Mei Kam: Dear Guruji, as per your preaching, parents should pass on Vedic knowledge to their kids apart form providing them materialistic things. Then how should we do it? (e.g. at what age should parents tell kids about Vedic knowledge? in what ways parents can help young children to get good sanskars and learn the knowledge of Vedas, Yajyen, Havan etc.?) Please guide. Thanks!
Swami Ram Swarup: Blessings beti. First of all mother and father should be learned of Vedas. Then they become capable to preach the children. Preaching starts from early age but children are neither scolded nor beaten. In loving manner preaching is given.
Mei Kam: Dear Guruji, as Ayurveda is originated form Vedas, Ayurvedic Panchakarma as widely known today is also tallied with Vedas? Thanks!
Swami Ram Swarup: Blessings beti. No, Panchkarma does not tally with Vedas.
Anonymous: Respected Swamiji, I am writing to ask for your kind permission for attending Yajyen during indicated time. Thanks!
Swami Ram Swarup: Blessings beti. You may come, beti.
Anonymous: Pranam Guruji ! I’m Anonymous and I’m eight years old. I have been doing havan for the last 3-4 years with my dad.We had karnvedh sanskaar done for my brother who is 3 years old by a Arya Samaj pandit yesterday. He said that without a janeyu you can not do havan, is that true? Also he mentioned that my dad should perform a mahamrityunja havan for happiness. Is that true?
Swami Ram Swarup: My blessings to you, beta. Dear son, I am pleased that you are performing pious havan with your father. I bless you again and again for your long, happy life. Yes, without janeyu the punnya is minimized but still blessings are showered because by doing havan the devotee spreads all the havan material in the sky causing benefit to all human-beings. So, after attaining the age of six years, upnayan sanskar is performed and at that time janeyu, “Yajyopaveet” is held by aspirant. There is no mahamrityunjaya word in vedas. However, the mantra Triyambakam Yajamahe is mentioned in two Vedas- Yajurved and Rigved. Mostly the Rigved mantra is chanted. Actually for happiness, daily havan must be performed and in addition, you all may offer the aahuti of Triyambakam Yajamahe…. This mantra is self-recited and its aahuti is self-offered and not by others on your behalf. My article on mantra is appended below-
Mahamrityunjaya mantra
Mahamrityunjaya name has been originated by we people, otherwise it is Yajurved mantra 3/60. So we must say that we are reciting Yajurveda mantra but it has been a tendency to say it as mahamrityunjaya mantra. It can never be started with any other shloka or mantra etc., because Ved mantras emanate direct from God at the beginning of the earth. So Ved mantras have not been written by a Rishi-Muni, man, woman etc., as Almighty, Omnipresent, Formless God is unchangeable. So are the mantras. The Knowledge of Ved mantras is eternal, immortal and unchangeable.
In the said mantra, we pray to God that Oh God! I perform your Yajyen, may my life be long i.e., 100 years or upto 400 years as the Vedas say. However, no one can cross the age of 400 years please. So, everybody must recite and do Yajyen from the said mantras himself because in the mantra we are praying to God that Oh God! I am myself doing your worship by Yajyen and no one else on my behalf.
“TRIYAMBAKAM YAJAMAHE SUGANDHIM PUSHTIVARDHANAM URVARUKMIV BANDHANAANMRITYORMUKSHEEYA MAAMRITAAT.”
(Rigved mantra 7/59/12)
“TRIYAMBAKAM YAJAMAHE” is the Rigved Mantra number 7/59/12. Its meaning is (TRIYAMBAKAM) whose knowledge remains constant in past, present and future. Actually “AMBAKAM” means eyes, TRI means three i.e., He who has three eyes. Here three eyes means past, present and future, the three phrases of time i.e., whose knowledge remains unchangeable in past, present , future times and who is present and sees past, present and future.
(YAJAMAHE) do daily worship ((SUGANDHIM), who makes us the best and the purest (PUSHTIVARDHANAM) who increases the strength of our body and soul.
Meaning:- We must daily worship the God whose knowledge remains unchangeable in past, present and future and who is present and sees the past, present and future. He makes us the best and the purest and increases the strength of our body and soul.
Idea:- Yajyen and Ashtang Yog Practice is the best worship of God. So, we must daily do Yajyen and Ashtang Yog Practice.
(BANDHANAAT) connected to (LATAA) creeper (URVARUKMIV) like a ripened cucumber (MRITYOHO) from death (MUKSHEEYA) get liberated.
Meaning:- With the grace of God, may I get liberated from death like a ripened cucumber which gets released from the creeper.
Idea:- The cucumber automatically gets separated from the creeper when it gets fully ripened. It becomes tasty even. Similarly, by the worship of God i.e., while performing Yajyen and Practice of Ashtang Yog Philosophy, I may also attain full disease free age i.e., hundred years or more and get free from the death automatically.
(MA MUKSHIMAHEE) may we never be separated from faith, belief (AMRITAM) from supreme, divine pleasure of final liberation.
Idea:- This human body is blessed by God to do daily Yajyen wherein knowledge of Vedas is also listened from Brahma i.e., learned acharya who is a philosopher of four Vedas and Ashtang Yog. Our faith and belief must never diminish from following the said path of worship to get final liberation.
Main Idea:- In the above mantra , we pray to God. There are two types of prayers-
1. Prayer emanates direct from God in the shape of Ved mantras like above mantra which are eternal, true and the best.
2. Prayers which are man-made in the shape of so many shlokas etc., written by human-beings i.e., saints etc.
No doubt that the prayers which emanate from God are the best. So, the human being must know the deep philosophy of the Vedas and must worship God and must do prayer of God as mentioned in Vedas which will ever be beneficial for all mankind, we must only worship the God whose description has been given in the Vedas by God Himself. Who can know God as God knows Himself? So, description of God in Vedas is eternal, true and the best.
Secondly, prayer is not enough. God states in Vedas (Refer Rigved mantra 1/10/5) that one must also do hard, pious deeds to fulfil one’s prayer otherwise prayer will not help the person. Based on the Philosophy of Vedas, nowadays the true phrase is famous-“God Helps Those Who Help Themselves”. So we must ourselves do hard, pious deeds according to our prayer. Worship for the God/Gods against the Vedas are always sorrowful.
So the idea of the above mantra is clear wherein it is mentioned “TRIYAMBAKAM YAJAMAHE” i.e., Oh! God, we do Yajyen (worship) ourselves. So we can never depute any other person to perform the Yajyen from the above ved mantra because mantra states to perform the Yajyen ourselves. Mostly, due to lack of knowledge of ved mantras, we engage some other person to perform Yajyen which according to Vedas, can never be beneficial.
Because “YAJAMAHE” is “ATMANEPAD DHATU”. Dhatu means root word. It means YAJAMAHE word is applicable to personal matter. So we will have to perform Yajyen, personally. In Vedas its name has not been mentioned as “Mahamritynjaye mantra”.
However, if somebody has stated its name as Mahamritynjaye jaap then it makes no difference if we are aware of the truth-
That it is Rigved mantra 7/59/12 (quoted above) and also Yajurved mantra 3/60. So the study of Vedas and above quoted mantras reveals –“TRIYAMBAKAM YAJAMAHE” i.e., we must perform Yajyen with Ved mantras ourselves and do hard pious deeds i.e., listening of Vedas , performing of Yajyen and practice of Ashtang Yog Philosophy daily to fulfil the prayer mentioned in above mantras i.e., Oh! God may I be liberated from death and get divine pleasure of final liberation. The hard, pious deed must be carried out while discharging all our moral duties as mentioned in Yajurved mantra 40/2.
VS: Hi Guruji, It took 5 years to learn just 20 sutras. further progress is going very slow as I progress.
Mean time I have a question to you. GOD is perfect and created the Dharma very Strong, Then why some say, that GOD punishes/blesses? He has that capacity, I accept, but need not do it. Yoga shastra says, you get magical things(magical because we have no knowledge of it now without Yogabhyasa) but, since practiced YOGA perfectly, has the capacity but never uses it or shows it, this is my understanding. Same for every one including GOD. GOD already created the Dharma, so, you get what you do as per Dharma, and there would be no change on it. Just my thoughts when I question my self. Can you please teach more on GOD punishes/blesses.
Swami Ram Swarup: My blessings to you. God has not created strong dharma but people donot want to follow God’s preach because they are indulged in illusion. For example- if a labourer does hard work and thereafter, when he receives money etc. in return, he feels much happiness than his hard work, even he forgets hard working. So, if you feel, God has made strong dharma, when you follow dharma, you will feel divine pleasure in return.
God has nature that he protects the learned person/dharmik person and punishes the sinner. Yog Shastra says if you continuously practice yog philosophy, for a long time i.e., for several years, then you get the result i.e., attain peace and other good qualities and other perfection. The yogi who has attained the divine qualities and perfection of yog siddhi, has also got a divine quality to destroy his worldly desires. So, he need not to use yog siddhi etc. however, incase of benevolence, he can use. God has unlimited divine qualities,whereas we the souls have limited qualities so we can never be compared to God. However, knowledge of vedas emanates directly from God wherein the fundamental laws to be adopted by us to attain long, happy life are mentioned therein, which are called dharma. Dharma means to discharge our duties faithfully, as mentioned in Vedas.
BVB: Can special prayers be performed at home during pitri paksh such as birthday havan?
Swami Ram Swarup: Shradh for relatives who have left for heavenly abode is not mentioned in Vedas, to be performed. However, you may perform havan with ved mantras for them. Special mantras may also be recited at that occasion. As far as birthday for alive persons, it may be celebrated as per your choice. But havan should be performed.
