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Cosmology Lessons from Chapter 8 of the Bhagavad Gita

An artist’s depiction of the Hindu view of cosmology

There are literally billions upon billions of “universes” where “universe” means

what modern physics teaches us. If the “universe” is finite and has an “edge” what

is beyond that edge? This question is difficult to answer today but our scriptures

shed some light on this matter. Each bubble above represents an “universe”.

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Table of Contents

Topic Title Page No.

1 Cosmology lessons from chapter 8 of Gita 4

2 Sinking of the Titanic – history lesson 17

3 Bheeshma’s introduction to Vishnu Sahasranamam 20

4 The years in Kaliyuga: Divine days and years 23

5 Srila Prabhupada’s translation of relevant verses:

Canto 3 of Srimad Bhagavatam about yugas

27

6 How should one leave the body? Chapter 8 of Gita 32

7 Bheeshma awaiting his PrayaaNa kaalam 48

8 Bheeshma’s Hymn to Krishna before departing his body 56

9 Srila Prabhupada’s translation of Canto 1, chapter 9

Passing away of Bheeshma in the presence of Krishna

59

10 Lalita Sahasranaamam and seven chakras in human body 64

11 Parikshit prepares for his moment of death 72

12 Brahma fears his own limited lifetime 78

13 Yugasandhyaa: Transitions between the yugas 84

14 The Irony of the Big Questions 90

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Acknowledgements

In addition to a variety of hard copy books and texts, a

number of internet sources (soft books) have also been

consulted in order to compile this document. All these

sources, especially, the sources for the illustrations used

here, have been cited and are gratefully acknowledged.

http://www.vishvarupa.com/vishnu-krishna.html

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Dear All:

Glad to see that our Gita study group is growing.

This is a brief follow-up about the cosmology lesson given by Krishna in

chapter 8. This is also the place where Srila Prabhupada discusses the

details about the duration of the four yugas and Brahma's lifetime, in terms

of human years (see http://www.asitis.com , purport of verse 17, chapter 8).

The question that was asked about how all this relates to the current

calendar that we use is a very good one. The current calendar is called the

Gregorian calendar, after Pope Gregory XIII (who reigned as the Pope from

1572 to 1585), who ordered the Catholic church to study reforms to the

calendar since the date of Easter seemed to be increasingly out of touch

with the seasons. The previous calendar, used in the Western world, was

put into effect by the Romans under Julius Caesar, in 45 BC. In both

England and USA, the old calendar continued to be used even after the

Pope's new calendar came into force. Hence, historians of science note

that Sir Isaac Newton was born on Christmas day while the rest of Europe

was already into the New Year. In the USA too, the old calendar was used

even during the times of George Washington, see link given below.

We will discuss here, briefly, the cosmological

implications of Krishna's teachings in chapter 8 of

the Bhagavad Gita. Here Krishna teaches us how

to prepare for our death and how the lifebreath

should leave the body. This is the beyond the

scope and comprehension of science, as we know

it, and so it is defined here as being non-science;

see also remarks by Srila Prabhupada, page 47.

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(Pope Gregory, used the papal bull, on Feb 24, 1582, to enforce the new

calendar http://www.naturcalendar.com/Tutorial/GregorianCalendar.htm

Ten days were dropped from the calendar and the New Year would be

celebrated on January 1, instead of first day of spring. But many countries

like England refused to accept the new calendar. Almost two centuries

later, twelve days were dropped from the “old” calendar by the British

Calendar act -- the day after Wednesday September 2, 1752 became

September 14, 1752, see http://www.infoplease.com/spot/gregorian1.html.

This is also the origin of April Fool’s day in France --- The French decided

to poke some fun at those who did not accept the new calendar and

continued to celebrate the new year at the start of spring. So only fools

continued to celebrate new year on April 1, instead of January 1, as

ordered by the Pope http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aprilfools1.html )

The relationship between the ideas we find in the “Hindu” scriptures (there

is really nothing “Hindu” about these ideas, these are “universal” ideas,

spoken in Sanskrit, and belong to all humans) like the Gita and Srimad

Bhagavatam, can only be resolved by referring to what is known as

Sheshakali (the number of years of Kaliyuga still remaning, shesham) in

the Hindu Panchangam. Some panchangams convert shesha kali to actual

years elapsed since Kaliyuga started. So, let us start there.

http://www.mypanchang.com/panchangam2012.php

http://www.scribd.com/doc/33619799/Panchangam-Vikruthi-Eng-2010-11

http://www.eng.auburn.edu/~prasaps/panchanga.pdf (2005 was Kaliyear

5106 and so 2012 is Kaliyear 5113).

Timescales, both big and small, are described in Canto 3, chapter 11 of the

Srimad Bhagavatam, including how to construct a clock. One method was

to drain coconut water out by inserting a "tantu" (a small narrow tube made

of natural materials, like thin bamboo stalk) into the coconut, or by draining

a pot of water of a specified size. This is the same as what is known as a

"water clock" built by Europeans and also used by Galileo when he did his

famous experiments on balls rolling down an inclined plane.

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The timescales, big and small, are discussed in the conversation between

Vidura and the sage Maithreya. Vidura did not want to take sides during the

Mahabharata war (indeed, he was insulted by Duryodhana) and left on a

pilgrimage. During that time, he met Uddhava, who was on his way to

Bhadarikaashrama, as ordered by Krishna. Uddhava informed Vidura about

Krishna's return to His Own Abode and also that he had received

instructions from Krishna. Vidura wanted Uddhava to share them with him.

Uddhava, however, said that he should seek out the sage Maithreya who

had been ordered by Krishna Himself to impart the knowledge to Vidura.

(Maithreya also heard what Uddava had heard.)

With this background, let’s start with the actual cosmology lesson.

Sahasra yuga paryantam

ahar yat BrahmaNO vidhuh l

Raatrim yuga sahasraantam

te aho raatra vido jaanaahaa ll 8.17 ll BG

I have reproduced verse 17 of chapter 8 above. What is sahasra yuga?

The duration of Kaliyuga, the name of the age or the yuga in which we live,

is 432,000 years (see page 23 for more details). From the sheshakali

information, this means that Kaliyuga started 5113 years ago. (Some

sources say that the first day coincides with Mahashiva rathri, which was

celebrated recently in 2012.) This means Kaliyuga started in 3101 BC.

There is general agreement on this point, based on many sources that I

have read. Some give it as 3102 BC, see http://www.bhagavad-

gita.org/Gita/intro.html (Remember, there is no year zero AD!)

The duration of Dwapara yuga (when Krishna was born)

is 2 times Kaliyuga, or 864,000 years.

The duration of Tretaa yuga (when Rama was born)

is 3 times Kaliyuga, or 1296,000 years.

The duration of Satya yuga (also called Kruta yuga)

is 4 times Kaliyuga, or 1728,000 years.

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This cycle of four yugas then repeats (like the repetition of the days in a

week, the easiest example that we can understand, or the numbering of

the years in a decade). The total duration for the group of four yugas

here, taken together, is 10 times Kaliyuga. (1+2+3+4 = 10). This is also

called Chaturyuga or Mahayuga. Krishna simply uses the word "yuga" in

verse 17 of chapter 8 instead of Chaturyuga or Mahayuga (which is

indeed used in Bhagavatam). Hence, for this Chaturyuga duration we

get 10 times 432,000 = 4,320,000 years or 4.32 million years.

Now multiply this by 1000 (sahasra yuga paryantam, verse 17) to get

the duration of BrahmaNo ahar - or the day time for Brahma - like our

day time when the sun is up. We get 4.32 billion years for the duration of

Brahma's day time. (The rationale for 432,000 years of Kaliyuga can be

found in Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 3, chapter 11.)

Krishna then says that Brahma also experiences night time of the same

duration (raathrim yuga sahasraanantam, second line of verse 17).

As I had mentioned, here on earth, we experience equal duration of 12

hours of day and night times on the day of the equinox, which typically

falls on March 21 each year (this is the general date, but it can be off by

a day either way). There is one more equinox on September 21 (give

and take a day). During Pope Gregory’s time the accepted date of the

equinox did not coincide with the date on the Julius Caesar calendar.

(Hence, ten days were dropped in 1582 when the Gregorian calendar

took effect.) The day of equinox is special because on that day

EXACTLY the same 12 hours of day and night are experienced ALL

OVER THE WORLD. The variation in hours of day light, as we move

away from the equator, is related to tilt of the earth's axis. Hence, in the

Northern hemisphere the duration of day time is more than 12 hours, as

we are now going to experience during the summer here in the USA.

This is not so much noticeable in places like India, Malaysia, Singapore,

since they are closer to the equator.

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In the Brahma's count, therefore, each day is like an equinox day on

earth. This is the "scientific" explanation for the equal duration of day

and night mentioned by Krishna. Such a rationalization is possible if one

approaches the topic being discussed by Krishna with a reverential

attitude and a willingness to learn.

Why should all this be so surprising, or ridiculous, as some misguided

Westerners who read this think? (They really think the whole of Hindu

cosmology is nonsense. The truth is that it is so mindboggling, or cannot

be "proved", according to their biases. Yes, over the years, I have read

such statements, made by leading Western astronomers, that have

always pained me. Really sorry to even bring this up here! See

http://hinduwisdom.info/Hindu_Cosmology2.htm )

So, having settled this point now, we go to the next step.

One day of Brahma - both night and day taken together - equals 8.64

billion years. This day is called one kalpa. (Some think of kalpa as just

the day time part. I am kind of "defining" kalpa here as the total during

both one single day and night of Brahma.)

Think of "kalpa" as simply a new measure of time, like we use weeks,

instead of days, months instead of weeks, years instead of months, or

decades instead of years, or centuries instead of decades, or

milleniums, instead of centuries. What next? The next level is yugas and

kalpas. Only our scriptures comprehend such vast timescales. There is

no comparable concept in anything created by the so-called science

from the Western world. (They are still stuck on the point of what is

known as the "precession of the equinoxes", which is the main reason

for the difference between Western astrology and Hindu or Vedic

astrology. Western astrologers still pretend that what they are doing is

correct, although Western astronomers laugh at them. The planets are

NOT in the same constellations, or the houses of the zodiac, as claimed

by the Western astrologers, due to the precession of the equinoxes.

That is a different topic altogether.)

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What next? One kalpa, or a day or Brahma equals 8.64 billion years -

with equal day time and night times. Krishna tells us that everything

becomes "avyaktam" during Brahma's night time (in verse 18) and

continues the description in subsequent verses. He mentions that this

process is "avasha", i.e., not in anyone's control, nobody can change it

or control it. Both the "avyaktam" part and the "vyaktam" part is

uncontrollable. The whole aggregate of bhutaas (bhuta graama)

appears at the start of the day (like leaves and flowers appear on trees

at the start of spring, this too is "uncontrollable" unless some scientist

thinks they can make a tree bloom in winter....) and everything

disappears at the start of the night (verse 19).

Avyaktaat vyaktayah sarvaahaa

prabhavanti aharaagame l

Raatryaagame praleeyante

tatraiva-avyakta-samjnyake ll 8.18 ll BG

Bhoota-gramahaa sa evaayam

bhootvaa bhootvaa praleeyate l

Raatryaagame avashah Paartha

prabhavati-ahar-aagame ll 8.19 ll BG

I have reproduced the relevant verses above, without sandhis, so that

each word can be understood. Even as I read them again, I am struck

by these powerful words, yet they are all so simple and can be readily

understood by anyone who has studied Sanskrit (with some dedication).

This is the literary beauty of all of Vyasa’s compositions. There is no

jugglery of words, or what appears to be an attempt to bewilder the

reader (unfortunately found in some writings) with a scholarly exposition.

Or, may be, it is merely a reflection of the clarity of thought (and gunas)

possessed by the author.

What exactly is the state of "avyaktam" and what does this mean?

Does it mean that everything is as it was and just concealed, like all

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humans getting into a dark room, with darkness so dense that we cannot

see each other, or even our own selves? But, this concept means we

are all still intact, only invisible - or avyakta. But, Krishna states clearly in

the next sloka that something else is going on which can be understood

from the word "vinashyati" used in verse 20.

Paras tasmaat tu bhaavOnyahaa

avyaktah avyaktaat sanaatanahaa l

Yah sa sarveshu bhooteshu

nashyatsu na nashyati ll 8.20 ll BG

Vinashyati means complete destruction, nothing is the way it was

before. Sort of like slicing tomatoes and putting all the slices into a

blender and really turning into a real "puree". Or doing the same with

any other fruit or vegetable. But, tomato puree is still tomato. So, the

tomato is not really destroyed. It has only taken a different form. Is that

the same as destruction, or vinashyati? We have to think about that as

well. Krishna also adds nashyatsu? Nashyatsu means while undergoing

“naasha” or destruction. Even as something is experiencing naasha it

not suffering naasha (na nashyati).

By adding nashyatsu (even as destruction is being observed) before “na

nashyati” Krishna is suggesting (by the negation, na nashyati) that the

so-called destruction is only an apparent one. There is something more

which is eternal (sanaatanahaa) which has to be understood. This is

very similar to Krishna’s teachings in chapter 2, where Krishna tells

Arjuna that he (Arjuna) has to learn to look beyond the body. The

destruction of the body is only an apparent destruction. So, is the

destruction of all of creation. There is still something else more eternal.

Anyway, at the end of Brahma’s day, and the start of Brahma's night,

everything becomes "avyaktam" and disappears (praleeyate) and

everything reappers (prabhavati) at the dawn of Brahma's day.

What is the duration Brahma's lifetime? Krishna does NOT get into this

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discussion. His main objective here is to tell Arjuna (and us) that there is

still something that is NOT destroyed (verse 20, paras tasmaat tu

bhavOnyO avvyaktO avyaktaat sanaatanah). This is what we have to

marvel about, relish, comprehend, to understand the meaning of Tad

dhaama paramam ma-ma, in verse 21. It is this "His Own Abode" that

Krishna wants us to return to. But until such time that we really want to

return --- we will all be here -- and have no choice other than to accept

these “rules” of how the Universe operates and has been created by

Krishna (this is stated clearly in chapter 9, verse 10, mayaadhyaksheNa

prakritih sooyate sa caraacaram, also chapter 7, verse 7, Matah para

taram naasti).

When we are ready to return to His Abode, He will take us gladly back.

Then, why are we here? The simple answer is that we are deluded by

His Maa-yaa (a power possessed by Bhagavan alone) and want to enjoy

the pleasures of our bodily existence without realizing that this world is a

dhukkalayam (a house of sorrow) and ashaasvatam (impermanent),

verse 15, chapter 8. To satisfy those desires, we often to turn to

different dieties and worship them (based on advice given to us by

friends, family and elders to do such and such for such and such) and

remain forever deluded. Then, one day, death comes and we are no

more and we don't even realize that we are coming back and the same

cycle will repeat and we will return to the same sorrow. Any sense of

detachment we develop is fleeting and transitory - the most common

examples given are samashaana vairagyam and prasava vairagyam.

We attend a funeral and shed tears and realize that one day it will be our

turn, and then after we leave the funeral home we start planning the next

big party event, vacation plans, and so on, like there is no end. It is said

that women (cannot speak on this point from experience) are supposed

to develop the same type of detachment after suffering the pains of child

labor and child brith. If it were a lasting one, none of us would have a

sibling! A temporary detachment gives way to more attachment.

But, even Brahma has a finite lifetime. In the Bhagavatam it is stated

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(cannot find exact reference now, will report later) that even Brahma is

afraid of his death and wants a lifetime of more than 2 paraardhaas that

has been granted. One year of Brahma equals 360 Brahma days (not

365.25 days as some pseduo-scientific-types believe, one must consult

texts like Bhagavatam) or 360 kalpas, see page 23. One paraardha

equals 50 Brahma years as just noted. And so, Brahma's lifetime is 100

years, or 360 times 100 equals 36,000 kalpas.

Just, remember, Brahma's kalpa = 8.64 billion years and Brahma's

lifetime = 36,000 kalpas.

Now, please do the math (it will give you a lot of pleasure, believe me)

and find the confirmation for the trillions of years quoted for Brahma's life

time. Beware of the pseudo-scientific use of 365.25 Brahma days for

one Brahma year instead of 360 Brahma days for one Brahma year, as

stated clearly in the scriptures.

The Bhagavad Gita was therefore preached by Krishna (or Bhagavan)

over and over many times (as mentioned in chapter 4, starting with

verse 1), and is trillions of years old; see also interesting discussion at

http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/ and Vedic chronology given at

http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Articles/vyasa.html .

In chapter 4, verse 1, Krishna states that he had spoken the same Gita

earlier to Vivaswan (the name of the Sun god) and that Vivaswan

instructed the same to Manu (the first Manu), who preached it to

Ikshvaaku (ancestor of Lord Rama) and then was handed down through

the generations.

Finally, we must discuss the point of manvantaras (based on Canto 3,

chapter 11 of Srimad Bhagavatam). In one kalpa, or more correctly one

day time of Brahma, there are 14 Manus. Our Manu, called Vaivaswata

Manu (son of Vivaswan, the Sun God) is the seventh Manu. Since each

kalpa has 1000 chaturyugas, each manu rules for 1000/14 = 71

Chaturyuga and a bit more (6/14), which is roughly 71.5 chaturyugas.

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This is like the term of office for a President or a Prime Minister.

Everything continues, as before, and Manus simply change during the

day time of Brahma. The duration of a single manu's reign is called a

Manvantara (topic of Canto 3, chapter 11 of Srimad Bhagavatam).

Hence, during the sankalpam, done during prayers, we say Vaivaswata

manvantare. The names of the earlier and future Manus are also found

in Bhagavatam (Canto 8, chapter 1). In verse 4 of chapter 1, Canto 8,

Shukacarya tells Parikshit that in the kalpa that we live in, we have

already experienced the reign of six manus (starting with Swayambhu

manu, at that time, people said Swaayambhuve manvantare).

We also say ashtavimshati tame followed by Kaliyuge. What does this

mean?

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Now, ashta = 8 and vimshati = 20 and so we are talking about 28

something. Since our Manu will be around for 71 Kaliyugas, this tells us

that we are living in the 28th Kaliyuga of our Manu.

Like the days of the week, the days of Brahma also have a name. This is

what shewta varaha kalpe means - we are telling the name of the kalpa

as well.

So, what does the sankalpam do for us? Why do recite all this? It is a

reminder about our place in the cosmic order - a bigger order than we

can comprehend using the Gregorian calendar years. It tells us that we

are living in

the second half of Brahma's lifetime - dwitiya paraardhe the kalpa named shewate varaha - in that year of Brahma. the reign of the manu named Vaivaswata (son of Vivaswaan, the Sun

God) the 28th Kaliyuga of the reign of said manu. the years of Kaliyuga remaining (are implied by the Panchangam,

which is cited in what follows, via, tithi, varam, nakshatram, etc.)

When these details change, great rishis will appear and will rewrite the

sankalpam for us. In the 29th Kaliyuga, if we return, we will be saying the

correct Kaliyuga. If we return during the time of the next Manu (given in

12th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam), we will be reciting the name of that

Manu. It will no longer be Vaivaswata manvantare.

For example, the first sloka of the Prathama caritam of Devi Mahatmyam

mentions SaavaraNi manu. He is the eighth manu and the son of Surya

Bhagavan (by his wife named SavarNi). So, are the battles described in

Devi Mahatmyam future events or are they actually past events? Why

would I even say past events?

Well, readers should be able to answer this question now for themselves.

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Rituals such as sankalpams (and “abhivaadaye” chanted during Sandhya

vandanam) remind us about who we are and where we belong in the

cosmic order.

Very sincerely

V. Laxmanan

April 9, 2012

P. S. Please do not hesitate to point out any mathematical errors in my

"calculation" here. I may have mistyped millions and billions. I do not claim

any authoritative mantle to express these ideas here. This is simply a

humble sharing of views, as I understand them, thanks to the gift of many

years of Sanskrit study that I received as a teenager. I have tried very hard

to keep "interpretations" out of the "translations" although, I have to admit,

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that I have made a few strong statements here - mainly to caution against

the annoying attempt to incorporate so-called western science into such

calculations. Sincere apologies and no offense was intended to non-Hindu

readers. I do hope this will indeed find to be a topic of interest to all.

There is a place for science and there is a place for everything else which

is non-science (not nonsense). This is a case of applying math principles

to what is non-science, or metascience, or learning from the authoritative

words of Krishna Himself in the Gita. (Is Gita authoritative scripture? Are

these authoritative words of Krishna? I refer you to verses 15 and 16 of

chapter 7 for further clarification - na Maam dushkrutinO moodhaah and

Chaturvidhaah bhajante Maam....).

Science, as correctly understood, limits itself mainly to the study of the five

gross elements in form of the other (physics, chemistry, and related

science, including the engineering sciences and technology, etc.). Some

attempts are made to understand manas, buddhi, and ahankaram (mind,

intelligence, intellect, ego, for want of a better translation for these two

words, via biological sciences, psychology and psychiatry, and

pharmaceutical drugs and testing prescribed for maladies related to the

mind, or brain processes). However, these eight constitute what Krishna

defines as Prakriti (chapter 7, verse 4, see below). The study of Gita has

opens us to what is beyond science, or what I have called non-science.

This is what Krishna has been preaching Arjuna – who was deluded and

suffered a classical mental breakdown – the expression of Adhyaatma in a

rudimentary way. To overcome this type of a breakdown, especially by an

extraordinary person like Arjuna, one has to go beyond all of this and attain

a higher understanding. This is non-science and cannot be fathomed even

by the “sciences” such as psychology since they do not yet understand

what goes on in Yogic practices described in chapters 6 and 8.

Everyone dies. But most people just die. Krishna teaches us how we

must die and control our life-breath at that moment when it arrives.

This is the realm of non-science. We will discuss this in more detail in

later postings.

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Dear All:

Here's an interesting follow-up on why we recall our place in the cosmic

order (during recitation of sankalpam, or abhivaadaye during Sandhya

vandanam). Our memories of events is so limited that now we have people

Tweeting about the Titanic. Some do not seem to know the sinking of the

luxury vessel Titanic was an actual historical event.

The Titanic hit the iceberg just before midnight on April 14, 1912 (at 11:50

PM, if remember correctly) and sank by 2:20 am on April 15, 1912. I

remember this because April 15 is traditionally tax day in the USA and April

14 also has a personal significance for me (remembering by association, a

common memory aid).

If we do not recall events that happened in our own lifetimes, or a 100

years ago (the 100th anniversary of the actual sinking is approaching

hence all the hype), how are we to recall things that occurred billions or

even trillions of years ago?

That is the record that is available to us through the scriptures such as the

Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam, and also preserved, unknown to us in

the ritualistic chantings/recitations just mentioned. Preserving the Vedas,

emphasized by acaryas like Kanchi Paramacarya, by supporting young

students who are willing to take their study seriously, serves the same

purpose. Now, enjoy the Titanic Tweets and the slide show.

Very sincerely

V. Laxmanan

April 10, 2012

P. S. I found an important typo in the Cosmology write up yesterday, which

you can find below. Both the "avyaktam" part and the "vyaktam" part is

uncontrollable. It is uncontrollable, not controllable. I also edited some

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other minor typos to that write up and made a couple of additions. This will

be uploaded later as a public document, available on the Internet.

******************************************************************

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/04/06/stupid_people_on_twitter

_why_buzzfeed_the_huffington_post_and_other_media_shouldn_t_mock_t

hem.html

Stop Cherry-Picking Stupid People’s Tweets

By L.V. Anderson

| Posted Friday, April 6, 2012, at 5:54 PM ET

The Huffington Post recently published a slide show of tweets ostensibly

revealing people's ignorance of the historical existence of the Titanic.

First we heard about the musical philistines who were unfamiliar with

Arcade Fire and Bon Iver. Then came the people who had never heard of

former Beatle Paul McCartney when he performed at the Grammys (“WHO

IS THIS WHITE MAN”), followed shortly by those who were ignorant of

Oscar host Billy Crystal’s claim to fame (“Who is this Billy Crystal guy and

why does his face look like a sponge?”). Now, upon the 3D rerelease of

Titanic, the Huffington Post has catalogued a list of tweets from people who

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ostensibly aren’t aware that the Titanic’s sinking was a real historical event

(“Wait, so titanic was a real ship?”).

Images of Titanic sinking and New York Times front page on April 16, 1912

http://www.boweryboogie.com/2012/04/100-years-of-titanic-tragedy-not-even-

god-himself-could-sink-this-ship/

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Bheesha’s introductory remarks

leading to Vishnu Sahasranaamam

Dear All:

Within the context of our discussion of cosmology lessons from chapter 8 of the

Bhagavad Gita, it is also worth recalling the introductory slokas of the VishNu

Sahasranaamam, under Bheeshma uvaca, which then lead up to the recitation of

the 1000 names of Mahavishnu. Bheeshma is responding to the questions posed by

Yuddhishttira, given below. (The earlier, and future, write-ups on this topic are

available as a public document at the link given below. This will be updated as we

continue with the chapter 8 discussion.)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/88741084/Cosmology-Lessons-from-the-Gita

Yuddhishttira uvaca

Kim ekam daivatam loke kim vaapyekam parayaNam l

Stuvantah kam kam archantah praapnuyuh manavaah shubham ll

Ko dharmah sarva dharmaaNaam bhavatah paramO matahaa l

Kim japan mucyate jantuhu janma samsara bandhanaat ll

Bheeshma uvaca

Jagat prabhum deva devam anantam purushottamam l

Stuvan naama sahasreNa purushah satatOtthitahaa ll

Yuddhishttira’s questions appear in the two slokas quoted above. The questions

posed by him are: (see also Anantarama Deekshitar’s Jaya Mangala stotram, vol 1

and also the link given below.

http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/ahobilavalli/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol1.pdf )

Page 21 of 101

1. Who is the One (Supreme) Deity? Kim ekam daivatam loke

2. What is the highest goal of life? Kim vaapyekam parayaNam

3. By praising which Deity's auspicious qualities will human beings attain

prosperity in this world as well as bliss in the next? Stuvantah kam….

4. By meditating on which Deity will human beings attain prosperity in this

world as well as bliss in the next? Kam arcantah….

5. By reciting which mantra will man be released from the bondage of the

cycle of birth and death? Kim japan mucyate ….

6. Of the three means referred to above (i.e., recitation, praise or

archana, and meditation), which is the best means for attaining the

grace of the Supreme Deity based on your vast experience and

knowledge? Ko dharmah sarva dharmaaNaam….

Bheeshma's response, of which only the first verse is reproduced above, follow in

the next thirteen (13) verses. The three statements made in these verses

a) satata utthitah (satatOtthitah) – always rising, never falling

b) sarva dhukkatigObhavet – getting over all sorrows

c) papa bhayaapaham – all sins, all fears are overcome

are indicative of the answer to the final question posed – how does one get

liberated (mucyate) and overcome the bondage (bandhanam) of this birth (janma)

and this life (samsara).

In his (Bheeshma’s) considered opinion, a person tides over all the sorrows in this

world by reciting with undiluted devotion the Thousand Names of the Eternal

Person, worshiping Him always with devotion, meditating upon Him, glorifying

Him, saluting Him by prostrating before Him, and adoring Him (dhyaayan,

stuvan, namasyamsca, yajamanas tameva ca). This is the gist of the answer.

However, there are many slokas that mirror some of the very same ideas about

creation and dissolution as explained by Krishna in chapter 8.

In the first verse under Bheeshma uvaca, given above, Bheeshma says that the

person who (purushah) sings (stuvan) the glories of Purushottama (the Supreme

Being), the Eternal Being (Anantam), the God of all the gods (deva devam), the

Page 22 of 101

Master of the Universe (Jagat prabhum), with His 1000 names (naama sahasreNa),

is always (satata) elevated (utthitahaa), i.e. such a person rises to the higher lokas

and will attain moksha.

In the next three verses, which must be read together to complete the thought in the

first sloka. The pronoun “tam”, which leads the second verse, refers to the

Supreme Being described in the first of the verses. Verses 3 and 4 provide

additional descriptions of glorifications of this Supreme Being (Jagatprabhu,

Devadeva, Purushottama). Bheeshma says that such a person will overcome all the

sorrows of existence (sarva dhukkaatigo bhavet). Recall Krishna talking about

dhukkalayam, in chapter 8, verse 15. Here Bheeshma provides the recipe for

overcoming our sorrowful existence. The person is always performing arcanas

(arcayan nityam), i.e., worshipping with namas, not just doing the chanting the

names), to Him and Him alone (tam eva), with a great deal of devotion (bhaktyaa).

He is always meditating on Him (dhyaayan), always sings the glories (stuvan), and

always bowing down (namasyan ca), and consider only Him to be the Master of all

(yajamaanas tameva ca). This Supreme Being, named Vishnu, is without any

beginning (anaadi) or end (nidhanam), He is the great Lord (Maheswara) of all the

worlds (lokaas) and He is the Lord of all the worlds (lokaadhyaksham). To Him he

directs his praises and attains full liberation from all of his sorrows.

Bheeshma continues his description of this Lord, with a great deal of devotion, in

subsequent verses and finally he names this Supreme Being as Vishnu. He states

that he would like Yuddhishttira (Bhupate, since he is also the king) to hear from

him the 1000 names of VishNu, the Jagannaatha, the Supremo of all the worlds

(loka pradhaana). He will destroy (apahaa) all our paapaas (sins) and bhayams

(fears). Then he adds, in the next verse, “It is from Him (yatah) that all the bhootas

or beings (sarvaNi bhootani) emanate at the beginning of the yuga (yugaagamay)

and it is into Him that they dissolve at the end of the yuga (yugakshaye).”

In chapter 8, Krishna does NOT specifically identify VishNu as the source of

creation, or the sink, when dissolution sets in. He merely states that beyond this

process of innumerous and repeated creations and dissolution lies something

eternal, which is never destroyed, even as it appears that all of creation is being

destroyed (verse 19, chapter 8, bhoota graamah sa evavaayam…). Krishna also

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mentions, in verse 22, that one can, however, attain (labhyas tu) with unalloyed

devotion (bhaktyaa ananyayaa) that Supreme Being (Purushah sa Parah) within

Whom (yasya antasthaani) are present all of the beings (bhootaani) and from

Whom springs all of this (yena sarvam idam tatam).

Krishna does not name the Supreme as Vishnu but Bheeshma does. There is,

however, an amazing similarity in the description of creation and dissolution. In

the next email we will how Krishna wants us to leave the body at the time of our

final journey (PrayaaNa kaale).

As we study this, we must also keep in mind Bheeshma’s standing. We can accept

Bheeshma’s statements as authoritative; see later how Bheeshma breathed his last.

We will return to this point after we discuss Krishna teachings about how to leave

the body and breathe our last.

Very sincerely

V. Laxmanan

April 10, 2012

******************************************************************

The years of Kaliyuga

Earlier it was noted, without further proof or elaboration, that the duration of

Kaliyuga, the name of the age or yuga that we live in, is 432,000 years. Here we

will discuss how this figure is arrived at. The rationale is found in Canto 3, chapter

11 of the Srimad Bhagavatam; see also Srila Prabhupada’s translations.

http://srimadbhagavatam.com/3/11/en

In verses 18 and 19 of chapter 11, Canto 13, we find the following very concise

statement about the yugas. Notice that the duration of the various yugas is given

in terms of divine years, NOT human years. The sage Maithreya said (in

conversation with Vidura): It has been ascertained that the four yugas – Kruta,

Treta, Dwaapara, and Kali, taken together last for 12,000 divine years i.e., the year

according to the reckoning of the gods (3.11.18).

Page 24 of 101

The duration of the four yugas are measured using the following unit: 1000 divine

years plus 2 times 100 years to account for the transitions from one yuga to the

other. In other words, the unit is 1200 divine years. The four yugas are, in order, 4

times, 3 times, 2 times, and 1 time, this basic unit. Hence, Kruta yuga, also known

as Satya yuga, has 1200 times 4 = 4800 divine years, Treta yuga has 3600 divine

years, Dwaapara yuga has 2400 divine years and Kaliyuga has 1200 divine years.

What is a divine year? One divine year is composed of 360 divine days, i.e., a

day according to the celestials (or the gods).

What is one divine day? A year for humans equals a day for the gods. Hence,

one divine day, by definition, equals one human year. If we are clear about this

definition of a divine year and a divine day, it is obvious that the EXACT duration

of a human year is of NO CONSEQUENCE.

Hence, one divine year = 360 divine days = 360 human years, ALWAYS,

regardless of the exact duration of one human year. This then leads to the

following counts for the duration of each of the four yugas.

Kaliyuga = 1200 divine years = 1200 times 360 = 432,000 human years

Dwaapara = 2400 divine years = 2400 times 360 = 864,000 human years

Treta = 3600 divine years = 3600 times 360 = 1296,000 human years

Kruta (Satya) yuga = 4800 divine years = 4800 times 360 = 1728,000 human years.

The total duration of the four yugas taken together is (1+2+3+4 = 10) times

Kaliyuga duration = 12,000 divine years, or equivalently, 432,000 times 10 =

4.32 million divine days = 4.32 million human years.

One daytime for Brahma equals 1000 such cycles of the four yugas = 4.32 billion

years. An equal duration of Brahma’s night time follows, similar to the situation

here on earth on the day of the equinox.

Finally, it is of interest to note that in ancient times, Babylonian astronomers had

reported that one year was equal to 360 days. This is recorded history and the

Babylonians were skilled astronomers. Hence, the error of 5.25 days (one year is

now accepted as slightly less than 365.25 days) must make us pause and wonder.

How could such a huge error be made by astronomers who were quite skilled in

Page 25 of 101

other observations? Also, one must

remember that the number of days

in a month was fixed based on lunar

observations – a month being the

duration between one new moon to

another, which was typically 29 or

30 days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylo

nian_astronomy

http://www.webexhibits.org/calenda

rs/calendar-ancient.html

Nonetheless, a careful study

of Bhagavatam shows that

the duration of the various

yugas, in human years, has

nothing to do with the

number of days in a human

year. This important point is

often overlooked and appears

to be poorly understood.

Lastly, let us consider the rationale

for 360 divine days in one divine

year. This arises quite simply from

30 days in a month and 12 months

in a year, which gives 360 days in a

year. All divine months have equal

number of divine days. How is this

possible?

Well, we do experience equinox

here on earth – when the hours of

daytime and night-time are exactly

equal ALL OVER THE WORLD. This happens on two days in our earth-year.

Brahma’s lifetime = 100 years

Each Brahma year (BY) has 360

Brahms days (BD) called kalpas. One

kalpa includes daytime (ahah अहः)

and nighttime (raatri रात्रि) of equal

duration, see Ramanuja’s commentary

http://www.bhagavad-

gita.org/Gita/verse-08-17.html

So, Brahma’s lifetime = 36,000 kalpas

Daytime has 1000 Chaturyugas(Cy)

with equal time for night.

So, one kalpa = 2,000 Chaturyugas.

So, Brahma’s lifetime equals 36,000

times 2000 Chaturyugas = 72 million

Chaturyugas (Cy).

One Chaturyuga has 12,000 divine

years (DY).

So, Brahma’s lifetime equals 72 million

times 12,000 divine years = 864 billion

divine years (DY)

The above calculations have nothing to

do with any human days, years, or time

durations. Multiply DY by 360 to get

Brahma’s lifetime in human years. The

number is 311,040 billion (human)

years or 311.04 trillion years.

Page 26 of 101

There is no reason to believe that such a perfect equality of days in a month is

impossible; see also how Srila Prabhupada breaks down the lifetime of Brahma in

the following sloka from The Srimad Bhagavatam.

http://srimadbhagavatam.com/3/9/18/en (Canto 3, chapter 9, verse 18, which we

will discuss more completely later, see page 78.)

Canto 3: The Status Quo Chapter 9: Brahmā's Prayers for Creative Energy

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.18

Yasmād bibhemy aham api dviparārdha-dhi yam

adhyāsita sakala-loka-namask ta yat

tepe tapo bahu-savo 'varurutsamānas

tasmai namo bhagavate 'dhimakhāya tubhyam

SYNONYMS

yasmāt — from whom; bibhemi — fear; aham — I; api — also; dvi-para-ardha —

up to the limit of 4,300,000,000 x 2 x 30 x 12 x 100 solar years; dhi yam —

place; adhyāsita — situated in; sakala-loka — all other planets; namask tam —

honored by; yat — that; tepe — underwent; tapa — penances; bahu-sava —

many, many years; avarurutsamāna — desiring to obtain You; tasmai — unto

Him; nama — I do offer my obeisances; bhagavate — unto the Supreme

Personality of Godhead; adhimakhāya — unto Him who is the enjoyer of all

sacrifices; tubhyam — unto Your Lordship.

********************************* It was noted earlier that the EXACT duration of a human year is of NO

CONSEQUENCE since the duration of the yugas is related to the number of

divine years and divine days. What is the duration of the human year

changes? The duration of the yugas still remains the same.

What if humans were to move to Mars or Venus, or one of the habitable

moons of Saturn, or to one of the other exo-planets - the inhabitable planets

found in recent years by astronomers in distant galaxies orbiting around very

distant stars?

Page 27 of 101

Since all these planets still become to the same material universe, the duration

of the divine day is not changed – only the duration of the year for humans

living on these exotic distant planets changes. This is the deeper significance of

the definition of the duration of the yugas in terms of divine years and days.

******************************************************************

Srila Prabhupada’s translation

of the relevant verses from Canto 3

SB 3.11.18: Maitreya said: O Vidura, the four millenniums are called the Satya,

Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali yugas. The aggregate number of years of all of these

combined is equal to twelve thousand years of the demigods.

SB 3.11.19: The duration of the Satya millennium equals 4,800 years of the years

of the demigods; the duration of the Dvāpara millennium equals 2,400 years; and

that of the Kali millennium is 1,200 years of the demigods.

SB 3.11.20: The transitional periods before and after every millennium, which are

a few hundred years as aforementioned, are known as yuga-sandhyās, or the

conjunctions of two millenniums, according to the expert astronomers. In those

periods all kinds of religious activities are performed.

SB 3.11.21: O Vidura, in the Satya millennium mankind properly and completely

maintained the principles of religion, but in other millenniums religion gradually

decreased by one part as irreligion was proportionately admitted.

SB 3.11.22: Outside of the three planetary systems [Svarga, Martya and Pātāla],

the four yugas multiplied by one thousand comprise one day on the planet of

Brahmā. A similar period comprises a night of Brahmā, in which the creator of the

universe goes to sleep.

SB 3.11.23: After the end of Brahmā's night, the creation of the three worlds

begins again in the daytime of Brahmā, and they continue to exist through the life

durations of fourteen consecutive Manus, or fathers of mankind.

Page 28 of 101

Artists’ depiction of Kalki Avataram (at the end of Kaliyuga) http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=kalki+avatar+pictures&view=detail&id=B

4BB29550DBDA5DB2D67AF00F3C33A2A30429550&first=0&qpvt=kalki+avat

ar+pictures&FORM=IDFRIR

Canto 12: (12-16) When the bodies of all living entities by the contamination of

Kaliyuga are in decay and the dutifulness of the members of all status-orientations

is lost, when the vedic path fit for all men has changed into an atheistic conception

of duty, when the kings predominantly act as thieves and men in their various

occupations in truth are all lying bandits of meaningless slaughter, when the

classes are predominantly [profit-]labor-minded, the cows are not better than goats,

the hermitages are just like materialistic homes, family ties do not reach further

than the bonds of marriage, when the plants and herbs have reduced in size and all

trees are like s'amî trees, when there is always lightning in the clouds and the

homes are ruled by loneliness [voidism, impersonalism, see Pranâti], when Kali-

yuga is running at its end and the people have become like asses, the Supreme

Lord will descend in the mode of pure goodness to defend the dharma.

Page 29 of 101

“Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brahmana

of Shambhala village, the great soul Vishnuyasha.” Srimad

Bhagavatam, Canto 12, chapter 2, verses 18 to 20.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalki

The incarnation of Kalki will

take place, as foretold in the

Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Shambhala-grama-mukhyasya

brahmanasya mahatmanah

bhavane vishnuyashasah

Kalkih pradur bhavishyati

Page 30 of 101

Happy (Tamil) New Year

Dear All:

Happy Tamil New Year to all, or as the Tamils say, Puththandu vazhththukkal.

Should have also said Happy Ugadi and Happy Vishu. The Bengali new year also

falls this week.

So, what is one year? As we understand it, it is the time taken for the earth to

complete one orbit (or revolution) around the sun. One year has 365 days, or 366 if

it is a leap year, hence we use 365.25 days, on average, if we want to be more

“scientifically rigorous”.

What is a day? It is the time taken for the earth to complete one rotation, about its

own axis, and face the sun again. How long does this take? How do we know that?

Ah, now we come to the interesting part --- BY DEFINITION, the earth takes 24

hours to complete one rotation and so one day is DEFINED as being equal to 24

hours. This is a definition, folks. Somebody thought of the number 24 and said the

time duration is 24 hours and each hour is DEFINED to have 60 minutes. Hence,

the total minutes in a day equals 24 times 60 = 1440 minutes.

But, mathematics says that 24 times 60 is the same as 60 times 24. What is wrong

with 60 times 24? NOTHING AT ALL, for all those who want to be “scientifically

rigorous”. In fact, this is exactly what we used in ancient times in India. The day

was DEFINED as 60 units of 24 minutes with one muhoortam being DEFINED as

2 units of 24 minutes, so one muhurtam equals 48 minutes and so one day has 30

muhurtams http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_units_of_measurement. SMILE!

How did this change from 60 times 24 to 24 times 60 happen?

Somewhere, for reasons unknown, in parts of the world not called India,

somebody, for reasons unknown, WILLFULLY reversed 60 times 24 to 24 times

60 - just like it happened when America was populated by Europeans. They started

Page 31 of 101

driving on the wrong side of the road, they changed the spelling and dropped "u" in

colour and made it color and mould into mold. The doors open inward instead of

outward and so on. This is history and someone deliberately made, for reasons we

do not know now, deliberately made the change from 60 times 24 to 24 times 60.

Now, with this background, consider this cosmology lesson again about the

meaning one (human) year. One year for the humans (here on earth) equals one

day for the gods. Or, it is actually the other way around. One DIVINE day

equals one HUMAN year. We got it backwards. 360 such DIVINE days equal

one DIVINE year. The Srimad Bhagavatam defines cosmological timescales in

terms of DIVINE YEARS. We try to convert this into human years.

What if humans moved to Mars, like we moved from India to USA and many other

countries? Now what is a day or a year? What is the relation to a divine day and

the divine year and Brahma's day and Brahma's lifetime? Does everything change

since the “HUMAN” year time duration has changed since we moved to a different

planet? Or, what if we moved to a new planet orbiting some new sun in some new

galaxy? Many such new planets and suns have now been discovered.

Brahma’s lifetime is ALWAYS 864 billion Divine years, or 36,000 kalpas

where a kalpa includes the nighttime of Brahma (see table on page 94).

Do read about this in the public document I have uploaded on cosmology lessons

from chapter 8 of the Gita. I have pasted some relevant sections below the

signature line. Happy New Year to ALL - yes, ALL and you know why. Each

day is a new year since it all depends which point on the earth's orbit we choose to

count the start of a new year --- like our individual birthdays. Cheers!

Very sincerely

V. Laxmanan

April 13, 2012

Taken from Cosmology Lessons from Chapter 8 of Gita document, see

http://www.scribd.com/doc/88741084/Cosmology-Lessons-from-the-Gita pages 23 to 26 - section called The Years of Kaliyuga

Page 32 of 101

How should one leave the body?

Representation Shree Cakram

PrayaaNa kaale manasaa-acalena

Bhaktyaa yuktO yoga-balena caiva l

BhruvOr madhye praaNam aaveshya samyak

Sa Tam Param Purusham upaiti Divyam ll 8.10 ll BG

The key words of interest here are bhruvor (eyebrows) madhye

(middle of), which mean in the middle of the two eyebrows.

Page 33 of 101

In verses 10 and 12 of chapter 8, Krishna spells out for Arjuna, very clearly,

how one should leave the body. These two verses are reproduced here.

Representation of the seven chakras in the human body

according to Vedic scriptures

Sarva dwaaraaNi saiyamya

manO hrudi nirudhya ca l

moordhani-aadhaaya atmanah praaNam

aastithO yoga dhaaraNam ll 8.12 ll BG

The key word of interest here is moordhani (which means the

crown of the head).

Page 34 of 101

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=seven+chakras+in+human+body&vie

w=detail&id=F18F78D850B918602759BA0E4D986E3887CEE81E&first=0

Krishna uses the words “bhruvOr madhye” in verse 10 and “moordhani

aadhaaya” in verse 12 to clearly describe how one should control the

lifebreath at the time (kaale) of the journey (prayaaNa). Bhruva means the

eyebrow, and bhrvOh means of the two eyebrows. Maadhye means center

of. Thus, bhruvOr madhye means in the center of, or middle of, the two

eyebrows. What about it?

Krishna says, PrayaaNa kaale, at the time of the journey (when the atma or

soul must depart from the body), bhruvOr madhye praaNam aaveshya

samyak. At the time of this journey, i.e., when the moment of death, dying,

approaches, one must fully and in its entirety (samyak) literally force

Page 35 of 101

(aavashya) the life breath (praaNam) and place it in the middle of, center

of, the two eyebrows.

In various yogic practices, such as PraNaayaamam, the most commonly

known yogic practice, one learns to control the breathing process. At first

we carefully inhale air through our nostrils, actually only one nostril. Then it

is completely held within the body for a brief moment before it is expelled

through the other nostril.

http://www.chakrahub.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/7chakras.jpg

Somewhere along the way this breathing process started in our body. It is

an involuntary process. We cannot help it. Everyone knows how to breathe.

Page 36 of 101

It need not be taught. What we need to learn, or be taught, is how to

regulate this breathing process. It is quite possible to hold the entire breath

within the body for a short time, such as those who perform

praaNaayamam know. Where does the breath reside within the body when

one does the praaNaayamam, or regulated process of inhale-hold-exhale?

It is definitely NOT residing in the middle of the two eyebrows. One can

probably feel it in the lungs, or within the heart, or in some “diffused” form

within the whole body. Just having the breathe held within the body has a

great deal of health benefits (such as how oxygen is absorbed by the blood

and then distributed throughout the body, likewise for things that must be

expelled from the body). But, usually, we do not control the breathe in this

fashion and keep breathing in the so-called “normal” fashion. When we are

“out of breath” or “panting” things change and we are trying desperately to

inhale and bring more oxygen into the body via the enhancement of the

normal breathing process.

Now, Krishna is telling Arjuna (and us) that we have to do something

different. The entire lifebreath, at the moment of the final journey, or death,

must be concentrated so that it is actually residing (or literally pushed into,

forced into) the space between the two eyebrows.

But, Krishna says some more in this verse. Besides holding, or forcing, the

breathe in this fashion – holding is a better word than forcing as we will see

shortly and why so – we must do several other things.

Manaasaa acalena – this must be done with a very steady and calm mind,

one that is not wavering with thoughts like we experience in our day to day

living. We are filled with millions and millions of thoughts and the mind can

take us to places unknown in a matter of seconds.

Bhaktyaa yuktO – one must be filled with devotion. This has to be learned

while we are alive through prayer.

Page 37 of 101

Yoga balena – with the power or strength of yoga. This means we must

also learn some yogic practices. We must learn how to control the breathe

and hold it as described between the eyebrows. This requires practice or

training, like training to play a sport, run a marathon, or many other things

we do in life.

Acalena (steady, not wavering, not wandering) manaasaa (with a mind),

and bhaktyaa yuktO (filled with bhakti or devotion) means that we must be

ready for the moment of death and face it in an absolutely calm manner.

There is no need to fear this moment. Bhakti, devotion, is developed with

regular prayer rituals, such as reciting of the Vishnu Sahasranaamam,

Lalita Sahasranaamam, study of scriptures like Gita and Srimad

Bhagavatam (and other devotional works in many other languages, Indian

and otherwise). Then there will be no fear when the moment of death, or

the final journey (the exact meaning of the words used, mrutyu is NOT

used here).

What happens when one can do this? Krishna tells us in the final part of

verse 10. Sa Tam Param Purusham upaiti Divyam.

Sa, or sahaa, is the pronoun which means “he”. He who does what has

been described. (One could also include here, by implication, saa, the

female pronoun meaning the same. May be ladies should chant saa

instead of sa, when they recite this verse!)

Sa upaiti means, he comes. Actually “eti” means to comes. The addition of

“upa” reinforces the message of coming, as in the words like Upanayanam,

Upanishad, and so on.

Where does he come to, or go to, or arrive at (this is real meaning of upaiti

and the addition of “upa”), if one is thinking of leaving the body and starting

a journey? The answer is Tam Purusham – he arrives at, or goes to, or

comes to, That Purusha, who is qualified by the adjective Param, hence he

comes to that Supreme Being. Krishna also adds Divyam, Divine. He

comes to that Divine Supreme Being.

Page 38 of 101

Imagine how a multitrack situation with a train ready to take off? What will

happen in this situation. The train can only head down one single tracks,

although many are present. It depends on the direction in which the front

end of the train (the engine) is facing. Likewise, a modern airplane can take

off and head in any direction in the vast sky. Yet, the direction that is must

choose to arrive at its desired destination depends on the runway on to

which it is directed. Only then is the plane pointing in a direction that is

conducive to its quickest arrival at its chosen destination. If it takes a wrong

turn, it can always turn around and come back, but this will take a finite

time, and depending on the circumstances, also possibly involving one

more landing and take off, may be even at a different airport. The same

with the train, if it heads down the wrong track.

Now, apply this same analogy to how the lifebreath must leave the body,

based on what Krishna has just described. The directionality, the place

where the lifebreath must be held, before explusion from the body, is just

as important to reach the desired destination – that Divine Supreme Being.

This should convince all of us to do the needful and learning how to hold

the entire lifebreath as described here. If we cannot, they we will be like a

train going down the wrong track, or the airplane taking off from the wrong

runway.

Verse 11, which we will skip for the moment, is a further introduction to the

description of the destination that Krishna to take Arjuna (and us). We will

return to this later. Now, let us consider verse 12, which has been cited

above and which describes what else we must do.

Sarva dwaaraaNi saiyamya

manO hrudi nirudhya ca l

moordhani-aadhaaya atmanah praaNam

aastithO yoga dhaaraNam ll 8.12 ll BG

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Sarva dwaaraaNi saiyamya – The word dwaaram means a door, or a

gate, or the entrance. DwaaraaNi is the plural form. This body is compared

to city with nine gates, or entrances in chapter 5, verse 13. Nava-dwaara

puray dehee… Dhee means one who is holding the body. These nine

entrances are what is being alluded to here. These nine entrances are the

places where external inputs are received by our senses – the two eyes,

the two ears, the two nostrils, the one mouth (never mind, some have more

than one, figuratively speaking) and the two excretory passages which

include the genitals. Females must wonder why only nine are mentioned,

not ten. (That can be a topic for lively debate but outside the scope of the

present!)

ManO hrudi nirudhya ca – The word “ca” is the conjunction “and”. We

must also do something more. The five indriyas (or sensory organs) were

just mentioned and now Krishna manas to these five. The manas is often

translated, for want of a better word, as the mind in English. We have often

discussed the chariot analogy in Gita study. The body is like a chariot

(ratha). The indriyas are like the horses. The manas is like the reins held by

the one driving the chariot. The buddhi, or intelligence or intellect, is like the

charioteer who actually holds the reins that control the horses or indriyas.

Who is within chariot (or the rathin)? That is the dehi, the atma, the resident

of the body and it is this rathin, or dehi, who is using the body (chariot),

using the manas and buddhi to enjoy different pleasures (which is

compared to the road on which the chariot travels). So, now Krishna is

telling us what to do with the manas, or the controlling agency for the

indiryas.

It should be completely restrained (nirudhya), or entrapped, cannot let go.

In psychiatric hospitals, patients who suffer from serious psychological

problems are physically restrained. In extreme cases they put a strait jacket

around them. The process called “nirudhya” here is something similar.

Krishna tells us where the manas should go, or be restrained, or

constrained to be. He says hrudi – in the heart. This is commonly described

as the place within the body where the Supreme Being resides – an

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amsha, or a very small divine fragment. The Goddess Mahalakshmi, or

Sridevi, resides in this place within Paramaatma’s body – hence we say,

Shreevatsaankita vakshasam to describe Him, in the last dhyaanam

sloka (Chaayaayaam paarijaatasya…) of the Vishnu Sahasranaamam.

Also, in the Shantaakaram bhujaga shayanam slokam, we find the

description Yogihrud dhyaana gamyam. Yogi hurd means within the

hearts of yogis. By the process of dhyanam, the yogis try to visualize Him

as being situated within their heart, or hrud.

He is actually situated within everyone’s heart. It is only a matter of learning

(through dhyaanam process) how to visualize Him. Krishna is telling us that

we must do the same, and visualize Him within our heart at the time of our

last journey.

We also learn from this that dhyaanam is a process that is under the

control of the mind, or manas. Only when the manas is brought under

control (by the charioteer who is holding the reins to control the horses) by

the process of completely constraining the manas to hrud, will we succeed

in visualizing Him at the last moment. In other words, when the manas is

NOT constrained into the confines of the hrud area (heart area), it becomes

like the reins let loose by the charioteer and the horses (indriyas) run wild

seeking pleasures (vishayaas, which are the like the road traveled).

AastithO yoga dhaaraNam – situated (aastitha) in the yogic posture and

holding it (dhaaraNam). What yogic posture?

Moordhani aadhaaya atmanah praaNam – the yogic posture has to do

with holding something on the top of head, or the crown, i.e., moordhani.

Aaadhaaya literally means to carry to or take something to. We encounter

the same idea in the beautiful verse 10, chapter 5 (BrahmaNyaadhaaya

karmaNi…). What is to be carried to the crown? Atamanah – of the atma –

praaNam – the life breath. Through the power of the yogic process, Krishna

says that the life breath should be literally carried to, or lifted to, the top of

the head or the crown area and held there. One should actually get

comfortable in this posture – aastitho. One should actually not even be

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lying down, but sitting straight up in order to do this successfully, see also

http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/bgita/bgita_24.html for commentaries

by Swami Krishnananda on chapter 8 (discourses 23 to 26 here).

Finally, we encounter one more sloka before Krishna concludes this section

with sa yaati paramam gatim.

Om ityekaaksharam Brahma vyaaharan maam anusmaran l

Yah prayaati tyajan deham sa yaati paramaamm gatim ll 8.13 ll BG

Vyaharan literally means saying aloud, or enunciating. We encounter this

statement also in chapter 17, verse 24 – tasmaat om ityudaahrutya and

also in the famous NarayanOpanishad mantram – Om ityagre vyaaharet.

But, all the dwaaras are closed – all the entrances are closed and nine-

door city has been clamped down. So, now only the manas and buddhi can

be engaged in this chanting or recital. What it means is that everything will

heard aloud by the yogi, without any external disturbs like a loud echo

within the closed city – or body. What is this sound?

This sound is “Om”. Krishna says that one should utter “Om”. It is counted

as just one (eka) letter (aksharam), as also mentioned in the

NarayanOpanishad mantram cited above. This Om, or ekaaksharam, is

Brahma – the embodiment of the Absolute Supreme.

Krishna says Maam (Me) anusmaran, which means engaged in the

process of thinking about Me. How is the person thinking? By chanting the

one letter “Om”. Why is this so significant. Why is merely saying “Om”

equal to remembering Him. Or, should one say Om and also remember

Him.

Try saying Om and pay attention to the movement of the lips. As we say

the “O” the two lips open wide and as we say the “m” the two lips close. In

other words, everything that can ever be uttered, which happens by the

process of opening and closing of the lips, is included by merely saying

“Om”. How are we to remember Him? We can chant the Vishnu

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Sahasranamam. But, at the time of death, there is no time to chant all the

1000 names. Ok, we can simply chant “Rama” which is stated to be

equivalent to chanting all the 1000 names. But “Ra” and “ma” are two

letters. Krishna makes easier and gives us the choice of just uttering one

single letter, by just saying “Om”.

