Why do we offer Milk on Shivling?

I came across a video going viral on Internet when a young girl asked the same question to an Acharya. May be it was the right answer replied in a wrong way, or a wrong question asked the right way but it left a gap that neither was satisfied.

I will try to satisfy my own conundrum my own way:

What is that entity that is above all? Likely no one has seen but most find it somewhere near them that we turn to? Its the God, the ईश्वर, the energy that runs the whole World including what we have not been able to see and above all that impacts us, our lives every day every second. No matter which religion it tries to explain, it tries to find who this entity is.

Then comes what in an umbrella word I would call Channels. This channel could be Knowledge (ज्ञान), Devotion (भक्ति), Practice (साधना) or any other Yog or way. We use these to seek the God or try to explain who this God is?

Then comes the Manifestation (यही है). We derive a manifestation of that energy in to something - This could have no form (निराकार) or have a form (साकार). This यही है creates school of thoughts, religions, traditions and impacts cultures.

What happens after Manifestation is what impacts us, our behavior, our practices our beliefs.

After Manifestation comes Traditions and then comes places of Worship like a Temple. Temples could be of a few types - One that are believed to be जागृत (awake) where ईश्वर का अंश जागृत अवस्था में हो, Second - those that are constructed to assist Humans in Worship or ज्ञान or simply as cultural centers. The temples usually have Idols after their प्राण प्रतिष्ठा - A practice or belief to create an entity that is awakened.

After Temple comes the Society that they serve. Temples make sure the society is together, is on the right path and enables it to keep the beliefs persistent beyond a human life. Temples also serve as places that enables or gives humans an opportunity to introspect, to seek with in, help them gather their thoughts or associate what ever other asset valuable to them with the ईश्वर.

After society comes the Manners (आचरण) - the human values, the Rights and the Wrongs. Temples and Traditions and Practices keep the Human values on the right path.

Then comes Us the Humans. After the Manifestation of the God each layer of this chain impacts us morally and ethically. Prior to the यही है is completely independent has no impact on what we do. We may get judged at some point by this Power but our own behavior would not change the Ultimate Truth.


Now back to the original question of हम शिव जी को दूध क्यों चढ़ाते  हैं? Why do we offer Milk to Bhagwan Shiv at Temples?

First the Milk offered on Shiv Ji is not to waste it but it is to be distributed to all as a प्रसाद. It is often encouraged directly or indirectly for a भक्त to offer as much as he or she can afford. Why? Because Temples have responsibilities it is directly connected to a society that it runs in. A society is not equal to all even if the God is. The प्रसाद distribution makes sure every one gets a share equally even Milk that not every one could afford.

Second Milk is the most precious of all food. When a Baby is born it does not ask for Gold or Power, it asks for Milk. Milk is जीवन दायनी - A life source that could end a life without. Offering Milk is a way to associate our most precious thing as a living Human being to the God (अर्पण).

Third - Our Hindu Manifestation of God believes Shiv to have consumed Poison considered burning to protect the World from Evils. Milk considered to be implicitly cold is to pray Shiv and seek his Blessings.

Fourth - Milk is considered the Purest form of food purest form of Liquid. Remember after Sikhs considered an Army operation inside Golden Temple as objectionable they cleaned and washed the entire temple with Milk? Do you know Elders blessing "दूधो नहाओ"? Milk represents our supreme devotion (भक्ति) that we offer.

The Practice of offering Milk to Shiv Ji is a sign of Devotion to an entity Manifested into शिवलिंग रूप to be equally distributed among all believers of the faith the Temple is built to protect, preserve and spread.

Mummi's Interview on Indian Elections

दिल का मलाल

कुछ गुंडों और दलालों का भला  करने से अगर डेमोक्रेसी चलती हो तो पूरे जनता का भला करने कि क्या ज़रुरत है? बोल के शांत होने वाले तो पिछले ६५ सालों से हिंदुस्तान में जन्मते रहे हैं, metaphorically ना राज बदला है न राजा, हाँ नाराज़गी हमेशा रही है। जात, धर्म, भाषा, क्षेत्रीयता ऐसे बहुत से मसले हैं जिसमे रोज़ की अज़ियतों को दिल से निकाला जा सके। तो? आपस में लड़ते रहिये। अगर हमारे पूर्वज सैकड़ों सालों कि ग़ुलामी बर्दाश्त कर चुके हैं तो ६५ सालों कि आज़ादी ने हमारे दिमाग़ को ख़राब कर रक्खा है। हिंदुस्तान में अगर सबसे अहम् कोई चीज़ है तो वो है हमारी रिवायतें। उन्ही रिवायतों को क़ायम करते हुए जाईये और उन्ही भ्रष्ट नेताओं को वोट दीजिये जिनसे कम से कम ये तो मालूम है कि कुछ नहीं बदलेगा। गुलाब का शरबत पीने से दो मिनट कि थकन  चाहे  दूर होती हो ज़िन्दगी गुलाबी नहीं होती।

हाँ वोटिंग कार्ड बनवाना न भूलें।

Congratulations India on its Mars Mission

First my hearty congratulations to Indian scientific community specially ISRO to have achieved what many would have thought unimaginable just a few years ago. I would like to mention three very popular stigmas:

# Fix the Toilets Myth

• Many would ask with a country still with no proper toilets for everyone why Mars and why now? Answer is they are totally unrelated. India has enough money and resources to fix the toilets and provide everyone of its citizen better sanitary services. Money comes and money goes. It is the inefficiency and corruption in States that are unable to provide such basic facility to all of its residents not because India can not achieve this goal. 
• Second, like any Corporation you will find struggling divisions and the bread runners. You don't stop evolution and research in what you are totally good at just because some parts are non-functional and broken. Frankly ISRO has proven its capability to better utilize its resources and have championed what they are supposed to do. Broken toilet will and must not stop them.
• May be with its success we would be able to send those who were supposed to fix the Toilets out to Mars someday.

# A Country of Snake Charmers

• It is so surprising that even in 2013 you once in a while meet people who identify India a country of Elephants and Snake Charmers. Why would a country with such a backward outlook consider flying to Mars?
• There is a popular belief in Hindu mythology that Earth stands on top of a Snake head. Charming a snake means having an ability to know and control Earth's movement but also to understand and control the support structure of the Earth. The support structure of Earth is not a real snake but a sequence of planets and satellites moving in elliptical movement as a Cobra moves. Charming the snake is to champion our Galaxy. The snake charmers were not some dirty dhoti clad serpentine owners they were the scientists whose work mixed with religious theologies got lost in poor interpretations by half cooked intelligentsia.

# Triggering an Arms Race

• You can not create unless you have an ability to destroy - This what manifestation of Shiva says, a God of creation and destruction. You have to champion the tools and mechanism that can destroy to create an environment of peace.
• More than anything else what protected Americans and Russians during the cold war period was their ability to produce weapons of mass destruction. They did not engage in house to house close quarter combats. There were far less killed then than today's much one sided security engagements. Once you realize your strength and get an appreciation of your enemy for your strength is when you start to become friends. 
• Its not an armed race. It is a way to extend the ability of Humans to reach outer space and tell the world pity regional disputes are inconsequential. Collaboration will follow.

My JavaONE 2013 session

And the recorded presentation:

Speech on assault on rave parties in India

Thanks for giving me time to share my thoughts. India is a free nation. It is a free democracy and it is a free society. As a citizen of India either by birth or by anyway other, we get certain constitutional rights. Rights that are derived from core human and our centuries old traditional values. And one of those rights is to choose how we live.



That said, unlike many western societies our social security is still families. Families are at the core of our fabric. Our democracy derives its energy from it. Mahatma's dreams of Panchayati Raj is a clear indication that in India democracy flows bottom up. If we need support - financial, psychological or emotional we revert to our families, our parents our siblings, our Pind, our community. And these societies over the years form what I call soft laws including certain behavioral guidelines. These guidelines are not written by a few on a piece of paper but are passed down to them by generations over centuries. Its the cost of social security they provide. Then there sits a big Gorilla called Indian constitution that supersedes all such laws and allows anyone who feels threatened by such social laws to seek protection under it. Such social laws can not be used as a justification to perpetrate violence or assault on people and law must take strong action against whoever does that.
I abhor such people and act, but I do support the very intent of such protest against the so called Rave parties. Some of the news that I have read about are nothing but disgusting. For pete's sake some of them were found with packets of condoms lying around with free flowing alcohol and nakedness. Would as a Dad, as a Parent as a family I approve my kid to go to such parties? Of course not and so am sure a bulk of this audience would not too. As a father I would do everything to register my protest against such events if I see that happen that I feel threatens my family and my values. I would not take a gun and shoot them up or break in or slap them around but I will make sure my and many such voices are strongly heard. Unlike many misconceptions Parents even in many western countries feel the same anguish and anger when they hear their kid is drinking, taking drugs or involved in sexual partnerships. Its a parental instinct and I strongly support my rights to do so.
When we were young 18, 19 or 21 we believed behavioral guidelines can not be thrust upon us and this is something that a Generation dictates. Let me say to you in '70s we saw a hippie culture. Where is that now? Are they relevant anymore? A lifestyle evolved in one generation has been disapproved by subsequent ones. So over a few generations the guidelines put forth by societies broadly remains by and large the same. And a sustainable change requires it being slow and not contextual. At the end it is us who make changes or safeguard our beliefs.

Thank you