Deivathin Kural # 86 of (Vol 2) of 19 Feb 2008.

Om Namah Sivaya.

Deivathin Kural # 86 of (Vol 2) of 19 Feb 2008.

(Note 1. We are to remind the readers that herein, 'he' as a word stands for 'she' as well. When Tamil or Sanskrit words are transliterated in English, the single vowel will indicate a short utterance and a double vowel will indicate a longer pronounciation. Words in Sanskrit script not being available, the transliteration spellings and thereby the pronounciation, especially of names may be at variance from what it should be! I offer my sincere apologies for the likely errors, as the one doing the translation. ---KTSV Sarma. Note 2. It may please be noted that the talk is dated some time in the late 1930's to early 60's.

PURANAS

(Continued from DK # 85 of (Vol 2) of 17 Feb 2008.)

13. The 18 Puranas have been written by Veda Vyasa, who had also organised and made known to the whole world, the Four Vedas themselves! He had no reasons to be sensational for the fun of it! Sthala Puranas(giving the history of how a Temple came to be located at that location,) have been written by many great gentlemen of unimpeacheably excellent credentials, whose sole aim was to inform the future generations. And chroniclers such as Sekkizhar, who wrote the 'Periya Puranam' about the 63 Saiva Nayanmars, had no other axes to grind than Devotion to the Almighty! We have every reason to believe their reporting than many of the modern day Historians!

14. It is not correct to think that History means only talking about, Empires, Wars, Battles and Dynasties. Everything has a history. Somehow political wranglings alone have come to mean the subject matter for the History books! That is not the way the Puranas have been evolved. Keeping Dharma( the one word-meaning- 'padartha', including in itself, propriety, morality, righteousness, religious and moral virtue), as the main subject of emphasis, Puranas talk about not only the Royal families but, the common man, Rishis, Dacoits, Saints, Rakshasas, Yakshas, Kinnaras, Tradesmen, poor people, beggers, animals and birds; animate life forms and inanimate things of nature like mountains and oceans! Puranas also reported about the cultural life of that time, sciences, arts and crafts, literature of that period and so on!

Are Puranas Symbolic Fiction?

15. 'Puranas are unbelievable for the reasons that, whatever is said in them are contrary to what happens in day-to-day life', it is claimed. Devas came whenever somebody prayed for them. They gave boons and disappeared. All that seem like so many fictitious stories. People were turned into stones! The Sun was stopped from raising! As these things seem to be beyond our present day capabilities, they look like not easily believable symbolic fiction!

16. Yes, may be not possible in the present day world. But does that mean that we can say with certainty the such a thing could never have happened, or will never happen? There is clear evidence that in the past, there were occassions when a very high level of Veda Mantra power, Individual power of Tapasya and Yogic capabilities have been displayed. The aim was not to display or demonstrate the powers. All our old scriptures and books on Itihasa are full of such events. All of them could not have been figments of imagination! It so happens that the divine powers were so evident in the human life then. When there is light, there is also shadow. On that analogy, if divine powers were more apparent, so were the demoniacal powers of the Rakshasas visible. Even now it is all there, but not so apparently evident. Even now Deva-Asura fight is going on at every micro and macro levels. There is the element of good and evil in everyone of us. to be able to see this you need special capabilities. The scientists themselves confirm the limitations of human sensory apparatus. So all that we know is that we do not know! When we think of scientists, the first name that comes to our mind is that of SirIsaac Newton. Look what is being said about him. I am quoting from the Wikipidia :- "Isaac Newton (1643 – 1727), the noted British scientist and mathematician, wrote many works that would now be classified as occult studies.These occult works explored chronology, alchemy, and Biblical interpretation (especially of the Apocalypse).Newton's scientific work may have been of lesser personal importance to him, as he placed emphasis on rediscovering the occult wisdom of the ancients. In this sense, some have commented that the common reference a "Newtonian Worldview" as being purely mechanistic is somewhat inaccurate. After purchasing and studying Newton's alchemical works in 1942, economist John Maynard Keynes, for example, opined that "Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last of the magicians." However, it should be noted that in the pre-Modern Era of Newton's lifetime, the educated embraced a world view different from that of later centuries. Distinctions taken for granted today -- such as between the natural and supernatural, or between science and pseudoscience -- were still being formulated, and a devoutly Christian Biblical perspective permeated Western culture." (So why can we not be more open to Miracles?)
17. Even to-day there are many 'Siddha Purushas', who are not affected by the weather conditions. They can cause the nature to respond as per their wish. They can cause a rain to fall or stop. Only we are sceptic of anything and everything. We have no confidence in our own integrity, that we doubt everybody else's! In olden times, there were many who had super-natural or super-human capabilities that Puranas are reporting of many such 'miracles'.
18. The moment there is a miracle, it is declared as not being history! 'Koon Paandiyan' in Madurai was suffering from what was called 'Veppu Noi', a desease making him feel as though he was being roasted alive. Because of the severity of the desease, he was physically bent forward, giving him the name of, 'Koon-Pandiyan'. Thiru Gnana Sambandar gave him the ashes known as 'Vibhuti' chanting the 'Panjatchara' / 'five syllabled mantra' of 'Om Namah Sivaya', causing him to recover and stand erect getting the Epithet of, 'Ninra Seer Nedumaran', to mean, 'the tall Maran who stood up'! This is not history, they say. Mahendra Pallava ordered 'Appar Swamigal' to be tied to a stone and thrown in the Kadila River. Appar Swamigal sang the famous on the spot composition of, '...kartunai poottiyor kadalinul paaitchinum narrunai aavadu namachivayave...', song and was floating in the water! The meaning of the portion of the song quoted is, "...even if you throw me in the ocean tied to a stone pillar, 'namah sivaya' will be the best companion...". The King returned back to Hinduism, as an ardent Siva Baktha, leaving the 'Jaina Religion' with which he was gallivanting! This cannot be considered as history! There are enough circumstantial evidence of the fact that the kings of the Pandya and Pallava Dynasties, within a couple of decades of each other, left the Jaina Madam and came back to Saivam. It is a historical fact that in the 7th century A.D., there is a clear decline of the Jaina religion and revival of the Vaidika Sanatana Madam, especially of Saivam! How can this fact not be indicative of the effect of what reportedly happened in the lives of Appar and Thirugnana Sambandar, in two adjoining States of Tamil Nadu? You cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that there was a sea change that occured in the religious environment of Tamil Nadu, in that period. The fact remins that it could not have happened, without the whole hearted approval of the Kings of that period!
19. In the Guru Parampara of the Vaishnavas, it is said that, Ramanujachariyar went to Karnataka. At that time the Hoysala King of the Kannadigas was a 'Pitty Devan' who was a follower of Jainism. His daughter was afflicted by a ghost. Ramanujacharyar was successful in relieving the girl of the ciezure by that 'spirit'. This resulted in the King reverting back to Hinduism and changing his name into 'Vishnu Vardhana Devan'. This happened in the 11th century A.D. This event is highlighted in the Guru Parampara of the Vaishnavas. His change of name and the revival of Hinduism in Karnataka, is very much a fact of History. But historians will refuse to accept the event concerning the 'chasing away of the spirit', declaring it as fictitious!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva