6/17/2021 Post 11
Hindu Dharma has a foundation built by Vedas supported by Upanishads and vedangas and it has a huge super structure of a very large number of shastras – sciences – in various subjects both related to religion and living developed over millennia by rishis , scholars and tapasvies . The learnings were transmitted orally for thousands of years before they were written down. The scholars were divided into hundreds of schools and each school was responsible for maintaining and retaining one aspect as well as develop new shastras. This created an excellent guruparampara system for transmitting knowledge through generations without any loss. It happened for thousands of years. Remarkable , right.
The Six classifications of scriptures are: (i) Srutis, (ii) Smritis, (iii) Itihasas, (iv) Puranas, (v) Agamas and (vi) Darsanas. In addition there are four groups of secular writings are:(i) Subhashitas, (ii) Kavyas, (iii) Natakas and(iv) Alankaras.
We will see them more in detail later .
The religion afforded people to think and question about many topics – living, health, harmony, culture, artisanship, society, nature, universe, god , gratitude etc and find answers. It led to a lot of discoveries. This led to philosophy that looked at cosmos, nature and it’s constituents , ingredients and forces, creation, life itself, societal organization and human to human to animals to nature relationships. It also dwelt on tools required to get truths, to prove and to device mechanisms for furthering knowledge. That led to discussions science – tarka shastra- , logic – Nyaya and Navya Nyaya shastras- , mathematics and Astronomy – samkya – , health sciences – Ayurveda, surgery, gaja / ashwa shastras, yoga , meditation – and reasoning and deep thinking shastras – Uttara mimama or Vedanta and many others. The dharma concentrated on many devas and many rituals. The initial emphasis was on rituals and it continues. All these developments mean that a lot of thinking has constantly gone on to develop dharma. It creates a flexible system with freedom to choose alternate paths by people.
Many gods and goddesses have been mentioned in rig Veda. They are responsible for many natural forces, many actions / emotions and many support. They represent a personification of nature and tasks. Some dedications are to paired deities, such as Indra-Agni, Mitra-Varuna, Soma-Rudra, etc. Vishvadevas (all gods together) have been invoked several times.
Some names are
- Indra , Agni , Soma , Aśvins, Varuna , Maruts ,Mitra ,Ushas
- Vayu (Wind) , Savitr , the Rbhus
- Pushan ,the Apris ,Brhaspati ,
- Surya (Sun)
- Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́ and Pṛthvī Mātṛ́ (Heaven and Earth)
- Apas (Waters) , Adityas , Vishnu
- Brahmanaspati ,Rudra Dadhikras , Yama (Death)
- the Sarasvati River / Sarasvati
- Parjanya (Rain) , Vāc (Speech)
- Vastospati ,Vishvakarman ,
- Manyu , Kapinjala (the Heathcock, a form of Indra)
- Minor deities
- Manas (Thought), prominent concept,
- Dakshina (Reward for priests and poets),
- Purusha , Aditi, Bhaga, Vasukra
- Atri, Apam Napat, Ksetrapati
- Ghrta, Nirrti, Asamati, Urvasi
- Pururavas, Vena, Aranyani
- Mayabheda, Tarksya,Tvastar
- Saranyu.
- Trimurti – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – seems to have come up later.
There were equal number of gods and goddesses at that time
6/18/2021 Post 12
Let us continue with Rig Veda.
One of the most liberal and important hymns in Rig Veda is
given below.
आ नो भद्राः क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वत्व् अदब्धासो अपरीतास उद्भिदः |
देवा नो यथा सदमिद्वृधे असन्न-प्रायुवो रक्षितारो दिवे-दिवे || 1.89.1 ||
ā no bhadrāḥ kratavo kṣyantu viśvato adabdhāso aparītāsa udbhidaḥ |
devā no yathā sadamid vṛdhe asanaprāyuvo rakṣitāro dive-dive
What does it mean?
One meaning is:
May auspicious works , unmolested ,unimpeded , and subversive (of foes) , come to us from every quarter . May the Gods , turning not away from us , but granting us protection day by day , be ever with us , for our advancement. – H.H. Wilson.
