Know Your Demons: Rakshashas, Changlings and Shapeshifters!
BY: DHARMAPAD DAS
Dec 09, 2011 — BRAZIL (SUN) — In the 16th chapter of Bhagavad Gita, Shree Krishna tells us that "… the demoniac, who are lost unto themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible acts meant to destroy the world." Certainly, the misguiding hand of the demoniac is seen across the face of the Earth, prominent in every society.
Take India as an example. So often nowadays, we experience how Western-oriented Hindus criticize traditional Vedic dharma in the name of secularism and progress. Westernized Hindus espouse not only Western intellectual thought, but they ape popular Western culture as well; this is especially true since the insertion of radio and television into even small, countryside villages. It seems as if an element of India's population is undermining its own culture from within, almost as if it were some kind of fifth column against its own, dharmic culture.
On the surface, this tendency seems simply to be brought about by the onslaught of foreign culture as history has recorded it; first by the Muslim invasions, later by the British, and now by globalization and telecommunication. But if we scratch the surface a little, we might find a deeper, more remote cause. A nice clue is found in Varaha Purana, as quoted by Kedaranath Dutt, Bhaktivinode Thakur, in his book Jaiva Dharma:
Raksasah kalim ashritya
Jayante brahma-yonishu"In the Kali-yuga demons take birth in the families of brahmins."
In a broader sense, we can interpret this verse as referring to infiltration of human society and modern institutions by demoniac elements of the Kali Yuga. And let's not be impersonal about it, infiltration by demoniac elements begs the questions: by whom, how, and wherefrom?
This idea of beings from other realms taking birth on Earth with agendas is not unheard of. In the tenth canto of Shrimad Bhagavatam, Shree Vishnu instructed the demigods to take birth ahead of the Krishna avatar in order to assist Him in His pastimes--
"After all the demigods offered the Purusa-sukta prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they apparently heard no response. Then Lord Brahma personally sat in meditation, and there was a message-transmission from Lord Vishnu to Brahma. Brahma then broadcast the message to the demigods. That is the system of receiving Vedic knowledge. The Vedic knowledge is received first by Brahma from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through the medium of the heart. As stated in the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam, tene brahma hrda: the transcendental knowledge of the Vedas was transmitted to Lord Brahma through the heart. Here also, in the same way, only Brahma could understand the message transmitted by Lord Vishnu, and he broadcast it to the demigods for their immediate action. The message was: ‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth very soon along with His supreme powerful potencies, and as long as He remains on the earth planet to execute His mission of annihilating the demons and establishing the devotees, the demigods should also remain there to assist Him. They should all immediately take birth in the family of the Yadu dynasty, wherein the Lord will also appear in due course of time.'''(Krsna Book, Chapter One)
The other way around, however, it seems that asuras, too, either take birth as residents of Bharat or that they express their influence through earthly beings, as we will see in the case of Kamsa and Duryodhana.
"After being thus informed by Narada about the appearance of the demigods in different families Kamsa at once became alert. He understood that since the demigods had already appeared, Lord Vishnu must be coming soon."
"Kamsa was made aware of his previous birth by the grace of Narada. He learned that in his previous birth he was a demon of the name Kalanemi and that he was killed by Visnu. Having taken his birth in the Bhoja family, he decided to become the deadly enemy of the Yadu dynasty; Krsna was going to take birth in that family, and Kamsa was very much afraid that he would be killed by Krsna, just as he was killed in his last birth." (Krsna Book, Chapter One).
Even if the Hindus who raise their hands against their own culture are not consciously Raksasas, they might not be traditional Hindus in the sense that they might not have evolved to their present position through pious births. In fact, if they decry Vedic culture, then they certainly haven't evolved piously because the pious soul is naturally sympathetic with the Vedic version. And the above-cited verse from Varaha Purana does state that, in this yuga, demons are born into Hindu families.
We will draw on the presentation of Dr. Richard L. Thompson (Sadaputa dasa), in his book Alien Identities (P - 241), in order to investigate the case of King Duryodhana: "King Duryodhana once had an encounter with some Ganharvas who had cordoned off an area around a lake for recreational purposes and had blocked Duryodhana's army from entering. When Duryodhana tried to enter anyway, a fierce battle took place, and he was captured by the Gandharva forces. At this point, Arjuna, who was staying nearby, used his political connections with the Gandharva to free Duryodhana. Arjuna and his brothers had been driven into exile by Duryodhana, but Arjuna intervened to save him from the Ganharvas on the grounds that he was a relative and a human being.
Duryodhana was humiliated at being saved by a person he had scorned and mistreated as an enemy, and he decided to give up his everything and fast until death. However, it seems that other parties had long-standing plans for Duryodhana and they weren't at all pleased by this turn of events.
'Thereupon the Daityas and Danavas, hearing of his decision, the gruesome denizens of the nether world, who had been defeated by the gods, now, in the knowledge that Duryodhana would wreak their party, performed a sacrificial rite in order to summons him.' (Mahabharat)
Once Duryodhana was in the presence of the Danavas, they explained to him that his birth on Earth had been arranged in advance as part of their plan. His great bodily strength and his near immunity to weapons were arranged by their manipulations. He therefore shouldn't spoil everything by taking his life. Daityas and Danavas, taking birth as Earthly heroes, would assist him in his battle with the Pandavas. The Danavas also pointed out that they would use mind control to make sure that this battle had the desired outcome.
‘After it was over, King Duryodhana thought that it had all been a dream, Bharat, and he was left with this thought: ‘I shall vanquish the Pandus in battle.'" Thus was Duryodhana empregnated with asuric agendas.
