the Naagas and the nagas get killed > by the Garudas. But when the Lord is sitting over Garuda, there is no > trace of enmity in him. Vishnu is the very epitome of compassion and > calmness - "shaanthaakaaram....". This means, if we shed our attitude > of enmity towards one and all, we become nearer and dearer to the > Lord. > > Garuda is a "pakshi" - bird. The word has two words "pa" > and "kshi". "pa" is paramaathma - Supreme Being and "kshi" is the > Athman. Hence Garuda is the noble symbolism of unification of the > soul with the Supreme Being through the medium of "Bhakthi" > and "sharanaagathi". > > || vishNOh padhE parama maDhwa uThsauv... || > > > mantra_tantra, Shivaram <conte@i...> wrote: >> Namaste, Srinath. >> >> Thank you for this illuminating contribution to our list. >> >> I am quite intrigued by this information and am also wondering what > is the >> significance of Garuda, vehicle of mighty Lord Vishnu the Preserver. >> >> Thank you. >> >> Shivaram -- Om! Sthapakaya Ca Dharmasya Sarva-Dharma-Svarupine Avatara-Varishthaya Ramakrishnaya Te Namaha! --- End forwarded message --- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 || Jai Sadguru Dutta || Revered Ganapathyji, I highly appreciate your views and comments. My post was based on the "athma - paramathma" relation/distinction. There are different stages in the process of evolution of an "athman". Our Shasthras tell us that there are 84 lakh species in this creation. From the adhvaitha point of view, all are divine and adorable. The L.S. states: "Abrahma keeta janani" [The Mother of all creatures- rom Brahmna to the most insignificant organism] . The "thaitthareeya upanishad" proclaims: " tat srShtwA | tadEvaanu praaviShath ||" [He created it and Himself entered it]. This simply means, The Supreme God is in all, everywhere. This is, as we all know, is the Supreme Truth. But for lesser mortals like most of us, this is only an ideal. Realization of Advaitha is at infinity. We worship the Cow with great devotion and seek the Mother in her, but at the same time, mercilessly kill hundreds of cockroaches. In the path of upasana, the immature sadhak, in the begining, has to make a clear distinction between humanity & divinity. This will help him to recognize his negative traits and shortcomings and thus contrast it with divinity, which he is aspiring to attain. Contemplating on the divine form of the mighty Lord Ganesha sitting over the petty animal mooshika will convey the message to the upasak's subconscious mind that only if he sheds his "animal instincts" which manifest in the form of anger, lust and greed, he will be able to discover his true divine nature: "dhEhO dhEvAlayah prOkthO, jeevO dhEvah sanAthanah | thyajEdh ajnAna nirmaalyam sOham BhAvEna poojayEth ||" [This body is the sanctum-sanctorium (temple) of the primordial Athman who is none other than the Supreme Being Himself. Shed the ignorance of worldliness and try to realize the Divinity in you]. Also, "na rudhrO rudhram archayEth" [one cannot worship Rudra withouth himself becoming the one] All these imply the development of mind, expansion of consciouness and maturity. As your goodself has quoted, the "vahanas", true to thier meaning are the vehicles that assist us in the path of realization and helps to uplift the sadhak's spirit. In Durga pUja, along with the Mother and Her family deities and Her vehicle the Divine Lion, we also worship "MahiShaasura" - the demon. This is because, although he was a demon before, he could attain salvation by getting killed by the compassionate Mother. Here I recall the explanation given by H.H. Jagadguru Shankaraachaarya of Shrngeri, Shree Shree Shree Bharathee thiirTha mahaaswaamigal, on the the eve of puurNAhuthi of sahasra chandika yaagam in 1997: "...mahiSha represents the demon in us who manifests in the form of sloth ["Alasyam"], anger and lust - the evil trinity that inhibits the manifestation of divinity in us....This demon tries to destroy our very existence. Then, the Divine Mother, out of Her compassion, manifests Herself as Durga and slays the demon...." Ofcourse, the same Truth is seen by the wise in different forms. My usage of the term "animal instincts" is only as an analogy and in no way means disrespect to any animal or deity. Infinite thanks for your valuable comments. , ganapathy = = vijaya <srividya101> wrote: > Respected Atreyaji, > > Thank you for this wonderful mail and I learn lot from your mails posted both to the group and in person. > > On this mail may I offer my some observations and correct me if you tend to think differently. > > First of all the " Vahanas " or noble vehicles cannot be equated to an animal which is not having the sixth sense but only behaves due to its programmed instinct or an anology drawn to a human mind or intellect. Animals have a place in creation for balancing the environment, food chain etc. > > While your analysis of the instict of each animal is right, motivating and inspiring with full of meaning, I think that this is more of an " Intellectual Sathvic gymnastic " Convincing but stretching the imagination far off. If you ask me " Why " -- the explanation is : > > > > Vahanas though they take the form of an animal , are not animals " perse " and cannot be compared to animals in terms of behaviour. The Vahanas could be some human beings liberated or realised but not wanting to merge with the Parabrahman chose to take an animal form to serve as a vehicle to the Saghuna Brahman. We know the great Alwar -- Kulaseshkara Alwar-- rejecting the Parama padam or Moksha Chose to be a stepping stone to the main gate ( Garbha graham ) of Maha Vishnu temple. He preferred a dust of devotee of Narayana superior to Moksha. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 Raviji, kindly elaborate on this. regards , "M. S. Ravisankar" <ravi@a...> wrote: > There are other ways to interpret vaahana-s also. For instance, please see > how trishatii bhaashhya brilliantly describes the name haMsa- vaahaana. > > Ravi > > <previous messages> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 29, 2004 Report Share Posted February 29, 2004 Dear Ravaishankar: Thank you for providing the link on haMsavAhanA : >>>> http://www.escribe.com/religion/advaita/m4784.html 110. haMsavAhanA SHE who has swan as HER vehicle. The word haMsa is derived from ha.nti, which means "to move". Hence haMsa means one which moves and it implies Sun or vital breath. haMsa is HER symbol as vAhanA in which she is seated. SHE manifests there. According to the taittiriyopaniShad.h (10-4)the puruSha and Sun are one and the same. Or SHE is sarasvatI who has swan as HER vehicle. AUM haMsavAhanAyai namaH <<<<< Can you please help me understand the derivation of "haMsa" from "ha.nti"? Thank you, Regards, Dr. Yadu , "M. S. Ravisankar" <ravi@a...> wrote: > Dear Srinathji: > > http://www.escribe.com/religion/advaita/m4784.html > > This is brief, but you can expand on this idea to great extent -- starting > from Sun, breath, etc. I will try to post the original text by this weekend. > > > With best regards, > Ravi > > > > > > Srinath Ram [srinath_atreya] > > Wednesday, February 25, 2004 10:07 PM > > > > Fwd: Re: significance of animals > > > > > > Raviji, > > > > kindly elaborate on this. > > > > regards > > > > > > , "M. S. Ravisankar" <ravi@a...> wrote: > > > There are other ways to interpret vaahana-s also. For instance, > > please see > > > how trishatii bhaashhya brilliantly describes the name haMsa- > > vaahaana. > > > > > > Ravi > > > > > > <previous messages> > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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