The Medicinal Qualities of Onion and  Garlic.

Many of us know that onion and garlic  contribute a lot to a healthy diet. Apart from scientific researches there is also on interesting puranic  story which go to corroborate that these have medicinal values!  Let us have a look at it!

क्षीराब्धि  मथनं | The churning of Milky ocean:

Presumably many people might know about this story which appears in Srimad Bhagavatha puranam.  However, for the benefit of others who might not know let me narrate it shortly.

Once when the Devas lost their strength and felt very weak, they went to Lord Narayan and requested him how to restore their strength. The Lord advised them that they have to churn the milky ocean to get the Nectar  अमृतं and once they partake of that, it will restore their strength and give them a long and healthy life, totally disease free!  But the task was not that easy.  To churn an ocean they need a lot of help and equipment! The Lord advised them to request the asuras also to be their partners in the business!  Then they had to get the Manthara parvatha to churn the ocean and to make it revolve and churn they needed a large and strong rope for which they had to request the Lord of Snakes called Vaasuki  वासुकि to play the part of the rope! 

When all the preparations were made everyone thought of having a share of amrutham in the end!  பலனை  எதிர்பார்த்து  காரியம்  செய்வது  என்பது  

அந்த நாளிலேயே  உண்டு !  So with great difficulty and great expectations everyone participated.  To cut a long story short,  the by-products which came in the process were then and there distributed alternately to all of them including, rishis, devas, asuras and so on.  

Finally, Bhagavan came in the form of Dhanvantri धन्वन्तरि which is also another incarnation of the Lord, carrying a pot which contained Amritham for which every participant was looking forward.  The moment he appeared with the amritha kalasam अमृतकलश  the asuras showed their true colours! They snatched the pot from the Lord  and ran away to the Bhooloka भूलोक  proving beyond doubt their selfish interest  and not caring for any dharmam  धर्मं |

The ultimate truth is you get what you give! Every action has an equal and opposite reaction!  If one cheats others, ultimately he will be cheated in the process by someone else! Here, in this story also, that is what happened.

When the devas cried the Lord told them that He will dispense justice and asked them to follow him to the earth.  There, Lord Narayan assumed a form of a most beautiful woman which is called Mohini avatara  मोहिनि  अवतार | When he appeared the asuras were fighting among themselves about the distribution of the nectar! The moment they saw Mohini  they were so infatuated with her and requested her to distribute the contents of the pot  to them! Mohini never lied! She told them how can they trust her, who is totally new and has her own whims and fancies! They said that they liked her and wanted her to distribute the contents.  Meantime the devas also arrived there!  Mohini said if they wanted her to distribute then she would distribute the same to all of them and asked them to form two rows:- One for the devas and one for the asuras! The asuras agreed and they followed her orders! 

Then Mohini started distribution in her charming way! With her lovely smile and looks at asuras she walked in front of them and pretended to serve  the nectar to them, but when the turn to serve devas came, she served them  the  real nectar!  The asuras never realised in the beginning.  At some point one of the asuras named Swarbhanu स्वर्भानु  had a doubt and  quietly changed his place  to the row of Devas.  But unfortunately when he sneaked into the only available place , it was between two illuminating planets, namely the Sun and the Moon!  So he was seen by these two and was  reported to the Lord!  

The Lord knew! But still while serving, he served in the plate placed in front of svarbhanu also! Probably, He might have thought, when so many devas eat why not one asura also!  and as such might have ignored him! But when pointed out by the Sun and the Moon He could not ignore the deliberate cheating done by the asura again!  The asura was in a hurry to eat whatever he got in the plate and without waiting for any formality put a handful  of amritham hurriedly in his mouth!  His head was chopped off as a punishment and fell as two parts. 

His head and body became  seperate  but he did not die  as he had tasted amritham!  Then he was also given the status of planets, but he became  two ग्रहा: planets namely Rahu and Kethu and thus  included in the navagrahas!  That is why one planet has only the head and the other planet has only the body!

When his head was chopped off, from his neck the amrutham which he tried to swallow spilled on the ground.  From there the plants onion and garlic grew! As they grew from the nectar they have the medicinal qualaities!   But as they were grown from the nectar which was in his mouth with saliva and spilt after that, they are not used for naivadyam नैवेद्यं in any pooja or in any offering to the Lord!   

So  இது  ஒரு தெரிந்த உண்மையும் தெரியாத கதையும் !  

Ganesha

गणेश - Part II   Known and Unknown :  தெரிந்ததும்  தெரியாததும் .

Ganesha has another famous name which is Vighneshwara.  विघ्नेश्वर  means that  He is the Lord of all obstacles.  The Lord can use his tools both ways.  To create the obstacles as well as to remove the obstacles. Our Ganesha is young and playful. He has used this playfully both ways. There are two authentic stories which go to show this in our Puranas. Normally we pray to him for removing all the obstacles to achieve what we want.  That is why it is customary for us to pray to Lord Ganesha  at the outset before commencement of  any event.   Once these rules are made then everyone has to follow without exception.  If by any chance this is not done, Ganesha playfully reminds that person that there has been a slip and immediately they realize it and try to rectify by praying to him. The playful child is pleased immediately and removes the obstacles at once.

To elaborate this point, we have to go to Tripura samharam (त्रिपुरसंहारं ) where Lord Siva starts to destroy the three cities of the demons (असुराः ) called Tripuram (त्रिपुर).  Lord Siva mounts his chariot and starts going towards the place. But immediately the axil in the  wheel of  his chariot tilts.  Arunagiri nathar has explained this beautifully in his Thiruppugazh.

அருணகிரிநாதர் - திருபபுகழ் :   பாடல் : கைத் தல நிறை  கனி

முப்புரம் எரி செய்த அச்சிவன்  உறை ரதம்

அச்சது பொடி செய்த அதி தீரா

Then Lord Siva realises that he has started without praying Ganesha!  The matter is rectified and the chariot moves on and the job finished with ease!

This episode is to elaborate that Lord Ganesha can create obstacles as well as remove them.

But there is one more instance wherein He has removed the obstacles created by someone else also successfully.  To know about this we have to go to Lalitha Sahasranamam. ललिता सहस्रनाम |

Here we have to read about Lalitha Devi going to fight Bhandasura. She destroys the army of Bhandasura through her shakthi. Then Bhandasura sends his son to fight with Devi. Devi creates a young daughter called Bala to fight and destroy Bhandaputra or Bhandasura's son. Then Bhandasura sends his brothers who were also destroyed by Devi's assistants. Then he realises that he has to prevent Devi's army to come near him and so establishes Vighna yantra  which are invisible obstacles so that the opponent's army cannot move further!

Devi realises this and she looks at the face of Sri Kameshwara  and by their sankalpa they bring Sri Ganesha to the battle field.  Ganesha now helps his mother by destroying all the invisible obstacles. Now Devi happily goes to fight the Asura and finally destroys him in the battle.  These episodes are described in Lalitha Sahasranama in the following verses:

भण्ड सैन्य वधोद्युक्त  शक्ति विक्रम हर्षिता |  नित्या पराक्रमाटोप निरीक्षण समुत्सुका ||
भण्डपुत्र  वधोद्युक्त बाला विक्रमनन्दिता |    मन्त्रिण्यंबा  विरचित  विषङ्ग वध  तोषिता ||
विशुक्र प्राण हरण वाराही वीर्य नन्दिता |     कामेश्वर मुखालोक कल्पित  श्री गणेश्वर ||

महा गणेश निर्भिन्न विघ्नयन्त्र  प्रहर्षिता ||

This line indicates that Maha Ganesha has destroyed all the vighna yantras which pleased Lalita Devi.

These are two Leelas played by Sri Ganesha with his Father and Mother!

For his father he created the obstacles first and then removed the same.

For his mother he destroyed all the obstacles created by the demon!

He has justified his title Vighneshwara thus!

Ganesha

Ganesha. श्री गणेशाय नम :

Things we know and do not know about Ganesha.

பிள்ளையார்  - அறிந்ததும்  அறியாததும் .

Before we start any new venture or anything in day to day life, we are in the habit of praying to Lord Ganesha. His other name is Vighneshwara  विघ्नेश्वर | विघ्न means obstacle.  He is the Lord of all obstacles.  विघ्नानां  ईश्वर:  He has overall control of all the obstacles in the world.  Here He can work in two ways.  One is to playfully create an obstacle, and the other important one is to remove any obstacles which are created by anyone else.  Ganesha or Pillaiyar is normally portrayed as a playful child who is also very powerful, brilliant, and the epitome of wisdom.  He is capable of sanctioning his devotees whatever they want, playfully and effortlessly.  His eyes will always be smiling!  He can give a mischievous look but still smile!

Here he shows that it is important to smile with one's eyes! Only when the smile reaches the eyes the smile is complete! Otherwise, it will only be a plastic smile!  So lesson number one is when we smile, we should put our heart behind the smile to reach the eyes and make the recipient comfortable and happy!
This, Ganesha teaches by practical demonstration without talking!

The next lesson also is demonstrated without talking!  Let us recall the face of Lord Ganesha.  He is portrayed as an elephant-faced God. Baby elephants look lovely and mischievous!  Even when they walk, there is a grace about their gait. The special and important point to be noted about an elephant is that it does not show its mouth to anyone unnecessarily as other animals do! The elephant's mouth is naturally and always covered by its beautiful Trunk! In Tamil, this is what we say:

பெரியவர்களிடம்  பேசும்போது மரியாதையாக பேச வேண்டும் . அதை சைகையால்  எப்படி காண்பிப்பது என்றால்  " கை கட்டி வாய் பொத்தி  நின்று பேசவேண்டும். பிள்ளையார் இதை செய்து காண்பிக்கிறார்.

தும்பிக்கை  ஆண்டவன் is one of the names given to Ganesha.  The trunk is called Thumbikkai, and it is considered as a hand as in the word thumbi kai -  Kai means hand. He always closes his mouth with his hand! Even while eating, the elephant takes the food by hand and puts inside the mouth instead of opening the mouth widely for others to see! Only man eats the food, taking it by hand and putting it in his mouth, and among animals, only the elephant does this. No other animal can do this. At all other times, the elephant closes its mouth by hand, which is considered a symbol of respect to others!

We should learn from the above that we should not open our mouth unnecessarily and use it sparingly, whether it is to talk or to eat!  One organ was given two functions, namely, Talk and Eat. Do both of these 50-50  to be healthy and respected. We can keep both the body and mind healthy by this habit and avoid unnecessary controversy! . This is lesson number Two.

The third lesson again is shown by Pillaiyar through his face. Elephants have huge ears.  The huge ears denote that by both ears, one should hear and listen more.  Two ears for one function, namely श्रवणं, which occupies the first place in the nine types of Bhakti/devotion. नवविध  भक्ति |  By hearing and listening, one can develop patience and understanding, which is a healthy trend and an essential factor in life.  So, in short, without talking, Ganesha teaches us to talk less and listen more.

All these are shown by demonstration and not by words! Like his Father Lord Shiva, who in the form of Dakshinamurthy  ( दक्षिणामूर्ति ) taught his disciples as a Mouna guru मौन गुरु  (a silent teacher), the son also followed suit by silent teaching!

So let us pray to Lord Ganesha and try to achieve what He taught and remove all obstacles in whatever venture we want to enter.

For more slokas and how He justifies his name as Vighneshwara with two short stories, wait for the next post!

Hanuman

श्री राम जयं |                                    Hanuman.

ஸ்ரீ ராம ஜெயம் |

बुद्धिर् बलं यशो धैर्यं निर्भयत्वं अरोगता | अजाड्यं वाक्पटुत्वं च हनुमत् स्मरणात् भवेत् ||

This is a beautiful sloka in Sanskrit about the most important eight qualities of Hanuman.  Whoever prays sincerely to Hanuman, why pray? Even if one thinks of Hanuman, they will develop all these qualities. The moment you pray to Hanuman, the eight qualities mentioned in the sloka, namely, Buddhi, Balam Yashas, dhairyam, Nirbhayatvam, Arogataa, ajaadyam, Vakpatuthvam, are sanctioned immediately!

If Hanumanji can sanction these to his devotees who pray, how much more of such qualities he must have!. To know about these, one should read or at least listen to Sundarakanda in Ramayana.

நினைத்த மாத்திரத்தில் மேற்கண்ட எட்டு முக்கியமான குணங்களையும் அருளிசெய்பவர் ஹனுமான் . நினைப்பவர்களுக்கே அருள் செய்பவர் என்றால் அருளுபவருக்கு எவ்வளவு இருக்கும்?  இதை  சற்று புரிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்றால் சுந்தரகாண்டம்  கொஞ்சமாவது படிக்க வேண்டும் .அல்லது கேட்கவாவது வேண்டும் !

With such ease Hanuman can do anything is proved beyond doubt in Sundarakandam. Before entering the ocean of Ramayanam/Sundarakandam, let us analyze some of these qualities, as mentioned in verse.

Buddhi is intelligence, Balam is strength, yashas is fame, dhairyam is valor, Nirbhayatvam is fearlessness,  arogata is good health, ajaadyam is briskness, vaakpatutvam is oratory skills.

