Do the 'Eclipses' affect our Lives?

 There is no second opinion regarding the effect of  'Eclipses', whether the solar or the lunar, on our lives. We have witnessed the eruption of Mt. Etna, spewing molten rocks, lava, as also the severe cyclone devastating the Odisha coastal villages due to the Lunar eclipse of the 26th may 2021. The eclipse cause the blotting out or blocking the passage of some vital rays due to the gross opaque solid body coming in the way! The Sun rays are not the only rays that affect us. There are other rays from the Stars, small and big, dwarf or giant, near and far, and the behavior of these waves of affect us significantly! We are not concerned here about the astrologers here in describing the effects. We are dealing these from the point of view of astronomers whose main interest is the study of Stars. However, we must be cautious here since not much is known about the distant stars- their magnitude, dimension, structure and composition, the nature of the rays emitted, etc. In fact, we do not know the full range of spectrum beyond the VIBGYOR, UV, Infra-red, and some rays like the alpha, beta, gamma, etc. 

  The effect of the blockage of the rays that govern the lives of humans is not yet clear. The effect is definitely evident in the case of pregnant ladies. Children, old and sick people, and the people on medication for ailments show distinct effects. some people behave weird during eclipses. The mental patients in hospitals show peculiar behavior. The Homeopathic medicines seem to be ineffective during these periods. Mostly, the eclipses are related to mind. Moon is the deity of Mind. Even the Earth shows the pull and push, the effect of distance of Moon (Average 380000 Km) and the Sun (140 000 000 Km). The High tides and Low tides are clearly visible of these days of eclipses, We all know about the Full Moon and New Moon causing High Tides, and the Spring Tides and Neap Tides occur during summer and winter due to the distance and wobbling  of the  Sun. 

  We can see clearly some change in the behavior of lunatics and weak-minded. persons. May be, one of the reasons for this is that the vital, life-supporting electromagnetic waves are partially blocked, or their wave length, intensity, duration, and and magnitude change significantly. The changes in the weather during eclipses are clearly visible. Solar eclipse will create almost a frightening scenario with birds reacting fearfully. Much of the effect of lunar eclipses are not easily felt since most of the people will be sleeping or do not go out doors. 

 The scriptures laid down certain dos and don'ts to be observed before, during, and after the solar and lunar eclipses. These are: taking bath, meditation, paying obeisance and arghyam and padyam during and after the eclipse. However, only orthodox persons observe these rituals these days. We do not want to express any opinion on these since it is left to one's own wise counsel and circumstances. The class of learned samskruta pundits, acharyas, who conduct these rituals are diminishing and their children are mostly settled abroad. But, it is heartening to say that some of them still hold on to family traditions and conduct these rituals even abroad, needless to say, earn well in USA.

   Now, it is assured here that one need not be perturbed, afraid, or get worried due to these celestial happenings. The phenomenal objective world has been in existence for quite long, ever-changing, and so unpredictable and it is needless to bother about these. Our life is too short to worry about these trivial things that are beyond our control? 

'Nrusimha'

 As the mythological story goes, there were Jaya and Vijaya as the door keepers of Vaikuntha. Sage Durvasa was in a hurry to meet Lord Vishnu who was resting with Lakshmi at that time. The door keepers stopped him and this made him angry and curse them to go to Bhu loka! The story also sates how he straight went to Vishnu who ignored him with a purpose. This sage known for anger enraged, kicked the lord on His chest. Maha Lakshmi who is seated in the chest became angry and left for Earth and settled in Kolhapur. It is very clear why Lord Vishnu ignored Sage Durvasa. Durvasa had eyes in his feet and he was so careful not to hurt even an ant! This earned him lots of praise from Gods and thereby the Sage became very proud. Lord Vishnu wanted to teach a lesson to Durvasa. When Durvasa Muni kicked the Lord on His chest, the Lord invited the sage and washed his feet and in the process removed the eyes! Thus, the sage lost his powers.

