Death Defying Acts-Part 11—Is Life all about making the Right Choices?

Did you ditch anybody in your life?

Do you think safe that nobody has noticed?

There are plenty of things that are free in a microscopic sense. There are things that are free to individuals, organizations etc. When you pick up a penny on the street, that is free for you.

But in the macroscopic sense, nothing is free. In the macroscopic sense, the world is a closed-system, where nothing is truly created or newly introduced, but only TRANSFORMED. That penny you picked up probably dropped from another person's pocket, making that person poorer.

The Upanishad tells us this secret of cosmic interconnectedness and involution of factors which are unknown to the senses and unthinkable to the mind. There is no such thing as a private act in this world.

The birth of a human being in this world does not take place in this world alone, exclusively. It takes place in the highest regions first.

One is born first in the higher levels in certain degrees of expression, and the impact of this birth is felt in the lower levels until it becomes visible to the physical eye on this mortal earth. Then we say that a child is born, someone has come, and there is a rebirth, and so on. But this someone has not come suddenly from the skies. There has been a complicated interior preceding process, which always manages to escape the notice of ordinary vision.

This is the case not only with the birth of a human being, but it is so with the coming of every event in the world.

The Upanishad tells us, here, that the first vibration propelling any kind of activity or event in this world takes place not in this world alone, but in a higher realm.

The cause has to be churned first in order that the effect may feel the impact of that stir in the cause. Now, the cause is not merely a single factor. There is a chain of factors involved in the conception of the cause.

Let us look at this beautiful explanation:

If, for the purpose of our study, we may say A is the effect that is physically felt by us in this world, it has a cause which is B, impelling this effect to manifest itself in that particular manner in the physical world. But, this B which is the cause of A has another cause behind it, which is C. So, we may say that B is the cause of A, or we may say, C is the cause of A because it is the cause of B also. But, this C has another cause behind it, and that is D. So, while D is the cause of C and B, and through these, of A, we may also say that it is the cause of the last effect also. Thus, the first cause is the real cause which pushes itself downwards to lower levels of reality, until they express themselves in space and time.

Let us see a few cases how the law of Karma works:

If Rajagopal gives pain to his wife by cheating her, by doing this he could be settling a give and take account or could be starting a new account or a combination of both.

Similar will be the case when Rajagopal does a favour to his wife.

Are you getting convinced or confused?

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode

With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्

राजगोपालः

rajagopal

28.08.2012

Tryst with Heroism

Embodiments of Love! 

वीरगोष्ठिप्रिया---Veera goshti priya

The above is the 898 th Namavali ( Name) of my Mother Lalithambika;

The meaning is “She who likes company of heroes”

When I was thinking of heroes and about what makes a hero, Hollywood, Bollywood, Kollywood and many other production house people came to my mind.

Are Heroes born or made?

Was Alexander the Great a Hero who travelled about 15000 miles to the east of Greece?

Is it about emotional courage?

One good thing happened because of my “heroic” research!

Man always tries his level best to degrade the opposite sex!

Let us see what happened to Renuka, mother of Parasuram.

We all know the Parasuram, the Sixth Avatar of Vishnu; he killed his mother at the behest of his father Jamadagni.

The usual reason is as follows:

Once, Parashuram’s mother Renuka went to the pond for a bath. At that time, she saw the reflection of a Kshatriya king in the water; Jamadagni came to know of this and got extremely furious.

He commanded his elder sons to behead their mother. The sons refused as it was their mother. Finally, Jamadagni asked Parashuram to kill all his brothers and his mother.

Parashuram obeyed his father’s orders and killed them. Jamadagni was extremely pleased with his son’s dedication and asked him what he wanted as reward.

Parashuram asked for the lives of his brothers and his mother.

Jamadagni granted his wish and Parashuram got his brothers and mother back alive.

Then Parasuram decided to kill Kshatriyas as a revenge!

Cinemas also project this angle!

Another story goes like this:

Parasuram’s father, Jamadagni, once hosted the Haihaya King Sahasrarjun (Arjun with 1000 hands), when he fed him and his army with the help of the divine cow Kamadhenu.

Awestruck by its qualities, the king demanded the cow from the Rishi. When he would not part with it, Sahasrarjun snatched the cow and destroyed the ashram. Parasuram came to know about this and killed the king, Sahasrarjun;  in turn Sahasrarjun's sons killed Jamdagni when Parasuram was away.


When Parasurama returned to his ashram, he found what had happened and took a vow to rid the earth of the tyrannical Kshatriya Kings and started killing Kshatriyas.

So, I understand one angle of Heroism: to bend stories and twist them to show women in poor light at any cost, even if it is God or demigod!

Just imagine what would happen if the present day mothers ask their daughters to behead their fathers for seeing other girls!

