Yaksha Prashnam Questions 106 - 110

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/03/yaksha-prashnam-questions-103-105.html

What is the important characteristic to be possessed by a good woman?

Shyness.

Which is the best music?

Words uttered by a child learning to talk.

Which is always permanent in this world? Fame is always permanent in this world. We still continue to talk about famous personalities like Yudhishtirar even though they are not present amongst us.

What is best education?

That education which gives us confidence is the best education. Goddess Parvati wanted to find out who was more well versed whether Bhavabudhi or Mahakavi Kalidas. Lord Shiva agreed to help her by testing them. Both Bhavabudhi & Kalidas were employed in the King’s court. There was an old well on the way to the court. Lord Shiva pretended to be an old man who had fallen into a well. Bhavabudhi was the first person to pass the well. Goddess Parvati in the guise of a young woman stopped him and requested him to help her husband who had fallen into the well. She said that all he had to do was to answer her husband’s question. If he gave the correct answer, the husband would be able to rise out of the well.

Bhavabudhi agreed to this. The old man then said, ‘once, there was a struggle between words and life on who should go out first. When did this struggle take place?’ The old man asked the riddle in the form of a poem with 16 characters. Bhavabudhi completed the poem with 16 characters and answered that if a wealthy person lost his/her wealth overnight and is forced to borrow money to buy some food, the person will try to utter the words asking for some money while the person will also wish that he/she had been dead. Thus the person’s words as well as life fight with each other on who should leave the body first.

Lord Shiva in the guise of the old man asked Bhavabudhi if this was indeed the correct answer. Bhavabudhi replied that this was all he could think off and cannot be sure if this was the correct answer.

After Bhavabudhi left Kalidas passed the well. He was asked to help the old man by Parvati and the old man asked Kalidas the same question he had asked Bhavabudhi. Kalidas gave the exact same answer given by Bhavabudhi but when asked by the old man if this was the correct answer, Kalidas answered that he was 100% confident that his answer was correct.

After Kalidas left lord Shiva told Goddess Parvati that Kalidas was better educated as he was more confident.

Which is the lowest life on earth?

A person who exploits other people by constantly borrowing money/favours is the lowest person on Earth. For example while travelling with a friend this person will make the friend to buy tickets as he/she has only a $100 bill and doesn’t want to use it as it is difficult to get change. The person will use the same excuse everywhere they go. The friend will pay for all the expenses for which he/she will never be reimbursed.

After the above question we return to the Sanskrit Yaksha Prashnam from my next post.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/04/yaksha-prashnam-questions-111-112.html

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Based on, Yaksha Prashnam - A discourse in Tamil by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the following series are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. ) 

Copies of the CDs can be obtained from Sri Karunakaran Swami’s website http://www.nadadoor.org/ . This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil very well must definitely obtain a copy of Swami’s Upanyasam. You can do so by contacting Nadadoor.org. Swami also renders discourses in English but I am not sure if Yaksha Prashnam discourse is available in English.  The experience of listening to Swami’s upanyasams could never be obtained by reading the following series. I have done my best to take notes with due diligence. I apologize for any errors that I have made while writing this series.

Yaksha Prashnam Questions 103 - 105

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/03/yaksha-prashnam-questions-101-102.html

Which is the fragrant flower in a garland?

Jathi, star jasmine is the best flower to be used in a garland as Lord Vishnu is fond of this variety of jasmine.

Which is the best penance (tapas)?

The best tapas is to learn Vedas and Upanishad and then ponder over their meaning. For example the Udagashanti Manthram has the word “Evishta” in it. Evishta in Sanskrit means the youngest person. Who is referred by the word “Evishta”? The word refers to “Lord Vishnu” and in particular to Lord Oppiliappan of Thiruvinnagara Divya Desam. This is because the Lord’s father in law Markandeya Maharishi is always present alongside the Lord thus making Lord Oppiliappan the youngest person in comparison. Peyazhwar also refers to Lord Oppiliappan as “illankumaran Vinnagar”. Therefore, upon hearing the word “Evishta” a person with good tapas will meditate upon the form of Lord Oppiliappan.

Name one more best tapas.

Following the rules and regulations prescribed by shastras for ones clan is best tapas.

Who is the deity worshipped by Munikulam? By “munikulam” the Yakshan is referring to people with satvik tendencies. People with satvik tendencies worship the deity with satvik qualities.

Once, a congregation of rishis gathered on the banks of river Saraswati. They were planning to perform a yagnam. They had some disagreement about to whom they should make the offerings. Brigu Maharishi suggested that they must offer to the most satvik Devathai. He left on a quest to find out the most satvik Devathai. He first went to Lord Brahma’s Sathya Lokam. Brigu Maharishi was the mind born son of Lord Brahma but he was very disappointed when Lord Brahma did not even notice his arrival. From there Brighu Maharishi left for Kailasham where he was told that Lord Shiva is with Parvati Devi and hence he cannot obtain darshan. Brighu Maharishi rushed past Lord Shiva’s guards but upon entering their private chambers Lord Shiva started to chase him with his trident as the rishi had disobeyed the rules and regulations of Kailasham. From there the rishi went to Paarkadal. He recognized Sesha Sayee Bagawan as the Supreme Being. He wanted to show everyone the satvik nature of Bagawan. As a test, the rishi kicked Perumaal’s chest with his left feet. Perumaal’s chest is the abode of goddess Mahalakshmi. In spite of the rishi’s behaviour, both Perumal and Thayar received the rishi with due honours. Perumal massaged the rishi’s feet afraid that the rishi’s foot might have been injured when he kicked Perumal.

The rishi returned to the bank of Saraswati River and proved to his colleagues that Lord Vishnu is the most satvik as well as the Supreme Being.

Lord Vishnu is also known as Mukunthan. The syllable “Mu” shows that he can grant us Moksham and the syllable “ku” shows that He can also bless us to lead a very comfortable life on this world itself.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/03/yaksha-prashnam-questions-106-110.html

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Based on, Yaksha Prashnam - A discourse in Tamil by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the following series are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. ) 

Copies of the CDs can be obtained from Sri Karunakaran Swami’s website http://www.nadadoor.org/ . This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil very well must definitely obtain a copy of Swami’s Upanyasam. You can do so by contacting Nadadoor.org. Swami also renders discourses in English but I am not sure if Yaksha Prashnam discourse is available in English.  The experience of listening to Swami’s upanyasams could never be obtained by reading the following series. I have done my best to take notes with due diligence. I apologize for any errors that I have made while writing this series.

Yaksha Prashnam Questions 101 - 102

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/03/yaksha-prashnam-questions-97-100.html

The following questions are from Tamil Mahabharatam.

The Yakshan asked, ‘which is the greatest book?’

Yudhishtirar answered that the Vedas are the greatest among all books. The Vedas were not created by any human being. They were discovered by Sages like Vishwamithra just like the way in which America was discovered by Columbus. America existed prior to Columbus’s discovery similarly the Vedas also existed prior to their discovery by the sages.

The Vedas cannot be read. They are learned by listening as the “swaram”, the musical scale/pitch is very important. For example the word “ajanam” is Sanskrit for goats and refers to more than 2 goats. The word “janathi” means “he knows”. In order for a person to say that “I came to know” in Sanskrit, the word used is “ajanam”. Therefore when a person mentions just “ajanam”, is that person referring to more than two goats or is the person saying, ‘I came to know’? The context in which the words are used cannot be determined easily either in the Sanskrit Vedas. Therefore, pitch plays an important role; the words said in high pitch refer to noun and in low pitch to verbs. By listening to the scale/pitch in which the words are uttered a person can determine if the word is used as verb or as a noun.

