Question One mantra for praising all deities of three Lokas Answer There technically is "no only one mantra" if you're planning to please all the deities in the Triloka. But there are alternatives. If you wish to get the mantra which all the gods adhere to and pay allegiance, but non-Vedantic - then try the Gayatri Mantra. It is present in many sources, however I am taking it from the Surya Upanishad....
Question Does the individual soul actually feel pleasure or pain? Answer Yes, the jiva feels the pleasure and pain as long as he does not identify with the Atman. Upon the same tree there are two birds, one on the top, the other below. The one on the top is calm, silent, and majestic, immersed in his own glory; the one on the lower branches, eating sweet and bitter fruits by turns, hopping from branch to branch, is becoming happy and miserable by turns....
Question Did our scriptures mention any avatar that Parabrahma has taken? Answer Yes, certainly. But NOT in the same sense as of those of say, Lord Vishnu or Lord Shiva. The reason for this is that the nature of the Parambramhm (Parbramha) is fundamentally different from that of both - ordinary souls like us, who are linked to casual ( and ultimately to gross ) bodies, as well as the divine souls residing in the higher realms....
Question Who is the goddess depicted as “Bharat Mata” & why is she having Indian tricolor flag? Answer Goddess The Bharat mata is [primarily] goddess Durga. However in general she is an amalgamation of various goddesses. Bharat Matā (Hindi, from Sanskrit Bhāratāmbā भारताम्बा; अम्बा ambā means 'mother') is the national personification of India as a mother goddess. She is an amalgam of all the goddesses of Indian culture and more significantly of goddess Durga....
Question Was Lord Hanuman born in Sumeru? Where is that place? Is it renamed recently? Answer Was Lord Hanuman born in Sumeru? Is it the birth place of Hanuman? Yes, as per UTTARA KANDA of Valmiki Ramayan: [The ascetic Agastya said to Lord Shri Rama:] I am not capable of describing to thee the wondrous childish feat which Hanuman did perform in his boyhood. But if thou art, O Raghava, greatly anxious to hear it, I shall relate do thou hear with a quiescent mind....
Question Is liberation for mind or Atman? Answer What we perceive as consciousness through our mind is contained in Atman only. Atman is pure consciousness. It is the cause of consciousness which is played by the "mind" in the human body. Kena Upanishad Chapter One: IV That which speech does not illumine, but which illumines speech: know that alone to be the Brahman (the Supreme Being), not this which people worship here....
Question From which dimension of existence did Matsya take the Sapatarishis? And to where? Answer From which place did Saptarishis in boat travel? As per Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) 8.24, One day while Satyavrata, the King of Draviḍadeśa, performing austerities by offering water on the bank of the river Kṛtamālā, a small fish appeared in the water in his palms. Later the fish became bigger and bigger and Satyavrata came to know that the fish is not the ordinary one....
Question What is the meaning of Shivaaya? Answer शिवाय (Śivāya) is 4th Vibhakti of शिव (Shiva). 4th Vibhakti means to/for whom. So the meaning of Śivāya would be to/for Shiva. Example: ॐ नमः शिवाय (Om Namah Shivaya): Om salutations to Lord Shiva! Below are the basic details on 8 Vibhaktis: 1st: Subject 2nd: Object 3rd: by/with/through whom 4th: to/for whom 5th: from whom 6th: shows possession (E.g. Ram's or of Ram) 7th: in/on whom 8th: when addressing The below lines of Ram Raksha Stotra have all the Vibhaktis in order:...
Question Why Gayatri mantra is widely recited by non-bramhins nowadays which was once the stronghold of only the brahmins? Answer gAyatri mantra HAS TO BE recited by non brahmins also, Kshatriyas and vysyas too have right for vedic initiation/upanayana. Secondly women too have right to study and chant vedas and conduct vedic rites. So it is good that non brahmins too are taking interest in this else the divine knowledge of vedas would keep on reducing among the masses....
Question In Pratibimba Vada, which is the jivatman? The original or the reflected? Answer Jivatman is the reflected consciousness. Consciousness as one with dual aspect is Transcendent and Immanent. The Transcendental Consciousness is called the Paramatma. The Consciousness which is embedded in Mind and Matter is the Jivatma. In the first case Consciousness is formless and in the second it is with form. The Serpent Power the secrets of tantric and shaktic yoga by Sir John Woodroffe...
Question What is the meaning of the term “Svadharma”? Answer Swadharma in scriptures means the duties (Dharma) prescribed for someone (Swa) based on his Varna. It is one set of duties for a BrAhmin, another set for a Kshatriya and so on. Here is a verse from Manu Smriti that is quite clear in explaining the concept: Varam swadharmo viguno na pArakyah swanushthitah | Paradharmena jivan hi sadhyah patati jAtitah ||...
Question Can anyone control Krishna? Answer Such Shlokas can be found in scriptures. For example, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) 9.4 has such shlokas (not explicitly for Radha but for all devotees in general): श्रीभगवानुवाच अहं भक्तपराधीनो ह्यस्वतन्त्र इव द्विज साधुभिर्ग्रस्तहृदयो भक्तैर्भक्तजनप्रियः ||०९०४०६३|| The Supreme Personality of Godhead (Lord Nārāyaṇa) said to the brāhmaṇa (Durvāsā Muni): I am completely under the control of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts....
Question Why worship, respect and do pradikshna for Rahu and Ketu? Answer Because the scriptures ask us to worship them. That's why they are worthy of worship. There is a detailed chapter (called Graha Shanti) in Yajnavalkya Smriti dedicated to Navagraha worship. Verses from that chapter are given below: CCXCV.—A person desirous of Sri or good fortune, or desirous of S^anti or propitiation should perform Graha Yajna (sacrifice to the planets)....
Question What is the relevance of “Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah” in Kaliyuga? How is it justified now? Answer The verse of which " Dharmo rakshita rakshitah" is a part is found in Manu Smriti. We need to understand the context in which it was said. The following is the translation of the full verse. Manu Smriti 8.15. ’Justice, being violated, destroys; justice, being preserved, preserves: therefore justice must not be violated, lest violated justice destroy us....
Question Origin of Naam Traya Mantra Answer In the 19th patala of Aanadikalpa-Tantra ऋषय उचुः- नामत्रयस्य माहात्म्यं श्रोतुकामा वयं प्रभो। भगवन् श्रोतुमिच्छामो वक्तुमर्हस्यशेषत:। Rishis said: O Prabho, We wish to here about the Nama-Traya Mahatmya! Please enlighten us with it. ब्रह्मोवाच अतिगुह्यतरं मन्त्र वर्षकोटिशतैरपि। नशक्यं विस्तराद वक्तुं संक्षेपाच्छूणुत द्विजा:॥ १ ॥ What you wish to here is highly secret. Even if I speak for a hundred crore years, I would be unable to describe it completely....