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.