Fwd: goddess having more than one husband/lover

September 21, 2003

GoddessDurga, "Srinath Ram"

<srinath_atreya> wrote:

|| Jai Sadguru Dutta ||

I would like to remind Miss Alexandra that the concept of husband and

wife as regards to the gods in Hindu shastras is not that of a family

relationship but it conveys the Dwaita (duality) and Advaita (non-

duality) forms of the Parabrahman (the supreme bieng).

A God's (demi, super or supreme) power is personified to be his wife.

It is the feminine aspect of Nature that is dominant; the male aspect

is passive. The multifaceted actions of a god is represented by his

wives. Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankara has stressed this point in the very

first verse of his great work "Saundarya Lahari" :

" O Mother, only by uniting with you, Ishwara (Shiva) is able to

create the world. If He is not united with you, He will not have the

ability even to stir. While so, how can one who has acquired no merit

through earlier good deeds, can even dare to salute or praise You,

who are worthy of being worshiped by Hari, Hara, Viri~nci and others?"

God is both a male and a female. It depends on how u percieve Him

(Her). When someone asked Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamasa why he is

offering "Yagnopavita" - the sacred thread to Mother Kali, who is a

female, he answered that Kali is both the Mother and the Father.

If you visit the world famous Tirupathi Temple, you can find the

icon of goddess Lakshmi (Mother) placed at the heart region of the

Lord. One verse of the famous Suprabhatam (morning invocation) to the

lord goes like this:

" ishAnAm jagatOsya venkata pathEh | Vishnoh parAm prEyasIm ||

tadvakshasthala nitya vAsarasikAm | tatkshAnthi SamvardhinIm ||

nityAlankrtha pAni pallava yugaam | padmAsanasthAm shriyam ||

vAtsalyAdi gunOjwalAm bhagavathIm | vandE jaganmataram || "

Relating this concept with our own lives, we find that for a man, it

is always a female who would inspire for action (good or bad). As a

mother, a female educates her children and teaches what is good and

what is bad. She is the first teacher. Hence a mother is given the

highest place in the Hindu society; even a Sanyasi, whom people rever

as the Jagadguru and prostate before him, himself prostates before

his mother ( he should not do so to his father !!!!). For a man, it

is his wife who advises in times of difficulty and encourages him to

take the virtuous path (well, we are speaking idealistically, and

shall drop aberrations)

Coming to the particular point of Lord Krishna having 16,000 Gopis

as his wives, it would be wise to understand the large-heartedness

and social reforming nature of this often misunderstood historical

character. In contrast to what many people think, Lord Krishna was a

great scholar of the Vedas, Shastras, austere in conduct and a

messenger of peace. He killed the demon king Jarasandha who had kept

16,000 virgin Gopis in captivation to sacrifice them in order to gain

supernatural powers. But he did not wash off his hands after that.

Thinking about their future, he married all the 16,000 Gopis and set

an ideal to others. Krishna was the prince of the most prosperous and

strong kingdom at that time. He could have just engrosed himself with

the pleasures of palace. But he never did it.

To conclude, I would like to stress the point again that, God is

one; his (her) manifestations are innumerable. Just like when white

light is passed through a prism splits into 7 different colors, God

presents himself in different forms in different situations. This

truth is proclaimed by the Vedas as : "Ekam sat viprah bahudhA

vadanti". In the Vedas, God has been referred to as "that" (tat),

not as He or She. So the question of more than one husband/wife or

lover becomes irrelevant.

COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME

---Srinath Ram Atreya

GoddessDurga, "Alexandra Kafka"

<alexandra.kafka@a...> wrote:

> Often male deities have more than one wife/lover, most famous in

this regard may be Krishna with his 16 000 Gopis.

> Is there also an aspect of Devi, a goddess, who has more than one

husband/lover?

> I supose not, because of the patriarchal structure of Indian

society, but the question interests me.

> Has someone more information?

GoddessDurga, "Alexandra Kafka"

<alexandra.kafka@a...> wrote:

> Often male deities have more than one wife/lover, most famous in

this regard may be Krishna with his 16 000 Gopis.

> Is there also an aspect of Devi, a goddess, who has more than one

husband/lover?

> I supose not, because of the patriarchal structure of Indian

society, but the question interests me.

> Has someone more information?

--- End forwarded message ---

September 23, 2003

very good!

