What is the use of Logic in vedanta?

There are some stataments in Vedanta which is normally contorted or distorted according to one’s own design / desire. One such statement we take up here:

Today we will see the statement from katopanishad : “naisha tarkena matirapaneya”

Naisha – na esha – never this

Tarkena – through the logic

Matir – knowledge

Apaneya is the tricky word. Aapneya means gain and if it is taken as apaneya – destroy / wrongly understand (redirect)

The others who have not understood the Vedanta and/or who have no introduction to the school of logic (tarka) use as an instrument to condemn logic.

But if one has no use of logic, vedanta will only be like any other cult. And the shruti talking about the manana and nidhidhyasana will not just be impossible but erroneous too.

This statement only warns us from getting into the useless tarka or non-shruti based tarka. This is what bhagavan bhashyakara states in his sadhanapancakam – “dustarkad suviramyatam shrutimatas tarkonusandiyatam” – get away from the wrong logic and follow the logic accepted by the scriptures.

Since this is about the self-luminous Self, all that is needed of the logic is to negate the wrong notions about the Self. But, not understanding this, if one tries to use the logic to understand the Self or to negate the Self, then, for him this is the teaching – it cannot be gained by logic. Because through logic, we only try to reach a point that is attainable through the intellect. The self is beyond it and which illumines the intellect. And, even through hundreds of logic, we cannot also negate the existence of the Self, which is I.

“asan eva sa bhavati, asad brahma iti veda cet” – he will verily be inert (non-self-conscious, non-existent) if he understands the Brahman (Self) as asat (inert /  non-existent).

“asti brahma it ced veda, santam enam tato vidur iti” – if one understands the Brahman as existence, then the knowledgable one understands / proclaims him to be a knower of Self.

And in this same taiteriya upainshad, the process of vichara is shown. And vichara presupposes logical faculty.

And to prove this point, bhashyakara says in the bhashya of th above mentioned statement, that this truth can be understood only if is heard from a knowledgable and logical Master.

Who else is better than the logician to understand the fallacy of the logic. Any logic can be fit with an upadhi dosha, they know.

And the logicians are not kept alive by vedantins as a sparring partner for the debates, but to help us understand the nuances of the discussion better.

Did Brahmins eat non-veg in vedic Sacrifice?

We will come to the desire propelled food habits, like eating non-veg ‘mamsa’, by the Brahmins, in a later post -  this I promised in my previous post. We will discuss this now.

The shruthi gives some injunctive ‘vidhi’ statements for the fire sacrifices performed with cow, goat, horse, sparrow etc.; now some people are of this wrong idea that like in the last Soma yaga, here too since the offerings are to be partaken by the preists, they concur that the Brahmins are allowed to take non-veg or they used to take non-veg (probably, taking the shruti as a Pramana for this escapism).

But, the truth is, even for the people who are allowed to eat the non-veg food, the shruti lays a code of eating only the five animals with five nails ‘panca panca nakhaan bhakshyaa’. This is to control the desire propelled ‘ragata prapta’ food habits.

Son, in the yaga too, like the soma rasa only, if at all, a small bit can be had. And definetly, this yaga is not performed as an excuse for eating non-veg. The shruti not olny lays the rule for the cattle, but also what portion of the cattle should be used, and how it should be cut. The cattle should be cut, and after removing the heart, tongue ‘agre avadyati atha hrdye atha jihvaa’. And the left out portion what will we do, cook for eating, if be said, No, because that is a cattle given for the yaga purpose. There is nothing like leftover, the other unwanted portion should be put in the pit which is dug for throwing all the wastes in the yaga.

But, there is a statement in the shraadha prakarana for using the non-veg food as an offering to the ancestors and be served for the Brahmins who are representative for those ancestors. This is true. But, the smriti texts categorically negate using non-veg foods in any of the karmas in kali yuga.

Then we cannot perform the pashu yaga, if be asked. We understand it right. Then the shruti statement will become useless (if one statement is useless, the others can also be useless, like the previous one. With this kind of logic the others will destroy the pramanatva of the scriptures).

For this reason, the great saints like Sri Madvacharya etc. proposed a new way of performing the yaga. By making the form of the required cattle with dow paste filling its inners with kumum mixed necessary body parts (like, heart, tongue etc) the yaga should be performed. And never with the real cattle.

Is Soma-Rasa intoxicant ?

Someone was asking a question, apparently he had seen some television program in US about the Soma creeper, which says that it is not available in India and is seen in South Africa, and the important point is it is an intoxicant.

Now, let us take this for inquiry.

We can understand the shruti saying very peculiar specification of a cow for buying this creeper, it should be red colour eyed, one year old 'pingankshi ekaahanya somam krinati'  etc. Probably, this is because it is (soma) an imported itemJ.

Forget about it, since that is not the topic of interest for us here; we are not going into it.

Now, let us take the point of it being an intoxicant. There are many contradictory points to negate this idiotic idea.

