QUES ANSW DIVINE 03-2022-28 Dear friends,
These are informationcompiled as QA by me in 1998’s-2004’s and stored in my computer. They areposted by very learnt members. BEING COMPILATION THERE MAYBE ERRORS. Sincerely, R.Gopalakrishnan, 78, dated 28-03-2022 Q1Do wehad smartha before the period of Sankaracharya? A1 Wehave learnt that Sri Aadi Sankara was born in a brahminfamily - meaning Smartas exist prior to the era of Sri Aadi Sankara In factit is Kumara Sheela who defeated many Buddhists much before the arrival of SriAadi Sankara to establish the Karma kanda of Jaimini. A book called "TheVedas" By Paramacharaya throws light on our History please read that. The current smarthas did not exist before this period. There were brahmins who existed before this period. Adi Shankaradefeated and absorbed some of them into the smartha fraternity. Not all. Shrautaand Mimasaka traditions have continued to exist independent of the smarthas. The current smarthas are a mix of those brahmins who got integratedinto the smartha religion as well as those ekadandis who affiliated themselveswith the 4 mathas established by Adi Shankara. Until this point,movement into and out of brahminhood was not static. InRamayana, Surpanaka plans to abduct Seetha during the early morning timethinking , Rama and Lakshmana will be doing their Sandhyavandanam during thattime. So Sandhayvandanam is performed from time immemorial - so too smartasheritage is time immemorial DuringRamayana, no rishi would pick up a weapon and kill a rakshasa even in the mostdire circumstance. They would request a protector like Rama orLakshmana to kill the rakshasa on their behalf. But in theMahabharat time, a so called brahmin was teaching archery to students. Warriorssupposedly became brahmins by this time. The classof brahmins has always existed. The people who constituted that class has beendifferent at different points of time. Q2 Do we have procedures ofsanyasa detailed in books? A2 I do not think anyone can findsanyasa vows and details of their various ceremonies documented anywhere, eitherbooks or online. Because they are under a vow to maintain secrecy. But you can meetsanyasis and get a fair picture. I have met sanyasis of the swamiorder. It is true that they regard all women as divine mother. Just go to theRamakrishna Mission and ask any swami there for a basic idea. AdiShankara was seeing Sarada Devi in every woman. Sarasavanior ubhaya bharathi was travelling with him and his group doing the cooking forthem. Nobody'ssanyasam comes under danger because of a woman - married, widow, young or old. Q3 Is itcorrect that Jambavan encircled the universe thrice during the pralyam becausehe was the chiranjeevi? A3 Yes. It is said in puranas thai jambavanrounded the universe thrice during the pralyam because he was the chiranjeevi. Q4 Whatare the attributes of SundaraMahalakshmi Temple at Arasar koil? A4. Mother Sundara Maha Lakshmi is the Mother ofall wealth and treasures. This form ofthe Mother is Aadhi Moola Lakshmi - the root form of all 64 Lakshmi avatars (each one governing one of the 64forms of wealth, well being andprosperity) This is aKubera Sampath Shakti Temple and Mother Sundara MahaLakshmi brims with billions of KuberaShaktis, Aishwarya Shaktis, Sukrashaktis, treasure shaktis and prosperity shaktis. Shecontrols Shukra's power to bestow prosperity and Shukra worships at this shrine every Friday withoutfail. What form he might assume isbeyond human comprehension, but he is one of the visitors to this shrine every Friday. SundaraMahalakshmi mesmerizes the devotees with her 'chubby cheeks' like a baby. Especially, sitting in the PadmasanaLotus posture with both hands inabhaya hastham, the real meaning of`Sundaram – the beauty' will be understood. My note- This is a repeat QA but refreshing Q5 What is adiperukku? A5Adi perukku or Padinettam perukku- Padinettu means eighteen, and perukkudenotes rising. This festival is observed as awater-ritual, celebrated as fertility and reproduction cult predominantly bywomen in Tamil Nadu, belonging to the rice cultivation tract along the Kaveri river basin districts ofTanjavur and Tiruchirapalli. Families often bathe in the river, wetting the head, wear new clothes andperform a consecration (abhishekam) for Kaveri amman. This ritual is associatedwith fertility, sex and reproduction. The myths of this ritual practice explain that thewater is propitiated as Mother Goddess. It is found that water ismetaphorically linked to the reproduction i.e., a significant medium of exchange as reflected in thewater ritual. Theassociation of this ritual practice with fertility, sex and reproduction isboth natural and human. This Hindu religious practice is linked with thereproduction of the natural capacity of the earth and women. It is symbolic ofassociating fresh water with the fertility of the earth, a practice honouringwater as Goddess. Q6 What is kosham? A6 The holy water used for bathing an idol is abhisheka teertham or kosham. The person who is going to take oath of truth has to drink thrice the koshapaanam of the deity he worships Q7 What is dhol? A7 In Indian folktales, Dhol is the name of awhite cow that holds the earth betweenher horns Q8 What isthe legend about Siva teaching a lesson to set right Nandi’s pride? A8According to legend, Vrishabha Deva (Nandi) was getting too proud of the fact that he was the one who carried theGreat God. Shiva wanted to teach him a lesson, so he placed a lock from hismatted hair on the bull. Unable to bearthe weight, Rishaba Deva felt humbled and realized his mistake. He prostrated before Lord Shiva begging hispardon. Shiva not only forgave him, but also initiated him into themysteries of Divine Wisdom. Thereafter,when Shiva imbued the form of the yogi Dakshinamurti, Nandi also served as his mount. Q9 What is the meaning of Deva? A9 Deva (in Hindi), "the shining ones", The PadmaPurana states that the mūrti is not to be thought of as mere stone or wood butas a manifest form of the Divinity. Q10 Whatis Ashta vakra geetha? Who were the parents of Ashtavakra? A10Ashtavakra Gita is the teaching of the great Sage Ashtavakra, the guru of theKing-Seer Janaka, to his disciple in response to his enquiries on the subjectof Self-Knowledge. Sage Ashtavakra was born to the learned KahorMuni and Sujatha, the daughter of Sage Uddhalaka (the renowned teacher ofChandogya Upanishad). Q11 Which day is called sivarathri? A11According to legend of Shiva and Shakti, the day Lord Shiva got married to Parvati is celebratedas Shivratri - the Night of Lord Shiva. Q12 What is final end ofswamy Ayyappan story ? What is bhoothanatha geetha? A12 The Lord lovinglyembraced the King who continued to pray: " Lord, kindly bless me byfreeing me from my egos and the worldly life of birth and rebirth and grant me' moksha’ (salvation). Kindly continue to be thesavior of my family and stay eternally in my kingdom.” Manikantan thenenlightened the King on the path of attainment of 'moksha'. These words of theLord are contained in ‘Bhuthanathageetha’,which is in the form of conversation between Him and Hisfoster-father. To the King who is by nowmentally cleansed and completely immersed in 'bhakthi', Lord Ayyappa told:" I am to free you from all worldly sorrows & worries and to grant you'moksha'. All those who are and would be born in your family shall have myblessings unfailingly. I am always accessible to 'bhakthi' and only 'bhakthi". The Lord told the King that he could constructa temple at Sabarimala, north of the holy river Pampa and install His deitythere. Ayyappa also explained how the Sabarimala pilgrimage shall beundertaken, emphasizing the importance of 'vrutham' and what the devotees canattain by His 'darshan'. The Lord further consoledthe King saying that the devotees who held him and his descendants in 'bhakthi'shall happen to be devoted to Him as well. Manikantan then blessed theKing and all others assembled there, andvanished. The King duly constructedthe temple at Sabarimala, dedicated to Him. Q13 Whether King Rajasekhara was a Brahmin in previousbirth? A13 Yes. Raja Rajasekhara was in his previous birtha rich and pious 'brahmin ' by name Vijayan who was a very strong believer and devotee of Lord Dharma Sastha. Suchwas Vijayan's ' bhakthi' towards the Lord that He blessed the brahmin bygranting his wish to be born as his son in his next birth when the Lord wouldoffer him "moksha'. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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