Panchabhoota Lingas & Jyotirlingas ( Why no Panchabhoota Linga figures as a Jyotirlinga? )

P.natarajan.

( note:This article is in sequel to a query shown within brackets, raised by a reader on my earlier article on Panchabhoota Sthalas )  -  pn

Maha Shiva Purana tells how Shiva Lingam is worshipped. Panchabhoota Lingas represent the five elements of Nature namely Prithvi, Appu, Vayu, Fire and Akash. Ekambareswarar Temple in Kanchipuram is Prithvi Sthala where the Lingam is ‘swayambhu’ and appeared from the Earth. In Thiruvanaikaval, we worship Jambu Lingeswarar and there is a water spring beneath the Shivalinga. The flickering of the light inside the Sanctum  shows that ‘Vayu’ element is enshrined in the Shivalinga in Kalahasti Temple. The appearance of jyothi atop the hills in the month of Kartik in Thiruvannamalai tells the significance of element fire enshrined in the Linga. Thiruchitrambalam is where Shiva performed the cosmic dance of bliss and the place is worshipped as Aakash-Sthala’.

Jambukeswarar Temple

Shiva Purana tells that the origin of Jyotirlingas is different.from Panchabhoota Sthalas. The Jyotirlinga shrines are places where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light - each considered as different manifestation of Shiva. There were beliefs that 64 Jyotirlingas existed while 12 of them were considered as auspicious and holy. They are the traditional ‘Dwadasa Jyotir Lingams’. The primary image at all these 12 sites is a Lingam representing the beginningless and endless stambha, symbolizing the infinite status of Shiva.

Stambha spelt as skambha is believed to be a cosmic column - stambha functions as a bond which joins the heaven (Swarga) with prithvi (Earth).Stambha also refers to flagstaffs called Dhwaja Stambha or Kirti Stambha to commemorate victory. It is well known that King Ashoka erected  a stambha viz. Ashok Pillar which stands as a symbol of victory.

The origin of Jyotirlinga started with a contest between Brahma and Vishnu in terms of supremacy in the task of creation. To test them, Shiva pierced the three worlds as a huge endless pillar of light , in short as a jyotirlinga on the night of Arudra Star and announced whoever finds the source of the jyoti would be declared as superior. Brahma went upward to find the end of jyoti, Vishnu went downwards (patala). Both could not trace the source of Light. Vishnu admitted his failure whereas Brahma lied.  Shiva appeared as a second pillar of light and cursed Brahma that there would be no temple for him whereas Vishnu would be worshipped for eternity.

                                                   

                                                                           

                                                                   Dwadasa Jyotirlinga

The Jyotirlinga shrines are places where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light. Each place is considered as different manifestation of Shiva. The temple- sites of the dwadasa jyothirlinga are :      (1) Somnath (rebuilt six times @ Prabhas Patan in Saurashtra n Gujarat)i, (2) Mallikarjuna in Srisailam in A.P. located in a mountain on the River Krishna (3) Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain or Avanti in Gujarat ( the only one ‘Swayambhu’ of the 12 Jyotirlingas to be so and only one facing South and one temple to have Shree Yantra perched upside down in the ceiling of Garbha Graha,  (4) Mamleshwar, Omkareshwar in M.P. on an island in Narmada River (5) Parli-Vaidyanath in  Maharashtra, (6) Bhimashankar in Sahayadrei range in Maharashtra, (7) Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, (8) Nageshwar in Dwarka  in Gujarat, (9) Kashi-Vishwanath in UP, (10) Trimbakeshwar near Nashik, (11) Kedarnath in Uttarakhand in the northmost and is nestled in the snow clad Himalayas, accessible only by foot and open only for 6 months in a year. (12) Ghrishneshwar in Aurangabad, Maharashtra)

Ethani Jyotirlingani sayam pratha: pattennara: !

Saptha janma kritam papam smaranena vinasyathi !!

One who recites these jyotirlingas every evening and morning, he is relieved of all sins committed in the past seven lives. One who visits these, gets all his wishes fulfilled.

