Advait: Pancha Brahma Upanishad

Advait: Pancha Brahma Upanishad: Pancha Brahma Upanishad (Part of the Krishna Yajur Veda) Introduction: The Pancha Brahma Upanishad deals with the five fold aspect o...





Pancha Brahma Upanishad

(Part of the Krishna Yajur Veda)



Introduction:



The Pancha Brahma Upanishad deals with the five fold aspect of Pancha Brahmas (Siva). The Upanishad explains the significance of the five divinities, namely Sathyojatha, Aghora, Vamadeva, Thathpurusha and Ishana, their respective attributes, functions and colors. The five fold aspect of Brahman or Siva is represented by the five syllables hidden in the Panchakshari mantra, "Na-Ma-Si-Va-Ya." The Upanishad also reveals the fact that every form in the universe contains the five fold aspect of Brahman and that Lord Siva exists in the hearts of all beings.



The Upanishad:



Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together; May we work conjointly with great energy, May our study be vigorous and effective; May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any). Om ! Let there be Peace in me ! Let there be Peace in my environment ! Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !



Om Shanti ! Shanti ! Shanti !



Next Paippalada addressed (Mahadeva) ‘What is That which came to exist at first’?



2. (He replied). Sadyojata. ‘What is that O Lord’, ? ‘Aghora’. What is that, O Lord? ‘Vamadeva’. What are those, O Lord? ‘Tatpurusha.’ What are these, O Lord? ‘Isana, the instructor of all the Vidyas.’



3. He is the Isana (ruler) of the past and the future and of all the gods.



4. All the Secrets, whatever they have with colors, divisions and energies, the Lord Mahesa gave out to him (Paippalada).



5. Adoration to Mahadeva, Maharudra.



6. O Sakala, hear from me, whatever are the secrets of secrets in the world (a teacher says to his pupil).



7. Sadyojata, which bestows all the desired objects, represents Earth, Pusha (the sun), Lakshmi, Brahma, Trivritsvara (sound), Rig Veda, Garhapatya fire, the mantras which have seven notes, yellow color, and Kriyasakti.



8. Aghora, which destroys all the multitude of sins, which pacifies evils, and which bestows all prosperities, represents water, the moon, Gauri, Yajurveda, cloud color, Sandrasvara, Dakshinagni, the mantras with fifty syllables, protection and Ichchasakti.



9. Vamadeva, which gives the great wisdom, represents Agni, Vidyakala, Samaveda, Svara with eight notes, Dhirasvara (majestic sound), Ahavantya fire, knowledge and dissolution energies, and white color mixed with darkness. He, whose brightness is equal to that of crores of suns, possesses full consciousness and is the leader of the three states (of consciousness). He distributes the fruits of all actions to men, who are in the three states of consciousness, and also bestows on them all the prosperities. He, whose mantra is Eight syllabled one, resides in the center of eight-petalled lotus (of the heart).



10. Tatpurusha is with eight letters (Aa, Ka, Cha, Ta, Tha, Pa, Ya, Sa) and is in the eight petal lotus and is normally surrounded by air, the five fires, who is the leader of the mantra energies, and who has the fifty letters and their notes, and Atharvaveda. He is the head of crores of the Ganas (Elements) and whose body is the whole universe. His color is Red-which gives the desired objects. He is the panacea for all kinds of diseases, the cause of the creation, preservation and destruction &c., and the possessor of all the Saktis. He is above the three states of consciousness, the fourth (Turiya), and existence, consciousness and bliss himself, He is worshipped by Brahma, Vishnu and others, and the Supreme Father of all.

.

11. Isana should be known as the Supreme Ruler and the witness of the intelligence. He is the Ether unmanifested, and to be worshipped by the ‘Omkarasvara’. He is all the Devas, calm, and above the calmness, and beyond the ‘Svara’ (notes). He is the presiding deity of the letters ‘A’ and other Svaras, and whose body is the Ether itself. He is the cause of the five functions (creation &c.) in the great form of the five Brahmans (Sadyojata &c.). He remains (at the time of dissolution) involving the five Brahmans in himself, and also remains after absorbing all the manifestations of his own maya in himself. He shines by his own glory transcending the five Brahmans. He shines in himself in the past, present and future depending on none else.



12. All the Devas, do not realize him, bewildered by the maya of Sambhu, the Mahadeva, the Guru of the universe and the Cause of all the causes.



13. His form will not stand before any. He is the highest of the highest, the support of the universe, the person, by whom the universe is manifested and in whom it is involved. He is the Supreme Brahman, calm, he is the Supreme abode and I am that Brahman itself.



14. One should understand the five Supreme Brahmans, Sadyojata and others; whatever we see and hear all are the five Brahmans. These five are, as it were, the division of one Brahman. Thus understanding the one as five he reaches Isana (the fifth). The learned should absorb all, which are in the form of the five Brahmans, in his self and realize that ‘I am they’, and he reaches Brahman, becoming immortal. He who knows thus, becomes freed from the bondage; there is no doubt in this.



