Monday, March 18, 2013

THE FOUR KUMARAS

   
                               THE   FOUR   KUMARAS          


The FOUR KUMARAS - Manasaputras of Lord Brahma

Lord Vishnu and the Four Kumaras











                Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanat  kumara

The four MANASPUTRAS created by Lord Brahma

A man meets a virtuous person when his 'good fortune' arrives and his soul attains enlightenment and his mind becomes pure by the destruction of his ignorance and attachment. When Brahma decided to commence the sequence of creation, he first of all created four Kumaras by just having a wish in his mind.

They were Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanatkumara. Brahma had experienced the sight of Lord Vishnu sleeping on the back of  Ananta Shesha after performing penance for thousands of years. Lord Vishnu pleased with his penance gave to him the basic knowledge of the Veda. Only after getting that knowledge, he commenced his creation.


When the four Kumaras came into existence, they were all embodiments of pure qualities. They did not have any sign of negative qualities like laziness, sleep etc. Brahma had created these four Kumaras so that they could help in the process of creation. But they refused when they were ordered by Brahma to do so. So these four Kumaras—kumara means unmarried brahmacaris. Because in the beginning Brahma begot so many sons, and each of them were asked to increase the population. Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana, they were also requested by their father to increase population, but they refused. They said, “No, we are not going to be entangled in these material affairs. We shall remain kumaras, brahmacaris, and preach the glories of Godhead,” by which Brahma became angry. And while he was angry, from his anger Rudra, Siva, was produced frm his forehead.

Actually these four Kumaras are eternaly liberated souls. All of them are pious and virtuous right from their birth and engaged themselves in activities like chanting the name of the Lord, listening about the lords divine activities, pastimes etc. Not for a single moment in their minds, came the desires for worldly matters. They chant 'Hari nama' all the time. They never utter anything mundane. The constant chanting of this mantra has its effect. They never face any danger to their lives and always remaine like a child of five years. Neither do they have mudane desires nor do they suffer from defects.

These four Kumaras, as siddhesvaras, had achieved all the yogic perfectional achievements ( siddhis ), and as such they travel in outer space without machines.

Prithu and sage Narada were fortunate to receive knowledge from these Kumaras.
 
                          Sanaka, Sanatana, Sananda, Sanat-kumar

These four Kumaras are vastly learned, and they preached the philosophical way of understanding the Absolute Truth. Sankya. Later on, they became unalloyed devotees of lord Vishnu, and now have their sampradaya, or party, and is called the Sanakadi-sampradaya. Some refer to this Sampradya as the,

                                                Nimbarka - Sampradaya. 
 
                                                    General Lessons from the Kumars

KUMARA SANAKA: There is no greater pilgrimage like the river the Ganges, no greater teacher like one's own mother, no deity like Lord Vishnu and the Guru is the greatest of all. There is no other brother like peace, no other penance like truth, no other gain better than salvation of the soul and there is no river like the Ganges. Charity, enjoyment and destruction are the only three movements of wealth. The wealth which is neither used in doing charities nor is cherished gets destroyed. Plants too have lives and nourish and protect the human society with its fruits, roots and branches. If a man does not chant the holy , then he is like a dead person.

KUMARA SANANDANA: Bhagavan (Krishna) means, one who is full of all the splendours, all the virtuousness and religiousness, all the fame, all the knowledge, all the wealth and fortune and also possesses all the apathy and who also knows the cause of the creation and destruction. One who has the knowledge of all these 6 things is entitled to be called learned.

KUMARA SANATANA: One must follow the rules as it has been described in the sacred texts on Dashami (Tenth Day), Ekadashi(Eleventh Day) and Dwadashi (Twelfth day). One should avoid the followings ten things on Dashami day- pots and vessels made of bronze, eating grains, honey, spinach, pumpkin, lentils and food given by others, having food for the second time in a day and making sexual contacts with wife. On Ekadashi, the following should be avoided- gambling, sleeping, chewing beetle leaves, brushing of teeth, violence, copulating and untruthfulness. On Dwadashi, the following should be avoided- items made of bronze, wine, honey, oil, untruthfulness, doing exercise, going abroad, having food twice during the day, copulating and touching those things which are not worth touching and eating lentils.

