QUES ANSW DIVINE 47 Dear friends,
These are information posted bymembers compiled as QA by me in 1998’s-2004’s and stored in my computer. Atthis date I have no information of the members posted. Being compilation there may be errors. Sincerely, R. Gopalakrishnan, 78, Former AGM Telecom Trivandrum dated 15-11-2021 Q1 What is the nivedyam at Anantha padmanabha swamytemple,Trivandum ? A1 From the sthalapuranamof Anantha padmanabha swamy temple : There was a great devoteeby name Bilva Mangala Swami.He used to worship Salagram form of Vishnu andVishnu used to appear as a child before him. Ananthankadu is presently known as THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. The Swami used to offer RiceKanji and salted mango pieces in a coconut shell Even today, thesame neivedyam is offered to Lord but the coconut shell is now encased in gold. Q2 ADI SANKARA WAS very much appreciated by a Parsi.Name the famous Parsi. A2 Though a Parsi, Nani Palkhivala was agreat admirer of Adi Sankaracharya. He has described himsomewhere as India’s greatest philosopher, greatest intellectual, greatest administrator and greatest unifier who achieved these in ashort span of 32 yearsPKR Q3 How creation began according to Rig veda? A3 According to theRig-Veda (6.7), creation began once Indra slew Vritra, the serpent demon, who had locked up the watersnecessary for human existence in mountain caves. With the waters nowreleased, he then placed the sun in the sky thus establishing the cosmic order(rta) under the god Varuna. Varuna is aided in hisefforts by many spies who fly through the cosmos at his command. Less important than Indra,but still held in high regard among the numerous deities of the Aryan religion,was Agni, the fire god. Agni descends from the darkened clouds as lightning,shines on the world as the sun, and manifests in the flame of the sacrifice. Q4 Everybody knows Ganesha birthstory with elephant head. But who actually chopped Ganesha’s head? A4 Inthe resultant fight, thevalorous lad’s head was chopped off by Nandi deva, and the lad laylifeless. My note- There are different versions ofthe incident. Q5 What is the mythological storyabout Swami malai? A5 Mythologysays that saint Bhrugubefore commencing an arduous tavam or penance, got the boon that anybodydisturbing his mediation will forget all his knowledge. Such wasthe power of the penance that the sacred fire emanating from the head of thesaint reached up to the heavens, and the frightened devas surrendered to LordSiva praying for his grace. The Lord extinguished the sacred fire by covering the saint’s head byhand. With thesaint’s penance thus disturbed the Lord became oblivious of all his knowledge and is saidto have regained them by learning the Pranava mantra from Lord Muruga at this shrine SWAMIMALAI Q6 What were the deities of Vedicperiod? A6 Surya is one of the mostimportant deities of the Vedas(the others being Agni,Soma, Indra and Vayu) Surya is oneof the most important deities of the Vedas(the others being Agni,Soma, Indraand Vayu) Q7 What are the basis for thinking Vishnu is femaleform? A7 According to some ,Vishnu is feminine For example, (Avan,Aval),(Makan,Makal) Thus, words ending in‘-l’ are feminine. Vishnu is often referred as ‘Perumal ‘, which suggests thatVishnu is feminine. In Malayalam again, wordsending in ‘-i’ denotes women. thus, Devaki, Narayani, Savitri. Vishnu is knownalso by the name “Hari”. He said that in Tirupathi, the deity is given an oil bathon a day when ladies take oil bath. He also said that Tirupathitemple has a lion outside the temple, not Garuda. Lion is the Vahana ofParvathy, who is a lady. My note- It is the version by a member. Q8What were the length of periods of Different yugas and human ayus on thoseperiods? A8 According to the Vedic system, the lengths ofthe Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali yugas are 4, 3, 2, and 1 times an intervalof 432,000 years. Within these immenseperiods of time the human life span decreases from 100,000 years in theSatya-yuga to 10,000 years in the Treta-yuga, 1,000 years in the Dvapara-yuga,and finally 100 years inthe Kali-yuga. Q9 What was the curse by Dhaksha on Siva? A9 When Lord Shiva gave acurse (don’t remember what curse) to King Daksha - his father-in-law ( fatherof Dakshyayani - Parvati’s earlier incarnation ) for