 Now, both the door keepers, Jaya and Vijaya fell at the  feet of the Lord and requested him to save them. The Lord said, Sage Durvasa muni's curse shall work and pacified them that He only will save them later. Thus, both Jaya and Vijaya appeared as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, Ravana and Kumbhakarna, and Shishupala and Dantavakra (redeemed by Lords Nrusimha, Sri Ram, and Sri Krishna, respectively). All these were thus redeemed. It is here, Lord Vishnu comes as Nrusimha to kill Hiranyakashipu. Since King Hiranyaksha took the Earth to Patala Loka, he was killed by the Lord, his brother held grudge and ordered that nobody should utter the name of Narayana in his kingdom. However, once Narada visited and did the mischief! He impressed on young minds the glory of Sri Hari and Prahlada, the young prince started praising the Lord in front of his father King Hiranyakashipu. The angry father asked the child where is his Narayana and tortured him, The innocent child answered that Narayana is everywhere. Is he here in this pillar asked and broke it open. Lo, there appeared the Lion-faced Lord who caught him and killed him tearing off his stomach by His diamond-hard finger nails! The Lord appeared in this form of half-Lion and half human since, Hiranyakashipu had a boon that he would not be killed either by a God or a human, and neither inside or outside a house. So, the Lord seated on the doorstep, held the brutal King and killed him.

  It is now much interesting here to know what happened afterwards. The young boy who saw Nrusimha Deva killing his father got frightened! Lord Shiva who was watching this sent Devi Parvati to console the child. Devi came down as Pratyangira, Lakshmi of Nrusimha, and held him in Her arms and consoled! There are only two temples of Devi Pratyangira, one at Hosur near Bengaluru and the other at Uttarahalli in Bengaluru extreme South. These are very powerful centres of Shakti. All the tormented will be protected by the Deity Devi Pratyangira! The maha mantra is:Om, hreem ksham pratyangire kleem hreem ksham hum phat sau.    

"Buddha Pournima"

 The Full Moon tomorrow, the 26th May 2021 is celebrated as the Buddha Poornima, the 2583rd Birth day (563 BCE). It is very interesting to know how Siddhartha Gourami became 'the Buddha', the Enlightened!  Siddhartha, son of King Shakya Kingdom in Nepal, Shuddhodana and Queen Maya Devi was born in Lumbini on the auspicious Full Moon day and the King consulted the Court astrologer who told him that the child is an illustrious one that would rule the world! But, the King became worried since he though that his son would not rule the Kingdom and leave him. He ordered his servants to strictly guard the young Prince and see that he will not go out of the palace and everything is provided within the premises. However, the young boy got bored of the restrictions, cajoled his servants to take him out for a round in the city. On the way, he saw first an old man coughing and limping, and then a person walking with a stick in hand for support, and then a dead body carried to cremation. It is this incident that  changed his life!

  The young Prince Siddhartha Gautama became curious to know how a jiva becomes sick, old and dies, This problem of sickness, old age and death bothered him so much that he decided to find a solution. Even now, it is still a question whether he ever found a solution to the problem of old age, sickness, and death? Gautama was married and had a son when he stealthily left the palace at night and walked away! He wandered for over seventeen years and finally reached Bodh Gaya. He took several rigorous steps, vrata, upavasa, and meditated up on. Almost a month after strict meditation without food, he became so weak that he could not stand in knee deep water when he went to take bath and fell down. A pious lady who was nearby took him out, gave him milk and fruits, and chastised him for his foolishness. She remarked, 'how can a man who cannot even stand in knee-deep water, cross the ocean of sansar'! This made Siddhartha think seriously about the reality and quietly sat under a Banyan tree (Bodhi Vruksha). May be, he realized that it was foolish of him to think of the inevitable and drop the very search! Thus, he got enlightened as to the 'Truth'! The Reality, the 'truth' is that the phenomenal objective world that comes within the grip, of Time, Space and Causality, called maya, cannot be cured but endured. If possible one should try to meditate on the Reality, the 'brahmn' and cross these limitations, staying in nirvikalpa samadhi. 

  Thus Siddhartha Gautama became 'the Buddha', the 'Enlightened' not by acquiring but by giving up! Gautama gave up the search of the 'inevitable'! The moment truth dawned on him, realized that it is the  nature, prakruti svabhava, that things happen! It is beyond one's ability to overcome the powerful 'maya'. the limitations, niyati. Once Gautama became the Buddha, he never spoke a word! His first and the last sermon was to the birds, deer, and the peacock, as seen in a statue of the Buddha in Darjeeling! 

   Budha is also known as an avatar of Vishnu. The Buddha is also known as Budhanilakantha in Nepal. Actually, the Buddha is shown either as seated or in a reclined position. The Ananta Padmanabha temple shows Sri Maha vishnu in an inclined position and the Buddhists think it is the Buddha! Anyways, the Buddha is worshiped all over the world and is known better for 'meditation'. The Buddhists monks spend most of their time in meditation! 

