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 [Some discussions with Guruji during my visit in Feb-Mar 2013]

Different Classes (Castes) of Ages

Creation started in brāhmaṇa (priestly class) age. Rāvaṇa was the last brāhmaṇa king. He ruled for about 311 billion years. The destruction of Dakṣa’s fire ceremony marked the beginning of the end of brāhmaṇa age.

With the Rama-Rāvaṇa war, brāhmaṇa age ended and kṣatriya (warrior class) age began. In kṣatriya age, kingly class ruled. Kṣatriya age lasted 1.7-1.8 million years.

In 1947-50, kṣatriya age ended and vaiśya (trade class) age started. Democracy was introduced, and companies (corporations) started ruling.  ICS exams that Britishers introduced has made the public sector more powerful. Devotion and yoga has increased and will continue to rise.

Trade and commerce is the only way to bring all races together. Corporations will be ruling for a long time.

When everything is sold and purchased, and you have everything but you still need service, then śūdra (service class) age will start. Now the question is, would vaiśya age and śūdra age go together or one after another? I have a feeling that they would both go together.

Action and Reaction
We’ve been hearing that every action has its equal and opposite reaction. It also means that every reaction will have its equal and opposite action. It is also very easy to observe that every reaction will have its equal and opposite reaction as well.

In chapter 21 of “Goraksha Samhita Vol 1 (Bhutiprakaran)”, the great guru Gorakhnath gave the characteristics of a guru (and a disciple). On guruji’s instruction, I’ve excerpted that section here for the benefit of all those who are in the search of a guru.

[English translation is done by Dr. Lakshmi Warier. Transliteration of Sanskrit verses is in IAST scheme.]

गुरुप्रसादात् लभ्येत नान्यथा तु कदाचन
गुरुमन्वेष्येद्यत्नात् सर्वशास्त्रविशारदः || 18  ||

guruprasādāt labhyeta nānyathā tu kadācana
gurumanveṣyedyatnāt sarvaśāstraviśāradaḥ || 18  ||

But one will certainly attain (success) only by the grace of the guru and not otherwise, never, (hence) one should search for a guru with effort who is well versed in all the sastras.

श्रीमतोत्तरतत्वज्ञः स्फुटवाक्सत्यवादिनः
शुभदेशसमुत्पन्नः शुभजातिसमुद्भवः || 19 ||

śrīmatottaratatvajñaḥ sphuṭavāksatyavādinaḥ
śubhadeśasamutpannaḥ śubhajātisamudbhavaḥ || 19 ||

One who knows the truth of the answers of Siva/ Srimata, one who speaks clearly, one who speaks only the truth, born in an auspicious place, and born in an auspicious family/caste.

ककाराष्टकसंभूतो न गुरुं कारयेत्प्रिये
कच्छकोशलकाश्मीरं कार्णाटकं कोंकण उद्भवं || 20 ||

kakārāṣṭakasaṁbhūto na guruṁ kārayetpriye
kacchakośalakāśmīraṁ kārṇāṭakaṁ koṁkaṇa udbhavaṁ || 20 ||

Oh dear, one should not accept a guru born in eight kakaaras places (name of birthplace starting with the letter ‘ka‘) – born in Kaccha, Kosala, Kashmira , Karnata and Konkana region.

कामरूपं न वा देवी कान्चीकं कोलदेशजम्
ऐषु देशेषु ये जाता आचार्या वर्जयेत प्रिये || 21 ||

kāmarūpaṁ na vā devī kāncīkaṁ koladeśajam
aiṣu deśeṣu ye jātā ācāryā varjayeta priye || 21 ||

Oh goddess, and not one who is born in Kaamaroopa, not from Kanchi or the region of Kola (Bengal), oh dear, one should avoid the people born in these places as their guru.

अतिदीर्घं च अतिक्रष्णं केकरं श्यामदन्तकं
अघं चाणं च खल्वाटम् द्विचर्म च कर्कशं || 22 ||

atidīrghaṁ ca atikraṣṇaṁ kekaraṁ śyāmadantakaṁ
aghaṁ cāṇaṁ ca khalvāṭam dvicarma ca karkaśaṁ || 22 ||

Very tall, very dark, squint –eyed, one with dark/black teeth, a sinner, one-eyed, bald-headed, double skinned and very harsh.

कुष्ठिनं विकलं सच्चरं शठं मूर्खं च क्रोधितं
कामातुरम् तथा लुब्धं दाम्भिकं कलहप्रियम् || 23 ||

kuṣṭhinaṁ vikalaṁ saccaraṁ śaṭhaṁ mūrkhaṁ ca krodhitaṁ
kāmāturam tathā lubdhaṁ dāmbhikaṁ kalahapriyam || 23 ||

One who is suffering from leprosy, disabled, ……………..(sarcha?), stubborn, foolish and angry, lustful, greedy, deceitful and fond of fighting/arguing.

अगम्यागमने सक्तं मिथ्यावादिप्रलापितं
बहुयानप्रसक्तं च वीरभार्याभिगामिनं || 24 ||

agamyāgamane saktaṁ mithyāvādipralāpitaṁ
bahuyānaprasaktaṁ ca vīrabhāryābhigāminaṁ || 24 ||

One who is engaged in going to prohibited places, unnecessarily arguing and blabbering, engaged in traveling a lot and approaching the wife of a disciple.

असत्यं जल्पते यस्तु परनिन्दारतः सदा
अनेक व्यसनासक्तं परमर्मप्रकाशकं || 25 ||

asatyaṁ jalpate yastu paranindārataḥ sadā
aneka vyasanāsaktaṁ paramarmaprakāśakaṁ || 25 ||

One who utters lies and is always engaged in blaming others, engrossed in many vices and one who exposes the weak points of others.

अप्रियं निष्ठुरं दुष्टं कुत्सितं समय अच्युतं
विज्ञानिनम् सकूटस्थं अन्यवादरतं तथा || 26 ||

apriyaṁ niṣṭhuraṁ duṣṭaṁ kutsitaṁ samaya acyutaṁ
vijñāninam sakūṭasthaṁ anyavādarataṁ tathā || 26 ||

One who is not pleasant, very cruel, wicked, contemptible/low and one who deviates from conditions, knowledgeable but situated in secret work and one who argues for others.

एवं गुणसमायुक्तं न गुरुम् कारयेत्प्रिये
आत्मान्ति विडंबितस्तेन येनैवं गुरुः सेवितः || 27 ||

evaṁ guṇasamāyuktaṁ na gurum kārayetpriye
ātmānti viḍaṁbitastena yenaivaṁ guruḥ sevitaḥ || 27 ||

Oh dear, one should not accept as guru a person with above mentioned (bad) qualities; he who serves such a guru has ridiculed himself/his soul.

नेह लोके सुखं तस्य परत्र न च विद्यते
कलहोद्वेगं शोकं च संतापं जायते प्रिये || 28 ||

neha loke sukhaṁ tasya paratra na ca vidyate
kalahodvegaṁ śokaṁ ca saṁtāpaṁ jāyate priye || 28 ||

He has no happiness in this world nor is he happy in the other world/elsewhere he also experiences, oh dear, arguments, anxieties, grief and worries/mental agony.

तस्मात् सर्वप्रयत्नेन सुपरीक्ष्य गुरुं कुरु
याद्रशो हि गुरोर्देवि शिष्योऽपि यदि ताद्रशः || 29 ||

tasmāt sarvaprayatnena suparīkṣya guruṁ kuru
yādraśo hi gurordevi śiṣyo’pi yadi tādraśaḥ || 29 ||

Hence by taking much effort and by testing well one should accept a guru, oh goddess, (because) how the guru is, so shall the disciple be.

सिद्धयन्ति च वरारोहे गुरुशिष्यैर्न चान्यथा
सुभक्तं च विनीतं च समयाचारपालकं || 30 ||

siddhayanti ca varārohe guruśiṣyairna cānyathā
subhaktaṁ ca vinītaṁ ca samayācārapālakaṁ || 30 ||

Oh excellent rider, otherwise the guru and the disciple do not succeed. (Characteristics of a disciple:) Well- devoted, modest and maintain conditions and customs.

संसारभयभीतं च गुरुपादार्चने रतं
शान्तं दयान्वितं शुद्धं मलमायाविवर्जितं || 31 ||

saṁsārabhayabhītaṁ ca gurupādārcane rataṁ
śāntaṁ dayānvitaṁ śuddhaṁ malamāyāvivarjitaṁ || 31 ||

One who is afraid of the horrors of this world, engaged in worshiping the feet of the guru, calm by nature, compassionate, pure, and devoid of evil/dirt and illusion.

सर्वद्वन्द्विनिर्मुक्तं दम्भपैशुन्यवर्जितं
गुरुयोगिकुमारीणां तपस्विजनपूजकं || 32 ||

sarvadvandvinirmuktaṁ dambhapaiśunyavarjitaṁ
guruyogikumārīṇāṁ tapasvijanapūjakaṁ || 32 ||

Completely free from all pairs/conflicts (dwands) devoid of deceit and wickedness and one who worships guru, yogis, virgins (kumaris) and pious people who follow austere life.

आक्रोशितस्तूदितो वा गुरुणापि विवासितः
विरागं यस्य वै नास्ति स शिष्यः सिद्धिभाजनं || 33 ||

ākrośitastūdito vā guruṇāpi vivāsitaḥ
virāgaṁ yasya vai nāsti sa śiṣyaḥ siddhibhājanaṁ || 33 ||

Shouted at and scolded (toodita) or banished by the guru who does not develop detachment he is the real disciple who attains success.

