CROSSING THE RIVER VAITHARANI

What happens after death?

Hindus believe that they will have to cross a river called Vaitharani, after death.

Vaitarna or Vaitharani river, as mentioned in the Garuda Purana and various other Hindu religious texts, lies between the earth and the infernal Naraka, the realm of Yama, the Hindu god of death and is believed to purify one’s sins.

 Furthermore, while the righteous see it filled with nectar-like water, the sinful see it filled with blood. Sinful souls are supposed to cross this river after death. According to the Garuda Purana, this river falls on the path leading to the Southern Gate of the city of Yama. It is also mentioned that only sinful souls come via the southern gate.

However, other texts like the Harihareshwara Mahatmya in the Skanda Purana mention a physical river as well, that joins in the eastern ocean; he who bathes in it is supposed to forever be free from the torment of Yama. It first appears in the TirthaYatra Parva (Pilgrimage Episode) of the Mahabharat, where it is mentioned to be rising from the Vindhyas and falling into the Bay of Bengal after passing through Orissa as the present Baitarani River. 

Apart from that, it appears in Matsya Purana, and Vamana Purana. Finally, it is the Padma Purana which reveals the etymology of Vaitarani in Vaitarani Mahatmya, where it is defined as Vai (truly) tarini (saving) and it was brought on to the earth from Pathala, due to the penance of Parashurama resulting in a boon from Shiva.

It is equivalent to the Styx river in Greek mythology and is associated with the Vaitarani Vrata, observed on the eleventh day of the dark phase of the moon i.e., Krishna Paksha of Maghashirsha in the Hindu calendar, wherein a cow is worshipped and donated, which is believed to take one across the dreaded river as mentioned in the Garuda Purana. (verses 77-82).

When seen, the river inspires misery. It is a hundred yojanas in width and does not contain water. Instead, it is a river full of blood and pus, with a bank made of bone. For the sinful, it is impossible to cross the river. They are obstructed by hairy moss, crocodiles, flesh-eating birds, and a great many insects. When a sinner comes near the river, in an attempt to cross, it seethes and becomes overspread with smoke and flame. It is said that the sinful are hungry and thirsty, and so they drink, to fill their emptiness. For those that fall into Vaitarna, there is no rescue. The whirlpools take the fall into a lower region. For a moment the sinner stays until they rise to be washed again.

The hell surrounded by Vaitharani

The river was created for the sinful. It is nigh-impossible to cross, and the far bank cannot be seen.

There are a few ways to cross this river. It is important to note that only those souls who have sinned have to cross this river. The souls with good deeds or good karma do not travel on the path through which the Vaitarna River flows.

• A sinner who has done certain meritorious deeds can get a boat to cross the river after travelling on the terrible way of Yama for some time. These deeds include donating a cow, food, wealth or any sacrifice etc.
• It is said that even though a person is a sinner if he is following a real spiritual guru, the sinner can cross the river holding his Guru’s hand.
• If the sinner cannot cross using the above two methods, he has to wait many years till it is decided that he will cross or the servants of Yama drag him through the river.
• The descendants of the sinful soul can help him cross the river by chanting the name “Shree Gurudeva Datta”. This is the chant for the Hindu god Dattatreya.

After successfully crossing this river, the sinners reach the terrifying Southern Gate of the City of Yama. In this city, the sinners along with the souls with good deeds are judged by the Lord of Justice (Yama or Yamaraja). The sinners are taken to hell and the better souls are taken to heaven.

If a soul cannot cross the Vaitharna River then he cannot be taken to hell. He is stuck at its shore. Thus this prevents him from getting reborn on earth as a human or animal. These souls are considered ghosts who have not passed on and are stuck.

SIX TYPES OF PRANAMAM

It Shows Submissiveness

In a practically empty St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope began the liturgy of the Lord’s Passion lying prostrate on the floor.

This gesture holds deep penitential meaning. The Good Friday liturgy is one of the most somber, in which contemplation of the Cross is a fundamental element.

As in the recent Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday celebrations, the pope was accompanied only by a small group of his collaborators.

Prostration is the placement of the body in a reverentially or submissively prone position as a gesture. Typically prostration is distinguished from the lesser acts of bowing or kneeling by involving a part of the body above the knee touching the ground, especially the hands.

Major world religions employ prostration as an act of submissiveness or worship to a supreme being or other worshiped entity (i.e. God), as in the sajdah of the Islamic prayer, salat. In various cultures and traditions, prostrations are similarly used to show respect to rulers, civil authorities and social elders or superiors, as in the Chinese kowtow or Ancient Persian proskynesis. The act has often traditionally been an important part of religious, civil and traditional rituals and ceremonies, and remains in use in many cultures.

In Buddhism, prostrations are commonly used and the various stages of the physical movement are traditionally counted in threes and related to the Triple Gem, consisting of:

• the Awakened One (Sanskrit/Pali: Buddha) (in this meaning, to own potential)
• his teaching (Sanskrit: Dharma; Pali: Dhamma)
• his community (Sangha) of noble disciples (ariya-savaka).

