BRAHMA VAIVARTA PURAN: IMPORTANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS.

This Puran introduces us to way of Vedas. On the request of Narad Muni Bhagwan Saavarni had preached this Puran. It is a summary of Dharma, Arth, Moksha etc.

TYPES OF SINS(PAAP) AS PER SKAND PURAN.

There are three types of Adharma- Sthool, Sukshma and Ati Sukshma. The group of Sins in the Sthul section carries you to Narak. These sins are committed through your thoughts, words and deeds.

It is of four types.

1)First is the sin committed by your mental state-
Thinking about woman other then your spouse.

A)Resolution to amass wealth from others.

B)Thinking ill about others.

C)Thinking of doing a forbidden or unworthy deed.

2)Second is the sin that you commit through your words :-

A)Talking irrelevant things.

B)Telling a lie.

C)Speaking harshly.

D)Talking ill about others.

3)Third type of sin is committed through your body actions-

A)Eating food not prescribed to you or forbidden.

B)Violence.

C)Eating fancier food.

D)Acquiring other's wealth.

So these twelve types of sins.

There are six types of sinners or Mahapatak

1)One not bowing his head in front of a temple.

2)Never praise Shiva.

3)People who behave untowardly way in front of Ishwar.

4)People who do not show respect to Ishwar, guru or one who are undignified.

5)One who do not behave properly.

6)One who is jealous of other bhakts.

Below is the list of sins which people may commit.

1)One who does not help a needy person or a person in pain,

IMPORTANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF GARUDA PURAN.

On the request of Garud, Bhagwan Vishnu, the rider of Garud, described this Puran based in Taksharya Kalp. It has ninteen thousand shlokas.
This book begins with a question and goes on to describe the Shrishti.

Then it describes the Surya puja vidhi, Diksha, Shradha, Nav vyuh puja, Vishnu sahastra naam kirtan and dhyan, Yog, Mrityunjay puja,Mala mantra, Shivarcha, Gopal puja, Trailikya mohan Shridhar puja, Vishnuarcha, Devpuja, Sandhya, Pancham tattva, Durga and Chakra Archana,

Maheshwar puja, Pavitra ropan puja, Murti dhyan, Vaastu maan, Prasaad, Sarvdev pratishtha, Ashtaang Yog, Daan dharm, Prayaschit, Narak description, Chakravyuh, Jyotish, Samudra shastra, Swar gyan, Tirth, Importance of Gaya, Different Manvantars, Pittra's, Varna dharma,

Dravya shudhhi, Samarpan, Vinayak puja, Grah yagya, Ashram, Shouch, Pret shudhi, Niti Shashtra, Vrat katha, Som and Surya vansh, Hari vansh, Bharat akhyan, Ayurveda, Medicine in Ayurveda, Rog nashak kavach, Garud Kavach, Traipur mantra, Prashna, difficulties in vyakaran,

Chhand shastra, Discipline, Snan Vidhi Tarpan, Bali Vaishvadev, Pavarna Karma, Sapindan, Dharmasar, Repentence of sins, Prati sankraman, Karmafal, Yug dharm, Vishnu bhakti, Method of Namaskaar to Hari, Narsingh strotras, Gyanamrit, Vishnuarchan strotras, Principles of Sankhya,

STORY OF PURANAS AND SUB PURANA (उप पुराण).

We have already gone through the series on importance & characteristics of all the eighteen Purans. We also know that originally there were hundred crore shlokas but were divided by Vyas in each Kalp and was compiled as eighteen Purans

for the common people to understand it properly and now their total is about four lakhs.

In Brahm Puran, Brahma preached this to Marichi. So this Puran of ten thousand shlokas is called Brahm Puran.

In Padma Puran, the base of the story is the appearance of Brahma on a lotus(Padm) from Vishnu' s navel.This has fifty five thousand shlokas.

Vishnu Puran is primarily based in Varah kalp. This book is on Vishnu and this book has twenty three thousand shlokas.

Vaayu Puran is written in Shwet Kalp and has twenty four thousand shlokas. Here Vayudev preaches about Dharma.

In Bhagwat Puran, which is written with the base of Gayatri mantra describes Dharma extensively. It has 18000 shlokas. It also mentions the story of Vritrasur.

In Narad Puran, which has twenty five thousand shlokas, is a sermon on Dharma by Narad based in Brihad Kalp.

Markandeya Puran has nine thousand shlokas and here it is through the birds that Dharma is described.

