Anonymous: Swamiji! Pranam. I want to know some facts. I never found answers of my questions from anyone.
1. Is woman considered inferior in Vedas than man. If not why this is a male dominating society which is even seen in Ramayan and Mahabharat. Also why woman have to go with pains and agonies in every phase of her life like pregnancy and leaving home after marriage where as boys don’t have to do anything. So is this written in Vedas that woman have to suffer and a man would always dominate her and her knowledge and power would always be on a lower side than a man. Is yes why is it so?
2. Vedas are supposed to be the oldest creation by GOD. So in Vedas is there any Mantras of Yagna for becoming charming , attractive and beautiful physically if someone is not beautiful or attractive.
3. Swamiji, I am not getting married. I hav ealready crossed the age of marriage 4 – 5 years back. Is there any reason in Vedas to get late marriage and what is the solution for this in Vedas. My parents are really very very tensed. So please kindly answer these questions.
Swami Ram Swarup: My blessings to you. my daughter.
1. Women have not been degraded in Vedas. You see, God is our father that is, father of all living-beings. He (God) is not even a worldly father who is indulged in Rajo, Tamo and Sato gunn of prakriti and sins etc. Yajurveda mantra 40/8 states that God is “Shuddham apaap Viddham” i.e., God is the purest and always away from sins etc. So, He does not do any favour to anyone. So, how God can degrade the women? In this connection, I paste one of my relevant articles.
VED MANTRAS NEVER AIM AT DEGRADATION OF WOMEN
The idea of Rigveda mantra 8/33/17 does not indicate that the mind of a lady is unintelligent, brooks no discipline etc. But the idea of the said mantra is that if a learned husband realises that the thoughts of his wife are not compatible with him then as per next mantra the responsibility of the learned husband is more than the lady to cooperate with his wife. Actually, in mantra 8/33/17 it is pointed out that if the wife in any case is not capable to meet with the requirements of her learned husband then next mantra quoted above states that to maintain compatibility, the responsibility lies on the husband. In no case, the wife has been declared unintelligent in Vedas. On the contrary, in next Rigveda mantra 8/33/19 it is stated-
“ISTREE HI BRAHMA BABHOOVITH”
i.e., the woman, in the house of her husband, is placed at the status of Brahma. Here, it shall not be out of place to mention that in Atharvaveda God states that he who steals away a small portion of any Ved mantra, he is punished. I mean to say, now it is time to channalize India’s concentration towards study of four Vedas completely and not in pieces. At one stage, Vedas state that Vedas are afraid of the man/woman who do not study the Vedas completely. As a result, they misinterpret Vedas. Our country was called as “VISHWAGURU” i.e., spiritual master of entire world, based on Vedas’ knowledge only.
If we want to spread peace and international brotherhood, then sure we will have to revert back to study of Vedas. Vedas is eternal knowledge that emanates direct from God and not from any Rishi-Muni, man-woman, saint etc. Then only shall we be able to respect the ladies, maintain justice, destroys sins, corruptions, atrocities and blind faith.
In Yajurveda mantra 23/19 there is no mention about women. So degradation of women doesnot arise. The devta of this mantra is Ganpati i.e., Almighty God. So description in the mantra relates to God and not women. The misunderstanding can arise due to wording i.e., “PRIYANNAM PRIYAPATIM TVA HAWAMAHEY” where the meaning of pati is lord/master of universe. So, meaning will be Oh! God (PRIYANNAM) amongst the loved ones you are ‘PRIYAPATIM’ the supreme, loving lord/master. So, we (HAWAMAHEY) accept (TVA) you. (TVAM) you (AJASI) HOLD (GARBHADHAM) the Prakriti in the shape of womb, from where the universe is generated (non-alive matter is generated).
So, I may (AJANI) know (GARBHADHAM) the said Prakriti. Hence, idea of the mantra is that we must worship the Almighty God who creates, nurses and gives glory, who is lord of Prakriti and who holds all the seeds (i.e., matter from which universe is originated).
Similarly, idea of Yajurveda mantra 23/20 is that when relation between king and praja (public) is established as father and son, then only peace is maintained and Arth (finance), Dharma (righteousness), Kaam (fulfillment of pious desires) and Moksha(final liberation) is attained. So, the king, who is justiciable, must make effort to increase pleasure/happiness and enhance strength/power of public. Also, public should make efforts to increase the same in respect of king. Now, the idea of Yajurveda mantra 23/21 is that the king should do justice to men and women and the bad charactered or cruel man/woman must be punished badly (should be hung upside down) to obliterate the worm of sensuality along with root. You may be knowing that eternal knowledge of Vedas emanates direct from Almighty, formless God who creates, nurses and destroys the universe. The said knowledge is originated in the heart of four Rishis of non-sexual creation, as stated in Rigveda 10/181/1, 2. The said knowledge at that time emanates direct from God in non-sexual creation and not sexual creation. Therefore, we may say that God Himself has given His unlimited divine names in the Vedas.
There also exist other names of God in pious holy granths like Quran sharief, containing the qualities of formless God. So, I think there is no difference in Allah, Om etc.
However, the meaning of Rigveda mantra 2/1/11 is under:-
“TVAMAGNEY ADITIRDEV DASHUSHEY TVAM HOTRA BHARATI VARDHASEY GIRA,
TVAMIDA SHATHIMASI DAKSHASEY TVAM VRITRAHA VASUPATEY SARASWATI.”
Oh! (DEV) enlightened (AGNEY) learned dignitary (TVAM) you are (ADITIHI) Aditi- A light of wisdom like the celestial bodies emitting light (DASHUSHEY) for the disciples who donate. (TVAM)You are (BHARATI) becoming like an enlightened learned female teacher (HOTRA) you deserve to be accepted. Thus, you (VARDHASEY) get progress (GIRA) from the beautiful education and voice of Vedas. (TVAM) You (ASI) are (IDA) like a learned female teacher who is praiseworthy. Oh! (VASUPATEY) lord of wealth (TVAM) you are (VRITRAHA) like a sun who kills the clouds to cause rain. And (SARASWATI) like a supreme, divine voice of Vedas.
Idea- The learned acharya who is philosopher of Vedas and has done hard practice of Ashtang Yoga and thus has controlled his five senses, perceptions and mind, teaches his disciples like a mother who nurses her baby well. Thus, the disciple becomes learned one day.
RIGVEDA MANTRA 3/30/10-
“ALATRINNO BAL INDRA BRAJO GOHO PURA HANTORBHAYAMANO VYAR,
SUGANPATHO AKRINNONNIRAJEY GAHA PRAVANVANNEEHEE PURUHOOTAM DHAMANTEEHEE.”
In this Rigveda mantra there are words “ALATRINNO AND INDRA” the meaning of which is Oh! (INDRA) giver of supreme glory or Almighty (ALATRINNAHA) the final destroyer of universe. Definitely, these are the names of God containing the said divine qualities.
RIGVEDA MANTRA 9/67/30-
“ALAYAYASYA PARSHURNANASH TAMA PAVASVA DEV SOM,
AKHUN CHIDEV DEV SOM.”
In Rigveda mantra 9/67/30 there is a word “ALAYAYASYA” the meaning of which is of the omnipresent enemy. In the mantra, there is a prayer that Oh! (SOM) God (DEV) full of unlimited divine qualities (PARASHUHU) there is a weapon of (ALAYAYASYA) omnipresent enemy (TAM) may the weapon (AKHUNCHITTA) which is complete annihilator (NANASH) be destroyed. (DEV) Oh! God (PAVASVA) purify me.
Hence, the above explained Ved mantras neither contain any proper noun nor project any degradation of women in society.
2. Actually, Vedas are not the oldest creation. In fact, Vedas are eternal. Oldest means that at one time, someone made the Vedas in new condition and after expiry of several years, Vedas have become old. You see, Vedas are not book but it is an eternal and everlasting knowledge which emanates direct from God in the beginning of every creation. As, formless, omnipresent, Almighty God does not become old, so are the Vedas which emanate direct from God.
You have already quoted excellent qualities like charming, attractive, physically beautiful. I mean to say that he is the person, men/women who becomes attractive when he attains divine qualities, please otherwise several handsome kings and queens have come and gone away without attracting the people. Instead, they were admonished. You see, Shabri was not attractive physically but she did Tapasya, worship of God and has been attracting the people till now. It is said that Ravanna, Duryodhan, Kansa were very handsome but have been criticized till date. So, Nakul was too beautiful to explain. But he was learned and possessed divine qualities. As a result, he was always afraid of his beauty. I have read that he used to make his face ugly by applying sand/dirt etc., on his face so that nobody should be attracted towards him yet he has been attracting the people due to his divine qualities. The dignitaries quoted above attained the divine qualities by studying and following the path of eternal philosophy of Vedas. Condition is still in vogue- that he who, handsome or ugly, would follow the eternal Vedic path; he would be able to attract the people and would be called most handsome figure of the world. Otherwise, if he would criticize any physical creature, it means we are insulting the creation of Almighty God which is a great sin. In this connection, I would also like to quote here, the poem of European poet. He wrote-
“He that loves a rosy cheeks,
Or coral lips admires,
And from star like eyes seeks,
Fuel to maintain his fire,
When old times make it decay,
Then his fire of love must waste away.”
The idea of the above poem is that physical charm is not everlasting whereas love of soul to soul gives permanent peace and remains everlasting. In the old times, physical charm will vanish away whereas true love will remain forever.
