Guest guest Posted December 10, 2000 Report Share Posted December 10, 2000 Khandogya-Upanishad [5:1]The bull of the herd declares one foot of Brahman to Satyakama. [6:1]Agni declares another foot of Brahman to Satyakama. [7:1]Hamsa (Flamingo) declares another foot of Brahman. [8:1]Madgu (A diver-bird) declares yet another foot of Brahman. After the above words, Satyakama droves the cows onward and in the evening the diver bird declares one foot of Brahman to Satyakama. After reaching the house of the teacher, the Acharya(teacher) taught him the same knowldege and said, "nothing was left out, yea, nothing was left out". ------ Though Bull stands for Vayu, Hamsa for Sun and diver-bird for Prana, it is interesting that animals are chosen to teach about Brahman. We also know of various Jataka-stories where animals possessed wisdom. Haven't we heard about a dog following Yudhishtara ? [We have also heard about animals being the only audience for all our lost Katha-Sarit-Sagaram stories except one.] If Brahman is beyond intellect and mind, we may see why animals cannot attain realization. Granted that intellect is needed to do the preparatory work as we see it, but, we do not know that intellect alone is necessary to do the preparatory work. .... Just some thoughts. With Love, Raghava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 11, 2000 Report Share Posted December 11, 2000 >Khandogya-Upanishad >[5:1]The bull of the herd declares one foot of Brahman to Satyakama. >[6:1]Agni declares another foot of Brahman to Satyakama. >[7:1]Hamsa (Flamingo) declares another foot of Brahman. >[8:1]Madgu (A diver-bird) declares yet another foot of Brahman. > >After the above words, Satyakama droves the cows onward and in the >evening the diver bird declares one foot of Brahman to Satyakama. > >After reaching the house of the teacher, the Acharya(teacher) taught >him the same knowldege and said, "nothing was left out, yea, nothing >was left out". >- >... Just some thoughts. > >With Love, >Raghava Shree Raghava Rao, I would understand from these that instead of the birds and animals teaching satyakaama, satyakaama was able to learn from them, the essential truth. That happened only after the purification of his intellect by his implicit surrender to the will of his teacher. Vyaas's son Sukha Maharshi gives a big list of his teachers that include birds, bees and trees. One should read - the "Wanderings of Himalaya-s" by Tapovan Maharaja, the teacher of Swami Chinmayananda - You feel like running to Himalaya-s. Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi's 'Arunaachala Shiva' is another example. When the mind is ready, the omnipresent Iswara can come teach in any form that is available since He is in all forms and every form His form yet He is beyond all forms. To my own surprise, I learned a lot from my Cat, which ended up in our house not by our desire but His doing. Even if I am lazy to get up sometimes early in the mornings, she will make sure I get up by her uninterrupted alarm of 'myaavs'. She taught me that even an innocent animal wants Love for its survival - and what to talk about the emotionally drained humans. By the by, thanks for enlightening us during these short weeks. We hope you will be able to join back the list after you have settled down in India. Bon Voyage and we will see you before you leave. Regards Sadananda -- K. Sadananda Code 6323 Naval Research Laboratory Washington D.C. 20375 Voice (202)767-2117 Fax:(202)767-2623 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 11, 2000 Report Share Posted December 11, 2000 Namaste, Another good book is "A Hermit in the Himalayas" by Paul Brunton. His conversations with a tree outside his cabin, his nocturnal star gazing amidst the beauty of the Himalayan ranges is extremely beautiful. Anand P.S. There is a cat in Ramana Ashram which always attends the daily Milk Abhishekam in Bhagavan's samadhi. It waits patiently till all the rituals are over. In fact it seems to enjoy the Vedic chantings. >Vyaas's son Sukha Maharshi gives a big list of his >teachers that >include birds, bees and trees. One should read - the >"Wanderings of >Himalaya-s" by Tapovan Maharaja, the teacher of Swami >Chinmayananda - >You feel like running to Himalaya-s. Bhagavan Ramana >Maharshi's >'Arunaachala Shiva' is another example. Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 11, 2000 Report Share Posted December 11, 2000 Namaste, A truly outstanding site at URL: http://www.templenet.com/index.html has a series on Himalayan Journey, in sevarl parts [with pictures]. Also, a virtual tour of major temples in India, by region, theme, etc. Regards, s. advaitin , Anand Natarajan <harihara.geo> wrote: > > Namaste, > > Another good book is "A Hermit in the > Himalayas" by Paul Brunton. His conversations with a > tree outside his cabin, his nocturnal star gazing > amidst the beauty of the Himalayan ranges is extremely > beautiful. > > Anand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 11, 2000 Report Share Posted December 11, 2000 > > Vyaas's son Sukha Maharshi gives a big list of his teachers that > include birds, bees and trees Namaste, The legend of Dattatreya Avadhuta and his 24 teachers is in Bhagavata Purana XI:vii:33-74. As Dec 10-11 is Dattatreya Jayanti day [maargashiirshha puurNimaa or Full Moon day], I am tempted to summarise the verses in celebration of this holy day: 1. Earth 2. Air 3. Ether 4. Water 5. Fire 6. Moon 7. Sun 8. Pigeon 9. Python 10. Sea 11. Moth 12. Bee 13. Elephant 14. Honey-gatherer 15. Deer 16. Fish 17. Courtesan 18. Osprey 19. Child 20. Maiden 21. Blacksmith 22. Serpent 23. Spider 24. Wasp We can treat this as a riddle, and try to guess what Dattatreya must have said, or what we can learn from these on our own! Should there be further interest in this topic, I shall post the verse and translation, one per day, over the next few weeks. Regards, s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 11, 2000 Report Share Posted December 11, 2000 > > We can treat this as a riddle, and try to guess what Dattatreya >must have said, or what we can learn from these on our own! > Should there be further interest in this topic, I shall post the >verse and translation, one per day, over the next few weeks. > > >Regards, > >s. Sundar - Will be looking for it. Hari Om! Sadananda -- K. Sadananda Code 6323 Naval Research Laboratory Washington D.C. 20375 Voice (202)767-2117 Fax:(202)767-2623 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 12, 2000 Report Share Posted December 12, 2000 --- Anand Natarajan <harihara.geo wrote: > > P.S. There is a cat in Ramana Ashram which always > attends the daily Milk Abhishekam in Bhagavan's > samadhi. It waits patiently till all the rituals are > over. In fact it seems to enjoy the Vedic chantings. ---------------------- We were living in a Bombay Flat during my college days in the Fifty's and every Thursday there was bhajan at home praising Shirdi Sai Baba and after the prayers , invariably,every time, a Cockroach used to visit and partake of the milk that was kept on the floor in a small stainless steel cup as an offering to the Deities. Only after the visitor had had its share of the prasadam the Bhajans were deemed to be over.This repeated happeaning instilled faith in almost every member in the family! Hari Om! Swaminarayan Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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