Importance Of Jyotirlinga, Omens, Brahma’s Son In Hinduism

Credit image share thanks to hindugodwallpaper.com 1173_lord-shiva-12-jyotirlingas-wallpaper.jpg

There are many are many important aspects of Hinduism which a student of Hindu religion or someone who studies history, mythology and different religions or a ordinary Hindu would like to know about. Here let us try to understand the what a Jyotirlinga is its importance, what is the significance of Omens and about Brahma’s Son. Each of the three are different topics and have been dealt in a brief manner. Those seekers who would like to know more can search many sources available for a further deeper study about what they are interested in.

 

Jyotirlinga – The Shaivites(people who follow the method of God Shiva and pray to him) believe that God Shiva has manifested Himself on earth whenever his devotees have prayed and wanted to seek his blessing and invited Him to grace them. And that His divine shadow resides in that particular place eternally in the form of a linga or Jyotirlinga, meaning the linga of light.

 

The Jyotirlinga are like other lingas. However the shaivites believe a person who has attained spirituality can see them as columns of fire piercing through the earth. Although God Shiva is nirguna which means without any form, he appeared as Jyotirlinga at 12 places and there are many temples of great divine importance at those particular places.

 

These twelve particular temples are Somnath  and Dwarka in the state of Gujarat, Mahakaleshwar in city of Ujjain, Sreesailam in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Bhimashankar in the state of Maharashtra, Kashi Vishwanath in the city of Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

 

Rameshwaram in the state of Tamilnadu, Grishneshwar in Ellora in the state of Maharashtra, Vaidyanath in Deogarh in the Santhal Paraganas division in the state of Jharkhand, Tryambakeshwar in Nasik in the state of Maharashtra and Omkareshwar in the state of Madhya Pradesh. These twelve temples are considered to be very powerful and recitation of their names daily in the morning and evening is said to cleanse the devotee of all sins.

 

Omens – The Hindu cultural behavior has been affected by many animistic religions and many good and bad omens are connected to animals, trees, human behavior, time of the day and planetary positions. The most basic omens are connected to ritualistic living. The Cow, an animal considered holy by Hindus, is also an indicator of good omens for them.

 

So, touching a cow before starting any new work, its dung and urine are considered to be very beneficial too. Elephant, with its strong link to Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles, is also a good omen. Sighting an elephant, especially before starting any new work, is again considered to be very auspicious.

 

Dog is both considered auspicious and inauspicious, according to circumstances and time of encountering one. Cat is considered to be quite inauspicious and scriptures do not recommend keeping cats at home as pets. In contrast, trees are mostly considered to be good omens.

 

Partaking Tulsi leaves before starting work is auspicious, so is circumbulating a banyan tree and a fig tree. Sneezing and hiccups are again considered omens. Sneezing when someone is leaving for a job is a bad omen and hiccups indicate someone is remembering the person with hiccups.

 

Brahma’s son – God Brahma the creator among the trinity  created the great sage Sanatkumar  from his imagination. Sanatkumar was a model of virtues and maintained celibacy and  was very intelligent and constantly upgraded his knowledge by constantly reading and writing treatises on the religious matters.

 

His conduct influenced the Brahmins to remain celibate and study for a considerable period of their lives. He is also credited with explaining the Hindu scriptures to his brother, the Sage Narada.

 

There are many more interesting details which have to be explored by me, as and when I come to know of new details which would be of interest to readers all over the world and especially those practicing Hinduism. I will  write a new article with details of the same and give interesting information about Hinduism and Hindu religious practices.