Suras and asuras in the Vedas. Who are Asuras? Asuras in Buddhism

And evil gods are considered harmful; demons and not gods. But esoterically it is the opposite. For in the most ancient parts of the Rig Veda, this term is used in reference to the Supreme Spirit, therefore, the Asuras are spiritual and divine. Only in the last book of the Rig Veda, in its later part, and in the Atharva Veda and the Brahmanas, did this epithet given to Agni, the greatest Vedic Deity, Indra and Varuna, begin to mean the opposite of the gods. Asu means breath and with his breath Prajapati (Brahma) creates the Asuras. When ritualism and dogma took possession of the better part of the Wisdom religion, the first letter a was adopted as a negative prefix, and the final meaning of this term became "not a god", and Sura alone is a deity. But in the Vedas, the Suras were always associated with Surya, the Sun, and were considered lower deities, devas.

Source: Blavatskaya E.P. - Theosophical Dictionary

Yes, besides those Beings who, like Yaksha, Gandharva, Kinnara, etc., being considered as individuality, the Astral Plane inhabits, real Devas exist, it is to these categories that Aditya, Vairaja, Kumaras belong, Asuras and all those high heavenly Beings whom the Occult Teaching calls Manasvin, the Wise, the foremost among all, and who would make all people self-aware spiritually intelligent Beings, which they would become, if they were not "cursed" and condemned to fall into generation and be born as mortals for their neglect of duty.

The Suras who have won their mental independence fight with the Suras who lack it and who are therefore represented as spending their lives in the performance of useless rites and worship based on blind faith - an allusion that is now passed over in silence orthodox Brahmins - and, thanks to this, the first ones become A-Suras. The first and Mind-born Sons of the Divine refuse to create offspring and for this cursed Brahma and condemned be born human. They're falling to the ground, which later turns, according to theological dogma, into Hellish Regions.

The name "Asura" was first given indiscriminately by the Brahmins to those who opposed their rituals and sacrifices, as did the great Asura, called Asurendra. Probably, the idea of the Demon as an adversary and enemy should be attributed to these centuries.

Esoterically, Asuras, subsequently transformed into evil Spirits and lower Gods, eternally at war with Great The deities are the Gods of Secret Wisdom. In the oldest parts Rig-Vedas they are Spiritual and Divine Beings, for the term Asura was used to designate the Highest Spirit and was identical with the great Ahura of the Zoroastrians. There was a time when the Gods Indra, Agni and Varuna themselves belonged to the Asuras.

IN Taittiriya Brahmane, The Breath (Asu) of Brahma-Prajapati became animated, and from this Breath he created the Asuras. Later, after the War, Asuras are called enemies of the Gods, hence - “ A-su-ra", initial a, negative prefix - or " Not-Gods";

The "Gods" are referred to as Sura. Thus, this connects the Asuras and their Armies listed below with the “Fallen Angels” of the Christian churches, the Hierarchy of Spiritual Beings, found in all the Pantheons of ancient and even modern peoples - from the Zoroastrians to the Chinese Pantheon. They are the Sons of the primordial Creative Breath at the beginning of each new Maha-Kalpa or Manvantara, and belong to the same category as the Angels who remained “faithful”. They were allies Soma (the father of Esoteric Wisdom) versus Brihaspati (who represented the ritual or ceremonial cult). They were evidently reduced in Space and Time to the rank of opposing Forces or Demons by the ritualists, because of their indignation against hypocrisy, feigned worship, and against form attached to a dead letter.

Those who study esotericism and read relevant literature are familiar with the concept of Asura. But few places clearly describe what Asuras are, whether they really exist, how to recognize them, etc.

So one of our readers asked a question about Asuras.

Answer. Yes, Asuras exist and are not uncommon in our world.

is a dark soul in a human body. This creature looks like a person, but there is little human in it, or rather practically none.

Asuras - found in the form of maniacs and murderers (essentially, these are non-humans, animals), etc. There are also more highly developed asuras who reach the highest echelons of power in order to sow destruction, vice, evil, incite wars and strife, and suppress everything reasonable, worthy and divine in this world. In the narrow circles of the so-called “world government”, some of their members are asuras.

How are Asuras created?

There are several ways in which Asuras arise:

1. When initially the divine Soul takes a dark path and many incarnations do not leave this path, accumulating a critical volume of the hall, then there is no turning back (the so-called point of no return). That is, this soul is completely enslaved by Evil and will never be able to cleanse itself. In this case, the Higher Powers deprive her of immortality and take away God’s spark. The former divine soul becomes a dark creature and comes completely under the jurisdiction of Evil (), and they are already using her in its dark plans until the time comes for its complete destruction (for some time this dark creature does the dirty work, working as a servant of Evil).

