Bhagavadgita Pages, Chapters 1 to 18
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11/09/2008
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Ramana Maharishi
The Battlefield of
Kurusetra
Arjuna’s Distress
For the west, knowledge is discovery, sometimes mistakenly called invention; for the Hindu, it is recovery. Our pristine soul is the repository of knowledge that will last for eternity; recovering it is man's object; a complete recovery is an impossible proposition. All discoveries and the so-called inventions are that recovery process. There is nothing new a man can invent that is not in the repository of the soul. Man who says he "invented" the wheel has not seen the sun, the moon, or the dung beetle. The idea of the wheel coming from them was floating in the cosmos and on earth; man made that recovery process. Dung Beetles knew about rolling the ball before man "invented," rolled and spun the wheel.
Invention is a misnomer for its blueprint is waiting for recovery. Intuition and genius are instruments in that recovery process and are not the exclusive property of man because the instinctive dung beetles beat him to the punch. One cannot invent something that is already present in the inexhaustible repository, which defies human imagination and is a trillion steps ahead of human intelligence so much so the so-called new inventions will go on until dissolution of the universe and a fresh start will begin again.
Dr. Alexander Wood of Scotland (b 1817) and Dr. Charles Gabriel Pravez (b 1791) are credited with the invention of the hypodermic needle. They deserve credit and accolades for construction of the needle and not for invention. How could they invent something that was already present in the mosquito? It is the lowly Anopheles gambiae, the living hypodermic syringe and needle of all times, which deserves the credit for designing such a fine hypodermic needle. It took so long for the industry to build a fine needle for the insulin-dependent diabetics and yet it is not as sophisticated and fine as the mosquito's system. It was hungry and had to eat. Its soul had the knowledge to devise a way to draw and obtain balanced nutrition to sustain the 50-200 eggs it had to lay; it had only two weeks to live in the wild, before it can guarantee the survival of its progeny. Its soul helped it devise the perfect hypodermic syringe to sustain life on the nutrition, a well-balanced blood-food. That self- sustaining and self-perpetuating compulsion to devise the needed adaptation is what scientists call mutation, adaptation and evolution. We share the soul with the mosquito, however dangerous the latter is. That soul is the repository of knowledge and a fragment of Paramatman (Supreme Soul).
The whole universe is built on 0 and 1; all else is extension of 0 and 1, an off and on switch, Siva and Sakti. It came from Sunya or void; it became One and One became many. Take Lingam, we see a perfect alignment of zero and one.
"The ancient Indian mathematician Pingala presented the first known description of a binary numeral system in the 3rd century BCE, which coincided with his discovery of the concept of zero." Pingala also refers to the Nadi, the flow channel for Pingala Nadi. Go to Kundalini Power.
BG Chapter 2
SAMKHYA YOGA– THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE
Anyone who holds these beliefs follows the Bharata Dharma or common principles of all Aryan beliefs. Thus as regards God we may either deny His existence (Atheism) or affirm it (Theism) or say we have no sufficient proof one way or another (Agnosticism). It is possible to accept the concept of an eternal Law (Dharma) and its sanctions in a self-governed universe without belief in a personal Lord (Ishvara). So Samkhya, which proceeds on intellectual proof only, doe not deny God but holds that the being of a Lord is "not proved". Sir John Woodroffe.
The Māyā-Tantra says: "Those who are learned in Yoga say that it is the union of Jiva and Atma. According to others (i.e., Saivas) it is the experience of the identity of Siva and Atma. The Agama-vādis proclaim that Yoga is the knowledge (Jñāna) relating to Sakti. Otherwise men say that the knowledge of the Purāna-Purusa is Yoga, and others again, the Prakrti-vādīs, declare that the bliss of union of Siva and Sakti is Yoga." By" union of Jiva and Atma " is meant Samadhi. By Yoga is meant that by which oneness is attained with the Paramatma. Serpent power, Page 463,Sir John Woodroffe.
Patanjali says in Mahabhasya: Knowledge has four parts: acquisition,
study, teaching, and application. When all parts come together, knowledge finds
perfection.
2.1 & 2:
Madhusudhana (Killer of demon Madhu), Lord Krishna, having seen Arjuna
overwhelmed by compassion, eyes brimming with tears, depressed and lamenting,
asked Arjuna where this filth (kasmalam)
came from, and this lamentation at this hour of crisis. He added that this Unaryan practice would not lead him to heaven but
to infamy.
2.2: Sri BhagavAn uvAca
Kutas tvA Kasmalam idam visame samupasthitam|
anArya-justam asvargyam akIrti-karam arjuna||
The old-world Indian (Sanskrit) word Aryan is synonymous with nobility and trustworthiness.
The view from the West: A change from invasion theory to native Aryan Indian theory
Donald A. Mackenzie in his book, Indian Myth and Legend (page, xxxviii-ix, says, "If the long-headed Kurds are, as Ripley believes, the descendants of the Mitanni raiders, then the Aryans of history must be included in the Brown race. They are regarded as ancient brunet dolichocephalic (long-headed) peoples. During the Brahmanical age, a fresh Aryan wave hit India and divided (themselves) as Westerners of Punjab and Easterners of Kasi (Benares, Varanasi), Maghada, Kosala, and Videha. The kings of the Easterners (Ramayana) claimed to have descended from the solar race. The Middle Country Aryans came as the next wave and put themselves between the Westerners and Easterners, called themselves descendents of Lunar Race and Bharatas and worshipped goddess Bharati associated with Sarasvati river. Sarasvati River dried up in 1900 B.C.; Rg Vedic hymns are placed prior to it. The Kurus and Purus of Mahabharata were the descendants of Bharatas.
It is postulated that the Indo-Aryans migrated out west as far as Egypt, when Sarasvati river dried up. The Bharatas worshipping the moon and Sarasvati River were possibly the Brown Aryans. Much later, the Vedic gods, the Fire god and Indra "suffered eclipse;" Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva with their respective consorts came into prominence.
The west is quick to say that the central figures of Ramayana and Mahabharata are not historical but creations of active imagination of Brahmanical compilers for religious propaganda. Here are some dates: Epic Sanskrit, the forerunner of Classical Sanskrit is tentatively assigned a date between 5000 BC (the date of Rg Veda) to 2000 BC. Ramayana of Valmiki is assigned a date to about 3500 BC; Mahabharata of Vyasa to about 3000 BC. Misra opines that the theory that the Mahabharata precedes the Ramayana is baseless. The original home of Indo-Iranians is India; Iranian is the second most archaic language next to Sanskrit; all other Indo-European languages and the Indo-Europeans came from India and thus the Indo-Aryan is the immediate or proximate progenitor of the Europeans. Simply put Indo-Aryan gave the genes and the speech to the Europeans. The loan words of Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian (Uralic) are derived from Sanskrit as the Indo-Aryan made several trips to these areas from 5000 BC. Harmatta says that the loan words in Chinese and Korean are derived from Sanskrit. Since the discovery of fire altars, Indus civilization is accepted as a continuation of the Vedic Civilization. Misra opines that Dravidians are also Aryans and that Aryans did not drive out the Dravidians to the South. Thus the Indo-Aryans, Iranians and the Dravidians were living in India spreading out to Europe. One factor in the color of the people depends upon the longitude and latitude of their habitat. Remember people marry within their group or caste and thus certain physical features get embedded in that group and make them appear distinct from other groups or castes. Some people defy by their physical features categorization by group or caste or even race. The Greeks were not Greeks in that they came from outside and destroyed the Minoan-Mycenaean civilization. (Joseph Campbell says that Greeks and Indo-Aryans are cousins.) The Germans came to Germany from outside; so were the Celts, the Slavs, the Iranians. Misra goes a little further to say that "India as the best place for the origin of human beings." -- Page 224-229, The Indo-Aryan Controversy.