Can it be an intoxicant? The shruti says, one should not drink intoxicant 'suraam na pibet'. Now, can we take this like the killing of the cattle 'pashuvada' in the sacrifice?. That is, the shruti says don’t trouble any living creature 'na himsyad sarvaa bhutaani' and it itself asks us to do the cattle sacrifice 'pashum aalabet', sparrow sacrifice 'kapinjalaan  yajet' etc. The logicians will explain this as the torturing 'himsa' karmas performed inside of the sacrifice is acceptable, and will not produce any demerit 'papa'. In the same way, the intoxicant ‘suraa’ taken outside of sacrifice produces sin and not the one taken in the sacrifice. No, because the soma juice is not an intoxicant.

a.       First the soma creeper is crushed and the juice is extracted. This juice is used in the fire sacrifice and only the left over is taken, and that too only a small portion.

b.      When even If it accepted that the soma left over will be enough to get drunk (which is not the case, we can only lick a drop), you will not be spending a fortune to get the others drunk J. How so ? the shruti says the the master/performer ‘yajamaana’  who spends for the sacrifice will have to take the soma in the last after the pundits who perform takes ‘yajamaana panchamaa bhakshyaa’ etc. are proof for this.

c.       If said, since this is desire propelled ‘ragata prapta’, therefore it cannot be negated by scripture; it is doing its best by controlling the intake. So, seeing the expenditure the fellow will curtail his desire. Then it will be a joke, if the person wants to get drunk he will not listen to any one, leave alone the scriptures which are just meaningless words for him. And, he will only be spending the money in buying a drink. We will come to the desire propelled food habits, like eating non-veg ‘mamsa’, by the Brahmins, in a later post.

d.      And he will be growing the creeper in abundance, remember demand -> supply.

MahavakyaPancaka - Sloka 5

bheda-matijätam avadhütam anubhütam

yena viditam tatam parätparasukham ca |

tadbhavati sohamiti yat çrutiñu soktam

tattvamasi tattvamasi tattvamasi räjan || 5

bheda-matijätam – when the knowledge of duality is destroyed

avadhütam – Transedental

anubhütam – experience

yena viditam – one who knows this

tatam parätparasukham ca – he gains the Ultimate bliss also

tadbhavati – and becomes that

sohamiti – as “That Iam”

yat çrutiñu soktam – which is expresed in a very clear way in the Shruti / scriptures

tattvamasi tattvamasi tattvamasi – That you are, That you are, That you are

räjan - oh King.

Oh King, you are the Self, which is experienced as “Iam That” and the embodiment of Pre Bliss, when one has negated the world of duality and experiences the Transcedental state as being that. Which is what is nicely explained by the Shruti.

MahavakyaPancaka - Sloka 4

koçamaya-païcakam idam ca savikäram

yatra viyadädi vimala sphuritam etat |

asti na kadäcidapi rajjuvat anantam

tattvamasi tattvamasi tattvamasi räjan || 4

koçamaya-païcakam –  That which is covered by the five sheats

idam ca – all this is

savikäram – endowed with attributes

yatra – where

viyadädi – all the ether etc.

vimala –impurity

sphuritam etat – is seen

asti na kadäcidapi –  does not exist at any point of time/space

rajjuvat – like the rope, without the superimposition

anantam – is eternal

tattvamasi tattvamasi tattvamasi – That you are, That you are, That you are

räjan - oh King.

Oh King, you are the Self, that which remains as the substratum, without the superimposition, like the rope without being altered or affected by the superimposed snake. So too, without any impurity (vimala if seen as vigata mala – devoid of mala, impurity) of the superimposed embodiments which are the vimala (vishesha mala, varied or manifold forms of impurity).

MahavakyaPancaka - Sloka 3

dehaguëajälam atilélam atilolam

yena lasitam bhavati dhépuraçatam ca |

advayam anantagam apäram atisükñmam

tattvamasi tattvamasi tattvamasi räjan || 3

dehaguëajälam – that which is bound, as though, by the body-sense organ complex

atilélam – which is very playfull

atilolam – which is very creative

yena lasitam bhavati – because of the association with this

dhépuraçatam ca – the intellect as though is seperated from the Self (the real nature)

advayam – non-dual

anantagam – omni-present

apäram – omni-potent

atisükñmam – very subtle

tattvamasi tattvamasi tattvamasi – That you are, That you are, That you are

räjan - oh King.

Oh King, you are the Self, Very subtle, non-dual, omni-present, omni-potent which is as though bound by the body – sense organ complex, and therefore, though in reality non-dual, is seen to be playfull, creative and  manifold.

MahavakyaPancaka - Sloka 2

yat-janitam etad-akhilam jagad anityam

svapnajagad abhragaja-väri vanatulyam |

apramita-mürti-rahitam parasukham yat

tattvamasi tattvamasi tattvamasi räjan || 2

yat-janitam – from which is created

etad-akhilam – this whole

jagad – world

anityam – which is non-eternal

svapnajagad – like the world in the dream

abhragaja-väri – like the water in the clouds

vanatulyam – and similar to the forest

apramita-mürti-rahitam – that which is devoid of any form and cannot be the object of any means of right knowledge

parasukham yat – which is the ultimate bliss

tattvamasi tattvamasi tattvamasi – That you are, That you are, That you are

räjan - oh King.