2. When an initially dark creature inhabits the human body, instead of the divine soul. This is done through appropriate dark rituals in the families of people serving evil (Satanists, etc.). As a rule, this is done purposefully, for special dark purposes. The creatures that inhabit, as mentioned above, can be of different levels and strengths; sometimes very powerful dark ones inhabit in order to launch some kind of global destructive processes on Earth (destroyers, magicians, etc.), and sometimes not very high level (criminals, evil).

Why the Higher Powers allow Asuras (dark beings) onto Earth is a separate big question.

But it’s for sure that it’s better not to meet them on your way!

Also read:

(Old Indian Asura, lit. “possessing life force”)

Demigods of the realm of desire, inhabitants of one of the six realms of existence in the Buddhist symbolism of the Wheel of Existence. In the Buddhist view, conditioned perception gives rise to the six worlds of samsara, or in other words, “six paths of rebirth.” Therefore, they are sometimes called “six paths of suffering”, “six levels”, “six lower realities-lokas”: the world of the gods Devas - devaloka the world of demons and/or demigods Asuras the world of people the world of animals the world of hungry ghosts Pretas - pretaloka the world of hellish creatures Narakas - narakaloka
Incarnation in one world or another depends on one’s actions (karma). In each of them, existence is different in quality, the gods feel the best, the inhabitants of hells feel the worst. Moreover, all six worlds as a whole are associated with suffering of various kinds, and when describing them, Buddhist authors first of all draw attention to the inferiority of a particular world and samsara as a whole. The world of asuras is characterized by power, envy and jealousy, the need for struggle, and constant tension.
Different schools of Buddhism allow slight differences in the descriptions of the lokas. Some schools use the Five Worlds, excluding the world of the asuras, which is connected to either the world of the gods or the pretaloka. Some schools place the world of asuras a level higher than the world of people, and some - lower. The asuras were specially allocated into a separate world by Lama Tsongkhapa.
All these worlds, or “lokas,” are correlated with certain states of consciousness that change from one world to another. A person is able to feel their taste during one life: pleasure, conditioned happiness - the world of the gods, power, envy, jealousy - the world of asuras, ignorance, following immediate needs - the animal world; passion and thirst - the world of pretas; anger, aggression - the world of hells. Only people are distinguished by their ability to decide to practice the Dharma and change consciously. That human life is a precious opportunity is one of the most important tenets of Buddhism. The meaning of this statement is that all other states are not capable of conscious change and revolve in samsara in captivity of their desires and external circumstances. Even the gods are in constant pleasure and are not capable of actions that will take them out of the cycle of samsara, while the asuras are constantly busy fighting with the gods. From this point of view, human rebirth is very valuable.
In the Buddhist view, existence in each of the “loka” worlds lasts until the impressions of negative karma are cleared, and after that beings are reborn in better conditions.
In Buddhism, the concept of "asuras" is used in a context different from the Hindu one, and is interpreted differently...... In Buddhist mythology, the asuras once lived as gods in the sky of Trayastrins (see Devaloka), but they were expelled by the head of this sky Shakra.When Sakra became the ruler of the gods, the asuras at the festival drank a lot of Gandapana wine, so strong that Sakra forbade other gods to drink it. Being weakened by intoxication, they could not resist Sakra, who threw them down the mountain from the Trayastrimsha sphere down to where the asura world is now. They saw the Chittapatali tree, whose foliage was different from the Parichattara tree, and learned that they had been thrown out of the world of the gods. After this, the asuras were busy with war, armed, they began to climb the mountain, Shakra tried to deal with them, but there were a lot of them and he was forced to retreat. Seeing that Garuda's nest was damaged, he turned around and directed his chariot against the asuras. The Asuras realized that he would return back with a large army, and fled. Despite the wars, there were also contacts between gods and asuras. Sakra fell in love with Suja, the daughter of the asura leader Vemachitrina. Vemachitrin asked his daughter to choose a husband among the asuras, but she chose Shakra, and thus he became his son-in-law. It is believed that the asuras live mainly in the cave of Mount Meru and wage fierce battles with the gods, although they are always defeated. The bone of contention between the asuras and the gods is the mythical tree Chittapatali, the roots of which are in the domain of the asuras, but the fruits ripen in the heavens. While the gods of the sensual sphere are associated with desires and experiences, the asuras, envying the gods, show anger, pride, belligerence and boasting, they are interested in power and self-exaltation. In Vajrayana mythology, the asura symbolizes envy. In Buddhist writings, at first five worlds were considered more often than six, and asuras were placed in the world of the gods. In terms of power, Asuras are ranked above humans but below gods. According to other classifications, asuras are placed below people as more unfortunate and devoid of reason beings.
In Buddhist psychology, the state of consciousness of the asura world is considered to be the experience of rage and strength, when a reason or justification is sought for getting into a fight, anger at everyone, the inability to remain calm and solve problems peacefully.
Literature: Myths of the peoples of the world it.: Kuiper F. V. J., The Basic Concept of Vedic Religion, “History of Religions”, 1975, v. 16, p. 107-20.