15. Sambhu is in the form of the five-syllabled mantra (Panchakshara). He is the Supreme Brahman. Knowing the Panchakshara as consisting from the letter ‘Na’ to ‘Ya’, one should repeat the mantra.



16. One should realize the universe as Panchakshara in the nature of the five Brahmans.



17. He, who studies this vidya of the five Brahmans with devotion, attaining the state of the five Brahmans, shines himself in five forms.



18. Thus Mahadeva, addressing Galava, the great Soul, blessing him and disappeared there.



19. By hearing which alone, the unheard things become heard, the unthought, O Sakala, and the unknown is known. Just as by knowing one lump of earth alone, O Gautama, all the Earth is known as the effect (pot &c.) is not separate from the cause (Mother Earth); just as by knowing one jewel alone, all other metals one known; and just as by knowing one nail parer only, all other iron made things are known, as they are not in nature different from their cause, so is the effect (the universe) not separate from its cause (Isvara). The effect becomes always eternal in the form of its cause. The saying as different is indeed false. The cause is only one, and he is not separate (from the effects) nor with both forms (separateness and non-separateness). The idea of separateness is false, as it is impossible to find out the cause of difference. Therefore the cause is only one, the eternal and second less. This second less cause is, surely the Pure Consciousness itself.



20. In this city of Brahman (Body) there is, O Sage, a small lotus like house. In the center of it, there is a subtle ether. He is Siva, Sat, Chit, and Ananda. He should be sought after by those desirous of Salvation. As He is residing in the heart as the witness of all, without differences, Siva is called ‘Hridaya’ (resider in the heart), the liberator from the Samsara.



It shines at the beginning, middle and end without any causative reason. All those devas who are all under stupor by the illusion of Maheswara would not understand properly that Mahadeva who is the teacher of the universe, is the cause of all causes. His shape does not appear before the eye. This world is shining because of that Parathpara Purusha in whom the world exists. It merges in him. That Ishana aspect is the Para Brahman which is the upper boundary of peace. The knowledge that the Para Brhaman is oneself and the rise of Sathyo Jatam (birth of truth) is Para Brahman. Whichever is seen or heard is the soul of Para Brahman.



The existence in five shapes is called Brahma Karya (activity). After understanding Brahma Karya, Ishana is appreciated. After putting the fact all that is originating from Para Brahman in ones soul, the wise man experiences and understands that "It is me" and becomes Brahman as well as deathless. There is no doubt that the one who understands this Brahman becomes freed (emancipated).



One should chant the Panchakshara Mantra which is from Na to Ya (Namasivaya) and which is of the shape of five letters and is Lord Shiva's body. After understanding the philosophy of the soul of Pancha Brahma, One should understand that every form is the form of those five. One who studies this knowledge of the soul of the Pancha Brahma would shine himself as Pancha Brahma. This Upanishad tells that Lord Shiva, who grants salvation to one, from this day- to-day life of the world, exists as witness without differentiation in the heart of all beings and is called Hrudayam (That which exists within).



Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together; May we work conjointly with great energy, May our study be vigorous and effective; May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any). Om ! Let there be Peace in me ! Let there be Peace in my environment ! Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !



The Panchabrahma Veda Mantra



One of the greatest and most sacred of all mantras, the Pañchabrahma Mantrāṇī, is found in the Kṛshṇa Yajurveda, Taittirīya Āraṇyaka 10.17-21. Here its five verses are cited in reverse order (21 to 17), just as they are chanted during puja. This is a lucid translation by Sabharathnam Sivacharyar, based on the 12th-century translation by Ugrajyoti Sivacharyar in his priestly manual Vedartha Nirnaya Manjari, giving the enhanced meaning of the mantras in the context of the Saiva Agamas.



ईशानस्सर्वविद्यानां ईश्वरस्सर्वभूतानां ब्रह्मािधपतिर्ब्रह्मणोऽधिपतिर्ब्रह्माशिवो मे अस्तु सदाशिवोम्।

īśānassarva vidyānām īśvaras sarva bhūtānām brahmādhipatir brahmaṇo’dhipatir brahmā śivo me astu sadāśivom



Lord Ishana—the Supreme Lord and Revealer of all knowledge and spiritual disciplines, the nourisher and controller of all living beings, the Directing Lord of Sadasiva, He who is the guiding and directing authority for the eight Vidyeshvaras, who directs Brahma, Vishnu and others—may He present Himself in this Sivalinga. By such benign presence, let there occur absolute purity and auspiciousness in me. Om.



तत्पुरुषाय विद्महे महादेवाय धीमहि तन्नो रुद्रः प्रचोदयात्।



tatpurushāya vidmahe mahādevāya dhīmahi tanno rudraḥ prachodayāt



As guided by my guru, I realize the form of Siva known as Tatpurusha. I meditate with pure mind and refined intellect on the Great Illuminator. Let Tatpurusha—who cuts asunder the limiting bonds of the souls and by this act comes to be known as Rudra—guide, enlighten and strengthen my organs of knowledge and action and my internal faculties.



