#Thread on Sarasvatî and related controversies.

The root of the term Sarasvati is sri (सृ)+ asun (असुन्)= saras (सरस्) meaning 'watery substance' + vati वती ie वतुप् स्त्री, meaning 'containing of' = sarasvati which means a lake, a pond, a large water body(stagnant).

#Thread on forgotten bihar

कहते है इतिहास ख़ुद को दोहराता है। पर जितना मैं इतिहास के गहराइ में गया हूँ , एक ही बात समझ पाया हूँ की इतिहास ख़ुद को दोहराए ना दोहराए वो सबसे ताक़तवर चीज़ को हमेशा ही दबा देता है । जैसे की हमारा देश भारत। इतिहास में हम पूरी दुनिया में सबसे आगे थे,

चाहे वो कोई भी क्षेत्र क्यूँ ना हो। और आज हम ग़रीबी से जूझ रहे हैं। पर भारत के अंदर भी एक राज्य के साथ ठीक ऐसा ही कुछ हुआ, जैसा कि 2014 तक भारत के साथ विश्व में होता था। वो राज्य है - बिहार । हाँ वही बिहार जो भारत में सबसे ज़्यादा IAS-IPS देता है , पर आज भी हम बिहारियो को बेकार

और बेवक़ूफ़ समझा जाता है । पढ़े लिखे लोगों कि हिसाब से बोले तो low standard. आइए एक बार आपको बिहार के इतिहास में ले चले ।

हज़ारों साल पहले की बात है जब हरी भरी भूमि से, जहाँ गंगा की पवित्र धारा बहती है, एक ख़ूबसूरत रानी ने जन्म लिया - सीता ।

सीता बिहार की बेटी जिसका बचपन बिहार में ही बिता और बिहार के मिट्टी से शुरू हुई अब तक की सबसे बड़ी महाकाव्य की रचना- रामायण । हाँ, वही रामायण और सीता जिसके लिए हम आज भी ट्विटर पर लड़ते है । विश्वप्रसिद्ध मिथिला पेंटिंग की शुरुआत भी सीता कि विवाह से ही शुरू हुई ।

क्योंकि जो मिथिला पेंटिंग की पुरानी चित्रकला मिलती है वो सीता राम की ही है । बिहार का इतिहास बताता है की बिहार में औरतों को बहुत अधिक इज़्ज़त दी जाती थी क्योंकि वो सीता जैसी ही स्वाभिमानी होती थी । और शायद यही कारण था की मौर्य समराज्य के पहले राजा चंद्रगुप्त मौर्य की 700 महिला

#Thread on mamta banerjee: The uncrowned dictator.

mamta banerjeee who made several headlines in 2005 by throwing papers on the speaker of parliament over the issue of ilegal immigrant, who knew then 14 years after she will have a completely different stand on illegal immigrant.

But, why I’m calling her an uncrowned dictator? Following are the reasons-

1. She swings for power & not for the ideology- she started her career with congress in 970. Then, she aligned with bjp in 1999 and became railway minister, then;

she again aligned with congress for the state election in 2001. Then again she returned to bjp in 2003 and became coal minister in 2004. Then again she joined UPA in 2009 for the parliamentary election. Clear she has no ideology; she is hungry for power just like a dictator.

2. Media is being gagged up- The first thing that every dictator do is gagging up the media. The editor of Anandabazar Patrika, the highly respected and largest-circulated Bangla newspaper, has resigned, with the news emerging four days afterdidi accused the 98-year-old daily of

showing the state govt. in bad light and the editor was summoned by Kolkata Police for allegedly publishing fake news. There are many such incident which shows that media in bangal is under complete control.

#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;

#3/thread on Angkor wat

Christianity and islam may be the largest religion of today’s world but Sanatan dharm has the largest religious monument in the world in the form of Angkor wat. It is situated in combodia and spread across over 400 acres / 1.6 km².

It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, which encouraged an international effort to save the complex.
It was originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. In Khmer, the Cambodian language, Angkor means "city" and Wat means "temple grounds".

So Angkor Wat means "Temple City". Its original name was Vrah Vishnuloka or Parama Vishnuloka, meaning the sacred dwelling of Vishnu in Sanskrit.
But, it gradually turned into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century & is still used for worship today.

Angkor Wat was initially designed and constructed in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II, as the king’s state temple and capital city. It was built without the aid of any machinery, as there was no machinery available at that time.

Evidence for these dates comes in part from inscriptions, which are vague, but also from the architectural design and artistic style of the temple and its associated sculptures.

Another aspect is that the five central towers of Angkor Wat symbolize the peaks of Mount Meru,

#Thread on controversial #khajuraho temple.

A temple which is famous for its erotic and sexual sculpture and has been targeted by left liberals on its meaning and importance. However, it may shock you, if I say sexual themes cover only less than 10% of the temple sculpture.

Its like judging and creating a buzz about the whole movie over one bed scene. Still i’ll explain the reason behind the erotic theme of the temple. But first lets discuss about khajuraho being more than that-

The Khajuraho group of monuments was built during the rule of the Chandela dynasty. The building activity started almost immediately after the rise of their power, throughout their kingdom to be later known as Bundelkhand during 925-1050 AD

Most of the temples were built during the reigns of the Hindu kings Yashovarman and Dhanga.

