BRAHMARAKSHASA
Brahmarakshasa is not a subject normally discussed at any home but paranormals are topics of high interest to the world of social media. But I was forced to think about this recently. The day after Diwali, I and my family were sitting around the dining table. Dad was sharing his memories about his childhood. He spoke extensively about the deaths of his siblings in childhood. Dad is the second child. Three of his siblings died during their early childhood due to illness. Dad said that in those days, such negative incidents sparked what would be loosely translated as "divine fact-finding missions" or "prashnam veykal" in malayalam. The family believed that there must be some reason or dosham which has triggered the loss of these children.
Dad often speaks about his "Veliachan" (Maternal Grandfather) very highly. Veliachan has made a strong impression in my Dad's mind and heart. Veliachan had no such blind beliefs but gave in to pressure from his compatriats and he agreed to have a consultation with an astrologer. The arrangements were made and an astrologer was brought. As the family lore goes, the astrologer starts the process in the evening. The astrologer asks for a lamp to be lit, throws some kavadi (shells), chants Sanskrit slokas and then finally comes up with some prophecies.
The lamp was lit and there sounded 3 loud blasts resembling firecrackers(vedi) and he immediately prophesied that there should have been 3 deaths in the family. Naturally, Veliachan disagreed immediately as he suspected that the person who brought him there could have provided the background information. Also, this astrologer's knowledge of Sanskrit was quite weak as he was making mistakes in his interpretations. He finally inferred that there was an impact of some Brahmarakshasa due to which these children lost their lives at an early age and advised the family to conduct a special pooja and do an offering of paal payasam (sweet-porridge made of milk, rice and sugar) in any Shri Krishna temple.
Listening to this, I fully agreed with Veliachan that this was a hoax but my reasons differed with his. In the beginning, I was under the belief that if such a ritual should have been conducted, then it should have been done in a temple aligned to Mother Goddess or Lord Shiva as both the Divine Beings have direct control over such paranormal entities. But later I was inclined to correct myself as this is a Brahmarakshasa. The astrologer's inference of 3 deaths based on the 3 firecrackers felt questionable to me as temples in Kerala have strict adherence to time and discipline. This person should have come at a time when there was some ongoing special pooja in the temple and naturally firecrackers would be burst. Even though I found it hard to believe, I still could let go of this argument but how did he come to the conclusion of a Brahmarakshasa? There must be some evidence based on the being's behaviour to come to that conclusion.
So who is a Brahmarakshasa? We usually do not hear the words, "Brahma" and "Rakshasa" in the same word in today's world. As per my research there are many theories about the origin of a Brahmarakshasa. One such theory is that a Brahmin who is learned and strictly follows austerities; yet has committed sins in his life will fall into a "pret" (ghost) yoni due to his severe sins. But a Brahmarakshasa cannot be categorized as just an ordinary "pret atma". He gets the rank of a Rakshas because, this is a Brahmin who has done his studies in Vedas, is very learned and therefore a very strong being at a soul level. Unlike ordinary pretatma, a Brahmarakshasa is very powerful and holds strong abilities. Anyone born as a Brahmin but who does not follow or live as a Brahmin (like no janau ritual and does not follow the traditions of Brahmins) is considered to be just an ordinary person. Even if he has sinned, he cannot become a Brahmarakshasa on his death.
Another belief is that any Brahmin who had an untimely death also could become a Brahmarakshasa. In this belief, an unmarried Brahmin who follows his austerities but has an untimely death is believed to become a very powerful Brahmarakshasa. This is because he has lot of goals and desires which are unfulfilled due to untimely death. Another theory is that a Brahmin is expected to impart knowledge through a shishya. Failing to do so will turn him into a Brahmarakshasa on his death. These are common beliefs in this Yuga.
