LETS BAN THE BANS

BANdwagon

In a country like India, the amalgamation of several languages,religions,food and customs differences are bound to exist.Here irrespective of religious sentiments or political consequences anything can be banned at the drop of a hat. We have seen several bans making headlines these days. Latest one to join the list is #MeatBan.

Self-styled crusaders of free speech mainly those who do outrage on twitter lose no opportunity to chip in whenever ban of any kind imposed on public. Jains form 0.4% of India's population and they have been granted minority status as well. But their numbers are very less compared to Muslims and Christians which means Jain community is not a potential vote bank for our greedy politicians. Unlike many low caste people across India, Jains enjoy better social and economical status.So the argument behind politicians doing minority appeasement by imposing meat ban is pointless.

The 2 day meat ban during Paryushan has been in place since 1994 which apparently started by Congress government. So why all of a sudden there is a widespread disapproval over meat ban? Why is the main stream media taking so much interest to disturb social harmony by making it appear like a communal issue? Is it because MSM really cares about individual freedom? If so why this so called paragon of integrity and truth has been indifferent to ban for 20 years? All these TRP hungry MSM goons pry on people's sensitivities to sensationalize a trivial issue. 

It is amusing to see MSM blaming central BJP govt led by Modi while the decision to ban meat was taken by a local municipality in mumbai region. So where the blame lies? Well blame lies with both the sides it seems!

Non violence is one of the core tenets of Jainism. They are prohibited from eating meat because it involves killing innocent animals. Fine. But there is no need to impose this religious sentiment on others. A typical Jain may argue that a meat eating person will not lose anything by avoiding non-veg for couple of days. What about those poor meat vendors whose lively-hood depends solely on selling meat? Don't they suffer losses? If looking at an animal carcass hurts religious sentiments then better avoid roaming the roads or stop looking at meat shops. Forcing someone to do something against their free will is uncalled for. Instead of protesting over an insignificant issue, local meat vendors could avoid such instances by covering their shop entrance with curtains for two days. Is it so difficult to respect your neighbour's feelings? Atleast doing so solves basic purpose of peaceful coexistence. 


--Enigma

Hindu Gods With Multiple Arms And Heads

There is a Goddess Durga temple in my neighborhood which attracts devotees every day. I often visit this temple along with my family to seek divine blessings. The temple priest daily decorates sacred idol with a silk saree and garlands made of tulsi , roses, jasmine and marigold. Hindu deities are often depicted with multiple arms and heads.Goddess Durga is also depicted with multiple arms. Ever ponder over this concept of Hindu deities portrayed with multiple arms. What could be the reason behind this imagery?

According to Vedas God or Brahman is consciousness. Every human has a soul and consciousness which has the ability to perceive limited senses. Vedas preach that God possesses all senses and resides in every soul. God is everywhere . God is all-powerful , all-pervasive ,  omnipotent and omniscient. God can assume different forms to portray various cosmic manifestations. 

In  Hinduism deities are often portrayed with multiple arms and heads especially when they are battling cosmic forces. God doesn't suffer from some kind of polycephaly or physical deformity as some dimwit self-proclaimed rationalists do this immoral propaganda. Almighty can not be perceived with limited senses we humans possess.In our Puranas deities are described to have multiple heads and arms to emphasize the immense super human powers God possesses. 

God with multiple arms is an attempt to describe God as omnipotent capable of doing several acts at the same time. 

In some of the artistic description of Lord Vishnu , He carries a symbolic item in each of his hands. 
Conch symbolizes creation
Lotus symbolizes purity
Mace symbolizes authority
Discus symbolizes thought. 
Depending on cosmic manifestation also known as avatar, Lord Vishnu is illustrated as God with fish tail or a boar head.

Kali is usually depicted as having four arms.  In her left hand she is usually holding a sword (representing divine knowledge) and severed head of a slain demon (signifying the human ego that must be slain by divine knowledge). Her other two hands are said to be blessing her worshipers.  Kali can however also be depicted having two arms or even ten. Kali is depicted with three eyes to symbolize sun, moon and fire as well as her ability to see into the past, present and future.

In the picture below Goddess Saraswathi is shown with 4 arms holding a Veena instrument (symbolizes fine tuning one's mind and intellect with the eternal knowledge of Universe) , a holy book ( indicates knowledge alone can remove our ignorance) , prayer beads (denotes all branches of spiritual and scientific knowledge). She is the ultimate source of knowledge , power and creation.

The cosmic manifestations of God are meant to accentuate various characteristics God owns. Often these characteristics are visualized with images of God having multiple heads.

Below Brahma with four heads representing 4 divine Vedas.

Lord Vishnu reclines on a celestrial serpent Ananta or Adi-Sesha with many heads. The serpent signifies infinite causal energy of the Creator. It stands for infinitude or an unending expansion of universe.

Panchamukhi anjaneya with 5 heads signify five key elements of the universe i.e. Fire, Wind , Water, Sky and Earth. Another legend says Anjaneya had to take Panchamukhi form in pathala loka with Hanuman,Hayagriva,Narasimha,Garuda and Varaha faces to extinguish flames pointing in 5 different directions at the same time in order to protect Lord Rama.

The pseudo secular Islamic fanatics in social networking sites and media who do not hesitate to ridicule Hinduism of worshiping snakes,monkeys,cows etc. have no  idea of what our Upanishads and Puranas teach. Let their ignorance overwhelm their senses. 

--
Enigma