being the cause toDakshyayani sacrificing her body in the yanja fire, King Daksha gives a countercurse that from that day onwards, Lord shiva should not get sacrificial offerings ( Havis-Bhagams ) alongwith other devatas in any yegna. Thispractice is being followed to this day and whenever the offering is made toLord Shiva, immediately, theconducting priest tells the performer to wash the hands.Seetharaman Q10 Once Parvathi asked Lord Siva to be a cultivatorWhat is it? A10 I am distressed by your begging. Be acultivator. Request land from Madhava (Bhoomiis his wife). Seeds from your friend Dhanapathi (Lord of wealth - Kubera).Plough from Balarama. Buffalo fromYama. And you have your own Bull. (These will make the two animals required forploughing). Use your trisulam as the ploughshare. Appoint your son Ganapathi to till the earth.And your other son Shanmukha to look after the animals. Let these Devi’s wordsprotect us. Q11 What should be theposition of Agni when Homa is done? A11 The Agni should be well burning to a height of for fingers. Then itwill be offered to thetounge of Agni Q12 What are the ill effectof doing homa when Agni is not burning quietly and 4 viral height? A12 The details are asfollows: | No fire & only smoke | Items offered will go Agni’s head | | No Nalam but only Kanal | Items offered will go Agni’s eye | | Lightly burning | Items offered will go Agni’s ear | | Only Nalam & no kanal | Items offered will go Agni’s nose | | Nalam with kanal but to heights | Items offered will go Agni’s face | Q13 Is there any illeffects if homam is done when Agni is not 4 viral height with kanal? A13 YES YES The illeffects are much as details below: | Items offered will go Agni’s head(smoke only) | Poverty may come in the family | | Items offered will go Agni’s eye(only kanal) | Decline in the family | | Items offered will go Agni’s ear(Lightly burning) | Diseases may come in the family | | Items offered will go Agni’s nose(Only jwala) | Sorrow incidents may come in the family | | Items offered will go Agni’s face | | Q14 Is it necessary tospecify all details like Kula and Gothra etc when homam is made. A14Yes. Then only Agni can clearly identify and informcorrectly Q15 How many lokas arethere? Which are they? Which loka is below Bhoomi? A15 Totally 14 worlds. The worls below bhoomi is Narakam.The worldabove Bhoomi are | Bhuvarloka | Suvarloka | Maharloka | | janarloka | Thapoloka | Sathyaloka | Q16 Where do Brahmareside? A16 Brahma reside in Sathyaloka Q17 Every body know thereare temples for krishna,Balarama and Subhadraat Puri.Question- The idols aremade of stone, metal or wood? A17 They are in woodonly.In north it is a speciality. Q18 DoSiva alone is worshipped in the Linga form? A18 Though Siva is predominantly worshipped in thelingam, it is not uncommon to see that Durga and Subramanya being worshipped inthe Lingam. Q19Who is the best friend of Siva? A19 For Siva His dearestfriend is Kubera, the Lord of Wealth Siva is adored as the teacher of teachers,Dakshinamurti Q20 What are theimportant forms of SIVA? A20 For Siva there arevarious forms but the important ones are: 1. Sadasiva: personify the Parabrahman which has no form. 2. Maheshwara: Parabrahman comes into saguna formjoined with Prakriti. 3. Rudra: Associated with Ego Q21 Why Ganesha or Vinayaka is first among the Gods? A21 The symbolic form ofsound and primal sound OHM which is spelled A U and M. Sound vibration is themajor part in the function of body and hence He is given the rank of firstamong gods. Being a product of Paramatma andParasakti he is called son of siva and parvathi. Q22 What is said byBodhayana regarding samskaras? A22 According to Sage Baudhayana, the Samskaras performed while alivehelp one conquer the earth and that performed at death helps one conquer heaven. Q23 What is Nandidevatapooja? A23 In the Naandi Devata Pujathere are several presiding deities - the Naandi Devatas. To propitiate them, a leaf-ladenbranch of the pipal tree is installed, and an ablution with milk is performedby five Sumangalis (housewife, with husband living). This puja is followed by apresentation of dhoti, and a sari to the marrying couple. Q24 What is the SRADDDAHA A24 The Sraddha ceremony in which we pay homage to our dear departedones has a long and interesting history. The Brahma Purana definesSraddha