(the etymology of M. Mayrhofer was traced to the word asu (“vital force”). In the Vedas (especially the Rig Veda), many gods are called asuras - Indra, Savitara, Agni, Mitra, Varuna, Surya and others.

Often this word (asura or possessor of asura power) refers to Indra (1.174, 3.38, 4.16, 6.36, 10.54), Varuna and Mitra (1.24, 2.27, 4.42, 5.85, 5.63, 8.25, 8.42). Asura is called Agni (2.1, 3.3), Apam Napata (2.35), Marutov, Rudra, etc. It is also found in relation to rivals (1.108, 7.99). In the hymn “To all the gods” (3.55) the phrase “great is the power (asuratvam) of the gods, alone” is repeated. In the Atharva Veda, the word “asura” appears several times with the meaning of “power and wisdom.” (3.22, 4.15, 6.108). In other cases, enemies are called asuras (2.27, 4.19), or they ask for protection from both gods and asuras (4.10). In the Samaveda, Indra is called an asura in one place, and his victory over the asuras is spoken of in another.

In Buddhist psychology, the state of consciousness of the asura world is considered to be the experience of rage and strength, when a reason or justification is sought to get into a fight, anger at everyone, the inability to remain calm and solve problems peacefully.

In terms of power, asuras are ranked above humans but below gods. They live at the foot of Mount Sumeru or in the sea around it. According to other classifications, asuras are placed below people as more unfortunate and devoid of reason beings.

The leader of the asuras is called Asurendra (Pāli: Asurinda). There are several of these, since the asuras are divided into many groups. There are, for example, the asuras Danaveghas and the terrible Kalananjaks. The main leaders of the asuras are Vemachitrin, Rahu, Paharada.

Myths about asuras

The Agni Purana gives a legend about the origin of the word “asura”. During the churning of the Milk Ocean, the goddess of wine (the intoxicating drink sura) Varuni appeared from it. The gods (devas) accepted it and began to be called suras, but the daityas rejected it and accordingly began to be called asuras (“those who do not use sura”).

According to Buddhist legend, asuras used to live where thirty-three gods are now located in the world of Trayastrimsha on the top of Mount Sumeru along with other gods. When Sakra became the ruler of the gods, the asuras drank a lot of Gandapana wine at the festival, so strong that Sakra forbade other gods to drink it. Being weakened by intoxication, they could not resist Sakra, who threw them down the mountain from the Trayastrimsha sphere down to where the asura world is now. They saw the Chittapatali tree, whose foliage was different from the Parichattara tree, and learned that they had been thrown out from the world of the gods.

After this, the asuras were busy with war, armed, they began to climb the mountain like ants, Shakra tried to deal with them, but there were a lot of them and he was forced to retreat. Seeing that Garuda's nest was damaged, he turned around and directed his chariot against the asuras. The Asuras realized that he would return back with a large army, and fled.

Despite the wars, there were also contacts between gods and asuras. Sakra fell in love with Suja, the daughter of the asura leader Vemachitrina. Vemachitrin asked his daughter to choose a husband among the asuras, but she chose Shakra, and thus he became his son-in-law.

Connection with Avestan religion

The division of deities into two rival camps is also characteristic of the Avestan religion, where there is an inversion in relation to Hinduism, and “ahura” in the name of the supreme deity Ahura Mazda, apparently, is a variant of the word “asura”.

Modern interpretations

A master of Tibetan Buddhism popular in the UK and US, Chogyam Trungpa, during the Cold War allegorically used the opposition of gods and asuras, pointing out that, like the gods in Buddhism, Americans were mired in entertainment and this interfered with their spiritual development, while, like asuras, Soviet people are mired in envy of American life and saber rattling.

Asuras in literature

In the “Secret City” series, Vadim Panov writes about the very first race, the Great House of Asura, which was completely exterminated during the First War by the Dark Court, the Great House of Nav.
In the book “Look into the Eyes of Monsters” by the authors Andrei Lazarchuk and Mikhail Uspensky, they are also mentioned in the context of the first race, but they are dragons.
In the anime and manga Snatch (One Piece), swordsman Roronoa Zoro uses the Asura technique, which creates the illusion that he has six arms and three faces, while he fights as if he really has six arms and three faces.
In Svetlana Zhdanova’s books “To Catch a Shadow” and “Wings of the Phoenix,” asuras are demons, as well as the main character’s best friends.
In the Naruto manga, Asura is the youngest son of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki (also known as Rikudo Sennin) and the ancestor of the Senju clan.
In the manga and anime Soul Eater, Kishin Asura is the main demon antagonist, a former student of Shinigami-sama, who has gone mad due to constant fear of the whole world.
The demigod Asura is the main character of the game Asura's Wrath.

