Purāṇa : The Age-Old Ancient Story Telling Technique

– Dr. Dhananjay B. Ghare

Introduction: ‘Śaunaka’ group of sages carried out a ‘yāga’ for global welfare. ‘Sūta’ alias ‘Romaharśaṇa’ a wandering monk, expert in telling spiritually symbolic stories in romantic hair-raising style and famous as ‘Purāṇika’, frequently visited them. Some families in Maharashtra and north Karnataka area have ‘Purāṇika’ as their surnames, most probably because their ancestors used to present ‘Kīrtana’s’ embedded with stories from Paūrāṇika literature.

Śaunakaadika (representative of ‘Śaunaka’ group of sages): Welcome Sūta Mahāṛṣi. Your guru Vyāsa Mahāṛṣi made unbelievably huge and excellent contributions to Vedopaṇiśadic philosophy and literature within a single human life spam. He is therefore respected as divine incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. Later, why did Vyāsa created Paūrāṇic literature?

Sūta: Vyāsa Mahāṛṣi first condensed the huge ‘Vedic’ literature (1000,000,000 stanzas, Śata koti pravistāram) to just about 10,000 most important stanzas. Then, he divided them in four major topic-based groups (Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda and Atharvaveda). He passed on the responsibility of study and maintenance of these four Vedic literatures, to four of his sharp, intelligent, best students. Then, he thoughtfully made the Vedic-knowledge, available in memory friendly, interesting, mind bogglingly attractive Paūrāṇic symbolic story formats. This way, it has become easily digestible and interesting to children, youngsters and common man possessing average, below average levels of intellectual capability.

He selected 18 major and 18 semi-major topics and composed 18 Purāṇa and 18 Upa-Purāṇa texts. He designed and authored this literature full of symbolic stories. Each one of this ‘Purāṇa’ & ‘Upa-Purāṇa’ texts, includes information about all important theoretical Vedopaṇiśadic concepts and knowledge. These texts are recognized as 18 Mahā Purāṇas and 18 Upa-Purāṇas. For millenniums during pre-Macaulay British-rule periods in India (3000 BC to 1850 AD), these texts were taught to children, during their initial primary and secondary school type education. Study of Veda and Upaniśad texts was reserved for extraordinary children (like Ādi-Śankara) and brightest youngsters qualifying for highest level of education.

The word ‘Purāṇa’ means old, ancient. It is also often used to mean lengthy or prolonged. This literature by sage Vyāsa is compatible to get spread via mouth-to-mouth story telling mode, from grandparents to grandchildren. In the evenings, Indian village temple halls and outskirts were used, to conduct orally communicated mass education via

a) moral, spiritual stories ‘kathā-kathāna’ (‘kirtana-bhakti’) by speakers and ‘listening’ (‘śravaṇa-bhakti’) by the audiences and

 b) singing divine praises, mantra phrases and devotional prayers (‘bhajana’) programs, based on stories from this Paūrāṇic literature of sage Vyāsa along with songs, abhanga’s, doha’s authored by later poets and saints like Mīrābaī, Narasi Mehatā, Purandaradāsa, Dnyāneśvara, Nāmadeva, Tukārāma etc.

Names of 18 Mahā Purāṇa texts designed and composed by Vyāsa Mahāṛṣi are:

1) Brahma Purāṇa 2) Padma Purāṇa 3) Viṣṇu Purāṇa 4) Shiva Purāṇa 5) Bhāgavata Purāṇa 6) Nārad Purāṇa 7) Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa 8) Agni Purāṇa 9) Bhaviśya Purāṇa 10) Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa 11) Linga Purāṇa 12) Varāha Purāṇa 13) Skanda Purāṇa 14) Vāmana Purāṇa 15) Kurma Purāṇa 16) Matsya Purāṇa 17) Garuḍa Purāṇa and 18) Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa

Some minimum stories related with vital information about the three Supreme Gods 1) Lord Brahmadeva, 2) Lord Viṣṇu, 3) Lord Shiva and their consorts 1) Sarasvati, 2) Laxmi and 3) Umā alias Pārvatī are included in every one of all 18 Mahā Purāṇas and 18 Upa-Purāṇas texts. Briefest information about all eighteen Purāṇa texts:

1) Brahma Purāṇa (10000 verses): Everything present in any form at present, must always be present in some form or other, during the infinite time-space of the past and the future. In other words, it is immortal in it’s true nature, but gets transformed in different forms with passage of time. This ancient Indian Vedopaṇiśadic principle is restated in the modern Scientific language as a law of ‘Thermodynamics’. Viz. ‘Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed’.  This indestructible ‘essence’ inside everything, is called ‘Brahmatatva’. Lord Sūrya is the nearest glaring example of divine ‘Brahma’ Energy. Brahma Purāṇa describes history of all Universes and includes praises of Lord Sūrya as typical example of divine Brahma and describes his wonderful temple at Konark, Odisha.

2) Padma Purāṇa (55000 verses): ‘Padma’ means lotus flower. Lord Brahmadeva symbolising the ‘Creativity’ of Mother Nature, is hypothesised to have got born in a symbolic ‘Lotus’ flower oozing out of the navel of Lord Viṣṇu. This Purāṇa describes birth rebirth cycles of Universes and is a good guide for pilgrimages in Indian subcontinent. Important features of Padma Purāṇa are, it includes ‘Bhagavadgītā Māhātmya’ with a symbolic story related with teachings of each chapter and a beautiful commentary on each chapter of ‘Bhagavadgītā’. 

3) Viṣṇu Purāṇa (23000 verses): Meaning of the word ‘Viṣṇu’ is ‘pervading and occupying the entire pervaded space’. Lord Viṣṇu is mythologically regarded as the divine power responsible for ‘sthiti’ meaning current state or status of the Universe. Chāturvarṇāśrama-dharma is advocated as important tradition for proper maintenance of human society and its genetic racial diversity structure forever.

4) Shiva Purāṇa (24000 verses): ‘Shiva’ means pure, auspicious, divine. Lord Shiva represents natural divine purity and auspiciousness within everything. Lord Shiva also represents ‘tamo guṇa’ meaning maximum, peaking, maximisation, extreme etc. Shiva Purāṇa contains information about a) incarnations of Lord Shiva and b) important ‘vratas (e.g. Ekādaśī, Pradośa, Shivarātri, Somavāra) and c) varieties of worships for pleasing Lord Shiva and reaching his abode ‘Kailāśa’.

5) Bhāgavata Purāṇa (18000 verses): Repetitive natures of birth, expansion, spread and death after a certain lifespan of Universes are described, with focus on roles played by Lord Viṣṇu as a divine guardian and his 24 incarnations. Highlight is focused on Lord Kṛṣṇa’s incarnation.

6) Nārad Purāṇa (25000 verses): Sage Nārada, devotee of Lord Viṣṇu constantly reciting ‘Nārāyaṇa’ recommends numerous forms of ‘devotion’. Singing praises of God’s divineness (‘Kīrtanam’) is recommended as the best way of pleasing Gods. Includes information on ancient Indian Mathematics, astronomy and astrology.

7) Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (9000 verses): Important feature is it includes ‘Devī Māhātmya’, Durgā Saptaśati, a ‘Śākta’ treatise on Goddess ‘Śakti’, ‘Chaṇḍī’ or ‘Durgā’.

8) Agni Purāṇa (15400 verses): Lord ‘Agni’ represents ‘Thermal Energy’ which exponentially accelerates all natural activities. This text includes ‘Encyclopaedic’ information on spiritual progress via Śaivism, Vaiśṇavism, cosmology, etc. and materialistic progress via ancient Indian geology, mining, gemology, engineering, vāstuśāstra, architecture etc.

9) Bhaviśya Purāṇa (14500 verses): Forecasts possible events in future using the trends in the past history. Advocates good moral and spiritual activities today, to ensure possibilities of good prospects for ‘Future’.

10) Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa (18000 verses): ‘Brahma-vaivarta’ means metamorphosis of ‘Brahma’. This text projects Lord Kṛṣṇa and goddess Rādhā as Mūla-Prakṛuti and Puruṣa pair.

(Source of Image: https://twitter.com/Anshulspiritual/status/1348996464060452866/photo/1)

11) Linga Purāṇa (11000 verses): ‘Linga’ means important ‘sign’ of identification. ‘Shiva linga’ (representing ‘Universe’ in cylindrical coordinates), is used as a ‘sign’ to worship Shiva.