(Source : Dwadasa Jyotirlinga Sloka )  -  Om Namah :  Shivaya , Namah : Shivaya !

pn

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'Righteousness is Easy in Retrospect'

 

P.Natarajan

Righteousness is an attribute that implies that a person's actions are justified. In fact it  refers that the person is leading a life that pleases God. Puranas delineate dharma in the form of history in simple style. We can find the story of Savitri, from Matsya Purana, who is called the greatest among pativratas and who lived  such a righteous life that made to get back her husband, Satyavan alive from the clutches of Yamadharma.

Savitri followed Yamadharma a long way tirelessly and pleaded, “ O Dharmaraja, you know well that to a married woman her husband is God. He is her dharma, life and  strength.  After all when a person departs it is only dharma which accompanies him in his last journey”. Yamadharma felt happy and proud of her deep understanding of the nuances of dharma and addressed her to ask for a boon, Savitri expressed 'Aputrasya Gatirnasti' - meaning no salvation for those who don’t have sons. She made a request for getting children and Dharmaraja said, “ So, 100 be it”. Savitri praised Yama that he has earned fame as the protector of good and righteous. She prayed, “ O Dharmaraja. you have blessed me with one hundred children. If you want your boon to bear fruit, grant me the life of my husband”. True to his words Yama Dharma released the the life of her husband, Satyavan.

In commemoration to this event, married women (Tamil Brahmin) observe ‘ Karadayan Nonbu’ every year at the time of transition of month Kumbh to Meenam.  It  was performed @ 15.44 hours on 14th of March this year (2013). The pictures below portray the particular ‘Naivedyam Items’ like sweet and salt ‘Adais’. Devi Kamakshi is worshipped at the appropriate time on Nonbu day and the women fast from the morning till the puja gets over. They partake  the sweet and salt adais with soft butter as food on the day of Karadayan Nonbu. They wear the ‘mangalya charadu’ after worshipping Devi Kamakshi.

    Kamakshi Amman
The story of Harischandra is of perennial interest in the context of righteousness. The story will last for as long a time as the value of truth and right conduct lasts. It illumines our life.

With his vow to remain truthful at all times, Harischandra successfully faced the rigorous

challenge posed by Vishwamitra. Though a king he sacrificed everything he had at the altar of truth, including his Kingdom and even his son and his wife. He took so lowly a job as that of the guard at the burning ground; even in the case of his own son he demanded the prescribed fee for cremation, which his wife had no means of paying. On an order from the king, Harischandra was even prepared to behead his own wife. Harischandra's character is indelibly etched in the mind of good thinking people.                               

 It was this story which helped Yudhishtira to get over his adversities. Again, it was this story which showed the path of truth to Gandhiji. This story occurs in the Vedas and also in the Puranas, in poetry and in drama. It took its origin in the Vedas, flowed through the Puranas, ran into cascades of poetry, and has continued to enrich the life of our people.

But today righteous living has taken a back seat. To quote Arthur Schlesinger,Jr., “Righteousness is Easy in Retrospect”. False excuses which can be termed as ‘self-defense lies’ are common when wrongs are committed. Falsehoods are uttered in fear that good opinions in which others hold us would get tarnished.  Negative judgements can end friendship, strain family relationship, diminish prospects for promotion. Others may discover the true nature of even most carefully crafted lies, though we wish to obscure them from view. Dishonesty endangers trust and uttering falsehood compounds the wrongs already committed.

Can you do something wrong and feel right about it ?  It is impossible. A wrong thing is wrong even if everyone is doing it. A right thing is right even if you are the only person doing it.

A man is a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes. Righteous thinking becomes necessary for righteous actions. A person’s  character is believed to be the complete sum of all his thoughts. Cherish your vision. Cherish your ideas. Cherish the music that stirs your heart,  the beauty that forms in your mind. Live up to them for a righteous living.  This is a simple formula that wise people advocate. You can not travel within and stand still without.

If there will be beauty in the character, there will be harmony at home.
If there will be harmony at home, there will be order in the Nation.
If there will be order in the Nation, there will be peace in the world.
Please go back to the beginning of the article to notice the headlines
“Righteousness Exalts a Nation” and a person righteously bowing before the National flag with folded hands. It shows symbolically that there is order in the Nation.

Sincerity and honesty are the two words that will lead one on the right path. Be true to the self.

pn

'Time as a Measure'

'Time as a Measure'

  P.Natarajan.