अघोरेभ्योथघोरेभ्यो घोरघोरतरेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यस्सर्व सर्वेभ्यो नमस्तेऽस्तु रुद्ररूपेभ्यः।

aghorebhyotha ghorebhyo ghora ghoretarebhyas sarvebhyas sarvasarvebhyo namaste astu rudrarūpebhyaḥ

Salutations to Lord Siva who manifests Himself in countless benign forms, in frightful and terrifying forms, and to all those countless forms of Rudra (eulogized in the Sri Rudram hymn). Salutations to all such manifestations of Lord Siva.



वामदेवाय नमो ज्येष्ठाय नमः श्रेष्ठायनमो रुद्राय नमः कालायनमः कलविकरणाय नमो बलविकरणाय नमो बलाय नमो बलप्रमथनाय नमस्सर्वभूतदमनाय नमो मनोन्मनाय नमः।

vāmadevāya namo jyeshṭhāya namaḥ śreshṭhāya namo rudrāya namaḥ kālāya namaḥ kalavikaraṇāya namo balavikaraṇāya namo balāya namo balapramathanāya namas sarvabhūta damanāya namo manonmanāya namaḥ



Salutations to the luminous Lord who sportively creates everything. Salutations to the One who is eternally the Eldest, transcending the great cycles of time. Salutations to the One whose lordship excels all other Gods. Salutations to the One who wards off the sufferings of all living beings. Salutations to the One who is Eternal Time. Salutations to the One who sets into operation the divisions of time and maintains the worlds in an orderly way. Salutations to the One who, being the source of strength, strengthens the auspicious forces. Salutations to the One who, being the wielder of strength, withdraws the strength of inauspicious forces and extirpates them. Salutations to the One who guides all souls to ultimately reach Him.



सद्योजातं प्रपद्यामि सद्योजाताय वै नमो नमः। भवे भवेनातिभवे भवस्वमां भवोद्भवायनमः।।



sadyojātaṁ prapadyāmi sadyojātāya vai namo namaḥ bhave bhavenātibhave bhavasva māṁ bhavodbhavāya namaḥ



I submit my mind, speech and body totally and repeatedly to Lord Sadyojata, who manifests Himself and instantaneously creates bodies and worlds, who appears to devotees in the forms contemplated by them and yet transcends such forms assumed by Him and who has a retinue of Deities formed of millions of mantras. May He make my form as of His own form.



Here ends the Pancha Brahma Upanishad, as contained in the Krishna Yajur Veda

Advait: Matsya Avatara

Advait: Matsya Avatara: Matsya Avatar   An avatara is an incarnation and means that a god adopts a human form to be born on earth. Why do gods do this...

Matsya Avatar



An avatara is an incarnation and means that a god adopts a human form to be born on earth. Why do gods do this? This purpose is to destroy evil on earth and establish righteousness. Vishnu is regarded as the preserver of the universe and it is therefore Vishnu’s incarnations that one encounters most often. Vishnu has already had nine such incarnations and the tenth and final incarnation is due in the future. The first avatar, Matsya, was taken by Lord Vishnu at the end of the Satyuga (last age), when a flood destroyed the world. Through this avatar, he saved humanity and the sacred Veda text from the flood.



The Matsya Avatara is the first incarnation of Mahavishnu. Many years ago, the whole world was destroyed. The destruction in fact extended to all the three lokas (worlds) of bhuloka, bhuvarloka and svarloka. Bhuloka is the earth, svarloka or svarga is heaven and bhuvarloka is a region between the earth and heaven. All three worlds were flooded with water. Vaivasvata Manu was the son of the sun-god. He had spent ten thousand years in prayers and tapasya (meditation) in the hermitage vadrika. This hermitage was on the banks of the river Kritamala.



In Hindu puranas there are four eras [yuga] – Satya yuga, Treta yuga, Dwapara yuga and Kali yuga. Each Yuga is supposed to be a day for Lord Brahma. One day of Lord Brahma is 4320 million human years. After the end of every yuga Lord Brahma goes to sleep. The power of Lord Brahma’s creation comes from the Vedas. When Lord Brahma sleeps there is no creation and the universe comes to an end.



Lord Vishnu is the God of Preservation. Whenever the earth was in danger and when evil threatens to overpower good, Lord Vishnu descends from the heaven to incarnate on the earth. There are ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. [Dasavatar – Das meaning ‘ten’ and avatar is ‘incarnation’, the last avatar – Kalki avatar is yet to come] The first avatar of Lord Vishnu is called as Matsya Avatar [Matsya means ‘fish’].



In the Satya Yuga there was a king by name Manu. He was a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu. His greatest desire was to see Lord Vishnu with his own eyes. For this he performed severe penances for thousands of years.



The Satya Yuga was about to end and a great flood was to come and destroy all the life on earth to start afresh for the next Yuga. Lord Brahma after a day full of creation, was tired. He wanted to go to sleep and was soon snoring loudly.



