An ideal doctrine for Husband and Wife - for an everlasting happiness!

AN IDEAL DOCTRINE FOR HUSBAND AND WIFE - FOR AN EVERLASTING HAPPINESS!

1. INTRODUCTION

Recently, in my sister's wedding, finding me as unmarried (a scapegoat) many elders talked to me and enquired about my thoughts on marriage, my dream wife and her characteristics and so on. They wanted to know all these to search for matching alliances for me. I couldn't elaborate my thoughts due to time and other constraints, and talked only in headlines.

However, later when i reflected in myself all those sequences, I thought of penning down my views of Vedic marriage system and about the ideal qualities of a husband and wife. Hence this article!

Moreover, It is said that every man carries three debts on him to be disbursed. They are - 1. Deva RuNam (Debt to Gods), 2. Rishi-RuNam (Debt to Rishis), and 3 Pitru-RuNam (Debt to Pitris/departed ancestors). Out of these a man can payback only the 2nd debt without needing a wife. That is by studying the scriptures handed over by the great Rishis of our lineage and by teaching the same (that is, transferring the knowledge to keep it rolling), to our descendants or disciples, one can disburse the debt to Rishis. This can be completed even by being a Brahmachari or a Sanyasi. It doesn't require a wife.

However, the remaining two viz. debt to Gods and debt to departed ancestors cannot be disbursed without the company of a wife. Debt to Gods can be paid off by doing Yajnas (sacrifices) and one gets an eligibility to do Yajna only if his wife sits besides him. With yajnas we offer Havis (food) to Gods. Gods consume them and get pleased and then they pour timely rains on earth. With timely seasonal changes earth produces good crops, and people remain healthy and entire planet remains blissful. For all this to happen, only a Gruhastha (householder) is eligible to do Yajnas.

Similarly, the debt to Pitris (ancestors) can be paid by begetting a son and keeping the race continuing. For begetting a so one needs to get into Gruhasthashrama and beget a son upon his wedded wife righteously. So, without a wife a man cannot repay the debt to his ancestors. Therefore, it becomes mandatory for a man to sail through the Ashrama called "Gruhasthashrama".

Not only this. Gruhasthashrama is the greatest of all other Ashramas because the other Ashramas depend on Gruhasthas for food. Food keeps all beings alive and nourishes them. Brahmacharis, Vanaprasthas, and Sanyasis do not cook food for themselves, they seek food from the house of a householder only. Therefore Gruhastha is the pillar on whom all other ashramas lean and take rest!

Keeping in mind the glory of Gruhasthashrama every man should seek to wed a virtuous, learned, and wise wife, because she is the support of the order of gruhastha mode of life.

2. ATTRIBUTES OF AN IDEAL HUSBAND and WIFE

A husband and wife should be like that of Sita and Rama. Often when you say this, many ignorant people dislike this correlation saying, "What happiness did they ever gain in their life? Their life was full of pain alone". But their such words need to be known only as arising out of ignorance. Sita-Rama are always cited as an ideal couple because of their inseparable nature even during their separation!

When Ravana kidnaped Sita; Rama and Sita got physically separated from each other. However, Rama always remained in the thoughts of Sita as can be seen throughout Aranya kanda, to Sundara Kanda. Likewise Sita emaciated herself without taking even a morsel of food but always remained merged in the thoughts of her lord viz. Rama! They both remained outwardly in two locations separated bodily from each other, but by their heart and soul, they always were one and united! I cannot cite references from Ramayana to support their mutual love because entire Ramayana itself is a testimony. How may verses I can quote?

Such a mutual love and affection need to exist between a couple in my opinion. Secondly, Sita Rama are ideal couple because of their fidelity for each other which remained undamaged throughout their lifetime. ShurpaNakha a demoness who was capable of assuming any beautiful form at will, approached Rama lustfully and asked him to accept her. Since she could change her looks at will and could appear in multiple beautiful forms, that would have been a jack pot for Rama to enjoy pleasures with her daily. However, he didn't abandon Sita. That was his unbroken faithfulness towards his consort. Similarly, Sita was amorously approached by the wretch Ravana many a times. He offered her all the glories and proposed her to be his queen and share his bed. Ravana was that terrible monster whom even the three worlds were afraid of. None among the deities were able to conquer him. So, Sita could have easily taken his hand and abandoned a loner Rama who had giver her 14 years of exile soon after marriage. However, she didn't even think of such options. She always kept herself immersed in the thoughts of her Rama alone. That is the fidelity that makes her story never fade away even after eons and eons!

In my opinion, every men and women should try to emulate the footsteps of Sita and Rama. It's difficult for sure since as Bhagawad Gita says - "No doubt it is difficult to control the mind O Arjuna, however, with practice and dispassion, one can conquer the mind!".

So, let's give it a try! 

3. A GOOD WIFE CAN BESTOW FOUR PURUSHARTHAS ON HER HUSBAND

3.1 THE FOUR PURUSHARTHAS

Our Vedas declare that every human being should pursue four purusharthas (pursuits / goals) viz. Dharma (Righteousness as taught by Vedas and scriptures), Artha (materialistic pursuits like earning wealth, house, wife, children, health, name, fame etc.), Kama (all desires and wishes), Moksha (liberation by self-realization). While Moksha is the highest of all the Purusharthas, one cannot escape the prior three to pursue the last one - Moksha.
Especially, one who is in Gruhasthashrama (wedded life), for such a being, scriptures mandate him to pursue all the four of them. Now, a question may arise - "Should one purse all four of them independently or there is any dependency among them?", the answer is - "Yes, all four are interdependent where, 'Dharma', acts as the foundation for the rest three". Here is how Dharma gives support for all the three:

#. Artha (earning wealth) -> when pursued independent of the guidelines laid down by Dharma (righteousness), leads us to earn wealth, but accrues sin along with it. Getting a son is also a wealth for the parents because that adds to their family and continues the race. But then this son has to be begotten on one's own wedded wife only. Then this Artha becomes supported by Dharma. Possessing lands, Homes, Cattle, Vehicles and everything which comes under Artha must be earned righteously. Hence Dharma always remains inseparably entangled with Artha. Similarly, one can become famous by earning good name and can equally become famous (notorious) by earning a bad name, however earning the former type is suggested by scriptures and that can be earned only with the support of Dharma. Therefore we can see very clearly that Artha is dependent on Dharma.
#. Kama (desires, wishes,) -> Kama doesn't always mean lust, it has a wide spectrum which encompasses all sorts of desires, and wishes. Desire to have a own house is 'Kama', and possessing that becomes Artha. For fulfilling that desire one needs to spend the righteously earned and hard-earned funds (which symbolize Dharma) and posses a house (which becomes Artha) and not by forcefully occupying other’s lands. Even the carnal desires which arise from lust, should be obtained from one's own wedded wife alone. Hence Kama (in all sense) needs to be leaning on Dharma always.
#. Moksha (liberation) -> Moksha is obtained through self-knowledge. For self-knowledge to dawn, chitta-shuddhi is mandatory. For chitta to get purified, good and virtuous deeds, austerities, truthfulness, non-violence, steadiness of mind, control of senses, knowledge of scriptures (as taught by one's preceptor), and god's grace is required. All these required ingredients shower on us only when one follows the path of Dharma (righteousness).