In addition, different schools within Buddhism use prostrations in various ways, such as the Tibetan tantric preliminary practice of a 100,000 prostrations as a means of overcoming pride. Tibetan pilgrims often progress by prostrating themselves fully at each step, then moving forward as they get up, in such a way that they have lain on their face on each part of their route. Each three paces involves a full prostration; the number three is taken to refer to the Triple Gem. This is often done round a stupa, and in an extremely arduous pilgrimage, Mount Kailash is circumnavigated entirely by this method, which takes about four weeks to complete the 52 kilometre route. It is also not unusual to see pilgrims prostrating all the way from their home to Lhasa, sometimes a distance of over 2000 km, the process taking up to two years to complete.

Praṇāma  is a form of respectful or reverential salutation (or reverential bowing) before something, or another person – usually grandparents, parents, elders or teachers or someone deeply respected such as a deity. It is found in Indian culture and Hindu traditions.  

Pranama is derived from pra (Sanskrit: प्र) and ānama (Sanskrit: आनम); pra as prefix means “forward, in front, before, very, or very much”, while ānama means “bending or stretching”.Combined pranama means “bending, bowing in front” or “bending much” or “prostration”. In cultural terms, it means “respectful salutation” or “reverential bowing” before another, usually elders or teachers or someone deeply respected such as a deity.  

There are six types of Pranama.

• Ashtanga (Sanskrit: अष्टाङ्ग, lit. eight parts) – Uras (Chest), Shiras (Head), Drishti (Eyes), Manas (Attention), Vachana (Speech), Pada (Feet), Kara (Hand), Jahnu (Knee).
• Shashthanga (Sanskrit: षष्ठाङ्ग, lit. six parts) – touching the ground with toes, knees, hands, chin, nose and temple.
• Panchanga (Sanskrit: पञ्चाङ्ग, lit. five parts) – touching the ground with knees, chest, chin, temple and forehead.
• Dandavat (Sanskrit: दण्डवत्, lit. stick) – bowing forehead down and touching the ground.
• Namaskara (Sanskrit: नमस्कार, lit. adoration) – folded hands touching the forehead. This is another more common form of salutation and greeting expressed between people.
• Abhinandana (Sanskrit: अभिनन्दन, lit. congratulations) – bending forward with folded hands touching the chest.

LIFE AFTER DEATH IN HINDUISM

The Soul Has No Death

Hindus believe that humans are in a cycle of death and rebirth . When a person dies, the atman is reborn in a different body.

Some believe rebirth happens directly at death, others believe that an atman may exist in other realms. Hindus believe that an atman may enter swarga or naraka for a period before rebirth.

Hindus believe in karma or ‘intentional action’. Many believe good or bad actions in life leading to positive or negative merit, determines the atman’s rebirth.

 Hindus believe that humans may be reborn in animal form, and that rebirth from human to animal form only occurs if an atman has repeatedly failed to learn lessons in human form.

Manikarnika Ghat

Living life according to teachings in the scriptures will eventually lead to moksha. Some Hindu scriptures describe moksha as the atman becoming absorbed with Brahman, from where each atman is believed to originate. Other Hindu scriptures describe moksha as living in the realm of a personal God. The Maitri Upanishad states:

Even as water becomes one with water, fire with fire, and air with air, so the atman becomes one with the Infinite Atman (Brahman) and thus attains final freedom.

Maitri Upanishad 6.24

Ancient Hindu scriptures refer to the atman being reborn many times. The Bhagavad Gita states:

वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही।।2.22।।  

As a person casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so does the atman cast off worn out bodies and enter new ones.

Bhagavad Gita 2:22

The Bhagavad Gita also explains that death is something that we can neither stop nor grieve about:

जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च।
तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि।।2.27।।

For certain is the death of all that comes to birth, certain is the birth of all that dies. So in a matter that no one can prevent do not grieve.

Bhagavad Gita 2:27

Hindus believe that good merit is achieved by following your dharma. The Bhagavad Gita details four different ways that moksha can be achieved:

karma yoga
bhakti yoga
jnana yoga
Dhyana yoga

What happens after moksha?

There are two main beliefs about what happens after moksha:

Advaita Hindus believe that the atman is absorbed into Brahman. This is because the atman and Brahman are the same.
Other Hindus believe that the atman and Brahman are different and that after moksha they remain separate. They believe that the atman will be in the presence of Brahman, as a personal God, but will remain unique and individual.

MAHABHARATA BEGAN ON AKSHAYA TRITIYA

Shed Gold,Buy Books

Akshaya Tritiya falls on April 26 .

Typical demand for gold during Akshaya Tritiya in India range from 20-25 tonnes, representing about 4 per cent of the country’s total annual consumption. That may not happen this year as sales may be considerably impacted.And its price is high.

The day has nothing to do with gold.It is a day for new beginnings,because, it was on this day Vyasa began dictating Mahabharata to Ganesha. This cultural tradition has been usurped by the yellow metal in recent times.

In Jainism, it commemorates the first Tirthankara’s (Rishabhdev) ending his one-year asceticism by consuming sugarcane juice poured into his cupped hands. Some Jains refer to the festival as Varshi Tapa. Fasting and ascetic austerities are marked by Jains, particularly at pilgrimage sites such as Palitana (Gujarat).

The day is considered auspicious by Hindus and Jains in many regions of India for new ventures, marriages, expensive investments such as in gold or other property, and any new beginnings. 

