Purpose of Puranas and need for repackaging

[kallol]

The Puranas served a great purpose of providing the right orientation to the immature minds and thereby aligning them to the so called "way of life".

However in the present world of laptops, smart phones, extreme games, extreme films (we used to have art films - now lost), etc., I do not find many youngsters reading the puranas (even the amar chitra kathas) or even the grandmothers of present time are not much aware of the stories.

The puranas have been written with objectives of embedding certain values into the young minds (I hope I am right). But the means adopted at those times might have outlived their utility.

Do you feel we need to repackage the objectives keeping in mind the present world advancement ?

Love and best wishes

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Kallol: Personally, I find some of the Puranas to be confusing. I think in the time they were written, the adults who wrote had no understanding of developmental psychology. The famous French psychologist Piaget was the first to study the development of mind extensively. According to him, somewhere around the onset of adolescence, there is a jump in mental capability to what he termed 'formal thought'. At that point the mind can interpret, and read metaphorically, or between the lines to catch subtle nuances like suggestion , tone , or mood. So before that time, I believe it may not be the best for young minds to hear these stories. Personally, I would imagine what its like to read them in an absolute literal sense, and that would be somewhat how a child views them.

in my opinion, same thing is also true of the stories of the 63 Nayanar Saints of Tamil lore, and even things like pictures of Kali.

An imaginary dialogue re Kali: "But, papa, she doesn't look loving to me."

So wisdom is key. Be selective. But that's just my take.

Aum Namasivaya

[wundermonk]

Vannakkam Kallol: Personally, I find some of the Puranas to be confusing.

I think the Puranas were written down with the purpose of showing people at different times the "way of life". So, the confusion might be there because different Puranas possibly provide different take on the same issue because they were developed when societies were at different stages of societal development.

[smaranam]

Namaste



The puranas have been written with objectives of embedding certain values into the young minds (I hope I am right). But the means adopted at those times might have outlived their utility.

Do you feel we need to repackage the objectives keeping in mind the present world advancement ?

Love and best wishes

We may not repackage the time-transcending Universal principle and nectar given by the Supreme Lord who is Time. The re-packaging is done in the purAN itself - like prescriptions specific for Kali Yuga Versus Sat Yuga. Within Kali Yuga, the gurus prescribe the appropriate for the disciples.

This is especially true of THE MAHA purAN , the crown jewel of all 18 purANs + upa purANs : Shrimad BhAgvat.

The purpose of BhAgvat is much higher than to simply show a way of leading material life, embed values (saMskAr) or to set an example to young and immature minds. It is relished by self-realized souls like Veda-vyAs, Shukadev Goswami, and all the assembled sages because they are not satisfied with self-realization.

Why are mandaps setup for Bhagvat katha at every corner in this age of laptops and smart-phones ?

If anyone is really interested in the [esoteric] nectar called Shrimad BhAgvat and the reason for its existence - only then should it be discussed, not otherwise.

praNAm

[smaranam]

Namaste


10 topics mandatory to a major purANa :

sarga (primary creation)
visarga (secondary creation)
sthAna (maintenance)
poshaN (mercy)
Uti (desires)
manvantara (reigns of manus)
ishAnukathA ( pastimes of the Supreme Lord and His devotees )
nirodh (annihilation)
mukti (liberation)
Ashray (substratum or ultimate shelter).

BhAgvat is a mahApurAN as it does full justice to all ten topics and is about Shri KRshNa. If anyone is interested, we can have a thread for BhAgvat.

He Govind he GopAL he GopAL...
om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya ~

[grames]

Dear Smaranam.,

I will be very much interested to read your messages about Bagavat Purana and please go ahead and i will be delighted to read some delightful words from you.