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Notes

Excerpt characterizing Asuras

- Pierre, come here, my friend. I think that he is not superfluous in the family council: isn’t it, prince?
- Why are you silent, mon cousin? - the princess suddenly screamed so loudly that in the living room they heard and were afraid of her voice. – Why are you silent when here God knows who allows themselves to interfere and make scenes on the threshold of the dying person’s room. Schemer! – she whispered angrily and pulled the briefcase with all her might.
But Anna Mikhailovna took a few steps to keep up with the briefcase and grabbed her hand.
- Oh! - said Prince Vasily reproachfully and in surprise. He got up. - C "est ridicule. Voyons, [This is funny. Well,] let me go. I'm telling you.
The princess let me in.
- And you!
Anna Mikhailovna did not listen to him.
- Let me in, I tell you. I take everything upon myself. I'll go and ask him. I...enough of this for you.
“Mais, mon prince,” said Anna Mikhailovna, “after such a great sacrament, give him a moment of peace.” Here, Pierre, tell me your opinion,” she turned to the young man, who, right up to them, looked in surprise at the embittered face of the princess, which had lost all decency, and at the jumping cheeks of Prince Vasily.
“Remember that you will be responsible for all the consequences,” said Prince Vasily sternly, “you don’t know what you are doing.”
- Vile woman! - the princess screamed, suddenly rushing at Anna Mikhailovna and snatching the briefcase.
Prince Vasily lowered his head and spread his arms.
At that moment the door, that terrible door that Pierre had been looking at for so long and which had opened so quietly, quickly and noisily fell back, banging against the wall, and the middle princess ran out of there and clasped her hands.
- What are you doing! – she said desperately. – II s"en va et vous me laissez seule. [He dies, and you leave me alone.]
The eldest princess dropped her briefcase. Anna Mikhailovna quickly bent down and, picking up the controversial item, ran into the bedroom. The eldest princess and Prince Vasily, having come to their senses, followed her. A few minutes later, the eldest princess was the first to emerge from there, with a pale and dry face and a bitten lower lip. At the sight of Pierre, her face expressed uncontrollable anger.
“Yes, rejoice now,” she said, “you have been waiting for this.”
And, bursting into tears, she covered her face with a handkerchief and ran out of the room.
Prince Vasily came out for the princess. He staggered to the sofa where Pierre was sitting and fell on it, covering his eyes with his hand. Pierre noticed that he was pale and that his lower jaw was jumping and shaking, as if in a feverish trembling.
- Ah, my friend! - he said, taking Pierre by the elbow; and in his voice there was a sincerity and weakness that Pierre had never noticed in him before. – How much do we sin, how much do we deceive, and all for what? I’m in my sixties, my friend... After all, for me... Everything will end in death, that’s it. Death is terrible. - He began to cry.
Anna Mikhailovna was the last to leave. She approached Pierre with quiet, slow steps.
“Pierre!...” she said.
Pierre looked at her questioningly. She kissed the young man's forehead, moistening it with her tears. She paused.
– II n"est plus... [He was gone...]
Pierre looked at her through his glasses.
- Allons, je vous reconduirai. Tachez de pleurer. Rien ne soulage, comme les larmes. [Come on, I'll take you with you. Try to cry: nothing makes you feel better than tears.]
She led him into the dark living room and Pierre was glad that no one there saw his face. Anna Mikhailovna left him, and when she returned, he, with his hand under his head, was fast asleep.
The next morning Anna Mikhailovna said to Pierre:
- Oui, mon cher, c"est une grande perte pour nous tous. Je ne parle pas de vous. Mais Dieu vous soutndra, vous etes jeune et vous voila a la tete d"une immense fortune, je l"espere. Le testament n"a pas ete encore ouvert. Je vous connais assez pour savoir que cela ne vous tourienera pas la tete, mais cela vous impose des devoirs, et il faut etre homme. [Yes, my friend, this is a great loss for all of us, not to mention you. But God will support you, you are young, and now you are, I hope, the owner of enormous wealth. The will has not yet been opened. I know you well enough and I am sure that this will not turn your head; but this imposes responsibilities on you; and you have to be a man.]
Pierre was silent.
– Peut etre plus tard je vous dirai, mon cher, que si je n"avais pas ete la, Dieu sait ce qui serait arrive. Vous savez, mon oncle avant hier encore me promettait de ne pas oublier Boris. Mais il n"a pas eu le temps. J "espere, mon cher ami, que vous remplirez le desir de votre pere. [Afterwards, perhaps I will tell you that if I had not been there, God knows what would have happened. You know that the uncle of the third day He promised me not to forget Boris, but he didn’t have time. I hope, my friend, you will fulfill your father’s wish.]
Pierre, not understanding anything and silently, blushing shyly, looked at Princess Anna Mikhailovna. After talking with Pierre, Anna Mikhailovna went to the Rostovs and went to bed. Waking up in the morning, she told the Rostovs and all her friends the details of the death of Count Bezukhy. She said that the count died the way she wanted to die, that his end was not only touching, but also edifying; The last meeting between father and son was so touching that she could not remember him without tears, and that she does not know who behaved better in these terrible moments: the father, who remembered everything and everyone in such a way in the last minutes and such Touching words were spoken to his son, or Pierre, whom it was a pity to see how he was killed and how, despite this, he tried to hide his sadness so as not to upset his dying father. “C"est penible, mais cela fait du bien; ca eleve l"ame de voir des hommes, comme le vieux comte et son digne fils,” [It’s hard, but it’s saving; the soul rises when you see people like the old count and his worthy son,” she said. She also spoke about the actions of the princess and Prince Vasily, not approving of them, but in great secrecy and in a whisper.