Oh King, you are the Self, Which is the cause of the creation, sustanance and dissolution of this whole world, which (world) is euphemeral like the world of the dream state or the water of the clouds cannot quench our immediate thirs and like the forest will make us loose track of the Self. Giving up the association with it, knowing clearly it to be euphemeral, know the ultimate bliss which is not an object to any means of right knowledge.

MahavakyaPancaka - Sloka 1

nistamasi nérajasi nirgalitasattve

tejasi vivekajuñi bhedam atiçünye |

nirvacana mänasa patädhigamacintyam

tattvamasi tattvamasi tattvamasi räjan || 1

nistamasi - that which is devoid of the tamo guna or that which has no association what-so-ever with the igonarance

nérajasi  - that which devoid of the rajo guna or that which has no association with the effects of rojoguna, which is the activity

nirgalitasattve – that which is devoid of the sattva guna or that which has not fallen from the sattva - existence

tejasi – though so, that which is ever shining

vivekajuñi – that which is attained by the knowledge or that which is the embodiment of knowledge

bhedam atiçünye – that which does not have even an ioto of duality or that for which nothing exists other than itself

nirvacana – explainable

mänasa – thinkable

patädhigamacintyam – or attainable that which is not.

tattvamasi tattvamasi tattvamasi – That you are, That you are, That you are

räjan - oh King.

Oh King, you are the Self, that which is devoid of any association with the cause or the effect of the three gunas. Which cannot be even thought of being gained through the actions of body, speech or the mind. Which is the evershining knowledge princliple devoid of the duality of known and knower.

Note : This text is attributed to the disciples of Bhagavan Bhashyakara, sung when he had entered the body of a King to know and answer the questions of Smt Vani , wife of Sri Mandana Mishra, on the Kama Kalas; to remind him of his true Self :) . The original text is not found in any of the DikVijaya, except Sri Ananda Giri Acharya, refers to a similar sloka.

Rama or Ravana ?

Just recently a politician started the debate about Rama, again (many have done this even before and will do it later too). Now, many people just to prove that Rama is great try comparing him with “demon” king Ravana.

This an age-old debacle. And even some sadhus who belong to the northern belt have this bias, and use illogical logic with the southern people.

Rama is no doubt Great, that does not and need not be at the cost of Ravana.

One should understand that Ravana is a great bhakta of Lord Shiva, who had visiting rights everyday J in Kailas. If you start condemning him, the whole bhakti cult, even of Rama, will prove to be useless. Because even after God realization the wickedness , desire, hatred seems not to get destroyed. (And, his Jata kata from shiva thandava stotra is sung at the end of every feast (bandara) offered to Sadhus J)

One should not throw stones from a glass house. Ravana was a great ruler and a very loving and affectionate person; this can be seen even in the version of Ramayana which speaks great about Rama. And, only for the love for the sister he abducted Ramas wife. If that is  adharma, than, even what Rama did cannot be termed as dharma, killing of Vali from hidden place, Sending Sita to forest etc.

The discussion of Dharma and Adharma is a very complicated thing. So, what is the truth or how should we understand this?

It is said in skanda purana that, Ravana went to Kailas to ask Shiva to remove this burden of Body which is what seperates him from the Shiva. For which shiva says, his punya is so much (very great) that it is possible for even him to destroy him. Hurt by these words, Ravana asks for a means to destroy the body (mind suicide is not accepted to be a proper way). For which shiva says, Vishnu will take an avatar of Rama to destroy the demons, and Ravana can help in doing it. But, helping an avatar will only be a action of Punya, therefore, he instructs him to kidnap Ramas wife, which is a greater sin. And thereby achieve his desired exit from the body.

Even Adyatma Ramayana explains, the story from the standpoint, that ravana knew the result of his every action.

Ironically, people from south, who are dubbed as the people from Ravana land, have not built any temple for ravana, though there are many figures of ravana pulling the car (ther) or in the palanquin. But, in the heartland of Rama, near Kanpur, there is a temple for Ravana.

What is Navratri?

In the sanatana dharma (hindu system), it is accepted, whatever is in macrocosm is in microcosm or vice-versa. And whatever exists either in duality or in trinity.

If we accept good then evil is inevitable. If we accept the big-bang and the light etc. then destruction and darkness is inevitable. 

This way every year is split into good and bad, shukla, the white and krshna, the black period. In the same way, we have white and dark periods of the month (the waxing and waning) though, there is no specific mentions of this, even a week, day, hour, minute can be split into these two periods. This way we see the world as duality, of good and bad. Pure good cannot exist. If we accept bad to be absence of good, it can be argued the good as the absence of bad (good – God and bad – Satan).  But, then, there cannot be any difference in the worship of Good or bad, if be said, good begets good results and bad begets only bad results, it cannot change its nature. And all desire for good only.