Thanks

[Spiritualseeker]

Namaste,

I have just recently starting reading the Puranas. I find them useful even still now. I think the reason why not many people read them, may be because of the times we live in and the lack of spiritual inclinations by some people. A lot of people are turning away from religion and I cannot blame them for that. Regardless, the Puranas and also Upanishads and other scripture can be very useful as a guide to the Self. I just recently enjoyed reading about Shiva and Parvati. The demonstration in the Puranas are so exotic and point to something that is beyond concepts. It is quite beautiful and powerful. It has changed the way I look at puranas.


Om Namah Shivaya

[devotee]

I have just recently starting reading the Puranas. I find them useful even still now. I think the reason why not many people read them, may be because of the times we live in and the lack of spiritual inclinations by some people. A lot of people are turning away from religion and I cannot blame them for that. Regardless, the Puranas and also Upanishads and other scripture can be very useful as a guide to the Self. I just recently enjoyed reading about Shiva and Parvati. The demonstration in the Puranas are so exotic and point to something that is beyond concepts. It is quite beautiful and powerful. It has changed the way I look at puranas.


Puranas hold a strong influence in Hindu society in India. On internet we always talk more about Bhagwad Gita, Upanishads, Brahma Sutras etc. ... but in reality, such discussions are rare in Hindu society at least in born Hindus of India. Bhagwad Purana is very popular among Hindus (apart from Itihasas, Ramayana and Mahabharata). It is so popular that if you see it from economics point of view, it has become a multi-billion rupee business telling stories from Bhagwad Purana.

OM

[smaranam]

It is so popular that if you see it from economics point of view, it has become a multi-billion rupee business telling stories from Bhagwad Purana.

OM

Namaste,

VaishNav gurus warn us : never hear BhAgvat from someone who wants to make money out of it. Always hear BhAgvat (the scripture) from a mahAbhAgvat (the person).

Expenditure will be required to organize BhAgvat kathA. That is not the same as making money especially 'multi-billion rupee business'

om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya ~

_/\_

[devotee]

VaishNav gurus warn us : never hear BhAgvat from someone who wants to make money out of it. Always hear BhAgvat (the scripture) from a mahAbhAgvat (the person).

Expenditure will be required to organize BhAgvat kathA. That is not the same as making money especially 'multi-billion rupee business'


I just wanted to emphasize how much influence it has on Hindu Society. Please ignore my extravagant "economic-al" remarks which was certainly unnecessary.

OM

[shian]

I love to read Purana
and i not feel they are blame each other
i think that is the way of Purana to teach us

even so many about higest and lowest

i still not confused

i still know there is no Higest and lowest

i only know that is teachings of our consciousness
there is teachings that i can use in my life
not about which God is must throw and which God i must blame and which God i must receive

[kallol]

A few points :

1. Are the number of people (%) getting more and more aware of the puranas ?

2. How can we spread the morals or the knowledge embedded in the puranas ? May be movies (not only ramayan), serials, games, etc which can be used by today's generation.

3. Young minds are best to create lasting impression faster. As they grow up, they become mature and outgrow the games, comics, etc. How to bring higher values & knowledge, which are embedded in puranas (and higher scriptures) through the media they frequently visit ?

The awareness and orientations are required for general mass. However the spiritually oriented minds will anyway veer toward the knowledge.

[Eastern Mind]

2. How can we spread the morals or the knowledge embedded in the puranas
3. Young minds are best to create lasting impression faster. As they grow up, they become mature and outgrow the games, comics, etc. How to bring higher values & knowledge, which are embedded in puranas (and higher scriptures) through the media they frequently visit ?

The awareness and orientations are required for general mass. However the spiritually oriented minds will anyway veer toward the knowledge.

Vannakkam Kallol: Himalayan Academy and other Hindu religious institutions have recognised this need. HA just published 2 children's books of modern stories that support the yamas and niyamas, called Hindu Children's Modern Stories Here's a link to their publications site:

http://minimela.com/

I have both books, and from a former teacher's perspective, the stories are intriguing and interesting enough to demonstrate these moral values. They would fit into any elementary or middle school library.