Now, what is the difference between a 'buddhu' (fool), buddhi (Intellect), and the Buddha (Enlightened). Etymologically, it is just 'u' , lack of knowledge in the first, it is 'i', knowledge in the second,  that finally leads to 'a' brahmn in the last! So, anybody as a buddhu can also become the Buddha by developing his Intellect (jnyan)!

  Now, it is open to question whether the young Prince Siddhartha Gautama was influenced by the Bhagavad-Gita? It seems Siddhartha Gautama was influenced by the teachings of Bhagavan Shree Krishna who as Yogacharya instructed  'brahma vidya' and 'yoga shastra' and it is but natural that the young mind was influenced by the sayings! Moreover, it is certain that anybody can reach the highest state of 'brahmn' by mere yogabhyasa and Self-realization!

"poornamadah poornam idam..."

 This doctrine is very simple. It says, "The supreme Lord  'brahmn' from whom all that we see, touch, hear, experience, etc. have manifested are perfect, full, complete and without any blemishes. Whatever manifests out of the perfect shall remain perfect until and unless they come under any other extraneous factors, corrupting influences." Hence, the phenomenal objective world should be perfect according to this doctrine? However, it doesn't appear to be! Then where does the defect lie? The defect is not the world since it is what it should be. It is our perception that makes the world illusory, defective, unreal, The world is, no doubt, perfect but for the factors that affect it such as time, distance, causality. These governing factors make the world appear imperfect, full of blemishes. The yogi, jnyani, a wise man will not see  the imperfection of the world 'as it appears to be' since he/she knows its true nature! He/she sees the inherent qualities effected by the pollutants as the blemishes and has realized the true nature as pure and pristine. For example, the air, the water, the fire, the soil, are all pure and perfect, but for the pollutants added to them. The world, as such, has no defect whatsoever! 

  The doctrine of perfection is as simple as 'mother and the child who are perfect, complete, full. So also, the creation of all that is seen! But the problem is our inability to understand this principle. The defects we notice in anything that we see, touch, or hear lies in the faculty of the senses, not the object. The mind that governs the senses adds colors, qualities, attributes to things! Thus the object is only displaying its quality, acquired guna, not its true nature. So what we see is what appears, but not what it really  is! Everything that manifests as Nature, prakruti, is pure and pristine, but acquires gunas of the surrounding. Thus, we must try to know the true nature of things, as they are, not as they appear to be! 

Blemishes of the Soul

 The Soul, the Atman, is indeed, pure and pristine. It is like a crystal, transparent, a sphatika Lingam. It reflects the color of the background and the color is not its inherent quality. Thus, the jiva which is embodied and embedded in a mass of flesh and bones reflects the qualities that is the result of its embodiment. The body is supported by food and water. The elemental body reflects the quality of the elements it is made of- the pancha mahabhuta. These five basic elements constitute Nature, prkaruti, and these are the manifest aspects of 'brahmn'. The jivatman, purusha, is, no doubt pure but the gross body made of prakruti is the blemish, stain! Hence, a jiva, is one of attributes although the Atman is blemishless!

  Now, the problem of the jiva is the sufferings due to the blemishes acquired by prakruti. If the stain attached to the jiva, the attributes, are washed out the purusha shines in the glory of the Lord! It is the acquired quality, guna, and can easily be discarded, washed out, cleansed by spiritual practices like yogabhyasa. Bhagavan Shree Krishna as the Yogacharya explains how to cleanse the jiva by supreme knowledge, brahma vidya, and yoga shastra. The jiva should take recourse to yogabhyasa and cleanse the jiva of qualities it has acquired from the elements, prakruti, i.e., water, air, and food. Knowledge (jnyan) is fire. It is jnyan agni. So, "Burn the blemishes by jnyana agni", says the Lord. The blemishes such as the three guna- tamas, rajas, and sattva, should be first discarded. The  Blessed Lord says, "traigunya vishaya veda tasmad nistraigunyobhava arjuna". And, then, the qualities, guna acquired from water and food, such as, ego, pride, anger, selfishness, jealous, etc. should be discarded by reducing the food intake, as also selecting the food that are less pungent, salty, or too hot or cold, say taking sattva ahara.