If we split the time period into three. According to the three gunas (quality), namely, sattva, rajas and tamas. Sattva is the quality of illumination or knowledge. Rajas is the quality producing the activity. And the tamas is the quality of laziness. Each year can be split into these three. Though, according to the climatic conditions, the order may vary. Each fortnight, week, hour and minutes can be split into this way.

To show this we have the nine days of navratri. Each divided into for three days. Each triad day is for one guna.  First three for the Kali, next for Laksmi and the last three for Saraswati. In terms of gunas, the first for rajas and the second for the rajas combined with tamas and tamas combined with sattva and the third with sattva. Kali is also reffered to as sakthi – goddess of power, lakshmi – goddess of wealth and saraswati – goddess of knowledge.

In the temple of Mookambika in kollur, mangalore, Karnataka. This system is followed and the deity is worshipped in all the three forms in a single day. (think, in Madurai meenakshi templs, tamilnadu too this system is followed).

The second is not accepted totally as tamas, because nobody is interested in gaining the dull / inert / lazy state. And wealth if used in improper way leads to further birth, the quality of rajas endowed tamas. And if used in a proper way leads to moksha, sattva endowed tamas.

So, if these three divinities be remembered everyday, in a proper way, each day / minute becomes navratri.

Chaturmasya nirnaya

I am in Mumbai, there was a discussion on the chaturmasya vrata mainly the Sannyasins do, during the rainy season. It is normally done for 2 months though the word chatur means four. They don’t cross a village / stream and stay put in one place teaching or discussing the scriptures.

How come a four months penance is reduced to two months. There is a Adhikarana (nyaya / topic) in poorvamimamsa where for a yaga which is to be performed for 120 years or so. Since it is impossible for a person to live for that long. And even if we argue for the sake, still one should spend atleast the first 20 years to gain the eligibility to perform the yaga, like being initiated in the sacred thread at an appropriate time, studying the Vedas, getting married and getting a male progeny. So after this if one starts the yaga, he will not be able to finish it. And if the sankalpa (determination) is done for a particular yaga it should be performed well, for the complete result. And, if not done properly or is given-up half way through, may yield wrong results. So, the final verdict will be, one cannot perform it in his life time. And, it cannot be passed on to the son etc., nor can one accept the statement by the veda to be redundant. If it is accepted redundant / useless in one place, the other portions also loose its pramanatva (the means of right knowledge-ness).

So, what is the way. Here the discussion spans in accepting the year to be a month, paksha (fortnight), week, day, hour etc. it can be performed in 120 months, therefore the other states, like, the fortnight, week etc, can be dismissed. And accepting this, the famous stamen, “samvatasaro vai masa:” – Year is a month, is made.

What is the relation of chaturmasya and this ? accepting this logic, it is accepted, we can deduce “maso vai paksha” – Month is a fortnight. Therefore, 4 months means 4 fortnights. Now, what is the pramana, and if it has no pramana, then why not reduce it to 4 weeks or days or even hours or minutes. Because the veda declares “chaturmasya yajinasya akshayam sukrtam bhavati” – the performer of chaturmasya will gain incomparable wellbeing / goodness. Now, anyone will say, just wait for five minutes, let me perform the chaturmasya yaga J. And one can perform more chaturamasya and gain greater greatness “adikasya adikam phalam” – greater the effort greater the result.

So,  without a pramana nothing is accepted and here too what is the pramana, for accepting it to be 4 fortnights. Some say narada to be a pramana, he it seems performed the chaturmasya in 4 fortnights. This is not tenable, for Narada is a devarishi we ordinary mortals cannot compare ourselves with him. And, most importantly, if narada performed it for 2 months (even if accepted), his 1 day is ~ 1000 – 4000 days (I am very weak in these calculations, anyway, why should we be bothered about their time scale) , and it is not a general rainy season in all the place in the universe J. So, cutting short using this logic is not reasonable.

All  said, according to the smritikaras (people who wrote the smritis), if there is a tradition then it should be accepted.

I, You and We

Darshana  means philosophy. And it is through which one sees the Truth. This darshana is a Pramana “means of right knowledge” for knowing the Truth.

 Any darshana deals with the basic three things, I, You and We.

I, you and we differs acoording to the different interpretation of the philosophy.

--- I in may be jiva (individual self), you the ishwara (God) and we the Jagat (universe).

--- I may be jiva, you the atoms and we bonded atoms.

So, the way one sees the I, you and we changes from system to system of philosophy.

If there are so many interpretations then are there so many truths. As some fancy saying, the truth of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Whenever, they change their standpoint or the view on a particular thing. If truth be manifold then there is no necessity in understanding the truth, because try as you may one will never be able to understand all the truths.

