Shivaratri + what is love + astrology +life of shivaji

[Guest guest]

>sanjeev nayyar

>Bosco

>shivaratri + what is love + astrology +life of shivaji >Mon, 04

Feb 2002 20:31:23 +0530 > >Hi, >Hope you enjoyed reading the last mail on The

Common Charaterisitcs of >Indian Philosophy and Kumbh Mela. Oh Bhagwan please

give strength to >the relatives to all those who passed away in the Gujarat

earthquake to >face these difficult times bravely. For those who left us may

their >souls rest in peace. Let each one of us resolve to donate money in this

>time of need. > >Feature of the Month > >1. All that you like to know about

Shivaratri - on February 21. - below > >2. Why will Pakistan never allow Bharat

to live in peace ? go to >esamskriti.com > >3. I have realized that you might

not always marry the person you love. >True love, is being there, willing to

help anytime anywhere, without >expecting anything in return. > >4. 93 Reasons

why The Taj Mahal is Tejo-ma-laya. - go to >esamskriti.com > >5. Astrology: The

Science of the New Millenium by Smt Gayatri Devi >Vasudev courtesy Prabuddha

Bharata - go to site > >6. Life and Exploits of Shivaji on the occasion of

Shivaji Jayanti on >February 19 - go to esamskriti.com > > >SIVARATRI ( the

sacred night of Lord Siva ) >This is based on inputs from The History and

Culture of Indian People by >the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan and a book by Swami

Parthsarthy. > >Background about the Lord > >Siva and Uma are most likely of

Dravidian origin and they are Indian >modification of the great Mother Goddess

and her consort of the >Mediterranean peoples. The name Siva has been explained

partly to be of >Dravidian origin. In Tamil Sivan means Red and the Lord was

known to the >early Aryans as Nila-Lohita – the Red one with the Blue throat.

Sambhu >another name for Siva, has been compared with the Tamil chempu meaning

>copper. It is likely that the Red God was first rendered into Aryan >speech as

Rudra and then this name was identified with the Aryan Storm >God, the father of

the Maruts or the Storm Winds, whose name Rudra in >Aryan meant “ the Roarer ”.

> >The figure of Siva as the great Yogin, Pasupati, Mahadeva, appear to >have

been known to the people of Mohenjo daro as shown by the very >important seal

in the figure of the divinity who can only be identified >with the Siva of the

later times. Siva was referred into in the Rig Veda >and may not be an intruder

into the Hindu pantheon. > >Saivism popularity’s with foreign kings, Kushanas

and the Huna king >Mihirakula continued (320 to 750 a.d.). Tirumular’s

“Tirumandiram” is >supposed to be a masterpiece on the Saiva doctrine. > >The

beginning of Kashmir Saivism ( regard the individual soul and the >world as

identical with Siva ) are to be traced to the Sivasutras whose >authorship is

traced to Siva himself. The sutras are said to have been >revealed by a sage

Vasugupta who lived towards the end of the 8th >century a.d. The Ultimate

Reality is Siva himself. > >1000 to 1300 a.d. – Saivism continued to flourish

in Kashmir. The deity >of the Royal house of Nepal is Pasupati. In Bengal and

Assam Siva was >revered too. The Cholas were great patrons of Saivism. The

Kailasa >Temple at Ellora was built by the Rashtrakutas and completed between

758 >and 773 a.d. > >Om Shivaya Namah is a powerful mantra. Lord Shiva has the

power to >invoke wisdom in an individual. By chanting the mantra, one is

invested >with various powers of action, will and vidya shakti or strength of

>understanding and learning. Chanting should be done while concentrating >in

between the eyebrows. The third eye which is that of intuition, >opens. >

>Philosophy > >Siva is one of the Gods of the Trinity. He is the Lord of

Destruction. >Some of us view this negatively. Creation and destruction are two

sides >of the same coin. For something to be created, destruction of what

>exists is essential. If the Indian cricket team is to rise from the >ashes the

old team has to be done away with. Or morning dies to give >birth to noon. Siva

is married to Uma who represents Prakrti or >perishable matter. Siva’s marriage

with Uma signifies that the power of >destruction has no meaning unless it is

associated with perishable >matter. > >Lord Siva sits in a meditative pose at

Kailash . ( from personal >experience I can tell you that if you sit in that

posture for fifteen >minutes a day, back problems will never bother you ).His

posture >symbolizes perfect inner harmony experienced by a man of Realization.