3. No, please. There is no reason in Vedas to get late marriage. However, Vedas tell that Brahamchari/Brahamcharini can do marriage at late age. There must not be any tension and your parents may try to arrange your marriage. I also bless you for arranging early marriage.
I also paste my article in this regard-
Please, start the day by chanting Gayatri mantra in the early morning sitting on suitable asan like Sukhasan, Siddhasan or Padmasan etc. concentrate on the point between two eyebrows which is called “Agyachakra”. The Gayatri mantra should be chanted along with its meaning both times. Also, please try to perform daily hawan even with Gayatri mantra. Then try to study any of my books daily and put up question if any.
After 15 days chant the Gayatri mantra only thrice thereafter do the name jaap of Almighty God-“Om”. The jaap must be done daily by heart and not orally.
The Gayatri mantra is as follows —
OM BHURBHUVAHA SWAHA TATA SAVITUR VARENYAM BHARGODEVASYA DHIMAHI DHIYO YO NHA PRACHODYAT
Meaning of Gayatri mantra stating each word is as follows. Its meaning is based on Vedas and Sanskrit grammar. Grammatical hints are in short please.
Om has three Hindi words. Aa, Uu AND Ma. Aa is meant for Aakaar from which three names of God are built,Viraat, Agni, and Vishwadi. From Uu = uukar from which Hiranyagarbha, Vaayu and Tejas names occur andMa = makaar from which Ishwar, Aditya and Praajyan aadi, holy names of God occur. Rigveda mantra 1/164/46 says God is one but His names are several. But here OM the holy name of God is only being explained.
VIRAAT= Viraat word is made from dhatu ‘Rajrideeptau’ i.e., manifest. Therefore Viraat means He who manifests the universe. As God manifests the universe, thus Viraat is the name of God. Rigveda mandal 10, sukta 129 states that like potter makes pot from clay, similarly God creates universe from non-alive matter prakriti. Prakriti is unseen matter. From unseen matter, the whole universe is created in the visible form. Science also says that matter is never destroyed but changes its form. Suppose a paper is burnt, paper changes its form into ashes. Then ashes are crushed and thrown in air. At this moment, the paper changed into ashes becomes invisible but was never destroyed. Similarly the whole universe at the time of finaldestruction is turned into prakriti i.e., into unseen form.
AGNI = From dhatu, ” ANCHU GATI POOJANAYOHO” the word “AGNI is made. Its meaning is — He who is a form of wisdom. “SARVAJAYEN” i.e., omniscient. I.e., knows even every atom of universe and even beyonduniverse too. He who is to be known, to be gained and worshippable. So agni is the name of God.
VISHWA = Vishwa word is made from dhatu, “VISHPRAVESHANE”. Its meaning is in whom the universe is entering or He is entering the universe. So being omnipresent, Vishwa is the name of God.
HIRANGARBHA = i.e., ” JYOTIRVAYIHIRANYAM”. Its meaning is, who is the base of all sun, etc., luminous lokas or He who is the living place of all luminous lokas.
VAAYU = from dhatu, “VA GATIGANDHANYOHO”, vaayu word is made. Its meaning is He who holds, gives life and destroys and the mightiest amongst all. So the name of God is Vaayu.
TEJ = from dhatu, “TIJA NISHANE”, the word Tej is made who is self made and self-enlighted and gives light to sun, moon, stars etc. God does not take light from anywhere else but gives light to sun, moon, stars, etc. so the unbroken, unobstructed/unproduced and eternal shape of light is Almighty God and not sun, moon etc. So the name of God is Tej.
ISHWAR = from dhatu, “ISH ASHWERIYE”, the word Ishwar is made. Its meaning is whose knowledge is thoughtful and true and has unlimited wealth, fortune and glory etc. Therefore the name of God is Ishwar. Here it is not out of place to mention that soul (man/woman) has limited qualities and are dependent whereas God is independent and has unlimited qualities that is why He is God.
ADITYA = from dhatu, “DO AVAKHANDANE”, Aditya word is made. Its meaning is the one who cannot be broken into pieces and thus cannot be destroyed. So God’s name is Aditya.
PRAJAYEN (PRAGYA) = from dhatu, “JYEN AVABODHANE”, Prajayen word is made whose wisdom is totally without any misunderstanding and thus he who knows every Manner and behavior of whole universe without misunderstanding. So God’s name is Prajayen. So here also it not out of place to mention that illusion can never attack on God and God is totally free from illusion.
BHUHU= “BHUHU ITI VAYEE PRANAHA” i.e., He who is the base of lives of universe, is most beloved, even more than Pran i.e., breath. So Bhuhu is the name of God.
BHUVAHA= “BHUVAHA ITI APANAHA” i.e., He who is totally free from any sorrow, and with whose contact, the soul removes his all sorrow. So the name of God is Bhuvaha.
SWAHA= i.e., “SWAHA ITI VYANAHE” who is omnipresent in the universe and is holding the same. So the name of God is Swaha.
