OUR HERITAGE

MÉÆMÉä SÉ ªÉ¨ÉÖxÉä SÉè´É MÉÉänùÉ´ÉÊ®ú ºÉ®úº´ÉÊiÉ*
xɨÉÇnäù ʺÉxvÉÖ EòÉ´ÉäÊ®ú VɱÉäκ¨ÉxÉ ºÉzÉËvÉ EÖò¯û**

The Ganga, the Yamuna, the Godavari, the Saraswathi, the Narmada, the Sindhu, the Kaveri are all very sacred and important rivers. In other countries also there are many rivers, but they are not considered sacred. Their waters are used mainly for irrigating lands and for cleansing the body. But by bathing in our rivers, our sins get washed away, our mind gets purified, and we begin to have pure thoughts. This is the special significance of the sacred rivers of India.

There are many mountains in the world. The mountains and mountain peaks of other countries are noted for their scenic and natural beauty and are mainly places of tourist attraction. But in our country, the mountains and mountain peaks are regarded as sacred. They are considered sacred not because one can organize an expedition to climb them, but because they have been the abodes of Gods and Goddesses, because the parents of the whole world, Siva and Parvati have their abode in Mount Kailasa. Further, the Himalayas themselves are considered to be devatatma, divine in nature. As Kalidasa says in his Kumaara-sambhavam :

+ºiªÉÖkÉ®úºªÉÉÆ Ênù榃 näù´ÉiÉÉi¨ÉÉ Ê½þ¨ÉɱɪÉÉä xÉÉ¨É xÉMÉÉÊvÉ®úÉVÉ&*
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Similarly, there are other sacred mountains like the Vindhyas, the Sahyadri and so on. These mountains are not just huge masses of inanimate rocks but they are living beings for us; they are high and they beckon us also to think higher.

Similarly, the cities of our country are also considered sacred. There are many important places all over the world but all of them are not considered sacred. They may be great in other respects, but they are not regarded as sacred, in the sense in which some of our important cities are regarded as sacred, as for instance:

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In other countries, only places where great souls have been born, are regarded as sacred, and not the whole country. This is true of Christianity, Islam and other religions. In our country, because of association with God, because God has taken avataras and performed his lilas, the whole country is regarded as sacred. Also, there are many places where rishis had done great penance and God had appeared before them. Thus, these places also have become sacred for us over the corridors of time.

So, in our country, cities like Ayodhya, Mathura, Mayapuri, Banaras or Kasi, Kanchi, Avantikapuri, Dwaraka etc., are also considered sacred and are also considered as places of Moksha. Especially, Kasi is said to be a center of Moksha or liberation for one and all. It is said:

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{ÉÖhªÉIÉäjÉEÞòiÉÆ {ÉÉ{ÉÆ ´ÉÉ®úÉhɺªÉÉÆ Ê´ÉxɶªÉÊiÉ**

When sins are committed at other places, they vanish by visiting other sacred places, but sins committed at those sacred places also vanish at Varanasi.

There are 12 holy places in our country especially dedicated to Lord Siva, and these are called the dwadasa-linga-kshetras. It is said:

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ʽ¨ÉɱɪÉä iÉÖ EäònùÉ®Æú PÉÖ¶¨Éä¶ÉÆ SÉ Ê¶É´ÉɱɪÉä**

Similarly, there are 52 Saktipithas or places dedicated to the Divine Mother. Therefore, our country is regarded as holy and sacred.

There are many religions existing in the world, and even in India today, many of them had been founded by great souls at certain periods of history. Prior to those periods, they were non-existent, nor were their religious scriptures existing prior to those periods. But our religion is an ancient religion, and it was not founded by any great saint. This has come down right from the days of creation. The Creator of the whole world himself has given this religion to us. The other religions can be traced to some great saint who founded them and hence their age also can be determined, but our religion has no age, because it had no founder as such. Since it has no beginning, it has also no end. When a thing is not born, how can there be any end to it? Thus, our religion is also an ancient and sacred one. Just as God has no beginning, our religion also has no beginning.

In other countries, only Messengers of God, had come, but in our country, God himself has incarnated in the form of Rama or Krishna and so on, lived amidst us like ordinary mortals and performed His lilas. While in other countries just one Messenger had come in our country, these avataras come again and again. In fact, as the Gita says:

ªÉnùÉ ªÉnùÉ Ê½þ vɨÉǺªÉ M±ÉÉÊxɦÉÇ´ÉÊiÉ ¦ÉÉ®úiÉ*
+¦ªÉÖilÉÉxɨÉvɨÉǺªÉ iÉnùÉi¨ÉÉxÉÆ ºÉÞVÉɨªÉ½þ¨ÉÂ**

Whenever there is a decline of dharma, the Lord comes to rescue it and He redeems it and restores it to its original glory. This has been our Indian tradition. Thus, God has chosen our country for taking His avataras, and has sanctified our country by His lilas and by the dust of His Holy feet.

It is only in our country that spiritual transformation can take place, and man can spiritually develop. That is why so many foreigners come here to our country. They are not able to get peace of mind in their own countries and therefore they come to our country, for having spiritual transformation of their mind.

It is indeed our good fortune to have been born in this country. Let us all strive to make the best use of our human birth in this country. Human life itself is something rare, and human birth in this country is something very sacred and holy. So, let us make the best use of this human life for the realization of the highest goals of human life.

May Chandramaulisvara’s blessings be showered on all!

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