Scientific Verification Of Vedic Wisdom

Scientific Verification of Vedic Knowledge
by David Osborn

A vast number of statements and materials presented in the ancient Vedic literatures can be shown to agree with modern scientific findings and they also reveal a highly developed scientific content in these literatures. The great cultural wealth of this knowledge is highly relevant in the modern world.

Techniques used to show this agreement include:

• Marine Archaeology of underwater sites (such as Dvaraka)

• Satellite imagery of the Indus-Sarasvata River system,

• Carbon and Thermoluminiscence Dating of archaeological artifacts

• Scientific Verification of Scriptural statements

• Linguistic analysis of scripts found on archaeological artifacts

• A Study of cultural continuity in all these categories.

Early indologists wished to control & convert the followers of Vedic Culture, therefore they widely propagated that the Vedas were simply mythology.

Max Muller, perhaps the most well known early sanskritist and indologist, although later in life he glorified the Vedas, initially wrote that the "Vedas were worse than savage" and "India must be conquered again by education... it's religion is doomed".

Thomas Macaulay, who introduced English education into India wanted to make the residents into a race that was: "Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinion, in morals, and in intellect."

However, the German Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer stated that the Sanskrit understanding of these Indologists was like that of young schoolboys.

These early Indologists:

• Devised the Aryan Invasion theory, denying India's Vedic past

• They taught that the English educational system is superior

• They intentionally misinterpreted sanskrit texts to make the Vedas look primitive.

• And they systematically tried to make Indians ashamed of their own culture

• Thus the actions of these indologists seems to indicate that they were motivated by a racial bias.

Innumerable archaeological findings and their analysis have recently brought the Aryan Invasion Theory into serious question. This theory is still taught as fact in many educational systems despite much contrary evidence.

The Vedic Culture is indigenous to India

It can be scientifically proven that the Vedic Culture is indigenous, through archaeology, the study of cultural continuity, by linguistic analysis, and genetic research.

For example, the language and symbolism found on the Harappan seals are very Vedic. We find the Om symbol, the leaf of the Asvatta or holy banyan tree, as well as the swastika, or sign of auspiciousness, mentioned throughout the Vedas. Om is mentioned in the Mundaka and Katha Upanisads as well as the Bhagavad Gita.

The Holy Asvatta tree is mentioned in the Aitareya and Satapata Brahmanas as well as the Taittiriya Samhita and Katyayana Smrti.

The pictoral script of these Harappan seals has been deciphered as consistently Vedic and termed "Proto-brahmi," as a pre-sanskrit script.

Piece of pottery from the lowest level of Harappan excavations with pre-harappan writing is deciphered as ila vartate vara, referring to the sacred land bounded by the Sarasvati River, described in the Rig Veda.

Additionally, other archaeological finds are culturally consistent, such as the dancing girl, whose bracelets are similar to those worn by women of Northwest India today as well.

The Vedas were maligned by early indologists because of their disagreement with their Eurocentric colonialists world view, a view which produced and depended on the Aryan Invasion Theory. The fact that the Aryan Invasion Theory has been seriously challenged recently by scholars and indologists, adds credence to the Vedas as viable, accurate and indigenous sources of information.

Evidence for the Ancient Port City of Dvaraka

Marine archaeology has also been utilized in India off the coast of the ancient port city of Dvaraka in Gujarat, uncovering further evidence in support of statements in the Vedic scriptures. An entire submerged city at Dvaraka, the ancient port city of Lord Krishna with its massive fort walls, piers, warfs and jetty has been found in the ocean as described in the Mahabharata and other Vedic literatures.

This sanskrit verse from the Mausala Parva of the Mahabharata, describes the disappearance of the city of Dvaraka into the sea.

"After all the people had set out, the ocean flooded Dvaraka, which still teemed with wealth of every kind. Whatever portion of land was passed over, the ocean immediately flooded over with its waters."

Dr. S. R. Rao, formerly of the Archaeological Survey of India, has pioneered marine archaeology in India. Marine archaeological findings seem to corroborate descriptions in the Mahabharata of Dvaraka as a large, well-fortified and prosperous port city, which was built on land reclaimed from the sea, and later taken back by the sea. This lowering and raising of the sea level during these same time periods of the 15^th and 16^th centuries B.C.E. is also documented in historical records of the country of Bahrain.

Amongst the extensive underwater discoveries were the massive Dvaraka city wall, a large door-socket and a bastion from the fort wall.

Two rock-cut slipways of varying width, extending from the beach to the intertidal zone, a natural harbor, as well as a number of olden stone ship anchors were discovered, attesting to Dvaraka being an ancient port city.

The three headed motif on this conch-shell seal , found in the Dvaraka excavations, corroborates the reference in the scripture Harivamsa that every citizen of Dvaraka should carry a mudra or seal of this type.

All these underwater excavations add further credibility to the validity of the historical statements found in the Vedic literatures.

Furthermore, the Matsya and Vayu Puranas describe great flooding which destroyed the capital city of Hastinapur, forcing its inhabitants to relocate in Kausambi. The soil of Hastinapur reveals proof of this flooding. Archaeological evidence of the new capital of Kausambi has recently been found which has been dated to the time period just after this flood.

Similarly, in Kurukshetra, the scene of the great Mahabharata war, Iron arrows and spearheads have been excavated and dated by thermoluminence to 2,800 B.C.E., the approximate date of the war given within the Mahabharata itself.

The Mahabharata also describes three cities given to the Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharata, after their exile:

Paniprastha, Sonaprastha & Indraprastha, which is Delhi's Puranaqila. These sites have been identified and yielded pottery & antiquities, which show a cultural consistency & dating consistent for the Mahabharata period, again verifying statements recorded in the Vedic literatures.

Renowned Thinkers Who Appreciated the Vedic Literatures

Although early indologists, in their missionary zeal, widely vilified the Vedas as primitive mythology, many of the worlds greatest thinkers admired the Vedas as great repositories of advanced knowledge and high thinking.

