Due to COVID,I was not going to gym or to eat out or go for movies. So I had more time at my hand and I did a course on religion from Harvard University .It was on Hinduism and I was disappointed . One of the misconception that we have ts that the so called learned Professors KNOW . In one of the links to the course was to an article written by one of the Harvard professor on caste system he argued that even in RIG VEDA there is mention of the same - Brahmin is produced from mouth and Shatriya is from hands and Viashya is produced from thigh and Shudra from feet .So even the Veda which is suppose to be main scripture, had demoted Shudra. This is simply due to lack of understanding on part of this LEARNED (?) Professor.In one of the older mantra called RAMARAKSHA , which is related to Lord Rama and how we should worship or pray the Lord Rama has several shlokas describing the various body parts as related to different personalities in Ramayan. BIBHISHAN who is described as one with feet.Certainly he was not Shudra by any stretch of imagination.So what does it mean?So I though of talking about the Ravana and his siblings and the GUNAS.
There was a Rhushi who was trapped by a lady who was RAKSHAS.and when they had children they were Ravan, Kumbhkarn, Bibhishan and Shurpanakha . First 3 are males and last one is female. We know that Ravana was the devotee of Lord Shankar and he was the same one who kidnapped Sita and also was indulging in all sorts of sense pleasures. Kumbhakarn was full of indulging in pleasures and slept 24/7 .The Bibhishan was a devotee of God and Lord Rama and SHURPANAKHA was wicked female. When she saw Rama she wanted to marry him and when Rama told her that he was married , she wanted to marry his brother Lakshamana . So all that she wanted was to have somehow sense pleasure. So now let me try to explain this on basis of 3 GUNAS or 3 qualities. The father VISHAWA was full of Satwic guna but he did marry Rakshasa woman, who is full of TAMASIC Guna.So the combination created 4 children who have combination of 3 qualities. As you know that Satwic is calm and steady and Rajasic is activating and Tamasic is inactivity - laziness. So the Satwic Guna was almost 100% in BIBHISHANA and so he was devoted to Gid and he did pray and did penance and hew blessed with Immortality.The Ravana is more of Rajasic and some Satwic and some Tamasic Gunas and so he was worshiping though at times for self pleasures and he is the same one who kidnapped Sita with lust,Kumbhakarna was 100% Tamasic and he had done some worshiping too But the Satwic and the Rajasic Gunas were there in very small %. Predominant is Tamasic.Shtpanakha was combination of Tamasic and Rajasic Gunas so she was attracted to Rama and then Lakshmana and then when it did not work out, she wanted to take revenge.
All of us have all 3 qualities and the proportion of them at a given time our action is determined. But for practical purpose we have one or another one dominant most of the time . But when another one takes over for a short time we behave differently. So we do see Good people do bad things at times and Bad people do good things at times . These qualities determine if one is Shudra or Bhamhin. Certainly society did make a mistake and created casts based on Birth rather than 3 Gunas.
May be one of these days we can talk of meaning of various parts of body representing different personalities in Ramayana.
There was a Rhushi who was trapped by a lady who was RAKSHAS.and when they had children they were Ravan, Kumbhkarn, Bibhishan and Shurpanakha . First 3 are males and last one is female. We know that Ravana was the devotee of Lord Shankar and he was the same one who kidnapped Sita and also was indulging in all sorts of sense pleasures. Kumbhakarn was full of indulging in pleasures and slept 24/7 .The Bibhishan was a devotee of God and Lord Rama and SHURPANAKHA was wicked female. When she saw Rama she wanted to marry him and when Rama told her that he was married , she wanted to marry his brother Lakshamana . So all that she wanted was to have somehow sense pleasure. So now let me try to explain this on basis of 3 GUNAS or 3 qualities. The father VISHAWA was full of Satwic guna but he did marry Rakshasa woman, who is full of TAMASIC Guna.So the combination created 4 children who have combination of 3 qualities. As you know that Satwic is calm and steady and Rajasic is activating and Tamasic is inactivity - laziness. So the Satwic Guna was almost 100% in BIBHISHANA and so he was devoted to Gid and he did pray and did penance and hew blessed with Immortality.The Ravana is more of Rajasic and some Satwic and some Tamasic Gunas and so he was worshiping though at times for self pleasures and he is the same one who kidnapped Sita with lust,Kumbhakarna was 100% Tamasic and he had done some worshiping too But the Satwic and the Rajasic Gunas were there in very small %. Predominant is Tamasic.Shtpanakha was combination of Tamasic and Rajasic Gunas so she was attracted to Rama and then Lakshmana and then when it did not work out, she wanted to take revenge.
All of us have all 3 qualities and the proportion of them at a given time our action is determined. But for practical purpose we have one or another one dominant most of the time . But when another one takes over for a short time we behave differently. So we do see Good people do bad things at times and Bad people do good things at times . These qualities determine if one is Shudra or Bhamhin. Certainly society did make a mistake and created casts based on Birth rather than 3 Gunas.
May be one of these days we can talk of meaning of various parts of body representing different personalities in Ramayana.
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