Tattva

 Namaste,

On the occasion of Maha Shivratri, this edition of Tattva is dedicated to Lord Shiva. We have a wonderful array of articles in this edition. On Lord Shiva we have three articles which include an excerpt from Sister Nivedita’s book called ‘Cradle Tales of Hinduism’, an article on the Symbolism and Science in the Tandava dance of Shiva, and an article on the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra. We also have a featured article by Arun Lakshman, the managing editor of ‘The Pioneer’ from Kerala. This edition also has articles on the Kumbh Mela and AyurVeda which should not be missed too. Enjoy these wonderful set of articles and keep the contributions coming in. Happy Maha Shivratri!  

Please visit http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/2007/02/ to read the February 2007 edition of Tattva.

 The following picture is from the New Yorker magazine (dated 1/8/2007, page 75). The picture shows a caricature of  Lord Vishnu smoking, talking on a cell-phone, consuming a beverage, performing an obscene gesture — all while driving a vehicle. The depiction is in extremely bad taste and reflects the utter insensitivity of the caricaturist  towards one of the most revered of Hindu Gods.

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In wild and lonely places, at any time, one may chance on the Great God, for such are His most favored haunts. Once seen, there is no mistaking Him. Yet He has no look of being rich or powerful. His skin is covered with white wood-ashes. His clothing is but the religious wanderer’s yellow cloth. The coils of matted hair are piled high on the top of His head. In one hand He carries the begging bowl, and in the other His tall staff, crowned with the trident. And sometimes He goes from door to door at midday, asking alms. High amongst the Himalayas tower the great snow mountains, and here, on the still, cold heights, is Shiva’s throne. Silent-nay, rapt in silence-does He sit there, absorbed and lost in one eternal meditation.

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Kumbh Mela witnesses the largest gathering of humanity on the planet, as the eternal Hindu faith shines as a jewel in the crown. The full moon (Paush Purnima) on 3 January 2007 heralded the start of the six-week festival of the sacred urn, Ardha Kumbh Mela. The festival marks the halfway point between the twelve-yearly Maha Kumbh Mela and is in progress in the Northern Indian city of Allahabad. The Mughal Emperor Akbar gave the name to the city in 1583. The “Allah” in the name does not come from Allah as God’s name in Islam but from the Din-Ilahi, which was the religion founded by Akbar. In Indian alphabets it is spelt “Ilāhābād”: “ilāh” is Arabic for “a God” (but in this context from Din-Ilahi), and “-ābād” is Persian for “place of”.

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AyurVeda is the medical/therapeutic or natural healing system of the Vedic Sciences which originated in India approximately 5000 years ago. AyurVeda comes from the root word “Ayu” which means life and “Veda” which means knowledge of. Hence AyurVeda means “science of life” in Sanskrit. Life here does not refer to life of an individual but to the life of the entire universe which the individual is part of. In Vedic science everything in nature is made of five elements of air, ether, fire, water and earth and the individual (microcosm) is a replica of the universe (macrocosm). The conscious that is present in an individual is the same conscious that is present in the entire universe. AyurVeda allows the individual to know their body, mind and soul at its deepest level and experience the wisdom of this consciousness to appreciate the conscious that is present in the entire universe.

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The image of Lord Shiva in the dancing posture, as Nataraja, is one of the most recognizable symbols of Hindu art in the world. If images brought particular words to the mind of the viewer, then this would convey only two words: “terrible beauty”. Read the rest of this entry »

ॐ त्रयम्बकं यजमहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्। उर्वारूकमिव् बन्धनान् मृत्योर्मुक्षिय मामृतात्॥

Om trayambakaṁ yajamahe sugandhiṁ puṣṭivardhanam |urvārūkamiv bandhanān mṛtyormukṣiya māmṛtāt || Read the rest of this entry »

Arun Lakshman reporting from the state of Kerala in India for ‘The Pioneer’:

The recent cache of 87 guns from a container in Kochi port and the subsequent arrest of one R.O.Koya as the major conduit in this deal has created ripples across the state. Kerala which has the dubious distinction of turning fast into next Kashmir is in the tip of a volcano and anything can happen any time. Kerala had witnessed bombs blowing off in train, seizure of abandoned pipe bombs which are deadly in the alleys and ghettos of Malappuram, the Muslim majority district of Kerala ,and the recent explosion caused by a bomb in Kozhikode.

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 ”India is the land of religions, cradle of human race, birthplace of human speech, grandmother of legend, great grandmother of tradition. The land that all men desire to see and having seen once even by a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of the rest of the globe combined. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India.”

– Mark Twain is a celebrated American writer.  

Abhimanyu (अभिमन्यु) is a hero in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. He was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, the half-sister of Lord Krishna. Abhimanyu spent his childhood in Dwaraka, his mother’s city. He was trained by his great warrior father Arjuna and brought up under the guidance of Lord Krishna. He fought bravely in the epic war of Mahabharata and single-handedly destroyed many warriors from the Kaurava forces.

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