Arthur Schopenhauer, the famed German philosopher and writer, wrote that: I "...encounter [in the Vedas] deep, original, lofty thoughts... suffused with a high and holy seriousness."

Other famous personalities who spoke of the greatness of the Vedas were: Alfred North Whitehead (British mathematician, logician and philosopher), who stated that: "Vedanta is the most impressive metaphysics the human mind has conceived.

Henry David Thoreau said: "In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita... in comparison with which... our modern world and its literature seems puny and trivial."

So great were Emerson and Thoreau's appreciation of Vedantic literatures that they became known as the American transcendentalists. Their writings contain many thoughts from Vedic Philosophy.Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the principle developer of the atomic bomb, stated that "The Vedas are the greatest privilege of this century." During the explosion of the first atomic bomb, Oppenheimer quoted several Bhagavad-gita verses from the 11th chapter, such as:

Death I am, cause of destruction of the worlds..."

When Oppenheimer was asked if this is the first nuclear explosion, he significantly replied: "Yes, in modern times," implying that ancient nuclear explosions may have previously occurred.

Francois Voltaire stated: "... everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganges."

From these statements we see that many renowned intellectuals believed that the Vedas provided the origin of scientific thought.

The Iron Pillar of Delhi: The Vedic literatures contain descriptions of advanced scientific techniques, sometimes even more sophisticated than those used in our modern technological world.

Modern metallurgists have not been able to produce iron of comparable quality to the 22 foot high Iron Pillar of Delhi, which is the largest hand forged block of iron from antiquity.

This pillar stands at mute testimony to the highly advanced scientific knowledge of metallurgy that was known in ancient India. Cast in approximately the 3rd century B.C., the six and a half ton pillar, over two millennia has resisted all rust and even a direct hit by the artillary of the invading army of Nadir Shah during his sacking of Delhi in 1737.

Vedic Cosmology: Vedic Cosmology is yet another ancient Vedic science which can be confirmed by modern scientific findings and this is acknowledged by well known scientists and authors, such as Carl Sagan and Count Maurice Maeterlinck, who recognized that the cosmology of the Vedas closely parallels modern scientific findings.

Carl Sagan stated, "Vedic Cosmology is the only one in which the time scales correspond to those of modern scientific cosmology."

Nobel laureate Count Maurice Maeterlinck wrote of: "a Cosmogony which no European conception has ever surpassed.

"French astronomer Jean-Claude Bailly corroborated the antiquity and accuracy of the Vedic astronomical measurements as "more ancient than those of the Greeks or Egyptians." And that, "the movements of the stars calculated 4,500 years ago, does not differ by a minute from the tables of today."

Vedic Sound and Mantras: The Vedas however are not as well known for presenting historical and scientific knowledge as they are for expounding subtle sciences, such as the power of mantras. We all recognize the power of sound itself by it's effects, which can be quite dramatic. Perhaps we all have seen a high-pitched frequency shatter an ordinary drinking glass. Such a demonstration shows that Loud Sounds can produce substantial reactions

It is commonly believed that mantras can carry hidden power which can in turn produce certain effects. The ancient Vedic literatures are full of descriptions of weapons being called by mantra. For example, many weapons were invoked by mantra during the epic Kuruksetra War, wherein the Bhagavad-gita itself was spoken.

The ancient deployment of Brahmastra weapons, equivalent to modern day nuclear weapons are described throughout the Vedic literatures. Additionally, mantras carry hidden spiritual power, which can produce significant benefits when chanted properly. Indeed, the Vedas themselves are sound vibrations in literary form and carry a profound message. Spiritual disciplines recommend meditational practices such as silent meditation, silent recitation of mantras and also the verbal repetition of specific mantras out loud.

A Clinical Test of the Benefits of Mantra Chanting was performed on three groups of sixty-two subjects, males and females of average age 25. They chanted the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra twenty-five minutes each day under strict clinical supervision.

Results showed that regular chanting of the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra reduces Stress and depression and helps reduce bad habits & addictions. These results formed a PhD Thesis at Florida State University.

Spiritual practitioners claim many benefits from Mantra Meditation such as increased realization of spiritual wisdom, inner peace and a strong communion with God and the spiritual realm. These effects may be experienced by following the designated spiritual path.

Conclusion

Most of the evidence given in this presentation is for the apara vidya or material knowledge of the Vedic literatures. The Vedas however, are more renowned for their para vidya or spiritual knowledge. And even superior is the realized knowledge of the Vedic rsis or saints — that which is beyond the objective knowledge of modern science — knowledge of the eternal realm of sat, cit ananda, eternality, blissfullness and full knowledge. But that is another presentation.

Compiled from : http://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/scientific-verif-vedas.html

Grace of Gita

Grace Of The Gita

Those Who Shall Study This Sacred Dialogue Of Ours Shall Worship Me With Knowledge-Sacrifice. This Is My Promise. (18.70 )

God And His Words Are One And The Same. The Study Of Gita Is Equivalent To Worship Of God. Life In Modern Society Is All Work And No Spirituality. Swami Harihar Says: "Daily Study Of Only A Few Verses Of The Gita Will Recharge Mental Batteries And Add Meaning To The Dull Routine Life Of Modern Society." For Serious Students, Daily Study Of One Chapter Of The Gita, Or Several Verses From The Forty Selected Verses Given In The End Of This Book Is Highly Recommended.

Whoever Hears This Sacred Dialogue With Faith And Without Cavil Becomes Free From Sin, And Attains Heaven ¾ The Higher Worlds Of Those Whose Actions Are Pure And Virtuous. (18.71 )

A Summary Of The "Glory Of The Gita" As Elaborated In The Scriptures Is Given Below. Reading This Glory Of The Gita Generates Faith And Devotion In The Heart That Is Essential For Reaping The Benefits Of The Study Of The Gita.

