thought for the day- pg 66- ASHTALAKSHMI STOTRAM - Page 30

Posted: 10 years ago


"Yatra Nari Astu Pujyante, Ramante Tatra Devataa" The Gods reside in places where woman is worshiped --- Manu Smriti

Women had a very significant position in our ancient Indian society. In fact they were superior to men.There were women like Matreyi, Gargi, Lopamudra, Ghosha, and Indranni who were learned souls and have put forth there thought in Upanishads.

"Women are worthy of worship. They are the fate of the household, the lamp of enlightenment for all in the household. They bring solace to the family and are an integral part of Dharmic life. Even heaven is under the control of women. The Gods reside in those households where women are worshipped and in households where women are slighted all efforts at improvement go in vain."Manusmriti 3-56


"The wife should do Agnihotra (yagna), Sandhyavandana and all other daily religious rituals. If, for some reason, her husband is not present, the woman alone has full rights to do yagna." Rigveda Samhita, part 1, sukta 79, sloka 872.


That women and men are equal in the eyes of dharma is made explicit in a beautiful sloka from the Rigveda: "O women! These mantras are given to you equally (as to men). May your thoughts, too, be harmonious. May your assemblies be open to all without discrimination. Your mind and consciousness should be harmonious. I (the rishi) give you these mantras equally as to men and give you all and equal powers to absorb (the full powers) of these mantras." Rigveda 10-191-3. 

"The home has, verily, its foundation in the wife"
The Rig Veda

During the Vedic age, more than 3,000 years ago, women were assigned a high place in society. They shared an equal standing with their men folk and enjoyed a kind of liberty that actually had societal sanctions. The ancient Hindu philosophical concept of'shakti', the feminine principle of energy, was also a product of this age. 

 Hinduism recognizes both the masculine and feminine attributes of the Divine, and that without honoring the feminine aspects, one cannot claim to know God in his entirety. So we also have many male-female divine-duos like Radha-KrishnaSita-RamaUma-Mahesh, and Lakshmi-Narayan, where the female form is usually addressed first.

Women, who so desired, could undergo the sacred thread ceremony or 'Upanayana' (a sacrament to pursue Vedic studies), which is only meant for males even to this day. The mention of female scholars and sages of the Vedic age like Vac, Ambhrni, Romasa, Gargi, Khona in the Vedic lore corroborates this view. These highly intelligent and greatly learned women, who chose the path of Vedic studies, were called 'brahmavadinis', and women who opted out of education for married life were called 'sadyovadhus'. Co-education seems to have existed in this period and both the sexes got equal attention from the teacher. Moreover, ladies from the Kshatriya caste received martial arts courses and arms training.


kanchi mahaperiyavaa says that a grahastha( married ) is incomplete without wife. he cannot do any yagna after his wife's death. she needs to accompany him in all his rituals only then it is completled such is the importance of women in a man's life



Posted: 10 years ago
Thanks for sharing these vedic lines. thala.

Posted: 10 years ago
I salute all the women on this day.  I have seen many families prospering because of the lead role taken by them.  Thought provoking wonderful article quoting  authority from  Rig veda and Manusmrithi.
Posted: 10 years ago
bhagawat gita chapter -18 verse 66







sarva-dharmn parityajya

mm ekam aranam vraja

aham tvm sarva-papebhyo

moksayisymi m ucah

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.



The Lord has described various kinds of knowledge and processes of religion " knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, knowledge of the Supersoul, knowledge of the different types of orders and statuses of social life, knowledge of the renounced order of life, knowledge of nonattachment, sense and mind control, meditation, etc. He has described in so many ways different types of religion. Now, in summarizing Bhagavad-gt, the Lord says that Arjuna should give up all the processes that have been explained to him; he should simply surrender to Krsna. That surrender will save him from all kinds of sinful reactions, for the Lord personally promises to protect him.

In the Seventh Chapter it was said that only one who has become free from all sinful reactions can take to the worship of Lord Krsna. Thus one may think that unless he is free from all sinful reactions he cannot take to the surrendering process. To such doubts it is here said that even if one is not free from all sinful reactions, simply by the process of surrendering to r Krsna he is automatically freed. 

