DEIVATHIN KURAL # 101 (Vol # 3) Dated 21 June 2009

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 101 (Vol # 3) Dated 21 June 2009

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. To day we are proceeding from the middle of page 460 of Vol 3 of the Tamil original. The readers are reminded that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too, mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://advaitham. blogspot. com constantly updated.)

53. When Dr King of Indian Medical Service, was appreciative of the Aachaara-s of Indian customs and traditions of the orthodox Hindus, science had progressed only up to discovering genes, bacteria and virus. The methods of safe guarding against them were not yet known. Psychology and Para-psychology were only later day developments. It was only much later that it was found that every individual has a unique vibration and that around each is an aura of one's own! In the name of equality, if you mix all this up the growth of each will be adversely affected. This fact was not known then.

54. One should not sleep in another's bed or wear others dresses. One should not drink in a glass used by another. Such rules were meant to save one's personal magnetism and mental power from contamination, as far as possible. When you are involved in a common activity such as construction of the walls for the temple, digging a well or pond for common usage or singing devotional songs in praise of God, the common purpose of the assemblage more than compensates for the individual variation in personal magnetism and mental power!

55. Women have their periods. There is a physical lack of cleanliness during that. Though the modern trend nowadays is to make it possible for them to participate in all activities, as though they are all OK, given the option, every woman would like to have a few days off from her normal schedule of activities. Other than the physical fact of not being clean, it is said that she is carrying a fraction of Indra's 'paapa' during that period! This will not be seen even when her aura is photographed!

56. While talking about how to protect one's mental acumen from contamination, another idea occurs to my mind. One gentleman had written about wearing a dhoti with or without 'kacham'. (In this the ends of the cloth are not let loose but are hidden inside through a number of folds.) He was commenting that for the one wearing the cloth with loose ends out in the open, his mental powers are likely to be wasted and this does not happen in 'kacham'. May be the Muslims stitch the ends of the cloth together as done in a 'lungi' for this reason only!

57. As we are coming to understand the meaning and logic of these aachaaraa-s through science, we should simply learn to accept them all as it is. As the Hindu-s have so much reverence to the waters of the Ganges, some one tested the waters of the river at a place where a dead body of someone who had died of cholera had been given 'jala samadhi'! It was a miracle to note that the water contained no cholera germs! This I have read some time back in the news papers! Ganga is revered not only for its properties of killing disease causing germs and viruses but is also capable of destroying your demerits of behaviour known as 'Paapa' but also save from the never ending cycle of 'birth-death-birth' and so on! Anyhow these concepts of Paapam, Punyam, Narakam, Moksham and such will never come within the ambit of experiments in the laboratory!

58. Once we understand this we will not be deluded to think that once scientifically you have protected yourself, that is the end of it! I am saying this because, there is something by the name of 'ever- silver' which seems to have become all purpose material for making utensils. The lamp lighted in the temple, the Kalasam pot is all made of this ever-silver. If the objection to iron was only based on its getting rusted, by making it rust free, you may think that the 'dosha' is not there any more. But it still does not become acceptable to the Saastraa-s. The reason for its not being acceptable is based on its being receptive to demonic evil spirits. Anyhow its bio-degradability is rather poor! (KTSV adds:- Had Periyaval been alive now, I am sure he would have added the ubiquitous plastic in the list of things to be avoided for its poorer that iron bio-degradability.)

59. Similarly, the 'homa dravyaani' used in havan-s, such as the 'samit and varatti' (arasa/palaa twigs and cakes of cow-dung dried), are not only meant for cleansing the atmosphere of pollution but, more for chasing away the demonic forces. If you find a more potent chemical disinfectant, it does not mean that 'samit and varatti' could be replaced as material to be used in homa!

60. They say many of the rules of the Saastraa-s may be appreciated psychologically. The cow provides the milk, ghee, curd, dung and its urine; all used in some way in Yaaga Shaala. It is but natural that we look at the Cow not simply as an animal but, a provider of all our requirements. Out of our sense of gratitude, we think of the cow as a mother and that is satisfying psychologically alright. But, the divinity of the cow is beyond the confines of psychology. It is the divinity which is the reason for its being revered in our religion. Those who kill it to eat its meat, calling it a special name of beef, cannot understand our devotional relationship with the cow.

61. Other than the usefulness of the milk products and the germicidal capability of dung and urine, our ancestors had also identified that 'pancha kavyam' the five items (very small quantities of the cow's milk, curd, ghee, dung and urine,) made into a mixed concoction, was capable of cleansing a man of all the effects of his past sins! This when done with the mantra-s, it's potency is much increased. Partaking of it has been related to the Aachaara of 'Punyaha vaachanam', an act of sanctifying a place or premises and or a person! (To be continued.) Sambhomahadeva.