The Goal Of Human Birth Is To Master The Mind And Senses And Reach One's Destiny. A Regular Study Of The Gita Is Sure To Help Achieve This Noble Goal. One Who Is Regular In The Study Of The Gita Becomes Happy, Peaceful, Prosperous, And Free From The Bondage Of Karma Though Engaged In The Performance Of Worldly Duties. The One Who Studies Even Few Verses Of The Gita Every Day Is Not Tainted By Sin Just As Water Does Not Stain A Lotus Leaf.

The Gita Is The Best Abode Of Lord Krishna. The Spiritual Potency Of The Lord Abides In Every Verse Of The Gita. The Bhagavad-Gita Is The Storehouse Of Spiritual Knowledge. The Lord Himself Spoke This Supreme Science Of The Absolute Containing The Essence Of All The Scriptures For The Benefit Of Humanity.

All The Upanishads Are The Cows; Arjuna Is The Calf; Krishna Is The Milker; The Nectar Of The Gita Is The Milk; And The Persons Of Purified Intellects Are The Drinkers. One Need Not Study Any Other Scripture If He Or She Seriously Studies The Gita, Contemplates On The Meaning Of The Verses, And Practices Its Teachings In One's Daily Life.

The Affairs Of The World Run By The First Commandment Of The Creator - The Teachings Of Selfless Service - So Beautifully Expounded In The Gita. The Sacred Knowledge Of Doing One's Duty Without Looking For A Reward Is The Original Teaching That Alone Can Lead To Salvation. The Gita Is Like A Ship By Which One Can Easily Cross The Ocean Of Transmigration , And Attain Liberation.

It Is Said That Wherever The Gita Is Chanted Or Read With Love And Devotion, Lord Makes Himself Present There To Listen And Enjoy The Company Of His Devotees. Going To A Place Where Gita Is Regularly Chanted Or Taught Is Like Going To A Holy Place Of Pilgrimage. Lord Himself Comes To Take The Devotee To His Supreme Abode When One Leaves The Physical Body Contemplating On The Knowledge Of The Gita. The One Who Regularly Reads, Recites To Others, Hears And Follows The Sacred Knowledge Contained In The Gita Is Sure To Attain Liberation From The Bondage Of Karma And Attain Nirvana.

Though Engaged In The Performance Of Worldly Duties, One Who Is Regular In The Study Of The Gita Becomes Happy, And Free From Karmic Bondage. Sins Do Not Taint Who Is Regular In The Study Of The Gita. All The Sacred Centers Of Pilgrimage, Gods, Sages, And Great Souls Dwell In The Place Where The Gita Is Kept, And Read.

Help During Troubles Comes Quickly Where Gita Is Recited, And Lord Dwells Where It Is Read, Heard, Taught, And Contemplated Upon. By Repeated Reading Of The Gita, One Attains Bliss And Liberation. The One Who Contemplates On The Teachings Of The Gita At The Time Of Death Becomes Free From Sin And Attains Salvation. Lord Krishna Himself Comes To Take The Person To His Supreme Abode.

Gita Is The Heart, The Soul, The Breath, And The Voice Form Of The Lord. No Austerity, Penance, Sacrifice, Charity, Pilgrimage, Vow, Fasting, And Continence Equals The Study Of Gita.

It Is Difficult For Any Ordinary Person Like Us, Or Even For The Great Sages And Scholars, To Understand The Deep And Secret Meaning Of The Gita. To Understand Gita Completely Is Like A Fish Trying To Fathom The Extent Of The Ocean, Or A Bird Trying To Measure The Sky. Gita Is The Deep Ocean Of The Knowledge Of The Absolute; Only The Lord Has A Complete Understanding Of It. Nobody, Other Than Lord Krishna Should Claim Authority On The Gita.

O Arjuna, Did You Listen To This With Single-Minded Attention? Has Your Delusion Born Of Ignorance Been Completely Destroyed? (18.72 )

Arjuna Said: By Your Grace My Delusion Is Destroyed, I Have Gained Self-Knowledge, My Confusion With Regard To Body And Spirit Is Dispelled And I Shall Obey Your Command. (18.73 )

When One Realizes Him By His Grace, The Knots Of Ignorance Are Loosened, All Doubts And Confusion Are Dispelled, And All Karma Is Exhausted (Muu 2.02.08 ). The True Knowledge Of The Supreme Being Comes Only By His Grace.

Courtesy: http://www.gita-society.com/test/sec2/graceofgita.htm

Glory of Gita

Henry David Thoreau Says:
"In The Morning I Bathe My Intellect In The Stupendous And Cosmogonal Philosophy Of The Bhagvad-Gita, In Comparison With Which Our Modern World And Its Literature Seem Puny And Trivial."
	Ralph Waldo Emerson On The Gita:
"I Owed A Magnificent Day To The Bhagwad-Gita. It Was The First Of Books; It Was As If An Empire Spoke To Us, Nothing Small Or Unworthy, But Large, Serene, Consistent, The Voice Of An Old Intelligence Which In Another Age And Climate Had Pondered And Thus Disposed Of The Same Questions Which Exercise Us."
	Mahatma Gandhi Says:
"When Disappoint Stares Me In The Face And All Alone I See Not One Ray Of Light, I Go Back To The Bhagvad Geeta. I Find A Verse Here And A Verse There, And I Immediately Begin To Smile In The Midst Of Overwhelming Tragedies."
	Dr. Annie Besant On The Gita
"It Is Meant To Lift The Aspirant From The Lower Levels Of Renunciation, Where Objects Are Renounced, To The Loftier Heights Where Desires Are Dead, And Where The Yogi Dwells In Calm And Ceaseless Contemplation While His Body And Mind Are Actively Employed In Discharging The Duties That Fell To His Lot In Life."
	Swami Vivekananda Says:
	"The Gita Is A Bouquet Composed Of The Beautiful Flowers Of Spiritual Truths Collected From The Vedas And The Upanishads."
The Gita Wa s Preached As A Preparatory Lesson For Living Worldly Life With An Eye To Release, Nirvana. My Last Prayer To Everyone, Therefore, Is That One Should Not Fail To Thoroughly Understand This Ancient Science Of Worldly Life As Early As Possible In One's Life.
	--- Lokmanya Tilak
The Gita Is One Of The Clearest And Most Comprehensive Summaries Of The Perennial Philosophy Ever To Have Been Done. Hence Its Enduring Value, Not Only For The Indians, But Also For All Mankind. It Is Perhaps The Most Systematic Spiritual Statement Of The Perennial Philosophy.
	--- Aldous Huxley
I Believe That In All The Living Languages Of The World, There Is No Book So Full Of True Knowledge, And Yet So Handy. It Teaches Self-Control, Austerity, Non-Violence, Compassion, Obedience To The Call Of Duty For The Sake Of Duty, And Putting Up A Fight Against Unrighteousness (Adharma ). To My Knowledge, There Is No Book In The Whole Range Of The World's Literature So High Above As The Bhagavad-Gita, Which Is The Treasure-House Of Dharma Nor Only For The Hindus But Foe All Mankind.
	--- M. M. Malaviya