And if the darshana be the Pramana, are all the darshanas right or are they not Pramana. All darshana understand the truth from different standpoint. By this we don’t support the infamous statement “there are many paths to reality”. What we say is, for example, when we travel from Chennai to Delhi, first we cross Andrapradesh, then Madyapradesh, and finally after crossing Uttarpradesh we arrive at Delhi. Now, in this example the destination of Andra or Madya or even Uttar Pradesh cannot be called wrong, but they fall short of the final destination. In the same way, these different darshanas interpret the truth.  Remember the story of the blind men explaining the elephant.

Which is the right darshana if be asked, without any doubt one should understand the Advaita Vedanta to be the right and final pramanic darshana. How so, for any darshana to be right or wrong, it should be in sync with the three Pramanas, Shruti – Scriptures, Yukthi – Logic and Anubhava – Expereince.

In the case of the other darshanas there is conflict with the Shruthi, the Ultimate Pramana. The Shruti declares “ekam eva advitiyam” – one only non-dual. With these three words, it negates all the three types of duality, sajatiya – existing in the same class of objects, vijatiya – existing in different class of objects and swagata – existing in itself.

Understanding of the Pramana becomes important, because, in the scheme of I, You and We. The knower I does not change, Me nor the object of knowledge – Self / Self-knowledge. But, only the means changes. Proper the means proper will be the knowedge.

Bhaja Govindam - Sloka 12

12.

Dinayaminyau – day and night

Sayam – dusk

Prata - dawn

Shisharavasantau – winter and spring

Punar - again

Ayata - comes

Kala - time

Kridati – plays

Gacchati – goes / leaves

Ayuh - life

Tadapi – even then

Na – does not

Munchati - giveup

Ashavayu – the assosiation

Day and night, dawn and dusk, winter and spring come and go again and again. This way the time goes / passes by playfully and the time of death also comes near. But still, this jiva does not give up the desires, which lead them astray.

This is the ultimate teaching for the Astikas. When we see the person whom we trust, believe shows a loss of hope, it ignites the bond between the person and the personified. Here too Acharya, after talking about the vairagya in length applies this logic and hammers the final nail.

Instead of wasting the time in useless pursuit day-in and day-out, one should take time to examine the path one’s life is leading him into.

When we turn back and look during the time of death / in death-bed then we would understand whatever time spend on the pursuit of happiness is wasted one. Because, that did not give the sense of completeness. For doing this one need not be in death-bed, one can think as one is in such a situation and retrospect one’s life.

Different time, different place and different people but the desire is the same.

If this does not do it, nothing will do it (give you the Vairagya and Viveka).

Bhaja Govindam - Sloka 11

11.

Ma – don’t

Kuru - gain

Dhana - wealth

Jana - people

Yauvana - youth

Garvam - ego

Harati - destroys

Nimeshad – in split second

Kala – time / death

Sarvam - everything

Mamayaam  - illusional

Idam - this

Akhilam – whole world

Hitva – giving up

Brahmapadam – Brahman state

Tvam - you

Pravisha - enter

Viditva – knowing

Don’t gain ego because of the wealth, people and / or youth. All these are destroyed in split-second by the time or death. Knowing everything in the world and the world to be illusional or ephemeral, give up the attachment or association with it. And, enter the brahminical state after knowing it.

One normally gains a great amount of ego because of the possession or the power on holds. The dhana here should be understood as possession. Whether it is money or any meager possession it only creates and increases the idea of duality. So too, the idea of power. This is what is referred by jana. Though loosely translated it is the people, but, the support you gain from the people surrounding is a power. The third type of ego is the youth. Here youth can be understood as comparatively younger. Because of the age, one is able to do different thing through the body, which becomes difficult or impossible for older person.

All these different type of ego are useless, because, the time which is the representative of Death will destroy all of it in matter of seconds. Kala though means time, it is to be understood here as the Death (Lord Yama). The Lord Yama, has a boon, by which though he destroys everyone in due time according to their fate, will not be identified as the culprit or will not be cursed for this. People attribute it to different things.

Therefore, one should cultivate dispassion towards the world in the lines of the stanza 8. And give the attachment to it. And to gain this the methods prescribed in the stanza 3 and 4 will be useful.

After, gaining dispassion as said in the 2^nd stanza one should enter into the assossiation of the people discussing Sat. this is necessary prerequisite to gain the knowledge. What was said in the th stanza is stressed here. By the word “viditva” to learn from a proper Guru is specified.

With reference to the other states of wakeup, dream and deep sleep; the turiya (fourth), which is our intrinsic nature is referred as a state.

So in reference to the the worldy existence our intrinsic nature, to be the Self, is referred as a Pada – state.

Bhaja Govindam - Sloka 10

10.

Vayasi – when the age

gate – is lost

ka - what

kamavikara – sexual thoughts does / happens

shuske – when dries

nire – of water

ka - what

kasara – lake remains

kshine – when lost

vitte – is the wealth

ka - what

parivara  - relations exist

jnate – when known

tatve - the Truth

ka - what

samsara – Samsara exists.

