Story of
Dhruva and Shantanu: Water
was useful and how to benefit from it. Dhruva (polestar), he realized, was
steady in the sky, and was a desirable guardian in the study of other celestial
bodies. Moon (Soma) was a help in the study of astrology. Mountains (Dhara)
were under study and so were winds and fire. Dawn (pratyusa) inspired them and
rejuvenated them. Perhaps gods descended on Earch to give away the secrets of
universal phenomena. Splendor (prabhása) was creeping upon these ancient Aryans,
perhaps unnoticed. This prabhsa was present physically in Mahabharata in the
person of Bhishma. (Eighth Vasu): King Pratipa of the house of Kuru thought he
had been married for many years, had no children. He left the affairs of the
government to his wife and counselors, and wandered away to seek solitude on
the banks of the River Ganga (Ganges). His change of diet perhaps,
made him sexually viable. When he returned to his kingdom his wife bore him a
son. They called him Shantanu. - As if he had qualities of a touchtone to
improve lives of other people in his company. Shantanu too was a wanderer. In
his wanderings for hunting in the forest, the mountains or the riverside
pastures he was getting to know the land he would be ruling when king Pratipa
dies. (The ancient story is
reconceptualized in an advanced time era.).
He came across a beautiful girl along the
river side- she could have been from the upper reaches of the river, or a nymph
(they, typified by their association with water and trees- End of the ice
age:... during the great floods, girls who could stay put on high mountain
trees and survive, and then, as water starts receding come down and swim to the
dry land; sometimes the time-element involved would betray them for belonging
to superior race, or coming down from
heaven). Ùantanu fell in love with this girl, her name was Ganga and he married her. The
first seven sons that were born to her were secretly sent away to learn the art
of survival that she had learnt herself, not trusting the way of Palace Life.
Santanu insisted that their 8th son be left with him. She promised to return
the 8th son to the King when he grows and left the palace never to return again
in the settlements on the blanks of the rivers. Shantanu, many years later, set
off in the direction of the upper reaches of the river Ganga. He saw some youth
swimming in the water skillfully in a deep whirlpool in the middle of the
stream. His mother Gaògá was nearby. She introduced her son Gaògádatta to his
farther and allowed the King to take him back to the palace; Gangadatta or as
he later on came to be known as Bhèúma was the offspring of different clans.
His young days he spent at his mother's
place. Because of the out-breeding he was better off; as propagation of genes
was to the advantage of physical and mental developments. On the bank of the
Gaògá a culture of the particular group was now merging with the culture of
other settlements on the River Banks. Then there was YamunáRiver bank settlement to
which Vyasa's mother Satyavati belonged. Digging in the historical times to
draw parallel, to compare notes is the healthy exercise, and must be undertaken
frequently.
This Greek cult is 6th century B.C. and
is associated with the name of ''ORPHEUS''. He was a poet and musician who charm
the God of death with his lyre to rescue his wife Eurydice. Devotees preach
purity, asceticism and atonement for sin. They believed in an afterlife. The
cult influenced Pythagoras and Plato. Of course country lies in the way of
Aryan nomadic walk from Mesopotemia (Iraq) to India.
They
displayed very
fine penetration and profound spirituality. Dr. Radhakrishnan commented on the
upaniúadas, the Brahmasütra and the Bhagavad Gita he describes Shankaracharya as follows: With his acute
feeling of the immeasurable world, his stirring gaze into the abysmal mysteries
of spirit, his unswerving resolve to say neither more or less than what could
be proved, Shankara stands out as a heroic figure of the first rank in the some
what motley crowd of the religious thinkers of his time.
This helps to understand the Eternal
Riddle of Death, agreed Emerson. Ralph Waldo 1803-1882 Am. essayist & poet,
whose f
More abstracts about the Indian Ancient Scriptures - Vedas, Upanishads, Vedanta, as Explained.