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Thread: Some Personal Thoughts

  1. #41
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    The Giver and the Mendicant

    Namaste,

    In the ancient times, Hindus placed a very high value on their daughters. This is illustrated by the interaction between Raja Dashrath and Raja Janak. For Ram's marriage, Raja Dashrath arrived at the Raja Janak's palace with all his relatives and friends. As Raja Janak welcomed him, Raja Dashrath proceeded to bow and touch Raja Janak's feet. Raja Janak stopped him and said, "Being groom's father you have a higher standing; why are you embarrassing me by trying to reach for my feet"? At this, Raja Dashrath replied, "At this point you are the दाता (donor) and I am a याचक (mendicant). You are going to do kanyadaan (charitable act of giving away one's daughter) and I have come to receive that daan (charity). So, you are higher than me and it is only befitting that I show my humility towards to you." Raja Janak was very moved by this gesture.

    It is said that every daughter has a father but not every father has a daughter; only the blessed ones do. Unfortunately the social norms of today put a heavy burden on a girl's parents at the time of marriage and because of that daughters are not accorded the respect and adoration that they deserve. Perhaps every groom should take the initiative to change the social norms and that would reverse the tide and would elevate women to the level that they deserve and belong to.

    Namaste.
    Last edited by Believer; 18 July 2016 at 12:13 PM.

  2. #42
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    Re: The Giver and the Mendicant

    Namaste Believer ji

    Very nice. Why don't you write something on the so called modern girls of the modern era. Modern Men are the receiving end, may be KARMA
    Anirudh...

  3. #43
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    Swayamvar - स्वयंवर

    Namaste,

    India and Hindu culture are famous for arranged marriages in which primarily the male (and/or his family) decides who he would marry. But things were not always that way.

    Swayamvar is a complex word consisting of Swayam meaning self and Var meaning husband in this context. So swayamvar means choosing a husband yourself. This tradition was practiced by females in ancient times. The prime example that comes to mind is that of Sita Devi's marriage. When she became of marriageable age, her father fixed a date for her swayamvar at his palace and let all the kingdoms of the area know about it. Many a princes showed up for Sita Devi's hand. The stipulated condition was that the prospective groom should be able to lift the Shiva Dhanush (Shiv bhagwan's bow) and string it. One after the other many princes tried but failed as the bow was very heavy. Only Bhagwan Ram was able to meet the challenge. As per the norm, Sita Devi put a garland around his neck, signifying her acceptance of Bhagwan Ram as her future husband. This was followed by the marriage ceremony and another eligible bachelor went off the 'available' list. This divine marriage is celebrated as 'vivah panchami' in many parts of India and Nepal - Sita Devi being from Janakpur, Nepal.

    Another example from the not too distant past is that of princess Samyogita and King Prithviraj Chauhan from around 1190 CE. Prithviraj was a very successful ruler in Northwest India and had a rival in Jaichand who was the ruler of an estate to the east. Jaichand's daughter was very impressed with Prithviraj's exploits and declared that she would marry only him. Jaichand arranged for his daughter Samyogita's swayamvar but did not invite Prithviraj, who neverthless showed up in disguise along with some of his soldiers. To show his disdain for Prithviraj, Jaichand had a statue made of Prithviraj and put it at the entrance to the palace to show as if he had the status of a common guardsman. When it came time for Samyogita to choose a husband, she went around all the assembled princes and nobles and much to the embarassement of her father, put the garland around the neck of the Prithviraj's statue. On seeing this, Prithviraj along with his soldiers abducted her, brought her to his capital of Ajmer and made her his queen.

    Following the examples of the divinity and the kings, the commoners too perhaps invited offers from the prospective grooms in their communities/social circles, and let their daughters select suitable matches for themselves. An affluent member of the society might have arranged for a real, but not that elaborate, swayamvar at his house for his daughter to select or to just declare a pre-selected person as her would be husband by garlanding him.

    The advent of muslim rule in India probably put an end to this noble tradition of swayamvar in which women decided who they would marry.

    -Pranam.
    Last edited by Believer; 18 February 2018 at 03:32 PM.

  4. #44
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    Re:LOVE

    Namaste,

    Many a poets, romanatists, philosophers and intellectuals have tried to define love but all of these definitions are grounded in the material world. Here is a spiritual take on the meaning of love:

    Kabir said,
    paD paD ke sab jag mooyaa, pandit bhaya na koye
    Dhaayee akshar jo prem ke, paDe so pandit hoye

    The gist of this couplet is that love is the essence of all scriptures and a person who understands this is more learned than the one who has spent his lifetime studying the scriptures.

    Another poet says,
    jo fakir tujH par aitbaar karte haiN, vo hashar tak intzar karte haiN
    teri bandagi kareN ya na kareN, tere bando se pyar karte haiN

    The gist of this couplet is that a renounced one who has put his faith in You will never go back on accepting You. He may or may not conduct formal pujas and say his daily prayers, but he will always love mankind.

    The two couplets put together make love the ultimate manifestation of God; and loving His creation, the ultimate prayer unto Him.

    Pranam.
    Last edited by Believer; 28 September 2019 at 08:13 PM.

  5. #45
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    Killing animals for food and more...

    Namaste,

    Here is an explanation of the absence of meat in the Hindu diet,
    Pranam.