KUMARA SANATKUMARA: One who has is self-realized neither sees the death of the body, diseases nor the sorrows because he understands that the real self is the soul (Atma). When the diet is pure then the inner self becomes pure and when the inner self becomes pure then he acquires remembrance of his past lives (Smriti) and he attains eternal knowledge about the permanence of the soul and the ephimeral nature of the physical body. Fools and ignorant people are fearful of thousands of things but the learned man who has attained self-realization is not affected by the fear. Death and fear have been conquered. The material enviroment becomes friendly and serves the devotee with folded hands.

source : http://www.dharmakshetra.com/sages/Kumaras.htm

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Friday, March 15, 2013

SAGE DADHICHI

                                      SAGE   DADHICHI

Sage   Dadhichi
Sage Dadhichi


Sage Dadhichi






Dadhichi, also known as Dadhyancha, is an important character in Hindu mythology. He is revered amongst the greatest of sages and is portrayed as an example that no sacrifice is too great when the result is the good of the world. His bones are used as a symbol on India's highest award for gallantry "Param Vir Chakra" as "vajra". He was among one of the greatest among clan of bhrigus. He is credited with giving up his life in order to allow the Devas to use his bones to make weapons to defeat the Asura Vritra.

Biography

Dadhichi was the son of an Atharvan,and his wife Chitti(Bhaagvat Puraan, 4/1). Chitti was sage Kardam's daughter. His wife's name was Swarcha and his son was Pippalada, a great sage himself, who is supposed to be associated with the Pippalada school of thought and associated with the origin of the Praśna Upanishad. He had established his ashram in Misrikh, in Naimisharanya near Lucknow, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.Naimisharanya has been cited in all of the puranas as the place of his ashram, where it is still in existence. The current place of Sabarmati Ashram in Ahemdabad, is also one of the ancient sites of his ashram.In the ancient times sages used to travel long distances , so may be he stayed near sabarmati river for some time. His name is seen to occur in the 1st mandala of Rigveda (Bhagavata Purana, Srimad Devi Bhagavatam and in the Puranas). He is said to be the forefather of many other great rishis and various clans, such as the Dadhich in India claim to be his descendants.
Dadhichi has believed to authoured famous composition of "Narayanm Kawacham", which is a famous hymn in southern India and sung for power and peace. He was a passer-by of Madhuvidhya to ashvin kumars which he learned himself from others.

Legends

Dadhichi is associated with many Hindu legends and is sometimes portrayed as having a horse's head.

Ashvashira - The One With The Horse's Head

Dadhichi is said to have been a master of a Vedic art known as Brahmavidya (Madhuvidya) that would enable mortals to attain immortality.Indra the King of the Devas felt his position was insecure with such power in the hands of a mortal man, especially one with as much power as Dadhichi possessed by virtue of being a rishi. Indra was also against the Ashwini twins learning Brahmavidya and swore that he would behead the one who taught them the art. However the Ashwini twins, wished to learn this art and devised a plan to protect Dadhichi from Indra's power. They learnt the art from Dadhichi after cutting off his head, preserving it and replacing it with one from a horse. Indra in his wrath beheaded the horse-headed sage and left. The Ashwini twins then put Dadhichi's head back and revived him with the Madhuvidya that he had taught them. This was how the sage came to be called Ashvashira - The One with the Horse's head.

Indra and Vritra - The Tale of the Vajrayudha

Indra the King of the devas was once driven out of devaloka by an asura named Vritra. The asura was the recipient of a boon whereby he could not be killed by any weapon that was known till the date of his receiving the boon and additionally that no weapon made of wood or metal could harm him.Indra, who had lost all hope of recovering his kingdom was said to have approached Shiva who could not help him. Indra along with Shiva and Brahma went to seek the aid of Vishnu. Vishnu revealed to Indra that only the weapon made from the bones of the sage Dadhichi would defeat Vritra.Indra and the other devas therefore approached the sage, whom Indra had once beheaded, and asked him for his aid in defeating Vritra.

Gods pray Dadhici for his spine to make thunderbolt

Vitrasura
Another version of the story exists where Dadhichi was asked to safeguard the weapons of the devas as they were unable to match the arcane arts being employed by the asuras to obtain them. Dadhichi is said to have kept at the task for a very long time and finally tiring of the job, he is said to have dissolved the weapons in sacred water which he drank.The devas returned a long time later and asked him to return their weapons so that they might defeat the asuras, headed by Vritra, once in for all. Dadhichi however told them of what he had done and informed them that their weapons were now a part of his bones. However, Dadhichi, realising that his bones were the only way by which the devas could defeat the asuras willingly gave his life in a pit of mystical flames he summoned with the power of his austerities.Brahma is then said to have fashioned a large number of weapons from Dadhichi's bones, including the Vajrayudha, which was fashioned from his spine. The devas are then said to have defeated the asuras using the weapons thus created.

Other legends

Various other legends are associated with Dadhichi and the list given below is by no means exhaustive in this respect:

Dadhichi is said to have been the first to leave from Daksha's yagna when he realised that Shiva had not been invited in spite.

The mantra or incantation for Devi Hinglaj is attributed to Saint Dadhichi.


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