12) Varāha Purāṇa (24000 verses): ‘Varāha’ means wild boar, and an incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu to kill demon ‘Hiraṇyākśa and save ‘Earth’ from his clutches. Astronomically, this story represents an event which is hypothecated to have occurred at the time of beginning of ‘Śveta-Varāha-Kalpa’ period. This Purāṇa text includes ‘Dharmaśāstra’ or ‘rules and regulations’ for good moral conduct and behavioural pattern to ensure healthy, happy life.

13) Skanda Purāṇa (81000 verses): Skanda represents a six faced God and son of Lord Shiva. This Purāṇa advocates pilgrimage ‘Tīrtha-yātrā’ to please all Gods and to raise one’s spiritual status. Describes geography of pilgrimage centres in Indian subcontinent.

14) Vāmana Purāṇa (10000 verses): Describes the Vāmana incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu and advocates pilgrimages for spiritual upliftment.

15) Kurma Purāṇa (17000 verses): ‘Kurma’ means a tortoise, an incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu during churning of ‘Kṣīra Sāgara’ (ocean of milk ‘milkyway’). Includes related stories.

16) Matsya Purāṇa (14000 verses): ‘Matsya’ means a fish, an incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu, during ‘Jala-Pralaya’ deluge, to save king ‘Manu’ and samples of a lot of important living species. This text Includes a) Vāstuśāstra focussing on building temples, sculptures and b) guidelines for charity, yoga and morally creditable behaviour patterns. etc.

17) Garuḍa Purāṇa (19000 verses): ‘Garuḍa’ means eagle, the carrier ‘Vāhana’ of Lord Viṣṇu. Includes civil engineering concepts and recommendations on duties of King, common man etc.

18) Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa (12000 verses): Brahmāṇḍa means ‘Universe’, which is estimated to look like a huge ‘egg’ in shape. This text includes popular ‘Lalitā-Sahasranāma’ and ‘Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa’.

Dr. Dhananjay B. Ghare, Former Scientist, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

Whatsapp Symbolism for Expressing and Learning

– Bal Ram Singh, PhD

Symbolism has been part of not only the human civilization but also the entire creation. Symbols may be considered as the non-verbal communication tools or a make belief world for interpreting the perception of the world. For example, the Sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, plants, animals, machines, art, etc. are all symbols that represent the characteristics of those objects.

Sculptural depiction of Ganesha, Saraswati, and Shiva are all examples of Vedic symbolism, as are the representation of Om (ॐ), Swāstika (स्वस्तिक), and Śṛīyantra (श्रीयन्त्र). The story of Ganesha, for example, is a deeper reflection of Vedic philosophy of Prakṛti, Puruśa, and Māyā. According to an article by Dr. David Frawley, “Ganesha symbolizes the human soul and its latent aspiration for the infinite. Initially, the soul is bound to Māyā or Prakṛti, symbolized by Ganesha being created by Parvati (Prakṛti) and seeking to protect her as her servant. The ignorant soul does not know Shiva, the transcendent reality beyond Māyā. Shiva, therefore, cannot recognize the soul as his own.”

The words themselves are symbols in writing as much in speaking. Different scripts in the world represent symbols of communications. Currently, there are 156 scripts in the world, 76 of them active in the Indian Subcontinent, also referred to as South Asia. The level of diversity in scripts, languages, and dialects In ancient times, there were hieroglyphs, a writing system with symbols found on stones, papyrus, temples, etc., as a system of communication over a time and space. According to the Ministry of Education, the Government of India, “The Indus Valley Script was a product of the now well-known Indus Valley Civilization. The greater Indus region was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations, others being the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Chinese civilizations. Most of its ruins remain to be fully excavated and studied, as nothing was known about this civilization until 1920s. What is more, the ancient Indus script has not yet been deciphered – although there have been many claims and counter-claims.” In other words, the world has always had ways to communicate through symbols with self and others.

According to the New World Encyclopedia, a hieroglyph is a character used in a pictorial writing system. The term derives from the Greek term for “sacred carving” translated from the Egyptian phrase “the god’s words”. The term originally referred only to the Egyptian hieroglyphs, but was later also applied to ancient Cretan, Luwian, Mayan and Mi’kmaq scripts. Hieroglyphs are characters composed of graphical figures. Often, hieroglyphic symbols are readily recognizable as an everyday physical object, such as a person, a tool, the sun, or an animal. In many cases, symbols stand for the object they represent, but they can also be used to represent a concept associated with the object (such as “day” for “sun”) or a phonetic sound associated with the object’s name. A single system of hieroglyphic writing can use a combination of phonetic and logographic symbols.

India, which taut to have currently 23 official languages, coming from estimated 1,652 “mother tongues” – including 103 foreign mother tongues (Census 1961 & Nigam 1972: p. xv), is by far the most communicative country on Earth. However, the current computer culture, has taken over the re-hieroglyphization of the world with its symbolic gestures in social media. India seems to be losing a non-fighting battle, which could be detrimental to the world civilizations. India has arguably remained the proverbial beacon of light for the world’s civilizations through interactions with educated, intellectuals, wise, and the learned.

Unfortunately, India has been dubbed as an old civilization, which is either considered good for dead, or dead for good, as modern Indians continue with chorus culture of following the leaders even in the areas of their well-established eminent contributions. Let’s address some terms here which are either for eulogy or admirations of those gone or ready to be gone. Old is gold, which means keep it away and safe. The other is, we must follow the tradition of respecting our old. What is exactly old? There are perspectives on old – for time, physical stature, and experience. Time has passed by, and physical stature may have weakened, but experience of the old is richer than those new. An old person or a civilization with creative mind and innovative practices can be readily described as ‘Younger for Longer’ clan or culture. As a member of the YOUnger FOr LOnger or YOUFOLO club, I have noticed the following gestures being frequently used in several groups for symbolic expression. Some of these symbols have been used in India for eons, albeit with different meanings. While the symbolic gestures – scriptic, artistic, or facial- are critical for communication, these might mean different enough to be misconstrued or at least lose the diversity of expression.

Here are a few symbols, in Whatsapp chats in a Hindu academic group, something Hindus use as commonly since ancient times!

*👍, for thumbs up, but it could be taken as thengā (ठेंगा) 😄

* 🙏, for folded hands in appreciation, but could be also taken as, enough, not anymore

(अब और हमसे नहीं होगा 🙂)

and,

*❤️, for love it, but in the language of the deck of playing cards ‘the heart suits symbolize the Church’ 🙄. 

(See an article, Card Symbol Names and Suits Symbolism by Vijaya Bharti – August 3, 2022)

So, here are my suggestions for Hinduizjng (Indianizing) these gestures at least in our thoughts.

👍 = Eklavya dedication gesture!

🙏 = Dashendriya dedication gesture!

❤️ = Hanumān-Sīnāfāda (सीनाफाड़) self-confidence gesture!

Please laugh first, and think amusingly, then let it sink🙏

I also decided to analyze the gestures being used in that group by men and women, and found differences in the preference of the gestures. These gestures are thus indicative of different personalities displaying different traits to reflect those personalities. Men seem to lack Hanuman gesture of opening their heart, but are strong in Ekalavya gesture of sacrificing their most valuable element at the alter of the source of the knowledge. Both genders are closer in their approach to use their dashendriyās (sense and action) to appreciate others.

(Figure: Distinct Hindu gestures exhibited by deviyān (देवियाँ) and sajjangan (सज्जनगण)!)

As a chemist, I have seen symbols used everywhere, be it inorganic chemistry as in the periodic table, organic chemistry as in the structures of compounds, such as benzene, or in biochemistry for representing biological molecules or processes. It is impossible to learn chemistry without symbols and communicate it with other chemists, or even non-chemists who use the chemicals or biochemicals all the time. The uniformalization has been an essential element of this communication, but chemists find ways to personalize or uniquify them to extract the exact meanings.

We are dwelling in an interesting time, where science and society collide to sparkle new thoughts of becoming a learned! Let’s sail along!

Prof. Bal Ram Singh, President, Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, USA

Paūrāṇic Ganesha (Part-V)

Series on Ganesha the Great!

Dr. Dhananjay B. Ghare

(Continued from Part-IV)

This mini ‘one_act_play’ in english, is based on ‘11 chapters of Ganesha Geetā’ and is designed to convey the theoretical philosophical essence of ‘Ganesha Purāṇa’, compiled by sage Vyāsa in the form of a dialogue between ‘Lord Gajānana’ an incarnation of Lord Ganesha and his father (in this incarnation) King Vareṇya (as his disciple).

(Source of Image: https://theartofindia.in/collections/ganeshotsav/products/ashirwad)

Introduction

King Vareṇya:  I beg your pardon, for my foolish and highly cruel action under the influence of some foolish priests & ministers.

Lord Ganesha: My dear father, please feel relaxed. Such mad, cruel, silly actions happen due to blind beliefs and ignorance. Often, there is intellectual confusion about ‘true knowledge’ as against a mistaken recognition of ‘wrong knowledge’ as ‘true’ and valid. Further, any ‘Interpretation’ of Veda-shāstrokta advise, true and valid in one context, can be wrong and misleading in several other contexts or situations. Many times, a) wrong b) ignorantly performed or c) mischievously floated ‘motivated misinterpretations’ of Veda–geetopanishadic verses are blindly believed as correct, appropriate and valid.

King Vareṇya: Oh, my dear son Ganesha, you are right. All my ministers, recognized as great scholars, misled me in carrying out a shameful sin. Please coach me in the correct and true knowledge.

सांख्य सारार्थ योग:

Lord Ganesha: My dear father, my intention in undertaking this ‘Gajānana’ incarnation is to unfold the knowledge compiled in ‘Ganesha Geetā’ containing knowledge about several alternative Yoga-techniques. These methods can be used for achieving a linking between oneself with myself as ‘Ganesha’. Literally, the word ‘Ganesha’ has several alternative meanings depending on the context. e.g. ‘Gaṇa’ can mean ‘a follower’. In that context, ‘Ganesha’ means the ‘Commander in chief’ of any set of followers. Mathematically, ‘Gaṇa’ can mean to count or compute. In that context, ‘Ganesha’ means the ‘Supreme God’ possessing divinely infinite computational capability to control all activities in all infinite numbers of Universes. This ‘Ganesha Geetā’ text will work as an illuminating light for all future human generations.

The word ‘Yoga’ is many times used to indicate the ‘probability’ of occasions of a) meeting together of friends, relatives, etc. or b) of events like getting married, getting awarded etc. But the ‘Yoga’ I am teaching you now, is about an ‘intellectually convinced’ ‘Mental State’ of getting permanently bonded with ‘Para Brahma’ or ‘Ultimate Universal Reality’ which is

1. the original ‘Source’,
2. the ever existing ‘Existence’ (presence) and
3. the ultimate ‘Drain’ of all existences.

A person in such yogic spiritual state, realizes that he is not just his physical body, but is actually a part and parcel of the spiritual omnipresence in this entire universe (just like a drop of water belonging to an ocean).

ध्यायन्त: परमम् ब्रह्म   चित्ते योगवशीकृते | अनुग्रहाय लोकानाम् भ्रमन्ति धरणीतले (१.१५_१८)

Such saintly personalities (immersed in 24×7 meditation-based link with God Supreme) live and wander all over the world, just for helping all other mortals. Therefore, they do not get over-worried, deeply-saddened, unhappy or upset while facing unfortunate, bad-luck type events or circumstances. Nor do they get over-excited with joyful happiness, due to any gains or good-luck’s, fortune’s etc. Normally, persons first make a ‘desire’ and then they work towards fulfillment of such desires.

चिन्तयान् अस्य विषयान् सङ्ग: तेषु उपजायते | काम: सञ्जायते तस्मात् तत: क्रोधोभिजायते  (१.५९)

क्रोधात् अज्ञान सम्भूति:  विभ्रम: तु तत: स्मृते: | भ्रंशात्  स्मृते:  मते: ध्वंस: तद् ध्वंसात् सोऽपि नश्यति (१.६०)

The repeated fulfillment of one’s desires, leads to habits or addictions. Any ‘non fulfillment’ of addictions generates ‘anger’. Excessively angry mood generates intellectual confusion. This confusion or ignorance blocks or distorts memory, which leads to wrong ways of thinking patterns. This in turn, can lead to ‘destruction’ of that personality. The organs of one’s body are like horses of a ‘chariot’. They need to be properly trained, controlled and driven along the correctly desired direction and path. Loss of strong mental control over these horses, leads to conditions like that of a ‘boat’ left to wind, in the ocean.

कर्म योग:

King Vareṇya: All people are not intelligent enough to pursue the paths of knowledge (ज्ञान-योग, सांख्य-योग, बुद्धि-योग etc.). Many cannot retain conscious awareness in intellectual discrimination during performance of every activity.

Lord Ganesha: A person without matured knowledge (e.g. in childhood or during some sickness) or if born with lower intellectual capabilities, should learn to a) limit and control all his limited basic activities, b) get engaged only in selected minimum appropriate activities, c) the art of mental detachment with ‘personal profit or loss’ like calculations. Further, for ensuring ‘best possible performance’, one should consciously a) get intellectually involved and b) learn to ‘enjoy’. To ensure ‘success’ of his undertaken activities, one must follow a) correct step by step procedures, b) in appropriate order. In case of each ‘moral duty’ type activity, a) one should concentrate on ‘faithful implementation’, irrespective of it’s possible outcomes or results and b) one should not get discouraged by any incidental failures and must tenaciously pursue one’s involvement in such good activities.

(Source of Image: https://omshivam.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/shri-ganapathii.jpg)

ज्ञान् योग:

Every activity which is a) well planned and b) is being carried out with proper knowledge, can be considered as a ‘Yajña’. For the benefit of children (or ignorant), Vedic sages have recommended and prescribed the procedures of several such daily routine type Yajña activities, which are physically and spiritually credit worthy activities. E.g. ‘पञ्चमहायज्ञा:’ are recommended for daily routine performances. They are

1. ब्रह्मयज्ञ study of Vedopanishadic, spiritual or contemporary knowledge.
2. पितॄयज्ञ respectful services to elders and ancestors
3. देवयज्ञ performance of any variety of worship (of Gods, Goddesses etc.), 
4. भूतयज्ञ feeding any pets like dogs, cows, etc.
5. मनुष्ययज्ञ (अतिथि सत्कार, अतिथि देवो भव) taking care of human guests.

None of these five ‘महायज्ञ’ activities involve fire and burning of anything in flames.  Burning off to smoke, bit by bit, is useful to maintain pleasantly warm climate and to sustain a source of fire or smoke for repelling flies, mosquitoes and wild animals etc. Participants in Yajña type cooperative events, make their own contributions with selfless attitudes and work towards ‘Success’ of such events. The laws of Mother Nature are binding to all natural divine forces (called as Vedic Gods देवाधीनम् जगत् सर्वम्  मन्त्राधीनम् च दैवतम् ). Activities involving such natural powers (e.g. wind mills, solar heaters, steam turbines etc.)  produce results as per these laws. If correctly planned and implemented, any Yajña type activity must result in success, e.g. setting up an industry to manufacture a desired product or establishment of a school or college etc.

अखिलै: विषयै: मुक्त:   ज्ञानविज्ञानवान् अपि |  यज्ञार्थम् तस्य सकलम्   कृतम् कर्म विलीयते  (३.२९)

Activities carried out with selfless spirit do not lead to bindings and expectations. All activities naturally occurring in this Universe, can be considered as a ‘Brahma Yajña’. In Vedopanishadic texts, a conceptually imagined ‘Leader’ or coordinator of these natural activities is called as Brahmā or Brahmadeva. Most of these natural activities are rhythmically repetitive with their own periodicity. E.g. a) day and night b) month c) seasons d) year etc.

संन्यास योग:

As per one’s age and health requirements, everyone should practice renunciation from every currently irrelevant useless activity. Performance of duties and responsibilities, (without classifying them as good, bad etc.), is spiritually creditable and should never be abandoned. Non-performance of duties, even if they are classifiable as ‘bad’ (like punishing a thief or hanging a properly sentenced criminal) leads to acquisition of sin.

तत्ववित् योग युक्तात्मा   पुण्य_पापै: न लिप्यते |  त्यक्त्वाशाम् कर्म कुर्वन्ति   योगज्ञा:  चित्तशुद्धये (४.८-१०)

Saintly persons perform every (consciously performed) action in one’s life, from a) eating food when hungry or b) sleeping or resting when tired c) study of spiritual texts and worshiping any Gods or d) donating any funds for a good reason etc. as their contribution to the ‘Brahma Yajña’ and never claim any selfish personal credit (nor expect returns) for these performances. This is one of the best ways for living a) in grateful touch and b) linked and bonded with Mother Nature (प्रकृति), also called as ‘God Supreme’ (पुरुष).