  6. #46
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    Links to Some History Posts - 1

    Namaste,

    History consists of stories of bygone eras. These stories are not necessarily meant to blame the long dead but to raise the awareness of the present living beings so that the same misdeeds are not repeated. With that in mind, here are few links from this forum as well as from outside sources,

    http://hindudharmaforums.com/showthr...alianwala+bagh

    http://hindudharmaforums.com/showthr...933#post132933

    Rise of Hindu-Sikh separate identities fomented by Max Arthur McAuliffe, the British Deputy Commissioner of Punjab,

    http://hindudharmaforums.com/showthr...as-Demystified

    Kolkota, a gem of the past,

    http://hindudharmaforums.com/showthr...ghlight=bengal



    http://hindudharmaforums.com/showthr...erican-History

    Approximately 100 years back, blacks in America became quite affluent in some cities. Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma was one such neighborhood and came to be known as 'The Black Wall Street'. It prospered until the fury of the nationalist thugs reduced it to ashes and killed many people whose mass graves are being found even today. Here is a brief video narration,

    https://www.pbs.org/wnet/boss/video/...-riots-tbkhcr/

    Attempting to vote as a non-white was never easy,
    https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/02/us/oc...rnd/index.html

    Readers may do their independent research to know more or to read different slants on the above incidents. The purpose is to make ourselves aware as to what human race is capable of doing and to be vigilant about the repetition of the disturbing events of the past.

    Pranam.
    Last edited by Believer; 12 March 2021 at 10:36 AM.

  7. #47
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    Running with the Baton

    Namaste,

    When we are handed a baton, we can stare at it, admire its workmanship, be enchanted with the color scheme of its outer paint, admire its sturdiness and more. But standing there with a baton in hand does not lead us anywhere. We have to run with it to join the race, to get somewhere, to experience the high, to impart happiness to the spectators. Similarly, when we are introduced to the Vedic knowledge; we can inspect it, research for more and write/talk about it and stop there; OR run with it.

    Many of us who are fortunate to have been born into Sanatan Dharam simply learn few things from scriptures and use that borrowed/stolen knowledge to give lectures about it or write scholarly essays. Few of us don't stop at that but go beyond and practice it. The fortunate ones tread the evolutionary path - learn, meditate on it and practice. It is the practicing of the Dharmic principles that elevates the souls and enables them to have communion with Bhagwanji. And the ones who do reach that stage, talk about spirituality (and not religion) from personal experiences. Their reference point is the personal vision and not a scripture. It is such a delight to be in the presence of and learn from those who have seen some light. Climbing to the top of the ladder of learning, reflecting and practicing is what brings serenity in life.

    Pranam.
    Last edited by Believer; 14 March 2021 at 03:56 PM. Reason: To make it more readable.

  8. #48
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    How a true devotee Meditates on His name

    Namaste,

    A sufi saint says (Punjabi verse written in Devnagri script),

    औदी याद विच कत्तदी रही हर दम
    खबरे केड़ी वी तंद मंज़ूर होवे

    Approximate translation: Devotee says, 'In His remembrance, I kept spinning the yarn all the time; not knowing which piece of the yarn will be acceptable to (good enough for) Him'.

    In these lines the saint compares a devotee who is constantly meditating on His name to a person spinning yarn on a 'charkha'*. One has to be totally engrossed with the task while spinning the yarn else the thread will break or be of non-uniform thickness rendering it useless. Similarly if a devotee is not fully immersed in meditation then the effort will be fruitless.

    The devotee: I kept meditating on your name day and night not knowing when will You consider my meditation/penance to be worthy of You and reveal Yourself.

    A person completely in love with the Divine keeps Him in his thoughts all the time and waits for Him to reveal Himself to the devotee.

    *For those of you not familiar with what a charkha is; it is an old fashioned hand operated spinning wheel used to spin yarn from cotton as in the following video,
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgMsp-yNlBE

    Pranam.
    Last edited by Believer; 22 March 2021 at 11:47 PM.

  9. #49
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    Re: How a true devotee Meditates on His name

    Namaste,

    Beautiful Believerji.

    Thanks for this.

    Om Namah Shivaya

    FFTW

  10. #50
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    Re: Running with the Baton

    Dear Believer

    Your post reminds me of Yajnavalkya, he insulted the teacher, Vaishampayana, who demanded Yajnavalkya to return the knowledge he had acquired. Yajnavalkya vomited the Yajur Veda. The other students turned into Tittiri birds and ate the vomited knowledge that came to be known as Taittiriya Samhita. Yajnavalkya prayed to Surya, who appeared to him and taught him parts of the Yajur Veda that even Vaishampayana did not know. It’s a great story of recycling knowledge.

    Further thoughts

    The automobile was invented by Karl Friedrich Benz, the engine by Gottlieb Wilhlem Daimler in Germany. Today the world knows this car as ‚Mercedes‘.

    The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell (born in the UK) in the USA. Does the knowledge belong to the UK or to the USA?

    The light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison in the USA.

    The first binary digital computer was developed and built by Konrad Zuse, Germany.

    Nowadays cars, telephones, light bulbs and computers are built all over the world in all varities.
    Would you call it stolen knowledge? Would you forego the comfort of these inventions?

    The main problem is that ‘The East’ who respects honorable traditions, despises ‘The West’ (what I can understand too well) but enjoys its achievements. It’s like in India when I am not allowed to enter a temple, but the priest comes out, giving prasad and asking for money. Western people are not welcome, Western money is highly appreciated.

    India’s export hit is Yoga - India sells its heritage without hesitation. In this case, there is no theft.

    Pranam
    Dance with Shiva - live with Shiva - merge with Shiva

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