All about Scriptures and Religious Books

(Note: This is a work of fiction by lionking !)

In Hindu Culture, The Scriptures and Religious Books have a special place. Each and every God/Goddess/Bonafide Guru has his/her own religious book ... which is held in high esteem by his/her followers.

These Religious Scriptures or Books are brought out either by the respective deity or Bonafide Guru himself/herself ... or a staunch devotee or shishya gets the sanction to write such religious books by the respective deity or Bonafide Guru.

Om

 The Sacred Symbol OM of Sanatana Dharma is under the auspices of Devi Saraswati ... and it is she who as the controller of intellect and wisdom of the Grandhik (Author) ... gives her Karuna Kataksham to those who deserve it. This ability of Devi Saraswati, to shower her graces on those who deserve to be a Grandhik ... we understand from the legend, of how an ordinary and illiterate Kalidas, became Kaviratna Kalidasa.

The fact of the matter is ... the Scriptures and Religious Books that are associated with a diety or a Bonafide Guru have their own Spiritual Efficacy ... and it should be understood that all these Scriptures and Religious Books have the Divine Sanction of Devi Saraswati ... as they get Sikkam of Devi Saraswati.

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Shishya Dev is a very happy person these days. Having married a very cute village damsel some 2 years back and settled in his native village ... he now has a small baby. His life is comfortable and is generally very happy with the way his life is moving forward.

On the day of Shiva Ratri ... he plans to pay a visit to the Shri Shiva Mandhiram ... which was recently constructed near the Grama Devi Mandhiram of his village. He takes the dharshanam of Grama Devi first, as she is the diety of his village ... and then proceeds to the Shiva Mandhiram, to do Shivarchanam on this special day of Shiva Ratri.

After completing the religious ritual of Shivarchanam in the Shiva Mandhiram ... he and his family are about to leave the premises of the temple, that Gurunath comes to the abode of Shri Bholenath. The two acquaintances Gurunath and Shishya Dev greet each other ... with Jai Bholenath as the customary greetings in the premises of the temple.

Just then the duo of Gurunath and Shishya Dev witness a huge procession going in front of the Shiva Mandhiram towards the Grama Devi Mandhiram. On enquiry, they learn that a learned Grandhik of the village had just completed a Grantham some time back ... and since Grama Devi is the diety of that village ... he is taking a copy of his newly written Grantham, for her Paadha Samarpanam.

This raises curiosity in the mind of Shishya Dev ... and he wonders why this Grandhik first goes to the mandhiram of the Grama Devi instead of coming to Shiva Mandiram ... for the Paadha Samarpanam of the Grandham. He promptly expresses his curiosity, to the much revered and learned Gurunath. Gurunath asks him to wait till he takes the darshanam of Shri Bholenath.

Gurunath and Shishya Dev sit under the cool confines of a Banyan Tree near the temple ... and Shishya Dev breaks the silence.

Shishya Dev: Gurunathji, its been a long time since we have had this sort of a conversation. I remember the last time ... we discussed about the significance of the Grama Devi of this village.

Gurunath: Yes Shishya, its nice to have such a conversation with you ... i enjoy such conversations which brings out the best argumentative skills in both of us ... thereby enlightening us both.

Shishya Dev: Its certainly a nice way of starting the carrier of a Grandhik ... by doing the Paadha Samarpanam of his/her Grandham to the diety of a temple. We have just seen this. Can you explain me the significance of this Grandha Paadha Samarpanam.

Gurunath: Not only starting the carrier of a Grandhik ... but its a nice way to dedicate all the literature that a Grandhik writes to his/her Ishta Daivam ... it helps to get the divine blessings or the Karuna Kataksham of that particular diety ... and its like a 'sanction' that the Grandhik gets from his/her Ishta Daivam so that the Grandham becomes Mangalakaari.

Shishya Dev: Oh ok ... i understand. We have this practice of Akshara Abhyasam being done to the small children in the premises of the Grama Devi Mandhiram on an auspicious day every year. But i wonder ... now that Shri Shiva Mandhiram has been newly constructed in the village ... why did this Grandhik not come to the Shri Shiva Sannidhi first ... for Grandha Paadha Samarpanam.

Gurunath: Its simple ... its because the Grama Devi is the village deity of this village.

Shishya Dev: But as per scriptures, its Shri Shiva who is the Mahadev ... and its quite logical for the learned person ... to perform the Grandha Paadha Samarpanam to Shri Shiva who is the Mahadev.

Gurunath: You have yourself answered your doubt in this regard. Since Shri Shiva is the Mahadev ... he is the last resort for a soul to go to his Paadha Sannidhi ... as the holy Hindu Scriptures like the Shiva Purana have innumerable instances of how great souls had to do thapasya for millions of years together ... to get the Karuna Kataksh of Shri Shiva, who is the Mahadev ... its no easy task to please Shri Shiva ...  Har Har Mahadev Shambo Shankara.

Shishya Dev: Then why do we worship Shri Shiva in the Shri Shiva Mandhiram and perform the religious rituals of Shivarchanam to him.

Gurunath: As a Jeeva Raasi ... we perform the Shivarchanam to the Shiva Lingam ... so that we get the will power to cope with the Maya Prabhavam that this world exerts on us. The Shiva Lingam represents the Khamba or the 'withstanding power' which we livingbeings require to 'stand our ground' ... and its Shri Shiva in the form of Shri Bholenath who bestows this 'withstanding power' to a Jeeva Raasi to stand against the Illusions of Maya or Maya Prakopam. Also, because Shri Shiva himself is Sarva Karana Karanam or 'Reason of All Reasons'.

Shishya Dev: I am not convinced at all. Certainly logically, doing Grandha Paadha Samarpanam to Shri Shiva who is the Mahadev, would be apt.

Gurunath: I understand what you mean. But, the devotees of Shri Shiva are always binded to him ... and any Grandha Paadha Samarpanam to Shri Shiva should be with the advice of a Bonafide Guru or under the express divine sanction of Shri Shiva himself. Moreover, the fact that this Grandhik had done the Grandha Paadha Samarpanam to the Grama Devi of this village ... means, that he has taken a route of the Grama Devi to reach Shri Shiva Sannidhi ... As without Shri Shiva there wont be any creation at all.

Shishya Dev: What if after sometime ... this Grandhik decides to make some amendments to the Grandham he has written. I ask because the Grandham that he has completed as of now ... is Sampoornam and has the divine blessings of the Grama Devi.

Gurunath: The fact that this Grandhik has done the Grandha Paadha Samarpanam to the Grama Devi ... means that this Grandhik wants to keep his Grandham in the Public Domain. Like in a Grandhalayam or a Library. Now if any changes are to be made to a Grandham which is already in the Public Domain ... then it would be wise to have a congregation of learned scholars ... who debate the pros and cons of the amendments to be made to the Grandham ... and the newly amended Grandham gets the Sikkam after its Grandha Paadha Samarpanam to the Grama Devi. It must be noted that a wise Grandhik would make any amendments to an existing Grandham ... only if there are apparent mistakes in language and facts mentioned in the Grandham ... and the Khambam of Janhith Kalyan is the sole guidance for the Grandhik to undertake such amendments.

Also, the Khambam of Morality and Natural Principles of Justice is an indispensable tool ... to make some amendments to a Grantham.

But that Grantham which is specifically written by a Bonafide Guru or under his auspices by his/her shishya cannot be amended by an aam aadmi ... but for another Bonafide Guru under some spiritual supervision.

Shishya Dev: But where is the need to mention about amendments to a Religious Book ? ... you have some Religious Book in mind ?

Gurudev: The religion of Sanatana Dharma always flows and is Sanatana which means it has no beginning no end. The whole Sanatana Dharma is contained in the Sacred symbol OM ... within which Creation Occurs and within which Destruction Occurs ... OM is limitless in its scope.

But, when a religious book is written ... then the Natural Principles of Justice have to be looked into ... and those facts which tend to have a negative impression on the minds of the people are ignored by the revered Bonafide Gurus.

Its in this respect ... that i find in the Religion of Christianity ... the whole stress in that religion is given on the false premise that Jesus Christ had died for the Sins of his Brethren ... which is an inhumane way of treating a Bonafide Guru Yeshua.

The fact of the matter is ... Yeshua was condemned to death by the Jewish High Priests ... and its highly unfortunate that the Father of Christiaity, St. Paul was using his intellect in an unwise manner, to make Yeshua a Sacrificial Goat by giving him another name ... Jesus Christ ... which is a false tenet of the Religion of Christianity. No wonder then the prophesies contained in the bible mention about the demise of the Religion of Christianity.

By no measure the Bible can be amended to make Christianity stand on its ground ... Its a fact.

Shishya Dev: I wonder why cant a sincere devotee take some episodes in the life of a Bonafide Guru ... those aspects which are 'worth emulating' ... those aspects which help the devotee lead a comfortable and meaning life.

Gurunath: In Hindu Culture, we have this practice of incorporating those events that are good and mangalakari ... in the life of a Bonafide Guru or a Diety ... and those teachings are incorporated by the devotee in his/her life.

For example, the triumph of Raja Ramachandra over Raja Ravana is considered as an auspicious moment ... and it signifies Win of Good over Evil. At the same time, the departure of Raja Ramachandra for Vanvas ... is treated as a sad moment ... as the events which led him to go to Vanvas ... were against the Dharma or Natural Principles of Justice.

This is a perfect example of the way the amendments in Religious Books can be undertaken by learned scholars who are well versed with the Principles of Dharma.

Its highly unfortunate that Yeshua who was condemned to death ... was helpless in the sort of situation that he was in, some 2000 years back ... that he had no choice but to 'succumb' to the misdeeds done to him ... by the Jewish High Priests and the Roman Rulers of that time. But he still had the 'courage' to ask for forgiveness from the 'Father' ... to all those who perpetrated such heinous crimes on him.

I would say ... St. Paul must have got influenced by the Devil or Satan ... to establish the Religion of Christianity ... whose single most foundation is that Jesus Christ died for their Sins ... which is distorting the way one is ought to look at facts ... its like painting black color on already suffering Yeshua and calling him Jesus Christ ! ... folly ! ... Two Mistakes dont make it Right.

Shishya Dev: Well ... i am really not concerned about what the religion of Christianity or Judaism says. I am a Gramavasi of this village ... and i am quite contended with my own life. I am happy in my place you see.

Gurunath: oh ! ... i guess i strayed far away from this village ... but just thoughts on Religious Books and their efficacy you see.

Also, i must mention ... that its certainly in Hindu Culture for a learned Grandhik ... to take some portions of some of the teachings in a Grantham written by another Grandhik ... and quote the source from which he/she has taken those teachings. This keeps Grandhik in high esteem in a society ... a Knowledge Society like the Hindu Rashtra.

Shishya Dev: I guess so ... you have any idea how all these Sacred Mantras starting with OM get created in the first place ? ... I have heard some of the mantras starting with OM ... and the one i can readily remember is that of Shirdi Saibaba which is ... OM SAIRAM ...

Gurunath: All these Mantras suggest about the essential and fundamental character of the Religion of Sanatana Dharma ... and as i mentioned just now, within the Sacred Symbol OM occurs all the creation and destruction ... and also this OM is the source of Maintenance of this Material Universe. Hence, we find that many Bonafide Gurus and Deities have in the Religion of Sanatana Dharma essentially have to come under the purview of this sacred symbol OM ... else, their teachings dont stand for a long time ... this is what is called Shrusthi Dharmam ... the King and Queen of which are Shri Brahma and Devi Saraswati.

When a Shishya chants OM SAIRAM ... it means that shishya is subjecting himself to the way-of-life as advocated by Shri Shirdi Saibaba. This mantra means that Shri Shirdi Saibaba has got the Sikkam from Devi Saraswati as a Bonafide Guru ... and this mantra of OM SAIRAM becomes the mode of communication between him and his shishya. This is a divine arrangement between the divine being Shri Krishna Paramapurusham and his representatives or Bonafide Gurus.

The Sacred Symbol of OM is the native to the Bharatha Khandam and we have many Mahatmas having this sacred symbol in their sacred literature.

Shishya Dev: Very Well Then ... its time to have lunch ... shall we go to the Khadya Shaala of our village ?

Gurunath: Good Idea this ... i also heard that we have a new Khadya Shaala opened by one of our Grama Vaasi after obtaining the blessing of the Grama Devi ... Good.

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The religion of Hinduism always flows ... and there is no beginning no end for this wonderful way-of-life.

Vamsinath

16 October 2010.