6/27/2021 Post 21
Prof Mahendra Babu has a comment and request
“DKS Can you please explain in details of the adharma in today’s society In India by Hindus too?
“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.”
My response
I thought it was clear. Let me explain a bit more.
See the Vedic period lasted for more than thousand years and it was agriculture period and people were living in harmony . The dharma concept is known to a few . Others got intuitive feelings of Dharma. Uncertainty started with agriculture . The wants of people in those times were very few – mostly only food. Mud pots were used. As Chanakya said people ate only once a day. By 6th century BCA, kings started ruling various regions and started fighting. They needed weapons. Smithy and metallurgy developed. So warrior class became important. Also trade started developing in various parts of the country . Chola kingdom encouraged trade with other countries also. Both Buddhism and Jainism encouraged trade and traders. Money lending was a major business. Due to uncertainties, people borrowed money and lenders became richer ,so rich they lent money to kings and even mogul emperors. People became poorer . So the disparity between rich and poor became huge and went on increasing.
So Market economy came into play and its importance has been increasing. It’s focus on increasing consumption has increased materialism, wants, greed and competition. consumption boosts and greed and hoarding are continuing even now.
Some rich people give a lot for charity. Industries and businesses want to increase profit. Profit measures success. Increase profit by hook or crook. Government has to bring in a law for corporate social responsibility. Do you need anything else to see our poverty of Dharma.
So people needed survival and not ethics. Still , more than 95 %of people were honest, compassionate, duty bound and helpful and lived harmoniously . That is a great news. So Dharma did not die. It lived in them and lives in this large majority of powerless people. But society is controlled by greedy and powerful few who mostly don’t care for Dharma or charity. Some put up a beautiful show of being religious but not dharmic.
Till 10th century CE , kings supported people. With invasions, this support vanished. Cooperation amongst people is reduced.
Swartha became prevalent everywhere.
I am more worried about mental poverty and spiritual poverty than monetary poverty.
It is not ignorance alone responsible for adharma, but the positive encouragement by government and powerful for greed that led to the problems of corruption and degradation of forests and nature.
Subhashitam
Courage during bad times, forgiveness during prosperity, oratorial skills in a meeting, valour in a war, humility during fame, and addiction to knowledge -all these come naturally to great people.
I will post on Hinduism on alternate days and Q and A on other alternate days.
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6/28/2021 Post 22
Comments
Dr Swamy from KSCST talks about kannada archana at hiremagalur.
“Respected sir, Shri Khannan from Hireamagalur, near Chickmagalur is chanting most of shlokas in Kannada in SriRama temple.(He famously called Hiremagalur Kannan).
Just information sir.”
My response
I visited and listened to Mr Kannan reciting kannada archana. I appreciate his enthusiasm and interest. But it has some Karnataka vaibhava. You don’t praise kingdom in front of a god several times in a day. I can’t accept it. Even otherwise, its effects are different from vibrational point of view.
Mr Bala Ajjampur comments on sound:
“Sir, the bottom line is every thing is sound that we produce. It is nothing different from the sounds produced by animals or birds or insects. With that point of reference in mind, I suppose given that sanskrit is a phonetic language and incorporates the sound of om like no other languages, I support the arguments that correctly reciting the phonetically based mantras is the way forward.”
My response
Agreed. We have no research inputs on good frequency spectrum and bad. Even, the effects of radio waves are not fully explored.
Mr A Srinivasan, Indian bank comments on chants and meaning.
“The thought that, it is better to know the meaning of the mantras recited / uttered for better involvement is common. But it is also a fact that where known also, many a times such uttering / recitation becomes more a routine than being with involvement. The purpose of above comment is not to decry the thought of knowing the meaning, but to impress on the require to increase the focus while uttering mantras. For ex. Gayatri Mantra. Many will, for sure know the meaning that it is prayer to Sun God (and the inner Atma of Sun, invariably the atma for all) on his glory. Honestly how many are thinking of it while reciting the mantra is the question. It is not that no one does it but may be a few and occasionally. Another example, while reciting Sahasra namam, there are statements of Vande, iti Dyanam etc., Many know about the meaning, but more often it is rolled over as routine than focussing atleast for a second of Namaskara, or dyanam of Viswaroopam, while uttering them. The conclusion is where meaning is known mental focus is required to what is recited / uttered.”