In Bald Mountains, the estate of Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, the arrival of the young Prince Andrei and the princess was expected every day; but the wait did not disrupt the orderly order in which life went on in the old prince’s house. General-in-Chief Prince Nikolai Andreevich, nicknamed in society le roi de Prusse, [the King of Prussia,] from the time he was exiled to the village under Paul, lived continuously in his Bald Mountains with his daughter, Princess Marya, and with her companion, m lle Bourienne. [Mademoiselle Bourien.] And during the new reign, although he was allowed entry into the capitals, he also continued to live in the countryside without a break, saying that if anyone needed him, then he would travel one and a half hundred miles from Moscow to Bald Mountains, but what would he no one or anything is needed. He said that there are only two sources of human vices: idleness and superstition, and that there are only two virtues: activity and intelligence. He himself was involved in raising his daughter and, in order to develop both main virtues in her, until she was twenty, he gave her lessons in algebra and geometry and distributed her whole life in continuous studies. He himself was constantly busy either writing his memoirs, or calculating higher mathematics, or turning snuff boxes on a machine, or working in the garden and observing the buildings that did not stop on his estate. Since the main condition for activity is order, order in his way of life was brought to the utmost degree of precision. His trips to the table took place under the same unchanging conditions, and not only at the same hour, but also at the same minute. With the people around him, from his daughter to his servants, the prince was harsh and invariably demanding, and therefore, without being cruel, he aroused fear and respect for himself, which the most cruel person could not easily achieve. Despite the fact that he was retired and now had no importance in state affairs, every head of the province where the prince’s estate was, considered it his duty to come to him and, just like an architect, gardener or Princess Marya, waited for the appointed hour of the prince's appearance in the high waiter's room. And everyone in this waitress experienced the same feeling of respect and even fear, while the enormously high door of the office opened and the short figure of an old man in a powdered wig appeared, with small dry hands and gray drooping eyebrows, which sometimes, as he frowned, obscured the shine of smart people. and definitely young, sparkling eyes.

Good afternoon, dear readers. In the pantheons of many traditions, a dualism of spiritual forces can be traced. Some forces usually represent the personification of good and light, others of evil and darkness. However, negative forces in one religion can be positive forces in another, so dualism is relative, such is the power of Maya.

Devas

Deva in traditions (Hinduism) is a shining being. Dev is the personification of the masculine principle (Shiva), and devi is the personification of the feminine principle (Shakti). Diiv means one who plays.

The Devas are the sons of the sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi.

The pantheon of devas includes:

and Shakti
and Saraswati
Ganapati and Siddhi with Buddhi
Skanda and Devayanaya with Valli
and Lakshmi
Varuna
Dhanvantari
Durga
Surya
Hanuman
Indra
and others.

The pantheon of devas is headed by Shiva. He is Mahadeva or Great Deva.

Asuras

Asuras in the traditions of Sanatana Dharma currently personify negative forces, while the Rig Veda calls Indra, Savitar, Agni, Mitra, Varuna, Surya and others as asuras.

Asura comes from the words "asu" - which means life force.

Asuras are the sons of the sage Kashyapa and his wife Diti, so they are often called daityas.

Sun, earth and man

Another name for devas is sura, which is associated with the name of the solar deva - Surya and the special drink "sura", which is consumed by devas and rejected by asuras.

The conditional residence of asuras is the underworld, and the devas are the sun. The human body is sacred to the asuras because it is located on the surface of the earth. A person who worships asuras has a strong body, whose health is little affected by lifestyle. A person who worships the devas has a strong body provided he leads a righteous life.

Since the human body is sacred to the asuras, it is difficult for a person who worships them to die naturally. The strength of the asuras is explained by the fact that their Guru Shukra has the knowledge of rebirth (Sanjivani-vidya), received from Shiva through severe ascetic practices. For the devas, the human body is illusory because it is below the sun. The rough body fetters the luminous essence of the devas.

Devas and Asuras in the physical body

When the righteous lifestyle is violated, the devas “fall asleep” and refuse to perform their functions. When Varuna falls asleep, internal fluids are upset, sleeping Agni causes digestive problems, sleeping Surya lowers immunity, sleeping Vayu leads to pulmonary diseases, and so on.