Aum Namasivaya

[shian]

I love Puranas, because there is amazing and beautiful way to teach us... very wonderful...

Why ?

there is so many story, then some people will said : "This is cruel, what is this ? look like a legend or myth."

Some people will get many Divine knowledge from there
Some people will get the nectar of teachings from the story
Some people with high wisdom will understand each story and get enlightenment to observe and control their conscioussness, then know the nature of self and no any observe and no any control anymore

some peoples will said that is false scripture , fool and idiot

some peoples will face many problem and many questions

some peoples will have reason to debate or fight after read this

this is world

Purana is universe, when we see universe, different peoples will have different understanding , and different opinion about whatever happened in this universe

i love Purana that is amazing, there is great power behind Purana , there is Mahamaya, there is Mahavidya

[Brahmanyan]

I give below a portion from the english rendering of Srimad Bagavatam by Swami Krishnadas Achutha describing "Evils of Kali":

XII CHAPTER 2 - Evils of Kaliyuga

"Suka continued: Thenceforward, day after day, by the force of Kala (Time), righteousness, truthfulness, purity of body and mind, forgiveness, compassion, length of lifeand bodily strength and keenness of memory will decline.

In Kaliyuga, wealth will be the criterian of pedigree, morality and merit. Those who are mighty, will be called righteous and fair. Personal liking will determine the choice of a partner in life. Trickery will be the motive force in business and dealings. Ability to give sexual pleasure will be the criterion of masculine and feminine excellence. External marks will be the means of knowing a brahmana and a sanyasin. Justice will be vitiated, because of one's inability to gratify those who administer it. Voluble speech will be criterion of scholarship. Toilet will be regarded as a sign of bath. Distant tank will be considered holy resort for bath; long hair will be regarded as sign of beauty. Filling the belly will be the end of human pursuit. Audacity of speech wil be the criterian of truthfulness. Skill will consist in supporting one's family. Virtuous deeds will, be done, only for fame. The terrestrial globe will be run over by wicked people, and the person who will be more powerful, will become the ruler. People will resort to mountains and forests and eat roots, leaves meat, honey, flowers and seeds.Oppressed by famine and taxation, people will perish through drought, excessive heat amd cold, storms, rain, snowfall and mutual conflict. In Kaliyuga, the maximum expectation of life will be twenty or thirty years. Religion will be replaced by heresy and rulers wil turn out to be thieves. Man will take up the wanton destruction of life and property. Connotation of relationship will extend only to the relatives of one's wife. Clouds will end in flashes of lightning and no rains will pour; dwellings will look desolate for want of hospitality to strangers. When Kaliyuga is about to terminate, the Lord will appear as Kalki in the house of the brahmin called Vishnuyasa, in the village of Sambhala." ......

It goes on further till the end of the Chapter. I request all to read this description of the effects of Kaliyuga written thousands of years ago and find how prophetic the words of Srimad Bhagavatam are.

A word about this book. Srimad Bhagavatam by Swamy Srikrishnadas Achyutha, an English rendering of the epic in easily readable story form is one of the Best translations of the great Book I have come across . This is a publication of TTD, Tirupati, published in 1984. Sri Swamiji has done this as a work of love, and life's mission, to share the spiritual thrill he has derived from the great Purana with the devotees of Bhagavan.

Hari Om,

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

[Sudarshan]

purANa-s are amongst the most misunderstood of Hindu scriptures. They are commentaries or explanations of the veda in the form of concretized allegorical/itihAsic narrations. They are not meant for immature minds, but essentially for practising yogis who can understand their tAtparya. Of course, they have many levels of meanings, and barring interpolations they have no unscientific nonsense.

[kallol]

There are always a positive side and negetive side of anything. However we need to weigh those wrt to the present society and decide.

In Bengal the songs of Rabindranath was held very closely by a one group and it debarred anyone whoever went ahead and sung those with eeven a little variation.

This did not help the songs of rabindranath to get wider audience across age group.

