The humor before the great philosophical debate

Hinduism has six core philosophies. The fifth philosophy is Jaimini's (Purva) Mimamsa of Jaimini & the sixth is Badarayana's Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta.

The young Sanyasi, Adi Shankara, a Vedantic scholar, goes to Mahishmati intending to debate with the Mimamsa scholar, Mandana Mishra. Mandana Mishra was performing the Sraddha ceremony of his expired father.

Adi Sankara gatecrashed into Mandan Mishra's house, who was not pleased with this sudden arrival of this clean-shaven monk. He asked him in a sarcastic manner: “Kuto Mundi?” (Where have you come from, O clean shaven one?)

Adi Sankara decided to reply to Mandan Mishra in the same sarcastic tone. The words “Kuto Mundi” can also mean “How far have you shaved?” in Sanskrit. “Agalan Mundi” (Shaven up to the neck), Adi Sankara replied, deliberately misinterpreting the question.

Thinking that Adi Sankara had not understood the question, Mandan Mishra explained, “Margam Prichate Maya” (I am asking the path). Again Adi Sankara deliberately replied with a mischievous, '“Kim kaha Patha” (So, what did the path tell you?).

Mandana Misra lost his temper at this and shouted “Patha prokta tava Matuh Vidhava” (The way said that your mother was a widow). To this, Adi Sankara replied , “Tha Thevahi” (May be it is true), implying that the 'path' was talking about Mishra's own mother.

At this, Mandan Mishra completely lost it and asked 'Sura Pita'? (Are you drunk?), Adi Sankara replied, “Sura Shweta na Pita” (Liquor is white, not yellow). as the word Pita in Sanskrit can mean the colour yellow as well.

“Tatha hi, tvam janasi varnam” (So, you know the colour of liquor?) asked Mandana Mishra. “Maya varnat etavat janami, tvam ruchim api jasyati va” (I know the colour, but maybe you know the taste as well), replied Adi Sankara calmly.

Legend says that at this point, other people intervened and asked Mandan Mishra to control his temper and offer the young Sanyasi Bhiksha. Adi Sankara asked for Vaada Bhiksha - alms in the form of a debate. Mandan Mishra agreed, and thus began the famous debate between the two.

The learned Ubhaya Bharati, wife of Mandana, acts as judge. Eventually, she declares Shankara as the winner of the debate. However, she stops Mandana from taking up Sanyasam and becoming a Vedantin. She asks Shankara for a debate herself, with the argument that the wife is half of the husband, and unless Shankara defeats her, Mandana is not yet defeated. Shankara agrees.

The debate goes on for 17 days. Realizing that Shankara is unbeatable in Vedic philosophies & knowing fully well that he is a Sanyasi, she asks him a question from the Kama Shastra specific to women. Shankara is silent. She questions Shankara that without householder experience, how could he claim renunciation/meditation/self-realization/Vedanta to be the best path? Shankara asks for time. Bharti agrees. After some dramatic episodes, he finally returns and answers Ubhaya Bharti. Bharti admits defeat and allows Mandana to accept Shankara as his Guru & become a Vedantin. He becomes Sureshwaracharya, the first Peethadipathi of the Shringeri Mutt (Matam).

Sources:

Shankara Digvijaya by Vidyaranya

This story as a script for a drama: http://vedham.blogspot.com/2018/05/adi-shankara-meets-mandana-mishra.html
https://twitter.com/ShefVaidya/status/979698001890369536
https://twitter.com/TrueIndology/status/987208814133850112

Explaining Sita's controversial trial by fire

Hindus have an ancient epic poem called the Ramayana. It is called the Adi-Kavya or the first poem & is one of the largest epics in the world. It has influenced cultures in several countries in the world. Rama is banished on the eve of his coronation. During exile, his wife, Sita is kidnapped by the Ravana. Rama finally wins Sita back.

The Ramayana has a controversial episode. After Sita is finally rescued from Ravana, Rama doesn't accept her back. This angers Lakshmana. Sita performs an Agni Pariksha (trial by fire) to prove her purity. The Rakshasas & Vanaras wail when Sita enters the fire. This act is criticized in the Ramayana and since then until now, and will be in future as well. Recently, controversial historian Audrey Truschke used derogatory words relating to this incident. http://www.opindia.com/2018/04/pro-aurangzeb-historian-audrey-trushke-false-derogatory-comment-lord-ram/

Why did this happen? Is there any explanation to this episode?

Some devout scholars (uncomfortable with this episode) have argued that the continuity of the epic is lost and that this entire episode is a later insertion. Only Samskritam scholars familiar with styles can examine this argument for accuracy. Let us ignore this argument for now.

After the Agni Pariksha, Rama states that he was fully aware of Sita's love and purity. He also says that he knew that Sita would come out unscathed, but he allowed her to continue with the Agni Pariksha only to show the world her purity. Some of us have been satisfied with this argument. Others question the motive. Why should he care what the world thinks?

For the motive, some folks have argued that being a king, Rama had to set higher standards of proving purity & justice than a normal person. This argument satisfies some. Others aren't. Are there more arguments to be made?

When he first sees Sita after rescuing her, Rama says that looking at her is like a diseased eye looking at light. How harsh?! Examine this phrase some more. When a diseased eye is hurt looking at light, is it a problem with the light? Or the diseased eye?

Let us examine Sita's last actions before the abduction. When Maricha, the demon in the guise of a golden deer is killed, he calls out for Sita & Lakshmana in Rama's voice. Sita is perturbed. She asks Lakshmana to leave. He doesn't, since he has been ordered by Rama to protect her. She harshly rebukes Lakshmana questioning his brotherly affections. Lakshmana advises her not to worry while describing Rama's immense prowess, correctly assessing the voice as a demonic voice in disguise & insists on remaining. Then, Sita's words and actions turn venomous. She accuses Lakshmana of wanting her and uses the accusation as the reason as to why he's not leaving. A distraught Lakshmana agrees to leave while correctly assessing that her safety is going to be compromised with his absence. Sita's final act before the abduction was to falsely accuse the purity of Lakshmana. Rama, though he doesn't explicitly state it, is questioning Sita of her purity, the first time he meets her after the episode. Sounds fair?

Rama has also been consistent. When Bharatha first comes to the forest, Lakshmana misinterprets Bharatha's intentions. He assumes that Bharatha has come to kill Rama and remove all obstacles to the throne & offers to kill Bharatha. Rama rebukes him, saying that if he (Lakshmana) wanted the throne, he would have gladly given it to him. Lakshmana had never shown any interest in the throne. However, since he'd falsely accused Bharatha for the throne, he gets an immediate false allegation himself.

I encourage everyone to read the Ramayana for themselves. Depending on your mindset, you will be entertained, learn philosophy & life lessons, love it or hate it. But you can never ignore it: it will stay with you forever. I can recommend the excellent English editions (into readable prose) by Kamala Subramaniam or Krishna Dharma.

How do we get milk?

How many of us think that we simply feed cows/buffaloes/camels/goats & they give us milk

What I found was that most people didn't even realize that these animals are mammals like humans, and they have to give birth to produce milk for their offspring.

However, if the offspring drinks the milk, it is bad for business. So, they are taken away from their mothers immediately.

If the offspring is male, it is either trashed or fed an unnatural iron-free diet in a tight crate for white tender meat. This is veal, which is that of male calves.

If the offspring is female, it is recycled back into the dairy industry. She is artificially inseminated (which is a violent sexual process). Once she gives birth & is milching, it is bad for business to allow her to dry out & then get pregnant. So, she's inseminated right after delivery, so that she keeps giving milk constantly.

This is unnatural, and causes severe painful infections such as mastitis. The milk usually contains blood & pus for this reason. In around 5 years as opposed to the usual life span of 20 years, she is spent. And rewarded with slaughter. Beef is usually that of the female cow. The skin is a by-product & processed as leather.

MThe scourge called animal industrial farming was invented in USA and took off in the 1960s. This has unfortunately spread to most countries in the world. History will record animal factory farming as the worst organized crime of humanity.

Kauai Hindu temple-the story of the largest crystal Shiva Linga

We recently had the good fortune of visiting the Hindu temple & monastery in Kauai. (Per Hindu beliefs, one can visit a temple only if God has willed the visit). The temple's location was in a beautiful green garden with thick foliage & flowers and a tributary of the Wailua river nearby. There is a beautiful banyan tree with spots for meditation. A hand-carved granite temple in Tamil Chola style is under construction. The Tamil sculptors have been brought in from India. A lot of offline work is happening in Bengaluru. The temple's foundation is built using the research done by a UC Berkeley professor on the ancient architectures of the world such as the Roman Coliseum, designed to last a long time.

We also had the chance to learn more about the temple by joining a weekly guided tour (by volunteers) & talking to Sanyasis (monks) in the temple. Our volunteer guide had a Tamil name and was explaining the basics of Hinduism to a fairly sizeable crowd. They follow Ashta-anga Yoga & the Shaiva Siddhantha tradition.

Shiva is typically worshipped in the form of a Linga, which represents the formless given form. One of the materials of the Linga is the Spathika (crystal) Linga, which represents the 5th subtle element of Akasha (translated space/ether/sky). The Pancha Bhootas or the 5 elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Air & Akasha.

There is a large crystal Shiva lingam in the temple. This is the largest 6 sided single pointed crystal structure in the world. I heard some interesting stories about this crystal. Here is my version compiled from my talks with two monks in the temple. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (called Gurudeva by his followers) once had a vision about this large crystal. He and one of the monks who I talked to were looking for it for 15 years. The monk mentioned that he once thought that this didn't exist, and was only a figment of his imagination.

Later, a lady, Almitra Zion, had the vision of this crystal and also where it was. She went to the temple & requested to meet Gurudeva. When she met him and told him of her vision, Gurudeva bought her a ticket as she requested. She went to a miner in Arkansas called Jimmy Coleman and mentioned this crystal & requested it for purchase. They denied knowledge of this & turned her back. She was asked to go back repeatedly and repeat this request every day. She was in tears at being asked to request this repeatedly. But she persisted. After a few days, the miners admitted that they had this crystal.

Jimmy Coleman was 65 feet deep in the mines and he found a perfectly formed 6 sided single pointed crystal standing 3'3" weighing approximately 500 pounds. Since this was so rare, he covered it. Only he & his brother knew about it and they had told no one. Surprised by these repeated requests and hearing about this vision, they admitted to its existence & agreed to sell the crystal. On Aug 12, 1987, the crystal arrived in Kauai.

Near the temple, there is a Rudra-aksha tree grove. Rudra-aksha means eye of Rudra. The Rudraaksha seeds are blue (the blue color symbolizes Shiva's throat). The beads are dried and hand-processed by the monks in the temple & sold in the nearby temple store.

Sources:
- https://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=453
- Verbal talks with monks in the temple
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraivan_Temple
- http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19509206/ns/us_news-life/t/kauai-monastery-builds-hindu-temple-last/#.WtJdtmWEeV5

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/blog/taka/2017/01/07/a-clear-crystal-vision-the-story-of-iraivans-lingam/

https://kukuiula.com/kauai-hindu-temple/