Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism

M R Venkatesh from Chennai Inductivity theorists who swear by the generalisation that ‘all crows are black’ now have a counter-example to ponder over.  There is at least one ‘golden crow’. That bird as the vehicle of Lord Saneeshwara (the Hindu planetary God symbolising Saturn), graciously silhouettes the deity’s feet, in the famous shrine at Tirunallar at the tail-end of the Cauvery river in Karaikal bordering composite Thanjavur district. One of India’s rare shrines for Saturn, who is pivotal for believers in astrology and that nine orbiting planets influence human destiny, is housed inside the 7th century ‘Darbaraneshwarar Temple’ dedicated to Lord Shiva. The crow at Tirunallar is gold-plated, sceptics and rationalists may counter. But it is weaved in with a profound mythology and would not have seen the light of day, had the legendary King Nala remained a lowly cook in the Palace of the King of Ayodhya after the former lost his kingdom. Thanks to sage Narada’s advice, the c...

SHIVARATI sound bite

There are various interesting legends related to the festival of Maha Shivaratri. According to one of the most popular legends, Shivaratri marks the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Some believe that it was on the auspicious night of Shivaratri that Lord Shiva performed the ‘Tandava’, the dance of the primal creation, preservation and destruction. Another popular Shivratri legend stated in Linga Purana states that it was on Shivaratri that Lord Shiva manifested himself in the form of a Linga.

In sanskrit, the word Rudraksha consists with words of  'RUDRA' and 'AKSHA'in which Rudra denotes to Lord Shiva and aksha refers to tear. It is believed that when Lord Shiva was in his deep meditation, a drop of tear fell of his eye which grew into the devine fruit, that is Rudraksha. It is also said that one who wear this devine fruit achieves eternal blessing and is deemed closest to Lord Shiva himself. Rudraksha is mainly found in Nepal and Java Sumatra Island, and found one face(Mukhi) to fourteen face and an unique kind is called GAURI SHANKAR.