Another clue is provided in the recently discovered phenomena of UFOs. Again we will draw on the comparison given by Dr. Richard Thomson (Sadaputa dasa) in Alien Identities (P 224 - 225). There, the good doctor points out the tenth-canto Bhagavatam narrative of Salva's Wonderful Aircraft and the similarities with modern UFOs. "A number of interesting parallels with UFO accounts can be found in the story of Salva in the tenth canto of the Bhagavat Purana. 'The aircraft occupied by Salva was very mysterious. It was so extraordinary that sometimes many airplanes would appear to be in the sky, and sometimes there were apparently none. Sometimes the plane was visible, and sometimes not visible, and the warriors of the Yadu dynasty were puzzled about the whereabouts of the peculiar airplane. Sometimes they would see the airplane on the ground, sometimes flying in the sky, sometimes resting on the peak of a hill, and sometimes floating on the water. The wonderful aircraft flew in the sky like a whirling firebrand- it was not steady even for a moment.'
The flight characteristics of this "airplane" resemble those of UFOs in many respects ... UFOs are well known for this kind of behavior, and they are also described as hovering over water and then abruptly taking off."
Modern accounts of abductions similar to that of Duryodhana's, in craft similar to that of Salva simply abound. In the above-mentioned book by Dr. Thompson as well as Secret Life by David M. Jacobs, PH.D., scores of cases are investigated in a serious and statistical manner. In the Jacobs book, for example, UFO abduction victims are interviewed separately with no knowledge of or contact with other such victims; even so, they uniformly describe similar experiences. Their descriptions of UFO interiors are also astonishingly uniform. The film "Communion" depicts the true story of the former New York playwright – Whitley Strieber – who had abduction experiences and was influenced. Typically, abduction victims are often influenced by some suggestions made hypnotically, literally made to forget the experience by some kind of hypnotic suggestion, and then set down again on the surface of the Earth with an agenda to carry out, as in the case of Duryodhana. Such unfortunate souls become little more than marionettes of beings little understood by them.
As we can imagine, the abduction victims who receive suggestions and agendas are often influential people, such as politicians, musicians and authors. Why would the demons go to such lengths to influence run-of-the-mill citizens? By the way, wasn't ISKCON in its heyday, with its millions-per-year book distribution, worthy of the attention of such demoniac influence?
Armed with Vedic descriptions and definitions, we can understand these UFO beings to be none other than the Daityas and Danavas of Vedic lore. Their influence did not stop in Vedic times. It would be naive of us to think that, even though during the Dvarpara Yuga the asuras made such an impact, they now exert no influence in the Kali Yuga proper. If anything, their influence has been greater in this yuga that in the past. Due to their manipulations, the once world-wide Vedic culture has been truncated again and again, and the off-shoots transformed into the materialistic cultures we have witnessed over the last several thousand years.
Genetic collection and manipulation, though, do seem to be the principal activity of these UFO-borne Daityas and Danavas. Women are their main abduction victims, in approximately 80% of the cases, according to Secret Life by Jacobs. Biological probing, extraction of the human egg, plus artificial insemination, incubation, birthing and nursing are their main interests. The same women, once (genetically) identified, are preyed upon again and again for the purpose of egg extraction.
DNA seems acts as a via medium between the subtle astral plane, where consciousness dwells, and the physical world. In this way, their identification and cultivation of certain genetic types comes to make sense - certain DNA strains open the body up to manipulation by these Daityas and Danavas, currently known as reptilians and the Grays. In fact, the current genetic collection activities could even have the purpose of developing suitable bodies for occupation by demoniac, reptilian souls who have not yet incarnated; this would relieve them of the necessity of having to manipulate unreliable human beings who have already taken birth. Reports of large nurseries suggest that a whole program of human-Daitya or Danava breeding is ongoing. Perhaps "Hell will be raised" after the next world war and the bred legions will come topside to take over and manage the surface of the planet.
William Michael Mott, in his book Caverns, Cauldrons, and Concealed Creatures, points out that the same genetic breeding and abduction scenario has been recorded in European folklore from centuries ago; and that it has been perpetrated by underground, demoniac species, such as trolls, gnomes, elves, fairies, brownies and goblins. "Fairytales are also replete with accounts of identical replacements for people, called changelings, who, upon being discovered or somehow discomfited, wither into a sickly imitation of the person impersonated. Similarly, doppelgangers or doubles, sometimes called ‘the fetch,' are numerous in Northern European accounts. One of the recurring themes is the confusion of a would-be rescuer who is determined to save someone from abduction to the underworld of Faerie; the rescuer is confronted with a group or line-up of beings identical in appearance to the abductee, and he must choose the genuine human being from the line-up.
All of this begs an obvious question about the nature to which purloined genetics might be being put, if indeed such abductions have been occurring over the centuries, and it brings into question whether the process of cloning is as recent as currently believed. What would be the purpose of such cloning and crossbreeding experiments, if not to isolate and perpetuate certain genetic characteristics and abilities?" [to isolate and perpetuate for the demons]
William Michael Mott: wmmott@mottimorphic.com.
The foreboding nature of these activities is heightened by descriptions in the Puranic literature defining the Daityas as being residents of a Netherworld. Although this could refer to some galactic abode below the orbital plane of the solar system, reports of underground destinations by abduction victims suggests that Daityas dwell within our very planet. The Bible, too, defines that demons live in worlds beneath the surface of the planet. Consider one of the more recent descriptions from the book Extraterrestrial Visitations: True Accounts of Contact by Preston Dennett:
Taken to an Underground Base "The standard abduction scenario usually involves a person being taken inside a UFO and examined by grey-type extraterrestrials. But again, this scenario is not as common as many might believe. Consider the following case, in which a young man was abducted, not by grey-type ETs, but by praying-mantis type ETs. Nor was he taken inside a UFO. In fact, he recalled being taken to an apparent underground base!
"In 1967, twelve-year-old, Paul Nelson (pseudonym) was visiting the island of Catalina with his parents. Also along was Paul's best friend, Michael (pseudonym.) The two boys decided to go inside their boat and read some new comic books. Suddenly, however, they both experienced an episode of missing time. Their next memory was of waking up the next morning. While Paul was unable to convince his parents that anything unusual had happened, both Paul and his friend knew that the event was strange.