While Lord Brahma was sleeping an asura Hayagriva emerged from Brahma’s nose. With Brahma asleep, Hayagriva realized that it was the right time to take in all the knowledge of the Vedas. Hayagriva concentrated and soon absorbed the knowledge in the Vedas. He then hid deep inside the ocean, thinking that nobody would find him there.



Lord Vishnu saw this and was worried. If the Vedas were stolen by the asura, the knowledge of the Vedas could not be passed on to the Next Yuga. As a Preserver, it was his job to make sure the knowledge survived to the next Yuga.



Wondering what to do, Lord Vishnu looked at Manu performing penance. Lord Vishnu smiled, realizing that he could complete quiet a lot than just save the Vedas…



The next morning, Manu went to the river to begin his prayers. He took the water in his hands and held it high above his head and offered it to the Lord Vishnu to mark the beginning of his prayer. He was about to pour the water into the river, when he heard a tiny voice from his hands. ‘O great king! Please do not put me back in the river…’



Surprised Manu stared at his hands. In the palms of his hands was a tiny fish, squirming. The fish looked at Manu, pleading, ‘Please do not put me back in the water. There are so many bigger fishes in the water, they will eat me. Please, O great king…’



Manu looked at the tiny fish with pity. As a King it was his duty to protect anybody who came to him for help. The king readily agreed and put the fish inside his ‘kamandalam’. [Kamandalam is a small jug carried by sages in those days to carry water]



Manu finished his penance and went to his Palace for the night. He had left the fish inside the kamandalam, knowing that the fish would be safe inside. He woke up next morning hearing a strong voice, ‘O King…Help me…Your kamandalam is stifling me. I cannot breath in here…’ Surprised Manu looked at his kamandalam, only to find a big fish staring at him from the top of the kamandalam. The fish was pushing the sides of the jug as the jug was too small for it.



Overcoming his surprise, Manu ran inside his palace to get a bigger vessel. The fish gulped few breaths and said softly, ‘Thank you, kind king.’



Manu smiled and was about to walk out the Palace to begin his morning prayers, when he heard an even more powerful voice, ‘King, this vessel is too small for me. Please get me another one.’



Manu blankly stared at the fish started to grow out of the vessel he had got just minutes back. The fish was again struggling for breath. Manu brought the biggest vessel from his Palace and threw the fish inside it. The fish thanked him and after checking that the vessel was big enough for the fish, still puzzled, was about to walk out of the house, when he heard a strong voice, ‘I am sorry this vessel is also not sufficient for me, the King’



Manu stared in disbelief as he saw the huge fish stare out of the big vessel. However, realizing that this was not the time for questions, he carried the fish and ran to the river, where he had found the fish and threw the fish inside.



The fish gulped a few breaths inside water, ‘Thank you…king. You have protected me. But please don’t leave me here. I am afraid the other bigger fishes may eat me…’



Manu began to get suspicious, but he was a king. He could not just stop protecting someone who had come to him for help. He stared at the fish for long and before his very eyes saw the fish getting larger and larger, till it had covered up the entire river.



The same routine followed again. Manu carried the fish from one river to another river, but the fish kept getting bigger.



Finally, he dropped the fish inside the ocean, only to find that the fish grown to full one side of the ocean. Looking at gigantic fish, a sudden flash came to Manu. He bowed before the fish, ‘Narayana, you are Narayana..my Lord.’



The fish smiled, ‘You wanted to see me and here I have come.’ Manu stared with tears in his eyes, as a huge horn grew on the head of the fish.



‘My Lord, you have granted me my only desire. I want nothing more. What do you want me to do now?’ Manu said prostrating before the fish.



‘Manu, the Yuga is about to end in seven days. There will be a great flood and all living things on the earth would perish. I want you to build a big ship. Take the seeds of all plants, the male and female of every animal, and the seven sages along with their families. Take them all on the ship’



Manu nodded. The fish continued. ‘Don’t forget to bring Vasuki, the snake God also.’ Manu nodded again as he watched the fish tear through the ocean to the other side.



One half of the fish’s work completed, the fish went to the other side to complete the other reason for the incarnation. On the other end of the ocean, the fish saw Hayagriva guarding the Vedas. Seeing the huge fish, Hayagriva was terrified. What a huge fish…However, no sooner than he had thought this, the fish attacked him. The fish was so huge, that a single push sent the asura reeling. Still dazed Hayagriva tried fighting the fish, but the fish was huge and powerful.



After a brief and futile struggle, the asura was dead. Once the asura was dead, the Vedas imbibed by him went back to Lord Brahma, who was still asleep.



On the other side of the ocean Manu was building his ship. He had also brought the seven sages, with their families.



Soon there were torrential rains which washed away everything. The water level kept increasing and very soon there was a flood. The ship wobbled and many times were about to capsize, but Manu and that others were steadfast in their belief that Lord Vishnu would protect them.