Interesting cases of Reincarnation

Clinical death is one of the biggest mysteries that modern science still cannot solve

Some people say they remember their previous lives and can describe what they saw and did when they were having other bodies hundreds or thousands of years ago.

Vladimir Zatovka, head of the reanimation department in the Kaliningrad regional hospital revealed many astonishing facts about life and death when journalists interviewed him several years ago. The experienced doctor believes that clinical death is one of the biggest mysteries that modern science still cannot solve. Indeed, patients who revive after clinical death say they get some mysterious information and learn new things. Journalists were slightly shocked to hear the doctor saying the soul actually exists and lives its individual life.

One of the doctor's patients, Irina Lakoba was in coma for about a month after she seriously suffered in a traffic accident. She recovered from coma and turned out to be quite a different person. Before the accident, the woman worked as an engineer at a large fish company for twenty years. But when she regained consciousness after the coma, the woman said she saw herself being a little girl standing on the bank of some south river and even began speaking some strange language. Experts from the philology department of the Kaliningrad University stated that was one of Swahili dialects. Later, the woman began composing verses in this dialect and even translated them into Russian, English and French, the languages that she had never learnt before the accident.

Shortly before Irina recovered from coma, the doctor talked to her husband. They met in a room two floors above the ward where the patient stayed. But when the woman recovered, she told precisely what both men were talking about during that meeting. What is more, she described things which she could not see and hear when she was in coma. She said she had seen and heard everything because she could walk about the hospital. At that, she said she was watching her body staying in bed and was shocked to see it was old and ugly. She said she was a little healthy girl while walking about the hospital.

This is real reincarnation, the doctor says. Followers of esoteric doctrines, Hinduists and Buddhists never hesitate that there is no death at all; they believe the soul reincarnates endlessly. But people brought up according to the Orthodox traditions and scientific atheism can hardly believe it is so. It was a couple of decades ago that reincarnation was considered a myth, but now it is forming a scientific conception that is winning an increasing number of supporters.

It took American reanimatologist Raymond Moody thirty years within which he wrote several books about the after-life phenomenon before he managed to convince majority of his readers that cardiac arrest and cessation of brain activity do not mean the end. Those patients who revived from the dead told the doctor similar stories about the light they saw at the end of a long tunnel, about dead relatives who came to tell about new life coming and about a better world. Moody and his followers collected thousands of evidence of this sort; all stories told by patients coincide in every particular detail, which means these stories cannot be a forgery.

The conclusions made by Moody give people some hope for immortality; but at the same time they have already won lots of opponents. Famous psychiatrist Stanislav Grof is the most competent critic of Moody's conclusions. He conducted experiments with those patients who revived after clinical death. During the experiment, Stanislav Grof arrived at a conclusion that the tunnel many people see during their clinical death is in fact an impression of a baby going through the long and narrow birth canal. Thus, the bright light they see at the end of the tunnel is in fact an obstetrics ward where babies are delivered. As it turned out, even people who never went through clinical death see the same tunnel when put under hypnosis.

Other opponents to Moody, physician Paul Kurtz, physiologist Jack Kowan and neurobiologist Elizabeth Clark state that the vision of a tunnel is produced with those parts of the dying cerebral cortex that controls vision. This happens because of oxygen deficit in dying cells; as a result, stimulation waves form concentric circles. We can see such circles after we dive and stay under water too long or hang with the head down. The dying consciousness sees the circles as forming a tunnel. Materialist researchers are sure that all the rest are fancies and dreams that people have in an unconscious state.

However, even these experts cannot explain why even patients whose brain no longer functions still see the tunnel, the bright light and dead relatives. Russian neurophysiologist Natalya Bekhtereva wrote about the thought and its origin in her works. She said that human brain is the greatest mystery, and it will take incredibly much time before scientists study it.

The lack of oxygen in tissues and organs is not the reason why people experiencing clinical death see their bodies lifeless on an operating table or in a reanimation ward and hear what doctors or other patients say.

Researcher from Holland Van Lommel studied the phenomenon while working with patients and arrived at a conclusion that dying people see visions at the moment when their central nervous system cuts off. This in its turn proves that consciousness is not a brain function. Doctors verified clinical death of one of Lommel's patients. A tube for mechanical ventilation of lungs was inserted into the patient's larynx. For that, the patient's denture was taken out. In an hour and a half, the man's heart started beating; in a week the patient came to his senses and asked to give him his denture. But doctors could not remember where they put the denture. Then, the patient said he saw where doctors had put the denture, as he was soaring above the body when the doctors were saving his life.

French woman Annel Besier living in Moscow says she can recollect her previous lives. She wrote a book about her previous reincarnations. Annel is sure that it is not necessary to die to experience reincarnation. The author does not remember the exact number of her reincarnations. According to the karma doctrine, each of us has had thousands of reincarnations, and our soul does not always reincarnate into the human body, it may also belong to an animal.

