CULTURAL QA 09-2023-20 All the below QA are from QuoraDIGEST to me on 20-09-2023.
Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers. Compiled andposted by R. Gopala Krishnan, 79, on20-09-2023. Q1 Whydid Gandhari curse Shakuni in the Mahabharata? Q1 Santosh Kumar Sahoo, Author Generalknowledge Books Feb 25 A curse was given by Gandhari,princess of Kandhar(Afghanistan) to her brother, Shakuni (the then ruler of Afghanistan) that because of your crooked and cunning ways, I lost my 100children. Shecursed him that never ever in your kingdom will there be peace, prosperity andprogress. Well ….. How true Hindu scriptures are! Afghanistan in Vedic period was known as ‘Avgan Sthan’ (a defectiveplace). Q2 Whattouched you deeply today? A2 Himangshu Baruah, Founder atFinderbridge Tourism (2017–present)2y 73-year-old Librarian donated Rs 30 crore to the uneducated poor. The first living person in the world tospend his entire life’s earnings for a social cause for the past 30 years. P. Kalyanasundaram from Tamil Nadu,India is the firstliving person in the world to spend his entire life’s earnings for a socialcause for the past 30 years. He dabbled in various jobs, took up odd part-timeerrands to earn his livelihood, only to give everything to the poor. His retirement benefits as wellas the share of his family property were all used for social causes too. Inrecognition to his service, the American Govt honoured himwith the ‘Man of the Millennium’ award. He received a sum of Rs 30 Crores aspart of this award which he distributed entirely too. Movedby his passion to help others, SuperStar Rajinikanth adopted him as his father. As P. Kalyanasundaram said “We cannotsustain ourselves, unless wecontribute to the society in someway or the other. I strongly feel if even one person does his bittowards social good, there will be some change.” Evenafter retirement, he worked as a waiter in a hotel in exchange for two meals aday and a meagre salary so that he could continue to donate to orphanages andto children’s educational funds. He never married for the simplereason that he did not want to spend all that he earned on charity. Eventoday, he comes to office at Adyar regularly and does whatever he can for theuplift of the underprivileged people. Hisstory just goes on to prove that in order to make a difference to the society,one doesn’t need apparent riches and a house full of gold. The will to make achange is more than enough. P. Kalyanasundaram is a ‘real hero’ inthe truest sense! He deserved to be praised and known all over the world. Q3 Whyis Lord Ganesha worshiped with Goddess Mahalaxmi? A3 Mageshkumar M,Sri Ganesha potri13h The worship of Lord Ganesha along withGoddess Mahalakshmi is a common practice in Hinduism and is often associatedwith specific rituals and festivals.There are several reasons why Lord Ganesha and Goddess Mahalakshmi are oftenworshipped together: 1. **Symbol of Prosperity and Wealth**:Goddess Mahalakshmi is the Hindugoddess of wealth, prosperity, and abundance. Lord Ganesha, as the remover of obstacles and the god ofwisdom, is invoked to ensure that obstacles to wealth and prosperity areremoved. By worshipping both deities together, devotees seek not only theblessings of wealth but also the wisdom to manage it wisely. 2. **Complementary Energies**: Lord Ganeshais considered to be the embodimentof intelligence, wisdom, and knowledge. Goddess Mahalakshmi represents theaspect of wealth, beauty, and grace. Together, they symbolize the balance between intellect and materialwealth, suggesting that one should use wisdom and intelligence in thepursuit and management of wealth. 3. **Harmony in Life**: The combinedworship of LordGanesha and Goddess Mahalakshmi is believed to bring harmony and balance toone's life. It signifies theharmonious coexistence of material well-being and spiritual growth,emphasizing that the pursuit of wealth should not come at the expense of one'sspiritual and ethical values. 4. **Festivals**: During certain Hindufestivals, such asDiwali (the Festival of Lights), it is customary to worship both Lord Ganeshaand Goddess Mahalakshmi. Diwali is a time when people seek blessings forprosperity and good fortune, making it an ideal occasion for the joint worshipof these deities. 5. **Family Blessings**: In manyhouseholds, it is atradition to have idols or images of Lord Ganeshaand Goddess Mahalakshmi placed together in the home shrine.Family members offer prayers to both deities, seeking their blessings foroverall well-being, success, and prosperity. 6. **Cultural Significance**: Invarious regions of India,the worship of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Mahalakshmi together is deeply embeddedin the local culture and traditions. These customs have been passed downthrough generations. The joint worship of Lord Ganesha andGoddess Mahalakshmi represents a holistic approach to life, where spiritual values, wisdom, andmaterial prosperity are considered interconnected and complementary aspects ofa fulfilling and balanced life. My note- There is a Lakshmi Ganapathitemple about 15 KMs from vandalur zoo, in theTiruporur route. I have gone to the temple 5-7 times. It iscrowded more by North Indians,especially during Deepavali time, Q4 Whydoes Lord Ganesha have two wives named Riddhi and Siddhi? A4 Aashish Kumar Dimri,One who lovesIndia19h Sri Ganesh : Lord Ganesh - firstworshipped- is known asVighnahartha- vanquisher of obstacles Ganapati : Lord Ganesh ji is lord ofcelestialguardians known as Gana who protect all gods and goddesses along with planetarydeities and human beings. Marriage: According to Shiva Purana; Goddess Ganesh ji was married off to Siddhi andRiddhi (twin daughters) of Prajapati Brahma. Siddhi : According to Shiva Purana; LordGanesh is soulmate of Siddhi (wisdom) She is also known as Buddhi(intellect) Riddhi : He also happens to be soulmateof Riddhi(opulence). She is also known asSamriddhi (prosperity) Symbolic: Seers and devotees state Lord Ganesh ji is lord of wisdom or intellect alongwith opulence. Inorder to survive in cosmic or karmic chaos ; one needs intellect and opulence(livelihood). Celibate: In southern India; Lord Ganesh ji is treated as brahmacharin . Seersand devotees claim that his wives are his shakti (auspicious powers). Prayer : मूषिकवाहन मोदकहस्त चामरकर्ण विलम्बितसूत्र । वामनरूप महेश्वरपुत्र विघ्नविनायक पाद नमस्ते ॥ Meaning : Salutations to Sri VighnaVinayaka) whosemount is the sacred mouse ; and one who carries the Modaka (ladoos) in hishand,Salutations to one with large ears are like fans ; one with long sacredthread, Salutationsto short statured -son of Lord Maheshwara Shiva. Prostrations at the feet of Lord Vighna Vinayaka,- the vanquisher of the Obstacles JaiMata Siddhi Mata Riddhi sameth Uma Shiva nandan Sri Ganesh ji ! Greetings: Shubh Sri Ganesh Chaturthi to all ! Q5 Whyare newly married couple considered to be a representation of Lord Vishnu andGoddess Lakshmi in Hindu tradition? A5 Anurag K,15h मंगलम भगवान विष्णु:, मंगलम गरुड़ ध्वज:। मंगलम पुण्डरीकाक्ष:, मंगलाय तनो हरि:॥ MangalamBhagwan Vishnuh, Mangalam Garunadhwajah। MangalamPundari Kakshah, Mangalaya Tano Harih॥ All auspiciousness to Lord Vishnu, all auspiciousness to one who has Garuda as Hisflag. All auspiciousness to One who has eyes like the lotus flowers, andauspiciousness to Hari. With every avatara Lakshmi and Narayanameet and join. Lakshmi is the eternal Adishaktiand Narayana is Param Brahman. Their love is the supreme love. Their lovetranscends birth and life. With every birth they have met. Narayana the allauspicious one, who shows the perfect Purusha, the one beautiful in every wayand Lakshmi, who herself is the goddess of love, wealth, happiness and strengthare the ultimate couple. The wife is always considered as Griha Lakshmi becauseshe brings happiness to the house, as a mother she takes care of a child andbrings him/her up. As a Daughter in Law she takes care of her in laws. If sheis working she brings dhana to the house. If she is a homemaker then sheherself becomes dhana of the house. When a husband and wife are marriedusually a Puja takes place called Satya Narayan Puja. Here thehusband and wife worship Devi Lakshmi and Bhagwan Vishnu for a happy andprosperous married life. Just asLakshmi and Vishnu met in every avatara, they should also meet in their comingbirths. Lakshmi and Narayana are the prime examplethat the husband and wifecomplete each other and a happy and blessed married life can only take place bymutual trust and understanding. In the Ksheera Sagara Lakshmi devi pressesfeet of Narayana so he canconcentrate on Yoga Nidra. Its absolutely correct that Sriman has placed Sri onhis chest because he has decided to share the most important part of his bodyi.e. the heart , so she is Vishnu vaksha vilasini. She is his heart, just likeheart pumps blood in human body, she is the source of the shakti of Hari. Heallows her to serve his feet because to experience a mutual love She is thedearest to him, they have infinite love, he loves her more than even his life. In the same way Krishna presses the feet ofDevi Radha with reverence, provingthat the husband and wife both deserve equal respect. Rama and Sita’s love by all means issupreme love. Rama hada lot of respect for Mata Sita and never asked her to do the Agni Parikshainstead she herself went in. In ashoka Vatika Mata Sita very clearly toldRavana absolutely fearlessly that Shri Rama will come and destroy him. MataSita willingly went into Rishi Valmiki’s Ashram to keep the respect of LordRama in the kingdom. Ramasays in Valmiki Ramayana that I don’t want the heavens without you.He said sheis more dear than his life to him During Agni Pariksha also Shri Ramaknew that MataSita was innocent and the purest of all. He is saying Ravan doesnt have thecapability to touch her also, that was her divinity and Rama’s trust on MataSita’s powers. Thisis how expressive Shri Rama was for his love of Mata Sita NowImagine this the one who he loves more than his own life, who is pregnant withhis sons, how the hell can he send her away. Do you know Rama saidto his ministers that he is already lifeless as Sita has left him. What they seein front of their eyes is a King doing his duties. Krishna and Rukmini’s love is also just asbeautiful. DeviRukmini just knew one thing from the moment she was born and that was krishna.She just kept remembering Krishna, writing Krishna, her mind was filled withKrishna and when she was forced to marry someone else she refused and evenKrishna did not let it happen. Rukmini and Krishna ( Lakshmi and Narayan)rejoined again in the most beautiful way. Q6 Whatis the most inspiring thing you read today? A6 Shruti Sree,Happy heart comes fromhappy soul 🌺Updated10mo Today I was helping my nephew instudies there was anew chapter in his Hindi literature I have to teach him coz he didn't wentschool from last week coz of his poor health .. I find something interesting in the story … Once upon a time there was a king with 4wives. Oneday the king got sick and was on his death bed afraid of living in the afterlife alone. He asked his 4th wife which he lovedthe most andbought her diamonds,golds and elegant clothings He asked her :-would you die with me?nd gowith me to the afterlife? Thefourth wife replied :-I'm sorry I can't do that and walked away.