  Now the choice before the jiva is either to enjoy the mundane worldly pleasures as dictated by Nature, prakruti, or be happy and joyful and rest in peace with the purusha, which is  its true nature!  But, the question is, whether to enjoy life or not? What for are the Senses? The answer is simple. Enjoy now, suffer later! If one is intelligent, discriminative, judicious, the problem of suffering can be easily solved. A reckless life will destroy the jiva. The modern way of life, the Western way of materialistic way, one of competition- one of dine and dance, bhoga lalase, is wrought with dangers. The human body is created in such a way that it can realize its true nature, realize the Self, get Atma jnyan (Atma sakshatkara) and prevent the work of prarabhda karma! The Planet Earth is a place where 'all that is born has to die and again take birth and die and get into a never-ending chain, a shackle, bondage' The intelligent jiva shall know this and get out of this trick of Nature, prakruti, and work out for emancipation, liberation once for all, never to return!

"prakrutim purusham chaiva...."

  In the Bhagavad-Gita, Chapter XIII verse 19 onwards, we find the true nature of our existence described in great detail. It is stated here that, " Both prakruti and purusha are without a trace of their beginning (anadi)." The very moment the purusha manifests Himself, there appears the prakruti. This manifestation is the  function (karya) of the purusha (the karana-purusha), Thus, the One purusha only acts ad if the 'other', the prakruti! However, it must be understood here that the prakruti is the inherent nature, svabhava. It is rather the vibration as tamas, rajas, and the sattva guna. These three guna appear in different proportion, in permutation and combination. The tamoguna only vibrates as rajas and sattva. Thus, a person may be tamasic at night and sattvic early in the morning and become rajasic through the day only to become sattvic by evening and again relapse to tamas!  Now, these changing qualities of behavior of the person are no the real nature, but the one that is exhibited according to the situation, circumstances, Hence, a wise man will ignore the qualities, the behavior exhibited and sees the person in his/her real state of attributes or lack of it, 

  Now, the real problem is that of the person, the purusha, who exhibits a certain qualities. All the jivas are established in the prakruti, Nature, and as such, they exhibit the qualities of Nature. However it is possible to get established in the pure state of the Self,  the Atman, as the Yogis, jnyanis do. The prakruti, Nature, has attributes, guna. These attributes are not important as these are acquired blemishes, sometimes enemies, ari-shadvarga, kike mada (ego), matsarya, irshye, svartha, krodha, The purusha is pure. Hence,it is the person purusha, who is important, not his/her guna! We normally think of a person as such and such, relying on the attributes exhibited, and will not realize the true nature of the person. This is the tragedy! Once we take cognizance of this fundamental principle, the dualities disappear! We will be able to pour down love from the pure unblemished heart and love the world, its nature, its people without its attributes! Love is the elixir that flows out of pure heart when the gunas are subdued and the person, purusha, shines! Actually, this  purusha is camouflaged, enslaved, covered by the blemishes of ego, perverted intelligence, and fickle selfish mind! Thus the flow of elixir of love is obstructed!

Can Anybody Refute the 'Bhagavad-Gita'?

 The Bhagavad-Gits is published in many languages and there are almost 165000 commentaries have been published so far. No body has ever expressed any doubt or refuted the sayings of the Bhagavan Shree Krishna in the Gita. However, it is still difficult to understand and realize what the Lord says here. For example, he Blessed Lord says, "I imparted this to Vivasvan, the Sun-God". The Sun is 4.56 billion years old and may last another 7. 46 Billion years! Again, the Lord says, I am beyond all Time, Space, Causality, qualities, and such other limitations. I am Unborn, Eternal, and the 'sat'. Further, He, the Lord, says, "I am nirakara parabrahmn, and all that exist are just my manifestations. I can project and withdraw them at My Will!". The Bhagavad-Gita is all about the doctrines of 'Existence, Sustenance of what exists, and the final dissolution and merger. The supreme Lord is speaking here  but the question is can we hear Him? Surprisingly enough, He makes it amply clear that He is nowhere else but within us! He is the Atman! His divine plan and the true nature of our existence. But, limited in our abilities, we are not capable of the reality of the phenomenal transient objective world. We fail to see through with our inner eye and thereby live in ignorance. It never occurs to us that what we see, touch, hear, or experience is the effect of the senses and mind and, these are ever-changing according to the moods, attitude, and interests! We eagerly desire and get disillusioned at the end. Has the science and technological advancements helped us in any way in understand the reality of our existence? It is the Mind and the senses, the intellect, and the ego that investigate the Nature and thus fail us? If one sees through the inner eye, (antar-drushti), the soul's eye, the reality becomes clear! Science does not deal with such investigations for it cannot reach there. There are gadgets to see the stars like  the telescope and microscope to see the minute cells, but no such thing to see the soul. There is no way of knowing its true nature since it(the soul) is the soul who is the seer and experiencer. One has to take recourse to the scriptures like the Veda, the Upanishads, and Brahma sutras, and the Bhagavad-Gita. But, all these are only means of knowing, a guide to understand, but will not reveal it. Nobody can know Him since He is not another, an object to know! He is the Only One, and nothing exists beside Him. His presence can, however, be experienced every moment since it is He Who breathes within us! Only a deeply involved mind, tad gatena manasa, (the still mind, a state of transcendental meditative trance with focused attention on Atman), will reveal it!