There is no need of strenuous effort to free oneself from sinful reactions. One should unhesitatingly accept Krsna as the supreme savior of all living entities. With faith and love, one should surrender unto Him.


krishna says

if you are confident that i will save you under any circumstances ( provided you have to have complete belief in me) i will relieve you from all sins. \

if you engage yourself in krishna deeds you will become free of all the contaminated materialistic world. dont worry too much about the methods to attain salavation, or through which media you can attain me, one simple way is just surrender to me

In other words, devotional service to krishna, in full consciousness, is the most confidential part of knowledge, and this is the essence of the whole Bhagavad-gita





Posted: 10 years ago
Thank you Rama  for sharing
Posted: 10 years ago
Very informative.  Thank you for sharing such valuable information.
Posted: 10 years ago



a frequently asked question
why is that good people are always in trouble and bad  one are free 
they are not punished and that life is very easy for them

well bhagavatham has the answers for this question:
we need to go to days of mahabharatha
it is believed that shakuni was the human form of dwapara yuga and dhuryodhana the human form of kali yuga
and they were the ones who started all the ill doings( as during the mahabharatha there was teh transition period of dwapara yuga to kali yuga)

a pious man was beaten by kaliyuga, while a theif was given all amenities
 the pious  man asked for reasons
kaliyuga replied that during kali yuga good people are always put into all sort of miseries while the bad ones enjoy a happy life that is the rule of kali yuga

but only a few know that these miseries can be overcome by a simple method of nama sankeerthana ( chanting of his name)

bhagavatham says

Kali-yuga started  in 3102 B.C.E.  Around this time King Parikshit  bumps into  the Kali-Purusha himself. It happened this way. When the King was touring the country, at Kurukshetra he sees a person in royal robes with a stick in hand torturing  a cow and a bull. When accosted the person does not reply. The King asks the  animals directly: 'Who is this that is torturing you?'. The bull was actually Dharma-devata himself (and the cow was Goddess Earth). The bull replies: (shlokas I - 17 - 18 to 20)

 

"It is very difficult to ascertain the particular miscreant who has caused our sufferings, because we are bewildered. Some, who deny all sorts of duality, declare that one's own self is responsible for his personal happiness and distress. Others say that superhuman powers are responsible, yet others say that activity is responsible, and there are others who  maintain that nature is the ultimate cause.  There are also some thinkers who believe that no one can ascertain the cause of distress by argumentation, nor know it by imagination, nor express it by words. O King, please  judge for yourself"


The King ordered the Kali-purushha to go away beyond his land. But the latter said: Wherever I go I see you wielding your bow and arrow and aiming at me. Please point out to me that place where I have to live. And the King readily pointed out four places (I - 17 - 38)(: Gambling (dyUtaM), Drinking (pAnaM), Prostitution (striyaH) and Murder (sUnA). The Kali-purushha pleaded for one more place. And Gold (jAta-rUpaM) was granted as the fifth place. It thus turns out that  (I - 17 -39)

  

untruth (anRRitaM),

infatuation (madaM),

lust (kAmaM),

 passion (rajas),  and

 enmity (vairaM)

 

are the abstract qualities in which  kali-purushha has his sway.

 that is why once we start getting attracted to gold we get greedy of it, 


but people of kaliyuga dont have to strain themselves and undergo severe harsh ways to reach god
they can easily attain god by nama sankeerthana ( mere chanting of the name of the god)

this kaliyuga is filled of traps ( world pleasures) wherever you step
the trap is ready to pull you within itself
and you can escape this trap and attain him by the easy method of chanting his name
you dont have to have knowledge of vedas, you dont have to be a learned scholar, no need to do yagnas

just chant his name

here's the link of the bhagavatham
there is translation of verses on the symptoms of kaliyuga

SYMPTOMS OF KALIYUGA CLICK HERE
Posted: 10 years ago
We should chant God always to get Mukthi from this world.

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