Only now after it has been opened up, the songs are getting repackaging for acceptibility.

Same are with the morals of the stories and the stories themselves. If we limit them to only madrassas (only analogy), then the spread will be poor.

The present schooling of India does not allow these. But then media is also strong. How is it possible to repackage the stories into films, into TV serials, into cartoons, etc.

This is the way it can be reached out to the young minds.

[jopmala]

pranam

ved-vedanta are too difficult for common people to understand so puranas are there to explain the bhagavan sambandha (relationship),bhakti avidheya ( devotional service) and prem praojan ( attaiment of love). The notable point is that ved-vedanta and purans are all works of krishna dwipaiyan byas.

[Seeker123]

Puranas have a lot of benefits. Of course there are things in there that seem magical - but how do we know that such and such did not happen in that yuga? But even if you remove it of those magical things wouldnt you want young ones to have role models like Ram, Sita, and Harischandra rather than bollywood? Also Puranas teach us path to Moksha, and discuss various things like controlling mind, anger, dealing with personal loss, dharma etc. in easy to understand story format. They also inculcate bhakthi.

[Jainarayan]

Take this with a grain of salt, but I think this goes back to a recent discussion about educating Hindus on their own faith, via talks, or sermons, if you will, in temple (providing you get people to temple).

Who better than to take lessons and stories out of any scripture and bring them to life, explaining its meanings, metaphors, and mythologies than someone learned in scripture, i.e. a temple pujari, guru, teacher, guest speaker versed in the particular subject?

Yes, it takes planning to interpret and present a scriptural subject in a way a young person can grasp, and wants to grasp. I'm loathe to bring this up, but I do so only because of experience in the subject... in early grades of Sunday School and religion classes, bible stories were presented in a way that made sense (relatively speaking wrt to the bible) to young minds.

From what I've been gathering from discussions on the site, Hindus don't really do very much to further knowledge of the faith, except "well, that's what my family has always done". The irony (as I see it) is I like reading the stories and relating them to people in an animated and lively way, and everyday speech.

One day my nephew-in-law (a big burly good ol' boy long-haul trucker) sat in rapt attention as I told him the story of Lord Narasimha and Hiranyakashipu. Why was he so captivated? Because at the risk of a rotator cuff injury from patting myself on the back, I made it interesting.

[Sahasranama]

Take this with a grain of salt, but I think this goes back to a recent discussion about educating Hindus on their own faith, via talks, or sermons, if you will, in temple (providing you get people to temple).

Who better than to take lessons and stories out of any scripture and bring them to life, explaining its meanings, metaphors, and mythologies than someone learned in scripture, i.e. a temple pujari, guru, teacher, guest speaker versed in the particular subject?

Yes, it takes planning to interpret and present a scriptural subject in a way a young person can grasp, and wants to grasp. I'm loathe to bring this up, but I do so only because of experience in the subject... in early grades of Sunday School and religion classes, bible stories were presented in a way that made sense (relatively speaking wrt to the bible) to young minds.

From what I've been gathering from discussions on the site, Hindus don't really do very much to further knowledge of the faith, except "well, that's what my family has always done". The irony (as I see it) is I like reading the stories and relating them to people in an animated and lively way, and everyday speech.

One day my nephew-in-law (a big burly good ol' boy long-haul trucker) sat in rapt attention as I told him the story of Lord Narasimha and Hiranyakashipu. Why was he so captivated? Because at the risk of a rotator cuff injury from patting myself on the back, I made it interesting.Hindus have nothing to learn from Christian sunday school teachers. Hindus are master story tellers and there is no Hindu child who doesn't like to hear about the stories from the itihasas or puranas. Traditionally stories were told at important events, played out on the stage or sung in beautiful music. There is also no shortage of use of modern media in Hindu story telling, those who have grown up in Hindu families most likely have seen movies like the Ramayana, Mahabharata and other devotional movies like Bhakta Prahlada and many others. There are beautiful comic books written on Hindu stories and recently animated movies for children are brought out. There is no reason for Hindus to take example from Sunday school teachers who do nothing more than traumatise their pupils for life.

[Jainarayan]

Hindus have nothing to learn from Christian sunday school teachers.


There is no reason for Hindus to take example from Sunday school teachers who do nothing more than traumatise their pupils for life.

I don't know why I bother. :rolleyes:

[Jainarayan]

I don't know why I bother. :rolleyes:

Actually I'm not going to, anymore. Happy lives to all, and may God(dess) watch over and shower blessings on all.

[Sahasranama]

Hindus do not need to look at Christians for a method to teach their ancient stories, we only need to take a thorough look at our own history and culture and there will be enough examples on how to communicate the ancient heritage of Hinduism. If you have any nostalgic feelings from your times as a catamite going to Sunday school, Hindus do not want to hear about it.

[Believer]

Namaste,

When you say something against Xitianity or Islam in this forum, here is a sample of what some of the self-righteous 'sane' people PM you,


I am not going to pursue this publically, .........but your diatribe was completely out of line. ..........Run "your" forum as you wish, and discuss on "your" forum what you wish. I'm done with the toxicity and hypocrisy. ......So, we become the bad people. All of a sudden, the Universalistic/New Age Hindus turn on us?

Pranam.

[MahaHrada]

Namaste,

When you say something against Xitianity or Islam in this forum, here is a sample of what some of the self-righteous 'sane' people PM you,

So, we become the bad people. All of a sudden, the Universalistic/New Age Hindus turn on us?

Pranam.

hahaha you are not alone i have also already been "touched by the dark Lord" hate spam serial mail attack


I am not going to pursue this publically, as too much damage has been already done. In fact, this is all I'm going to say on it, but your harangue against me was completely out of line. I've endured insults and questions about my sincerity almost from day one; I've apologized and defended myself, and I have had enough. I'm done with the toxicity and hypocrisy.

He always promises that he had enough but then he comes back with more truth about the avatar jeebus. Poor guy has indured so many insults sob...Maybe he likes some cheese with the whine.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Anybody is free to start their own forum. Apparently its just not that hard. (Although I couldn't do it, I still use a mouse.) Then you can be the boss, and ban or allow whomever you want. :)

If I did do it, and banned everyone who didn't agree with me all the time, it would be one very lonely forum. Title it 'Forum for a Hindu Loner'

The bottom line is there just aren't that many Hindu forums out there. Not that I've found.

Aum Namasivaya

[Sahasranama]

Namaste,

When you say something against Xitianity or Islam in this forum, here is a sample of what some of the self-righteous 'sane' people PM you,

So, we become the bad people. All of a sudden, the Universalistic/New Age Hindus turn on us?

Pranam.
I also recieved a PM from him saying that my posts were reported as offensive, even though all I posted was that I agreed with another poster that Hinduism is better off without people who are still faithful to their Biblical God while calling themself Hindu. Hinduism is not a proselytising religion, religion is not a number's game for us. If people are still attached to their birth religion, why do they keep pretending that they are Hindu? They are better of going to church where they can read from the bible freely and hand their children over to serve as catamites for Sunday school teachers.

[charitra]

I don’t know why the thread veered off track. I will chime in anyways.

I was the one who raised the issue of hindu mandirs tossing away a great opportunity to preach religion to our kids (and adults!), on another thread recently. This lackof initiative deprives our children any chance of acquiring religious info. for a long time or forever. A mandir is the commonest place of faith every hindu child attends, not the talks of gurus, not the religious opera, not even the religion based movies. The kids are put in school before they even start walking and they start getting homework right from age 4 or 5. How wonderful and innovative would it be if only a pujari after completing the recitation of Sanskrit mantras to give a short speech of 2-3minutes, about our doctrines and philosophy. And to mention names of vedas and Upanishads.