My response:
I agree involvement doesn’t come by knowing meaning alone. Knowing what we are saying is the first step to understand the significance and impact. That will induce interest and involvement in some.
Prof Raja has comments on the posts
“Sir,, Please do continue. You are providing explanations on Religion, Hinduism, culture, History…. and comparing with present day context. It’s really a need for everyone. Thanks. Raja”
Mr Mani, an eminent electrical engineer also has comments on the posts
“Sir, Your writing on various topics are knowledge full. They are written in very simple English. This enables everybody to understand the subject easily and properly. Please continue as it is. May the Almighty give you good health and the Blessings be bestowed on you and your family. – Mani”
Thanks to all for comments and interest. I am glad with a lot of interest. greetings.
6/29/2021 Post 23
“Vaidika-Dharma means the religion of the Vedas. The Vedas are the foundational scriptures of Hinduism. The ancient Rishis and sages of India have expressed their intuitive spiritual experiences (Aparoksha-Anubhuti) in the Upanishads. These experiences are direct and infallible. Hinduism regards the spiritual experiences of the Rishis of yore as its authority. The priceless truths that have been discovered by the Hindu Rishis and sages through millennia constitute the glory of Hinduism. Therefore, Hinduism is a revealed religion. ” Swami Sivananda in his book on Hinduism.
The word veda literally means knowledge. The root is vid, ‘to know’. The Vedas are thus texts that provide knowledge.
There are four Vedas, known as the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda.
Each of the Vedas has four parts, a samhita ,the brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. The samhita part consists of mantras or incantations.
These mantras are symbolic and cryptic. They are difficult to interpret without commentaries. This is what the brahmanas set out to do. They explain the hymns and indicate how these are to be used in sacrifices. The brahmanas also have detailed descriptions of sacrifices and how they are to be conducted. The samhitas and the brahmanas are often known as karma kanda that is – what is a duty and various aspects of duty and their effects.
Vedic literature also includes jnana kanda. This is the part that deals with supreme knowledge. Included in jnana kanda are the aranyakas and the upanishads along with vedas. These are identified with various Vedas.
Vedas evolved over many years. The hymns were revealed to many rishis . That is why they are called sruthis – heard ones.
The Rig veda is the first book, built by several rishis – a first and very fine collaborative effort. It is a detailed book on many aspects of mechanical , spiritual and intellectual life . It gives a good idea of nature , the panchabuthas of five elements of earth, water, air, fire and ether, the forces in nature – wind, storm, rain, fire, sun,etc-, and provides a detailed leadership structure . The devas assigned to various tasks like surya, agni, vayu, Maruts, ashvins etc are the leaders. We have both gods and goddesses in equal number. Vedas describe our gratitude to nature and creator through agni. It also describes our body, mind, actions – vak for speech- , health , and many aspects. We will see some of them in subsequent posts.
The name Rig is derived from the word rik, which means a mantra. There are 10,589 verses in the Rig Veda Samhita. These are divided into ten mandalas or books. Each of the mandalas is subdivided into anuvakas (lessons) and suktas (hymns). The ten mandalas have 85 anuvakas, 1080 suktas and 10,589 verses.
Chanakya sutra
अर्थसम्पत् प्रकृति सम्पदं करोति।
Prosperity of the king (the ruling authority) ensures prosperity of people, for if man is prosperous, nature also helps in his prosperity.
12. प्रकृति सम्पदा ह्यनायकमति राज्यं नीयते।
Even a rulerless kingdom works well if its people are prosperous. [That is, if even a state has no ruler, people if prosperous, can supplement this deficiency by their financial capabilities.]
13. प्रकृतिकोप: सर्वकोपेभ्यो गरीयान।
The wrath of the Nature is the worst wrath.
Greetings. Dks
6/30/2021 Post 24
Aranyakas
While Brahmanas describe in detail rituals, Aranyakas add philosophy to rituals. It is the intermediate step to move to spiritualism and renunciation.
One example from Aithreya aranyaka about humans is given below:
Human beings
- But only in human beings is the Atman [soul] obvious,
- for they are equipped with cognition.
- They speak what they have understood.
- They see what they have recognized,
- and know what will exist tomorrow.
- They know of this world and of the other.
- Through that which is mortal, they strive for immortality.
- They are equipped with all this…
- such a human being is an ocean.
- He partakes of everything in the world,
- and still his thoughts go beyond it.