There are historians who dispute the supposition that Indo-Aryans were of external origin; they originated in India, spread to other countries (Persia, Europe and Asia) and later came back to their motherland; in that process they spread their language and speech. The world was making cockamamie sounds; Sanskrit life letter a and its cohorts e, i, o, u, au, am... came about and introduced intelligible mellifluous sound and speech for the first time. The world, before the Indians gave the vowels, were talking in lifeless generic consonants, grunting, grating, screeching, jarring.... Satya Swarup Misra says that no language worth its salt existed before 5000 BCE when Rg Veda was existent. No European language existed before that date: Sanskrit first, Persian later and all other Indo-European languages much later. The Gypsies left Central India earlier than 3rd century BC and spread all over Europe. The Indo-Aryans likewise populated Persia and Europe. (Misra thinks that Dravidian and Indo-Aryan belong to one language and one genetic family.)
Here is an instance of pettiness and unwillingness on the part of erstwhile ruling class to give credit to India. H.L.Gray says, "The earliest investigators were quite certain that it was in Asia, the continent which was the source of oldest civilization, the traditional site of the garden of Eden, and where Sanskrit was spoken." A scholar of his caliber could not get himself to mention India by name and thus used the substitute word Asia instead. Now you know why the West makes it appear that Aryan came from outside India. In their mind the Aryan of Sanskrit could not be a original native Indian. So they put him all over central Asia.
Return of the Aryans by Bhagavan S. Gidwani tells the story of Aryans in the format of a novel.
The West says that there are essentially three schools: 1) the Indigenous School which claims Punjab as the origin of the Indo-Aryans 2) the Out of India School which espouses the theory that the Indo-Aryans were the immigrant forefathers of today's Iranians. [The dug-up old Iranian human skeletons are not Indian.] and 3) the Devabhasya School which asserts that all so-called Indo-European languages originated from Sanskrit.
Elst says Sanskrit palatization of words (ca, cha, ja, jha, na) allows for the possibility that (Indo-Aryan) homeland was originally India and not outside. He makes a somersault and an about-face and says that still there is a possibility of immigrant origin of Indo-Aryan. Retroflection, so characteristic of South Asia, is not found in Old Iranian, discounting Out of India Theory.
Hock injects a new element on the so-called anasa (noseless or mouthless) Dasyas in Rg Veda. Arya and Dasa do not refer to color but to "light and dark worlds." Anasa refers according to him to possessing bad speech and not to bad nose. (Some regard the inhabitants of Indus valley as Sumero-Dravidians.)
The prevailing opinion at present is that 1) there is no linguistic or archeological evidence to support the Invasion Theory, 2) Pre-Vedic Indo-Aryan culture became a Hybrid Vedic Culture from contact with other cultures at religious, material, and linguistic areas, 3) the Indus Valley Script and the Horse are the bugaboos. If the Indus Valley script is deciphered, a new paradigm comes into play and the theories have to be revised. The horse, the chariot, and the Indo-Aryan: do they go together always? Are they contemporaneous? The horse was first present in 4th millennium BC in India and later in Persia and Caucasus. Likewise the Indo-Aryan traveled from India to Persia, Caucasus and beyond. They all didn't walk; some rode horses and some walked.
Skeletons of IVC (3300 BCE-1700 BCE) , Harappans (1700 BCE-1300 BCE) Vedic Aryans (1500 BCE-500 BCE) and present-day North-west Indians are not markedly different. Decline of Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) is not attributed to invasion but to natural conditions, such as drying up of Sarasvati River. Plain-talking historians are of the belief that polemics took precedence over facts on the question of Aryan Invasion, migration or lack there of. Aryans were the people of IVC. Other historians of opportunism are horsing around, putting the horses, chariots, Aryans here, there, everywhere on the chessboard, mucking up everything. The Indo-Aryans wrote the manual for horse training and were the very first broncobusters. Many historians are playing both sides, giving conflicting pros and cons. The colonial history of India: the west put down the Indians first as good for nothing bozos; then came along the archeological digs of Harappa by Sahni and Banerjee; the West put down the "Invading pastoral Aryans" and elevated the Dravidians as the civilized race; there was no invasion or mass murder of the natives of Harappa; before the Dravidians were admitted into the civilized club, some of the Indians were branded as Criminal Tribes (What a switch); the west found Sanskrit words common with their languages, so they dubbed Sanskrit as Indo-European language (why not plain-vanilla Indo-Aryan language) and elevated the North-west Indians. In 1856 before the discovery of Indus Civilization, two morons, John and William Brunton were building the East Indian Railway from Karachi to Lahore. They used the bricks from the Indus civilization as ballast. Brahminibad ancient bricks went into use for the railway; part of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro escaped the Brunton brothers' mindless quarrying of the ancient bricks, 3x10x20 inches. The excavation did not begin until 1920. It is possible that these two archeologically-challenged nincompoops did not get the contract to lay the gravel road near Stonehenge on Salisbury plain, but ended up in India to do their carefully crafted bang-up botch with bootleg ancient bricks at the Indian railways.
Let me give you an idea of the kind of cities they had. The walls encircling the city was 40 feet wide at the base and 35 feet high. Mud was used to hold the bricks on the walls, and gypsum and lime mortar for the drains. The sewer system featured terra cotta pipes with manholes like what you see in the modern cities now. They built multistoried house with flat tops. Like the modern day laundry chutes they had garbage chutes in the houses along with toilets and bathrooms. They had 23x39x8 feet tank with 8 feet thick walls for public bathing. Copper, bronze, lead, silver, ivory and gold were in use. They were trading with Mesopotamia and were called Meluhha. They cultivated barley, wheat, peas, sesamum, cotton.... Cotton would not appear in the west in the next 2000 years.
Sanskrit is
the Mother of languages; the European languages are the daughter languages.
Listen to what Mark Twain says:
Here is an example of servile sycophancy of some Indians of the colonial period and Phule's demolition of pet theory of two castes and petty divisions of the caste system.
The following piece is from The Indo-Aryan Controversy edited by Bryant and Patton. The words are mine.