SAVITUHU = He who creates the universe. So the name of God is Savituhu.
DEVSYA= who gives all pleasure/merriment, so the name of God is Dev.
VARENYAM = He who is the most supreme and acceptable. God is most supreme and acceptable for worship.
BHARGAHA = the purest entity (though God is formless, but finding no suitable English word of Sanskrit word, “SUDH SWARUPAM” the word entity has been used.)
TAT = i.e., the God i.e., of the purest entity.
DHIMAHI = i.e., we must hold (sort of meditation) because
YAHA = the God
NAHA = our,
Shubh Karma
Hard working, devotion, dedication, honesty, services to the parents and elders to follow eternal religion mentioned in Vedas, practice of Ashtang Yoga, discharging moral duties to get progress in education, science simultaneously with spiritualism like, daily havan, to be in contact with the learned Acharya, to get his advice, are some of the pious deeds which make the future bright and obliterate the sorrows, problems, diseases, etc.
One must wake up early in the morning for early morning walk and exercises, must sit on meditation and chant holy name of God, must be away from any addiction and non-vegetarian. Such pious actions lead to long, happy life and bright future.
Bipin Badheka: Pranam, Guruji. Charan Sparsh.
(1) In one of your answer it was mentioned that when warrior in the war dies he attends salvation which was also told by Sri Krishna to Arjun. So whether all soldiers who dies in war gets salvation? If soldier has not done any pious deeds as per Vedas then also he will get salvation if dies in war? Mahabharat war was between Dharm & Adharm and Sri Krishna told Arjun that if you will die in war you will get salvation since he is on Dharm side. But in case of today if two countries have a war then probably it is difficult to know who is on Dharma side. Further, suppose today two countries have a war and both are on Adharm side then whether soldiers of both countries who die in war will get salvation? Please guide us.
(2) In your book ‘Yagna-Sarwa Shreshtha Ishwar Puja’ one Prarthna ‘Pujniya prabho hamare bhav ujwal kijiye’ is mentioned. But Guruji, same Prarthna is also mentioned in one book ‘Shanshipt Gayatri Hawan’ of Pandit Ram Sharma Acharyaji. So could you please guide us on origin of this Prarthna. Whether same is mentioned in any old holy book like 6 shashtras or Upnishad etc.? Who first wrote it? Another thing I just wanted to understand under your guidance. It is stated that one of real and best worship of God is to chant Gayatri Mantra & Ved mantras as emanated from God himself. Then whether we shall chant such Prarthna if it is not mentioned in Vedas? Whether doing such Prarthna is acceptable by God as per Vedas? Whether it will be accepted by him as his real worship? Please forgive me if I have not conveyed this question correctly/properly. Pranam.
Swami Ram Swarup: My blessings to you, my son.
1. Yes, please. Warrior means he who is a Brahmchari by all means, has full control over his senses, mind and intellect, is vegetarian and he who worships God daily based on Vedic philosophy. Such warriors really are entitled for salvation if they die while fighting against the enemies, to save the country. Arjun and his son Abhimanyu, Bheeshma Pitamah, Dronnacharya, Karnna etc., were several warriors who come in the said category but those warriors who fight and die in war, if do not fulfil all the said qualities, get rebirth in good family where there is opportunity to worship God, have all amenities etc. I mean to say, in both stages, the sacrifice of the warrior will never go in vain because he has sacrificed his valuable life for the nation. Yes, Mahabhart war was a religious war. I have quoted it in my book- Bhagwad Geeta- Ek Vedic Rehasya” in Hindi.
As regards Dharma side, it is decided by Almighty God or a Tapasvi who speaks truth without any favour. That is why, Only Yogeshwar Sri Krishna Maharaj declared fact to Arjun. Even, if both countries are not adharmic side, then the warrior will get better birth after death because they (soldiers) discharge their moral duties of army under the instructions of their king/president/chief etc., and whole of the responsibility will then lie on the king of that country and God will give them bitter punishment.
2. Origin of this prarthna is from Arya samaj, please and now is being printed in several books, which is not bad because knowledge is required to be spread. But the said prarthna is not mentioned in Six shastras, upnishads etc. Writer of the said prarthna is not known but is originally taken from Arya samaj, Founder of which was Respected Swami Dayanand Saraswati. We should chant the prarthna or any holy spiritual song, which tallies with the idea of Ved mantras, Vedas being the self-proof. We should not tell any prarthna or bhajan which do not tally with Vedas’ philosophy, say four Vedas. So, the prarthna and bhajan which tally with Vedas are acceptable by God as per Samveda mantra 14. You have conveyed the question rightly. I therefore appreciate and bless you for your long, happy life. Secondly, my son, question may be of any kind and is not liable to be correct, always. That is why, correct answer to the question is required.
