QUESANSW DIVINE 81 Dear friends,
These are information posted by members compiled as QA by me in1998’s-2004’s and stored in my computer. At this date I have no information ofthe members posted. BEING COMPILATIONTHERE MAY BE ERRORS. Sincerely, R. Gopalakrishnan, 78,Former AGM Telecom Trivandrum dated 21-12-2021 Q1Whether a person taking charanamritham of God daily get any special benefit? A1 Yes, Yes Very much. The Padma Purana says that even if onehas not done any pious activities at all, if a person accepts the charanamritaof the deity, he becomes eligibleto enter Vaikuntha. Q2 Why the Ganga (Ganges river) is consideredsacred? A2 In the Mahabharata (Vana Parva, 85/89-90-93), it is said: Just as fire burns the fuel, in the sameway if one were to bathe in the Ganga even after hundreds of forbidden deeds, the water ofthe Ganga would cleanse them all. In the PadmaPurana it is mentioned that with the influence of theGanga, the sins of several births are washed away. Much virtue is gained andone finds a place in heaven. heAgni Purana says that the Ganga blesses one with liberation. Those who bathe init or drink from the Ganga everyday then cross hurdles and sail smoothly in life. Those who chant the glory of the Ganga gainmany virtues. There is no pilgrimage on a river holier than the one on theGanga. Researchhas confirmed that water from the Ganga does not deteriorate on storage. With its healthpromoting qualities, Ganga water can be compared to celestial nectar or amrita. It is sweet, rich in a variety of minerals anddestroys disease. Somepeople have reported extraordinary cases of revival when Ganga water was givento a dying person Q3 Why the tulasi plant is sacred? A3 The Skanda Purana says that one gets ridof the sins of as many lives as the number of Tulasi plants one grows. The Padma Purana asserts that whereverthere is a garden of Tulasi plants, that place is like a pilgrimage. Representatives of Yama, the God of Death, cannotenter this home. Homes plastered with soil in which the Tulasi grows are freefrom disease. Air that carries the fragrance of Tulasibenefits people it comes in contact with. Planting and caring for Tulasi helpspeople get rid of their sins. Even if one Tulasi is grown, the presence ofBrahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, and other gods is assured By offering prayers toTulasi, one automatically prays to all gods and it is akin to a pilgrimage,therefore, the benefits accrue accordingly. During the month of Kartik (Oct-Nov), whenprayers are offered to Tulasi, or new plants are grown, the accumulated sins ofmany births are absolved And when shraddha is offered to forefathersnear a Tulasi plant, it pleases them immensely. It is customary to offer prayers to the Tulasiplant in the evening and light a lamp to offer the Tulasi tree or perform an aratito Tulasi One then attains the blessings of Vrinda andLord Vishnu. It is believed that the penance of Vrinda and her surrender anddevotion to Lord Vishnu became a part of the fragrance and leaves of theTulasi. In the Brahma Vaivarta Purana (PrakritiKhand, 21/40) it is said: Lord Hari is not so pleased after bathing withthousands of pots filled with celestial nectar, as he is when even a single leaf ofTulasi is offered to him. The Padma Purana says that whoeverbathes with water in which Tulasi is added attains the virtues of having bathedin the Bhagirathi Ganga (Ganges River). It is also described in the Brahma VaivartaPurana that her last birth Tulasi was Vrinda Devi, married to an asuranamed Jalandhar. To gain victory over him, Lord Vishnupersuaded Vrinda to give up devotion to her husband. Pleased with her, Vishnugave her his blessings. Through his blessings she became Tulasi and isworshipped by people all over the world. And, at the time of death, even if a single drop ofTulasi water enters the mouth of a dying person, Vishnu Loka (the abode of LordVishnu) is attained definitely. Q4 What is the significance of the peepal tree? A4 In Taittriya Samhita, the Peepaltree is included amongstthe seven most important trees in the world. The importance of thetree is also attested in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana. Often described as a divine tree, it is anobject of prayer. On several occasions around the year prayers are offered toit. It is believed thatLord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi reside in the Peepal tree In the Skanda Purana (Nagar,247/41-44), it is explained that: “Vishnu resides in the root of the Peepaltree. Keshav (another namefor Krishna) resides in the trunk, Narayana in the branches, Lord Hari in theleaves and all the gods reside in the fruits. In the Bhagavad-gita(10/26), Lord Krishna says: “Amongst trees I am the Asvattha tree.” TheAsvattha tree is the holy fig or Peepal tree. The Padma Purana explains that byoffering prayers to the Peepal tree and circumambulating it one attainslongevity. Whoeveroffers water to this tree is absolved of all sins and attains heaven. Many Hindu women believe that by regularlyoffering prayers and watering the Peepal tree and by circumambulating it, theywill be blessed with good children, particularly a son. This isbecause unknown souls residing in the tree are pleased and enable suchblessings to bear fruit. This is why it is customary to tie threads aroundthe trunk or branches of the tree To reduce the malefic effect of theseven-and-a-half years of Shani (Saturn) it is customary to offer prayers andcircumambulate the Peepal tree. The shadow of Shani resides in the tree.Cuttingor destroying a Peepal tree has been equated with the murder of a brahmana. Q5 What is the significance of worshipping thepeepal tree only after sun rise? A5 Many times you will find one Peepal treewithin the courtyard of a temple. Before sunrise, the influence ofpoverty hovers over the tree. Butafter sunrise, Lakshmi takes over. Therefore, prayers to the Peepal tree areforbidden before sunrise. Q6What is Agni hotra? A6 Agnihotra simply means a sacrificial fire. The fire, Agnidevathe fire god, becomes the