We can divide these 8 into two categories: In the first group, we can classify Budhi, Balam, vakpatutvam, and dhairyam, which help develop the other four in the second group nirbhayatvam, arogata, ajaadyam, and yashas.

புத்தி என்பது அறிவு . அறிவாற்றல் இருந்தால்  மந்த புத்தி  அல்லது  சோம்பேறித்தனம்  இருக்க முடியாது . இரண்டும்  ஒன்றுக்கொன்று  நேரெதிர் .

அதனால் அவர் அறிவைக்கொடுத்து  சோம்பலை களைவார் !

அடுத்து  பலம் . பலம் இருந்தால் நோய் நொடி  நெருங்கமுடியாது

அதனால் பலத்தை கொடுத்து ஆரோக்யத்தை  அருளுவார் !

மூன்றாவதாக  வாக்படுத்வம்  என்றால் பேச்சாற்றல் . இந்த திறமை  தானே புகழுக்கு இடம் கொடுக்கும் .

அதனால்  அழகிய பேச்சாற்றல் திறமையை கொடுத்து  புகழையும் அளிப்பார் !

நான்காவதாக தைரியம் . தைர்யம் என்றால் வீரம். ஒரு வீரனுக்குரிய பயமின்மை  என்பது முக்கியமான குணம்.  எந்த ஒரு போராட்டத்திலும் தைர்யம் இருந்தால்தான் எதிர்த்து நிற்க முடியும் !  வாழ்க்கையே  ஒரு போராட்டம்தானே! அதை எதிர் கொள்ளும் திறந்தான் தைர்யம் ! அதற்கு பயந்தால் முடியுமா ?

அதனால் தைர்யத்தை  கொடுத்து பயத்தை நீக்குவார் !

Buddhi/Intelligence will remove dullness or laziness. So by giving buddhi, He removes Ajaadyam.
Balam is strength/good health.  If a person has good health and is strong, his immunity system is good, and as such, the diseases cannot attack him easily. So by giving Balam, He gives immunity and removes disease!
Vaakpatuthvam means oratorial skill.  An excellent talented speaker with a mind can attract a lot of audiences and become popular.  Because he becomes popular, he becomes well-liked and becomes famous!  So here, Hanuman sanctions vakpatuthvam and thus gives fame!
Lastly, the fourth, but not the least, is Dhairyam/strong willpower/valor, which helps one face any battle confidently. Once a battle is faced, half the battle is won already! Dhairyam drives away fear! So the person becomes fearless because Hanuman sanctions Dhairyam.  Hence the person becomes self-confident.

Life is full of battles that we have to face day by day. To face it confidently and successfully and become victorious, pray Hanumanji.

So when you pray to Hanuman,  you ask for four, and he will give you eight! Two in one offer are made in this world for material things. What you need in life, to face it boldly, are these qualities which He will give you in abundance!

யாரிடம் எதெது இருக்கிறதோ அதைத்தானே கொடுக்க முடியும் ? இந்த எட்டு குணங்களும் ஹனுமானிடம் நிறைந்து இருப்பதால் அவர் குறை இன்றி வாரி வழங்குவார் !

We will see in the next post how he used all these talents with reference to Sundarakandam.

Keep Going

Recently I received a mail which made me think a lot!  It spoke of growing roots and keep going and never to quit! It reflected the insight which our puranas and ithihasas hint at and it was quite fascinating.

A common word often repeated of late is Depression! The present day life style leads to a lot of stress and strain resulting in depression.  I wonder were there not strains and stresses in the earlier age? To all our elders or people who lived in the earlier centuries?  Or the earlier yugas? If so how did they combat depression?

We have come far away and the times have changed, life style has changed, thinking has changed, technology has changed. But the feelings still remain the same.  When you find something good it gives you happiness. When you encounter harsh treatment it leads to sorrow.The truth is that everyone wants to be happy!

When we read our puranas and ithihasas, don't we find the characters going through worse turmoils than we do?  Were they not going through tough times? But what we also see is that they emerged tougher! It is said that Tough Times do not last but Tough People Do!  Whether it is a western author or whether it is our ancient rishis the fact of the above saying remains the same!

What is the purpose of life? Its meaning, its essence, its significance? Where do we search? How do we find out? Delve deep into one's own heart. Deeper and deeper.  Focus.  The answer always comes from within. Not from outside!  That inner force shows you. Let it guide you. The deeper you delve the taller you grow. That is what struck me when I read about "growing roots".  As it says, Good days give you happiness and bad days give you experience. Both are essential to life. I will later relate an instance from our great epic  Ramayana.  Now I would like to share with you the quotable quote which I   have enjoyed.

                             Happiness keeps you going,   Trials keep you strong.

                             Sorrows keep you Human, Failures keep you Humble,
                          
                             Success keeps  you glowing - But only
                         
                             God keeps you going!




          

                             

Prayer is answered!

Prayer is a very common word and used by most of us. Whenever we pray it goes without saying that it is with an expectation to be fulfilled!  Unfortunately it is also true that most of us feel that all our prayers are not answered!  If we  truly analyse and introspect we will find that because of our certain expectations we feel disappointed with the results and refuse to accept what is given to us.

I want such and such a thing, only in the way I want. Otherwise, it is not accepted! We have this tendency and hence refuse to look at the generosity with which we have been showered by God. Recently I read a few lines somewhere which answered this beautifully, which I would like to share .

                                              A Thoughtful Prayer.

               We asked for Strength and God gave us Difficulties to make us strong.
               We asked for Wisdom and God gave us Problems to solve.
               We asked for Courage and God gave us Dangers to overcome.
               We asked for Love and God gave us  troubled people to help.
               We asked for Favours and God gave us Opportunities.

               We Received Nothing we wanted But Everything we needed!

               Our Prayer has been answered!

             
Don't you think so too?!  God never gives up on you! So how can we give up hope?
    

Vijayadasami

The tenth day of navarathri ends with Vijaya Dasami.  Vijaya means victory.  It represents the victory of good over evil and the normal belief is that anything started on a vijayadasami day will prosper and progress well and generally be successful.  Actually on introspection we have to annihilate all the evil qualities in us and bring out the best qualities and carry on in life. All the evil forces normally align together and the Supreme power manifests  in the form  of energy or Shakti which we call Devi and destroys the asura shakti and restores the balance in nature. This is symbolically contained in the puranas in the form of allegory.  After worshipping Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi for 9 days on the 10th day Devi assumes the form of Mahishasuramardini, and ends the evil of Mahishasura, and saves the good force called Devas.

Interestingly  Mahisha was an asura who had all the obstinate qualities and revelled in torturing others for his pleasure.  Mahisha means buffallo, and many a times   it becomes very difficult to make the animal obey!

In India, all the days so many Devi stotras are chanted and one among them is Mahishasuramardini stotram. According to Devi Mahatmyham,  all the other forms of devis join together to kill the assistants of Mahishasura. Durga devi assumed another form of kali and killed  two assistants of mahisha called chanda and munda  and hence the title of Chamundi is given to this particular form. In Bengal Durga puja is celebrated on a grand scale. In Mysore, Chamundeswari is worshipped gloriously by the ruling dynasty and also by all the people.  We have even a hill called Chamundi Hills where devi was supposed to have killed Mahishasura.  Devi Chamundi called Chamundeswari is worshipped in the beautiful temple atop the Hills.

There is a place in the central Himalayas called Kali math, where another chief of Mahishasura called Raktha Bhija was supposed to have been killed and hence the name of Kali math for that place.  These asuras were very powerful  and  very fast and travelling from place to place should not have been a problem for them! Apart from historical and puranical evidences, there are also geographical evidences and these are beautifully connected by the day-to-day stotras we are chanting which we never realise!

Once when we were travelling through these madhya himalayas, a sadhu residing there near varanavath which has been there from Mahabharath times and where the lac house was situated and burnt,  explained one of the slokas which bore proof of this history.  When analysed there was a beautiful coincidence which I would like to share with you all.

Ayi Jagadamba madamba kadamba vana priya vasini rasa rathe
Shikhari shiromani thunga himalaya shringa nijayalaya madhya gate
Madhu madhure madhu kaitabha bhanjini kaitabha gaanjini hasa rate
Jaya jaya Hey Mahishasura mardii ramyakapardini shaila sute.

The second line explains that in the Central Himalayas, where the highest peak which is called Thunga is situated, there, very near that place Devi's temple is situated.

Most of us know about Kedarnath which is one of the siva temples situated in the himalayas and it is about ten to eleven thousand ft. high.  But there are five kedars one of which is called Tunganath which is the highest among the pancha kedars about 12,500 ft. high situated in the central himalayas. This is corroborated by the sloka! Below that the place called Kalimut is also there within close quarters.  Various sthala puranas quote the same stories but in different forms and many of our geographical names also coincide with the itihasa and purana names reinstating our belief in history and also the faith in the puranas!   Is it not interesting?