Swami Dayananda Saraswathi again on Youtube

The fourth video has very poor synchronization between audio and video. I however recommend for watching it. Read the rest of this entry >>

Bhishmastuti from Srimad Bhagavatham

In this post in the advaitin list, Prof VK-ji asks a question about the following shloka from Srimad Bhagavatham that Bhishma recites in his final moments:

tam-imam-aham-ajaM sharIra-bhAjAM
hRRidi hRRidi dhiShTitaM Atma-kalpitAnAM /
pratidRRishamiva naikadhArkam-ekaM
samadhigato’smi vidhUta-bheda-mohaH //


It is verse 1.9.42 from Srimad Bhagavatham. An explanation of this stotra by Prof VK-ji is here.

Shri Sunder-ji responds and so does Subbu-ji in this post.

You can listen to an audio rendition of the entire Bhishma Stuti by Pt. Sunder Kidambi here. Read the rest of this entry >>

Samadhi and Advaita: Michael Comans

Read the following paper: The Question of the Importance of Samadhi in Modern and Classical Advaita Vedanta. It is very well researched and goes with many of the arguments that happen in advaitin and Advaita-L, about samadhi, yoga and meditation. Read the rest of this entry >>

Swami Dayananda Saraswathi on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13

Read the rest of this entry >>

Shri Gurubhyo Namah

Today Guru Poornima.

I quote from the following page of Prof VK., in which he lists the achievements of Vyasa, whose Birthday is celebrated as Guru Purnima.

If any single person in the entire long history of the Hindu religion has to be credited (or blamed!) for its multifarious facets that extend over a wide spectrum from extreme superstition on the one side to a ruthless intellectual dialectics on the other, it is the

‘faultless sage Vyasa, son of Sage Parasara,
grandson of Sage Shakti,
great grandson of Sage Vasishta
and father of the boy-sage Shuka’.

Vyasa has six achievements to his credit, each one of which alone could have conferred on him the stature of a Vyasa to such an extent that on one day in the year, called Vyasa Purnima day (this year 2005, on July 21), all religious and vedantic organisations and individuals in India, irrespective of the school of thought to which they belong, pay reverential tribute to him in all possible ways. The six achievements of Vyasa are:

· At the beginning of the Kali-yuga Vyasa codified the Vedas and Upanishads into 1180 branches (shAkhas) and thus preserved for the weak and satanic Kali age the age-old tradition.
· He codified the philosophical excursions of the Upanishads into a single treatise called Brahma-sutra of 555 terse statements or aphorisms – for the comprehension of which several high-level commentaries have been written till today.
· He produced the greatest book on Earth, the Mahabharata, an epic one hundred thousand verses long, the dimensions of which for the cultural panorama of the country are still being explored.
· He wrote the seventeen purANas (together equivalent to more than a Mahabharata) which constitute an encyclopaedia of all the mythological stories, legends and history of Hinduism.
· The eighteenth purANa, the Shrimad Bhagavatam, is his fifth achievement – because it is the monumental work of Bhakti without which, inspite of the other Puranas, it is doubtful, whether the Bhakti tradition would have attained to such a supreme status in Hinduism.
· Last but not least, he must be given special credit for the 700-verse-long discourse of Bhagavadgita, – even assuming he just heard it straight from the Lord’s mouth -- a single compendium covering the entire spectrum of Hindu religion and philosophy, almost replacing the Vedas; even though it is a part of the Mahabharata, it has a separate status for itself and Vyasa has to be given extra credit for recognising its strategical place and context in the great epic; the two fit each other so perfectly that it is not clear whether the Mahabharata was made for the Bhagavad-Gita or the Bhagavad-Gita for the Mahabharata.

From this site.

Of course, the eternal Guru is Shri Dakshinamurthy, who enlightens the first lamp of awakening in any person.

May the ever eternal Guru save us from the darkening world of ignorance. May He who has saved countless people, beginning with the Sanaka etc. including warriors like Arjuna make us see the Light behind the clouds.

May we always feel that Light, that is ever effulgent, the invocation of which spreads fear in the heart of fear.

It is the Narayana, in his form of Lord Krishna that removed the ignorance of Arjuna.
and it is the same Shankara who incarnated as Shri Adi Shankara to drive away the ignorance of everyone.

We Bow to all the above, as well as all our Gurus.

Here are some links:
Dakshinamurthy Stotram.
Totaka Ashtakam
Guru Paduka Stotram Read the rest of this entry >>

What is Knowledge?

The question "What is knowledge?", seems like one that a philosopher (or even one with an idle mind) would be asking, with no practical applications to "daily life". This is not so, certainly not for seekers of the underlying phenomenon beyond all subject object duality. The famous Advaitic verse from Vivekachudamani says "Brahma Satyam, Jagan Mithya, Jeevo Brahmaiva Naa Parah" (Brahman is the only Truth, the world has only a fleeting level of reality and the Jeeva is not different from the Brahman). Such a statement brings us to the following questions: How do we not perceive a unified reality all around, when it is so? How is it that we do not see the fleetingness of the reality of the world, when it is so? How is it that we fail to recognize the equality of the supreme spirit with the internal spirit?

Motive behind the questions: Shri Adi Shankara, asks the same question in many places in his commentary on Prasthana Traya. For example, in his introduction to Brahma Sutras, also called as Adhyasa Bhashya, He rhetorically wonders "How can anyone confuse the unreal with the real?". This is because the BMI is inherently jada (insentient), while Atman, the seer behind the BMI is inherently chetana (sentient). How can anyone confuse the unreal with the real? If one confuses different levels of reality, then they may be excused. What is the excuse for this confusion? Where did such a kind of confusion originate from? Shri Shankara blames this confusion to adhyasa (superimposition), which is our ignorance, and proceeds to dispel it as non-existent in many ways. (Shri Shankara uses similar concepts in many places on his Gita commentary: for example on his commentary for BG 2.16 or BG 13.2).

Knowledge and its means: The above concept of superimposition is close to Knowledge and the means of knowledge. Since it is due to our ignorance that we are confusing unreal from real, the latter which is ever existent and the former never ever(!), one of the first steps should be to define what Knowledge is, what are its valid means, and what are is the answer to the *meta*-questions like: "How do we know what we can know?", "How do we know that we know?". If such a definition is made precise, then we can separate knowledge from ignorance. Also close to the concept of knowledge is the means of acquiring it. It is like constructing a precise sieve, which will separate the knowledge rice from the ignorance husk. Then, using the sieve, one can separate the superimposition from the real stuff, continually asking the question "Is it this? Is it this?" and continuing uttering to oneself "Not this, Not this". These definitions and other concepts have been done in the classic book "Vedanta Paribhasha" (VP) by Dharamaraja Adhvarindra (DA), a 17th century Advaitic philosopher from India.

Is the systematic study of pramANa required? Yes and No.

State 2: Yes because, given the all pervasive nature of the (non-existent) avidya, we need a systematic study of the tools needed to understand its nature. In the end, we will realize that none of the tools have the power to know the nature of the Self, which is beyond the reach of any of these.

State 1: No because brahman is defined to be one that is unattainable by any of these. So, how will such a systematic study help us? For people who are at such an advanced stage that they see the true nature of the fleeting universe, it is not needed.

So, it is clear that one needs to get from state 2 (of yes: they are needed) to state 1 (of no: pramanas are not needed). (Is the movement from State 2 to State 1 a application of Vedantic method of adhyaropa-apavada? I do not know.)

In short, the study of pramANas is needed to know that the study of pramANas is not needed! (Thanks to Sada-ji who used this another context.)

==
Here are some references:

Respected Shri Sastriji (the chief moderator of advaitin yahoo group) has written explanatory notes, which is very useful for understanding the basic concepts.

1. In introduction, he explains the valid means of knowledge, according to the six major philosophical systems of India. It should be noted that the means of knowledge defined by Advaita are the same as that for Bhatta Mimamsa (a major branch of Mimamsa: after Kumarila Bhatta, whom Adi Shankara met).
   
   
2. Here he explains inference (anumana), one of the six means of knowledge.
   
3. In this link on Shabda Pramana, he explains the concept of Verbal Testimony as a valid means of knowledge.
   

Respected Shri Sadaji has been writing up his notes on VP and posting it in the advaitin yahoo list. Here is their link. (This is is an ongoing series of posts, with the current number being 13.) Each of them are worth reading multiple times, as his posts are of explanatory nature.

Swami Satprakashananda, a monk of Ramakrishna Order (and a contemporary of Swami Prabhavananda: Swami Satprakashananda was sent to St. Louis, while Swami Prabhavananda was in LA), has written a book "Methods of Knowledge according to Advaita Vedanta". It has a very lucid exposition of the terms at hand. (I plan to have a later post on this book.) Here are a couple of links on the book:

1. From RK Math, St. Louis,
   
2. From Shri Dennis-ji's page
   
3. The amazon page
   
4. a picture of Swami Satprakashananda
   
   

Happy search for Knowledge!
May the Goddess of Knowledge shower Her divine grace upon us. Read the rest of this entry >>

Origin of the word Devanagari in Rig Veda?

The usual script for Sanskrit (and hence, a couple of Indic languages) is called Devanagari (देवनागरी), which literally means "City of Gods". Isn't it interesting that it has close connection with Mantra 1.164.39 of Rig Veda?

Here is the wiki page. Read the rest of this entry >>

annapUrNA Stotram by Adi Shankara

Om!
Here are a couple of links on annapUrNA stotram by Shri Adi Shankara.
from ambaa-l and from Sanskrit Docs.


अन्नपूर्णे सदापूर्णे शङ्करप्राणवल्लभे . ज्ञानवैराग्यसिद्ध्यर्थं भिक्षां देहि च पार्वति .. ११..

May the Goddess, who is eternally full/complete and bestower of anna, the nourishment to our life,
who is the beloved of ever auspicious Lord Shankara, as if she were his life herSelf/himSelf,
May bestow on the devotees with the eternal knowledge,
and the necessary detachment from the snares of the lower worlds.

May the daughter of the mountains lead us from unreal to real, from darkness to light and from death to immortality.