TBTL is right in bringing this comparison here, he was highlighting one aspect of the western model, he wasn’t praising the glory of an abrahamic faith. He was painstakingly explaining a hindu purana to a Christian kid, tantamounts to a blasphemous act in his family! I didn’t see TBTL saying anything derogatory about hindus either. Whatever has happened to hindus who have accumulated a fund of knowledge about Hinduism but sadly fail to liveup to the high standards of tolerance the faith is known for.

Please do a survey-catch hold of some 10 hindus starting from Monday and ask them about the core doctrines of Hinduism, come back and present the outcome of the study here. Make sure all the subjects are new acquaintances and must all be born hindus at that. Where is the preaching going on in hindu societies? Those of you living in Europe/west, please call your families and enquire about the religious indoctrination imparted on the kids. Whereas west and middle east have put in an effective mechanism in place that assures religious education of their kids, hindu kids have to count on only their families and nothing more. Compare Sunday sermons and Friday prayers to our own Saturday mandir visits, the stark difference will hit you straight away. We aren’t talking about proselytization here, it is simply much needed education that is absent. Most of you are deluded that it is only the nonhindus who are ignorant of Hinduism, the ignorance from within is what that undermines this faith, eventually may even turn into its nemesis. Namaste.

[Sahasranama]

I was the one who raised the issue of hindu mandirs tossing away a great opportunity to preach religion to our kids (and adults!), on another thread recently. This lackof initiative deprives our children any chance of acquiring religious info. for a long time or forever. A mandir is the commonest place of faith every hindu child attends, not the talks of gurus, not the religious opera, not even the religion based movies. The difference between a Christian church and a mandir is that a Church is used mostly as a meeting place for a community. A mandir is a place where the vigraha of the deity is worshipped and devotees come for darshana. A Hindu mandir does not have the same function as a Christian church. Hindu culture and religion is expressed through many other places than the mandir. I have been to enough mandirs where people have requested the pujari to give a sermon like a Christian priest. The result is that the rituals are being done very hastily and that we hear a priest talking about things he doesn't know about. The function of the purohita is already shifting from ritualist to pseudo-therapist/preacher. This is a perversion of the profession.

There are classes offered at ashrams, mandirs and other Hindu organisations which require some dedication from the student to learn subjects like Sanskrit, Hindi, Bhagavad Gita, Vedanta and other subjects. This is different from Bible class, because it caters only to dedicated students who are willing to put an effort into learning something. These type of classes which are based on the traditional Hindu model of education should be encouraged. Hindus do not need a Sunday Bible class where some preacher damages young minds.


TBTL is right in bringing this comparison here, he was highlighting one aspect of the western model, he wasn’t praising the glory of an abrahamic faith. He was painstakingly explaining a hindu purana to a Christian kid, tantamounts to a blasphemous act in his family! Nobody made a problem of TBTL telling the story of Hiranyakashyipa. The problem is his arrogance to think that we have to learn story telling from Sunday school teachers, while Hinduism itself has a very sopisticated tradition of story telling which is also represented in poetry, theatre, music, dance, sculptures, paintings. Hindus have been praised from all over the world for their ability to tell stories. Therefore, there is no need to learn methods from Christian Sunday school teachers. Enough damage has been done to Hinduism already by Indians trying to mimick Christians. It is time Hindus looked at their own rich tradition, instead of trying to model after Christianitiy.


Compare Sunday sermons and Friday prayers to our own Saturday mandir visits, the stark difference will hit you straight away. We aren’t talking about proselytization here, it is simply much needed education that is absent. You have misunderstood what I was talking about when I mentioned that Hinduism isn't a proselytising religion. I wasn't using it in the context of Sunday schools, but in the context of pseudo-Hindus who are still Christians in their heart. Since Hinduism isn't a number's game, we shouldn't be so eager to adopt these wolves in sheep clothing among our midst as Hindus.