एवमादि गुणो यस्य स शिष्यो मुक्तिभाग्भवेत्
दीक्षयित्वा विधानेन अभिषेकं प्रदापयेत् || 34 ||

evamādi guṇo yasya sa śiṣyo muktibhāgbhavet
dīkṣayitvā vidhānena abhiṣekaṁ pradāpayet || 34 ||

He who has such qualities, that disciple will attain liberation, having taken the vow/diksha, he should do ablution as prescribed.

“[ ….. that book] also gives an idea about the kind of food that was popular in old days. For example, if someone is very weak, he used to be suggested different kinds of meat-soups. Like with some medicines use goat-meat etc. Some things make immediate change in man’s strength.”

“Then why is eating meat prohibited or considered inappropriate by Hindus?“

“It is prohibited because dead body is considered impure or unholy. Meat comes from a dead body, a corpse. It has medicinal use, and offered to ancestral spirits, but is prohibited in daily use. For mortal offering to ancestral spirits it is considered appropriate – even different kinds of meats are prescribed in different situations. You can find these descriptions in Kurma Purana, Manu Smriti etc. Meats were used for after-death rites and medicinal purposes. It wasn’t considered necessary for healthy people as eating dead things would destroy the purity/holiness of body and give rise to impure thoughts in mind.”

“What about the common argument that plants also live?”

“Understood that plants also die, but there’s obviously a difference between plants and those in which the life-blood flows. There’s no end to arguing, you can argue either way. There was a movie we were watching. Was a comedy – the hero would become a werewolf at night.. in one scene, the girlfriend asked “Do you trust me?”. The man replied “Are you a vegetarian? I only trust vegetarians”. [laugh]

In-fact, vegetarianism is getting popular, though slowly; this is very encouraging. Doctors also suggest to go off meat – like avoid eating red meat etc. Diseases like arthritis, weakening of digestive juices even cancer are more common in those who eat meat. Those whose staple diet consists of grains etc usually don’t suffer from arthritis. They are healthier on an average. Heart problems are not very common among them. Take even cancer, number of cancer patients you’ll find among meat eaters will be much more compared to vegetarians. Well, people must have started noticing this. There could be one or two coincidences, not hundreds or thousands!”

“I guess ultimately it all comes down to taste.”

“That’s true. But imagine two kinds of meals – one from an Indian feast where you’ll have tens of kinds of Dals, rice, puddings, salads, curries, snacks and vegetables etc and just next to it another one with a tandoori chicken or steak or beef leg etc. Which one would appeal to our taste buds? Of course, for us, its the first one. With the second one you can immediately sense the sighs or curses of the chicken or the dying pig [laugh]. Well, its bound to affect your mood too. At least the first meal doesn’t have the curse of a dying being! [laugh] Nobody can say that the rice pudding is cursed or there’s a cold sigh coming out of vegetable curry [laugh]. Mood after eating the meal should be good. There’s another point. If you are making potato curry, you won’t feel bad or revulsion at the idea of cutting or peeling a potato. On the other hand, if you are making a chicken dish, imagine what you have to go through. First, you’ll have to remove feathers, then take the guts out, clean it up boil it etc. Compared to peeling a potato and frying it there’s a huge difference! The atmosphere will be complete different. Go to a meat market in the US, you’ll see hundred of cows skinned and cut and on the other hand go to a vegetable stall to buy tomatoes. There’s a big difference and makes a lot of difference. Even most of the non-vegetarians can’t actually kill and prepare the meat of the animal by themselves!”

“Now, the concept of hunting in olden times was a different.”

“How so?”

“Well, they didn’t have anything to eat so they hunted an animal and ate it – that can be understood. It could be considered natural as many animals do that too. However, this industry built around selling meat is not right. If you have the guts, hunt for yourself! I’m pretty sure that 90% of people will give up eating meat if they had to hunt and kill the animal for their own food!”
“No one can watch killing an animal”.
“That’s true. Now there’s talk about compassion and love and on the other hand their mouths will water at the sight of a lamb! What kind of compassion is this? Jesus Christ is also shown in pictures with a sweet smile and carrying a lamb in hands. Who knows whether the smile on his face is of real compassion towards the small animal or due to the anticipation of pleasure of devouring a tasty meal of it? [laugh]. Its still an unanswered question! This question should be raised – it is known that he was not a vegetarian – was he taking that lamb to the kitchen or was he just carrying it with love? [laugh] Probably no one can answer that. This should really be found out [laugh].”

“This world is very fascination, interesting. Important thing is that the observations should be unbiased and independent, then only it becomes interesting. Otherwise, what’s the point.”

[20110328-2]