(to be continued…)

Dr. Dhananjay B. Ghare, Former Scientist, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

The Concept of Karma and Contemporary Reflections (Part-I)

–Brig JS Rajpurohit, Ph.D.

Introduction

Ancient Indian philosophy expresses life in a varied form that includes life before human beings came into existence on earth. Nāsdiya Sukta explained the universe’s origin –

नासदासीन्नोसदासीत्तदानीं नासीद्रजो नो व्योमापरो यत् ।

किमावरीवः कुहकस्यशर्मन्नम्भः किमासीद्गहनं गभीरं ॥

(RigVeda 10/129/1)  

There was no existence or non-existence. There was no space or sky. Even ‘nothingness’ did not exist, and there was no air. The questions of what moved or stirred the universe then and under whose protection remained unanswered? Was there an immeasurable amount of water? No one knows. Since those days, the origin of human beings and the concept of Karma has been a long journey. Whys and hows are challenging to understand. The formulation of the universe paves the way to think of bondage and liberation through understanding Puruṣa and Prakṛti. Triguṇa theory started impacting life ever since and played a crucial role all along. The first identity of any life was Puruṣa and Prakṛti; Puruṣa was the creative consciousness and Prakṛti was the unaltered nature form of pure energy. Every aspect of life on earth has the inherent qualities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas as part of Prakṛti. These qualities exist in all living and non-living beings and impact all the humans and others around them.

Karma in Ancient Indian Knowledge System

Hinduism defines Karma as the actions of a person of his past and present life that impact his future life. It is the causality and its effects on one’s personal life. The intentions of all humans also lead to the impact on individual lives. Every good thought, word and action may lead to virtuous or harmful effects. Shiva Purāṇa 1.18 explains Karma as the body’s set of activities that continue in a series of birth and rebirth. The human body has been defined as gross (sthūla), subtle (sukṣma) and causal (kāraṇa). The gross body carries out the activities, the subtle body gives the pleasures and the pains through sensory organs and the causal body experiences the results of the actions through the soul or Jiva. Karma forms the core of the human life cycle that includes pre-birth and post-death eras. Karma or actions are directly related to happiness or otherwise with human beings. The oriental philosophy is adaptive and mindful and cruises with the cycle of life until the soul is enlightened and is free from the bondage of life and death. Achievement of mokṣa becomes humanity’s focal goal, which paves the way to salvation.

Rig Veda deliberates on Rta that gives rise to the concept of Dharma and Karma. Rta exhibits an order in the universe and is identified with Dharma. Rta comes from the root verb ‘Ru’, which means ‘to move’ and ‘through movement’. It refers to what is right and wrong and is synchronous to Dharma. An Rta or Non-Rta is an antonym to Rta or Dharma and may be called ‘Adharma’. While Dharma defines the righteous way of life in responsibilities and privileges, Karma focuses on actions and their impact on an individual. An individual’s life has a complex set of activities that include both good and bad experiences, and it is for the individual to decide which ones to follow. All these actions depend on what (S)he thinks and how one reacts. 

Karma has been reflected by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the battlefield of Mahābhārat and said-

न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् |

 कार्यते ह्यवश: कर्म सर्व: प्रकृतिजैर्गुणै: ||

(Bhagvadgita 3/5)

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that no one can remain without working, even momentarily. All living beings are duty-bound to work or act as per their traits or nature. Work does not include only the professional jobs; it has daily routine jobs like sleeping, waking up, brushing teeth, combing hair, eating, walking etc. Lord Krishna reflects that even the thoughts, words and actions are part of Karma. The decision not to do anything is also a thoughtful act. Every individual has to pay for their good and evil thoughts and consequent actions. No one can remain inactive at any point in time. One of the most inactive states considered is typically sleeping and in that physically inactive state; his mind is dreaming and body organs like the heart and respiratory system are functional. 

Contemporary Reflections

Georgetown University Berkely Centre for Religion defines Karma as a concept of Hinduism based on causality and its effect. Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction and ‘As you sow, so you reap’ are known to us from the western concept that affirms the Theory of Karma. They argue the same thought that one receives whatever one does and hence there is no action or behaviour of an individual that goes unnoticed. Nature responds in a direct or an indirect form. The human species have the cognition and consciousness to differentiate between good and evil.

Those are the actions easier said than done. Does one continue to worry about the outcome of every effort, or is there a way to free oneself and enjoy the present life? Human life is the only one with higher intellect and better brain. So, the choice is for each individual in Kaliyuga to take a recourse to purify the soul or continue enjoying every possible worldly pleasure. The deeper one goes in introspecting the meaning of life and death and the role of an individual in this life, the realisation that one can care more, share and love in abundance to draw happiness. Selfish and thinking about personal goals does not lead one to succeed every time. In contemporary businesses, interpersonal relations and success are directly connected with team building, teamwork, and leadership. A combined effort by the team brings satisfaction and abundant happiness.

Conclusion

Individual thoughts on life, death, duties and responsibility of human beings must realise that one has to live life in the given environment and interact with people, situations and resources. Life becomes worth living if there is harmony around and this is feasible when one can balance out professional work and personal life. Ensuring good actions and deeds in favour of self and others around makes Triguṇa impactful and enables a Win-Win situation. So, whether one believes in Karma or not, all of us are doing Karma, i.e., all thoughts and actions, to ensure a peaceful life. This thought itself is an assurance that one is on the right path to salvation. Ill-thoughts, if any, will only disbalance self-growth, which is detrimental to happiness and seeking blissful life.

–Brig JS Rajpurohit, Ph.D. Ex Indian Army Officer

In Search of Vedic Role Models for Modern Male Population – VI. Rudra is the Purusha that is the Primordial Power of the Cosmos

Rudra-Manthan Series

(Continued from Part-V)

– Prof. Bal Ram Singh

‘Rudra’ word may be derived from Tamil Uru to mean roar or rud to mean cry or howl, thus Rudra is basically is someone who roars or howls. In other words, Rudra is like the Big Bang that is supposed to be the origin of the universe. One of the Rudra is named Shambhu, in several pauraṇic texts, which may have originated from swayam (self) + bhu (become), meaning being born by self, again indicating the origin of all. Shambhu is also stated to originate from Sham to mean tranquility and Bhu meaning as the source. In summary, the first form of Rudra as Shambhu appears to a roaring source of the origin of balanced and tranquil universe. The universe is divided into causal, subtle, and physical world, and it is believed that Vishnu, the lord causal world, and Brahma, the lord of the creative subtle world, are created by Rudra, the primordial power, who also transforms himself into Shiva, the lord of the physical world.

10.24.1 of Yajurveda says “पुरुषो वै रुद्रः” which means Lord Shiva is the Purusha of the Veda.

Source of Image : https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=160338140683222&id=160048694045500&substory_index=0

Taittiriya Aranyaka refers Rudra being Purusha as it states (10.12) that Rudra is the one who is the first among devas and who saw Hiranyagarbha being born:

यो देवानां प्रथमं पुरस्ताद्विश्वाधिको रुद्रो महर्षिः ।
हिरण्यगर्भं पश्यत जायमान स नो देवः शुभयास्मृत्या संयुनक्तु ॥१२॥

He who is the first among the devas, that Rudra who is the great seer who is higher than the Universe (Vishwādhik), he is the one who saw Hiranyagarbha being born.

Further, Krishna Yajurveda Taittiriya Aranyaka (10.24.1, 10.25.1) clearly states ‘Purusho vai Rudrah,’ meaning ‘Rudra is the Purusha.’ It also provides elaborate explanation why Rudra is Purusha as:

सर्वो वै रुद्रस्तस्मै रुद्राय नमो अस्तु । पुरुषो वै रुद्रः
सन्महो नमो नमः। विश्वं भूतं भुवनं चित्रं बहुधा जातं जायमानं चयत्।

सर्वो ह्येष रुद्रस्तस्मै रुद्राय नमो अस्तु॥ कद्रुद्राय प्रचेतसे मीढुष्टमाय तव्यसे। वोचेम शंतम हृदे।

सर्वोह्येष रुद्रस्तस्मै रुद्राय नमो अस्तु॥

All this verily is Rudra. To Rudra who is such we offer our salutation. We salute again and again that Being, Rudra, who is Purusha. The material universe the created beings and whatever there is manifoldly and profusely created in the past and in the present in the form of the world, all that is indeed this Rudra. Salutations be to Rudra who is such. We sing a hymn that confers on us happiness in the highest degree to Rudra who is worthy of praise, who is endowed with the highest knowledge, who rains objects to the worshippers most excellently, who is more powerful and who is dwelling in the heart. Indeed all this is Rudra. Salutations be to Rudra who is such.

