DIVINEINFORMATION PART 7 Dear friends,
While going through one of my externalmemory device, I came across some good information stored from a website (not available now). I thought of sharing interesting ones fromthem as a series. These are short information. Inpart 7, I am starting with 30th item in this posting. Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 16-05-2021 30 RUDRAKSHA BEADS The Rudraksha is one of the most commonlyused beads amongst the Hindus. The tree on which it grows belongs tothe species of Elaeocarpus Ganitrus found in the Himalayas. Theseed of the fruit of this tree is used as a bead and is classified into four categories according totheir shape and sizes. They are: Rudraksha.This is round and large in size and most commonly used for prayers medicinesand for making garlands. Bhadraksha.This one is smallerin size and round. It is less beneficial than Rudraksha. Indraksha. This is shaped likea groundnut and is oval. Sahastraksha.It is shaped like Indraksha only it is slightly flat in shape. The bead is classifiedon the basis of the number of lines or months (mukhas) running from top tobottom. The number of mouths can vary from one to fourteen The five-mouthed (Pancha mukha) beads are the most common while thosehaving one to four and six to fourteen are the most rare, fetching the highestprice. Asingle faced bead is the rarest and the owner will befree from the cycle of births and rebirths. Thedouble faced one is sacred to Shiva and his shakti. Thethree-faced one to the trinity and the three shaktis. Thefour-faced one is associated with Brahma and the four Vedas. Thefive-faced one is to Shiva and the six faced one to Kartikeya. Onwearing the seven-faced bead the goddess Mahalakshmi is happy. Theeight-faced one is to Ganesha and the wearer is always victorious. The nine-faced bead representsthe nine-shakti’s (Durga). Theten-faced one represents the ten directions and is specially useful. Theeleven faced one represents Rudra Thetwelve faced one the Sun and the thirteen faced one removes all evil. Thefourteen-faced one represents fourteen manifestations and also destroys allevil. Theseeds are generally of four colours. The most highly prized are the white,the reddish, the golden and the dark. The first and the third varieties arerare. Their superiority is not on the basis of rarity but on the four‘varanas’, whitebeing suggestive of Brahmin, red of Kshatriya, gold of Vaisya and the dark ofthe Sudra. Legendhas it that the Rudraksha seed was created from the tears of Rudra, the fierceform of Shiva, thus endowing it with medicinal, occult and spiritual powers. Each of the fourteen types of beadshas a governing deity and specific properties. The smaller the sizeof the bead, the greater its efficacy. The bead that has a natural opening toallow the string to pass is considered the most sacred. Rituals and observances are prescribedalong with the wearing of this bead for getting the desired results. Itscontact with the body is essential to derive its magical powers. It may be wornsingly on a white thread or in a garland. Agenuine Rudraksha bead is supposed to be beneficial to a person for good healthand well-being. The smaller beads are used in rosaries,normally of twenty-seven, fifty-four or one hundred and eight beads and areconsidered very effective in meditation while chanting the prayers. Apart from the general classification, unusualshaped beads are highly valued by devout Hindus. Thetest of a genuine Rudraksa is that it will sink to the bottom if put in a glassof water. The major trade of this bead is concentratedin the holy cities of India like Varanasi and Haridwar. 31 SACREDMOUNTAINS Mountains, which occupy an importantplace in Hindu mythology, are a symbol of strength when certain gods in theirfury grow to resemble mountains, and of oppressive weight when they are torn upand used as missiles by gods or demons. The most important of these are of course the Himalayas, onthe summits of which are the heavens. Mountains, specially the Himalayas werealso important as it was amongst them that the holy men, the yogis and thesadhus lived doing meditation. Itwas here that the important ashramas of the gurus were located and many are still functioning. A person going on a trek in theHimalayas can easily find yogis doing meditation in caves amongst the highsnow-capped peaks. Someof the important mountains are : Meru,which bears on its summit Brahma’s heaven, and acts as a pivot for the three worlds around which theheavenly bodies revolve. Himavan,which took the form of a manwhen the gods wished Sati to be reborn, and became the father of first theGanga, and then of Parvati. Mandara,which is a revered mountain inthe Himalayas and was thought to be the only one mighty enough to serve as apole in the churning of the milk ocean. It became the home of Durga. MountKailash, the home of Shiva, which became involved in a disputebetween Indra and Kartikeya as to their relative powers and to settle thedispute they agreed to race around it. Kartikeya won but became angry whenKailash gave the verdict in favour of Indra ad hurled his lance at the mountainsplitting it open, thus creating the Krauncha pass. Some other holy mountains are; Parijat,Malyagiri, Mahendrachal, Chitrakoot, Goverdhan (Mathura), Kamagiri (Assam),Shaktiman (Madhya Pradesh) and Raiwatgiri (Gujarat). 