Sanatana Dharma Stories & Mysteries

2021-09-22 13:30:17 ⁣Are Vishnu and Shiva the same? Let's see what our scriptures say about it:

Skanda Purana
As there is Shiva, so is Vishnu and as there is Vishnu, so is Shiva. There is not even a slightest difference between Shiva and Vishnu.

Vishnu Purana
Person whose Atman is deluded by Avidya, he alone sees and talks the difference, sees the difference between Me (Hari) and Hara.

In the Agni Purana, Yamaraja orders the Yamadutas and says: "Bring them to me, people who hate Vishnu in the name of Shiva and people who hate Shiva in the name of Vishnu".

@sanatana_is_alive Aprire / Come

2021-09-22 12:09:17 'In the Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara-Kanda (or Book 5), Chapter 4, verse 27, [Gita Press, Gorakhpur, India] it explains that when Hanuman first approached Ravana’s palace, he saw the doorways surrounded by horses and chariots, palanquins and aerial cars, beautiful horses and elephants, nay, with four-tusked elephants decked with jewels resembling masses of white clouds.
Elsewhere in the Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara-Kanda (or Book 5), Chapter 27, verses12, an ogress named Trijata has a dream of Lord Rama, which she describes to the other demoniac ogresses upon awakening. In that dream she sees Rama, scion of Raghu, united again with Sita. Sri Rama was mounted on a huge elephant, closely resembling a hill, with four tusks.
(The question is how could there be a mention of the elephants with four tusks unless Valmiki and the people of his era were familiar with such creatures? A quick search on the Encarta Encyclopedia will let us know that these four-tusked elephants were known as Mastodontoidea, which are said to have evolved around 38 million years ago and became extinct about 15 million years ago when the shaggy and two tusked Mastodons increased in population.”)
Valmiki does not lie.
His facts check out in Geographical descriptions and astronomical events.'
This finding dates Ramayana beyond one million years!
Now a recent study by researchers have unearthed evidence that proves the information by cross checking the Flora described by Valmiki in Ramayana in the areas traveled by Lord Rama and described in the Ramayana.
Source.https://ramanan50.wordpress.com/.../rama-date-one.../
'182 plants (including flowers, trees, fruits) mentioned in the Ramayan have been found to be true. M Amrithalingam and P Sudhakar, the two botanists working with the CPR Environmental Education Centre, Chennai, said they could confirm the existence of the flora and fauna mentioned by Valmiki in the Ramayan.
“We tracked the route travelled by Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman from Ayodhya in the north to south as part of their exile to the forest for 14 years. To our surprise, we could identify all the plant species in the Ramayan mentioned by Valmiki along this route,” Amrithalingam told The Pioneer. As a taxonomist, Sudhakar confirmed the plant variety with their Sanskrit and Latin names.
The duo commenced their journey from Ayodhya and reached Chitrakuta’s tropical and deciduous forest. “Valmiki knew his flora, fauna and the geography. What we found was that the same flora and fauna existed in the same places as written in the epic,” pointed out Nanditha Krishna, director, CPREEC, who supervised the project.
According to Krishna, the Ramayan is geographically very correct. “All sites in their route are still identifiable and has continuing traditions . It is not possible for a person to just write something out of his imagination and fit it into local folklore for greater credibility. Valmiki has not erred anywhere while specifying the plant species, flowers and wild animals,” she said.
Sudhakar pointed out that in the Ramayan, Ram, Sita and Lakshman were warned to be cautious while they entered Dandakaranya forests. “This forest had lions and tigers. Now there are no lions in the area. This is because they were killed by poachers over the centuries. But the rocks in the famous Bhimbetka has prehistoric paintings of lion and tigers together which confirm Valmiki’s observation,” he said.
Amrithalingam and Sudhakar journeyed from Dandakaranya to Panchavati and Kishkinda. “We found that Kishkinda has a dry and moist climate which synchronises with what Valmiki has authored,” said Amrithalingam.
( http://www.dailypioneer.com/.../ramayan-era-plants-bear... )
Detailed research paper.
'The article presents a list of plants mentioned in Ramayana one of the two great epics of this country which has been compiled and the probable equivalent botanical names have been fixed. This study will be useful to the botanists, palaeo – botanists, ethonobotanists, foresters, naturalists and environmentalists as well. ' Aprire / Come

