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Sanat Kumara and Lady Master Venus: Difference between revisions
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In Hinduism, Sanat Kumara is sometimes called '''Skanda''', or '''[[Special:MyLanguage/Karttikeya|Karttikeya]]''' the son of [[Special:MyLanguage/Shiva|Shiva]] and Parvati. Karttikeya is the god of war and commander-in-chief of the divine army of the gods. He was born specifically to slay Táraka, the demon who symbolizes ignorance, or the lower mind. Karttikeya is often depicted holding a spear, representing illumination. He uses the spear to slay ignorance. In Hinduism, stories of war are often used as allegories for the internal struggles of the soul. | In Hinduism, Sanat Kumara is sometimes called '''Skanda''', or '''[[Special:MyLanguage/Karttikeya|Karttikeya]]''' the son of [[Special:MyLanguage/Shiva|Shiva]] and Parvati. Karttikeya is the god of war and commander-in-chief of the divine army of the gods. He was born specifically to slay Táraka, the demon who symbolizes ignorance, or the lower mind. Karttikeya is often depicted holding a spear, representing illumination. He uses the spear to slay ignorance. In Hinduism, stories of war are often used as allegories for the internal struggles of the soul. | ||
Indian author A. Parthasarathy says that Karttikeya represents the “Man of Perfection who has discovered the Supreme Self. The wielding of his spear of annihilation symbolizes the destruction of all negative tendencies which veil the Divine Self.”<ref>A. Parthasarathy, ''Symbolism in Hinduism'', p. 151.</ref> | |||
An inscription on a fifth-century stone pillar in Northern India describes Skanda as the guardian of the Divine Mothers.<ref>Banerjea, ''Hindu Iconography'', pp. 363–64.</ref> Karttikeya is sometimes portrayed with six heads. One tale says Karttikeya was nurtured by the six Pleiades and he developed six faces so he could be suckled by each of them. Another tale says he was miraculously born as the six sons of six spinsters. Shiva’s wife, Parvati, hugged all six infants so affectionately that they became one person with six heads.<ref>Margaret Stutley and James Stutley, ''Harper’s Dictionary of Hinduism'' (HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), p. 144; ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 1963, s.v. “Kartikeya.”</ref> Commentator R. S. Nathan says, “The six heads stand for the use of the power of discrimination in the six different directions, to keep under control the six qualities that pull down man from his spiritual progress.”<ref>R. S. Nathan, ''Symbolism in Hinduism'' (Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, 1983), p. 20.</ref> | |||
In southern India, Karttikeya is known by the name of Subramanya, “dear to the Brahmanas,” the members of the priestly caste. Every village, even the smallest, has a temple or shrine to Subramanya. | |||
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Sometime between 1700 and 600 <small>B<small>.</small>C</small>. [[Special:MyLanguage/Zarathustra|Zarathustra]] founded Zoroastrianism in ancient Persia. One morning when he went to fetch water in a river, he beheld a luminous being who led him to Ahura Mazda and five other radiant figures. So great was their light that “he did not see his own shadow upon the earth.” From this group of beings he received his first revelation of a new religion. Shortly afterward, Zarathustra became a spokesman for Ahura Mazda. | Sometime between 1700 and 600 <small>B<small>.</small>C</small>. [[Special:MyLanguage/Zarathustra|Zarathustra]] founded Zoroastrianism in ancient Persia. One morning when he went to fetch water in a river, he beheld a luminous being who led him to Ahura Mazda and five other radiant figures. So great was their light that “he did not see his own shadow upon the earth.” From this group of beings he received his first revelation of a new religion. Shortly afterward, Zarathustra became a spokesman for Ahura Mazda. | ||
[[File:Ascetic Sumedha and Dipankara Buddha.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The ascetic Sumedha meeting Dipamkara]] | |||
=== Dipamkara === <!--T:38--> | === Dipamkara === <!--T:38--> | ||