There are many people who remember their previous lives. Muscovite Olga Kuleshova, 37, knows perfectly well that before her birth 37 years ago she was a violinist living in England (she has partially retained the skills although she never learnt to play the violin). Before that, she served in the house of a rich magnate in India. Olga says that 200 years ago she was a concubine of a Turkish sultan and also that in Medieval Italy Michelangelo was her tutor in painting. Indeed, Olga can draw resembling the Michelangelo style and speaks the old Italian language (she says she never learnt the language). May this be true? There is no opportunity to verify this.

Academician with the Russian Academy of Sciences Vlail Kaznacheyev says the reincarnation phenomenon is undoubted, as it has been given much confirmation. However, none of the hypotheses currently existing as concerning the issue can actually explain the phenomenon. Unfortunately, there is no scientific theory of reincarnation.

But is not it better to be unaware of what is going to happen after we die? Nothing, immortality or endless reincarnation? Each of us hopes there is no end to life, but we never think that this eternity may be even worse than death. Academician Kaznacheyev is sure that life we are having now and here is the only undoubted wonder.

Natalia Leskova

Courtesy: http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/15151_reincarnation.html

Physical immortality after death

Medical experts state that imperishable remains of senior lama of East Siberian Buddhists, Dasha-Dorjo Itigelov who died in 1927 are similar to tissues of a living man.

Khambo lama Dasha-Dorjo Itigelov (1852-1927) died not far from the Russian city of Ulan-Ude, the place where the well-known Ivolginsk datsan (spiritual center for Russian Buddhists) was built in 1947. When dying, the lama bequeathed that his sarcophagus must be opened some time later to see in what condition the remains would be. The lama died meditating sitting in the lotus pose, the way typical of a yoga leader.

Since that, the lama remains were unearthed three times, in 1955, 1973 and 2002. Monks of the Ivolginsk datsan say that each time the remains proved to be intact; they were not exposed to decay. It even seemed that the man just died.

After the last exhumation, the monks decided not to bury the body and placed it into a special glass pack sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was mounted in a special room; it is taken out of the room for the faithful to see the remains. It is prohibited to take photos or video of the lama dead body. The monks say this contradicts Buddhist traditions. Last time the sarcophagus was opened September 11, 2002 in presence of members of the Russian Buddhist traditional sangha and also medical experts.

Head of the identification department in the Russian Forensic Medical Expertise Institute Doctor of medical sciences Viktor Zvyagin told a Nezavisimy Vzglyad newspaper correspondent that identity of the lama body was confirmed by eyewitnesses who had taken part in the previous exhumation. Researchers were astonished at the phenomenon and asked the monks to let them have some of the lama's hair and nails for an analysis. Viktor Zvyagin says that in many parameters the body of the lama looks like a living man's body. Indeed, the skin is flexible, the joints can be moved and so on. Researchers were incredibly surprised when an infrared analysis of the lama tissue samples revealed them to be absolutely resembling tissues of a living man.

The imperishability phenomenon is now well known. There are several reasons why dead bodies can remain intact within thousands of years. Artificial or natural mummification is one of the reasons. Viktor Zvyagin says that natural mummification can be found not only at South African cemeteries. The researcher said that archeologists discovered up to 200 mummies in good condition during the archeological dig on Moscow's Manezh Square. Am ancient cemetery was located there many years ago.

Besides mummification, dead bodies can remain intact also thanks to peat tanning and adipocere treatment which makes dead bodies some kind of a soap. The dead body of Private Doctor of the Russian tsar family Botkin was found in this very condition. Viktor Zvyagin says that no thorough analysis of the doctor's body was done; experts just conducted a tomography analysis to find bullets in the body.

However, none of the above-mentioned methods was used to make the lama's dead body imperishable. Buddhists say that only the most advanced yoga can fall into some particular condition before death and purify themselves so that his dead body could not decay. They also say that besides Itigelov's body, there are just three intact remains of Buddhist saints who are kept in China, India and Vietnam. A Tibetan monastery where one of the imperishable bodies was kept was destroyed in 1959 and the dead body was gone.

It may happen so that the imperishability phenomenon is not an absolute privilege of religious figures only.

Viktor Zvyagin says that during an archeological dig in Italy 15 years ago a dead body of a simple girl was found in this condition. Unfortunately, the researcher says no thorough analysis of the discovery was done. He also adds that researches of this type are at their earliest stage today.

Courtesy: http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/378/15173_immortality.html

Krsna Consciousness

Narottama däsa Thäkura, is a famous äcärya
[spiritual master], and his compositions are accepted as Vedic truth. In
the song he represents himself as a common man, as one of us. He
laments, appealing to Hari, Lord Krsna, hari hari biphale janama
goìäinu: “My dear Lord, I have uselessly spoiled my life, because I have
not worshiped You.”
People do not know that they are spoiling their life. They are thinking,
“I’ve got a very nice apartment, a very nice car, a very nice wife, a very
nice income, a very nice social position.” All these material attractions
make us forget the purpose of our life—to worship Kåñëa.


Why are such important things—wife, children,
money—illusion? Because although at the present moment you may
think everything is all right—you have a nice arrangement of home life,
apartment, wife, children, society, and position—as soon as your body is
finished everything is finished. You’re forced to leave everything and
move on to your next platform. And you do not know what your next
platform will be. Your next body may be that of a human being or a cat
or a dog or a demigod or anything. You do not know. But whatever it is,
as soon as you leave your present body you will forget everything. There
will be no remembrance of who you were, who your wife was, what your
home was like, how big your bank balance was, and so on. Everything
will be finished.