Prathamam in Sanskrit means the first time; dwithiyam means the second time and by extension then thrithiyam should mean the third time but this word also means 1/3^rd. Once again to identify if the word is used to refer to the third time or to quantity as 1/3^rd, pitch/scale is used.

It can be seen that the Vedas could not have been created by any human being. The scale/pitch classification also varies from one Veda to the other. This classification based on the Veda is known as “Pada Patham”.

Isavasopanishad is part of Shukla Yajur Veda and starts with “Isavasyam mitham sarvam”. The Shaivites started to interpret “Isavasyam” as “Isa + Avasyam” and misunderstood the meaning as “lord Siva is present in everything and therefore he is the Supreme Being”. Shrutaprakasikachar used the commentary of Sri Adi Sankaracharyar to prove that the word “Isavasyam” should only be split as “Isha + Vasyam” because the word is found in Krishna Yajur Veda. According to the Pada Patham of Krishna Yajur Veda, the word could only be split as “isha + vasyam”. The word “Isha” refers to our inner controller known as “Iit” in Sanskrit. Therefore the statement refers only to our inner controller Lord Narayana as Iit and not to lord Shiva popularly known as Isan.

The Vedas are too perfect to be manmade. Thus they are the best knowledge or the best book.

What is required by a householder?

A householder requires the company of a mature and intelligent wife. The wife should have mental maturity to be satisfied with what is available for her and her family. She should not be jealous of other women and feel that they have a better life than her. She should know that every family faces their own problems. Both the husband as well as the wife should not keep secrets from each other.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/03/yaksha-prashnam-questions-103-105.html

*****************************************************************************************

Based on, Yaksha Prashnam - A discourse in Tamil by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the following series are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. ) 

Copies of the CDs can be obtained from Sri Karunakaran Swami’s website http://www.nadadoor.org/ . This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil very well must definitely obtain a copy of Swami’s Upanyasam. You can do so by contacting Nadadoor.org. Swami also renders discourses in English but I am not sure if Yaksha Prashnam discourse is available in English.  The experience of listening to Swami’s upanyasams could never be obtained by reading the following series. I have done my best to take notes with due diligence. I apologize for any errors that I have made while writing this series.

Yaksha Prashnam Questions 97 - 100

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/03/yaksha-prashnam-questions-93-96.html

Who is truly happy? What is most wonderful? What is the path? And what is news?

Who is truly happy?

Yudhishtirar answered that a person who lived a simple life will always be happy. A person who is satisfied with whatever he/she has and doesn’t seek material things will be very happy. Any person who owns a home even if it is a small hut and uses the vegetables growing in the vegetable patch will be happy. The person does not have to worry about making rent payments nor about purchasing food. A person should be happy with whatever is available in the vegetable patch. If only spinach is available, such a person will cook the leaves as a vegetable side and use the spinach stem in soup. The person will also take food only after praying to God and have only one meal during the 5^th or 6^th period of the day. A day commences at around 4:30 am. 90 min make one period. By this calculation, 5^th or 6^th period is from noon to 1:30 PM. Such a person leading a simple life has no necessity to borrow money. A person who hasn’t taken any loans will be happy as he/she doesn’t have to worry about repaying the loan. A person who lives in his native land is also very happy as he/she does not have to adjust to the rules of a foreign country.

What is most wonderful?

Yudhishtirar answered that the most amazing thing is the behaviour of people. Even when people know that death cannot be avoided and watch their family and friends make their way to the netherworlds, they think that they themselves will continue to live forever.

What is the path?

To answer to the Yakshan’s question on which is the way, Yudhishtirar used Purusha Suktam. Purusha Suktam is present in all the four Vedas. The word “panthaha” is repeated twice in the Purusha Suktam. Panthaha in Sanskrit means the way which leads away from samsaram and takes a person to Moksham. Yudhishtirar understood the Yakshan’s question as, which is the right way to reach Moksham.

