Vol 01.016 | Pre-SaraNAgati Issues |
28 October, 1996
|
In this Issue:
1. From Rahasya Traya Sara Adhikara 25 Prabhaava Vyavasta Adhikara (Limitations under which Bhakti and Prapatti operate) Adhikara 26 Prabhaava Raksha Adhikara (Vindication of the efficacy of Prapatti) 2. From Chapter 3 of " Hinduism Rediscovered" Sources of Knowledge - Sastras and Vedangas Annexure 1 : A Note on Astrology |
ADHIKARA 25 : PRABHAVA VYAVASTHA ADHIKARA
(Limitations under which Bhakti and Prapatti operate)
Certain people exaggerate the efficacy of Prapatti to absurd extents. This chapter seeks to disabuse the views so expressed on certain aspects.
( 1 ) That even though one is born in a lower caste, he becomes one of a higher caste on performing Prapatti. The answer is that so long as the body exists, the caste does not change. EVEN A TEMPLE COW, HOWEVER HOLY IT MIGHT BE, REMAINS ONLY A COW.
Even though Sri Krishna eulogized VIDURA a person belonging to the fourth caste, he did not say that he changed his caste. Similarly, even Viswamitra never became a Brahmin. The story regarding his birth shows that since his mother partook of the potion meant for a Brahmin foetus, he was already a Brahmin indeed by birth but his brahminic traits remained eclipsed. This does not mean that one can afford to despise another on the basis of caste.
EVEN A PERSON OF THE SO CALLED LOWER CASTE, IF THEY ARE DEVOTEES - DUE
RESPECT HAS TO BE PAID TO THEM. FOR, DID NOT THE BRAHMIN MADHURAKAVI
BECOME THE DISCIPLE OF THE SUDRA NAMMALWAR ?
( 2 ) That even the sins committed by a Prapanna knowingly will not affect him and some people go the extent of saying that God relishes the sins. This is not correct. Sins can be exculpated either by atonement by performing another Prayaschitta Prapatti or by suffering the consequences during the current life itself. There is no doubt, however, in the Prapanna attaining Moksha since his sins will get wiped out by one of these methods before his death.
( 3 ) That the spittle of a Prapanna is holy. This is a gross exaggeration .Spittle can never be considered holy.
( 4 ) That whatever a Prapanna utters becomes law. This is not correct. Only those utterances which are not repugnant to the Sastras can be held valid.
Prapannas should attend to Bhagavatas whenever an occasion arises Bhagavatas are of three kinds:
(i) EKANTINS :Who have no attachment towards other deities and are totally
dedicated to Sri Narayana.
(ii) PARAMAIKANTINS: who have no goal other than attaining the feet
of the Lord.
(iii) SHODASA VAMA SVARNA PARAMAIKANTINS: who are so dedicated to the
Lord that they do not aspire for any thing including Svarga or even Moksha
They just do their duty and expect nothing in return leaving everything
to God.
ADHIKARA 26 : PRABHAVA RAKSHA ADHIKARA
(Vindication of the efficacy of Prapatti)
This Chapter shatters the attempts of some who denigrate the importance
of Prapatti and establishes the efficacy of Prapatti.
( 1 ) Even if a Bhagavata has swerved a little from the Sastric injunctions unwittingly, HE SHOULD NOT BE DISRESPECTED. You should not, however, seek to get Samasrayanam or Bharanyasam from him.
( 2 ) Disrespect to a Bhagavata is more deadly than even sinning against God.
( 3 ) Chanting the names of God (Nama samkeerthana) and residing with Bhaghavatas will be useful in taking a person to the right path of Bhakti or Prapatti, only if he is not an atheist at heart.
( 4 ) PRAPATTI DESTROYS NOT ONLY SANCHITA KARMA BUT IS CAPABLE OF
DESTROYING PRARABDA KARMA ALSO COMMITTED UPTO THE POINT OF PERFORMING
PRAPATTI.
( 5 ) Why Prapannas also suffer during their lifetime? It may be that they had not prayed for a suffering-free Post-Prapatti life. But, more importantly, for such Prapannas God dispenses with their Prarabda karmas through ill health, death of near and dear ones to make them absolutely Karma-free. SUFFERING IS A CHASTENING AGENT FOR A PRAPANNA.
( 6 )SAMAASRAYANAM is the ceremony by which one gets administered the PANCHA SAMSKARA ( the five-fold purificatory ceremonies) by their Acharyas. They are:-
(i) TAAPA : getting embossed with the impressions of the conch (Panchajanya Sankha) and Wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) on the arms by the Acharya.
(ii) PUNDRA: Wearing the twelve Sri Vaishnava marks on the body reciting appropriate names of the Lord as taught by the Acharya
(iii) NAAMA : Adding a suffix like 'Dasa" to one's name in token of one's subordination to Sri Ramanuja
(iv) MANTRA: Learning from the Acharya the three great Mantras of Ashtakshara, Dvaya and Charamasloka with their invocatory Slokas (Dyana Slokas).
(v) AARAADHANA: Learning Aaraadhana or ( the formula for worship of God-) Both external (Baahya) and mental (Maanasika).
The detailed procedure of such worship is given in Nitya Grantha of Sri Ramanuja.
BUT,FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO DO THE WORSHIP AS PER THE FULL
STANDARDS, THE SAME MAY BE DONE IN AN ABRIDGED FORM (LAGHU THIRUVARADHANA)
WITHOUT THE LOSS OF THE SPIRIT., FOR AFTER ALL, WHAT IS
IMPORTANT - IS SINCERITY AND QUALITY, NOT DURATION NOR QUANTITY.
Aradhana is normally to be done in the mornings at the Ijya period, but on special occasions like Janmashtami, Sri Rama Navami and Nrisimha Jayanthi, the Bahya Aradhana should be done at midnight, noon and at sunset receptively.
( 7 ) IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT EVEN THOSE WHO HAVE NOT GONE THROUGH
THE PANCHASAMSKARA OR ANY PART THEREOF, IF THEY DO PRAPATTI - SO LONG
AS THEY ARE NOT ATTACHED TO PETTY DEITIES AND DO NOT DISRESPECT BHAGAVATAS
AND ACHARYAS- THEY WILL SURELY ATTAIN MOKSHA AT THE END OF
THE CURRENT LIFE ITSSELF.
EVEN AN ANIMAL ( GAJENDRA) AND A BIRD ( KAKASURA) WHICH HAD NOT GONE
THROUGH THE PANCHA SAMSKARA HAD DONE PRAPATTI AND ATTAINED MOKSHA.
THIS
IS NOT TO SAY THAT THERE IS NO NEED FOR THE PANCHA SAMSKARA BUT THAT
DUE TO UNAVOIDABLE CIRCUMSTANCES THOSE WHO COULD NOT OR HAD NOT GONE
THROUGH THESE, NEED NOT FEEL DESPONDENT BUT CAN TALE RECOURSE TO
PRAPATTI AND BE SAVED.
( 8 ) How to identify a REAL BHAGAVATA? Would it be correct to give respect to one who has just the external marks like Nama, Rupa, Taapa etc., only and who in reality is not a Vishnu Bhakta?
So long as the duplicity of such a person does not get exposed, a Prapanna will have to show respect, But, once it gets revealed, the Prapanna can just ignore him.
2.
From Chapter 3 Hinduism Rediscovered
Sources of Knowledge- Sastras and Vedangas and A Note on Astrology
3.9. SASTRAS
Sastra means a `rule' or `law book'. The word `SA' means `to teach'.
Though the word is the general name given to all our scriptures, they refer
to the formal exposition of particular subjects as shown below : A few
examples of works on each are also indicated.
