Previous articles:-
Part -1 On the loss of Samadhi of Adi Shankara
Part -2 Energy network of Kedarnath temple
The pralaya at Kedarnath raises the following questions:-
(1) Should a Deity (Dhari Devi) get angry and show that anger on innocent devotees? If a deity behaves retributively, what then is so great about the deity? Should we have such deities? Would it not shake the faith of the people in the deities of Hindu religion?
(2) Why should so many faithfuls suffer in this pralaya?
(3) Why is a big hue and cry being raised on the so-called wrath of the Devi or Shiva that it would affect the country if correctives are not done? That means majoritarian religion defines the health of the country. Should majoritarianism decide what is good or what is bad for the country? I read this point projected as politics of religion which says that political narrative is determined by majoritarian religion. Should minority religions in India be sidelined in this scenario? This is going to be the likely line of thought of secular politicians and mleccha religionists who are out to convert as many Hindus as possible into their folds.
Taking up these questions one by one, let me first concentrate on the 'wrath' of Dhari Devi.
Why should Dhari Devi get angry and kill so many people? Does it sound logical in the era of modern science?
Seeking answer to this, let me point out that all the Devis of the type of manifestation of Dahri Devi, whom you may call as Kali or Amman or Durga etc are known to have exhibited 'anger' whenever something had gone amiss. The result is the Devi is said to have claimed lives! In other words she had claimed 'sacrifice' of life. The very story of Dahri Devi is that she had devoured the demon called Raktabija who took various bodies. The meaning is obviously pointing out to the death of different life forms. Should a Devi, a deity of Hindu Pantheon that preaches ahimsa as the foremost Dharma seek sacrifices of life forms?
But the hard reality is that it has been the way of worship in many temples of Kali and Amman. Why should a female deity, who is supposed to be compassionate like a mother, seek such offerings?
There is a rationale or explanation for this, which is known from an inscription called "Purva Pattayam" (ancient document) of Cholas and a Chera king found in Coimbatore region of Tamilnadu. The text of an inscription in Tamil pertaining to a Grama Devata (female deity or Amman of the village) of a place called 'Annur' has been reproduced in the book titled "Coimabatore maavattath tholloiyal kaiyEdu" (கோயம்பத்தூர் மாவட்ட்த் தொல்லியல் கையேடு, 2010) published by the Tamilnadu State Department of Archaeology. Similar documents have been found for the female deities of other villages of this region. These deities are regarded as guardian deities of the villages. Most villages in Tamilnadu have such a guardian deity who is known as an Amman of some name. The same must have been prevalent throughout India though many of them have been destroyed in the last 1000 years. But certain clues from this inscription would help us to identify the background and practices of these village or guardian deities of India.
The basic idea behind the existence of these female deities that guard a village or habitation is that they are found in places which were once forest regions and not inhabited by people.
The forest is a place where one must not enter even during the day time, so says the Ayurvedic book, Ashtanga Sangraha. It is because murders take place in a forest even during the day time. The murders are nothing but a way of life for the animals that live in the forest and predate on each other. Every animal has a Jiva or soul. The Jiva of the animal is the same as the one that is found in a plant or a man. The same Jiva due to its Prarabhdha karma is born as an animal or a plant or a man or even a Deva. The Supreme Jiva is Paramathman who is not bound by Karma. All the other Jivas are born in these 4 forms (Sthavara, jangama, manushya or Deva) in accordance with the karma that has come to cling to it. Therefore when an animal is killed in a forest by another animal as a way of nature, it anyway amounts to killing and the Jiva that had left the body undergoes the shock and is left with a 'preta shareera' – to use the lexicon in the case of unnatural and sudden death of human beings.
The Jiva that had left the body in a sudden and unprepared condition takes a long time to regain the state which the departed Jivas attain in normal deaths. Though the physical body is cremated soon after death, the aural and energy particles attached to the physical body takes time to disintegrate. That state of energy particles constitutes the Preta shareera. In death due to natural causes and old age, the energy level of Preta shareera will be feeble and would merge with Nature sooner. But when a healthy being dies suddenly by unnatural ways, the energy that is left without a body takes a long time to merge with Nature. In a forest too many animals are killed day after day. This gives rise to a situation of too many preta shareeras roaming in the forest. People who happened to cross the forest (in olden days) therefore stood the chance of being disturbed by these preta shareeras.
In the 2nd century AD Tamil text of Silappadhikaram, there comes a description of the problem that one would face while entering or crossing a forest. Kovalan, the hero of this text (the story of Kovalan and Kannagi is true) was advised by a Brahmin traveller from Maangadu of Chera lands, to be wary of "vana chaariNi" while crossing the forest. He advised him to keep chanting the 5 lettered mantra (Shiv mantra) and the 8 lettered mantra (Narayana mantra) to protect himself from the Vana ChaariNi. (This shows that as early as 2000 year ago, these two mantras of Shiva and Narayana were very much in place in the society.) But on entering the forest, Kovalan understood what kind of mantra would help him and therefore started chanting the mantra of the female deity who rides on the swift deer! This refers to Durga Devi (Silappadhikaaram – Chapter 23 - lines 193 to 198). He chanted Durga or Kali mantra to keep off the Vana chaariNi which is nothing but the Preta shareera of the animal or human being killed by other animals in the forest.
