No Confusion

In an earlier blog, I had said that the puranas are for the people who are less qualified. Now on reading this we (some of us :) ) have these doubts,

What exactly is the role of puranas?You wrote in your blog it is the means of realization for less qualified people .But somehow it seems that to understand the puranas one has to have more maturity than the shrutis.why I am saying this is because puranas often contains stories which areenough to confuse people ,sometimes Shiva or Shree Hari are shown to behave in such a manner that is not expected from a morally elevted person. we do find puranas extolling one God over the other. To reconcile them is rather diffiult.So less qualified people won't they get more confused?

The question is from a not-so less qualified. The less and / or lesser qualified person will not think like this. And if at all these questions arise than understand he is not the less ualified person we are talking about.

And as for the contradictions in the smrti, they are not like prastanatrayi, where one reads all, they select one of their favorite hero, and his one drama and generally stick to it, without bothering much about the difficulties you face :).

It is like the story we say, when the acharya was explaining bhagawad gita for more than an hour, one layman asked him to stop, when asked for the reason, he said, since bhagawan is turning around to teach arjuna he will have ache in his neck.

So, no confusion. OK :)

What is a Shiva Linga

Shiva linga though many people in their ignorance consider it as a phallus worship or union of male-female etc. these ideas are absurd. A linga means leenam artham gamayathi, that which points out to the hidden truth, and shiva means auspiciousness. A shiva linga is a pointer to the Truth. Truth is the most auspicious. In many place the linga is in the form of a ellipse. But there are temples where the ling is in the form of a circle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon or an octagon. And there is a temple in south tamilnadu (neat pudukkottai / arandangi), Avudayarkoil, the swami is called Atmanatheswara who has no form, Arupa. This is a temple built by Sri Manikkavacakar. Leave this alone, one of the jyothirlinga, Kedar has the linga in the form of a small mountain.

The shiva linga which is baneswara is the one which is brought from the river narmada. This is a naturally formed linga because of the rolling of the stone, in a small water fall. And the other lingas are either made from a stone from narmada of any good stone, like marble, crystal etc. Otherwise there is no "upadhi", attribute difference between a baneswara and any other iswara. But, there is an important difference, for a baneswara there is no prana-prathishta, establishing of vital-air (deity) through sacred chants required and for the other including a linga made from the narmada stone.

There are different types of lingas that are worshipped. The results are attributed to be different for each. Linga made of crystal, is a special form for the Brahmins. Others include narmadeswar linga, linga made from a metal gold, silver etc. There is a special linga made of mercury amalgamation which is considered to be good. There is one called hariharatma linga which is one found in a shaligrama stone. A shaligrama stone is like a bana linga which is found in the gantaki river flowing in Nepal. Inside this, when a shaligrama is bigger, there is a shivalinga form stone which is considered very sacred. We can make linga from clay or cow dung also.

It is also to be understood here, that when someone calls a shivalinga a Swayambhu, it does not mean, swayam bhavati iti, that which came automatically / naturally, except in the mythological stories. But, that for which the one who installed it in the first place is not known.

Securely insecure

This happened years back. When I was in virakth ashram. I had gone from rishikesh to Delhi to purchase some books. It had to be purchased from different locations. I bought some books from old delhi, near university. These were books from chaukamba, and I had to buy some sets of the sankya karika book for my neighbor, Other than a couple of books for other.

Then I went to Rohini, to buy books from Parimal Publishers. The man who is the owner stays there, a very nice gentleman. I had gone there to buy a book on Sanskrit grammar, for my friend. In the shelf he had a copy of Advaitasiddhi. And offered the book for half the price rs. 350 /= and the cost price was rs. 400/=. Confused, me too. He told me that the new reviced price for the new edition is rs. 700 /=. But, still I didn’t have enough money on me. I had only rs. 150 /=. He was ready to trust me for the rest of the money, and asked me to send it later. After carefully calculating the money I have in rishikesh, I took and promised the man that on my return to rishikesh will immediately send him the money.

After this I came to the place of my stay. When I checked all the books, the sankhya karika book was the same book, which my neighbor didn’t want. The seller, had mistakenly given me the book. The next day in the morning, before going to rishikesh, went to old delhi. The seller didn’t have the book I want, and that is the reason he had changed the books, on his own (like when we ask for a medicine the chemists offer us the same medicine composition of a different company). He gave me the money rs. 300 /=. I kept it in my pocket and took a bus to I.S.B.T. (inter state bus terminal) to take a bus to rishikesh. When the conductor asked for the money, I put my hands in the upper pocket where I had kept the money. Surprice, the money is gone, I probably lost it to a pick-pocket. Fortunately I had some money in another pocket with which I paid for the ticket.

Now, along with the bus started my mind also started to work. Now, I had to send the money for the publisher, as I had promised ( I keep up my word, as a rule) and I have to return this lot money to the neighbor. It was little more that that 300/= I had lost. I was trying to set the tally proper, by adjusting the account again and again. During those times, I didn’t have any money, as I had once told earlier, I was only into studies and had no time for any extra-curricular, like maintaining contact with devotees or going for the bandaras (feast with some money). My mind worked overdrive, and suddenly in muzzafarnagar, close to a field, there was a burst. It was the tire of the bus. With this my mind also came to a halt. That was the last time I thought so much about money, and with this breakdown I stopped to think anymore about the money. When I came back, I send the money to the publisher as promised, told the neighbors the truth, and promised them to return their money, when I have some.

Bhagawata : Tatparya

When I was in south, happened to listen to one of the famous Bhagawatakara (bhagawatist J). In his speech spoke about the importance that should be given to the bhagawatakara etc. when I heard this I thought, in the Brahma Sutra bhagawan vyasa and Bhagawan Bhashyakara during the discussion of the importance of bhagawata matha as a siddhanta to be greater than that of the Vedanta, which both duly negate. So, in this case, if one needs to give them that importance, we should understand the importance that should be accorded to the Vedantins.

But, there is another important point which I want to discuss here. I though am a devotee, and ardent at that. Do not prescribe to the staple dosage of bhagawata as a story, the way these people present it. This essentially negates the idea of the puranas being an aid for moksha for the less qualified people. And personally, these stories are no less dramatized for greater effect, playing with the emotions of people, which one receives when one watches the heart wrenching last portion of Shankarabharanam movie. Though there is a bhavana which is associated with the story, when one says Krishna stole butter or the dress of the Gopis one feels odd, to see the thief as a God or God as a thief.

What is the tatparya, real purport of this, then? Butter is Navaneetham in Sanskrit. (And there is a text called Kaivalya Navaneetham, both in Sanskrit and Tamil, a Vedanta treatise.) Navaneetham, means, Nava – new and Neetham – taken to. On is taken to a new level of understanding. Krishna gives them (us) the essence of the Scriptures, which is the realization. That is not correctly understood by the people, who collect the knowledge / preach without understanding (like collecting the butter or selling it).

What about the dress stealing episode. Dress is something which is the symbol of duality, separation. When one feels the other to be different he / she feel insecure without any cover. And this cover maybe a dress, a wall or a boundary, though an imagined one. So, Krishna removes this veil of ignorance.

Also see : When Shuka brahma rishi comes out of the womb and runs into the forest thereafter in his birthday suit (naked) who is followed by His father Sri Vyasa, with his dress on. The apsaras, celestial damsels who are bathing skimply dressed did not feel any shyness when the son goes through that area, but when the father is seen in the near about, they feel shy. And, the famous biblical story of Adam and Eve also shows this very same idea.

Life of Sadhus

This is an asked often question. Some verbalize and some still feel it difficult to ask. This is one such, send by somebody.

How do the Sadhus maintain themselves @Rishikesh, especially those who are not aligned with any ashram ? And specifically those with health problems and dependent on medicine etc ? Does someone take care of them or do they go in search of food etc ? Sometime back I visited an Ashram. There the sanyasis who are resident are always on time to the dining hall. But that is not possible if you are not in an ashram. Are there sadhus who totally live by chance and still get their requirements met ? 

There are two type of sannyasins (lol) dependent and independent. The swamis who are dependent are taken care of, till they are of some use, in some ashrams. But they have their own insecurity problems, but still will talk about brahman and Self, as though it is their grandfather.

But the independent types are of two types, again. Those who take care of themselves and those who leave everything to their providence. In the first variety they definetly go out to take biksha etc. and there are many a hospitals working on charity, which provide the medications, treatment etc for free. And when one is so old even for doing anything, the sadhus are not totally without heart :).

It is provided and so is providence probably. And beleive me, it takes care. If i need, i get it. if i don’t get it, I don’t need it. It is very simple.

Though this is so, the habit of charity is in scarce mode for many. Probably they too think like some of the sadhus, that it is their fate J.

Mother of all Reasons

Long ago, after I had come to rishikesh, when I had gone to Chennai, and was in my home. I make it a point to go to meet my parents, whenever I am in south. That time around, my mom had put a long face and was looking very serious, when I inquired about the reason for being so, see dodged the question. After some time, she asked me the reason for me to leave the house. I asked her the reason for asking this after this long period and that too in this fashion. She said, she had visited an astrologer long ago, and he had said that she was the reason for me to leave the house. And asked me, did the fight or some reason to become angry with her made me go. I said, it is nothing like that. And she didn’t leave at that, she asked me is it because of love failure J. These are some of the staple reasons that these astrologers give, when the boy leaves the house at a young age. I said that it is also not a proper reason.

After giving up, she asked than what is the real reason. I after a minute or two, said, it is you. The astrologer is partially right. You should see her face, when she heard it. She was on the verge of crying, I continued, the real reason, if you want to hear, it is you, I repeat again. But, it is not for the mother-son-ly fight or anything. But it is because of your good up-bringing. You gave a good platform, for me to be righteous, virtuous and god believing etc. and that is the reason for me to go for the right way of living, instead of being a loafer or a looser. After hearing this reply, her happiness had no bounds.

Really, one can become a sadhu, for any number of reasons. But, if those reasons are not the right reasons, one will not be able to reach the goal of self-realization. Leave alone that, one will be a disgrace to himself and the society at large because of his lack of goal / character.

Should it be Mother of all reasons or Mother, of all reasons or mother of all, reasons ….

Pashubhisca aviseshat - Mahavakya

This is a very good interesting statement in the Adhyasa bhashya of Brahma sutra. This statement is called as Sutravakya or Sutrabutavakya. I personally call this Mahavakya (we will see why). And to prove the point bhagavan bhashyakara himself writes a commentary on this. Though he explains the whole with reference to a pashu, cattle and vyutpanna chitta, a knowledgeable person. That is,  in the vyaharika, transactional plane both a cattle and realized soul behave in the same way. Like, when one shows green grass the cow runs towards and runs away from one wielding a stick. In the same way, the knowledgeable one also transacts with a man of love and a man of hate.

But , if we see this from the vedantic angle, it is not a mistake for me to see it like this, as bhagavan bhashyakara himself teaches us this. Pashubhi, from the jiva ca, also aviseshat, there is no difference. I.e., there is no difference with respect to the jiva also. Normally, the other system of philosophies deal the jiva as a separate entity, they refer to it as jiva atma. In the shaiva siddhanta this jivatma is called as Pashu, the ishvara (Brahman for us) is called as pati, and the bondage / samsara is called as pasha. For us the jiva and ishwara are not different. “jiva brahmaiva na apara” is the statement of bhagavan bhasahyakara where he says, jiva is verily the Brahman not different. This very same idea is what is reflected by him in this statement.

Since the definition of a mahavakya is jiva brahma abheda bodhaka vakya, the statement that shows the non-difference / unity of jiva and brahma. And this current statement fits to the Tee. We can understand it to be one.