'Tera mera rishta kya, hindu, hindu,hindutva' is a clear take on 'tera mera rishta kya,la ilaha illallah'. As much as Hindutva hates the monotheistic religions especially Islam, there's a strange wistfulness and subliminal need at display now, to BE that they hate. 1

Charlie Hebdo doesn’t come up as a cautionary tale now but rather 'why cant we be like that'?
Growing up, Hanuman was an adorable deity for us, who swallowed the sun, or who couldn’t figure out what was Sanjeevani booti so he picked up a whole mountain and came back with it. 2

Or he was loyal, admirable and when he cleaved his chest, you saw both Ram and Sita. Now we have a lot of “Angry Hanuman” stickers. Why is a cute childlike God angry? We don’t know. It's a convenient blank space where to paint all the angst of Hindu Khatre mein hain narrative. 3

The other strange thing that has started happening is pictures of Ram appearing sans Sita. “Jai Siya Ram” has become “Jai Shri Ram”. Some people disingenuously explain it as being the same thing - because Shri is a name of Lakshmi. Not really. Siya is an apbhransh of Sita. 4

Shri is a prefix of respect in this case. Hinduism is being militarised. A woman/Sita has no place in it. Even the militaristic Goddess that is Durga has no place in this conception of neo-Hindu divinity, as evidenced by Dilip Mandal wondering where Durga came from. 5

Ever heard of a temple where the statue of the Goddess was found in a field in 1936 after spending almost a millenia under the soil?And is worshipped as the Tri-Sakthi-Swaroopini?
No?
I shall narrate the story of Nidadavole Kota Satthema temple in West Godavari district, Andhra

Nidadavole is a sleepy little town in the district of West Godavari, located a few kilometres from the Godavari. Among other things, it is famous for its Gramadevatha and Kshetrapalika, the Goddess Kota Satthema

In the tenth century, Nidadavole was known as Nirvadhyapuram, and was under the rule of the Eastern Chalukyas. They were nominal feudatories of the Kakatiyas of Warangal. The local Sthalapurana indicates that the original temple was built by one king called Virabhadra.

This Virabhadra has been identified as the husband and royal regent of the Kakatiya Empress, Rani Rudramadevi who ruled Central Deccan during the period. The original stone figure of the Goddess was built within a fort during his reign.

The goddess was worshipped as the Shakti of the Fort. Over time the name entered the vernacular parlance as Kota (the telugu word for Fort) and Satthema (a local vulgarisation of the word Shakti).

1/ Thought it was strange to see an ostensibly hard Left "No Pasaran" publisher come out with a "Jewish Pride" text so decided to do a little digging into the company.

2/ Not much detail on their Twitter other than the usual stuff plus being "against Left antisemitism"

3/ Website equally vague

4/ Noted the address and put it through Companies House to see who is really behind "No Pasaran media."

5/ Found the result. Time to click on "People."

Har Har Mahadev 🙏🙏🕉️🕉️ Suprabhat 🙏

Lord Shiva has five faces called Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva and Sadyojatha. These five faces of Shiva represent the five basic elements viz. akash, air, fire, water and earth.

#MondayMotivation #MondayMorning #MondayVibes

In fact these faces can be called five forms of Shiva.

Any creation has to be made out of these five gross elements. The 1st form or face called Ishana, is the first physical form of Shiva. This form gives us pleasure that is enjoyed by our physical body.

This is represented in the form of organs of hearing and speech in our body and in the form of subtle sound and the celestial sphere or akash. It may be recalled that ancient rishis got the sound of Vedas only from akash.

The second form or face is called Tatpurusha, the second physical form of the Lord. This form is identified with prakrti or the source of objectivity. This is the home of atman. This form is represented by organs of touch, organs of action, and is the subtle form of air.

Third form is Aghora is the physical form of Shiva and is identified with cosmic intellect. This form is represented by eyes, feet and dharma. This is identified with rupa or physical structure and the subtle form of fire.

“Don’t leave the church because of the people who hurt you. Nobody is perfect, only God”

I’ll explain why this comment is not only not helpful at all, but also very harmful.

1/

The comment assumes we can’t tell the difference between people and toxic theology, it assumes our issues are with a few people who are outliers and misrepresented God, and we just seem to think that’s the totality of divinity. Which makes us appear unintelligent and petty.

2/

But, that’s not the case at all. I didn’t leave because a few people hurt me in the name of God, in fact I stayed long enough to get hurt again, and again, and again, and again. Because it’s not a few bad apples hurting people in the name of God what we are dealing with.

3/

Instead we are talking about systemic abuse due to toxic theology that is taught as righteousness.

Go to any white evangelical church today and conduct all the tests you must to ensure only those who are “good Christians,” remain. I guarantee you people will be harmed there.
4/

Not because people just hurt people, not because Christians have good intentions but sometimes make mistakes; instead because the harm is caused due to indoctrination into toxic theology and a belief that their social and theological framework is not only good,

5/