Why Shiv bhagavan who is all powerful did not put back the original head of Ganeshaji?

There is another story in Brahmavaivarat Purana that is linked to the story of the Shiva Purana. You have to combine the background story in other Puranas to understand the original story in a Purana. Here is that story:

Once Sage Durvasa was travelling from Vaikuntha to Kailasa. He came upon King of Demigod Indra who was spending time with the apsara Rambha. Indraji bowed before Sage Durvasa in reverence, and Sage Durvasa getting pleased, handed him a Parijata flower, and spoke the following words:

“O Indra, this is a flower given by the Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi which removes all the obstructions and the person whose head it will be placed will be victorious all around. He will be adored by the people first of all and will be the foremost of all gods (demigods). Shrimathi Mahalakshmi will not part company from him and follow him like a shadow. He will equate himself with Vishnu in knowledge, wisdom, prowess. He will be more powerful than all gods (demigods) and will be valorous like Vishnu.”

Sage Durvasa left after this and Indrjia, still intoxicated with the presence of Rambha, carelessly placed the flower on the head of his elephant (which is born in the heaven, so obviously it is not just a ordinary soul). The elephant thus got all the qualities that were ordained by the flower. Thus, the destiny resulted in the elephant getting all the advantages associated with the blessings of the Parijata flower. If Indra had accepted the flower, he would have got all the qualities. But destiny, which is also a play of Vishnu, had other plans and it waited for the birth of Sri Ganesha who was infact a devotee of Vishnu in His earlier lives.

When Ganeshaji’s head was severed by Shivaji, Lord Vishnu mounted on Garuda, went on the northern direction and reached the bank of the Puspabhadra river. There he found the elephant of Indra, who was all powerful virtue of the flower given by Sage Durvasa. Lord Vishnu cut off the head of the elephant which had got the power to remove obstacles.

Lord Vishnu then brought the dead elephant to life and it was returned it to Indraji. Lord Vishnu then lifted the elephant head which had been cut off and had special powers. He came back and joined the trunk of the elephant to the body of Ganeshaji using His divine power and brought the child back to life.

When we read the Purana, we are amazed at how all incidents in the past come together and lead towards a chosen destiny. The flower was presented to Indra by Sage Durvasa but not utilized by the King of Gods. The elephant temporarily benefited from the powers of the Parijata flower, but it was Lord Ganesha who was destined to be the foremost among Gods and men and known as the remover of obstacles. Thus destiny worked in a way that the attributes of the flower accumulated by the austerities of Sage Durvasa came to Lord Ganesha and that is the reason he has an elephant head.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angarki_Sankashti_Chaturthi

hinduism is just a civilization and not a religion as per scholars like Bhagvan

Let us understand the standard concept of a religion. In order to call some common religious or divine beliefs or divine knowledge as belonging to a religion, it has to come down from a common prophet or angel or messenger of God. Since Hinduism is not started by a specific prophet and it has different sects or path each worshipping different gods as ultimate God or each sects following different religious books, some intellectuals come to conclusion that Hinduism is just a civilization started by humans. But facts are contradictory.

As you know, a prophet is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the supernatural source to other people. In Christianity, Judaism and Islam, Gabriel (or Jibreel) is as an archangel (messenger of God) sent by God to various prophets (Adam, Muhammed, etc) and it was transferred to humankind from him. But the Vedas are also similarly called message of God and it was sent in a much longer prophetic succession. For example, we have a book called Charaka Samhita written by Charaka rishi on Ayurveda. Ayurveda is also a part of one of the four Vedas called Atharva Veda. Charaka is considered to be one of the principal contributors to Ayurveda. So people come to conclusion that Ayurveda is just a continuous research or discovery of a person named Charaka. Thus, they jump to conclusion that Hinduism is just a civilization. But Charaka Samhita itself disapproves it.

Charaka Samhita tells that Ayurveda was just transferred by God Vishnu to Brahmaji, the secondary creator after He did penance for years. Brahmaji imparted the divine wisdom of health and life to his son, Daksha Prajapati (who is also a archangel or angel), who then passed it on to Ashwini Kumaras, the twin Divine Physicians of devathas (angels). Indra, the King of demigods learned the science of Ayurveda from the Ashwini Kumaras and took up the task of enlightening humanity with his medical wisdom. The great sages who were living on earth, after realizing the sufferings of humans due to various illnesses, entered into deep meditation to find a solution. They found their savior in angel Indra and sage Bharadwaja was deputed to approach him to attain the ultimate knowledge about Ayurveda. From Bharadwaja, this knowledge further transferred down to Punarvasu atreya > Agnivesha and finally to Charatha a discipline of Agnivesha.  It is written by Agnivesha, one of the six disciples of Atreya Punarvasu first and it was called Agnivesha Samhita. It is revised by Charaka and is called Charaka Samhita. Threfore, Hinduism is both religion as well as civilization. Because even civilization is started by God and the angels or rishis (sages)impart the divine knowledge to human for that civilization. That is why we have Surya Vamsha and Chandra Vamasha which is started from hindu demigod Surya and Chandra Himself.