  Who understands or even knows about the vast universe and its Creator? Who can tells us "Who the Lord is", and "What the Lord says in the Gita"?  Only an attained person, a person of Realization of the Self, Atma-sakshatkara, a yogi, can help us if we ever drop our ego and fall at his feet!  But, first there must be an ardent desire to look for enlightenment?

  Why is it science and technology cannot help us in Realization of the Self, 'Atma-sakshatkara'? The subject matter of science is 'Matter'. Scientists deal with 'Matter' starting from the sub-atomic particles, the fermions and bosons and the majora bosons, the neutrons, protons, the electrons, etc. Matter is the manifest aspect of the Unmanifest 'brahmn' and, as such, it is the object, the phenomenal external world. The Mind and the out-going senses have to be turned inward. One has to revert, reverse the journey towards the inner-most precincts of the self and establish there in order to realize the true nature of existence. Thus, the Spiritual world is distinct and different from the material world. The material world is ever-changing and, as such, not the 'truth'! Once we realize the  'truth' through yogabhyasa we shall be spiritually charged and will be able to realize 'IT', the 'sat'. The spiritual attainment gives absolute peace, joy and happiness.   

In Principle...,

   I am one. You are one, it is one. The universe, the Solar System, the earth, and everything on it- father, mother, child (boy or girl), the family, the society, the nation, the world, everything is one only. Still the mischievous mind divides, dissects, and creates illusion of sort and makes it appear many. The fundamental principle is one only. It is this division and dissection that is the problem. This has created the misconception of high and low, black and white, and good and bad and makes people find fault where there is none! When will we understand this basic concept that " Everything is one only'! IT'S HE WHO BECAME MANY, AS IT WERE?

  It all started with Shiva who was seated in meditative trance (yoganidra) in total solitude. Then came Manmatha and Rati who disturbed his stance and Manmatha was reduced to ashes when Shiva opened his third eye. This is the beginning. Shiva became aware of His svabhava, nature and prakruti appeared as Shive. Shiva soon forgot that Shive was his own prakruti, svabhava and got attached to it as 'the other.' This attachment, moha, ignorance of the Self, became the world, the other, separate from the self. When Shiva realized his folly, he discarded the acquired svabhava and thus liberated. Thus, One became many and reverted back to one!  Now all these dualities constitute the world, the phenomenal objective transient world. The moment unity consciousness is attained, the jiva is liberated from sansar. In fact, as long the man and his wife work in unison, one mind, there is no problem. The wife is supposed to be the better-half! In fact, Shiva reminds Shive that she is actually his larger than half! The moment the ego starts its game, the couple begins to quarrel even for small, trivial, things and end up in divorce! As long as there is the feeling of oneness, pure love, and treat each other as soul-mate' there is no problem. The moment ego rides the chariot of the jiva, driven by Mind with the help of the Senses as the horses and seeks the guidance of the perverted Intelligence, the couple, the family, the close-knit unit is shattered! Actually, the Intellect should seek the guidance from Consciousness and guide the fickle mind keeping the ego subdued! The present situation of the jiva, is thus, like the chariot run by the fickle mind guided by ego!  