The Arya-Brahmanas declared, fortuitous circumstances brought the civilized British White Aryans to India to uplift the degraded Indian (Brown) Aryans -- the forerunners of the bygone era and bring the latter to their former glory. Some British felt it that way too. The Brown Indo-Aryans declared themselves as the chosen race. "It was for nothing that God has showered his choicest blessings on this ancient land of Aryavarta. We can see His hand in history." This declaration was made in Lahore in the Aryan Land of Five Rivers. One such Indo-Aryan declared that there were only two castes: Brahmins and Sudras. The Ksatriyas, they declared, were killed by Parasurama; the Vaisyas no longer existed. The acuteness of the hostile situation was felt by the then ruler Shivaji in 1676, when the local Brahmins refused to accept him as Ksatriya (they were all killed by Parasurama) and refused to perform his coronation ceremony. A Kasi Brahmin did the honors to Shivaji.
Then came Phule of gardener caste, sedimented, layered, and sandwiched between the Untouchable and the Sudra. He agreed with vicarious glee with the prevalent premise of two castes, Brahmanas and Sudras. Then he began his demolition by design by placing explosive charges at the critical places and lighting the fuse. Phule (1827-90) accepted the theory of invading Aryan Brahmanas for didactic purposes, killing of the indigenous kings and Vaisyas and subjugation of the humble indigenous people (Dasas and Dasyus by the Brahmin-Aryas). He spoke aloud of the cruelty of the foreign Arya-Brahmins subjugating the humble Pre-Aryan people of the soil and killing of all the Vaisyas and the indigenous Ksatriyas (the kings), many of whom died fighting the invading Arya-Brahmanas; the survivors became the MahA-ari (Great Enemies). These MahA-aris were relegated to the status of Untouchables; the king (Ksatriyas--the ruling class) becomes an Untouchable. The subjugated native sons of the soil became the land-owners or land-tillers and the name he gave them was Ksetriyas (Ksetra = land, field), which sounds cunningly like Ksatriyas. Now you see Phule's use of Arya's premise and tools of separation, segregation and superiority to demolish them. He says Vamana's subjugation of king Bali and his expulsion to Netherworld as an example.
As said earlier, Arjuna incarnates
from
Lord Krishna Himself was born of a Ksatriya
prince Vasudeva, and a non-Aryan princess Devaki.
Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita
as told by Krishna, was born of a Brahmana father and a non-Aryan
mother (a fisherwoman).
Satyavati
(Sanskrit: सत्यवती) is the mother of Vyasa and
great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes, principal
characters of the Mahabharata. She is nevertheless a
commoner, daughter of a ferryman or fisherman.
She is also known as Matsyagandha (one who
has the smell of fish).
Note: Purusa creates heaven from His head and the
earth from His feet. If liberated men and gods do not populate heaven, there is
no meaning in living (a virtuous life) on this earth; therefore, earth and
heaven are integral parts in the life of men and gods. When gods fall from
grace, they come down to earth as humans. Prajapati created the
asuras (demons) first and the gods second; there were more asuras than gods;
the asuras and the gods were half-brothers, the embodiments of evil and goodness.
Each one of us is part asura, and part god: Which is dominant? If there is no
evil, there is no idea of goodness; therefore, evil is a necessary part of our
character. How much of one is evil? We have in each one of us a pristine,
stainless entity, namely atman. It is evil-free.
Garuda
Purana (1.213.35) defines filth as fat, semen, blood, marrow,
saliva, feces, urine, earwax, phlegm, tears, mucus in the eyes and body sweat. There are eight auspicious entities in this world:
Brahmins, cows, fire, gold, butter, the sun, water, and the king. When one encounters any of the above, he
should view, worship and circumambulate them.
Let me take up the example of water as auspicious. Rudra was born of Brahma and was given water
as his body. Wherever you see water, you
are seeing Rudra or Bhava. Since all living beings are born through water and
made of water, the
body of Rudra or Siva, one should not urinate, defecate, spit, wade nude, or
have sex in the waters. One should not obstruct the natural flow of waters into
the sea. –Brahmanda Purana,1.2.10.29-32.
Pollution of
water is considered an act against the body of god.
2.3: O son of Partha
(Arjuna), this smacks of impotence and weakness of the heart, which are
unbecoming of you, the conqueror of enemies.
Lord
Krishna says that this sudden attack of grief speaks ill of a Ksatriya.
Cowardice and weakness of the heart are the Tamasic qualities of king in
retreat; the Sattvic Ksatriya must face the enemy, have a balanced emotion,
weigh the outcome, and fight to win: That is Ksatriya's duty. Since retreat
from battlefield for a Ksatriya is sin itself,
2.4: Arjuna said:
O Madhusūdana,
how could I ever fight with arrows on the battlefield
Note: Bhisma is the
grandfather of the Kurus, and Drona is the military science or marital arts
teacher for the Kurus. Arisūdana: slayer of foes.
2.5: Begging would give me more joy than killing
my gurus and the great souls, who might be doing the fighting for personal
gain.
The pleasures, I would
enjoy in this life and in this world by killing them, are not worthwhile,
considering that those gains would have a taint of blood.
Bhisma
and Drona are worthy figures for reverence and even worship; they enjoyed high
life under the Kauravas. Arjuna contends how he could enjoy same high life,
after killing the revered Bhisma and Drona: All those enjoyments would have a
taint of blood. Arjuna did not consider that his was a just cause and theirs
was not. Arjuna's reverence, compassion, and love for the teachers, elders, and
relatives overpowered his will to fight: He was shirking his duty.
2.6: What is the
choice between the two? Do we gain victory over them, or would they destroy us?
We do not know that. We do not want to live, having killed the sons of
Dhritarastra, who stand before us in the battlefield.
Note:
Dhrtarastra is the blind king with 100 sons, the Kauravas; and Duryodhana is
the eldest. Arjuna sees a conflict between his dharma (duty) as a Ksatriya and
his principle ahimsa (nonviolence) as a man
2.7: A taint of
misplaced compassion afflicts my nature; I am addled about my sense of duty;
what I ask of You is that You tell me in no uncertain terms what is honorable
for me. I am Your disciple and seek advice and refuge in You.
Dharma
means duty and virtue. Arjuna cannot cope, and lost his verve and nerve. What
can he do? Arjuna seeks advice from his
God and his friend, Lord Krishna. Arjuna wants divine help in conflict
resolution in his mind.
The
king is the refuge of his subjects, the parents are the refuge of the children,
righteousness is the refuge of men, Lord Hari is the refuge of all (Garuda
Purana, 1.230.46).
2.8: I do not see how
I could get rid of my sorrow that has wilted my senses, even if I achieve
unrivaled prosperity and kingdom on the earth and the supremacy over gods in
heaven.
2.9: Sanjaya said (to
Dhritrastra):
Having spoken thus to
Hrisikesam (
Hrisikesam:
the Lord of the senses. Gudakesa: the conqueror of sleep, a name for Arjuna.
Fall
into silence may suggest here the beginning of a spiritual awakening for
Arjuna, also known as the conqueror of sleep (ignorance). Gudākesa also
means that Arjuna is “thick-haired.”
Arjuna has reached the end of the rope. Initially he was exercising his
reason and even reason has taken leave of him. The faintness of his heart
hindered his capacity to address the call for duty. He has not even waited to
see what his God Lord Krishna or teacher has to say on this matter: It shows a
total exhaustion. That makes it all the more difficult for his savior or
teacher to get him out of his deep depression, and inculcate some sense and
dharma into Arjuna. Dhritrastra, the father of Kauravas, was happy to hear from
Sanjaya that Arjuna, the archenemy of Kauravas, was losing the will to fight,
which could end in the victory of the Kauravas.
2.10: O Bharata
(Dhritarastra), Hrisikesa smiling with a hint of ridicule, standing between the
two armies, spoke the following words to Arjuna who was in acute sorrow.
2.11: Sri
Bhagavan (
You grieve for those
worth not grieving for, yet you speak words of wisdom. The panditah (learned
men) grieve neither for the dead nor for the living.
An individual has an eternal soul and a perishable body; there is no reason to grieve for something that is eternal, and there is no reason to grieve for something that is perishable. If a living one grieves for the dead because of the death of the physical body, the dead have to eat the tears and the phlegm formed during the grieving; eulogy instead of grief will appease the departing soul. When a person has the knowledge of the self and the body, he grieves neither for the living nor for the dead. The soul is eternal and real, and the body is unreal (in relative terms) and subject to change, because of its insentient elements.
Bhagavan: One who is endowed with Bhaga (Grace) is Bhaga-van. Bhaga consists of six attributes: (Transliteration from Tamil) Aisvaryam, Viryam, Pukaz, Tiru, Jnanam, and Viaragyam (Supremacy, Power, Glory, Sacredness, Wisdom, and desirelessness. others list the following attributes: knowledge of creation, maintenance, destruction, origin and sublation of all life forms, Supreme Truth, and Avidya or ignorance. Some say that the attributes correspond to nine angles of Yantra, which is a mystical diagram made of geometric forms, images, avaranas, deities, alphabets and syllables etched on metals and stones, whose purpose is to invoke god for progeny, health, and wealth and attain Samadhi
Others list the following: Sri (Auspiciousness), Virya (Power), Jnana (Wisdom), Vairagya (Dispassion), Kirti (Glory), and Mahatmya (Greatness).
Bhaga is Grace and any desirable quality such as dignity, majesty, distinction, excellence, beauty, loveliness, love, affection.
2.12:
Never was there a time that neither I, nor you, nor those kings did not exist
and nor will all of us stop to exist from now on.
The Recycling of souls.
We are spirit and matter, which are recycled according to the merit or demerit of karmic load. It is Samsara, birth and rebirth. Samkhya philosophy of dualism: Kapila was the founder and propounder of Samkhya philosophy. Its basis is not Vedic; it treats two juxtaposed contrary polar principles: Prakrti and Purusa. In Samkhya, Prakrti does not contaminate Purusa but the latter lights up Prakrti. Prakrtik products are Mahat, Ego, and the senses. It is the Purusa that lights up these products of Prakrti. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa illustrates this point by saying that the human body is like a pot and the mind, intellect and the senses are like water, rice and potato. When the pot is boiling the contents become hot, though the heat source is from the fire. Similarly, the power of Brahman causes the mind, intellect and the senses to function. When that power stops to act, all cease to work. Adapted from Sayings Ramakrishna, saying 27, page 28.
Proponents of Sankhya system do not believe in Isvara but in Purusa that has Jnana not unlike Nirguna Brahman. The Light of Purusa makes the Inert Prakrti to quicken and evolve the world of matter. Purusa is not the Nimitta Karana (Efficient Cause) as Isvara is. This transformation (Parinama) is inherent, spontaneous, and pre-programmed in Prakrti. Of course Vaishnavas and Saivas who believe in Isvara dispute this idea.
Sankaracharya of Kanchi says Parinama Vada does not hold water and advocates Monistic Vivarta Vada (a method of asserting the Vedanta doctrine--maintaining the development of the Universe from Brahman as the sole real entity , the phenomenal world being held to be a mere illusion or MAyA)
Purusa is Consciousness and Supreme Unparalleled Intelligence, and Prakrti [Pra (before) krti (creation)] is matter, unconscious, indiscriminate, and insentient. If PRAKRTI sounds similar to PROCREATE, it is so in meaning too. Prakrti indicates an urgency to produce, as Prasavam (parturition) has the imminence to deliver a baby. It is the same as PROCREATIX in Latin.
Matter in Saiva Siddhanta has the following qualities:
1. unconscious element.
2. anything that obstructs consciousness and its working.
3. anything that obstructs obtaining right knowledge.
4. anything that imparts false, incomplete and partial knowledge.
5. senses which do not have intrinsic consciousness or omniscience.
6. a mind that does not present knowledge of things as they truly are.
7. all physiological and psychological processes.
8. all organs.
9. Space, Time.
10. Apara vidya, not supreme knowledge (Faustian knowledge) as opposed to Para Vidya.
Aparavidya covers arts and sciences.
Andakosa, the cosmic egg, represents matter. The cosmic
egg has seven layers: water, fire, Hara, ether, ahankara (ego), Mahat, and
gunas. Vishnu pervades the egg as Vairaja and makes it viable and productive.
The individual souls emanate from the Lord’s Para Prakrti (Supreme Nature),
while the universe emanates from his Apara Prakriti (Inferior [not supreme]
Nature). The cosmic egg is Apara, while Vairaja is
Nothing new can come out in this world that does not exist in Aparaprakrti in its potential form. Also from Prakrti evolves, Chitta which consists of Mahat, buddhi, ahankāra, and manas. Mahat has the unique ability to undergo transformation into this universe when it comes under the field of vision of the Lord, (influence of) Time, and three gunas, according to Bhagavatam 3.5.28.
Prakrti according to the followers of Mother Goddess
Prakrti: Prakrti produces matter which is gross in its form, undergoes mutation and is not eternal. It is the Universe of Mind and Matter according to Woodroffe. Prakrti is personified as She, cannot be seen by the eyes and is beyond the senses. She is ineffable, inconceivable, formless and derived from Mula Prakriti (Root Producer) and yet can produces forms (Vikriti-- Alteration, manifestation). Prakrti is synonymous with Pradhana (Chief substance, That which contains all) and sometimes with Sakti, Maya and Mahamaya. Prakrti Sakti is personified and called Trigunamayi and Triguna-atmikA (Composed of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas). When Sattva dominates pure Consciousness dominates; when Rajas (Action) dominates, the results are two-fold: dominance of Sattva or dominance of Tamas with mutual suppression of the other; when Tams dominates, there is veiling of consciousness. As Tattvas evolve, the more distant the tattva from Sakti Tattva, the degree of Sattva diminishes and Tamas rises gradually. Siddha Yogi is the purest and most Sattvic (Divya Bhava); he is Sat, Cit and Ananda (Consciousness, Being and Bliss). Among people, dominance of Rajas with suppression of Tamas produces a Vira (Hero) according to Tantrics. When Tamas Guna dominates, he is Pasu (animal). Prakrti exists in two states: quiescent and agitated. In quiescent state the Gunas are in equilibrium and thus a state of Avyakta (unmanifest) exists. Woodroffe calls it natura naturans. When Karma comes into the forefront, Sabdabrahman quickens and makes Spandana (vibration); Gunaksoba (agitation of Gunas) takes place and the universe is created. The products of Prakrti is called Vikara or Vikrti. Technically, milk is Vikara and curd is Vikrti, indicating the change.