This was discussed this recently in our study of Ahalya’s hymn in praise of

Rama, after she was liberated from her stone-form: the Ahalya kruta Shree

Rama Stotram (see http://www.scribd.com/doc/87281848/Ahalyakruta-

Shree-Rama-Stotram ) Ahalya says, Omkaara vaacyas tvam Raama, you

bring glory to Omkara, i.e., the sound vibration Om. But at the moment of

death even those two letters can just be turned into a single “Om”.

The second line simply says, Yah prayaati tyajan deham, one who goes

while leaving the body, as just described here, sa yaati paramaam gatim,

that person will arrive at, or reach (yaati), or go to, the Supreme

(paramaam), beyond which there is nothing superior, state, or existence

(gatim). The word gati also describes motion and the process of traveling

initiated by the indweller of the body takes this person to Paramaam gatim.

Why should one do all this? This too is answered succinctly in verse 15.

There is no rebirth for those who reach Him – Maam upetya punar-janma

na aapnuvanti. The verb aapnuvanti means to attain. The addition of na

means negation. So, literally this means do not attain rebirth, or will not be

reborn. Why is this such a good thing?

Krishna says the place where they would return is dhukkalayam (a house

of sorrow). It is also impermanent (ashaasvatam). Krishna is referring to life

on this earth. What is the point of coming back again, attaining a body (next

time it might not even be a human body) and suffering here and going

through the cycle of birth (janma), death (mrutyu), old age (jaraa) and

diseases (vyaadhi). Better to go the place from which there is no coming

back. This is stated more clearly in verse 16. One can reach higher lokas,

all the way up to the loka where Brahma resides (aa-Brahma-bhuvanaa)

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but one will return. It is only a matter of time. But if one comes to Him

(Maam upetya tu), there is no rebirth (punar janma na vidyate).

Following this, Krishna enters into the discussion of some cosmological

ideas and what happens even with Brahma – to kind of gives an idea of

what will happen if we actually get to Brahmaloka, i.e., actually become

Brahma. Even Brahma, it is said, fears death, since the lifetimes granted is

only two paraardhaas, as already described. It is a mindbogglingly large

duration by human reckoning but it is still finite. It is by no means infinite or

eternity. Hence, we encounter the description in verses 17 to 21, before

proceeding to the description of how to embark on the final journey.

Finally, let us reconsider the significance of Om ityekaaksharam Brahma

vyaaharam Maam anusmaran. There are seven chakras with the human

body, as seen in the diagrams reproduced earlier. These seven chakras

are named as follows and are associated with the following sound

vibrations, or bheejaaksharams.

Moolaadhaara – Lam (pronounced as in Lambodhara)

Swaadhishthana – Vam (pronounced as in Vamsha)

Manipoora – Ram (pronounced as in English word rum)

Anaahata – Yam (as in verse 6, chapter 8)

Vishuddha – Ham (as in Hamsa, the bird)

Aagnya (Aajnaa) – Om as in the primordial sound discussed

Sahasraara – Also, Om (or the bindhu, the central dot, of Shree cakram)

The sound vibration “Om” mentioned in verse 13 is the primordial sound

vibration that is linked with the two cakras indicated here and directs the

praaNa to the cakras situated between the two eyebrows (Aajnaa cakram)

or the top of the crown of the head (sahasraara). Releasing the lifebreath

from these two cakras, takes the dehi (the indweller in the body, i.e., atma,

or soul) straight to paraam gati, tad dhaama paramam ma-ma, from which

there is no returning back. The cakras are like launching pads for a rocket.

The launching pad must point in the right direction for a rocket, or

spaceship to reach the correct interplanetary destination. Hence, in space

science or technology, we have what is known as “launch windows” when

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the earth is in the appropriate spot to launch the rocket in the direction

desired.

Can a novice without any yogic abilities reach the param dhaaama? On

first reading of this description of the verses from chapter 8, it would appear

that a novice is destined to return back and get entangled once again in

this ashaasvatam dhukkalayam. But there is hope, still.

Srila Prabhupada offers the following in his purport for verse 19, chapter 2,

Canto 2 where Shukaacarya describes yogic processes to Parikshit in

order to both leave the body permanently, or temporarily to visit various

lokas. http://vedabase.net/sb/2/2/19/en

The expert yogī who has thoroughly practiced the control of the life air by the

prescribed method of the yoga system is advised to quit the body as follows. He

should plug up the evacuating hole with the heel of his foot and then progressively

move the life air on and on to six places: the navel, abdomen, heart, chest, palate,

eyebrows and cerebral pit. Controlling the life air by the prescribed yogic process is

mechanical, and the practice is more or less a physical endeavor for spiritual

perfection. In olden days such practice was very common for transcendentalists,

for the mode of life and character in those days were favorable. But in modern

days, when the influence of Kali Age is so disturbing, practically everyone is

untrained in this art of bodily exercise. Concentration of the mind is more easily

attained in these days by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The results

are more effective than those derived from the inner exercise of the life air.

Shukaacaryas more detailed instructions to Parikshit regarding yogic

processe, from the same chapter, are reprocuded below the signature line.

Hari naama sankeetranam, as recommended by Srila Prabhupada, the

regular chanting of Vishnu Sahasranamam, or Lalitha Sahasranamam, and

the disciplined and concentrated study of scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita

and the Srimad Bhagavatam, are additional means of attaining the same

objective of being able to concentrate the mind. Indeed, the Lalitha

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Sahasranamam clearly describes Lalitha devi (in the form of different

presiding deities who are Her manifestations) as controlling and residing in

the seven chakras (see discussion starting with page 64). Devout chanting

of the namaas will, no doubt, enable us to direct the lifebreath, as

described by Krishna when the final PrayaaNa kaalam arrives.

Very sincerely

V. Laxmanan

April 12, 2012

******************************************************************

SB Verse 2.2.20 Purport: There are six circles (chakras, see page …) of the

movement of the life air, and the intelligent bhakti-yogī should search out these

places with intelligence and in a meditative mood. Among these, mentioned in this

verse are the svādhi hāna-cakra, or the powerhouse of the life air, and above this,

just below the abdomen and navel, is the ma i-pūraka-cakra. When upper space is

further searched out in the heart, one reaches the anāhata-cakra, and further up,

when the life air is placed at the root of the palate, one reaches the viśuddhi-cakra.

SB Verse 2.2.21 Purport: Thereafter the bhakti-yogī should push the life air up

between the eyebrows, and then, blocking the seven outlets of the life air, he

should maintain his aim for going back home, back to Godhead. If he is completely

free from all desires for material enjoyment, he should then reach the cerebral hole

and give up his material connections, having gone to the Supreme.

The life air passes through seven openings, namely two eyes, two nostrils, two ears

and one mouth. Generally it passes through the mouth at the time of an ordinary

man's death. But the yogī, as above mentioned, who controls the life air in his own

way, generally releases the life air by puncturing the cerebral hole in the head. The

yogī therefore blocks up all the above-mentioned seven openings, so that the life

air will naturally burst forth through the cerebral hole. This is the sure sign of a

great devotee's leaving the material connection.

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SB Verse 2.2.23 Purport: The materialistic scientist's endeavor to reach other

planets by mechanical vehicles is only a futile attempt. One can, however, reach

heavenly planets by virtuous activities, but one can never expect to go beyond

Svarga or Janaloka by such mechanical or materialistic activities, either gross or

subtle. The transcendentalists who have nothing to do with the gross material body

can move anywhere within or beyond the material worlds. Within the material

worlds they move in the planetary systems of the Mahar-, Janas-, Tapas- and

Satya-loka, and beyond the material worlds they can move in the aiku has as

unrestricted spacemen. Nārada Muni is one of the examples of such spacemen, and

Durvāsā Muni is one of such mystics. By the strength of devotional service,

austerities, mystic powers and transcendental knowledge, everyone can move like

Nārada Muni or Durvāsā Muni. It is said that Durvāsā Muni traveled throughout

the entirety of material space and part of spiritual space within one year only. The

speed of the transcendentalists can never be attained by the gross or subtle

materialists.

SB Verse 2.2.26 Translation and Purport

atho anantasya mukhānalena dandahyamāna sa nirīk ya viśvam

niryāti siddheśvara-yu a-dhi ya yad dvai-parārdhya tad u pārame hyam

SYNONYMS: atho — thereupon; anantasya — of Ananta, the resting incarnation

of Godhead; mukha-analena — by the fire emanating from His mouth;

dandahyamānam — burning to ashes; sa — he; nirīk ya — by seeing this; viśvam

— the universe; niryāti — goes out; siddheśvara-yu a-dhi yam — airplanes used

by the great purified souls; yat — the place; dvai-parārdhyam —

15,480,000,000,000 solar years; tat — that; u — the exalted; pārame hyam —

Satyaloka, where Brahmā resides.

TRANSLATION: At the time of the final devastation of the complete universe [the

end of the duration of Brahmā's life], a flame of fire emanates from the mouth of

Ananta [from the bottom of the universe]. The yogī sees all the planets of the

universe burning to ashes, and thus he leaves for Satyaloka by airplanes used by

the great purified souls. The duration of life in Satyaloka is calculated to be

15,480,000,000,000 years.

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PURPORT: It is indicated herein that the residents of Maharloka, where the

purified living entities or demigods possess a duration of life calculated to be

4,300,000,000 solar years, have airships by which they reach Satyaloka, the

topmost planet of the universe. In other words, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives us

many clues about other planets far, far away from us which modern planes and

spacecraft cannot reach, even by imaginary speeds. The statements of Śrīmad-

Bhāgavatam are accepted by great ācāryas like Śrīdhara Svāmī, Rāmānujācārya

and allabhācārya. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu specifically accepts Śrīmad-

Bhāgavatam as the spotless Vedic authority, and as such no sane man can ignore

the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam when it is spoken by the self-realized soul

Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who follows in the footsteps of his great father, Śrīla

yāsadeva, the compiler of all edic literatures. In the creation of the Lord there

are many wonderful things we can see with our own eyes every day and night, but

we are unable to reach them equipped by modern materialistic science.

We should not, therefore, depend on the fragmentary authority of materialistic

science for knowing things beyond the range of scientific purview.

For a common man, both modern science and Vedic wisdom are simply to be

accepted because none of the statements either of modern science or of Vedic

literature can be verified by him. The alternative for a common man is to believe

either of them or both of them. The Vedic way of understanding, however, is more

authentic because it has been accepted by the ācāryas, who are not only faithful

and learned men, but are also liberated souls without any of the flaws of

conditioned souls. The modern scientists, however, are conditioned souls liable to

so many errors and mistakes; therefore the safe side is to accept the authentic

version of Vedic literatures, like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is accepted

unanimously by the great ācāryas.

******************************************************************

Please note the remarks here by Srila

Prabhupada about matters that are beyond

the purview of science, or what it is proposed

here, at the outset, that we call non-science.

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Bheeshma Awaiting his PrayaaNa Kaalam

Dear All:

As noted in the earlier email, in the introductory verses of the Mahavishnu

Sahasranaamam, Bheesham clearly states that VishNu is the Jagannaatha, the

Supreme Master of all the worlds (loka pradhaana).

Bheeshma continues his description of this Lord, with a great deal of devotion, in

subsequent verses and finally he names this Supreme Being as Vishnu. He states

that he would like Yuddhishttira (Bhupate, since he is also the king) to hear from

him the 1000 names of VishNu, the Jagannaatha, the Supremo of all the worlds

(loka pradhaana). He will destroy (apahaa) all our paapaas (sins) and bhayams

(fears). Then he adds, in the next verse, “It is from Him (yatah) that all the bhootas

or beings(sarvaNi bhootani) emanate at the beginning of the yuga (yugaagamay)

and it is into Him that they dissolve at the end of the yuga (yugakshaye).”

In chapter 8, Krishna does NOT specifically identify VishNu as the source of

creation, or the sink, when dissolution sets in. He merely states that beyond this

process of innumerous and repeated creations and dissolution lies something

eternal, which is never destroyed, even as it appears that all of creation is being

destroyed (verse 19, chapter 8, bhoota graamah sa evavaayam…). Krishna also

mentions, in verse 22, that one can, however, attain (labhyas tu) with unalloyed

devotion (bhaktyaa ananyayaa) that Supreme Being (Purushah sa Parah) within

Whom (yasya antasthaani) are present all of the beings (bhootaani) and from

Whom springs all of this (yena sarvam idam tatam).

Krishna does not name the Supreme as Vishnu, but Bheeshma does. There is,

however, an amazing similarity in the description of creation and dissolution. In

the next email we will how Krishna wants us to leave the body at the time of our

final journey (PrayaaNa kaale).

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As we study this, we must also keep in mind Bheeshma’s standing. We can accept

Bheeshma’s statements as authoritative. What is the authority of Bheeshma? Let

see how he breathed his last. This is the topic of chapter 9, Canto 1 of the Srimad

Bhagavatam.

Krishna rushes to Bheeshma, with Arjuna’s chariot wheel, to protect Arjuna.

http://www.bhagavad-gita.us/articles/687/1/The-Bhagavad-Gita-in-

Pictures/Page1.html

Bheeshma was an extremely elevated soul and a mighty warrior with no equal who

could have easily defeated and slayed Arjuna, if not for Krishna’s intervention. In

spite of the promise not to bear arms in the war, Krishna lifted the wheel of

Arjuna’s chariot that had been smashed up by Bheeshma, and rushed towards

Bheeshma (to protect Arjuna), at which point Bheeshma chided Krishna for

breaking His promise and dropped his arms, see illustration.

Only after this was Bheeshma mortally wounded by Arjuna, who did not stop

fighting. Then, at Bheeshma’s request, Arjuna reverentially prepared a bed of

arrows to allow Bheeshma to lie down comfortably. It is also stated that, when

Bheeshma felt thirsty (while awaiting the auspicious time of death), Arjuna pierced

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the ground with a single arrow, to produce a stream of water from the holy Ganga

(Bheeshma was the son of Ganga devi, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devavrata

and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyavati ) that poured like a fountain straight into

Bheeshma’s mouth. Such was the level of skill in archery possessed by Arjuna.

http://www.bhagavad-gita.us/articles/687/1/The-Bhagavad-Gita-in-

Pictures/Page1.html

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Bheeshma was also the only human blessed with the gift of being able to pick his

last moment and allow the lifebreath out of his body at a moment of his choosing.

The very wise and knowledgable Bheeshma, therefore, waited for the auspicious

time of UttaraayaNam as described in chapter 8 of the Gita (verse 24). During this

period, the sun is seen to move progressively to the north of the celestial equator,

starting 23-24 days after the winter solstice, which falls around Dec 21-22 each

year. Hence, Uttarayanam typically begins around Jan 14 (this is related to the 23.5

degrees of tilt of the earth’s axis). Those who leave their body during this six

month span (with other qualifications as well) do not return, says Krishna.

When Bheeshma was lying on the bed of arrows, awaiting UttaraayaNam, all the

great sages – the celestial rishis (deva rishis, like Narada), Brahma rishis (like

Vashishta, Bharadwaja, etc.) the raja rishis (royal sages), accompanied by their

disciples came to see Bheeshma and receive instructions from him. This is

described in cahpters 8 and 9 of Canto 1 of the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Yuddhishttira, who was greatly pained and tormented by the death and destruction

caused by the war, in particular, by the fact that thousands upon thousands of

chaste women had been turned into widows, feared the consequences in spite of

assurances that the war was a just one and sanctioned by scriptures (dharma

yuddham). To assuage himself and find relief from this pain and sorrow,

Yuddhisttira decides to pay a visit to Bheeshma, accompanied by Krishna and

Arjuna (Canto 1, chapter 8, verses 48 to 52 and chapter 9, verses 1 to 8).

Bheeshma received them all and worshipped all the great sages with reverence and

started speaking to the sons of Pandu. He concludes with the following.

Esha vai Bhagavaan saakshaat Aadhyo NaaraayaNah Pumaan l

Mohayan maayayaa lokam goodhah carati VrushNishu ll 1.9.18 ll SB

“Esha” mentioned in this verse means “This person” and the thought is actually

completed, with further descriptions of Esha, this person, only in verse 22 where

Bheeshma uses the word Krishna. In the above verse, Bheeshma says, “This person

here is verily (vai) none other than Bhagavaan Himself, who has made Himself

visible to our mortal eyes (saakshaat). He is the beginning of all (aadhyO), He is

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NaaraayaNa. He is the Supreme Being (Pumaan). He is moving around as a

member of the dynasty of VrishNi, hiding His true divinity (goodhah carati) and is

enchanting and deluding all of the worlds.

This is the authority of Bheeshma that we must accept from the scriptures like

Srimad Bhagavatam. He was fully aware that Krishna is the Supreme Being, that

He is none other than Narayana, while other contemporaries remained deluded.

Even Rama did not know that He was Narayana (Aatmaanam manusham manye,

he says in almiki Ramayanam, at the time of Sita’s fire test, when all the

celestials, headed by Brahma and Shiva, scold Him for initiating it and remind Him

about who Sita is). So, when Bheeshma names Vishnu as the Supreme Being in the

introductory verses of the Vishnu Sahasranamam, we have to accept it.

Let us see what else Bheeshma says about Krishna, or “Esha vai Bhagavaan

saakshaat”.

Asyaanubhaavam Bhagavaan veda guhyatamam Shivahaa l

Devarshir Naradah saakshaat Bhagavaan Kapilo Nrupa ll 1.9.19 ll SB

Bhagavaan in the first line here is tied to Shivahaa. Bheeshma says, “The Lord

Shiva knows who He is and the truth of His self and His deepest secret. The

celestial sage (rishi) Narada knows Him and so does Bhagavaan Kapila (who was

an incarnation of the Supreme Being and appeared as the son of the sage Kardama

and his wife Devahuti, who was the daughter of Swayambhu manu, the first manu,

on the first day of Brahma’s lifetime). There are two alternative version of this

verse, with last being Nrupa, which means it is an address to Yuddhishttira, or

muni, which then qualifies Bhagavan Kapila, who was a great ascetic and blessed

with divine knowledge and instructed his own mother on how to attain moksha

(subject of Canto 3, chapters 21 to 33 of Srimad Bhagavatam).

Yam manyase maatuleyam priyam mitram suhruttamam l

AkarOh sacivam dhootam sauhrudaatha saarathim ll 1.9.20 ll SB

Sarvaatmanah samadrushO hyadvayasya-anahamkruteh l

Tat krutam mati vaishamyam niravadyasya na kvacit ll 1.9.21 ll SB

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Tatthaapi-ekaanta bhakteshu pashya Bhoopa-anukampitam l

Yan-may asoon tyajatahaa saakshaat KrishNo darshanam aagatah ll 1.9.22 ll

Verse 20: The One whom you think of as your maternal cousin, a dear One, a

friend, the One who closest to your heart, the One who used as a messenger, the

One who was used as a charioteer, being a close friend and dear to you………

continues in next verse. (Kunti, the wife of Pandu and the mother of the Pandavas,

was born in the rishni dynasty and was the sister of Krishna’s father asudeva.

