Rainfall check -5 (For August 2016)

Update added at the end of the article on 30th August 2016

Previous articles:-

Rainfall check - part 1  (Pre-Monsoon showers)

Rainfall check - part 2  (Cyclone Roanu in Bay of Bengal)

Rainfall check - part 3  (Late arrival of SW Monsoon)

Rainfall check - part 4  (For July 2016)

The month of August 2016 comes with some important planetary events that cause widespread and plentiful rainfall. The dates of those important events are listed below.

July 31 – August 1= Venus enters the next sign Leo to join Mercury, Rahu and Jupiter. There will be a spurt in rainfall or a meteorological event on these days that triggers rainfall.

Places benefited by rainfall = Leo is the sign where this conjunction happens and where Venus enters. Leo signifies eastern direction. Countries in the eastern part of India including the places in the east coast of Peninsular India.

Venus enters Magha star which indicates South Eastern sections of India. According to Brihad samhita, this includes the countries of Kosala, Kalinga, Vanga, Upavanga, Jatharanga, SUlika, Vidabhas, Vatsa, Andra, Chedi, Urdhvakantha, the islands of Vrisha, of Nalikera and if Carma, the countries of Vidarbharaga and other countries in the Vindhya mountains, of Tripuri, Shmasrudharas, Hemakudya, Vyalagriva, Mahagriva, Kishkindha, Kantakasthala, Nishada, Purika, Dasharna, Nagna, Parna and Shabara.

In a nutshell these regions are in and around the Vindhya mountain ranges. The eastern coast of India upto Andhra also is included in the list. Middle parts of Peninsular India also is included.

I have tried to locate some of the regions that can be identified from this list in the following map of India

These regions will experience a spurt in rainfall.

  

August 9 = Mercury crosses Rahu. Whenever Mercury and Venus cross Rahu or Ketu there is a spurt in rainfall or a meteorological event. Thereafter, Mercury is close behind Jupiter with no planet in between. This is a fine ativrishti yoga that causes heavy rainfall.

Mercury crosses Rahu in Purva Phalguni (Pooram). This covers the same places that were benefited by plentiful rainfall in July when Jupiter was crossing Purva phalguni. This includes the places benefited by transit of Venus to Leo on August 1.

Places benefited by rainfall = (Same as above in the map) Kosala, Kalinga (Oddisha), Vanga, Upavanga, Jatharanga, Vidharba, Vatsa, Andhra, Chedi, countries in and around the Vindhya mountains, Kishkindha, Nishada, Sabara etc will receive good rains.

August 16 = 3 important meteorologically important planetary events happen on this date. (1) Sun enters Leo to join Venus, Mercury, Rahu and Jupiter. (2) On this date, Venus crosses Rahu (3) Jupiter enters Virgo.

Sun followed by all planets cause flood like situation.

Venus crossing Rahu causes a spurt / trigger to rainfall by means of a meteorological event. Both these events are associated with heavy rains and floods. Quoting from my article on the 5th day of Solar Garbottam that was posted on 4^th January 2016, there is likely to be a repeat of 2011 floods after 16^th August.

From the same article, another observation on conjunction of Mercury / Venus with Rahu / Ketu is reproduced below.

The line-up of all planets behind the Sun from 16^th August and conjunction of Venus and Rahu happening on the same date are indicative of spurt in rainfall and floods in the following regions indicate by Magha, Purva phalguni and sign Leo.

The places are the same as written above – both north and south of Vindhyas (Madhyapradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh ),  central Peninsular India, south east coast of Peninsular India that include Oddhisha, Andhra, Bengal, countries of Kosala, Tripura, Vidhabha, Hemakuta, Kishkindha, Mahanadhi etc. These regions are vulnerable for floods. The rivers in this region (shown in the map above) are likely to overflow. The elongated circle shows the regions vulnerable for heavy flooding. As Vindhya region gets repeated in all these planetary combinations, Narmada river can be expected to be in spate.

August 20 = Mercury enters Virgo to be with Jupiter. Mercury – Jupiter closeness with no planet in between is a good ativrishti yoga.

Places benefited by rainfall = Virgo stands for South. Uttra Phalguni in which Mercury – Jupiter closeness happens indicates south India as a whole including Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu. In the terms of Brihad samhita, regions of Kaveri river, Vena river (Pennai) Ruhyamukha parvada, Malya parvada, Mahendra parvada, Konkan, Nasik, Chitrakuta, Avanti are indicated by Uttar Phalguni.

 August 25 = Venus enters Virgo. This triggers a meteorological event. The places as mentioned above in the South are benefited by plenty of rainfall.