> >The snow white background symbolizes the absolute purity of mind. When >the

mind is agitated, you are distracted, loose focus, do not see the >divinity in

you. When your mind is steady and pure you recognize your >supreme Self. That

is the state of Lord Siva at Kailash. > >The Lord has his eyes half open half

closed. They indicate that his mind >is absorbed in the inner self while his

body is engaged in the outside >world. What this means that he is involved with

the outside world but is >not attached to it. It is when we get attached to the

fruits of action >that our mind gets agitated. > >The state of meditation shown

in Siva’s posture is symbolic. Meditation >is the gateway to self realization.

In order to meditate you must have a >pure calm mind. That happens only when

you perform self less actions. By >such actions your ego and vasanas fall away.

Then, your mind gets >purified. > >Lord Siva is shown with a Trishul in his

hand. The three prongs >represent the three gunas, the three thought-textures

ie sattwa, rajas >and tamas. The sattawa-guna is the state of mind where it is

pure, >serene and contemplative, rajogana when it is agitated and tamoguna is

>when it dull and inactive. Every human has varying degrees of the three

>gunas. It is a three-pronged weapon which symbolizes the destruction of >the

ego with its three fold desires of the body, mind and intellect. >With this

weapon Siva indicates his victory over the ego and attainment >of the state of

perfection. > >Siva is said to have a third eye known as Gyana Chaksu. Lets not

take it >literally but what it means that Siva has a Divine vision of Reality.

>When you transcend the limitations of your mind, body and intellect, you >gain

the realization of the Self. That is what is indicated by Gyana >Chaksu. >

>Linga > >God is formless. But in order to bless us he assumes innumerable

forms. >The Linga form in which we worship Iswara is symbolic of his

>formlessness and form. The shape of a Linga has neither head nor limbs >like

other images. The Baana Linga which is egg shaped serves to remind >us that

Isvara has neither a beginning nor an end, just like the sky. > >Isvara assume

many forms to guide the functioning of the universe, one >such form is Natraja,

Siva in a cosmic dance. The Lord who performs this >illuminating dance appears

in the form of Lingodbhavamoorthi on >Sivaratri to shower his grace on us. It

is our duty to fast, vigil and >worship him at midnight at least with one leaf

of the Bilva tree. > >Siva is a development of the Vedic Wind or the storm god

Rudra. He >inspires love and reverential fear, wins the human hearts and is

>worshipped emotionally. He is not only dreaded but revered, as the >destroyer

of evil-doers, hatred, diseases and is a nourisher who bestows >long life. >

>Nandi the Bull. > >The bull is considered to be the Vehicle of Lord Siva. It

is called >Nandi in a Siva temple. Nandati iti Nandi – one who is full and

happy is >also called Nandi. The perfect man, realized soul can alone be happy.

