Dear Bhagavatas:
Iam forwarding my reply to a query by Sri Srivatsan Narasimhan
(srivatsann@xxxxxxxxx) on the subject. Hope you may be interested in this.
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
=============================================================
Dear friend:
All your questions have been answered in detail in my book "Hinduism
Rediscovered" published by ?The Tiruvenkatam Group, Kuwait? and released by
His Holiness Srimad Andavan, Sri Poundarikapuram Swami Asramam, Srirangam,
in 2004)
I am, however, giving some brief references here. As for abortion, our
scriptures strictly prohibit it except in some special circumstances (These
have been extensively detailed in Chapter 14 of the said book)
?GarbhOpanishad? forms part of KrishNa yajur vEda Samhita and is imparted by
Sage Pippala and describes how the fetus grows in the mother?s womb and the
travails it undergoes during this period. Long before the modern scientists
what with their instruments, gadgets, X-Rays etc were tracing this; this
Upanishad had already done it with minute details by sheer supersensory
perception.?
(Vide page 52 ibid)
The GarbhOpanishad gives a graphic description not only of the trauma and
the travails suffered by the fetus during this process but also the pangs of
birth and the toils and troubles during childhood, youth and old age. Even a
cursory reading of the Upanishad would instill in us a total abhorrence of
our existence before, during and after birth.
?Saara Prakaasikai quotes ?GarbhOpanishad? which describes the stages of
development of the embryo in the womb of the mother thus:
?Eka raatrOshitam kalilam bhavati, sapta raatrOshitam budabudam,
ardha-maasaabhyantarENa piNDa: maasaabhyantarE kaTinO bhavati, maasa dvayEna
sirah kurutE, maasatrayENa paada pradESa: chaturthE gulpha jaTara kaTina
pradEsa: panchamE prushTvamsa: shashTE mukha naasikaa akshi srOtraaNi,
saptamE chaitanyam, ashTamE sarva sampoorNO bhavati, navamE sarva lakshaNa
jnaana karaNa sampanna:?
Meaning:
?The nondescript mass forms like a thicket (kalila) on the first day
For 7 days, it stays in that condition
On the seventh day, it becomes a bubble (budbudam);
In 15 days, it becomes a handful of mass (piNdam);
In a month it gets hardened;
In two months the head appears;
In the third month, the feet appear;
In the fourth month, the knees and the tummy form;
In the fifth month spinal chord develops;
In the sixth month, eras, eyes and nose formations appear;
In the seventh month, symptoms of life appear;
In the eighth month all limbs form;
In the ninth month, the formation of human figure takes shape in full?
(Vide Page 996 0f ?Srimad Rahasya Traya Saaram? published by Srimad Andavan,
Sri Poundarikapuram Swami Asramam, Srirangam (3rd Edition- 2000)
Swami Desika in ?Nigamana Adhikaara? of his ?Srimad Rahasya Traya Saaram?
compares this to the processes to which cotton is subjected to right from
the time of plucking from the plant to the stage when it is turned into a
piece of cloth.
?An interesting revelation is that when in the 9th month, the mental and
sense faculties had fully developed, the Jiva remembers all the good and bad
deeds it had done during its previous births and looks forward to correct
and evolve itself on birth. But, the moment it falls down on delivery, the
strange illusion that is ?maayaa? overtakes it and it forgets all that and
starts associating with the mundane objects that lead again to rebirths?
(Vide page 53 of ?Hinduism Rediscovered, ibid)
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
==========================================================
>From: "Srivatsan Narasimhan" <srivatsann@xxxxxxxxx>
>To: <Ramanbil@xxxxxxxxxxx>,<sgopan@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: Growth of foetus and our sAstrAs
>Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2006 14:28:42 -0800
>
>Dear Sri Anbil Swamy & Sri Sadagopan Swamy,
>
>Yesterday there was discussion with adiyEn's friend
>about the growth of foetus in mother's womb and our
>sAstrAs. With the limited knowledge we gained by
>reading email groups and other books, we could not
>figure out a satisfactory answer.
>
>We had following questions and would like to see
>what our Sastras have to say about them. If you
>could quote pramAnAs along with your reply, it
>would be very helpful. If you could give references,
>if these have been discussed earlier, that would
>also be great.
>
>1) When does a jivAtma enter the embryo? Is it
>transmitted from the male or enters at later stages?
>
>2) When are the pancha mukhya prAnan (Pranan, Apanan,
>vyAnan, udAnan and samAnan) obtained by the baby?
>
>3) Does the embryo have life, say during the first
>3 weeks?
>
>4) By saying "life" do we mean "jivAtma" or the "prAnan"
>or something totally different?
>
>5) Is there any reference to abortion in our sAstrAs
>or itihAsAs? Do they claim it to be equivalent to killing
>a life? We got into this, when we were discussing about
>the opposition to the abortion bill in the US.
>
>Sorry if adiyEn's questions are bordering
>adhika prasangithanam.
>
>adiyEn
>Srivatsan
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