Rainfall scenario for Chennai.

The solar Garbottam observed on 2^nd and 3^rd January 2016 is indicative of rainfall in the first fortnight and the 2^nd fortnight of August respectively. Those 2 days (4th day Garbottam and 5th day Garbottam) showed less or nil features of positive Garbottam for Chennai though the planetary combinations are good for rainfall from SW Monsoon.

However the day-to-day observation of Garbottam in January- February  showed hope for rainfall in the second half of August for Chennai. The chart showing the August prospects is produced below.

Inference:-

·   

    August begins with mild rainfall or cloudiness.

·       From the middle of August wet days begin.

·       22^nd August is the day of AavaNi Muzhakkam (6^th day of Aavani). Thunderbolts must be heard on that day if the remaining season is to experience plentiful rainfall.  The Garbottam chart shows dry weather on that day.

·       Yet another school of Thought says that AavaNi muzhakkam must be observed on 8^th day of Aavani. This is 24^th August. On that day there must be heavy thunderbolts if the ensuing rainfall season (NEM) has to be bountiful. Garbottam chart shows that there will be rains on that day thereby enhancing the chances of presence of cloud formation / thunderbolts on that day.

·       Keeping up with tradition, there will be rains on the night of Gokulashtami this year. Gokulashtami is on 24^th August. Vaikanasa Sri Jayanthi is on 25th and Pancharatra Sri Jayanthi is on 26^th August. On these days there is likely to be rains at night as per Garbottam chart.

Particularly the day that corresponds to 25^th August showed good cloud formation hiding the sun. Writing on that I produced some photos of clouds as on 15^th February 2016 which is related to rainfall prospects on 25^th August.

Sun at Noon on 15^th February 2016.

 This was seen at noon time of 15-02-2016.  Surging layers of dark clouds were coming from the southern sky.

If this materialises into rainfall on 25^th August, there must be rainfall at midnight of 25^th and the rainfall must come from northern direction.  Let me wait and watch.

A word of caution after observing July rainfall based on related Garbottam.

Rains had materialised if the Garbottam day had good winds, dark clouds hiding the sun and drizzles for at least half an hour. When only the first 2 were noticed for 10 to 15 minutes (less than half an hour), the realisation day experienced cloudy weather but rains eluded. Overall, it was observed that Garbottam had kept its date by showing atleast cloudy weather and mild drizzles on the rain- realisation dates of July. One can check it with July Rainfall check blog.  

UPDATE on 13th August 2016.

On August 9th Mercury crossed Rahu. As earlier said in the article, Venus, Mercury or Jupiter crossing Rahu or Ketu cause a spurt in the rains or trigger to the rains or trigger a meteorological event. The following was reported in www. chennairains.com on 10th August 2016.

Season's first monsoon Depression was triggered on 9th August and was located in the regions signified by Purva Phalguni in which Mercury crossed Rahu on 9th August. The regions as written above in the article are 

// Kosala, Kalinga (Oddisha), Vanga, Upavanga, Jatharanga, Vidharba, Vatsa, Andhra, Chedi, countries in and around the Vindhya mountains, Kishkindha, Nishada, Sabara etc will receive good rains.//

The eye of the depression is in Kalinga (Oddisha), vanga(Bengal) etc which can be made out from the map.

The next meteorological event is expected to be triggered on 16th August which can bring devastating floods as per the line-up of all the planets happening behind the Sun with Sun entering Leo on 16th August. 

The notification released by the IMD at 10 PM today says that a low pressure area is likely to develop in North West Bay around 16th August. 

UPDATE on 15th August 2016. 

The rainfall triggered by August 9th planetary combination had gone well with the places related to it, namely Madhya Pradesh (Vindhya regions) and Vanga (Bengal / Kolkatta)

The report on rainfall scenario in Madhya Pradesh posted today (15th August) can be read here. The salient feature of that report is reproduced below.

The Kolkatta scenario can be read in this link posted by Skymet today (15th August).

The bottom line of these scenario is that SWM had benefited the places which are not usually benefited. In the first article in this series written on December 25, 2015, I had written that the upcoming year (2016) of Durmukhi varusham will see mixed trend of rains owing to Neela Megha and thunder storm related rains owing to Mars becoming the Meghadhipathi and also the ruling planet of Arudra Pravesha. The trend so far is on these lines only. Reproduced below is that part of the article posted on 25th December 2015. (Next year mentioned there refers to 2016 Monsoon season)

  

The insights gained until now on Garbottam - realization theories:

So far it has been observed that planetary combinations play a greater role in influencing rainfall. I am waiting for tomorrow (16th August) for the kind of meteorological developments related to the ones I have written in the above article. I consider it as the ultimate check point which must be followed by me in writing down the rainfall situation for the rest of the months, particularly NE Monsoon. It is because planetary combinations are conducive  for about a month between October and November for very good rainfall from NE Monsoon, but local garbottam observation for Chennai is bleak and shows sparing rainfall for Chennai in particular. It may not be so for South Tamilnadu. Just waiting to cross check with the developments in the coming week.