3.2 A DISCERNING AND WISE WIFE CAN BIND THE FOUR PURUSHARTHAS IN HARMONY

We have seen in above analysis that all the four pursuits viz. Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha are mutually dependent. However, that is easy only at a theoretical level. It is easier said than done, in reality! Practically, all the four pursuits are mutually contradicting and opposing each other in one's real life. One may wonder, how! Here is the answer:

#. Artha:- One who follows Dharma seriously, usually remains poor and suffers hardships throughout his life. People who have huge real estates and multiple houses on their name, have not all obtained them by their righteously earned money. many people use their power to forcefully capture week and illiterate people's lands and build their estates over them. They have earned Artha but not at the expense of Dharma. People who earn high positions, not always ascend based on their true skills. Many attain higher seats by favouritism, by cunning nature and by climbing on the shoulders of the weaker subordinates. Therefore again, such high achievements are not always founded upon Dharma (righteousness).
#. Kama:- Practically not everyone binds their desires with righteousness and seeks to fulfil them. Today all companies allow one to get reimbursement for medical expenses, and it's not unknown to us how many of the employees use that facility righteously. The desire to make quick money (for free) makes them apply fake medical bills to get the full allowance of whatever the company provides. So, where is the desire (Kama) for Artha (wealth) fulfilled righteously here? Further, taking Kama as lust also we can understand that not everyone walks the path of Sri Rama and Sita in today's world. Infidelity is increasing day by day. So, dharma and Kama are not going hand in hand nowadays.

Now the question arises, - Who can regulate all these four purusharthas and bring them into harmony? Answer is - A discerning and wise wife! If you said, "Who says, so?", the answer is - the illustrious King, the Dharmaraja Yudhishthira says so, in the following conversation between him and Yaksha from Mahabharata's Vana Parva.

Yaksha asks a very touch question to Yudhishthira as follows:

यक्ष उवाच
धर्ममर्थस्च कामस्च् परस्पर विरोधिनः।
एषाम् नित्य्विरुद्धानां कथमेकत्र सङ्गमः॥ (MBH Vana Parva Chapter 297)
"The Yaksha asked,--'Virtue, profit, and desire are opposed to one another. How could things thus antagonistic to one another exist together?"

Explanation:

The yaksha is making a query here: - "virtue, wealth and desire are three mutually conflicting factors in human life. In pursuing virtue on can face a situation where his wealth is depleted and his personal desires are challenged to their detriment often. The query is as to how these three can be balanced to have a good life".

Yudhistira has a very learned answer

युधिष्ठिर उवाच
यदा धर्मस्च भार्या च परस्परवशानुगौ।
तदा धर्मार्थकामानं त्रयाणामपि सङ्गमः॥ (MBH Vana Parva Chapter 297)
"Yudhishthira answered,--'When a wife and virtue agree with each other, then all the three thou hast mentioned may exist together'."

Explanation:

Yudhishthira replies: The day to day good deeds of a man are mostly under the silent guidance of his wife. Besides the domestic finance cannot be managed without the active support of the good wife..And for an honest man all his desires are fulfilled and enjoyed in the happiness of his wife. Thus if one man has a discerning and wise lady as his wife..there will be absolute control of all his varied aspects of life.

1. A wise wife when remains adherent of Dharma (virtue / righteousness), she controls the incoming/outgoing funds righteously. Even if husband slips from Dharma she says "stop!" and corrects him and keeps a check on him. This is how she helps his Artha remain in sync with Dharma
2. She when clings firmly to Dharma she also regulates the Kama of her husband in all ways, right from checking the desire for earning black-money to even satiating all other desires and pleasures of flesh. Thereby she prevents her husband from attaining the sin of "para stree vaancha dosha" as well. Hence a good wife is an indispensable element of a happy and righteous householder (gruhastha) life.
3. Moksha is an achievement of individual effort. One cannot bestow Moksha on anyone. However, a good wife who regulates Dharma and makes it pervade through other two pursuits of her husband indirectly makes her husband free from all evils and sins. Thereby helps her husband gain purity of mind (chitta shuddhi) easily and sooner. Then with his own efforts towards realization, he can attain self-knowledge and Moksha. So, indirectly, a good wife becomes the catalyst in accelerating the Husband's efforts towards Moksha.

Conclusion: - From this it is quite clear that a good wife can regulate Dharma, Artha and Kama and bring them in harmony and help her husband in his three spiritual pursuits directly and in fourth (Moksha) indirectly. Therefore there cannot be any better companion that a good wife for a man!

4. INDEPENDENCE OR INTER-DEPENDENCE ?

Today 'independence' has become a buzz-word. Today's people are so much fascinated by that word that they apply it in every field, and sadly even in the institution called marriage! Marriage (Vivaaham) is an institution designed for inter-dependence and not for independence  A husband has to look at his wife for seeking love, affection, and care and a wife has to seek love and protection from her husband. No doubt, they need to have their 'freewill' in expressing themselves, their feelings, wishes etc., , but that freewill cannot be confused with 'independence'.

Unfortunately, today's couples are becoming arrogant, egoistic, proud and haughty in their behaviour towards each other in the name of independence  Most of the times such cases end up in losing mutual affection and finally lands up in divorce - which is a bane on we Indians. Vedas have mantras for uniting two people (of opposite gender) as husband and wife, but nowhere there are any mantras for divorce. Divorces are the product of ego and friction! Where there is love, there cannot be any desire to win, there always remains a desire to make the other person victorious! There is a lot of happiness in losing in the hands of your beloved! That boosts love!