>The head of a bull is turned towards God in a temple, indicating that >the

bulls actions are dedicated to God, in the absence of ego and >desires. By

worshipping a bull, the Hindu invokes the spirit of >dedication to higher

values and service to fellow human-beings. > >In a predominantly agricultural

country, the bull plays a very important >role in the lives of farmers. It

toils the whole day in the hot sun, in >weather conditions as diverse as Assam,

Punjab and Tamil Nadu. Yet, what >does it get in return except some water and

dry grass. It does not go on >strike or ask for stock options. It goes on and

on serving its owner >without expecting fruits of action. It has no desires,

does not want to >wear a ten yard Kanjeevaram saree or Color Plus shirts. In a

way, it >symbolizes Hindu philosophy. Men of any religion can achieve self

>realization by giving up desires, doing self-less deeds without worrying

>about the fruits of action. > >When we go to a Siva temple we first offer our

salutations to Nandi, the >Bull in front of the deity. Placing the two fingers,

the index finger >and the thumb of the right hand on the two horns of the bull,

we have >the vision of the silhouette of Lord Siva through the circle thus

>formed. Offering our prostration’s to Nandi first, is a form of love at >the

mental level and respect at a intellectual level which is the first >sign in

the step in the path of perfection. Then we try to identify >ourselves with

this perfect soul and try to enjoy the vision of Lord >Siva by transcending the

matter developments. When we place the thumb >and the index finger on the two

horns of the bull, the index finger Jiva >representing the ego centric entity

gets resolved in contact with the >Thumb Reality, in the circle of fullness

that is formed through the two >horns of the bull, which stand for Viveka and

Vairagya, enjoyed by the >man of perfection symbolized by the bull. >

>Rudrakshmala > >Ardent devotees of Lord Siva wear a string of beeds known as

>Rudrakshamala which they use for counting while repeating the mantra. It >is a

compound of two words, Rudra meaning Siva and Aksha meaning eyes ie >Eyes of

Siva. The seeds are of four colors as if to indicate the four >Varnas. The

colors are whitish ( brahman), reddish ( kshatriya), gold ( >vaisya) and dark (

sudra). The Rudraksha beed is found in Nepal. You >have hordes of shopkeepers

selling it outside the Pasupati temple in >Kathmandu. > > According to the Yoga

Sara, spiritual powers corresponding to the Gods >reside in the beeds according

to the number of faces and thus determine >the type of mantra for which they

are suited. A beed with one face is >said to be sacred to Siva, two to Siva and

Parvati, three to Agni, four >to Brahma, eight to Ganapati, nine to Bhairava ir

Siva, ten to Vishnu >and twelve to Surya. The most favored Rudrakhsmala is the

one with six >faces ie the mala of Subramanya who is the second son of Siva and

>Parvati. > >The beeds are seen in three sizes. Big ones of the size of a

Amalaka >fruit, medium size of the fruit of Jujuba and small ones. It is

believed >that the smaller the size of the beed the greater the efficacy. The

>single and double phased beeds called Brahmapura and Gowri-Shanker are

>considered to be the most effective irrespective of their sizes. The >beed

that has a natural opening allowing the string to pass through is >considered

to be the most sacred. The Rudraksha jabalopanishad mentions >that “ In the

crust of the beed dwells Brahma, in its hollow rests >Vishnu and in its mouth

is located Siva while in the Bindu abide all the >celestials ”. > >Medical

science is beginning to believe that wearing a genuine Rudraksha >has a

salutary effect on controlling blood pressure, cancer, jaundice. >

>Significance of Mount Kailash > >The abode of Lord Siva, Mount Kailash, is

worshipped by Hindus, >Buddhists and Jains alike. To the Hindu, it is the abode

of Siva and >Parvati. It is said that they had bathed in holy lake Mansrovar.

