[Advaita-l] tamoguna

[Dr. Yadu Moharir]

Namaste Bhadraiah:
 
The word asura is defined as "asuhu ye ramante iti asuraH"

Meaning - Ones who are and/or prefer t keep enjoying living (within indriiyas).
 
asura's as depicted in pauraaNika stories & comic books (black with blood shot eyes and thick lips with protruding k-9) often contribute to the confusion of this term.
 
Regards,
 
Dr. Yadu
 

--- On Mon, 4/13/09, Bhadraiah Mallampalli <vaidix at hotmail.com> wrote:


From: Bhadraiah Mallampalli <vaidix at hotmail.com>
Subject: [Advaita-l] tamoguna
To: advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
Date: Monday, April 13, 2009, 8:02 AM



Dear Michael, 



Very good question. Devas and asura/rakshas were all children of prajapati, meaning their origin same, but something in their nature differentiates them. The question of daivi and asuri aspects of a guna is linked to the definition of asura/rakshas. I always used to wonder why there are two types of bad guys and what is the difference between them.