"Two weeks later, Paul was alone in his Reseda, California home when he had another strange experience. He was alone in his room when the door began to rattle. He jumped up and threw it open. To his shock, he saw the shadow of a small figure running down the hallway. He chased after it, but found nothing.
"Paul didn't know how to explain these experiences and didn't connect it to the UFO phenomenon. However, afterwards he developed an interest in UFOs and began to read up on the subject.
"Many years later, he grew up, married, became a doctor and had two children. Then he had a UFO sighting of a distant object in the daytime sky. This renewed his interest in UFOs. He began reading about the missing time aspect of UFO encounters when he realized that he had experienced missing time.
"Intrigued, he eventually underwent hypnosis to recover his lost memories. Having read about UFOs, he expected to find that he had a frightening encounter, during which he would be examined by grey-type ETs, aboard a UFO using highly technological equipment. Instead, it was nothing like this.
"As Paul underwent the regression, his first surprise was that he was not aboard a UFO, but instead appeared to be in an underground base. Says Paul, "I was taken to a round-walled room. It seemed to me more underground than it did onboard a ship. The walls had kind of rock-like facet to them. And I was on a table. Yeah, rock-like walls rather than metallic craft-type walls. It gave the impression that I was in a cavern [rather] than in a shipIt was more of an underground feeling that's true. That is a little anomalous."
Under hypnosis, Paul recalled his friend, Michael nearby, also being examined. His next surprise was that the beings were what he expected. Says Paul, ‘The beings weren't the typical greys, they were more the 'Praying Mantis' type, as I later understood. The eyes were slightly bigger than what is seen in the typical small grey, and a little more insectoid-like. They wore tight-fitting uniforms, I believe. There was even a color to them, but I can't remember what the color was, of the tight-fitting jump-suit like things. I think there was one in that bunch that had a tunic-type thing, with a looser fitting over it. I couldn't tell how tall they were because they were over me and I was on my back. So I couldn't give you the exact height. They didn't look particularly tall though.'"
There are more examples. On page 175 of Alien Identities, Dr. Richard L Thompson (http://www.afn.org/~bvi) relates an underground abduction case where the underground base was accessed through the sea by UFO: "On the evening of January 3, 1979, Cardenas, his friend Fernando Marti, and Marti's wife and 13 year old daughter were driving around on the outskirts of Hialeah, looking for a pig they could buy for a roast. They were unsuccessful, and on the way home their car engine quit.
The two men testified that the lights and starter wouldn't work, and so they got out and began to look under the hood. At this point, they suddenly saw red and violet alternating lights reflecting off the engine and heard a sound like ‘many bees' ... Filiberto felt paralyzed, and he began to rise in the air shouting ‘Don't take me, don't take me!' Later he recounted a strange and elaborate story that began when he awoke to find himself sitting, paralyzed, in the presence of a robot-like being and two men in tight-fitting suits. ... Filiberto said the alien beings looked quite human. They had elongated eyes with eyelashes, small flattened noses, long lipless mouths, and light beards. They also wore a symbol on the right of their chests, consisting of a serpent on a lazy X.
The story becomes even more extraordinary: The beings proceeded to take Filiberto to an underground base, traveling beneath the sea at high speed through a tunnel of ‘firmed water' that seemed to open in front of the craft so that water did not touch it. At the base, he met a human who was working with the aliens, and he was led through what seemed like a city."
Dr. Thompson goes on to relate that Filiberto had several experiences while in this underground base accessed through the sea, some of them biological, some of them suggestive of mind control, then he was finally dropped of again on the surface.
And here is another account of an underground UFO abduction: "Betty Andreason (Alien Identities, page 201) recalled being taken in a UFO through a tunnel bored through solid rock. This tunnel led through a strange landscape with a view of an ocean, a distant city and a pyramid."
An account from the Bhagavat Purana, Canto Nine, Canto 3, Texts 28 – 29, does not describe abductions, nor materialistic nor demoniac beings, but it does describe an underground kingdom, in this case an undersea one. "King Saryati begot three sons, named Uttanabarhi, Anarta and Bhurishena. From Anarta came a son named Revata. Oh Maharaj Parikshit, subduer of the enemies, this Revata constructed a kingdom known as Kushasthali in the depths of the ocean. There he lived and rules such tracts of land as Anarta, etc. He had 100 very nice sons, of whom the eldest was Kakudmi."
It seems that not all UFO abductees end up being taken to mother ships en route to different worlds, and that not all who remain in this world stay on the surface- some end up below the surface!
But taking birth in human bodies, and underground manipulation of the surface world through lackeys that do their bidding, are not the only ways that the demoniac implement their agendas among human societies. There are the shapeshifters!
A fine example is given in the 13th chapter of the Aranyakanda of Valmiki's Ramayan. Maricha received Ravanna at his abode and Ravanna spoke to him thusly: "Maricha, Rama, who along with his wife has been angrily banished by his father, that weak and lowest of the kshatriyas; and he has destroyed all the Rakshashas. He is vile, crooked, haughty and fearless, greedy and of bad character. He has no religion and always does evil to others. That stupid fellow, without any provocation, forcibly cut my sister Surpanakha's nose and ears. Now, I intend to carry his wife Sita to my abode. Please help me in that undertaking. Oh hero, if you be on my side along with my brother Kumbhakarna and others, then I am not afraid of the gods. You are most competent, come to my assistance. There is none equal to you in might, resourcefulness or in devising means; you are a warrior and a wizard. Uncle, it is for this reason that I have come to you, and first hear what you will have to do to for me. Assuming the form of a golden deer with silver spots, frisk about Sita. At your sight, Sita will surely induce Ram and Lakshman to secure you. When those two will be out on that mission, I shall easily carry away Sita, as Rahu steals the moonshine at ease. Rama will be greatly weakened by the separation of Sita and then I shall succeed in destroying him easily."
Ravanna-the-demon wanted to employ shapeshifter magic in order to undermine Dharma Personified on the surface of the Earth. What is past is prologue!
By the same token, in Chapter 18 of the Aranyakanda, we are informed that "Ravanna assumed the guise of a mendicant." And in Chapter 20, we see that "Ravanna pressed his palms in anger and assumed his own form."
But we don't have to go all the way back to the Treta Yuga to find examples of shapeshifting demons carrying out their agendas. Again, we may turn to Richard L. Thompson's Alien Identities, page 300, to find examples from European folklore from the middle ages. "Here is a traditional Celtic story in which the abduction theme is combined with a visit from another world. The Sidhe-King Manannan Mac Lir once became tired of his wife Fand, and she went to Ireland with her sister Liban with the hope of marrying the hero Cuchulainn. They took the form of two birds and rested on a lake near Ulster where Cuchulainn could see them while hunting. The hero tried to capture them but failedand, feeling depressed by this, he sat down by a menhir (a megalithic stone monument) and went to sleep. Then he saw two women, dressed in green and crimson cloaks, who alternately struck him with a whip-like object. After this, he took to his bed with a strange illness that no Druid or doctor in Ireland could cure.
For a year, Cuchulain lay sick without speaking to anyone. Then an unknown messenger came to him and sang a song promising to cure him of his malady if he would accept the invitation of the daughters of Aed Abrat to visit them in the otherworld. He returned to the place where he had taken sick and again saw the woman with the green cloak. She identified herself as Liban and asked him to go with her to the plain of delight to fight Labraid's enemies. She promised him that as a reward, he would obtain Fand as his wife.
In due course, he did this, he overthrew Labraid's enemies and, and remained in the otherworld with Fand for a month. Then he returned to Ireland and immediately got into trouble with his wife Emer, who was exceedingly jealous of Fand. Emer obtained from the Druids a drink that caused Cuchulain to forget about the otherworld, and Manannan Mac Lir decided to take back his wife. Thus, Cuchulainn's abduction into the realm of Sidhe was brief. "
This is an excellent example as it has all the typical components: shapeshifter demons from the underworld that manipulate significant and influential humans on the surface in order to execute their own designs.
Gustavo Adolfo Becquer's The White Roe Deer is a matter of a fictional narration written in order to present certain truths. Becquer based his stories on motifs gathered from country folklore from the region of Soria and the mysterious and mystic Mount Moncayo, an area reputed to be the haunt of underworld creatures and spirits who protect the entrances (See a href="http://www.holloworbs.com/1815.htm" target="_blank">Spain's Mysterious Monte Moncayo). Though he may have heard folklore, that doesn't mean that such lore isn't true.
In this story, Garcés searches for the truth behind the laughing animals he encounters in the woods after hearing the incredible stories about them during an afternoon hunt. He ends up shooting the beautiful white roe deer with his sure arrow but, upon impact, he hears human cries and comes to see that he has killed Constanza, the lovely daughter of the influential Don Dionís, the woman of his dreams, who was always made a point of noting the activities and movements of the village hunters. She was the White doe, and she was the shapeshifter.
What Becquer is trying to pass on is simply this; that Constanza was a shapeshifter who held an influential position in her surrounding and who would gather information on the comings and goings of the humans. This, of course, is a theme that deserves our thoughtfulness and curiosity.
It is not hard to tell that the influence of dharmic culture, fostered by the demigods, is on the wane. The demigods reciprocate with us in relation to yagña and piety. But yagña is not properly performed in the Kali Yuga; for one thing, the Sanskrit mantas are not properly chanted, and piety in general is fast disappearing. To what degree will the demigods and their followers oppose the demoniac insertion in favor of an earthly, human population which is fast becoming as materialistic as the demons themselves!
It is time for us all to make a connection between the modern, materialistic seductions of Western culture and the manipulations of the asuras; but we could start with the Hindus, as the recent changes in their society have been so dramatic. The Hindus have to ask themselves if this is what they really want. Do the descendents of Vedic culture want to play into the hands of asuric manipulators who undermine dharmic culture? Do Hindus want to pass on the consequences to their children's children's children?
It is interesting to note that Muslim countries have faced a similar challenge. For example, resisting Western culture is basically what the Iranian revolution was all about. There might have been extremes and an element of fanaticism, but at least the Persians deserve credit for recognizing the intrusion and defending their culture. And notice that as soon as the Talaban (Muslim fundamentalist students) took control in Kabul a couple of years ago, the first thing they did was throw all the televisions away!
Unfortunately, Hindus haven't done this. Maybe the poverty in India has made Western culture attractive by comparison. But if even the Muslim culture, which is iconoclastic and engages in meat eating, has resisted Western culture as being too sinful, then Hindus should be even more resistant! At least Islam does not approve of alcohol or sexual promiscuity. Hindus are witnessing all of these things gather prominence in their country.
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, made some appropriate observations in this regard, back in the 1950s, in a note to the 14th text, second canto of the Bhagavat Purana. There, he noted that:
"Even fifty years ago, the social structure of all Indians was so arranged that they would not read any literature that was not connected with the activities of the Lord. They would not play any drama not connected with the Lord. They would not organize a fair or ceremony not connected with the Lord. Nor would they visit a place which was not holy and sanctified by the pastimes of the Lord. Therefore, even the common man in the village would talk about Ramayan and Mahabharat, Gita and Bhagavatam, even from his very childhood. But by the influence of the age of Kali, they have been dragged into the civilization of the dogs and hogs, laboring for bread without any sense of transcendental knowledge."
Maybe the inhabitants of Bharat/India haven't resisted the cultural onslaught because they haven't made the connection between the insidious undermining of their culture and Daitya-Danava designs; countrymen antagonistic to traditional dharma have not been considered in the light of the verse from the Varaha Purana. Maybe now Hindus will make this connection and begin to resist the seduction of Western culture, and take steps to safeguard traditional Dharmic values and norms.
And what about western civilization? (Gandhi quipped that it would be a good idea) What can we conclude? First of all, what do we see?
We see that the U.S. president won the Nobel Peace Prize when he hadn't done anything for it yet, and that he has just finished spending one trillion dollars in aerial bombardment over Libya without even having a declaration of war. It seems that no matter who one votes for, some type of NWO agenda is adhered to except for minor issues. Elected officials in the West have fallen prey to the Capture Hypothesis, except it isn't even a hypothesis anymore.
U.S. manufacturing has been sent beyond the U.S. borders to either Mexico or to the heartland of the Manchurian candidate, i.e., China. This has been an orchestrated effort which has worked against the ability of the West to maintain and defend itself. Nobody has wanted this, and everyone is upset about it, very, very upset.
The quality of television that North Americans watch has only served to deviate the attention of the people while their country was being disassembled, and to degrade the character of the citizens. We could say more about this, but it suffices to say that the people who decide what is going to be shown on television march to the beat of a different drummer.
Most people easily understand that NASA didn't go to the Moon in that aluminum Apollo contraption. If the writer of this article knows it, if the average citizen knows it, if A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami knew it right off the bat, then all of those who hold Ph.D. degrees at the schools of astronomy at the universities of the world know it, too. But none of them utter a single word; not a single word! There is never a peep out of them.
We could go on and on and on and on, but what we are stumbling upon here is worldwide collusion on an utterly huge scale, and very tightly disciplined collusion at that. Its scope is vast. No interest group on the surface of the world has the resources, ability or competence to implement such a scheme. People complain about the Jews but, if there are those among them that participate in organizing such manipulation, then they, too, are simply subject to the underground manipulation of the surface world by yet others behind them (actually, below them), but sight unseen.
And what about ISKCON? Has ISKCON never been infiltrated? Is it currently infiltrated? Are there sleeper agents or Manchurian Candidates waiting for their cues? Because of our lazy, Kali Yuga mindsets, we sometimes hide our heads in the sand and don't come to recognize, nor do we confront, reality; it's common that we barely allow our curiosity to become piqued. But no matter what sphere the reader operates in, Hindu society, western society, or Hare Krishna movement society, the first step is for the reader to have the ability to recognize and properly interpret the different ways of underground manipulation carried out by various underworld entities. Know your demons! (And recognize their handiwork in the world around you)
"The people could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening." (George Orwell, in his novel 1984)
All things said and done, the onslaught is broad.
The reader is invited to become informed about the existence of underground worlds, including the hollow earth, as openly described in the Puranas. Pop a mere $3.00 (three) for a digital book, become informed and take a stand!
Write Dharmapad with your questions and feedback: silopanna@uol.com.br.
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Kali (demon)
In Hinduism, Kali (IAST: káli; Tamil: கலி ; Devnāgari: कलि; from a root kad "suffer, grieve, hurt; confound, confuse") is the reigning lord of Kali Yuga and archenemy of Kalki, the 10th and final Avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. In the Kalki Purana, he is portrayed as a demon and the source of all evil. In the Mahabharata, he was a gandharva who possessed Nala, forcing him to lose his Kingdom in a game of dice to his brother Pushkara. His most famous incarnation is the Kaurava King Duryodhana. Kali is similar to the demon Kroni and his incarnation Kaliyan of Ayyavazhi mythology.
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Mahabharata
According to the Mahabharata, the gandharva Kali became jealous when he was late to Princess Damayanti's marriage ceremony and discovered she had overlooked the deities Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Yama (and ultimately himself) to choose Nala as her husband. In anger, Kali spoke to his companion Dvapara, the personification of Dwapara Yuga:
Kali traveled to Nala’s kingdom of Nishadhas and waited twelve long years for the right moment to strike. Because Nala had rendered himself impure by not washing his feet before his prayers, Kali was able to bewitch his soul. Kali then appeared before Pushkara and invited him to play a game of dice with his brother, guaranteeing Nala’s downfall. Dwapara took the form of the Vrisha die that would be used in the fixed game. Kali forced Nala to lose and, each time, he would raise the stakes higher despite the protest of his advisors and wife. Finally, Nala lost his kingdom to Pushkara. Both he and Damayanti were exiled to the forest.
During their exile, Kali drove Nala to abandon Damayanti, who later enacted a curse against everyone that had caused the downfall of her husband. She eventually returned home after a short time as a hand-maiden to the Princess of Chedi. Nala, meanwhile, saved the Naga Karkotaka from fire (where he was cursed to suffer by sage Narada). Intending to exorcize the devil within him, the serpent bit Nala, injecting him with deadly poisons that forever tortured Kali. The venom also changed Nala into an ugly dwarf named Bahuka. He later became the charioteer of the Ayodhya King Rituparna, who was a master mathematician and dice player.
Years later, King Rituparna revealed to Bahuka the supreme skill of controlling the dice in exchange for horsemanship lessons. This skill awakened Nala from Kali’s control and allowed him (with the help of Damayanti’s curse and Karkotaka's venom) to exorcise the demon; vomiting him in the form of poison from his mouth. Nala forced the Kali’s trembling spirit into a Vibhitaka tree. He then counted the fruits of the tree and left in search of his wife and later regained his true form. Kali returned to his abode as well.
Kali was later incarnated as king Duryodhana, eldest of the one hundred Kaurava brothers. His companion Dvapara became his uncle Sakuni. The day Duryodhana was born, he unleashed a donkey-like scream which the donkeys outside the home replied to. Despite the advise from Vidura to discard the evil baby, Duryodhana's father Dhritarashtra kept the child because demons had received a boon from Shiva that the future king would be invincible.[2][3]
Puranic accounts
The Kalki Purana describes him as a huge being, the color of “soot,” with a large tongue, and a terrible stench. From his birth, he carried an Upaasthi (worship) bone. The Kalki Purana says this demon "chose gambling, liquor, women and gold as his permanent abodes."[4] The Sanskrit-English Dictionary states Kali is "of a class of mythic beings (related to the Gandharvas, and supposed by some to be fond of gambling)".[5] The Bhagavata Purana describes him as a sudra wearing the garments of a king.[6] An early 20th century anti-beef eating pamphlet protesting the slaughter of the sacred cow in India portrays Kali as a brownish-skinned demon with a dog-like face, protruding fangs, pointed ears, long green bushy hair and wearing a red loin cloth and golden jewelry. (See Religion and politics)
The names of the four yugas of time—Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali—are named after “dice throws” from a game of dice popular during the Vedic period. Their order coincides with the favorability of each throw: Satya is the best throw, whereas Kali is considered the worst.[7][8] During the Mahabharata, king Nala exorcises the disembodied spirit of Kali to a vibhitaka tree,[9] the nuts of which were used to create the dice for the vedic dice game.[10] Therefore, not only Kali’s name, but his penchant for gambling and reputation as being evil comes from this dice game.
The churning of the ocean of milk
According to a lesser known Madhva version of the legend, during the churning of the ocean of milk, a great poison known as halahala was produced, which Vayu, the god of wind, rubbed in his hands to reduce its potency. Then a small portion was given to god Shiva, turning his throat blue. The rest was collected in a golden vessel and digested by Vayu. (One source states he drank the Kalakuta poison of Vasuki nāga.[11] Still others more commonly state that Shiva drank alone.[12]) A little portion of poison that wasn't swallowed by Shiva became the body of Kali. From this poison also came, "cruel objects like snakes, wolves, and tigers."[2]
Later, when the asura Rahu was decapitated by Vishnu's Mohini Avatar, the demon’s allies attacked her and all except Kali were killed. Having the power to possess the bodies of immortal and mortal beings, he entered the hearts of man and escaped death.[13] He occasionally entered Shiva and caused him to write evil scriptures, which created great confusion and misconceptions. Because Kali was “invisible, unimaginable, and present in all” the only way to correct the chaos born from the miswritten texts was to completely renew the sacred scriptures entirely. Thus Vishnu descended to earth as Vedavyasa, the compiler of the sacred scriptures Vedas and the writer of the Puranas.[2]
Markandeya Purana
According to Markandeya Purana, the Brahmin Pravara was given a magical ointment that allowed him to fly. But when he flew to the Himalayas, the ointment was washed away from the bottoms of his feet keeping him from returning home to his wife. During this time, the nymph Varuthini fell madly in love with him and begged the Brahmin to stay with her forever. But eventually, he rejected her. He prayed to Agni who returned him home safely.
The gandharva Kali was in love with Varuthini and had been rejected by her in the past. He saw how she hungered for the Brahmin, so he took on the appearance of Pravara and came before the courtesan. He led her into the bedchamber and told her to close her eyes during their sex [sambhoga]. ((Another version of this tale explains the reason he told her to shut her eyes was because gods revert to their true forms whenever they do the basest of things, such as eating, sleeping, and making love (including dying for demons)). As they made love, Varuthini noticed that his body became flaming hot and believed it was because his Brahmin spirit was infused with the sacrificial fire. After climax, Kali, still-as-Pravara, left the apsara and returned to his abode. Varuthini soon became pregnant and nine months later gave birth to a human child that not only looked like the Brahmin but possessed his soul as well.[14] The authors of the book Science in Culture comment this was an example of the Sanskrit phrase "from his semen and from her thinking," meaning the child was indeed Pravara's child because she believed it was his.[15]
In another version, Kali stipulates he will only marry the apsara if she keeps her eyes closed while they are in the forest (presumably making love). However, Kali leaves after their marriage and the birth of their son Svarocisa. Svarocisa grows up to become a very learned scholar of the Vedas and learns to speak the languages of all creatures from one of his three wives. He later marries a goddess and fathers Svarocisa Manu, one of the progenitors of mankind.[16] (See Progeny)
Bhagavata Purana
The Bhagavata Purana states the very day and moment avatar Krishna left this earth, Kali, "who promotes all kinds of irreligious activities, came into this world.”[17]
After setting off to wage war against the evils of the world with his armies, Emperor Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, came across a Sudra dressed as a king who was beating a cow and an ox with a club. Parikshit immediately lead his chariot over to the scene and angrily berated the sudra for abusing the sacred cow and her mate. However, this was no ordinary sudra and these were no ordinary bovine, for the sudra was Kali and the cow and ox were embodiments of the earth goddess and Dharma. The Emperor noticed the ox was standing on one of his legs because the other three had been broken by Kali. Dharma explained his four legs represented "austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness", but he had only the leg of “truth” to stand on since the other three had been broken by kali over the preceding yugas.[6] Kali was intent on breaking all the legs that supported the reign of dharma so he could effect the expansion of his own dark reign on earth. The earth goddess cried for she had once been plentiful, but when Krishna died and ascended to heaven, she was forsaken and all of the prosperity left from the world. She feared evil kings like Kali would continue to lay waste to the earth.
When Parikshit raised his sword to kill Kali, the sudra stripped himself of his royal garments and prostrated himself at the emperor’s feet. The emperor knew Kali tainted the world with his evil and so had no place in it and raised his sword once more. But Kali interceded again and begged the emperor to spare his life and allow him a place to live within his empire. Parikshit decided that Kali would live in “gambling houses, in taverns, in women of unchaste lives, in slaughtering places and in gold”.[18] And as long as Parikshit ruled India, Kali stayed within the confines of these five places. This act allowed Dharma to regain his legs and the earth to be relieved of much burden. However, Parikshit was later cursed to die by snake bite after hunting in the forest and throwing a dead snake on an unresponsive sage practicing austerities. Upon the emperor’s death, “Kali made his way to other places like wild fire and established his power throughout the length and breadth of the whole world.”[18][19]
In another version of the tale, Kali enters into the Emperor’s crown when Parikshit gives him permission to reside wherever there is gold. Upon returning home after offending the sage, Parikshit says to himself, "Kali-yug’s abode is in gold; this was on my head; hence I had so evil a thought that, having taken a dead snake cast it on the sage’s neck. Therefore, I now understand that Kali-yug has taken his revenge on me. How shall I escape this grievous sin?"[20][21]
Kalki Purana
The beginning of the Kalki Purana describes Kali's lineage starting with the creator-god Brahma, his great-great-grandfather, and ending with the birth of his children's children. Instead of being born of poison from the churning of the ocean of milk, he is the product of a long line of incestuous monsters born from Brahma's back. (See Family Lineage below) Kali and his family were created by Brahma to hurry the dissolution of the cosmos after the pralaya period was over. When his family takes human form on earth, they further taint the hearts and minds of mankind to bring about the end of Dvapara Yuga and the beginning of Kali Yuga. During the first stage of Kali-Yuga, the Indian caste system breaks down and god-worship is forsaken by man. All through the second, third, and fourth stages, man forgets the name of god and no longer offers Yagya (offerings) to the Devas. It is at this point when god Vishnu reincarnates as Kalki in the name of the Devas and all of mankind to rid the cosmos of Kali's dark influence.
The remainder of the tale describes Kalki's childhood, military training under the immortal Parashurama, his marriage, his preparation for war against Kali, and the decisive war between the two. Kalki kicks off his campaign by performing the Ashvamedha sacrifice and leading his armies behind the horse as it runs freely from kingdom to kingdom. If any evil king tries to stop the horse, Kalki engages them in combat. After defeating them, he continues to follow the horse until all evil kingdoms are vanquished. When Kali finally faces Kalki's forces, his entire family blood line is wiped out by the avatar's generals and he presumably dies from wounds inflicted by Dharma and Satya Yuga personified. Kalki, meanwhile, battles and simultaneously kills the demon's most powerful generals, Koka and Vikoka, twin devils adept in the dark arts.[4]
Death
Kali dies one-third of the way through the Kalki Purana. During the decisive battle between Kali and Kalki’s armies, Kali tried to face both Dharma and Satya Yuga personified, but was overwhelmed and fled on his donkey because his chariot had been destroyed, leaving his owl-crested war flag to be trampled on the battlefield. Kali retreated to the citadel of his capital city of Vishasha where he discovered his body had been mortally stabbed and burned during his battle with the two devas. The stench of his blood billowed out and filled the atmosphere with a foul odor. When Dharma and Satya burst into the city, Kali tried to run away, but, knowing his family had been destroyed, coupled with his grievous wounds, he "entered his unmanifested years".[4] This might lead some to believe he died, but one version of the Kalki Purana in the book The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology states Kali does not die but, instead, escapes through time and space to live in the Kali Yuga of the next Kalpa. The author comments, "Unlike most battles between gods and demons, however, this apparent victory is immediately undercut, for Kali escapes to reappear in 'another age'—in our age, or the next Kali Age."[22] Since he had the power to manifest himself in human form on earth, he was able to forsake his dying corporal form to escape in spirit.
Family lineage
Kali is the great-great-grandson of Lord Brahma. He is the son of Krodha (Anger) and his sister-turned-wife Himsa (Violence). He is the grandson of Dambha (Vanity) and his sister-turned-wife, Maya (Illusion). He is the great-grandson of Adharma (Impropriety) and his wife, Mithya (Falsehood). Adharma was originally created from Lord Brahma's back as a Maleen Pataka (a very dark and deadly sinful object).
B. K. Chaturvedi, a modern translator of the Kalki Purana, states in a foot note that the growth of this dark sinful object into Adharma seems to, "convey the growth of Kali Yuga and its obnoxious offshoots."[4]
Vishnu Purana
Kali's family lineage is told differently in the Vishnu Purana, which is a father purana to the Kalki Purana:
The wife of Adharma (vice) was Himsá (violence), on whom he begot a son Anrita (falsehood), and a daughter Nikriti (immorality): they intermarried, and had two sons, Bhaya (fear) and Naraka (hell); and twins to them, two daughters, Maya (deceit) and Vedaná (grief), who became their wives. The son of Bhaya and Máyá was the destroyer of living creatures, or Mrityu (death); and Dukha (pain) was the offspring of Naraka and Vedaná. The children of Mrityu were Vyádhi (disease), Jará (decay), Soka (sorrow), Trishńa (greediness), and Krodha (wrath). These are all called the inflictors of misery, and are characterised as the progeny of Vice (Adharma). They are all without wives, without posterity, without the faculty to procreate; they are the terrible forms of Vishńu, and perpetually operate as causes of the destruction of this world. On the contrary, Daksha and the other Rishis, the elders of mankind, tend perpetually to influence its renovation: whilst the Manus and their sons, the heroes endowed with mighty power, and treading in the path of truth, as constantly contribute to its preservation.
In this version, Himsa is Adharma's wife instead of his granddaughter.[23]
Bhagavata Purana
According to the Bhagavata Purana, Adharma is the husband of Mrishá (falsehood), and the father of Dambha (hypocrisy) and Máyá (deceit), who were adopted by Nirritti (Hindu god/dess of misery). The series of their descendants is also somewhat varied from our text; being in each descent, however, twins which intermarry, or Lobha (covetousness) and Nikriti, who produce Krodha (wrath) and Hinsá: their children are, Kali (wickedness) and Durukti (evil speech): their progeny are, Mrityu and Bhí (fear); whose offspring are, Niraya (hell) and Yátaná (torment).[24]
In this version, Mrisha is the wife of Adharma and not Himsa or Mithya.
Linga Purana
The Linga Purana enumerates Adharma among the Prajapatis (Lords of Creatures).[24]
Dharma personified
Since Dharma is one of the major antagonists of Kali, it is important to note this personified deity has his own line of offspring that work against the demon and his family to bring balance to the world. The following comes from the Vishnu Purana:
The progeny of Dharma by the daughters of Daksha were as follows: by Sraddha he had Kama (desire); by Lakshmi, Darpa (pride); by Dhriti, Niyama (precept); by Tushti, Santosha (content); by Pushti, Lobha (cupidity); by Medhá, Sruta (sacred tradition); by Kriya, Danda, Naya, and Vinaya (correction, polity, and prudence); by Buddhi, Bodha (understanding); by Lajj, Vinaya (good behaviour); by Vapu, Vyavasaya (perseverance). Santi gave birth to Kshema (prosperity); Siddhi to Sukha (enjoyment); and Kírtti to Yasas. These were the sons of Dharma; one of whom, Kama, had Hersha (joy) by his wife Nandi (delight).
Again, the Bhagavata Purana gives a different account of his children's names.[25]
Progeny
Kali’s sister-turned-wife, Durukti (Calumny), gave him two offspring: a son named Bhayanak (Fear) and a daughter named Mrityu (Death). His son and daughter gave him two grandchildren: a boy named Naraka (Hell) and a girl named Yatana (Torture).[4] Again, there are some discrepancies here. The Vishnu Purana says Mrityu and Bhayanak are his brother and sister. Mrityu is even represented as male instead of female.[4]
Kali is the grandfather of Svarocisa Manu, one of the progenitors of mankind.[16] As previously mentioned, Kali had a son named Svarocisa with the Apsara Varuthini. Svarocisa once traveld to Mt. Mandara and was met by Manorama, a cursed-woman being chased by a demon. In the past, she had made fun of a sage practicing Tapasya austerities on Mt. Kailas and was cursed to be captured by a demon. When her friends Vibhavari and Kalavati berated the sage for enacting a curse for such a minor offence, he cursed one to be a leper and the other a carrier of diseases. Manorama had knowledge of a powerful spiritual weapon, but did not know how to wield it, so she taught it to Svarocisa. When the demon leaped out of the forest and grabbed a hold of the woman, Svarocis called forth the weapon. But the demon stayed his hand and explained he was actually Manorama’s father, Indivara. He had also been cursed to become a demon by the sage Brahmamitra because he tried to covertly obtain the secrets of Ayurveda medicine without the sage’s knowledge. The sage told him that the curse would end when he was about to eat his own daughter. Once he regained his true form, Indivara taught Svarocisa the Ayurveda medication, which he used to cure Manorama’s friends. He later married the three and had three sons with them. He learned the languages of all creatures from Vibhavari and the Padmini vidya from Kalavati.
Despite his prosperity, Svarocis was unhappy in his life and could hear the ducks and deer talking about him behind his back. One day he went hunting and took aim at a boar, but a deer came through the clearing and asked to be shot in its place. When he enquired why, the deer told him that she was really the goddess of the forest and wished to marry Svarocisa. So he embraced the deer and she turned into a beautiful woman. Together, they had a son named Dyutiman, who later became the Svarocisa Manu.[16]
One source states, "Kali's wife Alakshmi and her sons who supervise evil also came from Kshirasagara [the ocean of milk]."[2] Alakshmi is the elder sister of the goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu.[26] Since the Kalki Purana states his wife Durukti is his sister, Alakshmi would be a second wife because she is not directly related to him.
There are a number of connections and similarities between Kali and Alakshmi. First and foremost, Alakshmi’s sister is the consort of Lord Vishnu, who sent his Kalki avatar to earth to defeat Kali.[26] Second, legends say she was born either from the churning of the ocean of milk, the poison from Vasuki (who helped churn the ocean) or the back of Prajapati.[26][27] As previously mentioned, Kali is said to have been born from the halahala poison created from churning the ocean or from a lineage created from Lord Brahma’s back.[2][4] Third, Alakshmi takes the form of an owl.[26] Kali's emblem on his war flag is of an owl.[4] Fourth, whenever Alakshmi enters a house, families fight and turn on one another.[28] The presence of Kali and his family on earth causes mankind to fight and turn on one another. Finally, Alakshmi is said to ride a donkey.[26] Kali also rides a donkey in the Kalki Purana.[4]
Role in modern communalism
Kali’s image was used in several pamphlets circulated by various Agorakshanasabh (“cow protection leagues”) and “wandering ascetics” as a protest against the Muslim practice of beef-eating during the British raj.[29][30] These pamphlets were produced in a time when Hindu-Muslim riots over cow slaughter occurred in several areas of India; including Azamgarh district (1893), when a total of 100 people died in similar conflagrations throughout the empire; Ayodhya (1912–1913); and Shahabad (1917).[31] One such pamphlet entitled “The Present State” showed a cow being slaughtered by a trio of "Muhammadan" butchers.[29][30] Another portrayed Kali raising a sword above the head of a sacred cow, whose body was illustrated to be a microcosmic paradise in which all the Hindu gods resided. There were many different editions of this version. For instance, one showed a woman labeled "The Hindu" waiting with bowl-in-hand for the cow's calf to finish suckling before she could get milk. A form of Krishna labeled Darmaraj ("Ruler of Dharma") stood behind the cow and Kali was, again, harassing her with his sword. Still, a different one deleted the woman and calf and instead portrayed Dharmaraj in front of the cow pleading mat maro gay sarv ka jivan hai ("don’t kill the cow, everyone is dependent on it"), while Kali rebuts he manusyaho! Kaliyugi Mansahari jivom ko dekho ("mankind, look at the meat-eating souls of the kaligyug").[29]
Some Hindus considered Kali’s presence in the picture to be a representation of the Muslim community.[29][30] When one of the versions of these pamphlets came into the possession of a state official in 1893, he commented that the image “contained a representation of a Musalman [Muslim] advancing to slay the cow ...”.[29] One book states, “The Magistrate [at Deoria] found Muhammadans excited because they heard a picture was in circulation representing a Muhammadan with a sword drawn sacrificing a cow, and this they considered an insult.”[29] In 1915, a color version of this picture ran by the Ravi Varma Press[32] caught the attention of the colonial censors and was presumably censored in some way.[29]
In popular culture
Nala Damayanti (1921): This big-budget film depicts a famous episode from the Mahabharata, starting with Narada's ascent of Mount Meru. It shows Swarga, the Heaven of Indra, the Transformation in the Clouds of the Four Gods into impersonations of King Nala, Swan Messengers of Love, the Transformation of Kali into a Serpent, the Meeting of Kali and Dwarpa and the Four Gods amidst the Blue Air.[33]
Notes