This is the basic idea found in the inscriptions. Invocation of Kali keeps away the wandering souls – or Preta shareera or the energy pockets in the forest. How does this happen? The reply for this is seen – of all the practices of Hinduism – in the 12th day death ceremony called Sapindeekarana. (Readers may be a little impatient why I am not yet reproducing the text of the inscription, but the explanations that I am giving here would give them a better understanding of the text of the inscriptions)
There are 12 days of post death ceremony done in the Vedic system. The first 10 days as a group culminate on the 10th day. The next 2 days end up on the 12th day when the departed soul sheds the Preta shareera and merges with his / her ancestors. The rationale of this 12 day ceremony fits with the 2 + 10 month journey of the Jiva before it is born as a baby.
The Jiva that is to be born goes through "Panchaagni Vidya" (Read here for details) and remains in the body of the father for 2 months and then enters the womb of the mother where it grows for 10 months. While exiting the body upon death, the reverse route is taken. The 10 months in pinda shariram in mother's womb is taken as 10 days after death at the end of which the 10th day ceremony, the Jiva loses the Pinda shareera, but still continues with Preta shareera. Preta shareera is equal to the state of subtle body that it was in the father's body (inside the sperm). The two month stay in the father's body is equal to 2 days after the 10th day ceremony at the end of which the Jiva loses the Preta shareeram. How this happens on the 12th day solves the mystery of the energy of some of the geometric shapes.
On the 12th day ceremony, the departed soul with the Preta shareera is invited into a triangle form. Through mantras, the departed soul is made to move from the triangle to a circle which houses the departed souls of the three previous generations of the departed one. The Preta shareera of the departed person is left with the triangle. The triangle no longer appears any time thereafter in the Pitru ceremonies. Now once inside the circle, only three generations of ancestors are held within that. Therefore the 3rd generation of ancestor to the departed person leaves the circle to accommodate the departed person who has just left his Preta shareera. From the circle, all the three generations of ancestors (departed one, his father and grand father in the case of male. In the case of female, the departed one, her mother and her grand mother) merge with a square which basically enshrines Vishvedevas but ultimately is the seat of Vishnu.
The following is the way the shapes are drawn in water while inviting the departed person (on the 12th day ceremony after his death), his previous three generations and Vishvedevas.
The entities are invited and made to stay in these shapes as follows.
We must note that the geometric shape where the Preta sharira of the Jiva is attracted to is a triangle – the triangle that signifies KALI!
Now through mantras the departed person is made to leave the triangle and enter the circle. By this he sheds his Preta shareera. For our understanding of how the process takes place, the shift is shown as follows. The departed person is now free of preta shareera or to say in common parlance the ghost body.
In the figure of circle with triangle inscribed inside, are now housed the departed jiva and his previous 2 generations of ancestors. His 3rd generation ancestor leaves giving room for the departed one to reside here.
This is finally merged with the square which is Vishvedevas, the deity that supervises the process. And then the entire set up comes to reside in the Square which is identified as Vishnu – the Omni Present. The purport is that from where we came, there we merge. This can be shown as follows.
This complete merger happens in the first year pitru ceremony. Until then only circle and square are drawn to fixate the ancestors and Vishvedevas. The triangle is used on the 12th day only, to attract the departed soul sheathed with Preta shareera. This is a peculiar characteristic of the triangle.
This is the age old concept whose meaning, process of execution and continuing practice still exists only in Sanatana Dharma. But the geometric shape without the idea of its relevance can be found in the Egyptian Papyrus of Anana written in 1320 BC. (check it here)
This was reproduced by James Churchward in his Lost continent of Mu
This idea was further vaguely copied into the Christian Trinity
(The eighth chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans, which contains many complex formulations of the relationship between God, Christ, and Spirit, including "the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead,"[Rom 8:11] "all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God,"[8:14–17] and "the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."[8:26–27] )
The Christian idea of Trinity as Father generating the son and the Holy Spirit preceding it are all just 'words' written without meanings. It is obviously a half baked understanding and copying of the Sanatanic version of departed soul merging with his fathers and Vishvedevas and Vishnu leading them all. The process of this is being done on the physical world by the son. None from Christianity or Egyptian works can give a logical and concerted version of how this is taking place in Nature – something the Vedic tradition is doing even now.
We can also see this principle with the 3 geometric shapes forming the basis of the Egyptian Pyramid.
Check this website for the explanation.
By all this I am coming to say that the triangle is the form that traps preta shareera of the departed soul. The Egyptian Pyramids do just that, but the further shapes within which the pyramid is inscribed make the departed person attain merger with Vishwam. Without knowing that they had made the pyramids within the merger- shapes.
Now coming to our discourse, it is interesting to note that the shape of Kedarnath Shiv linga is pyramidal!
I don't know how the surroundings look like. I have not yet gone there. But the surroundings make me think that it has the final shape of three-in-one – the pyramidal linga within a circle and embedded in a square. This makes the Murthy the perfect figure for Mukthi for the seekers!
In contrast to the triangle of perfect merger as seen in Pitru ceremonies, the yantra of Kali has inverted triangle! The following is the shape of Kali yantra!
The shape of triangle used in 12th day pitru ceremony is as follows:
This shape traps the departed person along with his Preta shareera but helps him shed the Preta shareera.
This is also the shape of Shiva yantra!
Kali attracts the Preta shareera but Shiva liberates the person from Preta shareera!
The two together (as Shiva- Shakthi) complete the process of liberating one from perennial afflictions of birth and death. The resultant is the basic shape used in many yantras. It is as follows:
The entire cosmos of living and non living is enshrined within this shape which is better understood in the form of Nataraja.
The same idea is depicted in Chakrathazhwar – Yoga Narasimha form as follows: