Download Ayyappa Songs For Free - Harivarasanam

Download Ayyappa Songs For Free - Harivarasanam

 

The popular and famous song Harivarasanam is recited prior to closing the Sabarimala Temple at night. This song is sung by K J Yesudas.

You can download via RapidShare from this link - Harivarasanam download. - This is the exact original version with all lyrics of Harivarasanam sung by K J Yesudas. It is nearly 7 minutes and 12 seconds long. In the end there is an added second track - a small mantra - and it is not part of Harivarasanam.)

Related

Swami Saranam Ayyappa Tamil Song Download MP3 For Free

Animation Films Based on Hindu Mythology

Whether it is 2D animation or 3D animation or a combination of both, there is never a dearth of themes in Hindu Mythology. But sadly none of the entertainment houses were interested in exploring this untapped arena, until the huge success of Hanuman. The success of Hanuman has prompted several production houses in India to turn to animation of Hindu Mythologies… or as most adult Indians call it – cartoon for children with Hindu mythology themes. Perhaps animation never made it big in India because of this attitude of the adults.

Here is a list of the animation films based on Hindu Mythology. Most of them never had a major theatrical release.

The Prince of Light: The Legend of Ramayana directed by Yogo Sako and released in 1992 this was a Japanese production.

Pandavas - The Five Warriors was released in 2000 by Pentamedia Graphics Ltd and was the first 3D animated full length feature from India.

Hanuman released in 2005 was the first indigenous animation success story. This was a major theatrical success.

Ganesha released in 2005 in Hindi was directed by Santosh Kharade. Nothing is much heard about this animated Ganesha. In 2006, a second part was released.

Krishna – The Birth in Hindi was released in 2006. This also was a success.

Krishna – The The Makhan Chor in Hindi was released in 2007.

Apart from this in the last couple of years there have been several DVD releases of animated short films based on Hindu Mythology.

No comments on the quality and content because with limited budget we cannot expect these Indian animated versions to compete with Hollywood animation. Personally, I never enjoyed any of them except for the music of Hanuman.

Several animation films based on Hindu mythology are expected to release in 2007 and 2008 including Hanuman 2, Ghatothkacha, Luv Kush and My Friend Ganesha.
For the latest on Hindu mythology animation click on ‘animation’ link below.

Why is Hindu God Shiva Worshipped in the Form of Linga or Lingam?

Why is Hindu God Shiva Worshipped in the Form of Linga or Lingam? 
The most popular form of worshipping Lord Shiva in Hinduism is in the Linga form. It is known as Shivling or Shivalinga. The Linga symbol is an attempt to give form to the formless, referred as Supreme Being or Brahman in Hindu religion. When a Linga is installed on a Yoni, it represents the union of Shiva and Shakti – the beginning of creation.

Linga in Sanskrit means symbol or sign. One of the first uses of the term ‘linga’ in association with Shiva is found in the Shvetasvatara Upanishad – it says that Lord Shiva, the Supreme Being, has no linga (sign or symbol). In simple terms, it is impossible to define Brahman or that is alinga.

Now it is not possible for a common man to pray to Brahman which is beyond any characteristic. Human beings need a form to worship. In Sanatana Dharma, each individual has the freedom to define the Supreme Being or Brahman in the most convenient way he/ she is comfortable.

When our ancestors stood in crude nature, what bewildered him most would have been the regenerative method – his own and those of animals around him. This must also have been the time when he was looking to give an expression to the Supreme Power. It is only natural that the male reproductive organ appeared to him as the ideal symbol as it represented strength and regenerative power.

The worship of Linga is not exclusive to Hinduism. Menhirs and Phallus have been worshipped by many ancient societies.