1. ALANKARA SASTRA : (RHETORIC) i. DVANYALOKA ii. RASA GANGA DHARA iii. SAHITYA DARPANA iv. DANDI ALANKARA (an ornate prose narrative) 2. VYAKARANAM (GRAMMAR) i. ASHTADHYAYI OF PANINI ii. SIDDHANTA KAUMUDI by BHATTOJI DIKSHITA iii. VAKYAPADIYA of BARTRUHARI iv. MAHA BASHYAM v. AMARASIMHA's AMARAKOSA (a Thesauras) 3. TARKAM (Logic & Reasoning) i. NYAYA SUTRAM ii. NYAYA MANJARI iii. TATTVA CHINTAMANI iv. PANINI SUTRAS 4. DHARMA SASTRAS (Ethics) Laws of- i. MANU * ii. VIDHURA iii. VASISHTA iv. BAUDAYANA v. NARADA vi. YAGNAVALKYA vii. APASTHAMBA viii. GAUTAMA*This contains 2689 verses on Hindu law. An elaborate treatise on spiritual, parliamentary codes, creation, initiation, rites of passage, duties, penances ,varnashrama dharma etc., Even the British law for India was mainly based on this. Best English translation is by G.Buhler.
5. RAJYANEETHI (Politics & Administration) a.k.a ARTHAVEDA i. KAUTILYA's ARTHA SASTRA ii. RAMA BARATHA SAMVADA in Ramayana a.k.a RAMA GITA 6. KAMASASTRA (Art of Love ) a.k.a. KAMA VEDA VATSYAYANA's KAMASUTRA 7. AYURVEDA SASTRA (Medicine and Health) a.k.a. AYUR VEDA i. DHANVANTRI ii. CHARAKA in his CHARAKA SAMHITA iii. SUSRUTA iv. VIGBHATA in his VRIDDATRAYI Science of knowledge of AYUS - 8. VASTUSASTRA or SULBA SASTRA a.k.a. STAPATYA VEDA ( Architecture) This gives measurements and procedure for constructing temples, yagasalas (sites for Yantra rites) with sophisticated geometry. 'Sulba' means ' a cord" obviously denoting the string used for measurements. i. PANCHARATRA ii. VAIKHANASA iii. SAIVA iv. SAKTHA 9. DHANUR VEDA ( lit. Archery but means Military Science) i. DRONACHARYA ii. VASISHTA iii. VISVAMITRA 10. GANDHARVA VEDA Music, Dancing and fine arts) i. SARASWATI ii. NARADA iii. GHANDARVAS iv. APSARAS v. BHARATHA vi. MATANGA MUNI's BRAHAD DESI vii. SARNGADEVA's SANGITA RATNAKARA viii. VENKATAMUKHI's CHATUDANDI PRAKASIKA giving 72 Melakarta or Janaka Ragas (Note:- items 5 to 10 are also classified as 'UPA VEDAS) 11. JYOTISH SASTRA (ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY) i. ARYABHATA ii. VARAHAMIHIRA iii. PARASARA iv. GARGYA SAMHITA 12. GRIHYA SASTRA ( or GRIHYA SUTRA)- ( Observance by householders) i. ASVALAYANA( R.V.) ii. GOBHILAS (S.V) iii. PURASKARA (Y.V.) iv. BAUDAYANA (Y.V.)and many others 13 KARMA MIMAMSA (Research & Analysis - Prely) i. JAIMINI SUTRAM ii. TANTRA VARTIKAM iii. SABARA BASHYAM 14.. GNANA MIMAMSA (Research & Analysis - Advanced)* i. BRAHMA SUTRAM* ii. UPANISHADS * iii. BAGHAVAD GITA** These three are known as PRASTANA TRAYAM. There are several commentaries on the last three under Gnana mimamsa written by almost all religious masters like SANKARA, RAMAJUJA, MADVA, NIMBARKA and VALLABHA
3.10. . VEDANGAS
`Angas' means limbs - of the Vedas. Six treatises mentioned below are
considered the limbs of Vedas. Their purpose is to ensure the correct performance
of the ceremonies prescribed in the Vedas.
(1.) SIKSHA :(lit) .learning, method of study, pronunciation, phonetics, articulation, accent.. A sophisticated system of phonetics indicating the correct value of each letter of the alphabet, its accent, proper method of articulation and proper pronunciation for reciting the mantras (sacred utterances) in the Vedas.