If a wife has no permission to touch husband's wallet, if she cannot share her earnings with her husband, if they bring 'professionalism' in their private life - May I ask - "Why do they need to be husband and wife? Why can't they lead separate lives singly and individually? Is it just for satiating pleasures of flesh that they would want to depend on each other? If yes, then what's a big deal in such marriages?” Love is far superior than lust. Lust is just a part of life but love is the life itself! Lust without love doesn't need 'marriage' (a brothel visit would just be enough!). Lust that comes out of love keeps the couple happy and united forever.  Therefore in every aspect, inter-dependence is the indispensable key towards a successful, and happy married life for a householder.

Vedas have given so much of importance to mutual dependants of husband and wife that they have said the following mantras.

इहेमाविन्द्र सं नुद चक्रवाकेव दंपती | (Atharva Veda अथ् १४-२-६४)
[The elders pray for the couple:] "Join the couple here, Indra... they resemble the chakravaka and its mate.
(The chakravaka is a symbol for mutual devotion of the couple. if one loses its life, the mate will die in grief. Such should be the inter-dependants of husband and wife on each other).

Vedas blesses them to never part (no divorce). They expect them to remain happily together and see even their grand children.

इहैव स्तम् मा वि यौष्ठं
विश्वं आयुर् व्यश्नुतं
क्रीळन्तो पुत्रैर् नप्तृभिर्
मोदमानौ त्वे गृहे | (Rig Veda ऋग् १०-८५-४२)
[The lifelong union of the ideal couple as expressed by elders in their blessing:] "May you two dwell in this house, never parted, you enjoy the full life span as prescribed by vedas, may you have the fortune to play together with your sons and grandsons,"

There is another aaseervada mantram in Vedas, which is a gem in itself. This mantra states how much dependant a husband needs to be on wife for care and in turn how much essential a wife should become for her husband to provide her care.

दशास्याम् पुत्राणम् अन्ते पतिमेकादशम् कृधि
daśāsyām putrāṇam ante patimekādaśam kṛdhi
"You beget ten sons and make your husband the eleventh son".

Everyone knows that there is noone better than a mother in taking care of her children. She wakes up even at the sneeze of her child to see if he/she is alright. Such a kind of protection is sought for her husband also from her in above mantra. Also, it is indicative of old age as well. When old age dawns, a husband (being elder than the wife), becomes dull, stupified, and becomes an object of mockery from everyone including his children and grand-children. AT that time only recourse / refuge becomes his wife who stands by him always and protects him.

5. WIFE SHOULD BE THE QUEEN OF THE HOUSE, NOT A SLAVE

Unfortunately, today either between a husband and wife there exists either too much of independence or too much of domination. The right balance is missing. If wife and husband are both working, 'independence' is damaging the fabric of their marriage life; else, if the wife is a home maker, she is dominated and treated as a slave, and this again is ruining the marriage life totally. However, Vedas have given a balanced approach for a householder's life. While we have seen "inter-dependence" element in previous section, let's see the position given by Vedas to a wife in her in-laws home

The position given to woman as a wife in our culture was indeed very exalted. Below mantra from Rig veda clearly highlights that she is expected to be treated as the queen and the main spokesperson of that house. It should not be thought as if a bride needs to dictate her in-laws because she is called the queen of that house. Instead, we need to understand that she is being the queen's position in their hearts. A position in heart remains for posterity and that's what is the intended message, along with the outward message of giving prominent position in the home.

पूषा त्वेतो नयतु हस्तगृह्य
अश्विना त्वा प्र् वहतां रथेन
गृहान् गच्च गृहपत्नी यथासौ
वशिनी त्वम् विदथं आ वदासि | (Rig Veda ऋग् १०-७५-२६)
"The bride is entering the ritualistic location, her hand held by the god puushan (one form of the sun god) the twin gods of medicine the Ashwins are accompanying her in the chariot.. and she is going away from her house to that of her husband and she is blessed that she may become the ruler of the household and the main spoke-person of the assembly in her husbands place".

The bride is blessed to join the supreme place in the household. See how the father-in-law, mother-in-law and everyone is granting her the central place in their hearts.

सम्राजी श्वशुरे भव
सम्राजी श्वश्र्वां भव
ननान्दरि सम्राजी भव
सम्राही अधि देवृषु | (Rig Veda ऋग् १०-८५-४६ अथ १४-२-४४)
"May your father in law treat you with affection as if you were a queen. May your mother in law treat you with love as if you were a queen. May your sisters in law love and respect you as if you were a queen. May your brothers in law respect and adore you as if you were a queen"

6. WHAT SHOULD A HUSBAND AND WIFE WISH/PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

Again, Vedas have expressed beautifully the instructions for an ideal marriage life for a householder couple. A husband prays to god for perpetual unity of their hearts and conjugal unity as follows.

समञ्जन्तु विश्वे देवाह्
सं आपो हृदयानि नौ
सं मातरिश्वा सम् धाता
समुद्रेष्ट्री दधातु नौ | (Rig Veda ऋक् १०-८५-४७)
"May all Gods and all waters unite our hearts. Especially the gods Mathariswa, dhaata, and dheshtri, make us very close.

A wife prays for the longevity of their lifespan so that hey could live happily and united with each other. For thsi the bride prays to the gods and elders as follows:

दीर्घायुरस्तु मे पतिर् जीवाति शरदः शतम्। (Atharva Veda अथ् १४-२-६३)
"May my husband live long, and we will live together for hundred years...bless us"

7. CONCLUDING REMARKS

May all the Indians who have faith in Sanatana Dharma and the teaching of Vedas follow these instructions and remain always blissful in their conjugal life of Gruhasthashrama.

|| tathAstu || So Be It ||

2. Defining "GOD" from Advaita perspective (Category:-Philosophical)

GOD is the one who is the Karta (Subject), Karma (Object), and Kriya (Task). He/She is the one who can do all the following three tasks alone viz. Srushti, Sthiti, and Laya. The same statement when i have to put in simple English, i would say the one who does the following things alone is a GOD!!

• Generation
• Organization
• Destruction

Believe me, the aforementioned 3 tasks can't be done in an 'Out of Sync' way! For that, a proper synchronization needs to be maintained.