It is also a day of remembrance for the loved ones who have died. The day is regionally significant for women, married or unmarried, who pray for the well being of the men in their lives or the one they may in future get engaged to. After prayers, they distribute germinating gram (sprouts), fresh fruits and Indian sweets.If the Akshaya Tritiya falls on a Monday (Rohini), the festival is believed to be even more auspicious.

Fasting, charity and helping others on this day is another festive practice.

A one anna coin issued by the British-Indian government depicting 

Lord Rishabhdev

 accepting sugarcane juice from King Shreyans

Akshaya Tritiya is believed in Hinduism to be the birthday of Parasurama who is the sixth incarnation of Vishnu, and he is revered in Vaishnava temples. Those who observe it in the honor of Parasurama sometimes refer to the festival as Parasurama Jayanti. Alternatively, some focus their reverence to Vāsudeva avatar of Vishnu.

According to one legend, Ved Vyasa began reciting the Hindu epic Mahabharata to Ganesha on Akshayya Tritiya. Another legend states that river Ganges descended to earth on this day.

Another significant event that is believed to have occurred on this day is that Sudama visited his childhood friend, Lord Krishna in Dwarka and received unlimited wealth. Also, it is believed that Kubera received his wealth and position as the ‘Lord of Wealth’ on this auspicious day. And it was on this day that Pandavas received the gift of ‘Akshaya Patra’ from Sun-God. 

Kerala has revived the traditition of reciting Ramayana in Karkadakam.Likewise,it is better to read Mahabharata on Akshaya Tritiya day.

On this day people who observe the year-long alternative day fasting known as Varshi-tap finish their Tapasya by doing parana by drinking sugarcane juice.

In Odisha, it is the day when Hindus begin their annual construction of chariots for the Puri Rath Yatra festivities.

CREMATION IS PURIFICATION BY FIRE

Burn him not up, nor quite consume him, Agni: let not his body or his skin be scattered,
O all possessing Fire, when thou hast matured him, then send him on his way unto the Fathers.
When thou hast made him ready, all possessing Fire, then do thou give him over to the Fathers,
When he attains unto the life that waits him, he shall become subject to the will of gods.
The Sun receive thine eye, the Wind thy Prana (life-principle, breathe); go, as thy merit is, to earth or heaven.
Go, if it be thy lot, unto the waters; go, make thine home in plants with all thy members.

— Rigveda 10.16

In the Western world,we see countless bodies being buried in coffins. And it requires a lot of space.In India,for centuries, Hindus have shown the way of cremation-human beings are formed of five basic elements,pancha bhutha,and finally they return gto those elements, by cremation.

‘What is the greatest wonder?’ Lord Yama asks in the Mahabharata. Yudhisthira replies, ‘Day after day countless people die. Yet the living wish to live forever.’

Death has been an enigma from time immemorial. The human mind refuses to accept its utter finality. All civilizations and religions believe that somehow, the ‘individual’ keeps living, goes somewhere else, or will eventually ‘rise’ and reach heaven or hell. Hindus believe both in ‘life’ after death and in reincarnation.  

For a Hindu the value of the next world is higher than that of the present one. The Baudhayana Pitrmedha-Sutras say, ‘It is well-known that through the Samskaras after the birth one conquers this earth; through the Samskaras after the death the heaven”. Therefore the ritualists are very anxious to have the funerals performed with meticulous care.  

Hindus believe in the soul being indestructible; and that death symbolises end of the existence of a person’s physical being, but the start of a new journey for the soul. This soul then reincarnates in some other life form, and passes through the same cycle of taking birth, growing and eventually meeting death- only to begin the cycle afresh. Cremation of a person’s dead body is therefore, supposed to rid the departed soul of any attachments to the body it previously resided in. 

Fire is considered holy in Hinduism. It burns away everything until nothing remains. On the other hand, burying is a very slow process of dissolving the five elements inside the body back into the five elements of the cosmos. By cremating the body, the physical remnants of the ghost are entirely wiped out from the face of earth, so that the ghost may continue with its journey forward after the 11 days.

Agni, consume not this body to cinders neither give it pain nor scatter about its skin or limbs. When the body is fairly burnt, convey the spirit to the ancestors. May the five elements be merged with their basic forms. – Vedic hymn to Agni. Since Agni, the god of fire is seen as a link between the gross and subtle, matter and spirit, the seen and unseen, the known and unknown and a messenger between men and gods, dead bodies were disposed by cremation. 

Thus, the dead body is an offering to Agni with an earnest prayer to purify and lead the individual to a better and brighter life. Another reason for preferring cremation is to produce a feeling of detachment in the freshly disembodied subtle body and to encourage it to pass on, rather than hover around loved ones. Moreover, Hindus, out of respect for the dead, did not want to leave the bodies around to be consumed by vultures and other animals.

Hindus cremate their dead, believing that the burning of a dead body signifies the release of the spirit and that the flames represent Brahma, the creator. In addition, burial sites utilize large areas of arable land. Earlier, digging a grave was laborious and required special implements compared to cremation which was easier, quicker and cheaper because everyone who came would bring along some wood for the fire. 

 The exceptions to cremation are saints, holy men, pregnant women and children. Since saints are supposed to have attained a high degree of detachment from the body, they do not need to be cremated – they are buried in the lotus position. For children too, the attachment to the body is much less. Also, according to custom, an offspring is required to light the funeral pyre, and both categories would normally not have any.

Children are not grown so their funeral must differ from that of the adult. Their tender body should be spared the fierce flames; their innocent life neither inflicts so much impurity nor does it require so much purification. The next special rite is that of a Garbhini or a pregnant woman who dies in her pregnancy. Baudhayana says that she should be carried to the cremation ground but after saving the child. In case, the child could not be saved, she should be floated or buried. 

Vajpayee cremated

In ancient Egypt, the physical body was preserved through an elaborate process of mummification, as it was believed that, without a home, the soul wandered around to be lost forever. Similarly, Chinese emperors were buried with replicas of objects called grave goods. Again the belief was that on death, the person enters an ‘after life.’ All the daily comforts of their past life such as servants, attendants, objects, pets, wives, guardians, concubines, food and drink were buried along with the emperor.

Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, both cremation and burial were practiced. Christianity and Judaism discourage cremation and Islam prohibits it. Lately, more Christians are becoming open to the idea of cremation, but the Eastern Orthodox churches still forbid it. Many Liberal and Reform Jews support cremation as an option. The Roman Catholic Church’s discouragement of cremation stems from the idea that the body is holy and should be treated with honour and respect. Moreover cremation constituted a denial of the resurrection of the body. 

Burial as opposed to cremation, apparently, seems to be a ‘neater’ and ‘nicer’ way of disposal. However, since the whole dreadful process of gradual decomposition and decay of the body is not seen, cremation is, in actual fact, a ‘kinder’ method. Moreover, it is definitely preferable for environmental reasons. Since a traditional burial consumes nearly one tree, Hindus are enjoined to plant three trees, on special occasions, during their life span.

According to Islamic belief, Allah will resurrect all dead from the graves on judgment day and send them to heaven. If they cremate the body then there will be no body to resurrect. They consider body belongs to god and burning it is disrespectful. Geographical conditions may also be responsible for this difference in opinion as Islam is originated in region (desert) where cremating cannot be followed because of lack wood (main requirement of creating fire)! 

Another pandemic has proved again that the Hindu practice of cremation is rooted in the wisdom of a robust culture. 

QUARANTINE IN THE VEDAS

Body is the Best Temple

A shloka in Charaka Samhita scripted around 5000 years back squarely matches with the four corners of the Lockdown and physical distancing.

पश्यसीति गंदार्थस्य किम औषधे निषे वमे,
पश्य अस्ति गंदार्थस्य किम औषधे निषे वमे।

“Early to rise and early to bed makes a man healthy wealthy and wise”.

It means that if a person follows some restrictions like waking up early, doing yoga, eating herbal nutritious food and fruits, taking bath maintaining personal hygiene etc. going early to bed, then there is no need of any medicine.The other part is the shloka very interesting which says that if person is not taking any precautions then again, the medicine is not going to play any role.

The essence of this Shloka is that in Ayurveda the hygiene, waking up early in the morning, doing yoga and pranayama, taking purely vegetarian food, fresh nutritious fruits, maintaining personal hygiene by taking bath daily for the inner cleanliness and performing havan for outer atmosphere, is the better way to keep healthy, rather than waiting for the virus to infect us.

our ancient seers has always emphasised that how to clean and take care of our body. Veda Says:

येहा आत्मानी तिष्ठति, यस्य कश्याराम शरिरम, यस्य आत्मा शरिरम।

A clean and hygienic body contains a pious Atma inside.

Sri Shankracharya says:  

देहो देवालय प्रोक्तो दही देवों निरंज्जन:।
अर्चित: सर्वभावेन स्वानुभूत्या विराजते।।
(Ref सदाचरहा 13)

A body is said to be the best temple in this universe, the owner of the body is the Lord, so if lord resides inside the body then the cleanliness, purity and hygiene of the body is to ne maintained at the highest level.

Whereas Ayurveda or Knowledge of life has two main goals, one is examination of health with hygiene and second the eradication of any Vikara(Disorder) of the body. Even statutory body of health WHO (World Health Organisation) states that health is a state of complete Physical, Mental, Spiritual and Social wellbeing and not merely absence of disease or infirmity. In the present scenario when social distancing, cleanliness, fitness and enhancing one’s immunity is the need of the hour then Indian mythology and scriptures provide a path to get rid of this Virus.

The very idea of Vedic texts is “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. The vedic text believes in Tri(three) Shuddhi(Cleanliness): 
One is कायिका or Physical
Second is वाचिका or Verbal and
Thirdly मानसिका or Cleanliness of the mental level for all round growth and development where the body is without any disease. 

By remaining confined to one’s home, spending valuable time with family, maintaining social distancing, inculcating your passion, doing lot of yoga, pranayama and having kadha (Ayurvedic drink including herbs and spices) etc. one can enhance his immunity. This is the key to success in this Lockdown period. This shloka of Mahabharta again justifies that there is no iota of doubt that everything shall be normal in the course of time.

हते द्रोणा हते भिष्मे कर्णे च विनिपातिते ।
आशा बलवती राजञ्शल्यो जेष्यति पाण्डवान्।।

Drona, Bhishma, Karna have been killed, but still there is a ray of hope in Shalya, perhaps he conquers upon pandavas.