Everything will be finished in a flash, just like a bubble bursting in the
ocean. The thrashing of the waves in the ocean generates millions and
billions of bubbles, but the next moment they are all finished. Finished.
In this way material life is going on.
Narottama däsa Thäkura, representing us, is lamenting, “My dear
Lord, I have spoiled my life.” Why? Mänuñya-janama päiyä rädhä-kåñëa
nä bhajiyä: “This human form of life is meant for understanding Rädhä-
Kåñëa [the Lord and His energy] and worshiping Rädhä-Kåñëa. But
instead of making contact with Rädhä-Krsna, I am simply spoiling my
life in sense gratification.”
Then his lament goes on. Golokera prema-dhana hari-näma-saìkértana
rati nä janmilo kene täy: “Alas, why have I no attraction for chanting
Hare Krsna?” The chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra is a
transcendental vibration; it is not a material thing. It is imported from
the transcendental abode of Krsna. From there the transcendental
sound of Hare Krsna has come.


Narottama däsa Thäkura laments, hari-näma-saìkértana rati nä janmilo
kene täy: “Alas, why do I have no attachment for the chanting of Hare
Kåñëa?” Why should one be attached to this chanting? That is explained
in the next line. Saàsära-biñänale dibä-niçi hiyä jale juräite: “Chanting
Hare Krsna is the only remedy to relieve the heart from the burning
poison of sense gratification.” Hiyä means “heart.” Our heart is always
burning. Why? Because it is in touch with the sense-gratificatory
process. No sense-gratificatory process can give me satisfaction, even
though I try this way and that way, this way and that way.
all of us should follow in the footsteps of Narottama däsa Öhäkura.
The purificatory process is chanting Hare Kåñëa. And as soon as our
heart is purified, we will become completely convinced that Krsna is the
Supreme Lord and that we are His eternal servants. We have forgotten
this. We are serving, but instead of serving the Lord we are serving oursenses. We have never become the master. We are not the masters of our
senses; we are the servants of our senses. That is our position.
So why not become the servant of the Supreme Lord instead of
remaining the servant of your senses? Actually, you can become the
master of your senses only when you become the servant of Kåñëa.
Otherwise, it is not possible. Either godäsa or gosvämé: that is your
choice. A person who is the servant of his senses is called godäsa, and a
person who is the master of his senses is called gosvämé. He controls his
senses. When his tongue wants to eat something that is not offered to
Kåñëa, he thinks, “O tongue, you cannot taste this thing. It is not kåñëaprasädam
[food offered to Krsna].” In this way one becomes a gosvämé, a
master of his senses.

As soon as we are in Krsna consciousness, we give up our false
designations, and our seeing, touching, smelling, and so on become
nirmala, or purified, by being engaged in the service of Krsna. Then we
can immediately see Krsna everywhere. As long as our eyes are not
purified we cannot see Krsna, but as soon as they are purified by the
process of devotional service, we will see nothing but Krsna.
So, Cupid is one of the agents of the illusory, material energy, but if we
are perfectly in Krsna consciousness, Cupid cannot pierce our heart
with his arrows. It is not possible. A good example is Haridäsa Thäkura.
When Haridäsa Thäkura was a young man, a nicely dressed young
prostitute came to him in the middle of the night and revealed her
desire to unite with him. Haridäsa Öhäkura said, "Yes, please sit down. I
shall fulfill your desire, but just let me finish my chanting of Hare
Krsna." Just see! It's the dead of night, and in front of Haridäsa Öhäkura
is a beautiful young girl proposing to have sex with him. But still he's
steady, chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare
Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare. But he never finished his
chanting, so her plan was unsuccessful.


So, Cupid cannot pierce our heart when we are fully absorbed in Kåñëa
consciousness. There may be thousands of beautiful women before a
devotee, but they cannot disturb him. He sees them as energies of Krsna.
He thinks, "They are Krsna's; they are meant for His enjoyment."
A devotee's duty is to try to engage all beautiful women in the service of
Krsna, not to try to enjoy them. A devotee is not pierced by the arrows
of Cupid, because he sees everything in relationship with Krsna. That is
real renunciation. He does not accept anything for his own sense
gratification but engages everything and everyone in the service of
Krsna. This is the process of Krsna consciousness.

I hope I am totally enchanted by Krsna, I hope you too are caught in the Love of Krsna, I hope we develop taste for chanting....n I most honestly hope- i start to see every relation in true perspective- how Krsna wants me to see it.....
Thank You !

PS: The writings are compiled from various articles in "The Journey Of Self-Discovery" by Sri. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

True Love

Still your mind in me, still yourself in me,And without doubt you shall be united with me,Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart.But if you cannot still your mind in me,Learn to do so through the practice of meditation.If you lack the will for such self-discipline,Engage yourself in selfless service of all around you,For selfless service can lead you at last to me.If you are unable to do even this,Surrender yourself to me in love,Receiving success and failure with equal calmnessAs granted by me.


Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice.Better than knowledge is meditation.But better still is surrender in love,Because there follows immediate peace.


That one I love who is incapable of ill will,And returns love for hatred.Living beyond the reach of I and mineAnd of pleasure and pain, full of mercy,Contented, self-controlled, firm in faith,With all their heart and all their mind given to me –With such people I am in love.


Not agitating the world or by it agitated,They stand above the sway of elation,Competition, and fear, accepting lifeGood and bad as it comes. They are pure,Efficient, detached, ready to meet every demandI make on them as a humble instrument of my work.


They are dear to me who run not after the pleasantOr away from the painful, grieve notOver the past, lust not today,But let things come and go as they happen.


Who serve both friend and foe with equal love,Not buoyed up by praise or cast down by blame,Alike in heat and cold, pleasure and pain,Free from selfish attachments and self-will,Ever full, in harmony everywhere,Firm in faith – such as these are dear to me.


But dearest to me are those who seek meIn faith and love as life's eternal goal.They go beyond death to immortality.


