Showing posts with label Paramhansa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paramhansa. Show all posts

Thursday, February 18, 2016

[Hinduism] Shri Ramakrishna on Types of People

This is so wonderfully explained by Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa Himself:
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जीव चार प्रकार के कहे गए हैं - बद्ध, मुमुक्षु, मुक्त और नित्य। संसार मानो जाल है और जीव मछली। ईश्वर, यह संसार जिनकी माया है, मछुए हैं। जब मछुए के जाल में मछलियाँ पड़ती हैं, तब कुछ मछलियाँ जाल चीरकर भागने की अर्थात मुक्त होने की कोशिश करती हैं। उन्हें मुमुक्षु जीव कहना चाहिए। जो भागने की चेष्टा करती हैं, उनमे से सभी नहीं भाग सकतीं। दो-चार मछलियाँ ही धड़ाम से कूदकर भाग जाती हैं। तब लोग कहते हैं, बड़ी मछली निकल गई। ऐसे ही दो-चार मनुष्य मुक्त जीव हैं। कुछ मछलियाँ स्वभावतः ऐसे सावधानी से रहती हैं कि वे कभी जाल में नहीं फंसतीं। ऐसी मछलियां नित्य जीव के समान हैं। लेकिन अधिकांश मछलियाँ जाल में फँसी रहती हैं और उन्हें पता भी नहीं रहता कि वे जाल में फँसी हैं और उसमें उनका अंत होना है। कभी जाल सहित इधर से उधर भागती हैं, और सीधे कीच में घुस कर देह छिपाना चाहती हैं। भागने की कोई चेष्टा नहीं बल्कि कीच में और गड जाती हैं। ये ही बद्ध जीव हैं। बद्ध जीव संसार में अर्थात कामिनी कांचन में फँसे हुए हैं, कलंक सागर में मग्न हैं, पर सोचते हैं कि बड़े आनंद में हैं! जो मुमुक्षु या मुक्त हैं, संसार उन्हें कूप जान पड़ता है, अच्छा नहीं लगता। इसीलिए कोई-कोई ज्ञान-लाभ, ईश्वर-लाभ हो जाने पर शरीर छोड़ देते हैं, परन्तु इस तरह का शरीरत्याग बड़ी दूर की बात है। 

बद्ध जीवों - संसारी जीवों को किसी तरह होश नहीं होता। कितना दुःख पाते हैं, कितना धोखा खाते हैं, कितनी विपदाएँ झेलते हैं, फिरभी बुद्धि ठिकाने नहीं आती। ऊँट कँटीली घास को बहुत चाव से खाता है। परन्तु जितना ही खाता है उतना ही मुँह से धर-धर खून निकलता है, फिर भी कँटीली घास को खाना नहीं छोड़ता! संसारी मनुष्यों को इतना शोकताप मिलता है, किन्तु कुछ दिन बीते कि सब भूल गए।

- श्री रामकृष्ण परमहंस

Translation taken from [Link]:

Four classes of human beings have been stated ­ the Bound Souls, the Seekers after liberation, the Liberated and the Ever Free. The world is like the fishing net, the jiva (individual soul) is like the fish and the Lord (whose maya constitutes the world) is the fisherman. When fishes fall into the fisherman's net many of those try to tear the net to escape, i.e. they try to free themselves. They are like Seekers - the men seeking liberation. However, all those who try to escape cannot run away. Only a few fishes slip out with a splash. Then people call out, 'There goes the big fish.' Such two or four beings are the Liberated ones. Some fish are so cautious by nature that they never fall into the net. Narada and such other saints are Ever Free; they never fall in the net of the world. However, most of the fish keep lying in the net unaware of the fact that they have fallen into a net and will die. Remaining in the net, they dart straight ahead taking the net along and try to hide their body into the mud. They make no attempt to escape, rather they fall deeper into the mud. They are like the Bound souls. They live in the net and think, 'We are quite happy here.' The bound jivas remain attached to the world that is to 'woman and gold'. They remain sunk in the sea of evil and think that they are very happy there. Those who seek for liberation and those who are liberated look upon the world as a death well; they don't like it. So, some of them having attained jnana and the vision of Bhagavan give up their bodies. However, giving up body in this way is a far cry.

The bound creatures, the worldly men, don't get awareness by any means. They suffer so much misery, so many trials, and so many sorrows; even then they don't get awakening.


The camel likes thorny bushes but the more it eats, the more it bleeds from its face. Even so, it continues to eat the same thorny bush and does not leave it. The worldly man suffers so much agony, so much sorrow, yet he reverts back to his old self quite soon.

- Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa 

Monday, June 18, 2012

School of Hinduism (Lesson-3)


Why do we ring a bell in the temple? The ringing of the bell produces what is regarded as an auspicious sound. It produces the sound Om, the universal name of the Lord... There should be auspiciousness within and without, to gain the vision of the Lord who is all-auspiciousness...