An alternate meaning is :
May noble thoughts come to us from every side, unchanged, unhindered, undefeated in every way; May the gods always be with us for our gain and our protectors caring for us, ceaseless, every day.
This mantra shows the willingness of Vedic people and culture to receive noble and worthy ideas/thoughts/works from all the quarters i.e. from all the parts of the universe . Normally religions restrict one to follow the code provided in their source book. But here we can accept any thoughts from anywhere. This led to some people questioning rituals and others including Yajnavalkya questioning animal sacrifice. This allowed non-believers to be part of the religion.
. It highlights the need to learn from all directions because knowledge is not the monopoly of any single individual or nation or race .The pursuit and expansion of knowledge in the widest sense of the word is a collective human endeavor.
Mrs Usha Ananth ,past CMD, Mahila bank, PMB, Allahabad bank, requested for a subhashitani a day. Let me start with one suggested by MGPL Narayana – from Chanakya sutra
These are the first 10 sutras from Chanakya Sutra:
1. Sukhasya moolam Dharmah
Meaning – The basis of “sukha” or all true pleasantness is “dharma” or righteous conduct.
2. Dharmasya moolam Arthah
Meaning- The basis of all “dharma” is “artha” or wealth.
3. Arthasya moolam Rajyam
Meaning – The basis of all “artha” is “rajya” or the State.
4. Rajyasya moolam Indriya Jayah
Meaning – The basis for the stability of the State lies in control over the “indriya“ or sense faculties providing pleasure.
5. Indriyajayasya moolam Vinayah
Meaning – The basis for control over the sensual faculties is in “vinay” or humility.
6. Vinayasya moolam Vruddhopasevah
Meaning – The basis for humility is devotion to those grown old through wisdom.
7. Vruddhopasevaya Vijnanam
Meaning – Through devotion to the wise, one attains proficiency with the maximum efficiency.
8. Vijnanena atmaanam Sampadyet
Meaning – It is imperative for all the functionaries of the State to perform their duties with the maximum efficiency.
9. Samapaditatma jitatmama Bhavati
Meaning – To perform State duties with the maximum efficiency, the functionaries of the State must learn to control their sensual needs, and maximize their internal potential.
10. Jitatma sarvarthe Sanyujyate
Meaning – Those who have vanquished their baser selves will become prosperous naturally, can retain their prosperity, and (will) be successful in their endeavors.
सुखस्य मूलं धर्मः , धर्मस्य मूलं अर्थः
अर्थस्य मूलं राज्यं , राज्यस्य मूलं इन्द्रिय जयः
इन्द्रियाजयस्य मूलं विनयः, विनयस्य मूलं वृद्धोपसेवः
वृद्धोपसेवाय विग्न्यानं , विग्न्यानेनं आत्मानं सम्पद्येत
समपदितात्म जितात्मम भवति, जितात्मा सर्वार्थे संयुज्यते
6/19/2021 Post 13
Classification of Hindus
We saw the ideal views of Hinduism as propounded by Vedas and Upanishads, and other shastras. Most discussions are not within the understanding of many of us. So We need to see a practical view of who is a Hindu . Let us categorize people into twelve groups. This is my categorization. Don’t ask for references to scriptures. You can come up with variations.
Let us see six today.
1.Anti Hindu – criticize every aspect of Dharma ,and criticize people as communal. They have a hatred and even pat themselves on the back and call them intellectuals
2. Exploiters – there are many in this category from fake publicity and money hungry swamies , writers on puranas and Ithihasa , white professors of Sanskrit and Hinduism in many universities abroad who distort the principles and gain popularity. These people live on Hinduism disregarding Rig Veda principles of knowledge is free and don’t sell it and the dictum access knowledge from everywhere but find the truth by analyzing the statement in depth.
3.Irreligious or cultural – majority of us fall in this category.
This includes non believers and those who don’t bother about the religious activities . It also unfortunately includes many hypocrites and deceivers who show they are religious but they are not honest or true to their beliefs. This also includes those who believe in prayaschitta – dip in Ganga and all sins washed away. We are allowed to do what we want, have freedom and decide our faith individually.
4. Outwardly religious – have some faith in God , may visit temples. But faith stops with prayers and pujas and festivals. They are pious people Many belong to this category.
5. Partly religious – one believes in some principles and don’t follow many like prayer, rituals, varnashram dharma etc.
6. Moderately religious – believes in prayer, temples, gods , pitrus remembrance, and many rituals and have some knowledge of puranas or scriptures.
Subhashita
परोपकाराय फलि वाः परोपकाराय वहि नः । परोपकाराय हि गावः परोपकाराय शरीरमएतत॥ ॥
“Trees bear fruit to do good to others, Rivers flow to do good to others; Cows give milk to do good to others -This body is for doing good to others. It is to assist others that the trees give fruit, that the rivers flow, that the cows produce milk. (By implication) our own human body also should be employed for the assistance of others”
6/20/2021 Post 14
Let us continue the classification further.
7.. Devoutly religious – deep and narrow beliefs in mostly one God ,some with the exclusion of others gods, . May believe in bhakti, saranagathi – surrender to god- fate etc. , . Some believe in Swamis.
8. Deeply religious – prayer with understanding, some understanding of scriptures – all above categories have no understanding of scriptures- , belief in some yamas and niyamas, and follow some . They think of God most of the time . They go on pilgrimages. They follow some religious aspects like charity, tolerance , compassion, non violence, avoiding troubles to others – this goes beyond non violence- , loving family and friends, loving peace and speaking pleasant truth. The number of such people is diminishing now.
9. Dharmic – reads scriptures / puranas; understands their meanings ; believes in basic tenets of Dharma, yamas , niyamas, most rituals and practices ; and follows them .
10. Spiritual – those who read scriptures regularly , understand the basics and follow them. They Practice contemplation, reflection, concentration, meditation . The reflection is an important part of spiritualism.
Thinking good thoughts and benevolence to all is another trait of a spiritualist whereas a devout has pious thoughts .
11. Scholars and Acharya’s – know the scriptures ;have good understanding; give lectures and explanations -write Bhashyams- , teach them and convert the concepts of people. The first level of scholars are those that gave discourses on Ramayana in the early days and Bhagavatham now. We see many giving discourses but the some have shallow knowledge and make up stories. Sincerity is lacking in some.
12. Philosophers who develop new knowledge and new areas – Yajnavalkya, Kapila, Gowthama, Valmiki, Vyasa, Badarayana, Panini, Chanakya, Patanjali, Sushruta, Vishwakarma, Arya bhatta, Bhaskara, Madhava, Kalidasa, Bhartrhari, Adi shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya , Ramana Maharshi , Swami Shivananda , unknown metallurgists, and many architects – sthapathis -, and many others.
We can use this classification to build a layered structure for Hinduism.
So we can say a person is a Hindu if he believes he is one.
Subhashitam
अितपिरचयातअवा सततगमनातअनादरः भवित । मलयिभपरीी चदनतकामइधनकत॥ ॥
“Excessive familiarity breeds contempt, Visiting someone too often causes disrespect. The wife of a bhilla (adivasi clan) on the malaya mountain uses the log of a sandalwood tree as fuel”
I don’t have devanagari editor. When I copy, there are mistakes. Further subhashitam needs a proper chanda for recitation. So I want to give only English version to avoid erroneous devanagari transcript.
6/21/2021 Post 15
Mr Bala Ajjampur has a few comments.
“The problem arises only when one religion claims superiority over others and tries to destroy the support structure of the other religion.”
“This is where Hinduism, religion or not, excelled in giving a true meaning by designing a way of life that is founded in the concept, those who follow a religion need not disrespect the other.”
Mr Ramesh , an industrialist, has comments on miracles.
“Would love to hear your views on miracles”
“I have personally experienced the wonders of saranagathi and faith. These have helped me get through the tougher phases of life, by way of decluttering of the mind and operating in a mode of peace rather than turmoil. I could associate these rationally as the benefits of using my faculties better. I have also seen the universe “magically conspire” to make things happen in my favor. Since I cannot rationally explain these they either are happy coincidences or miracles.”