(2.) VYAKARANA : ( lit) .separation or explanation, Grammar . See also "Vyakarana
(3.) JYOTISHA :(lit) light -the science of light. 'jyoti' meant both astronomy and astrology - mixture of both the empirical and the heuristic, the scientific and the mystical. Jyotisha is mainly based on Sidereal system (fixed star system) as different from Western Tropical system (fixed date system). It is intended for deciding the proper time for the performance of various rituals. It refers to the Vedic almanac (Calendar) by which the most auspicious day and time for the performance of the particular sacrifice is fixed. It provided a basis for subsequent astronomical treatises called `Siddhantas' of which `Surya siddhanta' is the basic handbook of Indian astronomy.
ARYABHATA introduced the decimal place value system. VARAHAMIHIRA, the famous Indian astronomer wrote `Pancha siddhantika' - a summary of astronomical works. His greatest works were `Brihat samhita' (Great collection) dealing with the influence of heavenly bodies on human behavior. Two other books purely on astrology were viz., `Brahat jataka' (Great horoscopy) and `Laghu jataka' (short horoscopy). PARASARA is regarded as having learnt astronomy from `SOMA' (Moon) and taught it to `yavanas' (Greeks).
The Indian mathematical sign for `nought' or Zero is `sunya'. It is supposed to denote Akasa (Space) Nimittagnana dealing with omens in relation to astrology lists innumerable auspicious and inauspicious signs , signals etc.
[ Please see Annexure 1 "A note on Astrology" at the end of this Section.]
(4.) CHANDAS :(lit) .desire, will. Metrical science, Meters. Explains the meters of the mantras. (CHANDAS - SASTRA by PINGALA. about 2000 bc.) Details the rules for the conduct of sacrifices besides ensuring chanting with proper meters. Chandas itself means metros (i.e.) the feet or Pada of verses constructed in a specified manner.
SAYANA states that one should be as careful about the meter as of other angus.
[More about meters vide Annexure :2 "A note on Mantras "at the end of this section.]
(5.)NIRUKTA : (Etymology) explains the derivation of words from roots, etymological meaning and interpretations of difficult words in the Vedas - a kind of dictionary or a sort of lexicon with indices of hymns called anukramani. "Nigantu" by YAASKA ( about 320 bc.) is a standard book listing the words in the Vedas handed down by tradition which with nirukta is the oldest surviving Indian treatise on etymology, philology and semantics"16.
(6.) KALPA : (Ritual) General rules governing procedures to be adopted
in sacrificial ceremonies.
1,2 & 3 are connected with text of the Vedas while 4, 5 & 6
are connected with the meanings of the words in the Vedas.
NOTES
1. Van Butanen, p.35
2. Smith, H
3.3 Ms,Vol.5, p.1434
4. HDH,p.256
5.Solange (2), p.4&5 ( tr. Charles Lam Markman pub: Funk Wagnells,
NY.
6. Veda Malar pub: Paundarikapuram Ashramam and HDH p.249-250
7. Muir,Vol. V, p.4
8 Griffith,p.iv of Samaveda
9. Brih. Up.2.4.14
10.Isa. Up. quoted by Monier Williams, p.39
11.DL, p.62
12.Mimamsa Sutra,1.3.3
13.Traditional saying
14. VRN .p.57 and pp.184 and 185.
15. Daielou, Yoga ( 12ff and 17ff)
16.Sarup Lakshmana ,in 'Nigantu and Nirukta' quoted by Monier Williams
in Sanskrit- English Dictionary.
ANNEXURE 1
( Vide SECTION 3 of CHAPTER 3.)
An interesting point to note with reference to astrology is that though it is an exact science, it can be used only for fixing auspicious time for various rituals; life - cycle rites or rites of passage and definitely not for predicting the future of individuals. Such an attempt was looked down upon for various reasons -
1. An astrologer should be a master of all aspects of the Sastras, the influences, counter influences, the pulls and pushes accurately. It is such a vast subject with too many imponderables that none can claim to have real grasp and comprehension of all the complexities, combinations, permutations and ramifications of forces to accurately predict with unerring precision.