Hari Om Read the rest of this entry >>

Some links on Brahmasutras

Hari Om!

An excellent introduction to Adhyasa Bhashya by Shri Saxena.

Location you could create PDF's of Shankara Bhashya

Transcript of Swami Paramarthananda's lectures on "Introduction to Brahma Sutras".

Audio of Shri Shankara's Ashyasa Bhashya (Many thanks to Sunderji!).

Lectures (PDF link) of Shri (Dr.) Mani Dravid Sastri. More lectures are these (all PDF links): 1, 2, 3, 4.

From advaitin files. Read the rest of this entry >>

Gajendra Moksham Sanskrit text

Here is the text of Gajendra Moksham, from Chapter 8.3 of Srimad Bhagavatham.

श्रीबादरायणिरुवाच ||

एवं व्यवसितो बुद्ध्या समाधाय मनो हृदि
जजाप परमं जाप्यं प्राग्जन्मन्यनुशिक्षितम ||

श्रीगजेन्द्र उवाच ||

ओं नमो भगवते तस्मै यत एतच्चिदात्मकम
पुरुषायादिबीजाय परेशायाभिधीमहि ||

यस्मिन्निदं यतश्चेदं येनेदं य इदं स्वयम
योऽस्मात्परस्माच्च परस्तं प्रपद्ये स्वयम्भुवम ||

यः स्वात्मनीदं निजमाययार्पितं क्वचिद्विभातं क्व च तत्तिरोहितम
अविद्धदृक्साक्ष्युभयं तदीक्षते स आत्ममूलोऽवतु मां परात्परः ||

कालेन पञ्चत्वमितेषु कृत्स्नशो लोकेषु पालेषु च सर्वहेतुषु
तमस्तदासीद्गहनं गभीरं यस्तस्य पारेऽभिविराजते विभुः ||

न यस्य देवा ऋषयः पदं विदुर्जन्तुः पुनः कोऽर्हति गन्तुमीरितुम
यथा नटस्याकृतिभिर्विचेष्टतो दुरत्ययानुक्रमणः स मावतु ||

दिदृक्षवो यस्य पदं सुमङ्गलं विमुक्तसङ्गा मुनयः सुसाधवः
चरन्त्यलोकव्रतमव्रणं वने भूतात्मभूताः सुहृदः स मे गतिः ||

न विद्यते यस्य च जन्म कर्म वा न नामरूपे गुणदोष एव वा
तथापि लोकाप्ययसम्भवाय यः स्वमायया तान्यनुकालमृच्छति ||

तस्मै नमः परेशाय ब्रह्मणेऽनन्तशक्तये
अरूपायोरुरूपाय नम आश्चर्यकर्मणे ||

नम आत्मप्रदीपाय साक्षिणे परमात्मने
नमो गिरां विदूराय मनसश्चेतसामपि ||

सत्त्वेन प्रतिलभ्याय नैष्कर्म्येण विपश्चिता
नमः कैवल्यनाथाय निर्वाणसुखसंविदे ||

नमः शान्ताय घोराय मूढाय गुणधर्मिणे
निर्विशेषाय साम्याय नमो ज्ञानघनाय च ||

क्षेत्रज्ञाय नमस्तुभ्यं सर्वाध्यक्षाय साक्षिणे
पुरुषायात्ममूलाय मूलप्रकृतये नमः ||

सर्वेन्द्रियगुणद्रष्ट्रे सर्वप्रत्ययहेतवे
असता च्छाययोक्ताय सदाभासाय ते नमः ||

नमो नमस्तेऽखिलकारणाय निष्कारणायाद्भुतकारणाय
सर्वागमाम्नायमहार्णवाय नमोऽपवर्गाय परायणाय ||

गुणारणिच्छन्नचिदुष्मपाय तत्क्षोभविस्फूर्जितमानसाय
नैष्कर्म्यभावेन विवर्जितागम स्वयंप्रकाशाय नमस्करोमि ||

मादृक्प्रपन्नपशुपाशविमोक्षणाय मुक्ताय भूरिकरुणाय नमोऽलयाय
स्वांशेन सर्वतनुभृन्मनसि प्रतीत प्रत्यग्दृशे भगवते बृहते नमस्ते ||

आत्मात्मजाप्तगृहवित्तजनेषु सक्तैर्दुष्प्रापणाय गुणसङ्गविवर्जिताय
मुक्तात्मभिः स्वहृदये परिभाविताय ज्ञानात्मने भगवते नम ईश्वराय ||

यं धर्मकामार्थविमुक्तिकामा भजन्त इष्टां गतिमाप्नुवन्ति
किं चाशिषो रात्यपि देहमव्ययं करोतु मेऽदभ्रदयो विमोक्षणम ||

एकान्तिनो यस्य न कञ्चनार्थं वाञ्छन्ति ये वै भगवत्प्रपन्नाः
अत्यद्भुतं तच्चरितं सुमङ्गलं गायन्त आनन्दसमुद्रमग्नाः ||