In the pantheon of devas, functions are distributed and each deva is usually responsible for one function. On the other hand, one asura in the body can replace all the devas.

From the position of asuras, devas perform their functions poorly in the physical body; they strive to capture it in order to control and personally perform all functions. Great asuras usually appear in the universe alone or in pairs. However, they can lead countless troops of minor asuras.

Superpowers

Worship of asuras and devas leads to powers (superpowers) or perfections (siddhis).

When a person reaches a sufficiently high level in the practice of deva worship, he must pass examinations, which can be mistaken for ordinary events. Failure of exams will deprive you of your strength until the exams are passed. Preparation for exams consists of the first and following the instructions of the Guru.

In the practice of worshiping asuras, it is easier to obtain powers, often even without exams, but their inharmonious use can lead to rebirth in the lower worlds. Simple veneration of asuras can lead to this.

Physical world

Asuras do not distinguish between good and evil. For them, killing a person is as easy as healing. Asuras view the world as hostile and are interested in realizing desires and ambitions in the physical body. Devas look at everything detachedly; for them the physical world is illusory, due to variability.

Devas are reborn in a human body in order to get rid of the remnants of desires and push off from it on the way to the sun.

Asuras are reborn in a human body to salute the earth and fulfill materialistic desires. The struggle for money, power and sex - this is how the asura’s consciousness sees the world.

Swami Sivananda:

Awake, friends, from the illusion of this Samsara. Passions caused many troubles while you were in Avidya. How many millions of fathers, mothers, husbands, wives and children have you had in previous births? Give up the Moha (temptation) of this body. This is just stupidity. Also, give up identification with this body through meditation on Shuddha Atman (Pure Atman). Stop worshiping this body. The worshipers of the material body are Asuras and Rakshasas.

Churning the Milk Ocean

Churning of the Milk Ocean(Samudra-manthan) is a myth described in the Puranas. Celebrated as a festival every 12 years during the Kumbh Mela festival in India.

The myth is based on the conclusion of a truce between the devas and the asuras, during which they churned the ocean by rotating Mount Mandara with the help of a rope from the giant serpent Vasuki twisted around it. The mountain stands on the back of the turtle Kurma, whose form Vishnu took. The purpose of churning is to obtain fourteen unique precious items, including amrita, the nectar that bestows immortality.

Interestingly, similar stories occur in some other traditions. For example, the myth in which Horus and Set rotate a drill.

Background

One day, the holy sage Durvasa visited a Prajapati meeting and received a gift of an everlasting flower garland. While pondering the relative value of material things, the sage met the king of the devas, Indra, and decided to give the garland to him. Indra hung it on the elephant's neck, which angered the sage. The saint placed a curse (the curse of a saint is a blessing in disguise) on Indra and the devas, wishing them to become as helpless before death as humans. At the same moment, Lakshmi left the devas.

Soon the king of the asuras, Bali, declared war on the devas. A huge army of asuras gained the upper hand and Bali took control of the three worlds. The frightened suras went to Shiva and told about the danger of destruction that threatened them. Shiva could not cancel Durvasa's curse and sent them to Brahma, and he to Vishnu.

Vishnu appeared before the asuras and said that they could become even stronger and more powerful, and most importantly, gain immortality, if they plowed the Milk Ocean and received amrita. But it can only be plowed together with the devas, which means the war must be stopped.

Devas and Asuras churning the Ocean of Milk

A truce was concluded. The devas and asuras tore Mount Mandara out of the ground and lowered it into the Ocean of Milk. Then the huge serpent Vasuki was tied around the mountain instead of a rope. To again play on the vanity of the asuras, Vishnu told the devas that since they were the strongest, only they should stand in Vasuki's head. The Asuras offendedly declared that they had won the war and laid claim to this position. The devas yielded and took hold of the serpent's tail, as a result of which Vasuki's poisonous breath weakened the asuras during the churning.

The rotating mountain began to sink into the ocean. Then Vishnu took the form of a giant turtle (Kurma avatar), dived into the ocean and put his back under the mountain.

Soon the deadly poison Kalakuta appeared on the surface of the ocean. With his power he could destroy the entire universe. The asuras and devas fled in fear. Shiva, out of compassion for living beings, drank poison, as a result his throat turned blue (one of Shiva’s names is Blue-necked).

The calmed devas and asuras began churning again.

As a result, fourteen precious objects (Chaturdasa-ratnam) began to appear successively on the surface of the ocean:

The moon that Shiva attached to his hair.
The Parijata tree and Airavata the elephant, they were taken by Indra.
The wonderful cow Kamadhenu was given to seven rishis.
Varuni, intoxicating devi.
The Apsaras, the celestial dancers, went to live in Indra's palace.
White horse Uchchaishravas. Bali, seeing that the devas were taking the jewels, demanded the horse for himself. Later, Indra returned it by drinking amrita and winning the duel.
Beautiful Lakshmi. She walked around everyone present, but found a worthy mate only in the person of Vishnu and clung to his chest.
The sea shell, the mace and the Kaustubh stone, all of which were taken by Vishnu, thanks to the fact that Lakshmi (luck) was with him.
The last to appear was Dhanvantari, the author of Ayurveda, with a vessel of amrita.

Seeing the vessel with amrita, the devas and asuras began to fight. The asuras managed to push back the devas and appropriate the vessel. But a dispute arose between the asuras themselves about who should drink first. To deceive the asuras, Vishnu secretly took the form of Mohini - a devi of incredible beauty, seeing which the asuras forgot about amrita. Mohini fixed her gaze on the vessel and the enchanted asuras offered her to dispose of the amrita. Mohini slyly said that the devas and asuras worked equally, churning the ocean and she would distribute the amrita fairly. She seated the devas and asuras in two rows opposite each other and began to give the drink to the devas in turn. But as soon as the last of them drank the drink, she disappeared along with the vessel.

The asuras rushed into battle in anger, but the devas, using the power of amrita, easily put the asuras to flight.

Before Vishnu disappeared with the vessel, one asura managed to take the illusory form of a deva and sip the amrita. But he did not have time to swallow it, because Vishnu pulled out the disk and cut off his head. The dissected asura lives in the form of two halves (grahas): Rahu and Ketu.

After defeating the asuras, Mohini reappeared. Shiva, fascinated by the illusory beauty, squeezed her tightly in his arms.

Asuras in Devi-Bhahavata Purana

During the period of dissolution of the world of Pralaya in the waters of the Cosmic Ocean in Yoga Nidra, Vishnu slept on the thousand-headed serpent Adi Shesha. From his navel grew a lotus, on which the creator of the world Brahma sat, and from the ears of Vishnu the asuras Madhu and Kaitabha appeared. Seeing Brahma, the asuras began to climb the lotus stem shouting: “Get down and fight with us, this lotus is for heroes, not for cowards.” Brahma, frightened by the armed demons, began to call on Vishnu to wake up, but he did not wake up. Then Brahma began to call upon Mahamaya, the force that makes Vishnu sleep. For this he performed Tantroktam-Ratri Suktam (Hymn of the Night).

Devi, hearing Brahma's call, makes Vishnu awaken. The asuras, fascinated by the beauty of Vishnu, shouted: “We like you, ask for any gift.” Vishnu said, “I want to kill you.” The asuras slyly answered: “Kill, but where the land is not covered with water.” Vishnu placed the asuras on his ankles and cut off their heads with a disc.

Madhu and Kaitabha symbolize the destructive tendencies of the mind. Madhu means honey, intoxication, Kaitabha means deceit. Madhu symbolizes charm with sweet but poisonous speeches. Kaitabha symbolizes deception.

If we consider asuras from the position of Panchatattvas in Tantra, then they symbolize tamasic products: Madhu wine, Kaitabha meat. Wine is a symbol of knowledge distorted by intoxication. Meat is a symbol of violence and murder. One can also compare Kaitabha to the body and Madhu to the mind intoxicated by illusion.

After Madhu and Kaitabha, Mahishasura comes into the world, defeats Indra and takes over the three worlds.

Shiva, Vishnu and other devatas are overcome with anger and radiance (tejas) emanates from them, from which Durga is born. Each devata rewards Durga with some quality and weapon. Durga goes to the mountains and challenges the asuras. Mahishasura sends various asuras, but Durga defeats them all. Mahishasura is forced to fight, but loses the battle. Durga promises the devas that if asuras appear in the universe again, disturbing the peace of peaceful inhabitants, then the devas can call her and she will again come to the rescue.

If we consider Mahishasura from the position of Panchatattva in Tantra, then it symbolizes fish, a symbol of selfishness, stubbornness and stupidity.

After Mahishasura, the asura brothers Shumbha and Nishumbha appear in the universe, who again capture the three worlds. The Devatas remember the promise made by Durga and sing the hymn “Aparajita-Devi Stuti” (Hymn of the Invincible Devi).

People often have the opinion that asuras must have a terrible appearance, following the example of Mahishasura, who resembles a buffalo. But this is a mistake. The name Shumbha means beauty, but the nature of which is deceptive. Beneath the beautiful mask lies a craving for coercion and violence. Shumbha is also the fascination of materiality, the illusion of superficial forms, the passion for stereotyped imitation of the idols of the physical world, hoarding and the desire to stand out from the masses. Shumbha also symbolizes the coming youth and beauty of the physical body.

If we consider Shumbha from the position of Panchatattva in Tantra, then it symbolizes roasted grain. Roasting means moving away from the attractiveness of materialism and destroying the charm of illusory superficial forms. Defeating Shumbha means accepting things as they are, without giving them fanatical, glamorous meanings. This is a refusal to pass off the fake as perfection.