Mahat
Mahat
is the Great principle and results in buddhi, from which develops
ahankāra, I-ness or individuation. Mahat and buddhi are the cosmic and
individual counterparts of intellect. Sixteen entities such as five faculties
of action, manas (instinctive mind) five faculties of sense, and five tanmatras
namely sound, touch, color, taste, and smell arise from ahankāra (ego).
This pluripotential Prakrti (nature) results in gunas – Sattva, Rajas, and
Tamas. These three constituents of gunas are inseparable and form a complex –
Sattva-Rajas-Tamas complex, which is inert, if it is in equilibrium. Only one
of the three constituents is dominant in a person or entity. Sattva is
knowledge, intellect, light, and balanced emotion; Rajas is the motor behind
Sattva and Tamas; Tamas is darkness, passivity, or negativity. Without Rajas,
Sattva, and Tamas are inert; dominance of Rajas naturally means revved-up
emotions. These three gunas, complex or strands condition the manifest
world, both animate and inanimate; the force behind this complex or strands is
excitatory Purusa, which agitates these strands or gunas and causes
disequilibrium and subsequently diversity and polymorphism. Bhagavatam
(3.10.14) states that God created the first product Mahat by causing
disturbance in the equilibrium of the gunas.
Ahankāra (ego), the second product, is subject to Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas: The Sattvika ahamkāra gives rise to the mind and the presiding deities of the senses; the Rajasic ahamkāra gives rise to the sensory and motor organs; the Tamasika ahamkāra gives rise to the subtle elements like sound, touch, color and vision, taste, and odor.
Ego by nature does not express satisfaction and is in a state of restless motion. Ego has ignorance, likes and dislikes: 1. ignorance of the difference between the eternal and the noneternal, 2. mistaken belief that body and mind are the same as self, 3. love and attachment to gratifying objects, 4. hatred and avoidance of unpleasant things, and 5. love of life and fear of death.
Mind perceives by Samkalpa-Vikalpa, selection and rejection from the material provided by Janendriya--sense organs, --Woodroffe. Samkalpa = purpose, will, desire, determination. Vikalpa = imagination, doubt. Samkalpa is experiencing the perceived sensation by the mind and presenting the sensation to the AhamkAra and Buddhi, the former 'making the sensation his own in feeling and experience' and the latter making a determination on the sensation, so that the experiencer identifies with the sensation. Sensation is personalized by Ahamkara. Woodroffe states, 'when a sensation is perceived by the Manas (mind) and determined by Buddhi, Ahamkara says: "It is I who perceives it." Buddhi, Ahamkara being its part, pervades the organs, and is the repository of all Karmic tendencies (Samskaras), and the seat of memory. Buddhi is the thinking entity involved in ideation and conceptualization with the help of AhamkAra, Manas and Indriyas (organs). Sense organs beam sensations to mind or Manas (perception); AhamkAra identifies them for personalization (self-arrogation); Buddhi stores the sensations for determination, cognition, resolution and presentation to Consciousness (Purusa), which illumines the Buddhi. Buddhi is the Charioteer; Manas, whose quality is Samkalpa-Vikalpa, is the reins; the senses are the horses; Jiva is the enjoyer. Buddhi is Sattva-dominant; AhamkAra is Rajas-dominant; Manas, Indriyas and their objects are Tamas-dominant.
Take a look at the Tattvas above and below. The light of consciousness is Purusa12. Prakrti Tattva 13 is the origin of all distal Tattvas. All the organs 17 to 31 report to Manas16, which reports to AhamkAra15, which reports to Buddhi14, which is illumined by Purusa12. All Tattvas serve for the pleasure of Purusa12. The Subtle body is made of 17 Tattvas from Buddhi14 to odor31. AhamkAra15 is part of Buddhi14. Samkhya philosophy makes no mention of Prana (the pentad); the MAyAvAdins remove the Tanmatras (sound17, touch18, color19, taste20, and smell21) and put in the five Pranas (Prana, Samana, Apana, Udana, and Vyana..
12. Purusa, 13. Prakrti Tattva, 14. Buddhi, 15. Ahamkara 16. Manas, 17. hearing 18. tactile sense, 19. vision and color, 20.tasting, 21. smell, 22. speech, 23. grasp, 24. ambulation, 25. evacuation, 26. procreation, 27. sound, 28. palpation, 29. form, 30. taste, 31. odor, 32. ether, 33. air, 34. fire, 35. water, 36. earth.
According to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa ego comes in two flavors: unripe and ripe. Unripe ego gives rise to ideas such as "This is my house, this is my child, this is my wife, this is my body." Ripe ego gives rise to ideas such as "Nothing is mine, whatever I see or feel or hear, nay, even this body, is not mine; I (my soul) am always eternal, free and all-knowing." adapted from Sayings of Ramakrishna, saying 115, page 48.
Ramana Maharishi says that from the vast unbroken Being-Awareness-Self springs forth a separate "I" ( I am, my, mine, me) which falls into the error of confronting a world perceived as something other than the Self --Verse 156. A true seer and ascetic is the strong hero who has discarded the body-based ego. It is hard for those who still retain regard for Asrama or varna (caste) to cast off the ego's heavy burden. Varna and Asrama pertain to the body and ego. The egoless person is the true Brahmin and true ascetic--Verse 163. One who sees otherness and difference cannot become a Brahmin merely by the study of four Vedas. He alone is a true Brahmin who sees his ego dead and knows the Veda's import. Failing here one swelters inly (sic), fallen, despised--Verse163. If a traveler does not put down his luggage in the cart but carries it plainly on his head, whose fault is it? The Lord sustains the universe; the pseudo-self, which thinks it bears it, is like the grinning figure which seems to carry the weight of the temple tower--Verse 171. Adapted from The garland of Guru's sayings, pages 30 to 33.
The sensory and motor organs are called Jnanedriyani and Karmendriyani. (Jnana +Indriyani = perception (sensory) organs. Karma + Indriyani = action (motor) organs.) Organs of perception are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. Motor organs are larynx, hands, feet, anus and genitals and their functions are speech, grasp, locomotion, evacuation and reproduction. Chitta, the command and control center or inner organ (antahkarana), presides over the vital functions of the universe of the body. These vital functions go by the generic name Prana (breath) which consists of five parts: Prana, Samana, Apana, Udana, and Vyana. Please refer to the commentary on verse, BG10.9 for more details on Vital breaths. Here breath does not exclusively mean physiological respiration. Implicit in the terms is the fact that all the organs to work optimally need breathing of air (prana) by the lungs.
Saiva siddhantist says, soul is the ever-awake knowing entity in wakefulness, deep sleep and dream sleep. The sense organs receive their respective stimuli (eyes perceive color and form, ears receive sound.) and pass them on to Antahkarana, the inner organ which consists of Manas (the Mind), Buddhi (Intellect), Ahamkara (Ego), and Chitta (Subconscious) (Chitta covers manas, ahamkara, and buddhi: mind, ego and power of discernment or judgment). Perception received by the inner organ reaches the soul, as the wave rolls to the shore.
