Guest guest Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 Dear all: The best course will be to accept Salagramam as gift from AnushTatas who have been doing Tiruvaradanam and are willing to part with them. Elders used to advise against BUYING Salgaramams, like from shops. May be one can check the geniuneness of the Salagramams with the help of reliable AnusTatas before buying them. This is because lot of spurious stuff get into such outlets - may be without their knowledge. Dasoham Anbil Ramaswamy =================================================================== Swamin, You can contact Khadi Gramodyag at Ranganathan Street, T Nagar Regards kpnarasimhan wrote: There are 4 messages in this issue. Topics in this digest: 1. types of dharmam "M.G.Vasudevan" 2. Hello! Are there any group-members out there residing in Stuttgart, Germany sudarshan madabushi 3. Salagrama - Details RAM KRISHNAN 4. SRS Vol 7-44 dated 03-16-06 SV 2-5 "ramanbil" ______________________ ______________________ Message: 1 Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:51:51 +0530 "M.G.Vasudevan" types of dharmam Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer, Many a sri vaishNavaas in the lists of may well be aware that in sri vishNu sahasra naamam there is a slOkam which reads Sree vaisampaayana uvaacha - sruthvaa dharmaan asEshENa pavanaani cha sarvasa: | yudhishtira: saanthanavam puna: Eva abhyabhaashatha: || This slOkam will on anvayam - putting in prose order - read as yudhishtira: Eva dharmaan cha pavanaani sarvasa: asEshENa sruthvaa, saanthanavam puna: abhyabhaashtha: || Meaning: sree vaisampaayana said - having listened to a complete ennobling and purifying ethical principles, yudhishtira spoke to bheeshma the son of santhanu again. This means that even after listening quite a lot about dharmam from bheeshma, still yudhishtira had some more doubts and as such wants to continue the conversation. Yes. That is what all 'saanthi parva' and 'anusaasana parva' the 12th and 13th parvaas of mahaa bhaaratha talk about. On the above slOkam sri parasara bhattar, in his 'bhagavath guNa dharpaNam', the commentary on 'sree vishNu sahasra naama', on the word "dharmaan" comments as dharmaan - this comprehensively embraces 1. raaja dharma [duty of the kings] 2. mOksha dharma [the code for attainment of salvation] 3. dhaana dharma [the principles underlying the dispensation of charity] in accordance with the decrees and injunctions enjoined by sruthi and smrithi conferring material benefits here and in yonder worlds. [Please note the word dharma is translated here as ethical principles. In other place it was done as religion, by another author. Further here itself three kinds of dharma are brought out]. By way of continuing his talk with his grandfather bheesham, the questions what yudhishtira asked are also well known [which we recite daily in sree vishNu sahasra naamam] - 1. lOkE kim Ekam dhaivatham? 2. Ekam kim paraayaNam? 3. sthuvantha: kam? 4. maanavaa: subham praapnuyur kam archantha:? 5. sarva dharmaaNam bavatha kO dharma: parama: matha ? 6. janthu: samsaara bhandhanaath kim japan muchyathE ? [For those not familiar with above Sanskrit anvayam done to the slokam - please refer next slokam of above quoted one "sree vaisampaayana uvaacha"] We, in this write up, are interested to study the answer to the 5th question only, which is bhavatha sarva dharmaaNaam ka: parama dharma: matha? Meaning: "Amongst all dharmam, which is the supreme dharmam in your opinion" asks yudhishtira to bheeshma his grand father. The answer given by bheeshma is simple and great - or is it simply great? Esha mE sarva dharmaaNaam dharma: adhika thamO matha | yath bhakthyaa pundareekaaksham sthavai: archEth nara: sadhaa || When anvayam is done - then it will read - nara: yath bhakthyaa pundareekaaksham sadhaa sthavai:, sadhaa archEth, [thath] sarva dharmaaNaam adhikathamo dharma:, Esha mE matha | Meaning: bheeshma said or replied "This I consider the highest ethical act among all where a person incessantly and devoutly adores with hymns the lord who has eyes like lotus". [MGV - please note the word sadhaa - normally translated as 'always' is put here as 'incessantly'] On this reply slokam of bheeshma, sri bhattar comments on the word "dharmaaNaam adhikathama dharma:" by elaborating on the classification of dharma as - dharma is four fold - viz. 1. Dharma performed for material benefits viz. cattle children and other benefits 2. Dharmam performed for obtaining celestial pleasures such as svarga [the world of gods] 3. Dharmam for attainment of salvation, which consists of realization of time knowledge by purification of self, by sacrifice, by charitable acts without desire for fruits. 