Answering certain questions from Ramayana.

Did Hanuma get the curse of forgetting his powers until someone reminds him? This is not mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana but he keeps quiet until Jambavanta tells him?
Hanuman was silent for many reasons. He knows that he has to jump the ocean whether he can or can he not. Rama gave the signet ring to Hanuman. He cannot pass on the ring to somebody else for he does not have the permission to do so. So he has to accompany the person who is capable of jumping the ocean.
For the same reason, He would have to jump the ocean if no one else can. Because Rama gave him the task of giving the ring to Sita. And now at the southern shore, have we not heard from Sampati that he can see sita on the other shore?. Hanuman had decided to jump and hence he remained silent.
The mild curse on Hanuman is described in the Uttara Kanda of Ramayana. Rama questions Agastya , “It is evident to me that Hanuman is much more capable than Vali and Ravana?
Kimartham Valyaneniva sugriva priya kamyaya tada Vaire samuptanne na dagdo veerudho yada
Why has hanuman not helped sugriva inspite of having great strength and being capable of crushing Vali to death? To this Agastya replied by narrating the story of Hanuman. It is in this chapter it is elucidated that Hanuman realizing his strengths obtained from demigods was troubling sages in the forest. The sages refrained themselves from cursing the young Hanuma, dismissing his mischief as childish and innocent. But Hanuman tested their patience. Atlast, the sages had to put a mild curse on young Hanuman, that he would put his power to use only when asked.
Why did not Sugriva reminded Hanuman of his prowess and invoked him against Vali. Well, Agastya said that Sugriva was not aware of Hanuman’s strength. Well, Sugriva certainly knew that Hanuman was capable else he would not have entrusted the sacred duty of finding vaidehi to Hanuman. One should note that when the southern party arrived and destroyed madhuvana, Sugriva proudly uttered “Jambavan yatra netasyat, angadasya baleswarah, Hanuman yatra adistata, na tasya gatir anyada”. When Hanuman is the leader that task will not go unfinished. Hence, there is an ambiguity whether Sugriva knew about Hanuman or not. Sugriva certainly knows Vali and his alliance with Ravana. If Sugriva wages battle with Hanuman’s help, then the entire Vanara race and Rakshasa race will be wiped out, considering Ravana’s boon of immunity against death in the hands of any being except man. Not to undermine the necromancy and magic spell of Indrajit in times of war. Besides Sugriva is a peaceful fugitive prince, who only desired protection from Vali and not Kingdom of Kishkindhya. The truth is it was Hanuman who protected sugriva by telling him that Rishyamuka is impenetrable to Vali due to sage Matanga’s curse. Hence, many of them in Ramayana including Sugriva, Jambavan and others kept quite until the right time arrived. Death of Vali and Ravana has to occur in the hands of Rama and the world new it. Hence, the curse on Hanuman was not discussed until Rama raised such question in UttaraKanda.

Coming to the time line of events until Hanuman met Sita.
Ravana abducted Sita in the beginning of the spring season. Rama arrived at Pampa at the end of Vasanta ritu(spring) but spent time in searching for Sugriva. When Hanuman met Rama it was almost Grishma Ritu was in its final days. Immediately after meeting Hanuma, on the same day Vali was killed. It was a long day for sugriva. By that time, Vali is cremated and sugriva is coronated it was almost rainy season, Varsha ritu or sravana. This season lasted for four months and that is all we know. After the Rainy season at the end of 15th day the search party commenced. Let us assume that the vanara party arrived at Rikshabila with in the same week of Kartika masa. So When they came out of the cave it was a different season it was hemanta. So they could have exhausted the one month of Kartika. Now they could be in Margashirsha or Pausa. When Hanuman met Sita, she told him that two more months are left(some days of Pausa could still be left out), that is Magha and Phalguna which means that Hanuman met Sita in the month of Pausa. So the vanaras could have spent Kartika, Margasirsha and most of Pausa in the Cavity which equals to almost three months. If you look at the end chapter of Yudhakanda, Rama left to Ayodhya again on Chaitra Sudha panchami. Which is approximately an year after he left Pancavati.

Sampoorna Srimad Ramayana Harikatha Pravachanam on April 9th, Saturday at VCC sammamish, WA

The Lord in his graceful tone declared

" matchitta matgata pranah bodhayanta parasparam
kathayinthischamam nithyam thushyanticha ramanticha".

meaning that those whose heart is situated in me relish and rejoice
eternally sharing my pasttimes. They derive supreme pleasure in doing
so. On behalf of the Lords appearence on saturday April 9th, we begin
our celebrations with Ramayana Pravachana.