as follows:“Whatever is given with faith to the pitrs at a proper time, in a proper place,to deserving persons and in accordance with the prescribed procedure is calledSraddha.” Yajnavalakya Smriti (I, 268)states that the pitrs, namelyVasus, Rudras and Adityas that are the deities of Sraddha, being gratified bySraddha, giving gratification to the ancestors of human beings. These verses and a verse in Manu(III, 284) make it clear that the three ancestors of a man, namely, the father, paternal grandfather and thepaternal great-grandfather are respectively to be identified with the three ordersof superintending pitr deities, namely, Vasus, Rudras and Adityas, whenperforming Sraddha. If one’s father has become a god(by his good deeds), the foodoffered in Sraddha becomes nectar and follows him in his state of godhood; if he has become a daitya (an asura) then the food reaches him in theform of various enjoyments; if he has become a snake, the Sraddha food waits on him as wind(serpents are supposed to subsist on wind) and so on. My note- Srardha has to beperformed in a manner his ancestor hasbecome a God. Not as pithru. Q25How many years it took for Vyasa to complete Mahabharatha epic with Ganesha? A25 Despite Ganesa's injunction it took the duo 3 years tocomplete the one hundred thousand couplets that make up the great epic. Q26Who narrated Gnesha puranam to Vysa? What was the reason for it? A26 To make their meaning more accessible tocommon people Vedavyasa decided to write the Puranas. While doing so hekept losing the thread of his thoughts and forgetting the stories he hadcomposed in his mind. Brahmaexplained to Vyasa that his difficulties arose from his neglect of Ganesa. He pointed out that Vyasa had not even beguneven any of his verses with an invocation to the patron God of writers. The sage asked Brahma totell him more about Ganesa and so Brahma narrated theGanesa Purana. Q27What is the difference between human and other species in food consumption? A27 After we eat, the food is digested, and thewaste is passed out. In thehigher species such as gandharvas, the waste products are evaporated into theair automatically. There is no passing of waste. So the entiresystem of digestion is much more subtle, which is in tune with their own subtleexistence. Q28 What is the locationof Pitru loka? A28 The Pitruloka is aheavenly abode which exists beyond the realm of the fourteen planetary systemsof the universe. It is a very special abode within this universe. Those whoperform great pious activities may be elevated to this planet My note- There is version that itis in the planet moon which is more commonly accepted Q29It is told Ganesha etc is post hold by a God for a period .Is it correct? A29 Yes but the period is unimaginable. Variousdemigods such as Ganesha, Karttikeya, etc., are actually posts that areoccupied by a particular living entity for one day of Brahma For example, it is described in the Puranas thatin the present day of Brahma, the post of Karttikeya (Skanda) is being occupiedby Sri Sanat-kumara,the great liberated son of Lord Brahma. The higher controlling devatas(Agni, Ganesha, Subrahmanya, etc.) have a life span of one kalpa (4,320,000,000years). Brahma, the topmost material entity, has a lifespan equal to the life of the universe. Q30 Out of 64 dimensional planes how many we can see? A30 Ganesha is living in his abode of Kailasha just as I am living inmy residence at TVM. The Vedas describe 64 dimensional planes of existence, of which we can experience onlythree Q31How many species of human life are there? A31 The scriptures describe 400,000 species of human life,both higher and lower than our own. Sometimes species from the fourth or fifthdimension will interact with our third dimension. Thus all of the cultures ofthe world have stories of unknown beings such as ghosts, goblins, and alienlife. These are nothing more than yakshas, pishachas, bhutas,and even lower entities. Just as they exist, so too do the higherdevatas. But such powerful exalted personalities have little interest tointeract with the degraded people of this age. Through meditation one can perceive these higher entities- the gandharvas, apsaras, yakshas, and devatas -- 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]. 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