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Mahabharata (Buck)

The Mahabharata is an Indian epic, in its original Sanskrit probably the largest ever composed. It is the story of a dynastic struggle that provides a social, moral, and cosmological background to the climatic battle. The present English rendition is a retelling based on a translation of the Sanskrit original published by Pratap Chandra Roy, Published in the beginning of this century. William buck has condensed the story. The old translation from which he worked covers 5800 pages of print, while his own book is less than a tenth of that length. But by and large, Buck’s rendition reflects the sequence of events in the Sanskrit epic, and he uses the traditional techniques for instance, of stories within stories, flashbacks, moral lessons laid in the mouths of principal characters. There are other English versions of the Mahabharata, some shorter, some longer. But apart from William Buck’s rendition, none have been able to capture the blend of religion andmartial spirit that pervades the original epic. It succeeds eminently in illustrating how seemingly grand and magnificent human endeavors turn out to be astoundingly insignificant in the perspective of eternity.

Publisher’s Preface, Introduction, Part I: In the Beginning, A Mine of Jewels and Gems, The Ring and the Well, Fire and Flame, Indraprastha, The Falling Sand, Part II: In the Middle, 6:00 Nala and Damayanti, 7:00 The Thousand-Petaled Lotus, An Iron Net, Virata, The Invasion, Do Not Tell, Sanjaya Returns, Trees of Gold, The Enchanted Lake, The Night, Part III: In the End, The Blade of Grass, The Lonely Encounter, Parikshita, The Timeless Path, The City of Gates, Notes, Reference List of Characters

The Mandukya Upanisad and the Agama Sastra: An Investigation into the Meaning of the Vedanta

The Mandukya Upanisad and the Agama Sastra: An Investigation into the Meaning of the Vedanta

The Upanayana: The Hindu Ceremonies of the Sacred Thread

It appears from ManuÍs institutes that they are meant as much for the householder in the

second order of life_garhasthya_as for the student. The laws for the brahmanas are severer and they are expected to subject themselves to harder physical and mental disciplines, forsaking all attachment of their organs to sensual pleasures. A brahmana student must keep them under complete

control and bear in mind that desire is never extinguished by the enjoyment of desired objects; it only grows stronger like a fire fed with clarified butter.

But all this appears to have vanished. It is unfortunate that many brahmanas, starkly ignorant

of the Vedic rcas and scriptural teachings, are often called upon to perform the ceremonies. There is substance in their contention that since the times have changed, the ceremonial laws too must be thoroughly revised and modified to bring them in conformity with the present-day ethos. They also argue that, as the mantras are in Sanskrit, very few people are able to chant them with complete understanding of their inherent meaning and importance. It is to meet their demand for a simple text with explanatory instructions that this book has been written. Its readers can be scholarly priests or non-scholarly householders or both. To some this may sound a profanation of the ceremonial laws, but the intention is pious and therefore this attempt to democratize and

expound the esoteric is forgivable.

Upanayana is one of the sixteen samskaras or purificatory rites in which a boy is invested with the sacred thread and thus endowedwith second or spiritual birth and qualified to learn the Veda by heart. In this ceremony the boy goes to an Acarya well-versed in the Vedas with a view to be initiated into Vedic studies or a Guru draws a boy towards himself and initiates him into one of the three twice-born classes. From the day the initiation ceremony takes place the young celibate commits himself to a life of austerity and abstinence; he chooses to lead a life rigorously disciplined by vows and disciplinary rules.

The Vivaha: The Hindu Marriage Samskaras

Ceremonial rites and rituals occupy a place of utmost importance in the life of a devout Hindu. In fact there are no vital actions-birth, initiation, marriage, death etc.-which can be allowed to be performed without its appropriate rite or samskara. The number of samskara has been fluctuating but was finally fixed at sixteen.

Marriage is the most important and elaborate out of these sixteen samskaras. Manu enjoins that rituals should be performed in the case of a virgin for legalizing the marriage, legitimatizing children and avoiding public scandal.

The mantras used in the nuptial rites being in Sanskrit are beyond the comprehension of not only the average Hindu but even the common priests entrusted with the duty of conducting the rituals. To overcome this difficulty the present book was originally prepared in Hindi and is now translated into English with the mantras etc. romanized for the benefit of those who do not have adequate knowledge of Hindi, for example especially those whose forefathers had migrated to remote countries during the last one hundred years or so

Ramayana At A Glance

The world is the stage on which the Lord played the part of Rama as the ideal son, brother, husband, step-son, and king. The story of Rama and Sita is verily the story of humanity. Sita, Rama’s devoted consort, enacted the role of the dutiful, chaste wife who cared for nothing but her beloved Rama. Lakshmana was the perfect brother, and Bharata and Shatrughna were exemplary in their devotion to their step-brother, Rama.

The next main character, Hanuman, is the embodiment of a surrendered devotee the pinnacle of Bhakti Yoga. The ten-headed Ravana, who plays the antagonistic role, symbolizes our ten senses (5 senses of knowledge and 5 senses of action). During the war, Rama beheads Ravana, which is characteristic of a yogi conquering the senses.

The characters in the Ramayana relate to our own human drama. The Ramayana teaches us a way of life. It shows how to have pure love among family members and toward society and gives us a

method to control the ten senses and the mind for inner peace and spiritual bliss.

Singing the LordÍs name on the gross plane can bring us to the transcendental level where sound manifests as pure energy. The name and form disintegrate in Pure Consciousness and ultimate peace is experienced. Repetition of the Lord’s name in the form of japa or kirtan will bring the transcendental, blissful experience attained by the great devotees and saints like Bhakta Mira

Bai, Tukaram, and in the present time, Sri Sant Keshavadas, Santji has followed the tradition of our great saints and devotees of the past and has now brought the story of the Ramayana for 20th century man.

Manusmriti (Dwitiya Adhyaya)

Manusmriti (Dwitiya Adhyaya)

Yagyatattvaprakash-Chinnswami Shastri Virchit

Yagyatattvaprakash-Chinnswami Shastri Virchit

Chhatropyogi Bhagavadgita

Chhatropyogi Bhagavadgita

Manusmrti: Shri Kulluk Bhatt Virachitaya with the commentary of Kullukabhatta

Manu is variously referred to as the father of human race, as one of the ancient sages, as having established fir, as a semi-divine being who received from God Himself the laws and regulations, as a king in the Krta-yuga, as the author of a work on Arthasastra. In the Manu Smrti Manu is referred to as a king.