UPDATE on 16th August 2016.

System forming in West Bay of Bengal that is likely to influence rainfall in east India in the coming days. Source- Skymet weather

Another system developing in the North Bay which will manifest on 20th August. Note the dates tallying with planetary combinations. The following is from IMD.

UPDATE on 30th August 2016.

Planets have kept their date with rainfall! On 25th August, Venus entered Virgo to join with Mercury and Jupiter. This could trigger rainfall in Southern regions, I had written in the article above. The rains started on that day in Chennai and coastal Tamilnadu and Andhra. At the same time Parts of Kerala and Cauvery catchment regions in Karnataka also started receiving rainfall. 

More interestingly, the direction of rainfall for coastal regions of Tamilnadu particularly Chennai was from NE as though this is NEM season. But in my post written on February 6th 2016 I wrote about peculiar hot and cold conditions witnessed on that date with movement of wind from SW to NE. This means the rainfall days after 6 and a half months, the direction of rains / winds would be from NE which can happen only if there is Depression of Low Pressure in the Bay of Bengal in August. Normally Bay Depressions / Low Pressures are rare in August. In that post I had a discussion with Mr Srikanth of Chennairains.com on the probability of having Bay Depression in August.

But now it has turned out to be a Low Pressure in the Bay off Vijayawada which is giving current rains to Chennai, though coastal Andhra is greatly getting benefited by this now. 

The dates tallied with movement of Venus into Virgo. 

Two more events happened in this period on 30th August. 

(1) Mercury started retrogression while being within 1 degree in front of Jupiter. It is going to cross Jupiter tomorrow (31st August) This has given rise to widespread rains to Chennai now with daily Garbottam also favouring it.

(2) Sun entered the next star, i.e., Purva Phalguni today (30th August). The rainfall rule is that if it rains on the day Sun enters a star, it would rain throughout the 14 day period of Sun crossing over that star. The Daily Garbottam chart for September (which will be posted on 1st September) shows that this period would be wet! 

This feature also means that the same period next year (when Sun re-enters Purva Phalguni in 2017) there wont be rains for the duration of 14 days that Sun crosses over. 

Another observation was that Ganges overflowed and caused floods affecting 30K people in the period after August 16th. Many places in Central India are experienced flood during the same period. 

29th July 2016 – watch out this day to predict NE monsoon.

Update added at the end of the article on prediction of NE Monsoon based on this day. 

Tomorrow the 29^th of July is important on 2 counts for rainfall prediction. One is that it is ‘Rohini Yoga’ day – a day that is watched intensely throughout the period of moon crossing Rohini star. This day is watched to predict rainfall in the next 4 months that include NE monsoon season for Tamilnadu.

This day occurs every year, but what is additionally occurring this year is that this day coincides with the waning phase of Dasami and Ekasdasi. This combination is called “Aadi-thithi-k-kuri” This is a rare occurrence which was pinpointed in Arcot Panchangam and interpreted to indicate once in 400 years rains.

On this day if thunder showers are experienced at twilight, there will be good rains in the next 4 months. Even the presence of thunder clouds on this day is said to favour good rainfall in the next 4 months. So anyone from anywhere in India can watch for thunder showers or cloudy weather on this day in their location to know whether there will be rains in their place of observation.

As far as Chennai is concerned, the corresponding day for 3rd day of Solar Garbottam that started from the evening of 31^st December 2015 till the evening of 1^st January 2016 was favourable for rainfall between 19^th July 2016 and 2^nd August 2016. The direction of rainfall would be from South and south west during this period. So far we have witnessed wet days during this period. For Chennai 29^th and 30^th July must have good rainfall if we go by the daily Garbottam in the corresponding dates of January 19^th and 20^th of 2016.

(For details of this chart read Garbottam chart for July  posted on 6^th Feb 2016)

If the Garbottam keeps up its promise of rainfall tomorrow, then the NE season will be good for Chennai. Details Garbottam charts for NE season will be posted soon.