तमक्षरं ब्रह्म परं परेशमव्यक्तमाध्यात्मिकयोगगम्यम
अतीन्द्रियं सूक्ष्ममिवातिदूरमनन्तमाद्यं परिपूर्णमीडे ||

यस्य ब्रह्मादयो देवा वेदा लोकाश्चराचराः
नामरूपविभेदेन फल्ग्व्या च कलया कृताः ||

यथार्चिषोऽग्नेः सवितुर्गभस्तयो निर्यान्ति संयान्त्यसकृत्स्वरोचिषः
तथा यतोऽयं गुणसम्प्रवाहो बुद्धिर्मनः खानि शरीरसर्गाः ||

स वै न देवासुरमर्त्यतिर्यङ्न स्त्री न षण्ढो न पुमान्न जन्तुः
नायं गुणः कर्म न सन्न चासन्निषेधशेषो जयतादशेषः ||

जिजीविषे नाहमिहामुया किमन्तर्बहिश्चावृतयेभयोन्या
इच्छामि कालेन न यस्य विप्लवस्तस्यात्मलोकावरणस्य मोक्षम ||

सोऽहं विश्वसृजं विश्वमविश्वं विश्ववेदसम
विश्वात्मानमजं ब्रह्म प्रणतोऽस्मि परं पदम ||

योगरन्धितकर्माणो हृदि योगविभाविते
योगिनो यं प्रपश्यन्ति योगेशं तं नतोऽस्म्यहम ||

नमो नमस्तुभ्यमसह्यवेग शक्तित्रयायाखिलधीगुणाय
प्रपन्नपालाय दुरन्तशक्तये कदिन्द्रियाणामनवाप्यवर्त्मने ||

नायं वेद स्वमात्मानं यच्छक्त्याहंधिया हतम
तं दुरत्ययमाहात्म्यं भगवन्तमितोऽस्म्यहम ||

श्रीशुक उवाच ||

एवं गजेन्द्रमुपवर्णितनिर्विशेषं
ब्रह्मादयो विविधलिङ्गभिदाभिमानाः
नैते यदोपससृपुर्निखिलात्मकत्वात
तत्राखिलामरमयो हरिराविरासीत ||

तं तद्वदार्तमुपलभ्य जगन्निवासः
स्तोत्रं निशम्य दिविजैः सह संस्तुवद्भिः
छन्दोमयेन गरुडेन समुह्यमानश
चक्रायुधोऽभ्यगमदाशु यतो गजेन्द्रः ||

सोऽन्तःसरस्युरुबलेन गृहीत आर्तो
दृष्ट्वा गरुत्मति हरिं ख उपात्तचक्रम
उत्क्षिप्य साम्बुजकरं गिरमाह कृच्छ्रान
नारायणाखिलगुरो भगवन्नमस्ते ||

तं वीक्ष्य पीडितमजः सहसावतीर्य
सग्राहमाशु सरसः कृपयोज्जहार
ग्राहाद्विपाटितमुखादरिणा गजेन्द्रं
संपश्यतां हरिरमूमुचदुच्छ्रियाणाम ||

With large thanks to this great work by Shri. Avinash Chopde. The original transliteration was taken from Sanskrit docs.

You can listen to an audio rendition of the entire Gajendra Moksham Stuti by Pt. Sunder Kidambi here. Read the rest of this entry >>

Writing is a sAdhana

In his latest post, Atanu says:

Writing is a way of learning, a process of self-discovery through an exploration of one’s thinking. The written word is a record of ephemeral and elusive thoughts, a trace of the immaterial in a material form. I often delight in the recollection that re-reading my own writing affords me. If I have one bit of advice to offer, it is this: write down what is important to you now so that you will have a reminder should you need it.

Notice the similarity of these thoughts with what the Raja Rao says in his "Writing is a sAdhana".

Hopefully the lazy one would read this often and write something in this blog, in the coming times!

PS: It will do well for any reader to read the advise by Philosopher Atanu on Writing. Read the rest of this entry >>

Puzzle verses in Bhagavad Gita

It is well known that Mahabharatha has some puzzle verses, so that Bhagavan Vyasa, the narrator of the story could keep Lord Ganesha give a break to His non-stop writing and start thinking. When Lord Ganesha paused for such a break, it is said that Bhagavan Vyasa could think about the plot line and the next verses that could come. The important question, asked by many people is, how many of these 1000 or so verses are in the Bhagavad Gita?

This link has my previous notes on the same subject.

Shri Sunder-ji of advaitin group, gives the link to a page, which has the late Kanchi Paramacharya referring to one such puzzle. Read the whole post (a from Kanchi forum), as well as Shri Sunder-ji's post on advaitin. Here is the dialog from Kanchi Forum site.

PeriyavaaL : Know that there are Guttu Shlokas in Bharatam (Mahabharata)?

Myself : These are Guttu Shlokas because they were composed to reduce the speed of PiLLaiyar's (Ganesha's) writing.

PeriyavaaL : There is a Guttu Shloka in Gita! You know?

Myself : Don't know.

