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Thursday, March 14, 2013

Heaven at the North Pole?



May Indra, whose hands Thunder wield,
Be in the East thy guard and shield;

May Yama's care the South befriend,
And Varun's arm the West defend;

And let Kuvera, the Lord of gold,
The North with firm protection hold!

The above prayer is for the Four Guardians of Mount Meru - the Holiest mountain in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cosmologies and Indian equivalent of the Greek Mount Olympus. Meru is believed to be the abode of Gods and with Christmas in the air, I'm gonna try and find out its location as well as connection with the legend of Santa Claus.

Meaning of Prana and its importance


Human body is composed of five elements:
  • Akash (space or vacuity)

  • Vayu (air)

  • Agni (fire)

  • Jala (water)

  • Prithvi (earth)

Significance of 108 in Hinduism


As per Indian religion, Indian culture has a very special significance of the Number 108. Following are the significance of this holy number:

In one minute, we breathe in approximately 15 times, in 1 hour 900 times, And in 12 hours 10800 times, and in a day 10800 x times 2. A day consists of 24 hours, and if we set aside half the day for our day to day routines, then one can spend 12 hours for recitation of ones' idol. Therefore, the Maximum number of times that one can recite a “mantra”, or perform “Jap” is 10800. If one wants to obtain 100% benefit of Jap, then performing Jap 108 times will give one the full benefit of the mantra. That's the reason a Mala, (rosary, tasbi), consists of 108 beads. In every mala there is one larger bead called Meru also. It is not part of the 108 beads so it is the guiding bead, the one that marks the beginning and end of the mala. It is written in Vedas, that 1 Jap corresponds to 1 mala (which has 108 beads), therefore performing Jap of 108 malas will result in 100% benefit.