2021-09-22 12:09:17 Aprire / Come

2021-09-20 16:00:48 Varaha Avatar

Varaha is the 3rd incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu takes this form to rescue Bhumi, the Goddess of Earth and to kill the demon Hiranyaksha who was trying to stole and hid her in the primordial waters. Varaha may be depicted as completely a boar or in an anthropomorphic form, with a boar's head and the human body. He is often depicted carrying the Earth on his tusks; sometimes he is also depicted carrying Bhumi in his arms. Aprire / Come

2021-09-19 13:00:38 ⁣"Sanatana means Eternal. In its purest form, this religion is Sanatana, because it is based on Truth. Truth is immortal and is never annihilated. It remains the same yesterday, today and forever".

― Swami Rama Tirtha

@sanatana_is_alive Aprire / Come

2021-09-18 23:25:05 Kurma Avatar

Kurma is the 2nd incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In the early times, Lord Vishnu took the form of a huge tortoise and dived into the Ocean of Milk to support the Mandara Mountain. Thus, the Devas and the Asuras churned the ocean and many valuable things came out of it, including the nectar of immortality. Aprire / Come

2021-09-06 13:00:36 Matsya Avatar

Matsya is the 1st incarnation of Lord Vishnu. At the beginning of Satya Yuga, Matsya Avatar takes come into existence to save from the great flood the highly pious king and the first man, Vaivasvata Manu. Matsya is generally depicted as a four-armed figure that is both man and fish. The upper torso being of a man and the lower of a fish, this avatar advises and provides to Manu a ship to save all the species from the great flood. Aprire / Come

2021-09-05 21:24:34 We have heard of "Dharm" but what actually is Dharm?

In Shrimadbhagavat Maha Puran, Sri Narad Muni answered King Yudhisthira as heard from Narayan ( वक्ष्ये सनातनं धर्मं नारायणमुखाच्छ्रुतम् )

These are the 30 "Dharm" which must be followed by every Human Being.

सत्यं दया तप: शौचं तितिक्षेक्षा शमो दम: ।
अहिंसा ब्रह्मचर्यं च त्याग: स्वाध्याय आर्जवम् ॥ ७.११.८
सन्तोष: समद‍ृक्सेवा ग्राम्येहोपरम: शनै: ।
नृणां विपर्ययेहेक्षा मौनमात्मविमर्शनम् ॥ ७.११.९
अन्नाद्यादे: संविभागो भूतेभ्यश्च यथार्हत: ।
तेष्वात्मदेवताबुद्धि: सुतरां नृषु पाण्डव ॥ ७.११.१०
श्रवणं कीर्तनं चास्य स्मरणं महतां गते: ।
सेवेज्यावनतिर्दास्यं सख्यमात्मसमर्पणम् ॥ ७.११.११
नृणामयं परो धर्म: सर्वेषां समुदाहृत: ।
त्रिंशल्लक्षणवान् राजन्सर्वात्मा येन तुष्यति ॥ ७.११.१२

These are the general principles to be followed by all human beings:

1. Truthfulness,
2. Mercy,
3.Austerity (observing fasts on certain days of the month),
4. Bathing twice a day,
5. Tolerance,
6. Discrimination between right and wrong,
7. Control of the mind,
8. Control of the senses,
9. Nonviolence,
10. Celibacy,
11. Charity,
12. Reading of scripture,
13.Simplicity,
14.Satisfaction,
15. Rendering service to saintly persons,
16. Gradually taking leave of unnecessary engagements,
17. Observing the futility of the unnecessary activities of human society,
18. Remaining silent and grave and avoiding unnecessary talk, considering whether one is the body or the soul,
19. Distributing food equally to all living entities (both men and animals),
20. Seeing every soul (especially in the human form) as a part of the ParaBrahm,
21.Hearing about the activities and instructions given by the ParaBrahm (who is the shelter of the saintly persons),
22. Chanting about these activities and
instructions,
23. Always remembering these activities and
24. Instructions,
25. Trying to render service,
26. Performing worship,
27. Offering obeisances,
28. Becoming a servant,
29. Becoming a friend, and
30. Surrendering one’s whole self.