4. Dharmam of Meditation, singing in praise, prostration before the lord with love and affection. And the fourth is the best of all as indicated by the superlative suffix thama: [MGV adds not simply thama: which itself is superlative, but adhika thama:] Dear readers, perhaps, now you will ask why all these, when these two slokams are well known, or on things are already known. The highlight or emphasis, I want to present before you all, is on the types of dharmam - The dharmam in this world is predominantly - performed for material benefits - for obtaining celestial pleasures - for attaining salvation - done with love and affection. Perhaps we can say, again, this classification is from the very famous bhagavth geethaa slOkam - chathur-vidha bhajanthE mam jana: sukrithinO 'rjuna | arthO jijnasu: arthaarthee jnaani cha bharatharshabha || 7-16 meaning: O best among the Bhaarathaas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me - 1. the distressed, 2. the desirer of wealth, 3. the inquisitive, 4. who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute." Further if we analyse why persons do render devotional service to the lord - for - the distressed need material benefits here and now in this world - the desirer of wealth - may need wealth for doing dharma here as well in the other world by way of dhaanam, yagnaas etc - inquisitive - by repeated questioning wants to attain salvation - searching for knowledge of the absolute simply out of love and affection - by enjoying his guNaas as in sahasra naama. Also as bhagavaan himself says in his next slOkam thEshaam jnaani nithya-yuktha Eka-bhakthir visishyathE | priyO hi jnaaninO 'thyartham aham sa cha mama priya: || 7-17 meaning: Of these, the one who is in full knowledge and who is always engaged in pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is dear to Me". Both, the lord as well the devotee have mutual love for each other. This is what bheeshmaa also said in his elaboration - dharma adhika thama --- yath bhakthyaa puNdareekaaksham ----'. Perhaps what the lord said is echoed by bheeshmaa since there was also a small time lapse in between the dates of geethaa [the first day of war] and bheeshmaa uttering sahsra naamam [after 18 days of war]. Comments on the above lines are welcome. Dhasan Vasudevan m.g. DISCLAIMER: This Message and its contents is intended solely for the addressee and is proprietary.Information in this mail is for L&T Business Usage only. Any Use to other than the addressee is misuse and infringement to Proprietorship of L&T ECC.If you are not the addressee please return the mail to the sender.L&T ECC DIVISION ______________________ ______________________ Message: 2 Thu, 16 Mar 2006 09:22:16 +0000 (GMT) sudarshan madabushi Hello! Are there any group-members out there residing in Stuttgart, Germany Dear members, I'm travelling out to Stuttgart on business and be camping there next week. If any of you happen to be residing there, it would be a pleasure to connect with you. I will be staying at the Mariott Hotel in Stuttgart ahd should be generally free after about 6 PM. Thanks and regards, dAsan, Sudarshan ________ India Matrimony: Find your partner now. Go to http://.shaadi.com ______________________ ______________________ Message: 3 Thu, 16 Mar 2006 13:55:55 +0000 (GMT) RAM KRISHNAN Salagrama - Details dear bhakthas, If some one can provide details about, where can i get salagrama- Vasudeva ,Lakshmi narayana ,Narashima and Hyagreeva etc. I stay in chennai. Please help to serve my lord. Please provide me full details for contacting. With Thanks and Best Regards K.S. Ramakrishnan Reach Rams @ 98408 69121 _________ To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Security Centre. http://uk.security. ______________________ ______________________ Message: 4 Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:43:29 -0000 "ramanbil" SRS Vol 7-44 dated 03-16-06 SV 2-5 SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha // SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha // SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/ SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya// KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: / SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm// ===================================================================== SRI RANGA SRI VOL.07 / ISSUE # 44 dated 16th March 2006 ===================================================================== EDITORIAL Dear Bhagavatas: It gives me great pleasure to record that the first course of SV classes comprising of 6 sessions was successfully completed. Almost all the participants have now mastered the sequences of the procedures and the Mantras associated in a short period of time. They now feel happy that they have been piloted to the mainstream and have vowed to continue doing Trikaala SV for the rest of their lives. All the credit goes to asmad Achaaryan, Srimad Andavan, Poundarika puram Swami Asramam, Srirangam who is very strict in insisting on the performance of SV and is the motive force behind this effort. I had the Bhaagyam of informing him of the successful completion. Naturally, he was extremely happy. Many other aspirants have petitioned for the commencement of the next session. Some have also desired starting of classes for "Tiruvaaraadanam". We will try our best to accommodate them at an early date. An announcement will be made as soon as the details are finalized. --- IN THIS ISSUE 1. IMPORTANT DAYS IN PANGUNI (MEENA) MONTH 2. SANDHYAA VANDANAM -– Part 2 - 5 FAQs AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF VARIOUS OBSERVANCES IN CONNECTION WITH "SANDHYAAVANDANAM" (ANBIL RAMASWAMY) ===================================================================== The following questions have been answered Q. 21. What is "Pancha katcham"? Why should we wear "Pancha katcham"? What other practices are to be observed with reference to dress codes while engaging in religious rites? Q. 22. Is there any justification for the use of "paTTu" (silk) and "ajina" (deerskin) tied to the Brahmachaari's "mounji" (girdle made of a triple string of Munja-grass) etc. that obviously involve "himsa" (injury to a living being)? Q. 23. If plants have life, how can we pluck flowers, TuLasi, Darbha etc that also involve "himsa"? Q. 24. What is the difference between Pavitram", "KoorchamDarbham", "Kusam" etc and what purposes do they serve? Q. 25.What is the purpose and significance of wearing "PooNool"? Why do we wear it in different modes on different occasions? Q. 26. Can we drink coffee? How about medicines? Are there any guidelines in the matter of taking food? ============================================================= ISSUES RELEASED So far, 220 Regular issues of SRS have been released apart from Special Issues: 27 Issues of Vol. 1 15 Issues of Vol. 2 42 Issues of Vol. 3 35 Issues of Vol. 4 28 Issues of Vol. 5 30 Issues of Vol. 6 and 43 Issues of Vol. 7 --- These issues have been archived for public view at - by Sri Diwakar Kannan (diwakark) You may also view the archives at http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia maintained by Sri Srinivasan Sriram (ajiva_rts ) We strongly urge you to kindly peruse the "Regular Issues" archived in the "Files" Section and view the Contents at "srsindex.html" (Not the individual postings allowed for encouraging "Reader participation"). We are sure that you will be convinced of the quality of the contents. IF you are satisfied with the quality and contents of "Sri Ranga Sri"- Tell your friends to join by sending an email to Srirangasri- IF NOT: Tell us, as to how we may improve. Ever at your service Dasoham Anbil Ramaswamy, Editor & Publisher, "Sri Ranga Sri" ==================================================================== xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ==================================================================== 1. IMPORTANT DAYS IN PANGUNI (MEENA) MONTH ==================================================================== DATE/ENGLISH/DAY/NAKSHATRAM/THITHI/ EVENT/ REMARKS ==================================================================== 02/03-16-06/Thursday/Hastam/Dviteeyai/ 21st PaTTam (AM) 06/03-20-06/Monday/Anusham/Panchami/ VENNAATRANKARAI ANDAVAN (PPA) 11/03-25-06/Saturday/SRavaNam/Ekaadasi/ KrishNapaksha Sarva Ekaadasi, SravaNa Vratam 12/03-26-06/Sunday/AviTTam/Dwaadasi/ Nam Jeeyar (As per Srirangam Koil Panchangam) 14/03-28-06/Tuesday/PooraTTaadi/Chaturdasii/BOdaayana Amaavaasya 15/03-29-06/Wednesday/UtraTTaadi/Amaavaasya 16/03-30-06/Thursday/Revati/Prathamai/ PERIYA PERUMAAL, TELUGU NEW YEAR 20/04-03-06/Monday/Rohini/ShashTi/ PRAKRITAM SRIMAD ANDAVAN, POUNDARIKAPURAM SWAMI ASRAMAM, PARAVAKKOTTAI SRI GOPALA DESIKA MAHAA DESIKAN 23/04-06-06/Thursday/Punarvasu/AshTami-Navami/ SRI RAMA NAVAMI 24/04-07-06/Friday/Poosam/Navami-Dasami// Selva PiLLai/ TIRUKKUDANTAI ANDAVAN VEDANTA RAMANUJA MAHAA DESIKAN 25/04-08-06/Saturday/Ayilyam/Dasami/ MELKOTTAI TIRUNARAYANAPURAM VAIRA MUDI SEVAI 26/04-09-06/Sunday/Magam/ Ekaadasi/Sukla Paksha Sarva Ekaadasi 28/04-11-06/Tuesday/Utthiram/TrayOdasi/PANGUNI UTTHIRAM 30/04-13-06/Thursday/ Hastam/PourNami/ --- VYAYA-CHITTIRAI (MESHAM) 01/04-14-06/Friday/Chittirai/Prathamai/ TAMIL NEW YEAR, VISHU PUNYA KAALAM ===================================================================== xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ===================================================================== 2.SANDHYAA VANDANAM -– Part 2 - 5 MORE FAQs AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF VARIOUS OBSERVANCES IN CONNECTION WITH "SANDHYAAVANDANAM" (ANBIL RAMASWAMY) ==================================================================== Q. 21. (a) What