Antahkarana is the expression of Saksin (Atman-Witness) as listed above and is compared to a ray which radiates from the Witness, Atman or Self. This emanation is called Vrttis or ripples. Perceptions are compared to the waves reaching the Self. Chitta (Citta) is less subtle than Ahamkara and is like the RAM memory, remembering and forgetting; The forgetting is called Apohana and recall is known as Smrti. Chitta obtains knowledge from Buddhi and keeps it in storage. Apohana or forgetting is to move the knowledge to the back burner from the front of consciousness. Smrti or remembering is to move the knowledge from the back to the front.
The Buddhi is less subtle than Chitta, makes decisions and instructs the Mind which works in collaboration with the five Janendriyas (sense organs = eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin). Mind serves as the blackboard where on the sense organs register their impressions, which are converted as concepts by the mind and presented to Buddhi, which rejects most of them and keeps some as nuggets of knowledge. Buddhi keeps moving the knowledge back and forth between the front and back of the consciousness as Smrti and Apohana with the help of Chitta.
Antahkarana is operational in two modes: External knowledge Acquisition (Abhijna) and internal Self-Knowledge (Pratyabhijna) acquisition. In Abhijna knowledge acquisition, knowledge proceeds from the gross to the subtle, from the sense organs to Chitta. It also depicts the evolution of the gross from the subtle (Ahamkara, Chitta, Buddhi, Manas). In Pratyabhijna mode, it turns itself inward and obtain Self-Knowledge. Abhijna is outbound, while Pratyabhijna is inbound.
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The subtle elements proceed in their formation in a cascade fashion starting with sound, which gives rise to ether. The elements combine under the enzymatic action of Time, Maya, Jiva, and the glance of the Lord. Ether, treated with these enzymes, becomes touch, which transforms to air; the air and ether combine in the presence of enzymes to become color; from color evolves fire; fire and air combine to produce water, whose special quality is taste; water and fire combine to form earth, whose special quality is odor. Source: Bhagavatam 3.5.27-37. The term enzyme (inductor) is my interpolation.
The
elements starting with Sound and its product Ether going forward in their combinations and permutations
sequentially and progressively pick up qualities of the previous elements and
display their own special qualities. Bhagavatam 3.5.36
Table:
| Element(s) | Resulting Product | Cumulative & Special quality |
| Sound | Ether (all-pervasive, one quality)→→→ | Sound |
| Ether | Air (two qualities)→→→→→→→→ | Sound and Touch |
| Air and Ether | Fire (three qualities)→→→→→→→→ | Sound, Touch, and color/form |
| Air and Fire | Water (four qualities)→→→→→→→ | Sound, Touch, Color, and Taste |
| Water and Fire | Earth (five qualities)→→→→→→→→ | Sound, Touch, Color, taste and odor. |
As I said earlier, the elements need four factors for transformation and they are Time, Maya, Jīva, and the glance of the Lord; time connotes change; Maya is illusion plus distraction; Jīva is the life force; the most critical deciding factor in the combinations, permutations, and transformations is the glance of the Lord. Maya is the cause of the universe, which, in its female form, derives its energy and support from the Lord. Avyakta (the Unmanifest) is the father of Maya.
According Saiva Siddhanta and its main formulating proponent Tirumular, Sakti is the mother of Maya. Space, air, fire, water, and earth were born of Maya in succession. From Maya came the subtle elements Tanmatras, from which the gross elements were born; thus, Maya is the Mother of the Universe and beings.
Maya according to Ramakrishna Parmahamsa
On attainment of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa sees Maya as Brahman in its twofold aspect: Avidyamaya and Vidyamaya. (Avidya = ignorance; Vidya = wisdom) Avidyamaya in terms of Kundalini Chakras is living in the pelvis and abdomen--Muladhara, Svadhisthana and Manipura Chakras of lower order; it is living a life of animal passions, Kama, Krodha, lobha, Raga and Dvesha (lust, anger, greed, passion and hate). One should transcend the lower Chakras and ascend to higher chakras. Avidyamaya keeps man in samsara, a cycle of birth and rebirth. Vidyamaya represents the higher centers and consciousness of Anahata, Visuddha, Ajna and Sahasrara Chakras or stations of life. Once Avidyamaya is conquered with Vidyamaya, the round of birth and rebirth is abolished and one enters a state of Mayatita, end of Maya or freedom from Maya. Maya is the power of Kali who transcends both types of Maya. She shines far above the clouds of Maya, under whose spell and shadow man lives. The word pelvis is my interpolation.
Let
us take cloning as an example: The biologists have mastered the physical art of
cloning. The product is not as perfect as nature because the main factor –
glance of the Lord – is lacking.
In
the following diagram, the concept of Sūtra, not found in Sankhya system,
is a contribution of Bhagavata purana. Sūtra means
thread or aphoristic
rule. Sutra = suture. Sutra is the functional counterpart of Mahat, the Cosmic Intelligence.
Both work together --Intelligence and function—to evolve Ahankara. Sutra is
subtler than Mahat.
Karmendriyani are five motor organs, voice box, hands, feet, rectum and genitals, causing speech, grasp, locomotion, evacuation, and generation. Janendriyani are five sensory organs, ear, skin, eye, tongue and nose involved in hearing, touch, vision, taste, and smell.
Sarasvati, Savitri and Gayatri preside over the gunas, Sattva,
Rajas and Tamas respectively.
Matter consists of four (individual and) cumulative stages 1: Matter (Anna) 2: Life (Prāna) 3: Mind (Manas) and 4: Intelligence (Jnāna). Bliss (Ānanda) is the spirit. These are Kosas – sheaths: The four sheaths, layer on layer veil the self. Self stands alone when the kosas fall; Self is King and likes his nakedness without all these sticky layers or Kosas. Self is self-supporting and self is Bliss. Self is the light of Purusa's consciousness by which we become aware of the insentient Prakrti (nature) and its gunas (modes). The AnandaMaya kosa or the Bliss-Body or Pure Consciousness or the Absolute is Self itself, and is a chronicler and a repository of karma of this and past lives. This is the sheath of Consciousness and Bliss (Cinmaya) and made of Nada and Bindu. Self is the companion of jivatma – the individual self and the Greater Self in the spiritual heart are like the two birds on a tree. The Self by itself is bliss, but man needs realization to find the light that is bliss. Man has four cumulative features but does not reach his inherent potential that is bliss, illumined Consciousness, if he does not strive for it. As you see, matter becomes finer from one stage to the next. Here is an illustration of evolution from the gross to subtle via Food sheath, Vital breath sheath, Mind sheath, Knowledge sheath and eventually to the Bliss sheath. When man strives for and gains perfection, he receives Ananda (Bliss); God according to the Vedas is Sat-Chit-Ananda– Satchidananda– Being, Consciousness, and Bliss. Bliss comes to man in Deep Sleep, when there are no mental Vrittis, modifications or thoughts. It is as if the individual self plugs into the Power Grid of the Universal Self (the origin of the individual self) every night in deep sleep. Without this infusion of nightly bliss, we are zombies. This temporary life-sustaining nightly Bliss should not be mistaken for the Eternal Bliss that comes with liberation. The first four outer sheaths are matter; Matter and Mind have to come to a standstill for the individual self wrapped in Anandamaya Kosa to enjoy the Bliss of the Universal Self.