There were 85 temples in khajuraho but now only 25 temples are there. Khajuraho temples were in active use through the end of the 12th century.

This changed in the 13th century; after the army of Delhi Sultanate, under the command of the Muslim Sultan Qutb–ud-din Aibak, attacked & seized the Chandela kingdom. After that temples were controlled by various Muslim dynasties from the 13th century through the 18th century.

#Ramayana #LecturesOnTheRamayana

In today's thread and perhaps some subsequent threads, we will start looking into Rama as a person. The author clearly tries to bring out the human aspect of Rama captured beautifully in some of the verses.

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Please note, the discussion is NEVER challenging the supreme divinity of the person, but tries to capture the nuances or the finer points of the Bhagwan.

Sri Rama had extra-ordinary merit - Unequalled, Unmatched merit. He always remained at his own highest level.

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He seldom fell below it at times, wherein one can spot the conditions that led to the decline. In these conditions, he did & said things that his own higher nature would never approve.

Sri Rama was indeed the guardian and embodiment in himself of Dharma.

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Some incidents bring out the very best in him where he is able to uphold his own moral ideal.

For ex, when Vibhishina sought asylum, he held a council of war with all eminent counsellors. Except Hanuman whose advice was considered weak, rest all including Lakshmana ..

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recommended him to reject Vibhishina, with a few even ordering killing him.

He listened to this charged conversation (a skill where we humans utterly lack today) & said the famous words:
" No man shall seek my protection in vain. No matter who, how undeserving, how wicked..

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THE STORY OF BRAHMIN SHATANAND IN SATYANARAYAN KATHA.

We already know that this katha was narrated by Vishnu ji to Narad Muni. So once a Brahmin named Shatanand, who lived in Kashi, went out to gather Bhiksha for his son Kaltraadi. Shatanand was an ardent devotee of Vishnu ji.

In fact he and his wife both worshipped Vishnu ji. Shatanand met an old Brahmin on the way. The old man asked him as to where was he going. Shatanand replied that he was going to collect Bhiksha for his son. So the old man replied that for a long time Shatanand's family was

in a poor condition. To get rid of this poverty, he should take refuge at the lotus feet of Kamal nayan who is Known as Bhagwan Satyanarayan.
The old Brahmin then revealed his identity. Shatanand realized that the old man was no one else, but Vishnu ji himself.

Shatanand fell on his feet and started singing his praises. He was ecstatic to listen to the voice of Parmatma and get his darshan directly. He felt he was the luckiest being living on this planet.

Vishnu ji advised him to perform Satyanarayan puja with whatever

bhiksha he would receive today. Bhagwan Narayan also told him that this puja did not require an elaborate preparation. But its benefit were manifold. We just have to gather all the materials. Just a panjiri or coarse powder of wheat mixed with sugar and milk should be

#Mahabhashiam #GovindaBhagavatpada #AdiShankara

Adi Shankara's guru was Govinda Bhagavatpada who in turn was a shishya of Sree Gaudapadacharya. Interestingly, his story is connected to Mahabhashiam by Patanjali and his 4 sons are prodigies in their own right.

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Sage Patanjali was very kind at heart, but extremely short tempered. After composing the colossal Mahabhashiam, he started to spread the knowledge by conducting classes.

Once, one of his students stepped out of class. Patanjali was very furious & flames came out of his eyes.

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The flames burnt all 999 students in the class. The student who stepped out came in and said, "Gurudeva, don't worry. I am alive. I can propogate the knowledge of Mahabhashiam"

Patanjali was furious that because of him he lost others & landed up burning him down too

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There was a Gandharva who comes & says, "Master, I have learnt the Mahabhashiam from the nearby Peepal tree. I can help spread the knowledge"

Patanjali was livid and anger and curses him that he has cheated and hence, should become Brahmarakshasa.

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Gandharva begs for forgiveness. Patanjali says that he will meet a befitting student to whom he should teach Mahaabhashiam. Once the student learns, he will be rid of curse

Brahmarakshasa starts to pose questions to passing by Brahmins. When they dont answer, he eats them

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Knowledge & Bharat : Part V

The Curriculum of Vedic Education :
According to the Ancient Indian theory of education, the training of the mind & the process of thinking, are essential for the acquisition of knowledge.

#Thread

Vedic Education System delivered outstanding results.  These were an outcome of the context in which it functioned.  Understanding them is critical in the revival of such a system in modern times. 
The Shanthi Mantra spells out the context of the Vedic Education System.

It says:

ॐ सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

“Aum. May we both (the guru and disciples) together be protected. May we both be nourished and enriched. May we both bring our hands together and work

with great energy, strength and enthusiasm from the space of powerfulness. May our study and learning together illuminate both with a sharp, absolute light of higher intelligence. So be it.”

The students started the recitation of the Vedic hymns in early hours of morning.

The chanting of Mantras had been evolved into the form of a fine art. Special attention was paid to the correct pronunciation of words, Pada or even letters. The Vedic knowledge was imparted by the Guru or the teacher to the pupil through regulated and prescribed pronunciation,