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Why do we blow the conch (shankh) as part of worship (pooja)? When conch is blown, the primordial sound of Om emanates. Om is an auspicious sound representing the Truth behind the world. Om is the universal name of the Lord.

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A kalasha is placed on all important Hindu rituals. It is a pot filled with water with mango leaves kept at its mouth, a coconut placed over it and a thread tied around its neck. The water in the kalasha symbolizes the primordial water from which the entire creation emerged. The leaves and coconut represent creation. The thread represents the love that "binds" all in creation. The kalasha is therefore considered auspicious and worshipped...

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Meaning of fasting in Hinduism: Fasting means 'Upavaas' in Sanskrit. 'Upa' means 'near' and 'vaas' means 'to stay'. Upavaas means 'to stay near the Lord'. Purpose of not taking food was to free oneself from the time consumed with preparing food and resulting effects like dullness and agitation. So we either eat only fruits, light food or no food at all, thereby making our mind free, alert and pure, only to spend time in devotion. Staying near God... Upavaas...

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Lord Shiva is also worshipped as Pashupati, literally Lord of the beasts and symbolically He who Controls our beastly passions... Shiva as Pashupati is worshipped in Pashupati Nath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal.

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Lord Shiva is also called Vrikshanath. Mythology says that when Shiva meditated, from the heat of his austerities, tapas, rose every herb, shrub, grass, creeper and tree... Shiva became lord of all vegetation, Vrikshanath... I think closeness with nature is a unique feature of our Hinduism...

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Lord Shiva is also called Bhuteshvar, meaning "Master of the Elements"... There are five elements, the bhutas: earth, air, light, water and ether...

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"Under a great banyan tree, seated on a tiger skin, facing the south, dakshin, Shiva revealed all secrets of Yoga to seekers... He charged no fee, dakshina, and so his students called this great cosmic teacher 'Dakshinamurti'..."

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Shiva wandered in cremation grounds amidst the blazing pyres... Smearing His body with ash, bhasma, He became 'Bhasmeshvar', the lord of ash. "Every joy, every sorrow, every birth, every death, everybody, every mind, every event, every god and every cosmos, will end up in its own funeral pyre. After every fire only ash will remain. Why then be excited, why then be frustrated? Let me just be, exist in eternal equanimity, Vairagya." Shiva was at peace...

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Lord Shiva is also called Ekavratya, who lives by his own rules; Vaidyanath, the supreme physician; Somnath, keeper of the sacred plant Soma; Chandrashekhara, saviour of the moon; Jvareshwara, lord of fevers; Hara, the ravisher; Shankara, the benevolent one, a kind god...
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When Shiva went to marry Parvati, the bride's parents were shocked to see the groom with matted hair, ash smeared face, snakes around his neck and riding a bull. They called off the marriage. After Parvati ji's prayers Shiva transformed into the most handsom person ever seen, the personification of beauty... Lord Shiva is also called 'Sundaramurti'...

- Rahul Tiwary

Previous Posts: (1) School of Hinduism (Lesson-1) ; (2) School of Hinduism (Discussion-1 on Lesson-1) ; (3) School of Hinduism (Lesson-2)

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

School of Hinduism (Lesson-2)


Shiva is not just a Tapasvin. He is also a Yogi. The aim of yoga is to unknot the mind, uncrumple the consciousness, attain the triple state of sat-chitta-ananda: unconditional truth, purified consciousness, tranquil bliss. Shiva is therefore associated with bilva leaves, whose three leaves represent sat-chitta-ananda and whose stalk holding the three leaves together represents yoga. The three blades of Shiva's trident also represent sat-chitta-ananda and its staff represents yoga.

When Parvati ji was doing Tapa to become worthy of marrying Shiva, she used to eat only leaves - Bel patra. In the last stage she even quit taking leaves. Hence she got the name "Aparna".

Lord Shiva is shown to carry a Drum in his hand. It is actually a rattle-drum which is used by men who control and train monkeys. Monkeys are Symbols of our Mind: like monkeys our mind is Restless. So rattle drum in Shiva's hand is a Symbolism to control and tame our mind through yoga, tapa, or bhakti... Om Namah Shivaya...

Lord Shiva is shown to have moon on his head. That moon is like a cup and hence it is the last day of the waning moon before it disappears from sky on a new moon night. When it appears so in the sky, it's Shiv-ratri and people pray to Shiva. The Moon is Symbol of our Moods. Like moon waxes and wanes our mood changes too from sadness to happiness. So people pray to Shiva on Shivratri to bless them with happiness, symbolized in moon coming back after new moon night by His blessings. Om Namah Shivay.