-

Srinath Ram

; ; mantra_tantra

Sunday, September 21, 2003 9:33 PM

Fwd: Re: goddess having more than one husband/lover

GoddessDurga, "Srinath Ram" <srinath_atreya> wrote:

|| Jai Sadguru Dutta ||I would like to remind Miss Alexandra

that the concept of husband and wife as regards to the gods in Hindu shastras

is not that of a family relationship but it conveys the Dwaita (duality) and

Advaita (non-duality) forms of the Parabrahman (the supreme bieng). A God's

(demi, super or supreme) power is personified to be his wife. It is the

feminine aspect of Nature that is dominant; the male aspect is passive. The

multifaceted actions of a god is represented by his wives. Jagadguru Sri Adi

Shankara has stressed this point in the very first verse of his great work

"Saundarya Lahari" : " O Mother, only by uniting with you, Ishwara (Shiva)

is able to create the world. If He is not united with you, He will not have the

ability even to stir. While so, how can one who has acquired no merit through

earlier good deeds, can even dare to salute or praise You, who are worthy of

being worshiped by Hari, Hara, Viri~nci and others?"God is both a male and a

female. It depends on how u percieve Him (Her). When someone asked Sri

Ramakrishna Paramahamasa why he is offering "Yagnopavita" - the sacred thread

to Mother Kali, who is a female, he answered that Kali is both the Mother and

the Father. If you visit the world famous Tirupathi Temple, you can find the

icon of goddess Lakshmi (Mother) placed at the heart region of the Lord. One

verse of the famous Suprabhatam (morning invocation) to the lord goes like

this: " ishAnAm jagatOsya venkata pathEh | Vishnoh parAm prEyasIm ||

tadvakshasthala nitya vAsarasikAm | tatkshAnthi SamvardhinIm ||

nityAlankrtha pAni pallava yugaam | padmAsanasthAm shriyam || vAtsalyAdi

gunOjwalAm bhagavathIm | vandE jaganmataram || " Relating this concept with

our own lives, we find that for a man, it is always a female who would inspire

for action (good or bad). As a mother, a female educates her children and

teaches what is good and what is bad. She is the first teacher. Hence a mother

is given the highest place in the Hindu society; even a Sanyasi, whom people

rever as the Jagadguru and prostate before him, himself prostates before his

mother ( he should not do so to his father !!!!). For a man, it is his wife who

advises in times of difficulty and encourages him to take the virtuous path

(well, we are speaking idealistically, and shall drop aberrations)Coming to the

particular point of Lord Krishna having 16,000 Gopis as his wives, it would be

wise to understand the large-heartedness and social reforming nature of this

often misunderstood historical character. In contrast to what many people

think, Lord Krishna was a great scholar of the Vedas, Shastras, austere in

conduct and a messenger of peace. He killed the demon king Jarasandha who had

kept 16,000 virgin Gopis in captivation to sacrifice them in order to gain

supernatural powers. But he did not wash off his hands after that. Thinking

about their future, he married all the 16,000 Gopis and set an ideal to

others. Krishna was the prince of the most prosperous and strong kingdom at

that time. He could have just engrosed himself with the pleasures of palace.

But he never did it. To conclude, I would like to stress the point again that,

God is one; his (her) manifestations are innumerable. Just like when white light

is passed through a prism splits into 7 different colors, God presents himself

in different forms in different situations. This truth is proclaimed by the

Vedas as : "Ekam sat viprah bahudhA vadanti". In the Vedas, God has been

referred to as "that" (tat), not as He or She. So the question of more than one

husband/wife or lover becomes irrelevant. COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS

ARE WELCOME---Srinath Ram AtreyaGoddessDurga, "Alexandra

Kafka" <alexandra.kafka@a...> wrote:> Often male deities have more than one

wife/lover, most famous in this regard may be Krishna with his 16 000 Gopis.>

Is there also an aspect of Devi, a goddess, who has more than one

husband/lover?> I supose not, because of the patriarchal structure of Indian

society, but the question interests me. > Has someone more information?--- In

GoddessDurga, "Alexandra Kafka" <alexandra.kafka@a...> wrote:>

Often male deities have more than one wife/lover, most famous in this regard

may be Krishna with his 16 000 Gopis.> Is there also an aspect of Devi, a

goddess, who has more than one husband/lover?> I supose not, because of the

patriarchal structure of Indian society, but the question interests me. > Has

someone more information?--- End forwarded message ---Jay GurudevYour use of

is subject to the

September 25, 2003

excellnt. The western concept of man-woman relationship has no place in Hindu religion

-

Prakash

Wednesday, September 24, 2003 12:49 AM

Re: Fwd: Re: goddess having more than one husband/lover