The name Nishubha means killer. He kills the authentic and tries to replace it with something introduced. If Shumbha is a beautiful mask, a shell, then Nishumbha is the ugly content that replaces natural beauty. On the gross plane, Nishubha means the pursuit of momentary pleasures devoid of spiritual meaning.

If we consider Nishumbha from the position of Panchatattva in Tantra, then it symbolizes maithuna, that is, the replacement of the sacrament of intercourse with the desire for rough possession of an object and body.

Before going to the mountains to Durga themselves, Shumbha and Nishumbha send the asuras Chandu and Mundu to her. They symbolize causeless aggression and blind fanaticism. As Chanda and Munda approached Durga, Chamunda, the ferocious form of Durga, emerged from her and killed Chanda and Munda.

Following Chanda and Munda, Shumbha and Nishumbha are sent to Durga Dhumralochan, whose name means Smoky-Eyed. Dhumralochana is intoxication with mind-altering substances. The mind, distorted by dope, sees the false as true. Dhumralochana takes steps into crazy desires and unjustified risks.

Following Dhumralochana, Durga encounters Raktabija. For his austerities, he received a blessing in the form of the appearance of a new copy of Raktabija from every drop of blood that fell to the ground. Some modern Puranic researchers find in the description of Raktabija's ability to duplicate a hint of the ability of some asuras to self-cloning.

Raktabija symbolizes evil. If you try to kill evil through evil, then in the end evil will only grow. Durga could not cope with Raktabija, since the entire battlefield was filled with copies of Raktabija. In anger, a radiance emerged from her third eye, from which Kali, the Black Devi, was born. When Durga cut off the head of another Raktabija, Kali drank his blood, not allowing a drop to fall to the ground. Thus the Raktabij horde was destroyed.

There is a deep meaning in the fact that Durga does not kill the asuras herself. The forces capable of destroying demons are part of her, but she can both emit them and draw them in, that is, she does not directly participate in the action of destroying asuras.

Shumbha comes to the last battle with Durga in splendid isolation. All the asuras are destroyed, including his brother Nishumbha. If we compare the battle of asuras with human life, then the battle with asuras is a battle of consciousness with vices during the life of the physical body. When all vices are defeated, only an empty mask remains in the form of a body, attachment to which must also be defeated. All vices must be destroyed and the mask must be torn off; in this, Durga provides invaluable assistance to her devotees.

Navratri holiday (Ashvina-Navratri)

The Divine Mother or Primordial Devi is worshiped during the nine days and nights of Navratri celebrations. Devi is worshiped in three main forms: Durga (Kali), Lakshmi and Saraswati.

The first three days are dedicated to Durga, the second three to Lakshmi, the last three to Saraswati. Durga destroys evil and bestows physical strength, Lakshmi gives prosperity, and Saraswati gives worldly and spiritual knowledge.

Vijaya-Dashami

Vijaya Dashami is the tenth day of Navratri, as well as a festival in its own right, symbolizing the victory of good over evil. This day celebrates the victory of Rama over Ravana and the victory of Durga over Mahishasura.

Every year on the day of Vijaya Dashami, the harvest season begins, so Durga's devotees ask Devi to bless the new harvest.

Ramayana

Ramayana(Journey of Rama) is an ancient Indian epic in Sanskrit, the author of which is considered to be the sage Valmiki (born from an anthill).

The Ramayana tells the story of Rama, whose beloved Sita is kidnapped by the Asura king of Lanka. The epic contains the teachings of the ancient rishis (sages), which are presented as an abstract narrative about the nature of reality, devotion (bhakti), love and spiritual quest.

The epic Ramayana has a deep bottom of abstract meanings. In one of the allegorical meanings, the main characters can be seen as a guide to action on the path of yoga.

Hanuman (Rudra's avatar) is the breath, Rama (the seventh avatar of Vishnu) is the jiva (soul), Sita (Lakshmi) is the mind, and Lakshmana (Adi Shesha) is awareness. Ravana (roaring) - negativity and destructive tendencies.

When the mind becomes negative in pursuit of illusion, the connection with the soul and awareness is lost. And only breathing becomes the fulcrum when it is taken under control. Therefore, together with pranayama, Rama and Lakshmana defeat Ravana and Sita returns (freed from negativity).

Conclusion

It is impossible to say with certainty that some forces are positive and others negative. Sanatana Dharma traditions usually speak of devas as positive forces and asuras as negative forces. Some other traditions, such as Zoroastrianism, reverse the meaning. From the perspective of Zoroastrianism, asuras (ahuras) are positive forces, and devas (daevas) are negative. Although it is indicated that the parents of the prophet of Zoroastrianism Ahura Mazda revered the devas.

Good and evil exist in the mind; in reality there is only Brahman.