Devout >Hindus believe that one can see the shape of Om made from snow on this

>mountain. Buddhists of Nepal and Tibet consider Mount Kailash as the >center

of the Universe. They believe that one Parikrama will wash their >sins while

one hundred Parikramas will give them salvation. Jains >belive that Tirthankar

Rushabhdev resided there and Gautam ( first >disciple of Lord Mahavir) visited

this mount. Doing a Parikrama round >the Kailash has tremendous religious

significance for each of the three >sects. > >Our Tibetan guide discouraged

Indians from undertaking the Parikrama >since the Tibetans want only themselves

to undertake the yatra. You can >travel to Mount Kailash, economy class through

Uttar Pradesh or >executive class via Kathmandu. > > >How do we have a

Sankaracharya temple in the Muslim dominated Kashmir >Valley. > >While resting

in the Valley the learned Brahmans told Sankarachrya ( S) >that unless he

defeated the learned persons of Sarada Pitha they would >not accept the

supremacy of his philosophy. With his arguments he >defeated all the learned

men at that high seat of learning including >Jains and Buddhists. The King of

Kasmira or Kashmir has made >arrangements for the S’s stay at Srinagar but the

S chose to stay near >an ancient Siva temple overlooking the city. Since then

the temple has >popularly been known as the S temple. Briefly, after the Muslim

conquest >of North India large scale conversions of Hindus took place which is

how >Islam entered the Valley. In fact I remember Kashmir Chief Minister

>Farooq Abdullah saying that their family converted in 1859. > > >Which are the

twelve DWADASH JYOTIRLANGAS ? ( Lingas of Light ) > >Kedarnath, Viswanath,

Baidyanath, Amreswar, Mahakaleswar, Somnath, >Nageswar, Triyemveswar, Bhim

Sankara, Dushmeswar, Malikarjun and >Rameswaram. > >Kedarnath is amongst the

most important Saivite shrine in India. It was >from here, a place known as

Gandhi Sarovar, that Yudhister departed to >heaven. Kedarnath is at the head of

the Mandakini river. According to >legend, the temple now extinct, was built by

the Pandavas at the present >sight where Adi Sanakaracharya built the present

day Kedarnath in the >8th century a.d. behind which lies Sanakaracharya’s

samadhi. > >NOTES TO MYSEF > >I have realized that you might not always marry

the person you love. >True love, is being there, willing to help anytime

anywhere, without >expecting anything in return. > > >This quote is written out

of an experience that I had some fifteen years >ago. After finishing college, I

started my Chartered Accountancy >articles with A. F. Ferguson &; Co, a leading

Mumbai’s firm. It was >customary for new articles to be invited to the Boss’s

house for a >welcome party where they got introduced to their colleagues and

>families. I was skeptical about going, who wanted to go to an old man’s

>party. It was a diktait so none of us had a choice. > >The boss’s wife gave us

a warm welcome. We were pleasantly surprised to >see a mixture of the young and

old. The senior employees looked to be in >their fifties while there were a

number of younger ones in their early >to mid thirties. Some of them had

attractive wives. The warmth and >friendly behavior made us feel comfortable.

It did not take long for >college buddy Rahul and myself to mix with the crowd.

> >After a while I was introduced to Vaishali, the attractive wife of a

>colleague Sanjay Srinivasan. When we saw each other, we looked straight >into

each other’s eyes. The chemistry was instant. I liked her sharp >nose,

passionate eyes, dusky but clean complexion. She was wearing a >well-draped

chiffon sari that looked very good on her slender tall >frame. As she told me

later, what she liked about me was an equally >sharp nose, jovial nature,

meeting eyebrows, intense look and my ability >to flirt effortlessly.

Obviously, she had observed me for a while before >we got introduced. > >I was

swept off my feat. While shaking hands with her I went into some >sort of a

trance. I was all of 20 while Vaishali seemed to be in her mid >to late

twenties. My mind went back to that unforgettable movie; Summer >of 42, where a

schoolboy fell in love with this twenty something married >woman, a role so well

enacted by Jennifer O’ Neil. > >We spoke for the next two hours oblivious of

what was happening around >us. Being passionate students of history and human

relationships so we >had so much to talk about. It’s the second time in my life

I realized >the value of being a good listener. As I came to know later, Sanjay

was >so full of himself that he rarely gave his wife a chance to share her

>feelings. Having exchanged telephone numbers we promised to keep in >touch. >

>A week later I called Vaishali at work and chatted for a while esp about >her

four old daughter Pooja. During the next month we spoke to each >other

regularly. Not wanting to be a telephone pal, I asked her out for >lunch. She

went quiet, may be she was not prepared for the invite. >Telling me that her

boss had called, she snapped. Confused, unsure >whether I had done something

wrong, I left it that. > >She never called or came for the next office party

either leading me to >believe that she was avoiding me. I gradually came to

realize how fond I >had got of her. Used to our stimulating conversations I

began to miss >her. I dialed her number twice but not wanting to embarrass her

>disconnected the line. Was yearning to hear from her, but in the absence >of a

call, I had sort of given up all hope of meeting her. > >Till one evening, she

called to say, Hi, its me. She was warm, said how >busy she had been at work,

how hassled she was with Pooja’s school >admission. She gave me her residence /

office direct nos and in the >passing mentioned that Sanjay was off to

Porbander. I was happy to hear >this but decided against asking her out. > >The

first thing I did next morning was to find out how long would Sanjay >be away.

Oops he was to be out of town for a month and was leaving in >three days time.

I kept counting every hour wondering why on earth was >time passing so slowly.

> >The day after Sanjay left I called Vaishali at work. She sounded vibrant

>and warm just like the first time I met her. The chemistry was back. >Sensing

the change in spirits, I asked her out for coffee after work. >She readily

agreed. We met at Sundan café next to Eros theatre in >Mumbai’s Churchgate

area. Slightly uncomfortable at our first date it >took a while for the ice to

break. Vaishali gave me a birthday card that >she had made painted herself. In

turn I presented her with a pair of >oxidized silver earrings. While I was

admiring the card, she put on the >earrings. Wow, they suited her so well. For

effect I had carried a small >mirror with me so that she could see herself with

the earrings on. > >Thereafter we met nearly every day. She spoke to me about

her childhood, >college, father, hometown, and marriage. She loved Sanjay very

much but >something seemed to be missing. Was it the age gap of seven years.