Svetasvatara Upanishad (4.12) also states Lord Rudra is the one who gave birth to Hiranyagarbha in the beginning:

यो देवानां प्रभवश्चोद्भवश्च विश्वाधिपो रुद्रो महर्षिः ।
हिरण्यगर्भं जनयामास पूर्वं स नो बुद्ध्या शुभया संयुनक्तु ॥

He, the creator of the gods and the bestower of their powers, the Support of the universe, Rudra the omniscient, who at the beginning gave birth to Hiranyagarbha− may he endow us with clear intellect.

From these above references, it is clear that the entire cosmos has originated from the primordial Rudra, the Shambhu, in the form of the Purusha, for whom perhaps the International Men’s Day (Purush Divas) is being celebrated. This aspect of Purusha places men to be the source of creation (Brahma), support for sustenance (Vishnu), and service by management (Shiva) of the universe, and thus at the highest pinnacle, which obviously deserves recognition, realization, and respect. However, the question is whether this level of analysis, understanding, and practice is what the International Men’s Day is meant to be.

According to the statement of the Founder of the International Men’s Day, International Men’s Day on the 19 November was founded in 1999 by Dr Jerome Teelucksingh a history lecturer at University of the West Indies in Trinidad Tabago. Interestingly calls for an International Men’s Day (IMD) have been going on since at least the 1960’s when it was reported in the New York Times, Feb 24 1969 that “Many men have been agitating privately to make February 23 International Men’s Day, the equivalent of March 8, which is International Women’s day“  This Day for women was first inaugurated in 1909.

Obviously, men’s cause is still struggling, as even otherwise generous United Nations, which has declared 189 of 365 days of the year for one cause or another, including 7 different days in various months for various wonderful causes to which women contribute and care, has not found as yet time or need to recognize a day that is exclusively for men.

Perhaps it is because of the lack of understanding regarding the nature and the natural role men are meant to play in the society. Purusha Suktas of Vedic literature, linking the primordial Rudra to Purusha, may be a good beginning to explore this very important issue of the society, which is otherwise marred with the discussion related to superficial equality, without delving into the deeper discussion of the basis of such equality in detail.

Interestingly, the IMD initiative was taken by a man, Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, from Trinidad and Tobago, who is of Indian origin, and it is further promoted by people from India. To find out more on this, all one has to do is to visit the IMD website learn the history and background, or watch their promotional video.  

“It should be noted that International Men’s Day as a global celebration owes a huge debt to Indian Men’s Advocate and mother of two Uma Challa. Almost single handedly Uma Challa pioneered the celebration of International Men’s Day in India in 2007 not knowing where the date had actually came from but believing in the celebration as a way to expose the shocking abuse that men suffer in the anti male legal system. Uma Challa is the founder of a number of organizations including the famed “Save the Indian Family Foundation” nonprofit based in Bangalore. Arguably Uma Challa was also one of the early instigators for an International Boys Day.

The Indian celebration of IMD is by far the single biggest celebration by any country in the global village. It was Uma Challa who inspired Warwick Marsh the founder of Dads4Kids to take International Men’s Day to the world stage and synchronize the celebrations in the disparate men’s movement around the world.

Australia is another country which saw overwhelming support for the celebrating International Men’s Day. “The Australian men and fathers advocates are the same group who established the current International Men’s Day website. The Australian IMD organizers brought several other countries into line with the small group of countries that had newly come to celebrate on the November date which was inaugurated in Trinidad and Tobago by Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh in 1999. In 2008  Dads4kids pioneered an historic celebration at the NSW state parliament and did the same in 2013 in federal parliament in Canberra Australia’s Capital.”

Men are referred to as Purusha in Indian languages, and philosophically puruśārtha is the ultimate goal of everyone’s (men and women) life. Conceivably, that has played a role in this movement, and hopefully, further understanding of Rudra as Purusha will bring out a truer meaning to the International Men’s Day!

Happy International Men’s Day!!

(to be continued….)

Editorial note – As a complementary to the Indian tradition of Nava-Durgā as the ideal role model of girls and women, it is high time that boys also get to be reminded of their potential and possibilities with role models similar to Nava-Durgā. Recently, the Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, USA, in collaboration with Kuruom Jankalyan Sansthan in village Kuruom near Ayodhya decided to make a debut program of Ramkathā as the platform to discuss, during April 22 – May 2, 2021, the features and traits of eleven Rudras as Rudra-Manthan for guiding boys in the world to grow and realize their full potential. Rudra-Manthan series of articles continue to explore that possibility to promote a better understanding of the needs and to provide educational support to boys and men.

– Prof. Bal Ram Singh, School of Indic Studies, Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, MA, USA

In Search of Vedic Role Models for Modern Male Population – IV. The features of Rudras for the model of Purusha

Rudra-Manthan Series

(Continued from Part-III)

– Prof. Bal Ram Singh

The variety of Shiva in the form of Rudras is the place perhaps to begin. According to Professor Subhash Kak, the great sage Yājñavalkya in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad speaks of the eleven Rudras as different aspects of consciousness. These eleven find systematic representation in the categories of Kashmir Śaivism, by getting added to the 25 tattvas of Sāṅkhya for the total of 36 (Kak, 2018) While the eleven Rudras remain a constant number in various ancient literature of Māhābhārata and Purāṇas (Vishnu Purāṇa, Matsya Purāṇa), their names and descriptions vary. According to Vishnu Purāṇa, the male element of Ardhanāreeshwar developed into 11 Rudras, and the female element developed into 11 Rudrānis, who became the consorts of the 11 Rudras (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Rudras and Rudrānis, according to Vishnu Purāṇa.

According to an article in Times of India’s Speaking Tree blog (July 8, 2019) the Ekadash (11) Rudras are as follows (Figure 2):

Figure 2. Ekadash Rudras

I have come to realize that there are multiple references to the same names with different meanings and also multiple names for the same entity with different meanings. All these point to the symbolism that is necessary to understand the outer world, and also refer to the diversity of culture over a long period of time that India has existed.

Fortunately, it does not appear to come in the way to create role models for boys and men in Rudras, as the characters described allow for creativity, discipline, and righteous actions, with courage, care, and sacrifice, something observed in males socially, backed by scientific analyses. To practicalize such role models, proper examination of Rudras and their qualities need to be linked to the development of different phases in the lives of boys and men. It may be noted here, amazingly that there is data based conclusion, supported by scientific experiments to suggest that males have more variability than females, perhaps justifying not only Nav-Durgā model for females and ekadash Rudras for males, but also different meanings, names, and numbers of Rudras in Māhābhārata and Purāṇas. The Variability Hypothesis, although questioned by some feminist groups at some point, has been proposed by Charles Darwin in his 1871 book, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (Johnson, Wendy; Carothers, Andrew; Deary, Ian J. (November 2008). “Sex Differences in Variability in General Intelligence: A New Look at the Old Question”, Perspectives on Psychological Science. 3 (6): (518–531). The basic observation he made was that the males tend to have greater variation in sexually selected traits. For example, the frequency of female voice does not change as much from childhood as that of the male.

More recent studies with brain morphometry, it has been found that “observed significant patterns of greater male than female between-subject variance for all subcortical volumetric measures, all cortical surface area measures, and 60% of cortical thickness measures.” This finding basically suggests the variability in men has a basis in the brain structure that cannot be wished away.

Interestingly, “this pattern (of variability) was stable across the lifespan for 50% of the subcortical structures, 70% of the regional area measures, and nearly all regions for thickness.”, which means the variation in fact starts at childhood and is maintained throughout the life. The authors have claimed that this is “the largest-ever mega-analysis of sex differences in variability of brain structure” (Wierenga, Lara M.; Doucet, Gaelle E.; Dima, Danai; et al. (2020). Human Brain Mapping making the observations more acceptable and impactful.