Soon the fish came as promised, ‘Manu, use Vasuki as a rope to tie my horn to the ship’ It bellowed loudly, above the roar of the rain.



Once the fish was tied to the ship, the fish, guided the ship at sea and kept the ship safe while the storm raged outside.



While the boat was being dragged around by the fish, Manu asked Vishnu several questions. The answers that Vishnu provided forms the text of the Matsya Purana.

Advait: "Mind is a Monkey"

Advait: "Mind is a Monkey": "Mind is a Monkey" let's Analyze these sayings.. The Monkey is Hanuman, if our mind is engrossed with the Bhakti of th...

"Mind is a Monkey" let's Analyze these sayings..



The Monkey is Hanuman, if our mind is engrossed with the Bhakti of the Lord, then no Maya can bind us, as Lord resides in our Soul..



There is an Incident in Ramayana, Jambuvant made Hanuman to realise his hidden powers, and by realizing it, with the grace of the Lord, Hanuman Jumped the Ocean and reached Srilanka,... For a Layman, his Chitt-shakti is situated in the Mooladhara chakra, when a Guru(Jambuvant) makes us realize our hidden powers, with the grace of the Lord, we too can jump the Bhavasagar and all the Chakras and reach the Sahasaradhara and Merge with the Infinite..



Again at Lanka Indrajeet (Son of Ravana) ties up Hanuman and takes Hanuman in front of Ravana and Ravana torches Hanuman's tail, and with the grace of the Lord, Hanuman in turn sets up the Golden Lanka on fire...



Indrajeet is Greed, Ravana is Ego, when Greed ties up the Mind and takes it to the Ego, only with the grace of the Lord, the Mind can burn down the Vasanas (Golden Lanka)....



Hanuman has Lord Rama and Sita seated in His Soul....and became Chiranjeevi (no death)



when Mind has Bhakti and Lord seated in it, then there is no Janma-Marna Bandhana for the Soul, it becomes Chiranjeevi by Merging into the Infinity.....

Kiran's Thoughts.. As Is: Jammu and Kashmir: Injustices and Myths

Kiran's Thoughts.. As Is: Jammu and Kashmir: Injustices and Myths: The first image that comes to most minds when they hear the 'K' word for Kashmir, is the lack of peace. Depending upon which side of...

What ails Kashmir? The Sunni idea of ‘azadi’

What ails Kashmir? The Sunni idea of ‘azadi’

The discomfort Kashmiris feel is about which laws self-rule must be under, and Hurriyat rejects a secular constitution

http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/06210254/What-ails-Kashmir-The-Sunni-i.html?h=B

We know what Hurriyat Conference wants: azadi, freedom. But freedom from what? Freedom from Indian rule. Doesn’t an elected Kashmiri, Omar Abdullah, rule from Srinagar?

Yes, but Hurriyat rejects elections. Why? Because ballots have no azadi option.But why can’t the azadi demand be made by democratically elected leaders? Because elections are rigged through the Indian Army. Why is the Indian Army out in Srinagar and not in Surat? Because Kashmiris want azadi.

Let’s try that again.

What do Kashmiris want freedom from? India’s Constitution.

What is offensive about India’s Constitution? It is not Islamic. This is the issue, let us be clear.

The violence in Srinagar isn’t for democratic self-rule because Kashmiris have that. The discomfort Kashmiris feel is about which laws self-rule must be under, and Hurriyat rejects a secular constitution.

Hurriyat deceives the world by using a universal word, azadi, to push a narrow, religious demand. Kashmiris have no confusion about what azadi means: It means Shariah. Friday holidays, amputating thieves’ hands, abolishing interest, prohibiting alcohol (and kite-flying), stoning adulterers, lynching apostates and all the rest of it that comprises the ideal Sunni state.

Also Read Aakar’s previous Lounge columns

Not one Shia gang terrorizes India; terrorism on the subcontinent is a Sunni monopoly.

There is a token Shia among the Hurriyat’s bearded warriors, but it is essentially a Sunni group pursuing Sunni Shariah. Its most important figure is Umar Farooq. He’s called mirwaiz, meaning head of preachers (waiz), but he inherited his title at 17 and actually is no Islamic scholar. He is English-educated, but his base is Srinagar’s sullen neighbourhood of Maisuma, at the front of the stone-pelting. His following is conservative and, since he has little scholarship, he is unable to bend his constituents to his view.

Hurriyat’s modernists are led by Sopore’s 80-year-old Ali Geelani of Jamaat-e-Islami. Jamaat was founded in 1941 by a brilliant man from Maharashtra called Maududi, who invented the structure of the modern Islamic state along the lines of a Communist one. Maududi opposed Jinnah’s tribal raid in Kashmir, which led to the Line of Control, saying jihad could only be prosecuted formally by a Muslim state, and not informally by militias. This wisdom was discarded later, and Hizb al-Mujahideen, starring Syed Salahuddin of cap and beard fame, is a Jamaat unit. Maududi was ecumenical, meaning that he unified the four Sunni groups of thought. He always excluded Shias, as heretics.