 The Bhagavad-Gita comes to help us remove our ignorance and bring joy and happiness. The play of ego, the intellect and the mind is beautifully explained. The Lord guides us to realize our true self and help us out of this rut! The Lord helps us to know the intricacies of Nature. He asks us to know Him "In principle"! There is the fundamental principle that every jiva interested in living a happy joyful life. What is that? Is that a generalization? Is that the beginning of understanding? Is it the clue? Yes. The fundamental principle is the generalization, the principle that has summed up everything, and even, the beginningless beginning of all that 'Exist'! This principle is 'I Only Exist'!, says the Lord This is the fundamental principle. There is only 'One' and, nothing besides! This is 'Unity Consciousness', samyak-prajnya. Once this principle is understood, the dualities disappear!  

Means of 'Salvation'

  The Bhagavad-Gita is the spoken words of Lord Shree Krishna, an avatara of Maha Vishnu. He is depicted as pure Consciousness (shuddha prajnya) and comes here as the Counsellor, Friend and Philosopher of the 'confused mind' personified as Arjuna in the famous epic of Vedavyasa, Mahabharata.  

 In the first place, the jiva rashi, myriads of them, are born on the Earth as a result of 'karma', action. It is the 'divine will', the action of thoughts of Lord, 'to create', as stated in the Veda as 'Eko"ham bahusyam!, meaning "I am alone, I shall be many" Once the jiva appeared here and developed in different forms due to the impact of Nature (prakruti), it continued to take birth after death, and survive on water and food. The desire becomes the seed of birth after death and thus, the jiva gets entangled, enmeshed, in an embodied soul! Thus, there seems no end to this cycle of birth and death. These are explained by the Lord in very clear terms. There are descriptions about the 'five great elements (pancha mahabhuta) and the tanmatras,, the body and its organs equipped with instruments (antahkarana) like the sense organs to experience and work out!. This experience of the jiva is one of the causes for its continued bondage until it seeks means of salvation, redemption, mukti or moksha.

  the supreme Lord goeas on to explain how the jiva gets entangled in physical body due to its ignorance, avidya, not lack of knowledge, but knowledge of its true nature covered by attachment (moha)! further, the Lord gives instructions about yogabhyasa, and teaches Brahma vidya, so that the jive gets emancipated from the cycle of rebirths. The Verses 23 and 24 of Chapter 13 explain the means of salvation. The simplest means is 'sankhya' that gives true knowledge and wisdom and then practical hints through yogabhyasa that teaches renunciation. The jiva is enlightened as to its true nature, as an immortal, unborn, eternal, entity, and thereby seeks Lords grace to get out of the rut! The Lord  helps it to cross the ocean of sansar. The jiva takes recourse to scriptural studies (svadhaya). gets associated with pious people (satsang) and, dhyana in isolation (nidhidhyasana), solitude, for contemplation on 'brahmn'!. Thus it is finally redeemed from the shackles of rebirth in this death knell, mrutyu lok!.

God - Nature - Man Relationships

 There is an intricate relationship between the three constituents of the Universe- God, Nature and Man. In fact, Man is not in anyway separate from Nature, so also God and Nature and God and Man! It is this triad that has to be clearly understood and, there is no way to know this? It is such an intricate, intertwined, complicated issue that great sages have struggled to analyze thread-bare this aspect. Their efforts have yielded some good result, but not everybody can understand it. There are many hidden forces that govern this universe. These are gravitation, electricity, magnetism,

  First God (Paramatman) is the unmanifest aspect (avyakta). Nature (Prakruti) is the manifest aspect of Paramatman.. Man is one insignificant aspect of vast Nature. It is the human mind that tries to analyzse what is beyond its capacity to ever understand either Paramatman (the Purusha) or Nature (Prakruti). This limitation, inability to understand the vast, unfathomable unmanifest aspects is the problem.

  First, everything is contained in the unmanifest Parabrahmn who manifests as Paramatman (Purusha) and Nature (Prakruti). What the Lord says as the 'Sovereign Knowledge (Rajavidya), and the Royal Secret Knowledge (Raja Guhya) ,in Ch. IX of the Bhagavad-Gita is very difficult for us to understand. The Lord says, I am creating all this Illusory World  (maya prapancha) from my special powers, yogamaya! It appears and disappears at My Will. In fact, I Am the Magician (Mayavin)! This is the work of My Magic Wand! He goes on to say, "I Am in Everything, but nothing is in Me! Everything manifests from Me, but I am not in them! This is like the air that freely moves in the sky, not attached to it and in no way bound by it! Paramatman is everywhere like the Akasha and accommodates everything and yet, not attached to any! He, the Lord, says, "I am the Self of all". But, He also says, "I am not there in anything, anybody"! This is the secret that we have to realize. The Soul, Atman, that has entered the physical  body of flesh and blood is not in anyway attached to it! Although it is there, it as if it is enmeshed, embedded, embodied, it is free like air in the sky and can move freely! Hence, it is important for us to know this secret science of yoga, Brahma vidya, Atma jnyan!

  The experience gained from yogabhyasa will help us to understand how we are not 'what we appear'- as the organs and the body of flesh and blood, but something else, that creates and runs it! The way the  Corona Virus is devouring even the strong and well-build human body, these days, is an eye-opener? A yogi, jnyani, who knows this secret is not bothered about the mortal physical body (nashvara sharira) and will always be happy! Too much of attachment to body, deha abhimana, is not good! It will create lots of problems as the person ages and loses strength.

'Agni', the Fire God

  "It was you, O Agni of the flaming hair, whom the peoples enthroned as their foremost guest, the master of their households, O God of the lofty ensign, of manifold shapes, the winner of stakes, our kindly protector and helper, devourer of ancient forests."

  "It is you, O Agni, whom the races of mankind acclaim as connoisseur of sacrifice, Discerner, incomparable donor of treasures, visible to all yet dwelling in secret, O God most blessed, loud-sounding, skilled in worship, glorified by the oil of sacrifice."

  "It is you, O Agni ever true to yourself, whom we mortals have ever approached with reverence, singing your praises. Wherefore, O God most noble, esteem well our sacrifice and burst into glorious flames, your Godhead enkindled by the hand of mortal Man."

  "It is you, O Agni of manifold. shapes, who impart life-power to each race of Men, as in days of old, O God highly praised! By means of this your life-power you control all sorts of food. That light of yours, when you shine forth, blazes indomitable." [Rk Veda V, 8, 2—5].

  Energy, Light, Heat, and all other manifest forms of the electromagnetic radiation have their source in the Stars. The Stars areof different size, distance, intensity of radioactivity, and many other associated aspects. Not all stars survive soon after their birth! Many stars lose half their strength the moment they appear and some may not even survive, but their traces remain! Only a moderate sized star of certain quality will produce planets from their stellar flares. The best example is the Sun. Some stars are so hot, and some are so cool that they do not produce planets! Now, the existence of the planets in our solar system can be better understood, although we do not know much about these. But one thing is certain and that is 'everything is fire'. This is supported by the Rk Veda. There is unmistakably some divine Force behind the origin of the Universe. This is stated as 'narayana' The term 'narayana' is  'chit-shakti, literally means, the eternal flow of Consciousness. Narayana is the only God who manifests in different forms! Narayana Upanishad and Mahanarayana Upanishads eulogize Narayana.. The 'chit' (the Lord's Thought-force), the 'Divine Will' only becomes, chiti, chaitya, chetasa, chetana, chitta, manas, buddhi, ahankara, and all that!  

 The Supreme Lord emphatically states that it is "He only Who Exists in All". But, an ignorant person (ajnyani), a fool (mudha), will not know Me. Only a jnyani knows Me in principle. A wise person tries to know Me thrugh the scriptures, and some try to know with steadfastness in contemplation, devotion, offerings (yajnya), dana and tapas. However, I am no something, an Object, to be known; I Am the Self of All! One has to experience My presence in every cell, every breath, every though as the principle of Existence. In fact, I the vaishvanara agn who digests four kinds of food!

 The Rk Veda has as many as 64 sukta about Agni, the Fire God. In Mandala VII, it is stated that the three relative aspects of Fire constitute the entire universe. These are Soma, Surya, Anala. The Soma is the elixir of life represented by Mood and the Sun is the Fire that supports Life as Chaitanya Rui Vishnu. The Fire is the gross form that exist in all rocks, wood, and living beings. as well. There is nothing except the Fire! Everything is Agni, the Fire.

  In humans, the three tates of existence are indeed fire only. The daily activities supported by energy obtained from food is the Vaishvanara agni deva. The Mental activity supported by energy, chaitanya, is the taihjas. Even in deep sleep it is chaitanya as prajnya that Energy operates and thus everything is operated and controlled by Agni deva!

  The great sages worshiped the Sun, the Fire God offering the 'arghya'. Many performed yajnya, yaga,  havan, and homa. The devout followers of agni, the agnihotri, kept 'fire' constantly burning! Thus, the 'Fire' is an inseparable part of Life!