The Mahaabhaaratha has a fine story which proves the same point. The fact that God might assume terrible aspects in order to examine attainment and establish the truth of achievement is witnessed in the story of Mayuuradhwaja. The Paandavas celebrated the Aswamedha Yaaga (Horse Sacrifice), and as part of that ceremony released the chosen horse so that it may take its own course across the length and breadth of the land. Whoever stops and binds the horse is thereby challenging the sacrificant for a fight; he has to win back the horse, after defeating the audacious obstructionist!
The story of Emperor Sibi is an illustration of this truth. Though endowed with power and authority, prosperity and wealth, Sibi was a genuine Saadhak, having attained a high stage in detachment and the spirit of renunciation. God decided to discover whether his achievements were deep-rooted and unshakeable. Agni (the God of Fire) and Indhra (God of the Heavenly Regions) took on the forms of a dove and a hawk. The hawk (Indhra) pursued the dove (Agm) across the sky, until the frightened bird fell into the lap of Sibi sitting on his throne, pleading for protection from the hawk.
IN the Tretha Yuga , the Emperor Janaka performed a great Yajna (sacrificial rite) to make known to the world the value of yajnas and yagas, japa and tapas and arouse in men the consciousness of their divinity. He invited many sages, seers, yogis and scholars to attend the yajna. The yajna was performed successfully.
On the last day, Janaka organised a grand assemblage of sages and savants. He invited whoever was a Brahmavetha (Knower of Brahman) to come forward. Among the sages and scholars present several doubts cropped up. Yajnavalkya alone came forward without any doubt or hesitation.
Janaka had arranged for a thousand richly caparisoned cows to be presented to the Knower of Brahman. Yajnavalkya directed his disciples to lead all the cows to his ashram. At that stage, the high priest of the sacrifice, Aswala, got up and said: “Yajnavalkya! It is only after demonstrating that you are Knower of the Brahman will you be entitled to take the cows to your ashram." Responding to thi...
What does 'incarnating' mean?
It is God appearing on earth Filled with affection and love For mankind, everywhere - Divine Consciousness in human form.
Bharath has gained wide renown through many sons and daughters who have sacrificed their all for the common good. The seed has to renounce its identity and become one with the soil so that the tree might emerge. So too, the ego has to sacrifice itself so that man's divine nature can manifest itself.
Mama ithi mrithyu
"mine" is death; 'not mine' is immortality.
Thyagah shanthih anantaram
Renunciation results in peace.
The golden key of non-attachment opens the lock which keeps the door to heaven shut. "Give up; I shall fill the gap," says Jesus . Today, renunciation has become a means for success and fame! It has become a bargaining point. Renouncing animal and even human failings and earning the awareness of the Divine which is the core, is the most valuable sadhana. Consider the heroes of renunciation in the past; they were most...
As in the sesame seed oil exists,As in milk ghee is present,As fragrance resides in a flower,As the juice exists in a fruit,As fire is latent in a faggot,So is the Divine immanent in subtle form.
EMBODIMENTS of Divine Love!
Oil is present throughout the sesame seed. Ghee is present in every drop of milk. Fragrance is present in an invisible form in a flower. A fruit is filled with sweet juice. In every piece of wood fire is latent. In the same manner the Divine is immanent in the entire cosmos in a subtle form. God is present not in some country or some body. Like vision in the eye and hearing in the ear, God is present in the mind as Chaithanya (Consciousness). The cosmos is the visible manifestation of the invisible Supreme Self. While the Divine is in such close proximity to him man in his ignorance goes seeking God everywhere. The Divine is effulgent in every man as Sath -Chith -Anandha (Being-Awareness-Bliss), the Cosmic Consciousness. Reflections of the sun shining in the ...
YAATHE Rudhra Shiva thanoo raghora papa Kasini
The Prajapathi, who is the Divine Inspirer of the Vedas has two natures and names, two forms and features - the terrible known as Rudhra, and the tender known as Shiva. When the Nara-simha Incarnation of God, human with the head of a lion, emerged from the pillar in the Audience Hall of Hiranyakashipu, Prahladha, his little son, saw Him as tender, charming and compassionate. For, he was saturated with devotion to God. But, the father who ignored God and dared to insult Him and injure His devotees, saw before him a terror-striking form of total destruction. While 'Prahladha sang and danced in ecstasy, Hiranyakashipu shivered and shook in fear. It is therefore clear that man visualises in the One God the two opposites of terror and tenderness, reflections of his own mental make-up.
The One God manifests Himself in these two aspects, so that the world may be sustained and fostered, improved and cleansed. These two - the terrible and the tende...