As per Sushruta opinion, Indra taught Ayurveda (which He got from Brahmaji who inturn got it from Vishnu) to king Divodasa of Banaras (Kashiraja). Divodasa then transmitted medical knowledge with special reference to surgery to the wise men like Sushruta. This school of thoughts is known as Dhanvantara-Sampradaya..

below is the Sanskrit text, transliteration, and English translation of charaka samhita:

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सूत्रस्थानम् – १. दीर्घञ्जीवितीयोऽध्यायः

अथातो दीर्घञ्जीवितीयमध्यायं व्याख्यास्यामः||१||

इति ह स्माह भगवानात्रेयः||२||

Now we shall expound the chapter “Deerghanjiviteeya” (longevity). Thus said Lord Atreya[[1]]. [1-2]

Commentory: The whole Charak Samhita is documented as the conversation between preceptor Aterya and his disciple Agnivesha. It is a part of knowledge transfer through oral tradition from Guru to his Shishya. Hence the first two introductory verses of each chapter are about the name of chapter told by Atreya to Agnivesha.

Origin of Ayurveda

Hierarchy of transfer of knowledge of Ayurveda

दीर्घं जीवितमन्विच्छन्भरद्वाज उपागमत्|

इन्द्रमुग्रतपा बुद्ध्वा शरण्यममरेश्वरम्||३||

Bharadwaja , a great ascetic, went to Indra, the King of Gods and the saviour, in quest of longevity.

ब्रह्मणा हि यथाप्रोक्तमायुर्वेदं प्रजापतिः|

जग्राह निखिलेनादावश्विनौ तु पुनस्ततः||४||

अश्विभ्यां भगवाञ्छक्रः प्रतिपेदे ह केवलम्|

ऋषिप्रोक्तो भरद्वाजस्तस्माच्छक्रमुपागमत्||५||

At first, Prajapati received Ayurveda in its entirety as recited by Brahma, from whom the Ashwins (received), and from Ashwins lord Indra received it fully. That is why Bharadwaja , as beseeched by the sages, came to Indra.

Problem of health and conference for its solution

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विघ्नभूता यदा रोगाः प्रादुर्भूताः शरीरिणाम्|

तपोपवासाध्ययनब्रह्मचर्यव्रतायुषाम् ||६||

तदा भूतेष्वनुक्रोशं पुरस्कृत्य महर्षयः|

समेताः पुण्यकर्माणः पार्श्वे हिमवतः शुभे||७||

When diseases started blighting life, creating impediments in penance(tapa), abstinence (upavasa), study(adhyayana), celibacy (bramhacharya), religious observance (vrata) and life span (ayusha) of mankind, the holy sages, out of their compassion for creatures, assembled at an auspicious place near the Himalayas.

Reference:

https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/mediawiki-1.32.1/index.php?title=Deerghanjiviteeya_Adhyaya

For knowing the Vedanta (philosophical aspect of Veda) part, there are again many disciplic succession (sampradayas or schools) starting from different angels. For example, Sri Sampradaya is started from Goddess laxmi, Brahma sampradaya from Brahmaji and Hamsa Sampradaya from Sanat Kumara Rishi are most common. For more information about the different schools, check below link: https://www.sanskritimagazine.com/indian-religions/hinduism/sampradayas-four-main-chains-discipline-successions-hinduism/

Summary:

There are different sampradayas (schools or disciplinic succession ) for each religious knowledge of Vedas or ritualistic worship of God and each rishi has inturn written a elaborate book on that branch of knowledge. Due to the many branches (also many prophets in Hinduism and many elaborate books) and many disciplic succession, intellectual people get confused and think that Hindu religion is a group of different beliefs and not one religion.

Indra is the supreme God in Prevedic time and Hindus gave less importance to Indradev in Puranic period

Most historians say that Lord Indra is praised more than Lord Vishnu or Lord Shiva (Rudra) in Vedas and Indra is the real God of Sanathana Dharma (Pre-vedic time when Yagna is only way of worship of God and not idol worship) and not Vishnu or Shiva. In fact Indra ruler over other devas in Vedas and maintained Heaven and the material elements, such as Agni -Fire, Varuna -Water and Surya -Sun. According to them, Lord Vishnu later became famous in Puranic time (Most Puranas proclaim Vishnu is supreme than Indra and Bhagavad Gita thus became the supreme book of Hindus and not Vedas) . They say that Vishnu is called as supreme God in later books and was not famous in Prevedic times. This is not true from the verses of Rig Veda itself. It admits Vishnu’s factual superiority to Indra and all other devatas in several places. Here are a few of the verses of Rig Veda:

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Rig Veda.10.113.2: – Vishnu is glorified because of who and what he intrinsically is. Indra, on the other hand, is only glorious circumstantially.

Rig Veda.1.156.2:- Vishnu is the most ancient of all, yet also the most recent. Nothing and no one creates Vishnu, yet Vishnu creates everyone and everything.

Rig Veda1.22.20:- om tat Vishno: paramam padam sadaa pashyanti sooraya: … This roughly means ‘which all gods seek is the supreme pada (abode) of Vishnu.’. This verse clears any doubt on Vishnu’s supremacy. Possibly there is no other God in Vedas who is described using ‘Paramam Padam’.