Sri Rama, after he was coronated as the king of Ayodhya, once remarked to Sita in leisure that he was able to get back everything that he lost but could not redeem even a minute out of the ten months period when they were separated. This statement of Sri Rama reflects that ‘Time as a Measure’ was considered as most important even by ‘Superhumans’.

Queen Elizabeth of London holds a view that all her possessions are for a moment of Time.
Lost time is never found again. There is no second opinion that Time is precious but what we do not use properly. It is imperative that should we lose time, we have lost a part of our life.

Time is a common commodity. It depends upon a person how  he uses it. We may delay, but Time will not.

Hour Glass

People often excuse themselves quipping that they don’t have time. To say ‘ I don’t have time’, is to say “ I don’t want to”. It needs to be emphasized at this point of time that  Helen Keller, Leonardo Vinci, Einstein, Mother Teresa had exactly the same number of hours, as we now have or will have in future. It would be appropriate to refer to a  Scottish Proverb at this instant :- “ What may be done at any time will be done at no time”. The bad news is that time flies. But the good news is that whoever says this is also the pilot.

The Secretary of a Company will keep minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, but he will lose hours while doing so.

                                           To keep minutes, Secretary spends hours !

Abraham Lincoln maintained that the best thing about the future was that it came one day at any time. The statement of Lincoln stresses the importance of present time and building castles in the air for the future without a determined action plan will lead no where.

Time is slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice but for those who love, time is eternity.

Everyone should follow John Turner’s version that “ My Time is now”. This sentence shows no inertia as the likely action is spontaneous, perhaps vetoing the Newton's first law of motion.

The equations stated below focuses the contribution of the factor 'TIME' used as a measure.

" Your Time starts now."

1 ‘Kshana’ = 4 Minutes
24 minutes = 1 ‘Nazhigai’
2.5  ‘Nazhigai’  = 1 hour
60 ‘Nazhigai’ = 1 day
24 hours = 1 day
2 ‘Nazhigai’ = 48 minutes = 1 ‘Muhurtham’.
30 Muhurtham = 1 day  ( 30 muhurthams  into 48 minutes = 1440 minutes divided by 60 minutes equals 24 hours = 1 day )
15 days = 1 ‘Paksham’
1 Paksham ascending + 1 Paksham descending = 1 month
2 months = 1 Ritu
6 Ritus = 1 Year ; Year is also known as ‘Samvatsara’.

{ The Six Ritus are:- (1) Vasanta Ritu consisting of two months Mesha, Rishabha ; (2)  Mithuna, Kataka as Grishma Ritu ; (3) Simha, Kanni as Varsha Ritu ;  (4) Thula, Vrichika as Sarat Ritu ;
Dhanur, Makara as Hemanta Ritu ; Kumbham, Meenam as Sisira Ritu }

When Time rolls over many , many years, we call the period as a ‘Yuga’. 365 days constitute a year for humans whereas the same period is one day for Devas. There are four yugas as detailed below:- (1) Kruta Yuga = 4800 Deva years (2) Treta Yuga = 3600 Deva years (3) Dwapara yuga = 2400 Deva years and (4) Kali Yuga = 1200 Deva years.  The conversion factor is 1 Deva Year = 360 times of Earthly Years or Terrestrial Years. The four Yugas when combined gets a name as ‘Chaturyuga’ which constitutes 12000 Deva years. In other words Devas consider that passing of 12000 Deva years means the end of one Chaturyuga for them. As 1000 Chatur Yugas get over, Brahma’s calendar will record as one day time is over, which is also called as a ‘Kalpa’. 14 Manus will rule during one Kalpa. A Manu’s life term extends up to 71 Chatur Yuga.

When the day time (as explained above) of Brahma ends, deluge will pervade engulfing the three first worlds namely  ‘Bhur, Bhuva, Suva ‘. The sages living in the fourth world viz. "Suvar' will not be able to continue living there rwill shift to the fifth world known as Mahar’.

Brahma has a lifetime of 100 years  though he presides over a long period, as elucidated above. It is believed that Brahma has completed 50 years of living now which is known as ‘ a Parartha’. Brahma’s second innings which is termed as ‘ Swetha Varaha’  is now running.

