DIVINE INFORMATION PART 66 Respectedfriends,
While going through oneof my external memory device, I came across some good information stored from websites. Ithought of sharing interesting ones from them as a series. In part 66, I am starting with 254th item in this posting. Kindly note the series is a compilation. Sincerely, GopalaKrishnan 29-07-21 254 UPANISHADICSTORIES- CHHAANDOGYA VII- GODS AND DEMONS:- Thisstory teaches that it is not the external shape or form that distinguishes agod from a demon, butit is the inner attitude of a person that decides his class and category. BothIndra, the king of gods and Virochana, the leader of demons heard Prajaapatideclare one day, " Atman is untouched by old age, death and sorrow, hungeror thirst etc., He does not desire anything. He who understands Atman becomes a master of all the worlds". Bothof them decided to seek that knowledge and requested Prajaapati only to teachthem that. Prajaapati asked both to stay with himfor 32 years observing strict brahmacharya. Afterthat period, he told them, " The person that is visible in the pupil ofthe eyes, that is visible in water or mirror when you look into them isBrahman. Look and tell me what yousaw". Nextday, they came back and said that they could see only themselves. Prajaapati now asked them to repeat theexercise after taking a good shave and adorning with jewels etc." Nextday again they both came back and were now satisfied to have seen their ownnice clean images. SatisfiedVirochana went back to his people and taught them that this self is to beglorified in order to control and enjoy both the worlds etc. However, it struck to Indra that some thing was wrong with thelesson. Heargued within himself that if this is so, what would happen when a man dies? So,this cannot be the deathless Atman. Hewent back to Prajaapati and expressed his doubt. Prajaapati now asked Indra to stay with himfor another 32 years and told after that that He who isgreat and wanders like a lord in the dream consciousness is the Atman. Indrawas not satisfied with this explanation also and expressed his doubt that inthe dream also there is suffering etc., and so, the fearless, sinless Atmancannot undergo sufferings. Afteranother 32 years of staying in Brahmacharya with the Prajaapati, he was toldthat the self who is fully pleased and is in a happy mood in deep sleep is theAtman. Again,Indra thought that in a dreamless sleep, the self is not conscious of its ownexistence and how can that be the ever conscious and ever luminous Atman? Prajaapati was kind enough now to ask Indrato stay only for 5 years and told him at the end of this stay ( a total of 101years), " Now you deserve the highest truth. Thisbody is a perishable piece of matter. This is the mortal abode of the immortal, body less spirit which isbeyond all dualities. Like the wind, thecloud, lightning etc., body takes shape and form and perishes once the Atmanleaves it. The Atman goes wandering freely in the infiniteworlds. Atman is the truth and the finalrepository of all existence". Indraimparted this knowledge to his subjects and they learnt that all that leads mantowards this knowledge is good and all that leads man away from it is evil. 255: UDDAALAKA ARUNI SPEAKS Ayoung brahmin ShvEtakEtu got educated by his own father at home and went to theassembly of Paanchaalas. Akshatriya prince Pravaahana confronted him and asked, " you say you havestudied well. Where do people go after death?" "I don't know sir" the brahmin boy said. "How do they return to earth?"" I don't know, sir.?" "Do you know the two paths taken by the dead - DEvayaana and Pitryaana?.(paths of light anddarkness). "No sir". " How is it that the other worlddoes not get overcrowded although people are dying every day?" "No sir, I don't know." " How does the elemental matterbecome purusha/ living person? If youdon't know this also, how do you say you are educated?". ShvEtakEtuthus humiliated went back to his father and repeated the questions. The father who also did not know theanswers went straight to the prince and requested him to teach him the answers. The prince tried to lure the brahmins by money firsttrying to avoid answering the questions. When the two did not budge, he started giving the answers. " O braahmanas, this knowledge was always with the kshatriyasand for the first time I am giving it to you. Asa result of the five yajnas the elemental matter is converted into life. Elementalmatter is the oblation offered to the fire and the sun. The result isproduction of sOma which is poured into parjanya (power which bringsrain). When rain is poured on earth,food results. When