The Mahabharata says ‘Know everything, which is male, to be Ishana, and all that is female to be Uma; for this whole world, animate and inanimate, is pervaded by these two bodies. Shiva’s divine Linga is worshipped by the Gods, seers, Gandharvas and Apsaras.’ (Chapter 7, section 20, verses 22)

The greatness of this form of Shiva is based on the fact that the children bear neither the lotus symbol of Brahma nor of Vishnu’s discuss…but one marked with the male and female organs, the linga and yoni, originated from Mahadeva and Devi (Chapter 13, section 19, verses 78)

Puranas and Epics in Hinduism narrate in detail why Shiva is worshipped in the form of linga. It is said that the Supreme Being appeared before Lord Brahma and Vishnu in the form of a ‘pillar of fire’, which had no end and beginning. It is one among the many symbols of Brahman. There are numerous other incidents in the Puranas including the famous Deodar forest incident in which the wives of saints are attracted to Shiva and he castrates himself and leaves the Linga on earth as his symbol.

Many of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu is known to have worshipped the Shivlinga including Lord Ram, Parashuram and Krishna. When the mind is clear and is without prejudices, we will realize that the Linga form of Shiva is the most innocent form of Brahman that our ancestors had realized. It is pure and they got it from pure nature. Many of the forms that we worship today are the reflections of our mind, which is corrupted by ego, society and education. It is not pure.

That is why many people mention that Linga worship is a crude method and they are ashamed of it. Many are comfortable with the beautiful form of Brahman – that includes the handsome human form of Shiva, Vishnu and other gods. There is nothing wrong in worshipping Shiva and Vishnu in the handsome form because Brahman can be worshipped in any form.

An ancient Greek philosopher had said that if horses were to worship a god it would have the shape of a horse. All attempt whether it is Linga, human form or animal form is an attempt to give form to the indefinable Brahman.

We then strongly defend that my form is the true form and the other form is wrong without realizing that everything is Brahman.

Book on when was Lord Ram Born?

Lord Ram was born on the noon of January10 in the year 5114 BC. In Hindu calendar, it was the ninth day of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month. Stunned! Well, this exact date of the birthday of Lord Rama is found in the book ‘Dating the Era of Lord Ram’ by Shri Pushkar Bhatnagar. The exact date was obtained by entering the planetary configuration at the time of the birth of Lord Ram as mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana in Planetarium Software. Interestingly, for thousands of years Hindus have been celebrating Ram Navmi, the birthday of Lord Ram, exactly on the same time and date.

In the original Sanskrit Ramayana written by Sage Valmiki, while mentioning about the birth of Lord Ram, Valmiki had mentioned the astronomical details of the precise moment. Valmiki himself was present in the palace of Dasaratha and he mentions it thus in Bala Kanda of Ramayana.

On completion of the ritual six seasons have passed by and then in the twelfth month, on the ninth day of chaitra month when the presiding deity of ruling star of the day is Aditi, where the ruling star of day is punarvasu, the asterism is in the ascendant, and when five of the nine planets viz., Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus are at their highest position, when Jupiter with Moon is ascendant in Cancer, and when day is advancing, then Queen Kausalya gave birth to a son with all the divine attributes like lotus-red eyes, lengthy arms, roseate lips, voice like drumbeat, and who took birth to delight the Ikshwaku dynasty, who is adored by all the worlds, and who is the greatly blessed epitome of Vishnu, namely Rama. [1-18-8, 9, 10, 11]

When this data was entered in the Planetarium software, the day was January 10, 5114 BC. But how could Chaitra Shukla Navami occur in January? We celebrate Ram Navami in March or April. The answer to this was found in an article in Organizer.

There is an astronomical phenomenon called ‘precision’ of the sun as also of the equinoxes. According to the latter, the star which is now taken to be the Pole Star (Dhruv Tara), would yield the place to the Star Abhijit (Vega, alpha Lyrae), 14,000 years from now. So when the lunar month of Chaitra occurred seven thousand years ago in the month of January, 7000 years later, it occurs in the month of (generally) April.

Further, Valmiki had mentioned about other planetary configuration. One such was the planetary configuration when King Dashratha decided to make Lord Ram the king of Ayodhya. According to the book, such a planetary configuration was prevailing on January 5, 5089 BC. Lord Ram was then 25 years old and there are indications in the Ramayana that Lord Ram left Ayodhya when he was 25.

The solar eclipse mentioned in the Ramayana work out precisely to the Ramayana period. From an article written in 2003 in the Tribune by Saroj Bala on the book ‘Dating the Era of Lord Ram’

Valmiki Ramayana refers to the solar eclipse at the time of war with Khardushan in latter half of 13th year of Shri Ram’s living in forests. Valmiki has also mentioned that it was Amavasya that day and planet Mars was in the middle. When this data was entered, the computer software indicated that there was a solar eclipse on October 7, 5077 BC (Amavasya day) which could be seen from Panchvati. On that date, the planetary configuration was the same as has been described by Valmiki i.e. Mars was in the middle, on one side were Venus and Mercury and on the other side were Sun and Saturn. On the basis of planetary configurations described in various other chapters, the date on which Ravana was killed works out to December 4, 5076 BC. Shri Ram completed 14 years of exile on January 2, 5075 BC. That day was also Navami of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month. Thus, Shri Ram had come back to Ayodhya when he was 39 years old (5114-5075).

To understand the book ‘Dating the Era of Lord Ram’ one needs to have some elementary knowledge of astronomy.

When we try to prove the birth of Hindu icons, it must be understood that these Hindu icons rarely bothered about birth and death. Through Sanatana Dharma they teach us to rise above birth and death. It believes that life is a continuity. And therefore it scoffs at the debates like ‘No Ram’ and ‘Yes Ram lived.’

Bhagavad Gita and Wealth Creation

Bhagavad Gita and money and Hindu spirituality and wealth creation are still perceived as odd combinations and it often raises several eyebrows. If a Hindu wants to take the spiritual path, the first advice is 'give away all your money and wealth and head towards the Himalayas.' Who needs money in a Himalayan Cave? But to be spiritually oriented and to live in a society we need money and we need to generate wealth. Generating wealth through hard work is not a sin. But money is like water. Water is essential for survival but it can also drown the life it sustains.

Bhagavad Gita helps us in striking a balance – it shows us how to create wealth, enjoy it and not to drown in it.

To create wealth the brain has to be challenged continuously and we have to put to use it in family, society, market and in business deals. Family, community and business are all realities and when faced with these realities many begin to tremble. Qualifications and abilities melt and many resign to a quiet life in the corner of a large government building or in a private sector company. Some at this juncture take to spirituality – for them everything is Maya – leave children and wife and head towards the Himalayas to seek God. In Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna when faced with the realities of life wanted to take refuge in meditation and spirituality. Krishna scoffed at that Arjuna who could not face reality.

Real spirituality is the one which is practiced in society and not in caves. Look at the profile of the successful entrepreneurs in independent India, majority of them faced the reality and addressed the challenges boldly. They did not take refuge in caves or in fate.

Spirituality today is spending time in satsangs, visiting temples, donating money in the hope that the Lord will automatically make one a multibillionaire. This spirituality has no meaning at all and it is the product of ignorance. Did Krishna fight for Arjuna? No, but by sitting in the chariot, God or Brahman or Spirit was stating that it lives in the heart of every single individual. But we have to bring it out when we interact with the society, and realize the potentiality hidden in us. In Sanatana Dharma, God does not sit in the heaven instead Brahman exist in each one of us. There is no point in meditating and chanting mantras, if we cannot realize our potentiality and bring it into action. Arjuna was finally ready for action when he realized the Krishna in him.

When you are ready for action by realizing the Krishna or Brahman in you, wealth and success automatically follows. When the spiritual strength hidden inside is realized, one automatically overcomes the physical and intellectual strength that may be lacking. It is this spiritual strength that helped Gandhiji to overpower the British Empire.

Most of us does not like to work. Many are forced to work and do it halfheartedly. Learn to enjoy what you are doing, whether it is cleaning the table or writing a program or playing. When you enjoy doing something, you will automatically excel in it. Quite often instead of enjoying the work, we worry more about what we will get from it. Instead of concentrating on the cleaning of the table, the waiter is more bothered about the tip the guest will offer, the programmer is thinking about increment and player is thinking about endorsement. Net result is that we do the job badly, we don’t enjoy the work or the moment and ultimately all the monetary dreams are shattered.

The Bhagavad Gita says

Work done with selfish motives is inferior by far to the selfless service or Karma-yoga. Therefore be a Karma-yogi, O Arjuna. Those who seek (to enjoy) the fruits of their work are verily unhappy (because one has no control over the results). (2.49)

Our selfishness is always thinking about the end product and to create wealth without hard work. Put heart and soul in whatever you do because it is more worthwhile than chanting mantras. When you work wholeheartedly, you are indulging in creation and it touches the spirit in you and you experience spirituality. Wealth, success and fame will automatically follow.

But what if I fail? This is lack of self confidence. This comes out of unnecessarily thinking about the fruits of your work. Rarely does one achieve success in first attempt. Each failure teaches us several lessons. Each failure takes us close to success. Every work creates a result, so work without getting attached to results.

Bhagavad Gita says

A Karma-yogi gets freedom from both vice and virtue in this life itself. Therefore, strive for Karma-yoga. Working to the best of one's abilities without getting attached to the fruits of work is called (Nishkaama) Karma-yoga. (2.50)

When we succeed we are happy, when we fail we are unhappy. But what was our state of mind when we were working. Gita is more interested in the state of mind when you were working. Krishna asks Arjuna to enjoy the moment and do the work efficiently. Arjuna should think about the first arrow that he will aim at Bhishma not about the last arrow striking Bhishma. Each arrow send by Arjuna will find an answer from Bhishma, Arjuna has to answer all these arrows before reaching the final arrow. Similarly, each moment you have to stand up to challenges, take risks and by enjoying each moment, you slowly move towards the victory podium. Finally, when you reach the victory podium you will only have a smile left because you already tasted bliss.

While doing a work be rooted in yourself. Bhagavad Gita calls such a person ‘Sthiraprajna’ – a person of steady wisdom and self knowledge and who cannot be shaken. To create wealth and to enjoy it, you need to be a ‘Shiraprajna’ and then you will realize that your very nature is happiness.

These are just my thoughts and experiences. Pick up the Bhagavad Gita and read it and it will answer your problems and create wonderful ideas and thoughts in you.

Popular Hindu Tattoos – Gods and Symbols in Hinduism

 Popular Hindu Tattoos – Gods and Symbols in Hinduism

I still vividly remember a small tattoo of Lord Krishna on my grand father’s hand. It was very small, had no designs and was green in color and in local language such tattoo is known as ‘Pacha kuttuka.’ But today body Tattoos of Hindu gods and symbols associated with Hinduism are very popular in the world and are no longer simple figures but are of elaborate designs and many times awe-inspiring.

Lord Ganesha continues to be the most popular Hindu God when it comes to body tattoos. ‘Om’ or Aum’ is the most favorite symbol.

Other popular Hindu gods employed in tattoos include Shiva, Goddess Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Hanuman, Vishnu, Krishna, Durga, Kali and very rarely Lord Vishnu in Anantha Shayanam form (Lying on five-headed snake Anantha in the Ocean).

Among symbols after the ‘OM’ symbol, it is the trident of Shiva and Sanskrit verses or Sanskrit letters. There are also people who opt for the Swastika symbol and rarely the Poorna Kumbha symbol.

India has a strong tradition of tattoo drawing especially in the rural regions. But the tradition was limited mostly to simple drawings, writing names of one’s favorite god or lover in local languages.

The modern tattoo culture around the world has redefined the way in which Hindu gods are depicted in tattoos. The images of Hindu gods have been adopted into the mainstream tattoo drawing by using various techniques developed in the West.

Interestingly, it is not Hindus who are interested in the Hindu tattoos. This is understandable as many Hindus would not prefer tattoos of Hindu Gods on their body. And some Hindus might find it an insult of their culture.

It is mainly westerners and people who are foreign to Hindu culture that finds the tattoos of Hindu gods interesting. What kindles their interest is the elaborate and mind-boggling Hindu religious iconography.

Image courtesy found on Flickr

Ramayan Quiz – A Quiz on Hindu God Ram

This is a simple quiz based on Ramayan. Most of the quiz questions are on the life of Lord Ram.

You can take the quiz -

HB Quiz on Rama » create assessment

Please note that the quiz is an embedded file and is hosted on another website.

If there are any corrections please post it on the comment section or send it on our email address.