Quarantine and self-isolation became the gateway to work in Science, Arts and Literature as history depicts that Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, John Milton and Lord Byron accomplished by editing than formidable work while they were in Isolation.Even the Marxist Milovan Djilas translated The Paradise Lost,while in Yugoslavia jail. Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote “Geeta Rahasya” while he had been in Burma Jail and Poet Makhan Lal Chaturvedi also wrote his best Poems while he was in Jail.

Prison literature is a fully formed genre. While locked up many people find the reflexive outlet of writing a way to pass the monotony. Others find that they feel they must write to express some wrong, either against themselves or others. While imprisonment has been the cause of great works, such as The Gulag Archipelago of Solzhenitsyn, there are works actually composed within prisons or jails .Ii is a different story.

LUMBINI AND BUDDHA"S NATIVITY

550 BC Shrine Found in Excavation

Today is Buddha Purnima.It marks the birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

It was on this day that Gautam Buddha was born in 623 BC. It is believed that this was also the day he attained enlightenment. 

It is believed that when Gautama was 29 years old, he ventured outside the comforts of his luxurious palace and witnessed the sufferings of the people for the first time. The event had a profound impact on him and he renounced his palace life in search of truth. Six years later, he became enlightened. 

In 2013, archaeologists uncovered evidence of the oldest Buddhist shrine dating to around 550 BC. An international archaeology team dug beneath existing brick structures at the Lumbini pilgrimage centre and discovered older wooden structures. It is believed that Lumbini is the place where the Buddha’s mother, Maya Devi, grasped a tree and gave birth to the historical figure. 

Pioneering excavations within the Sacred Garden of Lumbini, Nepal, a UNESCO World Heritage site long identified as the birthplace of the Buddha, uncovered the remains of a previously unknown timber structure under a series of brick temples. Laid out on the same design as those above it, the timber structure contains an open space in the center that links to the nativity story of the Buddha himself.

Archaeologists Robin Coningham (left) and Kosh Prasad Acharya direct excavations within the Maya Devi Temple

“Very little is known about the life of the Buddha, except through textual sources and oral tradition,” said archaeologist Professor Robin Coningham of Durham University, U.K., who co-led the investigation. Some scholars, he said, have maintained that the Buddha was born in the third century B.C. “We thought ‘why not go back to archaeology to try to answer some of the questions about his birth, “Coningham said. “Now, for the first time, we have an archaeological sequence at Lumbini that shows a building there as early as the sixth century B.C.” 

The archaeological investigation was funded by the Government of Japan in partnership with the Government of Nepal under a UNESCO project aimed at strengthening the conservation and management of Lumbini The research was also supported by Durham and Stirling Universities in the UK and the National Geographic Society’s Global Exploration Fund. 

Lumbini is one of the key sites associated with the life of the Buddha; others are Bodh Gaya, where he became a Buddha or enlightened one; Sarnath, where he first preached; and Kusinagara, where he passed away. At his passing at the age of 80, the Buddha is recorded as having recommended that all Buddhists visit “Lumbini.” The shrine was still popular in the middle of the first millennium A.D. and was recorded by Chinese pilgrims as having a shrine beside a tree.

                                    Pilgrims meditate at the wall below the nativity scene within the Maya Devi Temple

The temple at Lumbini remains a living shrine; the archaeologists worked alongside meditating monks, nuns and pilgrims. 

Writing in the international journal Antiquity, Professor Robin Coningham, who led the international team along with Kosh Prasad Acharya – one of Nepal’s top archeologists, state: “The sequence (of archaeological remains) at Lumbini is a microcosm for the development of Buddhism from a localized cult to a global religion.” 

Lost and overgrown in the jungles of Nepal in the Medieval period, ancient Lumbini was rediscovered in 1896 and identified as the birthplace of the Buddha on account of the presence of a third-century B.C. sandstone pillar. The pillar bears an inscription documenting a visit by Emperor Asoka to the site of the Buddha’s birth as well as the site’s name — Lumbini. 

Despite the rediscovery of the key Buddhist sites, their earliest levels were buried deep or destroyed by later construction, leaving evidence of the very earliest stages of Buddhism inaccessible to archaeological investigation, until now. 

Half a billion people around the world are Buddhists, and by 2020, some 22 million Buddhist pilgrims are expected in South Asia; many hundreds of thousands make a pilgrimage to Lumbini each year. 

While people are advised to remain indoors during the COVID-19 lockdown, they can read and send the following quotes of Buddha to their near and dear ones on Buddha Purnima. 

It is better to conquer yourself than to win thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you. 

As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life. 

Every human being is the author of his own health or disease. 

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom. 

Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care. 

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace. 

Set your heart on doing good. Do it over and over again and you will be filled with joy. 

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. 

If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path. 

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become. 

To understand everything is to forgive everything. 

In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?

GURUVAYUR INCOME CAN'T BE LOOTED

Make it Secular By Looting Churches and Mosques

Guruvayur is a temple which has an income of Rs 250 Crore.It has a fixed deposits worth Rs 1350 Crore.25,000 devotees come to darshan every day.Income from bhandaram,offerings,guest houses and elephants come to Rs 120 Cr,while it gets Rs 100 Cr from the fixed deposits.

Government had acquired 14,000 acres of temple land-but the annuity for it is a meagre Rs 13 lakhs.Hence it has been put on record that the temple income can be spent on;y for temple purposes.