Coming to the first feature called “Rohini Yoga” this concept was first communicated by Narada to Brihaspati from whom it was transferred to Garga, Parasara, Kashyapa and Maya.

Rohini yoga starts when Moon enters Rohini at 6-45 AM tomorrow (on 29^th July) and exits Rohini at 5-13 AM on 30^th July.

This period of roughly 22 and a half hours must be divided into 8 equal parts which comes to roughly 2 hours 50 minutes each. Each part relates to one fortnight each starting from the month of Aavani and ending in Karthigai. According to Rishi Garga, the observation is enough for the day time of Rohini. This day time must be divided into 4 parts with each part relating to the months from Aavani onwards. We can check both, but for commoners like us the day time observation only is possible.

Watch the wind.

During each part of the Rohini day one must watch the nature of wind and its direction. Winds must be breezy and not wild. Winds coming from North and north east favour good rainfall later. If the winds blow from a fixed direction, there will be rains in that direction benefiting the lands in that direction. In olden days a white cloth was tied on top of the poles to see the nature and direction of the wind.

Watch the cloud.

·       Formation of huge clouds, black in certain parts and white in certain parts and appearing to be twisted together.

·       Sky filled with black clouds everywhere with lightening

·       Clouds appearing like huge elephants and dark in colour.

·       Immediately before sun rise and after sun set, clouds must “appear in the colour of  blue lotus and with lightning, resemble the dark Vishnu in cloth of gold.” (Brihad samhita 24-18).

The part of the day when these features of wind and cloud are present will indicate good rainfall in the corresponding part of the next 4 months.

At night moon must be seen on the north east of Rohini star. This ensures good rainfall in the upcoming months. (Moon will be seen after mid night tomorrow at 2-20 AM).

Combination of the 2 features.

While Rohini Yoga does not foresee rainfall tomorrow but only cloudy weather accompanied with lightening and thunder, the Aadi-thithi-k-kuri of Rohini joining Dasami and Ekadasi comes with thunder showers at twilight, particularly evening twilight. It also comes with cloudy weather for 3 days – from the preceding to the succeeding day. The Solar Garbottam shows rainfall on Rohini day and the day after. Let us wait and watch.

PS: Behind all this, a lurking question in my mind is why the rainfall for the current period of Mercury – Venus closeness is not as expected to be abundant. The one feature that seems to mar rainfall for the whole of India is the transit of Saturn in Anusha (Anuradha) star. It is called Vayu nadi that shows windiness but no rains. In fact the winds will carry away the clouds resulting in failure of rainfall. Barring Saturn, other planets are not in afflicting positions. This feature of Saturn also must be borne in mind while predicting rainfall.

1	Vayu Nadi	Kri, Vishaka,  Anusha, Bharani	Saturn	Windy, No rains
2	Vayu Nadi	Ro, Swati, Jyesh, Aswini	Sun	Windy, Rains
3	Dahana Nadi	Mri, Chith, Moola, Revathy	Mars	Heat, Dry weather
4	Sowmya Nadi	Aru,  Hastha, P-dhada, U-Bhadra	Mercury	Windy, Less rains
5	Nirjala Nadi	Punar,  U.Phal, U-shada, P-Bhadra	Venus	Cloudy, But no rains
6	Jala Nadi	Pushya, P.Phal, Abhijit, Shatabhishak	Jupiter	Plentiful rainfall
7	Amirtha Nadi	Aslesha, Magha, Sravana, Dhanishta	Moon	Excessive rainfall

UPDATE after watching the day:-

Going by Rishi Garga's rule of watching the day time of Rohini into 4 parts, the first part was cool, cloudy, breezy and even accompanied with drizzles. Therefore rains can be expected in AavaNi. The Garbottam chart for AavaNi for Chennai also shows rains in AavaNi (Aug - Sep) 

The 2nd part of the day was hot and the air was still but towards the end it became breezy, cool with clouds covering the sun. This can be interpreted to mean that the last week of Purattasi would see rains. This also tallies with Solar Garbottam for that part of the year.

The 3rd part of the day was hot with no winds. However the end of the 3rd part of the day and the beginning of the 4 part of the day saw good formation of the clouds in south and east and some breezy weather. Towards sunset all clouds faded away and it was reported that it rained in the sea after nightfall. A few places in chennai received drizzles or mild showers at night. No thunderbolts were heard in my place of observation.

This can be interpreted to mean that there will be rains in the 2nd half of Aippasi and the 1st half of Karthigai. (November). The lesser intensity of clouds and breeze show that 2015 like disastrous rains can not be expected this year. 

How Jiva (soul) is born as a human being.

The wisdom of how a Jiva is born and where the Jiva ends up after death are enshrined in Hindu Thought. Two texts that speak about this are Chandogya Upanishad and Brahma Sutras. However Chandogya Upanishad is the source of further deliberation of this topic in the Brahma Sutras. In this article, let me delve on how or the process by which the Jiva is born as a human being. Though I have written about it in different contexts in nearly a dozen blogs so far, what provoked me to write this as an exclusive topic now is an article in the Speaking Tree of Times of India published on 19^th July 2016 (reproduced at the end of this blog). In my opinion that article missed out the important idea of birth of a Jiva that Chandogya Upanishad explains through a process which also addressed the question of why births in other forms such as plants, animals and even insignificant creatures such as virus and bacteria happen.

This process of birth of a Jiva is known as Panchagni Vidya (Knowledge of Five-fires). Till the time of Svetaketu, this knowledge was known only kshatriyas (warrior class) and not to others. It was only when Svetaketu was confronted with questions on what happens to the Jiva after death, what region / realm the Jiva reaches after death and why that realm is never full, the first ever teaching of that knowledge to someone outside the warrior class was made and through that to the entire mankind of all times to come.

The curious question here is why the warrior class had known it in the first place. It may be due to the reason that embracing death in the process of discharging Kula dharma / swa dharma as warriors had necessitated them to seek the knowledge about death and after death. The knowledge of after death helped in understanding the reverse process namely knowledge of ‘before birth’.

The discussion in Chandogya Upanishad takes this route only – that of tracing what happens after death after espousing the Knowledge of the Fire and then reversing it to show how the Jiva takes birth.

Panchagni Vidya.

Everything in Nature works in a chain process of one begetting the other. When one is offered to the other, that is ‘yajna’ which returns the thing offered in some other way. The popular version of Water cycle is a series of Yajna which Shri Krishna explains in Gita in the sloka starting as “Annaath Bhavanthi Bhoothaani parjanyaath anna sambhavaha....” (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3- verses 14 & 15). When every act is done as an offering to the other, that is the ultimate way of acquiring knowledge that releases one from suffering and rebirths.

It is in the spirit of Yajna, creation of a birth of a human being is facilitated by the higher realms of the cosmos identified as the Sun, the foremost Fire / Agni. What is born is Moon, the mind (of the Jiva) that helps in defining / discerning thought and then action. Now the Jiva driven by mind is ready to go the next level.

The next and the 2^nd level is Parjanya, the rains. The rain is an Agni because water is considered as Agni. As water is capable of dousing fire, it is said to absorb heat and therefore it is Agni / fire. The Moon / Mind (of / and the Jiva) is offered as an oblation in rains / parjanya.  What results is that earth absorbs the rain and also the Jiva.

The earth is the 3^rd level in this chain and earth is known as Agni as it traps heat. The rain water (as also the Jiva) is the oblation given to earth and the result is food that is formed in a variety of plants.

The food is consumed by man in whom the food and the Jiva enter the semen. The Man is the 4^th Agni in the chain of Panchagni (Five fires). In the semen, the man creates his own replica as sperm.

It can be said that this man himself becomes the 5^th oblation when he offers the food / Jiva that entered him through this process from the Sun, to the woman. The Woman is the 5^th agni when she receives the oblation that finds a physical form in her womb.

Throughout the process of Panchagni, some element of Nature enters into another at each level and undergoes successive transformation and evolution until it becomes suitable to form the basic elements of human body. In all this the Jiva is a passive traveller to whom the elements cling or who clings to the elements. Once the ultimate seed of human body is reached, the Jiva starts reacting – propelled by karma and vasanas (attitudes and attributes acquired from previous experiences in previous births) it is carrying. The human body that grows within the 5^th Agni is designed and defined by Karma and vasanas carried by the Jiva.

The 5^th Agni is the woman / MOTHER who is the ultimate Homa kunda in the process of Creation as her body does the wonderful job of the Creator in giving a shape and sheath to the Jiva. The Mother is therefore apt to be called as the Prathyaksha Deiva – the visible God. She is just one step below the Creator God and no wonder Thirumangai Alwar recognises this in his verse “Pettra thaayinum aayina seyyum” Narayana! Narayana, the Creator God can do what one’s mother can’t do. By this the Alwar brings mother closer to God and that only God can do what a mother can’t do.

This is the knowledge of Panchagni.

Those who had the knowledge of this understood the vanity of births and suffering and therefore aimed to reach a state of no return through this Panchagni. Their level of awareness and the subsequent care in not accumulating karma and vasanas led them to the ultimate Brahman.

