Vishnu Purana-Part I, Chapter I- Pl. Ignore previous mail

[Guest guest]

The HTML version came without readable paragraphing &

formatting. Hence I am forwarding this version. I

apologise for the inconvenience.

 

Regards,

Lakshmi

---------------------

 

“Om Gurudevaya vidhmahe Parabrahmane dheemahi

Tanno Guru prachodayaath”

 

Shri Sanjay,

 

Namaste. I humbly submit the following for your

guidance. I tried to remain as faithful to the

original as possible. Still errors might occur because

of my own inadequate inner resources. Please excuse

them.

 

*******************************************************

Vishnu Purana – Part I Chapter 1

 

Once upon a time, there was a tapo-bhoomi (sacred

place) in North India called Naimisa-aranya, which was

sanctified by the presence of many great sages who

dwelt there, performed penances (tapasya), pondered on

brahmasutras and evolved guiding principles.

 

That hoary place also gifted to the mankind Sage

Parasara, the Father of Vedic astrology. His great

disciple was Sage Maitreya, who learnt all the Vedas

and Shastras and their inner meaning from His Master.

Still, towards the end of his tutelage, he realized

that there were quite a few doubts persisting in his

mind, which necessarily needed the Master’s meditative

touch.

 

He approached his Guru one fine morning and humbly

requested him to clarify these points to which

Parasara kindly consented. Thus, Vishnu Purana opens

with the following catechism (questioning) of Sage

Maitreya :

 

“Oh Master, with dedication and discipline, and with

your benediction, I mastered all that you taught and

grasped the gist of all this education. God, who is

the Essence of this infinite knowledge, is manifest in

so many forms and with so many names. Who among all

these manifestations is the very Root of this

Existence? Who guides Indra and other gods? Which

manifestation is that by praying to which men can

satisfy all their desires? By listening to/rejoicing

in whose glory do men find Bhukthi (material

prosperity) and Mukthi (emancipation)? Who is the

cause of this Universe, its creation, sustenance and

destruction? In this regard, how to reconcile the

different responses from different scriptures and

arrive at a uniform conclusion?

 

Not only this…what is the standard for the

Panchabhutas (the five tattwas)? What are the

dimensions of the seven seas/oceans and the great

mountain ranges? The movement of the

grahas/nakshatras, the origin of Gods, various

time-divisions like manvantara, yuga, kalpa etc…how

did these evolve? What are the respective Yugadharmas(

guiding principles of the era) ? Who were the

Mahapurushas(great men), Kings and Sages that truly

represented the conscience of their respective eras?

What is the scope of various branches of Vedas? What

are the principles of Caste division based on

profession (Varnaashrama Dharma)? What are the

principles governing different phases in an

individual’s life (Aashrama Dharma), like..

brahmacharya-youth, grihastha-marital life,

vaanaprastha – withdrawal from wordly concerns etc?

 

Hey Gurudeva, I pray that you kindly explain these

phenomena and comprehensively remove all the doubts

that plague my mind.”

 

Sage Parashara very patiently listened to all that his

favourite Sishya had to say. He also understood that

such questions could be anticipated from all those who

would not have the benefit of their Gurus’ guidance.

He also knew that Maitreya did not approach him for a

mere paraphrasing of what was already available in

various books. Maitreya came seeking the subtle,

subterranean truths that the Master himself had

divined through his own extensive experience /

meditation / research.

 

Sage Parashara pondered deeply on the uncertainties

that genuinely troubled his Sishya’s comprehension.

Then he prostrated at the feet of Bhagawan Vishnu, the

Lord of the universe, and prayed for His guidance &

support, before proceeding to unwrap the mysteries of

the Universe for the benefit of his disciple and the

future generations of mankind.

 

End of chapter-I

******************************************************

Here, if all of you permit, may I share a sloka from

Bhagavadgita, to which Shirdi Sai Baba gave a

brilliant explanation ? It shows how a sishya should

approach the Guru for clarifications:

 

“ Tatviddhi pranipaathena pariprasnena sevayaa

Upadekshyamthi the gyaanam gyaaninah tattwadarshinah”

 

Sai’s view point:

 

1) When one approaches a gyaani/Guru for

clarifications, one should surrender/overcome his/her

ego.

 

2) It’s not enough to question. The question should

not be to point out others’ mistakes or to attract

attention, or out of idle curiosity. The question

should be born out of genuine concern for knowledge,

truth and spiritual advancement.

 

2) Guruseva is not done according to one’s fancy and

convenience. The sishya should feel he exists mainly

for serving the Guru & his causes, because Guru really

cares for his sishya and parts with his invaluable

“vidyaadhanam” for the latter’s all round progress.

 

The Guru exults in such a sishya and the sishya in

turn will make the Guru proud. Do such pairs exist? I

currently see two such:

 

Parasara - Maitreya

Sanjay Rath – Narasimha

 

May the tribe increase!

 

Regards,

Lakshmi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GeoCities - quick and easy web site hosting, just $8.95/month.

http://geocities./ps/info1

[Guest guest]

respected lakshmi remeshji

your article was very nice in your next posting plaese

write about hayagreeva,( whether he was a demon who

stole the vedas into patala or was He a avatara of

Mahavishnu who rescued the vedas)

waiting for the replies

thank you

 

 

--- lakshmi ramesh <b_lakshmi_ramesh wrote:

> The HTML version came without readable paragraphing

> &

> formatting. Hence I am forwarding this version. I

> apologise for the inconvenience.

>

> Regards,

> Lakshmi

>

---------------------

>

> “Om Gurudevaya vidhmahe Parabrahmane dheemahi

> Tanno Guru prachodayaath”

>

> Shri Sanjay,

>

> Namaste. I humbly submit the following for your

> guidance. I tried to remain as faithful to the

> original as possible. Still errors might occur

> because

> of my own inadequate inner resources. Please excuse

> them.

>

>

*******************************************************

> Vishnu Purana – Part I Chapter 1

>

> Once upon a time, there was a tapo-bhoomi (sacred

> place) in North India called Naimisa-aranya, which

> was

> sanctified by the presence of many great sages who

> dwelt there, performed penances (tapasya), pondered

> on

> brahmasutras and evolved guiding principles.

>

> That hoary place also gifted to the mankind Sage

> Parasara, the Father of Vedic astrology. His great

> disciple was Sage Maitreya, who learnt all the Vedas

> and Shastras and their inner meaning from His

> Master.

> Still, towards the end of his tutelage, he realized

> that there were quite a few doubts persisting in his

> mind, which necessarily needed the Master’s

> meditative

> touch.

>

> He approached his Guru one fine morning and humbly

> requested him to clarify these points to which

> Parasara kindly consented. Thus, Vishnu Purana opens

> with the following catechism (questioning) of Sage

> Maitreya :

>

> “Oh Master, with dedication and discipline, and with

> your benediction, I mastered all that you taught and

> grasped the gist of all this education. God, who is

> the Essence of this infinite knowledge, is manifest

> in

> so many forms and with so many names. Who among all

> these manifestations is the very Root of this

> Existence? Who guides Indra and other gods? Which

> manifestation is that by praying to which men can

> satisfy all their desires? By listening to/rejoicing

> in whose glory do men find Bhukthi (material

> prosperity) and Mukthi (emancipation)? Who is the

> cause of this Universe, its creation, sustenance and

> destruction? In this regard, how to reconcile the

> different responses from different scriptures and

> arrive at a uniform conclusion?

>

> Not only this…what is the standard for the

> Panchabhutas (the five tattwas)? What are the

> dimensions of the seven seas/oceans and the great

> mountain ranges? The movement of the

> grahas/nakshatras, the origin of Gods, various

> time-divisions like manvantara, yuga, kalpa etc…how

> did these evolve? What are the respective

> Yugadharmas(

> guiding principles of the era) ? Who were the

> Mahapurushas(great men), Kings and Sages that truly

> represented the conscience of their respective eras?

>

> What is the scope of various branches of Vedas?

> What

> are the principles of Caste division based on

> profession (Varnaashrama Dharma)? What are the

> principles governing different phases in an

> individual’s life (Aashrama Dharma), like..

> brahmacharya-youth, grihastha-marital life,

> vaanaprastha – withdrawal from wordly concerns etc?

>

>

> Hey Gurudeva, I pray that you kindly explain these

> phenomena and comprehensively remove all the doubts

> that plague my mind.”

>

> Sage Parashara very patiently listened to all that

> his

> favourite Sishya had to say. He also understood that

> such questions could be anticipated from all those

> who

> would not have the benefit of their Gurus’ guidance.

> He also knew that Maitreya did not approach him for

> a

> mere paraphrasing of what was already available in

> various books. Maitreya came seeking the subtle,

> subterranean truths that the Master himself had

> divined through his own extensive experience /

> meditation / research.

>

> Sage Parashara pondered deeply on the uncertainties

> that genuinely troubled his Sishya’s comprehension.

> Then he prostrated at the feet of Bhagawan Vishnu,

> the

> Lord of the universe, and prayed for His guidance &

> support, before proceeding to unwrap the mysteries

> of

> the Universe for the benefit of his disciple and the

> future generations of mankind.

>

> End of chapter-I

>

******************************************************

> Here, if all of you permit, may I share a sloka from

> Bhagavadgita, to which Shirdi Sai Baba gave a

> brilliant explanation ? It shows how a sishya should

> approach the Guru for clarifications:

>

> “ Tatviddhi pranipaathena pariprasnena sevayaa

> Upadekshyamthi the gyaanam gyaaninah

> tattwadarshinah”

>

> Sai’s view point:

>

> 1) When one approaches a gyaani/Guru for

> clarifications, one should surrender/overcome

> his/her

> ego.

>

> 2) It’s not enough to question. The question should

> not be to point out others’ mistakes or to attract

> attention, or out of idle curiosity. The question

> should be born out of genuine concern for knowledge,

> truth and spiritual advancement.

>

> 2) Guruseva is not done according to one’s fancy and

> convenience. The sishya should feel he exists mainly

> for serving the Guru & his causes, because Guru

> really

> cares for his sishya and parts with his invaluable

> “vidyaadhanam” for the latter’s all round progress.

>

> The Guru exults in such a sishya and the sishya in

> turn will make the Guru proud. Do such pairs exist?

> I

> currently see two such:

>

> Parasara - Maitreya

> Sanjay Rath – Narasimha

>

> May the tribe increase!

>

> Regards,

> Lakshmi

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> GeoCities - quick and easy web site hosting,

> just $8.95/month.

> http://geocities./ps/info1

>

> ------------------------ Sponsor

>

>

>

> Your use of is subject to

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

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