Transmigration in the Mahabharatha and the Siva Purana, Part 1

In the Sanskrit literary universe, the Puranas occupy a very important place. The intent and interpretations of the Vedas are clarified here in great detail. All three of the Kandas, the Karma Kanda, Upasana Kanda and the Jnana Kanda have all been extensively discussed in the various Puranas. Furthermore, the discussions in the Puranas are accessible even to those without knowledge of the Vedas.

In this age i.e., the Kali Yuga, several parts of the Vedas are obscured, like the sun behind the clouds. The true illumination of our age comes from the Puranas which have been preserved successfully. The Mahabharatha, (Adi Parva 1:267) emphatically states (Itihaasa puranaabhyam Vedam Samupabruohayeth) that the Vedas can only be fully understood with the help of the Itihasas and the Puranas.

The Matsya Purana (53:3) also states that of all the various source texts of the Sanathana Dharma, the Puranas are the most important. Of the 18 Puranas, the Siva Purana is the 4th and sometimes also called the Vayu Purana. The current version of the Siva Purana, has 24000 Slokas (couplets) organized into 7 Samhitas and is said to be condensed by Sage Vyasa, from the original 100,000 Slokas/12 Samhitas. That original version is believed to have been composed by Siva himself. Today, the Siva Purana's 24,000 slokas are divided into 457 chapters.

Dana/ (Danam Karoti) – The Duty of Giving

That which we give as a gift to others in this life is what determines the credit available to us for use on  the transmigratory journey of our ‘Jeevi’, (our soul + essences of good and bad in this life). Gift giving is classified as Sattvic, Rajasic or Tamasic depending upon the giver, the gift and why it was given.

A gift is not simply money but wealth or service of any kind that has positive consequences for the recipient. From the smallest to the biggest, a Sattvic gift is one given to assist a person exhibiting Sattvic behavior either in their time of need OR as a sign of genuine appreciation even though they haven’t done anything for you. The same gift is classified as Rajasic, if the recipient has at some point in the past OR might in the future expect a profit because of it. A gift is Tamasic if it is given if given with anger OR given to one who lives habitually by thievery, OR given with great reluctance in a humiliating manner to the recipient feels humiliated by the gift (i.e. it is not a gift but an act of evil) OR if it is conditional on the recipient being a family member or relative or otherwise affiliated to the giver.

Sattvic gifts are ultimately accepted by the Devas, the Pithara (forefathers who have ascended to Deva status), great sages and the fire (Agni). They are the purest gifts. The Rajasic gifts are accepted by the Danavas, Daityas(denizens of the lower realms) , Grahas (planets),  or Yakshas and Rakshasas. Tamasic gifts are accepted by the Pisachas and Pretas who are the wardens of Patala – a place where all Jeevi must go to suffer for the wicked deeds done in the life before.

Sattvic gifts reap the greatest benefit, Rajasic reap middling and the Tamasic gifts reap the least benefit in one’s Transmigratory journey. One must see giving as a duty and seek out ways to give at the highest level possible. Dana is the Yagna (sacrifice) of the Householder - that person who chooses to live life in society as a family member, contributing to the society at their level. The greater the Sattvic nature of the recipient and the need, the greater is the benefit that accrues to the giver. 

One must constantly seek opportunities to give Dana. Those who are affluent should establish large foundations that will give Dana to the scholars who pursue Sattvic knowledge or knowledge through Sattvic means to benefit the Sattvic. Thus, those who are Sattvic scholars AND poor are the greatest among the recipients and must be sought out with zeal by the affluent. Last, but not least, one must remember not to let this existence become a glorified book-keeping of Goodness (to paraphrase Swami Vivekananda) but rather one must attempt to transcend material existence by reaching to merge with the Universal Consciousness before or concurrent with the end of this particular material incarnation itself.

A Unitary Source & A Multiplicity of Dimensions

Hinduism is the old Aryan religion. The old Hindu books tell us that the Aryans lived in the India/Af-Pak/Tajikistan Himalayan reaches and plains), with Northern India as the seat of the civilization. The collapse of the massive Sarasvati River triggered migrations that isolated that Aryan Genepool into the now extant racial genotypes around the world.

Hindu texts lay out in great detail, the exemplary behavior that is needed for one to be called Aryan - the books clearly show that being Aryan is not about race but about upholding sattva, dharma and ahimsa. Therefore study and practice of Hinduism as envisaged in the great books - The Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras & the Bhagavad Gita (as of course, also the Vedas and the timeless truths they contain and many other wonderful texts, the Bhagavata, the Puranas, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the Mahabharatha, Ramayana) is the only way to understand the true meaning of being Aryan.

The word "Aryan" is a much abused one, with racists of many shades attempting to expropriate the word to serve their own narrow ends, to glorify their own tribes. Yet, all who sought to do say have seen defeat. It is time to bring the truth to the whole world, for we are all the progeny of the original Aryans and therefore we are all the inheritors of the great way of life pioneered by them.

The great Hindu books tell us that these original Aryans were much more long lived than us, were bigger than us, and had learnt to harness the powers of the mind to perform things that seem impossible to us now - from the control of matter through will power alone to the conception of progeny through the purely mental communion of lovers. The books  also tell us that the cycle of time has seen much water flow under the bridge and today, the Earth is no longer as pristine and spiritually balanced as it was and consequently, human lifespans have dramatically decreased, as have our size, strength and mental capabilities. And yet, the books emphatically assert that in spite of it all we are capable of restoring ourselves to the old glory, if we return to the path of Sattva, Dharma and Ahimsa.  The whole world will benefit enormously if people understand and absorb the beauty of the philosophy and the way of life that is built upon these concepts. It is the true heritage of all humanity.

All paths of worship will ultimately lead to the same unitary Universal Consciousness. Witness Shankara's beautiful words "Akashat patitam toyam sagaram prati gacchati, sarva deva namaskaram Keshavam prati gacchati" - Every drop of water that falls from the sky makes its own way to the same ocean - Every prayer offered with sincerity finds its own way to the same unitary Universal Consciousness - Kesava. And yet as we draw to the end of this epoch, referred to as Kali Yuga in the source texts -  a time of great evil and himsa (violence), the Hindu religion offers a royal path to return to those original values of Sattva, Dharma and Ahimsa. Great figures such as the Buddha, Sri Ramana Maharishi, Shiridi Sai Baba have shown us the way back to these Universal Values and through them to the unitary Universal Consciousness.

The unitary Universal Consciousness is often referred to as a genderless source. That Parabrahmam or Narayana is manifested as the Trinity of Creator -(Brahma+Sarasvati), Preserver -(Vishnu/Lakshmi) and Destroyer-(Shiva/Parvati). Upon becoming manifest, the creator, i.e. Brahma/Sarasvati,  emanated the Vedas from his/her face. The word ‘Vedas’ means ‘that which may be known’ and indicates that it is the treasury that holds all knowledge that can be known about this Universe.

Now, even the Vedas say though that to truly know God, the Vedas can only serve as a sort of instruction manual. It’s like this: If you study books on Psychology, you do not automatically become a psychologist. It’s only when you put the books down and go beyond them, i.e. practice them,  that you truly become a psychologist. Simple reading a Psychology book or by meditating “Pscyhology…Psychology…Psychology”, you do not become one (to paraphrase Swami Vivekananda). So too with the Vedas. They state that while they hold all that there is to be known, it is only by first absorbing them and going beyond them and practically searching for God in our own unique way (through your own unique Yagna i.e. a personal journey of self-sacrifice in the service of others) that we can truly realize God and the true nature of the Universe and ourselves.

Vyasa is the sage who is normally credited with having systematized the Vedas. He collated and divided some of the works known in his time into 4 books, now referred to us by the name of the Vedas. Vyasa not only systematized the Vedas, but later also dictated the Mahabharatha, (The Gita is a part of one of the Parvas (chapters - there are 18 Parvas) in the Mahabharatha), as well as composed the Bhagavata, which is the detailed story of Krishna’s life from start to finish and also recorded the hitherto unwritten oral history of the 18 Puranas, although there is some evidence that some parts of some of the puranas were added on later on by a few others.

Each of the 4 Vedas is divided into several parts. First and oldest come the Samhitas, then the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. The Samhitas are  mantras (chants with Bija-aksharas) or poems in praise of the various dimensions of Brahman. The Brahmanas have the narrative of the creation of the present Manvantara and other associated information. The Aranyakas have information on the proper Yagna rituals and ways to pray to Brahman in his/her various manifestations. The Upanishads are the philosophical portions, where they espouse the idea of Vedanta – that you must go beyond the Vedas, and live the ideals of the Vedas to realize that the Soul and Brahman are one and the same and that you are God.

It is said that the Upanishads were rewritten in the form of Sutras or concise aphorisms called the Brahma Sutras, by Vyasa himself. The Bhagavad Gita is said to contain the entire summary of the Upanishads also within itself.  This trio of the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras & the Bhagavad Gita are called the ‘Prasthana Thriya’. This trio of books can be referred to as the source texts of an aspiring Hindu/Arya.