Sundarta aur Lajja

सुन्दरताऔर लज्जा:

भगवान् प्रजापति ने सुन्दरता को जन्म दिया उसके साथ ही लज्जा को भी उत्पन्न कर कहा- “तुम दोनों एक दूसरे की रक्षा करते हुए प्रसन्नता को प्राप्त करो। दोनों सुखपूर्वक रहने लगीं।

एक बार सुन्दरता ने लज्जा को डाँटा और कहा-मैं संसार के सुख भोगने के लिये पैदा हुई हूँ, तुम मुझे बार-बार रोका मत करो।” लज्जा ने सिर झुका कर कहा-बहन ऐसा न कहो, मैं तो तुम्हारी सेविका हूँ। भगवान् ने तुम्हारी रक्षा करने के लिये मुझे भेजा है।” सुन्दरता को यह सिखावन अच्छी न लगी उसने कहा-मैं अपनी रक्षा स्वयं कर लूँगी” और डाँट कर लज्जा को अपने पास से भगा दिया। स्वच्छन्द सुन्दरता ने हर कहीं से सुख पाना आरम्भ कर दिया। जिससे उसकी शक्ति घटने लगी। एक दिन अपना सारा सौंदर्य खोकर वह अस्तित्वहीन हो गई, तब उसे अपनी भूल का पता लगा।

प्रजापति ब्रह्मा उसको दुःखी देखकर प्रकट हुये और बोले-पुत्री अब आगे कभी लज्जा का परित्याग न करना नहीं तो फिर ऐसे ही पछताओगी। बहुत अनुनय, आग्रह की तब लज्जा फिर सौंदर्य के पास आ गई।
-प्रज्ञा पुराण

Life after a violent death

                           Quite sometime back I traveled from the foot hills of Himalayas to a place where I had my college education. After luncheon we were siting in a cool place for a cosy talk when some one ran in to the house shouting 'come look the ghost is back, my cousin is getting possessed'. I was a non believer of such phenomenon and to some extent skeptical when visible spirits, ghosts etc. are talked about, though by that time I had left my material world & was getting immersed in spiritual life. I never believed in spirits or ghosts till that day. But my real life experience changed my view on the very day. The urgency in the tone of the stranger & persuasion of our good natured host made me agree to investigate what the matter was.
                            When we reached the messenger's house we found a man of  medium built sitting on the carpet. The room was cool, even in those days of summer. Very clean & neat. The afternoon light was filtering through the mango tree leaves in to the room.
                            I looked intensely at the man. He hung his head down, sitting quietly. He was trembling slightly. I asked his name to which he answered in a sing song voice. He talked very humbly. I asked the messenger,'' He seemed OK! then what is the fuss"? He waved his hand to wait. And while we were talking common matters, all of a sudden the changes started to appear on the man crouched on the floor. Anybody could mark the change. His voice was becoming hoarse, whites of his eyes vanished turning blood red, his body started trembling, then shaking violently & anybody could see he had no control over his new situation. The complexion of his body changed from whitish to dark slowly as we see the earth looks when a dark cloud passes over the sun. He wailed, trembling more violently.I was exercising in my mind a way to help him when he stated shouting in an unearthly voice, "They killed me, they murdered me" & gradually the voice changed from one in pain to one in anger. He whimpered, "I did no wrong but they killed me. I will not leave them". "I will take revenge, he croaked. I will kill them". By that time myself & my friend were in awe!
                             Never seen such a change when a mild man would be transformed to a violent maniac in a couple of minutes, I was a little taken aback, I must admit goose pimples appearing all over my body. His eyes blood red now. Head hung, moving-oscillating like a pendulum he was shouting the same words in a hoarse voice as if at end of a tunnel. A thought flashed my mind' This must be a psychic case & this one of the bouts a patient gets. I asked the messenger again 'what was the man's name'. Mustering some courage, I will admit before you, that it was my first experience in life, I took his name and asked him to cool down. To this he shouted, "I am not that". The threats he was delivering continued. The messenger coaxed me to ask some questions. I asked the man, on the floor to tell what really happened. The man delivered words in between violent sobs & wailing, the broken sentences could mean something like this, "I was on a bicycle & was taking a turn around the corner of the building when they attacked". Who were they?, I asked, to which he did not reply and continued talking. "They hit me with steel rods, steel-chains & I fell down", he said crying violently as if the incident has just happened. He stopped talking & wailed in that hoarse tone which didn't belong to that mild man, I was certain. "Even my father didn't do a proper cremation, the medium shouted in between wailing. My body was burnt  with cheap kerosene. My chest is having terrible pain, oh I can't bear it any further. Again he complained about the father,"He never put water on my ashes on the cremation ground," he was now crying now, tears appeared very profusely. "He didn't do the sanskara(Shraddha & Tarpana), miser old man". "I was such a good student, I was going for my competitive examination. I would have achieved something in life. Look what they did to my body. They killed me mercilessly. I will not spare them, I will kill them." By this time I was able to collect all my courage & was prepared to ask some more questions to the spirit.
                             But my companion was so afraid, he was poking me with his index finger & whispering me to leave the place, I restrained him. He was on the verge of running away when I told him, "Let us get the whole story". I gathered from the messenger that two days back his cousin had come to that place travelling 450 k.m. He doesn't know any one around, He is a very mild man & is in search of a job! He cannot cook a story of such details. To my prodding question he replied, "Yes we have inquired & found out that a young man was murdered by a local muscle man & his group. The incident took place about 10k.m. from here. It happened six months back. The muscleman wanted the boy to marry his sister but he declined. The goon was so much in raze that he and his group killed the innocent boy. I naturally asked was he in love with this girl? To this the spirit, through the medium replied "no no I was not". Crying in a hoarse voice which did not belong to the mild medium he showed the places where he was hit with the iron rods, how he was left on the road to bleed & die. He also was very skeptical about his father who did not perform a proper cremation. He was very agitated & said the miser man saw to it that they burn the body with kerosene oil. Even no last rite(sanskara) was performed. Again he started howling in a hoarse voice, "My whole being is burning; I am in intense pain" & started beating his chest. I could realize why the last rites, Shraddha & Tarpana are advised by our great spiritual scientists the Rishis. I interrupted the spirit at this point & said,"I understand your pain, I understand your anger. I have come from the Himalayas & I want to help you". "No no I don't want any help from any one" was the reply. I coaxed, I have no intention to benefit myself by you, it will be a selfless help only. The hoarse voice became sober. "I know" he said but no help is needed. "Do you know me", I tried to persuade the spirit. It replied haltingly "yes yes you are no ordinary one You are a divine soul". I got a thread to continue.
                             By this time, I was really sorry for the spirit. "Look if you believe I am a sacred soul then let me tell you I am going back to the Himalayas & there is the sacred river we call mother Ganga". In India rivers are adored as mother. Particularly The Ganga is understood to have alighted from the abode of divinity & considered to be most sacred. So a tiny piece of the bone can be dropped in to the Ganga to help escape the mental turmoil, the spirit is suffering. A question arises here, does a spirit have a mind, the Rishis(spiritual scientists) explain that we have three bodies; one on the other & intermingled. The gross body has a time of expiry. The astral body consisting of mind with its layers leave the body with soul which can be understood as inner self(the causal body). The Rishis advise the common people to do maranottar sanskara(the last rituals after cremation) so as to quieten the mind of the spirit. The soul or the spirit carries with it many unpleasant experiences including the fire-rite. In case this is not solving the purpose a tiny piece of bone from the ashes is dropped in the sacred river Ganga. I offered to carry his mortal piece. But the spirit declined my offer. It was no doubt respectful to me but didn't want to be released from the present painful condition. I could not understand it, one may feel I am a little dumb-wit. But ultimately I understood it wanted R E V E N G E. And I was shocked. I was horrified. I have heard many stories of spirit taking revenge.
                             I ventured in to next phase of inquiry. Why you want a revenge? What benefit will it do to you? My mind will be satisfied. It is burning with anger. The burning sensation I am getting will be stopped. I talked to my self "It does not have a body, still it is getting the bouts of burning-pain & the sting of anger &  the revenge it feels so deeply". That is why the Rishis want us to cleanse our mind sufficiently before we leave our body otherwise all the negative traits will be carried along. The body-less existence with a mind full of negative thoughts is probably called 'THE HELL'. Any way, I had many points to talk to so I continued.
                             How can you take revenge? You don't have a body. How can you take revenge? You don't have limbs to hold a stick how can you avenge yourself? Are you short of dreaming? "No no I am not dreaming", yelled the spirit in hoarse voice. "I know they are in jail. Every night I am visiting them & terrorizing them. I will continue till they become zombies out of fear. I want to make them suffer & suffer as much as possible" he rattled. I could not dissuade him from this destructive path. I probably was not that much evolved as the spirit thought. He kept quite whimpering like a dog in pain. And then suddenly he would yell in a very hoarse & unearthly voice!
                              I continued my question. "Don't you know that what you do, you get back. You are surely carrying your mind. Now with your attitude(revengeful) you make your mind dirtier. You will never get peace, remember!" Who cares? was his firm answer. I will take my revenge. "Yesterday night I have made those crooks trembling with fear, I will further terrorise them,tonight. They cannot escape". I poked him a little more, "Don't you know there is an ULTIMATE ONE who is also watching you"? I wanted to know if he had some divine experiences? He replied solemnly, "No, I am at a very lower level of chetana(consciousness)." I understood his situation; he is sliding down the slope & on a path of self-destruction. His mind is so hurt that he is not ready to listen to any logic, let alone our advice. I understood that if you fail to train your mind to be reasonable before death it will never become reasonable when the gross body is gone & so you only make your life after this life most miserable & probably that is called 'EXPERIENCING THE HELL'. Hell to me is nothing but a state of mind in this life or the next.
                             My last question to the spirit who possessed the person, was why he preferred to enter his body captivating his mind body & soul. What was his fault I asked softly? Not his fault, I wanted a body & he was available. How? I asked; It was a moonlit night full moon in the sky, slight breeze. I was resting on the mango tree. To me this meek & mild man was a perfect body. He is so mild & a person of such such little confidence, that I chose him to be my vehicle. I understood that a person of such low life energy which expresses itself as confidence & courage, could be easily possessed. I offered why don't you chose me instead? He is suffering so much. No he is not suffering because he does not know what he is doing, his mind & soul are hibernating. Only he will feel weak. And I would not chose you because you are protected. He kept quite for a minute & then said in a hoarse voice you are meditating on one most powerful Mantra that is why. On questioning he agreed to leave the medium as soon as the spirit's job is over. I sighed & said to my friend, yes the GAYATRI MANTRA whose meaning is Oh Lord take me on righteous path. My job was over. My self & my friend left the place.
                             Later on inquiry we found that the culprits were out of their wits & out of their mind. They refused all legal support & made confession before the judge, who booked them for life.

Our great Ancesters Knew

 Viruses are organisms that defy classification into either of the above two sets. Some scientists say that viruses are not living organisms because they are incapable of independent existence since they use the host cell’s metabolic machinery to reproduce. Other scientists hold that it is unreasonable to deny that viruses are living simply because they need help to do so. The spectrum of present concepts on understanding the theme ‘what is life?’ are either too narrow or too broad. Electroencephalogram is a very good device for measuring brain activities, but it can give wrong results when a person is unconscious.
                                  A complete understanding of life and death seems to be a great mystery to scientists, but things start becoming clearer once we step into the domain of spirituality. The Rishis enumerate that life and death are simply two stages of the perennial flow of the supreme, divine consciousness. Life never ceases to exist and death comes as a body-transfer process. Death is merely a resting phenomenon in the long journey of the soul. As this view of death is not widely known, death always appears to be complex and scary. Man has acquired immense knowledge with the progress of time and civilization, but it is trivial compared to the knowledge that has yet o be discovered. Science cannot help him in this venture. Spiritual quest must begin where science starts to fumble and falter. Spiritual knowledge is capable of explaining the mysteries relating to human nature and beyond.

Science and the Mystery of Life and Death!

 

                                 During the last two centuries, science has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity. Amazing scientific discoveries have increased materialistic comforts beyond the public imagination and have enthralled the young generation. As a result, people increasingly view science as the holder of unequalled power capable of achieving apparently anything. Some people even argue that we should turn to science for obtaining solutions to the present day problems. However, the current state of scientific knowledge is full of gaps, blanks and question marks. Therefore any beliefs and inferences based on it are liable to be changed in the long run. Science has been incapable of providing definite conclusions in many areas. The author of 'On the Limitations of Science', J. W. N. Sullivan, writes that although our present knowledge of Nature is much richer than in any previous era, it is insufficient because no matter where we turn, we are faced with ambiguities and contradictions. This reality becomes strikingly apparent when we consider the obscure scientific views on, the origin of life, the evolution of various organisms, consciousness and death.
                                 What is life? We find that scientists only speculate as to how life could be defined but are never sure of their own view. They give a very general and broad description of life in terms of growth, reproduction, metabolism, motion and response. A superficial classification of living and non-living appears in textbooks, is that humans, animals and plants appear and behave differently than stones, sand, etc. This line of distinction becomes blurred when stationary, lifeless objects exhibit occasional life-like features and living organisms exhibit lifelessness. Organisms that exhibit “cryptobiosis”(meaning “hidden life”) belong to the first set and examples from the second set are 'fire' and 'atoms'., a puzzling natural phenomenon. There are a surprising number of organisms that undergo cryptobiosis, including plants (as seeds), the eggs of some crustaceans and small water creatures called tardigrades.
                                  Inactive tardigrades can be preserved in a bottle for many years, appearing dead. Add water in the bottle & they are alive. An article published in March 1983 issue of Science Digest described a study of the time lapse photographic snaps of the bottom of the sea, which revealed some amazing facts. An inanimate object like a stone remained motionless at the bottom of the sea for three months. Then it suddenly ascended one foot above the bottom surface and remained stationary for few hours. It then descended back to its original position. A hand-like texture appeared in another stone. It displayed movements for 12 hours and then remained motionless for 6 months.

Who is Death? Is Death a terrible entity?

The most charming angelic damsel, Death was given the job of taking the lives of people to keep a balance of creation on planet Earth. She showed her reluctance to carry out this cruel and unpleasant activity. She being pure, kind and compassionate could not imagine this job. She went to the hermitage Dhenukashram in the snow covered Himalayas for a very tough Tapasya(austerity)! On completion of the austerity she was supposed to ask for a boon which she asked! She wanted to be relieved from the cruel arrangement of sucking out the lives of the people. But transportation of these souls were equally important for proper management of the planet. Her humble request to free her from the merciless work could not be ignored. So the divine authority decided to prescribe a middle path. Five emissaries were created and sent the abode of mankind. The first was Gratification, the second was Anger, the third was Lethargy, the fourth was Craving and the last was Injudiciousness. They were commanded to enter in to the minds of people and scoop the life out of them. Slowly they will reach their demise. Then the Supreme Being instructed the angelic damsel Death,"When such self destructing persons find no refuse anywhere else you kiss them and make them sleep in your comforting lap. The damsel Death agreed to this duty of kindness. Till today people due to their evil deeds reach their untimely deaths in millions. But the divine damsel whose name is taken with a shudder only free them from immense pains due to kindness. Those who take women towards misadventure, depth of downfall, there is a system of punishment by the Ultimate. Death being a convenient end for all, the evil deeds of men due to which they become hollow, depleted of life are seen to culminate in disability, dependable on others and despicable.

The Ghost of Zamalpur

  

    I, Bijay Mishra, of Zamalpur, Munger, India want to share with you the experience of ‘after life’. Although I believed in rebirth, I never believed in spirits, ghosts or ghouls. One day I got a chance to read the pages of a book on afterlife by a famous author, B.D.Rishi. After reading the book I became more inquisitive about afterlife. How and where these entities live what they do, do they ever feel the pangs of hunger or thirst like us, were questions that sometimes popped up in my mind. In the year 1974, I was on a job in Jamalpur Railway Workshop. One day during lunch hour, our senior engineer Ramnaresh Mishra opened up a conversation on the afterlife. I said, "I have read too, but I am in two minds. My intellectual mind does not believe in such gossip but the inner mind is inquisitive." Smiling at me, Mr. Mishra replied whether you believe it or not it has happened in my life. Today, if you like, I can tell you the story. Everyone present became attentive. The officer started, “Twenty years ago I was living alone near my place of work. I met a spirit and my relation with her became close”. One of us inquired smilingly, “a lady spirit, Sir?” "Yes!" said Mr. Mishra. “Every night she would make a visit. We talked a lot. She used to tease me often. Sometimes she painted my feet red. Every day a new topic & some new teasers.” Mr. Mishra was a senior officer, with gravity built in to his nature and none of us could ever doubt his word! Nor could we take him lightly and laugh it off. He had earned our respect due to his character. He continued with the ‘spirit’ episode for few days more, in such a lively manner that many of our doubts seemed cleared. I was impressed by him, most. The astonishing thing for me was that, according to Mr. Mishra, the ghost was a woman of Muslim faith. One day, after some months had passed, Mr. Mishra came straight to my section. I could tell he was upset. In a halting voice he confided, “Vijay, she came again after twenty years! She told me it was because I contemplated on her. I am finished, you understand what I mean! I am a family man now, with grown up children. I don’t want any of the things that occurred twenty years back, to happen again because of her. It was different then!” I tried to console him. But inside, I was afraid too! However, I advised him to utilize the power of Gayatri, to ward off the entity. “Do regular chanting along with meditation of the rising sun, Sir. And do not forget the Gayatri Yajna,” I told him. I saw him listening intently. Again on the third day, he came to me in a normal mood and told me that the ghost, Shanti was her name, is coming every night for a chat but that she was no longer like (the old ghost,) she used to be. He said, "Now she is so sober & wise. And she also said that she knows you.” Hearing this I was at a loss for words! How does she know me? How can a Muslim soul can have a name like Shanti? I requested Mr. Mishra to ask her these things when she appeared again. The very next day Mr. Mishra took me to a place where no one would disturb us and said, “You are her brother by initiation.” I was a little relieved. But I still had many questions. This meant that she had been initiated by my spiritual Master. How it is possible? A Muslim woman taking initiation from Him? Where did it happened and when? I requested my senior officer to retrieve the data from the spirit. “Sir, Please find out from sister Shanti the answers," I said with a benign smile. By then I was no longer afraid. The next day, Mr. Mishra said, “Well Vijay, she was initiated by your Master, Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya!” I was not going to leave it at that and queried, “How was it possible?” “In 1970, a 108 kundi Gayatri MahaYajna was performed at Tata Nagar. She strayed in to the area along with many similar entities! They were all attracted by the sanctity of the environment due to the Yajna. They collectively met your percepter and they prayed to him 'Oh great Rishi, These humans whom you are addressing will be saved, we realize, but what will happen to us? Who will save us? Neither we have the physical body, nor we have a place of abode, we spend all our days wandering about! You are the avatar of the Supreme Consciousness, we know, please take pity on us and save us!' Then your Master called all such wise ghosts to a large field away from the Yajna area and initiated the lot with Gayatri Mantra and gave each a new name. The Muslim spirit got the name Shanti." After hearing this, I had to know more. I requested him to ask her what they do in the astral world? When he returned on the next day, he told me that they work at the behest of my Master, under His discipline. Hearing this, I became greedy for more. I wanted to know from sister Shanti what the great Acharya is doing in the Himalayas and where exactly he is, for I knew he was in the Himalayas at that time. Shanti declined to give information, saying they were bound by a limit. By this time I no longer had any doubts about the existence of astral beings. And my queries about the changing of this undesirable era to a more humanitarian one had been answered as well. Thousands and thousands of us are working in our own humble ways, following the Master’s instructions in this visible world, and millions must be working in the invisible world as well, guaranteeing the change, a change for a better world and better world order!



    A year after my encounter with Shanti through Mr. Mishra, she vanished. Even though we tried to meditate on her, she did not appear. A great change has occurred to Mr. Mishra as he was also initiated. In (the year) 1975, I was allowed to come to Shantikunj, in Haridwar. A spiritual camp for return of pranic(life) energy was being held under the spiritual guidance of the Master. As part of this program, there was a day when each sadhak could ask intimate questions to the Master. When my turn came, I just uttered the name Shanti, whose memory was still afresh in my mind! At once, without waiting for me to complete the sentence, the great Rishi started looking towards the horizon, "Son!" He said, "clothings changed, clothings changed!" I understood the meaning; Shanti had taken birth in human form! I could not collect my courage for any further questions of the great sage. I saluted the revered saint and left ………..