Mythological stories on TV not the Truth - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Above: A scene from mythological TV serial Devon Ke Dev Mahadev

Question: Gurudev, Goddess Parvati in her anger had given a curse to Mother Earth, Agni Deva and other gods when they tried to save her and Lord Shiva’s son Kartikeya from Tarakasura (a demon). How is it possible for a Goddess to not be in control of her anger?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know, this is a wrong depiction of the stories from the Puranas. The TV serials always want to make it a little more dramatic.

Even when I watch Goddess Parvati (an incarnation or form of the Mother Divine), I see that there is so much display of emotions; crying, or asking for forgiveness, etc. Just to make the viewers more engaged, they brought them to the level of common man and common emotions.

The director and producers also want to elongate the episode, that is why they make it a little more dramatic than the actual story. It is not originally so in the Puranas. In the Purana, Goddess Parvati does not go through such varied emotions. It is only in the script that these people have written for the TV serial that you find her and even Lord Ganesha asking repeatedly for forgiveness. What is the need for Him, who is Divinity Himself, to ask for any sort of forgiveness?

See, when you read any Purana, then the Adidaata (the sacred deity on whose life and heroic stories a particular Purana is based) of that Purana is the central character, and the most revered.

For example, if you take the Shiva Purana then Lord Shiva is the greatest, while all other deities and everyone else is subordinate to him.

Similarly, if you take the Ganesha Purana, then Lord Ganesha is the greatest in that Purana.

Again, if you take the Devi Purana then all the other deities, such as Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Mahesh (a name of Lord Shiva) are at the Devi’s feet, signifying her central importance in the Purana. Since all stories in the Devi Purana revolve around her as the central deity, the other deities play secondary roles.

In the Vishnu Purana you will find that there is no deity greater than Lord Vishnu, and every other deity is subordinate to him, since he is the central deity of that Purana.

That is why a deity is called as Isht, meaning the greatest deity, around whom everything else revolves. So, those deities or Gods whom we consider as our Ishtdevta or Isht are the greatest and most revered for us.

There is a very beautiful shloka (verse) by Adi Shankaracharya where he says, 'Mananaatha Shri Jagannatha, Madguru Shri Jagadguru, Madatma Sarvabhutatma, Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha.

It means, my Lord (Isht) is the Lord of the entire creation; my Guru is the Guru of the entire creation; and my soul is the soul seated in all living beings.

When a devotee has this feeling, that there is no other like my Lord, then it is called Vishishta bhakti.

When there is this feeling that there is none other like my Lord, then the mind become one-pointed. This is because the nature of the mind is to go towards that which is the most superior.

Now, if you do not find what you have to be the highest, then the mind will start to wander toward that which it finds to be more superior.

So to collect the mind and make it centered deep in devotion, these different stories have been written in the Puranas. That is why in the Shiva Purana, it is said that Lord Shiva is supreme and everyone prays and bows to Lord Shiva. This is the real meaning.

But those who make these TV serials, they have to make it a little more dramatic, otherwise it will be a little boring, and that is why they add some spice to it.

It has never happened that Goddess Durga has inflicted her anger on anyone on Earth. The anger of Goddess Durga is only towards the demon Mahishasura. Even that is not totally in anger, but it is with a certain equanimity and pleasantness. The Goddess simply destroys Mahishasura (symbolic of negativity and inertia) into ashes, by a simple exhalation of her breath, with the sound ‘hummm’.

So these are just different depictions of the mythological stories on TV. There is no need to accept them as the truth.

Source

Caught Lying: Human Rights Watch's Meenakshi Ganguly

Human Rights Watch's South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly in her piece dated 24th February, 2012 has stated "that anti-Muslim riots .. killed nearly 2,000 people" (Screenshot 1).

Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shriprakash Jaiswal stated in Rajya Sabha on 11th May, 2005 that "254 Hindus and 790 Muslim were killed in the post Godhra riots of 2002" (Screenshot 2).

Hence the correct number of people killed is 1044 and not 2000 as stated by Meenakshi Ganguly !!

Above: Screenshot 1 / Right-click and 'save link as' for large size image

Above: Screenshot 2 / Right-click and 'save link as' for large size image

Also View: Evidence Against Teesta Setalvad

Congress leaders of Gujarat actively participated in 2002 riots: Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind

Rajesh Ramachandran, Times of India, 9th August, 2003

NEW DELHI: The Congress has been going to town over Best Bakery and other instances of the Narendra Modi government's complicity in the anti-Muslim violence which shook Gujarat last year.

But when it comes to the involvement of its own party cadre in the killings, 10 Janpath maintains a deafening silence. Even when confronted by a long-standing ally from the freedom movement days, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.

According to the JUH, "most Congress corporators" and some Congress leaders of Gujarat had actively participated in last year's riots.

Mahmood As'ad Madani, JUH general secretary told The Times of India: "We wrote letters to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, gave a list of Congress leaders involved in the riots, asked her to take action against them but to no avail."

On April 29, 2002, for example, the JUH received a list of 25 Congress leaders from its Gujarat chapter, which was promptly forwarded to her. This included a former Congress minister, a sitting MLA and a former MP.

Then on August 20, Madani reminded Gandhi: "Similarly our appeal forwarded to you in respect of involvement of Congress MLAs, corporators and workers in Gujarat carnage along with the list of culpable names remains disregarded."

When contacted by TOI, Ambika Soni, in-charge of Gandhi's office, said she was not aware of the correspondence. Ahmed Patel, Gandhi's political secretary, to whom copies were marked by the JUH was not available for comment.

The JUH insists it had accurate information from the ground. For instance, its Gujarat branch had written to the police commissioner of Vadodara city on March 21 that, "After the Godhra incident an urgent meeting of the activists of the BJP, VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal was held under the leadership of Yogesh Patel (MLA)... Chinnam Gandhi (Congress corporator)... They had alloted the activists their jobs, they made a plan and instructed the activists to carry out this work without any fear and told them that they would get full support of police officers."

The Gujarat JUH had mapped the Congress leadership even at the district level. Mehsana and Patan districts' list has 8 names of Congress leaders including local MP Atmaram Patel as having played a "negative role." A fax message sent on May 1 from Mehsana has this against Patel's coloumn: "Still has not come to help Muslims; taking sides in favour of a criminal person of Sardarpur and Ladoi village."

A list of 15 from Anand is headed by a secretary of Gujarat youth Congress. But to be fair to the Congress and the JUH, the report is all praise for the "positive role" played by Patan MP Pravin Rashtrapal.

JUH secretary N A Farooqui says: "The Congress has committed sins of omission and commission during the riots. Former MP Ehsan Jaffri had called up Sonia Gandhi for help. She didn't take a strong stand in her subsequent visit to Gujarat. The local bodies were mostly headed by the Congress which could have done a lot for relief and rehabilitation, but it was all left to the NGOs."

Though Farooqui maintains that the JUH "has not severed its relationship" with the Congress, the party's ambivalence has led to debates within the Muslim intelligentsia over which political formation is best placed to defend the country from the danger of communal division.

Source

Rama Setu - An Engineering Marvel of 5076 BCE

The Government has decided to go ahead with the destruction of Rama Setu, the oldest man-made bridge of our civilization, a civil engineering marvel of 5076 BCE. This bridge is believed to have been built by Rama and His team. Only if Rama is historical could this bridge be man-made. If the bridge is proved to be man-made, then Rama has to be Historical. This film brings to light the layers of bridge construction and the month and the year when the Rama Setu was built. Please watch this film made by Bharath Gyan and share it with others. It is not just another story but a 7100 year old engineering marvel of our civilization!

Lord Shiva: A Dalit Outcaste !

Lord Shiva is from the Nishad community. In Rudram he is addressed as a Nishada (an outcaste) and Punjishta (a bird hunter).

Source: The Heritage of Dalits