is "Pancha katcham"? (b) Why should we wear "Panchakatcham"? © What other practices are to be observed with reference to dress codes while engaging in religious rites? Ans: (a) "Pancha katcham" is the traditional manner of wearing a Dhoti by the men folk. It consists of wrapping around the waist with one end folded lengthwise and taken around the legs to the back and tucked at the hip and the other end folded breadth wise is tucked in front at the tummy. The front tucking has five folds. It is therefore called "Pancha (Five) Katcham (folds). A Grihasta is expected to wear this method of Dhoti always, but most certainly at least during performance of religious rites and while attending any religious events like KaalakshEpams etc. (b) Even at the height of scorching summer in a hot region like India, we find people attending official meetings in Western dress, what with a tightly closed suit and a necktie to boot, all the time sweating profusely like a horse - because this is supposed to be the "formal" dress code in the said setting!. If this is the discipline required to be observed in spite of utmost discomfort, wearing the "Pancha katcham" is the discipline required to be observed in the setting of religious activities. © There are very many practices adopted by AnushTaatas. We give below a few of them that may be noted. (As learned from KaalakshEpa Adhikaaris during AnushTaana Granta classes) (1) A Brahmachaari (celibate) and a Sannyaasi (ascetic) should wear only one cloth and no upper cloth. The clothing of a Sannyaasi should be in ochre color. (2) A Grihasta is expected to wear an upper cloth always along with the "Pancha katcham. (3) No religious rites can be performed wearing a wet cloth. When a wet cloth cannot be dried, it can be waved in air for 7 times and then it is considered to have dried enough to equal a dry cloth. This is called "Sapta Vaataahata" (4) A new "Kaarigam" cotton cloth or PaTTu (Silk) Vastram can be worn. Both "Kaarigam" and PaTTu (Silk) are said to get polluted (Vizhuppu) if washed with water. On the other hand a used cotton cloth that is normally considered "Vizhuppu" when coming into contact with Sareeram becomes fit to wear (maDi) when washed and dried up as aforesaid. (5) Eating and drinking while wearing Kaarigam or PaTTu vast ram are said to make them polluted. --- Q. 22. Is there any justification for the use of "paTTu" (silk) and "ajina" (deerskin) tied to the Brahmachaari's "mounji" (girdle made of a triple string of Munja-grass) etc. that obviously involve "himsa" (injury to a living being)? Ans: The term "PaTTu" was originally used to denote cloths woven with strings of gold and silk yarns. The "Peeta-ambharam" which the Lord wears referred to only such vastrams. Only after the Chinese came over to our land with their wares made out of silk from silkworms, the term "PaTTu" came to denote such material otherwise called "China Silk" and this practice had come to stay. Gold and silver yarn laced cloths can be worn in the place of such silk garments. Thus, originally, there was no "himsa", no killing of silkworms. In these days, we get also artificial silk without resorting to PaTTu made out of killing silkworms. We can safely use the same. As for "ajina" or deerskin, the skins were and I believe even now are taken from dead animals and, therefore, no "himsa" was or is involved. -- Q. 23. If plants have life, how can we pluck flowers, TuLasi, Darbha etc that also involve "himsa"? Ans: The discovery that plants have life is no discovery at all! They are found in the Vedas themselves. "Our scriptures say that all sentient beings have what is known as "Dharmi-boota- Jnaana" (Intrinsic consciousness) as also "Dharma- boota-Jnaana" (External perception).While intrinsic consciousness is common to all in the same degree, the extrinsic perception or the awareness of not only things around but also things beyond varies in degrees – with humans having the greatest, animals to a lesser extent and PLANTS WITH THE LEAST IN THE SCALE. This is conditioned by environment and is subject to expansion (vikaasita) and contraction (sankuchita)" (Vide p143-144 of "Hinduism Rediscovered"). The concept of "ahimsa" is central to our philosophy. That is the reason why, Grihastas are required to do what is known as "VaisvadEvam" to rid them of sins of "himsa" incurred by them in their daily routines. Manu has identified that "himsa" can occur unwittingly at five spots listed the scriptures, namely, (i) "suLLee" - the Ovens, (ii) "pEshaNee" - the grinding stones, (iii) "upaskaree"- the winnowing instruments, (iv) "kaNTinee" –mortar and pestle and cutting plate and === message truncated === Regards KPNarasimhan Mail Use Photomail to share photos without annoying attachments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.