Those who fail to realise the chain process of the birth through these fires, are re-born. Here the Upanishad explains the route of birth for the Jiva.  

Birth of Jiva through Panchagni process.

"Having dwelt there in the lunar world till their good works are consumed, they return again the same way they came.

They first reach the akasa and from the akasa the air. Having become air, they become smoke; having become smoke, they become mist;

"Having become mist, they become cloud; having become cloud, they fall as rain−water.

Then they are born as rice and barley, herbs and trees, sesamum and beans.

Thence the exit is most difficult; for whoever capable of begetting children eats that food and injects semen, they become like unto him.” (Chand- Part 5 -10 Verses 5 & 6)

Brahma Sutras (part 3) give further elaboration of this passage from Chandogya Upanishad.

From clouds to rain to earth, the Jiva travels down. Once it enters the earth, the reversal or return to previous location is difficult. That means if the Jiva does not want to be born when it is in the previous states, it is possible to go back. But once it has entered the earth through the rain water, it cannot go back. It has to necessarily pass through the chain till it reaches the 5^th agni, the woman’s womb.

The idea of the Jiva passing through the clouds and rains finds resonance in modern day's experiments on after-life experiences and hypnotic regression. Many people who have had hypnotic regression have recounted that they were floating with the cloud and were fused with the cloud. They could not remember what happened after mixing with the cloud. A kind of trance sets in once the process of descent begins. 

Once inside the earth, the Jiva gets into the plants along with the water and gets fixated in the fruits / edible parts some of which the Upanishad mentions – as rice, barley, sesame, herbs etc. In all this, the Jiva is not attached to the plants nor does it undergo any karma on account of that.  

This information from the Upanishad is an important one as Plants become an important carrier for the Jiva to take birth. Further movement of the Jiva into a man’s body cannot happen without the man eating the edible part of the plant. This is something the non- vegetarian lovers must take into account before finding fault with vegetarian food as being violent (himsa). The plant having its own Jiva is not killed. Only the edible part of the planet which will be ultimately shed by the plant carries the Jiva. Man has to eat that part to facilitate the movement of the Jiva into his body and to settle down in a sperm.

Elsewhere in the same Upanishad a dialogue comes on where Atman / Jiva resides. If someone strikes at the root of a large tree, water oozes out, but the tree continues to live on. If the middle part is struck, then also the tree survives as only water oozes out. If the top of the tree is struck then also the tree would continue to live. Because it is pervaded by the Jiva, the tree continues to live by drinking water. But if a branch is cut off, the Jiva of the tree leaves the branch but continues to live in the tree. The tree does not suffer death. (Chand- 6 -11-1)

In the same way, the edible part housing the Jiva (many times not housing the Jiva), when plucked off, the tree / planet does not suffer death. There is no himsa to the tree / plant when the edible parts are cut for consumption. Therefore it is absolutely ridiculous on the part of the non-vegetarian lovers to accuse vegetarianism as subscribing to himsa. In the case of non-vegetarianism, the jiva of the animal is made to leave the body forcefully by the act of killing the animal for human consumption.

The above passage from Chandogya Upanishad also shows how plants are an integral part of not only the food chain of man but also the birth chain of the Jiva.

This is the same Upanishad and the only sruti text that says that Himsa (violence) is allowed only for the purpose of Vedic austerity.  When we read these passages in the light of Panchangni Vidya, we understand why the Upanishad has incorporated both the ideas - on Jiva of the tree and the exception clause on himsa to Jiva.

Continuing with the passage on Panchagni Vidya, the Upanishad says that those with good conduct will be born in good families / people etc. Those having bad conduct will be born as animals. There is a discussion on ‘good conduct’ of this passage in the Brahma sutras. What is being talked here - good karma or good conduct? There is a difference of opinion between sages Krishnajina and Baadari. In real life we find that even people of good conduct / nature suffer a lot due to their bad Prarabdha karma. By their good conduct they overcome the bad karma in the right spirit (of sthitha prajna etal) and continue to rise in their spiritually evolving ladder. Therefore good conduct / good thought is a must for getting birth in good wombs / or being born to exalted parents.

The Upanishad continues to say that

“Those who neither practise meditation nor perform rituals do not follow either of these ways. They become those insignificant creatures which are continually revolving and about which it may be said: ‘Live and die.’ This is the third place. "Therefore that world never becomes full. Let a man despise this course.”

The insignificant creatures mentioned here are life at lower level of evolution such as insects and micro organisms that keep forming and dying endlessly. There is no 5^th oblation in them. Man is the 5^th oblation according to this Upanishad. The lowly life forms end up with food produced by earth. They follow the birth chain of 4 fires – until earth and food.

It is in the context of births like this (of those who have not lived righteous lives and not done austerities) Brahma Sutras speak about the seven hells. (3-1-15). These beings are under the sway of Yama. Their abode is identified as “the third place” by the Upanishad (quoted above). The first two places are Devayana and Pitruyana. The former is the solar path / light achieved by the knowledgeable ones who are engaged in meditation and austerity and who never return to earth for rebirth. The latter is the lunar path / smoke which is attained by people who are aware of good and bad and try to engage in austerities.

The third place is attained by evil doers who cause sufferings to others and do not follow the path of dharma. They don’t get the 5^th oblation, which means they don’t get a body that can feel pain and pleasure. Their evolution stops at the food level of the 4^th Agni. The births they take are supposed to be in the 7 hells. For example there is a kind of bacteria living under the ground in an environment of very hot temperatures. The heat of that environment is harmful for man but these organisms thrive in those temperatures. They are like hell but they thrive – to work out the effect of the evil karma. 

Millions of other life forms are undergoing the effect of hells described in scriptures. Most of them are killed or skinned alive or roasted alive in the way the scriptures describe hellish experiences. All this is being done by wanton act of man to satiate his appetite or just in blind faith. Let those who consume such life forms after subjecting them to hellish experience, think about themselves what is in store for them in future - in the third place or in the other places.

The same verse also replies the query faced by Svetaketu why the ‘that world’ (Devayana) is never full.  It is because the evil-doers do not ascend from the world of the Moon to the Sun but instead move within the lower fires of rain and earth. They also do not depend on the 5^th oblation which is Man to get a body through which they can know about austerities and what is good and what is bad.  The Brahma sutras further elaborate this point and say that getting a body is possible in plant life, viviparous and oviparous life and from moisture. But there is the absence of 5^th oblation (Man) in their births which makes them belong to ‘the third place’.

In this context, the Brahma sutras analyse the karmic effect of killing animals in yajna and uphold the Chandogya Upanishad statement of exemption only for Vedic purpose. In the current age of Kali, even that is not sanctioned as there is none capable of austerities and meditation of the kind that can hold such Yajnas in the highest order.

Given below is the relevant passage from  Chandogya Upanishad  on Panchagni Vidya.

Chapter IV − The Five Fires (I)

1 "Yonder world is the sacrificial fire, O Gautama, the sun the fuel, the rays the smoke, daytime the flame, the moon the embers and the stars the sparks.

2 "In this fire the gods offer faith as libation. Out of that offering King Moon is born."

Chapter V − The Five Fires (II)

1 "Parjanya (the god of rain), O Gautama, is the fire, the air the fuel, the cloud the smoke, lightning the flame, the thunderbolt the embers and thunderings the sparks.

2 "In this fire the gods offer King Moon as libation. Out of that offering rain is born."

Chapter VI− The Five Fires (III)

1 "The earth, O Gautama, is the fire, the year the fuel, the akasa the smoke, the night the flame, the quarters the embers and the intermediate quarters the sparks.

2 "In this fire the gods offer rain as libation. Out of that offering food is born."

Chapter VII− The Five Fires (IV)

1 O Gautama, is the fire, speech is the fuel, the prana the smoke, the tongue the flame, the eye the embers and the ear the sparks.

2 "In this fire the gods offer food as libation. Out of that offering semen produced."

Chapter VIII − The Five Fires (V)

1 "Woman, O Gautama, is the fire, her sexual organ is the fuel, what invites is the smoke, the vulva is the flame, what is done inside is the embers, the pleasures are the sparks.

2 "In this fire the gods offer semen as libation. Out of that offering the foetus is formed."

Chapter IX − Birth and Death

1 "Thus in the fifth libation water comes to be called man. The foetus enclosed in the membrane, having lain inside for ten or nine months, or more or less, is born.

2 "Having been born, he lives whatever the length of his life may be. When he is dead, they carry him to the fire of the funeral pyre whence he came, whence he arose."

Chapter X − The Various Paths followed after Death

1−2 "Those who know this and those who, dwelling in the forest, practise faith and austerities go to light, from light to day, from day to the bright half of the moon, from the bright half of the moon to the six months during which the sun goes to the north, from those months to the year, from the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, from the moon to lightning. There a person who is not a human being meets him and leads him to Brahman. This is the Path of the Gods (Devayana).

3 "But those who, living in the village, perform sacrifices, undertake works of public utility and give alms go to smoke, from smoke to night, from night to the dark half of the moon, from the dark half of the moon to the six months during which the sun goes to the south. But they do not reach the year.

4 "From those months they go to the World of the Manes, from the world of the Manes to the akasa, from the akasa to the moon. This is King Soma. They are the food of the gods. Them the gods eat.

5−6 "Having dwelt there in the lunar world till their good works are consumed, they return again the same way they came. They first reach the akasa and from the akasa the air. Having become air, they become smoke; having become smoke, they become mist; "Having become mist, they become cloud; having become cloud, they fall as rain−water. Then they are born as rice and barley, herbs and trees, sesamum and beans. Thence the exit is most difficult; for whoever capable of begetting children eats that food and injects semen, they become like unto him.

7 "Those whose conduct here on earth has been good will quickly attain some good birth−birth as a brahmin, birth as a kshatriya, or birth as a vaisya. But those whose conduct here has been evil will quickly attain some evil birth−birth as a dog, birth as a pig, or birth as a chandala.

8 "Those who neither practise meditation nor perform rituals do not follow either of these ways. They become those insignificant creatures which are continually revolving and about which it may be said: ‘Live and die.’ This is the third place. "Therefore that world never becomes full. Let a man despise this course. To this end there is the following verse:

9 ‘ "A man who steals the gold of a brahmin, he (i.e. a brahmin) who drinks liquor, he who dishonours his teacher’s bed and he who kills a brahmin−these four fall, as also a fifth who associates with them.’ "

10 "But he who knows these Five Fires is not stained by sin even though associating with Part 5 48 them. He becomes pure and clean and obtains the world of the blessed−he who knows this, yea, he who knows this."

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From

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31807&articlexml=the-speaking-tree-A-King-Becomes-Guru-To-19072016014051

Jul 19 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai) The speaking tree  A King Becomes Guru To The Brahmin-Sage Pranav Khullar The Chhandogya Upanishad lays down a unique template which maps out each activity in the universe through the prism of chants. The term `chandogya' is etymologically derived from chhanda, poetic metre. Even as it presents a five-to-seven fold chant structure, through which all human and natural phenomena are seen, the Chhandogya, at another level, goes deep into the metaphysical dimension of the empirical world. The Chhandogya posits the Panchagni Vidya, the theory of the Five Fires, central to the understanding of the laws of the universe. The doctrine of Panchagni is presented through the story of Svetaketu, the highly learned and educated son of Sage Uddalaka, who, in the course of his travels, turns up at the court of King Pravahana Jaivali. Having welcomed the learned young man, the King poses some questions to Svetaketu to comprehend how much the young man has learned. His first question, “Do you know where mortals go to after death?“ perplexes Svetaketu, who is at a loss for words. The second question, “Do you know from where people come when they are reborn?“ confuses Svetaketu. The third and fourth question, “Are you aware of the two paths through which the soul ascends?“ and “What is the reason this world is able to contain so many people, yet not overflow?“ further stumps the young scholar. The last question, “Are you aware of the five oblations that are offered, and how the fifth as water liquid becomes a human?“ leaves Svetaketu at his wit's end. He realises that there are fundamental principles of which he is unaware, despite his learning and scholarship. He turns back to his father, but Uddalaka too has no insight into such matters. Uddalaka turns to the King for answers. The King initiates Uddalaka into the principle of the Five Fires, in which the cosmos sky is in itself metaphorically seen as a great altar, into which the fuel of the burning sun is offered, from which rises the moon. The Upanishad lays down this as the first Fire, stating that all existence follows this cycle of fire. The next altar is of clouds, where the fuel is the air from which arises rain. The third altar is Earth, where the fuel is time, from which arises food. The fourth man, where the fuel is food, from altar is man, where the fuel is food, from which arises semen, seed. The fifth and last altar is woman, to who the seed is offered as oblation, and from whence arises the foetus. The Chhandogya views Creation at all levels as a sort of yajna, sacrifice, where every activity is interconnected. The birth of a child is not just a simple outcome between man and woman. The Chhandogya states that a child is conceived from every cell of the universe. The notion of “my child“ and “your child“ is a misunderstanding of the basic laws of the universe. The Upanishad states that the interconnectedness of the universe and contemplation of this principle through the theory of the Five Fires, is true meditation into the essence of things. It prompts us to look beyond the obvious, to delve deep into the fundamentals of whatever we see, hear or touch. Tat Tvam Asi is the grand chant of the Chhandogya, the Mahavakya that each of us comes from, and are that Self, the Atman, nothing less.