Suryaputra Shani Dev

First of all, I want to say Happy Birthday to Shri Shani Dev Maharaj as today is “Shani Dev Jayanti.” This is about Shri Shani Dev with a request to Shri Shani Devi that He may bless me at every moment of my life.

Astronomical facts

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and is also the second largest planet, with a radius of 37,366 miles. It is said to have a small core of rock and iron, then a layer of ice and lastly topped by a deep layer of liquid hydrogen.

Saturn is different from other known planets for the rings it has. No planet in this solar system has rings like Saturn does. The rings consist of small pieces of ice and rock, are 62,000 kilometers wide but just 100 meters thick. The rings are actually made of thousands of closely spaced ringlets, looking like a gramophone record disk.

Saturn has 22 known natural satellites, more than any other planet does.

Vedic Astrological view

From the Vedic point of view, the physical Saturn is only a representation of Shani Dev / Shanaischaram (Saturn God). By the movement of the physical Saturn, we understand the intention of Saturn God (Shani) about us. Saturn God is the natural ruler of karma, and to understand our karma, we must first understand Shani.

Shani is one of the three children of Sun and Chaya Devi. From the Vedic texts, we can learn a lot about Shani. Many times the power of his gaze have been mentioned in the classics. We learn that right after Shani was born, his gaze caused Sun's charioteer to fall down and break his thigh; Sun's horses to get blind; and Sun himself caught vitiligo for Shani's powerful gaze on him. They were healed only when Shani moved his gaze away and looked at somewhere else.

This clarifies the power which Shani has in his gaze.

In Jyotish, Shani is considered a very malefic planet. The nine planets are the incarnation of Lord to bestow us the result of our karma - which are the lessons we need to learn. And most of the times, the toughest lessons are taught by Shani. In our school, we always have different teachers for different subjects like Math, Physics, Language etc. Just like that, different planets teach us different kind of lessons, and most of the times the teacher Shani teaches us very painful lessons. This is not something to doubt when we learn from the BPHS that Shani is the natural giver of grief.

In general, Shani is considered the most malefic planet, and the most problematic, painful yogas involve Shani most of the times. When Shani maleficly affect something, he slows the matter down, and causes obstructions and delays in it's fruitfulness. Shani also rules separation, he hurts us by taking things away from us. When we face a painful separation from our parents, spouse, friends or anyone we care for, Shani is always a possibility for that. Ketu also causes separation as he rules non-attachment, but separations and delays are among the main significations of Shani. He's association with Venus / 7th lord causes separation from spouse most of the times. Though the final comment should be made seeing Shani's strength, placement and lordship, as for Taurus and Libra natives Shani is a functional benefic being a Yoga karaka. But even then Shani will not forget to remind his nature sometimes. That is my personal view on this.

Shani is a planet of Tamasic quality. He is a planet of extreme nature. When he favours someone, he gives very favourable effects. Oppositely, when anyone receives his curse, indescribable pain and miseries he or she faces in life. Shani purifies a person by giving immense sorrow and pain, as fire purifies the gold.

Favourable effects of Shani on one's nature include in-depth knowledge, sensibility, wisdom, justice, broadness of mind, honesty, patience, ability to work hard etc. In life, he may give wealth, fortune, long life etc. when auspicious and well placed.

On the other hand, when badly afflicting a person's nature, Shani can make one sadistic, greedy, lazy, dishonest, fearful, irresponsible and even addicted to drugs. Shani causes obstruction, delay, grief, poverty, short life etc. He makes a person totally lonely, helpless and can make one suffer from enmity, theft, lawsuits etc. Shani can also give imprisonment since he rules obstruction, loneliness and grief.

When causing diseases, Shani generally gives chronic diseases as the person suffers for a long time - by this he again shows his nature of slowness and delays.

When badly effecting one's profession, Shani makes one work very hard but does not give the proper reward he deserves. That is why social servants and people who earn their living by physical labour are ruled by Shani. For the same reason Shani rules the Sudras (4th caste) and abodes in filthy places.

For the power of his gaze, Shani has a tremendous afflicting ability by his mere aspects, which he casts on 3rd, 7th and 10th houses from his own position.

Among other planets used in Vedic Astrology, Saturn is the last one counted from Sun's position. That is why Shani Dev rules 'The last' or 'The end' of anything. He is the 'Last Answer' in anything. In our material world, death is the end of everything, and that is why, Shani rules death and longevity issues. He is the natural significator of 8th house in astrology. We know that 8th house deals with sorrows, shock, pains, depressions and also - occult. That is why Shani also deals with Magic, Tantra, Jyotish etc.

Shani was lamed by another son of the Sun, named Yama (God of death) when he hit Shani in his leg. So Shani is always very slow in his movement. One name of Shani, as I already mentioned, is 'Shanaischaram' which means the slow mover. He takes around 2.5 years to pass through a sign, thus he takes around 30 years to complete the travel over the whole zodiac. So he rules slowness and delays; And he teaches us how to tolerate slowness and delays, by patience. He is generally pleased with people having patience.

The great phase (Maha Dasha) of Shani lasts for 19 years. Even than the Maha Dasha, Shani gets the strong hold of a person by his transit over the 12th, 1st and 2nd signs from his or her natal Moon. This is called 'Sade Sati' since it lasts for about 7.5 years.

Shani lords over the signs Capricorn (Makara) and Aquarius (Kumbha) with Aquarius being his Mooltrikona sign. He is exalted in Libra and debilitated in Aries. His natural friends are Mercury, Venus and Rahu, while enemies are Sun, Moon, Mars and Ketu. He has neutral relationship with Deva Guru Jupiter. He is ruler of the three nakshatras named Pushya (8), Anuradha (17) and Uttara Bhadrapada (26). He rules 8 in the numbers, Saturday in the weekdays, and aqua, blue and black in colours. His favourite gemstone is blue sapphire wearing which strengthens Shani's effect on a person.

Shree Baglamukhi Mahavidya : The Most Powerful weapon

In Hinduism, Bagalamukhi or Bagala is one of the ten mahavidyas (great wisdom goddesses). Bagalamukhi Devi smashes the devotee's (or the devotee's enemies') misconceptions and delusions with her cudgel. She is also known as Pitambara in Northern Parts of India.

Iconography

"Bagalamukhi" is derived from "Bagala" (distortion of the original Sanskrit root "valgā") and "mukha", meaning "bridle" and "face", respectively. Thus, the name means one whose face has the power to capture or control. She thus represents the hypnotic power of the Goddess. Another interpretation translates her name as “crane faced”.

Bagalamukhi has a golden complexion and her dress is yellow. She sits in a golden throne in the midst of an ocean of nectar full of yellow lotuses. A crescent moon adorns her head. Two descriptions of the goddess are found in various texts- The Dwi-Bhuja (two handed), and the Chaturbhuja (Four handed).

The Dwi-Bhuja depiction is the more common, and is described as the Soumya or milder form. She holds a club in her right hand with which she beats a demon, while pulling his tongue out with her left hand. This image is sometimes interpreted as an exhibition of stambhana, the power to stun or paralyse an enemy into silence. This is one of the boons for which Bagalamukhi’s devotees worship her. Other Mahavidya goddesses are also said to represent similar powers useful for defeating enemies, to be invoked by their worshippers through various rituals.

Bagalamukhi is also called Pitambaradevi or Brahmastra Roopini and she turns each thing into its opposite. She turns speech into silence, knowledge into ignorance, power into impotence, defeat into victory. She represents the knowledge whereby each thing must in time become its opposite. As the still point between dualities she allows us to master them. To see the failure hidden in success, the death hidden in life, or the joy hidden in sorrow are ways of contacting her reality. Bagalamukhi is the secret presence of the opposite wherein each thing is dissolved back into the Unborn and the Uncreated.

Legend

Once upon a time, a huge storm erupted over the Earth. As it threatened to destroy whole of the creation, all the gods assembled in the Saurashtra region. Goddess Bagalamukhi emerged from the 'Haridra Sarovara', and appeased by the prayers of the gods, calmed down the storm.