☹️ He also loved his third wife.he was veryproud and wouldalways show her off to neighbouring Kingdoms. Sohe called on his third wife And asked:- would you accompany me to the afterlife thethird wife replied:- I love my life too much. I'm sorry I can't go with you andwhen you die I'm going to remarry.😔 His second wife has always been there forhim in his times of need So he asked his second wife:- would youaccompany me to the afterlife? Thesecond wife then replied:- I am sorry that I can't help you out this time butwhat I can do is arrange your funeral and I will be there for your funeral. A voice called out …. I'll leave with youand follow you wherever you go. Even if it is to the afterlife. The king lookedand it was hisfirst wife Butthis was the wife that he took care of the least. He felt embarrassed and said:- I'm sorry I should have taken better careof u and give you more attention when I was alive 🥺🥺🥺🥺. The moral of the story we all have fourwives. Our fourth wife is our body. We like todecorate it withnice clothing but in the end it can't follow us to the afterlife. The third wife represent our Possessions wespend so much time trying togather Possessions but in the end they cannot follow us to the afterlife itwill be given to others people and divides just like the third wife said she'sgoing to remarry. The second wife is our friends andfamily we trust themalways they are there for us in times of need. But the farthest they can do asthey can go with us is to our funeral and send us off. Ourfirst wife, the first wife represent our soul we usually neglect taking care ofour soul. That's what will follow us to the afterlife.☺️ Carefor your body. Keep it healthy.Enjoy your Possessions and the comfort theyprovide.Cherish your friendship and family for the love they provide. Butdon't forget to take care of Our soul. Nourish Our soul. Take time to bealone. Lastly.. be blessed 🌼💙 Q7 Whathappened in the past with kings and queens who lose their kingdoms? A7 Silk Road, AI Expert13h Edwardll of England met a cruel end. Losinga kingdom is not a pleasant experience, as you can imagine. It usually involvessome combination of war, betrayal, murder, exile, or execution.Sometimes, italso involves a bull's hide, a red-hot poker, or an arrow in the eye. Let me explain. Throughouthistory, many kings and queens have lost their thrones for various reasons.Some were overthrown by foreign invaders,such as Harold II of England, who diedat the Battle of Hastings in 1066 after fighting off both Vikings and Normans. Somewere deposed by their own subjects, such as Charles I of England who wasbeheaded in 1649 after losing two civil wars against Parliament. Somewere ousted by their own relatives, such as Richard III of England, whoallegedly killed his nephews to seize the crown in 1483, only to be killedhimself two years later at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Some kings and queens had more bizarrefates. HenryI of England died in Normandy in 1135 after eating a surfeit of lampreys (atype of eel-like fish). Hisbody was embalmed, sewn into a bull's hide, and brought back to England forburial at Reading Abbey. However,his grave was later lost during the dissolution of the monasteries under HenryVIII. There was Edward II of England, whowas deposed in 1327 by his wife and her lover. He was imprisoned at BerkeleyCastle, where he was allegedly murdered by having a red-hot poker thrust up hisbackside. Somemonarchies were abolished altogether by political or social changes. For instance, the Russian monarchy ended in1917 after the BolshevikRevolution, which led to the execution of Czar Nicholas II and his family. The German monarchy ended in 1918 afterWorld War I, which forcedKaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate and flee to the Netherlands. The Ottoman Empire ended in 1922 afterWorld War I and the Turkish Warof Independence, which abolished the sultanate and established a republic. The Romanian monarchy ended in 1947after World War II and theSoviet occupation, which compelled King Michael I to abdicate and go intoexile. Asof 2023, there are still 26 sovereign states that have monarchs as their headsof state. Some are constitutional monarchies,such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Sweden. Some are absolute monarchies, such as SaudiArabia, Brunei, and Eswatini. Some are elective monarchies, such asMalaysia, VaticanCity, and Andorra. Someare very old and prestigious, such as Thailand and Morocco. Someare very new and obscure, such as Bhutan and Lesotho. Whoknows how long these monarchies will last? History shows that nothing ispermanent, and that kings and queens can lose their kingdoms at any time. -- 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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