Shri Verma has selected Sankhya-Patanjala system that explains the physical world (Universe) on the basis of Cosmic evolution; the Vaisesika-Nyaya expounds the methodology and elaborates the concepts of physics, chemistry and mechanics. Shri Verma has very systematically tried to interpret the Sankhya aphorisms and concludes that the ultimate ground to which the manifested world can be traced is Prakrti having three attributes-Sattva (existence), energy at rest or Rajas (energy that which is efficient in a phenomenon and is characterised by a tendency to move and overcome any resistance) and Tamas (mass or inertia) which resists the Rajas to do work and also resists Sattva from conscious manifestation.
Review:
This work will certainly inspire other serious-minded scholars to undertake further research on this count and provide a deeper understanding of 'Atom' and the 'Universe'. I congratulate Sri Verma for producing this book.-Murli Manohar Joshi, in his Foreword
K. D. Verma has demystified the Vedic hymns by decoding the symbols, technical terms and concepts, thereby many of the mute problems, some fundamental issues in Indian scientific tradition in general and in particular mathematics, astronomy, physics, material and life sciences, ...This being highly commendable, puts him in the list of illustrious predecessors.-Dr.S.N. Bhavsar, in his Introduction
This book leaves an undeliable marks and impressions that linger and recycle in the mind suggesting that there is something unique and novel that needs to be pursued. ...It compels one to continue to think.-Dr.B.D. Kulkarni, Director, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune
This is a bold and brave book that will evoke and provoke both modern scientists as well as researchers of ancient Shastras to test their models in the light of the Vedic model which the author believes is the only valid and irrefutable model of reality.-Dr.Vijay Bhatkar, Renowned Computer Scientist, Pune
In this Amar Chitra Kath, the asuras propitiate the Gods to win favors, gain boons and become powerful. With Brahma’s blessing and under the divine architect Maya’s instruction, the asuras commission the grand construction of Tripura – three mobile cities: one on earth, one in the sky and one in the heavens. However, when the asuras begin to misuse the power they gain, they become engaged in a ferocious battle with the devas, the very same Gods they had propitiated.
This title on the Tripura episode is based on material drawn from the Shiva and Matsya Puranas.
Years later, restless in his gilded cocoon, Siddhartha set out to explore his kingdom and was greatly moved at the state of human suffering. One fine day, he renounced the world and began a life of severe asceticism to seek an answer to life and sorrow, to seek the ultimate truth.
His search led him to enlightenment that liberated and illuminated him as he pondered under a Bodhi tree. He became the Buddha at the age of 35. He realized that the body need not suffer of starve to seek the truth. He adopted the “middle-path”, that moderation. He returned to preach what he had learnt and experienced, and did it with compassion for his fellow beings.
Manikanthan had a glorious destiny. At the end of a life full of dramatic events, Lard Parashuama himself sculpted and installed an idol of him in the hill temple of Shabari. There, as Lard Ayyappan, he is worshipped as the presiding deity of the entire hill range.
This lone temple on the top of the Shabari hills, deep in the forests of Kerala, attracts millions of devotees from all over the country every year. They travel through dense forests full of wild animals, over steep hills and in inclement weather to obtain his ‘darshan’ (a glimpse) on Makara Sankranthi day (which falls on 14th January each year). It is said that the Lord comes down to the Shabari Hills on Makara Sankranti in the form of light to give ‘darshan’ to his innumerable devotees and himself lights the temple lamp. Then in a moving and beautiful ritual the pilgrims partake of the ‘prasad’ and walk backwards down the eighteen steps, their faces turned towards the Lord, shining with devotion and ecstasy.
Krishna is, at times, the simple cowherd indulging the milkmaids in playful banter. At other times, he is the supreme intellectual – engaged in the exposition of the Gita philosophy. Krishna’s beguiling childish pranks and his dignified wisdom have, in turn, influenced the Hindu consciousness for centuries.
Krishna is particularly appealing to children because he is one of them as no other divine is. Krishna, the boy, is mischievous he has irrepressible energy for innumerable escapades. He is no puritan. He has divine powers, but he humanises them and remains a boy. This powerful human element is the secret of Krishna’s universal popularity. He is secular even as he is sacred, and so he remains throughout his life. That is why Krishna becomes a living presence to all children who have listened to his stories.
The story of Shiva's marriage is symbolic of the perfect fusion of the male and the female principles which, according to a Hindu view of life, are the moving powers behind the universe. Shiva (the male principle), the Supreme Consciousness, will acquire the power to create and destroy the elements only in conjunction with Shakti ( the female principle). That was why Vishnu and others were keen to see Shiva married. Though the word Shiva rarely occurs in the Vedas (it does in the Yahurveda) there are adequate references to show Rudra(another name for Shiva) as the Supreme Consciousness. The Kenopanishad mentions UMA as the maya or the manifestation of the Supreme Consciousness. The story of Sati brings home to us in simple terms, the truth and beauty of a lofty vedic concept.
No traditional Hindu will launch upon a new undertaking without invoking Ganesha, for it is he, as Vighneshwara, prime remover of obstacles, who clears the path to success. The Sarvajanik puja or public worship of Ganesha, however, is popular mostly in
Ganesha's lineaments are familiar - for song, story and have made them so. ganesha is depicted with an elephant's head with a trunk curled gracefully over a generous potbelly, four arms bearing his distinctive emblems of godhood, and his portly figure mounted on a tiny mouse, his chosen vehicle. there are many interpretations of this unique combination. the most popular is the deity embodies the power and wisdom of the elephant and the mobility of the agile mouse.
The legends about the birth and exploits of this deity are many; different Puranas giving different versions of the same incidents. Our story, however, is based solely on the Shiva Purana version. On the heights of