Worship

Major temples to the goddess are situated in the Himachal Pradesh in the north, and at Nalkheda at Shajapur and Datia in Madhya Pradesh. Nepal, where the worship of tantric goddesses had Royal patronage, also has a large temple devoted to Bagalamukhi in the Newar city of Patan. The territory of the Bagalamukhi temple in Patan also has several other temples dedicated to Ganesha, Shiva, Saraswati, Guheswar, Bhairava etc. The main difference between any other temple and a Bagalamukhi temple is that if someone worships all the gods in this temple, they would actually worship all 330 million gods and goddesses at one place. Bagalamukhi Devi Temple is situated at Guma in Mandi, in the state of Himachal Pradesh in North India. Large numbers of Hindu devotees offer prayers here to fulfil their wishes. Bagalamukhi Puja is performed by an experienced Pandit, as any mistake in the ritual may result in bad effects.

Bagalamukhi Devi is one of the ten Hindu Goddesses of Power. Bagalamukhi Puja is performed according to Vedic ritual, to defeat enemies. It not only decreases the power of the enemy, but also creates an atmosphere where they become helpless. The Abhimantrit Bagalamukhi Yantra is also used for the same purpose. It protects the person from enemies and evils. There is a beautiful Mandir of Maa Bagalamukhi in Varanasi as well.

Bhakt Surdas : Great Poetic Saint

As I discussed in my earlier Post about Adi Shankaracharya, that due to server failure, I was unable to publish about Bhakt Surdas, now this is all about him.

There is scanty information about the life of Sant Surdas, (The dates of his date and birth are not really very clear), the medieval poet-singer of Braj the land associated with Lord Krishna. His compositions are in Braj Bhasha a dialect of Hindi that was considered crude at the time. Surdas' works are some of those credited with raising this dialect to a literary status.

Surdas was born blind to poor parents and because of this he was a victim of neglect and abuse. He left home at the tender age of 6.

The greatest blessing of Surdas's life came when Sri Vallabhacharya, the celebrated exponent of the Shuddhadvaita. also known as Pushti Marga, accepted him as his disciple. From his teacher he received knowledge of hindu philosophy.

He memorized the Srimad Bhagavata and other hymns in Sanskrit.

He portrayed in exquisite poetry the life of Krishna, especially child Krishna, in such vivid detail that he has not been equalled by any saint or poet, not even Kalidasa, in describing childhood.

It is one of the marvels in the realms of literature how a blind poet could portray in such meticulous and colourful detail the childhood of Krishna, stage by stage. Krishna's cutting his first tooth, his uttering of the first word, his taking the first step unaided, are all occasions for Surdas to compose inspired songs which are sung even to this day, in hundreds of homes, by mothers who see child Krishna in their own children.

The love that had been denied to him as a child flows by means of his songs on, the love that was showered on Bala Gopala in Braj by Yashoda, Nandagopa, the Gopis and the Gopas.

Surdas never entertained any idea of marriage but saw in Sri Krishna the eternal lover and he portrayed the love between Radha and Krishna as ethereal love-the irresistible attraction the individual soul has for the Oversoul or of the Jivatma for the Paramatma.

His work consists primarily of three major compilations, the Sur-Saravali, the Sahitya-Lahiri and the Sur-Sagar. The Saravali is supposed to have
originally one hundred thousand verses but many have been lost forever. It is based on the analogy of the Holi festival, by far the most popular of the festivals of the time, and always associated with Krishna as part of his Divine Play. Apart from being great narrative poetry they are also significant sources of information about the past.

The Sahitya-Lahiri is supposedly a treatise of various forms of poetical composition, dealing primarily with Bhakti.

The Sur-Sagar is his masterpiece, the ‘Oceanic work’ as its name indicates and remains the most influential and important of all his works. It deals with the life of Krishna in detail.

His fame was wide spread though he never left his native land, even the Mughal emperor Akbar paid homage to him.

Aadi Guru Shankaracharya

In this year 2010, the birthday of Shri Adi Shankaracharya came on 18th of May, but due to the server system failure I was quite unable to publish post about Him. On this day the birthday of Saint Soordas was also there. But I was quite unable to write about both and that is why, I am publishing something about HIM today. I'll try to write about Saint Soordas also. But now, this is only about Aadi Shankaracharya. He was the Great Hindu Saint and the Great Hindu Philosopher. He was the only person who is seemed to be avataar of Lord Shankar and that is why he was quite capable to rebuilt the Sanatan Hindu Dharma in India.

Shri Adi Shankaracharya or the first Shankara with his remarkable reinterpretations of Hindu scriptures, especially on Upanishads or Vedanta, had a profound influence on the growth of Hinduism at a time when chaos, superstition and bigotry was rampant. Shankara advocated the greatness of the Vedas and was the most famous Advaita philosopher who restored the Vedic Dharma and Advaita Vedanta to its pristine purity and glory.

Shri Adi Shankaracharya, known as Bhagavatpada Acharya (the guru at the feet of Lord), apart from refurbishing the scriptures, cleansed the Vedic religious practices of ritualistic excesses and ushered in the core teaching of Vedanta, which is Advaita or non-dualism for the mankind. Shankara restructured various forms of desultory religious practices into acceptable norms and stressed on the ways of worship as laid down in the Vedas.

Shankara’s Childhood

Shankara was born in a Brahmin family circa 788 AD in a village named Kaladi on the banks of the river Purna (now Periyar) in the Southern Indian coastal state Kerala. His parents, Sivaguru and Aryamba, had been childless for a long time and the birth of Shankara was a joyous and blessed occasion for the couple. Legend has it that Aryamba had a vision of Lord Shiva and promised her that he would incarnate in the form of her first-born child.

Shankara was a prodigious child and was hailed as ‘Eka-Sruti-Dara’, one who can retain anything that has been read just once. Shankara mastered all the Vedas and the six Vedangas from the local gurukul and recited extensively from the epics and Puranas. Shankara also studied the philosophies of diverse sects and was a storehouse of philosophical knowledge.

Philosophy of Adi Shankara

Shankara spread the tenets of Advaita Vedanta, the supreme philosophy of monism to the four corners of India with his ‘digvijaya’ (the conquest of the quarters). The quintessence of Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism) is to reiterate the truth of reality of one’s essential divine identity and to reject one’s thought of being a finite human being with a name and form subject to earthly changes.

According to the Advaita maxim, the True Self is Brahman (Divine Creator). Brahman is the ‘I’ of ‘Who Am I?’ The Advaita doctrine propagated by Shankara views that the bodies are manifold but the separate bodies have the one Divine in them.

The phenomenal world of beings and non-beings is not apart from the Brahman but ultimately become one with Brahman. The crux of Advaita is that Brahman alone is real, and the phenomenal world is unreal or an illusion. Through intense practice of the concept of Advaita, ego and ideas of duality can be removed from the mind of man.

The comprehensive philosophy of Shankara is inimitable for the fact that the doctrine of Advaita includes both worldly and transcendental experience.

Shankara while stressing the sole reality of Brahman, did not undermine the phenomenal world or the multiplicity of Gods in the scriptures.

Shankara’s philosophy is based on three levels of reality, viz., paramarthika satta (Brahman), vyavaharika satta (empirical world of beings and non-beings) and pratibhashika satta (reality).

Shankara’s theology maintains that seeing the self where there is no self causes spiritual ignorance or avidya. One should learn to distinguish knowledge (jnana) from avidya to realize the True Self or Brahman. He taught the rules of bhakti, yoga and karma to enlighten the intellect and purify the heart as Advaita is the awareness of the ‘Divine’.

Shankara developed his philosophy through commentaries on the various scriptures. It is believed that the revered saint completed these works before the age of sixteen. His major works fall into three distinct categories – commentaries on the Upanishads, the Brahmasutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

The most important of the works is the commentaries on the Brahmasutras – Brahmasutrabhashya – considered the core of Shankara’s philosophy of Advaita.

Shankaracharya’s Monastic Centers

Shri Shankaracharya established four ‘mutts’ or monastic centers in four corners of India and put his four main disciples to head them and serve the spiritual needs of the ascetic community within the Vedantic tradition. He classified the wandering mendicants into 10 main groups to consolidate their spiritual strength.

Each mutt was assigned one Veda. The mutts are Jyothir Mutt at Badrinath in northern India with Atharva Veda; Sarada Mutt at Sringeri in southern India with Yajur Veda; Govardhan Mutt at Jaganath Puri in eastern India with Rig Veda and Kalika Mutt at Dwarka in western India with Sama Veda.

It is believed that Shankara attained heavenly abode in Kedarnath and was only 32 years old when he died.