“I do believe in the law of averages and that I will get my fair share of randomness, some favorable and some not.”
“People who deeply believe in miracles or the benevolent eye of certain gods and god persons in their life live life very differently.”
My response
Miracles have been discussed by all for many occurrences that cannot be explained. There are hundreds of instances where kanchi paramacharya has created solutions which many consider miraculous. Can we explain how Ramana Maharshi got enlightenment after a near death experience? There were many cases where sick people given up by doctors as impossible to cure came back to life. A colleague in IISc in early seventies told me he has advanced stage of cancer and doctors gave him six months. When I met him after a couple of years, he said I am cured miraculously. Deepak Chopra examined such cases. He felt will power, mind power, calmness, and many other factors can reverse the trend. Will power is important. If you believe I can do it, you will complete it successfully.
I want to give two examples. A sleeping solders was suddenly awakened by Napoleon arriving suddenly. He picked a heavy canon instead of his rifle, and gave a salute. Napoleon asked him to lift the canon again. He couldn’t do it. So will power made him do the impossible. Second instance we have heard is about a milk seller in Shivaji s rule lives in a village below but used to sell milk at the capital on top of the hill. She has a baby at home. One day it was late and the gates were closed. She needs to go home. She climbed the fort and went down the fort and steep hill to her village. Next day when she reached the city, the guards were surprised. When asked to demonstrate how she climbed down , she got scared and could not do it.
There are many instances like these. Some may be will power, some faith ,some we don’t know the cause. The science refuses to believe miracles, even does not believe in faith and prayer helping to cure many. Science can’t explain the reason for uncertainty and machine learning algorithms can not explain results. Probability gives a model for chance and gives a better answer. Quantum theory is based on uncertainty. Einstein said everything is unreal We need better understanding of will power, coincidence, faith, etc.
Finally, if you see or hear about Ramana Maharshi or Kanchi maha periyava and their actions, there is a concept of divineness which is ignored by us all. It begins with cleaning the mind first , creating goodness in it, and also build calmness and serenity through meditation, . Every one on this divine path builds a faith structure and believes in it strongly and acts accordingly. Then it works. But if there is a misstep somewhere , results will be different and people will blame them. Gandhi could not save his wife with his cures.
So where there is a will there is a way , which can even be a miraculous one. Finally, if you explain a miracle, it is no more a miracle. That is the basic axiom of magicians – charm is lost of an act when explained.
As regards faith and saranagathi, only a pure fully believed and benevolent faith works. Thoughts should be pure , do not think of harming others or society, keep calm and reduce adrenaline production and do yoga and meditation, then it will work. People will have a different opinion and will respect you. All these lead to more positivity.
If we practice dharma without expecting any reward in the belief that Isvara gives us what he wills- and in a spirit of dedication, the impurities tainting our being will be removed and we will obtain the bliss that is great. – paramacharya
Doubts in a faith due to some setbacks will not lead to a satisfaction and happiness in life. Foolish faith may lead to negative results. Wise selection of long standing faith is necessary.
Subhashita
दौमातनपितः िवनँयित, यितः सगात, सतः लालनात, िवूः अनयनात, कलकतनयात, शीलखलोपासनात। हीः मात, अनवणातअिप किषः, हः ूवासाौयात, मऽी च अूणयात, समृिः अनयात, ागातूमादातधनम॥ ॥
A king perishes thru bad advice a sannyasi thru association (1)
a son due to excessive indulgence
a rishi by neglecting to meditate a clan due to wicked women conduct due to squabbles shame thru wine
crops by neglect
friendship by foreign travel (2)
a minister due to lack of attachment ( to the king ) prosperity by lack of regulation and money thru sacrifice and enjoyment.
*(1) Sannyasis are expected to remain in solitude as much as posible (2) Really implies excessive separation.
6/22/2021 Post 16
Mr B Samba Murty , a great intellectual banker expresses his concern over very little research in sastras.
It is a based on a point I mentioned casually. He understood the seriousness of this. Let us see what he says:
“It is said that scholars are not there / or not visible. Is there a epistemological issue/ crisis then ? If so how do we respond?”
