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