PeriyavaaL : ' aj~nAnenanAvR^itaM j~nAnaM tena muhyanti jantavaH | j~nAnena tu tadaj~nAnaM yeSAM nAshitamAtmanaH || ' (5.15,16)

"Atma who is jnAnarUpam (in the form of knowledge) is veiled with ajnAnaM (ignorance). People are deluded because of that. If the ajnAnaM is destroyed by jnAnaM , Moksha will be attained."

Isn't this doctrine puzzling, confusing? How can ajnAnaM veil jnAnaM ? If it is veiled, how by that same jnAnaM will ajnAnaM be destroyed? -- is the confusion. Vinayaka blinks. In those few seconds Vyasa has readily composed the shloka s of many chapters.

For this puzzle that comes in the fifth chapter, he gives the answer in the tenth chapter!

teshAmenukampArtham ahamaj~nAnajaM tamaH |
nAshayAmi AtmabhAvastaH j~nAnadIpena bhasvatA ||

To show mercy on the bhaktA s who always sing and think only about me and melt by those acts in their hearts, I as the jnAna rUpi (form of knowledge) enter the state of mind that remains akhaNdAkAram (not fragmentary, entire, whole) and is known as AtmabhAvam (state of the soul), reach the prati-bimbam (reflection), strengthen the jnAnam and set aside (the veil) of ignorance.

(In other words, svarUpa jnAnam by itself will not set aside ignorance. It only notifies its presence. But if the same svarUpa jnAnam is reflected by the mano vRiddhi (expansion of mind) mano vRtti (a state of mind) [Correction thanks to the comment by Subbuji.] that results from continued experience of the state of meditation on the Vedanta Maha Vakhyas after studying and reflecting on them, that will immediately burn the ignorance. Even if the sun has the svabhAva (inherent nature) to burn cotton, it burns the cotton only when the rays touch it through a special lens!

In this way, PeriyavaaL has the capability to give answers for many Guttus.

Glossary:
sandarbhaH - occasion, circumstance, stringing/collecting together, arranging, mixture, union,

So, it seems that 5.15-5.16 is a puzzle that Vyasa composed to keep Ganesha busy thinking about the puzzle, while He himself could pause for thinking. The puzzle he answered in 10.11. Read the rest of this entry >>

Gajendra Moksham

Hari Om!

vAgarthAviva sampR^iktau vAgarthapratipattaye |
jagataH pitarau vande pArvatIparameshvarau ||


A post on Gajendra Moksham. Read the rest of this entry >>

The Vak of the Veda and the Throb of the Tantra

This is from "Lights on the Ancients" by Shri T.V. Kapaly Sastry: p 22-38.

Among the stupendous achievements of the mystics of the ancient India stands foremost the Theory of Creation by the Word. The creative Logos of the Greeks does certainly correspond to the Vak that is the Creatrix of the World. But the Indian conception is distinguished by the Theory and the treatment it has received at the hands of the great seers of the Vedic age, the sages and intuitive thinkers of the Upanishads in succession, the philosophers of the Darshanas, the Tantras and the Puranas. In the long line of sacred and general literature from the Vedas down to out times we find that they have made capital use of the theory of Vak and its practical importance was the one aim towards which all their efforts were directed. The theory of Vak which has permeated the religious literature of the lands has influenced to a considerable extent the belles letteres of latter ages as exemplified in the utterances of Kalidasa and Bhavavhuthi. While the former affirms Vak as Shakti, power, that cannot b alienated from the meaning, its substance, on the opening vers of his Epic Poem, the latter, Bhavabhuthi, makes profound statement in his dictum that is laden with a world of ideas about the original power of Vak and its real nature on the one hand and on the other hand Vak as a vehicle of thought at the disposal of the decent-minded. For he says that speech follows the meaning in the case of the sadhus of the world -- and they are called sadhus who are of a good, well-bred kind with regard to its veracity -- in effect it comes to mean that at the best, men in the world give a correct expression to the thought in their minds. In contradistinction to this the other statement that the meaning follows the word in the case of the primeval Seers, the Rishis. The intention of the poet here is unmistakable and the idea about the real nature of Vak as trsnsmitted from age to age from the Vedic times is revealed in the pregnant phrase -- vacham arthonudhaavaati. The Vak of the Rishis is not a sound-symbol of a mental idea expressed as is done by all developed human beings. What else could it be then? Vak, no doubt, is Voice, word or speech. But it is not the Voice or word depending on the mind to express an idea. It is a voice in a deeper sense of the term which is in its source, a power of expression, a force which impels the being to respond to the stimulii which are a demand made on the being by the environment or by the subtle or occult and spiritual forces from a deeper layers or higher levels of being.

It is a voice that proceeds from the depths, or from the heights of one's being which is not established in the mind, but itself being an early and settled movement for expression is the support of the mind which, comparatively speaking, is a subordinate instrument of expression. Here we have to understand the distinction made by the ancients between the Voice which is the support of the mind and the voice which is speech. The word as vocal expression is sound-symbol of an idea in the mind and naturally has mind for its basis, source and support. Is this light the poet's dictum that meaning follows the Rishi's Vak has to be understood; and indeed it is intelligible that the Voice proceeds from the heights or depths of the conscious substance in which the Rishi is stationed and carries with it the meaning to be realized when it finds its completion in the delivery of the utterance. This is how meaning follows the Word in the case of a seer and in the case of others word is chosen and adapted to convey the intended meaning.