There is yet another literature on these beings. The literature on Brahmarakshas and the wisdom of Brahmarakshasa is infused into the Kaulantak Peeth tradition whose Mahaguru is Shukracharya himself. According to the Siddha Dharma, the Brahmarakshas is the first rakshasa created by Lord Brahma with pure tamas characteristics. The rakshasa learnt a lot of tamasic vidyas from Lord Shiva himself through "Guru/Shishya" sampradaay. Shukracharya learn't this from Lord Shiva and imbibed it to Kali Rakshasa. In this Siddha Dharma, the Brahmarakshas sadhana is done to attain sookshtar body. The iconography of the Brahmarakshasa mentioned as per Siddha Dharma is completely different from the popular believes in the examples mentioned above. A lot of literature on Brahmaraksha is available in "Brahma Raksha Kalpa" authored by the first Brahmarakshasa.
Brahmarakshasa - Abode and traits: Popular belief says that Brahmarakshasa identifies a Peepul tree and chooses to live there until such time they get liberated from such an existence. In Hinduism, the Peepul tree is believed to be the abode of Lord Brahma. So how does one identify if a Peepul tree is occupied by a Brahmarakshasa or by Lord Brahma? When a Peepul tree rots from the bottom but is fresh on the top such a tree is supposed to be the abode of Brahmarakshasa. The moment the Brahmarakshasa leaves the tree, the Peepul tree will immediately catch fire or die. This reference is seen in the life history of Sant Tulsidas who inadvertently gives moksha to a Brahmarakshasa. In return, the being tells Tulsidas that only Lord Hanuman can lead him to Lord Ram. The Brahmarakshasa also informs Tulsidas that Lord Hanuman attends his Ram Katha sessions every day. The being goes so far as to help Tulsidas to identify Lord Hanuman from his audience.
The Brahmarakshasa are reputed to be more than 7 to 8 feet tall, powerful beings with canine teeth and in some references sport the Brahmin's choti (traditional tuft of hair at the back of the head as per the Brahmin tradition). It is said that these beings are very learned and can recite Sanskrit slokas and mantras in much more purity than living human beings. They will even accompany you in your chants of the mantras, if done in their presence. They retain their original knowledge and acquire more knowledge with immense powers and special abilities. These powerful beings prefer to reside silently on Peepul trees and are never ever visible to anyone. When humans disturb their abode or malign their surroundings, they get irritated and start to trouble the humans. They are hugely powerful beings with various abilities and they can either destroy the peace or lives of humans, sometimes even consuming them or they can even grant lots of success and wealth if they are pleased. It is reputed that if you get on the wrong side of a Brahmarakshasa, then no human has sufficient powers to save you. Only the Gods can protect you from their attack. It is said a Brahmarakshasa cannot be easily killed, it can be liberated only by an equally powerful and learned Brahmana (case in point, Sant Tulsidas). There have been references to true incidents related to the presence of Brahmarakshasa at least in 2 incidents that I have heard (one from Madhya Pradesh and another from Bihar) where these beings have been disturbed and have therefore troubled the surrounding humans. There is still a lot of information that is yet to be known about these dangerous beings. All my knowledge come from people who research on this topic or the tantra saadhaks.
So why this lengthy write-up about the Brahmarakshasa? Let me come back to my father's tale in the morning. Did those children really lose their lives due to the attack of a Brahmarakshasa? No, I do not personally believe so. None of my Dad's explanations point towards any evidence of the presence of a Brahmarakshasa around the area. The children of India in those times were prone to lot of diseases thereby, many of them died an early death due to lack of knowledge and/or poor medical facilities. While I personally believe this to be the case in these children, Dad also mentioned other interesting facts. Though Veliachan did not believe in this, the family did complete the pooja and the offering in a far-away Shri Krishna temple. Dad also mentioned that in those days, there was a custom of installing "parakuttichaathan" in any new place that the people buy. Though no one in their right mind will willingly invoke and install a Brahmarakshasa around their living abodes, a parakuttichaathan is a different case. But that is a story for another day.
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