man digests food,rEta is produced which enters a woman's body and a child is born. Thus after thefive stages, elemental matter is converted as life." Continuinghe says, " Man's body is made up of four elements which get dissolvedafter death. Destiny of his souldepends on his actions and knowledge. The one with spiritualknowledge goes by dEvayaana and does not return to the earthly existence. Otherwise, it goes by pitryaana to heaven(if with good deeds), remains there till his punya is exhausted and comes backto the world to live according to general nature of his earlier actions. If with sins and evil deeds, he is born andreborn to go through the cycle of lives of insects and worms and suffersinterminably. So,some of those who are born on earth pass on to the world of Brahman and someothers go to heaven and numerous others are caught up in the everrecurring cycle of births and deaths. So there is no danger of the other worldbecoming full" This is about life, its origin and destinygiven to a brahmin for the first time by a kshatriya - Pravaahana Jaivali. 256 PARAA AND APARAA VIDYA). Thisstory demonstrates how the Vedic sacrifices are performed without knowing thereal purpose. Ushasti Chaakraayana who lived in Ibhyavillage of Kuru country was a poor and virtuous brahmin whowas also highly learned. When there was a dreadful famine in theregion and food was not available, he met the king and begged for food. The king who was eating some parched cereals reluctantly gave it andthe brahmin accepted although it was impure since he was starving. Howeverhe refused to receive the water which was half drunk as he already had somewater with him. Aftereating some of the cereals, he took the remaining to his wife, who already hadsome food from some other source. Next morning the brahmin ate the remaining and went again to theking for getting some money for the day. Ayajna was going on there with several priests conducting it on behalf of theking. He approached the chief priests and asked them to explain thesignificance etc of the yajna and threatened them that if it is a mechanicaljob, they would be punished. Theking who was impressed by the boldness inquired who he was and when told thathe was Ushasti Chakraayana,apologised to him and invited him to lead the ceremonies. Ushastithen explained to the priests that Praana is the essence of life and praanalives with anna which again depends on sun-god for existence and growth. Sun god is represented by Agni who canbe satisfied only by offerings at the sacrifice. He thus impressed that vedic sacrificesshould be conducted only after knowing the significance of them. 257 LIFE AFTER DEATH).SATHYAKAAMA:- Theboy Sathyakaama's only qualification was truthfulness and this was sufficientfor the Guru to accept him as his disciple even without knowing his origin. Tohis question regarding his Gotra his mother simply answers, " while young I was working asa maid servant in a number of houses and I do not know who your fatherwas.". "Your name is Sathyakaama and I am Jaabaala. So, you are Sathyakaama Jaabaala". Whenhe told the same thing before the learned sage Gautama, he appreciated thebrave and truthful child and said, " No one not born of a Brahmana would dare tell suchan unpleasant truth. So,I shall initiate you into brahmacharya whatever may happen. You have clung fast to truth". Once in the Aashram one day, the gurusummoned Sathyakaama and gave him 400 lean, weak and poorly fed cows and askedhim to come back to the aashram only after the cows become 1000. Sathyakaamawent to the forest and lived there seeing Brahman in the songs of birds, cycleof seasons, birth, growth and decay of life around, etc. He realised Brahman in touch, hearing,speech, sight, taste, beating of heart, in waking and in dreams. Thenone day, he found that the herd has grown to 1000 and so, he returned to theaashram. TheGuru on seeing the the brilliant face of the young man understood that he hasalready realised Brahman. The youngman impressed on the guru that by the guru's grace, he got the communion with nature. TheGuru then gave the final touches with his voice of experience and SathyakaamaJaabaala realised his dream of acquiring full knowledge of Brahman, theultimate reality. The above informations are based on Postings by: "shivashankara rao"shivashankara...@hotmail.com on 13th,14tnand 15th April 2012 . Hewas moderator of US Brahmins yahoo Group for some years. I willcontinue in next posting -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thatha_patty+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/932831491.839266.1627554021373%40mail.yahoo.com.