Sri Ramayana is a benediction on mankind. It is our great fortune that
the Lords biography in unparalleled detail has been passed on to us by
our ancestors. It is appropriate if one declares that it is our only
inherited treasure. It also becomes a great responsibility to pass
this treasure of supreme pleasure and wisdom to our children and
friends.

The learned and the wise may question, how does Ramayana benefit us in
our present day life?. Ramayana is a fountain resource of unfailing
plenty. It is up to the reader and the hearer to take home with him
the greatest treasure in his capacity.

Disproportionate to our capacities, there is a promise of change of
heart by hearing this auspicious epic pasttime of the lord. It is
infact his consorts story. Rama himself declared "Sitayascharitam
mahat". This is the story of Sita, Said the lord and encouraged one
and all to listen to it. He himself joined the audience and shed tears
upon listening to Ramayana.

Ramayana and Ramaavatara are two most dear things to the lord. How do
I know?. Arent we hearing day in and day out the wake up call given to
the lord. How does it start?. Kausalya Supraja Rama...
and it continues "Abhirama gunakara Dasarathe, Jagadeka dhanurdara
dheeramate". Is there any other pasttime of the lord detailed out like
it is done in Ramayana?. No. Ramayana is the only first hand account
detailed document and which is centered on the Lord. Why is it only
Ramayana and why is it only Valmiki Ramayana?. The answer lies in the
question itself, It is Ramayana and it is Valmiki.

The grand sire Valmiki's great taste is evident in his Ramayana. The
life of his Hero is very similar to the modern day life style. One
wife, two children; only difference; The Hero is an embodiment of
dharma. The poets heart is not satiated praising the innumerable
qualities of his Hero. So great was valmiki's Rama, that Dasaratha
declares, that if one finger points at my Son, there are no fingers
left to fold back. One cannot point at Rama, for he is impeccable.

Some people rejoice in accusing the Son of Dasaratha for having exiled
Sita, for killing Vali. They should understand that only Ravanas
accuse Rama and such Ravanas meet their end in ignominous shame. One
should learn the epic and then talk about Rama. It is the light of the
epic and the guidance of a pure devotee of Sri Rama that will reveal
things as they are. Else, we are like the blind led by the blind.

Aah, the pure devotee of Sri Rama. Hanuman. The first words uttered by
Hanuma in Ramayana are "Sambramah tyajathamesha". They mean "cast of
all fear and doubts". True to his fame, Hanuman wards of any fear of
evil. He is the one who instilled an unflinching fear in the heart of
evil when he destroyed Lanka like Rudra at the time of dissolution. He
struck terror in the hearts of Rakshasas and they trembled upon
hearing his name.

The deeds of mighty Hanuma, Lightening Sugreeva, Agile Nila, Wise
Jambavan and Noble Vibhishana will remind us our relationship with
them. By remembering our ancient relatives, our mind is also fixed on
treading the same path that which they have laid. It is this
cultivation of noble spirit that will establish us firmly as a first
class man.

The program:
8:30 am- Srimad Ramayana Pravachana Invocation

9:00 am - 10:00am - Balakanda
(Sita Rama Kalyanam)

-------------------15 min break--------------------

10:15am - 12:00 pm - Ayodhya Kanda (Paduka Pattabhishekam)

------------------ Prasadam Break-----------------

12:30pm - 1:30pm - Aranya Kanda

-----------------15 min break--------------------------

1:45pm - 2: 45pm - Kishkindya Kanda (Hanuma meets Rama, Rama kills Vali)

-----------------15 min break------------------------

3:00pm - 3:45 pm - Sundarakanda

-----------------15min break---------------------------

4:00 - 5:00 - Yudha Kanda(Vibhishana Saranagati) followed by Sri
Rama Pattabhishekam

The Facts about the Manipulated History

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/death_of_the_aryan_invasion_theory.htm

An exploration of truth by Mr. Shantanu

Of Swastika, Nazis and sacred symbols



By: B Shantanu
February 24, 2007
Views expressed here are author’s own and not of this website. Full disclaimer is at the bottom.

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Of Swastika, Nazis and sacred symbols
Origin of Hindu Swastika

The recent controversy around Germany’s proposal to seek an EU ban on swastikas (and later its abandonment: see here and here) prompted me to dig up and refresh this article which I wrote for my newsletter almost two years ago. (Mar ‘05)

Swastika and its Religious Significance:

As some of you may be aware, there has been a great deal of controversy in the UK regarding the wearing of an armband by Prince Harry that had a “swastika” badge on it.
This created a predictable uproar in the local media with many people being reminded of the grim horrors of the Holocaust (the Prince was wearing a replica Nazi uniform).
Along with the reaction, there were calls for the symbol to be banned (on the grounds of being racially offensive).
Thankfully, the Hindu Forum of Great Britain got into the act (see, “HFB launches national campaign to reclaim swastika”) and decided to start a campaign to create awareness amongst the general public about how an ancient Hindu symbol had been misappropriated by the Nazis.
As I watched this controversy unfold, I realised that I was myself not fully aware of the significance of “swastika” and how it had come to be associated with the Nazis.

Below is a summary from my research on the subject.

Origins

The word “swastika” originates in Sanskrit. It is composed of “su”, meaning good/well and “asti” meaning “to be”; svasti thus means “well-being”; “-ka” forms a diminutive, and svastika/swastika might thus be translated literally as “little thing associated with well-being”. In ancient Indo-European cultures, it was put on objects to symbolise good luck. In geometric terms, the swastika is an irregular icosagon or a 20-sided polygon.

The right-handed clockwise swastika is considered an auspicious symbol of the sun or of Lord Vishnu, the sustaining aspect of God (in the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar). It also represents the world-wheel around a fixed and unchanging centre, God. I am not sure about the first appearance of the word or the symbol in ancient Indian texts but it has been in use since antiquity.

Usage
As a symbol, it has been used for several millennia – not just in India but also in other ancient civilisations (e.g. it has been found in the ruins of the city of Troy). Other than Hinduism, it has also been used in Buddhism, Jainism, and other cultures including in the Native American cultures (one of my friends even found the symbol on an art piece in a museum in Turkey).

In earlier times, the swastika was used freely by Sumerians, Hittites, Celts and Greeks, among others. Even the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo, England, contains gold cups and shields bearing swastikas. The swastika has also appeared in South and Central America, and has been widely used in Mayan art during that time period.

In both Hinduism and Jainism, the swastika is used to mark the opening pages or their account books, thresholds, doors, and offerings.

The major difference between the Nazi swastika and the ancient symbol of many different cultures, is that the Nazi swastika is at a slant, while the ancient swastika is rested flat.

Here is a fascinating titbit from a BBC article on the subject:

“The British author Rudyard Kipling, who was strongly influenced by Indian culture, had a swastika on the dust jackets of all his books until the rise of Nazism made this inappropriate. It was also a symbol used by the scouts in Britain, although it was taken off Robert Baden-Powell’s 1922 Medal of Merit after complaints in the 1930s.

The Finnish Air Force also used it as its official symbol in World War II, and it still appears on medals, but it had no connection with the Nazi use.It is rarely seen on its own in Western architecture, but a design of interlocking swastikas is part of the design of the floor of the cathedral of Amiens, France.”

Association with Nazism and anti-Semitism

The almost universally positive meanings of the swastika were subverted in the early twentieth century when it was adopted as the emblem of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Since World War II, most Westerners see it as solely a fascist symbol, leading to incorrect assumptions about its pre-Nazi use and its current use in other cultures.

Below is an abbreviated chronology of how the symbol became associated with Hitler in the early part of 20th century.

The symbol’s first use as an anti-Semitic symbol was in 1870 when it was used by the Austrian, pan-German followers of Schoenerer, an Austrian anti-Semitic politician.

In 1910, a poet and nationalist Guido von List suggested that the swastika as a symbol for all anti-Semitic organizations. When the National Socialist Party was formed in 1919, it adopted this ancient symbol, thus setting the stage for destroying the positive symbolism with which the swastika had been associated for thousands of years.

The Nazi party formally adopted the “swastika” (called Hakenkreuz meaning the hooked cross) in 1920. This was used on the party’s flag, badge and armband. In 1935, the black swastika on a white circle with a crimson background became the national symbol of Germany.

While it is important to make every effort to reclaim the swastika, we should, at the same time, make strenuous efforts to ensure that it is clearly differentiated from the design and symbolism used by the Nazis and everything associated with it.Next, some excerpts (paraphrased slightly for readability) from an interesting thesis regarding how (and why) the symbol was hijacked by the Nazis.

This is one of the more credible explanations that I have come across so far (see full article here). I have paraphrased it slightly for purposes of summary.

A (likely) explanation of how this ancient symbol became associated with Nazi ideology: “…In the later part of 18th century, as British interest in India grew, there began efforts to do more research on the art, culture and languages of ancient India. One of the earliest researchers was Sir William Jones (1746-94) who established the Royal Asiatic Society. A gifted linguist who studied Sanskrit, Jones is widely regarded as the father of “Indology”.

Knowledge of this ancient and sacred Hindu language made many scholars realise not only its great antiquity, but also its affinity to most of the languages spoken in the West - an interest that was taken up most stridently by the Germans.

A weak and divided people at the time and suffering the threat of domination by both France & Austria, the Germans were split into various states and dukedoms, the largest of which was Prussia. This period of alienation, accentuated by events such as the fall of the Holy Roman Empire due to Napoleon’s conquest, led many German thinkers of the early nineteenth century to look for inspiration to India.

These included Frederick von Schlegel, his brother Augustus Wilhelm, Wilhelm von Humbolt, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Hegel. There was also the rise of romanticism in Germany, a reaction to the industrialisation of European society that was fast gathering pace. While “romanticism”, i.e. an idealisation of the past before industrialisation, manifested itself in the poetry of Wordsworth in Britain, in continental Europe, it meant something else.

As well as idealising the pre-industrial “purity” of humans living in harmony with nature, the German romanticists also talked of the pagan heroes before the time of Christianity, in their view, brave warriors who held off the Romans in the almost impenetrable forests of central Europe.

This however, had a more sinister side. Some romanticists wanted to free themselves of the “alien” Jewish contamination brought into German society by Christianity, as well as by the Jews themselves.

As Prussia emerged as a military power and German unification was achieved in 1871, the British looked on with alarm. Indeed Sir Henry Maine, former Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University said: “..a nation has been borne out of Sanskrit.”

In the meantime, in their efforts to create a intermediating class (“white Brahmins”) between themselves and the “dark subjects”, the British began a programme of “re-discovering” (and researching) ancient Indian culture in earnest. The intention may have been to undermine the belief system of at least the “progressive” Indians with the hope that they would become dis-enchanted with the literary and cultural heritage of India, once the “truth” (via such research) became evident.

In this effort, the person they turned to for help was a devout Protestant and gifted Vedic scholar, German Sanskritologist, Friedrich Max Muller. For a princely sum (in those days) of £10,000 Max Muller was persuaded to work for the British East India Company by Macaulay, to translate the Rig Veda. His intentions were, however, less than noble.

In 1866, in a letter to his wife about his work, he wrote, “…this edition of mine and the translation of the Veda, will hereafter tell to a great extent on the fate of India and on the growth of millions of souls in that country. It is the root of their religion and to show them what the root it, I feel sure, is the only way of uprooting all that has sprung from it during the last three thousand years.”

Though one cannot cast doubt on his intelligence and talent, Muller’s scholarship is nevertheless marred by this ulterior motive.

What he wrote in the letter above was only the beginning.

It was Max Muller himself who gave “Aryan” a racial meaning, knowing full well as a scholar well versed in that ancient language, that Sanskrit “Arya” does not mean race.

From this point onwards, the idea of Aryan race could not be contained; In parallel, the idea of an “Aryan” invasion by Indo-European (and obviously fair-skinned) tribes from Central Asia, who authored the Vedas and established the basis of Hinduism, came to be widely accepted, even though it had absolutely no basis in any indigenous tradition of India – In reality, this was an “invention” of Muller who employed it as an ideological mechanism for colonial domination by the British.

The idea was adopted and further enhanced by romanticist intellectuals who wanted to free themselves of all Judaic influence brought upon them by Christianity, and saw this Aryan racial theory as another string to their bow. (Read this essay to see how the idea has been discredited)

Like the artificial dating of the Vedas to 1400BCE (so as to be more recent than the books of the Bible), it had absolutely nothing to do with India itself, and the people of India neither had any role nor any influence in this discourse.

The swastika, symbol of ancient cultures par excellence, was an ideal mechanism with which to manufacture a mythical past, which never existed. And it served as a counter-point of stability in a turbulent environment that was dominated by power politics, the formation of nation states, anti-Semitism and influenced by ideas of Social Darwinism and eugenics.

Runic symbols, Norse gods such as Odin, and even the ancient Greek myth of Atlantis, all were exploited along with the swastika and idea of the Aryan race to bolster Nazi theory and ideology….”

Sadly the misunderstanding caused by this and widespread ignorance about the original meaning and significance of the symbol still persists – even amongst otherwise widely read and well educated people, including Indians.

Please forward amongst friends and colleagues so that we can counter mis-information and ill-informed debate with facts and truth.

B Shantanu

october 16th Sri Rama Pattabhishekam and Conclusion

october 16th Ramayana Harikatha-part2

october 16th Ramayana Harikatha-part1

October 14th Ramayana Harikatha - Yudhakanda part3

October 7th Ramayana Harikatha-yudhakanda part2

september 30th - Ramayana Harikatha

september 23rd Ramayana Harikatha

september 16th Ramayana Harikatha

September 9th Ramayana Harikatha

August 26th Ramayana Harikatha

july31st Ramayana Harikatha

July 22nd Vijaykrishna Ramayana Harikatha

july 17th Ramayana Harikatha

July8th-Ramayana Harikatha

july1st Ramayana harikatha

june 24th Ramayana Harikatha

Dating Ramayana - A new perspective

There is no doubt that the Mahabharatha happened 5000 years ago in the dwapara before this kaliyuga. But dating Ramayana has always been the enchanting question of all scientific investigations on Ramayana. When did Ramayana happen?. This question was posed to me on several occasions during my Harikatha. In my research I found that Rupa Goswami in his laghu bhagavathamritha had mentioned that Ramayana happened in the 24th Mahayuga of the present Manvanthara.
For, those of you who are not familiar with the yuga cycles of vedic calendar here is a brief introduction. A day of brahma consists of 14 manvantaras. Each manvantara has 72 mahayugas. A mahayuga is the combination of the four yugas(sathya, thretha, dwapara and Kali). Kali yuga consists of 432000 years. Dwapara twice the times of kali, thretha thrice and Sathya four times. Hence, a mahayuga lasts for 4.3 millions years approximately. We are currently in the 28th mahayuga of the 7th manvanthara which is Vaivaswatha manvantara. If the Ramayana had happened in the 24th mahayuga according to Srila Rupa Goswami, the dates of Ramayana are pushed as far back as 17 million years nearly(considering the fact that Rama appeared almost at the beginning millennias of the threthayuga of the 24th mahayuga.
However, there is no established scientific evidence to prove this. Some organizations presented out of place artifacts and fossils to establish the evidence of human beings along with dinosaurs. Although all such evidences were mere hoaxes and failed to pass any scientific tests; they were also brushed aside as debunked theories. I certainly agree that there is no physical evidence yet to prove the existence of mankind beyond a million years. Except the Vedas declare it with out any doubt. The statements in Vedas are suffice for its ardent believers but not for the scientific and academic community. It is understandable and very right on the part of any scientist and academic person to demand scientific data to backup any assumption or theory.
Although in this document, I am not trying to impress the scientific crowd with a stunning discovery but I will try to present a recent finding on which I happened to stumble upon. All the statements I am listing below are facts and accepted by scientific community with out a blink.
The distance between sun and earth when divided by the diameter of the sun is equal to approximately 107.5 ~ 108. ….statement1
The distance between moon and earth when divided by the diameter of the moon is equal to approximately 110.(as of distances measured today)…..statement2
Similar statements were made by sage Yagnavalkya in his astronomical treaty.
Let us see what Sage Yagnavalkya offered to us.
The distance between sun and earth when divided by the diameter of the sun is equal to approximately 108…..statement3
The distance between moon and earth when divided by the diameter of the moon is eual to approximately 108. (as of distances measured during yagnavalkyas time)…statement4

The ratios (related to the sun) calculated by Yagnavalkya and modern astronomers are almost equal. but the ratios related to the moon differ by a quite large number. The moon should have been closer to earth during the time of sage Yagnavalkya. I am not making a statement here, even science says that moon is moving away from earth by 38mm every year. Based on this, I calculated the distance of moon during Yagnavalkyas time from statements 2 and 4 listed above. Looks like the moon was 8992 km closer to earth than he is today. From this it is evident that for the moon to move 8992 km at the rate of 38mm every year it would have taken 23.66 million years.

Now, how will that help to establish that Ramayana happened 17 million years ago. Sage Yagnavalkya lived during the times of Janaka also. There are marked references that state Janaka invited Yagnavalkya to his court and felicitated him as the best among all Bramhagnanis. Did Yagnavalkya lived for so long, it is no surprise that some Bramha Rishis and great sages lived for millions of years. Sage Vasishta also lived for almost 7 manvantaras which is incomprehensible to our perception because of our modern day experiences. Yagnavalkyas existence during 23 million years ago and his interaction with Janaka can open up the possibility of pushing the date of Ramayana to 17million years ago as stated by Srila Rupa Goswami.

Vijaykrishna.

may 17th Ramayana Harikatha

May 12th Ramayana Harikatha

May 6th Ramayana Harikatha End of Ayodhya Kanda and Beginning of Aranya Kanda

Feb 25th 2010 Ramayana Harikatha