But the government sponsored temple managing committee has given Rs 5 cr each to the government during the flood and now for covid spending.It is definitely illegal-the government is giving an annuity as compensation to a victim.

Exploiting such a victim is unethical.

It is illegal and unethical for more reasons: 

1.The Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple has become a cash cow for pseudo secular governments ever since it was taken over by the Kerala state government in 1971.

2. In 1977 when the Kerala state government tried to take money from the temple for its housing scheme, the Kerala High Court prevented the govt from taking temple money and struck down many sections the act as it was found to be in violation of Article 26 of the constitution. 

3. However in 1978, the Kerala State Government once again retained the administration of the temple by passing a new act called Guruvayur Devaswom Act of 1978.

4. Since then, time and again various governments have called upon the devaswom board to contribute towards development projects in the temple town – something which is never demanded from any non Hindu place of pilgrimage.

5. During the floods in 2018, the Guruvayur Devaswom was forced by its highly political administration committee to transfer 5 Cr to CM fund. Same has been repeated now for Corona relief. 

6. The Guruvayur Devaswom Act of 1978 has no provision for such transfer of funds. But such blatant illegal loot of temple wealth seems to be a continuing process.

7. Such an illegal act is also justified by many because the state government pays 13 lakh rupees per annum as rent compensation for 14,000 acres of land taken over by the it from the temple.

8. As compensation for  14000 acres of land, the state government should be paying 25-30 crores to the temple every year, assuming that none of these lands are commercial/residential.

9. In reality the just compensation for these lands may run into several 100 crores since land use pattern is largely non-agricultural.

10. On the whole, while the government is not paying the temple it’s due,it is looting directly from the temple.

11. In the current situation, the Travancore Devaswom Board has been begging the government to provide financial assistance for the administration of thousand plus temples falling under its purview.

12. Many artists associated with temples are suffering due to this lockdown – being denied their source of livelihood. Instead of supporting these traditional temple servants and artists, the party in power is keen on looting the Guruvayur temple funds directly and indirectly.

13. Hindu interests are not even given cursory attention by the current administrators of Guruvayur Devaswom Board.

14. The cash in Guruvayur is not pseudo secular.It will become secular only if  the government takes money from churches like Edathva, Manarkad, Parumala, Malaytoor and mosques like Kodungallur Cheraman Masjid, Mambram Puthan Palli, Kanjiramattam and Ponnani.

15. If Guruvayur is allowed to be looted no doubt Sree Padmanabha swamy Temple assets will get looted next.

ISLAM COMES TO INDIA 18/JAYAPALA IMMOLATES HIMSELF

Islam Comes to India 18

Maharaja Jayapala was the ruler of the Hindu Shahi dynasty in India from 964 to 1001 CE.
His kingdom stretched from Laghman to Kashmir and Sirhind to Multan, with Peshawar being in the center.He was the son of Maharaja Hutpal and the father of Maharaja Anandapala. Epithets from the Bari Kot inscriptions record his full title as “Parama Bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Sri Jayapaladeva”. 

Jayapala is known successfully defending his kingdom against the Ghaznavids in the modern-day eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan region his entire life, until finally being defeated in Peshawar due to a snowstorm. Jayapala saw a danger in the consolidation of the Ghaznavids and invaded their capital city of Ghazni both in the reign of Sebuktigin and in that of his son Mahmud, which initiated the Muslim Ghaznavid and Hindu Shahi struggles. Sebuk Tigin, however, was defeated, and he was forced to pay an indemnity to Jayapala. Jayapala stopped receiving tribute and took to the battlefield once more. Jayapala, however, lost control of the entire region between the Kabul Valley and Khyber Pass. 

Before his struggle began Jayapala had raised a small army of Punjabis. When Jayapala went to the Punjab region, his army had 10,000 horsemen and an smaller host of foot soldiers.

 

According to Ferishta:
“The two armies having met on the confines of Lumghan, the Maharaja ascended a hill to view the forces of Sabuktigin, which appeared in extent like the boundless ocean, and in numbers like the ants or the locusts of the wilderness. However, Jayapala considered himself as a wolf about to attack a flock of sheep: calling, therefore, his chiefs together, he encouraged them to glory, and issued to each his commands. His soldiers, though few in number, were divided into squadrons of five hundred men each, which were directed to attack successively, one particular point of the Mooslim line, so that it might continually have to encounter fresh troops.“ 

However, the army was hopeless in battle against the eastern forces, particularly against the Punjabis.In the year 1001, soon after Sultan Mahmud came to power and was occupied with the Qarakhanids north of the Hindu Kush, Jayapala attacked Ghazni once more and upon suffered his first defeat by the powerful numerous Ghaznavid forces, near present-day Peshawar. After the Battle of Peshawar, the Maharaja planned in his last day’s further attacks.
Battle of Peshawar, was fought on 27 November 1001 between Mahmud of Ghazni and the army of Jayapala, near Peshawar. Jayapala was defeated and captured, and as a result of the humiliation of the defeat, he later immolated himself in a funeral pyre. This is the first of many major battles in the expansion of the Ghaznavid Empire into the Indian subcontinent by Mahmud of Ghazni .