Bhagwan Shankar is called 'Bholenath'. He is not 'Ignorant' but 'Innocent'. There is a difference between

Devas wanted Shiva to marry Parvati, so they sent Kamdev to Shiva. But Shiva's third eye opened and Kamdev was burnt down. Devas told Parvati jokingly that Shiva had destroyed Kama. Parvatiji said, "In your eyes He has destroyed Kama today. But I know that He has always been Nishkaam and victorious." Such was her trust and devotion on Shiva... Only she was worthy of being Shiva's wife... Jai Shiv Shambhu, jai Ma Parvati!

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Why do we touch the feet of elders? Man stands on his feet. Touching the feet is a sign of respect for the age, maturity, nobility and divinity that our elders personify. It symbolizes our recognition of their selfless love for us. This tradition reflects the strong family ties in Indian/Hindu culture...

Homa (offering of oblations into the fire with sacred chants) signifies the offering or surrender of ego and egocentric desires into the flame of knowledge. The resulting ash signifies purity of mind resulting from such actions. Bhasma is especially associated with Shiva. Ash doesnt decay. God is the imperishable Truth that remains when all illusions of forms are dissolved.

At the end of the aarati, we place our hands over the flame and then touch our eyes and the top of the head. It means - may the light that illumined the Lord light up my vision, may my vision be divine and my thoughts noble and beautiful...

We break a coconut and offer as prasaada. The coconut is broken, symbolizing the breaking of the ego. The juice within, representing the inner tendencies (vaasanas) is offered along with the white kernel - the mind, to the Lord. A mind thus purified by the touch of the Lord is used as prasaada (a holy gift)...

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What is freedom? Some take it that freedom is identified with slavery to their own impulses. This is the freedom that makes drunkards, gluttons, and libertines. ... Liberty to realize what is our own will may be an essential condition of freedom, but until we are as free from that will, and the desires suggested by that body and mind, as from those of all the other hundreds of millions of human beings, we do not know what real freedom is. - Sister Nivedita of Ramkrishna-Vivekananda, around 1905.

Sri Ramakrishna was gathering flowers one morning for the temple worship. It suddenly flashed upon his mind that the whole earth was a vast altar, and the flowers blossoming on the plants were already offered in worship at the feet of God. Sri Ramakrishna never again gathered puja-flowers...

When Swami Vivekananda was a small kid, he got to know that our Rishis and sadhus sat on meditation such that they won’t know and their hair and beard will grow long enough to touch the ground... He also then sat on Dhyan mudra and after every 5 minutes he opened his eyes to check if his beard grew or not :-)) Then he went to his mother and complained, "Maa, why doesn’t my beard grow??" Ma told him that it happens when one meditates for too long... From that day, he started meditating regularly...

- Rahul Tiwary 

Previous Posts: (1) School of Hinduism (Lesson-1) ; (2) School of Hinduism (Discussion-1 on Lesson-1)

Monday, March 11, 2002

Book Review: Religion and Dharma by Sister Nivedita


‘Religion and Dharma’
By: Sister Nivedita
Advaita Ashrama (Publication department)
ISBN: 81-7505-128-0

‘Dharma’ is a term which has larger and more complex significance than the word ‘Religion’.  Yet it is by and large used for ‘religion’ almost everywhere. Dharma literally is the force or principle that binds together. Dharma for Hindus includes the whole social conception of law and conduct and worship. Sister Nivedita preferred to translate the word Dharma as the “National Righteousness”.

This book is a collection of essays written by Sister Nivedita in the early years of 20th century. All the essays are relevant for today and for long time to come in the future also. In the pages of this book the author talks about topics of national and spiritual interests, like “Mukti: Freedom”, “Hinduism and Organization”, “the past and the future”, “the spirit of renunciation”, “the sacred and the secular”, “luxury and manhood”, “character”, “fitness”, “national righteousness”, “the task before us” and “the ideal”. All are wonderful topics which provide us with as much food of thoughts as they give us glimpse into the mind of the author.

Some quotations from the book:

“As the ignorant fight, from selfish motives, so must we fight unselfishly. Our struggle must be as intense as that of the meanest miser. We must labor for the good of the others as the drowning man clutches at a straw….”

“The struggle with material conditions is eternally necessary to the upward growth of the spirit. When Karma has been exhausted, and the moment of enlightenment is at hand, this condition also must be held to have transcended.”

“Nothing is a greater test of education than the noble employment of leisure and means. It is not nearly so much by our performance of duties, as by our selection of interests, that our character is revealed.”

This book has been a wonderful read and it provided me with much knowledge enrichment on the world at large and also insights on Hinduism and India are wonderful; an awareness of the same to the general masses is the need of the hour.

Highly recommended book for all.

- Rahul