A calendrical dream

[Guest guest]

Shri T. V. Sivaraman ji,

Jai Shri Ram,

 

It is a fascinating piece you have posted.

 

In the Yoga-Vasishtha there is a discussion between Shri Ram and his Guru Vasishtha where the former asked that if Parabrahman is beyond words and reasoning and cannot be attained by shastras, why were we having all the shastras around. Vasishtha narrated a story to Him of a miser who lost a "kauri" and started searching for it. The miser kept on searching for the same day and night continuously through the whole jungle for several days without food and water The miser ultimately found a "Chintamani"---a gem supposed to yield all the desired results!

 

Vasishtha explained to Shri Ram that if that miser had not kept on looking for the "kauri" and ransacked the whole jungle for the same, he would never have got "Chintamani". He explained further that by looking for "kauris" in the shasstras, people with a burning desire ultimately realize the Supreme!

 

It is a similar story about calendar reform! What is a useless and unrelated activity according to you, and several other members, about the date of Valmiki Ramayana or the Mahabharata or my tirade against "Vedic astrology" is in fact a real quest---brain storming---for the real Vedic-cum-Pauranic calendar! It is in fact a Clarion Call to the entire Hindu community that they must come out of their fatal infatuation with "Vedic astrology" and look for the real Vedic festivals etc.

 

You might have observed it for yourself that every body is criticizing the efforts in a highly derisive manner, instead of giving some constructive suggestions. That is just because ninety-nine percent of Hindu population (Hindu Civilization!) comprises "Vedic jyotishis" and ninety-nine per cent of those jyotishis are so called nirayana-walas and ninety-nine per cent of those nirayana-walas are Lahiriwalas!

 

Because there is a direct conflict between Mesha etc. Rashis, especially the so called nirayana rashis, and the Vedic calendar, "Vedic astrologers" are making every effort to scuttle my efforts by calling me a "Christian" and "Proselytizing" and so on. They even take shelter behind "parokshya-professor" like Arjuna took behind Shikhandi who was actually a straw as compared to Bhishma!

 

Hindu jyotishis have been using so called sayana rashis in India at the time of Alberuni's visit in tenth century, and that is evident from Bhatotpala's comments also that in Kashmir as well, Sayana planetary longitudes were used for predictive astrology as well as calendar making, after Munjala's Laghumanasa had become popular.

That sayana Rashis were used as per agamas also as is clear from Tantraloka, wherein Acharya Abhinavagupta has talked of Mesha Sanrkanti as day being equal to night and so on! (Pl. see BVB6.doc) and Abhinavagupta was around in eleventh century AD.

 

Thus, if we have to use Rashis for Hindu calendar, they have to be so called sayana rashis, though there were no rashis in the Vedas or the VJ etc., in spite of "parokshya professor's" claims to the contrary! But Sayana rashis is an anathema to "Vedic astrologers". If a miniscule number of people have accepted the sayana rashis for Vedic calendar, they are doing so only because they are experimenting with so called sayana rashis with predictive gimmicks and that is why they call "Sayana jyotish" as the "real Vedic jyotish" like some overseas Pondicherrywalas and their shishyas etc. They have actually no faith in the Vedic calendar but all they are intested in is making "correct predictions form (sayana instead of nirayana) rashis"!

But the problem with those sayana rashis is that they cannot be linked to Ashvini, Bharni etc. nakshatras at all, though as per Alberuni's India, he has given proofs that nakshatras were clubbed with Sayana rashis in his period!

But then that is wrong and we cannot continue to do that because no nakshatra falls in any namesake division if we take sayana rashis vis-a-vis nakshatras.

We thus fall back again to so called nirayana rashis! But that again is not possible since not only cannot the nakshatra divisions be accommodated in respective nirayana rashi division either, we also have the festivals completely delinked from the seasonal festivals and instead of Pauranic Makar or Mesha or any other Sankranti, all we are doing is celebrating Lahiri Makar and Kumbha etc. Sankrantis!

What is equally problematic about calendar making is the position of nakshatras! Do we take them of equal division or of unequal division? What is the starting point of nakshatras? Which is the starting nakshatra and why? The Junction stars of nakshatras--do they have some real connection with the nakshatras of their respective names or were they also an invention by Maya the mlechha, since prior to the Surya Sidhanta, we do not have any records that we had the present junction stars for nakshatras! The Vedas do tell us about different nakshatras, like "kirittikasu agnim adadeeta" but we do not know from which Star Krittika division started and why during the Vedic time.

If the Junction Stars are really aligned to nakshatras, how do we account for Chitra and Swati stars having a distance of less than half a degree and that of Svati and Vishakha about 21 degrees and so on? Did the Vedic seers really name the respective nakshatra divisions on the basis of the present nomenclature of junction stars or did they follow some other method?

 

All these are very inconvenient and terse questions. But then we have to find answers to all of them. And we could have expected some solution from "Vedic astrologers" since they must be the real pundits in this field, but then they are more interested in preserving the sanctity of Lahiri or Ramana or Chandra Hari Ayanamsha than arriving at Truth and nothing but Truth!

 

That is why I am asking everybody to give his/her opinion! And all that I am getting is innumerable mails from Shri Hari Malla, which make neither head nor tail, since he just wants to put the Hindu community out of the frying pan into fire! Instead of Lahiri and Ramana and Chandra Hari mess, Shri Hari Mall wants the Hindu community to fall into Hari Malla mess!

 

In view of the above, I have decided to continue with uploading the list of festivals of correct dates before the start of next year, on the basis of the Vedic months Madhu, Madhava etc., which may be clubbed with Pauranic (instead of Lahiri or Ramaana etc.!) Mina Sanrkanti and so on. People may erroneously call them sayana rashis, but they are only a stop gap arrangement---till the general public gets weaned from them.

