Monday, August 20, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Spiritual Significance Of Adhik Mass ( Purshottam Mass, Malmass)
1. One solar calendar comprises of 365 days and 6 hours. One lunar calendar
comprises of 354 days and 9 hours (difference of 11 days)
2. Adhikmas (Vishnu pooja Month) is created in order to synchronize the solar
calendar with the lunar calendar.
3. The duration between one Adhikmas
to another Adhikmas is from 28 to 36 months (32.5 months). So Adhikmas arrives
every 3 years. The months every year are different. It does bnot happen
between Kartik and Magh.
4. In 2012 Adhikmas
is from Saturday 18th August to Sunday, 16th September in the midnight.
5. A lunar month (Hindu)
is on average 29.5 days period and the solar month, is 30 or 31 days.
6. The Adhik Maas is added when the
Amvasya and the Surya Sankranti coincide (absence of Surya Sankranti).
7. It starts with Amavasya and ends
with Amavasya.
8. It’s an extra month so
Diwali will come late in that year.
9. It’s a month to be devoted to
donations and charities.
10. It’s also additional month
for additional sun bath, spiritual fasts and Satwik intake.
11. The period is used for
detoxification of the self and hence no good work (marriages, mundan, bringing home a new bride, yagyopaveet) is done in this period.
12. One can equate this
period is period of self introspection and to complete all our pending work,
detoxify the body if not done in the last three years, get additional sunlight
to cover vitamin D3 deficiency and fulfill and complete our CSR commitment by
donating charities during this period.
Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudavanti
“Vasudaiva kutumbakam” (whole
world is one family) and “Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudavanti” are two basic statements
which comes from ancient Rig-Veda and forms the fundamentals of Vedic
philosophy.
The second statement (Vakya) means
‘truth is one but the wise call it by various names’. Some explain it as that
the universal religion is the same but different people can call it by
different names and other explains it as ‘unity amidst plurality’.
Adi Shankaracharya also has
summed his teachings with this phrase “brahma satyam, jagat mithya” which means
‘Brahma is the only truth, rest everything is illusion’.
This statement gives us the
basis for global peace which is only possible when adapts to the whole globe as
one extended family and which, in turn, will be possible only if one believes
that there is one truth and that is GOD.
Upanishads talk about four
aspects of GOD. That the GOD exists, that the GOD is one, that the GOD is in
you and I; and finally “I am GOD”.
But most people call it by
different names like GOD, Shiva, Bhagvan, Allah, Wahe Guru, Christ, Buddha etc.
In India itself there are over 99 forms of GODS worshipped and in Islam also,
there are 99 names for Allah.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Desire, Hatred and Ignorance
According
to Buddhism, the three negative emotions that cause a disease are ignorance,
hatred and desire and accordingly physical sickness are classified into three
main types.
1.
Disorders
of desire (Ayurvedic equivalent of Vata imbalance): These are due to
disharmony of the wind or energy. The seed of these disorders are located in
the lower part of the body. It has cold preferences and is affected by mental
desires. In this, the person mainly suffers from the disorders of movement
functions.
2.
Disorders
of hatred (Ayurveda equivalent of Pitta imbalance): It is due to
disharmony of the bile. The seed of these disorders is centered in the middle
and upper part of the body and is caused by the mental emotion of hate. The person
suffers from metabolic and digestive abnormalities.
3.
Disorders
of ignorance (Ayurveda equivalent of Kapha imbalance): It is due to the
disharmony of phlegm, the seed of which is generally centered in the chest or
in the head and the disorder is cold in nature. It is caused by the mental
emotion of ignorance.
Desire,
hatred and ignorance are the main negativities mentioned in Buddha’s
philosophy. They are all produced in the mind, and once produced they behave
like a slow poison.
The
Udanavarga once said, “From iron appears rust, and rust eats the iron”,
“Likewise, the careless actions (karma) that we perform leads us to
hellish lives.
According
to the other scriptures, six afflictions are most troublesome, namely
ignorance, hatred, desire, miserliness, jealousy and arrogance. Patience is the
most potent virtue a person can acquire. According to the Shanti Deva, “There
is no evil like hatred, and there is no marriage like patience. Therefore,
dedicate your life to the practice of patience.”
Bhagvad
Gita classifies the enemies as Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha
and Ahankara; and out of them Kama, Lobha and Ahankara,
are the three gateways to hell.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)