- And even if he were to partake of the other world,
- his thoughts would also go beyond it.
—Aitereya Aranyaka 2.3.2 – 2.3.3, ~1000 BCE
This is philosophy. Let us see more
There are five chapters each of which is even considered as a full Aranyaka. The first one deals with the regimen known as ‘Mahaa-vrata’. The explanations are both ritualistic as well as speculative. The second one has six chapters of which the first three are about ‘Praana-vidyaa’ – meaning, Prana, the Vital Air that constitutes the life-breath of a living body is also the life-breath of all mantras, all Vedas and all Vedic declarations . It is in this portion of the Aranyaka that one finds specific statements about how one who follows the vedic injunctions and performs the sacrifices goes to become the God of Fire, or the Sun or Air and how one who transgresses the Vedic prescriptions is born into lower levels of being, namely, as birds and reptiles.
The 4th, 5th and 6th chapters of this second Aranyaka constitute what is known as Aitareya Upanishad.
The third Aranyaka in this chain of Aranyakas is also known as ‘Samhitopanishad’. This elaborates on the various ways – like pada-paatha, krama-paatha, etc. – of reciting the Vedas and the nuances of the ‘svaras’.
The fourth and the fifth Aranyaka are technical and dwell respectively on the mantras known as ‘MahaanaamnI’ and the yajna known as ‘Madhyandina’.
Hope you have an idea.
अथानाअजनःखमअिजतानाच रण। आयःखयःखिधकअथाः कसौयाः ॥ ॥
It is difficult to earn money, and to protect the earnings. Income as well as expenditure give pain -Fie on Money ! which is the cause of hardship.
7/01/2021 Post 25
Mr Uday Singh, CEO of a multinational security agency and promoter of a successful startup has added more information on Rishis.
“True. I shall add: Rishi is one who observes. They observed nature while meditating in forests- how there is equilibrium though violent such as when a tiger eats a dear for its food. But nature is not chaotic. Though nature is based on Sajivas seeking food, the Ajivas ( panch tantras) don’t seek food. Human beings built city nations or culture which is reaction to nature. In the process, nature is being destroyed. As a consequence, we face nature’s fury every now and then. Vedas capture and contain these gyans. But who cares? To be called Hindu today serves only political purpose.”
Agreed ,Mr Uday Singh.
Karma 1 core concepts
Prof Vinod Vyasulu has a request.
“DKS, could you discuss karma?”
Sure.
It is important. 90% of people follow the karma kanda. There are several sub paths. There are wrong beliefs like prayaschitta.
This needs building on core concepts of Hinduism, concepts of Dharma and then on karma. We may need a few posts to go through this. Kindly bear with me.
We talked about purusharthas – dharma, artha, kama, moksha.
Here we see that karma is under the influence of Dharma.
Our duty and actions should be under the broad ambit of Dharma.
Let us fix the basic core principles of Hinduism first.
1.Life and death occurs in cycles . That is called samsara. Rebirth is an accepted theory. Liberation means no more births. One gets mukti.
2.Hinduism believes in Brahman. It means
Brahman connotes the highest Universal Principle, the Ultimate Reality in the universe. In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists . It is the pervasive, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes.Brahman as a metaphysical concept refers to the single binding unity behind diversity in all that exists in the universe.
Brahman is also conceptualised as the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe; that is the one supreme, universal spirit , that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe.
We talk of two Brahmans
Nirguna and saguna.
Nirguna Brahman was the concept of the Ultimate Reality as formless, without attributes or quality .Saguna Brahman, in contrast, was envisioned and developed as with form, attributes and quality. Since people find it difficult to cenceptualise brahman , saguna gives it multiple forms. While jnanis and yogis look at nirguna Brahman , Bhakti allows us to look at various forms – Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, ganesha, sakti , kumara etc. This is what is commonly known and so many say Hindus have many gods. We have many forms of a god. Devas are not gods .
We will see Atman, panchakosha, paths to salvation in next post .
Subhashitam
पाऽागी, गणरागी, सिवभागी च बधष। शाबोा, रणयोा, पषः पचलणः ॥ ॥ Sacrificing (giving) at a deserving place, recognizing good qualities, equally dividing among brothers, knowledgable in the sciences, a warrior in wars are The five qualities of ( a good man).