32 SACRED PLACES For the Hindus, to visit the holyplaces is an act of great religious merit. Throughout India there are centresof pilgrimage, some of them very holy, others less so. Greatemphasis is laid on visiting the holy places (yatra) once in a life-time forthe attainment of salvation. Four of the holy places have beenestablished by AdiShankaracarya (a saint) and it signifies a farsightedness of vision towardsnational integration as they are situated at the four corners of India, makingthe devotees criss-cross the country. Benaresis the most sacred among the holy places. Also known as Varanasiand Kashi, it is the city of Shiva, having over two thousand temples and overhalf a million idols, most of them dedicated to Shiva and his family. It issituated on the banks of the holy river Ganga. Mathura,on the banks of Jamuna, near Agra, is the birth place of Krishna.The atmosphere of Mathura is in direct contrast to that of Benares. Mathurarepresents the religion of the living, while Benares emphasizes the permanenceof death. Dwarakain Gujarat is another important shrine. It was the capital ofKrishna’s kingdom and has some very important temples devoted to him. The cityis located on the Western coast of India. Puriin Orissa has the Jagannath temple which attracts pilgrimsfrom all over India. It has an idol considered to be a manifestation ofKrishna. The temple, containing idols of Balarama and Subhadra (sister ofKrishna), is on the Eastern corner of India. Rameswaramfrom where Rama is said to have launched his attackon Lanka is in the extreme south of India. Rama is said to have installed aShiva lingam here; hence the place is sacred to both Shaivas (Shivaworshippers) and Vaisnavas (Vishnu worshippers). Ujjain.It is called the navel of earth. It has the famous temples of Ganesha and Kal-Bhairav. Duringthe time of Vikramaditya it used to be the capital of India. Two parts of the Skanda-Purana weresaid to have been written here. Haridwar.It is another very important holy city of India. It is at thefoothills of the Himalayas and is the place where the Ganga enters the plains. Itis also called the ‘gateway of the Ganga’. Gaya on the Ganges, once astronghold of the Buddhists, is for the Hindus connected with the death ceremoniesof ancestors for which they visit the place. AFTER THE RITUALS AREPERFORMED AT GAYA THE SOUL OF THE DEAD IS SUPPOSED TO ATTAIN SALVATION. My note-Very often when I write on Gaya and after Gaya srardha our pithru attainssalvation,there are opposition, mainlyon Pithru srardha to be continued. Inthis forum especially one Member Sri Rajaram Krishna Moorthy opposes. This posting by a learntnorth Indian pundit. A pithru who has obtained salvation, I do not understand, how furthersrardha are required. I agree one can perfrom srardha on the day WITHOUT OUR PITHRU VARANAM to jnatha Anjatha pithrus. Gayasrardha is not a badhakhana as most sasthrikal say during Samaradhanai aftercompletion of all death ceremonies. No body ask him anything,since most sleep during his reading and talking due to tiredness. Somehow everybody want the function tobe completed. Other important holy places are;Ayodhya (Rama’s capital), Kanchi (Conjeevaram), Kedarnath, Somnath, Amarnathand Kamakhya. 33 SACRED RIVERS In India rivers are given a divine status. The civilization ofIndia was nurtured in the river basin of the Gangaand the Jamuna which has been the heart of ancient India. Thetwo rivers have, therefore, been worshipped since ancient times. TheGanga has been known for its purity and divinity and theHindus believe that a bath in her waters cleanses one of all sins. Theriver Jamuna is known for her devotion. Theriver Saraswati was worshipped in ancient times when the Aryans lived in Punjab.The Saraswati changedits course in later ages and gradually disappeared in the deserts of Rajasthan. Apartfrom these three, the other rivers considered sacred are theGodavari, Narmada, Sindhu (Indus) and Kaveri (Cauvery). Some other sacred rivers are Saryu, Gomti, Gandaki, Sabarmati, Tamsa,Chandarbhaga, Shipra and Kratmala. My note- Mostof these rivers are remembered on the Upakarma day- dependent on rememberance of sasthrikals. Or else only Narmada, Sindhukaveri. And Godavari Myreal experience in Chennai Around the4th century A.D. architects began to carve figures of Ganga andJamuna, in human form, on the two sides of the temple door symbolizing purity(Ganga) and devotion (Jamuna). This was toemphasize that only the pure and devoted could enter the temples. At a laterperiod it became a common practice to represent the two river goddesses on thetwo sides of the shrine door in both North and South India. My note- In myhome the Lord Krishna temples havetwo idols carved in the entrance pillars having a lamp in the hand. These lampsare lighted every day evening. After reading about carving of river Ganga andJamuna in temple entrance ( earlier thanthis reading) I could understand the beautiful idols of two young womenare Ganga and Jamuna/Yamuma 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/840213200.607484.1621144920655%40mail.yahoo.com.