Now let us enquire into the real character of the Vak that creates, the Vak which, in the words of a Vedic poet becomes all these worlds, vagena visva bhuvanaani jajne. We have clues found in the Rig Veda itself which we can follow with great advantage in our attempt to penetrate into the mysteries of the Word. The oft-quoted famous passage of Dirghatamas helps us a great deal to have as adequate idea of the theory of the Word as Mantra and of human speech as understood by the seers of the Rig Veda. For the seer-poet in stating that there are four steps by which the Word of the Mantra unveils itself has revealed a truth which has a large bearing on the source of the Word itself, as being the abode of the Great Cosmic Powers, the Gods as mentioned in another verse of the same hymn. These two Riks (1.164.39, 45) announce in plain and unambiguous language as is rarely the wont of ancient mystics, certain facts of mystic experience which we may reduce to categorical dicta for modern understanding.

1. There is the supernal Ether in the empyrean heights of Being caled paramam vyoma.
   
2. It is the abiding place -- imperishable and immutable -- of the Riks, i.e., the Mantras.
   
3. All the Gods, the Cosmic powers also reside there.
   
4. What can any one do with the Rik who does not that That (the Supreme Ether) which is the abode of the Riks as well as of Gods? That is to say, the Rik has value only when one knows its source, the Supreme Ether.
   
5. There are four steps or planes, padani, from which the Speech issues, the fourth step is the human speech that is the ordinary word while the other planes are hidden in secrecy.
   
6. The Word and the meaning of the Mantra, i.e., the Veda belongs to the higher planes.
   
7. And the last and important statement is that the Veda is referred to by the Rig Vedic Seers themselves as the Word Eternal, nitya vak, a phrase the Rishi applies to the Mantra in the urge for laudation to Agni, nityaya vaca codasva [8.64.6]
   

We can now consider how the essential truths in the statements made above formed the basis of the Upanishads and the later Scriptures in dealing with the instructions on the character of the Eternal Word of which the Sound Symbol is OM. Read the rest of this entry >>

Links on Mandukya and Bhakti

On Mandukya:

[by searching in the advaitin for Mandukya Sadananda]

announcement

intro 1

agama prakarana and intro

intro 1
intro 2
intro 3
intro 4
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intro 6

What about this?
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3,
5

DONOT FORGET TO READ THE THREADS TOO!
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A must read post by Sada-ji. Not surprisingly, Shri Sastri-ji complements in this post: Your analysis of the deep sleep state is absolutely brilliant. It reminded me of the discourses of Swami Chinmayananda.. What a complement!


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On Bhakti:
Here is Sastriji's explanation of Bhakti: Part 1 and part 2.
Here is Sadaji's explanation if Karma and Jnana and Bhakti Yoga in Gita (the same articles can be found in Advaita-L (Feb-2008 archives) in more clean formatted form). Read the rest of this entry >>

Ranade: The Doctrine of Maya in the Upanishads

A Constructive Survey Of Upanishadic Philosophy: Being An Introduction To The Thought Of The Upanishads by R.D. Ranade. This is from p 163-165. Here is a link.