Another very compelling Rg Veda text (1.22.20) making clear that it is Vishnu who empowers all the heavenly gods extolled and glorified in Veda:

ओं तद् विष्णोः परमम् पदम्
सदा पश्यन्ति सूरयः

oṃ tad viṣṇoḥ paramam padam
sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ

Vishnu occupies the paramount position.
All other gods look always to his feet.

The Brahmanas (lengthy commentaries on the Vedas) are centered on the yajna (fire ritual). The Taittiriya Brahmanas (TB) and Aitareya Brahmanas (AB) hail Vishnu as the Yajna-purusha (actual God who is worshiped in Yagna) and identify him with yajna (yajno vai Vishnuhuh) — (AB: 1.15.4), (TB: 2.1.83). He is the protector and preserver of the yajna (TB 3.1.6.7).He is the Yajna pathi (master of yajna) whom all the sacrifices are meant to please.

In fact the Vishnu Sahasra Naama (105) of Mahabharata, the book written in Puranic period (as per historians) tells the same truth:

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Yagna-bhrut yagna krit yagee yagnabhuk yagna-sadhanah |

Yajna-ntakrut yagna guhyam anna mannada eva-cha ||

Yajna = Any good , dedicated and selfless act of service to others is yajna .

Yajna bhrit = he is the upholder and supporter of the yajna

Yajna krit = he is the one who performs yajna

Yajnee = the principle of yajna

Yajna bhuk = Lord Vishnu is the enjoyer of yajna

Yajna sadhana = he is obtained through yajna

Yajna antakrit = one who performs the last concluding act of yajna , which is poorna aahuti or  The one who gives the fruits/ the results of yajna

Yajna guhyam = he is the secret / truth of yajna

Annam = the food

Annadah = one who eats the food/ enjoyer

=======================================================================

If everything happens in Yagna due to Vishnu alone and not Indra dev, then a question remains. If Vishnu is really powerful than Indra and other gods (demigods), why Vishnu is glorified less number of times than Indra in Vedas? With over more than two hundred and fifty hymns addressed to Indra while very less hymns (Rg Veda mentions Vishnu 93 times) are addressed to Vishnu in Rig Veda. Isn’t it something fishy? Below are those verse from Sama Veda (translated by Rishi Dayananda Saraswathi) that prove that Indra alone is powerful:

Mandala 8/Sukta 1

O friends, do not worship any other but One, be

firm, never remiss, worship only Indra, sole lord

absolute, omnipotent and infinitely generous, and when

you have realised the bliss of the lord’s presence, sing

songs of divine adoration spontaneously, profusely,

again and again.

Actually, Arya Samaj followers have to worship Indra deva as supreme God as Vedas has more hymns addressed to Indra.

Indra is also identified separate from Varuna, Agni, Yama, etc. If Vishnu is supreme than Indra, why Vedas glorify Indra more than Visnu? The answer for this confusion is cleared in Puranas. In the very first Manvantara (Svayambhuva Manvantara when universe was created) Vishnu takes the position of Indra. Infact all the names of demigods like Indra, Varuna, Brahma are primarily the names of the supreme God Vishnu as per Madhwacharya. God has just distributed His names as titles to eligible demigods to decentralize His power.  In the latter Manvantara, Vishnu delegated this position to the demigod who was eligible for this position. The scriptural proof for this is found in Vedas only:

yo nah pitaa janitaa yo vidhaataa dhaamaani veda bhuvanaani vishvaa I yo devaanaam naamadhaa eka eva tam samprashnam bhuvanaa yantyanyaa II "Our Father who is our creator and disposer, knows all the worlds and all things existing; He is one alone, the name-giver of all devas. Him other beings attain (for) He is the only solution for all our interrogations." 
Rig Veda 10.82.3 ( Vishakrama Sukta )

Translation:

Father who made us, he who, as Disposer, knoweth all races and all things existing, Even he alone, the Deities’ name-giver,him other beings seek for information.

Reference:

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rig_Veda/Mandala_10/Hymn_82

2.2. It is said the Devas derive their power (shakthi), pervasion (vyapthi) and position (pada) from Vishnu, as he is the very source of all demigods. He is the Supreme God (Aitareya Brahmanas : 1:1:1).

This means there is a God (called as pitaa) who gives names (titles or padavi) to all demigods. That means demigods themselves are not real God.

If demigods themselves are not real God, why Rig vedas again give the following contradicting information?:

indraM mitraM varuNamagnimaahuratho divyaH sa suparNo garutmaan.h | ekaM sadvipraa bahudhaa vadantyagniM yamaM maatarishvaanamaahuH || 
Rigveda 1.64.46

Translation:

Sages speak of the one Reality in different ways; they call It Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, the heavenly bird Garutman, Yama, and Matarishvan (wind).

If we go by historical records why Indra was the supreme God during Vedic times, then it is because of this reason only. In Vedic period, people used to worship Vishnu as Indra. In Mahabharatha, you might have seen Lord Krishna lifted the Mandara Mountain and stopped the worship of Indra dev who was proud of himself as supreme God. This Indra is different from the Indra who is hailed in Vedas.

There are fourteen manvantaras in one day of Brahma (comparatively large time span of Brahma dev who takes in charge of Brahma Padavi). Each such manvantara is ruled over by a Manu again a demigod who takes control of that post. Most demigods also change from one manvantara to another. In addition, the Indra padavi changes hands.

Madhwacharya has pointed out that each verse/word of Vedas have atleast 3 levels of meanings depending on context as stated in Skanda Purana

1. Agryadidevataparatvena
2. tadantargatavishnuparatvena
3. adhyatmaparatvena

trayoarthaha sarvavedeshu dasharthah sarvabharate
vishnon sahasranamapi nirantarasatarthakam || Skanda Purana

For instance the Agni in a verse agnimile purohitam conveys both Agni (demigod) and Vishnu (supreme God). This is the first and second level of meaning. If the definition of Agni is to burn, then Agni dev has this powerful characteristic but Vishnu has infinitness of this characteristic as He can burn the whole brahmanda with just a side glance (during pralaya).

Most pandits give only the first level of meaning while translating the Vedas.

From all this, it is clear that Vedas are like old testament and Puranas (Bhagavad Gita especially) are like new testament (present Bible). You may say why names of Shri Raama and Krishna are not there in Vedas. The answer is same as why Jesus is not mentioned in old testament. Raama and Krishna are the incarnation of the same God who is glorified in Vedas. That is why following verse comes in Bhagavad Gita:

Chapter 4: Transcendental Knowledge

TEXT 1

sri-bhagavan uvaca
imam vivasvate yogam
proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha
manur iksvakave ‘bravit

SYNONYMS

sri bhagavan uvaca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; imam—this; vivasvate—unto the sun-god; yogam—the science of one’s relationship to the Supreme; proktavan—instructed; aham—I; avyayam—imperishable; vivasvan—Vivasvan (the sun-god’s name); manave—unto the father of mankind (of the name Vaivasvata); praha—told; manuh—the father of mankind; iksvakave—unto King Iksvaku; abravit—said.

TRANSLATION

The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga (Bhagavad Gita) to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku.

PURPORT

Herein we find the history of the Bhagavad-gita traced from a remote time when it was delivered to the royal order, the kings of all planets.

In addition, Sri Hari himself, had mentioned in Bhagavat Gita when describing his complete omnipresence, that HE is the one who is present in vajrayudam (Aayudhanam aham vajram). What is Vajrayudha? It is nothing but the sacred weapon of Indra devata which he always uses to protect himself and other devatas. What is Vajrayudha made of? It was made out of the back-bone of a very famous brahma gynani called Thathisi. From this incident, it is clear about the power of bones of Brahma Gynanis as well which has been finally mentioned by Sri Hari himself.

In fact, the essential secret of the Vedic scriptures (whom to be worshiped as absolute God), is concealed in Vedas itself as per Kalisantarana Upanishad. By knowing this knowledge from Kalisantarana Upanishad, one can swim across material existence during Kali-yuga (and enter spiritual world). For more info, read at https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2012/05/kalisantarana-upanishad/

Reference:

https://asitis.com/4/1.html

https://harivayustuti.wordpress.com/rigbhashya-of-srimadhvacharya/

https://chiraan.com/tatva-sanshay-nivaran/comment-page-32/

https://sreenivasaraos.com/tag/rug-veda/

What are the difference schools or sects of Hinduism.

Dwaita, Adwaita and Visishtadvaita talk about the relationship between 3 main realities of this universe or very basic fundamental aspects of this universe. They are God, the souls (jivas or consciousness), and insentient matter (jada or moola prakriti or the material energy which science discusses). If you do comparative study of these 3 siddantas (viewpoints) and do thorough analysis, you will understand the Vedanta (summary or actual philosophy of the Vedas) much better. Since Vedic times from the time of Manusmriti, Upanishads (not all but major ones) are given status on par with Vedas. Because it is called the cream of Vedas (that is why called as Veda-anta (end) ). Therefore siddantas are like theorems in Sanatana Dharma. Each siddantas also talk about the relationship between the cause and effect in this world as well as the spiritual world which beyond the reach of even scientists.

Let us first start from basic siddanta of Buddhism although it does not actually believe in God, Vedas and soul. According to Buddhism siddanta called as Kshanika vada, everything in this universe is in a state of momentary always. Thus there is not a single absolute reality (thus even God). This siddanta is also called shunya vaada (everything in this universe is considered as void (shunya) or invalid). Even if there is something called ultimate reality or God, it has already been transformed into the effect and lost its identity. Example they give is: suppose if God exists and is the seed of this universe, He no longer exists after the creation. Because the God has already transformed into the world (just like seed turning into tree). So they neither believe in God nor discard.

Adwaita siddanta of Adi Sankara takes this siddanta and questions the logic of this siddanta: “you say that by meditation we can realize that everything in this universe is unreal and changing but to realize and understand this truth, (to understand the pattern of this universe) there should be something in our mind or heart that is real and that does not change. Because if it is unreal then the experience of a monk or one who does meditiation does not have any value”.

According to Adwaita siddanta of Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada, there is only one reality and that is God. The souls and this material world is just appearing to be existing due to Maaya. This God’s illusion power makes different objects of this world as existing to us and different souls as living (humans, trees, birds, animals, etc). Due to the duality (subjective illusion) created by Maaya, we do not know that we are originally God by nature. Thus we humans do not have any separate identity. This is called by another name as Vivarta VAda (the world and souls are just super imposed like a magician so the term Vivarta) and this Vaada was prevalent since Vedic times prior to Adi Sankara’s arrival . The example they give is that due to insufficient light in dark, we perceive rope as snake.

Now Dwaita siddanta of Poorna Prajna Shri Madhwacharya takes the Adwaita siddanta and question the logic of their siddanta: “If innumerable souls are God only, then it indirectly means that God is under illusion of its own Maaya which is not possible. Because the definition of God is one who does not have wrong perception and who does not undergo illusion”. The delusion of the souls they are talking about is reasoning of the people that there is no God (atheist group) or they are different from God. Adwaita siddantis argues this point by replying that “souls getting deluded is just a VyavahArika satya (relative truth). VyavahArika means that which is true or appears to be true in day-to-day life (only this material world) but not PAramArthika Satya (absolute or highest truth)”. Example they give is the experience of Sunset. In reality Sun does not go down or lose his power but it still appears for us.

The next question posed by Dwaita siddantis is: “If soul is really God, who is suffering in samsara (in the body) or naraka (hell)?”. Adwaita siddantis replied to it by saying that “The suffering is just the illusion in the mind and soul actually suffer due to the association of body or matter. If souls realize that He is Brahman, he/she will not suffer”. This argument is opposed by Dwaita siddantis by saying that “the soul actually undergoes severe pain in hell (naraka) for his paapa for years as per Shastras. If God is punishing Himself in naraka then there is no meaning to the purpose of the creation by God”. This sounds true and many people started embracing Dwaita school of thought. Thus Dwaita siddanta came with their theorem and proposed that there are 3 different realities in this universe: God, the souls, and insentient matter. It is based on pariNAma vAda which was existing in India from long time. The example they give is that Sun which does not undergo any change but under it’s influence we find transformations like water vaporizing into steam, plants growing etc. Another common example they give is Bimba-pratibimba-vâda. Dvaita says that the Bimba (Brahman) and pratibimba (Jiva) are always different. pratibimba has some few qualities of Bimba (Brahman). But that does not mean that both are equal. Dvaitins contend that pratibimba never becomes one
with the bimba, even when the upAdhi (condition of superimposition in Adwaita) is destroyed.

All philosophers (school or sects of Hinduism) and followers of religion naturally question about the nature of the Supreme and they also question what is the ultimate perfection, the destination which the perfect living beings attain:

• Those who are personalists understand the God is a person and surrender to Him, worship Him and serve Him. They conclude the ultimate destination is the spiritual world, the Kingdom of God—the place where the Supreme Lord lives—and they want to go there and have a personal relationship and render service to the Lord. Christianity, Islam follow this.
• The yogis meditate on the God within their hearts—the Supersoul—their ultimate realization is the personal form of the Supreme Lord as Paramatma within their hearts. Unfortunately yogis generally get distracted by the yoga-siddhis, the yogic perfections. These mystic perfections enable the yogis to achieve wonderful powers within the material world—but the real perfection of yoga is to realize the Supreme God within the heart and surrender to Him and serve him—so the perfect yogi will become a personalist, a devotee, ultimately.
• The impersonalists conclude that the God is an impersonal energy or force. They want to merge with or become one with the Supreme—imagining that when they merge with the impersonal energy of the God they will somehow become one with and equal to the Supreme. The impersonal philosophy is very common among atheist because generally want to become god—they have no interest in surrendering to and serving anyone—certainly not God—so this impersonal philosophy allows them to believe there is no god above them, there is no authority, only an impersonal force, an energy and they are thinking of becoming one with that energy and becoming the supreme themselves. Most Indian gurus and philosophers are impersonalits even though they may speak something of personal God, but ultimately directly or indirectly, they hold impersonal views and really want to become the supreme themselves rather than surrendering to and serving the God. Practically the whole “new age” philosophy in the West is impersonalism. Because for the atheist people the idea of becoming one with the supreme is much more attractive than surrendering to the Supreme Lord.
• The voidists conclude that ultimately there is no supreme—only a void. They do not believe in any ultimate destination at all. They imagine that ultimately everything is void and they are trying to cease to exist. They imagine stopping their existence will be the solution to all their problems. The Buddhists are the typical example of followers of the voidist philosophy. They are atheistic. They do not believe in God and do not accept the living entities have an eternal soul and believe that ultimately they can cease to exist. Modern scientists are also generally voidists.

These four philosophies—personalism, yoga, impersonalism and voidism—appear time and time again in slightly different variations all over the world. Really you can not find any other philosophy. Sometimes there is some mixture but these are the basic four categories.

For more information refer at https://krishna.org/the-four-philosophies-impersonalism-yoga-personalism-and-voidism/

 

why Hindus worship tree, snake,cow as God. Isn’t it funny?

Vibhuti yoga of Bhagavad Gita answers this. By declaring that His glory present in some of the selected things, beings and living beings, God is declaring His ubiquity in this chapter. It explains where exactly the God’s glory is found in this material world. Even the angels (devathas) use the same energy or power of God. Check these verses from Bhagavad Gita Vibhuti yoga:

22
Of the Vedas (my glory is present in) I am the Sama Veda; of the demigods (my glory is present in)I am Indra, the king of heaven (which is not exactly the ultimate eternal heaven of Islam); of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness].

23
Of all the Rudras I am (my glory is present in) Lord Shiva, of the Yaksas and Raksasas I am the Lord of wealth [Kuvera], of the Vasus I am fire [Agni], and of mountains I am Meru.

24
Of priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief, Brhaspati. Of generals I am Kartikeya (Tamilians worship as Murugan), and of bodies of water I am the ocean.

25
Of the great sages I am Bhrgu; of vibrations I am the transcendental om. Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names [japa], and of immovable things I am the Himalayas.

26
Of all trees (my glory is present in) I am the banyan tree (this is the reason why we worship it as glory is present and can be used as interface to worship. Most religious use some interface to worship God. Muslims use the direction as interface. That is the difference. Why don’t they worship in other direction?), and of the sages among the demigods I am Narada. Of the Gandharvas I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila.

27
Of horses know Me to be Uccaihsrava, produced during the churning of the ocean for nectar. Of lordly elephants I am Airavata, and among men I am the monarch.

28
Of weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am the surabhi (a heavenly cow and the earthly cows are its descendants). Of causes for procreation I am Kandarpa, the god of love, and of serpents I am Vasuki (this is why we worship Vasuki the serpent angel in some parts of India).

29
Of the many-hooded Nagas I am Ananta, and among the aquatics I am the demigod Varuna. Of departed ancestors I am Aryama, and among the dispensers of law I am Yama, the demigod of death.

Have you see any Vegetarian Crocodile Which Only Eat vegetarian food like rice which is offered to God (next level of halal in vegetarian food also) and do not eat even a fish in the pond it lives? By nature, a Crocodile is a carnivorous animal. Do you agree that natural law can be reversed only by one and only God? In the temple shown in the video below you can see this crocodile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWUHG3dIMIM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlMOCng3YDc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb0J44gBbEU In islam there is a concept of Baraka (Arabic: بركة‎ “blessing of God”). It is an invisible attachment of Divine goodness to a thing, even if the divinity occurs in small quality. In Hinduism, we worship even tree if we find divinity in that. There is scriptural support for this also.

For more info check for authentic reference at https://asitis.com/10/23.html

science is not biased and it is better than religion.

Do you know that even the scientists have the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information that confirms or supports their prior beliefs? It is called as knowledge filtering (suppression of some of the evidences that opposes the convention discoveries that was made). Cremo and Richard Thompson published a booked called Forbidden Archaeology (FA), a voluminous exposé of “anomalous archaeological artifacts” that suggested modern people possibly lived on earth almost as long as the world existed, some 4.3 billion years ago. The book states that it has “over 900 pages of well-documented evidence suggesting that modern man did not evolve from ape man, but instead has co-existed with apes for millions of years and that the scientific establishment has suppressed the fossil evidence of extreme human antiquity. Check the following youtube list on forbidden archaeology book for deeper understanding:

 

When a scientist comes with an alternative theory that contradicts the established thinking on which whole body of science is based on, it is natural to call that scientist as controversial person or even go to the extent of calling that data or knowledge as pseudoscience. Check for the reviews of Forbidden Archeology book from different people at:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88473.Forbidden_Archeology

The very length of this 900-page reference work is instrumental in proving the point that it is not a crank hypothesis and the authors of this book are playing properly by the established rules of scientific investigation in presenting facts in detail, complete with source references.

The anatomy of the human body is is explained very beautifully in the Kaṭhopaniṣhad with the help of the model of a chariot:

ātmānagvaṁ rathinaṁ viddhi śharīraṁ rathameva tu
buddhiṁ tu sārathiṁ viddhi manaḥ pragrahameva cha
indriyāṇi hayānāhurviṣhayānsteṣhu gocharān
ātmendriyamanoyuktaṁ bhoktetyāhurmanīṣhiṇaḥ (1.3.3-4) [v21]

The Upaniṣhads say there is a chariot, which has five horses pulling it; the horses have reins in their mouths, which are in the hands of a charioteer; a passenger is sitting at the back of the chariot. Ideally, the passenger should instruct the charioteer, who should then control the reins and guide the horses in the proper direction. However, in this case, the passenger has gone to sleep, and so the horses are holding sway.

In this analogy, the chariot is the body, the horses are the five senses (electrical impulses from brain), the reins in the mouth of the horses is the mind (that is different from brain), the charioteer is the intellect (again a non material thing different from brain), and the passenger seated behind is the soul (which is more subtle than the mind and intellect) residing in the body.

The consciousness is a fundamental aspect of this creation independent of matter (brain). The reality of this world is so subjective and subtle that even scientists cannot identify the root cause and mistakenly consider sub cause as the root cause.