Kosas and their origin
| Entity | Annamaya Kosa | Pranamaya Kosa | Manomaya Kosa | Vijnanamaya Kosa | Anandamaya Kosa |
| Sheaths | Food Sheath | Vital Air Sheath & Ether |
Mind Sheath | Knowledge Sheath | Bliss Sheath |
| Origin | Earth, Water and Fire. Lower three Chakras | Anahata and Visuddha Chakras | Ajna Chakra | Nada and Bindu Chakras | Sahasrara Chakra |
| Saiva View | Brahma shines in Food Sheath. | Vishnu shines in Breath Sheath. |
Rudra shines in the Mind Sheath. |
Mahesa shines in the sheath of Consciousness. | Sadasiva shines in the sheath of Bliss. |
| Saiva view is expressed by a real-life sage-poet by name Umapati Sivacharya (around 1300 C.E.) in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. | |||||
Vaishnavas have this view on the Tattvas, 26 in all:
Prakrti, Mahat, Ahankaram = 3
Tanmatras =5
Five Bhutas = 5
10 Indriyas + manas = 11
All these are Prakrti Tattvas, 24 in all.
Jivatma is the 25th Tattva.
Paramatma is the 26th Tattva.
Saivites describe 36 Tattvas; one and two are Siva and Sakti Tattvas; 12th is Purusa or the Jivatma.
TATTVAS-36 for more information on Tattvas.
Bhrgu Muni practicing Raja Yoga (Kundalini yoga) discovered the sheaths or Kosas of the body. Annamaya Kosa takes its origin from Earth, Water, and Fire which are present in Muladhara, Svadisthana, and Manipura centers. Earth (minerals), water and Fire (heat) are the basic elements of our body. Pranamaya Kosa (Vital Air Sheath, five in number) and Ether take their origin from Anahata and Visuddha Chakras respectively. The mind or mental sheath originates from Ajna Chakra, which is the seat of Nada and Bindu, which give rise to Vijnanamaya Kosa. Primordial Prakrti in its undifferentiated form is Anadamaya Kosa.
According to Joseph Campbell, bliss is never having to say that you did not follow your bliss
and that you did not do what you wanted to do. He talks about the hub at the
center and the rim of the wheel. A person at the hub is serene and the one
riding on the rim gets the dizzying experience of duality of pain and pleasure,
love and hate. He adds that one should go where his body and soul take him. It
is not the wealth or the prestige (body-mind-ego complex) that he seeks or
recommends. You are the soul and not the body. Why does this soul wrap itself
with the body or these kosas? Swami Vivekananda says: “For the same reason that
I take a looking glass: to see myself. Thus in the body, the soul is reflected.”
Joseph Campbell puts it in another way (paraphrase): "when one gains
transcendence (or the Brahman), one dies to his flesh and is born into his
spirit. The body is a vehicle.
Panchadasi puts forward the following theory with regards to Brahman, Jiva, and Prakrti. Prakrti is not a product of Brahman; it is not a palpable real entity separate from Brahman. It represents the Will (Iccha) of Brahman to create and this Will becomes (transforms into) the three gunas: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas which gel into material. When Prakrti is sattvic, it is called Maya; when it is dominated by Rajas and Tamas, it is called Avidya (nescience). Maya is the mirror that reflects Brahman; the reflected image of Brahman is called Isvara who controls Maya. It is like the lady who carries the mirror in her purse. The lady is Brahman, the mirror is maya and the lady's image in the mirror is Isvara. Sat Chit: Sat (Being) is Consciousness (Chit) and exercises its Will to create; therefore, it is Being, possessing and controlling maya, and becoming matter through the gunas. On the other hand, Brahman is the subject; Avidya is the water-mirror; and Jiva is the inverted reflection of Isvara in water. What does it mean? Isvara' head is at a high point and man's head in the water-mirror is at the low point. Isvara's consciousness is Pure Consciousness at the high point, while Jiva's consciousness is at the low point; there is a wide chasm between these two entities--two heads. Man, as said before, is governed by ignorance (avidya), meaning that he identifies himself with the body and not with the soul (self) which is organically connected and related to Isvara. This ignorance is both veiling and projecting (Avarana and Vikshepa). This ignorance veils Sat and Cit (Being and Consciousness) of Brahman and projects the phenomenal world by Vikshepa. Vikshepa: power of ignorance that causes the world seem real. This projection is mediated by Tanmatras: Principles of Sound, touch, vision and color, taste and smell, which are pervaded by qualities Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The Sattva of Sound becomes the sense of hearing; that of touch, the sense of touch and so on. These in combination form an entity called Antahkarana or inner organ which have four aspects: Manas, Buddhi, Ahankara and Chitta (citta). These were discussed above. The Rajas-dominated sound, touch, vision (color and form), taste, and smell become the respective motor organs.
| Sattva of Sound becomes hearing. | Sattva of touch becomes touch. | Sattva of vision or form becomes sight. | Sattva of taste becomes taste. | Sattva of smell becomes smell. |
| Antahkarana: | ||||
| Rajas of Sound becomes larynx. | Rajas of touch becomes hand. | Rajas of vision or form becomes feet. | Rajas of taste becomes genitals. | Rajas of smell becomes rectum and anus. |
|
Quintuplication of elements (Panchikarana) |
||||
| Tamas of Sound becomes ether. | Tamas of touch becomes air. | Tamas of vision or form becomes fire. | Tamas of taste becomes water. | Tamas of smell becomes earth. |
Go to BG Chapter 13 The Knower, the Field, the Nature for more details contained in commentary under Verse 13.06 Table. Panchadasi says that these composite elements formed the Cosmic Egg (Brahma Anda) from which the universe came into being.
Jiva takes on the qualities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Jiva's body is Avidya while Isvara's body is Maya. Subtle and gross bodies of Jiva come out of Avidya causal body. Lord's will (Ichha) is Maya Sarira (body) and the creator of the world. Here the term "body" does not mean a palpable body with head, trunk and limbs, in the same sense that a "body of knowledge" does not walk on feet. Isvara's Maya Body is creative (of the universe) while Jiva (man's individual soul) is the causal body, creative in its own limited sense because it gives rise to subtle and gross body--Suksma and Sthula Sarira). Jiva's causal body (Karana Sarira) is pervaded by Avidya (ignorance) of its true nature that it is part of Brahman; it is temporary amnesia (loss of memory or forgetfulness). In its amnesic state, Jiva is not contaminated with Vikshepa until it takes on the gross body with head, trunk and limbs. Jiva without Vikshepa is closer to Isvara (Supreme Consciousness and Supreme Knowledge) than the Sthula Sarira (gross body). Though it forgets its true nature, the causal body is closer to Isvara than the gross body; therefore, it has supreme knowledge within ignorance (Prajna within Praajna--knowledge within ignorance). Vikshepa = projecting power of Avidya or ignorance.