The differences in males and females are not limited to only outward features or brain, rather also in their behavioral traits, such as cooperation, time preferences, risk preferences (Thöni, Christian; Volk, Stefan; Cortina, Jose M. (January 2021). Psychological Science. 32 (1): 50–63. Also in dictator game offers and transfers in the trust game (Thöni, Christian; Volk, Stefan 2021-06-08). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (23). Thus, one can derive a solid genetic, neuroscience, psychological bases of the social behavior of males, which is likely to show more variation amongst men themselves, in contrast to women. This is thus reflected in the variety of Rudras discussed in various puranas, which can be used to describe and define different traits of boys and men so that a proper discipline is created for their optimum development.

(to be continued….)

Editorial note – As a complementary to the Indian tradition of Nava-Durgā as the ideal role model of girls and women, it is high time that boys also get to be reminded of their potential and possibilities with role models similar to Nava-Durgā. Recently, the Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, USA, in collaboration with Kuruom Jankalyan Sansthan in village Kuruom near Ayodhya decided to make a debut program of Ramkathā as the platform to discuss, during April 22 – May 2, 2021, the features and traits of eleven Rudras as Rudra-Manthan for guiding boys in the world to grow and realize their full potential. Rudra-Manthan series of articles continue to explore that possibility to promote a better understanding of the needs and to provide educational support to boys and men.

– Prof. Bal Ram Singh, School of Indic Studies, Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, MA, USA

In Search of Vedic Role Models for Modern Male Population – III. Uncertainty of Pursuit and the Biology of Purusha

Rudra-Manthan Series

(Continued from Part-II)

– Prof. Bal Ram Singh

Source of Image : https://dharmicverses.com/ardhanareeshvara-purusha-and-prakriti/

The feminine aspect of the Mahat Śakti has been modeled through the Nava-Durgā for human practice and realization (https://vedicwaves.wordpress.com/2021/04/28/nava-durga-as-ideal-model-for-the-development-of-women-to-attain-their-natural-full-potential/) in a relatively simple symbolization of the various phases of a woman’s life. The masculine aspect has never been explicitly modeled in the past to the best of my knowledge, although it is no rocket science to imagine it would be the Śiva. Since Śiva form represents the visible world, with infinite diversity, modeling it in a set of fixed formats is difficult, and this perhaps is the explanation of the absence of a symbolic representation of the masculine form. In terms of the Purūṣa and Prakṛti also, the former is defined through the pursuit (in deed a word derived from Purūṣa), which is a lot more uncertain than the Prakṛti even with its diversity. This can be seen reflected in a popular Sūbhāṣita as follows

नृपस्य चित्तं कृपणस्य वित्तं  मनोरथः दुर्जन मानवानाम्|

त्रिया चरित्रं पुरुष्यस्य भाग्यं दैवो न जानाति कुतो मनुष्यः||

Nrupasya chittam krupanasya vittam manorathah durjan manavaanaam|

Triyaa charitram purushasya  bhaagyam  daivo na jaanaati kuto manushyah||

i.e. Even the Devas do not know about a king’s (or a rulers) mentality, the wealth of a miserly person, about the wishes of wicked persons, the way a woman will behave, and what will be the fate of a man.  Then how can an ordinary person know about it?

The prediction of the pursuit of unknown which man has more tendency to do, and thus also the consequence of such pursuit certainly is uncertain. Also, the triya that comes from stree is related to sāttvic, rājasic, and tāmasic gunas that women possess simultaneously (remember multi-tasking!), which is by its nature difficult to determine. These are the factors why the uncertainty is associated with these two very important traits men and women possess biologically and psychologically. However, women nevertheless would have more control over their own conduct compared to men, leading to more risk variability men’s life as pointed out in a Harvard Health Publishing article.

Source of image : https://in.pinterest.com/pin/728035095992868923/

Over 15 years ago there were psychological studies conducted on men and women in terms of spatial and navigational skills. It was found that men have higher spatial skills compared to men. What implications would this might have in the lives of men? When men find themselves located in a place be in forest or car they are able to have better sense of their position. This means they will be adept to parking their cars in a given place, or may have a sense of the direction they need to pursue to get out. On the other hand, women have better navigational skills by being able to spot items on the way, thus making them milestones to find their way. Thus, while women may be flexible or appear distracted but their ability to spot items helps in their navigational needs. Men, on the other hand, have sense of directions but the details of getting to a place will have many uncertainties.

Biologically men and women are quite different, beginning with genetic, metabolic, and physiological, that leads to social and cultural behavior, imposed or otherwise. According to Robert H. Shmerling “The uneven playing field for boys starts early. The Y chromosome tends to develop mutations more often than X chromosomes and the lack of a second X chromosome in men means that X-linked abnormalities among boys are not “masked” by a second, normal version. Survival in the womb is also less reliable for male fetuses (for uncertain, and probably multiple, reasons). Developmental disorders are also more common among boys; some of these could shorten life expectancy.”

In addition, the hormonal secretion, including sex hormones (Figure 1), dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, which affects mood, behavior, and physiology, are quite different not only in their pattern, but also in their effects. For example, the oxytocin – a social bonding hormone, has positive effect on women whereas somewhat negative effect on men. All this begs the question for the need to utilize the knowledge of ancient India coded in Vedic texts for modern times to create a role model for men.

Figure 1. Level of sex hormone in men and women.

(to be continued….)

Editorial note – As a complementary to the Indian tradition of Nava-Durgā as the ideal role model of girls and women, it is high time that boys also get to be reminded of their potential and possibilities with role models similar to Nava-Durgā. Recently, the Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, USA, in collaboration with Kuruom Jankalyan Sansthan in village Kuruom near Ayodhya decided to make a debut program of Ramkathā as the platform to discuss, during April 22 – May 2, 2021, the features and traits of eleven Rudras as Rudra-Manthan for guiding boys in the world to grow and realize their full potential. Rudra-Manthan series of articles continue to explore that possibility to promote a better understanding of the needs and to provide educational support to boys and men.

– Prof. Bal Ram Singh, School of Indic Studies, Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, MA, USA

“Tamaso Mā Jyotirgamaya”- Finding a Guru in Modern Times

– Dr. Aparna (Dhir) Khandelwal and Prof. Bal Ram Singh

Knowledge is a supreme reality that is not limited to experience, education, reasoning and practice. It is an awareness, or understanding of facts that helps in awakening the intellect of a person for making one wise, and use that wisdom (बुद्धि) to pursue naturally the purpose of life through चित्त, अहंकार (अस्तित्व), and महत (the supreme mind) according to the Sankhya Darśan. The mahat concept is the gateway to understanding the brahm (ब्रह्म), the ultimate seat of the knowledge. Thus, a journey of this kind requires training, practice, guidance, and ultimately the sākśātkār (साक्षात्कार) or darśan. An important individual who effectively guides in this journey is known as ‘Guru’. Since Vedic era the word ‘Guru’ is well recognised in various texts like Muṇdaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12), Śvetāśvetara Upaniṣad and Advayatāraka Upaniṣad.

Source of Image : http://www.allfestivalimage.com/2018/07/free-hd-happy-guru-purnima-wallpapers.html

Literally, ‘Guru’ word is constructed from two Sanskrit words, gu (गु) and ru (रु), gu (गु) means dark, ignorance, superficial, confusion, etc., depending on the context, and ru (रु) means to break, to remove, to end, deeper/heavier, or enlighten. Guru-Gītā, a Hindu scripture (Guru Gītā is a spiritual text originally constructed by Sage Vyasa, and narrated again in  the Sakanda Purāṇa where the nature of the guru and the guru/disciple relationship is described in the form of a dialogue between Śiva and Pārvatī). Śiva narrated the etymological derivation of the word ‘guru’ that is based on the syllables gu (गु) and ru (रु), and their meanings in different contexts. According to Wikipedia, there are different versions of Guru-Gita ranging in verses from 100 to 400. According to a Guru-Gita following verses are directly defining the term Guru. It is interesting to note that the primary meaning of the gu (गु) as dark and ru (रु) as the remover is retained to describe the concepts of the ślokas. –

गुकारश्चान्धकारो हि रुकारस्तेज उच्यते |

अज्ञानग्रासकं ब्रह्म गुरुरेव न संशयः||33||

‘गु’ शब्द का अर्थ है अंधकार (अज्ञान) और ‘रु’ शब्द का अर्थ है प्रकाश (ज्ञान) | अज्ञान को नष्ट करने वाला जो ब्रह्मरूप प्रकाश है, वह गुरु है | इसमें कोई संशय नहीं है |

 In this translation the physical reality of dark is removed by the physical element of light, and that is then metaphorically used to indicate that the guru removes the ignorance by eating it away (grāsakam), means destroying it permanently.