7/02/2021 Post 26
Let us continue with core principles . We saw rebirth and Brahman. Don’t confuse Brahman with Brahma or brahmin or brahmanas.
3. Atman self or soul
Ātman is a Sanskrit word that means inner self, spirit, or soul. In Hindu philosophy, especially in the Vedanta school of Hinduism, Ātman is the first principle: it is not body or mind . Mind has a lot of acquired knowledge about our habits the behaviours, our ego, and emotions. Atman is true self of an individual beyond identification with phenomena, the essence of an individual. In order to attain Moksha (liberation), a human being must acquire self-knowledge (atma Gyan) and follow Dharma or yoga. Realization of Atman is an important step to mukti. Prana or life is another concept.
Atman is separated by panchakoshas – five sheaths.
Panchakoshas are the layers of body that seemingly cover the Atman (Self or Consciousness). The Tvam (“Thou”) padartha of the Mahavakya Tat Tvam Asi is determined by the analysis of Panchakoshas that are not the atman. Panchakoshas are discussed in the Vedas and Taittiriya Upanishad which is a part of the Taittiriya Samhita of the Krishna Yajur Veda . The sheaths are like onion layers. Some may remember the early visualization of operating systems layers. Transfer of information between layers is not clear.
Annamaya kosha
Anna means matter, annam literally means food; Taittiriya Upanishad calls food the medicament of all. The gross body which is matter-born and matter sustained and transient and subject to perception is the Annamayakosha whose origin is food eaten by parents. It is visible, dependent and impure. It is not the atman because it did not exist before its origination and ceases to exist once it is destroyed.
2.pranamaya kosha
Pranamayakosha, separate from and subtler than Annamayakosha, pertains to the Sukshma sarira, it is the sheath of the vital airs completely enclosing and filling the Annamayakosha. The Prana in combination with the five organs of action constitutes the Pranamayakosha.
3. Manomaya kosha
Manomayakosha belongs to the Suksma sarira. It is the “self” having Pranamayakosha as its body. The organs of knowledge and the mind form this kosha which is the cause of the sense of the “I” and of the “mine” and of the varying conceptions. It creates differences of names etc., because organs of knowledge are dependent on and determined by the mind which is of the nature of determination and doubt. It is powerful because bondage and liberation depend on the mind which producing attachment binds a person and which by creating aversion for them liberates them from that self-made bondage.
4.vijnanamaya kosha
The word Vijnana means Knowledge. This layer is made of intellect and knowledge. This is the part of mind that makes decisions, and takes ownership of action and becomes an ego.
While mano maya deals with information, and simple functions, the reasoning , analysis , decision making, inventions, reflections etc take place in this layer.
5. Ananda maya kosha
Ananda means bliss. This is the bliss of the Atman. This bliss is experienced when we fall into deep sleep. We don’t consider this . Even simple happiness needs to be taught to all. Good behaviours and helping attitude brings happiness to others. Even good words are enough.
Anandamaya kosha is the last layer and it is the closest layer to the Atman. It is a modification of avidya and appears as a reflection of the atman compacted of absolute bliss. It is fully manifested in the dreamless deep sleep.
Now I get two questions:
Is Atman similar to Brahman?
How do you realise Atman? Only by meditation?
The first step is to understand who am I?
It is the highest exalted state and it transcends the senses and the mind; it is a state in which a man becomes aware that “the body is not I, the intel-ligence is not I, consciousness is not I”.
There is another concept called anathman which is different from Buddhist belief of no soul. Sankara says anathman means that it is different from Atman.
Shankara does not use the term anātman to mean non-soul or anti-soul. The Ātman is formless and partless whose true nature cannot be perceived, while the anātman has form, has parts and whose nature can be perceived.Anātman, a creation of Brahman which is non-different from Brahman and has no existence apart from Brahman To comprehend the difference between ātman and anātman is to become liberated.
In order to realise the self-existent eternal Atman, the seeker after Truth uses “Neti, neti”, that is “not this, not this” on Anatman, to reach that which remains as Atman. We say vegetarian and non vegetarian . Distinction will be clearer with Neti rule. Vegetarian means no meat, fish . Non vegetarian can take vegetables and cereals. It is a wrong terminology. When we have a negative term, we need to decide what is permitted and what is excluded.
Let me take another example consider the statement “Ashok is not a student” . can anyone say what is Ashok? – teacher, worker, manager, jobless etc. Neti rule will clear this. Our logic does not have this rule so we call “not ” in Boolean logic as an unsafe operator. This concept is more advanced and more meaningful than our diluted Boolean logic. It needs to be incorporated into our current logic systems.
4.There are multiple paths to a dharmic life. It can be karma based or jnana based or bhakti based or a higher order yoga based. Most people follow the karma path. There is some intermixing exists between these paths. You need some jnana to do your duty properly, to know rights and wrongs. You may not go for intelligent enquiry , reasoning and analysis to get at the truth. Similarly there is karmic actions by followers of jnana.
Let us , in the next post, look at the principles of dharma- what is permitted – niyama – and what is prohibited( restrained) – yama.
ोतिववाद, िवमितिववक, सअितशका, िवनयिवकारम। गणअवमान, कशलिनषध, धमिवरोधन करोित साधः ॥ ॥
The saintly don’t indulge in the following -arguments during penances, crooked thinking during times that call for discrimination, being skeptical towards the truth, transgressing laws of conduct, insulting those with high qualities, spoiling well being and acting against Dharma.
7/03/2021 Post 27
Dharmic essentials
Now we look at Dharma that defines good deeds.
Dharma is generally defined as ‘righteousness’ or ‘duty.’ Dharma is the principle of righteousness. It is the principle of holiness. It is also the principle of unity. Bhishma says in his instructions to Yudhishthira that whatever creates conflict is Adharma, and whatever puts an end to conflict and brings about unity and harmony is Dharma. Anything that helps to unite and develop pure divine love and universal brotherhood, is Dharma.
Rig veda talks about moral ethics. One hymn is
‘He that eats by himself will keep his sin to himself.’ Rig veda 10.117.6
The following are based on Swami Sivananda’s book on Hinduism.
Anything that creates discord, split and disharmony and foments hatred, is Adharma. Dharma is the cementer and sustainer of social life. The Rules of Dharma have been laid down for regulating the worldly affairs of men. Dharma brings as its consequence happiness, both in this world and in the next. . If you protect it, it will protect you.
Rishi Kanada, founder of theVaiseshika system of philosophy, has given the best definition of Dharma, in his Vaiseshika Sutras: “Yato-bhyudayanihsreyasa-siddhih sa dharmah.” “That which leads to the attainment of Abhyudaya (prosperity in this world) and Nihsreyasa (total cessation of pain and attainment of eternal bliss hereafter) is Dharma.”
Dharma can be classified under two heads: (i) Samanya or the general, universal Dharma and (ii) Visesha or the specific, personal Dharma. Contentment, forgiveness, self-restraint, non-stealing, purity, control of senses, discrimination between right and wrong, between the real and the unreal, spiritual knowledge, truthfulness and absence of anger come under the general or universal Dharma. The rules of the castes and orders of life are specific Dharmas.
Let us see good deeds identified in scriptures.
THE VISHNU SAMHITA enumerates forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the mind, purity, practice of charity, control of the senses, non-violence, service of the Guru, visiting places of pilgrimage, compassion, simplicity, absence of greed, worship of the gods and the Brahmanas, and absence of malice as the ingredients of Samanya Dharma, the general law for all men.
THEMAHABHARATA discusses Dharma in detail. It is definitely more on Raj and kshatriya dharma but general aspects are covered and Bhagavad Gita is a Veda to many. It enumerates the performance of Sraaddha or offering oblations to the forefathers, religious austerity, truth, restraint of anger, satisfaction with one’s own wife, purity, learning, absence of envy, knowledge of the Self and forbearance as the fundamentals of Dharma.
It is said in PADMA PURANA that Dharma proceeds from continence, truthfulness, austerity, charity, self-control, forbearance, purity, non-violence, serenity and non-thieving and that one shouldrecognise Dharma AccordingtoMATSYAPURANA,freedomfrommalice,absence of covetousness, control of the senses, austerity, celibacy, compassion, truthfulness, forbearance and fortitude constitute the fundamentals of Sanatana Dharma.
PATANJALI MAHARSHI, the exponent of Raja Yoga philosophy, recommends that ten virtues should be practised by all men. The first five are: Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Brahmacharya (celibacy in thought, word and deed), Asteya (non-stealing) and Aparigraha (non-covetousness). These constitute Yama or self-restraint. The other five virtues are: Saucha (internal and external purity), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (austerity), Svadhyaya (study of scriptures or recitation of Mantra) and Isvara-pranidhana (consecration of the fruits of all works to the Lord). These constitute Niyama or religious observance.
