QUES ANSWDEVINE 35 Dear friends, These are information posted by members compiledas QA by me in 1998’s-2000’s and stored in my computer. At this date I have noinformation of the members posted. Being compilation there maybe errors.
Posted by RGopala krishnan,78 ,on 30-10-2021 Whatis Golu? A1Golu means display. Navarathiri in Tamilnadu is celebrated with colour, gaiety and splendor in Hindu homes. The Golu is arranged on the Mahalaya Amavasya - the New moon Idolsare generally not arranged in threesteps are as it is not considered auspicious. Q2 What are thePancha maha yanjas? A2PANCHA MAHA YAJNA-(The Five Great Daily Sacrifices)The Sacrifice to Rishisor Vedas Study and teaching Study some sacred bookdaily.Share the knowledge with others "Adhyapanam Brahmayajnah" The Sacrifice to Devas Homa Recognition andrepayment "Homo Daivo" The Sacrifice to Pitrus Tarpana to the older generations of our family to ourancestors "PitruyajnastuTarpanam" The Sacrifice to Men Hospitality Feed someonepoorer "NarayajnoAthithi Pujanam" The Sacrifice to Bhutas Feeding the creatures(Bali)Feeding poor, animals, birds "Bali Bhauto" Q3 What is Suna? A3 We are advised to use parts of trees and plants only as much as isneeded for food, fuel, shelter etc. we are also urged to apologise to a plant or tree beforecutting it to avoid incurring a specific sin named soona. If I recollect the filmPermthachan( actor Thilakan) mention of the same Q4 What is theimportance of plant worship? A 4 Certain treesand plants like tulasi, peepal etc., which have tremendous beneficialqualities, are worshipped till today. It is believed thatdivine beings manifest as trees and plants, and many people worshipthem to fulfill their desires or to please the Lord Q5Why do we worship tulasi? A5 In Sanskrit, tulanaa naasti athaiva tulasi - that which isincomparable (in its qualities) is the tulasi. For Indiansit is one of the most sacred plants.In fact it is known to be the only thing used in worship which, once used, canbe washed and reused in pooja - as it is regarded so self-purifying. Q6 What is the story ofTulasi? A6 As one story goes, Tulasi was the devoted wife ofShankhachuda, a celestial being. She believed that LordKrishna tricked her into sinning. So she cursed Him tobecome a stone (shaaligraama). Seeing her devotion and adhered torighteousness, the Lord blessed her saying that she would become the worshipped plant, tulasithat would adorn His head. Alsothat all offerings would be incomplete without the tulasi leaf- hence the worship of tulasi. She also symbolises GoddessLakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu. Those whowish to be righteous and have a happy family life worship the tulasi. Tulasi ismarried to the Lord with all pomp and show as in any wedding Satyabhama once weighed LordKrishna against all her legendary wealth. The scales did not balance till a single tulasi leaf wasplaced along with the wealth on the scale by Rukmini with devotion. Thus the tulasi played the vital role of demonstrating to theworld that even a small object offered with devotion means more to the Lordthan all the wealth in the world Thus the tulasi played the vital role of demonstrating to the worldthat even a small object offered with devotion means moreto the Lord than all the wealth in the world. The tulasi leaf has great medicinal value and is used to cure various ailments,including the common cold. Q 7What is the prayer slokafor Tulasi? A7 Yanmulesarvatirhaani Yannagre sarvadevataa Yanmadhye sarvavedaascha Tulasi taam namaamyaham I bow down to the tulasi, At whose base are all the holyplaces, At whose top reside all the deities and In whose middle are all theVedas Q8 It is believedthat trivaram satyam - that which is said thrice comes true. What is theexplanation? A8 For emphasising a point werepeat a thing thrice. In the court of law also, one who takes the witnessstands says, "I shall speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but thetruth". We chant shaanti thrice to emphasise our intense desire for peace Q9 It is told thereare four types of Vigrahas.What are they? A.9-1. Swambhu Vignaha - Self appearing elements created by God, thatappear all by themselves like the moon, the fire, the earth and rivers etc. 2 Nirguna Vigraha - Things that are assumed to represent theinvisible, shapeless forms of God like Shaligrama, Shivalinga, Narmadeshwaretc. 3) Saguna Vigraha - Forms of four-handed Vishnu, eight-handed Jagdambawith conch and wheel and four headed Brahma, five headed Shiva etc. 4) Avatara Vigraha - Shri Rama with bow and arrow, Shri Krishna,Narasimha etc. Among all these forms, theSwambhu Vigrahas (forms) are as original as made by God in the beginning. Nirguna Vigrahas represent or symbolize theshapeless, invisible forms. Hence there is no question of existence of limbs inthem These forms are named asLinga. Q10 Why do siva linga donot have limbs? A10 Linga means Leena that is submerged in devotion. , Shalimeans group of the gods and Grama means abode. Hence, because of being a symbol ofshapeless God, Shivalinga and Shaligrama don't have any limbs. Thesealso show the hidden existence of Shiva, Ganapati. According to a Puranic tale, oncesome difference of opinions arose between Brahma the creator and Vishnu thepreservor on the question of superiority To put their dispute at an end, Lord Shiva appeared betweenBrahma and Vishnu as a shapeless, formless Linga. At the same time aheavenly voice declared that whoever would first discover the beginning and endof that Linga would be the greater. Thus the practice of Shivalinga worship gotstarted. Q11 What is the muchknown Jalandhara story? A11 According to the Puranas once a fierce battle broke out betweenLord Shiva and the demon Jallundhara. In fact it was not like an ordinarybattle between the gods and the demons, but it was a match between thechastities of two chaste women Parvati and Vrinda. Lord Shiva knew it well,that unless the chastity of Vrinda, the wife of Jallundhara, was spoiled,Jallundhara could not be killed So thinking, that spoiling the chastity of Parvati, he could defeatLord Shiva, Jallundharareached Parvati in the guise of Lord Shiva. But Parvati, who is herself the supreme ruler of illusion (MAYA) knewby her virtues the craftiness of Jallundhara. At once ended hisguise and signalled Lord Krishna (Vishnu) that it was now just to spoil thechastity of Jallundhara's wife, Vrinda, and it will not be a sin . Q12 What is the specific reason that an elephantshead is fixed to ganesha by Lord Brahma? A 12 what could be the purpose of fixing anelephant's head on a boys torso? Thesoftest organ of an organism in his testes. Unlike other animals testes of anelephant are located in the head, which is also known as Gandasthala (temples). It is the softest spot inotherwise hard and huge body of an elephant. Hence, an elephant does not puthis head against anything Thus it preaches the others to do the same. getthis preaching across the people, Lord Ganesha is shown with an Elephant's head My note- In a correspondence Sri Venkitaraman has intimated thetesticles of the elephant are above it’s penis. Q13Every part of the Lord Ganesha is a lesson. The lower part of Ganesha's body ishuman like, whereas only the head is elephant-like. Why is it so? A13 It is universally acceptedthat all the other animals than humans have emotionless heart. Only the humanshave such a heart that beats with emotion. Human heart is the only organ onearth that generates good or bad feelings for others. To teach this lesson,Ganeshaji is shown with a human torso, and an elephant's head. And the elephant like headteaches that one must observe all kinds of caution. Q14Why do Goddess lakshmi presses the feet of god ? A14Goddes Lakshmi presents an example of an ideal spouse before the world.Thesupreme duty of a woman is described in the service of her husband. Secondaspect of the message is for the people who want to get rich, that if they wantthe wealth, they must develop a devotion for the feet of Narayana, for Lakshmi(Goddess of wealth) is to be found there and no where else. Q15What are there in the four vedas? Answer in a maximum of five sentences A15 The Richas of the Rigveda are eulogies and prayers through which deities have beeninvoked. The Yajurveda speaks of the different types of Yagya (religious sacrifices). The Samveda consists of many a richas from the Rigveda, which are indeed lyrical andmusical. The Atharvaveda contains a lot of knowledge of the physical world and spirituality. Rigvedais the oldest Veda. It comprises of 10 Mandals, 102 Suktas and contains 10,552mantras Q16What is Brahmanas'? A16 The 'Brahmanas' stand second to the Vedas in importance. They provide us information onthe appropriate methods and procedures of performing Yagya and rituals. TheBrahmanas are divided into 3 parts. Q17Everybody knows Salagrams are collected from GANDAK river source. What is thedetail of Gandak river? A17 This river originates fromthe Himalayas, and while flowing in the southwest direction, enters India. InNepal this rivers is known as ‘Salgrami’ in Uttar Pradesh it is known as ‘Sapta Gandaki’, and‘Narayani’. Before reaching the MountainTriveni, an auxiliary river ‘Trishul Ganga’ merges with it. Altogether itcovers a distance of 192 miles and ultimately merges into the Ganges nearPatna. Since it gets water from themelting snow perennially, it poses danger of floods to the plains during therainy season. Because of its perennical flow it is also known as River‘Saata Meera’. Atthe source of Gandak, ‘Shaligram’ stones are found which are considered as theembodiment of Lord Vishnu, and worshipped throughout India. Q18What do you achieve by performing rituals? Do they necessary for every body? A 18 Rituals are indeed not necessaryfor one who has realised the Self By taking many births, by performing many works and by the vasana Of previous lives, we have concealed the bliss of knowing the Self. Byconducting good rites, and by associating ourselves with noble objects, we haveto banish the evil habits sticking to us from our past lives. On the whole it will help us to live a moral life If youwant milk you must keep a cow. If you keepa cow you will get not only milk but also cow dung. But we can dispense with rituals and Isvara only when wereach a high plane of knowledge. There are manybenefits that flow from rituals, puja, etc. One of them is that they help tomake us good. -- 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 [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1758525984.16609.1635552223144%40mail.yahoo.com.