O King Yudhisthira, these thirty qualifications must be acquired in the human form of life. Simply by acquiring these qualifications, one can satisfy the ParaBrahm.




Aprire / Come

2021-09-05 21:24:31 Aprire / Come

2021-09-05 12:07:54 Legends of Thiruchendur: The Temple That Didn’t Bow to European Colonialists or Tsunamis

Situated on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, the ancient temple of Thiruchendur is one of the six prime shrines in India where the Hindu god of war Murugan or Kartikeya is revered as the principal deity.

Amongst the largest temple complexes in South India, it has a lofty entrance tower measuring up to 140 feet!

The 2000-year-old Murugan temple is also amidst one of the few religious sites in the country to have been accredited with ISO certification and finds references in ancient texts like Purananuru, Silappadikaram, Tirumurugatrupadai, Adi Sankarar Sri Subramanya Bhujangam, Kanda Puranam, Tiruppukazh, etc.

The present temple rests at the site believed to have been chosen by Murugan to worship his father, Lord Shiva, following the intense battle of Surasamharam.

Even the manner in which the sanctum sanctorum’s residing deity has been modelled lays testimony to this myth with the idol chiselled in a worshipping posture. Like most ancient structures in India that come along with a string of seemingly unbelievable tales and miracles, the Thiruchendur temple too has its share of implausible events that make it a legend.

One such story goes back all the way to the time when European conquests of Asian countries were in vogue. Ancient India was touted as a golden bird with its widespread trade network reaching as far as Egypt and Greece.

Hence most conquests were flagged off with the sole intention of accumulating as much wealth as they could plunder upon.

So when an entourage of Dutch mercenaries stumbled upon the temple in Thiruchendur in 17th century AD, they looted everything that they could lay their thieving hands upon, even the panchaloha (five-metal alloy) idol of Murugan, which they’d foolishly assumed of being entirely made of gold.

With huge caches of looted treasures, the soldiers soon embarked on their ships to set sail for their homeland.

But little did the soldiers know that a greater conspiracy was in the making that would not let them cross the Indian Ocean.

Having crossed only a few nautical miles from the shore, the ship fell prey to a storm so daunting that the sailors began to believe that it was the wrath of the local god from the temple they had looted, which must have induced the thunderstorm. Petrified out of their minds, they decide to heave the idol into the ocean.

According to the tale, the ominous demeanour that the ocean and skies had embodied only a second ago mysteriously vanished the moment the statue touched the waters, much to the soldiers’ astonishment. As the shaken soldiers restarted their journey, the idol sank and rested somewhere into the depths of the ocean.

The story doesn’t end here. Apparently, one of the priests who performed the sacerdotal duties in the shrine had a dream in which Murugan urged the man to bring back the idol from the clutches of the ocean.

Upon seeing the devotee’s struggle with the request of finding an idol that could be anywhere in the ocean, Murugan explained that few miles from the coast, he would find a lemon floating in the waters and if he swam deeper, he would find the idol.

As per the fantastic story, the priest, accompanied by a group of fishermen, did find a lemon floating in the ocean and as Murugan had proclaimed in the man’s dream, the statue was found resting at the very location in the ocean bed.

It is the same legendary idol that now rests peacefully in the temple chambers and welcomes thousands of pilgrims and worshippers year after year.

The Thiruchendur temple once again scripted its name in the annals of history for guarding devotees against the onslaught of the lethal Tsunami waves that quite literally washed away the shores of the Indian subcontinent in 2004.

While many coastal towns in Tamil Nadu didn’t stand even a chance in withstanding the wrath of the sea, the entire temple complex – situated just 50 metres from the coast – was remarkably left untouched and every person within the sanctum sanctorum lived to tell the tale. Aprire / Come