My response
I agree it is a serious issue. During the rig Veda period – about 1500 BCE or earlier – , the writing and scripts have not started. Secondly, phoneme – intonations, chanda, gana , voice modulation , music – were important . Transcribing the sounds has not made a good head way even now. Simple speech transcription is possible. I this situation, it was realized that special system should be innovated to retain the full knowledge and transfer it from generation to generation. The oral tradition was reinforced with a correct language – Sanskrit with Panini’s grammar-. The people established guru parampara system. Each guru takes one Veda or shastra and teaches to his disciples and gets one or more ready to continue. May be thousands of schools across the country sprung up and the number increased with multiple disciples starting new schools may be in different locations. The schools spread across the country north to south, east to west. The schools started as custodian and preserver of Vedas, generated thinkers, philosophers , economists,astronomers, logicians and mathematicians and branched into several new areas. Knowledge grew. We know many names from yagnavalkya, kapila, to Arya bhatta, Brahma gupta, Bhaskara, Madhava , Chanakya, etc. This guru parampara tradition was very strong . As per Rig Veda, it followed the principle that knowledge is free and hence they taught various subjects to motivated students. This brought in Gurukula system. Subjects expanded to discuss various Dhaarmas, rituals, trade and economics etc. New areas and shastras came up.
This system continued till, may be 11th or 12 th centuryCE. Then it reduced to a trickle due to non support by kings and invasions. Rituals and temple building went on ,but scholarship reduced. True , Sankaracharya introduced a guruparampara which mostly concentrated on one aspect – Advaita. Same is true of Ramanujacharya, and Madhvacharya . Their approaches are focused on their work and mostly ignored other aspects . Their focus was educating people about religion.
What is the solution?
While most western universities have a strong philosophy department and a religions department, our philosophy departments in universities are few and also are growing weaker and concentrating more on important social problems. No University does research in Dharma, tarka, Nyaya, mimamsa, Upanishads, . After Dr Radhakrishnan and Dr TMP Mahadevan , we don’t have renowned scholar philosophers. More time and effort went into history and politics. The Sanskrit departments concentrate on literature and language. So there is a vacuum . First, we need to accept the understanding Hindu culture and Dharma without hatred and biases is important and a high priority activity for the country. This is not about religion but about Indian philosophy and sastras. We need a separate department to do research in various topics, formalize many concepts into modern acceptable notations and take up studies by a larger group of interested people. There is a lot of scope for scholarship in various areas useful in today’s AI world .We need to build a scholastic atmosphere. Secondly, we need to produce books which can be taught in schools and colleges. Thirdly, introduce Indian philosophy in our curriculum in schools and colleges. We are not looking at the publicity hunting groups or those concentrating on peripheral aspects for the solution but about 200 universities to be involved in this. Yoga is a good example of renovation – thousands teach yoga now in many countries. We need a stronger support system to get into, revive, build and augment many traditional systems.
Subhashita from Bhartrhari Niti satakam
“From the taking of life, abstain;
from stealing others’ wealth, refrain;
speak the truth;
perform charity in time, as much as it can be;
be silent, and don’t tattle to
others about what maidens do;
of your cravings, block the flow;
to elders, all due courtesy show;
have compassion for all creatures equally.
Thus say the scriptures:
the faultless pathway to be this,
to excellence and also bliss.”
6/23/2021 Post 17
Prof Raja has a question
“Sir, Well classified and understood. Who are fanatics? What is the purpose of life with reference to religion? Is it only assisting others?Raja”
My response
A fanatic has all the following characteristics
Passionate belief in a concept ,
Hatred for other alternatives
Attack alternate approaches and people believing in them
Violence and harm to people who don’t believe in your belief.
Any one who is a passionate believer is not a fanatic so long as he or she doesn’t harm others.
The second part needs a longer answer. Let me start with a quote from kanchi periyava.
Kanchi sankracharya , sri chandrasekharendra sarasvathi ,was known by a simple name periyava which means literally an elderly person. But it has a deeper meaning that periyava is a person with a broad mind, who always has good and benevolent thoughts and deeds and did not even think of evil or harming people. He met and advised lakhs of people and helped them. His greatest contribution was taking dharmic principles to common people, explaining in simple terms and demystifying religion. He connected people to Hindu Dharma with simple explanations. Fortunately, most of his thoughts are available in written form now for us to read and understand. His concern was welfare of individuals , society and Dharma.
Religion is the means of realizing dharma, artha, kama and moksa. These four are called purusarthas. This compares with the three parts of kural – Aram stands for dharma which will lead to moksha; the equivalent of Artha is porul and kama is kama in kural. The import of kama means love , pleasantness and happiness in a larger sense.
Dharma denotes beneficent action, good or virtuous deeds. The word has come to mean giving, charity. “Give me dharmam. Do dharmam, mother, “cries the beggar. We speak of “dana-dharma” [as a portmanteau word] . Looked at in this way, giving away our artha or porul will be seen to be dharma. But how do we, in the first place, acquire the goods to be given away in charity? The charity practiced in our former birth- by giving away our artha- it is that brings us rewards in this birth. The very purpose of owning material goods is the practice of dharma. Just as material possessions are a means of pleasure, so is dharma a means of material possessions. It is not charity alone that yields rewards in the form of material goods; all dharma will bring their own material rewards. That is his words.
So we can use purushartha to define a religion. The main purpose of a religion is to provide structures for a society of people to harmoniously with themselves and with nature leading to an orderly, disciplined and helpful as well as happy life. It helps people to individually define their goals and purpose towards self, family, society and nature.
So it defines several key principles like the existence of God, creation of the universe, devotion to God, duties and karma, rituals and prayers to god , role of knowledge on self and others, moral and ethical code of conduct for living as a group, helping and improving nature and well being of all beings, and liberation.
Ethics forms the core of religion.
Next to the category of reality, that of dharma is the most important concept in Indian thought . Ethical perfection is the first step . – by Dr Radhakrishnan.
Assisting others is a part of our life. We know about Karma, king Pari. JN Tata set apart a third of his property for IISc. His sons – Dorab and Ratan Tata -gave away theirs all for charity. Tata trusts is a major owner of Tata companies. Its earnings are used for charity. There are lakhs of NGOs in the country and lakhs of self help groups – many doing fantastic jobs. The current pandemic has thrown up millions of people to help billion people. we have doctors and medical staff and Asha workers doing a great, sincere, risky and tiring job. Many groups supply food and groceries to the needy. this shows paropararam is in our blood. Money is not the only thing to give. give happiness to people; dont complain on food, services; have pleasantness o talking tp to otherst; conserve energy and water; plant trees.
Take knowledge to people. So we can do a lot of things.
Collaboration is also seen in festivals, in religious functions, community functions. I just want to give one example. 176 ladies from ten villages in Dharwad district built a reservoir to store water. this improved ground water level during summer. the men folk watched this. so helpful attitude is a part of religion and culture, but it is not the only activity for many. Swaartha, that is selfishness is not acceptable to our Dharma.
Subhahsita with a bonus two
- Agni (fire), Rna (runa – loan), shatru (enemy), if remain even in small trace (shesham) will grow again (punah punah pravardheta), so finish them completely. (tatah shesham na karayet)
- There three jewels in this earth. They are water, food and Subhaashithaa. But the fools call the pieces of rocks as Jewels. Subhaashitaa are nothing but the collection of vast experiences of people or in other words wise sayings.
6/24/2021 Post 18
To continue on yesterday’s topic of giving, I am quoting from Rig Veda mandala 10 hymns 117
They describe liberalism/ Generosity.
Rig Veda has hundreds of hymns on gratitude to natural forces like agni, vayu, prithvi, Marita, etc and to artisans and builders like Vishwakarma and to knowledge providers.
1. THE Gods have not ordained hunger to be our death: even to the well-fed man comes death in varied shape.
This means even rich die due to various reasons.
The riches of the liberal never waste away, while he who will not give finds none to comfort him.
So give.
2 The man with food in store who, when the needy comes in miserable case begging for bread to eat,
Hardens his heart against him-even when of old he did him service-finds not one to comfort him.
3 Bounteous is he who gives unto the beggar who comes to him in want of food and feeble.
Success attends him in the shout of battle. He makes a friend of him in future troubles.
4 No friend is he who to his friend and comrade who comes imploring food, will offer nothing.
Let him depart-no home is that to rest in-, and rather seek a stranger to support him.
5 Let the rich satisfy the poor implorer, and bend his eye upon a longer pathway.
Riches come now to one, now to another, and like the wheels of cars are ever rolling.
6 The foolish man wins food with fruitless labor: that food -I speak the truth- shall be his ruin.
He feeds no trusty friend, no man to love him. All guilt is he who eats with no partaker.
7 The ploughshare ploughing makes the food that feeds us, and with its feet cuts through the path it follows.
Better the speaking than the silent Brahman: the liberal friend out values him who gives not.
The above from Griffith’s translation.
Subhashitam
There is no official coronation (Raajya-Bhishekh) ceremony held to declare that lion is the king of jungle. He becomes king by his own attributes and heroism (‘Parakram’).
6/25/2021 Post 19
While we are talking about charity, two news items attract us . The first one says JNTata is the centuries top – number one -donor in the world and Ajim Premji is in the top of the donors list. The second story deals with equitas small bank ,I was associated with planning their IT infrastructure,.It has a program called bird’s nest. It helps very poor with livelihood support ,not just loans and one case of a woman whose life improved remarkably with help from Equitas is the second news item. Hats off to Mr Vasudevan CEO. These two show that Dana dharma is living.
My second thought is that then why we have a lot of corruption and cheating. Is it a mogul and British import ? Or ignorance of Vedic principles? Schools avoid Vedas like pandemic . Or both.
Mr Jayashankar, a great industrialist comments on miracles
“Excellent reply DKS regarding miracles. Your quote of Paramacharya is apt and enjoyable.Paramacharya,in most of the cases was able know by his devine power even the distress the devotee is facing.
There are many authentic incidents I can tell.
Miracles some times do happen in our life also. So many times , when I was under pressure of some issue, I used to chant கந்த சஷ்டி கவசம் and believe me I could see the light.
There are lot of stories about Sathyavsaibaba whom I have no connection. All these I believe are beyond science. One incident I can quite.
When Madurai was under
Musilim attack, Devotees, in order to save the devine deities, built a wall in front of sanctum , and fixed a dupe of original lingam.After 42 years, they started to redo the lingam. Then a old man who witnessed the Muslim invasion told original deity is behind the wall.The authorities demolished the wall with out much belief. When the wall was demolished they saw not only the original lingam but the அகல் விளக்கு lit 42 years back was burning and also the flowers on the lingam was fresh with fragrance. No body could find the reason for the miracle.
NJ”
Good , Jayashankar.
Subhashitam
परोपकाराय फलि वाः परोपकाराय वहि नः । परोपकाराय हि गावः परोपकाराय शरीरमएतत॥ ॥
Trees bear fruit to do good to others, Rivers flow to do good to others; Cows milk to do good to others -This body is for doing good to others. It is to assist others that the trees give fruit, that the rivers flow, that the cows produce milk. (By implication) our own human body also should be employed for the assistance of others.
6/26/2021 Post 20
Mrs Usha Ananth has an observation:
“Why Veda mantras are chanted in Sanskrit only ?
Why not to translate them into Tamil / Marathi etc and then chant? — A beautiful explanation
Sri T Sadagopan Iyengar is a genius. Studied Physics at IIT and retired from IIT. Sharing a recent post of his– Interesting response.
I am a firm believer that science and reality are not different.
I will do a little research whenever I get the chance to confirm it.
Recently I attended a Srardham at a relative’s house. That relative has some revolutionary thoughts (he thinks). He was translating all the mantras recited by the Shastri into Tamil meaning….instead of repeating in Sanskrit like below.
After wearing the sacrament, I sat on the darba and took one, two, three, four spoons of ghee’. etc.