mouth of God, through which He accepts our offerings. Theseare also distributed to the other demigods, thus, prayers to many divinitiesmay be chanted during the ceremony. Amongst Hindus, there is a family name Agnihotri, which isderived from the fact that at one time these families maintained a perpetualfire in their homes. In many homes even today prayers are offered with thefire. In theValmiki Ramayana (1/6/12), it is said: Everyone performed Agnihotra inAyodhya everyday. Lord Ram and Sita performed Agnihotra on the day of thecoronation. It is also said the aggrieved Kaushalya did not miss out onAgnihotra even on the day Rama left home for 14 years of exile. In the Atharva-Veda(9/2/6) it is said: Agnihotra destroys enemies. The flames, smoke, andvibrations of the Agnihotra promote mental peace and give contentment. Itclarifies the air in the home, spreads fragrance, purifies the atmosphere andthus helps householders The Agnihotra ritual is also called a yajna,or Vedic ritual. However, when conducting a yajna (pronounced as yagya)it is customary to have a havan or fire sacrifice In the Agni Purana (380/1) it is said: Through a yajna the gods grant one's wishes. In the Padma Purana (Shristhi Khand, 3/124),it is said that pleased by a yajna the gods bless mankind withwell-being. When Brahma created mankind, man visualizedthat his life would be full of need, problems and sorrow. He complained to Brahma, "Lord! Who would nourish and protectinsecure mankind?" Brahmaresponded, "Dear son! Through a yajna offer oblations to the gods.They will bless you with wealth, prosperity, well-being and fame." In a yajna, after chanting the mantrait is customary to say Swaha when making an oblation to the fire. Swaha is the name of Agni's wife. It is customaryto invoke her name during an offering to make her the medium of the oblation. Swahaliterally means good speech. Q7Do animal sacrifice is told in the yagas? A7 In the Mahabharata (Shanti Parva),it is said: Knaves and rascals initiated the offering of liquor, fish, animals,and human sacrifice in a yajna. Theyhad a demonical temperament and desired to eat meat in a yajna. In the Vedaseating of flesh has not been recommended. During Mughal rule,meat eating became popular. It is said that some greedy priests wrote certain shlokas(verses) that claimed the goddess desired animal sacrifice, and the flesh wouldbe served as prasada, the mercy of the deity. All Vedic religious texts forbid the eating of meat andconsider it food for demons. No authentic religious text permits meateating, unless it has been foolishly tampered with. In the Shrimad-Bhagavatam, Vedavyassays that whoever offers animal sacrifice and prays to demons and evil spiritswill be worse than animals. Hell is certain. In the end, such people roam about in theutter darkness of ignorance and sorrow. It also explains that those animal sacrifices meant for Kali are notaccepted by Kali, but she lets her ghostly assistants partake of suchofferings. Thus,anything taken as remnants or prasada from such offerings are butremnants from those ghostly beings and not Kali or any demigoddess. It is also sometimes suggested that the Vedasexplain that there should be ajbali in the yajnas or sacrificialrituals. But thecorrect interpretation is that a seed is also known as aj. Aj denotes cereals.Therefore, the Vedas direct us to use cereals. Killing of animals isforbidden in a yajna and is irreligious. This is why ghee and sesame and grains are used in offerings of anyauthentic Vedic ritual. Q8What are the intentions of suggesting a divine pilgrimage? A8 In the Mahabharata (Vana Parva) itis said that through a pilgrimage one can conveniently attain the benefits thatcannot be easily attained even through the special Agnistome yajna In the Mahabharata (Vana Parva, 85/92)it is said: Going on the holy pilgrimages to Pushkar, Kurukshetra, Ganga, andMagadha benefits sevengenerations each of forefathers and successors. In the DeviBhagawat it is said that just as the purpose of agriculture is to producegrain, the purpose of apilgrimage is to become sinless In the Atharva-Veda(18/4/7) it is said that pilgrims get over sins and shortcomings throughpilgrimages and advance towards a pure wholesome life. It is also said thebenefits that accrue from a pilgrimage are in direct proportion to the devotionof the pilgrim. Q9Why do Hindus cremate their dead? A9 Amongst Hindus it is customary to do the last rites by consigning thebody to fire. In the Chudaman Upanishad it is saidthat Brahma gave birth only to the flame-like soul. From the soul, the sky wasborn. From the sky, air was born, from air fire, from fire water, and fromwater the earth was born. These five elements united to formthe human body. When a dead body is cremated in fire, the elements return tonature from where they came initially. There is the understanding amongst Hindus that after death the soulcontinues to hover around the dead body due to its earlier attachment with it.When the body is consigned to the flames and burnt to ashes the relationshipbetween the soul and the body ends. Therefore, to help speed thesoul along to its next existence, the body is burned to ashes. Itis customary amongst Hindus that the son of the deceased performs the cremationceremony. This is to prepare the son to accept that his father or mother is dead. It also prepares himemotionally to take over the responsibilities of the household and also fulfillhis duties towards society. Q10What is kapalakriya? A10 During the cremation ceremony when the dead body is set on fire, animportant part of the ceremony is kapal kriya. The significance of this is explained in the GamdaPurana. During kapal kriya, the skull is broken with a bamboo pole because it consists of veryhard bone that cannot be burnt easily, even by fire. When broken, it burns with the rest of thebody and is converted to the five elements that constitute the body and becomesa part of the ashes. -- 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/670293826.166923.1640077763883%40mail.yahoo.com.