Let me mention the Tantric view, which is cognate with some aspects of Samkhya philosophy. Mahanirvana Tantra says the following as a dialogue between Sadasiva (Siva) and Devi (Sakti).
Sadasiva eulogies Devi.
You are Sive (Devi, the counterpart of Siva); you are Mula Prakriti; You created everything in this universe; You are Isvari, the controller; You are the Great Mother Goddess, the origin of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. You know the essence of all Tattvas (building blocks) of the entire universe, but no one knows your nature. You are the gods and goddesses of the universe; you are Kali, Bhairavi, Mahalakshmi, Devi of speech and Annapurna. You are Sakti; you are subtle, gross, unmanifest, and manifest; you are formless and with form.
Saivaites say that the universe and beings are made of 36 Tattvas, which take their origin from Siva-Sakti.
Saktas (monistic worshippers of Devi, Mother Goddess) are firmly entrenched in their view that conflicts with Samkhya philosophy. Samkhya declares Prakrti (matter) as an unconscious element, apart from Purusa, the conscious element. Saktas declare that Devi has both aspects in her, matter and Consciousness. Another concept that is notably absent in Sankhya System and unique to Saiva Siddhanta is Mum-malam (three impurities) of the soul. Go to Primer in Saiva Siddhanta.
2.13: As the soul
passes from childhood to youth to old age in a body, so also the soul takes
another body. This does not confuse a sage (brave and composed person).
Dēhina: Embodied
soul or jivātma. Dēhē: body. Kaumāra: childhood, age one to
five)
The soul of good people leaves the body through Brahmarandhra (Brahma's aperture, crevice: Anterior fontanel area of the head at the crown, equivalent to the soft spot on baby's head). The soul of evil people takes a downward descent and is expelled in the same manner as the excreta. If the spirit exits through the feet, it goes to Vishnu; if from the head to Brahma, and if through the eyes to Agni or Fire-god. In Buddhist, it exits through back of the forehead. Harper's Dictionary of Hinduism P53.
Hindus perform Samskaras from conception to death in order to prevent the soul from taking another body and attain liberation from rebirth. In Hinduism, the twice-born (Brahmanas, Ksatriyas, and Vaishyas) and the Sudras perform Samskaras or sacraments from conception to departure from this world. In twice-born, Samskaras are mandatory and the Sudras too practice if not all of them.
Samskaras have more than one meaning. The most common one means Sacraments. The other meaning is Impression. It is the impression that your soul carries from birth to birth as a result of actions in the past life. What is an impression? It is like the odor of cedar wood closet that your clothes carry though the clothes are out of the closet. It is the fragrance or impressions (Samskaras) from past life, that clings to your soul like fragrance and shape your present life.
The body follows the soul in the sense the body in the next birth may be a human or animal depending on the Samskaras-- impression from the past life. It is your action, good, bad, or indifferent performed under right thought, delusion, or illusion, which contributes to the Impression or Samskaras. They determine one's heredity, ancestry and environment. Heredity: One may be born in a royal family or a commoner. Ancestry: One's ancestors may be Vedic Pundits, accomplished musicians or jailbirds. Environment: One's environment may be wretched poverty and penury in a world of perennial want or a life of luxury in the present life, all determined by the Samskaras from the past life.
Samskara draws its meaning from Sam meaning together and Kri meaning to do or act. It is putting the act or acts together creating an Impression, that determines the future direction (of the embodied soul).
Now we come to Samskaras or Sacraments, which celebrate the various stages in the life a person. People who question rituals are in the minority. Take for instance the Presidential Inauguration, which is an expensive and extravagant ritual or Samskara in the political life of the nation and the elected president. We know a person has been elected by due process, will occupy the White House and discharge his or her duties. Why should we fuss with pomp and pageantry of the ceremonial aspect of inauguration? Why can't the president just move into the White House and start working? It is a milestone for the nation, people and the world that demands a Samskara and a historical record.
Take the Jewish tradition. They have more Samskaras than one may imagine. Every move, turn or act is a Samskara for a good reason: Circumcision, naming of boys and girls, the Redemption of the First-born Son (Pidyon Ha-ben Ceremony), Bar/Bat Mitzva and confirmation, Mikva (immersion), Wedding (Erusin and Nisuin--Betrothal and Marriage), Contract (Ketuba with witnesses), the Seven Blessings (Sheva Berachot), Breaking the glass to scare away the demons, Rending Garment at death (Keria), Burial with shroud (Tachrichim), Seven day mourning (Shiva), Dietary Laws (DOs and DON'Ts), Mitzva (good acts: 248 DOs and 365 DON'Ts), Synagogue (as house of prayer, community hall, and house of study), Sabbath and cooking rules, Passover (Pesach), Koshering, Shavuot, Days of Awe (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur), Sukkot, Shemini, Atzeret, Simchat Torah, Chanuka, purim....
In the Hindu religion the Samskaras fall into Prenatal Samskaras, Natal Samskaras, Postnatal Samskaras, Childhood Samskaras, Educational Samskaras, Wedding Samskaras, and Final Samskaras (Funeral Rites). I am excluding listing of religious festivals and associated rites. Samskaras of childhood include: Conception ceremony, Quickening Ceremony, Hair-parting ceremony of the pregnant woman, Birth ceremony, Naming ceremony, First outing, First feeding, Tonsure, Piercing the ears, First entry into school, Upanayana (initiation), Vedic Studies, First shaving, Completion of studies, Marriage and its subsidiary ceremonies, and Funeral ceremonies.
A person undergoes many Samskaras (purification rites) from the time of his birth: Jatakarma (consecratory rites after birth), Namakarana (naming sacrament) and Upanayanam (holy triple-cord ceremony). The goal of all these sacraments or Pancha (5) Samskaras is to purify the individual and his soul so that he attains God realization. Samskarams in Vaishnava tradition is done to induct an individual into Sri Vaishnava sect, because no one is Sri Vaishnava until he or she is inducted; Sri Vaishnava is not a birth right. When a person is inducted with Pancha Samskaras, he is born into the sect. The idea is that all previous lives were a waste until one becomes a Sri Vaishnava.
Samskaras (Purificatory rites or sacraments) are many:
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From birth to naming ceremony--infancy and early Childhood |
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| Garbadhana | Punsavana | simantonnayana | Jatakarma | Namakarman |
| Residence in the womb at conception. | wish for a son at the end of 1st trimester. | parting the hair of wife by the husband at 4th to 7th month of pregnancy. | Father welcomes the newborn and feeds ghee and honey* (Honey is dangerous until one year of age because of botulism.) | naming ceremony between 11 to 41 days. |
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Early childhood to preteen |
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| Annaprashana | Karnavedha | Cudakarana | Vidyarambha | Upanayana |
| Feeding of solids at age 6 months. | ear-piercing at 1st, 3rd or 5th year of life. | Head shaving between 31 days and 4 yrs after birth. | Beginning of education at variable age. | |