गुकारश्चान्धकारस्तु रुकारस्तन्निरोधकृत् | 

अन्धकारविनाशित्वात् गुरुरित्यभिधीयते ||34||

‘गु’ कार अंधकार है और उसको दूर करनेवाल ‘रु’ कार है | अज्ञानरूपी अन्धकार को नष्ट करने के कारण ही गुरु कहलाते हैं |

Here the guru is presented as someone who does not allow the darkness to continue, in other words the guru destroys it. Implications are here that the guru is a dynamic personality who can spot, assess, and prevent the ignorance from continuing.

गुकारः प्रथमो वर्णो मायादि गुणभासकः |

रुकारोऽस्ति परं ब्रह्म मायाभ्रान्तिविमोचकम् ||36||

‘गुरु’ शब्द का प्रथम अक्षर ‘गु’ माया आदि गुणों का प्रकाशक है और दूसरा अक्षर ‘रु’ माया की भ्रान्ति से मुक्ति देनेवाला परब्रह्म है |

Here guru is projected as someone who removes confusion from the illusionary māyā. Two points worth noting are (1) gu (गु) here is presented as the promoter of illusion by highlighting its qualities or features; and (2) ru (रु) means not just a remover of the confusion from this illusion but doing this from the perspective of the parbrahm (परब्रह्म), meaning after attaining that status.

Thus, a guru is a very dynamic personality who can provide guidance to his/her disciple (शिष्य) under a variety of natural and artificial (illusionary) conditions of activities to develop wisdom and vivek in the pursuits of the ultimate goals of life.  

The attributes of guru have to be such that such a dynamism in developing the disciple is readily feasible. Some of those attributes are described under stanzas on ‘आचार्यलक्षणम्’ in Śukla Yajurveda’s Advayatāraka Upaniṣad (an ancient Sanskrit text on Yoga), as outlined below.

आचार्यो वेदसम्पन्नो विष्णुभक्तो विमत्सरः ।

योगज्ञो योगनिष्ठश्च सदा योगात्मकः शुचिः ॥14॥

A truly competent teacher is, armed with Vedic knowledge, a devotee of Viśṇu to mean that the guru has full knowledge of the causal world, free from envy/jealousy through the knowledge, devotion, and practice of yoga. This is important for a guru so that there is no envy with the disciple, providing total devotion to the guidance of the of the disciple.

गुरुभक्तिसमायुक्तः पुरुष्ज्ञो विशेषतः ।

एवं लक्षणसम्पन्नो गुरुरित्यभिधीयते ॥15॥

He should be devoted to his own guru, meaning continues to remain a śiṣya in practice, thus being able to develop the camaraderie with his own disciple, is particularly well versed with the knowledge of puruśa and prakriti, the source and expressive powers of the universe, He who possesses various types of  such virtues is designated as a guru.

गुशब्दस्त्वन्धकारः स्यात् रुशब्दस्तन्निरोधकः ।

अन्धकारनिरोधित्वात् गुरुरित्यभिधीयते ॥16॥

The syllable gu (signifies) darkness. The syllable ru (signifies) the destroyer of the darkness. By the reason of the ability to destroy darkness he is called a guru.

गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म गुरुरेव परा गतिः ।

गुरुरेव परा विद्या गुरुरेव परायणं ॥17॥

The guru alone is the supreme absolute brahm. Guru alone is the supreme way. Guru alone is the master of parā (as opposed to only aparā) vidyā. Guru alone is the supreme and last resort.

गुरुरेव परा काष्ठा गुरुरेव परं धनं ।

यस्मात्तदुपदेष्टाऽसौ तस्माद्गुरुतरो गुरुरिति ॥18॥

The guru alone is the limit of all knowledge. The guru alone is the ultimate wealth. He is the teacher of the non-dual reality. Therefore, he is the ultimate guru.

The tradition of spiritual relationship and mentoring, where teachings are transmitted from a guru to a disciple, is known as guru–śiṣya paramparā. This guru–śiṣya relationship has evolved in Indian tradition since Upaniṣad era where guru and śiṣya developed resonance of thoughts and then guru transmits his knowledge to the person who respectfully sits down near him with śraddhā, in the quest for knowledge. A guru–śiṣya relationship are beyond age, gender, and battlefield, as the guru can be Yama to a teenage boy Naciketā, lord Kṛśṇa to warrier Arjuna, or sage Yājñavalkya to his own wife (Gārgī / Maitreyī).

The concept of guru and Guru Purṇimā is quite old, the oldest being celebrated as the birthday of Ved Vyāsa, on the day of Aṣāḍa Purṇimā. The latest revival of Guru Purṇimā festival was done by Mahatma Gandhi in honor of his spiritual guru, Rajchandra. In its true tradition a guru does not expect anything in return from a śiṣya, and performs the imparting of knowledge as a karmayoga.  

With time, people started observing guru as a mentor, counsellor, advisor, who inculcates values in his disciples by sharing knowledge and his own experiences, and who cares about the wellbeing of his disciples. A guru, however, in its true tradition will dedicate his/her life caring about disciples spiritually, and educating them in accordance with their nature. Thus, he is an inspirational source for the spiritual evolution of the disciple. The tradition of guru runs deep in India. The entire Sikhism concept is laid down based on the the teachings of Guru. Its main scripture is called Guru Granth Sahib and the words therein called Gurbaṇī.

In present society too, we have come across many such gurus. Like Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Swami Vivekānanda, Swami Dayānanda Saraswatī, His Holiness Dalai Lama for Buddhism, ISKCON founder A. C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada for Bhakti Yoga, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for Art of living, Radha Swami, Swami Rāmdev Bābā for Yoga, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for Spirituality, and many others in such tradition. Their disciples usually refer to them as Gurudev! These spiritual leaders are kind of role models and sometimes preferred by people as an alternative to established religions to know more about divinity.

In olden days, the school or pāṭhśālā ran by guru was known as gurukula, later on in modern times they are called as āśrama, although the gurukula system of education is still in practice. Both of these are residential places of learning, without requiring any fees. Guru treats disciples or followers as part of their own family. In gurukula, students received complete knowledge of Vedic scriptures, philosophical-spiritual-medicinal-political, etc. along with various art forms, whereas in āśrama followers received spiritual preaching from their guru. Ultimately these are concentrated on such education that helps in revealing the purpose of life. While pursuing teaching or preaching, guru focuses on self-discipline among learners that result in inner perfection leading to liberation in the form of mokṣa.

Guru–śiṣya tradition superficially still is observed in modern educational institutions, at least in traditional ones, where students in general pay respect to their teachers on occasions of Guru Purṇimā. Sometimes these occasions are observed in United States by Hindu groups, such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad America, and American teachers really appreciate such a devotion. The devotion to teachers, no matter where they are, is always beneficial to students, as śraddhā is critical for earning knowledge.

श्रद्धावान् लभते ज्ञानं तत्पर: संयतेन्द्रिय: |

ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति || Bhagvadgita 4.39||

Those who are devoted and who are ready willing to control their mind and senses attain knowledge. Through such knowledge, they quickly attain everlasting supreme peace.

Thus, in Indian tradition the position of Guru is more or less same as Deva, the lord. One should be devoted to his Guru just like he is devoted to his Deva.  

यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । Śvetāśvetara Upaniṣad 6.23

Will this system ever return, is it the right time for its return, can this system adapt to the modern time, can it compete with modern educational system, and will it be allowed in a time when education itself has become an over $6 trillion business? Only time will tell, but one thing is clear with forced adaptation during the Corona time, that the bluff of traditional system of institutional classroom has largely been called out! With the cost of education spiraling out of control at all levels throughout the world, the educational practices adapted during the Corona lockdown may in fact have provided the needed pause for pondering.

A trillion dollar question is whether gurus are ready to take their place! Let’s hope the answer would be YES by the next Guru Purṇimā!!

Worthy Gurus are absolutely needed!

