Do you know what exactly came out from the "Samundra Manthan", apart from Amrit and Halahal?

#Thread on Tantra

The word ’Tantra’ literally means ‘loom’ in Sanskrit. There are several differing explanations as to what this word means. According to one source, this name is supposed to be a pun, and in order to understand it, one has to first understand the word ‘sutra’.

The key texts of Hinduism are known as sutras, a word which also means ‘formula or thread’. Therefore, if a sutra is a single thread of thought, then Tantra would be the loom that produces these threads of thoughts into a whole system of thoughts.

As a comparison, another source suggests that Tantra is a combination of two words, ‘tattva’ and ‘mantra’, which mean the science of cosmic principles and the science of mystic sound and vibration respectively.

In other words, Tantra may be regarded to be “the application of cosmic sciences with a view to attain spiritual ascendancy.”

In the beginning of Satyuga, Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Swacchandanatha, with his five mukha(mouth), namely Ishana, Tatpurusha, Sadyojata,

Vamadeva & Aghor. These mukhas represent his 5 energies, namely, Consciousness, Bliss, Will, Knowledge & Action. He manifested Tantras through his 5 mukhas (energies), some given by each of his mouth while others recited by him through two or more than two mouths simultaneously.

#Thread on speed of light in terms of vedic measurement.

Galileo Galilee was among the first to try to measure the speed of light in the early 17th century. Today we know that the exact speed of light is defined as 29,97,92,458 metres per second (approximately 186000 mi/s).

But, when it comes to Indian prospect, there are many references about the speed of light much before the 17th century.
The speed of light is not directly from the Rigveda Samhita but It is given by a great Indian scholor Sāyaṇācārya, popularly known as Sayana.

Sayana was a sanskrit scholar under king Bukka Raya I and Harihara II of Vijaynagar empire in 14th century. His commentary on vedas are very famous and was translated from Sanskrit to English by Max Müller, himself.

RigVeda verse 1.50.4-
तरणिविश्वदर्शवो ज्योतिष्कृदसि सूर्य । विश्वमा भासि रोचनम् ।।
Swift and all beautiful art thou, O Surya, maker of the light, Illuming all the radiant realm.

As it talks about maker of light. Commentary of Sayana in this verse is as:

तथा च स्मर्यत योजनानां सहस्रम् द्वे द्वे शते द्वे च योजने । एकेन निमिषार्धेन क्रममाण नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
It is remembered, [O Sun] bow to you, you who traverse 2,202 yojanas in half a nimesha.
Here it is talking about speed of Sun.

#Thread on "Kashi (Varanasi), From Birth to Death and Death to Moksha."

Located on the left bank of the Ganga, Varanasi is one of the 7 holy cities of the Hindus. According to the Vamana Purana, two rivers named Varuna and Assi originated since the beginning of the timei

The name Varanasi originates from the two tributaries of the Ganges, the Varuna &the Assi, which flows at its northern & southern boundaries. The land lying between them was named 'Varanasi'. Its original name was derived from the word 'Kashi', 'Kaasha', which means brightness.

By the way, kashi is mentioned in many Vedic literatures. Kaushitaki Upanishad mentioned about the places like Kashyas and Videhas. Ajatashatru has been declared as the ruler of Kashi or Videha in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Apart from this, Kashi &Videha are also mentioned in

Shankhayan & Boudhayan Srotasutra.

It also mentions about Kashi joining the Kosala after the independent state got destroyed. It is often referred as adjectives such as 'city of temples', 'religious capital of India', 'city of Shiva', 'city of lamps', 'city of knowledge' etc.

Famous American writer Mark Twain writes: " banaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together.”

In the Middle Ages it was a part of the Kannauj kingdom and later it was ruled by Pala kings of Bengal.

#Thread on decoding the ॐ/AUM/OM

AUM is made up of 3 syllables: A, U, & M, or, phonetically, “aaah,” “oooh,” & “mmm.” A is the first of the guttural sound, so it is the very first sound that human can utter, M is the last of the labial sounds and

U is the sound produced by rolling the wind over the whole of the tongue. Hence the conjunction of these 3 primary sounds can be comprehended to contain the rudiment of all sounds that human can ever give utterance to and so it can be taken as the fittest sound symbol of Brahman.

According to Taittiriya Upanishad 1.8.1-

MnOm is Brahman. Om is everything here.

At a physical level, the Aum syllable addresses the whole of the human sound instrument: we open the mouth (a), move the lips closer to each other (u) & then close the mouth (m).

This activates the larynx fully. ‘A’ resonates in the stomach and chest, ‘u’ in the throat and chest and ‘m’ in the nasal cavity, skull and brain. By chanting Aum we move the energy from the abdomen up to the brain.

Moreover, the syllable AUM represents several important triads:

Worlds - Earth, Atmosphere, and Heaven; Major Hindu Gods - Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva; Gunas: Tamas, Rajas and
Sattva; Sacred Vedic scriptures - Rg, Yajur, and Sama; Actions: Creation, Preservation, and Destruction; Time: Past, Present, and Future;

Did you know?
Ahilyabai Holkar was one of India's
greatest women rulers of all time.

Ahilyabai was Born on May 31,1725 in the village of Chondi,Jamkhed distt,Maharashtra to a man named Mankoji Shinde,who was the Patil(Chief) of a village and a member of proud Dhangar Community.

Despite the fact that girls' education was a farther dream in those days, Ahilyabai was homeschooled by her father.
Ahilya didn't belong to any royal family but in a twist of fate she is still remembered as one of the most revered Queen in the history.

While they were living their humdrum lives, one day Malhar Rao Holkar, commander of the Peshwa Bajirao & Lord of the Malwa stopped in Chondi on his way to Pune, where he couldn't help but notice a young 8yrs old Ahilyabai in the temple service feeding the poor & hungry.

He was so impressed by the sheer innocence&beauty with simplicity character of Ahilyabai dat he asked her hand in marriage for his son Khanderao Holkar.Just like that she got married to Khanderao in 1733 at a tender age of 8&became a bride of esteemed Maratha community of Holkars

But destiny had something else in store for her as her husband died in the Battle of Kumbher in 1754 leaving her widow at 29.Distressed Ahilyabai was to commit Sati when her father-in-law Malhar Rao refused to let it happen.

WHY BABUR NEVER TRIED TO ATTACK SRI KRISHNADEVARAYA ?

A🧵u must read

It is very well known that Babur considered Krishna Dev Raya as the strongest ruler of the entire subcontinent, and Vijayanagar empire the strongest during that time in India.

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The Vijayanagar empire reached its peak during 1509-1529 around the reign of Krishna Dev Raya.

Vijayanagar’s famed elephant brigade 👇

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At his command there were over 50000 elite troops with a regiment of Portuguese gunners and 3200 cavalry with 600 elephants.

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Along with that more than four hundred thousand ( four lakh) peasant levies and irregular military made this empire one of the largest in all of South Asia.

A typical Vijayanagar levie soldier 👇

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During Baburs invasion, Krishna Dev Raya ruled supreme in all of deccan.

In fact, in an all our brawl, Krisha Dev Raya will beat Babur fair and square.

Babur could muster at max 50000 troops with 50 canons.

While Krishna Dev Raya had these numbers in Hampi alone

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Sri Gurubhyo Namah.
Some tweets on Adi Shankaracharya and in particular the Guru Parampara of @sringerimath. [I had done this series earlier 5 years ago on account of Shishya Sweekaram].

Adi Shankara established the Sringeri Peetham as the 1st of 4 amnaaya peetams.

The four being
1. Sarada Peetam at Sringeri.
2. Govardhana Peetam at Puri
3. Kalika at Dwaraka
4. Jyothir at Badarikashramam.

He installed his 4 most prominent shishyas as heads of the peetams.

Sureshwaracharya was assigned to Sringeri as its head.

Sringeri is a corruption of Rshyashrunga giri.

Rshyashrunga maharshi [and his father Sri Vibandhaka Maharshi] did their tapas at this place.

It is at Sringeri that Shankara spent 12 of His precious 32 years!!

That gives you and idea how much He loved this place.

Rshyashruga maharshi had a horn on his forehead, a result of being born to a deer. His mere presence was enough to shower rains!!

Rshyashrunga was one who led Putrakamesthi Yaagam of Dasaratha Maharaj and which resulted in Sri Rama's birth!!

Cortisol will ruin you

If you let it get away from you, chronic stress will lead to chronic disease and chronic disease will lead to early death

What are the best ways to lower cortisol?

1) Don't follow extreme diets

Cutting out all carbohydrates or fasting for 36 hours is going to wreak havoc on your stress hormones.

Although you may experience short term weight loss, it's going to hurt you in the long-term.

A balanced macronutrient ratio is best to aim for.

2) Get out in nature

Idc if you live in Alaska or Guatemala, connecting with nature daily will do more for your health than any biohack ever will

Reconnect to your ancestral roots and make it a habit.

Grounding/earthing, forest bathing, hikes, ocean swims, etc

3) SLEEP

You CANNOT neglect your sleep. I don't care how tough or alpha you think you are. It will eventually catch up with you.

@holisticnicola just released a great guide on sleep. Go check that out now as I read it and agree with everything inside.

MAKE THIS A PRIORITY

4) Improve your testosterone

Anything that improves your testosterone levels will decrease cortisol.

Here's a start:
-lower body fat
-eliminate PUFAs
-resistance training
-no alcohol
-sleep 8+ hours
-nutrient dense diet
-do cool shit