The Kashmiri separatist movement is actually inseparable from Sunni fundamentalism. Those on the Hurriyat’s fringes who say they are Gandhians, like Yasin Malik, are carried along by the others in the group so long as the immediate task of resisting India is in common. But the Hurriyat and its aims are ultimately poisonous, even for Muslims.

The Hurriyat Conference’s idea of freedom unfolds from a religious instinct, not a secular sentiment. This instinct is sectarian, and all the pro-azadi groups are Shia-killers. In promoting their hatred, the groups plead for the support of other Muslims by leaning on the name of the Prophet Muhammad.

Hafiz is a title and means memorizer of the Quran. Mohammed Saeed’s Lashkar Tayyaba means army of Tyeb (“the good”), one of the Prophet’s names. This is incorrectly spelled and pronounced by our journalists as “Taiba” or “Toiba”, but Muslims can place the name. Lashkar rejects all law from sources other than the recorded sayings and actions of Muhammad. This is called being Wahhabi, and Wahhabis detest the Shia.

Jaish Muhammad (Muhammad’s army) was founded in a Karachi mosque, and it is linked to the Shia-killing Sipah Sahaba (Army of Muhammad’s First Followers) in Pakistan’s Seraiki-speaking southern Punjab. The group follows a narrow, anti-Shia doctrine developed in Deoband.

Decades of non-interference by the Pakistani state in the business of Kashmiri separatism has led to a loss of internal sovereignty in Pakistan. The state is no longer able to convince its citizens that it should act against these groups. Though their own Shia are regularly butchered, a poll shows that a quarter of Pakistanis think Lashkar Tayyaba does good work. We think Indian Muslims are different from Pakistanis and less susceptible to fanaticism. It is interesting that within Pakistan, the only group openly and violently opposed to Taliban and terrorism are UP and Bihar migrants who form Karachi’s secular Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party.

So what do the separatist groups want? It is wrong to see them as being only terrorist groups. They operate in an intellectual framework, and there is a higher idea that drives the violence. This is a perfect state with an executive who is pious, male and Sunni. Such a state, where all is done according to the book, will get God to shower his blessings on the citizens, who will all be Sunnis.

There are three types of Sunnis in Kashmir. Unionists, separatists, and neutrals. Unionists, like Omar Abdullah, are secular and likely to be repelled by separatism because they have seen the damage caused by political Islam in Pakistan. They might not be in love with Indians, but they see the beauty of the Indian Constitution. Neutrals, like Mehbooba Mufti, are pragmatic and will accept the Indian Constitution when in power, though they show defiance when out of it. This is fine, because they respond to a Muslim constituency that is uncertain, but isn’t totally alienated. The longer these two groups participate in democracy in Kashmir, the weaker the separatists become. The current violence is a result of this. Given their boycott of politics, the Hurriyat must rally its base by urging them to violence and most of it happens in Maisuma and Sopore. The violence should also clarify the problem in the minds of neutrals: If Kashmiri rule does not solve the azadi problem, what will?

India’s liberals are defensive when debating Kashmir because of our unfulfilled promise on plebiscite. But they shouldn’t be. There is really no option to secular democracy, whether one chooses it through a plebiscite or whether it is imposed. It is a universal idea and there is no second form of government in any culture or religion that works. The Islamic state is utopian and it never arrives. Since it is driven by belief, however, the search becomes quite desperate.

India has a constitution; Pakistan has editions. These are the various Pakistani constitutions: 1935 (secular), 1956 (federal), 1962 (dictatorial), 1973 (parliamentary), 1979 (Islamic), 1999 (presidential), 2008 (parliamentary). Why do they keep changing and searching? Muslims keep trying to hammer in Islamic bits into a set of laws that is actually quite complete. This is the Government of India Act of 1935, gifted to us by the British.

Kashmiris have it, and perhaps at some point they will learn to appreciate its beauty.

Aakar Patel will take a break from his column to write a book. He will return early next year.

Send your feedback to replytoall@livemint.com

Nehru, Abdullah betrayed Maharaja Hari Singh By Sandhya Jain

http://www.niticentral.com/2013/01/nehru-abdullah-betrayed-raja-hari-singh.html

Nehru, Abdullah betrayed Maharaja Hari Singh

By Sandhya Jain on January 13, 2013

Tags: Jammu and Kashmir, Jawaharlal Nehru, indian history, louis mountbatten

The duplicitous games played with the only monarch who embraced Indian nationalism long before freedom could be seen on the horizon, whose accession retained India’s civilisational and geographical link with the land of sage Kashyap, is best gauged from his anguished letter to President Rajendra Prasad on 16-17 August 1952, three days before the monarch was abruptly abolished.

The 9000-odd word missive details the treachery of the Delhi durbar, choreographed by Jawaharlal Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah; Louis Mountbatten had moved on after initiating the State’s ruination. That such an important historical document is untraceable in the collected works of Indian statesmen is a telling commentary on how State-funded historians have fiddled with the history and memory of the Indian people. The integrity of such collections can be restored only by making every letter public, so that the nation can assess the heroes, villains and knaves for itself.

Writing from exile in Poona, Hari Singh informed the President that since his accession to the throne in 1925, the British had strengthened their hold on the State due to its great strategic importance. Hari Singh incurred their wrath as he tried to curtail their domination.

They instigated a religious rebellion in 1931 with slogans like ‘Down with Hindu Raj’ and ‘Islam in danger’; its key leaders like Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas and Maulvi Yusuf Shah received official posts in ‘Azad’ Kashmir. Within the kingdom, the leaders gained Congress cooperation by calling themselves ‘National Conference’. In 1947, Mountbatten hinted that the Maharaja join Pakistan, while the Government of India’s attitude was desultory.

In September 1947, Hari Singh was asked to appoint Mehr Chand Mahajan as Prime Minister; the latter was briefed by Sardar Patel and promised full cooperation. But on October 21, 1947, Patel wrote to MC Mahajan saying that Sheikh Abdullah (released from prison) was anxious to help the State deal with the troubles and wanted his hands strengthened. Nehru penned a similar letter to Mahajan, urging formation of a provincial government headed by Abdullah, the “most popular person in Kashmir”. Nehru urged withholding accession to India till such Interim Government was installed in the State. (Accession finally happened on October 26-27 in well-known circumstances).

Nehru again pressed Hari Singh for Abdullah’s elevation on November 13, 1947. On December 9, 1947, Minister without Portfolio, N Gopalaswami Ayyangar, urged immediate changes in the State’s constitutional and administrative set up, and sent a draft Proclamation approved by Abdullah, for Hari Singh to issue. Gopalaswami insisted on the matter on March 1, 1948, claiming Sheikh was vital to India’s case in the Security Council. Nudged by Nehru, Abdullah made some polite noises and on March 5, 1948, the Maharaja issued the Proclamation referred to in Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.

Between March 1948 and April 1949 when he was forced to quit the State, Hari Singh complained that Sheikh Abdullah and his party assumed total control, ignoring the king and directly securing the consent of the Government of India for whatever they wished. Sheikh objected when the Maharaja and his wife began touring the State to interact with the people and got Delhi to make the Maharaja quit the State ‘for a few months’.

The Yuvraj was appointed Regent, but reduced to a figurehead. The Proclamation of March 1948 stipulated appointment of a Dewan and reserved subjects, yet Abdullah subverted this repeatedly with Nehru’s backing. Hari Singh’s record of this constitutional sabotage makes painful reading even today as the nation reels in shock at the brutal mutilation of its brave jawans defending its difficult borders.

After the king’s eviction, Sheikh Abdullah aspired for absolute control. In a frontal attack on the Maharaja, he began interfering with his private properties, including administration of the Dharmarth Trust created by the dynasty of which Hari Singh was sole Trustee. Charities and institutions maintained from Trust revenues were starved of funds, costs of Puja in temples and Devasthans denied, and the Jammu branch of the Imperial Bank of India ordered to deny the Trustee the amounts of the fixed deposits of the Trust and to transfer the deposits to its Bombay Office! This single episode is the best instance of how Nehruvian secularism would unravel in independent India. Even now, there should be an inquiry into whose orders made the bank act in this manner.

By far the worst was Sheikh Abdullah’s slander – repeated by Nehru in an exceedingly rude letter to the Maharaja – that Hari Singh ran away to Jammu when the invasion began, when the truth is that he left on October 25 at the urging of VP Menon and in the larger interests of the State as the raiders were already at Baramulla. It was Sheikh Abdullah who fled from Srinagar for Delhi (and Nehru’s home) and did not return till Indian troops started landing in Srinagar.

In November 1950, Vishnu Sahay urged the Maharaja to set up a Constituent Assembly for the State, as foreshadowed in the March 1948 Proclamation, and now demanded by the National Conference. A draft Proclamation was sent for the Maharaja’s comments.

Hari Singh objected to this manner of setting up the Constituent Assembly as he was the properly constituted authority in law to promulgate the Proclamation, and not the Regent (Yuvraj). He felt the powers and functions of the Constituent Assembly should be express, well-defined and accurately worded and exclude from its purview matters not expressly entrusted to it. It should report to the authority that constitutes it, i.e. the ruler who shall seek the advice of the Parliament of India in the matter. But ultimately, the Maharaja was forced to permit the Yuvraj to set up the Constituent Assembly.

Warning the President of the dangers ahead, the Maharaja said the Indian Government had failed to appreciate the legal position; Nehru was taking it for granted that the relevant Articles, particularly Article 370, of the Indian Constitution can be altered and/or amended to suit Sheikh Abdullah. But Article 370 refers specifically to the Maharaja’s Proclamation of March 5, 1948. That is the law which governs the State of Jammu and Kashmir until a new Constitution is framed, approved and adopted not only by the Constituent Assembly of the State but also approved by the King and then by the President of India. But Nehru asked the Yuvraj (who is acting only as Regent) to become the elected Head of State with immediate effort, even before the State Constitution was framed, let alone approved and adopted. He thus deposed the king and the dynasty.