Please do a survey-catch hold of some 10 hindus starting from Monday and ask them about the core doctrines of Hinduism, come back and present the outcome of the study here. Make sure all the subjects are new acquaintances and must all be born hindus at that. Where is the preaching going on in hindu societies? Those of you living in Europe/west, please call your families and enquire about the religious indoctrination imparted on the kids. Whereas west and middle east have put in an effective mechanism in place that assures religious education of their kids, hindu kids have to count on only their families and nothing more. Compare Sunday sermons and Friday prayers to our own Saturday mandir visits, the stark difference will hit you straight away. We aren’t talking about proselytization here, it is simply much needed education that is absent. Most of you are deluded that it is only the nonhindus who are ignorant of Hinduism, the ignorance from within is what that undermines this faith, eventually may even turn into its nemesis. It is common among modern Hindus to start blaming two groups of people:

1) The pundits
2) The next generation

People complain about the pundit not handing over all Hindu knowledge on a silver platter to the general public. This is not the pundit's job. If one wants to learn something, one need the motivation and get one's own hands dirty. The next generation is then blamed for a lack of interest. This lack of interest only comes if the parent's themselves are indifferent about Hinduism. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If Hindu parents are so concerned about how they will transmit Hindu wisdom to the next generation, they should first immerse themselves into it. If Hindu parents themselves spend all their time watching bollywood movies and watching cricket, then they should stop complaining about their children having no interest in learning about the puranas. Hinduism should be integrated in your life, because that is how your children will pick it up. Integrating Hinduism in your lifes goes far beyond visiting the temple once a week.

[Seeker123]

I am all against Universal/New Age Hinduism. But I didnt see TBTL's post as one. He brought up the sunday school - he did take pains to qualify it. It would be wonderful if all Hindu kids attended a weekly Hindu school. As a matter of fact there are Balavihars, Balagokulam etc. run by Chinmaya Mission and others. They meet every weekend and kids ranging from 5 to 18 read Puranas, slokas, moral stories, vedanta, Gita etc depending on their level - they even have homework! They give an excellent grounding on Hinduism and within 2-4 years the kids know more than their parents! Some Hindu temples in the West have these Balavihars in the weekend. Otherwise it is conducted at the teacher's house.



One day my nephew-in-law (a big burly good ol' boy long-haul trucker) sat in rapt attention as I told him the story of Lord Narasimha and Hiranyakashipu.

That is a beautiful story. There is contradiction there in that Vishnu is shown as extremely angry even after killing Hiranyakashipu (remember how it is important to overcome anger). But there is a lot of gems you can learn from it:

1. Lord is everywhere even in immaterial things.
2. Prahlada says Bhakti to Lord will sublimate ego. How true
3. When God asks what he wants Prahlada says these material things have no lasting value - only God does.
4. Prahlada's faith was unshakeable even when he was being put to death - compare with people converting based on money or sword.

Profound Vedantic concepts in simple layman language.

[kallol]

If we see the way the schooling had been done in old day and the modern way of teaching or imparting knowledge, there is a vast difference.

How one interprets hinduism is the question. If one is interpreting this as something which has nothing to do with material science or material life then ofcourse it needs the rigid way of reaching out to the young minds or old minds.

But if hinduism touch our material science and the material life as we live, then the message should be coming along with our daily activities.

We had our grandmothers to impart the knowledge of puranas to us. We got attracted to the Amar chitra katha through those. Who is doing the grandmother's job ? TV, Computers, Cartoons, Games, which one ? Today's kids' live in these only.

If we can influence the kids through Superman, Batman, Spiderman, why not we package the Puranas in similar ways. We do not have dearth of heros.

We should keep in mind that if one cannot change and adapt to the new scenarios then they are left out.

Hinduism by nature is adaptive but as in general scenarios, the change is always tough. There are veru few Shankaracharyas, Raja Rammohan roys, Vivekanandas, etc.

Think change and make change for the betterment of the flowing time and society. Nothing can be static.