Technically speaking, if you plot a Design Structure Matrix (DSM), and analyse the dependencies, the output would be a Deadlock! As per DSM rules, to resolve a deadlock area, only a single resource should work on those tasks otherwise it can't be resolved. Well, if you don't know what DSM is, it's a methodology (and tool) designed by 'MIT' which takes your work items as input and suggests the best possible execution flow. For more details on DSM visit the website. Let me come back to spiritual explanation rather than being algorithmic here.

The 3 tasks Srushti, Sthiti, Laya are mutually dependent on each other and hence there always exists a deadlock among them. So, as the common belief goes among the Hindu people that there are 3 deities viz. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva to take care of these tasks is a Misconception!!

Hinduism mentions about 3 primary deities viz. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva but essentially they are one and the same!! These 3 names are the 3 attributes of the GOD!

If a river splits into 3 channels and flows in 3 different regions and is called by 3 different names, what difference does it make to us? Essentially all 3 channels are the same 'Water' and originated at the same source! Same theory applies to the Hindu trinity as well. In order to execute the tasks of the universe the same Supreme being attributes himself 3 different names but is non-dual from each other. That is what Advaita also tells about the God.

Brahma primarily creates, but he also sustains by giving boons to the deserving and maintains harmony. So isn't he the sustainer? isn't he doing similar job of Vishnu? Now when he gives unusual boons to Demons, he also creates a trap door in some way or the other to put an end to the demon. Also, when demi-gods seeks his guidance for killing the demon, he reveals them the secret and indirectly helps the destruction of the demon. So is he not doing destruction indirectly? is he not doing the job of Shiva?

Vishnu's prime task is protection, sustenance. But had he not created Madhu and Kaitaba and has he not been protecting the world by killing the sinners/demons? So, is he also not doing the 3 tasks alone?

Shiva's so called primary task is destruction. But it would be an off topic here if i explain the difference between Rudra and Shiva. It's Rudra who destroys, Shiva does everything. So let me say Rudra in this context. So, Rudra's task is to dissolve. As Shiva had he not created Bhairava, Ganesha, Skanda kind of great gods? Has Shiva not been sustaining the universe by taking care of the devotees and protecting them? So is he not doing the 3 tasks alone?

So, now tell me what's the difference between the three deities? They are essentially one and the same as like as 3 different streams of water still remains water only!

So, let me come to a conclusion here that it's only one God who is called by the 3 different names!!

P.S:- People who follow Dwaita perspective (Dualism) they may have a different opinion, and may consider one form as superior to another. Even in that case, the 3 gods converge at a common God, for Vaishnavites he is Vishnu, for Shaivites he is Shiva, for Shaktas, it is mother goddess Shakti (Energy). Also there exists theories given in KMG Mahabharata kind of authentic texts supporting Shiva which tells that it's one god only (Shiva) who exists as/is called Vishnu in Vaikuntha, and Brahma in Satyaloka. A detailed topic is presented on another blog of mine here. In any case, it's only one God with different names/forms..!!!

3. What's the Abode of the Lord? (Category:- Philosophical)

We usually hear people saying,

Lord Shiva is Smashaan Vaasi (cremation ground) etc....etc...

Now a question arises, how can a person who resides in identifiable no. of places be a God/Supreme lord?

On the other hand, lord Shiva's 108 names (Astottara Sata namavali) calls him by a name "Om JagadVyapine Namah". Which hails him saying that he is the one who is All Pervading and Omnipresent, and is indeed spread across the universe and beyond!!

Contradictions in the scriptures of Hinduism. isn't it??
If you nodded your head as "yes", then you are mistaken! Let me explain how.

Let's analyse the matter a bit further. Let's first understand the definition of "Smashaan/Cremation ground".
Cremation ground is a place where dead bodies are burnt/burried. In simple words where bodies become one with the soil.
We have distinct creamation grounds for humans where we burn/bury the deceased people. That means all other places are pious/sacred/pure and not smashaana? Certainly Not!!

Where do we bury/burn dead bodies of birds,rats, ants, insects, bees, snakes, lizards and so on? We never do. they become one with the soil whichever place they fall dead on earth.
On similar lines, where do we bury/burn fishes, octopus, sharks, whales, and frogs etc kind of beings? Again there is no particular cremation ground for them. They all get burried wherever they fall dead (ocean).

So, now do you agree with the point that entire earth is a cremation ground (smashaana)? Doesn't that imply that Lord Shiva exists in every iota of Earth?

Now coming to Space. Our macrocosm is not inert. it contains many living particles. (Virus is a living particle which doesn't need atomosphere for its existence). Also, we have been witnessing UFO(s) and hence we believe that aliens DO exist outside the earth. Also we believe that any one who is born has a death for sure. So be it living particles/microbes/aliens everything dies even outside the earth. So even the cosmos is not an exception from becoming a Grave yard/Smashaana/Cremation ground. Isn't this correct?

Then doesn't the above analysis get us to a conclusion that entire universe is a smashaana and the one lord Shiva who resides in Smashaana actually pervades the entire universe?

So abode of God is not a single place. God is spread accross the cosmos, permeates through the minutest to mega objects and lives in every iota of space. God is everywhere!

P.S:-In order to explain the concept, i have used example of lord Shiva. Vishnu devotees, please note that Vishnu itself means "All Pervading"!!

Credits:-This explanation is written by me with the inspiration from the discource of Sri Chaganti Koteswara Rao on Bhakti TV in Maheswara vaibhavam programme. Idea belongs to him, words and explanation belongs to me.

4. Meaning of True Form and Avatara (Category:- Philosophical)

What is an 'Avatar'? If somebody asks this question, we end up giving synonyms like 'Manifestation, Incarnation' etc.
Sometimes we think "Why the God needs to take an Avatar and protect us? Can't the same thing be accomplished in his true form?". Let's analyse this a bit further as follows:

We all know and agree to the fact that GOD permeates everything, is all pervading, is omnipresent and entire universe is inside him. So, now answer the following questions.

• If i want to put a garland of beautiful lotus flowers around the neck of the God, will it be possible for me? certainly not. Since God is so vast that i can't measure his neck
• If i want to touch/hug God, will it be possible for me? Again the answer would be 'No' since he stands immeasurable and is not in a physical form
• if i want to perceive God with my earthly eyes (Charma Chakshu), will it be possible to bear his infinite aura (Teja)? No!

In such cases how can a common man (let's not talk about Yogis and Kundalini etc. here) show his/her devotion to the God then? Definitely God has to take some form and occupy limited space within the limits of human perception in order to let a common man know him, dwell in him, and reach him finally.

So, God has to take a form which is called 'Avatara' and come near us, become one of us, speak to us, feel our sentiments and all such humane qualities he needs to exhibit only for ourselves!

Meaning of Avatara:-

Let's try to understand the meaning of the word 'Avatar' first.

if you are a musician or a singer you would be acquainted with the Sthais (levels). There are 3 levels/octaves viz. Mandara, Madhyama, and Tara/Taraka. When someone sings in 3rd octave (Highest sthayi) we say, "He/She is singing in Tara Sthayi"!

So, Tara sthayi is something beyond. God in his true form remains in the Tara sthayi, means he is Durgama, not perceivable, not attainable, not discernible with normal/common human qualities.

Avatara=Ava+Tara, means opposite of Tara, which is attainable, perceivable, touchable, etc.

So, in order to come closer to us, God takes incarnations (Avatara) and protects us, loves us, plays with us, indulges in all worldly activities as like as we human beings do. (Otherwise it's not impossible for the lord to do the same in the true form).

It's all about the devotees, in order to protect them, to love them to become easily accessible to them he takes so many forms.

God is all pervading, and can come out from anywhere, the best example being "Narshimha Avatara". Lord Sri Hari didn't come when Prahalada was being punished. he didn't come when Hiranyakashyap's attrocities were at its peak. Lord Hari came out of the Pillar when Hiranyakashyap asked Prahalada the following questions:

Hiranyakashyap: "Where does your Hari live?

Prahalada: He is everywhere

Hiranyakashyap: he is everywhere? Is your Hari in this stone Pillar?

Prahalada: Yes, he is everywhere!

Then Hiranyakashyap breaks that pillar with his Gada (mace), and Lord Hari in the form of Narsimha (half man half Lion) comes out just to keep the word of the Devotee (Prahalada) and to keep his faith of "Hari is everywhere" undeterred.

God is Bhakta Vatsal, he always loves us (the children) and that's why comes in various Avataras and lives among us, plays with us, loves us, lives like us and what's not?

Credits: This explanation is written by me with the inspiration from the discourse of Sri Chaganti Koteswara rao on Bhakti TV in 'Venkateswara Vaibhavam' Episode. Idea belongs to him which i have tried to pen in my words.

5. Mysterious Dasavatara (Category:-Philosophical)

We all know that lord Sri Maha Vishnu incarnates and protects us whenever Dharma starts fading away. The great Geetacharya says the same as the following verse:-

Yada yada hi Dharmasya, Glanirbhavati bharata

Abyutthanama Adharmasya tadatmanam Srujamyaham

paritranaya Sadhunam Vinashaya Cha Dushkrutam

Dharma Sansthapanarthaya Sambhavami yuge yuge

Lord Vishnu has incarnated many times in many forms however, only 10 major incarnations have become famous and are called by the name 'Dasavataram'

The Dasavatara are as viz. Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narsimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Sri Rama, Sri krishna, Buddha and Kalki (who is yet to come).

If we analyse the incarnations we can observe that there is a striking similarity among the Avataras of Vishnu and the stages of Human life.

1. Matsya, Kurma, Varaha :-They resemble embryonic stages of human when he is inside the mother's womb. If we read Biological books and study the human life process chapter, we would see that an embryo passes through various stages of development and resembles the above mentioned creatures till it fully develops into an infant.
2. Narsimha :- This resembles the 'infant stage' where a baby knows only to cry aloud as like as a roaring lion and also to gobbles up milk from the mother's breast as like as the lord Narsimha drank the blood of Hiranyakashyap
3. Vamana :- This stage resembles closely with childhood
4. Parashurama :- This stage resembles closely with an IDeal student life. A life of a human where he remains in Brahmacharya Ashrama and leads a pious life of a student
5. Sri Rama :- This Avatara points us to the Adulthood, a stage of an Ideal Gruhast Ashrama where a man follows ideals of married life and remains faithful/devoted to only one Wife.
6. Sri Krishna :- This also resembles Adulthood and a life of a person in Gruhastha Ashrama, but it resembles that man who takes interest in romance and remains attached to many wives or ladies
7. Buddha :- This incarnation resembles Vanaprastha / Sanyasi Ashramas where a man devotes his time in learning and preecing and tries to reach god through meditation
8. Kalki :- This avatara represents the end of the human life cycle

This is the beauty of lord Vishnu's Avataras!!

6. Symbolic Importance of Grass Blade in Sundarakanda (Category:- Philosophical)

Background:-

In Sundarakanda of Ramayana we find that mother Goddess Sita used to keep a Grass Blade in between her and Ravana whenever the latter used to visit her in Ashoka Vatika. Why should mother Sita keep a grass blade in between her and Ravana? What's the significance of it? What did mother Sita want to convey? Everyone of us has read Ramayana but did we ever given a thought on the philosophy behind that? Did the above questions ever strike our mind? Probably Not!! Mother Sita was a great teacher (Guru). She had preached a moral with mute actions and through a small blade of grass. Let's understand the symbolic and philosophical meaning behind that single blade of grass!!

1. When there is moisture beneath the grass surface, grass remains green and firm to the ground. Neither sun nor heat, nor spark of fire harms it. Even a heavy storm can uproot a banyan tree but can't uproot a grass blade in any way. On the other hand, when there is no moisture beneath the grass surface, it becomes dry and easily gets burnt with the heat of scorching sun or small spark of fire and also gets carried away by normal breeze and loses its identity and slowly fades away from this world. Here moisture represents moral values, good conduct, heritage, culture, respect, devotion, fidelity, deportment and all such satva gunas. Moisture-less barren field represents a jad buddhi, arrogance, lust, greed, inclination towards nishiddha karmas etc all negative qualities which are marked as bad by vedas, upanishads etc. jaganmata lakshmi (Sita) might also want to teach a lesson to Ravan that with all his good qualities what he had (greatest musician, greatest astrologer, greatest Shiv Bhakt, greatest Singer, great tapasvi, great ruler etc.) he could have become a GREAT Saint and would have fetched Salvation had he utilized all his inborn good qualities in the right way. But since he had done the biggest sin of eyeing on a para stree, all his good qualities have left him and he has become a barren land where his soul stands like a brown grass (hay), and is definitely subject to getting uprooted/burnt/losing identity and vanishing into the darkness of the time.

I personally feel that Ravana had lot many greatest qualities but failed to become a Great man!! He was a great scholar but what's the use of knowledge if someone doesn't have that chivalry to respect para stree and also naaree in general (He had ravished Rambha also...So lust was in his habit perhaps).

Had he won over his senses, he had a great potential to become a saint. He could have won the motherly love of goddess Lakshmi (Sita) by showing his respect for women and behaving like a child of her.

7. Tribute to Gomata (Category:- Poetry)

I have moved my poetry to a separate blog altogether in order to give them a distinct place to flourish. This particular post has been moved to the following location.

http://www.stotramaalika.blogspot.com/2010/02/goumata-vilaapam.html

Thanks for visiting!

8. Sita-Rama principle for a Happy Married Life (Category:- Best Practices)

We all would have read/listened to Ramayana sometime in our life. Ramayana tells us that Sri Rama followed and taught us the principle of "Eka Patnivrata Drahma" (One woman man principle). Same was reciprocated by Mother Sita in return to Rama (One Man Woman).

Now, why did Sita Rama follow such a simple life? Why couldn't they enjoy their life lavishly as like as today's youngsters? Rama was a Prince, he could have wedded many woman and could have spent a lascivious life as like as many other Kings did in our society. Similarly, mother Sita could have accepted Ravana's proposal and could have become the Queen of the palace Lanka which had no match in the three worlds in terms of its beauty. Why did she prefer to suffer than to betray Rama?

Answer to all these queries is only one thing, "There is ultimate satisfaction/happiness/peace only in eka patni/pati dharma". (Of course Brahmacharya/celibacy is superior to everything else, but i would not like to touch that topic here. Would write a separate post some day on that).

Let's take some examples, study them and then draw a conclusion.

• King Yayati:-He was a great king but failed in his life because of lack of fidelity for his queens and 'want for more'. He even exchanged youth of his son with his old age and enjoyed pleasures with Rati's daughter for years. But at last he learnt a lesson that there is no permanant peace/happiness in lusting after many women. There is no end point. He repented and gave his youthfulness back to his son. Most of his life got wasted behind finding peace in extra marital relationships which he couldn't attain. He learnt that devotion/dedication towards one soul-mate gives peace
• Chandra (Moon god):-It's a well known story that Chandra had 27 wives (daughters of Daksha), but out of them he used to neglect everyone and was attached to Rohini only. Practically speaking, one can not share same amount of love with everyone in such relationships. Love remains as a shared pool and whosoever gets the major part remains a bit satisfied while deprives others from their share. This made his marital life disturbed and ultimately had to suffer the curse of Daksha
• Vrihaspati:- He being the Dev guru (Teacher of Demi Gods), himself committed a sin of lusting for his elder brother's wife Mamata and involved in conjugal relationship with her and begot a child from her (his name was Sage Bharadwaja). What repercussions did it have? It made his wife Tara lose faith in him and she also involved herself in extra marital physical relationship with Chandra and begot a son named Budha from him. Could they invest trust in each other anymore? No! The fabric of their married life got damaged beyond repair!!
  
• Tiger Woods:-His life is a hell. I needn't explain anything. Whosoever is abreast with the current affairs would definitely have a clue about his various affairs and his failure in a peaceful marital life
• Bill Clinton:-Again here i wouldn't want to waste my efforts repeating his story. he is also not successful in attaining peace in marital life

Also we can find many youngsters falling and failing in multiple affairs. Nowadays there is seldom any case where you may find that people are peaceful in their marital life. Some of the common thoughts of today's era are:-

• Generic thought:- Who knows what my husband does behind my back?
• Overtime duty:-Today my wife returned late from office. is there something cooking up?
• Charming Colleague:-My Hubby's team mate is so charming. I need to keep an eye on my hubby
• If wife is a homemaker:- i don't know what she does when I'm not at home

People are losing Trust on their spouses and with their own hands making their blissful married life into a bed of thorns experiencing hellish things everyday due to false suspicion. This is in turn leading to many break-ups, separations, quarrels, mental disturbances etc. kind of diseases for which there is no medicine available with medical science.

This is something which has to be solved only with one pill called 'Eka patni/Pati Vrata Dharma'. Eka patni Vrata Dharma doesn't mean staying married with one and eying on some other. This would lead to same disturbance which an extra marital affair would cause. Eka patni Vrata dharma is to remain, Physically, mentally, by heart and soul, dedicated to only one. If someone gets himself uplifted to that pedestal where he can consider all other womenfolk as his Mother/Sister, then there would be no mental disturbance or physical attraction towards other women leading him to stay peaceful in his life. Same applies to women also.

That's what Lord Rama and Sita have taught us. They preached us the two basic elements for any successful relationship to sustain and stand erect for posterity.

Their life teaches us to learn that every relationship is built upon two pillars. First one is "Trust", and second one is "Fidelity (faithfulness)". These are the two common elements we use to build our relationships. In most of the cases it so happens that people remain successful in maintaining them for ever in business relationships with the customer but fail to maintain the same in their personal life.

In this modern aristocratic era people give their prime attention to their professional life whereas their private life gets the least focus. That's the reason we see lot many successful stories of 'Man to Businessman' and on the same lines we see a day by day increase in the graph of stories of separation, divorces, extra marital relationships etc. Where are those successful men failing? Answer is only at two places, viz. Trust and Fidelity!

Fidelity/Faithfulness is the prerequisite to Trust!!

So, what causes Trust to break married people's life in our society? It's clear that lack of fidelity is the answer. Now what could be the reason behind lack of faithfulness? Answer would come as 'Greed, and Dissatisfaction'. Now let's dig into this a bit more further. What's the cause of Dissatisfaction? It's basically a mentality 'All better looking things should become mine!'.

That's the culprit behind all the disturbances!

The day every human being (man and woman both) follows the path shown by Lord Rama and Mother Sita, they would start feeling an upliftment in their personal lives towards a state of serenity and ultimate bliss!

It's not Betterment which counts....It's the Commitment which pays in the long run..!!

9. An Experiment with Brahmacharya (Category:- Real Experiences)

It's a common misconception among us that Brahmacharya means Celibacy, but actually it's something very vast.
Brahmacharya = Brahman + Charya; which means 'Dwelling in the Supreme Being'. But for this 'Celibacy' is a mandatory Prerequisite. That's why people correlate Brahmacharya with Celibacy and it ends up in identifying both as one and the same. Here we would discuss Brahmacharya in terms of Celibacy.
Brahmacharya is a state which once achieved, makes a human insulated to all the kinds of Vikaras. Once this state is attained, we become free of all the attachments, and attractions. This state makes us more focused to realize the supreme being.

Glory of Brahmacharya:- Our saints and scriptures say that a person who could retain his vital fluids within himself without losing even a single drop of it for 12 years, he becomes an 'Akhand Brahmachari'. For such a being, nothing is impossible. he becomes godly in that very same life.
An Akhand Brahmachari can easily realize God within himself. For him Kundalini raises easily and he achieves vision of the supreme being in his Sahasrara Chakra (crown chakra in his head). Such people can also attain astha siddhis easily.

Examples of people who were Akhanda Brahmachari:-

• We have Bheeshma in Mahabharata who remained invincible and invulnerable to anything because of his Brahmacharya. In Virat war, Arjuna fires 'Sammohana Astra' and makes everyone senseless. But Bheeshma just enacts as if he was also victimized. Arjuna tells to Uttar not to touch Bheeshma and says that Sammohanastra can't caste any spell on Bheeshma
• Hanuman, the hero of Ramayana, was a man who faced no defeat in his life. Every work he undertook, success followed him. That's the power of Brahmacharya
• Lakshmana, another hero of Ramayana, practiced Brahmacharya for 14 years and became akhand brahmachari and that's why he could defeat the unbeatable-Meghnad/Indrajeet
• Even Adi Shankaracharya, and Swami Vivekananda kind of Saints practiced Brahmacharya and became victorious in their works. They have also sung the glories of celibacy and taught that Brahmacharya is the best gateway to Salvation

'Brahmacharya' does not only mean physical chastity, but it encompasses the following areas. failure in any one of the below items leads to total failure in Brahmacharya.

1. Brahmacharya in thought:- This is the toughest nut to crack. One can attain physical Brahmacharya by a little practice of Yoga, meditation and Prayers, but erasing the devil inside the mind is not so easy. It requires regular practice, focus, belief and god's blessings to achieve mental brahmacharya
2. Brahmacharya in word:- We can achieve this by not uttering any bad words or not using any filthy language. This is not very tough. This can be achieved easily if we remain in good company of friends
3. Brahmacharya in deed:- This is a super set of Physical Brahmacharya. A person who doesn't indulge in adultery and related practices achieves this more than 50%. But also there are some other acts where one has to maintain sanctity. e.g. if we are giving alms to a beggar, we should give it as if we are saying thanks to him/her for giving us an opportunity to help her fight her hunger. We should treat every such opportunity as a chance given by god. One who follows all such good things and makes them his deeds in his/her day to day life; he attains Brahmacharya in deed. It builds character. teaches morals and makes us strong in values

However, to achieve all round celibacy the first and foremost step is to achieve success in Physical Celibacy. But in today's world it's a herculean task to hold your vital fluids within yourself for long. Reason is the corruption of human mind, loss of moral values, and degradation of social and cultural ethics in our society.
Well, we have discussed enough of this theoretically, let me go to practical experiences now.

My Real Life Experience:-
Few months back when i read the glories of Brahmacharya, i became so motivated with it, that i started pushing myself towards the same. For me, by God's grace diversions in thoughts do not occur without my wish. As per the teachings on the same i wanted to attain Akhanda Brahmacharya which of course takes 12 years of hard work and if i marry i can't attain the same. But till that time if i can follow this path i would be the happiest person on the earth. For this, foremost thing is, not to allow the vital fluids to get wasted since this is the fluid which makes or mars one's spiritual life. This liquid when held within, shows you the path of salvation and on the other hand if released out, leads you to the doorstep of hell. So for me the first important thing was to close the tap completely. By god's grace i was successful for a week to 10 days. But again when the kundalini energy gets excessively accumulated in the Muladhara Chakra, and we do not know how to transmute it, metabolism of our body, in order to regulate and maintain itself, leaks it out without our permission in our deep sleep. So, to avoid such embarrassments i was searching for some techniques to transmute the excess energy which gets formed gradually in our body. I found the following tricks in Orkut forums (Thanks to Dr. Gandhi) which proved highly helpful for me to achieve my goal.

Sure Fire Techniques:-
Below are listed some sure fire techniques to achieve physical Brahmacharya.

Ashwini Mudra Method:-

1. Contract your anus and hold it as long as possible
2. While you are holding the anus contracted, make your sexual energy located at the lower Chakras to move up towards and into your head .this can be done by moving your attention along the spine upwards repeatedly and trying to feel for the energy moving up the spine.
3. If at first, even if you don't feel any thing; continue, gradually after some days you will really perceive the energy moving up your spine with this technique
4. Repeat this tracking the energy up the spine 30-60 times, while holding the anus contracted through out the whole procedure (for me doing 5-10 tracking(s) itself works fine. This may vary from one individual to another)
   
5. Do this daily to maintain Brahmacharya easily. By doing this technique daily i found that any unfavorable circumstance out side ,cannot disturb my Brahmacharya.
6. Some amount of energy in lower Chakras is required for daily work (yogis say that for every work, some amount of energy is drawn from the base of spine). Don't over do this transmutation because excess transmutation will cause weakness , 30-60 tracking(s) up is alright and doesn't cause weakness for some people. It may vary from person to person
7. Also doing this before sleeping will surely prevent wet dreams
8. This technique will keep the mind pure and you will notice a considerable decrease in lust
9. After doing this technique if you have time, try doing some sort of meditation at least for 10 minutes. 'Bhramari Mudra of Pranayama gives great peace to mind, I do this and find my mind totally settled and find great peace). Meditation is not compulsory, but it's nice to have thing. Doing meditation will remove any feeling of tiredness you may get if you do excess transmutation. And also meditation helps transmutation of sexual energy according to literature

Tibetan rite 6 Method (very spontaneous and results oriented):-

With this technique, even with out trying to move the sexual energy up, as with Ashvini Mudra technique , you could feel the energy moving up spontaneously after doing this rite 6.
The purpose of the Tibetan rite 6 exercise is to redirect the excess of sexual and reproductive energy, generated by the activity of the base Chakra (Muladhara) to all higher Chakras along the spine.
The technique is as follows:
Deep Breathing:

1. Stand comfortably and exhale as you bend from the waist, placing your hands on your knees
2. Expel the last bit of air from your lungs and without taking in new breath, return to an erect position
3. Place your hands on your hips, with fingers to the front and press as hard as you can while sucking in the abdomen
4. This will raise your shoulders and chest. While holding in the abdomen, also squeeze the pubococcygeal muscle* up to emphasize the upward thrust
5. Hold this position and bring your closed eyeballs to the point between the eyebrows so that all this lower Chakric energy will rise up to the highest centers
6. When you must take a breath, breathe in through your nose and then exhale through the mouth as you drop your arms down to your sides to relax
7. Take in several normal breaths through the nose and mouth before beginning again

Pubococcygeus* muscle is that muscle which helps in stopping the urination in between. Try to see the working of it while you urinate and trying to stop the stream in between.
According to Lamas this exercise should NOT be practiced excessively, otherwise this exercise does more harm than benefit, by draining the energy from the base Chakra. As per Dr. Gandhi's experience, if you do this exercise excessively you will experience weakness and a feeling of inability to express emotions. Doing this exercise once or twice a day doesn't cause any of these side effects. Before sleeping, I do this exercise 5 times and I feel comfortable with it. Try to find out by experimenting how frequently you can do this exercise with out these side effects

Final word:-

The above methods shield you when you are awake and also expected to shield when you are asleep also. But to be on safer side, i also pray to god before sleeping to protect me from all evil and keep monitoring me. Prayers to God have really helped me on top of those methods. I feel very much peaceful, focused, and happy to have no Vikaara. Brahmacharya gives a very good feeling. It makes us free from all diversions, our mind remains focused on our work, uplifts us spiritually to higher plains, and gives a divine level of peacefulness.

I'm thankful to god in helping me through out the way and still he is helping in all the ways. "Love you my Lord Shiva!! I'm always grateful to you for showing me this great path. Let me never aberrate from this path and let me finally reach you".

10. A Trip to Tirumala Tirupati (Category:- Real Experiences)

Last week we got a chance to visit Tirupati. We stayed there for 3 days (27th Feb-01st Mar'10).
27th morning we stepped down the Train and went straight to the back side of the Railway Station where Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) office was there. We had to stand in a queue for booking the Darshanam ticket.
It was early morning and the environment was very pleasant. It thrilled me to see a 'Veda PathaShala' in the same premises out of which many Veda-Vidhyarthi(s) were coming out. They were dressed in Indian traditional clothes (Dhoti), had the sacred thread visible, and nicely smeared Namam on their forehead. That scene reminded me of the movie on Sri 'Adi Shankaracharya' made in Sanskrit. I felt as if I had traversed back in time to 50-100 years back. That entire environment (leaving the people in queue aside) was so cool and pleasant that i wished i could also study Vedas in such a great school and dress myself so traditionally.

My happiness was not even subsided that another scene had taken my heart to the 9th cloud of elation. All of a sudden i heard a voice; a very familiar one, which i always loved to hear. Yes, that was the mooing of a cow. I turned my head towards my right and found that a herd of cows with their calves were standing there. 2 of them were pure white, one was striped in brown and white. Their calves resembled their mothers.
Within my heart i addressed them as 'Gow-Mata' and very happily started gazing at them. They were all Indian cows. Since my childhood i loved Cows a lot. I love only Indian cows and do not have much affinity towards foreign breeds like Jersey etc.
Indian cows have a heart of a mother. They remain innocent, meek, and love us like a real mother. On the contrary, foreign breeds usually remain short tempered. To milk a foreign breed cow usually i found people tying their hind legs and making them vulnerable and then milk. But my favorite Indian mother cows are largehearted, loving and giving mothers. They usually don't need any rope work. My philosophy is, what's the use of those foreign milk machines which produce tonnes of lifeless white liquid? I would always rather prefer to drink just an ounce of milk from the Indian gow mata which contains the sweetness of her motherly love making it equivalent to ambrosia.

Soon we purchased the Darshan tickets and our allotted timing was 10:00 PM on the same day. In the evening we traveled to Tirupati, which is on the 7th Hill. We stood in the Darshan queue and by God's grace there was not much crowd. I knew the norm of Darshan which states that one should first see 'Lord Varaha Swami' and then only one should see lord Venkateswara. But unfortunately i had a misconception that Varaha Swami is also situated in the same place around Venkateswara. All the time my eyes were eagerly searching and looking out for Varaha Swami, but all i could find was venkateswara everywhere. Finally i had to see Venkateswara only and then i enquired a guard and came to know about the actual place where Varaha Swami resides. Better luck next time!
After collecting the Laddu from the same place, same night we came back to Tirupati where we stayed in a TTD booked room.

In Tirupati we visited Mangapatnam where Goddess Alamelumanga (Wife of Venkateswara) resides. Also went to Srinivasamanga Patnam where Lord Venkateswara's elder brother GovindaRaju's temple is built. Both the places were very beautiful. My mother Alamelumanga gave us her Darshan with all her grace. Crowd was less and we had nice time sitting in that beautiful temple of the universal mother. In Govindaraju's temple i wished i could stay there for my whole life. I usually get attracted towads archaic form of buildings, traditions, culture etc. So the temples which had old Indian design patterns, had taken my heart and soul away with them.

During the whole 3 days Trip i was constantly chanting Lord Venkateswara's name and Mother Goddess' names. Another happy incident happened with me. For me it is not less than a miracle, hence i would call it a Miracle not an incident. I love 3 mother goddesses more than my life viz. Goddess Parvati, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. And often i pray them to make me their own son forever. I usually ask them to give me their names so that i can become Parvati-Putra, Lakshmi-Putra and Saraswati-Putra. These 3 days also i prayed the same to Goddess Alumelumanga (Lakshmi). While we were coming out from our rooms to catch our Train, we saw in the same TTD premises a tourist-Bus on which the name was written as 'SantoshLakshmi'. The very sight of that name made me overflow with happiness and tears rolled down the cheeks out of uncontrollable gladness. I thanked mother Lakshmi for having indirectly assured me of making me her son by showing me a name where she attached her name with that of mine.

Finally i was back to my city on 3rd Morning and Joined office chores as usual!