2. The time of birth and the exact location of birth with reference to Madhyarekha (an imaginary meridian longitudinal line) adopted in Jyotisha should have been noted including the correct positioning of thithi, vara, nakshatra, yoga and karana to determine the correct Lagna, Rasi and Amsa at the birth of an individual.
3. Not only two clocks don't agree complicating and vitiating the exact time of birth but the midwife's miscalculations and lack of memory also contribute to make the confusion worse confounded. Even if three clocks are placed in the delivery room, one might run fast, another too slow and the third might have stopped due to mechanical or power failure (if run on electricity or mechanical battery cell) with the result they can show anytime other than the correct one.
4. The raging controversy over the time of birth whether to reckon on the basis of just "Sirodhayam" (appearance of the head of the baby at the time of delivery) or when the delivery is completed has not been solved even among astrological specialists. And, between the two events the interval may range from a few minutes upto a full hour. Some hold that the moment at which the infant starts breathing should be taken as the time of birth. Others hold that the time of conception ( i.e.) the fertilization of the sperm with the ovum should be considered as the actual `time'. So, the `time' of birth is an indeterminate factor due to the divergence of views and predictions based on one may not exactly fit in with those based on the others.
5. There are two kinds of calculations based on `Vakhyam' (or holy utterances) and `Tirukkanidham' (Arithmetical Science). While `Vakya' calculations are based on the law of `approximate actuals' as envisaged by certain sages, Tirukkanidham as a later development took into consideration certain other factors like the gravitation of the Sun and the Moon, the moon's apogee, moon's off-lines, moon's orbit etc which differed although slightly, the variation in motion, and planetary perturbation, differences in the extent of tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana etc arise between the two systems especially in the matter of observances of fasts etc. The predictions based on the one may vary from those based on the other thus leaving the so called astrologer in a quandary.
6. The Sastras positively forbid astrologers from predicting adverse happenings like disease, death, misfortune etc. It is God's will that no individual should know his future in precise terms. Even if all the other parameters enumerated above were to be fulfilled, no `true' astrologer will tell the `truth' and he is precluded from telling `untruth' either. If an astrologer were to predict correctly and tells candidly, they say that he has committed the sin of `Ajna Adhi langanam',( trying to transgress )and disobey the will of god (Sankalpa). You can most certainly see such astrologers in desperate straits of penury, disease of interminable and indeterminate nature stalking their household; And, if an astrologer is prosperous, you can conclude almost certainly that he has abdicated truth for material gains.
7. No wonder most astrologers avoid the embarrassment and rely on quibbling in the fashion of the Delphic oracle who declared "The Greeks, the-Romans will conquer" - so that whichever side wins, he can claim his predictions had come true. Winston Churchill once defined a `politician' as one who goes on making promises before the elections and after getting elected goes on explaining why he had to break his promises. In the same way, an `astrologer' may be defined as one who predicts in such a dubious equivocal way that he can easily `explain away' the results to fit into any part of his predictions, however contradicting they may be. In fact, we may even venture to say that in the modern times there are no Astrologers worth the name. At best, they are `sooth sayers' and at worst `outright cheats'.
The following story was narrated by Srimad Azhagiya Singhar in one of
his Kalakshepam lectures:
An astrologer was approached on behalf of two patients who were terminally
ill with a prognosis of certain death. The astrologer gave two pieces of
stone chipped out of a rock and asked them to be tied to the wrist of each
patient. When one of them recovered, the astrologer claimed his prediction
that he would recover and stand ' like a rock' had come true; When the
other patient died he explained how his prediction that the other patient
would die as if ' stoned to death' had also come true. This is a classic
example of quibbles indulged in by these cheats.
This is not to say that all astrologers are cheats but this is only to caution that we should not resort to astrology to glean our future, however tempting it may be.
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy