Hindu Calendar: May 26th 2010, Narasimha Jayanthi – The Legend and What to Do on the Day?

Namaste, Hari Om,

Great article from Hindu-blog.com on Narasimha Jayanthi!
Source click here: 

From Hindu-Blog.com:
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Narasimha Jayanti celebrates the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the form of Narasimha (half man – half lion) to save Prahlad from demon Hiranyakasipu. Narasimha is the fourth of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu. In 2010, the date of Narasimha Jayanthi is May 26.

According to Puranas, Lord Vishnu appeared as Narasimha on the Chaturdashi day in the month of Vaishakh.

Demon Hiranyakasipu had obtained a boon from Brahma that he could not be killed by man or beast, by day or by night and from inside or outside. And also he could not be killed by any weapon.

After receiving such a powerful boon, Hiranyakasipu conquered heaven and earth and declared himself as God and asked people to worship him and not Vishnu.

But Hiranyakasipu’s son, Prahlāda, was a staunch Vishnu devotee and disobeyed his father. The whole kingdom worshipped Hiranyakasipu; but in his own house his son worshipped Vishnu. Father tried all means to change his son, but he failed miserably. He then tried to kill but each time the young boy escaped from the clutches of death with the blessings of Vishnu.

Fed up with his son, one day Hiranyakasipu challenged Prahlada and, looking to a stone pillar, asked, ‘If your god is omnipresent, is he in this pillar also?’ Prahlad answered, ‘HE is present in the pillar and even in the rust.’ Hearing this Hiranyakasipu slashed hard on the pillar with a sword.

Suddenly, Lord Vishnu emerged from the pillar in the form of a Narasimha and slew the demon at dusk. Narasimha killed the demon by keeping him in his lap and tearing his heart with bare hands thus overcoming all the boons the demon had attained from Brahma.


Devotees fast on Narasimha Jayanthi day and visit Lord Vishnu temples. People also give alms on the day and perform Annadhanam (donate food to poor). It is believed that those people who observe Narasimha Jayanti vratam will reach the ‘Vaikunta’ – abode of Vishnu.

Also: Videos of Narasimha http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/05/videos-of-narasimha-avatar-of-lord.html

"Leave the results in God's Hands"...

Namaste, Hari Om,

What does that mean? In Hindi there is a famous saying, सब कुछ प्रभु के हाथो में हैं. Everything is in God's Hands - Which relates to the above title which comes from a beautiful quote;

"As human beings, our job is to do the best and leave the results in God's hands. When we leave the results in God's hands, then nothing of this world bothers us anymore. It is only then that we start to live according to the principle of "sweet is Thy will" - Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj

Looking at the words, there is no doubt this quote (or similar to it) can be found in every religion. I have seen it in many religions touching on the subject of troubles, faith and worries.

We are all brought here on this earth for a reason, sometimes we do not know what that reason is until we come across something that gets our full attention and we develop a drive to do it. This could be a calling such as a teacher, doctor or just volunteering for others. Whatever it is, we should do our best in what we do - leave the results in God's hands. When we truly let go of the outcome and have full faith we are truly alive. Understand that there is always someone watching over you at all times, even when you are in the darkest moment or in a faraway place with no one - there is always someone watching over you with their sweet grace.

Sweet is Thy will - we must have faith in knowing that everything that happens in life happens for a reason, do not worry about the negative aspects as this will only slow us down. We can not change the past, do your best now and leave the results in God's hands. We are all not perfect, all we can do is try in this world. Once we accept and understand that we are not perfect, we can start to work on the path of becoming perfect, humbleness and understanding goes a long way in this path.

Hari Om, Namaste,

- SimpleHinduBhai

Hindu Press International: "Yogi Astounds Indian Scientists" (70 Years without Water/Food)

Namaste, Hari Om,

No food or water for 70 years? Hard to believe?
This blessed soul was under the watch of many doctors and it was proved to be correct!  Its a great lesson for those who fast across all the religions, because we are all one, and we have levels of fasting etc..

I have heard many cases of someone going without food for a long time, but water is just amazing! When we perform fast we go into another mode of thinking, another mode of acting - Our bodies become receptors for great vibrations. These vibrations bring energy, therefore when we meditate we let go of the worldly things and look within and absorb the energy around us.

Doing these things are not impossible, examples from the below article remind us of this. The belief that its real is the first step, and the sincere request to the world and God for energy during fasting is all thats needed. Energy is all around us, and it even greets us in the morning with a warm ray of sunshine - We just have to be aware of the world and realize that everything gives off energy and all we have to do is ask humbly for it... From touching a plant, tree or just opening your palms to the sun, humbly asking with sincereity goes a long way. Please enjoy the article;

Try it, next time you are hungry, tired or thirsty, talk to nature.. Talk to The Powers the be :)

Hari Om, Namaste,
- SimpleHinduBhai

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/xpress/hindu-press-international/2010/05/17/yogi-astounds-indian-scientists/

Yogi Astounds Indian Scientists


May 17th, 2010

Source: www.breitbart.com

AHMEDABAD, INDIA, May 10, 2010: An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period. Prahlad Jani spent a fortnight in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed circuit television. During the period, he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet.

The long-haired and bearded yogi was sealed in a hospital in the city of Ahmedabad in a study initiated by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the state defense and military research institute. The DRDO hopes that the findings, set to be released in greater detail in several months, could help soldiers survive without food and drink, assist astronauts or even save the lives of people trapped in natural disasters.

“We still do not know how he survives,” neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters after the end of the experiment. “It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is.” “If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one,” said Shah. “As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories.”

Jani has since returned to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat where he will resume his routine of yoga and meditation. He says that he was blessed by a goddess at a young age, which gave him special powers.

Hindu Calendar - Parshuram Jayanti May 15, 2010

Namaste, Hari Om,

This is a very important day in the Hindu Calendar, piece of history that is hardly spoken about these days. Many of you know Parshuram from the great Ramayana, but his story is one that is extremely deep! As you all might know, he is the sixth aavatar of Lord Vishnu (click here to read about the aavatars of Lord Vishnu). Parshuram is mentioned in many scriptures, but his story is one that is very interesting. I encourage all of those to look at the video on youtube or continue diving deeper into Parshuram's history - it will build a stronger understanding of the connection between everything that takes place in the Ramayana and Shiv Puran. Example, when Shri Rama Ji broke the Shiva Bow, many people thought Parshuram was crazy or mad for treating Lord Rama in that way, but the significance and history of Lord Shiva and Parshuram's bhakti is very deep! Again, all is one, the relationship of Parshuram depicts the great devotion of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, thus its shown again when Shri Rama ji offers devotion (as Lord Vishnu) back to Lord Shiva. The universal love is all over, its painted with words, pictures and all the senses! Jai Jai Shri SitaRam! Continue reading at the below links, great information...

Jai Shri SitaRam
- SimpleHinduBhai



Video in English about Parshuram: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLv93fO0aKY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUMz2sK4zA4 <- From the Ramayana

Source for the below: http://www.hindujagruti.org/articles/18.html

अग्रत: चतुरो वेदा: पृष्‍ठत: सशरं धनु: ।


इदं ब्राह्मं इदं क्षात्रं शापादपि शरादपि ।।

Meaning: Parshuram who is well-versed with the four Vedas and sports the bow and arrow upon His back (that is the one who has the radiance of both the Brahman and the Kshatriya) will destroy evildoers either with a curse or with an arrow.

When fighting, mere use of weapons is insufficient for a seeker. He should have the potential to curse in conjunction with the former. Shri Parshuram single-handedly eliminated the warriors from the earth, circumambulating it twenty-one times. What exactly does this mean? He destroyed the evil Kshatriyas. If He were to destroy all the Kshatriyas on the earth thoroughly even once then not a single Kshatriya would have survived for the second round! However He slew only the evil Kshatriyas. Let us all attempt to destroy the evildoers atleast once.

Bhagwan Parshuram, the sixth Incarnation of Vishnu, belongs to the Tretayug, and is the son of Jamadagni and Renuka. Parshu means axe, hence His name literally means Ram-with-the-axe. He received an axe after undertaking a terrible penance to please Lord Shiva, from whom He learned the methods of warfare and other skills. Even though He was born as a Brahmin, He had Kshatriya (warrior) traits in terms of aggression, warfare and valour. Hence He is said to be a 'Brahma-Kshatriya' and one who possesses Brahmatej and Kshatratej.


He killed the entire army and King Kartavirya Sahasrarjuna, who took away the magical cow (Kamadhenu) forcibly, that belonged to His father Jamadagni. In revenge the King's sons killed Jamadagni in Parshuram's absence. Furious at their unrighteous act, He killed all sons of the King and also went on killing all corrupt Haihaya Kings and warriors on the earth 21 times.

He then conducted the Ashvamedha sacrifice, done only by sovereign Kings and gave the entire land He owned to priests who performed the sacrifice (Yadnya).

He is a Chiranjeevi (Immortal) who fought the advancing ocean back, thus saving the lands of Konkan and Malabar (Maharashtra - Karnataka - Kerala coastline). The coastal area of Kerala state along with the Konkan region, i.e., coastal Maharashtra and Karnataka, is known as ParshuramKshetra (area).

He has been a Guru to Bhishma, Dronacharya and later also to Karna. He taught Karna the extremely powerful Brahmastra (a celestial weapon). But He also cursed that the knowledge would be useless to Karna, predicting much in advance that Karna will join the unrighteous Duryodhana in the Kurukshetra war. Such was His love for Righteousness.

Also, the Sudarshan chakra (or Sudarshan Vidya) is said to be given by Parshuram to Lord Krushna. The purpose of the sixth Incarnation of Vishnu is considered by religious scholars to be to relieve the earth's burden by exterminating the sinful, destructive and irreligious kings that pillaged its resources, and neglected their duties.

Parshuram is a martial Shraman ascetic. However, unlike all other Incarnations, Parshuram lives on earth even today. The Kalki Purana states Parshuram will be the martial guru of Sri Kalki, the 10th and final Incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is He who instructs Kalki to perform a long penance unto Shiva to receive celestial weaponry.

He created a temple of worship right after He resurfaced Kerala from the sea. He placed statues of various Deities in 108 different places and introduced martial arts to protect the temple from the evil.


Wikipedia has some great info on Parshuram as well, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parashurama#Shiva.27s_Bow
 
Hari Om,
Namaste,