There are also arguments against the evolution theory of Charles Darwin which is still considered as Gospel truth by mainstream scientific community. After all, scientists are also humans and biased when considering the facts. There are many species which defies this theory. Go through the following video:

 

Reference:

https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/3/verse/43

sati system is a social evil

According to Ramashraya Sharma, a famous scholar, there is no conclusive evidence of the sati practice in the Ramayana. For instance, Tara, Mandodari and the widows of Ravana, all live after their respective husband’s deaths, though all of them announce their wish to die (with the feeling of separation from their life partner), while lamenting for their husbands. The first two remarry their brother-in-law. The only instance of sati appears in the Uttara Kanda – believed to be a later addition to the original text – in which Kushadhwaja’s wife performs sati.The Telugu adaptation of the Ramayana, the 14th-century Ranganatha Ramayana, tells that Sulochana, wife of Indrajit, became sati on his funeral pyre.

Instances of sati are found in the Mahabharata.

Madri, the second wife of Pandu, immolates herself. She believes she is responsible for his death, as he had been cursed with death if he ever had intercourse. He died while performing the forbidden act with Madri; she blamed herself for not rejecting him, as she knew of the curse. Also, in the case of Madri the entire assembly of sages sought to dissuade her from the act, and no religious merit is attached to the fate she chooses against all advice. In the Musala-parvan of the Mahabharata, the four wives of Vasudeva are said to commit sati. Furthermore, as news of Krishna’s death reaches Hastinapur, five of his wives choose to burn themselves.

Against these stray examples within the Mahabharata of sati, there are scores of instances in the same epic of widows who do not commit sati, none of them blamed for not doing so.

Passages of the Parasara Smriti say:

If a woman adheres to a vow of ascetic celibacy (brahmacarya) after her husband has died, then when she dies (natural death), she obtains heaven, just like those who were celibate. Further, three and a half krores or however many hairs are on a human body – for that long a time (in years) a woman who follows her husband (in death) shall dwell in heaven. — Parasara Smriti, 4.29–31

Neither of these suggest sati as mandatory, but Parasara Smriti (law book) elaborates the benefits of sati in greater detail. The sati system is also called sahagamana (a widow going with or accompanying with her deceased husband in next life or in heaven). This is the spirit of sati system. Nowadays we see some women becoming weak and losing interest in life after the passage of her husband. This is due to the love or attachment on her husband. With this same emotion, some women used to jump to the pyre of her husband. So this was a volunteer involvement of the wife. But when the priests and some families started making it mandatory, it became a social evil.

However, it was considered wrong for women who had young children to care for, those who were pregnant or menstruating. A woman who had doubts or did not wish to commit sati at the last moment, could be removed from the pyre by a man, usually a brother of the deceased or someone from her husband’s side of the family

In garuda Purana 4th chapter verses 90 to 98 mention abt sati. They are some exceptions if the women have children or if she is pregnant she must avoid this practice.

Opposition to sati was expressed by several exegesis scholars even before British came. For more information, refer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_(practice)

Here is a legend of how a good Sati can reverse the death of husband. As per one of the legend, once there was a Brahmin couple who wanted to go on Kashi yatra. The problem was their unmarried younger daughter. They didn’t want to take her on this long, arduous journey; so they decide to leave her with her elder brother and his wife. The Brahmin couple leaves for Kashi yatra but they do not come back for a long time. Here the greedy elder brother and his wife decide to marry her off to a dead prince in exchange for wealth. After the marriage ceremony, the King, the girl (bride) along with soldiers go to bury the prince on the banks of Bhagirathi River. While they are doing the last rituals, it starts raining and everyone begins to run away. The king invites his daughter-in-law to go back to palace, but she decides to stay with the dead prince.The King leaves but she remembers about this Amavasya Vrata which her parents used to perform. So, the young bride takes the mud and creates two cone like structures (Kalikamba lamps) and starts praying. At that time, a young couple comes and ask her about this Vrata. The young bridetells about the story and seeks their blessing. So they bless her saying ‘Dheerga Sumangali Bhava’ which means, “May you live a long life with your husband” and asks her to wake the dead prince. A yellow thread along with a flower is tied Princess later realises that it is Lord Shiva and Parvathi who blessed her for the devotion. Hence, even to this day married women perform this pooja every year for 9 years after marriage. Women worship Lord Shiva and Parvathi on the day of Bheemana Amavasya.

Read more at: https://www.nativeplanet.com/travel-guide/bheemana-amavasya-in-karnataka-002278.html

ishopanishath says andham tamah pravisanti ye sambhutimupasate so Upanishad declare that those who worship nature will go to hell.

This verse is NOT saying that those who worship created and uncreated things go to hell. Let us first understand this verse from an authorized prophet OR ACHARYA who has traditional lineage or connection with Veda Vyasa and not people who have no traditional lineage. In any language when you understand a statement we have to understand the context of that statement (so the meaning of asambhuti has different meaning automatically based on context) and the root meaning of the words. Moreover, you have to read the whole body of that vedic books to understand the meaning of a single verse also. Otherwise you will misunderstand just like Zakir Naik. Adi Shankaracharya has translated this verse in the following article. Read it:

https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/isha-upanishad/d/doc122467.html

Hindus do not worship nature as it is. We worship deva or God who is controlling the nature. We do not worship just fire. We worship agni deva who in charge of fire. That is why when we eat we worship Devi annapoorna, or when we collect milk from cow we worship Laxmi devi, or anything meaningfully enjoyed we remember God through different names but still God is one with different names. This is the answer to Zakir Naik followers.

For more information you can even read below google book reference:

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=rd1lCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT93&lpg=PT93&dq=ishopanishad+worship+created+things&source=bl&ots=oksKVlqAep&sig=ACfU3U1LC0dqvIldNOowvlx-INUPAgqkNw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwim69vX1czqAhXjjeYKHcFtB_4Q6AEwCnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=ishopanishad%20worship%20created%20things&f=false

On youtube you can check:

why did God as Krishna acted childish and did mischievous pranks like stealing butter from neighbors?

Bhagavatha Purana tells that mischievous pranks of Krishna and the childhood past times of Krishna has spiritual significance. There are some straightforward past times of Krishna which clearly show that He is God. He ate the soil like a child in front of their freinds. When Yashodha asked to open the mouth to throw the soil (thinking that He ate it without the awareness), she was astonished to see the whole universe in His mouth. This means  Shri Krishna intentionally ate soil to show His universal form to Yashodha. But the person who do not understand this divine play (called as leela) feels that Hindu God is acting childish. There is a leela where God takes a gigantic form and holds whole universe in His stomach during dissolution (pralaya) until the next creation process is started. This shows that this universe is like nothing in front of God. This leela is reminded while Shri Krishna showed his mouth.

Normally when we worship the God, we submit some eatable in front of God and ask Him to accept it. This does not mean God is feeling hungry. It is just offered as a token of love. Christians and Muslims praise God every day. This does not mean that God will feel weak if not praised. It is done as a token of love. Gopis had deep devotion for Krishna and had realized that He is absolute God. They longed to offer butter to Krishna, but were forbidden by their family members. Even while churning the butter, the Gopis prayed to Krishna to accept the butter as their token of love. By stealing the butter, Krishna is showing intimate reciprocation to their devotion.

Muslims argue that God cannot incarnate on earth because if God can be seen by humans, then the test conducted on this world is not fair. However, there are times when a examiner suddenly arrives to check how a test is going on in the exam hall. The incarnation of God is similar to this and very a rare incident. Lord Krishna incarnation is meant to show intimate relationship with His devotees. That is the purpose of God taking the role as Krishna. It does not mean God cannot resist the taste of butter. It means that God cannot resist to answer the prayers of His true devotees. That is why Krishna did not go to Duryodana’s house (who is much richer than Gopis) even after his request. God is actually so eager to reward (with punya) to His devotees, He started stealing their paapa (earlier sins) and replace punya in the place of butter. This is the way to see the true picture of Lord Krishna’s leela (divine play). That was why He was known as nava neetha chora (good hearted robber) or chitta chora, stealer of hearts. As the Gopis went out for business they thought constantly, ‘Will Krishna visit my house today? Won’t he grab his share of butter?’ Thus they were constantly thinking of Krishna.

“By engaging himself in the divine sport of stealing butter, Lord Krishna hit three birds in one shot. Apart from satiating the hunger of his poor friends by sharing butter with them, Krishna responded to the prayers of the Gopis and helped them to think of Him constantly.”

Reference:

Why did Krishna steal butter? Three birds in one shot

Asuras or demons get moksha easily than true devotees of God

Puranas seemingly give wrong information if we do not interpret it properly. None of the asuras went to Moksha as per Madhwacharya though Puranas says like that. Madhvacharya has cleared many confusing doubts on Hinduism. Some interpret it by saying that God is very merciful He gives moksha even to those who hate him. I ask the general Hindus, “Do you think God will gives moksha to rapists like Dushshasana ?”. If so, God is not having any mercy. If Moksha is so easily obtained after doing extreme bad deeds, then what is the value of that?

According to Acharya Madhvacharya, in some of the demons there were 2 souls (split personally in reality) in one body. Due to some shaapa or curse, some of the angels or devataas had to take birth in demon’s body. So when God kills such demons, the angel who was in the body of that demon will be getting moksha.

Acharya Madhvacharya says that the demon putana went to eternal hell called “Andhantamas” after getting killed. However, it was urvasi who was present inside her body went to svarga (heaven) and got moksha from that bad janma.

Similarly the gate keepers Jaya and Vijaya who were present inside the dantavaktra and sishupala got released when Lord Krishna killed the latter. Both the gate keepers Jaya and vijaya  went to vaikunta and continued their gate keeper service. But the Asuras dantavakra and shisupala was thrown into eternal hell called Andha thamas. Jarasanda too faced the same fate what those asuras faced.

Until the completion of tamo sadhana, daithas or asuras (demons) who hate God will keep on taking asura janmas. Once all their sins exceeded a certain limit, they will be send to thamas (eternal hell).