The period at present is reckoned as 28th Chaturyuga in the Swetha Varaha Kalpa. This we say in the Sankalpa as we commence the religious ceremony.

A good beginning means a good ending. A journey of 100 miles begins  with a single step. All good things come to a man who waits. All good things also come to an end. We observe as the Time passes, that a rolling stone gathers no mass and a rising tide lifts all boats.

It is very easy to describe 'Time' in many ways. We should keep in our mind that time and tide waits for no man. All is well that ends well. Salutations to 'Time' as time is a great healer.

We shall not ponder over the future,  " after all, tomorrow is another day " !

pn

 

'Ways and Means'

P.Natarajan.

'Way' means a specified direction. 'Way' - can be taken as a co-ordinate of  direction. A path way leads a person in some direction, at last to reach a defined a place. As a place is created, directions go with it. There can be eight co-ordinates, if not more, to specify the space created. To be precise, space may lose identity without a direction attached to it. There can be different or many directions to reach a place. It is a part of the 'connectivity'.
Similarly, elders or Pundits emphasize 'ways' to live or to lead a purposeful life. The word 'right' or 'wrong' go as strong adjectives, by way of emphasis. As problems surmount the way, the question that follows would be, by what means, they can be solved or overcome. Sometimes 'Time' alone would guide the way in this respect. We need to consider that the life itself as a ' journey ' at this juncture - never the less, we should mind the way we live our life. The phrase ' that is not the way to do it ' makes it clear that there is some other correct and easy way of doing for attaining the object. Some people have their own way. They might have mastered the means or ways  as if they are habituated to it. A person's chosen course of action is termed as 'to have one's own way'.

Ways also denote the normal course of events. A processing chart specifies the ways by which the raw materials undergo changes, under what specific conditions  to turn out ultimately as a finished product.  One can not have his own way in this respect. One has to abide by the rules of the game.

As we travel through life, it is true that one has to make his way. But it is also imperative one has to give way to others. Sacrifices and surrender are part of the game and when we understand the subtle difference between these two actions, it would become easy to complete the rest of our journey of life. We can achieve it ' by way of ' reasoning and applying logistics.. More often than not, we may have to go out of the way to achieve our goals. Out of the way does not necessarily indicate wrong means but one may have to toil or struggle or expend more money to achieve the goal.  No need to go on the way out - that is by going down in status. On the way out also means a person is dying. One should live to achieve the goals by the right means and enjoy living by giving what they have learned or earned.

In a similar way, we see that our ' thought process ' never remains constant. The mind wanders. This is termed as wavering of mind. Should one waver in his thoughts he loses the direction. That means he would not reach the destination or reach very late. Those who don't know or have directions are driven to a state of destitution.

Prayers help to unify the wandering thoughts to one form of God. Mantra japa leads to the elimination of other thoughts.


Man+tra - comes from manas or mind and tra indicates instrument, thus mantra is an instrument of thought. Nama-japa or chanting of Mantra or repeating the names of a deity enables one to approach the named. Consciousness of the name leads to consciousness of the named. This spiritual practice increases the will power, produces positive emotions, purifies the mind and strengthens one's faith.

Exploring the 'ways and means' have come to stay. Continents had been explored. Seas too. Exploring 'Space' by means of Space Shuttles or by launching unmanned cargo spaceships, Scientists believe that there are now many galaxies that make the Universe.

No wonder that we are able to buy today Washington apples, Chinese pears, Korean cars or Italian pizza  from the market as we successfully continue with the process of evolution by exploring ways and means.



Let me conclude by referring some quotes to inspire the topic:-

(1) If you are lucky enough to find a way of life, you have to find the courage to live it.
(2) Happiness is a choice and positivity is a way of life. Never settle for anything else.
(3) The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page.
(4) Without pain, there would be no suffering. Without suffering, we would never learn our  mistakes. Pain and suffering are the keys to all windows, without which there is no way of life.
(5) May you never forget what is worth remembering, nor ever remember what is best forgotten.
(6) We don't remember days, we remember moments.
(7) After the game, the King and the Pawn go into the same box.
(8) Earth without "the art" is just "eh"

pn