And instead of Sanskrit he translated into Tamil and said that.
Shastri did not like this much. He told him ‘Don’t say that in Tamil. It can only be said in Sanskrit. ‘
Why? Doesn’t God understand other languages like Tamil? ’provokingly Laughed Puratchi.
I had to open my mouth as I was idle for so long like Vikraman who broke his silence till Vedalam provoked him.
What you are talking about is only audible for the person sitting opposite to you. On a radio or TV station, your speech can be heard thousands of kilometers away. How ?’
‘Electro Magnetic Waves’
‘So what it means?’ I asked
“Changing to Specific frequency. “he replied
Well .. there are some frequencies to listen to, some are annoying, some may even cause ear damage, some ragas have the ability to prove the healing properties of the disease. What’s so significant about these? ”
‘what does it mean?’
‘The effects vary depending on what kind of sound waves we make. Is that right? ‘
Yes’
Say ‘Darbe Swasinaha’ with a mic in an oscilloscope. Then say ‘I sat on the bench’. Will Wave Form be the same for both? ‘
‘Will not be’
‘Sanskrit mantras are set up knowing what kind of vibrations in the atmosphere in a particular case will create a worthy mood and corresponding effect’
‘Well what do you say now?’
Mantras uttered not for translation or Communication. Set for specific sound waves’
‘Is it not possible in Tamil?’
‘Yes, but not by its literal translation as it is. You have to form words which would mean and also produce the same waves as Sanskrit when you form another sentence ‘
‘So?’
‘Translating mantras is like the sun drawn on paper. No matter how beautiful and realistic it is, it does not get light or heat from the sun.
And that is THE truth.”
My response
It is not the total truth. Definitely it is sound logic.
But there are two sides to this aspect.
One the desire to understand and recite a mantra . We can’t ignore this. Non understanding led to adharma. Understanding makes me a full participant in the ritual. If I know the meaning then I can appreciate the significance of the mantra especially in many functions like marriage, house warming, sashtiabdapoorthi , death ceremony etc. I will feel like doing them knowing the significance of each action and mantra. Also quite a bit is not mantra . Actually Cho Ramaswamy wrote a book called Hindu maha samudram. He tells us the significance and details of a sankalpam. It brings out the need and import of a sankalpam. Another example – look at this mantra and its meaning.
कायेन वाचा मनसेन्द्रियैर्वा ।
बुद्ध्यात्मना वा प्रकृतिस्वभावात् ।
करोमि यद्यत्सकलं परस्मै ।
नारायणयेति समर्पयामि ॥
Kaayena Vaacaa Manase[a-I]ndriyair-Vaa
Buddhy[i]-Aatmanaa Vaa Prakrteh Svabhaavaat |
Karomi Yad-Yat-Sakalam Parasmai
Naaraayannayeti Samarpayaami ||
Prof Raman, ex IIT Madras told me about it’s beauty. You admire it when the meaning is known.
Meaning:
“1: (Whatever I do) with my Body, Speech, Mind or Sense Organs,
2: (Whatever I do) using my Intellect, Feelings of Heart or (unconsciously) through the natural tendencies of my Mind,
3: Whatever I do, I do all for others (i.e. without the sense of attachment to the results),
4: (And) I Surrender them all at the Lotus Feet of Sri Narayana”
Remarkable right. It includes every part involved and the humility of dedication to god.
The second aspect is about vibrations and their effect on body and mind. Sanskrit as I said earlier is a phonetic language that means pronunciation is important . So while Rig Veda gives mantras, corresponding sound and music is given by Sama Veda. So while vibrations help us, proper vibrations can only come through proper chandas, raga , gana, rhythm, . Most are not trained on that. There is a partial training. My uncle, a great scholar used to say Vedas should be told in proper sound form ,otherwise effect will be different – this was 70 years back – . Situation has not improved. This aspect of the effect of various vibrations/ frequencies on body and mind needs more studies . I know of a study done for quite sometime on the effect of music on the growth and productivity of plants . This experiment was done by prof Singh at Annamalai University in the sixtees and seventees. We need more data to get a good result.