THE GITA enumerates the following virtues as Daivi-Sampat or divine qualities: fearlessness, cleanness of life, steadfastness in the Yoga of Wisdom, alms-giving, self-restraint, sacrifice, study of the scriptures, austerity, straightforwardness, harmlessness, truth, absence of wrath, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion to living beings, non-covetousness, mildness, modesty, absence of fickleness, vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity and absence of envy and pride. All these virtues are manifestations of the four fundamental virtues: (i) non-violence, (ii) truth, (iii) purity and (iv) self-control. All the above virtues come under the above four cardinal virtue
Chanakya niti
Yathaa Vriksha Phalantyatra Pareshaamupakaarakaah.
Marah Tathaiv Sa Bhannyah Yasya Jeevanam.
Like the trees growing their fruits for others’ benefit, blessed are those men who devote their life to the others’ cause.
हस्तौ धन्यो परेषां यौ आधतान् हरत: सदा।
आश्रयौ यौ जनानां स्त: पतितानामितभूतले ।। 327 ।।
Hastah Dhannye Ye Andhaanaam Maorgadarshake.
Rakshatah Kantakaakeerhaat Maargaattan Vishmaattathaa.
Blessed are the hands that lend support to the helpless persons and help in solving their troubles.
7/04/2021 Post 28
Now we move to look at Karma. Karma is done according to dharma. Unfortunately dharma is not the same for all.let us take two examples: animal sacrifice and ahimsa. Yagyavalkya has gone against animal sacrifice and went for producing another yajurveda called sukla Yajur Veda. We will see that later. He says animal sacrifice is symbolic. Ashwameda yaga has the sacrifice of a horse. He says it symbolises power .many believe only ghee and cooked rice were offered to Agni. Similarly how war, personified by Indra will sit with peace. There is a conflict between Raja Dharma and Brahmin Dharma. But it is an accepted truce that one follows one’s dharma.
Let us now look at karma.
Kanchi paramacharya says:
“Man by nature is always unstill: he cannot keep his mind quiescent even for a moment. Bhagavān Krishna says in the Gītā: “Not for a moment can a man remain still, without doing work”. So one must know the right path for work. One must make one’s mind pure, acquire the highest of qualities and, finally, transcend-ing these very qualities, realize the Brahman.How can we live according to the tenets of Dharma sastras?”
Before we look at karma, let us look at kriya first . Both depend on action .
kriya is the activity along with the steps and effort in action,. Here focus is action.
Whereas Karma is action performed by one according to his or her dharma – goodness to all, humility and compassion, piety, gratitude, charity, helpfulness, etc.- and reaping the consequence of his or her actions – good or bad results. We have seen the goodness rules prescribed by Dharma. Karma rules are detailed prescriptions and they tell us how to live our life meaningfully and purposefully. A complete blueprint is provided by Vedas, puranas , Gita and smritis.
karma is the impact of an activity, as well as the intention of the actor behind an executed action or a planned action . A good action creates good karma, as does good intent. A bad action creates bad karma, as does bad intent.
Vashishta gives a higher importance to moral ethics.
‘Neither the Veda ,nor sacrifice ,nor liberality can save him whose conduct is base, who has departed from the right path.’ The nature of virtues insisted upon can be gathered for instance from the following characterization by Apastamba of a religious student:’ He is gentle and serene. He exercises the highest self-control. This is the precondition for action. Action without plan , noble thoughts , concerns , effects and impacts on all and nature is not desirable.
Difficulty in arriving at a definition of karma arises because of the diversity of views among the schools of Hinduism; some, for example, consider karma and rebirth linked and simultaneously essential, some consider karma but not link it to rebirth. The link between karma and rebirth is a strong motivation for doing good actions . This got overemphasized later to create a fear psychic in common people. The saying is if you don’t do this action in this prescribed way, you will go to hell.
Causality theory is explained in brihadaranya Upanishad.
“Now as a man is like this or like that,
according as he acts and according as he behaves, so will he be;
a man of good acts will become good, a man of bad acts, bad;
he becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds;
And here they say that a person consists of desires,
and as is his desire, so is his will;
and as is his will, so is his deed;
and whatever deed he does, that he will reap.