As we have said, we shall examine the ideas instead of words in the Upanishads, and see whether the traces of Maya doctrine cannot be found in them. The Isopanishad tells us that truth is veiled in this universe by a vessel of gold, and it invokes the grace of God to lift up the golden vessel and allow the truth to be seen [Is. 15]. The veil that covers the truth is here described as golden, as being so rich, gaudy, and dazzling that it takes away the mind of the observer from the inner contents, the rivets it upon itself. Let us not be dazzled by the appearance of gold, says the Upanishad, everything that glitters is not gold. Let us penetrate deeper and see the reality that lies ensconced in it. We have thus, first, the conception of a veil which prevents the truth from being seen at first glance. Then, again, we have another image in the Kathopanishad of how people living in ignorance, and thinking themselves to be wise, move about wandering, like blind men following the blind, in search of reality, which they would have easily seen had they lodged themselves in knowledge instead of ignorance [Ka 1.2(4,5)]. We have here the conception of blindfoldness, and we are told that we deliberately shut our eyes to the truth before us. Then, thirdly, ignorance is compared in the Mundakopanishad to a knot which a man has to untie before he gets possesstion of the Self in the recess of his heart [Mu. 2.1.10]. Fourthly, the Chandogyopanishad tells us how knowledge is power, and ignorance is impotence [Ch. 1.1.10]. We, who are moving in this world without having attained to the knowledge of the Atman, are exhibiting at every stage the power of impotence that lies in us. Not unless we have attained to the knowledge of Atman can we be said to have attained power. Then, fifthly, the famous prayer in the Brihadaranyaka, in which a devotee is praying to God to carry him from Not-Being to Being, from Darkness to Light, from Death to Immortality, merely voices the sentiment of the spiritual aspirant who wishes to rid himself of the power of Evil over him. Unreality is here compared to Non-being, to Darkness, or to Death [Br. 1.3.28]. The Kathopanishad declares that Sages never find reality and certainty in the unrealities and uncertainties of this world [Ka. 2.4.2]. Maya is described as an adhurava -- an unreality, or an Uncertainty. The Changogya again tells us that a cover of Untruth hides the ultimate Truth from us, just as the surface of the earth hides from us the golden treasure that is hidden inside it. We, who unconsciously move to the region of Truth, day after day, do yet labour under the power of Untruth for we do not know the Atman. This Atman is verily inside the hearts. It is only he, who reaches Him everyday, that is able to transcend the phenomenal world [Ch. 8.3(1-3)]. Maya is here compared to an untruth, an "anrita". Then again, the Prashnopanishad tells us that we cannot reach the world of Brahman unless we have shaken off the crookedness in us, the falsehood in us, the illusion (Maya) in us [Pr. 1.16]. It is important to remember that the word Maya is directly used in this passage, and almost in the sense of illusion. In the same sense is the word maya used in Svetasvarata where we are told that it only by meditation upon God, by union with Him, and by entering into He being, that at the end there there is the cessation of the great world-illusion [Sh. 1.10]. Here again, as before, the word Maya can mean nothing but ilusion. It must be remembered, however, that the word Maya was used so far back as at the time of the Rigveda in a passage, which is quoted by the Brihadaranyaka, where Indra is declared to have assumed many shapes by his Maya [Br. 2.5.19 and RV. 6.47.18]. There apparently, the word Maya meant "power" instead of "illusion" -- a sense in which Shvetashvatara later uses it, when it describes its God as a Mayin, a magician, a powerful Being who creates this world by his powers while the other, namely, the individual soul is bound again by Maya [Sh. 4.9]. Here is must be remembered that there is yet no distinction drawn, as in later Vedantic philosophy, between Maya that envelops Ishvara and the Avidya that envelops Jiva: for both, the generic word Maya is used, and in the passage under consideration, it means only "power", almost in the same sense which Kuno Fisher gives to the "attributes" of Spinoza. Then again, in the Shvetashvatara, Maya is once more identified with Prakriti [Sh. 4.10], a usage which prevailed very much later, as may be seen from the way in which even the author of Kusumanjali had no objection in in identifying the two even for his theistic purpose. The Shvetashvatara also contains passages which describe the Godhead as spreading his meshes and making them manifold that he catches all the beings of the universe in them, and rules over them [Sh. 3.1, Sh. 5.3]. Here we have the conception of a net of meshes inside which all beings are entangled. Then again, a famous passage from Brihadaranyaka, which we have already considered, which speaks of "as if there were duality", implying thereby that there really is no duality, signifies the identification of Maya with a semblance, as-it-were, an appearance [Br. 2.4.14]. Finally, in that celebrated conversation between Shetaketu and Aruni which we have also had the occasion to consider, we are told that everything besides the Atman is merely a word, a mode and a name [Ch. 6.1.4]. We thus see from an examination of various passages in the Upanishads that even though the word Maya may not have been used for many times in the Upanishads, still the conception that underlies Maya is already present there and even though we do not find there the full-fledged doctrine of illusion in its philosophical aspects as in Gaudapada and later writers, still we do find in the Upanishads all the material that may have easily led Shankara to elaborate a theory of Maya out of it. When we consider that we have the conceptions of a veil, of blind-foldness, of a knot, of ignorance, of not-being, of darkness, of death, of unreality and uncertainty, of untruth, of crookedness, and falsehood and illusion, of the power of God, of this power as identical with nature, of meshes, of semblance, an as-it-were an appearance, and finally, of a word, a mode and a name, let no man stand up and say that we do not find the traces of the doctrine of Maya in the Upanishads!


Also, must read is this article, titled "Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads" (posted by Shri Ram Chandranji). Read the rest of this entry >>

Happy Gita Jayanthi!

Wish everyone a Happy Gita Jayanthi. May Lord Krishna show us the way through right action, right meditation, right devotion
and right knowledge and discimination. As it is said in the famous shloka,

The Upanishads are as a herd of cows; Krishna the Son of a cowherd, is their Milker. Arjuna is the calf, the supreme ambrosia of the Gita the milk, and the wise man the drinker.

As Shri Shankara says in the introduction to his Gita Bhashya,

The Lord, the eternal Possessor of Knowledge, Soveignty, Power, Strength, Energy, and Vigour, brings under His control maya -- belonging to Him as Vishnu -- the primordial Nature, characterized by the three gunas. And then, through the maya, He is seen as though born, as though endowded with a body, and as though showing compassion for men; for He is, in reality, unborn, unchanging, the Lord of all created beings, and by nature eternal, pure, illuminated, and free.

Though the Lord had nor purpose of His own to serve, yet, with the sole desire of bestowing favour on men, He taught this twofold Vedic dharma to Arjuna, who was deeply sunk in the ocean of grief and delusion; for a dharma spreads and grows when accepted by high-minded persons.

It is this dharma taught by the Lord that the omniscient and venerable Vyasa, the compiler of Vedas, embodied in seven hundred verses under the name of the Gita.

The previous 12 postings were excerpts from Shri Ranade's Dhyana Gita. It is a short book which contains the translation of 366 verses from Bhagavad Gita, which were specifically translated by the Philosopher-Mystic Shri (Prof) R.D. Ranade.

Let us lead a Gita way of life.


Om Tat Sat! Read the rest of this entry >>

Dhyana Gita 12: Lord's Assurance

1. Crossing the ocean of calamities: If you firmly fix your mind in Me you will, through My grace, be saved from all calamities [18(57,58)].
   
   
2. Compulsion of Nature: Nature will overpower you and compel you to perform action, in spite of your wish to the contrary [18(59,60)].
   
   
3. Whirling of God's wheel of illusion: Submit with all your being to the Lord, who resides in all beings and whirls them all with his mysterious power [18(61,62)].
   
   
4. Self-surrender: If you surrender all your duties and seek refuge in Me, with all your being, I shall free you from all sins [18(65,66)].
   
   
5. Devotion in the form of imparting the supreme spirit: If you import this Supreme Secret to My devotees, you will be the dearest of all, both in the past as well as in the present [18(68,69)].
   
   
6. Submission of Arjuna: Arjuna's promise to act up to the advise of Sri Krishna [18(72,73)].
   
   
7. A thrilling dialogue: Who will not be filled with wonder and joy, by hearing this thrilling dialogue and seeing this supremely marvelous Form of God? [18(74,76,77)].
   
   
8. Attainment of Victory and Prosperity: Victory and prosperity will surely be there where Krishna -- the Lord of Yoga and Arjuna -- the great archer are present [18(78)].
   
   

Om Tat Sat! Read the rest of this entry >>

Dhyana Gita 11: Cosmic Vision

1. Longing for the Vision of the Form: Arjuna's longing to see the real form of God [11(3-4)].
   
   
2. Gift of divine vision: God's form cannot be seen without divine vision [11(5-8)].
   
   
3. Vision of the divine form: Supremely wonderful and Lustrous Universal form of God [11(9-12)].
   
   
4. Terrible and marvelous sentiment: The description of the Cosmic form made by Arjuna, full of terrible and marvelous sentiment [11(15-31)].
   
   
5. Slain already: God is all-powerful; He has slain the heroes of the enemy already [11(32-34)].
   
   
6. Mingling of joy and fear: Mingling of joy and fear in the heart of Arjuna [11(45)].
   
   
7. Entrance into the universal form: It is only through single-minded devotion that devotees like Arjuna can enter into the Universal Form of the Lord [11(47,48), 11(53,54)].
   
   

Om Tat Sat! Read the rest of this entry >>

Dhyana Gita 10: Yoga of Devotion

1. Nature of worship:
   
   
   
   1. The worship of the unmanifested is very troublesome [12(1-5)].
      
   2. Those who work for me and meditate on Me with single-minded devotion will soon be taken by Me across the ocean of worldly existence [12(6,7)].
      
   
   
   
2. Crossing the cosmic illusion:
   
   
   
   1. Absolute surrender to Me alone is the means of crossing my Maya (Illusion) consisting of three Gunas [7(13,14)].
      
   2. Several persons have become one with Me till now, by giving up passion, fear, and anger, by purifying themselves through the penance of knowledge and by taking refuge in Me [4(10)].
      
   3. The wicked cannot surrender to Me [7(15)].
      
   4. Only those in whose sin has vanished is born devotion for Me [7(28)].
      
   5. Even a vile man endowed with intense devotion and right resolve, can become Sage [9(30,31)].
      
   6. My devotees belonging to any race, caste, class and class, are equally dear to Me [9(32,33)].
      
   7. Persons desperately calling on Me for liberation from old-age and death, can alone realize Me [7(29)].
      
   
   
   
3. Joy from glorification of God:
   
   
   
   1. Those persons are the great souls, who know Me to be the source of all beings and constantly glorify Me with an undistracted mind [9(13,14)].
      
   2. He who always meditates on Me with an undivided mind, can attain Me quite easily [8(14)].
      
   3. Knowing that I am the origin of all, they are filled with devotion and with their minds fixed on Me, they are absorbed in one anothers' bliss [10(8-9)].
      
   
   
   
4. Union of God and devotee:
   
   
   
   1. To such a devout Yogi I show the path of intellect -- I give a particular bent to his intellect and volition and with the object of showing compassion, enkindle the lamp of Atman before him [10(10,11)].
      
   2. I bear the burden of acquisition and preservation of those who worship Me with constancy and single-mindedness [9(12)].
      
   
   
   
5. The devotee is the crest-jewel of the wise:
   
   
   
   1. Of the four types of devotees, the realized devotee who worships Me with one-pointed devotion, is the best [7(16-18)].
      
   2. The realized devotee visualizes the whole world as God [7(19)].
      
   
   
   
6. Entrance into God:
   
   
   
   1. If you place your mind and intellect in Me, you will have residence in Me alone [12(8)].
      
   2. After the seeker realizes My nature through intense morality, meditation and supreme devotion, he can get entrance into Me [18(51-55)].
      
   
   
   

Om Tat Sat! Read the rest of this entry >>