The worship of mother Nature 'Prakriti' -Bhakti in Vedanta!!!! ....

[Guest guest]

Our learned member Nair-ji mentions in another heart-warming post on

Bhakti ...

 

(For the primitive man, bhakti in its very primeval form arose from

the fear of the elements. He was constantly exposed to the fury of

Nature, whose unpredictable wrath he wanted to appease. Thus, he

personified Nature as a mysterious power and began offering his

obeisance to it in the hope that that act would protect him in his

unsafe and insecure world.)

 

Nair-ji, may i add that the so called 'primitive' man worshipped

Mother Nature ( Prakriti MAA ) not only out of *fear* but also out of

reverence, gratitude and enormous Love for the Wonder, Beatitude ,

Majesty , Grandeur and Manifold Mystery of Mother NAture .

 

The so called 'PRIMITIVE' man regarded The Rivers, Mountains, Plants,

Animals, and other elements such as Fire, Wind, Rain, the Ushas (

dawn), the Earth, the sky and also the Moon , the sun and the stars

etc as manifestations of God/ess . Therefore, vedic Texts like Rig

veda and atharva veda abound in hymns in praise of all these

elements of Nature !

 

Take the Prithvi Suktham (Bhumi Suktham) from the Atharva veda . In

this devotional prayer , the blessings of Mother earth are sought for

prosperity in all endeavours and fulfillment of all religious

aspirations.

 

Earth, in which lie the sea, the river and other waters,

in which food and cornfields have come to be,

in which lives all that breathes and that moves,

may she confer on us the finest of her yield.

Earth, in which the waters, common to all,

moving on all sides, flow unfailingly, day and night,

may she pour on us milk in many streams,

and endow us with luster,

May those born of thee, O Earth,

be of our welfare, free from sickness and waste,

wakeful through a long life, we shall become bearers of tribute to

thee.

Earth, my mother, set me securely with bliss in full accord with

heaven,

O wise one, uphold me in grace and splendor!

 

in the great rig vedic text also, there is great celebration of

Nature and its glory.

 

The Rig Veda 1.6.3 states:

 

"Nature's beauty is an art of God. Let us feel the touch of God's

invisible hands in everything beautiful.

By the first touch of His hand rivers throb and ripple. When He

smiles the sun shines, the moon glimmers, the stars twinkle, the

flowers bloom.

By the first rays of the rising sun, the universe is stirred; the

shining gold is sprinkled on the smiling buds of rose; the fragrant

air is filled with sweet melodies of singing birds, the dawn is the

dream of God's creative fancy."

 

(http://www.atributetohinduism.com/Nature_Worship.htm - 215k )-

 

As the noted writer Madhu Khanna observes ...

 

"In the Rg Veda, for example, the crimson streak of day-break is

portrayed as Usas, the Mistress of Dawn whose brilliant effulgence

spreads out piercing the formless black abyss (RV, 10.127). Night and

day are the two celestial sisters that bring rest and awakening to

the world. In their lap, gods recline and enact their roles. The much

celebrated mother of the gods, Aditi who claims as many as sixty

hymns in the Vedas is the infinite and the womb of the cosmos.

Goddesses such as, Kuhu, Sinivali, Anumati and Raka are lunar

divinities symbolizing the waxing and waning of the lunar-cycle. The

rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati mentioned in the Vedas are

goddesses who preside over the facundating waters of life. The hymn

dedicated to Aranyani (RV, 10.146) or the forest goddesses

(Vanadevis) celebrated the spirit of the forest and groves. They are

joined by an innumerable number of goddesses who preside over village

territories and specific sacred centres (Ksetradevis). The life

sustaining foods also have their goddesses in the personifications

such as, Annapurna, Sataksi and Sakhambari. Thus from the sky

wandering celestial bodies to the sprouting plant were conceived of

as a manifestation of the feminine principle."

 

as per Devi Bhagvata purana,

 

"They (the gods) saw the goddess's superanal cosmic Form. The

Satyaloka is situated on the topmost of Her head; the Sun and Moon

are her eyes; the quarters, Her ears; the Vedas are Her words; the

Universe is Her heart; the earth is Her loins; the space between

earth and sky is Her navel; the asterisms are Her Thighs; the

Maharaloka is Her neck; the Janarloka is Her face; Indra and the

Devas and then Svarloka is her arms; the sound is the organ of Her

ears;. . . . The fire is within her Face; day and night are like her

two wings; the mountains are Her bones; the rivers are Her veins, and

the trees are the hairs of Her body. O King ! youth virginity, and

old age are Her best gaits, the two twilight are Her clothings; the

Moon is the mind of the Mother of the Universe.

 

[Devibhagavata Purana, VII. Chap. 33.1-21ff]

 

http://www.ignca.nic.in/ps_05011.htm - 54k - Cached

 

So Nairji - i bow down to the 'wisdom' of the 'primitive' man - he

caommands my respect more than the so called 'modern' man ( is this

civilization?) who is wreaking a havoc on the ecological balance and

the environment ?

 

AS Dr. Karan Singh observes ...

 

Dr. Karan Singh states:

 

"In our arrogance and ignorance we have destroyed the environment of

this planet. We have polluted the oceans, we have made the air

unbreathable, we have desecrated nature and decimated wildlife. But

the Vedantic seers knew that man was not something apart from nature,

and, therefore, they constantly exhort us that, while we work for own

salvation, we must also work for the welfare of all beings."

 

(source: Essays in Hinduism - By Dr. Karan Singh p. 47).

 

Let us join the primitive man and revive the worship the 'rising'

sun, the flowing rivers, the majestic mountains, and the patient

mother Earth, and all of living creatures on this planet earth! Be

environmentally friendly and maintain the ecological balance !

 

As Swami Sivanada says " the Himalayas is my father; Ganga is my

Mother."

 

Nair-ji, on another note ... regarding Bhakti In advaita ...

 

Kanchi Periyavaal observes ...

 

" Isvaraanugrahaadeva Pumsaam Advaita Vaasana. We begin with a

feeling of distinctness from God. The predicament of worship is one

of duality of Deity and Devotee. But even then the devotee does not

feel that God is external to him and to the Universe; He has the

consciousness that God is imminent in himself and in every particle

of the world, in-dwelling every where and in everything, how ever

minute. Our duty is worship Him in this way with devotion, and if we

do so, He reveals His true nature to us. Bhagavan says :

 

BHAKTYAA MAM ABHIJANAATI YAAVAAN YASCHAAMI TATVATAH

 

The word, BHAKTYAA, meaning through devotion, shows that bhakthi is

the means for the realisation of the truth of God's nature. Advaita,

Visishtadvaita, and Dvaita are one in this emphasis on Bhakti to

obtain God's grace. To whatever school we belong, we should invoke

that grace through Bhakti, leaving it to Him to reavel the truth of

His nature. All Achaaryas have stressed this need for Bhakti. "

 

http://www.kamakoti.org/acall/ac-bhakti.html - 14k - Cached

 

Aum sree Matre Namaha !!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

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