Last stand of Jayapala

Alp Tigin’s successor Sebuk Tigin started to vigorously expand his domain, first capturing Kandahar, then began a struggle with the Hindu Shahi kingdom. Jayapala attacked Sebuk Tigin, but was defeated, then again later when his army of a reported size of over 100,000 was beaten.Lamghan was plundered, and Kabul and Jalalabad were annexed by the Ghaznavids. In 997, Mahmud ascended the throne at Ghazni, and vowed to invade India every year until the northern lands were his. In 1001 he arrived at Peshawar with a select group of 15,000 cavalry, and a large corps of ghazis and Afghans. 

An account of the battle between the invading Turkic Ghaznavids and the Shahi kingdom was given by Al-Utbi in Tarikh Yamini.According to Al-Utbi, Mahmud pitched his tent outside the city upon reaching Peshawar. Jayapala avoided action for some time waiting for reinforcements, and Mahmud then took the decision to attack with swords, arrows, and spears. Jayapala moved his cavalry and elephants to engage his opponent, but his army was decisively defeated. 

Jayapala, along with members of his family were captured, and valuable personal adornments were taken off the prisoners, including a necklace of great value from Jayapala. The figures of Hindu dead ranged from 5,000 to 15,000,and five hundred thousands were said to have been taken captive. Judging from the personal adornments taken off captured Hindus, Jayapala’s army was not prepared for battle and thousands of children were taken captive as well.
Jayapala was bound and paraded, and a large ransom was paid for the release of members of his family. Jayapala felt the defeat to be a great humiliation, and later he built himself a funeral pyre, lit it, and threw himself into the fire.
Mahmud later conquered the upper Indus region, and then in 1009, defeated Jayapala’s son Anandapala in a battle at Chach. The battle is known as the battle of Waihind. He then captured Lahore and Multan, giving him control of the Punjab region.
Anandapala who ascended his father Jayapala’s throne at Lahore (in about March/April AD 1002) already proved an able warrior and general in leading many battles prior to his ascension. According to ‘Adáb al-Harb’ (pp. 307–10) in about AD 990, it is written,

“the arrogant but ambitious Raja of Lahore, having put his father in confinement, marched on the country of Jayapála with the intention of conquering the districts of Nandana, Jailum (Jehlum) and Tákeshar“ 

(in an attempt to take advantage of Jayapala’s concentrated effort with defence against the armies of Ghazni). “

Remains of Nandana Fort

Anandapala defeated Bharat of Lahore and took him prisoner in the battle of Takeshar and marched on Lahore and captured the city and established his kingdom from there.
However, during his reign as emperor many losses were inflicted on his kingdom by the Ghaznavids. During the battle of Chach between Mahmud and Anandapala, it is stated that “a body of 30,000 Gakhars fought alongside as soldiers for the Shahi Emperor and incurred huge losses for the Ghaznavids”. However, despite the heavy losses of the enemy, he lost the battle and suffered much financial and territorial loss.

This was Anandapala’s last stand against Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. He eventually signed a treaty with the Ghaznavid Empire in AD 1010 and shortly a year later died a peaceful death. R.C Majumdar (D.V. Potdar Commemoration Volume, Poona 1950, p. 351) compared him to ancient “King Porus, who bravely opposed Alexander but later submitted and helped in subduing other Indian rulers”. And Tahqíq Má li’l-Hind (p. 351) finally revered him in his legacy as “noble and courageous”. Nandna was a fort built at strategic location on a hilly range on the eastern flanks of the Salt Range in Punjab Pakistan. Its ruins, including those of a town and a temple, are present. It was ruled by the Hindu Shahi kings until, in the early 11th century, Mahmud of Ghazni expelled them from Nandana. Anandapala, the son of Jayapala of the Hindu Shahi dynasty, had erected the Shiva temple in Nandana.

ISLAM COMES TO INDIA:GHAZNI'S FATHER DEFEATS JAYAPALA

Islam Comes to India 17

Mahmud of Ghazni’s father,Abu Mansur Sabuktigin ( ca 942 – August 997), was the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 367 A.H/977 A.D to 387 A.H/997A.D. In Turkic the name means beloved prince. Sabuktigin lived as a slave during his youth and later married the daughter of his master Alptigin, the man who seized the region of Ghazna (modern Ghazni Province in Afghanistan) in a political fallout for the throne of the Samanids of Bukhara. Although the latter and Sabuktigin still recognized Samanid authority, and it was not until the reign of Sabuktigin’s son Mahmud that the rulers of Ghazni became independent. 

When his father-in-law Alptigin died, Sabuktigin became the new ruler and expanded the kingdom after defeating Jayapala to cover the territory as far as the Neelum River in Kashmir and the Indus River in what is now Pakistan.

Alp-Tegin bust

Sabuktigin was of Turkic origin born around 942 CE in what is today Barskon, in Kyrgyzstan. The ruler of Barskhan was one of the Qarluqs according to the Persian geographical treatise Hudud al-‘Alam. It is therefore probable that the Ghaznavids had Qarluq ancestry. He was captured by the neighbouring Tukhsis in a tribal war and sold at the Samanid slave market at Chach. He rose from the ranks of Samanid slave guards to come under the patronage of the Chief Hajib Alptigin. 

When Alptigin later rebelled against the Samanid rule, capturing Zabulistan and Ghazna south of the Hindu Kush in modern-day Afghanistan, he raised Sabuktigin to the position of a general and gave his daughter in marriage to him. Subuktigin served Alptigin, and his two successors Ishaq and Balkatigin. 