How, the aggrieved king asked the President, could the Government of India take all these steps over the head of the person on whose authority they entered the State and are continuing there and who was the Chief Author of the Proclamation on which is based the future construction of political set up in the country? Despite acting in good faith on the advice of the Indian Government, Mountbatten, Nehru, Patel and Gopalaswami, and despite Abdullah’s promises and assurances, he was eliminated by a process which was neither fair nor honourable. “Only history and posterity will be able to do justice to our respective points of view,” Hari Singh concluded. Perhaps the time for this has arrived.

Hindu Heritage BLOG:: Creating the Universe - Shiva Lingam Mahashivaratr...

Hindu Heritage BLOG:: Creating the Universe - Shiva Lingam Mahashivaratr...: http://www.ayu.nl/  - Produced by  http://www.v-mp.com Transcript: Before creation there was a creation. That's was only a 'Bindu' a poi...

Before creation there was a creation.
That's was only a 'Bindu' a point, that started a big explosion much more stronger than
millions of hydrogen bomb. It spreaded all the directions the Bindu started vibrating. Through that vibration the first sound came out that was 'Ohm' and then the light, the colors, the planets, stars, all the creations came.
The Shiva Lingam is a form in which all the material from the cosmos is enclosed in it.
Actually it is the universe in a shape of the Shiva Lingam.

Shiva Lingam is the symbol of our biggest universe, Shiva Lingam is considered
as the unity of Shiva and Shakti that means the female and male energy in one.
Actually that is in everybody in all creations from God you can see female energy is there male energy also there so in a way we all are carrying Shiva Lingam.
Example the head of a person looks like a Shiva Lingam and we have also the 'Anja Chakra'.
That is the third eye or the Nucleus point.

When you search different religions and when you search figures what the nature people are making all over the world being it the Indians in south America or the aboriginals in Australia
you can see similar forms like this Shiva Lingam.
Wood carved by stones or created by themselves or found in the nature.
Everywhere you can see this form, so it is a part of the collective memory from mankind to worship a similar form as a starting of the universe.

When Mohana and Vighnesh Made this Lingam they started with making a small center point and both started energizing it.
After energizing that center point with that very long rope they created the Nadi's and the Chakras.
Nadi's are the energy channels what is connecting you with the energy around you.
Chakras are the energy points in your body there are seven important chakras.
We call them also Maha-marma's.
On the instructions from Mohana Vighnesh was rounding and rounding and knotting to make the Shiva Lingam coming into life, and that took an whole evening from that part we took some pictures and a small film.
Because actually that is the secret part and the sacred part of the Shiva Lingam.

After that a lot of clay was used to cover the center point and to create the Shiva Lingam.
When you see that Shiva Lingam you see a huge form upwards and a huge form in a horizontal plane.
That horizontal plane is the Yoni you can say that is the female form and that upward form that is the Lingam we can say that is the expanding form.
That is the expanding energy.
In that way you have to see that also when you are close by this Shiva Lingam you experience a energy what is coming from within because it is made like that and it has two directions upward direction and it has a horizontal direction and that shows the cosmos what is expanding what is growing what is getting bigger and bigger and that shows also that everything what is happening it is only going forward I cannot repeat yesterday even when I have all the money in the world.
I cannot buy and I cannot make yesterday that is impossible because it is in our genes even in our being in our very existence that the universe is growing it is expanding so we are part of that universe so we are also growing.
There is a evolution going on inside us every second of our life the Shiva Lingam shows that it shows the expanding energy of both sides the female side and the male side we can say the knowledge side and the wisdom side. We can call it dualistic positive negative in the sense of attraction.

In Shiva temples the Puja's or ceremonies showing how important to protect the third eye part of you and your universe so the Abhishekas or the ceremonies offerings are all connected with how to balance how to please how to cool down and how to protect this precious energy it is always spreading enormous energy and its vibration throughout the whole universe so it has to be protected.

When you have a atom that is the smallest building part of our cell then we can see in the center in the nucleus there is a proton there is a positive charge small particle because of that an electron is attracted to that.
That is a negative charged particle and both are keeping each other in balance.
The same with the Shiva Lingam you have the male energy and the female energy and both are in balance.

Shiva Linga is based on 'Vaisheshika Sidhanda' that means the atomic research many thousand years before 'Bharatia' or Indians they were very knowledge about the atom theory and its greatest works but the only difference is now we are seeing the atom knowledge they are using for biological weapon nuclear weapons and destructive purposes but they were using those knowledge in those time to protect the universe and to protect the human beings and other living beings.
That is a big difference but still we have time to go back and take the wisdom from Bharata or India.