Vaidika Charcha Vedikaa

[31/10, 5:31 AM] VS279 SP Kumar, Vs279: R.C. Hazra had written very good reviews and interpretations of our religious festivals and rituals. Similarly, Ananada coomara Swamy has written wonderful articles about Vedas and our modes of worship. He has written an excellent book about Yakshas and their worship and their connections with Vedik deities.
[31/10, 5:31 AM] VS279 SP Kumar, Vs279: Within the constraints of my limited knowledge gained through reading, rather than experienced through Saadhana or Yoga, I shall make an attempt to answer the most puzzling or complicated questions in spiritual field posed by you.
our country- that is Bhaarata Desham, that is India, over a period of 10,000 years, became a melting pot of many races and cultures who migrated to this huge subcontinent from different directions and different regions of Asia, due to various geological and geographical calamities.
Among these, there were two major population groups, one group with Vaidika saahitya and samskruti and the other with thousands or hundreds of local deities through physical symbols or Stone, wooden, clay image. Images with strongly entrenched local or regional modes of worship totally foreign to the Vedic mode of Aaraadhana, which had no Pratima or Vigraha poona during the period, when there was only one undivided Moola Veda, – no mandala, no Sookta, no Astaka classification. That was pure Rigveda, which was, an encyclopedia of all the knowledge gained by vaidika arya rishis, through Askesis (tapa), and Yoga saadhana, combined with a highest form of personal discipline. Each and every one of these vaidika Rishis, or drastas conveyed their most intense personal spiritual experiences, through the contemporary Vaidika Samskruta(a multiple level sphota meanings ) Bhasha, encoded with a complex set of symbols, metaphors, analogies and images available in the external world environment. But, they combined word images with higher level connotations to signify higher levels of consciousness.
As this was, very difficult for a large number of people to grasp the inner significance of the religious or Saadhana processes, they adopted different forms of external worship suitable for people with different backgrounds and stages of psychological attainment.
In addition, there were hundreds of Graama, kula, Vritti ( Professions) deities together with supreme deities of different racial and cultural groups. Vaidika samaaja was forced to admit the large number of Non- Vedik deities into the Vedik fold (and Vaidika sahitya also) and allow newly admitted sections to continue with their earlier Ritualistik practices. This was the first point, where poona of physical symbolic images got introduced into Vaidika way of worship or saadhana.
These practices came into existence, when catastrophic bombardment of huge meteoroids, asteroids, comets etc was a regular but aperiodic occurrence, causing incalculable damage to life and possessions. People, as advised by priests, started offering animal sacrifices and material offerings to these cruel and tormenting deities to pacify their anger and mitigate damages. Sometimes, they were offering even human sacrifices too, either their own children, grownups or captives from other tribes or drugged slave zombies. This was a total departure from the strict Vedik mode of worship, with strict inhibition of Himsa or total stress on Ahimsa.
Huge fiery Iron pillars, or burning metal balls of meteorites falling down from the Sky and leaving residual pieces on Surface, were elevated to the status of Vigrahas of Rudra, Durga, Kali, Bhairava and others of the Rudra pantheon and were being worshipped through non Vedik rituals. To overcome, identification problems, Shiva, an adjective in Veda , was converted into a synonym for Rudra, a cruel form of Agni, and given a ghora and aghora personalities. Every Graama devata, local mother goddess was transformed into one of the three Devis, – Durga, Laksmi, and Saraswati( perhaps rarely) and paired off with their male counterparts. Therefore, thousands of mother goddess temples in every village or region were transformed into Devi temples with different and individual characteristics. Same was the case with the pillars of fire, which became Shiva lingams of various shapes, sizes and characters. Most of these fire balls and pillars of fire were explosive missiles from super novae explosions of our own Sun or perhaps from the explosion of Proto star, which failed to become a full fledged star, either Jupiter or Saturn( most probably, Yama, who was the first deva to die and become an Adhipati of Mrityu loka. ( incidentally, Yami= Our Earth, both were born as twins- as described in a Rigvedik dialogue hymn.). This planet happened to be within the mandala of Saturn, during the evolutionary stage of the Solar system. Jupiter and Saturn were crossing each other’s highly elliptical orbits- described as Deva- Asura sangramas in Braahmanas and Puranas.
This exchange of Ritualistik practices among different types of cultural groups created non Vedik modes,of worship and their proliferation.
[31/10, 6:27 AM] VS279 SP Kumar, Vs279: There are basic options available for the interpretations. There are three important factors in every kind of philosophical exercise or Siddhanta.

1. Paramathma or Parabrahma.
2. Jeevatma or different entities with life.
3. Different forms of Jada or purely material forms without life.

Only Advaita abolishes or talks of Single or Sole Ekaika Parabrahma, who with his Anirvachaneeya(that which cannot be defined perfectly or completely) Maaya transorms himself into material Universe and myriads of innumerable life entities and forms.
Dvaita, Visista Advaita, Dvaitaadvaita, Shuddha advaita and many other Siddhantas do not agree with this interpretation. They distinguish between these principal subjects, with different degrees or grades of distinction.
For example, one of the Upanishadik statements, brandied as Mahavaakyas by Advaitees – Tatwamasi- is not solely amenable to the Advaita interpretation-” That you are ” – and vigorously disputed. Because, the very word Tatwam = A compound word =
tat + twam, has team which also used in words like Devatwam, Pashutwam, Maanavatwam, where it means, the characteristics of the previous part. Logically, tatwam means some characteristics
of ” Tat ” are present in you. It does not imply you are totally equal to that. In addition, Tat and Asi are in two different genders.
According to other Siddhantas, Supreme Parabrahma does not create Jeevas. Jeeva shares the two important qualities of Parabrahma, Anaadi= without a beginning = unborn; and Ananta= without an end= undying, means that Jeevaatnma too is an Aadyanta rahita entity. As mukti or Moksha ( absent in Rigveda ) is of five different stages , Saalokya, Saameepya, Saaroopya, Saarshti and Saayujya, precluding total dissolution of discrete existence of the Jeevatma with Parabrahma- this implies an Amsa roopi Jeeva, becomes a minutest or infinitesimal part of the infinite or limitless Parabrahma. Since, Jeevatmas are infinite in number, before becoming Vyakta and beginning the process of karma, they are provided with three Shareeras- kaarana, sookshma and Stoola, overlaid on the original
” swaroopa or Linga deha” to do Karma with the goal of getting rid of the overlaid Dehaas and achieving a break through from the Linga deva too, the original deha of Avyakta Jeeva, to emerge as totally
” Mukta ” ( as described in Upanishats only, and absent in Veda proper).
Therefore, Vedik sayings describe a way of life to achieve this goal, with a life, full of happiness in this world =” Iha ” and in the higher stages of life = ” Para ” too. That is the reason, why Artha and Kaama are not condemned totally, but Dharma aviruddha Artha and Kaama are included as goals of life worthy of full fledged pursuits or Purusha Arthas to be aimed while living a life, not in conflict with either individual- Swadharma or collective Saamaajika Dharma.
Parabrahma is not placing any kind of restrictions, but has given us the freedom to act according to our own choice, but has also given us the power of discrimination = Viveka, to distinguish between right and wrong, Dharma and Adharma for individual and collective benefits and evolution. In my opinion, we, after growing up, have been given maximum rights and responsibilities that are firmly tied up with rights, to pursue most righteous path of action to move towards the goal of spiritual evolution
[01/11, 5:27 AM] VS279 SP Kumar, Vs279: Can any one give precise, unambiguous, perfect, free from overarching and defect free definition of
” Hinduism “
can it describe the myriads of religious cults and practices adhered to, by the billions of so-called Hindus. How much of, or how many of these faiths have their roots in Veda? How do you explain the origin and evolution of Atheist Darshanas including Jaina, Bouddha, as Bharatiya darshanas. What about Tantra, Aagama, Nigama Siddhantas advocating diametrically opposite Vaamachara practices.