– Dr. Aparna (Dhir) Khandelwal, Assistant Professor and Prof. Bal Ram Singh, Director, School of Indic Studies, INADS, Dartmouth, USA

Indian Festivals based on the Concept of Yajña (Part -I)

– Sh. Anand Gaikwad

Introduction

While I was studying Varāh Mihir’s “Brihat Samhitā” and participating in the exercise of validation of his Rain conception and Rain Delivery (RCRD) theory for Monsoon -2016; the basis of Yajña concept being incorporated in some of the Indian Festivals came to my mind as a realisation. I have been thinking about it ever since the publication of the report about this validation exercise in Asian Agri-History Journal 2018 Vol.22 (2), the International Quarterly Journal of Asian Agri- History Foundation. My association with late Ashwamedhayaji Shri Nanaji Kale for  validation of Suvrushti  Project and RCRD Theory for Monsoon 2016, was a wonderful experience for me; particularly for understanding the greatness of our Ṛśis in theorizing their observations  of nature, environment, atmospheric order and the  Cosmological  System consisting of Sun, Moon, Planets and Nakṣatras. One marvels at the wisdom and expertise in interweaving these theories in social and cultural life for the common benefit of mankind.

Source of Image : https://study.com/academy/lesson/high-low-pressure-areas-horizontal-vertical-movements.html

All of us are familiar with the Indian Monsoon. The word Monsoon has its origin in Arabic word, ‘Mausam’ which means ‘season’. The word which was originally referred to wind reversals in the Arabian sea, has come to mean the whole range of the phenomena associated with the annual weather cycles in tropical and sub-tropical Asia, Australia and Africa. Therefore, the study of Monsoon weather patterns is of great importance for every Indian farmer, every student of Environmental Science and for that matter every Indian citizen, because Monsoon is the life-line of India. According to world climate patterns and regional geography of Asia and India, Monsoon climate patterns are characterized by large scale seasonal reversals of winds, giving very distinct seasons, ’Summer’ and ‘Winter’. In summer moist air is carried northwards from the Indian Ocean over the Indian sub-continent bringing rains. In winter, cool dry weather is carried southwards. Thus, the year gets divided into wet and dry seasons. In addition a short North-East Monsoon affects the south-east coastal states of India due to winds bringing moisture from Bay of Bengal. The Summer Monsoon arrives in southern India in late May or early June and gradually advances northwards and westwards reaching Jammu-Kashmir, Pakistan by early July. It begins to retreat from north western regions and Pakistan by September and withdraws from south India by November. This pattern of advancement and withdrawal gives Indian sub-continent its characteristic seasonal rainfall pattern which is called Indian Monsoon.

Our great Ṛśis and seers during Vedic Period and Post Vedic Period had studied these weather patterns and encapsulated their findings in scriptures like , “ Brihat Samhitā“ of  Varāh Mihir, “Arthaśastra“ of Kautilya  and “Kṛśi Parashar“ of  Parashar. In addition to these examples of the Science of Rainfall Prediction and Rain Conception Signals, there are many ancient texts of Astrometerology of Vedic traditions like –Parashar Samhitā, Garg Samhitā, Kashyap Samhitā, Maghmala Samhitā, Narad Samhitā etc. which have been mentioned in the reports/ books published by Shri Yogiraj Ved Vidnyan Aśram, Barshi, Dist. Solapur Maharashtra, (Vedaśram) founded by late Ashwamedhayaji Shri Nanaji Kale mentioned above. Vedaśram carried out various experiments of, Suvrushti Projects and Validation of Varāh Mihir’s RCRD Theory by performing Somyāgas, Parjanya Yāgas for establishing scientifically the relationship between Yajñas, Agriculture, Environment and Rainfall.

Varāh Mihir’s Theory of Rain Conception and Rain Delivery ( RCRD):

Varāh Mihir in his, “Brihat Samhitā” gives his theory of Vṛśṭi Garbhadhārana (Rain conception) and Vṛśṭi Prasav (Rain delivery). Chapters 21 to 28 of this book are devoted to this subject-matter. Before laying down his theory, Varāh Mihir explains the importance of the knowledge of Rainfall Prediction, Rain Conception Signals and Rain Delivery at the beginning of chapter 21 entitled “Garbh Lakṣaṇam” (Pregnancy of clouds) in the first verse as follows:

अन्नम् जगत: प्राणा: प्रावृट्कालस्य चान्नमायत्तम् |

यस्मादत: परीक्ष्य: प्रावृट्काल: प्रयत्नेन् ||१||

Annam Jagataḥ Prāṇāḥ Prāvṛṭkālasya Chānnamāyattam  I

Yasmādataḥ Parīkṣyaḥ Prāvṛṭkālaḥ Prayatnen  II1II

It means that as the food is life-giving and life-sustaining force to all living beings and the food is dependent on rainfall (Monsoon) it should be observed, investigated and studied carefully. In India only 35% of the cultivated land is an irrigated land, which means that almost 65% is rain-fed area, which is entirely dependent upon Monsoon. Hence farmer’s knowledge about Rain Conception Signals and Rainfall Prediction is of great significance.

केजिद्वदन्ती कार्तिक शुक्लान्तमतीत्य गर्भदिवसा: स्यु: |

न च तन्मतं बहुनां गर्गादीनां मतं वक्ष्ये II ५II

Kejidvadantī Kārtika Śuklāntamatītya Garbhadivasāḥ Syuḥ  I

Na Cha Tanmataṁ Bahunāṁ Gargādināṁ  Mataṁ Vakṣye II5II

Thus, some sages say that the days of pregnancy of clouds begins after the full moon of Kārtika month but the opinion is not shared by the majority. Therefore he further says:

मार्गशिर: सितपक्षप्रतिपत्प्रभृति क्षपाकरेआषाढाम् |

पूर्वा वा समुपगते गर्भाणां लक्षणं ज्ञेयम् ||६||

Mārgśiraḥ Sitpakṣapratipatbhṛti Kṣapākareāṣāḍhām I

Pūrvā Vā Samupagate Garbhāṇāṁ Lakṣaṇaṁ Jñeyam II 6 II

The symptoms of pregnancy of clouds are to be detected / observed when Moon transits Purvāśāḍha asterism commencing from the first day of Mārgaśirsya. Varāh Mihir’s prime RCRD Theory is stated in verse 7 :

यन्नक्षत्रमुपगते गर्भश्चंद्रे भावेत्स चन्द्रवशात् |

पन्चनवते दिनशते तत्रैव प्रसवमायाति || ७||  

Yannakṣatramupagate Garbhaśchandre Bhāvetsa Chandravaśāt I

Panchanavate Dinśate Tatraiva Prasavmāyāti  II7II

The rain-foetus formed during the Moon stay in a particular asterism (Nakṣatra) will be born 195 days (192 calendar days  + or – one day ) later at the time when the Moon will be again in the same asterism according to the laws of her revolution (Moon Cycle). Thus, the RCRD Theory of Varāh Mihir in simple words is that rain conception takes place during dry period (Mārgaśir to Chaitra).The rain conception signals can be observed from the first day of Mārgaśir till Chaitra Māsa. The rain-foetus conceived during this period will give rain delivery after the gestation period of 195 days (approx. six and half months later) at the time of same asterism when the foetus was conceived. The various rain conception signals to be observed are given in other verses and depending on the rain conception signals observed the rain delivery after the gestation period of 195 days  can be predicted . One can prepare a local calendar of rainfall prediction and validate the same with actual rainfall on those days. A farmer can plan his agricultural operations based on this local Agro-climatic calendar.

The relationship of Yajña with Agriculture and Environment :

When one reads the RCRD Theory of Varāh Mihir along with the gospel truth given in Bhagavadagītā Chapter 3 Śloka 14:

अन्नाद् भवन्ति भूतानि पर्ज्यन्यात् अन्नसंभव: |

यज्ञात् भवन्ति भूतानि पर्ज्यन्या: यज्ञ: कर्मसमुद्भव: ||३.१४|| 

Annād bhavanti bhutāni parjanyāt Annasambhavaḥ I

Yajñāt Bhavanti Bhutāni Parjyanyāḥ Yajñaḥ Karmasamudbhavaḥ  II3.14 II

One leads to logical conclusion that Yajñas be performed during the dry period to facilitate rain conception and rain-foetus nourishment during the gestation period. This very concept has been incorporated in our festivals which are based on Yajña/ Havans starting from Durgā Navrātri in Aświn to Rāma Navmī in Chaitra and Akṣaya-Tṛtīyā in Vaiśākha. The deities worshipped are Ādi Śakti, Puruśa, Śiva, Agnī and Surya and the offerings are preparations of cereals and pulses of newly harvested crops. Our Ṛśis have interwoven these festivals which are based on ’Suryōpasana’ and ‘Agniupasana’ in our cultural system for celebration / participation by masses.

(to be continued…..)

–Sh. Anand Gaikwad, Krishi Bhushan Sendriya  Sheti  M. S. & Retd. Executive Director/Company Secretary