Alp-Tegin was a Turkic slave commander of the Samanid Empire, who would later become the semi-independent governor of Ghazna from 962 until his death in 963. Before becoming governor of Ghazni, Alp-Tegin was the commander-in-chief (sipahsalar) of the Samanid army in Khorasan. In a political fallout over succession of the Samanids he crossed the Hindu Kush mountains southward and captured Ghazna, located strategically between Kabul and Kandahar in present-day Afghanistan, and thereby establishing his own principality, which, however, was still under Samanid authority. He was succeeded by his son, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim.
Pirai, a slave of Alptigin, succeeded to throne of Ghazni in 972 A.D. His misrule led to resentment among the people who invited Abu Ali Lawik, son of Abu Bakr Lawik, to invade Ghazni. The Kabul Shahis allied with him and the king, most likely Jayapala, sent his son to assist Lawik in the invasion. When the allied forces reached near Charkh on Logar River, they were attacked by Sabuktigin who killed and captured many of them, whilst also capturing ten of their elephants. Piri was expelled from the governorship due to his acts and Sabuktigin became governor in 977 A.D. The accession was endorsed by the Samanid ruler Nuh II.
Sabuktigin enlarged upon Alptigin’s conquests, extending his domain from Ghazna to Balkh in the north, Helmand in the west, and the Indus River in what is today Pakistan. 

Sabuktigin was recognized by the Caliph in Baghdad as governor of his dominions. He died in 997, and was succeeded by his younger son Ismail of Ghazni. Sabuktigin’s older son, Mahmud, rebelled against his younger brother and took over Ghazna as the new emir. 

Ferishta records Sebuktigin’s genealogy as descended from the Sassanid emperors: “Sabuktigin, the son of Jukan, the son of Kuzil-Hukum, the son of Kuzil-Arslan, the son of Firuz, the son of Yezdijird, king of Persia.”Some doubt has been cast on this due the lineage having been reckoned as too short to account for the 320 intervening years.What is known about Sebuktigin is that he was of Turkic origin. 

Sabuktigin grew up in the court circles of Alptigin and was conferred the titles of Amīr al-umara (Chief of the Nobles), and Wakīl-e Mūtlak (Representative), ultimately being made general. He was then heavily involved in the defence of Ghazna’s independence for the next 15 years, until Alptigin’s death in 975. 

Upon Alptigin’s death, both Sabuktigin and Alptigin’s son Abu Ishaq went to Bukhara to mend fences with the Samanids. Mansur I then officially conferred upon Abu Ishaq the governorship of Ghazna and acknowledged Sebuktegin as the heir. Abu Ishaq died soon after in 977 and Sabuktigin succeeded him in the governorship of Ghazna; subsequently marrying Alptigin’s daughter.
In 977 he marched against Toghan, who had opposed his succession. Toghan fled to Bost, so Sebuktigin marched upon it and captured Kandahar and its surrounding area. This prompted the Shahi King Jayapala to launch an attack on Ghazna. Despite the fact that Jayapala amassed about 100,000 troops for the battle, Sebuktigin was victorious. The battle was fought at Laghman (near Kabul) and Jayapala was forced to pay a large tribute. He defaulted upon the payments, imprisoned Sebuktigin’s collectors, and assembled a yet larger army consisting of 100,000 horse and an innumerable host foot, allied with forces from the kingdoms of Delhi, Ajmer, Kalinjar, and Kannauj, which was defeated in battle with Sebuktigin’s Ghaznavids at the banks of the Neelum River in Kashmir. Sebuktegin then annexed the regions of Afghanistan, Peshawar, and all the lands west of the Neelum River. 

In 994 he was involved in aiding Nuh II of the Samanids against internal uprisings and defeated the rebels at Balkh and then at Nishapur, thereby earning for himself the title of Nāsir ud-Dīn (“Hero of the Faith”) and for his son Mahmud the title of Governor of Khorasan and Saif ud-Dawlah (“Sword of the State”).

Sabuktigin

Sabuktigin had increased upon Alptigin’s domains by extending his domain to cover the area south of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and east to the Indus River in what is today Pakistan; he was eventually recognized by the Caliph in Baghdad as governor of his dominions.

After becoming sick during one of his campaigns, Sabuktigin died in August 997 while travelling from Balkh to Ghazni in Afghanistan. The nature of his illness is unknown and the exact location of his death is uncertain. Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani, a 13th-century historian, stated that “Sabuktigin died in the village of (Bermel Madwari, or Madar wa Moi, or Madawri, or Madraiwi, or Barmel Maderwi).” In modern times, Henry George Raverty has also mentioned Termez in his translations of the village name. Firishta, a 16th-century historian, has also mentioned Termez as the place of death of Subuktageen.[Abdul Hai Habibi believes that Sebuktigin’s place of death is Marmal, Mazar-i-Sharif.He was buried in a tomb in Ghazni which can be visited by tourists. He was succeeded by his younger son, Ismail. Sabuktigin is generally regarded as the architect of the Ghaznavid Empire. 

After the death of Sabuktigin, his son Ismail claimed the throne for a temporary period, but he was defeated and captured by Mahmud in 998 at the Battle of Ghazni.

Who was Jayapala?