When one looses his age, where can there be any sexual transformations. When the water dries, what lake remains. When the wealth is lost, where will be the relations. And when the Truth (Brahman) is known where can there be any samsara.

When one looses age - when one becomes old. It is not that, when one becomes old, he will start to become pious or no such thoughts about sex arise. But, of what use will it be, the body won’t support it. And not just that, the thoughts also, as we saw in the 7^th stanza, is only about the worry about the past or feature.

When the water is lost, where is the lake. The lake gets the name lake only because of the water. The father becomes a father only when one gets a progeny. But when there is no son / daughter the name or the title father will not fit the person. In the same way, if there is no water the name lake, river, sea or any other water body loses its reference.

When one has the wealth, even the unknown person, wants to be related to oneself. But, when one loses the wealth, the people who are close to him will distance themselves from the person. This was said in the 5^th stanza.

When one gains the knowledge about the Self, there can be no samsara. Samsara is because of the ignorance of the Self. The world and its creation are just a superimposed transformation of the ignorance. This ignorance, whence did it start? If be asked, the answer can only be Anadi – from begingless time. It cannot be explained. It is inexplicable. Because, the idea of time and the reference with the time is in ignorance. Though it has no beginning this ignorance is destroyed when the knowledge dawns. That is why this is defined as “bhavarupa jnana nivartya” – existential and removed by knowledge. Existential means in the vyavahara – transactional plane. Otherwise, what is cannot be negated and what is not also need not be negated. So too is the ignorance, like the knowledge of snake in the rope. The knowledge of pseudo-snake creates all the reaction as the real snake. But, when we know the rope, it gets negated. It did exist, during the confusion. But, ceases to exist when the true knowledge of rope dawns. Where did this snake come from and where did it go, all these questions are futile.

When the knowledge of the Self, which is non-dual dawns. Since, there is nothing other than the self and the root cause for the samsara, the ignorance, is destroyed, what can be called as samsara. Ignorance is Samsara.

Bhaja Govindam - Sloka 9

Important Sloka

9.

Satsangatve – from the Satsanga (discussion on the Truth)

Nissangatvam – one gains dispassion

Nissangatve – from dispassion

Nirmohatvam – one becomes free from the delusion

Nirmohatve – from the delusion free state

Nishcalatatvam – one becomes established in the Truth

Nishcalatatve – from the steadfast establishment in the Truth

Jivanmukti – one becomes realized / released from bondage, here and now, while alive.

From the Satsanga (discussion on the Truth) one gains dispassion. From dispassion, one becomes free from the delusion. From the delusion free state, one becomes established in the Truth. From the steadfast establishment in the Truth, one becomes realized / released from bondage, here and now, while alive.

Each word is suffixed with the ending Tva. This is normally used according to “samana kartruke poorvakale” sutra od Sri Panini, if the doer is same, then with the previously done work tva suffix is added. This shows, that we are talking about the same person from the beginning to the end. And not that, one person is involved in satsangha and another finally gains release.

Or, we can accept the Tva suffix, through the sutra “tasya bhava tvatalor” and this tva Is used in the sense of Bhava – the ness. In this interpretation, we will have the satsanganess. Like, in gotva – cowness, which is a class which cannot generally be accepted for a single entity. Here also, we accept by satsanganess, one who is in the constant company of the people who do Satsanga. This ness is used in all the other places in this Stanza too.

What is this Satsanga? The discussion on the Sat, generally translated as existence. But here it should be seen as the Self. The discussion about Self by the people, one who knows that the Self extists or that I am the Self. The Upanishad also says this :

“asti brahmeticed veda, tasmad santam tad viduriti” – if one knows the Brahman exitst the knowledgible proclaim that he knows That.

“atmanamcet vijaniyat aham asmi iti purusha, kim ichchan kasya kamaya shariram anusanjwaret” – if one knows the Self as I am, that person, desiring what will he serve the body.

From this group, discussing about the Self, one should gain the knowledge of the Self and not from the books etc. by self study. By this Acharya points to the Shravana - Listening to the shastra from a qualified teacher (one who has gained the knowledge from a Guru like his own Guru).

After gaining the necessary knowledge for the inquiry, one should desire to stay alone. Removing oneself from the the crowd, shows the dispassion one needs to gain. “charama vairagyo moksha lakshanam” – the ultimate dispassion is the mark for realization, as Acharya points out in his Bhashya.

Because of this dispassion, one stays alone and starts to put in use the knowledge he has gained in the Satsanga, by doing the manana. By Nissanga this manana is what is said. Manana means reflection or contemplation. Reflecting on the passages of the scriptures, with logic not contrary to the Scriptures but supportive to it.

From this reflection nissanga one becomes Nirmoha, free from delusion. When can one be free from delusion ? only when one is free from the clutches of ignorance, the root cause of the samsara. So, this manana leads to the nirmoha, which is, the nidhidhyasana – clarity or insight of the Truth.

When one is thorough in the nidhidhyasana one gains Nishchaltatva - Abidance in the Self. When no amount of karma can shake him into the grasp of samsara. And the culmination of this is nirmoha is the Sakshatkara – direct cognizance of the Self. This is what is called as Akhandakaravrtti – the thought (so to say) which shines as Self, as a I thought. This I thought is though a common thought for any experience, like, I know, I eat, I am this, iam short etc, here it is without any adjective, with reference to this or that.

This when takes place, is called Jivanmukthi, liberated while alive.

The next three stanzas are like phala shruti, extolling or prasing the greatness of the vidya. Nothing can replace the knowledge of Self. And it should be gained only from a qualified Acharya / Guru.

Guru Parampara

When talking about Parampara. Many are interested in knowing the lineage I belong to.

When we talk about the lineage, it is important to specify one’s own lineage of birth (Gotra) etc.

I belong to Vatula Gotra ---> who’s famous three rishis are : Bhaarghava, Vaidhahavya and Saavedasa (sic) . In the family of Harikesanallur Y. Rama Iyer, Paternal Grandfather and K (Kolinjivadi) .R. Subramaniam, Maternal Grandfather.

Studied different branches of the Shastra from different people. Some were here (Rishikesh) for long stay, and some for a brief period. Will seem like, they came to Rishikesh only to initiate me. I am mentioning only the important ones, and not the others (like my disciples) who teach me and are continuing to do so J . They are the best of the lot (not because they initiated me), will know why.

Veda:

Studied samhita portion of the Krishna Yajur Veda, which is my svashaka (own branch) under : Sri P.V. Sreenivasa Tatthachari, Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu. A very simple person and very big devotee. Following the old style of living (truly Orthodox) in this new Millenium. (He does not know the Taste of a Chocolate, to name a few). These are the people of repute knowledge whom Sri Ramanujacharya brought from some other place, to settle them close to the famous vaishnava temple of Kanchipuram.

Mantra:

Was initiated into, the whole gamut of mantras (Poornabisheka) by a great Sri Vidya Upasaka Sri. Raghu Rama Sharma, Guntur, Andrapradesh. Truly an simple man and a master of the mantra shastra. Also, a man who is orthodox Brahmin (though he is not like the Veda Guru, think the Vaishnavas are more strict in these then the Smarthas). Andraites are the best in Mantra shastra. People when they think of mantra, immediately think of Kerala. But, they don’t know the fact, the main temple of Kerala Sabarimala  Lord Aiyyappa temple, Tantri’s are basically from Andra.

Tantra:

Initiated into the Sacred Tantra, Because, inlike the Tantra practiced in the Bengal and above, which leans towards Rajasik and Tamasik upasana. The kerala Tantra is Satvik and Rajasik. I was initiated into the pure Satvik form of Tantra by Sri. Rama Bhattadri, Kasargode, Kerala. In the whole of kerala, the famous tantric houses (people belonging to the family of serious practicioners of Tanta) belong to the north part of kerala around Kasargode district.

Vedanta and others:

As I have mentioned in other places, I studied Shastras from two Great Swamijis.

Swami Shanti Dharmananda Saraswati, Karnataka is a disciple of Swami Satyananda ji, belongs to the order of sannyasins in the Sivananda (Swami Satyananda of munger is one of the famous disciples of Swami Sivananda).  Studied in Kailas Ashram Rishikesh and went to Varanasi (Kasi), where he studied under the great Acharyas of Kasi (Sri Swami Yogendrananda (author of the hindi tanslations of Brhadprastana trayam and Bhamati) Brhadprastanatrayam and others) and studied Prastanatraya from Swami Ramananda Saraswati of Omkareshwar. It is suffice to say, Swamiji also taught me Yoga and the Kriyas pertaining to it.

Swami Sarveshananda Saraswati, Bihar studied under Swami Shanti Dharmanda from Laghusiddanta to Brihadprastanatraya. And was initiated into Sannyasa by Swami Ramananda Saraswati of Omkareshwar.

Other than this I was practicing Reiki (a Grand Master), initiated into by Great Grand Master Sri. Aswin Kumar. And went through the act of studying Hindustani music (flute and tabla).

Bhaja Govindam - Sloka 8

8.

Ka te – who is your

Kanta – lady love (wife)

Kas-te – who is your

Putra - son

Samsaro – samsara, world

Ayam - this

Ativa - very

Vichitra - strange

Kasya – of whom

Tvam – are you

Ka – who (are you)

Kuta – whence (from where)

Ayata – have you come

Tatvam – that Truth (or that you)

Chintaya - think

Tad iha – about that

Bratha – o! Brother

Brother, think about the reality of your ladylove (wife), son , and the samsara which is very strange (to have brought you together to them suddenly and seperates you from them). And think who you belong to, who you are and where have you come from.

Though, the above translation seems to be complete, when we see these words in relation to one another it gives a new meaning to itself.

Who is your wife, son etc. ? what you see as a close relation in this birth never existed for you in the previous births and never will exist for you in the next birth as the same. Maybe, in some very rare cases one may be born in the same family, but still, the relationship gets redefined. Therefore, this nature of the Samsara is very strange to explain.

So, instead of dwelling in these relationships you start to enquire on this Kasya – of whom, Tvam – are you – whom do you belong to, not just in this birth, but, in all the births you take. What is your relation with the creator.

Ka – who (are you) Tvam – are you – Tvam should be related with all the three words. In this way here the process of inquiry into the self is prescribed. Who are you?, really means Who am I.

Kuta – whence (from where) Tvam – are you – Where did you come from.

In the same way if we relate the word Ayata – have you come, with the other words Kasya, Ka and Kuta. We will have, as belonging to who did you come or is born. The dualists think that one is born because of the God Shiva or Vishnu etc. so, in this scheme, think who is your master who send you here.

Ka Ayata – who is born or what is born. The self being unborn and eternal cannot be born. So, who is said to be born.

Kuta Ayata – From where did you come from. The all pervading Self cannot have any travel, it is already everywhere (Omni-present) so where did this birth come from.

Tatvam means the truth, it could be understood here as, that Truth you inquire into. But if one breaks this word as, Tat Tvam – That you, because it is an enquiry into your real nature, you shoul inquire about it here, o dear Brother.

Until here, the words jahihi dhanagamatrshnam and manasi vitrshnam of the second stanza is discussed.

Bhaja Govindam - Sloka 7

7.

Balas-tavat – When one is a kid

Krida-sakta – he happily spends it in the games / plays

Tarunas-tavat – when one is a young boy (Youth)

Taruni-sakta – he happily spends it in the involvement of young girls

Vrddahas-tavat – when one is old

Chinta-sakta – he spends it worrying about different things (of past and future)

Pare - Ultimate

Brahmani – Brahman (Self)

Ko api na – no one is

saktha – involved

When one is a kid he happily spends his time in the plays / games, and when one is young he happily spends it in involvement of young girls, and when in the old he spends it (not so happily) worrying about the thing of the past and the future, alas, no one is involved or attached or thinks about the Ultimate Self.

A persons age can be defined as Child, Youth and Adult (as in psychology). This is the general form of classification. At each point of these different periods of age a person spends his time in the futile experiences of the world. Without understanding the ephemeral state of the world. At each point of these different periods of age, one wastes his precious time knowingly or unknowingly in the pursuits of the world.

When one is just a kid, one cannot control the thoughts he is so accustomed to through different past births. And since, the discriminative power has not taken shape in him, it is difficult to find fault for the doings at this age. And the smiritis too give exceptions for the sins performed at this juvenile age.

But when one crosses this age of childwood, and enter the youth. He has a powerful / well shaped discriminative power. Which can recognize, atleast generally, the right from the wrong. But, even at this right age, one spend it only in the pursuit of the sensual pleasures of the world. Here taruni (young girl) is just a pointer to the other attraction of different senses.

And, when he becomes an Adult, the age many have set aside for the inquiry into the Self. When, one is young and healthy, if he is involved in the search for the Truth, the others scold him saying, these (inquiry into the Self) to be things for the post retirement age. But, when finally that age arrives, one is so engrossed in the world, it becomes difficult for him to relieve himself from it. The thoughts of worring about the past actions or the future course of life will torment him. This is the least, even if one is interested in the Truth at that age, the body which he has abused over the past years will take a toll, and will hinder in the ability to perform the desired things necessary.

So, Acharya, end the stanza with a note of pity, alas, no one is interested in the True Self, in the right time.

Age can also be classified into another three types, Vayo, Tapa and Jnana (age, penance and Knowledge). A person who is old by age is counted as a kid with respect to the others. And a person who may be very young of age but is ripe with knowledge is the one who is respected the most.

With this note of dejection, Acharya attracts our attention to the discrimination and the dispassion, one should cultivate. And in the next final stanza on this subject he summarizes the methor to rightly achieve this dispassion and discrimination.

Bhaja Govindam - Sloka 6

6.

Yavat - until

Pavana - the breath

Nivasati - stays

Dehe - in the body

Tavat - till then

Kushalam - the well-being/ welfare

Pruchchati – enquire

Gehe – in the house

Gatavati - leaves the body

Vayau - the breath

Deha apaye - when the body falls off / soul departs

Bharya - the wife

Bibhyati - is afraid

Tasmin - of the same

Kaye - body

Until one stays healthy and breathes (stays alive) everybody enquires about his well-being. But when the vital air leaves the body, the same body which gave different kinds of experiences , becomes the object of fear even for one's own dear wife.

In the previous stanza Acharya showed us the futility of the love and affection showered on us by the family members. Now here to give us the thoughts for greater dispassion, he points out that even the love and affection  or recognition which is shown by the relatives is very superficial. Because, the same body which was once the object of love or affection becomes the object of dread or fear when the prana leaves the body. The same body which was referred as Ram or Devi or  as He or She is now referred as That or This.