She was given away to the childless King Kuntibhoja, who was adopted her and

raised her. So Kunti is Krishna’s aunt and hence Krishna is a cousin to the

Pandavas, on their mother’s side.)

Verse 21: The One who is present in all, The One who sees all as equal, indeed, the

One who has no second, One who is completely free of ego, all of His actions (tat

krutam), executed as He best sees fit (mati vaishamyam), are never tainted in any

way ever (na kvacit) since He never accumulates any sins.

erse 22: “Notwithstanding all of all this, O King, look at the immense

compassion for His devotees that He possess. The devotee who is lying here all

alone, ready to cast off (tyajatahaa) the lifebreaths (asoon) out of his body, He has

come now (aagatahaa) and appears before that devotee and is standing right in

front of him, visible to his eyes (saakshaat).

Bheeshma then states exactly what Krishna describes in chapter 8 about how one

should leave the body. The yogis who are completely liberated from all their

karmas (consequences of all past actions) and kaamas (desires), or liberated from

all actions performed due to desires, as they leave their body, they fix their manas

(mind), with great devotion, into Him. Their manas is entirely entered into Him

and He is situated fully within them. They sing His praises with His many names

using their gift of speech (verse 23).

That God of all gods, that Bhagavaan, He is looking at me and is present here. May

He look at me and wait (prateekshataam) until I am ready to cast off (hinomi

aham). He is looking at Me with a lovely smile, His reddish eyes, radiating like the

cool morning sun as it rises, seem like a lotus in full bloom. His lovely face is like

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a lotus that fill the heart with joy (mukhaambhuja). He is right here visible along

the path where I can direct my thoughts (dhyaana pathah). He appears with before

me with His four hands (chaturbhujah).

Of all the statements made here by Bheeshma, the last is the more important.

Krishna appeared with His four-armed form in front of His mother Devaki and

father Vasudeva. Devaki then asked Him to conceal this four-armed divine form

and become an ordinary baby so that He would not have to fear Kamsa, who had

sworn to kill every baby born to Devaki and Vasudeva. Then, on the battle field,

Krishna appeared with His four-armed form in front of Arjuna (at the latter’s

reqeuest, since he feared the sight of the thousand-armed form). Now, He appeared

again in His four-armed form for Bheeshma.

Of course, these were divine forms, not seen, by anyone else physically present

even in close proximity at the same time. The slokas are given below.

Bhaktyaaveshya manO yasmin vaacaa yannama keertayan l

Tyajan kalevaram yogi mucyate kaama-karmabhih ll 1.9.23 ll

Sa DevadevO Bhagavaan prateekshataam

Kalevaram yaavat idam hinomyaham l

Prasanna-haasaruNa-locananol-lasan

MukhaambujO dhyaana-patha Chaturbhujah ll 1.9.24 ll

The most touching aspect of Bheeshma’s passing away is what he does next. He

prayed that Krishna wait for him – since UttarayaNam had not yet commenced.

Then Bheeshma did everything that is described by Krishna in chapter 8, verses 11

to 14. He completely restrained (upa-samhrutya) his speech (vaaNee). He cast off

his glance (eyes) and all senses from any attachment to anything in his surrounding

(vimukta sanga) and fixed in manas (mind) on the Aadhipurusha (the First Being),

on Krishna, with His four-arms, with His beautiful glistening yellow silky dress

(lasat peeta pathe, or peethaambaram), Who was standing right in front of him

(purah stithe). And, he (Bheeshmaa), continued to look at Krishna, as described,

and held Him within his self with his eyes opened fully wide.

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Tadopa-samhrutya girah sahasraNeer-

Vimuktasangam mana Aadhipoorushe l

Krishne lasat-peeta-pathe Chaturbhuje

Purah-stithe-ameelita-druk-vyadhaarayat ll 1.9.30 ll

Meelanam means closing, meelita means closed. Un-meelanam means opening,

like the blooming of a flower. A-meelanam also means the same. It is the opposite

of meelanam, or closing. Here it is stated that Bheeshma kept his eyes wide open.

He did not close his eyes.

When I first read this sloka, many years ago, I still remember being awestruck at

this description of Bheeshma’s passing away. It is so profound. No one can be so

blessed as to have the Supreme Being, Krishna, right in front of them. But, also

pay attention to what Bheeshma does. He keeps his eyes wide open in front of

Krishna. What do we do when we go to the temple?

We go to the temple to see the Lord and enjoy His glory. And, once we get there,

we close our eyes. We do not continue to gaze at the beauty of the Lord and the

lovely dress and alankaram and enjoy it and let it fill our hearts content and fill the

mind as well and hold that beautiful form within us. This is what vyadhaarayan

means. DhaaraNam means holding. Adding the prefix means holding tightly, so as

not to let go. He held Krishna with his eyes wide open and let that lovely sight fill

his mind and enter into his whole self. This is how Bheeshma left his body.

May be, some day, we can also be so fortunate!

If we are at the temple, may we learn to do what Bheeshma did and relish the sight

of the Lord (in vigraha or arca form) in front of us and remember not to close our

eyes should we breathe our last in such divine surroundings. Or, if we are

elsewhere, may we be blessed, at the least, to see an image of the Lord and do

exactly what Bheeshma did.

V. Laxmanan

April 11, 2012

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Bheeshma’s Hymn to Krishna

before departing his body

Following the sloka cited above (Canto 1, chapter 9, verse 30), there is a hymn

recited by Bheeshma in praise of Krishna, the Supreme Being, at whom he was

gazing with his wide open. He prays that he should always feel unalloyed and

unmitigated love for Krishna (1.9.33). He wishes that his atma be surrendered to

Krishna (1.9.34). He wishes that he always find great love for Krishna, who was

Arjuna’s friend and promptly obeyed the latter’s command on the battlefield and

placed the chariot between the armies assembled for war (1.9.35). He wishes that

he was be devoted to the lotus feet of Krishna, who instructed the Gita to Arjuna,

when the latter saw all the assembled elders, family, and friends and became

disenchanted by the thought of war and refused to fight. (1.9.36).

He wishes that the Bhagavan Mukunda (which means the One who grants moksha)

become his refuge. Bheeshma says here that he had made a vow to force Krishna

to bear arms. The compassionate Krishna wanted to fulfill Bheeshma’s vow and

was willing to break His own vow (of not bearing any weapons in the war) and

rushed towards him (Bheeshma) with Arjuna’s chariot wheel in hand to protect

Arjuna who was being completely smashed (by Bheeshma). The top portion of His

dress (uttareeyam) fell off and He was whole body turned red with the pounding of

the arrows that broke the chest armor (Krishna was wearing). Even as He rushed to

me, in that fashion, He was filled with love for me. May I always seek His refuge

(1.9.37 and 38).

He wishes that at the moment of his death, he should forever remember the Lord as

Parthasarathi (charioteer of Arjuna, i.e., Partha), with one hand holding the reins of

the horses and the other a whip. This beautiful form of the Lord could not be seen

even by Arjuna (since the latter was behind the Lord) but Bheeshma could, since

Bheeshma was in front. All the warriors who died in the battlefield saw this divine

form of the Lord as well and so were granted moksha and assumed the form of the

Lord after death. Now, Bheeshma wishes the same for himself (1.9.39).

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He wishes that develop the same love for Krishna that was felt by all the gopis as

they performed the rasa-lila and indeed merged into Him at that time and

experienced unparalleled bliss (1.9.40).

Bheeshma marvels at his great fortune to have the Lord right in his sight at the

moment of his death, the same Lord who was worshipped, first and foremost,

during Yuddhishttira’s Rajasooya yajnya, by all the celestials and the great sages.

He prays that this Lord, who is right in front of his eyes, penetrate his soul (1.9.41).

Just as the sun appears in different forms to the eyes of those who behold, so too

does the Lord appear differently in each and every heart, all of His making.

Although He appears differently, He is but One, just like the sun is one. Now, here

I am, situated right in front of Him, having shed and purified all of my delusions

about all these differences – samaadhigatOsmi vidhoota bheda mohahaa (1.9.42)

The chapter about Bheeshma’s shedding of his body concludes with following

verse, narrated by Soota Maharshi (when he instructed the sages of

NaimishaaraNya about Bhagavatam, Sootha had heard it from Shukaacarya, when

the latter instructed Parikshit, grandson of Arjuna).

KrishN(e) evam Bhagavti mano-vaag-drushti-vruttibhihee l

Aatmani aatmaanam aaveshya sOntah shwaas upaaramat ll 1.9.43 ll

Sa+antah = sOntah = He + last, shwaas = breath, upaaramat = rested, or ceased.

In this way, Bheeshma breathed his last (attained his final resting, or ceased to

breathe) after fully merging into Krishna, the Supreme Being, with his manas

(mind), vaag (speech, through the hymn) and drushti (sight), since his eyes were

left wide open and gazing at Krishna.

All those assembled around Bheeshma momentarily held their peace and became

very quiet, just like the birds who stop chirping when day ends and night falls.

And, then, there fell a shower of flowers from the heavens and trumpets and the

drums were sounded by both the celestials and humans and all the good souls

started extolling Bheeshma. Yuddhishttira then performed the final rites for

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Bheeshma, with great reverence and mourned his own loss for a period of one

muhurta (the time duration of about 48 minutes).

And then everyone who had assembled returned to their respective abodes with

Krishna held in their hearts. Yuddhishttira, along with Krishna, returned to

Hastinapura and consoled both his uncle Dhrutarashtra and the pious Gandhari

(both of whom had now lost Bheeshma, their elder). And, then, with the blessings

of Dhrutarashtra, and with a hearty seconding of the same by Krishna,

Yuddhishttira become the ruler of the kingdom, handed down to him by his

ancestors, and ruled it following the principles of dharma.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_units_of_measurement

See here discussion of the timescales big and small

Very sincerely

V. Laxmanan

April 11, 2012

Sarva bhootaani Kaunteya Prakrutim yaanti maamikaam l

Kalpakshaye punas-taani kalpaadau visrujaamyaham ll 9.7 ll BG

l

ll ९.७ ll

Prakrutim swam avashthabhya visrujaami punah punah l

Bhoota-graamam imam krutsnam avasham prakruter vashaat ll 9.8 ll BG

l

ll ९.८ ll

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Srila Prabhupada’s translation of Chapter 9, Canto 1

The Passing Away of Bheeshma in the Presence of Krishna

Canto 1: Creation

http://vedabase.net/sb/1/9/en

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam

SB 1.9.1: Sūta Gosvāmī said: Being afraid for having killed so many subjects on the Battlefield

of Kuruk etra, Mahārāja Yudhi hira went to the scene of the massacre. There, Bhī madeva was

lying on a bed of arrows, about to pass away.

SB 1.9.2: At that time all his brothers followed him on beautiful chariots drawn by first-class

horses decorated with gold ornaments. With them were yāsa and is like Dhaumya the

learned priest of the Pā avas and others.

SB 1.9.3: O sage amongst the brāhma as, Lord Śrī K a, the Personality of Godhead, also

followed, seated on a chariot with Arjuna. Thus King Yudhi hira appeared very aristocratic, like

Kuvera surrounded by his companions [the Guhyakas].

SB 1.9.4: Seeing him [Bhī ma] lying on the ground, like a demigod fallen from the sky, the

Pā ava King Yudhi hira, along with his younger brothers and Lord K a, bowed down before

him.

SB 1.9.5: Just to see the chief of the descendants of King Bharata [Bhī ma], all the great souls in

the universe, namely the is amongst the demigods, brāhma as and kings, all situated in the

quality of goodness, were assembled there.

SB 1.9.6-7: All the sages like Parvata Muni, Nārada, Dhaumya, yāsa the incarnation of God,

B hadaśva, Bharadvāja and Paraśurāma and disciples, asi ha, Indrapramada, Trita, G tsamada,

Asita, Kak īvān, Gautama, Atri, Kauśika and Sudarśana were present.

SB 1.9.8: And many others like Śukadeva Gosvāmī and other purified souls, Kaśyapa and

Āńgirasa and others, all accompanied by their respective disciples, arrived there.

SB 1.9.9: Bhī madeva, who was the best amongst the eight asus, received and welcomed all

the great and powerful is who were assembled there, for he knew perfectly all the religious

principles according to time and place.

SB 1.9.10: Lord Śrī K a is situated in everyone's heart, yet He manifests His transcendental

form by His internal potency. This very Lord was sitting before Bhī madeva, and since

Bhī madeva knew of is glories, he worshiped im duly.

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SB 1.9.11: The sons of Mahārāja Pā u were sitting silently nearby, overtaken with affection for

their dying grandfather. Seeing this, Bhī madeva congratulated them with feeling. There were

tears of ecstasy in his eyes, for he was overwhelmed by love and affection.

SB 1.9.12: Bhī madeva said: Oh, what terrible sufferings and what terrible injustices you good

souls suffer for being the sons of religion personified. You did not deserve to remain alive under

those tribulations, yet you were protected by the brāhma as, God and religion.

SB 1.9.13: As far as my daughter-in-law Kuntī is concerned, upon the great General Pā u's

death, she became a widow with many children, and therefore she suffered greatly. And when

you were grown up she suffered a great deal also because of your actions.

SB 1.9.14: In my opinion, this is all due to inevitable time, under whose control everyone in

every planet is carried, just as the clouds are carried by the wind.

SB 1.9.15: O how wonderful is the influence of inevitable time. It is irreversible — otherwise,

how can there be reverses in the presence of King Yudhi hira, the son of the demigod

controlling religion; Bhīma, the great fighter with a club; the great bowman Arjuna with his

mighty weapon Gā īva and above all, the Lord, the direct well-wisher of the Pā avas

SB 1.9.16: O King, no one can know the plan of the Lord [Śrī K a]. Even though great

philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered.

SB 1.9.17: O best among the descendants of Bharata [Yudhi hira], I maintain, therefore, that all

this is within the plan of the Lord. Accepting the inconceivable plan of the Lord, you must

follow it. You are now the appointed administrative head, and, my lord, you should now take

care of those subjects who are now rendered helpless.

SB 1.9.18: This Śrī K a is no other than the inconceivable, original Personality of Godhead.

He is the first Nārāya a, the supreme enjoyer. But He is moving amongst the descendants of

King i just like one of us and He is bewildering us with His self-created energy.

SB 1.9.19: O King, Lord Śiva, Nārada the sage amongst the demigods, and Kapila, the

incarnation of Godhead, all know very confidentially about His glories through direct contact.

SB 1.9.20: O King, that personality whom, out of ignorance only, you thought to be your

maternal cousin, your very dear friend, well-wisher, counselor, messenger, benefactor, etc., is

that very Personality of Godhead, Śrī K a.

SB 1.9.21: Being the Absolute Personality of Godhead, He is present in everyone's heart. He is

equally kind to everyone, and He is free from the false ego of differentiation. Therefore whatever

He does is free from material inebriety. He is equibalanced.

SB 1.9.22: Yet, despite His being equally kind to everyone, He has graciously come before me

while I am ending my life, for I am His unflinching servitor.

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SB 1.9.23: The Personality of Godhead, who appears in the mind of the devotee by attentive

devotion and meditation and by chanting of the holy name, releases the devotee from the

bondage of fruitive activities at the time of his quitting the material body.

SB 1.9.24: May my Lord, who is four-handed and whose beautifully decorated lotus face, with

eyes as red as the rising sun, is smiling, kindly await me at that moment when I quit this material

body.

SB 1.9.25: Sūta Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Yudhi hira, after hearing Bhī madeva speak in that

appealing tone, asked him, in the presence of all the great is, about the essential principles of

various religious duties.

SB 1.9.26: At Mahārāja Yudhi hira s inquiry, Bhī madeva first defined all the classifications of

castes and orders of life in terms of the individual's qualifications. Then he systematically, in

twofold divisions, described counteraction by detachment and interaction by attachment.

SB 1.9.27: He then explained, by divisions, acts of charity, the pragmatic activities of a king and

activities for salvation. Then he described the duties of women and devotees, both briefly and

extensively.

SB 1.9.28: Then he described the occupational duties of different orders and statuses of life,

citing instances from history, for he was himself well acquainted with the truth.

SB 1.9.29: While Bhī madeva was describing occupational duties, the sun s course ran into the

northern hemisphere. This period is desired by mystics who die at their will.

SB 1.9.30: Thereupon that man who spoke on different subjects with thousands of meanings and

who fought on thousands of battlefields and protected thousands of men, stopped speaking and,

being completely freed from all bondage, withdrew his mind from everything else and fixed his

wide-open eyes upon the original Personality of Godhead, Śrī K a, who stood before him,

four-handed, dressed in yellow garments that glittered and shined.

SB 1.9.31: By pure meditation, looking at Lord Śrī K a, he at once was freed from all material

inauspiciousness and was relieved of all bodily pains caused by the arrow wounds. Thus all the

external activities of his senses at once stopped, and he prayed transcendentally to the controller

of all living beings while quitting his material body.

SB 1.9.32: Bhī madeva said: Let me now invest my thinking, feeling and willing, which were so

long engaged in different subjects and occupational duties, in the all-powerful Lord Śrī K a.

He is always self-satisfied, but sometimes, being the leader of the devotees, He enjoys

transcendental pleasure by descending on the material world, although from Him only the

material world is created.

SB 1.9.33: Śrī K a is the intimate friend of Arjuna. He has appeared on this earth in His

transcendental body, which resembles the bluish color of the tamāla tree. His body attracts

everyone in the three planetary systems [upper, middle and lower]. May His glittering yellow

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dress and His lotus face, covered with paintings of sandalwood pulp, be the object of my

attraction, and may I not desire fruitive results.

SB 1.9.34: On the battlefield [where Śrī K a attended Arjuna out of friendship], the flowing

hair of Lord K a turned ashen due to the dust raised by the hoofs of the horses. And because of

His labor, beads of sweat wetted His face. All these decorations, intensified by the wounds dealt

by my sharp arrows, were enjoyed by Him. Let my mind thus go unto Śrī K a.

SB 1.9.35: In obedience to the command of His friend, Lord Śrī K a entered the arena of the

Battlefield of Kuruk etra between the soldiers of Arjuna and Duryodhana, and while there He

shortened the life spans of the opposite party by His merciful glance. This was done simply by

His looking at the enemy. Let my mind be fixed upon that K a.

SB 1.9.36: When Arjuna was seemingly polluted by ignorance upon observing the soldiers and

commanders before him on the battlefield, the Lord eradicated his ignorance by delivering

transcendental knowledge. May His lotus feet always remain the object of my attraction.

SB 1.9.37: Fulfilling my desire and sacrificing His own promise, He got down from the chariot,

took up its wheel, and ran towards me hurriedly, just as a lion goes to kill an elephant. He even

dropped His outer garment on the way.

SB 1.9.38: May He, Lord Śrī K a, the Personality of Godhead, who awards salvation, be my

ultimate destination. On the battlefield He charged me, as if angry because of the wounds dealt

by my sharp arrows. His shield was scattered, and His body was smeared with blood due to the

wounds.

SB 1.9.39: At the moment of death, let my ultimate attraction be to Śrī K a, the Personality of

Godhead. I concentrate my mind upon the chariot driver of Arjuna who stood with a whip in His

right hand and a bridle rope in His left, who was very careful to give protection to Arjuna's

chariot by all means. Those who saw Him on the Battlefield of Kuruk etra attained their original

forms after death.

SB 1.9.40: Let my mind be fixed upon Lord Śrī K a, whose motions and smiles of love

attracted the damsels of rajadhāma the gopīs . The damsels imitated the characteristic

movements of the Lord [after His disappearance from the rāsa dance].

SB 1.9.41: At the Rājasūya-yajña [sacrifice] performed by Mahārāja Yudhi hira, there was the

greatest assembly of all the elite men of the world, the royal and learned orders, and in that great

assembly Lord Śrī K a was worshiped by one and all as the most exalted Personality of

Godhead. This happened during my presence, and I remembered the incident in order to keep my

mind upon the Lord.

SB 1.9.42: Now I can meditate with full concentration upon that one Lord, Śrī K a, now

present before me because now I have transcended the misconceptions of duality in regard to His

presence in everyone's heart, even in the hearts of the mental speculators. He is in everyone's

heart. The sun may be perceived differently, but the sun is one.

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SB 1.9.43: Sūta Gosvāmī said: Thus Bhī madeva merged himself in the Supersoul, Lord Śrī

K a, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with his mind, speech, sight and actions, and thus

he became silent, and his breathing stopped.

SB 1.9.44: Knowing that Bhī madeva had merged into the unlimited eternity of the Supreme

Absolute, all present there became silent like birds at the end of the day.

SB 1.9.45: Thereafter, both men and demigods sounded drums in honor, and the honest royal

order commenced demonstrations of honor and respect. And from the sky fell showers of

flowers.

SB 1.9.46: O descendant of Bh gu [Śaunaka], after performing funeral rituals for the dead body

of Bhī madeva, Mahārāja Yudhi hira was momentarily overtaken with grief.

SB 1.9.47: All the great sages then glorified Lord Śrī K a, who was present there, by

confidential Vedic hymns. Then all of them returned to their respective hermitages, bearing

always Lord K a within their hearts.

SB 1.9.48: Thereafter, Mahārāja Yudhi hira at once went to his capital, astināpura,

accompanied by Lord Śrī K a, and there he consoled his uncle and aunt Gāndhārī, who was an

ascetic.

SB 1.9.49: After this, the great religious King, Mahārāja Yudhi hira, executed the royal power

in the kingdom strictly according to the codes and royal principles approved by his uncle and

confirmed by Lord Śrī K a.

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Lalita Sahasranamam

Seven Chakras in the Human Body

According to yogic processes described by Krishna in chapter 8 (verses 10

and 12) and also in chapter 6 (verses 11 to 14), and also Shukaacarya in

Srimad Bhagavatam (Canto 3, chapter 11), the lifebreath within the body

can controlled at will. Shukaacarya says that a yogi can travel to the

higher lokas (like mahar, jana, tapa, satya) beyond the three lower

lokas (bhu, bhuva, suva) by controlling the lifebreath and leaving the body

(not necessarily at the moment of death). The higher lokas are accessible.

We call this Tantric practices, or yogic practices. (“Tantric” is often

misunderstood as being directed towards transitory sexual pleasures, as

we see below.)

There are seven chakras (energy centers) within the human body, each

with its own mantra and presiding deity. They are described below and

were indicated diagrammatically earlier in: How to leave the body?

It is also of interest to note that the extremely holy sound

vibration OM (), mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita by Krishna

in verse 13 chapter 8, is associated with both the Aajna

(आज्ञा) chakra, located between the two eybrows, mentioned

in verse 10 of chapter 8, and the Sahasraara (सहस्रार) chakra,

located at the top of the crown, mentioned in verse 12 of

chapter 8.

http://www.chakrahub.com/7-chakras

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra

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The following seven primary chakras are commonly described:

1. Muladhara (Sanskrit: मूलाधार, Mūlādhāra) Base or Root Chakra (last bone

in spinal cord, the coccyx)

2. Swadhisthana (Sanskrit: , Svādhi hāna) Sacral Chakra

(ovaries/prostate)

3. Manipura (Sanskrit: , Ma ipūra) Solar Plexus Chakra (navel area)

4. Anahata (Sanskrit: अनाहत, Anāhata) Heart Chakra (heart area)

5. Vishuddha (Sanskrit: त्रिशुद्ध, iśuddha) Throat Chakra (throat and neck

area)

6. Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा, Ājñā) Brow or Third Eye Chakra (pineal gland or

third eye)

7. Sahasrara (Sanskrit: सहस्रार, Sahasrāra) Crown Chakra (top of the head;

‘soft spot’ of a newborn)

Muladhara Swadhisthana Manipura Anahata

Base spine Lower abdomen Navel Heart

Vishuddha Ajna Sahasrara

Throat Third eye Crown

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http://healing.about.com/od/chakraimages/ig/Chakra-Symbols/

Wheel of Life

Root Chakra Sacral Chakra Solar Plexus Chakra

Heart Chakra Throat Chakra Third Eye Chakra

Crown Chakra

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The Order of Chakras in Lalitha Sahasranama

http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/shakti-sadhana/101838-order-chakras-

lalitha-sahasranama.html

Following interesting question, and an answer, is taken from India Divine,

link given above.

I was wondering if there was any special significance to the order in which the

chakras are mentioned in the Lalitha Shasranama - Vishudhdhi, Anahata,

Manipura, Swadhistana, Mooladhara, Ajna and Sahasrara. It just seemed odd that

they were not listed in the ascending or descending order.

Anyone with more insight?

Here is an interesting answer given to the above.

Well, it is not so complex, if you look at the description of devathas assigned to the

chakras.

Vishudhdhi = Vadhanaika samanvitaa = 1 face

Anahatha = Vadhanadvayaa = 2 faces

Manipura = Vadhanatraya samyuktaa = 3 faces

swadhishtana = chaturvaktra-manoharaa = 4 beautiful faces

Mooladhaara = panchavaktraa = 5 faces

Ajna = shadaananaa = 6 faces

Sahasrara = sarva-varNopa-shobitaa = glows with all colors (no facial count)

But sarvavarNopa shobitha = sarva + varNa + upa + shobitha. Counting the

aksharas in sanskrit ‘a to ksha’ 50 up and 50 down (- may be Kochu can give us a

crash course in Sanskrit and this interpretation) - upa = 10. So 10 X 100 = 1000,

the highest number in the above series and also the hardest to attain state of

Kundalini.

A nice combination of numbers and description of HER aspects. Just another

interpretation. :-)

Page 68 of 101

Slokas from Lalita Sahasranaamam

discussing the chakras; see link below

http://ashavinkurukalhal-part2.blogspot.com/2009/11/lalitha-sahasranamam-

99.html

Lalitha sahasranamam - 99 (Sloka 38)

99. MOLADHARAIKA NILAYA

She who exists in Mooladhara. In Mooladhara which is in the form of four petaled

lotus the kundalini sleeps.

Lalitha sahasranamam - 101 (Sloka 38)

101. MANI POORANTHARUDHITHA

She who exists in Mani pooraka chakra full dressed in her fineries. This chakra is

very important and finds mention in Soundarya Lahari as well.

Lalitha Sahasranamam - 103 (Sloka 39)

103 AGNA CHAKARANTHARALASTHA –

She who lives in between two eye lids in the form of she who orders.

The term, ‘in the form of she who orders’, is referred to the vision, or the wisdom

and the consciousness, related to it.

Lalitha Sahasranamam -105 (Sloka 39)

105 SAHARARA-AMBHUJA-AROODA

She who has climbed sahasrara the thousand petalled lotus which is the point of

ultimate awakening

This part of journey is something each and everyone should experience but I have

tried to detail out the different ways that awakening is brought about.After the

upward journey of Kundalini, coursing through the Sushumna channel and the

chakras along the way, it is finally brought to the crown chakra, Sahasrara. This

union is the Realization of the Absolute, and is the meaning of Yoga.

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Why in Lalitha 1000 naamam the chakras are not said in sequence?

Shoum

It starts at 98th sloka from "Vishuddhi/throat chakra and goes down and end with

"Saharara". Why it is not from "Mulaadhara/ root chakra or from "Sahasra/crown.

Will any reason be ?

http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110308235456AAUSp8b

Lalitha Sahasranamam: Verses 98 to 110

(Namas from 475 to 541)

VISHUDDHI chakra nilaya raktavarna trilochana

Khatvangadi praharana vadanaika samanvita - 98

Payasanna priya tvaksdha pashuloka bhayankari

Amrutadi mahashakti sanvruta DAKINISHVARI - 99

ANAHATABJA nilaya shyamabha vadanadvaya

Danshtrojvalakshama ladi dhara rudhira sansdhita - 100

Kalaratryadishaktya o-ghavruta snigdhao-dana priya

Mahavirendra varada RAKINYAMBA svarupini - 101

MANIPURAbja nilaya vadanatraya sanyuta

Vajradikayudhopeta dayaryadibhiravruta - 102

Rakta-varna mansanishta gudanna pritamanasa

Samsta bhakta sukhada LAKINIYAMBA svarupini - 103

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SVADHISHTANANBUJAGATA chaturvaktra manohara

Shuladyayudha sanpanna pitavarna tigarvita - 104

Medhonishta maduprita bandinyadi samanvita

Dadyannasakta hrudaya KAKINI rupadharini - 105

MULADHARAMBUJARUDA panchavaktrasdhi sanpdhita

Ankushadi praharana varadadi nishevita - 106

Mudgau-danaasaktachit ta SAKINYAMBA svarupini

AGNYA chakrabja nilaya shuklavarna shadanana - 107

Majjasamsthaa hansavati mukhyashakti samanvita

Haridranai karasika HAKINIRUPA dharini - 108

SAHASRADALA padmasthaa sarva-varnopashobhita

Sarvayudhadharashuk la sansdhita sarvatomukhi - 109

Sarvaudhana preetachitta YAKINYAMBAsvarupini

Svahasvadha mati rmedha shrutih smrutiranuttama – 110

More Notes on Chakras and Tantric Yogic practice

The following is extracted from the article by Timothy Conway on Hinduism, see

link given below. It is of interest to note that some spiritual masters say that after

raising the kunalini Shakti (energy) to the sahasraara (crown), it should be dropped

back to the heart (hrud). Krishna says that the yogi must constrain his manas

(mind) to the heart (hrudi) in order to visualize the Supreme at the moment of

death (chapter 8, verse 12, as discussed earlier).

Page 71 of 101

Hinduism

http://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/Hinduism.html

The seven (7) cakras are (from lowest to highest):

1) mûlâdhâra cakra, oriented to survival issues, located at the base of the

sushumnâ, roughly corresponding to the area between anus & genitals;

2) svâdhisthâna cakra, oriented to sensuality, located at an area of the sushumnâ

corresponding to the abdomen below the navel;

3) manipûra cakra, oriented to power/control issues, located at an area

corresponding to the solar plexus;

4) anâhata cakra, oriented to love, compassion, sympathy, and higher emotions,

located at an area corresponding to the heart;

5) visuddhi cakra, oriented to creativity and expression, located at an area

corresponding to the throat;

6) âjña cakra, oriented to psychic sensitivity, this is the “third eye” located at an

area corresponding with that found between/above the eyes;

7) sahasrâra cakra, oriented to the formless, transcendental Reality, located at the

crown area at the top of the head.

(Note: each cakra is associated with a deity [deities], a bîja-mantra [seed syllable],

a sound-pitch [vibration], a color, an element, a lotus of a certain number of petals,

a number of qualities, etc.)

When the kundalinî-shakti can flow freely up the sushumnâ through all the cakras

and release at the sahasrâra (also known as the brahmarandhra), the aspirant

becomes a siddha, accomplished one, attaining the highest state, asamprajñâta

samâdhi, wherein all sense of separation has vanished and one awakens to

complete identity with the Absolute, Divine Reality.

[Note: a number of Advaita spiritual masters have affirmed that, after having

experienced the kundalinî-shakti energy release at the sahasrâra-crown, which

brings with it a state of formless consciousness (nirvikalpa samâdhi), one must

allow the energy to “drop” to the Spiritual eart, Hrdâya, corresponding to an area

at the center or right-center of the chest, which allows one to abide in sahaja

samâdhi, the “eyes open,” “natural oneness” of God-realization, wherein the

experience of formless and formful Reality is balanced, one is perfectly free to

experience either the formless or the play of forms.]

Page 72 of 101

Parikshit Prepares for his Moment of

Death: Srimad Bhagavatam

Dear All:

As you all know, the Srimad Bhagavatam was composed by Veda Vyasa,

following the advise of the celestial sage Narada (described in Canto 1,

chapters 4 and 5). He then taught it to his son Shuka, who was a self-

realized soul. It was Shuka, often referred to as Shukaacarya or Shukdev

Muni, who instructed Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, about Srimad

Bhagavatam. As we are discussing Krishna's teachings from chapter 8,

about how to leave the body, it also worth recalling what Bheeshma did

when he left his body and how Parikshit prepared to leave his body. Both

these topics are described very eloquently in the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Parikshit was cursed by a young Brahmin boy for an innocent offense he

had committed against the boy's father. The young boy cursed that

Parikshit will be bitten by a snake and die in just seven days. The boy's

father, the sage named Shameeka, a descendant in the lineage of

Angirasa, was horrified when he found out about the curse uttered by his

son and rebuked him since Parikshit was a Rajarshi and a just king.

Anyway, Parikshit, felt remorse for his own actions (in a moment of anger

Parikshit had put a dead snake around the neck of the sage, when the

latter was in deep meditation and so did not acknowledge the entry of

Parikshit into his ashram) and decided to go to the banks of the holy Ganga

and fast for the remaining seven days and await his death. The sage

Shukaacarya then magically appeared and started instructing the

Bhagavatam to Parikshit. The entire narration was completed in seven

days - the duration of life left for Parikshit. This is also the reason why we

still practice Saptaaha shravanam (hearing in a week) of the Srimad

Bhagavatam.

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Parikshit welcomes Shukaacarya reverentially and wants to know from

Shukaacarya everything about the cause of this universe, how it was

created, how it will end, why we are here and how we should conduct

ourselves during our lifetimes, and how we should prepare for death, how

we can be liberated from this endless cycle, and so on.

The questions are similar to those we find in Vishnu Sahasranama, posed

by Yuddhishttira to Bheeshma. Several questions and answers are

exchanged, as we see in the Gita, between Arjuna and Krishna. Parikshit

also tells the sage not to worry about him and that he was willing to hear

from the sage, day and night, without food or sleep (Canto 2, chapter 8,

verse 26). He wants to make the utmost use of the time remaining and

Shukaacarya's blessed presence.

The following remarks by Shukaacarya, when he begins his discourse

(taken from Canto 2, chapter 1) are of interest. Shukaacarya says, "O king,

all the questions that you have asked are indeed excellent. One should

always remember the Lord Shri Hari, hear His glories, and sing His glories

if one wishes to be freed from all distress."

Tasmaat Bhaarata Sarvaatmaa

Bhagavaan EeshwarO Harih l

Shrotavyah keertitavyash ca

smartavyash cechata-abhyam ll 2.1.5 ll SB

It is interesting to note that here Shukaacarya refers to Bhagavaan also as

Sarvaatma, One who is present as the atma in all, not the usual

Paramaatma. Here Bhaarata means Parikshit; this is also used by Krishna

in the Gita to refer to Arjuna. (cechata = ca + icchata = and + desired)

Then the sage says, "It is indeed so sad that humans, who are filled with

pride and arrogance (pramatta), have been granted a lifetime of about 100

years. It is really too long and a total waste to spend it following the usual

and futile human pursuits. Actually, just one muhurtam is sufficient time, if

properly engaged, to achieve Shreyas. For that matter, the Rajarshi named

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Katvanga, when he realized that his life is nearing its end, gave up

everything and in the duration of just one muhurta, concentrated his mind

upon the Lord Hari and reached His Divine abode." The verses are given

below.

Kim pramattasya bhubhihee parokshaih haayanair-iha l

Varam muhoortam viditam ghatheta shreyase yatah ll 2.1.12 ll SB

KatvaangO naama rajarshir jnaatveyat-tam-ihaa-yushahaa l

Muhoortaat sarvam utsrujya gatavaan abhayam Harim ll 2.1.13 ll SB

The time duration called the muhuratam here is equal to 48 minutes. One

muhurtam is made up of two gadis and so one gadi equals 24 minutes.

We take a day (which includes the night time as well) to be equal to 24

hours, each having 60 minutes, based on Western scientific principles. In

the Bhagavtam, this is reversed. (Or was it reversed intentionally by

someone in the west for some reasons unknown today?) One day is made

up of 60 units of 24 minutes each, with each 24 minute unit being called a

"gadi". Alternatively, one 24 hour day can be thought of as being made up

of 30 muhoortas (see http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Yuga ).

The time duration called the muhurtam is still popular in India and used to

fix the exact time for various auspicious events like a wedding and the

performance of important tasks, like opening a new business and so on.

There is also an interesting sloka from Valmiki Ramayanam which

describes how Rama appears in Bharata’s view, when the latter went to

Chitrakoota and was trying to get Rama to abandon His exile and return to

Ayodhya. This sloka is also a part of what is known as the Gayatri

Ramayanam and is given below.

Nireekshya sa muhoortam tu dadarsha BharatO gurum l

Uthaje Raamam aaseenam jataa-valkala-dhaariNam ll AY.99.25 ll

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Bharata finds Rama and Lakshmana at the forest dwelling

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=rama+bharata+pictures&view=detail

&id=E0C936232680390EC4C76C539CF7009DC2CACC07&first=0

This is found in Ayodhyaa kandam, sarga 99, sloka 25. The first letter of

this sloka is a bheejaaskshram of the Gayatri mantra (Tat savitur vareNyam

bhargO devasya dheemahi ….). There are 24 letters in this Gayatri mantra

and 24,000 slokas in Valmiki Ramayanam. The first sloka of Valmiki

Ramayanam (Tapas-swadhyaaya niratam tapasvee vaagvidaam varam…)

starts with the first letter “Ta” of the Gayatri mantra. Every 1000th sloka

thereafter has the subsequent letters of Gayatri mantra. All these 24 slokas

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taken together is known as the Gayatri Ramayanam (see link given below

and click on appropriate language to find this important Stotram). The

above sloka is the 7th sloka of Gayatri Ramayanam.

http://www.prapatti.com/slokas/sanskrit/gaayatriiraamaayanam.pdf

It is interesting here, especially in the context of our discussion of Katvanga

being able to reach the abode of Lord Sri Hari, that the same time duration

of one muhurtam also appears here. Bharata came in search of Rama.