She >was twenty-six and he thirty-three. She was a girl when she got married

>but now was a woman. Generation gap might be a wrong word to use; >probably

she was a very bubbly hyper sort of person and he a loner, >workalcholic. Yet I

remember that she never criticized him. Similarly I >told her about my

childhood, parents / siblings, dreams, insecurities at >work. In short, it was

the first time that I had let my guard with a >woman. > >During the next month

we realized how comfortable how we were with each >other. Our talks were as

intimate as they could get. Very upset with her >boss’s behavior she burst into

tears one day. The kerchief I gave her to >wipe her tears had V embroidered on

it. Was it Love? Am not sure! We had >got to know each another so well that we

could anticipative what was in >another’s mind. Did we have sex? No, we did not

even catch hands. Yet, >there was sparkle in her eyes and a glow on my face

every time we met. > >Like they say all god things must come to an end. Sanjay

returned from >Porbander only to be told he had been promoted and transferred

to the >Company’s New York Office. He was to leave in a month and Vaishali

would >follow soon thereafter. When I heard the news I was very sad and called

>Vaishali immediately. She was unhappy too but realized that she would >have to

go since Sanjay had got a very good break. > >We continued to speak off and on.

After Sanjay left for New York we met >more frequently. She told how well she

was doing at work and how unhappy >she was to leave. Her parents were getting

old and needed her now. But >then, do we always get what we want in life. A

month later she too left. >I went to drop her at the airport with a bouquet of

red roses and an >oxidized silver choker. She was touched to say the least. She

gave me a >sealed envelope and asked me to open it after she was airborne. > >I

could not wait to get home. The letter read “ What you gave me in the >last

three months was much more than what I got in five years of married >life”.

Stop. Few words but it said so much. Like Jennifer O’ Neil left >her home in

the Summer of 42, Vaishali went to New York. > >Both of us got busy with our

lives. Me with career and she with family, >work. Unlike today, where email has

made communication easier and >faster, those were the good old days of letter

writing. We did exchange >a few letters but that was it. I got married some ten

years later. It >was work, work and work with a bit of family thrown in. > >Some

fifteen years later I was in the balcony admiring Mumbai’s sunset >when the

telephone rang. A woman said, Hi, its me. My heart skipped a >beat. The only

woman who spoke to me like that was Vaishali who was in >New York. What was she

doing in Mumbai. How had she got my new numbers? >Fifteen years, she was no

longer on my radar screen. Regaining my >composure, I said hi Vaishali. Yeah it

was her. They had decided to >return to India because the parents did not want

their daughters Pooja >(age 19) and Mitali (age 12) to grow up there. > >The

next evening we met at our favorite haunt Sundans. Except for some >weight and

a few strands of grey hair, Vaishali looked the same. >Passionate eyes

well-draped sari, rosy cheeks and a polished look. I >looked the same except

for a beard and a slight paunch. We spent the >next two hours catching up with

the past. It seemed as if we had never >lost touch. The old vibes were back.

Should I say our eyes said it all? > >Through Sanjay, Vaishali had kept track

of my life. She was aware that I >had done my management from IIM-A and was

today the Chief Financial >Officer of a leading Satellite TV company. Pooja was

going to finish her >college next year and was keen to pursue a course in

Management. She >needed advice, help but wanted a friend rather than her

father. I told >Vaishali not to worry since I was willing to play mentor to her

>daughter. > >I met Vaishali and Pooja the next weekend where Pooja shared her

dreams. >For the next year, Pooja consulted me on every major career decision,

>starting from joining MBA classes, buying books, institutes to apply to,

>interview strategy and what not. By the grace of God she got admission >into

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahemdabad. What followed was a >list of

places to eat and party, tips about hostel life. > >Thanks to email she kept me

posted about her progress. In year two came >campus interviews. Pooja was keen

to get placed with a leading American >bank. She knew that the head of Human

Resources was a close friend of >mine. She got Vaishali to ask me to put in a

word with my friend. In all >our years of friendship, Vaishali had never asked

me for a thing. How >could I say no? > >Knowing very well that most MNC’s do

not brook any interference in >selections, I was in a catch 22 situation. I

spoke to friend Gautam and >shared with him my predicament. He told me that

there was no way he >would hire Pooja if she were not up to the mark. But yes,

if there were >two candidates with similar scores, profiles he would, on the

strength >of my recommendation hire her. > >Believe it or not, that is what

happened. I was the second person Pooja >called after receiving the Offer

Letter, the first being Vaishali. > >When Pooja came to Mumbai, she presented

me with a lovely handmade card. >It read “ Thanks for everything”. When I saw

the card, my mind went back >to the time her mother had presented with a

similar card. While I was >lost in my thoughts, Pooja stumped me with a

question. Uncle, do you >love mother? > >Cheers > >sanjeev > >to ,

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