(taken from Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran)

RadhaMadhavam

 

Transcendental Brothers

 

Altar at home

Lord Kåñëa’s Instructions on the Process of Deity Worship
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11.27th chapter Summary
In this chapter the Supreme Personality of Godhead explains the process of kriyä-yoga, or Deity worship.
Worshiping the Deity form of the Supreme Lord automatically brings purity and satisfaction to the mind. Thus it is the source of all desirable gains. If a person has no engagement in Deity service he will simply remain attracted to material sense gratification, and he will have no hope of giving up bad association. The Personality of Godhead has given instruction, among the regulations of the Sätvata scriptures, on the process of worshiping Him as the bona fide Deity. Brahmä, Çiva, Närada, Vyäsa and all other sages have recommended this process described by the Lord as most perfectly beneficial for all the occupational classes and spiritual orders of human society, including even the women and çüdras.
There are three varieties of arcana, Deity worship, based on either the original Vedas, the secondary tantras, or a combination of these. The Deity image, the ground, the fire, the sun, the water and the heart of the worshiper are all true locations of the Deity’s presence. The Deity form to be worshiped may be constructed of any one of eight substances—stone, wood, metal, clay, paint, sand (drawn upon the ground), the mind or jewels. These categories are further subdivided into two: temporary and permanent.
The details of the worshiping process are as follows: The devotee should bathe both physically and by chanting mantras, and then he should perform the utterance of Gäyatré at the prescribed juncture of the day. He should arrange a seat facing either east or north, or else directly facing the Deity, and should bathe and clean the Deity. Then he should present clothing and ornaments, sprinkle water on the vessels and other paraphernalia to be used in the worship, and offer water for bathing the Deity’s feet, arghya, water for washing His mouth, fragrant oils, incense, lamps, flowers and food preparations. After this, one should worship the Lord’s personal servants and bodyguards, His consort energies, and the spiritual masters by chanting their respective müla-mantras. The worshiper should recite prayers from the Puräëas and other sources, offer obeisances flat on the ground, beg for benediction, and place on himself the remnants of the Lord’s garlands.
Included in this method of Deity worship are the proper installation of the transcendental Deity by constructing a fine temple, and also the conducting of processions and other festivals. By worshiping Lord Çré Hari with unconditional devotion in this manner, one gains access to pure loving service to His lotus feet. But if one steals property that has been given as charity to the Deity or the brähmaëas, whether given by himself or by others, he will have to take his next birth as a stool-eating worm.
SB 11.27.1
TRANSLATION Çré Uddhava said: My dear Lord, O master of the devotees, please explain to me the prescribed method of worshiping You in Your Deity form. What are the qualifications of those devotees who worship the Deity, on what basis is such worship established, and what is the specific method of worship?
PURPORT In addition to performing their prescribed duties, devotees of the Lord engage in regulated worship of the Lord in His Deity form in the temple. Such worship acts powerfully to cleanse the heart of both the lust to enjoy one’s material body and the material family attachment that results directly from this lust. To be effective, however, the process of Deity worship must be performed in the authorized way. Therefore Uddhava now inquires from the Lord about this subject.

SB 11.27.2
TRANSLATION All the great sages repeatedly declare that such worship brings the greatest benefit possible in human life. This is the opinion of Närada Muni, the great Vyäsadeva and my own spiritual master, Båhaspati.

SB 11.27.3-4
TRANSLATION O most magnanimous Lord, the instructions on this process of Deity worship first emanated from Your lotus mouth. Then they were spoken by the great Lord Brahmä to his sons, headed by Bhågu, and by Lord Çiva to his wife, Pärvaté. This process is accepted by and appropriate for all the occupational and spiritual orders of society. Therefore I consider worship of You in Your Deity form to be the most beneficial of all spiritual practices, even for women and çüdras.

SB 11.27.5
TRANSLATION O lotus-eyed one, O Supreme Lord of all lords of the universe, please explain to Your devoted servant this means of liberation from the bondage of work.

SB 11.27.6
TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Uddhava, there is no end to the innumerable Vedic prescriptions for executing Deity worship; so I shall explain this topic to you briefly, one step at a time.
PURPORT Here the word karma-käëòa refers to the various Vedic methods of worship, culminating in Deity worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just as the means of sense gratification and material renunciation are innumerable, the transcendental pastimes and qualities the Supreme Personality of Godhead enjoys in His own abode, called Vaikuëöha, are also innumerable. The various concepts of piety and methods of purification in the material world ultimately cannot be reconciled amongst themselves without accepting the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, since without appreciation of Him there is no definitive understanding of what is actually obligatory for a human being. Even though almost all human beings are engaged in various processes of worship, the Lord will now summarize this topic, describing how one should worship Him in His Deity form.

SB 11.27.7
TRANSLATION One should carefully worship Me by selecting one of the three methods by which I receive sacrifice: Vedic, tantric or mixed.
PURPORT Vaidika refers to sacrifice performed with mantras from the four Vedas and auxiliary Vedic literature. Täntrika refers to such literatures as the Païcarätra and the Gautaméya-tantra. And “mixed” indicates utilization of both literatures. It should be remembered that superficial imitation of elaborate Vedic sacrifices will not bring one the actual perfection of life. One must perform sacrifice according to the prescription of the Supreme Lord, who recommends for this age the chanting of His holy names: Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.

SB 11.27.8
TRANSLATION Now please listen faithfully as I explain exactly how a person who has achieved twice-born status through the relevant Vedic prescriptions should worship Me with devotion.
PURPORT The word sva-nigamena refers to the particular Vedic injunctions relevant to one’s social and occupational status. Members of the brähmaëa, kñatriya and vaiçya communities all achieve dvijatvam, twice-born status, by initiation into the Gäyatré mantra. Traditionally, fully qualified brähmaëa boys may be initiated at age eight, kñatriyas at eleven and vaiçyas at twelve, provided the proper conditions are met. Having achieved twice-born status, one should faithfully worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of the Deity, as the Lord Himself will describe.

Hare Krsna !