Regarding nakshatras, I will request every member to give his/her opinion, so that we can make some real progress in that direction also.

Weekdays are neither Sayana nor nirayana! There is no controversy, even if they have been imported from overseas! We can continue to use them -- from one sunrise to next sunrise in India.

Regarding, Preeti, Vishkumbha, Ayushman etc. yogas, I would again request the members to give their views. We do not find any mention of them in any of the Vedas or the Vedanga Jyotisha or Atharva Jyotisha etc.

 

I would also request the members that my views are not at all sacrosanct. They are subject to peer review since we have to arrive at Truth and nothing but Truth.

With regards,

A K Kaul

HinduCalendar , SIVA EXPORIUM <sivaexpo wrote:>

Namasthe to all friends:

 

Being member of half a dozen I spend around two hours a day reading mails,

especially in the Hindu calendar, Hindu civilization and iyer123

 

As I laid my limbs on my bed and slept away the other day, I had a terrible dream, may be

around early morning... I felt engulfed by a dark hot matter which sucked me into a tunnel.

Soon I found light at the other end and landed in a what appeared as a wrestler's arena.

Only a couple of competitors were there.

 

All our festivals are celebrated on wrong dates and I want to bring back the vedic style

around, a divine voice echoed. Imported things have no place here added the voice.

 

A charlatan suddenly appeared on the scene. Noting is imported he averred; all are only

evolved here in the course of time. If that be the case why don’t you call days as one two

three and four instead of Sunday, Monday etc and why then seven days in a week,

why not fifteen?

 

This is a necessary evil said the divine one.

 

But Rasis are definitely imported and there is no Mesha, Rishaba etc in the vedas and

come what may I will not allow that. So too, no other planets like Mangal, Sani, etc except

sun and moon -- uttered the untiring.

Just then Ahura Mazda appeared “Ashem Vohu Vashistem asti; Ushtã asti; Ushtã ahmãi;

Hyat ashãi1; Vahishtãi ashem. " (Righteousness is the best good and it is happiness.

Happiness is to him who is righteous for the sake of the best righteousness -- Righteousness

is truth ( The Veda's - Ritam cha satyam cha tapaso adi jayate ). If these are imported were

not the exporters also part of you? Was not the Chaldean Marduk your Indra? Is not apsu

( Chaldean abzu ) a Sanskrit word for watery abyss ?

Uru-ashi is Chaldean for waters of the night --- your celestial nymph Urvasi ( ap-sara ) .

Vedic and all these cultures originated from an Artic home. Are we not part of your Vedic

heritage ? Ahura exclaimed.

 

Are you not today importing from NASA, Switzerland your planetary charts? Is not your

computing system imported? , the charlatan asked again. Why do you fight on a name?

What does it matter to the heavens if you call your imaginary thirty degrees as mesh ,

vrishabha or madhu or madhava. Will man on the street know what Madhu and

Madhava are? They are as alien as what the imported are to you.

 

Just then a thundering voice was heard and a mlecha descendent on the arena. Why

do you flay me day in and day out? I was ordained to propound astronomy and

also architecture around the world. My Siddhartha was placed for your beneficial

use, ages ago, and if there was any flaw you have only to improve on it and not to

find fault with me now. It is not my fault that you have not corrected your calendar

for precession of the equinoxes. Your lethargy was the cause.

 

You, mlecha, are the cause of all the trouble now; the ayanamsas are also a humbug,

the divine scolded him again. The entire country is intoxicated with the lahari of

a Lihiri, he lamented.

 

Just then, a rocket landed from Sriharikotta. . Hari Om where is the starting point.

It must be a coordinated one and not anything else is acceptable to me. A long

drawn out malla yuddha was on stage..

 

Let us leave it at that, Sani is changing the house; let us urgently cast the horoscopes of

bhagawan Ram and Krisha. They are waiting on the line to see our prediction

for the next year, some one was heard saying.

 

A whole array of the planets shouted from heaven. Where we not mentioned

in your vedas? Why do you deny us. Are we only acid fuming, inhospitable

desolate waste, and matter no grass to the earthlings? What when the Atharvan

worshiped us "divi chara griha" were we not inclusive ? Then why do you go

after the stars that are far far away from us and bother about their division?

 

Some one was heard saying that you imported the 28 stars also from China.

Then you are net importer only-- just like for consumer goods also now?

 

The mlecha warned of what is going to happen on the doomsday 13 number

he propounded in long count calendar, that lay just a couple of years ahead,

on the winter solstice day of December 21, 2012. Earth quakes, tsunamis,

continental shifts, wobbling of the earth, change of poles, etc. Satellite

communication systems will be destroyed; solar flares will swallow a large

chunk of humanity, the planets will be forced to change their courses -- a horrible

list of things to come -- not so far off.

 

We have heard of predictions in the past. Only Vedic astrologers are capable of

predicting correct events from wrong data, the wise voice averred.

 

Yes, said the Mlecha; if the above predictions go wrong at least, will you agree

that my siddanatha is correct?

 

Will you correct your calendar before this date and return to your Vedic

prescription or dissolve in the disaster ?

 

Just then a bearded bard from Bengal flashed on the scene:

 

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow

domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the

dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, let my country awake.

 

Do not build domestic walls to the heavens. The heavens belong to the entire

world and there is no import or export. What is familiar please take as it is,

but correct your calendar, the bard seemed to counsel.

 

Just then on the arena’s bill board some one pasted a notice. A new Vedic calendar was that,

unfolded by a darsini. Will it save the times …Ke sara sara.

 

 

T.V.Sivaraman