— Brihadaranyaka upanishad
“The theory of karma as causation holds that: (1) executed actions of an individual affects the individual and the life he or she lives, and (2) the intentions of an individual affects the individual and the life he or she lives. Disinterested actions, or unintentional actions do not have the same positive or negative karmic effect.
Let us continue in the next post with other aspects of karma.
Subhashitam
उवसनचएविभशऽसकट। राजारँमशानच यः ितित सः बाधवः ॥ ॥
In a festival as well as in calamity, in a famine and in an invasion, at the doorstep of the king and in the graveyard -one who stands (beside you) is your brother .
Only those can be considered kinsmen, who stand by you whether in festivities or times of trouble, in famines or when enemies threaten, at the king’s court or in the cremation ground.
7/05/2021 Post 29
The following points are clear now.
Karma brings in the consequences of good or bad thoughts and actions. This credit or debit – punya and papa- are carried to next birth.
The consequences are determined based on the dharma concerned. The dharmic rules vary with each group depending on what they are expected to do. Definitely there is a clarity that one size does not fit all. We have both flexibility and confusion.
Some core principles of Dharma are defined in Vedas and Upanishads, but most are explained in detail in smrities and puranas. Mahabharata gives a good example of Dharma for different classes. People had access to puranas and so they follow puranas. Similarly they accept rituals.
Hinduism can be viewed as a core unit with fundamental beliefs which applies to all and with several sub units of does and don’t s for one who opts for the sub unit. There is an outer layer of many practices for rituals, karma ,and daily living. Many have some idea of this layer.
Let us look further.
Karma’s impact on people – habit formation.
karmic principle can also be understood as a principle of psychology and habit. Karma defines your beliefs . This leads to habits – like taking bath, washing hands and feet, washing the house, feeding the poor, sharing, listening to learned persons, visits to temples, pilgrimages , belief in a god etc. – . These define a person. So Karma has deep impacts on a person in this life itself.Karma seeds habits (vāsanā), and habits create the nature of man. Karma also seeds self perception, and perception influences how one experiences life events – accept,reject, happy, sad ,angry etc – This builds emotions . Both habits and self perception affect the course of one’s life. Even if you don’t believe in the consequences of Karma the habit formation happens due to social environment and education Breaking bad habits is not easy: it requires conscious karmic effort.Thus, psyche and habit, according to Potter and Coward, link karma to causality in ancient Indian literature.The idea of karma may be compared to the notion of a person’s ‘character’, as both are an assessment of the person and determined by that person’s habitual thinking and acting.
Let us see the evolution of karma.
The first phase was rituals .
Initially karma meant only performing rituals.
Actually, a lot of time was spent on rituals. There are simple rituals like daily prayers, pujas, bhajans and visits to temples. Then there are family and community ceremonies like namakaran – naming-,eating annaprasan – , first hair cut, learning- beginning of writing- , etc to marriage, death, etc. These have motivational ,social ,support and help aspects; create a feeling of togetherness and sharing. Then we have festivals – days to remember good deeds- good triumphs over evil- , gods, and nature.
More advanced are homas and yagas for health, peace, prosperity and welfare of all. There are many types of yagas described in Brahmanas . Some are complex and run for days. Normally ,many volatile gases come out and by inhaling them, one gets relief to some health problems. No good and detailed and credible scientific studies have been done so far. Exaggerated claims are there. But belief is a great healer.
The Yajur Veda gives details about yagas, offerings and duties .
Next step in evolution is the focus of karma on living happily and harmoniously with family and society and in sync with nature , duties, etc.
It included other aspects like one’s duties to self, family, ancestors,society and nature . These were established through Upanishads. So perception of people varies here. Some make karma as ritualism and create fear in people who don’t follow rituals. Some believe in yoga , meditation and knowing truth as karma. Some believe in doing good to all as karma. Now you can define your own karma
Let us see the first law of karma – causation – cause and effect. This law applies to social activities like trade, business, economy , commerce , finance, and learning and knowledge creation also. It is a basic law
The Law of Karma means the law of causation .Wherever there is a cause, there an effect is mostly produced. A seed is cause for the tree which is the effect. Without seed normally you won’t have a tree. There are other methods also and we are not considering them The tree produces seeds and becomes the cause for the seeds. This is a cyclic effect.
It is a universal causal law by which good or bad actions determine the future modes of an individual’s existence. Karma represents the ethical dimension of the process of rebirth (samsara), a basic belief accepted by Hinduism. Indian philosophers posit that future births and life situations will be conditioned by actions performed during one’s present life—which itself has been conditioned by the accumulated effects of actions performed in previous lives. The doctrine of karma thus directs adherents toward their common goal: release (moksha) from the cycle of birth and death. Karma thus serves two main functions within Indian moral philosophy: it provides the major motivation to live a moral life, and it serves as the primary explanation of the existence of evil. More in next post.
अयिनजः परः वा इित गणना लघचतसाम। उदारचिरतानातवसधा एव कटकम॥ ॥ This one belongs to my group, the other one is an outsider -This is the thought of petty people; for the magnanimous, broadminded person, the whole world is family.
Big man say the Whole world is my family.
7/06/2021 Post 30
Mr Nagarajan, ex syndicate bank and financial advisor, has some concerns about creating correct atmosphere for Dharma and karma.
“the two posts 27 and 28 deal interestingly two topics of divergent issues of dharma and karma the more you read it and hear discourses on the two key subjects and look at life and events happening all around us which have clearly departed in understading the values of dharma and karma wish the correction process in understading the above happens”
My response
Agreed. We need education focussed on goodness . This will be beyond and including ethics. Why are we not teaching dharma and duties and responsibilities in schools? Today people get ideas from preachers and Swami’s. The proliferation of spurious Swami’s will come down with a proper education.
Prof. Mahendra Babu has a query.
“Actions without attachment in a dharmic way are needed.
DKS When you find time, I request you to talk on Karma and rebirth in detail.
Example Brhma kumaris: Basic is BG.
IN their philosophy a human can take the form of a human only in the next birth.
Velukkudi Krishnan swamy says that rebirth can in any form depending on the Karma.
Since they also say we do not remember of actions in previous births it is difficult to justify. They give example prodigies. How they know intricate music at a young age with out teacher or training.
Interesting and enlightening articles of yours.”
My response
You are right that there is no clarity. A few points are being put forth for discussions
Religious beliefs can not be reasoned scientifically always.
Consider rebirth. It was not considered serious in shrutis.it became important in smrities and puranas. But it is a core principle in Hinduism today. Rebirth makes death acceptable. Death is a time for mourning but not sorrow. One accepts the reality. Many hope the dead person will be born in the family in future. It with karma gives a reason for happenings in ones life. Rebirth is linked to Atman . If rebirth is not there ,then how do you explain Atman and Brahman as duals as told by Madhvacharya.
my conjecture is rebirth and good karma are necessary carrots – motivation – for people to be good and not all become evil. Later on in the time of Ithihasa and puranas a concept of punishment was built into the belief system to make people fall in line. The concept of naraka a foreign concept came into the picture. Yama is portrayed differently.
Nachiketas asks yama about where the soul goes after leaving the body. Katha Upanishad has a lot of discussions about Atman and Brahman. Similarly Brahadaranya upanishad also discusses this a lot. But there is not enough information on transmigration.
Some puranas say one can transmigrate to even a worm. This is not easy
Where does the soul go? Does a wo have soul?
Give me a few days and I will come with some more data hopefully.
The total process of transmigration is not clear. So justification is not possible.
We have another problem. Genetic inheritance is observed- some are great in music by young age of five, some play chess, some have phenomenal memory and good language skills, some do mathematics easily and some find it hard. There is a strong correlation of talentship of a kind occuring in a family. Here transfer is through genes and even brain of a child may not be blank. It is filled with some knowledge particularly in the case of child prodigies. So the question is : Do souls move within a family or anywhere? It may not be practicable.
I have more questions and am not sure whether their answers can be found . I will do more research and come back. May some others have a satisfactory explanation. Let us continue the discussions.
Let us continue with karma in the next posts. I will post on alternate days.
कयराः न िवचषयि पष, हाराः न चिोलाः न ान, न िवलपन, न कसम, न अलकता मधजाः । वाणी एका समलकरोित पष, या सृता धायत ीयतख भषणािन सततवाषणभषणम॥ ॥
Peacock feathers are not the true adornment of man, not glistening-as-the-moon necklaces either, neither are bathing and decorating and flowers , noble speech is the only true adornment, it is the basis of culture,.