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode

With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्

राजगोपालः

rajagopal

22.08.2012

Death Defying Acts-Part 10— ‘Only Indians think sex is a taboo’

Embodiments of Love! 

When I opened Yahoo page this was a glaring News with a

great declaration captioned as the title for this Episode

( Only Indians think sex is taboo) that Arjun Rampal has

overcome his discomfort with intimate scenes and does one

in ‘Chakravyuh’( film)

I fail to understand this declaration!

Is falling for sex an achievement?

In my “Reincarnation” article I wanted to share the story of Yayati who had uninterrupted sexual pleasures for a 1000 years!

The story of Yayati comes in the Book Nine, 19th Chapter of Bhagavata Purana.

Devayani was the daughter of Sage Shukracharya, the guru of all Asuras, she had been cursed by sage Kacha that she would not marry another Brahmana.

Sage Shukracharya was living in his palace. At that time the Asura king was Vrushaparva, whose daughter Sharmishta was close friend of Devayani.

One day, as Devayani and Sharmishtha along with the hoard of servants were amusing themselves in a park, King Yayati happened to pass by. Devayani had been secretly in love with Yayati, as he had once rescued her from a dry well.

Devayani and Sharmishtha introduced themselves to him, and Devayani confessed to being in love with him and asked him to marry her.

Yayati said, "Unless your father gives you to me in marriage I will not accept you as my wife."

 Shukracharya gave in to his daughter's request, and agreed to give her away in marriage to King Yayati.

As dowry, he gave away Sharmishtha. He however warned Yayati that he should never let Sharmishtha share his bed. ( Oh God! what a terrific Dowry!)

Sharmishtha was given a place to live in a shaded glade called Ashok Vatika. One day Yayati happened to pass by Ashok Vatika where Sharmishtha lived. Seeing him, Sharmishtha confessed that she too was in love with the king, and wanted him to marry her. She told him that she belonged to a royal family, and Yayati could marry her.

Yayati agreed and they wed in secret. They continued to meet and hid the fact from Devayani that they were married.

Yayati had two sons from Devayani, Yadu and Turvasu.

Yayati also had three sons from Sharmishtha, Druhyu, Anu and Puru.

When Devayani came to know about the relationship of Yayati and Sharmishtha and their three sons, she felt shocked and betrayed. Devayani went away to her father Shukracharya, who displeased with the king, cursed that he would lose his youth, and become an old man immediately.

As soon as Shukracharya uttered his curse, Yayati became an old man. Shukracharya also said that his curse once uttered, could not be taken back, and added that the only concession he could give was that if Yayati wanted, he could give his old age to someone, and take his youth from him.

Yayati was relieved at the reprieve he was given, and was confident that his sons would willingly exchange their youth with him.

Yayati requested all his five sons one by one to give their youth to him to enjoy the worldly happiness.

All the sons, except Puru rejected his demand. So Yayati took the youth of Puru. (Later on, Puru became the successor of King Yayati.)

 Yayati enjoyed the sensual pleasures for a "thousand years" and later realized the futility and said, "Know this for certain, not all the food, wealth and women of the world can appease the lust of a single man of uncontrolled senses.

Craving for sense-pleasures is not removed but aggravated by indulgence even as ghee poured into fire increases it....One who aspires for peace and happiness should instantly renounce craving and seek that which neither grows old, nor ceases even when the body ages."

Of course Yayati then gave back the youth to Puru, receiving his old age in return. He renounced the world, and retired into a forest.

we will talk more on this as this has an effect on "Reincarnation"

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode

With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्

राजगोपालः

rajagopal

18.08.2012

Death Defying Acts-Part 9— The Unfolding of the Network

Embodiments of Love! 

Cause and Effect theory fascinates me; the reason is the networking of the universe is because of cause and effect.

When we remove the fuel flame is also lowered!

Chandogya Upanishad deals at length, this aspect beautifully; we may think that nobody is watching us and we are free from the effects; it may not be true!

Read this deduction

Every action produces an effect, called apurva that occurs in the process of the thought that underlies it. Actions are not merely unconnected physical movements of the body; they are vibrations, as we have observed.

Every vibration impinges upon its atmosphere. It has an effect produced in the environment, and this subtle effect that the action produces, invisible to the eyes though, is called the apurva. It is something newly produced; it is not already there.

So, this newly produced effect, the consequence of an action that we perform, is the apurva. Now, this apurva, or the effect of our actions, has something to do with us.

We are the causes. As we are the causes of this apurva, or the effect of the actions, we would be the reapers of the fruit of these actions.

So the apurva, or the result of the actions, becomes the determining factor of what would happen to us even after we depart from this world. Sometimes its effect is felt in this very life. If our actions are very intense, either good or bad, the results are experienced in this life itself; if they are mild, they materialise in a later life. We offer our actions as oblations in this sacrifice of natural phenomena

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode

With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्

राजगोपालः

rajagopal

17.08.2012

Death Defying Acts-Part 8—Is God Tangible after Death?

Embodiments of Love! 

Still as a confused soul I can share that after a stage we do not require A God/Guide to take us further!

My earlier episodes were based on talks with the DEAD!

Ms Amber Wells has done extensive research on reincarnations!

Amber helps me by her near death experiences; she goes on to say that "The chief purpose of reincarnation is education.

in her study some experiences indicated that the cycle of reincarnation would probably come to an end for earthly embodiments, but that one would continue to incarnate into other realms or dimensions. 

Just read the following experience;

the interesting part here is that all of us are aware that when a person is about to die and his consciousness is falling down, doctors would prompt him to be alive and ask him to come back;


 the same experience is shared by this person; the person narrating is one Mellon Thomas:
I remember waking up one morning at home about 4:30 am, and I just knew that this was it. This was the day I was going to die. So I called a few friends and said goodbye. I woke up my hospice caretaker and told her. I had a private agreement with her that she would leave my dead body alone for six hours, since I had read that all kinds of interesting things happen when you die. I went back to sleep. The next thing I remember is the beginning of a typical near-death experience. Suddenly I was fully aware and I was standing up, but my body was in the bed. There was this darkness around me.  Being out of my body was even more vivid than ordinary experience. It was so vivid that I could see every room in the house, I could see the top of the house, I could see around the house, I could see under the house.

There was this light shining. I turned toward the light. The light was very similar to what many other people have described in their near-death experiences. It was so magnificent. It is tangible; you can feel it. It is alluring; you want to go to it like you would want to go to your ideal mother's or father's arms. 

As I began to move toward the light, I knew intuitively that if I went to the light, I would be dead. 

So as I was moving toward the light I said, "Please wait a minute, just hold on a second here. I

want to think about this; I would like to talk to you before I go." 

Note: another point to be noted is that the writer of this experience claims that the fatherly/motherly light was tangible; Einstein would have loved to see this experience that supports his Light/Mass theory!

Let us turn to Nachiketas and Yama, the God of Death in Kathopanishad

“What happens to the soul after death?”, asked Nachiketas.

Take anything you want - immeasurable wealth, endless progeny, immortality, fast chariots and beautiful women, but don’t ask what happens to the soul after death” Death replied.

 “Thank You for the offer but these things wear out the senses. Wealth and children are only useful until you appear. Even the longest life is very short. You keep the beautiful women and fast chariots. I want to know what happens when the body dies. “

Death said, “What is good is one thing, what is pleasant is another. Both bind the soul.

It goes well for the one who calmly examines both and discriminates wisely in favor of the good. But the one who unthinkingly chooses the pleasant is verily a fool. After wisely considering my offer you have renounced everything. Consequently you have avoided the path to wealth where many are lost.

What is known as ignorance and what is known as knowledge are wide apart. I have regard for those who, like you, choose the path of knowledge. Fools think they wise and choose the expedient. They go round and round on a tortuous path, like the blind lead by the blind.

okay friends; it is 10.47 in India; I have complete my dinner and go to bed as tomorrow is the new moon day and I need to perform the religious rite of offering water with sesame for the departed!

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode

With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्

राजगोपालः

rajagopal

16.08.2012

 

Death Defying Acts-Part 7-Rebirth: Girl tracks old parents

 Embodiments of Love! 

We have been discussing about Reincarnations; to make the topic very interesting I am giving a portion of the news that appeared in The Times Of India paper in 2005

Rebirth: Girl tracks old parents

TNN Oct 4, 2005, 02.04pm IST

NEW DELHI: It was almost like living a miracle for a Gujjar family based in south Delhi—a four-year-old angel called Manisha walked into their arms on the shraddh of their daughter who died about five years ago.

Manisha, the little girl, claimed that she was their deceased daughter Suman, who had died of typhoid at the age of 15 on December 14, 2000.

The infant, who apparently has vivid memories of her last birth, took to her "past-life parents" as her own.

"She ran into our arms when she saw us. She pointed to me and said,  “voh nahi yeh mere papa hai ," says Chaudhary Kamal Singh, her father of the last birth.

The family  has removed the garland that adorned Suman"s photograph in their living room and are ecstatic.

The little girl is now living with her "new" parents and they are a big happy family.

Manisha was born to Rampal and Khilli Devi in a little village called Milakpur near Alwar, Rajasthan. At the age of two, just the time that she learnt how to speak, she apparently told her parents that she was Suman and not Manisha.

" Voh kehti thi mera naam Suman hai, Manisha mat bolo ," says Khilli Devi, the mother she was born to in this birth.

As she grew older, she apparently started recollecting more about her past birth and told her "new"" parents that her father"s name was Kamal and her mother was Santosh.

"She told us that she stayed in a threestoreyed house located near a Kamal mandir with three brothers.

She would tell us colours of her school belt and tie”we couldn't understand her since she had not even started going to school then. She said she had died of typhoid," said Mallo, her grandmother of "this birth".

The news about the girl spread in the neighbouring villages and she got to her "old" parents through some relatives who live in two villages in Rajasthanân”Tejara and Tihliâ”which are about 30 km apart.

Kamal said, "Someone told us that there is this little girl who could be our Suman since a lot of details she gave about her past life matched with us. I went to their village and she just ran into my arms calling me papa."

we will discuss in detail tonight

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode

With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्

राजगोपालः

rajagopal

15.08.2012

Death Defying Acts-Part 6: Fit For Nothing!

 Embodiments of Love! 

Can you visualize, imagine “Nothing”?

This is no thing:

              no space,

                    no air,

                        no breath,

                           no sound,

                              no thought,

                                no feeling

                                  and

                                    no form.

                                      This is a total void....

Combine this with my earlier sharing!!!!

              Do you want to become “Nothing” really?

In the earlier episode we read that after the MahaPralaya,

                                                     Only the supreme God principle remains; everything else will get destroyed!

In simple Language “Nothing” remains!

Does this “Nothing “mean anything to you?

Simple: Everything tends towards “Nothing”

You may ask: Oh! Then, “Is Nothing everything?”

To get an answer we need to turn to Kathopanishad!

Death is no more an escape from all the desires than is the barren desert wilderness. People cling to their desires till death and drag them all back with them again to the worldly plane where they can be fulfilled.

In Kathopanishd the above is explained in detail....let us discuss this as part of our reincarnation topic.

I can share one more thing related to this “Nothingness “.

During my childhood I used to ask the question to my Father, “where do we go after Death?"

My Father : " Heaven". (He was confident of the caliber of His Son! I really do not know if at all I will be entertained near the security gate of Heaven?!)

myself : After that?

My Father: Earth!

myself:  there is nowhere else to go? Is it a prison condition?
Dear Friends, this nightmarish feeling comes to me even now; given a choice I would prefer to be nothing of all the things!!!

I normally have this extrapolated feeling in similar lines; it is like the screen that bears the images projected on its body wherein it does not add anything nor modifies anything; if the source is understood differences among the screens disappear leading to better understanding!

We will discuss further on our AVATARs (Reincarnations) and ultimately becoming “Nothing!”

One good thing happened due to my analysis; previously when people used to call me “ Fit for nothing fellow”,  I used to take it in a negative way;

Now this “Nothing” concept has emboldened me to take the comment head on!

ha ha ha, hope you are not getting confused because confusion is yet to start!

This is only tip of the iceberg!

  धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode

With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्

राजगोपालः

rajagopal

12.08.2012

Death Defying Acts-Part 5 : Reincarnation—Life after Death!

 Embodiments of Love! 

 Reincarnation—Life after Death!

Let us understand the span of every yuga for an insightful analysis of our rebirth

Satya Yug--------1,728,000 Years (1.72 billion years)

Treta Yug--------1,296,000 years (1.296 billion years)

Dwapara Yug-----864,000 years (0.864 million years)

Kali Yug------------432,000 years (0.432 million years)

We have crossed approximately 6000 years in Kaliyug (so dear readers, YOU don’t fear when you read articles threatening that world will come to an end by 31 st December 2012)

Two definite things happen:

1)      pralay

This is dissolution of the Universe which includes the complete destruction of the 7 lower worlds

( hell-Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala and Patala lokas), earth ( Bhur-loka), Ancestors’

World (Pitru loka  or Bhuvar Loka), Heaven ( Svar-loka)

This means 7+3 =10 worlds will be wiped off.

4 worlds are spared—Mahar Loka( abode of sages), Jana Loka( Abode of Brahma’s sons), Tapa Loka ( Abode of Tapas/deities), satya Loka( Abode of Brahma; also called Brahma Loka)

Pralay happens after 4.32 million years; means after a complete cycle of all the 4 yugs mentioned above.

2)      Maha Pralay

Only the supreme God principle remains; everything else will get destroyed.

Maha Pralay happens every 432 billion years.

Okay, let us come to our case.

What happens to Rajagopal after his Death?

Possibility 1

He goes to hell; stays there (highly probable!); experiences severe punishments/unhappiness to pay for his sins/demerits and gets a chance to get reincarnated on Earth.

Possibility 2

With higher merits a person may go to svar loka( Heaven), after a stay in pitru loka( ancestral world);

For people of kali yug, it is highly difficult to reach beyond Heaven, as extreme meritorious deeds are required to reach Mahar Loka, Jana Loka, Tapa Loka and Satya Loka.

High probability is reincarnations on Earth.

We will have extensive discussions on Reincarnations friends!

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode

With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्

राजगोपालः

rajagopal

11.08.2012