Actually, Bharata was away when Rama was to be coronated and Kaikeyi

asked for the boon to exile Rama and coronate Bharata instead. So, when

Bharata found out what had transpired, he was furious at Kaikeyi and came

in search of Rama and wanted Rama to give up His exile and return to

Ayodhya. The above sloka is found when Bharata reaches the forest

dwelling where Rama, Sita and Lakshmana were residing in Chitrakoota.

It was a beautiful holy hut dwelling, devoid of all royal trappings – the hut of

an ascetic. Bharata was filled with tears as he saw the hut from afar. Rama

was seated in the hut and dressed in the attire of an ascetic – with a jata

(matted hair locks) and valkala (humble dress made of tree barks). Gone

was all the trappings of a royal personage. Bharata could not withstand the

sight. He gazed at Rama for awhile as some translators say, but the exact

time duration of one muhuratam is stated here.

Let us remember that Bharata was overcome with grief and shedding tears.

May be he was unable to see the Lord Rama. May be it took him some

time to compose himself to be able to see Rama clearly. May be that time

was EXACTLY one muhurtam, the same time taken by Katvaanga to reach

the abode of Lord Sri Hari, as mentioned by Shukaacarya !

Also, it should be noted that the word Shreyas is used here (the SB sloka

being discussed). Preyas, or priyam, is what we like. Shreyas, on the other

hand, is what is good for us. We like many things but not necessarily those

that are good for us. Arjuna also uses the word Shreyas repeatedly in the

Gita (for example, chapter 2, verse 7, when he surrenders, and chapter 3,

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verse 2). Krishna also uses the same in slokas like Shreyaan swadharmO

vigunah..., chapter 3 verse 35 and chapter 18, verse 47. The deeper

implications of Shreyas should be more obvious. The real Shreyas is total

liberation, or moksha.

The main point, however, here is that Shukaacarya tells us here that it is

enough to spend just one muhoortam, in a focused and concentrated

manner, to reach the abode of the Lord Sri Hari.

Of course, one should not forget that the example given is that of

Katvaanga, a Rajarshi, which means he was already a great royal sage

and so had mastered all the shastras and yogas. He was, however,

entangled in worldly affairs. Once he realized that his end was nearing, it

was very easy for him to spend just one muhoortam and reach the abode

of the Lord Sri Hari. What Shukaacaryaa is referring to is the preparation

time that is being wasted by people who do not realize the purpose of their

bodily existence.

Imagine having to go somewhere in a hurry and arrive there within the

hour. One cannot go car shopping at the time, or even wait for a bus, or a

train. It is good to have a car on hand, parked in the garage. That too is not

really enough. The car must also be reliable and in top working condition to

be able to meet the time constraints. The same applies to that trip to the

abode of Lord Sri Hari in one just one muhoortam, following King

Katvaanga's example! Let's go car shopping today itself.

In short, there is still hope for all of us! Om Namo Narayanaaya.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Raama Hare Raama Raama Raama Hare Hare

Very sincerely

V. Laxmanan

April 12, 2012

Page 78 of 101

Brahma Fears His Limited Lifetime

Dear All:

In the earlier email, where we discussed the Cosmology Lessons from

Krishna's teachings in chapter 8 of the Bhagavad Gita, I had alluded to

reading in the Srimad Bhagavatam about Brahma's fear of his own death

and limited lifetime. This is mentioned by Brahma himself, in his

conversation with Bhagavan. The specific sloka of interest appears in

Canto 3, chapter 9, verse 18 (all multiples of 3!) The sloka is reproduced

below (see also the translation by Srila Prabhupada and the purport

http://srimadbhagavatam.com/3/9/18/en ).

Yasmaat bibhemyahamapi dwiparaardha dhishNyam

Adhyaasitah sakala loka namaskrutam yat l

Tepe tapO bahusavO-varurut samaanas-

Tasmai namo Bhagavate-adhimakhaaya Tubhyam ll 3.9.18 ll

When Bhagavan wished to create, a lotus emerged from His navel. And, on

that lotus there appeared Brahma, embodied with all the knowledge of the

Vedas (3.8.15, SB). Thus, Brahma found himself seated on a lotus. The

waters of pralaya were all around, as far as he could see. He starts

wondering, "Who am I?" or in Sanskrit "KOham or Kahaa aham" Here

kahaa = ka:, the first constant in Sanskrit, ka, with the colon (:) added to

indicate the nominative singular of the pronoun meaning who (3.8.18, SB).

or S . Thus, one of the names of Brahma is "ka". Since we

all get our body from "ka", this body we have is referred to as "Kaayaa"

which literally means that (yaa) which was obtained from "ka", or Brahma.

We find this word used in the well-known sloka, Kaayena vaacaa

manasendriyaih vaa.... Here kaayena means with the instrument or agency

of the kaayaa, i.e., whatever we do using our body. (Similarly maayaa

means maa yaa where "maa" means nonexistent. So maayaa is often

taken as that which does not exist.)

Page 79 of 101

******************************************************************

Kasya roopam aboot dwedhaa

yat kaayam abhicakshate l

Taabhyaam roopa-vibhaagaabhyaam

mithunam sampadyata ll 3.12.52 ll SB

The relevant sloka appears in Canto 3, chapter 12 and is

reproduced above. Kasya here means “of ka”, i.e., of Brahma.

As Brahma was contemplating (after repeated failure in his

efforts) about to fulfill Bhagavan’s command to populat the

universe, he suddenly found his body split into two parts (a

male and a female) and sexual reproduction as the means to

populate the universe was thus conceived, verse 54. The above

sloka also states clearly that all bodies, of all beings, are

referred to as Kaayaa for this reason, since they came from

Ka, Brahma.

******************************************************************

Brahma starts surveying his surroundings. As he looks around, in all the

directions, magically four heads appear, as if to facilitate his looking in all

the four directions (3.8.16, SB). After failing to discover anything external,

Brahma decides to enter into the stalk of the lotus upon which he is seated

(3.8.19, SB). He reaches the point where the stalk was attached to the

navel of Bhagavan but could not penetrate it (3.8.19, SB). Dejected, he

comes back out and sits atop the lotus (more comfortable there, obviously!)

and starts meditating for many many years (according to Brahma's

reckoning). In one version of this same, Brahma hears the two consonant

sounds "ta" and "pa" which together mean "tapa", i.e., a command to

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meditate (2.9.6, SB). Although, he did not know the source of this sound

and the command, Brahma follows the order dutifully and starts meditating.

Pleased with Brahma's devotion and austerity, Bhagavan finally appears

before him and takes him to Vaikunta (2.9.9, SB). In the words of

Shukaacarya, the verse which describes this is given below (see also the

translation by Srila Prabhupada and the purport

http://srimadbhagavatam.com/2/9/9/en)

Tasmai swalokam Bhagavaan Sabhaajitah

Sandarshayaam-aasa param na yat param l

Vyapeta samklesha vimoha saadhvasam

swadrushtha-vadbhir vibudhair abhishthutam ll 2.9.9 ll SB

Shukaacaryaa uses the same description here that Krishna uses in chapter

8 to describe His abode - param na yat param - that Supreme Abode with

nothing superior to it. This is what Bhagavaan showed (sandarshayaam

aasa) Brahma. We can call this abode, Vaikunta (also used in SB, Canto 3,

chapters 15 and 16) Shreekrishna dhaama, Goloka dhaama, Param

dhaama, Parama padam, or any name we choose. All these are only

names. There is only one Supreme Abode. And, there is only one

Bhagavan, whatever name we choose to call Him by (even Buddha,

Tirtankara, Jesus, Jehovah, or Allah!).

A short description of this Supreme Abode is given in the last two lines

here. In that Supreme Abode, there is nothing to be distressed about

(kelsha), nothing to be deluded by (moha), nothing to fear (saadhvasam,

fear of material existence). It is free (vyapeta) all such afflictions. All the

celestials who have received but one glance of this place are constantly

singing its glories.

Anyway, to keep the long story short, after his Bhagavan-led personal tour

of Vaikunta, and after receiving complete instructions (the entire Srimad

Bhagavatam was narrated in essence, the so-called Chatush sloki

Bhagavatam, 2.9.30 to 2.9.36, Brahma did not need much more and could

infer all the remaining slokas), Brahma is completely overwhelmed with

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devotion and starts singing the glories of the Lord. This is the topic of Canto

3, chapter 9. The sloka of interest to us now is the 18th sloka of the hymn

recited by Brahma to praise the Lord and was quoted above at the start of

the discussion.

Let us see what this sloka means. DhishNaa means abode or place.

Dwiparaardha means two paraardhaas which was discussed earlier under

the cosmology discussion. Brahma has a lifetime of just two (2)

paraardhaas. He has been placed (by Bhagavan) in the loka where such is

the duration of life for ALL of its residents. (This is just like the maximum

lifespan here on earth, which is about 100 years. Life-expectancy changes

depending on country we live in, but on average the maximum lifespan is

about 100 years, as also noted by Shukaacaraya, yesterday's email in the

conversation with Parikshit. The duration of life in ALL lokas outside the

three lokas - bhu, bhuva, suwa is same as Brahma's lifespan, see verse

3.11.22 of Srimad Bhagavatam where timescales are discussed. The other

four lokas above us are maha, jana, tapa, and satya. These are mentioned

in the FULL VERSION of the Gayatri mantram.)

In the previous sloka, Brahma mentions that although one is born to

worship Bhagavan and sing His glories (THIS IS THE SWADHARMA FOR

ALL, AS STATED BY BRAHMA HERE), generally people forget this and

get entangled in various prohibited activities (nishiddha karmas, or

vikarmas) and the pleasures of their own bodily existence and their self-

imagined goals and interests (kushale pramattah). And, then the ravages of

time take over and death arrives. That all-powerful Time is also the

manifestation of Bhagavan's power (Kaalaatmaka Parameshwara Raam,

One with time under His control, or One who has conquered time).

And so, says Brahma, in the above sloka, although I am placed in the loka

where the lifespan is two paraardhaas, I too live in fear of death, although I

am worshipped by all. And so, I perform austerities (tapas tepe) for many

many years. Bhagavan Himself, as the Adhimakha, is the witness to this

tapas. I bow to Thee - tasmai namo Bhagavate adhimakhaaya tubhyam.

Page 82 of 101

The word "makha" is a synonym for "yajna". Hence, Adhimakha is the

same as Adhiyajna, mentioned in chapter 8 of the Gita (verses 2 and 4).

Arjuna asks, "Who is the Adhiyajna in this body, O Madhusoodhana?" for

which Krishna replies, "It is Me alone who is the Adhiyajna." Yajna is not

just sitting around a fire and making offerings while chanting mantras.

Everything we do with our body can be turned into a yajna, if it is offered to

the Lord. Even ordinary bodily process such as breathing and eating

become yajnas.

Let them all be offered to Bhagavan. Thus, it becomes a "yajna". This is

what Brahma did with his own body.

Without Bhagavan's power, even the food we eat cannot be digested or the

waste expelled from the body (Aham VaishwaanarO bhootvaa praaNinaam

deham aashritahaa.. chapter 15, verse 14). He is present in the lifebreaths

- the breathe we inhale and the breathe we exhale - just become conscious

of it (praaNaapaana samaayuktah, second of that same verse of chapter

15). The fire needs air for it to blaze. The bodily process of digestion is like

burning or combustion - the fire is called Vaishwaanara. Krishna says that

too is Him, in chapter 15. In chapter 8, Krishna says, "I am the Adhiyajna

within this body." In other words, He is the due recipient and we must learn

to offer ALL to Him, on a daily and regular basis. (Many yajnas, that we can

do effortlessly, without sitting around a fire and chanting mantras are

mentioned in chapter 4, verses 24 to 32.)

Even with his mindbogglingly vast lifespan [total lifetime of 311.04 trillion

years or 311,040 billion years, per human reckoning, or 36,000 kalpas

or 72 million Chaturyugas (which is the same as what Krishna calls

yugas in chapter 8, verse 17), or 864 billion divine years, see box on

page 25], where each kalpa equals 8.64 billion years, according to the

Srimad Bhagavatam sloka above, and in Brahma's own words, he too is

afraid of the powerful ravages of time, and the power held by Bhagavan

over him. He spends many many years of his 100 Brahma years in tapas

(austerities). In the Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Shiva is also described as a

great yogi who is always meditating and a great devotee of Bhagavan.

Page 83 of 101

In the Tulsi Ramayana and the

Adhyatma Ramayana, Shiva

says that he is constantly

chanting Ramanaamam to be

liberated.

Brahma and Shiva thus set the

example for us. In the limited

lifespan of 100 human years

that we have (most do not

reach this maximum and are

gone by 80s, or 70s, or 60s, or

50s or even less) we too can do

what Brahma says he is doing

in this sloka. As Shukaacaraya

tells us, one muhoortam of

concentrated meditation may

be enough, as long as we

possess the right tools. Also,

Shukaacaraya says there is no

need to fear the moment of

death. We will discuss this in a

future email.

Very sincerely

V. Laxmanan

April 12, 2012

Brahma’s lifetime = 100 years

Each Brahma year (BY) has 360

Brahms days (BD) called kalpas (we

define kalpa to include daytime and

nighttime, both of equal duration).

So, Brahma’s lifetime = 36,000 kalpas

Each kalpa has 1000 Chaturyugas(Cy)

for daytime and 1000 for nighttime, so

total of 2000 Chaturyugas.

So, Brahma’s lifetime equals 36,000

times 2000 Chaturyugas = 72 million

Chaturyugas (Cy).

One Chaturyugas has 12,000 divine

years (DY).

So, Brahma’s lifetime equals 72 million

times 12,000 divine years = 864 billion

divine years (DY)

The above calculations have nothing to

do with any human days, years, or time

durations. Multiply DY by 360 to get

Brahma’s lifetime in human years. The

number is 311,040 billion (human)

years or 311.04 trillion years.

Page 84 of 101

Yuga sandhyaa

The transition between two yugas

Dear All:

In our recent email discussion of Cosmology Lessons from chapter 8 of the

Bhagavad Gita, we went through the simple calculations (just multiplying

numbers and doing some addition, now we don't even need to know

multiplication tables from memory, we can just use computer or calculator)

to determine the lifespan of Brahma in terms of human years.

The Srimad Bhagavatam,

however, defines this lifespan

NOT in terms of human years but

in terms of Divine years (Divya

varsha). There is NO mention AT

ALL of human years in Canto 3,

chapter 11, where various

timescales, big and small, are

described in detail by

Shukaacaryaa. The whole

discussion is in terms of divine

years. Only commentators help us

to relate this to human years.

For example, in the footnotes to

the appropriate verses in the Hindi

translation published by

Gorakhpur press we find the clarification that one divine day equals one

human year and that one divine year has 360 divine days and is therefore

equal to 360 human years. Srila Prabhupada also mentions the same in his

purports, written in English; see sections pasted below signature line.

Brahma’s lifetime = 100 years

Or, Brahma’s lifetime = 36,000

kalpas

Or, Brahma’s lifetime = 72 million

Chaturyugas (Cy).

Or, Brahma’s lifetime equals 864

billion divine years (DY)

Multiply DY by 360 to get Brahma’s

lifetime in human years. This number

is 311,040 billion years or 311.04

trillion years.

Page 85 of 101

In Canto 3, chapter 11, verses 18 and 19, where the duration of the four

yugas (Kruta, Treta, Dwaapara, and Kali) are defined, we also encounter

the idea of yuga-sandhyaa. The word "sandhyaa" refers to the transition

from one state to another, or the conjunction of two different states. Hence,

we use the term "Sandhyaa vandanam" to denote the prayers (to be)

performed, on a daily basis, at the conjunction of the night with day, with

rising of the sun, at midday, and at the conjunction of the day with night,

with the setting of the sun. As we know from experience, we can ‘feel’

these transitions. It becomes bright gradually and likewise become dark

gradually. At midday it gets quite hot.

Likewise, we have yuga-sandhyas. According to verse 19 cited above, the

duration of Kaliyuga is 1200 divine years of which 200 divine years are the

transition years. These are split equally at the beginning and the end.

This means we have 100 divine years of transition from Dwaapara yuga to

Kaliyuga and another 100 divine years of transition from Kaliyuga to Kruta,

or Satya yuga, where Kaliyuga will end. The effects of the previous yuga

will be felt in the transition years. Thus, for the first 100 divine years of

Kaliyuga we will feel the effect of Dwaapara yuga and for the last 100

divine years of Kaliyuga, we will begin to feel the effects of Kruta, or Satya,

yuga. (Conversely, were the effects of Kali were felt in the last 100 divine

years of Dwaapara yuga? Does the future blend with the present? Does the

past affect the present? ) This is very fortunate, since the Bhagavatam

states clearly that "dharma" is different in each of the four yugas. This is

mentioned in verses 20 and 21 of chapter 11, Canto 3.

There are four legs of dharma - tapah shoucam dayaa satyam iti

paadaah kruteh krutaahaa (Canto 1, chapter 17, verse 24) - these are

tapas, austerities, shoucam, purity, dayaa, compassion, and satyam,

truthfulness. All four legs are present (i.e., all four flourish) in the first

yuga, Krutayuga or Satyayuga. Then one of the four legs is progressively

lost with each passing yuga. In Kaliyuga, only the last leg will be standing.

That last leg is truthfulness.

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People will fail to perform austerities. They will fail to maintain purity

(mental and physical). They will become quite cruel and lack compassion.

Just imagine what it would have been like in earlier yugas if you think you

are filled with compassion today for your fellow humans! The only thing left

is truthfulness. (Ah, tell me about it with all the lies of this political campaign

and the venom that is being spewed on the airways!).

The yugasandhya period is 100 divine years, or 36,000 human years.

Wow! This is very very interesting since according to the Panchangam (the

Vedic calendar) calculations, only about 5113 years of Kaliyuga have

elapsed. We are, therefore, still in the yugasandhya period. The full effects

of Kaliyuga are NOT yet being felt.

So, there is still HOPE and CHANGE will come soon!

We will experience the effects of dayaa or compassion, the trait prevailing

in Dwaapara, for some 30,880 human years (give and take a few) into the

future. And, not only that, when Kaliyuga ends, the effects of Kruta, or

Satya, yuga will be manifested in the last 36,000 years. That is when

Bhagavan will appear as Kalki and re-establish the full force of dharma and

destroy the evil effects of Kali which lasted for 432,000 years:

Dharma samsthaapana-arthaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge (Gita

chapter 4, verse 8).

Great thoughts to keep in mind as we begin New Year celebrations this

month. They actually began a few weeks ago when the Telugu, Marathi

and other communities celebrated their Yugadis. Cheers! Happy New Year

to ALL.

Very sincerely

V. Laxmanan

April 13, 2012

Page 87 of 101

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.18

yasmād bibhemy aham api dviparārdha-dhi yam

adhyāsita sakala-loka-namask ta yat

tepe tapo bahu-savo 'varurutsamānas

tasmai namo bhagavate 'dhimakhāya tubhyam

SYNONYMS

yasmāt — from whom; bibhemi — fear; aham — I; api — also; dvi-para-

ardha — up to the limit of 4,300,000,000 x 2 x 30 x 12 x 100 solar years;

dhi yam — place; adhyāsita — situated in; sakala-loka — all other

planets; namask tam — honored by; yat — that; tepe — underwent; tapa

— penances; bahu-sava — many, many years; avarurutsamāna —

desiring to obtain You; tasmai — unto Him; nama — I do offer my

obeisances; bhagavate — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead;

adhimakhāya — unto Him who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices; tubhyam —

unto Your Lordship.

TRANSLATION

Your Lordship, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You who are

indefatigable time and the enjoyer of all sacrifices. Although I am situated in

an abode which will continue to exist for a time duration of two parārdhas,

although I am the leader of all other planets in the universe, and although I

have undergone many, many years of penance for self-realization, still I

offer my respects unto You.

PURPORT

Brahmā is the greatest personality in the universe because he has the

longest duration of life. He is the most respectable personality because of

his penance, influence, prestige, etc., and still he has to offer his respectful

obeisances unto the Lord. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all others, who

are far, far below the standard of Brahmā, to do as he did and offer

respects as a matter of duty.

Page 88 of 101

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.11.18

maitreya uvāca

k ta tretā dvāpara ca

kaliś ceti catur-yugam

divyair dvādaśabhir var ai

sāvadhāna nirūpitam

SYNONYMS

maitreya uvāca — Maitreya said; k tam — the age of Satya; tretā — the age of Tretā; dvāparam — the age of Dvāpara; ca — also; kali — the age of Kali; ca — and; iti — thus; catu -yugam — four millenniums; divyai — of the demigods; dvādaśabhi — twelve; var ai — thousands of years; sa-avadhānam — approximately; nirūpitam — ascertained.

TRANSLATION

Maitreya said: O Vidura, the four millenniums are called the Satya, Tretā,

Dvāpara and Kali yugas. The aggregate number of years of all of these

combined is equal to twelve thousand years of the demigods.

PURPORT

The years of the demigods are equal to 360 years of humankind. As will be

clarified in the subsequent verses, 12,000 of the demigods' years, including

the transitional periods which are called yuga-sandhyās, comprise the total

of the aforementioned four millenniums. Thus the aggregate of the above-

mentioned four millenniums is 4,320,000 years.

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.11.19

catvāri trī i dve caika

k tādi u yathā-kramam

sańkhyātāni sahasrā i

dvi-gu āni śatāni ca

Page 89 of 101

SYNONYMS

catvāri — four; trī i — three; dve — two; ca — also; ekam — one; k ta-ādi u — in the Satya-yuga; yathā-kramam — and subsequently others; sańkhyātāni — numbering; sahasrā i — thousands; dvi-gu āni — twice; śatāni — hundreds; ca — also.

TRANSLATION

The duration of the Satya millennium equals 4,800 years of the years of the

demigods; the duration of the Dvāpara millennium equals 2,400 years; and

that of the Kali millennium is 1,200 years of the demigods.

PURPORT

As aforementioned, one year of the demigods is equal to 360 years of the

human beings. The duration of the Satya-yuga is therefore 4,800 x 360, or

1,728,000 years. The duration of the Tretā-yuga is 3,600 x 360, or

1,296,000 years. The duration of the Dvāpara-yuga is 2,400 x 360, or

864,000 years. And the last, the Kali-yuga, is 1,200 x 360, or 432,000

years.

Page 90 of 101

The Irony of the Big Questions

What we call Hindu philosopy is filled with eloquent aphorisms. I have listed

a few of them here, for reflection, based on our discussion so far about

Krishna’s teachings in chapter 8 of the Bhagavad Gita.

In the opening verse of chapter 8 Arjuna poses the question (verse 1)

Kim tad Brahma?

What is that (which you call) Brahma (or Brahman)?

Krishna, the Supreme Being Himself (Krishnas tu Bhagavan swayam,

Canto 1, chapter 3, verse 28), answers Arjuna as follows:

Aksharam Brahma Paramam - Brahma is that Indestructible Absolute

Adi Sankara, one of the foremost of modern Hindu philosophers who laid

the foundation for what is known as Advaita (Non-dualism) philosophy said.

Aham Brahma asi or Aham Brahmaasi - I am Brahma (or Brahman)

The very first being created by Bhagavan, on the first day of creation,

known to us as Brahma, the Creator, on the other hand, wonders, when he

finds himself atop the lotus that sprang from the navel of Bhagavan:

KOham or Kahaa Aham --- Who Am I?

or S

Page 91 of 101

In the famous Charama Slokam of Vishishtthadvaita philosophy, the

foremose modern proponent being Ramanujaacarya we encounter (see

link given here for a brief discussion of these three slokas given below

http://www.scribd.com/doc/56368141/The-Three-Charama-Slokas-An-

Introductory-Discussion ):

Tavaasmee or Tava asmi – I am yours

The full verse, found in Valmiki Ramayana, recited by Lord Rama Himself

at the time of His acceptance of Vibhishana (brother of Ravana) who had

come to seek His refuge.

Shree Rama said: Sakrudeva prapannaaya tavaasmeeti ca yaacate l Abhayam Sarva bhootebhyo dadaamyetat vratam ma-ma ll

च च l

ll

This is called the Charama sloka (the final message, or most important

message) of the avatara, incarnation. The other two important slokas are.

Shree Krishna said:

Sarva dharman parityajya

maam ekam sharanam vraja l

Aham tvaam (tvaa) sarva paapebhyo

mokshayishyaami maa shucahaa ll 18.66 ll BG

Page 92 of 101

l

( ) च ll १८.६६ ll

The Varaha Charama Sloka of Varaha Purana

Sthite manasi su-swasthe shareere sati yo narahaa l

Dhaatu-saamye sthite smartaa Viswaropam Maamajam ll

Tatas-tam mriyamaanam tu kaashtha-paashaana-sannibham l

Aham smaraami madbhaktam nayaami Paramaam gatim ll

l

च ll

l

ll

Lord Addresses Mother Earth or Bhumi Devi -

When any man who is with a sound mind and situated in good

health thinks of me as the cause of this universe (having the form

of this universe) and one without birth, I think of him when he is in

his death bed lying like a stone or wood and take him to the

ultimate Abode.

Page 93 of 101

In summary, we find the following:

Lord Rama said that He has made a vow to protect all those

who seek His refuge.

Krishna said, Just surrender to me, I will liberate you all

your sins.

Lord Varaha said, “Think about me and surrender to Me,

once, when you are healthy and in full possession of all your

mental faculties and I shall, personally, take should a

devotee to My Abode.”

There is really nothing to fear from

Death

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15836

http://www.eliteskills.com/c/2198

Death Be Not Proud …….

One short sleep past

We wake eternally

And, death shall be no more

Death Thou shalt die!

Page 94 of 101

Simple tabular form calculation of

Brahma’s lifetime

Lifetime in Brahma Years (BY) 100

Days/BY 360

Total days 36,000

Daytime 1000 Cy = 0.5 kalpa

Nighttime 1000 Cy = 0.5 kalpa

Kalpas/day 1

Total kalpas 36,000

Chaturyugas (Cy)/kalpa 2000

Total Cy 72 million

Divine years (DY)/Cy 12,000

Total lifetime in DY 864 billion

Human years/DY 360

Total lifetime in (human) years 311040 billion

Total lifetime in (human) years 311.040 trillion

BY = Brahma’s year

Cy = Chaturyuga (the four yugas taken together, Kruta, Treta, Dwaapara, Kali)

DY = Divine year

Commentaries on verse 17, chapter 8, by acaryas of the four Vaishnavite

sampradayas may be found at http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-08-17.html

Ramanujacarya’s commentary states very clearly that one kalpa refers to the day of

Brahma which includes equal durations of daytime and nighttimes. One year of

Brahma is thus made of 360 kalpas and Brahma’s lifetime equals 36,000 kalpas.

The sandhi of ahah+yat or ahah+yad becomes aharyat or aharyad (alternatives)

or becomes or

Some authors take kapla as the daytime of Brahma and one Brahma day

as two (2) kalpas, see http://baharna.com/karma/yuga.htm

Page 95 of 101

From Non-Science to

Real Space Science

Dear All: Based on our discussion so far about the Cosmology Lessons from Krishna's teaching in chapter 8, here are at least two bold, or rather crazy, ideas. The first one is the easy one. It has to do with our understanding of history. The second is more crazy. We now know, with actual astronomical observations, reported since 1995 (when the first exo-planet was discovered, here ‘exo’ means not orbiting our sun), that there are indeed billions of planets orbiting around stars, even in distant galaxies, and many of these may be habitable like our earth. We will get to this later. First, today, April 14th is a historic day. Not because some communities from India celebrate their New Year today (Happy Vishu, Happy Baisaki, today is also the traditional data for Tamil New Year). If you still don't know why, you haven't being attention to all the hype about the luxury liner called the Titanic – the grandest ship of its day. Shortly before midnight today (about 11:50 PM), the unsinkable Titanic (even God cannot sink this ship, the man who designed built the ship is supposed to have said before its tragic voyage started) struck an iceberg, on its maiden voyage, on April 14, 1912, and sank in just about two and half (2.5) hours, around 2:20 am on April 15, 1912. You won't believe it ---- there is an actual cruise planned to retrace the steps and it also got into unexpected problems -- fortunately only delays no tragedy. And, I stayed up at night, through practically the whole time that Titanic was sinking, exactly 100 years ago, composing this email! Also, it was just around that time, a little after 2 am on October 12, 1492

Page 96 of 101

that Columbus came to the New World. Land was sighted and they waited until after dawn to land on the shores of the island which Columbus called San Salvador, which many believe to be an (unknown) island in the Bahamas (there we go again about facts of recent history and the accuracy of records of just a few centuries ago; see also links given here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus#First_voyage and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyages_of_Christopher_Columbus As we discuss cosmological timescales based on the teachings of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita and the teachings of the Srimad Bhagavatam, it is of interest to revisit this date of October 12, 1492. Is this the correct date for Columbus' landing in the New World? Why even raise this question when accurate historical records have been maintained about these historic voyages? Firstly, we must remember the reform of the calendar by Pope Gregory XIII (see earlier email on this topic, or consult the public document . This went into effect in on Feb 24, 1582 and ten days were dropped from the calendar. Since Columbus landed here in 1492, he must have used the ‘old calendar’ in his records. Did some overzealous historians correct the date to agree with Gregorian or report the date that Columbus says he landed in the New World? As I had mentioned earlier, in England they still followed the new calendar in 1642 since they did not accept the Pope's authority. So, Sir Isaac Newon, who laid the foundation of modern gravitational theory, was born on Christmas day. It is also said by science historians that Newton was born the year Galileo died. This makes for a nice story. But, now see what happens when we impose the Gregorian calendar on to this bit of history. The date Dec 25, 1642 will move into the New Year since we have to add 10 days and so Newton is born, according to these revisionists on Jan 4, 1643. So, Newton loses the distinction of being on Christmas. Also, worse, he is no longer born the year Galileo died since changing to the Gregorian calendar does not affect Galileo’s death. Galileo still died in 1642! (Now, please check out if Galileo died BEFORE or AFTER the papal bull --- and date of Feb 24 and how it will affect his new death certificate as rewritten by overzealous historians --- yes, I have seen some of this type of nonsense

Page 97 of 101

being applied to Newton's birthday.) Also, think about George Washington's birthday. In America, they still used the old calendar. It was only in 1752 that the British calendar act went into effect, on September 2, 1752. They dropped 12 days then, and the date after Sept 2, 1752 became Sep 14, 1752 --- sort of like when we lose one hour when we advance to daylight saving time but now more extreme --- So, if you wish you can change the calendar and die on any auspicious day of your choice so that you follow all the principles of chapter 8 of the Gita. Wish life was that simple! The main point is the ‘fudging’ going on even with things that we apparently claim are backed with solid historical records. We often forget the hidden assumptions that we make. And so it goes with the calculation of Brahma's life time. What is Brahma's lifetime if we no longer live on planet Earth but can transport ourselves to either a planet like Mars, orbiting our own sun, or even an entirely new system, in a new galaxy? One human year no longer will have the same 365.25 days (on average) and Brahma's lifetime cannot be said to be 311.04 trillion years. So, what is the real number for Brahma's lifetime? Practically, everyone I asked this question, over this weekend, at the temple, said Brahma's lifetime is a constant and is NOT affected by where we live. Of course, agreed! What is that constant value for Brahma's lifetime? How is it converted to 311.04 trillion years (see Prabhupada's purport for verse 17, chapter 8, 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years is the number stated)? Now, we come to the more interesting question of finding an exo-planet to live on. Imagine that we are the new Star Trek generation with advanced rockets that can move through distant galaxies. And, here we are zooming through and find a star system with a whole bunch of planets. We will not got into how we can accomplish this voyage (even traveling at the speed of light will mean many years of intergalactic travel). The question: Can our new Mr. Spock come up with ‘sniffing’ gadget that will tell him the planet is habitable and consistent with our here earth-bound notion of what is (the constant) Brahma's life time?

Page 98 of 101

We know Brahma lives for 100 years where ‘years’ are defined in a why we still do not fully comprehend. What “physical” tools can we use to discover if human life on this planet will be consistent with ideas that we hold today? The number is no longer 311.04 trillion earth years. It is just 100 Brahma years. Does knowing about 100 Brahma years help us choose the planet in this situation --- like we decided where to live, or buy a house, when we move to new city, or a new country, here in our earth-bound situation? In our new city, we still used some "vastu" ideas about what is auspicious and a good location for our new home. Likewise, this new planet must help be in tune with the Cosmology Lessons we gained from Krishna in chapter 8. Do, I know the answer? I am certainly thinking very hard about this now. One thing I do recall is that it takes light approximately 1000 seconds to travel the distance we call the diameter of the earth's orbit. Yes, amazing isn't it? Almost 1000 seconds and this number 1000 is revered in our Purusha Suktam, Vishnu Sahasranamam and other related scriptures. And, I also remember that Einstein got famous by developing his theory of relativity (first published in 1905) where he postulates (not proves, postulate means trust me and take it to be true, check this meaning out in the dictionary) that the speed of light is a universal constant. Now, our young geniuses can do the rest of the thinking and pick our new planet to populate and start chanting and hold our first poojas and the first Gita class and the first Ramayanam chanting and Bhagavatam saptaah shravaNam. Very sincerely V. Laxmanan April 16, 2012 9:56 am. P. S. Got to preserve this moment in history - hence date and time to the minute if not second!

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Never mind, I did not tell you how to measure the speed of light. And, neither does Einstein, in his 1905 paper. He just takes the speed of light to be a known and says let's build a NEW CLOCK that works on the universal constancy of the speed of light. Just place two mirrors at a known distance apart (let's say, d) and let a light ray of light bounce back and forth and the clock will tick with each bouncing and give us EXTREMELY PRECISE time intervals t = 2d/c where 2d is the distance travelled by the ray of light and "c" is the universal constant for speed of light. Such a clock is always accurate and can NEVER go wrong since "c" will never change. Einstein describes this clock http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf , see very bottom of page 4 and top of page 5 of the 1905 paper. Einstein specifically prohibits use a clock based on gravity principles (like a pendulum clock) in order to test his theory of relativity. He wants a clock that use light only (or one that does not use gravity directly or indirectly), see footnote http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf which appears on page 11 of the paper; clock on equator must go more slowly than a clock at one of the poles, since equator clock is moving at a higher speed compared to polar clock. No such clock has yet been built in spite of the success of Einstein's theory. Also, in the 1905 paper, Einstein describes a world where there is no NO gravity.... only electromagnetic forces are considered, no gravity force.....so there is a problem .... about how to build this clock.... and so that is only more work for our geniuses who will pick the new planet.... to be consistent also with the known value for the constant Brahma lifetime. Now Non-Science merges with Space Science or Real Science.

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Discussion: Answers to some questions

Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:39:13 +0000

To: vlaxmanan@hotmail.com

Subject: Re: Happy (Tamil) New Year: What is one year? Back to cosmology

Dear Laxmanan Sir,

This is so very informative. I have been thinking since our last Gita Class and

reading your emails. I am also watching a DVD series of Hubble's (telescope)

journey thru cosmos. “Undertanding the greatest images of the universe” by Prof.

David Meyer. In this, as we already know, he talks about the thousands and

thousands of galaxies beyond our local universe and how new galaxies are being

formed constantly and how the universe is expanding etc, etc.

What does this mean in relation to our Hindu Philosophy of Creation? Where does

the 14 lokas correspond in this discovery? Why is our earth and solar system so

special for the Gods (to be born again and again) when there are so many Suns and

planets? OR are we assuming that we are special??!! Does Bhagavatham talk

about these other galaxies and stars and the happenings in them?

I am sorry if I sound so dumb!! But this has been on my mind and you ARE the

right person to ask as you are our guru :)

Thanks,

Janaki

******************************************************************

Dear Janaki:

The brief answer to your question is as follows. Guru ????

Just think about Brahma's lifetime and imagine you are living on the moon, or

Mars, or one of the moons of Saturn (it is VERY VERY COLD but it is like a

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frozen Antarctica-like world), or even that you are able to build some rocket and

are able to move to one of the planets in the far away galaxies that you saw

mentioned. What happens? This is the question I asked in today's email. Does

where you individually live change Brahma's lifetime?

If the answer is NO (that, I believe, is the correct answer). All these galaxies and

stars and planets are no different from ours and our earth.

All of this still belongs to Prakriti and is governed by the same laws described by

Krishna in chapters 7 and 8. The five gross elements is all that we are dealing with

in the discoveries that you are talking about in these TV series. Without humans

and other beings there is NO manas, buddhi, and ahankaram.

The scientists are only discovering different permutations and combination of the

five gross elements - bhoomiraapo analo vayuh kham..... (chapter 7 verse 4).

Even if there are intelligent beings in these faraway worlds, it is still Prakriti only

since prakriti as defined in this verse is made of eight constituents, the five gross

elements (bhoomi, earth, aapo, water, analo, fire, vayuh, air, and kham, sky or the

ether) plus the three just mentioned. This is what we call the material universe and

is ALL covered under ‘Bhu’. There are seven lokas: Bhu , bhuva , suva ,

maha , jana , tapa , and satya --- these are mentioned in the full

Gayatri mantra ( ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ etc.) and

also in the Srimad Bhagavatam.

All the lokas beyond Bhu cannot be discovered using material gadgets like the

Hubble telescope. The Srimad Bhagavatam also states (Canto 3, chapter 11) that

all those who live outside of the trilokas (the first three lokas) have a lifespan equal

to Brahma’s lifespan.

Hope this sheds some light for you.

Laxmanan

April 13, 2012