Preety_India

I just write what pops in my head. This gets my creativity flowing. I go into beast mode when I'm on a writing streak. There is no rule to my journaling. I work through chaos to order.

❤️❤️

There would have been an equal (if not more) number of enlightened women had it not been for the oppression of women since the beginning of time. Women never stood a chance with so many men pouncing over them and making sure their creative energy is never released. An intelligent woman was always considered a threat. If a woman was found to be exceptionally intelligent, fingers were pointed to her character and she was burned at the stake so that no other woman could dare to be like her. The male ego couldn't handle female superiority in any way. Only in the past two centuries and in the present Era, women have been able to break the barriers and they are doing a pretty good job.

Demonization of Indians is a favorite public hobby. (Since Indians are extremely humble and simple, they are easiest to attack. Also Indians don't like to kick )

The word ‘dharma’ means duty. In the srimad Bhagavatam, dharma is described as a ‘bull’ who stands on four ‘legs’—austerity, cleanliness, truthfulness, and kindness. These principles are common to all aspects of human life, including that which is not directly associated with a ‘religion’. Indeed, ‘religion’ in the Vedic context is simply one’s duties associated with one’s role. The roles, however, are hierarchical and a person is simultaneously in multiple roles. The duties associated with the highest role—in relation to God—are called ‘religion’. Other duties, which are lower in the hierarchy, include one’s social duties such as ‘father’, ‘employee’, ‘student’, etc. The four legs of dutifulness are associated with both lower and higher duties. This post discusses the meanings of these four ‘legs’ of dutifulness. The First Leg of Austerity Austerity—in the simplest sense—means ‘hard work’. It is the act of self-abnegation to achieve some goal. All of us understand that to get something, we must work. Austerity is the trouble that the mind and body have to undertake to achieve the goal. Now, typically, the body and the mind are not accustomed to austerity because the senses and the mind desire pleasure. Hard work can mean denying that pleasure in the short-term to achieve something that will yield pleasure in the long run. Owing to the innate need for pleasure in the senses and the mind, a person may be driven by short-term thinking: “let me do what I need to do right now for my happiness, and I will think about the long-term problems later on”. When a person is dominated by short-term thinking, he or she becomes controlled by the urges of the body and the mind, and doesn’t realize that he or she is different from them. To force the body and the mind to prepare for the long-term happiness, one may have to sacrifice the short-term happiness. This sacrifice ultimately depends on the realization that the soul is eternal, and even though some short-term sacrifices may be made, the eternity of the soul implies that there would be sufficient time later on enjoy the fruits of this sacrifice. When a person doesn’t believe in the eternity of the soul, he or she feels that their life will be wasted in sacrifice because after death there is no pleasure. Prioritizing the long-term happiness therefore appears to be risky: you might spend the majority of your life sacrificing your happiness, and since death will be the end of all pleasure, you gain nothing in the end. Hence, austerity is possible only when one is convinced of the soul’s eternity. Austerity also requires will power, or what we call free will. The urges of the body and the mind can be overpowered but you must exercise the force of will power to achieve that mastery. Since the body and the mind are material, and always changing, the bodily and mental tendency is always to think of the short-term pleasure: “I will enjoy this now, and when things change, then I will enjoy something else later”. Some people hence interpret the “live in the present” exhortation to naively mean the focus on the short-term and immediate pleasures. To think for the longer-term, one has to master the art of will power (long-term thinking) over the urges of the body and mind (short-term thinking). By exercising that will power, one realizes that he or she is different from the body and mind, and while the body and the mind keep changing, the ability to exert that will force remains unchanged. Thus, most people with weak will power claim to be helpless against the material forces, and since they are unable to control their body and mind, there must be no soul or free will in this world. This is a symptom that they haven’t developed their will power and don’t exercise it, and hence they succumb to the short-term pleasure urges. We might also note that the realization of free will is not uniform across everyone. Quite specifically, one has to use the will power to realize that you have it. The more we use the will power—to prioritize the long-term happiness over the short-term urges—the more we understand how the soul is different from the body and the mind. As a result, not everyone has free will; if you don’t use it, you lose it. But the potential for using it and finding it always exists. Austerity is the act of using the will power to discover that you have will power, so that you can use it even more in the future, until you have complete mastery over the body and the mind. Why is this a ‘leg’ of dharma? The fact is that when we face our duties and responsibilities, we are often compelled to think of the long-term vs. the short-term. Should I do the bare minimum to get past the day, inflict the minimum amount of pain on the body and the mind? Or should I take my role seriously for the long-term, and understand that sacrifices in the short-run will yield results in the long-run? Most people prioritize the short-term over the long-term. They want quick results for their effort, and if those results are seen to be distant or non-existent, they become demotivated and stop working. Due to lack of effort, the results—which could have been achieved in the long-run through austerity in the short-run—are not seen over the long run. A person who prioritizes the short-term happiness goes through a vicious cycle of seeking their short-term pleasure, but as time passes even the short term happiness in the future depends on the sacrifices for the long-term made in the past. Since the delay between hard work and subsequent gratification seems large, the motivation to make that effort is generally weak, which means that the short-term happiness is again prioritized. By always prioritizing the short-term pleasure a person loses the will power to take pain in the short-term, and hence even the short-term pleasures disappear over time (because they depended on past sacrifices). To practice dharma or duty, one must begin thinking about the long-term over the short-term. Pain in the short-term must be accepted if it means long-term happiness. Austerity therefore doesn’t mean eternal suffering. It means temporary sacrifice for eternal happiness. The practice of austerity naturally increases the soul’s will power, and hence the detachment from the mind and body. Hence, in Vedic texts, tapasya or austerity is a dominant means for self-realization. However, every step of our life involves the short vs. long term thinking question, and hence the question is perennial. The Second Leg of Cleanliness The word ‘clean’ is normally identified with hygiene and sanitation—e.g. taking bath, wearing clean clothes, washing your food before consumption, etc. But ‘clean’ also means systematic and organized. For example, you might say that “the room looks clean” not because it has been swept and mopped but also because the things in the room seem to be organized and orderly. Cleanliness appears in our lives through systematic and organized working. Some people do their work systematically—step by step, following a clear process, designed to achieve a result, even if it means delayed gratification, because the results of following that systematic approach are predictable and certain. It’s noteworthy that cleanliness depends on a longer-term thinking because to do things systematically, you have to invest time, energy, and effort into creating that system, bringing that discipline in your activities, and ensuring that you don’t break the regulations of process and procedure in order to ‘quickly’ achieve results. If a person prioritizes the short-term urges, he would be tempted to quickly get to the finish line to achieve fast gratification, and hence shortcuts would be taken. The result of these shortcuts is that outcomes become fault-ridden, unpredictable, and patchy. Of course, when you work unsystematically and produce an unclean outcome, you have to expend further effort in cleaning it up. If the urge for getting to a clean state is very high, then under that urge a systematic way of cleaning and fixing the situation would be avoided. So, you employ an unclean process to clean up things, and the result is further clumsiness, clutter, and disorganization. Now, you are caught in the vicious cycle of uncleanliness: you did not do the work systematically the first time, and you are now under the pressure to clean it up, but the pressure motivates you to pursue short-term outcomes and quick-fix solutions, which then leads to more uncleanliness in the effort to clean up the mess created by previous uncleanliness. As a result, the mess is never cleaned up. It becomes more and more convoluted and complex, and over time all your energy is spent in clean-up operations. With an unsystematic way of working, you appear to make rapid progress in the initial stages, but over time you become paralyzed by the disorganization—most of the time is spent just apply patches to the leaking bucket that was haphazardly put together under an urgency to produce something like a bucket. The pressure to clean up things remains high, so the systematic process is never followed, and all the energy spent in cleaning creates more clutter. To clean up, you not only have to institute processes and procedures, but these in turn rest upon prioritizing the long-term over the short-term. Hence, if there is no patience—based on the longer-term benefits of working systematically—then processes will be broken, and the net result is stagnation as more energy is continually invested to clean up. As this stagnation becomes a way of life, people become demotivated with their work, and give up the desire to clean up. They keep applying patches to give the appearance of progress, but internally they lose the conviction that they are doing something meaningful. Over time, they must become more cynical about the prospect of progress, and this cynicism is depicted today in cartoons such as Dilbert where the entire workplace is permeated by the need for short-term results, overlooking a systematic way of working, producing unsatisfactory results, and an endless cycle of patchwork. Cleanliness is a ‘leg’ of dharma because it means that you might crawl like a tortoise initially but you outpace the hare who runs fast in the beginning but is stagnated thereafter. The moral of the hare and tortoise story is that the benefits of systematic progress outstrip those of discrete and discontinuous activities, if only you can believe in the benefits of the long-term over the short-term. The Third Leg of Kindness Kindness is the opposite of selfishness, and to be kind means to be unselfish and cooperative. Kindness depends on humility, which comes from self-confidence. Conversely, selfishness is the symptom of inner weakness, which prompts a person to remain selfish and fear their self-preservation. Under that fear of survival, a person forgets that all relationships are based on trust, and that trust is quickly broken by selfish actions. When the trust is broken, other people stop cooperating and you become even lonelier in life, and your inner weakness and fear is exacerbated, prompting a vicious cycle in which weakness leads to selfishness, which then leads to breach of trust, which then leads to more fear. Kindness is a symptom of internal emotional self-confidence. When a person works hard (is not afraid of austerity) and works systematically (is not afraid of discipline) he or she naturally develops confidence, and with that confidence comes kindness. With kindness emerge strong relationships based on mutual trust, and with that trust, you can rely on others to reciprocate your kindness. The emotionally weak cannot be kind because they are always worried about self-preservation. Kindness to them appears too risky, because by being kind they fear being cheated by others. That fear of being cheated prompts people to be selfish. But if you are always selfish, then you must expect selfishness in return. If you are prone to manipulate other people, then you must expect manipulation from others. Emotional weakness hence leads to selfishness, which turns into subversive manipulation of others, but over time people realize your nature and become uncooperative. The kind person brings out kindness in others, but the selfish person causes others to become selfish. The irony is that selfishness is the symptom of weakness, and if you are already weak, you need the support of strong relationships. If you break the trust via selfishness, then you also break the relationship and you are now left even lonelier. However, most weak people don’t realize that their selfishness is the cause of their loneliness, and that weakness to selfishness to loneliness constitutes a vicious cycle. When a person is confident, he or she becomes less egoistic. They are able to treat criticisms objectively as areas of improvement, rather than as an affront on their individuality. Confidence therefore brings humility, whereas weakness breeds egoism. Those who are egoistic are not confident. They are in fact weak to the point of being unable to handle criticism, make improvements, become more confident as a result of those improvements, and become humble as a result of confidence. They remain stuck in their weakness, acting selfishly out of their fear, which manifests externally as ego, but eats a person from within because that ego hinders a person’s self-correction leading to improvement. In the material world, no relationship is perfect. However, long-lasting relationships require a person to be receptive to change—making the necessary corrections. If a person has flaws, but remains adamant about those flaws, he or she imposes the adverse outcomes of their flaws on others. The person on the receiving end of those flaws suffers only to the point where their own kindness can take them. Beyond that point, they stop tolerating the flaws, by moving out of the relationship, or fighting it, because they are unable to bear the burden of the other person’s flaws being inflicted upon them. Kindness means that I am willing to fix my problems and make the life of others—living or working with me—less painful. We must realize that a flawed person is a burden on other people, and they may bear that burden only if they are kind toward you. Kindness means not just giving something valuable to others. It also means that taking out the pain of your own personality problems which make other’s life difficult. Correcting one’s flaws is the preliminary form of kindness. Once this kindness is perfected, then people want to trust and seek your help. That’s when you can expand your kindness toward generosity—i.e. offering your time, energy, and abilities to further their goals. Therefore, charity is a much advanced form of kindness, but the preliminary form of kindness is self-correction. Sometimes people perform charity—e.g. offering others money and time—but don’t want to fix their personality problems. Their charity is yet another masquerade for their ego: they pretend to help others in order to demonstrate their superiority over the needy. That quest for superiority is a symptom of their own inner weakness. Such ‘charity’ superficially appears to be kind, but it is not actually kind, and cannot be considered one’s duty. The preliminary duty one has is fixing one’s personality problems. Without fixing those problems, charity and kindness are another form of show business. The Fourth Leg of Truthfulness Once you have become kind, you can offer help to others. But what kind of help is that going to be? Should that help expand their short-term thinking, support the practice of unsystematic and patchy work, and spread superficial charity in order to appear to be kind to others? Or should it be the dissemination of truth—however harsh and painful—that reinforces long-term over short-term thinking, exhorts the person to work in a systematic and disciplined manner, and points out personality flaws so that they can be corrected? By truth we mean the latter rather than the former. It is said that truth is harsh, and truthfulness is therefore painful. It is easier to appeal to a person’s short-term gratification, support their wrongdoing in order to achieve that pleasure, and pretend to have a relationship that exchanges short-term gratification as motivation for their work. It is much harder to tell the truth that enlightens a person about their real long-term happiness, which then leads to a systematic and organized practice with predictable results, while challenging a person to fix their personality problems as the primary purpose of having a relationship with the others. Indeed, when one begins telling the truth, he or she also faces criticisms. To continue speaking the truth, one must have the requisite kindness, which in turn depends on the previous two legs of religion. Most people are deterred by that truth-speaking—because it makes life uncomfortable—and seek refuge in self-preservation. Such self-preservation sometimes goes in the name of not ‘offending’ or ‘hurting’ other’s emotions and feelings, but it is primarily motivated by keeping oneself happy. By avoiding to speak the truth, one breaks the kindness and austerity legs of dharma. He or she might maintain good relations with others, find his support reciprocated, besides popularity. But he or she has failed to perform the expected duty in exchange for pleasantness, happiness, and peace. Leo Tolstoy writes in his book War and Peace: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing” When truthfulness is spoken as a leg of dharma the implication is that harshness may be involved. That harshness is, paradoxically, kindness, because only by speaking the truth can illusion be mitigated. It requires austerity because by speaking the truth, one might get into trouble and therefore one must be prepared to sacrifice short-term interests for a long-term fulfillment. And harshness is often necessary to drive out laziness in life to enforce a discipline by which life’s goals can be achieved systematically. The quest for truth is therefore not easy. It involves not only questions about what reality is and how we know it, but also the ability to accept the truth even when it becomes unpleasant to one’s life. Truthfulness requires detachment. Those who rely on deception might seem successful, prosperous, and loved by others, and our desire for these things often prevents us from speaking the truth. The acquisition of truth also depends on detachment because then you can see things as they are rather than as you might want them to be. Truthfulness and detachment are therefore always connected to each other as jnana and vairagya because without detachment our ‘knowledge’ is biased. The Progression in the Legs of Dharma Since we can count the four legs of dharma, we can also ask: In which order should we count? The Vedic texts describe that the four legs of dharma are dominant in the four ages or yuga. The time called Satya-yuga dominates in austerity—i.e. voluntarily inflicting suffering on the body and mind to detach the soul from the material world as well as develop the power of will that separates the soul from the body. The time called Treta-yuga dominates in cleanliness—it involves the strict performance of elaborate rituals (processes and procedures) without mistakes. The time called Dvapara-yuga dominates in kindness by performing charity and fixing one’s personality flaws because intense austerity and elaborate rituals are very hard to achieve for most people. Finally, in the age called Kali-yuga truthfulness is the dominant form of religiosity because charity, complex rituals, and austerity are very hard to perform. Of course, the relative predominance of one of the legs of religion doesn’t mean the non-existence of the others. But the fact is that when the body and mind are weak, they cannot tolerate severe austerities. When people are unable to perform complex tasks in a systematic manner, then the performance of yajna would be filled with many violations and mistakes. When most people are very poor and struggling to survive, charity is very hard and limited to a few rich people. In the present age of Kali-yuga even truthfulness declines, and speaking the truth leads to quarrels. To avoid those quarrels, most people want to keep quiet, or offer false support to the misguided. At the bare minimum, therefore, truthfulness in this age means self-criticism through honest introspection. You may not offer honest guidance to others, but at least you must be honest with yourself. You may not be able to teach others the truth, but at least you must learn the truth yourself. Bringing oneself out of delusion, false hopes, and misapprehensions about one’s real state in life is our duty. We can be assisted in this duty by other teachers, but the fact is that a teacher who offers the truth plainly may be disliked and challenged—making his or her task much more difficult—forcing them to recoil from their kindness, austerity, and cleanliness, because these are not easy anyway. The net result of such delusion partially impacts the teacher; but it greatly impacts the students themselves. Dharma therefore doesn’t mean ‘religion’ in all cases. It does, however, mean ‘religion’ when the person is involved in the highest duties (which override all other duties). As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita 18.66: “Abandon all varieties of dharma and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear”, the lower dharma or duties can be discarded in favor of the higher dharma. As a result, austerity, cleanliness, kindness, and truthfulness can also be discarded if it pleases the lord. But that rejection is generally rare and perilous, and it must be taken only under the guidance of a teacher who knows how to override the lower dharma with the higher dharma. As a general principle, one must aspire to maintain all the four legs of dharma. But if all four cannot be maintained then one must aspire to at least practice truthfulness. But if even truthfulness toward others becomes impossible for a person, then at the bare minimum honesty with oneself is essential. The worst form of adharma is self-deception, which leads to the deception of others, and over time to unkindness, uncleanliness, and succumbing to the pleasure of the body and the mind over all else.

Maha Vishnu As per the Srimad Bhagvatam Mahavishnu is a principal deity in Hinduism, known as the Absolute protector of the universe beyond human comprehension and all attributes. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a school of Vaisnavism, the Satvata-tantra describes three different forms, or aspects, of Mahavishnu(Karanarnavasayi Vishnu,, Garbhodaksayi Vishnu and Ksirodakasayi Vishnu. The term Mahavishnu refers to that Absolute truth Brahm(a) or Brahman (impersonal invisible aspect) then as Paramatma (Aspect beyond the understanding of human soul) and finally as Sarvatma(incarnating for bringing perfection). So bhakti (loving devotion) goes to Sarvatman(Krishna or Rama avatars or incarnations of Vishnu, Narayana bringing both peace and perfection of the living beings). In this way, bhakti surpasses even yoga, which is aimed at the Supersoul, Paramatman. Mahavishnu is the Supersoul of all living beings (jivaatmas) in all material universes. Karanodaksayi Vishnu is understood to be Sankarsana(form) of the Catur-vyuha of Narayana. It is also often used interchangeably with Vishnu to indicate reverence, as the prefix "Maha" in vishnu indicates the greatness and the vastness of Narayan. So all the Gods including Purusha form like Shiva, Brahma are considered as the Part of Maha Vishnu Expansion. Mahavishnu is said to lie in the Causal Ocean or the Karanodak. He puts the seed of this material universe in Mahamaya by glancing at her. Mahamaya remains the ever obedient material energy of the Supreme Lord. All the natural elements including sky, fire, water, air and land are created along with mind, intelligence and false ego. After this, Mahavishnu enters each of the many universes so created (seeds emerging from the pores of His skin) as Garbhodaksayi Vishnu, who lays down in each and every of these individual material universes (Brahmandas). It can be interpreted that Garbodakshayi Vishnu is the collective soul of all souls in a particular material universe and that Mahavishnu is the collective soul of all souls in all of the material universes. From Garbhodaksayi Vishnu then emerges Brahma who is the secondary creator (due to his need to meditate to create planets in the material universe) of the planetary systems within particularly this material universe (Brahmanda).

Dashavatar: The Ten Incarnations of Lord Vishnu Vishnu is the preserver of the universe. In order to restore cosmic order, he descended on earth in ten different forms or Dashavatar. In each of his lifetimes, he eradicated evil and revived dharma. The Dashavatar of Vishnu in different yugas are: Matsya (fish) – Satya yuga Kurma (tortoise) – Satya yuga Varaha (boar) – Satya yuga Narasimha (half human, half lion) – Satya yuga Vamana (the dwarf brahman) – Treta yuga Parshurama (the warrior) – Treta yuga Rama (the prince) – Treta yuga Krishna (the cowherd) – Dawapara yuga Buddha (the Enlightened One) – Dawapara yuga Kalki (the horserider) is yet to appear – Kali Yuga Matsya (fish) – Satya yuga Matsya is the first of the Dashavatar. It is depicted as a giant fish or as half human torso connected to the rear half of a fish. In this avatar, Vishnu had warned the first man, Vaivasvata Manu, of a great flood which would end the three worlds. He asked Vaivasvata to bring one of every plant and animal species to the shore and on the day of the great flood he safely took all of them to a new world in a boat and saved them. Kurma (tortoise) – Satya yuga Depicted as a giant tortoise or a mixed form of human and tortoise, the Kurma avatar of Vishnu, took form during the great Deva-Asura (God-Demon) war. In order to obtain Amrit– the nectar of immortality, the gods and demons started Samundra Manthan– churning the Ocean of milk. During the churning, mount Mandara started to sink. Vishnu appeared in the form of a giant tortoise and took the weight of the mountain on his back. Eventually, he also delivered justice by disguising himself as Mohini and taking the nectar from the demons and giving it to the Gods who obeyed his commands. Varaha (boar) – Satya yuga When the demon, Hiranyaksha dragged the earth to the bottom of the ocean in the form of pralaya– destruction that takes place after the end of each age, Vishnu took the form of a boar and appeared to save her. Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu emerged victorious in a 1000-year-long fight with Hiranyaksha. Later, he went deep down to the ocean and using his tusks raised mother earth back to the surface. He is usually depicted as a full boar or a human with a boar head. Narasimha (half human, half lion) – Satya yuga Hiranyakashipu wanted to take revenge of his elder brother Hiranyaksha’s death. After severe penance, Brahma appeared before him. He asked Brahma, “Let not death come to me either by man or beast, by day or by night, with a weapon either living or inanimate, indoors or outdoors, on earth or in the sky.” Brahma granted his wish and soon Hiranyakashipu started creating havoc in heaven and on earth. One day, he decided to kill Prahlada, his own son and the greatest devotee of Vishnu. To protect his devotee, Vishnu took the form of Narasimha– A human with the head and claws of a lion. Narasimha outwitted the boon and killed Hiranyakashipu at dusk, under the arch of the doorway, with his claws, while he lay of his thighs. Vamana (the dwarf Brahman) – Treta yuga Bali, Prahlad’s grandson, had taken over the position of Indra, the god of heaven, by performing a sacrifice. The mother of the gods called upon Vishnu for help. In order to help her, Vishnu appeared in the form of Vamana, a dwarf Brahman. Bali welcomed Vamana and promised to give him whatever he wanted. Vamana asked for three paces of land measured by his stride. Bali agreed and didn’t retract even after being warned and cursed by his guru. Vamana turned into a giant and covered the earth with his first stride and heaven with the second. He cursed Bali as he covered all that was Bali’s in two strides and there was nothing left to take in the third stride. Bali asked Vamana to step over him and cover the third stride. Pleased with this righteous virtue, Vamana made Bali the king of Patala, the netherworld. Parshurama (the warrior) – Treta yuga King Kartavirya Arjuna once visited saint Jamadagni, father of Parashurama– the warrior avatar of Vishnu, at his ashram. The saint fed the king and his army with the help of his cow Kamadhenu. The king was pleased by the cow’s yield and took the cow to his palace, against the saint’s will. When Parashurama got to know about this, he destroyed the king’s army and killed the king. To avenge their father’s death, the sons of the king killed Jamadagni, Parashurama’s father. Parashurama vowed to kill the Kshatriya race twenty-one times, as his mother had beaten her breast those many times in vain. Parashurama kept his vow and filled 5 lakes with their blood. He is considered to be one of the seven immortals mentioned in the scriptures. Rama (the Prince) – Treta yuga Pictured as the ideal man and the perfect human, Rama’s story in the form of Ramayana is known to many. To keep his father’s honour, Prince Rama gave up his throne and served fourteen years of exile in the forest along with his wife, Sita, and younger brother, Lakshman. Ravana, the king of Lanka, abducted Sita. As the legend goes, Rama along with this army of Vanaras killed the demon Ravana and saved Sita. Krishna (the cowherd) – Dawapara yuga Vishnu incarnated as Krishna, a cowherd, to destroy his uncle and demon king, Kamsa. He also played an essential role in the battle of Kurukshetra between the cousin clans Pandavas and Kauravas for the throne of Hastinapura. Through the battle of Kurukshetra, Krishna laid some of the philosophies as guidelines for life. These guidelines are still recited in the Bhagavad Gita, the Divine Song. Buddha (the Enlightened One) – Dawapara yuga Born as Prince Siddhartha, Buddha became renowned to the world when he became a monk and attained enlightenment. Sacrificing the luxuries of princely life, detaching himself from worldly pleasures and practising deep meditation, he spread the message of peace. Vishnu came to earth in this form to make humans see the importance of self-realization and liberation. Kalki (the horserider) is yet to appear – Kali Yuga Puranas predict the tenth form of Vishnu to be Kalki, the destroyer of darkness. He shall appear at the end of Kali yuga, the current era. Riding a white horse with a blazing sword in hand, he will announce the dawn of Satya yuga. According to the 'Yuga System' of Hinduism, Ramayana occurred in Treta Yuga while Mahabharata took place in Dwapara Yuga, several years after the Treta Yuga.

The Trimurti Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति three forms is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities, typically Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer.

The role of the Rakshas gana. This person will not be humble or sweet. This person is going to be powerful like Kali. Able to bring major changes. The Deva gana will bring a transformation in the Loka through persecution and invoking goodness. Meanwhile Rakshasa similar to Kali or Kalki avatar will bring the end of Kaliyug. They will bring the Satya Yug with their powerful force. They love and protect the prince or the swan. But to protect the prince, they need to get their hands dirty in the mud. So they are the ones who do the dirty job for the prince by learning strategies and tactics to destroy evil. And they can be considered bad or their reputation soiled because of their not so subtle and intense violent representations, yet they are needed to destroy evil, to do the dirty work, to take out suffering, to put someone out of their misery, to protect the good, and to deal with the dirt and the bad/evil and the garbage. So you could enjoy your carpet in the clouds. In some ways they are the gatekeepers of the kingdom and the gutter cleaners and morgue keepers. Although they are demonized because they don't appear as loving and charming as a lotus or a Swan, they are very useful in maintaining the order of the universe by fighting evil with intimidation. You could compare them to the exorcists of the world.

The role of the Rakshas gana

@Serotoninluv thank you so much. Was waiting for something like this.

Shiva is present everywhere! As Adi Shankaracharya said, "Forgive me Oh, Shiva! My three great sins! I came on a pilgrimage to Kashi forgetting that, you are omnipresent. In thinking about you, I forgot that You are beyond thought. In praying to you, I forgot that You are beyond words." To sustain law and balance of nature Lord Shiva took many avatars in various yugas. In Shiv Mahapuran, there is a mention of these avatars. 1.Piplaad Avatar As per the legends, Shiva was born as Piplaad to sage Dhatichi. The sage left his son even before he was born. Upset without his father Piplaad asked the devas why my father left me. They told him that the unfortunate circumstances were formed because of the planetary position of ‘Shani.’ On learning this, Piplaad cursed Shani and Shani started falling down its celestial abode. Piplaad forgave Shani on the condition that it will not trouble anyone before 16 years of age. It is believed that praying to this form of Lord Shiva helps people to get rid of Shani Dosha. According to Shiv Puran, Lord Brahma had named this avatar of Lord Shiva. 2.Nandi Enter any Shiva temple in the country and you will first witness a statue of the quietly formidable Nandi, Lord Shiva's mount and the divine gatekeeper. Lord Shiva represents all beings on Earth. This avatar of Lord Shiva is an indication towards it. There are some temples which are exclusively built for Nandi As a primary Hindu God, Nandi is traced in lineage back to ancient dairy farmers that depended on cows for their main livelihood. As their foremost source of sustenance, Nandi was worshiped as keeper of the herds. In this form he was said to be bull-faced with a body much like his hallowed Shiva, but with 4 hands. Two hands holding axe and antelope, and the other two joined in homage. In this human form he is known as Nandikeshwara. 3. Veerbhadra Avatar Sati was the youngest daughter of Daksha, the king of all men. When Sati grew up she married Shiva,much to the displeasure of her father. One day Daksha made arrangements for a great yagna, and invited all the gods omitting only Shiva. Sati's urge to go to her home due to the affection towards her parents overpowered the social etiquette for not going to an uninvited ceremony. Daksha insulted her and Shiva infront of others. Unable to bear further trauma she ran into the sacrificial fire. When Shiva came to know about this and with deep sorrow and anger, plucked a lock of hair and thrashed on the ground. Lord Veerabhadraand Rudrakali were born. Virabhadra's believed to be the destroyer of Ajnana, his tall body reached the high heavens, he was dark as the clouds, three burning eyes, and fiery hair; he wore a garland of skulls and carried terrible weapons. To provide him the power, arrived Bhadrakali, a wrathful incarnation on Devi. On the direction of Shiva, Virabhadra appeared in the midst of Daksha's assembly like a storm and broke the sacrificial vessels, polluted the offerings, insulted the priests and finally cut off Daksha's head, trampled on Indra, broke the staff of Yama, scattered the gods on every side; then he returned to Kailash. 4. Bhairava Bhairava, sometimes known as Kaala Bhairava, Kal Bhairab, Annadhaani Bhairava, Bhairon or Bhairadya, is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation. The origin of Bhairava can be traced to the conversation between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu recounted in “Shiv Maha-Puran” where Lord Vishnu asks Lord Brahma who is the supreme creator of the Universe. Arrogantly, Brahma tells Vishnu to worship him because he (Brahma) is the supreme creator. This angered Shiva who then incarnated in the form of Bhairava to punish Brahma. Bhairava beheaded one of Brahma's five heads and since then Brahma has only four heads. When depicted as Kala Bhairava, Bhairava is shown carrying the severed head of Brahma. Cutting off Brahma's fifth head made him guilty of the crime of killing a Brahmin(Brahmahatyapap), and as a result, he had to carry around the disembodied skull for twelve years and roam as Bhikshatana, a mendicant, until he had been absolved of the sin. In the form of the frightful Bhairava, Shiva is said to be guarding each of these Shaktipeeths. Each Shaktipeeth temple is accompanied by a temple dedicated to Bhairava. 5. Ashwatthama According to Mahabharat, the son Dronacharya, Ashwatthama is an ansh Lord Shiva’s Kaal, krodh (anger) and Yam (death). During Samudra Manthan , Halahaal the fuming posion capable of burning universe appeared and all Dev Danav Manav Yaksha Gandharva fled. All of them along with Lord Vishnu and Lord Bramha came to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva consumed Halahaal and held it in his throat. However unable to bear its consequences it started burning him. The Vish purush sprung out of him folded his palms, Lord Shiva asked him that although Lord Vishnu and me didn’t let you kill the people yet in Dwapar Yuga but during Mahabharat war, with my blessings, you will be able to kill oppressive kshatriyas. You will be born as Bhardwaja’s grandson and be raised as Brahman but attracted towards Kshatriyahood. This Vish purush was born as Ashwatthama to Drona and Kripi 6. Sharabha avatar Sharabha is a creature that is part lion and part bird. According to Sanskrit literature, Sharabha is an eight-legged beast, mightier than a lion and elephant and which can kill the lion. In later literature, Sharabha is described as an eight-legged deer. Shiv puran narrates that god Shiva assumed the Avatar of Sharabha to tame Narasimha - the fierce man-lion avatar of Vishnu worshipped by Vaishnava sect - into a normal pleasant form representing harmony. This form is popularly known as Sarabeshwara (Lord Sarabha) or Sharabeshwaramurti. The iconography of Sharabeshwaramurti (Shiva as Sarabha) is specifically defined in texts such as Khamikagama and Sritattvanidhi. In Khamikagama, Sharabha is described in the form of a bird with golden colour, with two uplifted wings, two red eyes, four legs in the form of a lion touching the ground, four legs with claws upwards, and with an animal tail. The top part of the body is shown as human but with the face of a lion with an ornamented crown; side tusks are also depicted giving an overall frightening sight. It also shows the Narasimha beneath Sharabha’s legs as a human with anjali (hands folded prayer) In the Sritattvanidhi, the depiction prescribed for Sharabeshwaramurti is of thirty arms; arms on the right are to hold thunderbolt, mushti, abhaya, chakra (discus), sakti, staff, goad, sword, Khatvanga, axe, akshamala, a bone, bow, musala, and fire; and the left hands to display noose, varada, mace, arrow, flag, and another type of sword, a snake, a lotus flower, skull-cup, pustaka, plough, and mrudanga with one hand encircling Durga in a hug. This form is extolled to usher good luck, cure all diseases and destroy all enemies. 7. Grihapati Avatar Once upon a time, there used to live a brahmin named Vishwanar who was a great devotee of lord Shiva. Shuchismati was his devoted wife. Shuchismati expressed her desire of having a son just like lord Shiva. Vishwanar went to Kashi to please Lord Shiva by his penance. He worshipped Vishveshwar linga with supreme devotion. Lord Shiva became very pleased by his devotion and he appeared before Vishwanar from the Shivalinga. When Vishwanar expressed his desire, lord Shiva agreed to take birth as his Son. In due course of time, Shuchismati gave birth to a beautiful child. Lord Brahma named the child as Grihapati. When Grihapati attained the age of six, he was proficient in all the Vedas and other sacred texts. When Grihapati attained the age of nine, Narada came and informed Vishwanar that death of Grihapati was imminent because of the evil effects of the planetary combinations. Grihapati then consoled his parents and proceeded towards Kashi to do penance so that the 'death' could be conquered. Grihapati commenced his penance at Kashi. Indra arrived there and requested him to demand anything he wished but Grihapati refused. Indra became furious and tried to attack him with his Vajra. Grihapati was very terrified. Right then Lord Shiva appeared and Indra had to retreat from the scene. Lord Shiva blessed Grihapati by saying “even Kaalvajra would not be able to kill you.” Grihapati became very pleased. The Shivalinga which he worshipped, later on became famous as 'Agnishwar linga’. Lord Shiva made Grihapati the lord of all the directions. 8. Durvasa Lord Shiva had taken this avatar on the earth to maintain the discipline of the universe. Durvasa was a great sage known for his short temper. Wherever he went, he was received with great reverence from humans and devas alike. Once Atri, the manasputra of lord Brahma, went to do penance at the bank of the river Nivindhya which flew by the foothills of Trayakshakul mountain as per the instructions of Lord Brahma himself. He commenced a tremendous penance. Hanuman Lord Shiva was so infatuated by the appearance of lord Vishnu in his form of Mohini during Amrit Manthan episode that his semen was released on the ground. This semen was established by the Saptarishis in the womb of Anjani, with the permission of lord Shiva himself. In this way was born the mighty Hanuman. 10. Rishabh Avatar After the churning of the ocean had been accomplished, numerous things had emerged out from the ocean. A tremendous battle was fought between the deities and the demons to have control over the vessel containing Nectar. To distract the attention of the demons from the nectar, lord Vishnu created numerous enchanting beauties. When the demons saw them, they forcibly carried these enchanting beauties to their abode – Patal Lok. After that they again returned to take control of the Nectar. By that time, Vishnu had made the deities drink all the nectar. When the demons came to know about this, they became very furious and attacked the deities. Ultimately the demons got defeated. To save their lives the demon ran towards their abode. Lord Vishnu chased the demons and killed them. However, he got infatuated by those enchanting beauties. During his stay in the Patal Lok, many sons were born to Lord Vishnu, who were very wicked and cruel. These sons of lord Vishnu started tormenting the inhabitants of all the three worlds. All the deities and the sages went to lord Shiva to take his help. Lord Shiva went to the Patal Lok in the form of a Ox (Vrishabh). He killed all the sons of lord Vishnu with his sharp horns. Seeing the death of his sons, lord Vishnu came forward to fight him. He attacked lord Shiva, but lord Shiva couldn’t be conquered. Ultimately lord Vishnu was able to recognise him and returned back to Vishnuloka. Yatinath Avatar There used to live a bheel named Aahuk on the Arbudachal mountain. His wife was Aahuka and both of them were supreme devotee of lord Shiva. Once, lord Shiva wanting to test their devotion, appeared before them disguised a hermit Yatinath. Aahuk honoured his guest and treated him very well. Lord Shiva then requested him to give shelter for the whole night. Aahuk expressed his inability as he had a very small hut, in which only two people could be accommodate at a time. But his wife intervened and requested Aahuk to sleep outside the hut with his arms, as it would be inappropriate on their part to miss this chance of proving their hospitality. The hermit, who in reality was lord Shiva and Aahuk's wife slept inside the hut, while Aahuk himself slept outside. Unfortunately Aahuk was killed by a wild animal while he was asleep. In the morning when lord Shiva found that Aahuk had died, his heart was filled with grief. But Aahuka consoled him and decided to give up her life by jumping into the burning pyre. Right then lord Shiva appeared in his real form and blessed her by saying “In his next birth your husband would take birth in a royal family. He would become Nala and you would be born as Damayanti. I would myself appear in the form of a swan and help both of you to unite.” After saying this, lord Shiva established himself as immovable Shivalinga, which later on became famous as Achaleshwar linga. 12. Krishna Darshan Avatar Once there was a King Nabhag who, during his childhood, left his home for 'gurukula’ to get education. In his absence his brothers got the wealth of the kingdom distributed among themselves. When Nabhag returned home after the completion of his education, he demanded his share of wealth. His brothers told him that they had forgotten to fix his share as he was absent at the time of distribution. They advised him to go and meet their father. Nabhag went to his father and made the same request. His father advised him to go to sage Angiras who was trying to accomplish a yagya, but was not being able to accomplish it because of his attachment. Nabhag did the same. He went to the place where sage Angiras was performing his yagya. He preached sage Angiras on the virtues of Religiousness. As a result the sage became free from all sorts of attachments and the yagya was successfully accomplished. Sage Angiras was very pleased by Nabhag's knowledge of religion. He gave all the remaining wealth of the yagya to Nabhag. Just then lord Shiva arrived there in his incarnation of Krishna Darshan and tried to prevent sage Angiras from donating the wealth to Nabhag, instead he staked his own claim. Nabhag told lord Shiva that, since the wealth was given to him by sage Angiras himself, it naturally belonged to him. Lord Shiva then sent Nabhag to his father Shradhadev to know about his opinion. Nabhag went to Shradha deva who revealed to him that the person who was staking his claims on the wealth was none other then lord Shiva. He also told him that whatever remained after the accomplishment of the yagya belongs to lord Shiva only. He went back to lord Shiva and worshipped him. Lord Shiva blessed him which helped Nabhag to attain salvation. Bhikshuvarya Avatar There was a king named Satyarath who ruled over Vidarbha. Once he was attacked by a neighbouring king and got killed in that battle. His wife somehow managed to save her life by hiding in a forest. The queen was pregnant at that time. At the shore of a pond she gave birth to a child. She was feeling thirsty, so she went into the pond to quench her thirst. Unfortunately she was killed by a crocodile who used to live in that pond. The hungry child started crying- A beggar woman arrived there with her one year old child. Though her heart was filled with compassion seeing the hungry child cry but still she was hesitating to take him in her lap. Right then lord Shiva appeared as a beggar and advised her to bring up the orphan child. 14. Sureshwar Avatar Upamanyu – the son of sage Vyaghrapaad, was brought up in his maternal uncle's home since his childhood. One day Upanyu he was crying for milk when his mother told him that if he wanted milk then he should worship lord Shiva as he only was capable of making the milk available. Upamanyu proceeded towards the Himalaya and started doing penance to please lord Shiva. His penance generated so much of heat that all the three worlds started burning. To test his devotion, Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati appeared before him disguised as Indra and Indrani respectively. Both of them told Upamanyu to stop doing penance. They said “We Indra and Indrani are extremely pleased by your devotion. Stop worshipping Shiva. We will fulfill all your desires.” Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati did not stop at this. They even cursed Shiva. Upamanyu became very furious and got up to attack the abuser – Indra. Shiva and Parvati were satisfied by his total dedication and devotion. They revealed their real identity and blessed him. Shiva promised Upamanyu that he would be present in the vicinity of his hermitage along with Parvati forever. Upamanyu returned back to his home and narrated the whole story to his mother who was very pleased. Lord Shiva got the name 'Sureshwar' because he appeared in the guise of Indra. Keerat Avatar Once, Arjuna was performing a tremendous penance to please lord Shiva. Duryodhan had sent a demon named Mooka to kill Arjuna. Mooka had disguised himself as a boar. Arjuna was engrossed in his meditation, when suddenly his concentration got disturbed by a loud noise. He opened his eyes and saw Mooka being chased by a Kirat. In fact it was none other than Shiva who had appeared in the guise of Kirat. Both Arjuna and Lord Shiva struck the boar with their respective arrows at the same time. A disagreement broke between Arjuna and Kirat (Shiva’s avatar) over who killed the boar. Arjuna challenged Shiva for a dual. Shiva was very much impressed by his valour. He revealed his real identity. Arjuna was very ashamed that he fought with Shiva but Lord Shiva consoled him and gave his weapon Pashupat to Arjuna 16. Sunatnartak Lord Shiva had taken this form to ask the hand of Parvati from her father, Himalaya Brahmachari After sacrificing herself in Daksha’s yagya, when Sati took rebirth in Himalayas house and worshipped lord Shiva for years to make him her husband again. To take Parvati’s test, Lord Shiva had taken this form. 18. Yaksheshwar After defeating the demons and driking ‘Amrit’ the deities very arrogant. Lord Shiva was very concerned about their arrogant nature. He went to them in the guise of a Yaksha. He asked as to what was it that had made them so arrogant. The deities replied that their arrogance stemmed from victory over the demons. Lord Shiva who was disguised as Yaksha replied- “Your pride is based on false notion, because you did not achieve victory due to somebody's grace and blessing.” Lord Shiva then asked them to cut the grass if they considered themselves so mighty. He then kept a grass leaf in front of them. Each of the deities tried to cut that grass with their respective weapons but remained unsuccessful in their attempts. Suddenly a heavenly voice was heard which said that the Yaksha was none other than Lord Shiva himself. The deities realized their mistakes and apologized to lord Shiva. 19. Avdhut avatar With this avatar, Lord Shiva had crushed the ego of Lord Indra.

Rakshasas were believed to have been created from the breath of Brahma when he was asleep at the end of the Satya Yuga. As soon as they were created, they were so filled with bloodlust that they started eating Brahma himself. Brahma shouted "Rakshama!" (Sanskrit for "Protect me!") and Vishnu came to his aid, banishing to Earth all Rakshasas (named after Brahma's cry for help). Their literary origins can be traced to Vedic sources through Hymn 87 of the tenth mandala of the Rigveda. They are classified amongst the Yatudhanas, mythological beings that consume raw flesh. Rakshasas were most often depicted as ugly, fierce-looking and enormous creatures, with two fangs protruding from the top of the mouth and having sharp, claw-like fingernails. They are shown as being mean, growling like beasts, and as insatiable man-eaters that could smell the scent of human flesh. Some of the more ferocious ones were shown with flaming red eyes and hair, drinking blood with their palms or from a human skull (similar to representations of vampires in later Western mythology). Generally they could fly, vanish, and had Maya (magical powers of illusion), which enabled them to change size at will and assume the form of any creature. The female equivalent of rakshasa is rakshasi. In Hindu epics In the world of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Rakshasas were a populous race. There were both good and evil rakshasas, and as warriors they fought alongside the armies of both good and evil. They were powerful warriors, expert magicians and illusionists. As shape-changers, they could assume different physical forms. As illusionists, they were capable of creating appearances which were real to those who believed in them or who failed to dispel them. Some of the rakshasas were said to be man-eaters, and made their gleeful appearance when the slaughter on a battlefield was at its worst. Occasionally they served as rank-and-file soldiers in the service of one or another warlord. Aside from its treatment of unnamed rank-and-file Rakshasas, the epics tell the stories of certain members of the "race" who rose to prominence, some of them as heroes, most of them as villains. In the Ramayana The Battle of Lanka pitted an army of Rakshasas under Ravana against an army of Vanaras, under Rama and Sugriva. Ravana the king of Lanka with ten heads, was the commander of Rakshasas. Maruti slew Jambumali the commander, with one stroke of an iron rod Ravana was the King of Lanka. He was the commander of the Rakshasas. He was the immortal enemy of Rama, the hero of the Ramayana. In the Mahabharata (Book III: Vana Parva, Section 271 ff.), the Sage Markandeya recounts the story of how Ravana kidnapped Rama's wife Sita and whisked her off to his stronghold Lanka. Rama, aided by the monkey King Sugriva and his army of monkeys, laid siege to Lanka, slew Ravana, and rescued Sita. Vibhishana was Ravana's younger brother. He was beautiful, pious and assiduous in his religious observances. When Brahma granted him a boon, he asked never to swerve from the path of righteousness and to always be illumined by divine knowledge (Book III, Vana Parva: Section 273.) Vibhishana joined Rama in his campaign against Ravana and helped Rama's army to cross the ocean into Lanka (Section 281). When invisible Rakshasas infiltrated Rama's camp, Vibhishana caused them to become visible; this enabled Rama's monkey soldiers to destroy them (Section 283). After Rama's final victory over Ravana, the loyal Vibhishana was made king of Lanka and remaining Rakshasas (Section 289). Kumbhakarna was another brother of Ravana; he was sometimes referred to as a Rakshasa because of his frightening appearance and size. Like Rakshasas, he had an enormous appetite and ate large quantities of food and meat. A fearsome warrior and master of illusion, he slept through most of the Battle of Lanka (having long before requested and received a gift of long-lasting sleep from Brahma). When Ravana awakened him with alarming news about the conflict, he arose and took the field. Upon marching out of the city, Kumbhakarna was immediately swarmed by Rama's monkeys; he just laughed and wreaked great mayhem amidst them. When the monkey king Sugriva attacked, Kumbhakarna grabbed him and started to drag him off. At that point Rama and his brother Lakshmana used arrows and a secret Brahmastra ("Brahma's weapon") to kill Kumbhakarna, dropping him "like a huge tree cleft in twain by a thunderbolt." (Ramayana, Book III: Vana Parva, Section 285.) Other Rakshasas that are featured in the Ramayana include Kabandha, Tataka (sometimes called Taraka), Shurpanakha, Maricha, Subahu, Khara, Prahasta, Akshayakumara, Atikaya, and Indrajit - the most powerful son of Ravana. In the Mahabharata The Pandava hero Bhima was the nemesis of forest-dwelling Rakshasas who dined on human travellers and terrorized human settlements. Bhima killed Hidimba, a cannibal Rakshasa. The Mahabharata (Book I: Adi Parva, Section 154) describes him as a cruel cannibal with sharp, long teeth and prodigious strength. When Hidimba saw the Pandavas sleeping in his forest, he decided to eat them. He sent his sister Hidimbi to reconnoiter the situation, and the young woman fell in love with the handsome Bhima, whom she warned of danger. Infuriated, Hidimba declared he was ready to kill not only the Pandavas but also his sister, but he was thwarted by the heroism of Bhima, who defeated and killed him in a duel. Hidimbi - the sister of Hidimba Ghatotkacha, a Rakshasa who fought on the side of the Pandavas, was the son of Bhima and the Rakshasa Hidimbi, who had fallen in love with the hero and warned him of danger from her brother. Bhima killed the evil Rakshasa Hidimba. Their son's name refers to his round bald head; ghata means 'pot' and utkacha means 'head' in Sanskrit. Ghatotkacha is considered a loyal and humble figure. He and his followers were available to his father Bhima at any time; all Bhima had to do was to think of him and he would appear. Like his father, Ghatotkacha primarily fought with the mace. His wife was Ahilawati and his son was Barbarika. In the Mahabharata, Ghatotkacha was summoned by Bhima to fight on the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War. Invoking his magical powers, he wrought great havoc in the Kaurava army. In particular, after the death of Jayadratha, when the battle continued on past sunset, his powers were at their most effective (at night). After performing many heroic deeds on the battlefield and fighting numerous duels with other great warriors (including the Rakshasa Alamvusha, the elephant-riding King Bhagadatta, and Aswatthaman, the son of Drona), Ghatotkacha encountered the human hero Karna. At this point in the battle, the Kaurava leader Duryodhana had appealed to his best fighter, Karna, to kill Ghatotkacha, as the entire Kaurava army was near annihilation due to his ceaseless strikes from the air. Karna possessed a divine weapon, Shakti, granted by the god Indra. It could be used only once and Karna had been saving it to use on his arch-enemy Arjuna, the best Pandava fighter. Unable to refuse Duryodhana, Karna used the Shakti against Ghatotkacha, killing him. This is considered to be the turning point of the war. After his death, the Pandava counselor Krishna smiled, as he considered the Pandava prince Arjuna to be saved from certain death, as Karna had used the Shakta divine weapon. A temple in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, honors Ghatotkacha; it is located near the Hidimba Devi Temple. Bakasura was a cannibalistic forest-dwelling Rakshasa who terrorized the nearby human population by forcing them to take turns making him regular deliveries of food, including human victims. The Pandavas travelled into the area and took up residence with a local Brahmin family. Their turn came when they had to make a delivery to Bakasura, and they debated who among them should be sacrificed. The rugged Bhima volunteered to take care of the matter. Bhima went into the forest with the food delivery (consuming it on the way to annoy Bakasura). He engaged Bakasura in a ferocious wrestling match, and broke his back. The human townspeople were amazed and grateful. The local Rakshasas begged for mercy, which Bhima granted them on the condition that they give up cannibalism. The Rakshasas agreed and soon acquired a reputation for being peaceful towards humans. (Book I: Adi Parva, Sections 159-166.) Kirmira, the brother of Bakasura, was a cannibal and master illusionist. He haunted the wood of Kamyaka, dining on human travellers. Like his brother before him, Kirmira also made the mistake of fighting the Pandav hero Bhima, who killed him with his bare hands (Book III: Varna Parva, Section 11). Jatasura was a cunning Rakshasa who, disguised as a Brahmin, attempted to steal the Pandavas' weapons and to ravish Draupadi, wife of Arjuna. Bhima arrived in time to intervene, and killed Jatasur in a duel. (Book III: Varna Parva, Section 156). Jatasur's son was Alamvush, who fought on the side of the Kauravas at Kurukshetra. Karna Attacks Ghatotkacha Rakshasa heroes fought on both sides in the Kurukshetra war. Alambusha was a Rakshasa skilled at fighting with both conventional weapons and the powers of illusion. According to the Mahabharata, he fought on the side of the Kauravas. Arjuna defeated him in a duel (Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 167), as did Arjuna's son Abhimanyu (Book VI: Bhishma Parva, Section 101–102). But Alamvusha in turn killed Iravan, Arjuna's son by a Naga princess Ulupi, when the Rakshasa used his powers of illusion to take on the form of Garuda. Alamvusha was also defeated by Bhima (Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 107). He was slain by Bhima's son, the Rakshasa Ghatotkacha (Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 108).

The role of the Rakshas or Rakshasa. The Rakshas is generally considered bad but in Astrology there are good Rakshas too. As per Hindu mythology there were both good and bad Rakshas. Religious traditions that feature these entries are sorted using the following key: ॐ - Hinduism ☸ - Buddhism 卐 - Jainism Examples of good Rakshas Ghatotkacha Hadimbi or Hidimbi Kali Example of a bad Rakshas Kansa The Rakshas in Hindu mythology A general form of the Rakshas demon The Kali The bad Rakshas The bad Rakshas is equivalent to the Hippo in ancient Egypt. It brings disaster, death, destruction, loss, chaos and evil. The good Rakshas The good Rakshas is terse, strong, intense, intimidating, powerful, and uses its destructive forces to protect the good and destroy evil. When evil has to be destroyed, the good cannot play the tricks or act cruel or harmful. In order to defeat poison you need poison. In order to fight a sword, you need a sword. The Swan or the Hero cannot do it since being aggressive goes against his nature, he cannot lift a bow to shoot the arrow, he cannot hurt or cause pain. So here comes kali. She takes the bow arrow out of the hands of the Swan and shoots the arrow and kills the beast. Kali destroys evil. Kali has learned the tricks of the devil. She knows now to shoot and kill. She can cause pain. She can show wrath.

Punarvasu Nakshatra Astrological Range (Punarvasu — Ranges from Degrees 20 Gemini – 3:20 in the Cancer sign) Punarvasu Nakshatra Characteristics: Intellectual and spiritual wisdom, worldly prosperity, amiable, soft-spoken, patient Punarvasu Nakshatra Meaning: Return of the light Punarvasu Nakshatra Lord: Jupiter Ruling Deity of Jupiter: Shiva Punarvasu Nakshatra Body – VarahaMihira: Fingers Punarvasu Nakshatra Body- Parashara: Cheeks Punarvasu Nakshatra Symbol: Quiver of arrows. Punarvasu Nakshatra Deity: Aditi — the mother of the Gods Shakti (power to/of…): Ability to gain wealth or substance Punarvasu Nakshatra Caste: Vaishya Punarvasu Nakshatra Nature: The movable or ephemeral {Chara} Punarvasu Nakshatra Gana: Deva Gana (Lord Like) Punarvasu Nakshatra Rashi / Zodiac: Gemini (Mithuna) & Cancer (Kark) Punarvasu Nakshatra Marriage: Not auspicious Punarvasu Nakshatra Translation: Good again Punarvasu Nakshatra Controlling/Ruling Planet: Jupiter – Guru Punarvasu Nakshatra Number: 7 Punarvasu Nakshatra Gender: Female Punarvasu Nakshatra Names Letter: Kay, Ko, Ha, Hee Punarvasu Nakshatra Lucky Letters: K & H Punarvasu Nakshatra Lucky Stone: Yellow Sapphire Punarvasu Nakshatra Lucky Colour: Grey or Lead Punarvasu Nakshatra Lucky or Favourable Numbers: 3 Punarvasu Nakshatra Common Name: Bamboo Punarvasu Nakshatra Astronomical Name: Pollux Punarvasu Nakshatra Botanical Name: Bambusa bambos Punarvasu Nakshatra Guna: Satwic Punarvasu Nakshatra Dosha Vata Punarvasu Nakshatra Element: Water Punarvasu Nakshatra Bird: Swan Punarvasu Nakshatra Yoni/Animal Symbol: Female Cat Punarvasu Nakshatra Tree: Venu vruksha and Bamboo Punarvasu Nakshatra Female Characteristics The female native of the Punarvasu Nakshatra has a calm nature, but her tongue can be very cutting at times. This can cause many problems with in-laws and relatives, and even neighbours. Deep down, though, she respects a person where respect is due. She likes to live in comfort and will thus have many servants and items of material comfort in her house. Punarvasu Nakshatra Female: Profession and Related Areas The female native of the Punarvasu Nakshatra is fond of music and attains expertise over various folk dances. He rendition of these talents on stage will fetch her much applause and fame and even money. Punarvasu Nakshatra Female: Compatibility and Related Areas The female native of the Punarvasu Nakshatra will have a handsome husband. She will share a good rapport with her husband, and despite some ups and downs in their conjugal life, she will enjoy herself with her husband. Punarvasu Nakshatra Female: Health and Well-Being The female natives of Punarvasu Nakshatra are believed to suffer from some health concerns because they do not take proper care of it. Some of the ailments that they could suffer from are pneumonia, ear pain, indigestion, tuberculosis, goitre, or jaundice. Punarvasu Nakshatra Astrology: Punarvasu Nakshatra Ranges from Degrees 20 Gemini to 3:20 in the Cancer zodiac sign. Its Lord is Jupiter, and the meaning is the return of light, symbolizing that the native has the capacity to stand up and fight even after being beaten. The Nakshatra’s symbol is Quiver of arrows, and its deity is Aditi — the mother of the Gods. Punarvasu Nakshatra Prediction 2020: In the year 2020, some elderly members of your family may have varying views from you on specific topics. This may cause some arguments and clash of opinions. But see to it that it doesn’t get too stretched. And if you can reign in your aggression, you will move past the potential difficulties, which might have bothered you unduly. You are likely to witness betterment as time moves on, and situations begin to change. In your social circles, you are expected to occupy a dominant position. Those around you will admire you and appreciate your qualities, which will also boost your confidence. However, there may be some conflicts on the personal front. So, you need to be careful. Something auspicious is likely to happen, especially during the 2nd half of the year. You may also need to travel due to some professional task assigned to you. Punarvasu Nakshatra Padas: Punarvasu Nakshatra 1st Pada: The first pada of the Punarvasu Nakshatra falls in the Aries Navamsa ruled by Mars. The focus here is on the adventure and various other activities. The objective is to achieve goals through team spirit. Punarvasu Nakshatra 2nd Pada: The second pada of the Punarvasu Nakshatra falls in the Taurus Navamsa ruled by Venus. Here the focus is on earthy, fixed and materialistic comforts. Punarvasu Nakshatra 3rd Pada: The third pada of the Punarvasu Nakshatra falls in the Gemini Navamsa ruled by Mercury. The focus here is on imagination, science and mental activities. Punarvasu Nakshatra 4th Pada: The fourth pada of the Punarvasu Nakshatra falls in the Cancer Navamsa ruled by the Moon. Here the focus is on strength a nurturing spirit and helping the needy.

How to beat evil Be as strong and fortified as you can Pre-emptive reasoning Know beforehand how it's going to impact Use Astrology Use prayer beads Exorcise the house Rebuke the dem forces. Tell it that it's not going to win Threats The dem is stubborn Allow minimum damage There are forms of problems or suffering Physical Mental Spiritual or Poltergeistic Spiritual crisis is different from spiritual problems or paranormal problems. Paranormal problems are of a different nature. Examples of these Excessive depression without cause Constant bad luck Feeling of being hounded by negativity Sleep issues Restlessness Mysterious deaths Abusive environment Past history of sexual abuse Use of ouija boards Contact with mediums Not wanting to be close to any God or religious imagery Not wanting to pray Extreme stubbornness or resistance to solutions. Poltergeistic activities Generational curses Frequent deaths Past karma of bad actions Alien encounters Unexplained events Constant sabotage Constant distraction that doesn't feel natural.

Nakshatra Gana Ganas correspond to the energy of one of the three Lokas(worlds), Swarga Loka (heaven), Prithvi Loka (Earth), Mrityu Loka (Hell). Swarga is the domain of Gods, and the Devas are said to live in the Swarga Loka. Prithvi Loka is the domain of Humans, and that is where they reside. Mrityu Loka is the domain of the demons and Rakshasas are said to live there. Each of the 27 nakshatras are said to belong to one of these three classes. Every class consists of 9 Nakshatras. How many types of Gana are there in astrology? 3 types of gana have been depicted in our hindu astrology, are dev gana (divine), manushya gana (human) and rakshasa gana (demonic). These ganas are controlled by the situation of the moon present in the birth chart of the individual. Astrologically each one is equally significant, as the individual’s identity and nature are completely based on these gana phala. All the 27 constellations are isolated into these three gana, which are as per the following nakshatra gana table. Gana in Astrology: Nakshatra and Gana To know your nakshatras and their gana, you will need to Find Your Janma Nakshatra,. For instance, if your Janma Nakshatra is Chitra, you belong to the Rakshasa Gana. Nakshatra Gana Table What are the characteristics of Gana in astrology? Every individual has their own Gana which shows their nature. The three categories of nakshatra ganam have their own nature and characteristics and hence based on the Gana of the person, one can understand his/her basic nature and temperament. Deva Gana Characteristics: Deva gana nature is humble, generous and kind-hearted. According to deva gana features these persons possesses good temperament, good behaviour and tends to follow all the cultural rules and traditions. deva gana person appreciates the good qualities of others and avoids getting into quarrels and refrains from being envious. Manushya Gana Characteristics: This gives the person a human nature. Manushya gana personality will have mixed qualities. Sometimes they may be very kind, and at times they may become vindictive. The person who belongs to manav gana, will be religious and creative. However, it’s not necessary that the person will follow all the rules. In other words, natives of manushya gana phala like to make a living for themselves and their kin. Rakshasa Gana Characteristics: This indicates the darker side of human nature. The one who belongs to rakshasa gana phala will be stubborn and rigid in nature. It is the rakshas gana nature that this person may even tend to pick fights over petty issues. Rakshasa temperament may be self-centred and not care about anyone else. However, the person with these qualities may not necessarily be bad. The person with this Gana will also have strong intuitive powers. Gana nakshatra can also be used as one of the tools to test the Astakoot compatibility. The calculation is based on the Nakshatra and gana of the bride and the bridegroom. This Relationship Compatibility test helps to analyse the respect a couple may have for each other and also with how well they will bond with each other’s family and friends. To add further, the most points to score a Gana Koota is 6. Such a scenario is possible in between deva gana and manushya gana compatibility, when if they couple both belong to the same Gana or if the bride belongs to the Manav Gana and the bridegroom to the Deva Gana. 5 points can be considered when the bridegroom belongs to the Manav Gana and the bride to the Deva Gana. However, no points can be added if either of them belongs to the Deva or the Manav Gana and the other to Rakshasa Gana. When a couple scores 0 points, it is known as a Gana Dosha. To neutralise the Gana Dosha, the Nakshatra Shanti Puja is recommended. As we realize the traits of those three gana phala. Dev gana and manav gana marriage with rakshasha gana isn’t always considered auspicious and ideal match. However nonetheless some astrologers have said that rakshasha gana can be married to manushya gana, for which some pooja has been recommended, which reduces the probabilities of getting any trouble in their marriage life. According to astrology, if the bride and groom are of the same gana phala, their confluence is perfect because all their traits and nature are the same, as a result, the compatibility, love, understanding and relationship between both will remains very strong. Gana Compatibility: Dev Gana can be marry with Dev gana & Manushya Gana Manushya Gana can be marry with Dev Gana & Manushya Gana Rakshasa Gana can be marry with Rakshasa Gana & manushya Gana About Nakshatra: The Nakshatras in Vedic astrology are lunar constellations and directly manifest its expressions. The Moon changes signs (houses) about every 2.3 days. It takes 28 days to move through the 12 signs of the zodiac, translating into two weeks of a waxing (bright half) Moon and two weeks of a waning (dark half) Moon. The Moon is related to our intuition, intelligence and our natural emotions. The 28 Hindu Nakshatras deal with these ever-changing feelings and emotions based on the Moon’s position.

Woke up and had a dream of a murder mystery. A woman who had killed someone claims self defense but jt wasn't that. Now runs a business with her daughter and son and friends. Her son knows everything of her past. Don't remember all the details. The real business owner is missing. This dream wasn't terrifying or anything. But it was very dragging and simply disturbed my sleep. So the plot of the dream was a woman dressed in orange who gets arrested and questioned but she admits that it was self defense. It was a robbery that she committed but when she is exposed she decides to kill the owner of the business Her story looks suspicious to the detectives but with no evidence they let her go Scene cuts to this woman wearing a dark red business suit and inner white shirt. Large gold studs. She is now with her daughter who is a bit nerdy and controlling the business of the owner who she killed. She has a son who out of sympathy for her doesn't leak her secrets. But there's this pesky employee an old woman who is sturdy and argumentative and reigns a lot of control. The killer woman is contemplating if she can pull the same move on this old woman. The method she had used for killing was poisoning A guy dressed in pizza delivery outfit shows a special cuisine that looks like fluffy bread to everyone in the office. It's charged $12 a piece. So the employees are shocked one of them asking if they got a differently priced one. Enters a woman wearing similar clothes like the guy and shows them bigger ones that cost $35 a piece. One of the employees is a black woman who is smart and sees the trick and quips, "I'm not gonna buy those. I can make them at home using butter." At the same time the killer woman who is the owner now sees an opportunity to use the fluffy bread that are intended to contain the poison as her strategy and feed it to the pesky employee Dream ends. The parts of the dream that I forgot were where the woman kills the owner and how she does it and how many more she might have and she exactly does it. These parts were very spacey, blurred and rapid. Couldn't recollect the details of these parts. I could only see the woman in an orange summery see through dress walking into a narrow passage led by guards to an investigation room. Dont recollect how the crime was committed or what she did with the body. But she is seen mixing something like dough or batter so it must be poisoning or a freak accident she caused that ended up killing the owner I feel see parts where she sets up the wiring of the room in such a way that the person who gets curious about it will end up getting electrocuted. So her son gets a mild electric shock but he survives and does okay. This instills a doubt in him that his mother is behind it. These parts of the electric shock are disjointed and appear during the initial stages of the dream.

I love you dad. Starting my day with a positive thought again. It's so cold here, I want to make some soup. Waking up today at 4.30 am No sound of the coucal

Always remember that you are doing a great job, no matter what. Forget the old stock. You will always get new ones

So today is May 22. And I haven't been keeping well since the past few days. Generally a bit tired. And really waiting for grocery stores to open. I've been eating stored food that I'm really tired of eating.. I want to start a fresh diet. Let's see what happens. Meanwhile trying deeply to focus on myself. Yesterday I had an argument with Andrew. Because he was talking about flat earth which is bogus to me. I don't believe in that shit. He tried to convince me that the earth is flat. Hahaha. I told him to keep walking to the end of the earth. We can be so silly sometimes. And we frequently argue about the flat earth. ??? I don't want to be a part of the gossip clique. I'm happy being a lonewolf.. Eventually the people who are good will see the good in you and come to reconcile with you The creepy breeze is always here in the night. I have enough problems on my plate to deal with. Notice that the best people stay away from others. People don't even understand that this is a random dice. You wont win because each throw is different. You wanna win then the dice has to show the number you want.. Haha. That doesn't happen in life much less any place. Let the dice roll. You be you.

I've been having some trouble again. I just don't know. I want to escape my reality. I don't feel okay. I haven't been feeling well. Feels like all the positivity I had built up over the last week has drained again. It's so tough to deal with this. I just want to get out of this and find peace and quiet.. What am I going to do. Today is an Important day for me. I need to mark it.. May 22 I need to get stuff done. I need to fulfill my promises. This is not living, this is not life. Life is not forever problem solving. It is also surviving and thriving. Learn to see the mark of the beast. I have been struggling too much. I need to get out of this constant pain and struggle..

@liamnewsom202 Spiritual festivals, yoga centers, Tai chi classes, Buddhist centers, art exhibitions, spiritual forums, psychedelics festivals, TED talk events, meditation workshops, Zen centers, these teachers or gurus who are on YouTube like Rupert Spira, they hold sessions with people or events where you can meet and greet them, you can come across a lot of like minded people there.

I think I'd prefer someone who is into similar consciousness work like me. I found my current boyfriend at a meditation retreat last year. We both had keen interest in meditation and spirituality. So we clicked. I wouldn't have appreciated someone who is not into consciousness work.. So I'm glad I found someone who I can click with. For me it matters that the person I'm with has similar interests because then conversations are smoother and there is better understanding. I wouldn't want to be with a person who continuously criticizes or despises my work. And even if they are okay with what I do, I know deep down that a lot of people don't take kindly to this kind of work.