Nalanda - The Giver of Knowledge



 

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Vayuputra Hanuman

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  Vayuputra Bajrangbali, Hanuman, Anjaneya – we call him by many names. But all it denotes supreme power and complete devotion to Lord Rama and humility towards all others. We celebrate him as the Ashta siddi Navanidhi ke dhata (the possessor of eight powers and nine types of wealth). How did he get all these powers – just by his parentage? His devotion to Rama or was there more to it. Let us see an interesting story of Hanuman as a child. Anjana devi was busy with her chores. Her naughty Anjaneya, who she was fond of calling Sundara, was playing outside. The birds were chirping and the sun was just rising on the horizon. It was early spring. The sun was a bright orange in the distance. Baby Hanuman was as ever curious. He was also hungry. He wanted to eat that right, red fruit. With one jump he tried to catch the sun not realising that Lord Surya was a ball of fire. That day happened to be the day of eclipse. Rahu with his snake like form was trying to eclipse the sun. Han...
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Satyakama - The Seeker of Truth

  Satyakama: The Seeker of Truth Chandogya Upanishad, 4.4 – 4.8 In Sanatana Dharma, knowledge seeking, debate and discussions is part of the fabric. We do not get angry when questioned about our practices. The other defining feature of the religion is the acceptance of knowledge from any and all sources. This is not now. A nice story from Chandogya Upanishad depicts this beautifully.   A young boy once came to Sage Haridrumata Gautama. He said “Guruji, I want to study under you. I would like to accept me as your student.” Gautama asked him for his family details and gotra. The boy was not aware of these details. He asked his mother but unfortunately, she also did not know. She was a poor woman and was only aware of her name that was Jabala. She had named her son Satyakama. Saying all this, Satyakama said, “Sir, I reveal myself to you as Satyakama Jabala. Is my name.”   In those days it was considered a requirement of every Guru to accept students who came for ...
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Shiva the ultimate teacher

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  Shiva – The Ultimate teacher Many a time there are linkages between multiple happenings. What seems like separate incidents are actually inter – linked to a larger cause. Once Sage Narada did a deep penance for thousands of years. Lord Indra tried to disturb him as he was worried that Narada was trying to take over the Devalok. Narada was committed and successfully finished his tapasya. Narada became a arrogant that he achieved what even Lord Shiva could not achieve. (Remember, Shiva got disturbed by Manmatha when he was in meditation and angered by the disturbance burnt Manmatha!!) The smug and arrogant Narada wanted to show off. He first went to Shiva loka and boasted about his completion of the tapasya despite many disturbances. Shiva looked at him and smiled and said “Maybe. If you go to Vaikunta, do not talk about this to Vishnu.” Narada then went to Brahmaloka and met his father Lord Brahma. He repeated his boast to ...
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