Thursday, November 13, 2008

Vedic Calculation of Time

The Vedic concept of time is cyclic, rotating in cycles of four yugas:
  • Satya yuga: 1,728,000 human years
  • Treta yuga: 1,296,000 human years
  • Dvapara yuga: 864,000 human years
  • Kali yuga: 432,000 human years

This yuga cycle totaling 4.32 million years is also called a maha- or divya-yuga. One thousand such cycles, 4.32 billion years, make up one day of Lord Brahma, the god who governs the universe.

Each of Brahma's nights lasts as long as his day. Life is manifest on earth only during the day of Brahma. With the onset of Brahma's night, the entire universe is devastated and plunged into darkness. When another day of Brahma begins, life again becomes manifest.

Each kalpa (day of Brahma) is divided into 14 manvantara periods, each lasting 71 yuga cycles. Preceding the first and following each manvantara period is a junction (sandhya and sandhyamsa respectively) the length of a Satya-yuga (1,728,000 years).

Brahma lives 100 years, consisting of 360 days and nights (the Vedic year is based on the cycles of the moon, not the sun). Thus Brahma lives 100 x 360 kalpas = 36,000 days plus 36,000 nights. In human years, Brahma's life span lies far beyond our power of imagination: 72,000 x 4,320,000,000 human years = 311,040,000,000,000 human years.

The life span of Brahma is identical with the duration of the universe. This time span, called a maha-kalpa, is also the duration of one breathing in and out of Maha-Vishnu, the Personality of Godhead.

Maha-Vishnu lies down within the ocean of causality and sleeps. He is eternal, and He dreams the material world in His cosmic slumber. When he exhales, all the universes emanate from the pores of his skin, and a Brahma is born within each universe. When he inhales, Brahma dies, and He sucks the universes into his mouth and destroys them. With each exhalation, the entire process starts anew. This cycle goes on eternally and is therefore also called eternal time.

The Four Yugas : The Vedic Puranas describe the four yugas as follows

Satya-yuga, or the golden age, is the ideal age, characterized by virtue, wisdom, religion, and practically no vice or ignorance. Humans do not hate or envy each other. People live for about 100,000 years.

In Treta-yuga vice is introduced. The good qualities that humans had in Satya-yuga reduce by one third. People live for about 10,000 years.

In Dvapara-yuga uprightness is only half of what it was in Satya-yuga. The Vedas are divided into four parts, and only a few people study them. Sensual desires and diseases begin to well up, and injustice spreads in human civilization. People live for a maximum of 1000 years.

In Kali-yuga only one fourth of human uprightness remains and gradually reduces to nil as the age progresses. We now live in Kali-yuga, the iron age; the most degraded of the four ages (kali literally means "quarrel and hypocrisy").

In this age men are short lived and have less intelligence. They are especially lazy in performing their spiritual duties and exceedingly slow to surrender to the Lord. They are misled, frustrated and, above all, always disturbed. The qualities of religion (truthfulness, cleanliness, forbearance and mercy) and the qualities of life (intelligence, duration of life and bodily strength and beauty) all diminish. The maximum duration of human life is 100 years, and even that is rare.

In short,

Yuga: An era varying from 1-4 x 1200 x 360 solar years in which one 'year of the gods' is 360 earthly years.

Mahâyuga: A period of four yuga's, named Satya, Tretâ, Dvâpara, Kali, together covering 4.32 million years taking 1/1000 day of B r a h m â. Individual duration: 1200 x 360 years to multiply with a factor of respectively 4, 3, 2 en 1. To this constitute 360 earthly years one year of the gods.

Where We Are Now ?

According to the Vedic scriptures, we are now in the first day of the second half of the life of Brahma (even he gets old, and he is now 50). Within this day of Brahma, we are in the seventh manvantara (of Vaivasvata Manu), in the 28th turnover of its 71 yuga cycles.

Modern astronomy calculates the beginning of the present Kali-yuga at 2:27a.m. on February 20th in the year 3102 B.C.

Vedic Divisions of Time

The following information is taken from the Paramahamsa Samhita Bhagavada Puranam III/IV,
which was originally spoken by Sri Sukadeva Goswami 30 years after the start of this current Kali Yuga or exactly 5070 years ago as of 1999 AD

1.The smallest particle of material substance -paramanu

Verse 1: (The great sage) Maitreya said: "The smallest particle of material substance, which has not yet combined with any other similar particles, is called paramanu (a sub-atomic particle of matter). Paramanus always exist both in the dormant and manifest states of material existence. It is the combination of more than one paramanu (sub-atomic particle) which gives rise to the illusory concept of a (material) unit.

2.Anu
Verse 5: A combination of two paramanus constitutes an anu (atom); and three anus (atoms) makes one trasarenu. Trasarenus are visible to the naked eye when seen floating upward in the air while viewed through rays of sunlight which enter a room through a latticed window.

3. Truti
Verse 6: Three Trasarenus is called a truti (8/13,500 part of a second), which is a measure of time it takes (the Sun) to travel across three Trasarenus

4.Vedha
A combination of one hundred trutis is called a vedha (8/135 part of a second).

5.Lava
Three vedas together is known as a lava (8/45 part of a second).

6.Nimesha
A combination of three lavas is called a nimesha or the twinkling of an eye (8/15 part of a second).

7.Ksana
Three such nimeshas equals a ksana (8/5 part of a second)

8.Kastha
A combination of five ksanas is known as a kastha (8 seconds)

9.Laghu
Fifteen kasthas is equal to a laghu (2 minutes)

10.Nadika
A conglomerate of 15 laghus is called a nadika (30 minutes)

How is nadika measured?
A nadika can be measured by taking a copper pot weighing six palas (8 tolas=ck dictionary) that can contain about 14 ounces of water and punching a small hole in the bottom using a 10-12" long golden needle that weighs four mashas (ck dictionary); when the pot is placed in water it takes a nadika of time (about 30 minutes) to fill up (and sink).

11.Muhurta
Two nadikas equal a muhurta (hour)

12.Prahara
Six or seven nadikas equal a prahara (approximately 3 hours to 3 and a half hours, depending on long or short days), which is a fourth of a day by human calculation.

13.Yama
For humans, day and night consist of four yamas (6 hour periods)

14.Masah
Fifteen such days & nights make up the bright or dark fortnight, by rotation. Two of these fortnights (the bright and the dark) equals a masah (one month consisting of 30 days length), and this period is taken as one day and one night of the forefathers (Pitris in heaven)

15.Ritu
Two of these months equal a ritu or season

16.Ayana
Six such months is called an ayana (one full movement of the Sun from North to South or South to North).

17.Life Span of Humans
By the calculation of the demigods in heaven these two ayanas (12 months by human calculation) make up their celestial day and night which is one year for humans. And the full life span for humans is 100 years.

Courtesy: nandan@nandanmenon.com

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Fire Yogi

He is Sri Sri Rambhavu Swamigal of ShanthaAshram, Srinivasapura, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India

Guruji has served his Guru Sri Ramachandendra Saraswathi Swamigal and has attained Manthara Siddhi. He lives on 2 banana and a tumble of milk daily. It is 27 years since he drank water, nor does he take any other fruits. Slender in appearance but mighty in powers he performs Yagna in his characteristic unhurried manner. He has acquired tremendous powers through upasana and it is thrilling experience to watch him bath in the sacrificial fire of the Yagna.
The performance of this yagna will not only benefit the local residence but also the entire universe .. as the Upanishad statement goes " A tree in full bloom will send out its fragrance as far as the wind will waft."

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Free Spiritual eBook website

I recently came across a beautiful website,
http://www.kundaliniawakeningsystems1.com/downloads.html, from which you can download wonderful eBooks. Enjoy reading!!

Vedic Calculation on Speed of Light

Source: http://veda.sakthifoundation.org/

A common phrase called “Nimisharda” which is used in Indian languages of sanskrit origin while
referring to something that happens/moves instantly, similar to the ‘blink of an eye’. Nimisharda means half a nimesa.

In ancient sanskrit ‘Nimisha’ means ‘blink of an eye’ and that Nimisharda is used to represent how far light travels in half of the blink of an eye i.e. ‘within the blink of an eye’ .The fourth verse of the Rigvedic hymn 1:50 (50th hymn in book 1 of rigveda) is as follows:

taraNir vishvadarshato jyotishkrdasi surya vishvamaa bhaasirochanam

meaning “Swift and all beautiful art thou, O Surya (Surya=Sun), maker of the light, Illuming all the radiant realm.”

Commenting on this verse in his Rigvedic commentary, Sayana who was a minister in the court of Bukka of the great Vijayanagar Empire in South India (in early 14th century) says:

tatha ca smaryate yojananam. sahasre dve dve sate dve ca yojane ekena nimishardhena kramaman.

which means “It is remembered here that Sun (light) traverses 2,202 yojanas in half a nimisha”

NOTE: Nimisharda= half of a nimisha and Yojana is a unit of distance and Nimisha is a unit of time.

Unit of Time: Nimesa
The Moksha dharma parva of Shanti Parva in Mahabharata describes Nimisha as follows

15 Nimisha = 1 Kastha
30 Kashta = 1 Kala
30.3 Kala = 1 Muhurta
30 Muhurtas = 1 Diva-Ratri (Day-Night)

We know Day-Night is 24 hours
So we get 24 hours = 30 x 30.3 x 30 x 15 nimisha

in other words 409050 nimisha
We know 1 hour = 60 x 60 = 3600 seconds

So 24 hours = 24 x 3600 seconds = 409050 nimisha
409050 nimesa = 86,400 seconds

1 nimesa = 0.2112 seconds (This is a recursive decimal! Wink of an eye=.2112 seconds!)
1/2 nimesa = 0.1056 seconds

Unit of Distance: Yojana

Yojana is defined in Chapter 6 of Book 1 of the ancient vedic text “Vishnu Purana” as follows

10 Paramáńus = 1 Parasúkshma
10 Parasúkshmas = 1 Trasareńu
10 Trasareńus = 1 Mahírajas (particle of dust)
10 Mahírajasas = 1 Bálágra (hair’s point)
10 Bálágras = 1 Likhyá
10 Likhyás= 1 Yúka
1o Yúkas = 1 Yavodara (heart of barley)
10 Yavodaras = 1 Yava (barley grain of middle size)
10 Yava = 1 Angula (finger, or inch)
6 fingers = 1 Pada (the breadth of it)
2 Padas = 1 Vitasti (span)
2 Vitasti = 1 Hasta (cubit)
4 Hastas = a Dhanu, a Danda, or pauruSa (a man’s height), or 2 Nárikás = 6 feet
2000 Dhanus = 1 Gavyúti (distance to which a cow’s call or lowing can be heard) = 12000 feet
4 Gavyútis = 1 Yojana = 9.09 miles

Calculation:
So now we can calculate what is the value of the speed of light in modern units based on the value given as 2202 yojanas in 1/2 nimesa
= 2202 x 9.09 miles per 0.1056 seconds
= 20016.18 miles per 0.1056 seconds
= 189547 miles per second !!
As per the modern science speed of light is 186000 miles per second !

Horai Calculator

Provide the local sunrise time and the day of the week at your location in the link below to get the detailed Horai for the day
http://www.agasthiar.org/panchang/horai/horai.htm

Rahu Kalam & Yama Gandam Calculator

If you know your exact local sunrise time, sunset time, then just click this link & type them to get the exact Rahu Kalam & Yama gandam for the day.
http://www.agasthiar.org/panchang/rahu/rahu.htm