Yudhishtirar answered that realizing the concept (tatvam) of dharmam is the right way. Dharmam refers to that activity which leads to good destination.  Our Lord is called Sanatana Dharmam because He is eternal and He is also Dharmam. The Vedas tell us that the good deeds performed to obtain good fruit are called as dharmam. The best fruit is obtaining the divine feet of Lord Narayana. The means to attain this fruit is through bakthi yoga and saranagathi. According to the laws of Saranagathi He is the means as well as the end. Even if we surrender to Him, He has to accept our surrender making Him the means as well as the end. Hence He is Sanatana Dharmam. A person who realizes that our Lord is the means as well as the end and performs Prapatti at His divive feet will experience moksham in this world itself. The divine feet of Perumal could only be attained by bringing our mind as well as senses under control. The person should follow the rules prescribed by the shastras in order to develop a healthy body so as to be able to perform Bakthi Yoga. Yudhishtirar answered that the way used by “mahajanangal” is the correct way. Mahajanagal are our Sages, Azhwars and Acharyans. The way followed by these people is Saranagathi. In our Sampradayam, Swami Nammazhwar is called as Mahajanam. Nammazhwar is fondly called as “Periyan” i.e. “greatest”. Swami Nammazhwar told Perumal that he is greater than Perumal Himself; while Perumal contains the entire Universe in Him, Swami Nammazhwar is greater because he bears the Lord in his heart.

The great Swami Nammazhwar is the only one who told us about the way to reach Sri Vaikuntham. Therefore the proper way is to follow the way indicated by Swami Nammazhwar by performing Prapatti at the divine feet of Lord Narayana.

What is news?

Yudhishtirar answered that the world we live in, is a huge pan. The sky acts as the lid and the Sun is the fire. Day and night are the fire wood used as fuel. Time in the form of seasonal changes acts as the ladle used to stir food. We are the food being cooked. This is the best news.

The shradha manthram chanted during the pinda prathanam also states that the earth is a vessel on which the offerings are placed and that the vessel is covered by the sky itself. It is said that Shantanu came in person to accept the offerings made in the Shradham by Bhishmacharya. He asked Bhishmacharyar to place the offerings on his hand but Bhishmacharyar refused stating that for pitris (departed ancestors) only the earth should be used as a vessel. He further added that he need not obey Shantanu as Shantanu’s request is against the shastras.

We are under the control of this World and time. Time slowly cooks us. Time changes our perspective and attitude. A person who is very angry calms down after a period of time. Similarly our hurts are healed by time. Anything can happen to anyone at any time since we are all under the control of time. If we know this piece of news we will never be disappointed.

Ithihasas like Mahabharata are news. By listening to news we learn to avoid the mistakes made by other people. Mahabharata is not a book of war as believed by many since it teaches us to avoid vendetta and that vengeance only leads to ruin.

Yudhishtirar’s answer starts with the phrase “Earth is a vessel”. This is similar to the

Poigai Azhwar pasuram shown below which also starts with the phrase “Vaiyam Thagaliya” i.e. the earth is a vessel.

"Vaiyam Thagaliya, Var kadale Neiyaga,
Vaiyakkathiron Vilakagachheya,
Sudaraazhiyaan Adikke soodinen sonn malai,
Edarazhi Neengugave endru!!"

We will introduce additional questions found only in the Tamil Mahabharatam written by Villiputhur Azhwar in my next post.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/03/yaksha-prashnam-questions-101-102.html

*****************************************************************************************

Based on, Yaksha Prashnam - A discourse in Tamil by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the following series are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. ) 

Copies of the CDs can be obtained from Sri Karunakaran Swami’s website http://www.nadadoor.org/ . This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil very well must definitely obtain a copy of Swami’s Upanyasam. You can do so by contacting Nadadoor.org. Swami also renders discourses in English but I am not sure if Yaksha Prashnam discourse is available in English.  The experience of listening to Swami’s upanyasams could never be obtained by reading the following series. I have done my best to take notes with due diligence. I apologize for any errors that I have made while writing this series.