What are the real first priorities of life…...….... Nectarean Mellows

In Chaitanya Caritamrita, there is very wonderful example of such a personality. I would like to tell you this story. Please understand that this person I am very doubtful if anybody in this assembly tonight can imitate him. But we could learn from his example and follow in his footsteps and strive for his realization. His name was Vasudeva and this Vasudeva, he had contracted leprosy, terrible leprosy, very advanced stages. From the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, his flesh was so contaminated by this disease that it became utterly rotten and there was puss, terrible painful foul smelling puss, pouring from every part of his body and there was contaminated blood oozing. He smelled so terrible that no one would tolerate being anywhere near him and his flesh was so rotten that there were hundreds and thousands of worms in every part of his body eating him away, just eating him and eating his body. And when one of the worms would fall, Vasudeva would very carefully pick it up, and place it back and he would think that God has given me this body and Krishna has also given the worm this body to enjoy. So he is actually enjoying better in this body than me. I am suffering but he is enjoying. So let him enjoy physically, he was in the most desperately hopeless, helpless condition. Utter pain and disfiguration and socially his family rejected him, his friends rejected him. The whole society rejected him. Can you try to identify yourself in that position? It was a suffering situation. But in his mind, he was always grateful to Krishna. He was never the slightest bit disturbed. He was simply thinking, “Krishna is so kind, that He is going through so much trouble just to help me always remember Him and He is so kind and He is going through all this trouble just to make me humble and free from prestige and the desire to enjoy this body now.” What happened is, he found that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had come to a place called Kurma Ksetra and he was living at one Brahman’s house. "Mahaprabhu, God, Krishna!!! See He has come, I must go. I must have His darsana. I must serve His lotus feet. I must surrender my head at His feet". So as difficult as it was he walked a long distance and when he arrived he found that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had already left. He was already some distance away. He missed the opportunity of his life. And Vasudeva, he never felt distressed by the worms eating his body or all the puss and all the blood and everybody rejecting him. But when he learnt that he missed the opportunity to serve the Lord, he became so completely disturbed in his mind that he fell down unconscious. What is our position? How much are we so anxious for devotional service? And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the parama atma in everyone’s heart understood that this devotee despite the most terrible condition is grateful and never disturbed. But he is terribly disturbed from the point of the verge of death because I am not there to give him my mercy.

So Mahaprabhu returned and when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu returned with great love for his devotee, He lifted him up and embraced him. Who would want to embrace a person like this? But the supreme Personality of Godhead, He felt great ecstasy in embracing this man because the Lord does not see our physical, material qualifications or disqualification’s. He takes pleasure only in the condition of our heart. And when He embraced Vasudeva, a great miracle took place, this rotten decayed body became effulgent like Gold. All the disease all the leprosy vanished. And his body was youthful full of health full of strength full of energy and it was beautiful like a demigod. Now let me ask you if you had just been given a miracle like that would you be happy? Raise your hand if you would be happy. Be honest, you are suffering from leprosy, dying dejected by everyone. And the Lord embraced you and made you beautiful and young, handsome and healthy. Would you be happy about that? Vasudeva was completely miserable. He was never miserable before, he was never disturbed before. But after he was healed, he became completely disturbed in his mind. Why? Because he was thinking, he said to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He said, "My dear Lord when I was a useless leper rejected by everyone I had nothing to be proud of so it was very natural for me to just very humbly and helplessly always be remembering You but I know your nature is as soon as pride enters into the heart of Your devotee whatever service he offers gives You no satisfaction it is only the humility in which it is offered that gives You pleasure and now I am going to be famous everywhere because You have performed a miracle just for me. People are going to think Oh you are a very advanced devotee. The Lord has performed such a miracle to you, such great soul and you are handsome and young and beautiful. Naturally I have something too proud of spiritually because You have performed this miracle. I have something to be so proud of and if I become proud even one tinge nothing I do will satisfy You and therefore I am terribly disturbed and miserable when I was a leper, I was very peaceful. Please my Lord, instruct me how I can serve you in this position and never fall victim to false pride and he asked this question yearning and longing for the answer. This is very important. In the Bhagavad Gita as long as Arjuna thought I know something and was presenting his ideas, Krishna did not say a word to him because He knew if I speak now Arjuna will not understand. Krishna just remained silent sometime until Arjuna became completely frustrated ----Karpanya doso pahat svabhava……….Krishna I am completely confused about my duty. I do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done I do not know what is truth what is false. I don’t know anything Krishna. I am desperate, I am begging You please instruct me. I surrender to Your feet. Then Krishna knew because Arjuna was inquiring in the spirit, whatever he said would go right to his heart and would be understood. Most people when they are in a completely calamitous situation they become very helpless and hopeless. And then they turn to God and say, ‘please save me!’ or they come to the sadhus and say, ‘please give me relief.’ When Vasudev was in the most opulent condition of life he became like this. Queen Kunti was also like this. Let the troubles happen Krishna then I will always remember you. But now such comforts, complacency, pride and you disappear. So Vasudev begged Mahaprabhu, please tell me how I can always remain your humble servant under all conditions. And Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu replied: yare dekathari kaha….Krishna upadesh....."Always chant the holy names, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Always seek shelter of the association of the devotees, and whomever you meet, enlighten them with the words of Krishna. In this way you will never fall victim to maya". And Vasudeva took these words as his life and soul. And then all of his anxiety, all of his frustration, all of his disturbance was removed simply by hearing these words of the Lord with a submissive and humble heart.

So a devotee as we are explaining does not take very seriously the conditions of this material world. He only takes one thing seriously, the connection of my Krishna. How am I chanting His names? How am I associating with His devotees? How am I pleasing Gurudeva? These are the real first priorities of life. Everything else we do, the needful and we do it well, perform our duty, we take care of our occupation, but we are doing it for Krishna, we are not attached to the fruits. We are attached to Krishna, we are attached to the service. We are not attached to the result and whatever predicament we are put in this world, its value is only as much as it helps us to remember Krishna and fall at His lotus feet. In any situation that is preventing us from doing that, that situation, is terrible. So as Vaisnavas we should not get so caught up in everything in this world.

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj