Dictionary of Advaita Vedanta
mi Quotations
About the Dictionary
Dedication
To Sabda Brahman
Publishing data
Dictionary of Advaita Vedanta in Quotations
©2012, Amphibia Publishing, Vancouver, Canada
ISBN-978-0-9784507-3-1
Contact
The Compiler will be grateful for your comments and suggestions to improve the Dictionary: avdiq_comment@amphibia.com
Epigraph
“Most of the terms of Eastern schools of philosophy cannot be defined, like the terms of Western philosophy. They are symbolical
and do not indicate particular concepts. Words such as Atma, Buddhi, Dharma, Karma, etc., have meaning according to the con¬
text in which and the occasion and the time at which they are used or occur. Atma, for instance, may mean many things, ranging
from the Supreme Self via te soul (whatever it means) to the body, the lowest form of the “self”...
The symbols of traditional psychology and many of the terms of Oriental philosophy are hints and cannot be equated with the
terms of Western philosophy. Eastern and Western philosophy, traditional psychology and the modern outlook, cannot meet, un¬
less the modern thinker finds his way back to the wisdom which is hidden in his unconscious and contains the wide world of an¬
cient, but perennial, traditions.”
Mees G. H. The Revelation in the Wilderness.
Introduction
Purpose and description
The need for a dictionary of Indian philosophy existed already in the VI Century B.C., when Nirukta, a glossary treating etymology,
particularly of obscure words, mostly those occurring in the Vedas, was compiled. Its glosses were very brief, and wisdom was
passed on largely by word of mouth. Now, for better or for worse, things are different. Words are usually read, and dictionaries are
critical. On hearing a word in a rich context, as in a guru’s answer to one’s question, - understanding happens by itself. If, how¬
ever, an unknown word crops up in a philosophical text, say in an Upanishad, one often falls into a black hole: the context does
not clarify the word, and the only way to understand it is to wait in suspension for another context. Understanding augments but is
still incomplete. Then again, another occurrence. And so it continues until a basic concept is formed. The Sanskrit vocabulary of
Indian philosophy is famous for its fluidity and contextual dependency of meanings, which become even more elusive in English
translation.
The Dictionary offers an unusual approach to solve the problem of contextuality of Sanskrit terms. It presents a mosaic of contexts
for each head word, even its definitions are often drawn from a variety of sources. Every context reveals a facet of the word, and
their combined action accelerates and improves the process of understanding.
The Dictionary contains 350 head words, with thousands of quotations from 112 primary and secondary literature sources, and
1400 cross-references.
The Dictionary covers only the basic stock of the vocabulary of Advaita Vedanta, and it is especially useful for the new learners.
The reader is warned against taking any text in the Dictionary for granted. The texts are exact citations, and may reflect arguable
positions or even mistakes of their authors. For instance, Wikipedia says that the Katha Upanishad “propounds a dualistic philos¬
ophy”. Hardly any Advaitin will agree with that. Still, such statements are present in the Dictionary, mostly in the General subsec¬
tions, in accordance with the principle of non-interference with the cited text. And of course, a certain diversity of opinion stimu¬
lates the student’s critical ability.
Traditions of Advaita Vedanta
The Advaita Vedanta entry in the Dictionary gives the general description of the darshana. Within it there are many traditions - big
and small, almost identical and yet vastly different in form, preferred themes, priorities and terminology. Texts of five major Advaita
Vedanta traditions, complemented by general sources, provide the material for citations.
Academic literature is represented rather sparsely because of the practical orientation of the Dictionary. Unlike Western philos¬
ophies, in Indian darshanas texts are subservient to the practical dimension, and very often when separated from practice they
simply do not make sense. That is why the Dictionary is based primarily on the texts written by practitioners of Advaita Vedanta.
Affiliation of the sources is shown with an unusual prominence in the Dictionary. Why? Because the central subject, non-duality, is
so simple that there is nothing to say about it, therefore the whole game shifts to the way how the individual teachers manage to
speak and yet say nothing about Nothing. Even a very brief acquaintance with the lives and teachings of the five founders of the
Advaita Vedanta traditions selected for the Dictionary, suffices to prove the point.
Narayana Guru tradition
The Narayana Guru tradition is the least known among the major traditions and the most philosophical of them all. Knowledge is
foremost, and the devotional component is derivative. Knowledge is the closest English word to the Malayalam arivu (see in the
Dictionary), used by Narayana Guru (1854-1928) to describe one of the central notions of his philosophy. With knowledge at the
centre of his exposition of the Advaita system, the absolutist outlook and dialectical method become its natural ingredients.
Nataraja Guru (1895-1973), a direct disciple of Narayana Guru, founded the Narayana Gurukula movement to continue the tradi¬
tion. The next guru was Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati (1924-1999), the current Head of the Narayana Gurukula is Guru Muni Naraya¬
na Prasad (1938-).
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna is not a typical Advaita Vedanta teacher. His tantric and bhakti allegiances were more in the public eye. Why then is
his tradition included in the Dictionary? At least for two reasons.
First, he taught his most prominent disciples, such as Vivekananda, Brahmananda, Nirmalananda and others in the Advaita Ve¬
danta tradition, and their published texts are incontestably Advaitic.
Second, the Ramakrishna Math with its publishing division, and other organizations in the Ramakrishna tradition belong to Advai¬
ta Vedanta and have done perhaps more than anyone else, apart from the Sankara tradition, to propagate it both as theory and
practice.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana Maharshi did not associate himself with any particular system of thought. He was equally supportive of any path leading
one to one’s true Self. Still, his teaching has much in common with Shankara’s school, and his deep knowledge and fundamental
agreement with the Advaitic thought shine unmistakably throughout his recorded talks and the few writings.
The most famous form of Ramana Maharshi’s teaching was silence. Few people, however, are good students in silence, therefore
Ramana Maharshi also had to talk. The source texts of his tradition are almost exclusively based on notes made by his listeners
and devotees.
Ramana Maharshi had a very rare talent of explaining concepts incomprehensible for the everyday human intellect in clear, suc¬
cinct and natural words. It is a real boon for a dictionary like this.
Sankara tradition
The Sankara tradition is central to Advaita Vedanta. Its literature, used in this Dictionary, includes both Sankara’s own works and
works of his followers. There were different interpretations of primary texts and various trends even within the tradition itself, but
the grain of this dictionary is not intended to catch such fine details. In many texts of this tradition the line between primary sourc¬
es and associated commentaries is more blurred than in more recent traditions, therefore one has to be especially vigilant to the
context. If a citation is not quite clear, the reader is advised to consult the referenced text.
Sivananda tradition
Sivananda’s tradition in Advaita Vedanta was widely propagated by his disciples. Swami Krishnananda and Swami Chinmayanan-
da were especially successful in explaining the basics of Advaita to the Western audience. Literature of this tradition counts hun¬
dreds of items, from scholarly treatises to study courses conducted at the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy and Vedanta Centres in
many countries.
How to use the Dictionary
General principles
The Dictionary is easy to use, its structure allows the reader to see multiple meaningful units of the same and adjacent levels at
once, as constellations. Such presentation is natural for our visual perception, therefore understanding of the system of words is
faster and deeper than by reading the usual linear text.
Finding words:
a) Browsing is self-evident.
b) Keyword searching is often overlooked, although it is a powerful tool to find a word not only in the position of head word, but
also in descriptions and other microtexts. It is also the only practical way to find words that have no entries of their own. For in¬
stance, the word “Consciousness” occurs in many entries, such as Atman, Chaitanya, etc., but not as a separate entry because of
its non-Sanskrit origin. The same holds true for several other Western words that are important in translations but non-existent in
the original texts. They are Absolute, Mind, Awareness, Soul, and so forth. They are all searchable.
Students of Advaita may enjoy reading the Dictionary as a book, wandering within clusters of words, or jumping to linked concepts,
or even randomly browsing entries until attention singles out a word, and the reader immerses into the important topic to satisfy a
fleeting interest in one entry, or obtain a deeper insight by means of a thread of words or an interlinked system of descriptions.
Dictionary entry
The Dictionary is a compilation of quotations from Advaita Vedanta texts and general works on Indian philosophy (see “Literature
sources”).
Each dictionary entry is a distillation of knowledge about its headword from an array of texts. Entries have subsections, see below.
Although the pattern of subsections for each type of entry is essentially the same, they are filled differently in many cases. Each
entry was built from bottom up, and it contains only what was found about its head word in the sources. For instance, if there were
no appropriate descriptions found, there is no Descriptions subsection in the entry.
The patterns of subsections are not carved in stone, they vary when changes improve the entry as an interface between the read¬
er and the meaning of the word.
There are three types of dictionary entries, each with different subsections that are described below:
1. General entry
2. Person
3. Text
In some cases definitions or descriptions of the same term, coming from different sources, are almost identical. The reason for
including such apparent tautology is to show that the same meaning of the term exists in different schools. Occasionally, it helps to
gain a better understanding, which is the sole purpose of the Dictionary.
Many words are used both in Advaita Vedanta and in other schools. How to determine if it is an Advaita term or not? First, in some
cases it is explicitly stated in the word entry. Secondly, if the word is explained in an Advaita source, such as Sankara’s or Naraya-
na Guru’s philosophical works, then it may be deduced to belong to Advaita Vedanta. Sometimes there is no difference between
the usage of a word in Advaita Vedanta and in a broader context. Most of the times, however, differences exist, but they are so
subtle that the learner can ignore them until the need to know them becomes apparent.
The Dictionary is far from being finished, and it has word clusters at different stages of completeness. More words are gradual¬
ly being introduced; interlinking between words improves and reveals new patterns of concepts; subsections are optimized, and
many other things are happening.
1. General entry
Variant spellings
Sanskrit words are very often transliterated into English in multiple forms. The most common spelling is used for the head word,
other variants are stored under this heading. They are searchable.
Definitions
Definitions are brief logical descriptions of the head word. Sources may offer differing definitions, plus their briefness leaves much
out. Often they need elaboration which can be found in Descriptions and other subsections of the word entry.
Descriptions
A description is a context in which the head word reveals its meaning through analogy, comparison or a host of other means. Of¬
ten several related words participate in the same description, reinforcing each other’s clarification and facilitating their learning.
Etymology
The origin of a word sheds a unique light on its meaning. Whenever possible, etymology is added.
Related words
Without knowing words that are closely associated with the head word, its meaning will always be incomplete. The most common
relations between words are marked in the Dictionary as
Broader term, e.g. for “Tat-tvam-asi” the Broader term is “Mahavakya”;
Opposite, e.g. for “Cetana” the Opposite is “Jada”.
Other relationships are not marked explicitly, they are clear from the context.
Sanskrit
The Sanskrit form of the head word.
Meditation
Some words are so elusive to description that almost the only means to understand them is by means of meditation. An example
is “Turiya”. Whenever possible, such meditations are provided.
Compiler s note
The only place apart from the About the Dictionary section, where the Compiler’s voice can be heard. One of the underlying princi¬
ples of the Dictionary was to reduce any text other than citations to a minimum.
2. Person
Name
The referent of the head word may have different names, and each of those names may have spelling variants. This subsection
collects all such forms for the head word in one place.
Descriptions
Descriptions are not comprehensive, rather they depict separate traits or facets of the personality under consideration. Some of
them are more telling than volumes of dry prose.
Life
The life story is as brief as possible due to the format restrictions.
Teachings
Teachings of Indian sages are not always easy to describe, they are always an integral part of their lives. It is especially hard to
accomplish in a few words. However, when appropriate citations were found, they were included in the Dictionary.
Works
Under this heading publications, foundation of religious organizations, consecration of temples, - anything important is described.
Related words
There are usually strong associations with names which reveal a lot. For instance, related words for Sivananda are yoga and Ve¬
danta, while for Ramana Maharshi it’s moksha.
3. Text
Title
Surprisingly few books have fixed titles. Even such canonical texts as Bhagavadgita and Brahma Sutras have more than one vari¬
ant. All such variants along with the Sanskrit title are corralled in this subsection.
Author(s)
Old Indian texts are notorious for the absence of the names of their authors. Reconstructed names of ancient authors, as well as
variants of names of known ones are presented here.
Descriptions
In accordance with the concept of the Dictionary, descriptions are brief narrations about anything deserving special attention re¬
garding the text.
Synopsis
When possible, a synopsis is provided. Again, it has to be a citation - if no such citation was found, there is no synopsis for the
text.
Commentaries
In India commentaries are often more important for understanding primary texts, e.g. sutras, than the texts themselves. The most
important and generally recognized commentaries are listed here.
Publications
The lists are not intended to be comprehensive, they offer the more easily available editions of the text.
Related words
As in the case of other words in the Dictionary, related words may be an easy way to understand some important facets of the
text.
External links
In most cases, external links lead to full texts available online.
Abbreviations and conventions
[ ] - additions to the original text by someone who is citing it. Additions by the compiler are marked as follows: [... - Compiler’s
Note],
Transliteration of Sanskrit
Head words are “anglicised”, their form has no diacritical marks or other typographical idiosyncrasies of the academic romanised
Sanskrit that cannot be entered from the standard English language keyboard. Such forms, though incorrect in theory, can be
searched and have other practical value for the English-speaking learner of Advaita Vedanta.
The use of diacritical marks in the word entries is not consistent throughout the Dictionary as a result of the lack of unified ap¬
proach to it in the source texts. It was considered undesirable to make changes in them. Consequently, some Sanskrit words have
more than one spelling variant in English, ex. sakti, shakti, and sakti.
List of works cited
Works by tradition
General
Chakravarti. Lectures on Hindu Religion
Chakravarti, I. C. 1893, Lectures on Hindu Religion, Philosophy and Yoga, Calcutta, pp. 158. U. C. Shome.
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
Dasgupta, S. 1922-1955, A history of Indian philosophy, University Press, Cambridge.
Dasgupta. Hindu Mysticism
Dasgupta, S. N. 1927, Hindu mysticism, Open Court Pub. Co., Chicago.
Davies. Bhagavad Gita
Davies, J. 1882, Hindu philosophy : The Bhagavad Gita: or, The sacred lay: a Sanskrit philosophical poem, Houghton, Mifflin, Bos¬
ton.
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
Deussen, P. 1907, Outlines of Indian philosophy : with an appendix on the philosophy of the Vedanta in its relations to occidental
metaphysics, K. Curtius, Berlin.
Deussen. The System of the Vedanta
Deussen, P. & Johnston, C. 1912, The system of the Vedanta, The Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Jones, C. & Ryan, J. D. 2007, Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Facts On File, New York.
Encyclopedia of philosophy
Borchert, D. M. 2006, Encyclopedia of philosophy, Thomson Gale/Macmillan Reference USA, Detroit.
Encyclopedia of religion
Jones, L., Eliade, M. & Adams, C. J. 2005, Encyclopedia of religion, Macmillan Reference USA, Detroit.
Dictionary - Grimes
Grimes, J. A. 1996, A concise dictionary of Indian philosophy : Sanskrit terms defined in English, State University of New York
Press, Albany.
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Hiriyanna, M. 1994, Outlines of Indian philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi.
Hume. The thirteen Upanishads
Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1975, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the philos¬
ophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, H. Milford, London, Oxford, New York.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Lochtefeld, J. G. 2002, The illustrated encyclopedia of Hinduism, The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., New York.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, [Online], Available from: <http://www.iep.utm.edu/> [2011],
Lurker. Dictionary of Gods
Lurker, M. 2004, The Routledge dictionary of gods, goddesses, devils and demons, Routledge, London.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Mees, G. H. 1985, The Revelation in the Wilderness, dealing with the revelation of the meaning of the symbolism contained in the
traditions of old in the wilderness of the mind and of the modern world, Kanvashrama Trust, Tiruvannamalai, India.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
Monier-Williams, Monier(1899, 1964). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-864308-X. Re¬
trieved 2008-03-06 from “Cologne University” at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/index.php?sfx=pdf
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
Muller, F. M. 1899, The six systems of Indian philosophy, Longmans, Green, New York [etc.].
Muller. The Upanishads, Part 1
Muller. The Upanishads, Part 2
Muller, F. M. 1879, The Upanishads, The Clarendon press, Oxford.
Macdonell. Vedic mythology
Macdonell, A. A. 1897, Vedic mythology, K.J. Trubner, Strassburg.
Radhakrishnan. Eastern Religions and Western Thought
Radhakrishnan, S. 1939, Eastern religions and western thought, The Clarendon press, Oxford.
Radhakrishnan. Philosophy of Upanishads
Radhakrishnan, S. 1924, The philosophy of the Upanisads, G. Allen & Unwin ltd.; New York, London.
Raja. Theories of Meaning
Raja, K. K. 1977, Indian Theories of Meaning, The Adyar Library and Research Centre, [S.l.].
Dictionary - Runes
Runes, D. D. 1942, The dictionary of philosophy, Philosophical Library, New York.
Srinivasa. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Srinivasa Iyengar, P. T. 1909, Outlines of Indian philosophy, Theosophical Pub. Society, Benares.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Theos Bernard, T. 1947, Hindu philosophy, Philosophical Library, New York.
Whitney. Sanskrit roots
Whitney, W. D. 1885, The Roots, Verb-Forms and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language, Breitkopf and Hartel, Leipzig.
Wilson. The Vishnu Purana
Wilson, H. H. & Hall, F. 1864, The Vishnu Purana: a system of Hindu mythology and tradition, tr. from the original Sanskrit, and
illustrated by, notes derived chiefly from other Puranas, Trubner, London.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2009-2012.
Narayana Guru
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Narayana, Guru & Nataraja, Guru. 2006, One hundred verses of self-instruction (Atmopadesasatakam), Gurukula Pub. House,
Varkala, Kerala.
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
Nataraja, Guru. 1961, The Bhagavad Gita; a sublime hymn of dialectics composed by the antique sage-bard Vyasa, Bombay.
Nataraja. Dialectics
Nataraja, Guru. 2010, Dialectics, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
Nataraja, Guru. 2001, An integrated science of the absolute : based on the “Darsana mala” (Garland of visions) by Narayana
Guru, D. K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
Sankaracarya & Nataraja, G. 2005, Saundarya lahari : the upsurging billow of beauty of Sankaracarya, D.K.Printworld, New Delhi.
Nataraja. The Philosophy of a Guru
Nataraja, Guru. 1986, The Philosophy of a Guru, Narayana Gurukula, Varkala, Kerala, India.
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
Nataraja, Guru. & Narayana, Guru. 2003, The word of the Guru : the life and teachings of the Guru Narayana, D.K. Printworld (P)
Ltd., New Delhi, India.
Nataraja. Vedanta Revalued and Restated
Nataraja, Guru, Vedanta revalued and restated, Narayana Gurukula Hq., Varkala.
Nataraja. Wisdom’s frame of reference
Nataraja, Guru. 1973, Wisdom’s frame of reference and other essays, Narayana Gurukula, Varkala.
Nitya. An intelligent man’s guide to the Hindu religion
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 1976, An intelligent man’s guide to the Hindu religion, Narayana Gurukula Foundation, Varkala.
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 1993, The Bhagavad Gita : a sublime hymn of Yoga, D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd., New Delhi.
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 1993, The Brhadaranyaka Upanisad : with original text in Roman transliteration, English translation and ap¬
pendices, {D.K.} Printworld.
Nitya. Experiencing the Isavasya Upanishad
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 1992, Experiencing the Isavasya Upanishad, Narayana Gurukula, Fernhill, India.
Nitya. Isa Upanishad
Nitya Chaitanya, Y., Living the Lord Within : A Commentary on the Isavasya Upanishad, Narayana Gurukula, Varkala, Kerala,
India.
Nitya. Love and Blessings
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 2003, Love and Blessings: The Autobiography of Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati, Narayana Gurukula.
Nitya. Meditations on the Self
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 1974, Meditations on the Self, Narayana Gurukula, Varkala.
Nitya. Narayana Guru
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. & Indian Council of Philosophical Research. 2005, Narayana Guru, Indian Council of Philosophical Research,
New Delhi.
Nitya. Pranayama
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 1979, Pranayama: Harmonization of the Vital Energies, Narayana Gurukula.
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali’s Yoga
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. & Patanjali. 2009,Living the science of harmonious union : principles and practice of Patanjali’s Yoga Sastra,
D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Nitya. Psychodynamics of Pranava
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 1997, Psychodynamics of Pranava, Nitya Books, Fernhill, India.
Nitya. Saundaryalahari of Sankaracarya
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 1994, Saundaryalahari of Sankaracarya, East West University Press, Bainbridge Island, WA, USA.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. & Narayana, Guru. 2003,That alone, the core of wisdom : a commentary on Atmopadesa Satakam, the one
hundred verses of self-instruction of Narayana Guru, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Nitya. The Allegories and Symbolism in Valmiki’s Ramayana
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 1993, The Allegories and Symbolism in Valmiki’s Ramayana’, Gurukulam Magazine, vol. IX.
Nitya. Psychology of Darsanamala
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. & Narayana, Guru. 2004,The Psychology of Darsanamala, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Prasad, N. 2005, Life’s pilgrimage through the Gita : a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Prasad. Chandogya Upanisad
Prasad, N.M. 2007, Chandogya Upanishad : with the original text in Sanskrit and roman transliteration, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Prasad. Darsanamala of Narayana Guru
Prasad, N.M. 2007, Garland of visions : Darsanamala of Narayana Guru, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Prasad N.M. 2003, The philosophy of Narayana Guru, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Prasad. Three Acharyas and Narayana Guru
Prasad, N.M. 2011, Three acharyas and Narayana Guru : the ongoing revaluation of Vedanta, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Ramakrishna
Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
Nirmalananda Giri, S. 2008, A Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, Atma Jyoti Ashram.
Nirmalananda. A Commentary on the Upanishads
Nirmalananda Giri, S. , A Commentary on the Upanishads, [Online], Atma Jyoti Ashram, Available from: <http://www.atmajyoti.org/
pdfs/Upanishad-Commentary-full.pdf>.
Nirmalananda. The Word That is God
Nirmalananda Giri, S. 2004, The Word That is God : Scriptures and Masters on Om, Atma Jyoti Press, Borrego Springs, CA.
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna. 1965, Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna, the most exhaustive collection of them, their number being 1120, Sri Ramakrish¬
na Math, Madras.
Ramakrishna. Tales and parables of Sri Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna, 1986, Tales and parables of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna Math ; Bourne End : Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre
[distributor], Madras.
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna, Gupta, M. N., Nikhilananda & Sri Ramakrishna Math, M. 1964, The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna
Math, Madras.
Sarvananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Gaudapada, Sharvananda, S. & Series AE-Uni. Title: Upanishad series. 1982, Mandukyopanishad : including original verses,
constructed text (anvaya) with a literal word by word translation, English rendering of each stanza, copious notes, introduction and
a summary of Gaudapada’s Karika, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras.
Vivekananda. Complete works
Vivekananda, Swami, 1863-1902. 1973, The complete works of Swami Vivekananda vol 3, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta.
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
Vivekananda. 1902, Vedanta philosophy : lectures by the Swami Vivekananda on jnana yoga, The Vedanta society, New York.
Vivekananda. Raja Yoga
Vivekananda & Patanjali. 1920, Vedanta philosophy, raja yoga, being lectures, Brentano’s, New York.
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
Vivekananda. 1972, The science and philosophy of religion a comparative study of Sankhya, Vedanta, and other systems of
thought, Udbodhan Office, Calcutta.
Ramana Maharshi
Cohen. Guru Ramana
Cohen, S. S. 2003, Guru Ramana; memories and notes, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.
Iyer. At the Feet of Bhagavan
Sundaresa Iyer, T. K. 2005, At the Feet of Bhagavan, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, India.
Osborne. The collected works of Ramana Maharshi
Ramana & Osborne, A. 2006, The collected works of Ramana Maharshi, Sophia Perennis, Hillsdale, N.Y.
Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
Nagamma, S. 2006, Letters from Sri Ramanasramam : volumes I & II, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.
Nirmalananda. Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita - Maharshi, R. & Nirmalananda Giri, S. 2004, The Holy Song of God : Arranged for singing, Atma Jyoti Ashram.
Ramana. Maharshi’s Gospel
Ramana, M. 2002, Maharshi’s Gospel : books I & II : being answers of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi to questions put to him by
the devotees, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.
Ramana. Ramana Smrti
1980, Ramana smrti, Sri Bhagavan’s Birth Centenary Celebrations Committee, Tiruvanamalai.
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Ramana. 2006, Talks with Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, S. India.
Ramana. Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in his own words
Osborne, A. 2002, The teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi in his own words, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.
Ramana. The Silent Power
Ramana, M. 2002, The Silent Power, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, S. India.
Ramana. Upadesa saram
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A
Abhasa
Variant spellings
abhasa
abhasa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Abhasa — ... “the shining forth”; appearance; emanation, manifestation, creation, semblance; conduct motivated by selfish desire
1. Fallacy, according to Jainism.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
abhasa - splendour, light; colour, appearance; mere appearance, fallacious appearance Vedantas.; reflection; (in log.) fallacy,
semblance of a reason, sophism, an erroneous though plausible argument (regarded by logicians as of various kind).
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Abhasa ... the shining forth, (in KasmTr Saivism), the immanent or active phase of consciousness (also called srsti,); (in Vedanta)
the immanent aspect of the Ultimate Principle (Brahman), the manifest world is said to be merely an appearance (abhasa); (in
Nyaya) fallacious reasoning.
Wikipedia
abhasa - splendour, light, appearance, shining forth.
Ramana Maharshi tradition2
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
M.: Bhuma (Perfection) alone is. It is Infinite. There arises from it this finite consciousness taking on an upadhi (limiting adjunct).
This is abhasa or reflection. Merge this individual consciousness into the Supreme One. That is what should be done.
Some say that mind arises from consciousness followed by reflection (abhasa); others say that the abhasa (reflection) arises first
followed by the mind. In fact both are simultaneous.
Descriptions
General
Radhakrishnan. Philosophy of Upanishads
...the individual is a mere abhasa or appearance of Brahman.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
The nature of the Supreme is described as untainted pure consciousness. The pure light that falls on a colored object such as
green silk or a red flower changes its color quality as soon as it illuminates those objects. This taint which brings transformation is
called abhasa. Similarly pure consciousness is not experienced by the individuated mind. That which shines in a person’s mind is
abhasa caitanya, tainted or colored consciousness. That is why a person is not fit to reveal the Supreme.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Swahananda
32. ‘Abhasa’ means slight or partial manifestation... It does not have the properties of the real entity but resembles it in having
some of them.
See also:
in Vritti: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
in Sarira: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
abhasa - from prep, a = “to, forth” + root bhas = “to shine”.
Related words
Chaitanya
Sanskrit
Abhasa — 3TRTTH
abhasa - snwr
Abhava
Variant spellings
abhava
abhava
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Abhava — ... nonexistence; absence; negation; nothing
1. The Nyaya, Vaisesika, Bhatta Mlmargsa, and Dvaita Vedanta schools hold that nonexistence is a distinct category. The Buddhist
schools deny the existence of negation altogether, as do the Prabhakara Mimargsa and Visistadvaita Vedanta schools.
2. Nonexistence has two main divisions: (i) the absence of one entity in another (sarhsarga- abhava), which is of three kinds: (a)
prior nonexistence (prag-abhava), (b) annihilative nonexistence (pradh- varhsa-abhava, and (c) absolute nonexistence (atyan-
ta-abhava); (ii) one object not being another (anyonya-abhava) or reciprocal nonexistence.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
abhava -
non-existence, nullity, absence;
proof from non-existence (one of the six pramanas in Vedanta phil. (‘since there are no mice, therefore there must be cats here’)
see pramana);
annihilation, death.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Abhava ... non-existence, a means of correct knowledge (pramana), defined as the deduction of the existence of one of two oppo¬
site things from the non-existence of the other; (in Nyaya) this is included in inference (anumana).
Wikipedia
According to the Vaisheshika school, all things which exist, which can be cognised, and which can be named are padarthas (literal
meaning: the meaning of a word), the objects of experience. All objects of experience can be classified into six categories, dravya
(substance), guna (quality), karma (activity), samanya (generality), visesa (particularity) and samavaya (inherence). Later Vaisesi-
kas added one more category abhava (non- existence). The first three categories are defined as artha (which can perceived) and
they have real objective existence. The last three categories are defined as budhyapeksam (product of intellectual discrimination)
and they are logical categories.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Abhava — Absence, or the non-occurrence of an event; non-becoming.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vaisheshika admits of six philosophical categories, with a seventh controversial category added later. The six original categories
are (1) substance, which consists of nine eternal realities that compose the foundation of the universe; substance is divided into
(a) “atoms” of each of the five main elements or MAHABHUTAS and (b) time, ether, space, and soul; (2) attribute, of which there
are 24; (3) karma, action or motion; (4) samanya, “generality,” that which characterizes all the members of a given class; (5) vishe-
sha or particularity, which distinguishes one member of a class from another; and (6) samavaya, “relation,” or combination, that is,
the relationship that exists between substance and its qualities. A seventh category, “non-existence” (abhava), was added later to
deal with certain philosophical difficulties of the system.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
Although the term abhava as used in ordinary language means nothingness, according to the Nyaya (Logic) school of philosophy,
it is counted as a padartha (i.e. a category of existence). Even according to the a Advaita philosophy, abhava is non-different from
its counterpart bhava (being). Before the pot originated, its non- existence is to be attributed to the clay. In other words, it is the
clay that remains as the prior non-existence of the pot. Therefore the non- existence prior to the origination of the pot has its ante¬
rior existence which is stated to be the clay. To state this another way, the non- existence of the pot and the existence of the clay
are the same. But in reality even after the origin of the pot what is the being of the pot is a supposition, and the being of the clay
is real. The non-existence of a certain object always resides in the existence of another thing. As the clay constitutes the anterior
non- existence of the pot, it remains as another entity. Similarly, before the origin of the world its non-existence remains something
which is none other than the Absolute. In other words, it is the Absolute alone. But from the Absolute which is without change of
form, how this world with all its different forms came about is a matter that cannot be decided on the basis of inferential reasoning
(anumana), etc. Therefore, that non- existence which was the cause of the origination of the world and is non- different from the
Absolute is described here as the principle of indeterminate possibility. In other words, Maya - is the non-existent - is the Absolute.
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
There are four kinds of non-existence acceptable to the Nyaya school of Indian logic, which are: anterior non-existence (prag
abhava), mutual non-existence (anyonyabhava), ultimate non-existence (latyantabhava) and posterior non-existence (pradh-
vamsabhava). All these four forms of non-existence are known in Tantra sastra as padartha (‘word content’ or ‘substance’). Abha¬
va (nonexistence) is one of the seven significant substances (padarthas) categorized by the Nyaya school, negation being consid¬
ered as real as minus one in mathematics. It is quite real to say that one got five of the ten oranges from a shop on credit, which
would not mean that the debt is not real; it is real in a negative sense.
Such are some of the intricacies of Indian logic, tacitly accepted by Vedanta.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
abhava - from the verb root bhu = “to be become, exist”; and a = “not”.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
abhava - from neg. part, a = “not” + bhava = “becoming”; root bhu = “to become”.
Related words
Bhava
Pramana
Sanskrit
Abhava — 3WF^
abhava -
Abhaya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Abhaya — ... fearlessness; without fear (from a = “not, without” + bhaya = “fear”)
1. The divine virtue of fearlessness is a state of steadfastness in which one is not swayed by the fear-bom inner or outer enemies.
2. Abhaya mudra is a symbolic gesture formed by raising one hand with the palm outward, meaning “do not fear.” Many deities,
saints, and idols are depicted with this gesture. It is the hand gesture of fearlessness; or “seal of fearlessness.” All fear is ultimate¬
ly groundless for one’s true nature is bliss. (See mudra.)
3. In Advaita Vedanta, abhaya is equivalent to liberation (moksa).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
abhaya -
unfearful, not dangerous, secure;
fearless, undaunted;
N. of Siva;
absence or removal of fear, peace, safety, security;
a kind of symbol procuring security;
a sacrificial hymn recited to obtain personal security
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Perceiving the all-underlying Reality in oneself, and what is Real in oneself as underlying everything, makes one free of all fears.
For this reason, this wisdom is often considered a synonym for fearlessness (abhaya). He who sees himself as existing separate,
on the other hand, always fears the “other”; indeed he fears everything. His life in effect is a continuous search for security.
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
The Brhadaranyaka Upanisad teaches the great dictum, abhaya vat brahma, “fearlessness is the mark of Self-realization.”
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
abhaya — from a = “not, without” + bhaya = “fear”.
Sanskrit
Abhaya —
abhaya -
Abhyasa
Variant spellings
abhyasa
abhyasa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Abhyasa — ... continuous endeavor; constant practice; repetition; exercise; exertion.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
abhyasa -
reaching to, pervading;
... prospect, any expected result or consequence.
Wikipedia
‘Abhyasa’, in Hinduism, is spiritual practice which is regular and constant practice over a long period of time. It has been pre¬
scribed by the great sage Patanjali Maharishi in his Yoga Sutras, and by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita as an essential
means to control the mind together with Vairagya.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Abhyasa : Continued practice or repetitively doing something of high value.
Descriptions
General
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
Now all these actions or functions [of the mind, etc.] have to be restrained, and in the end to be suppressed, and this is said to be
effected by exercises (Abhyasa) and freedom from passions (Vairagya).
Indian philosophers have the excellent habit of always explaining the meaning of their technical terms. Having introduced for the
first time the terms exercise and freedom from passion, Patanjali asks at once: ‘What is Abhyasa or exercise?’ Abhyasa is gener¬
ally used in the sense of repetition, but he answers that he means hereafter to use this term in the sense of effort towards steadi¬
ness (Sthiti) of thought. And if it be asked what is meant by steadiness or Sthiti, he declares that it means that state of the mind,
when, free from all activity (Vntti), it remains in its own character, that is, unchanged. Such effort must be continuous or repeated,
as implied by the term Abhyasa.
This Abhyasa is said to become firmly grounded, if practised for a long time thoroughly and unintermittingly.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
... Krishna shows how to gently tame your mind by detaching yourself from the things with which you are infatuated. Also how, by
continuous abhyasa, continuous practice, you can make it learn to love everything as aspects of the one Being or the one Su¬
preme. How, by maintaining vairagya, detachment, and doing abhyasa continuously, you will one day be able to make your mind
fully in harmony with your vision of oneness.
Abhyasa and vairagya
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
M.: Abhyasa and vairagya are necessary. Vairagya is the absence of diffused thoughts; abhyasa is concentration on one thought
only. The one is the positive and the other the negative aspect of meditation.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
abhyasa - from abhi - “toward” + the verb root as = “to throw”.
Related words
Vairagya
Sanskrit
Abhyasa — 3TV3TTH
abhyasa - srqyrtr
Acharya
Variant spellings
acharya
acarya
acarya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Acarya — ... preceptor; teacher; spiritual guide; monk-scholar; master.
1. A title affixed to the names of learned spiritual individuals. Technically, it is a person who lives according to the scriptures (scps-
tra) of a particular tradition. It is “knowing or teaching the acara or rules of conduct.” The title applies especially to one who invests
the student with the sacrificial thread and instructs one in the Vedas.
2. According to Jainism, one stage of the ascetic order. Their duties are to initiate people in the spiritual path; to guide, instruct,
and correct those aspirants; and to govern and regulate the monks of the Order.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
acarya -
‘knowing or teaching the acara or rules’, a spiritual guide or teacher (especially one who invests the student with the sacrificial
thread, and instructs him in the Vedas, in the law of sacrifice and religious mysteries;
the title acarya affixed to names of learned men is rather like our ‘Dr.’.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Acharya. Traditional term of respect for a religious leader or a spiritual teacher; the word connotes great learning as well as a reli¬
gious life. The term literally means someone who knows or teaches about achara, the traditionally accepted way of life prescribed
in the dharma literature. As a title in modern Hindu life, it indicates the respect and social standing conveyed by the English word
doctor.
Wikipedia
In Indian religions and society, an acharya... is a guide or instructor in religious matters; founder, or leader of a sect; or a title af¬
fixed to the names of learned men. The designation has different meanings in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and secular contexts.
Acharya is also used to address a teacher or a scholar in any discipline, e.g.: Bhaskaracharya, the mathematician.lt is also a com¬
mon suffix in Brahmin names, e.g.: Krishnamacharya, Bhattacharya. In South India, this suffix is sometimes shortened to Achar,
e.g.: TKV Desikachar. In the social order of some parts of India, acharyas are considered as the highest amongst the brahmin
community often described as the “shrestha brahman” i.e. best in brahmins.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Acharya : Teacher, especially one with religious authority.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Acarya: A teacher or preceptor. In the Vedantic context, any of the various commentators on the basic scriptures - the Upanisads,
Brahma Sutras of Badarayana and the Bhagavad Gita.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
In Hinduism
In the Hinduism, an acharya (3iHlG0 is a Divine personality (H'^T^r) who is believed to have descended (srTTK) to teach and
establish bhakti in the world and write on the philosophy (Rfrufr) of devotion to God (TTTPT).
Examples of acharyas in the Hindu tradition are:
Adi Sankaracharya
Ramanujacharya
Madhvacharya
Nimbarkacharya
Vallabhacharya
Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Acharya Shree Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj - (Swaminarayan Sampraday - NarNarayan Dev Gadi)
Acharya Shree Rakeshprasadji Maharaj (Swaminarayan Sampradaya - LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi)
In Jainism
In Jainism, an Acharya is a monk who is one of the five revered panch- paremeshtis, and thus worthy of worship. The word “Suri”
is equivalent to Acharya.
An Acharya is the highest leader of a Jain order. He is the final authority in his monastic order and has the authority to ordain new
monks and nuns. He is also authorized to consecrate new idols, although this authority is sometimes delegated to scholars desig¬
nated by him.
Some sects, for example the Terapanthi Svetambaras, have a single Acharya. Others have multiple independent Acharyas.
An Acharya, like any other Jain monk, is expected to wander except for the four months of the monsoon (varsha- vas). The Bhat-
tarakas, who head institutions, are technically junior monks, who are permitted to stay in the same place.
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh), who was born into a Jain community, was known as Acharya Rajneesh until 1971, because he
was a college professor at one time. Although he remained unmarried, he was never a Jain monk.
In Buddhism
In Buddhism, the Pali variant acariya, lit. “teacher”, is one of the two teachers of a novice monk, the other being the upadhyaya.
In Mahayana traditions the epithet acharya was more widely used as an honorific indicating great scholastic renown; it was some¬
what more general than the similar epithet pandita. The Tibetan term loppon is used to translate acharya.
Acharya (Degree)
In Sanskrit institution Acharya is a Post Graduate Degree.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
acarya - from the verb root car = “to go” + the prefix a = “toward”; hence to approach.
Wikipedia
The term “Acharya” is most often said to include the root “char” or “charya” (conduct). Thus it literally connotes “one who teaches
by conduct (example),” i.e. an exemplar.
Sanskrit
Acarya — 3ii^i4
acarya -
Adharma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Adharma — ... demerit; unrighteousness; failure to perform one’s proper duty; medium of motion
1. Generally speaking, the word stands for unrighteous action or lawlessness. Such behavior stems from a lack of virtue or righ¬
teousness.
2. Jainism understands this concept as totally different from what it means in all the other systems of Indian philosophy. According
to Jainism, it means the principle of rest which pervades the entire universe. It is one of the five categories included in the term
nonself (ajiva). Along with the medium of motion (dharma), it is considered to be responsible for the systematic character of the
universe. Without it, no substance could remain at rest.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
adharma -
unrighteousness, injustice, irreligion, wickedness; demerit, guilt
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Adharma. In the dharma literature, this term designates the absolute opposite of dharma, the fundamental values that serve to
uphold society. Although adharma can denote a particular unrighteous action, it more widely implies a state of affairs in which so¬
ciety has been completely corrupted; the values that uphold society have been subverted, overturned, or ignored and hence such
particular unrighteous actions become possible, even likely.
Wikipedia
Adharma is the Sanskrit antonym of Dharma. It means ‘that which is not in accord with the law’ - referring to both the human writ¬
ten law and the divinely given law of nature. Connotations include unnaturalness, wrongness, evil, immorality, wickedness, or vice.
Related words
Opposite: Dharma
Sanskrit
Adharma —
adharma - srsppr
Adhisthana
Variant spellings
adhisthana
adhisthana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Adhisthana — ... basis; substratum; ground.
1. According to the Bhagavad Gita, one of the five factors necessary for an action.
2. According to Advaita Vedanta, the Absolute (Brahman) is the only real adhisthana.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
adhisthana -
standing by, being at hand, approach;
standing or resting upon;
a basis, base;
the standing-place of the warrior upon the car;
a position, site, residence, abode, seat;
a settlement, town, standing over;
government, authority, power
Wikipedia
Adhishthana(m) is a term with multiple meanings which can mean: seat; basis; substratum; ground; support; and abode.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Adhisthana: That on which everything rests.
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
In ordinary illusion some defect is necessary but the illusion of this world-appearance is beginningless, and hence it awaits no
other dosa (defect) than the avidya (nescience) which constitutes the appearance. Here avidya is the only dosa and Brahman is
the only adhisthana or ground. Had there not been the Brahman, the self-luminous as the adhisthana, the illusory creations could
not have been manifested at all. The cause of the direct perception of illusion is the direct but indefinite perception of the adhistha¬
na. Hence where the adhisthana is hidden by the veil of avidya, the association with mental states becomes necessary for remov¬
ing the veil and manifesting thereby the self-luminous adhisthana. As soon as the adhisthana, the ground, the reality, the blissful
self-luminous Brahman is completely realized the illusions disappear. The disappearance of the phenomena means nothing more
than the realization of the self-luminous Brahman.
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit word literally means “standing over” and conveys ideas of taking possession, dwelling within, presence, protection,
and sovereignty.
Related words
Adhyasa
Sanskrit
Adhisthana — STf^sjM
adhisthana -
Adhyaropa
Variant spellings
adhyaropa
adhyaropa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Adhyaropa — ... superimpositon; incorrect attribution; erroneous knowledge
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
adhyaropa —
(in Vedanta phil.) wrong attribution, erroneous transferring of a statement from one thing to another
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
32. Adhyaropa is the superimposition of the unreal on the real, like the false perception of a snake in a rope which is not a snake.
[Adhyaropa—A synonym of the word Adhyasa, has been defined by Sankara as “The apparent recognition of something previous¬
ly observed in some other thing.” As for instance, we find the appearance of silver in a mother-of-pearl or water in a mirage.]
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Karapatra. Advaita Bodha Deepika
M.: The non-dual Being-Knowledge-Bliss or the Supreme Brahman is the Reality. Just as the false name and form of snake is
superimposed on a rope, so also on the non-dual Reality there is superimposed the category of sentient beings and insentient
things. Thus the names and forms which appear as the universe, make up the superimposition. This is the unreal phenomenon.
D.: In the Reality which is non-dual, who is there to bring about this superimposition?
M.: It is Maya.
D.: What is Maya?
35. M.: It is the ignorance about the aforesaid Brahman.
D.: What is this Ignorance?
M.: Though the Self is Brahman, there is not the knowledge of the Self (being Brahman). That which obstructs this knowledge of
the Self is Ignorance.
D.: How can this project the world?
M.: Just as ignorance of the substratum, namely the rope, projects the illusion of a snake, so Ignorance of Brahman projects this
world.
Adhyaropa-apavada
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Adhyaropapavada — the “method or theory of prior superimposition and subsequent denial”
1. By this method, one first superimposes illusory attributes on an attributeless entity and then subsequently denies or removes
them. This technique is used by Advaita Vedanta to lead an aspirant to the knowledge of the nondual Self (Atman).
2. See apavada.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
... the Vedantins have made a device of judging a superimposition in contrast to a valid ground of knowledge. They draw a distinc¬
tion between the ground and its superimposition. The negation of the superimposition is called apavada and the superimposition
itself is called adhyaropa. Consequently certain admissions are tentatively accepted as real and later rejected as unreal. Here the
terms superimposition, sublation and the assertion of the unreal are all held to be epistemologically valid. Therefore, in higher phi¬
losophy such as in brahmavidya, ordinary logic is not admissible. In the course of this Upanisad we will find that the arguments of
several erudite philosophers, after being stated, are judged to be only partially valid and are therefore labeled one-footed logic.
Related words
Adhyasa
Apavada
Sanskrit
Adhyaropa —
adhyaropa - Wvm i d h
Adhyasa
Variant spellings
adhyasa
adhyasa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Adhyasa — ... superimposition; illusion; false attribution
1. The imposition of a thing on what is not that thing (atasmims-tad-buddhih). It is of two kinds: svarGpa-adhyasa and samsar¬
ga-adhyasa. The former consists in superimposing an illusory (mithya) object on something real; i.e., superimposing an illusory
snake on a real rope, which is an example of an ordinary error, or of superimposing ignorance (avidya) and the empirical world
upon the Absolute (Brahman), which is an example of a foundational error. Samsarga-adhyasa is the superimposition of an attri¬
bute on an object. This relation is false (mithya); i.e., to superimpose redness upon a crystal which is in the immediate physical
proximity of a red object.
2. It may also be divided into (i) artha-adhyasa (the superimposition of an object upon a substratum) and (ii) jnana-adhyasa (su¬
perimposition of the knowledge of the former upon the knowledge of the latter).
3. A third division of adhyasa is (i) dharma-adhyasa (superimposition of objects) and (ii) dharmi-adhyasa (superimposition of attri¬
butes).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
adhyasa -
imposing (as of a foot);
(in phil.) = adhy-aropa; an appendage
Wikipedia
Adhyasa. Throwing over or casting upon; misconception or erroneous attribution, the significance being that the mind casts upon
facts, which are misunderstood, certain mistaken notions; hence false or erroneous attribution. Equivalent to Adhyaropa. Simply
put Adhyasa means superimposition or false attribution of properties of one thing on another thing.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Wisdoms frame of reference
Adhyasa: Superimposition; false attribution; illusion. Adhyasa is of two forms:
Svarupa-adhyasa and Samsarga-adhyasa.
Svarupa-adhyasa consists in superimposing an illusory (mithya) object on something real.
Example: Seeing a snake on a real rope, or of superimposing ignorance (avidya); the empirical world upon Brahman, which is an
example of a foundational error.
Samsarga adhyasa is the superimposition of an attribute on an object. This relation is false (mithya).
Example: A transparent crystal placed on a red silk appears to be red.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Adhyasa: Superimposition; the erroneous attribution of reality to phenomenal things.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Adhyasa (“superimposition”). In Advaita Vedanta ... this is a key concept used to explain the ultimate unreality of the world around
us, despite its apparent reality. For the Advaita Vedanta school, there is ultimately only one real idea in the universe, namely Brah¬
man. All things are in fact that one thing, and this never changes. Since Brahman is the all in all, it can never actually be an object
of perception (pratyaksha). What the Advaitins then have to explain is how things in the world apparently change, or seem diverse
and different. This is explained as stemming from our mistaken perception and understanding. They call this notion adhyasa,
which is rooted in the human tendency to “construct” a picture of world. According to this explanation, human beings superimpose
a false understanding (that reality is diverse and differentiated) on top of the correct understanding (that all reality is nothing but
undifferentiated Brahman). According to the Advaitins, the world is real because Brahman is real. What is not real is the world as
most unenlightened people perceive it.
Advaitins illustrate this concept by two well-known errors in judgment: the case of a rope that one briefly mistakes for a snake, or a
post that one imagines is a man. Although these judgments are erroneous—as one quickly discovers— they are not made up out
of nothing. In each case, one is perceiving something real—the rope and post both actually exist—but “superimposing” a different
and mistaken identity on these things, and thus “transforming” them into something they are not. In the same way, it is argued,
human consciousness begins with the Supreme Reality (Brahman), which is actually there, but superimposes onto it something
which is not (the judgment of a diverse world).
According to the Advaitins, the real problem is epistemological, that is, how human beings come to know things, rather than in the
nature of the things themselves. One comes to a true understanding not when the things themselves change—to refer back to the
example, the rope always was and always will be a rope—but with the destruction of the mistaken notions that led to the initial er¬
ror, and their replacement by true understanding. For the Advaitins, adhyasa is a manifestation of avidya (lack of true knowledge);
this avidya is reinforced and upheld by the karmic power of one’s mistaken thoughts and actions. Adhyasa immediately disappears
at the moment true understanding is gained, when one comprehends that the world (and oneself) are both nothing but Brahman.
This moment of realization brings ultimate wisdom that can never be lost, just as that once one has recognized the piece of rope, it
can never again become a snake.
Wikipedia
According to Advaita Vedanta error arises on account of the superimposition of one reality on another. Adi Shankara defines Ad¬
hyasa as “the apparent presentation, to consciousness, by way of memory of something previously observed in some other thing”.
Adhyasa is the illusory appearance, in another place, of an object seen earlier elsewhere. It is similar in nature to recollection. For
instance on seeing a rope in dim light and not recognizing it as a rope, a person mistakes it for a snake which he has seen else¬
where. The snake is not absolutely unreal, because it is actually experienced, and produces the same effect, such as fear and so
on, as a real snake would. At the same time, it is not real, because it is no longer seen when the rope has been recognized. It is
therefore described as Anirvachaneeya or what cannot be classified as either real or unreal.
Adi Shankara further points out in his Adhyasa bhashya on the Brahma Sutras that, when there is superimposition of one thing
on another, the latter (the substratum) is not affected in the least by the good or bad qualities of the former, (e.g., nacre does not
become more valuable because it is mistaken for silver, nor does a rope get the qualities of the snake which it is mistaken for).
The implication of this statement is that the self which is identical with Brahman does not undergo any of the changes, nor does it
experience any of the joys and sorrows, of the body, mind and organs which are superimposed on it. It is, however, only because
of this mutual superimposition of the self and the non-self that all action, both secular and religious, including the study of Vedanta,
becomes possible. The self, by itself, is neither a doer of actions, nor an enjoyer of the results. It becomes a doer and an enjoyer
only because of this superimposition, as a result of which, as Adi Shankara says, the real and the unreal, namely, the self and
the non-self, are blended into one, as it were.. All action, including the various rites laid down in the Vedas, thus come within the
sphere of Avidya or nescience, which is the cause of the superimposition.
Adhyasa is of two kinds. When a rope is mistaken for a snake, the snake alone is seen. The existence of the rope is not known at
all. Here the snake is said to be superimposed on the rope. This is known as Svarupa-Adhyasa. The second kind of superimposi¬
tion is when a crystal appears to be red in the proximity of a red flower. Here both the crystal and the flower are seen as existing,
and the redness of the flower is attributed to the crystal also. This is known as Samsarga- Adhyasa. Both these kinds of Adhyasa
are present in the mutual superimposition of the self and the non-self.
Because of the superimposition of the non-self on the self, the existence of the self is not recognized at all, and the non-self, (that
is, the body, mind and organs), is alone recognized as existing. This is Svarupa-Adhyasa. In the superimposition of the self on
the non- self, only the existence and consciousness aspects of the self are attributed to the body, mind and organs. This is Sam-
sarga-Adhyasa. The result of this mutual superimposition is that every one identifies himself with the body. This is the root cause
of all suffering. Giving up this wrong identification with the body-mind complex and realizing that one is the self which is beyond
all suffering and all the pairs of opposites such as heat and cold, success and failure and so on, is Vidya or knowledge. It is this
knowledge that is contained in the Upanishads.
Svarupa-Adhyasa is also known as Nirupadhika-Adhyasa or superimposition without a limiting adjunct or Upadhi. The superim¬
position of an illusory snake on a rope is of this type. Upadhi has been defined by Bhaskararaya in his commentary on the name
Nirupadhih (No.154) in the Lalitasahasranamabhasya as Upa samipe adadhati sviyam dharmam that which imparts its own quality
to an object near it. A red flower which makes a transparent crystal near it look red is an upadhi. The superimposition of the red
colour on the crystal is a superimposition with upadhi and it is known as Sopadhika-Adhyasa, which is the same as samsarga- ad¬
hyasa.
In the superimposition of the snake on the rope, the substratum is considered to be the rope. But the rope itself is not real, and is
a superimposition on Brahman or pure Consciousness. Therefore it is said in Vedanta that the substratum is Rajju-upahita chait-
anyam or pure Consciousness apparently limited by the rope. Every object in this world should therefore be looked upon as Brah¬
man limited by that object or Brahman in the form of that object Sarvam khalu idam brahma. The illusory snake is described as
Pratibhasika or illusory; the rope, like everything in this world, is Vyavaharika or empirical reality. Brahman alone is Paramarthika
or absolute reality. The aim of Vedanta is to enable one to attain this realization.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Memory is at the basis of our vision of the manifested world. This is the theory of adhyasa or superimposition, well-known to Ve-
dantic thought. The reality that we attribute to the objects we see is to be traced to their source by a process of reasoning which
goes from effect to cause. Such a philosophical way of enquiry is natural and normal to the human mind. We always ask ourselves
about the “how”, “why” or “what” of things. All things must have a cause, and science is what reveals the cause behind effects
which constitute all the appearances in which we all live.
Adhyasa (superimposition) has been defined as the grafting by memory of something which does not belong to the place or con¬
text. It is a special or particular instance of wrong perception. The associative or apperceptive masses that are formed by our long
contact with objects in our past, however long, are not lost, but remain as samskaras or conditioning unit factors which colour our
present vision giving it a “reality” which is not really there. Subtle associative unit masses of habitual forms called vasanas (ten¬
dencies) operate to shape or determine our present view of things.
Nataraja. Wisdoms frame of reference
The conditioning of one type of thought by the other, which is called adhyasa, by which what is meant to be symbolic is treated as
actual and vice-versa, has been the fecund cause of monstrous errors in the matter of religion and theology in both the East and
the West, even from the most ancient of times.
See also:
in Advaita Vedanta: Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
adhyasa - from adhi “above, over” + the verbal root as “to throw, cast”.
Related words
Adhisthana
Adhyaropa
Pratibhasika
Sanskrit
Adhyasa — 3TV2TTH
adhyasa - srsprRT
Adhyatma
Variant spellings
adhyatma
adhyatma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Adhyatma — ... personal; individual; of the supreme Self; supreme; spiritual; pertaining to the self.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
adhyatma -
the Supreme Spirit; own, belonging to self
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Adhyatma: Loosely translated as spirituality. Strictly, that kind of knowledge which tries to understand the Reality in everything,
with one’s self-existence as the point of reference.
Nataraja. Vedanta Revalued and Restated
Q. What is adhyatma (that which pertains to the Self) ?
A. Svabhava (one’s proper nature)
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Nirmalananda. Bhagavad Gita
Adhyatma firstly is the principle of the indwelling Brahman in all beings as their Eternal Witness. But it is also the principle of the
individual spirit’s eternal distinction from Brahman which enables it to manifest and dwell in many forms in succession. The power
which brings this embodiment about is karma in its fundamental nature. So from this we see that karma is not only a reaction, but
the action that originates our coming into relative existence. Karma both initiates and maintains the rebirth process.
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
adhyatma - from adhi = “to make a basis,” and atma - “oneself or the self”.
Related words
Brahman
Sanskrit
Adhyatma — Ich
adhyatma -
Advaita
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Advaita — ... nondualism; nonduality; “not-two”
1. A term used to indicate a position of nonduality adopted by various Indian schools of thought. Advaita Vedanta adopts a posi¬
tion of absolute nonduality while all other uses of the term accept internal distinctions within their various types of monisms. Thus,
in its latter usages, it signifies the interconnectedness of everything which is dependent upon the nondual One, Transcendent
Reality.
2. Advaita Vedanta is commonly referred to as Advaita because it was the first and, perhaps, the greatest exponent of this idea.
It is one of the six orthodox (astika) schools of Indian philosophy and the first school of Vedanta philosophy. It has no individual
founder, for its roots are to be found in the Vedas, and particularly the Upanisads— though its greatest exponent is Sankaracarya
Bhagavatpada. Its central teaching is the oneness of the individual soul (jlva) with the Absolute (Brahman). It affirms the nondu¬
ality of Brahman, the nonreality of the empirical world, and the nondifference between the individual soul and Brahman (brahma
satyam, jagan-mithya, jlvo brahmaiva naparah). Its basic source books are the Upanisads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brah-
ma-sGtra. (See prasthana-traya.)
3. The key concept in Advaita Vedanta is ignorance (avidya/maya). This explains the otherwise perplexing distinction between
the formless (nirguna) and the having form (saguna) Brahman, between the nondual Reality appearing as individuals and as God
(Tsvara). It accounts for Advaita’s metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
advaita -
destitute of duality, having no duplicate;
peerless;
sole , unique;
epithet of Vishnu;
non-duality;
identity of Brahma or of the Paramatman or supreme soul with the JTvatman or human soul;
identity of spirit and matter;
the ultimate truth;
title of an Upanishad.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Advaita: Non-duality. The final establishment of unitive vision, when the vestiges of every shade of duality, whether psychological
or cosmological, have been transcended by the man of philosophical vision.
Nitya. Love and Blessings
Advaita: Literally, not two. The doctrine which maintains that all duality as between self and other, seer and seen, and knower and
known is purely illusionary. Ultimately refers to the supremely blissful state of being one with all.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Advaita (non-dual, from the root dvi, or two) is a term used to describe the unitary philosophies and religious movements in India.
Rather than a definition of these schools of thought as unitary or monist, the negative description is generally used. Advaita is
usually translated as “non-dual.” Duality would imply that there is more than one reality; non-duality implies that there is nowhere
a second to the one reality.
A number of philosophies in Indian tradition are conventionally called advaita. Their characteristics vary considerably. Best known
is “absolute advaita,” formulated by the Vedanta founder SHANKARA, in which the individual self, and all apparently separate
selves, are understood to be nothing but the ultimate Self, that is, non-dual with it; there are no distinctions between selves. A fur¬
ther aspect of Shankara’s advaita system is that the world is false or MAYA, illusion. Only the one BRAHMAN is true.
The views of RAMANUJA and VALLABHA are also technically referred to as advaita or non-dualistic, as both their systems main¬
tain that individual selves are nothing but the ultimate Self. However, they both also include qualifying language to show that they
do not hold Shankara’s absolute view. In their understanding, the highest Self or brahman is God and therefore has certain inher¬
ent characteristics that distinguish it from any other self. No individual self can possess the power and supremacy of the divinity; in
fact, both Ramanuja and Vallabha see the individual selves as being distinct from each other. Similarly, Ramanuja and Vallabha
qualify their advaita belief that the world or universe is in fact nothing but the divinity: from another perspective the world is differ¬
ent from the divinity.
Many other Vedantins similarly could be called advaita with these sorts of reservations. They sometimes use terms like Dvait-
advaita (nondualist and dualist) or BHEDABHEDA (both different and non-different). Philosophically they are quite similar to Ra¬
manuja and Vallabha.
Finally, most TANTRIC philosophical systems are also termed advaita or non-dual. In these cases, the individual self is under¬
stood as being precisely brahman, God or Goddess, with no reservations. The power inherent in the divinity is understood to
belong to any individual, at the highest level of realization. The world too is understood to be non-dual with the divinity.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Mastership over self, Victory over the Fallen Man, perfect alignment of the fragments of the soul, Rulership of the Microcosm — all
these achievements express in their own way an aspect of what happens when the soul comes into its Own: Advaita.
The attainment of Advaita is not a peaceful sinking away into the negative nothingness which some Western philosophers have
imagined the Buddhist Nirvana and the Hindu samadhi to be. On the contrary, the attainment of Advaita or Nirvana can come only
after the Final Battle which forms an heroic feat which only few men in every age are capable of performing. It is well-known how
tradition conceives of Buddha’s encounter with Mara and his hosts before his Enlightenment under the Bodhi-Tree.
... The attainment of Advaita or Self-realization is the End of Tradition, in the senses of the purpose, the extreme limit and the
destruction of the Tradition. We shall see later that the traditions of the Twilight of the Gods have besides other meanings, these
implications.
In Advaita or At-onement the Pure Consciousness of the Mother and the Mystery of the Father, the Power of Sakti and the Being
of Siva, lose their separate identity.
In Advaita even Sin and Virtue are no more.
But as long as Advaita is not attained, the Tradition is indispensable, for no one can undergo Birth but for the Mother.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
This was the vision that had come to him at this time. All thoughts of devotion vanished at this spot, self- effaced. Sin and evil and
suffering had no place in the scheme to which the vision belonged. Good and bad, truth and falsehood faded before the uniting
principle. The visible world melted and formed part of the vision. It was not a vision that came to pass away. It was one into which
one entered to live there forever. Here was a state in which all colours and shades mingled into one white light.
It is like trying to describe the nature of light in terms of darkness to try to state exactly the nature and character of this state. Some
have tried to describe it as Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Others describe it as the state of the Paramahamsa. The Buddhists have the word
Nirvana and the conception of the Boundless Light or Amitabha, into which the individuality merges its identity. In more unsophisti¬
cated language some others call it the attainment of the Supreme Bliss or Happiness.
Some attain this only after death, and then it is Salvation or Heaven. This corresponds to the conception of Moksha in Sanskrit,
and according to this conception a man can attain Moksha while still living here on earth - this is called the state of Jivan Mukti.
By whatever special name this state is known, it is one and the same experience. This experience is in more modern language
called Cosmic Consciousness. It may be described as the experience of the whole, which leaves no remainder. It is the vision of
the supreme unity that characterises all the states referred to. There is a happy expression in Sanskrit which describes the essen¬
tial nature of this state in the least controversial form, and that expression is ‘Advaita’, which means the state in which there is no
second to speak about. The
Upanishads sum up in the boldest possible terms this conception of Advaita when they state: Tat- tvam- asi’ (That thou art’). It
was this same eternal and universal principle of which the Guru’s life was an expression.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
Advaita means nonduality; there are no two, but One. We see that here is a proposition that the Absolute, the One is manifesting
Itself as many through the veil of time, space, and causation. Therefore it seems that here are two, the Absolute, and Maya (the
sum-total of time, space, and causation). It seems apparently very convincing that there are two. To which the Advaitist replies
that it cannot be called two. To have two, we must have two independent existences, just as that of the Absolute, which cannot be
caused. In the first place, this time, space, and causation cannot be said to be an independent existence. Time is entirely a depen¬
dent existence; it changes with every change of our mind. Sometimes in a dream one imagines that he has lived several years; at
other times several months were passed as one second. So that time has entire dependence on our state of mind. Secondly, the
idea of time vanishes altogether sometimes. So with space, we cannot know what space is. Yet it is there, indefinable, and cannot
live separate from anything else. So with causation.
See also:
in Saguna-brahman: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
advaita - from a = “not” + dvaita = “dual, two”.
Related words
Advaita Vedanta
Sanskrit
Advaita — 37%cT
advaita -
Advaita Vedanta
Variant spellings
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Definitions
General
Wikipedia
Advaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedanta (literally, end or the goal of the Vedas, Sanskrit) school of Hindu philosophy.
Other major sub-schools of Vedanta are Dvaita and Visishtadvaita. Advaita (literally, non-duality) is a monistic system of thought.
“Advaita” refers to the identity of the Self (Atman) and the Whole (Brahman).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
Advaita Vedanta — Philosophy of non-dualism, based on a contemplative unitive approach. Unitive understanding.
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The main idea of the Vedanta philosophy.
The main idea of the advaita (non-dualistic) Vedanta philosophy as taught by the Shakara school is this, that the ultimate and ab¬
solute truth is the self, which is one, though appearing as many in different individuals. The world also as apart from us the individ¬
uals has no reality and has no other truth to show than this self. All other events, mental or physical, are but passing appearances,
while the only absolute and unchangeable truth underlying them all is the self. While other systems investigated the pramanas
only to examine how far they could determine the objective truth of things or our attitude in practical life towards them, Vedanta
sought to reach beneath the surface of appearances, and enquired after the final and ultimate truth underlying the microcosm and
the macrocosm, the subject and the object. The famous instruction of Shvetaketu, the most important Vedanta text (mahavakya)
says, “That art thou, O Shvetaketu.” This comprehension of my self as the ultimate truth is the highest knowledge, for when this
knowledge is once produced, our cognition of world-appearances will automatically cease. Unless the mind is chastened and
purged of all passions and desires, the soul cannot comprehend this truth; but when this is once done, and the soul is anxious
for salvation by a knowledge of the highest truth, the preceptor instructs him, “That art thou.” At once he becomes the truth itself,
which is at once identical with pure bliss and pure intelligence; all ordinary notions and cognitions of diversity and of the many
cease; there is no duality, no notion of mine and thane; the vast illusion of this world process is extinct in him, and he shines forth
as the one, the truth, the Brahman.
Wikipedia
The first person to explicitly consolidate the principles of Advaita Vedanta was Adi Shankara, while the first historical proponent
was Gaudapada, the guru of Shankara’s guru Govinda Bhagavatpada.
Three levels of truth
The transcendental or the Paramarthika level in which Brahman is the only reality and nothing else;
The pragmatic or the Vyavaharika level in which both Jiva (living creatures or individual souls) and Ishvara are true; here, the ma¬
terial world is completely true, and,
The apparent or the Prathibhasika level in which even material world reality is actually false, like illusion of a snake over a rope or
a dream.
List of teachers of Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta has had many teachers over the centuries in India and other countries. This article lists some of the major teach¬
ers. Adi Shankaracharya was the most prominent in the tradition of Advaita Vedanta to formulate its doctrine in his many works.
Sages and saints
Marichi
Angiras
Atri
Yajnavalkya
Pulastya
Vashishta
Kashyapa
Vishwamitra
Jamadagni
Bharadwaja
Bhrigu
Agastya
Shri Dattatreya
Shri Ashtawakra
Vyasa
Recent Jagadgurus of Peethams
Sringeri Sharada Peetham
Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha Bharathi Mahaswamiji, Jagadguru of Sringeri Sharada Peetham [1] (1865- 1912); a
realised Yogi; initiated many into Adi Shankaracharya’s philosophy including Sacchidanandendra Saraswati- founder of Adhyatma
Prakashana Karyalaya ;known as “Abhinava Shankara” because of his many tours around Bharatvarsha spreading the Advaita
Vedanta philosophy and Hindu Dharma
Sri Chandrashekhara Bharathi Mahaswamiji, Jagadguru of Sringeri Sharada Peetham (1912- 1954); A well known Jivanmukta;
said to be one of the greatest saints ever to take birth in India
Sri Abhinavavidya Tirtha Mahaswamiji, Jagadguru of Sringeri Sharada Peetham (1954- 1989); A great Yogi and master of scrip¬
tures; blessed with realisation early in life; In His many tours of Bharatvarsha and also Nepal He established many maths, shrines
and temples.
Sri Bharathi Tirtha Mahaswamiji, Jagadguru of Sringeri Sharada Peetham (1989- );A distuinguished sage and present Jagadguru
of Shringeri Peetha, Sringeri, Karnataka.
Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham
Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswamiji Jagadguru of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam (1894- 1994), also called as Nad-
amadum Deivam(Walking God) by devotees and followers all over the world
Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swami, Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam
Jagadguru Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi Swami, Kanchi Kamakoti peetam
Sapta Na Sannyasin Ruchira Buddha Adi Da Samraj Jagadguru of Naitauba Peetham the main Hermitage Ashram called “Samra-
jashram” in the Fijian Islands. Other Satguru Peethams: Mountain Of Attention Sanctuary, Love’s Point Hermitage and Tat Sunda-
ram Hermitage and Tat Sundaram Hermitage, all in Northern California; and Da Love-Ananda Mahal in Kauai, Hawaii
Other teachers
Adyashanti, popular modern Western teacher.
Shri Totapuri Maharaj, One of the Dasanami order sanyasis who initiated Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa into Advaita Vedanta.
Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886) well-known modern proponent of Advaita; the primary source book, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (Sri
Ramakrishna Kathamrita), was written by an eyewitness devotee Mahendranath Gupta. It documents his later life and conversa¬
tions with disciples and devotees and serves as the key reference for his philosophy and teachings
Shri Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) the silent sage of Tamil Nadu who had a profound realization of nonduality
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, wrote books on four Hindu Yogas: Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Kar¬
ma Yoga and Raja Yoga. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda contains a complete collection of transcribed lectures. He
spoke at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893.
Sri Narayana Guru (1856-1928)- Vedic scholar, mystic philosopher, prolific poet and social reformer, from the present-day Kerala.
Mannargudi Raju Sastri (1815 -1903), Formed The Adwaita Sabha’ for propagating the tenets of the Adwaita faith
Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) Bengali philosopher-sage who synthesized Advaita thought with Western philosophical theories of
evolution.
Swami Tapovan Maharaj - A virakta mahatma
Swami Sivananda (1887—1963), Divine Life Society. Bestowed samyasa initiation of Swami Chinmayananda, scholar, and author
of over 300 books on Hinduism, many available on the web.
Swami Karpatri (1905-1980), a well-known sannyasi of Varanasi
Swami Chinmayananda Jnana diksha bestowed under Sri Swami Tapovan Maharaj in Uttarkashi. Disciples founded the Chinma-
ya Mission. ‘Chinmaya’ = “pure consciousness of bliss”.
Shri Swami Dayananda Saraswati, (c. 1824- 1883) a contemporary Advaitin who united disparate Hindu sects under a single body
known as the Arya Samaj.
Swami Dayananda Saraswati, (c.1930-) originally student of Chinmaya above. He has set up many traditional gurukula (vedanta
schools) in India and Western countries.
Sacchidanandendra Saraswati, a profound Advaitin and the founder of the Adhyatma Prakasha Karyalaya in Holenarasipura
Sri Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838-1918), a great philosopher of Maharashtra who propagated the oneness of God and urged harmo¬
ny amongst the various religions.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj A twentieth- century master of Advaita from Mumbai
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation programme and movement, which have practices and philoso¬
phy firmly routed in the Advaita tradition. The TM initiation puja references Adi Shankara and the monastery set up by his devotee
Trotakacharya at Jyotir Math. This was the same monastery re- established by Sri Brahmananda Saraswati, Maharishi’s master,
often referred to as “Guru Dev.”
Sri H.W.L. Poonja (1910-1997), or Papaji. Disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi, he denied being part of any formal tradition, and re¬
mained always available, welcoming newcomers to his home and satsangs.
Tibbetibaba - Hindu Bengali Saint whose life was based on both Advaita Vedanta and Mahayana principles.
Adi Da (1939-2008) American-born teacher of enlightenment whose followers state he is the promised Hindu Avatar and first sev¬
enth stage realizer, who has written over 70 books on “Advaitayana Buddhism”, the unique philosophy that transcends both Advai¬
ta thought and the philosophical theories of Buddhism.[2]
American yogi, Richard Hittleman, who was the first person to bring Hatha and Raja Yoga to English- speaking audiences via the
medium of a television series (in the 1950s and 1960s). His teachings were essentially those of Advaita Vedanta and Ramana
Maharshi(Richard Hittleman, Guide for the Seeker, Bantam Books, 1978, p. 92)
American yogini, Gangaji (Toni Roberson); disciple of Papaji (see above) and author of several books.
Ontology
Karya and karana
The karya (effect) and karana (cause) form an important area for investigation in all the systems of Vedanta. Two karanatvas
(ways of being the cause) are recognised:
Nimitta karanatva — Being the instrumental cause. For example, a potter is assigned Nimitta karanatva as he acts as the maker of
the pot and thus becomes the pot’s instrumental cause.
Upadana karanatva — Being the material cause. For example, the mud is assigned Upadana karanatva as it acts as the material
of the effect (the pot) and thus becomes the pot’s material cause.
Advaita assigns Nimitta karanatva to Brahman with the statements from the Vedas (only two are given below):
That Lord has created all the forms and is calling them by their names (Taitiiriya Aranyaka 3.12.7)
He thought, “Let Me create the worlds” (Aitareya Upanishad[9] 1.1.1)
Advaita also assigns Upadana karanatva to Brahman vide the statements from the Vedas (only two are given below):
Dear boy, just as through a single clod of clay all that is made of clay would become known, for all modifications is but name
based upon words and the clay alone is real (Chandogya Upanishad[10] 6.1.4)
(He thought) Let me be many, let me be born (Taittiriya Upanishad[11] 2.6.4)
The Chandogya Upanishad[10] 6.2.1 states
It is One without a second
Thus, based on these and other statements found in the Vedas, Advaita concludes that Brahman is both the instrumental cause
and the material cause.
Karya-karana ananyatva
Advaita states that karya (effect) is non- different from karana (cause). However karana is different from karya. This principle is
called Karya-karana ananyatva (the non- difference of the effect from the cause). To elaborate,
If the cause is destroyed, the effect will no longer exist. For example, if from the effect, cotton cloth, the cause, threads, are re¬
moved, there will be no cloth, i.e., the cloth is destroyed. Similarly if in the effect, thread, the cause, cotton, is removed, there will
be no thread, i.e., the thread is destroyed. This is brought out by Adi Shankara in the Brahmasutra Bhasya , commentary on the
Brahma sutra,[12] 2.1.9, as:
Despite the non-difference of cause and effect, the effect has its self in the cause but not the cause in the effect. The effect is of
the nature of the cause and not the cause the nature of the effect. Therefore the qualities of the effect cannot touch the cause.
During the time of its existence, one can easily grasp that the effect is not different from the cause. However that the cause is dif¬
ferent from the effect is not readily understood. As to this, it is not really possible to separate cause from effect. But this is possible
by imagining so. For example, the reflection of the gold ornament seen in the mirror is only the form of the ornament but is not the
ornament itself as it (the reflection) has no gold in it at all.
Adi Shankara says in the Chandogya Upaninad Bhasya, commentary on the Chandogya Upanishad, 6.3.2:
All names and forms are real when seen with the Sat (Brahman) but are false when seen independent of Brahman.
This way Advaita establishes the non- difference of effect from cause. To put it in a nutshell,
Karya is not different from karana; however karana is different from karya.
In the context of Advaita Vedanta,
Jagat (the world) is not different from Brahman; however Brahman is different from Jagat
Salvation
Advaitins believe that suffering is due to Maya, and only knowledge (called Jnana) of Brahman can destroy Maya. When Maya is
removed, there exists ultimately no difference between the Jiva- Atman and the Brahman. Such a state of bliss when achieved
while living is called Jivan mukti. While one is in the pragmatic level, one can worship God in any way and in any form, like Krishna
or Ayyappa as he wishes, Adi Shankara himself was a proponent of devotional worship or Bhakti. But Adi Shankara believes that
while Vedic sacrifices, puja and devotional worship can lead one in the direction of jnana, true knowledge, they cannot lead one
directly to Moksha.
Theory of creation
In the relative level, Adi Shankara believes in the Creation of the world through Satkaryavada. It is like the philosophy of Samkhya,
which says that the cause is always hidden into its effect—and the effect is just a transformation of the cause. However, Samkhya
believes in a sub-form of Satkaryavada called Parinamavada (evolution) — whereby the cause really becomes an effect. Instead,
Adi Shankara believes in a sub- form called Vivartavada. According to this, the effect is merely an apparent transformation of its
cause — like illusion, eg., In darkness, a man often confuses a rope to be a snake. But this does not mean that the rope has actu¬
ally transformed into a snake.
At the pragmatic level, the universe is believed to be the creation of the Supreme Lord Ishvara. Maya is the divine magic of Ish-
vara, with the help of which Ishvara creates the world. The serial of Creation is taken from the Upanishads. First of all, the five
subtle elements (ether, air, fire, water and earth) are created from Ishvara. Ether is created by Maya. From ether, air is born. From
air, fire is born. From fire, water is born. From water, earth is born. From a proportional combination of all five subtle elements, the
five gross elements are created, like the gross sky, the gross fire, etc. From these gross elements, the universe and life are creat¬
ed. This series is exactly the opposite during destruction.
Some people have criticized that these principles are against Satkaryavada. According to Satkaryavada, the cause is hidden in¬
side the effect. How can Ishvara, whose form is spiritual, be the effect of this material world? Adi Shankara says that just as from a
conscious living human, inanimate objects like hair and nails are formed, similarly, the inanimate world is formed from the spiritual
Ishvara.
Mahavakya
Mahavakya, or “the great sentences”, state the unity of Brahman and Atman. There are many such sentences in the vedas, but
one sentence from each veda is usually chosen. They are shown below
Sr. No.
Vakya
Meaning
Upanishad
Veda
1
(Prajnanam brahma)
Consciousness is Brahman
aitareya
Rig Veda
2.
anprstg|if?n (Aham brahmasmi)
1 am Brahman
brihadaranyaka
Yajur Veda
3.
(T at tvam asi)
That thou art
chhandogya
Sama Veda
4.
a-anicm (Ayamatma brahma)
This Atman is Brahman
mandukya
Atharva Veda
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The particular type of monism taught by Samkara is very old, though in its final form it owes a great deal to his contribution. Its
most distinguishing feature on the theoretical side is its conception of nirguna Brahman as the ultimate reality with the implied
belief in the.Maya doctrine, the identity of the jiva and Brahman and the conception of moksa as the merging of the former in the
latter; on the practical side, it is the advocacy of karma-samnyasa or complete renunciation with its implication that jnana and jna-
na alone is the means of release. The earliest extant formulation of this doctrine is found in Gaudapada’s Karika, which purports
to summarize the teaching of the MandGkya Upanisad, but really accomplishes much more by giving an admirable summary of
advaitic teaching. The main points of Sankara’s philosophy—its basic principles such as the inapplicability of the notion cf causal¬
ity to the ultimate reality—are already there. The most important of Sankara’s works is the bhasya on the Vedanta-sutra, which is
as remarkable for the charm of its style as for the logical consistency of its arguments.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Advaita Vedanta. One of the branches of Vedanta, the philosophical school claiming to reveal the ultimate (anta) teaching of the
ancient sacred texts known as the Vedas. The Advaita school upholds a philosophical position known as monism, which is the be¬
lief that a single Ultimate Reality lies behind all things. Advaita proponents believe that reality is nondual (advaita)—that is, that ev¬
erything in the world is actually the formless, unqualified Brahman, despite the appearance of difference and diversity. To support
this claim, the Advaitins provide a convincing explanation for the world one perceives to have many separate and diverse things.
Advaitans account for this apparent diversity by using the concept of adhyasa (superimposition), in which a false, mistaken un¬
derstanding is projected upon a real object—in the classical Advaita example, seeing a rope in the twilight and mistaking it for a
snake. For the Advaitins, the “snake” is not completely unreal, since it depends on the rope for its existence—one cannot see the
snake unless the rope is there. At the same time, the “snake” is clearly not real since one does not persist in this error, and once
the illusion of the snake has been dispelled, one can no longer see it.
In the same way, the Advaitins believe that our idea of the phenomenal everyday world is projected upon the one thing in the uni¬
verse that is truly real—Brahman. Like the snake, the world is unreal as it is perceived but real insofar as it depends on Brahman.
For the Advaitins, the roots of adhyasa are epistemological, that is, related to how human beings come to know things, but the re¬
sults of adhyasa are both epistemological and ontological (related to how things actually are). On one hand, adhyasa obscures the
Ultimate Reality and prevents one from accurately perceiving it, and on the other, its projective character creates our notions of
the world. For the Advaitins, the source of all this confusion is ultimately rooted in avidya, or primal ignorance, under the influence
of which one forms mistaken ideas about the world. The operation of this ignorance is said to have no beginning, but one of the
things that keeps it going is one’s karma, based on the continuing actions caused by this mistaken understanding. Another source
of this ignorance is the power of illusion (maya) wielded by God (Ishvara), which bewilders human beings. For the Advaita Vedan-
tin, God is identified as a qualified (saguna) form of Brahman—thus below the highest unqualified (nirguna) Brahman, and himself
a product of superimposition.
Since the Advaita school believes that the source of bondage to karma results from mistaken understanding, the only way to
destroy bondage is to gain the correct understanding. Although the Advaitans say that people must perform obligatory religious
actions (nitya karma) as a matter of duty, actions can never bring about the understanding that is necessary for salvation, although
they may aid the process by removing some of the karmic obstacles. To support this understanding, the Advaitins begin their
analysis with an appeal to the knowing subject as the one thing that can never be doubted, and claim that this self-consciousness
is evidence for the existence of the inner Self, or atman. Aside from this appeal to experience, they depend heavily on the author¬
ity of the sacred texts, particularly the Upanishads, to uphold their key doctrines: that Brahman is the source of all things; that the
human soul is ultimately identical to Brahman, although hampered by obstructions based on past karma; and that gaining true
knowledge is the basis of liberation.
The first and greatest Advaita thinker was the philosopher Shankaracharya; other significant figures were his two disciples,
Sureshvara and Padmapada, as well as Mandana Mishra and Vachaspati Mishra.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Vedanta, particularly Advaita Vedanta, admittedly represents the finality of Indian wisdom, as the very word suggests: Vedanta lit¬
erally meaning “the finality” (anta) of knowledge (veda). In the sense that it is the body of wisdom contained in the Upanisads, the
concluding section (anta) of the Vedas, also it is called “Vedanta.” Originally the Upanisads were themselves called Vedantas. The
Upanisadic wisdom as interpreted by the great Sankara is known as Advaita Vedanta, meaning non- dualistic Vedanta. Sankara
expounded the hidden wisdom of the Upanisads (upanisad means “hidden wisdom”) in the 8th century AD.
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
The Advaita Vedanta as formulated and presented in the writings of Sankara was itself a revaluation of the Upanishadic and Bud¬
dhist wisdom which formed its background. Sankara subjected the values held before and in his time to a critical and methodical
scrutiny. His approach could even be said to be that of a positivist, since objective rational norms entered into it, and because he
did not try to explain away anything. That was over a thousand years ago but, making due allowance for the conditions of his day,
Sankara may be said to have approached the subject in a fully scientific spirit, insofar as such an approach could apply to a sub¬
ject in which much a priori reasoning has to be given its legitimate place. More than a millennium after Sankara, from almost the
same part of India, there appears another Guru, the Guru Narayana, who, as it were, is a representative of the same direct and
vertical line of philosophical re-valuators - a recognizable revaluators-line which can be said also to connect Sankara in his turn
with the most ancient phase of human history.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
Materialism prevails in Europe to-day. You may pray all the world over for the salvation of these sceptics, but they do not yield,
they want reason. The salvation of Europe depends on a rationalistic religion, and Advaita—the non-duality, the Oneness, the idea
of the impersonal God—is the only religion that can keep any hold on intellectual people. It comes whenever religion seems to
disappear, and irreligion seems to prevail, and that is why it is gaining ground in Europe and America.
... In modern times the Advaitins have all ranged themselves under Sankaracharya; and he and his disciples have been the great
preachers of Advaita, both in Southern and in Northern India. The influence of Sankaracharya did not penetrate much into our
country of Bengal, or into Cashmere and the Punjab; but in Southern India the Smartas are all followers of Sankaracharya, and
with Benares as the centre, his influence is simply immense even in many parts of Northern India.
Main sources
Prasthana-traya
Sankara: Works
For beginners
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Of the numerous hand-books written to explain the Advaita system, we may mention here the Naiskarmya-siddhi of Suresvara,
who was at first probably a MTmamsaka, and the Samktepa-sarTraka by his pupil, Sarvajnatman. Another work of particular value,
especially in regard to the Maya doctrine, is the Ista-siddhi of Vimuktatman (A.D. 1050). Later still are the Nyaya-makaranda of
Anandabodha (A.D. 1050) and the Pahca-dasT of Vidyaranya, a popular treatise. The Siddhanta-lesa-samgraha of Appaya DTksita
describes the divergences of view ... which arose within the doctrine as a result of its wide expansion in the centuries following
Samkara. The Vedantaparibhasa of Dharmaraja Adhvarlndra gives a technical and systematic exposition of the doctrine, espe¬
cially on its logical and epistemologkal side; and the Vedanta-sara of Sadananda (A.D. 1550) is an easy introduction to Advaita
philosophy.
Advaita-Vedanta and Sankhya-Yoga
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The Advaita resembles the Sankhya-Yoga in regard to its conception of the psychic apparatus: and it also believes like the other
in the theory of representative knowledge. The only difference that maybe noticed is that while, according to the Sankhya-Yoga,
the ten senses are traced to aham-kara, here they are supposed to be derived from the elements much as in the Nyaya-Vaiseska.
Ramakrishna
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
In the Vedas and Upanishads we find records of some of the very earliest religious ideas of the Hindus, ideas that long antedated
the time of Kapila, ancient as this great sage is. He did not propound the Samkhya philosophy as a new theory of his own. His
task was to throw the light of his genius on the vast mass of religious theories that were existing in his time and bring out a rational
and coherent system. He succeeded in giving India a psychology that is accepted to the present day by all the diverse and seem¬
ingly opposing philosophical systems to be found among the Hindus. His masterly analysis and his comprehensive statement of
the processes of the human mind have not yet been surpassed by any later philosopher and he undoubtedly laid the foundation
for the Advaita philosophy, which accepted his conclusions as far as they went and then pushed them a step further, thus reaching
a final unity beyond the duality that was the last word of the Samkhyas.
See also:
in Antahkarana: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
in Sakshin and antahkarana: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Related words
Advaita
Sankara
Vedanta
Visishta-Advaita
Sanskrit
3T^<T cftTRT
Advaita Vedanta - sr^tct %^TTT
Agama
Variant spellings
agama
agama
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Agama — ... scripture; what has come down from tradition; canonical literature; source; beginning; “that which has come down”
1. Divinely revealed scripture which has been handed down from teacher to pupil through the ages. A scripture in which creation,
destruction, worship of deities, repetition of mantras, and accomplishment, means of attaining the sixfold desires, forms of medita¬
tion, and four kinds of yoga are described is considered by the wise as Agama.
2. They are divided into three main branches according to the deity that is worshipped therein. Pancaratra and Vaikhanasa
Agamas are the Vaisnava scriptures which extol Visnu. The Saiva Agamas extol Siva. And the Sakta Agamas extol the Goddess
(Devi). Sakta tantras are enumerated as sixty-four and grouped into two kinds: daksina and vama or right and left hand. Vaisna¬
va tantras are subdivided into Vaikhanasa and Pancaratra. Those revealed by Sage Vikhanas to his disciples Bhrgu, Marici, Ati,
etc., are Vaikhanasa tantras. Pancaratra Agamas are threefold: divya or directly revealed by Lord Narayana; Munibhasita or those
handed over to the sages such as Bharadvajasamhita, Paramesvarasamhita, etc., and Aptamanujaprokta, or those written by men
whose word is trustworthy. Saiva Agamas are fourfold: Kapala, Kalamukha, Pasupata, and Saiva. Traditionally, twenty-eight Saiva
Agamas are recognized as forming the revealed canon (though hundreds of these scriptures are spoken of): Kamika, Yogaja,
Cintya, Karana, Ajita, DTpta, Suksma, Sahasra, Amsumad, Suprabheda, Vijaya, Nissvasa, Svayambhuva, Anala, Vira, Raurava,
Makuta, Vimala, Candrajnana, Mukhabimba, ProgTta, LaITta, Siddha, Santana, Sarvokta, Paramesvara, Kirana, and Vatula.
3. An Agama deals with four topics: temple construction, making idols, etc.; philosophical doctrines; meditative practices; and
methods of worship (kriya, jnana, yoga, and carya). These are divided into three divisions: tantra which teaches rituals; mantra
which teaches the yoga stage of worship; and upadesa which expounds the existence and nature of the three eternal entities—in¬
dividual souls, bonds, and God (pasu, pasa, and pati).
4. Traditionally, twenty-eight Agamas are recognized as forming the revealed canon, though hundreds of these scriptures are spo¬
ken of.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
agama —
coming near, approaching;
origin;
reading, studying; acquisition of knowledge, science;
a traditional doctrine or precept, collection of such doctrines, sacred work, Brahmana;
anything handed down and fixed by tradition (as the reading of a text or a record, title-deed, &c.);
a grammatical augment, a meaningless syllable or letter inserted in any part of the radical word;
a Tantra or work inculcating the mystical worship of Siva and Sakti.
Dictionary - Runes
Agama: (Skr.) One of a number of Indian treatises composed since the 1st cent. A.D. which are outside the Vedic tradition, but
are regarded authoritative by the followers of Vishnuism, Shivaism, and Shaktism. Amid mythology, epic and ritualistic matter they
contain much that is philosophical. K.F.L.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Agama. In its most general meaning, this refers to any authoritative text. In a philosophical context, this word designates one of
the pramanas, the means by which human beings can gain true and accurate knowledge. As a pramana, the agama denotes
testimony from a reliable source, particularly from scriptures such as the Veda. Within specific sectarian communities, such as the
devotees (bhakta) of the gods Shiva (Shaivas) and Vishnu (Vaishnavas), the word also commonly designates the particular texts
deemed most authoritative by that community
Wikipedia
Agama is a term for scriptures in Buddhism, Jainism, and Sanatana Dharma:
Hindu Agamas
Agama (Buddhism)
Agama (Jainism)
Agama (Hinduism)
The corresponding adjective is Agamic.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Wisdoms frame of reference
Agama: A synonym of any ancient scripture, particularly the Vedas. There are non-Vedic agamas also, like Saivagama, Vaisnav-
agama, Jainagama etc.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
agama. In the tantric tradition ... agama most commonly means “authoritative scripture.” Different systems of tantric tradition may
designate different texts as agamas. In South India, for instance, there is a tradition called Agamanta SHAIVISM that relies upon
28 agamas. In this tradition, the VEDAS are referred to as NIGAMA. Agamas tend to be fairly late texts (compared to the Vedas);
the earliest agama could hardly have been written before the sixth century C.E. Though many of the agamas of the diverse tantric
traditions are philosophical, others focus on Shaivite temple ritual, including the layout of temples, the installation of icons, and the
ritual forms to be used. In this sense, they are foundational texts for temple Hinduism.
In a more limited sense, an agama is a tantric text that takes the form of a teaching by SHIVA to PARVATI or another goddess.
(In this context, a Nigama is a text taught by the goddess to Shiva.) Finally, agama is a linguistic term used in PANINI, The great
Sanskrit grammarian, for an augment added to a base to form a complete word.
Wikipedia
The Agamas are sectarian and monotheistic texts dedicated to worship of Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. For example, the Shaivite Ag¬
amas are the primary religious text in Virasaivism. The Tantras are Agama texts devoted to worship of Devi.
Agamas are non-Vedic texts attributed to Dravidian sources as against the ‘Aryan’ Vedic literature. The origins of these Agamas
are traceable to the days of the Indus Valley around 3000 BCE. Most of the early ‘Self Realization’ concepts and Yogic texts are
also Agama in origin from which Tantra has branched off.
Almost all idol worship (Puja) and Temple rituals follow the Agama Vidhis (rules). The Puranas are also influenced largely by the
Agama devotional traditions.
The Vedas on the other hand, are entirely about Nature Worship (Varuna- water, Agni- Fire, Vayu- wind), fire rituals (homas), ani¬
mal sacrifices and do not promote idol worship at all.
In this sense, almost the entire Hindu system of today can be said to be Agama in origin and not Vedic as is commonly believed.
Vedic fire rituals are now only of minor importance in a Hindu persons life as compared to the Agama Temple rituals and the Ag¬
ama Siddhanta philosophies.
Early Jain and Buddhist literature are also called Agamas because they owe their origins to the same non- vedic sources.
Strictly speaking, Indian religious and philosophical literature can be divided into two main streams, Agama and Vedic. The first
has its roots in the early civilizations of the Indus Valley period (spread all over the sub- continent - not just Harappa and Mohen-
jadaro) and the second has its roots in the post Aryan period starting from about 2000-1500 BCE.
The early Agama traditions also migrated abroad from South/east India and influenced life in Indonesia where the ‘Hindu Agama’
religion in Java has a huge following even today.
The Agamas, in spite of being the fundamental philosophical and traditional base of present day Hinduism, they have, unfortunate¬
ly, not received the exposure and publicity that the Vedas have enjoyed.
Place in Hinduism
In Hinduism, the Agamas are an enormous collection of Sanskrit scriptures which are revered. The Agamas are the primary
source and authority for yoga methods and instruction. The Shaiva Agamas revere the Ultimate Reality as Lord Shiva (Shaivism).
The Vaishnava- Agamas (Pancharatra and Vaikhanasas Samhitas) adore the Ultimate Reality as Vishnu (Vaishnavism). The
Shakta- Agamas (Tantras) venerate the Ultimate Reality as Shakti the consort of Shiva and Divine Mother of the universe (Shak-
tism). Each set of texts expands on the central theological and philosophical teachings of that denomination.
The two main schools in the Vaishnava Agama are Pancharatra and Vaikanasa Agama. The Saiva Agama has led to the Saiva
Siddhanta philosophy in South India and to the Pratyabhijna system of Kashmir Saivism. Smartas recognize the Agamas, but
don’t necessarily adhere to them, relying mainly on the smriti texts. In the Malay languages the word Agama literally means reli¬
gion. The Agamas are also sometimes known as Tantras.
Agamas deal with the philosophy and spiritual knowledge behind the worship of the deity, the yoga and mental discipline required
for this worship, and the specifics of worship offered to the deity. Each Agama consists of four parts. The first part includes the
philosophical and spiritual knowledge. The second part covers the yoga and the mental discipline. The third part specifies rules
for the construction of temples and for sculpting and carving the figures of deities for worship in the temples. The fourth part of the
Agamas includes rules pertaining to the observances of religious rites, rituals, and festivals.
Elaborate rules are laid out in the Agamas for Silpa (the art of sculpture) describing the quality requirements of the places where
temples are to be built, the kind of images to be installed, the materials from which they are to be made, their dimensions, propor¬
tions, air circulation, lighting in the temple complex etc. The Manasara and Silpasara are some of the works dealing with these
rules. The rituals followed in worship services each day at the temple also follow rules laid out in the Agamas.
Agama (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, an agama (Sanskrit and Pali for “sacred work”[1] or “scripture”[2]) is a collection of Early Buddhist scriptures, of
which there are five, which together comprise the various recensions of the Sutra Pitika of the Sanskritic early schools. The var¬
ious schools had different recensions of each agama, and the five agamas parallel the first five collections (nikayas) of the Sutta
Pitika of the Theravadin school’s Pali Canon. Agamas of various schools, primarily the Sarvastivada, are preserved in their entire¬
ty in Chinese translation, and portions also survive in Sanskrit and in Tibetan translation.
Jain Agamas
Agamas are canonical texts of Jainism based on Mahavira’s teachings. Mahavira’s preaching were orally compiled by his disciples
into various Sutras (texts) which were collectively called Jain canonical or Agamic literature. Traditionally these sutras were orally
passed on from teachers (acaryas or gurus) to the disciples for several centuries. The scholars date the composition of Jain ag¬
amas at around 6th to 3rd century BCE.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
agama — from the verb root gam = “to go” + the preposition a = “toward”
Related words
Pramana
Sanskrit
Agama — 3ihih
agama -
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Agni — ... fire; Vedic god
1. Fire is of five kinds: the fire of time (kala-agni); the fire of hunger (ksudha-agni); the cold fire (sita-agni); the fire of anger (ko-
pa-agni)\ and the fire of knowledge (jnana-agni). These five fires reside respectively in the feet, navel, stomach, eye, and heart.
2. In the Hindu srauta ritual, there are three types of fire: the householder’s fire (garha-patya), the fire to be offered into (aha-
vanlya), and the southern fire (daksina). In order to perform srauta rites, one must “establish” these three fires. In the Vedas, Agni
appears in three phases: in heaven as the sun, in midair as lightning, and on earth as ordinary fire. In the Vedas, Agni was one of
the chief deities with more hymns addressed to him than any other god.
3. According to some, Agni is the Divine Will and/or the sacred spark of divinity within an individual, and/or fire per se, the priest
god, and the great effulgence of God, and/or Ganesa/Subramanyam. He is considered the mediator between human beings and
the gods, as well as their protector and witness to their actions.
4. See tejas.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
agni -
fire, sacrificial fire (of three kinds, Garhapatya, Ahavanlya, and Dakshina;
the number three SGryas;
the god of fire;
the fire of the stomach, digestive faculty, gastric fluid;
bile;
gold
Wikipedia
Agni is a Hindu deity.
Agni has three forms: fire, lightning and the sun.
Agni is one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to
Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods. He is ever-young, because the fire is re-lit every
day, yet he is also immortal.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Agni, the god of fire, is one of the most central divinities in the early Vedic tradition. There are more hymns to Agni in the RIG
VEDA, the earliest SANSKRIT text, than to any other divinity. Agni is sometimes said to be the son of earth and sky. He is also
sometimes said to be the offspring of BRAHMA. He is sometimes called the son of ADITI and the RISHI Kashyapa. Finally, he is
also sometimes called the son of the rishi Angiras.
Agni’s most important role is in the Vedic ritual, where he is the messenger between humanity and the gods. He is called upon
always to take the gods to the ritual place so that they can hear the pleas and praises of the chanters. In Vedic poetry he is called
a domestic priest, a poet, and a sage, as though to identify him directly with the RISHIS. There is a sense of his presence in every
home as the hearth fire, and there are a closeness and intimacy expressed in the Vedic poetry with him that are lacking with many
of the other Vedic divinities. He is seen to extend protection to humans in many ways and to grant wealth and length of life.
Iconographically, in later times Agni is seen as red or black in color, riding a ram. He is guardian of the southeastern direction
among the eight guardians of the directions. Fire is considered one of the five elements (PANCHA BHUTAs).
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Agni (“fire,” cognate with Latin ignis) Hindu deity present in every fire. Agni is also one of the eight dikpalas, or Guardians of the
Directions, with responsibility for the southeast quarter. As fire, Agni is also one of the five elements in classical Hindu cosmology.
Agni is important in the samhitas (hymns) of the Rg Veda and in the Brahmanas, a later strand of Vedic literature emphasizing
sacrificial rites. The Rg Veda opens with a hymn to Agni and describes him as “the household priest, the god and officiant of the
sacrifice, [and], . .the giver of blessings.” Agni remained important in the Brahmanas since, as the sacrificial fire, he was essen¬
tial to all ritual. Agni’s importance in these texts stems from his presence in all three levels of the Vedic universe—on the earth as
fire, in the middle atmospheric realm (antariksha) as lightning, and in the sky as the sun. This ability to move between these levels
made Agni the intermediary between the gods and human beings. From above, Agni served as the messenger of the gods, while
as the sacrificial fire on earth, Agni not only consumed the offerings but conveyed them in the smoke to the gods above. Because
of his role in bringing about the sacrifice, another epithet for Agni is the “mouth of the gods.”
Unlike many of the other Vedic deities, Agni has retained a certain prominence even in the present day. Although Vedic sacrifices
are uncommon, sacrificial motifs have been incorporated into many contemporary rites. Ceremonies often have a part in which of¬
ferings (often of clarified butter) are ladled into a sacrificial fire. Fire plays an important role in many rituals, particularly that of arati,
in which lamps are waved before the image of a divinity as an offering of light. Agni also serves as the divine witness to the single
action widely believed to seal a marriage. This is agnipradakshinam, in which the bride and groom make seven revolutions around
a lamp or fire. Even on the most prosaic level, fire is still essential to daily life since most Indians continue to cook over an open
flame—whether coal, wood, dung, or bottled gas. This everyday utility, combined with his abiding ritual presence, have assured
Agni a continuing presence in Hindu life.
Wikipedia
Agni, the Vedic god of fire who presides over the earth, has made the transition into the Hindu pantheon of gods, without losing his
importance. With Vayu and Surya, who presided over the air and sky, he is one of the supreme gods in the Rig Veda. The link be¬
tween heaven and earth, he is associated with Vedic sacrifice, taking offerings to the other world in the fire. His vehicle is the ram.
His cult survived the change of the ancient fire worship into modern Hinduism. The sacred fire- drill (agnimathana) for procuring
the temple-fire by friction - symbolic of Agni’s daily miraculous birth - is still used.
In the Vedas
Agni is the first word of the first hymn of the Rigveda:-
f & HTIofd 44 44 ^dVplH I ftcftT II
agnim Tie purohitam / yajnasya devam rtvijam / hotaram ratnadhatamam
Agni I laud, the high priest, god, minister of sacrifice, The invoker, lavishest of wealth.
He is the supreme director of religious ceremonies and duties, and figures as messenger between mortals and gods. Vedic rituals
concerned with Agni include the Agnicayana, that is, the piling of the fire altar, the Agnihotra, viz., invocation of Agni.
The Rigveda often says that Agni arises from water or dwells in the waters.
Other Rigvedic names, epitheta or aspects of Agni include Matarishvan, Bharata and the Apris.
Agni is a deva, second only to Indra in the power and importance attributed to him in Vedic mythology, with 218 out of 1,028
hymns of the Rigveda dedicated to him. He is Indra’s twin, and therefore a son of Dyaus Pita and Prthivi. He is married to Svaha,
“oblation” personified.
He is one of the Guardians of the directions, representing the southeast.
He is said in the Rigveda to have two parents (the two parts of the firedrill used to start the fire), and ten servant maids (the fingers
of the man who is lighting the fire.)
Depictions
In Hindu art, Agni is depicted with two or seven hands, two heads and three legs. He has seven fiery tongues with which he licks
sacrificial butter. He rides a ram or in a chariot harnessed by fiery horses. His attributes are an axe, torch, prayer beads and a
flaming spear.
Agni is represented as red and two-faced, suggesting both his destructive and beneficent qualities, and with black eyes and hair,
three legs and seven arms. He rides a ram, or a chariot pulled by goats or, more rarely, parrots. Seven rays of light emanate from
his body. One of his names is Saptajihva, “having seven tongues”.
Legends
Agni is the eldest son of Brahma. In Visnu Purana , Agni (Abhimani) the fire god is said to have sprung from the mouth of the Virat
purusha, the Cosmic Man. His wife is Svaha. Abhimani had three sons of surpassing brilliancy: Pavaka, Pavamana, and Suchi,
the personifications of the three fires that produced our earth and humanity (VP 1:10). All these three names indicate purity. Abhi-
manin, his three sons, and their 45 sons constitute the mystic 49 fires of the Puranas and theosophy.(cf Agni Purana.)
As the eldest son of Brahma, Abhimani represents the cosmic Logos, the first force produced in the universe at its evolution, the
fire of cosmic creative desire.
His three sons, according to the Vayu Purana, stand for three different aspects of Agni (fire): Pavaka is the electric fire, Pavamana
the fire produced by friction, and Suchi the solar fire. Interpreted on the cosmic and human planes, these three fires are “Spirit,
Soul, and Body, the three great Root groups, with their four additional divisions” (SD 2:247). They are said to have been cursed
by the sage Vasishtha to be born again and again (cf BP 4:24,4; SD 2:247- 8). “Every fire has a distinct function and meaning in
the worlds of the physical and the spiritual. It has, moreover, in its essential nature a corresponding relation to one of the human
psychic faculties, besides its well determined chemical and physical potencies when coming in contact with the terrestrially differ¬
entiated matter” (SD 1:521).
Agni is also an important entity in ayurveda.lt is considered to be the one which is responsible for the sustenance of life. Agni
helps in the various physiological functions of the body.
See also:
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Diagram: Mahabhutas
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
The word agni is Sanskrit for “fire” (noun), cognate with Latin ignis (the root of English ignite), Russian oroHb (ogon), Polish
“ogien,” Lithuanian - ugnis - all with the meaning ‘fire’ -, with the reconstructed Proto-lndo- European root being h’egni-
Related words
Tejas
Mahabhuta
Sanskrit ^
Agni — 3TfPT
agni -
Aham
Definitions
General
Aham, the personal pronoun T.
Dictionary - Grimes
Aham — ... “ I “l-awareness”; the notion of the ego; the individual soul; self- consciousness; T- consciousness; the pure inner
Self.
1. There are said to be two “ I’s “: the lower self or egotistical individual and the higher self or the pure (suddha) Self.
2. According to Kashmir Saivism, it points to the free and Self-illuminating consciousness that resides in the Heart.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
aham -
nom. sg., T
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Aham: I; often used by Narayana Guru as a synonym of atma.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
... it is necessary to understand what Hinduism teaches regarding the Aham, the “I”, a word that is etymologically related to the
Latin “ego” and the English “I”. It has been noted by Hindu philosophers that “Aham” consists of the letters “a” which is the first,
and “ha” which is the last letter of the Sanskrit Alphabet, and the word has therefore the implication of signifying the whole of Exis¬
tence. The final “m” is a suffix. The same idea is found in the Apocalypse: “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end¬
ing, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” According to the great Hindu teachers “Aham”
means literally “I am He”, and therefore represents the spiritual effort to abolish the duality of Man and God, or of the soul and the
rest of the Universe, including, in the first place, of course, humanity.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says that when the first being came into manifestation it was like a person, though it was neither
male or female. When the person recognized its beingness, it said “I am,” or in the original Sanskrit, aham, “I am That.” The Upa¬
nishad says when a person introduces himself he first says “I am,” and then adds his name. So first we say aham, “I am,” and then
we say whatever we want to add to it.
... a certain movement of consciousness as “I...I...I....” “I am listening to you,”—that’s one T. “I appreciate what you say,”—that’s
another aham. “I don’t like it.” Another aham. “Oh, I like it very much.” Another aham. “It depresses me.” Aham. “”lt hurts me.”
Aham. The T and ‘me’ which come one after another are as endless as waves on the ocean, while at the same time each forma¬
tion of the T perishes in the very next moment, just as waves expend themselves on the shore.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
HOW TO CONQUER THE EGO
119. If one ponders over this word T, trying to track it down, one sees that it is only a word which denotes egotism. But it is ex¬
tremely difficult to shake it off. So one must say, “ You wicked T, if you will not go by any means, remain as the servant of God.
The ego that feels itself to be the servant of God is called the ‘ripe I’.
120. Sankaracharya had a disciple who had been serving him for a long time but was not still given
any instruction by him. Once, while seated alone, Sankara heard the footsteps of someone coming
behind. So he called out, “Who is there?” The disciple answered, “It is I.” The Acharya thereupon said,
“If this T is so dear to you, then either expand it to infinity (i.e., know the universe as yourself), or
renounce it altogether.”
121. If you find that you cannot drive off this feeling of I, then let it remain as the servant I. There
is not much to fear from the ego which is centered in the thought, “I am the servant of God; I am His
devotee.” Sweets cause dyspepsia, but not sugar candy which is an exception The ‘servant I’, the T of
a devotee, the T of a child— each of these is like a line drawn with a stick on the surface of water. T
does not last long.
122. Just as sugar candy has no unwholesome effect like other sweets, so also the ‘ripe’ ego which
considers itself to be the servant or worshipper of God causes none of those evil consequences
characteristic of the unripe ego. On the other hand it leads to God, and signifies that one has
progressed in Bhakti Yoga or the path of devotion.
123. What is the nature of the feelings and impulses of one who has the attitude of the servant I? If
his conviction is true and sincere, then there remains only the forms, the appearance, of his former
feelings and impulses. Even if the ego of the servant or the ego of the devotee remains, one who has
realised God can hurt none. The whole sting of individuality vanishes from him. The sword becomes
gold by a touch of the philosopher’s stone. It retains its former shape, but can no longer hurt any one.
124. If you feel proud, let it be in the thought that you are the servant of God, the son of God. Great
men have the nature of children. They are always children before Him; so they are free from pride. All
their strength is of God, and not their own. It belongs to Him and comes from Him.
126. As long as one says, “ I know” or “I do not know “, one looks upon oneself as a person. My
Divine Mother says : It is only when I have effaced the whole of this Aham (l-ness) in you, that the
Undifferentiated Absolute (My impersonal aspect) can be realised in Samadhi.” Till then there is the T
in me and before me.
127. After a process of severe struggle with one’s lower nature and the assiduous practice of
spiritual discipline leading to Self-knowledge, one attains the state of Samadhi. Then the ego with all
its train vanishes. But it is very difficult to attain Samadhi; the ego is very persistent. That is why we
are born again and again in this world.
128. So long as one is not blessed with the vision Divine, so long as the touch of the philosopher s
stone has not transmuted the base metal in one into gold, there will be the illusive feeling: ‘I am the
doer.’ And until this illusion ceases, there will persist the idea that gives the sense of distinction
between ‘I have done this good work’, and ‘I have done that bad work’. Maya means this sense of
distinction, and it is because of it that the world continues. One reaches Him if one takes refuge in
Vidya Maya —that aspect of Divine Power having the preponderance of Sattva—which leads one by
the right path. He alone crosses the ocean of Maya, who comes face to face with God—realises Him.
A man is truly free, even here in this embodied state, if he knows that God is the true agent and he by
himself is powerless to do anything.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Osborne. The collected works of Ramana Maharshi
The three bodies, are non-self and are unreal. The Self, that is the Aham or T is quite different from them. It is due to ignorance
that the sense of Self or the T notion is foisted on that which is not Self, and this indeed is bondage. Since from ignorance arises
bondage, from Knowledge ensues liberation. To know this from the Guru is sravana.
The process of manana, which is subtle enquiry or deep contemplation, consists in rejecting the three bodies consistingof the
five sheaths (physical, vital, mental, intellectual, and blissful), as not T and discovering through subtle enquiry of ‘Who am I?’ that
which is different from all three and exists single and universal in the Heart as Aham or T, just as a stalk of grass is delicately
drawn out from its sheath. This T is denoted by the word tvam (in the scriptural dictum ‘Tattvam- asi’, That thou art).
Aham and koshas
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Mr. C.: What is will? I mean - where does it fit in, in the five kosas?
M.: The ‘l-thought’ arises first and then all other thoughts. They comprise the mind. The mind is the object and the T is the subject.
Can there be will without the T? It is comprised in the T. The ‘l-thought’ is the vijnanamaya kosa (intellectual sheath). Will is in¬
cluded in it.
... On a former occasion ... asked: Who am I? How is it to be found?
M.: Ask yourself the question. The body (annamaya kosa) and its functions are not T. Going deeper, the mind (manomaya kosa)
and its functions are not T. The next step takes on to the question. “Wherefrom do these thoughts arise?” The thoughts are spon¬
taneous, superficial or analytical. They operate in intellect. Then, who is aware of them? The existence of thoughts, their clear
conceptions and their operations become evident to the individual. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the individuality of the
person is operative as the perceiver of the existence of thoughts and of their sequence. This individuality is the ego, or as people
say T. Vijnanamaya kosa (intellect) is only the sheath of ‘I’ and not the T itself. Enquiring further the questions arise, “Who is this
T? Wherefrom does it come?” T was not aware in sleep. Simultaneously with its rise sleep changes to dream or wakefulness. But
I am not concerned with dream just now. Who am I now, in the wakeful state? If I originated from sleep, then the T was covered
up with ignorance. Such an ignorant T cannot be what the scriptures say or the wise ones affirm. T am beyond even ‘Sleep’; T
must be now and here and what I was all along in sleep and dreams also, without the qualities of such states. T must therefore be
the unqualified substratum underlying these three states (anandamaya kosa transcended). T is, in brief, beyond the five sheaths.
Next, the residuum left over after discarding all that is not-self is the Self, Sat-Chit-Ananda.
Vijnanamaya kosha and aham
See also:
in Turiya: Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
in Vijnanamaya kosha: Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
Related words
Ahankara
Idam
Vijnanamaya kosha
Sanskrit
Aham — 3T^T
aham - sr^
Aham Brahma Asmi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Aham-brahmasmi — ... “I am the Absolute (Brahman)”
1. A Great Saying (mahavakya) conveying the wisdom of the Upanisads which occurs in the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad of the Yajur
Veda
2. See mahavakya.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Aham brahma asmi - Literally ‘I am the Absolute.” The Upanishadic dictum describing the mystical experience of a person’s com¬
plete identity with the Absolute. It is also read as “I am of the Absolute.”
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Aham Brahmasmi (“I am Brahman.”). In the Hindu philosophical tradition, this is one of the four “great utterances” (mahavakyas)
expressing an ultimate truth. The truth expressed in this utterance is the idea that atman (the individual Self) and Brahman (Ulti¬
mate Reality) are one and the same—identical; this truth is at the heart of the speculative texts called the Upanishads. The four
mahavakyas, aside from their philosophical importance as capsulizing fundamental truths, were also appropriated by the four
divisions of the Dashanami Sanyasi ascetics as identifying symbols. Each division had a different mahavakya, just as each had a
different Veda, a different primary sacred center, and a different paradigmatic ascetic quality. Aham Brahmasmi is the mahavakya
associated with the Bhuriwara division of the Dashanami Sanyasis.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
If we can somehow manage to return to the source, where knowledge, abstracted and held out as a notion in our mind, is iden¬
tified as nondifferentiated from the knower and the known, and by the same token know that the knower and the known are the
same, we achieve what is called unitive understanding (advaita darsana). The person endowed with this realization can easily
understand the Upanishadic dictum “This Knowledge is verily the Absolute,” (prajnanam brahma). As a corollary he also sees
that “this Self is none other than the Absolute,” (ayam atma brahma). Having known this for sure, he can declare this truth to any
seeker: “That thou art,” (tat tvam asi). The great dictum “I am the Absolute,” (aham brahma asmi) is given in the Upanishads to
describe the complete and final identity of the seer with the Supreme Self.
Regaining identity with the Absolute is like going back home from a long and tedious pilgrimage through several lives, and sitting
on one’s own seat in calm repose, with the recognition that there is nothing else to gain in the three worlds other than the Self.
Regaining one’s true Self is described in the Upanishads as achieving nativity (svarajya), and getting established in the Self is
described as becoming the “Imperial Master” of the domain of the Absolute.
See: Mahavakyas as used for instruction
Related words
Yajur Veda
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Maha-Vakya
Sanskrit
Aham-brahmasmi — STepT
aham brahmasmi -
Ahankara
Variant spellings
ahankara
ahankara
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ahankara — ... T’-ness; egoism; the concept of individuality; literally = “the T’-maker”
1. In the evolutionary process ahankara is said to evolve from the intellect (buddhi) and give evolution to the senses (indriya) and
the subtle essence of the elements (tanmatra) in turn. Its function is self-assertion. It is an aspect of the inner organ (antahkarana)
and it has the three aspects of vaikarika or sattva, taijasa or rajas, and bhutadi or tamas.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ahamkara -
conception of one’s individuality, self-consciousness;
the making of self, thinking of self, egotism;
pride, haughtiness;
(in Sankhya phil.) the third of the eight producers or sources of creation, viz. the conceit or conception of individuality, individual¬
ization
Wikipedia
Ahamkara is a Sanskrit term that is related to the ego and egoism - that is, the identification or attachment of one’s ego.
Ahamkara is one of the four parts of the antahkarana (inner organ) described in Hindu philosophy. The other three parts are Bud¬
dhi, Chitta and Manas.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Ahamkara - relating what is known to oneself in terms of value experience.
The l-sense each individual has.
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
ahamkara: ego, l-consciousness, affectivity, affective core of antahkarana, the inner organ (psychic dynamism).
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Besides containing the “heart centre” of Yoga, traditionally said to be in the middle of the body in the region of the heart, the upper
part of the trunk contains the “Hridaya” or “Heart” of the tradition of the Jnanis of Hinduism. This is said to be situated in the right
side of the chest. We find it also in the Bible: “A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart is at his left.” The “heart” at
the right side is the symbolic, spiritual, centre, the heart on the left the physical pump of the literalists, “fools”. ... The Heart of the
Jnanis forms the Centre of Jnana or “Gnosis”, that is, Self-realization, bringing the unity of Consciousness and Being.
... It is interesting that Hindu tradition teaches that the “I” arises in the “heart centre” of Yoga and that the Self or Divine I lives in
the Heart on the right side of the chest.
... Intimately associated with “desire” is “egoism”. The Yogic tradition teaches that in the Anahata or “heart centre” arises Ahamka¬
ra (pronounced Ahankara), meaning “l-factor” or “ego-activity”. Ahamkara is basically the spiritual effort to establish the duality of
Man and God, and of Man and Man, or Woman — according to the usual interpretation. The word indicates “the dynamic activity
of the ego”.
Wikipedia
To have an understanding of this term means that we have a powerful tool for understanding the nature and behaviour of our¬
selves and of others. The Vedic philosophy taught that when one’s mind was in a state of ahamkara, one was in a state of sub¬
jective illusion, where the mind had bound up the concept of one’s self with a created thing. The created thing is usually a phe¬
nomenon which can be thought of as external to the self. It could be a tangible, concrete (material) thing - e.g., a motor car - or
an intangible thing - e.g., such as a concept or idea (as in, for example, the concept of the fight for peace). The ego is involved in
constructing the illusion.
...the mind has created a state of illusion, but it seems very real to the person in that state, and objectivity and reality are obscured.
Consider how an otherwise apparently nice, normal family man in the military - Rudolf Hoss, could also happily undertake the role
as the Commandant of the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi Germany. Hoss’ autobiography, written whilst he was awaiting execu¬
tion after the trial for war crimes, indicates that was unable to see that he had been doing anything other than just doing his job to
the best of his ability.
Ahankara and spiritual development
General
Wikipedia
Ahamkara is the instrument of Aham (the Spirit), the principle of individuation, acting as an independent conscious entity within the
impure reality - yet, it does not have consciousness of its own.
It is a receptacle of Cit sakti, its consciousness being a small spark from Cit, the universal consciousness.
It manifests itself by assuming authorship of all the actions of buddhi, manas, the senses and organs of action.
It is believed to exist in the sphere of duality, in a state of identification with the physical body, its needs and desires.
It is related to Vak tattva, one of The 36 tattvas in Vedic and Hindu religious philosophy.
In ahamkara, a state of rajas guna (agitation) predominates. This is because it identifies only with a small part of the creation (the
body) and rejects everything else as “not me”; it becomes subject to a series of afflictions such as: pride, egoism, competitiveness,
hate and jealousy.
Though ahamkara is generally a state of illusion, once in that state, Vak tattva (one of The 36 tattvas) can appear. When it does,
then, for the first time, individual will, determination, a sense of morality and ethics come into play - which is the first step on the
path to spiritual development/enlightenment. Without a sufficiently harmonious and powerful ahamkara (personality), it is thought
to be impossible to exert the level of effort necessary to accede to a higher spiritual level. The position of ahamkara and buddhi
are sometimes presented in reversed order because, as the principle of “l-ness”, ahamkara is allowed control over the manas
(sensorial mind) and buddhi (superior intellect, intuition). Yet, buddhi is a superior tattva, and ahamkara is thus only able to be in
a superior position to buddhi from a functional point of view. From an absolute point of view, ahamkara is created by buddhi and
thus subordinate to it.
Ahankara and states of consciousness
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Maharshi's Gospel
M: The ego in its purity is experienced in the intervals between two states [of consciousness] or between two thoughts. The ego is
like the worm which leaves one hold only after it catches another. Its true nature is known when it is out of contact with objects or
thoughts. You should realise this interval as the abiding, unchangeable Reality, your true Being, through the conviction gained by
the study of the three states, jagrat, svapna and sushupti.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
104. Know that it is the ego which, identifying with the body, becomes the doer or the experiencer, and in union with the Gunas
such as Sattwa, this ego assumes the three different states (of waking, dreaming and deep-sleep.)
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
This sense of individuality, when it identifies with the three Gunas-Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas, which are the three modes of the
mind, comes to express itself in the three states of Consciousness— waking, dream and deep-sleep. Thus, roughly we may say,
the ego conditioned by Sattwa is the ‘waker’: conditioned by Rajas is the ‘dreamer’; and conditioned by Tamas is the ‘deepsleep-
er’. The same ego, according to the condition of the mind, experiences itself as the waker, the dreamer and the deep-sleeper, and
in all these states, naturally, it claims to be the ‘doer’ and the ‘experiencer’.
Ahankara and mahat
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
... This mahat-tattva being once produced, further modifications begin to take place in three lines ... representing the sattva pre¬
ponderance, rajas preponderance and tama preponderance. This state when the mahat is disturbed by the three parallel ten¬
dencies of a preponderance of tamas, rajas and sattva’s called ahamkara, and the above three tendencies are respectiviy called
tamasika ahamkara or bhutadi, rajasika ortaijasa ahamkara, and vaikarika ahamkara. The rajasika ahamkara cannot make a new
preponderance by itself; it only helps (sahakari) the transformations of the sattva preponderance and the tamas preponderance.
... Further development with the help of rajas on the line of sattva development... is called sattvika or vaikarika ahamkara. This
ahamkara represents the development in buddhi to produce a consciousness-stuff as I or rather “mine,”... From this again come
the five cognitive senses of vision, touch, smell, taste, and hearing, the five cognitive senses of speech, handling, foot-movement,
the ejective sense and the generative sense; the pranas (bio-motor force) which help both conation and cognition are but aspects
of buddhi-movement as life. ... Each buddhi with its own group of akamkara (ego) and sense-evolutes forms a microcosm sepa¬
rate from similar other buddhis. ... as knowledge is subject to sense-influence and the ego, it is different for each individual, but so
far as a general mind (karana buddhi) apart from sense knowledge is concerned, there is a community of all buddhis in the bud-
dhitattva. Even there however each buddhi is separated from other buddhis by its own peculiarly associated ignorance (avidya).
... The other tendency, namely that of tamas, has to be helped by the liberated rajas of ahamkara, in order to make itself pre¬
ponderant, and this state in which the tamas succeeds in overcoming the sattva side which was so preponderant in the buddhi,
is called bhutadi. From this bhGtadi with the help of rajas are generated the tanmatras, the immediately preceding causes of the
gross elements.
See: Antahkarana, manas, citta, buddhi, ahankara
See: Jiva and ahankara
See: Manas, indriyas, chitta, vritti, buddhi, ahankara, mahat
See: Vaishvanara and ahankara
See also:
in Amrta: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
in Hiranyagarbha: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
in Manas and avidya: Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
in Prakriti: Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
in Vairagya: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
ahankara —from the verb root kr = “action” + aham = “ I “
Wikipedia
The term “ahamkara” comes from an approximately 3,000 year-old Vedic philosophy, where Aham refers to the concept of the Self
or “I” and kara refers to the concept of “any created thing” or “to do”.
Related words
Aham
Antahkarana
Buddhi
Chitta
Jiva
Mamakara
Manas
Sanskrit
Aharikara — 31££-|{
ahaiikara -
Ahimsa
Variant spellings
ahimsa
ahimsa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ahimsa — ... noninjury; nonviolence
1. One of the great vows (mahavrata) of the Jainas. It is the law of compassion in body, mind, and spirit. Negatively it means re¬
fraining from causing any injury, and positively it stands for the practice of love toward all living beings.
2. It is the first and most important of the abstentions (yama) of the Yoga System. It is the cardinal virtue upon which all others
depend. It is the law of compassion in body, mind, and spirit.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ahimsa -
not injuring anything, harmlessness (one of the cardinal virtues of most Hindu sects, but particularly of the Buddhists and Jains;
also personified as the wife of Dharma;
security, safeness
Wikipedia
Ahimsa is a term meaning to do no harm (literally: the avoidance of violence - himsa). It is an important tenet of the religions that
originated in ancient India (Hinduism, Buddhism and especially Jainism).
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Ahimsa: The vow of non-hurting or compassion as understood in the Buddhist or Jaina religious systems. With Gandhi it meant
nonviolence in political struggles.
Nitya. Love and Blessings
ahimsa: The habit of non-hurting. A natural outcome of seeing oneself as one with the whole and thus loving everything as one
loves oneself.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ahimsa means “non-killing.” This is a concept that seems to emerge in late Vedic times (c. 800 B.C.E.) and is primarily associated
with the Jain ... and Buddhist traditions at that time.
It gradually is taken into the Brahminical tradition and becomes central to it up to the present day. The notion of ahimsa is applied
toward animal life primarily but in Jain tradition is recognized in the case of plants also.
Ahimsa understands that all animals (and for the Jains certain plants) have souls and that the killing of any animal (or certain
plants) whether for eating or not accumulates karmic ... demerit to the one who does it. The Jains were the most radical in this
regard, and their monks were enjoined to sweep their path clear with whisks to prevent stepping on insects and sometimes wore
(and wear) masks over their mouths to prevent the breathing in and killing of small invisible beings and insects. Jains would never
eat meat and would not countenance the eating of meat or the killing of any animal for any reason in their tradition.
... The notion of ahimsa is the primary motive for Indian vegetarianism and orthodox BRAHMINS too avoid all meat, animal prod¬
ucts, and eggs (which are seen to be living embryos). Because of ahimsa there are certain orthodox Hindu ascetics who will not
wear leather shoes or sandals, but will wear only wooden shoes. Mohandas Karamchand GANDHI expanded the notion of ahimsa
to the interpersonal realm and developed it into a philosophy of personal action.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ahimsa (“refraining from harm”). Ahimsa refers to the conscious commitment to refrain from harming other living beings, either
directly or indirectly. The emphasis on ahimsa originated with the Jains, for whom all actions carry karmic consequences, but who
also believe that the karmic consequences generated by intentional evil acts are far more severe than those from unintentional
ones. Jain and Buddhist commitment to ahimsa brought it further into Indian society, and it has been an important feature of Hin¬
du practice for well over two thousand years. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali mentions ahimsa as one of the restraints (yama) and
thus recommends it as one of the basic foundations for religious life. This commitment to ahimsa is believed to be one of the major
forces responsible for the decline of animal sacrifice, which was one of the most important types of religious practice as described
in the Vedas, the oldest Hindu scriptures. Far more recently, in the twentieth century, ahimsa was one of the guiding principles of
Mohandas Gandhi during the struggle for Indian independence. Although Gandhi did not rule out the use of violence in principle,
his commitment to ahimsa reflected his judgment that means and ends are karmically linked, and that the means one employs will
determine both the nature and tone of one’s ends.
Wikipedia
Ahimsa is a rule of conduct that bars the killing or injuring of living beings. It is closely connected with the notion that all kinds
of violence entail negative karmic consequences. The extent to which the principle of non-violence can or should be applied to
different life forms is controversial between various authorities, movements and currents within the three religions and has been
a matter of debate for thousands of years. Though the origins of the concept of ahimsa are unknown, the earliest references to
ahimsa are found in the texts of historical Vedic religion, dated to 8th century BCE. Here, ahimsa initially relates to “non-injury”
without a moral connotation, but later to non- violence to animals and then, to all beings. Though ritual sacrifice of animals and
meat- eating are condoned in the earliest Vedic texts, other texts present counter- arguments against these activities. In the 19th
and 20th centuries, prominent figures of Indian spirituality such as Swami Vivekananda, Ramana Maharishi, Swami Sivananda
and A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada emphasized the importance of ahimsa. Mahatma Gandhi applied ahimsa to politics,
by his non-violent satyagrahas.
Ahimsa in Jainism emphasizes vegetarianism and bans hunting and ritual sacrifice. Jains go out of their way so as not to hurt
even small insects and other minuscule animals and make considerable efforts not to injure plants in everyday life as far as pos¬
sible. In accordance to this policy, eating of some foods, whose cultivation harms small insects and worms as well as agriculture
itself, is to be abstained from. Violence in self-defense, criminal law, and war are accepted by Hindus and Jains. Though ahimsa is
not used as a technical term in Buddhism unlike the other two religions, it condemns ritual sacrifice and violence, and moral codes
emphasize the importance of not taking life.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
ahimsa - from the prefix a = “not” + the verb root hints = “to injure”.
Sanskrit _
Ahimsa — 3TffW
ahimsa - 3i$Ru
Aitareya Upanishad
Title
Aitareya Upanishad
Author(s)
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Aitareya is a matronymic or patronymic deriving from the SANSKRIT root itara. It means “son of itara” (either masculine or femi¬
nine), who would be his mother or father. This is an ancient RIG VEDIC sage who also goes by the name of Mahidasa. Credited to
him are the Aitareya Brahmana, the Aitareya Aranyaka, and the Aitareya Upanishad, all texts attached to the RIG VEDA.
Wikipedia
The rishi of the Aitereya Aranyaka and the Aitereya Brahmana is Aitereya Mahidasa. In Chandogya Upanishad, Aitereya Mahida¬
sa is said to have lived 116 years (Chhandogya 3.16.7).
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
The Aitareya Upanishad is one of the older, “primary” Upanishads commented upon by Adi Shankara. It is a Mukhya Upanishad,
associated with the Rigveda. It figures as number 8 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads.
The Aitareya Upanishad is a short prose text, divided into three chapters, containing 33 verses. It comprises the fourth, fifth and
sixth chapters of the second book of the older vedic text, Aitareya Aranyaka.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Aitareya Upanishad begins with cosmological verses showing how the ultimate being, the ATMAN or Self, created the worlds,
the elements, and human beings. Important here is the connection between each of the elements of the divine PURUSHA, which
is the template Person, and the elements of nature aspects of the cosmos and the human being. From the original Person fire, air,
Sun, the quarters of space, the Moon, death, and water emerge. All of these elements again go into making up the human being.
Once this takes place the Self enters into the human being that has emerged as the result of his creation. This then makes clear
that the self of a human being is the Ultimate Self, which is the source of everything.
Wikipedia
In the first chapter of the text, Atman, the inner self, is portrayed as a divine creator. In the second chapter, the three births of the
Atman are described. The third chapter deals with the qualities of the self or Brahman. It contains one of the most famous expres¬
sions of the Vedanta, “Prajnanam Brahma”, which is one of the Mahavakyas.
Related words
Mahavakya: Prajnanam Brahma
Rig Veda
Upanishad
Publications
Translations
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
Prasad, N. 2000, Aitareya Upanishad : with the original text in Sanskrit and roman transliteration, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953, The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya-
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
Ajati Vada
Variant spellings
ajati-vada
ajata-vada
ajati-vada
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ajati-vada — ... the theory of nonorigination
1. The Advaita Vedanta theory, especially associated with Gaudapada, which denies any causal change. That which is nonexis¬
tent in the beginning and nonexistent at the end is also nonexistent in the middle and therefore completely nonexistent.
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit term Ajativada can be translated as “non- creation”. Ajativada is one of several alternately-held creation theories in
Advaita Vedanta philosophy. According to Advaita Vedanta, the world of appearances is considered an illusion, and not to “ex¬
ist”. The idea that the illusory world was not created is called Ajativada, or non-creation. The concept implies that searching for
a source of the origin of the world in a creator is futile. Advaitins translate the concept of Ajativada with the phrase: “nothing ever
happened” or: “Not even the appearance of creation exists”. That is to say, not even the illusion of the world “exists”.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
ajata-vada : The theory that no creation takes place. Only what exists gets transformed into new forms.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
According to the eighth century Advaitin Gaudapada, and his Mandukya Karikas.a treatment or commentary on the Mandukya
Upanishad, Ajativada means that causality is internally incoherent and entails the belief that Atman is eternally unborn. Adi Shan-
kara wrote the following in verse 426 of his work Viveka Chudamani (The Crest- Jewel of Discrimination’),Mohini M Chaterjee,
The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, 1932.On account of constant absorption in Brahman, freed from the sense of reality
of external objects, only seemingly enjoying them when offered by others, like a sleepy baby, perceiving the world as that seen
in a dream and recognising it only now and then, such a man is indeed rare. He is the enjoyer of the fruits of untold merit and is
truly held blessed and revered on earth.. This is about as close as one get to a description of the state of a Mukta, totally absorbed
permanently..or realised one. A Mukta has realised Ajativada....
The twentieth century sage Ramana Maharshi was a particularly articulate adherent to the concept of ajativada. On Sri Ramana’s
view, ajativada or non- creation is a part of the highest form of consciousness that can be attained. Sri Ramana described three
consecutive steps, each of which corresponds to a different understanding of reality:
That somebody or some god created the world
That the world arises simultaneously with our perception of it
Finally, ajativada, that the world never happened at all. (‘Be as you are’.The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi..David Godman..
Arakana.London and New York...1986).
Sadhu Om: A chronicler and devotee of Ramana wrote; At times Sri Ramana Maharshi used to reveal some information which
was not given by the scriptures and Puranas such as: how, in the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna began His teachings with the doc¬
trines of Ajata and Advaita, but then condescendingly came down to various stages of Dwaita, and how He carefully used words
which, though suited to Arjuna’s limited grasping power, also gives room for well-ripened aspirants to discover, even now, the
motive behind those words.
This is supported by the great Sage Nisargadatta Maharaj, who indicated the following;
1. That individuals begin with first believing they are making things happen;
2. Then realising things are in fact happening to them;
3. Then finally that nothing is happening at all (‘I am That’, Acorn Press. N.C. 1999).
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Iyer. At the Feet of Bhagavan
Q. What is the Ajata-vada?
A. It is the doctrine of no birth. Nothing is or ever was born, nor does it decay or die.
Q. Then what do we see happening before us?
A. The seer and the seen are mere phantoms as in a dream vision.
Q. But dream is bound up with sleep, while here we are awake.
A. What is sleep except being unaware of your own being? Mental activity in such unawareness gives rise to confusing thoughts;
thus comes the mistake of seeing what is not and missing what is. Similarly in the waking state; we miss the Self and see the
world, which really is not. That which is not cannot be born or die; it seems to emerge from the Real Being, and also merge in It
again. To become aware of this Real Being is the ultimate goal of the man who is ignorant of It but yearns to realise It.
Ajata-vada fulfils this purpose, and it is based on the fundamentals laid down in the Upanishads and elaborated in the Karika of
the Mandukyopanishad — which has been elaborately explained by Sri Sankaracharya. ...
Restatements of this Ajata vada, or expositions of this doctrine, either partial or full may be found in ‘Yoga Vasishta’.
Sanskrit
Ajati-vada — 3i ^ii facile;
ajati-vada -
Ajnana
Variant spellings
ajnana
ajnana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ajnana — ... ignorance; nescience
1. One of the five types of delusion (mithyatva) according to Jainism.
2. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is defined as beginningless (anadi), positive (bhava-rGpa), removable by right knowledge
(jnananivartya), having its locus either in the Absolute (Brahman) or in the individual (jlva), having the two powers of concealment
(avarana) and projection (viksepa), and indeterminable (anirvacariiya). (See avidya and maya.)
3. Primal limitation (mala), according to Saivism.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ajnana -
non-cognizance;
ignorance, (in philosophy) spiritual ignorance (ora power which, consisting of the three Gunas sattva, rajas, and tamas, and pre¬
venting the soul from realizing its identity with Brahma, causes self to appear a distinct personality, and matter to appear a reality);
Prakriti, Maya, Illusion;
ignorant, unwise.
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
Ajnana the cause of all illusions is defined as that which is beginningless, yet positive and removable by knowledge.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Ajnana: Ignorance. The mistaken notion concerning oneself and the world that what appears manifestly is real, completely oblivi¬
ous of the one all-underlying Reality called brahman or atman.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Ajnana is the ignorance which makes the Absolute appear as the relative or the One as the many.
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Ajnana: Ignorance; the technical term for any conscious activity which does not pertain to the knowledge of the unity of the Soul
with Brahman.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
The words avidya and ajnana are usually rendered ‘ignorance’ but it is necessary to state that in this connection the word ‘igno¬
rance’ has a meaning slightly different from the usual one. It does not mean negation of knowledge but is a positive concept...
Perhaps ‘error’ is a better rendering. The negative particle a in these words does not imply the negation of the term it qualifies but
its antithesis. Thus akarma=evil act, akhyati=ill-fame, etc.
See: Jnana and ajnana
See: Jnana, ajnana, vijnana
See: Maya, avidya, ajnana
See also:
Avarana and vikshepa
in Avarana: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
ajnana— from the verb root jna = “to know” + a = “not”
Related words
Avarana
Avidya
Cit
Maya
Vikshepa
Sanskrit
Ajriana — 3T^TFT
ajnana - sr^orra -
Akasa
Variant spellings
akasa
akasha
akash
aakaasha
akasa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Akasa — ... “not visible”; ether; space; inner sky; sky; room; any type of space: physical, mental, intellectual, spiritual
1. Space, the subtlest of the five physical elements, which gives rise to the other four elements and which has the attribute of
all-pervasiveness. It denotes any type of space: physical, mental, intellectual, and/ or spiritual. It is also known as the inner mind
or consciousness of an individual. (See pancabhuta and mahabhuta.)
2. In Buddhism, one of the three asamskrta-dharmas. It is held to be a permanent, omnipresent, immaterial substance. Its es¬
sence is free from obstruction. (See asamskrta-dharma.)
3. In Jainism, it is an all-pervasive, subtle, existent substance which provides the ground for all other substances to exist. It is di¬
vided into space occupied by things (lokakasa) and/or the space beyond, the void (alokakasa).
4. According to Nyaya-Vaisesika, it is what is inferred as the eternal and all-pervasive substratum in which sound inheres.
5. According to Sankhya and Advaita Vedanta, it is one of the five elements which are produced and destroyed.
6. According to Sautrantika, it is the same as the ultimate atom, since both are no more than notions.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
akasa -
(Ved.) or (later) a free or open space, vacuity;
the ether, sky or atmosphere;
(in philos.) the subtle and ethereal fluid (supposed to fill and pervade the universe and to be the peculiar vehicle of life and of
sound) Vedantas;
Brahma (as identical with ether)
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Akasha (“space”). One of the five elements in traditional Indian cosmology, the others being earth, fire, water, and wind. In some
philosophical schools, each of the senses; akasha is associated with hearing since it is believed to convey sound from place to
place.
Wikipedia
Akasha is the Sanskrit word meaning “aether” in both its elemental and mythological senses.
Akasha is the omnipresent incontrovertible transcendent eternal source of all energy, the realm of promise, potential, paths to be
walked and the primal source that creates and nourishes the other four elements, Fire, Earth, Air and Water. Akasha is all direc¬
tions, East, South, West and North and all seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. It is not limited to three dimensions,
Length, Width, and Depth or Height, but is made up of infinite ones comprising all possibilities of movement, both material and
spiritual.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
Aliasa is the primal element out of which every gross thing proceeds.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Hinduism
In Hinduism Akasha means the basis and essence of all things in the material world; the smallest material element created from
the astral world. It is one of the Panchamahabhuta, or “five great elements”; its main characteristic is Shabda (sound). In Hindi and
Gujarati, the meaning of Akasha is sky.
The Nyaya and Vaisheshika schools of Hindu philosophy state that Akasha or ether is the fifth physical substance, which is the
substratum of the quality of sound. It is the One, Eternal, and All Pervading physical substance, which is imperceptible.
According to the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, Akasha is one of the five Mahabhutas (grand physical elements) having
the specific property of sound.
Jainism
Akasha is space in the Jain conception of the cosmos. It falls into the Ajiva category, divided into two parts: Loakasa (the part
occupied by the material world) and Aloakasa (the space beyond it which is absolutely void and empty). In Loakasa the universe
forms only a part. Akasha is that which gives space and makes room for the existence of all extended substances.
Buddhism
In Buddhist phenomenology Akasha is divided into Skandha, Desa, and Pradesa.
The Vaibhashika, an early school of Buddhist philosophy, hold Akasha’s existence to be real.
Carvakism
Adherents of the heterodox Carvaka or Lokayata philosophy of India hold that this world is made of four elements only. They ex¬
clude the fifth element, Akasha, because its existence cannot be perceived.
Theosophy
The Western religious philosophy called Theosophy has popularized the word Akasha as an adjective, through the use of the term
“Akashic records” or “Akashic library”, referring to an ethereal compendium of all human knowledge.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
... It’s hard to say whether sky and space are the same or not. In Sanskrit both are called akasa. The definition of akasa is avaka-
sa datur akasa — that which enables a thing to claim its existential being is akasa. In other words akasa is that which enables a
thing to exist by its non-beingness. Earth, water, fire and air have their positive existence in the beingness of akasa’s nonexis¬
tence. Yet this nonexistent akasa is all-inclusive and has a beingness which should be qualified as primordial. Its existence is to
be taken in the sense in which the Indian Logician calls non-being a substance.
... Sound is treated as a quality of akasa (ether). Next in the series is touch, a quality of vayu (air), form is of agni (fire), taste is of
jala (water) and smell is of prithvi (earth).
Nitya. Saundaryalahari of Sankaracarya
... akasa ... has no equivalent term in English. Aspects of a number of terms such as sky, ether, space, time and ground are to be
put together to form an integrated concept which stands for akasa. The definiton of akasa in the Sankhya Darsana is avakasadatr,
that which makes it possible for an object to exist. The space occupied by an object is, as it were, donated by akasa. We may say
the entirety of space is one aspect of akasa. In the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad Yajnavalkya teaches Gargi that the warp and the
woof of the universe is akasa, and that the structure of the Absolute is in akasa. It is to be known as both spiritual and non-spiri¬
tual. Its quality is vibration. As vibration indicates direction of movement, kinetic frequencies, and dynamics, the sequential quality
of akasa produces time. Thus akasa as a manifested reality becomes the time-space continuum. It is also to be conceived of as a
unified field in which everything functions according to the assigned nature of each element. In fact, akasa becomes the first step
towards physical creation. As sound, which in its graded operation controls the entire field of the noetics and semiotics of the world
of conception and expression, akasa becomes the ground of mental, psychic and spiritual manifestations, which find their natural
home in the world of elements.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
The forces permeate all matter; they all dissolve into ether, from which they again come out; and the first to come out is akasa.
Whether you translate it as ether, or as anything else, this is the idea, that this akasa is the primal form of matter. This akasa
vibrates under the action of prana, and when the next srishti is coming up, as the vibration becomes quicker, the akasa is lashed
into all those wave forms which we call the suns, moons, and systems.
Akasa and sound
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
Sound (sabda) is the specific characteristic element of the fifth bhuta which is akasa. In an extended sense electromagnetic phe¬
nomena including light waves are another characteristic of akasa. Wave propagation is a factor common to light and sound, and in
an extrapolated sense, although the Vaiseshikas did not actually say so, light may be said to be the very essence ofakasa, be¬
cause it is independent of all ponderable media.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
The psychic expansion of space, or the extensiveness of the psyche if you prefer, is called akasa. Everything has its place in
akasa. Its intrinsic quality, or dharma, is sound. For this reason, sound can affect everything. It can influence, alter, build up or
destroy. According to Jaimini’s school of Purva Mimamsa, this world is constituted of sound. They believe that since this world is
created out of sound, you can change or modify it to your liking by using sound. They have made many sound structures called
mantras. Mantras have a dynamic called mantra chaitanya, the psychodynamics of mantra, which can bring about such changes.
See also:
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
in Mahabhutas: Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
in Mahabhutas: Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Diagram: Mahabhutas
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
akasa - from prep, a, ‘to’ + kasa, ‘appearance’ < the root kas, to shine, to appear
Related words
Bhuta
Mahabhuta
Prana
Sabda
Vayu
Sanskrit
Akasa — 3TlcPTVf
akasa -
Akhanda
Variant spellings
akhanda
akhanda
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Akhanda — ... indivisible; whole; undivided
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
akhanda -
not fragmentary, entire, whole;
time
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Akhanda: The indivisible infinite; particularly referring to atman or brahman.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Akhanda brahmacharya is continence without a break.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Ballantyne
In the Vedanta-Sara Brahma is described as Akhanda, without parts. It is argued that if Brahma were made up of parts, it would
follow that It was non-eternal. Sankara says, “ We admit Brahman to be without parts just because Scripture reveals it.”
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
akhanda —from a = “not” + khanda = “break”
Sanskrit
Akhanda — 3T^T
akhanda -
Aksara
Variant spellings
aksara
akshara
aksara
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Aksara — ... imperishable; indestructible; immutable; undying; syllable
1. A name for the Reality (Brahman) in its transcendent immutable aspect. Sometimes used as a name for maya or prakrti.
2. A name for the word om.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
aksara -
imperishable;
unalterable;
a sword;
Siva;
Vishnu;
a syllable;
the syllable om;
a letter;
a vowel;
a sound;
a word;
Name of Brahma;
final beatitude religious austerity, sacrifice.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
All these relativistic systems referred to in the above verses are only of a different phenomenological content within the negative
principle of the Absolute, which is known as manifestation. The unmanifested aspect remains beyond all time-space concepts and
the norms of relative understanding. This unmanifested aspect is called the aksara. This chapter is especially dedicated to the
unmanifested and imperishable aspect of the Absolute.
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
The Science of Absolute (brahmavidya) is established on the imperishable sound aksara. In the Platonic and Christian concepts
aksara is equivalent to the Logos or the Word. Such is the elaborate study to which we come in this mantra.
Prasad. Chandogya Upanisad
Any letter of the Sanskrit alphabet is called an aksara; so is any pronounced syllable. One of these syllables, AUM, in rituals, is to
be articulated along with udgTtha and other incantations; whereas in wisdom it is to be understood as the imperishable (aksara)
syllable representing imperishable Reality. Vedists claim that the letters and words of the Vedas are eternal (aksara).
Nitya. Psychodynamics of Pranava
In our school days, we are taught how to make linear signs to be pronounced as sounds. Consonants are invented and conjoined
with nature vowels and all the alphabet characters together are called aksaras. There is only one aksara, one imperishable, but
unfortunately the identification of aksara, with a written or spoken letter of the alphabet makes most Indians confuse the imperish¬
able AUM with a stylized scribbling of the Sanskrit or Tamil language, and the profound is changed into the profane. The imper¬
ishable AUM spoken of here is not what is written or drawn with a few sinuous curves. Yet the idolatrous mind of man has made
the spoken AUM a cliche and the written AUM an idol. First of all, one has to break oneself away from such puerile forms of giving
veneration to AUM. For this reason we see mystics everywhere swearing against idolatry. Whether in science or mysticism, one
has to clear one’s ground before settling down to the serious business of penetrating to the depth of the real that is shrouded in
the enchanting veil of the phenomenal.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
The two realities are the empirical reality and eternal reality, the visible reality and the invisible reality, the external reality and the
universal reality, the material reality and the spiritual reality. These are the contrasts that are made here by the words ‘kshara’ and
‘akshara’: All that is perishable is kshara, and all that is imperishable is akshara.
...If we are to take the verses that come in the Fifteenth Chapter literally, it is possible to consider purusha as akshara and prakriti
as kshara, and Purushottama transcends both kshara and akshara.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
“I was twenty-two or twenty-three when the Divine Mother one day asked me in the Kali temple, ‘Do you want to be Akshara?’ I
didn’t know what the word meant. I asked Haladhari about it. He said, ‘Kshara means jiva, living being; Akshara means Paramat-
man, the Supreme Soul.’
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
aksara - from a = “not” + ksi = “to destroy, perish”.
Sanskrit
Aksara — 3THT7
aksara -
Amrta
Variant spellings
amrta
amrita
amrta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Amrta — ... “not death”; immortal; immortality; divine nectar; juice of divine delight; ambrosia; mystical bliss
1. The nectar of immortality. The divine nectar which flows down from the thousand-petaled lotus (sahasrara cakra) when one has
raised the kundalinT.
2. The elixir of immortality which was the first item to emerge from the ocean of milk when the gods and demons churned it.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
amrta -
not dead;
immortal;
imperishable;
beautiful, beloved;
an immortal,
a god;
N. of Siva;
of Vishnu;
the plant Phaseolus Trilobus Ait.;
collective body of immortals;
world of immortality, heaven, eternity;
immortality;
final emancipation;
the nectar (conferring immortality, produced at the churning of the ocean), ambrosia (or the voice compared to it);
nectar-like food;
antidote against poison;
N. of a medicament;
the residue of a sacrifice;
unsolicited alms;
milk L. clarified butter;
anything sweet, a sweetmeat;
a pear;
food, property;
gold;
quicksilver;
poison;
a ray of light;
of a sacred place (in the north);
the number, ‘four’.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Amrta (“imperishable”). In Hindu mythology this is the nectar of immortality, which is churned from the Ocean of Milk through the
combined efforts of the gods and the demons. The word is also used metaphorically to describe anything believed to be especial¬
ly purifying and powerful, such as charanamrta (“foot nectar”). Charanamrta are the liquids (milk, water, etc.) given to devotees
(bhakta) to drink, which are often the fluids in which their guru’s feet or the image of a deity have been bathed.
Wikipedia
Amrita or Amrit is a Sanskrit word that literally means “that which is immortal”, and is often referred to in texts as nectar. Corre¬
sponding to ambrosia, it has different significances in different Dharmic Traditions.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Amrita is the term used in the VEDAS for SOMA, comparable to the ambrosia of the Greeks. It is considered a nectar of immortali¬
ty of sorts and is taken during certain rites to achieve transcendent insight. Perhaps because the Moon is sometimes called Soma,
amrita in the Vedic context is said to be found on the Moon; it feeds the Fathers in the dark half of the Moon’s phases and the
gods in the bright half.
The story goes that the gods and antigods (asuras) once joined together to churn the MILK OCEAN to make amrita. A huge
mountain was used as a churning stick and the divine snake ADISHESHA (or Vasuki) was used as the rope around the stick.
Many things emerged from the Milk Ocean at that time including the special divine wish-giving cow who appears in later mytholo¬
gy. Finally, the amrita emerged held in a cup by the divine physician Dhanvantari. The gods then plotted with VISHNU so that the
antigods (asuras) would not be able to drink the nectar. Vishnu took on his form of the dazzling maiden, MOHINI, and as he dis¬
tracted the asuras, the gods drank all the amrita themselves.
One story says that when the gods drank the amrita it spilled at four sites: HARDVAR, Nasik, Ujjain, and ALLAHABAD (Prayag).
In esoteric HATHA YOGA it is thought that amrita can be accumulated in the skull above the posterior of the nasal passage. This
amrita is understood to be transformed semen that can create bodily immortality. By severing the frenulum, or skin attachment
under the bottom of the tongue, a yogi can force his tongue backward into what is called the Khechara MUDRA, in order to drink
the amrita.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Guru appears in the form of Dhanvantari, the God bringing the Bowl with the Amrita. ... In recent Hinduism, Dhanvantari is
considered to be the Patron of “the Ayurvedic system of medicine”. In a deeper sense, he is, like Aesculapius, much more than
that, for the “medicine” is that which heals the ills of life which are caused by the Ahankara. The “medicine” is really the Elixir of
Immortality. It is the Antidote to the Poison. In a certain sense it is as it were the product of a synthesis of all the medicines in the
world, which are all meant to produce a particular effect. But the Elixir, the Amrita, does not aim at bringing about a “particular” or
“part” effect. It is the Great Solvent. It brings Wholeness, Harmony, Oneness. It is the Heavenly Water of the Ocean in which the
salt doll, the earthly man, will be finally dissolved. The Sanskrit word Ayuh, which is found in Ayurveda, is popularly said to mean
“a long life”. It actually means aeviternity, that is to say, eternity-within-time, or modified eternity, to use these poor expressions.
The word Ayuh is related to the Greek Aion, meaning the same. This Greek word and the related Latin word Aeon are found in
Gnostic symbology. Further more, “old age” as well as “youth” is universally connected with the Spirit. From the point of view of
the Fall “age” predominates, bringing experience through the ages. From the point of view of the Return “youth” predominates.
The Elixir, marking the end of the Return, represents Immortal Youth. In this “Age” and “Youth” become one.
... The Sura and the Amrita correspond to the Nectar and Ambrosia of Greek tradition which formed the Drink and the Food of the
Olympic Gods. They also correspond to the Wine and Bread of Genesis
... After the soul has once tasted of the Perfect Bliss of God, the Ahankaric pleasures of the world have no more power over it.
Wikipedia
Hinduism
Amrit is repeatedly referred to as the drink of the gods, which grants them immortality.
Amrit features in the Samudra manthan, where the gods, because of a curse from the sage Durvasa, begin to lose their immortali¬
ty. With the help of the asuras (demons), they churned the sea in order to find the nectar of immortality, amrit. After drinking it, the
gods regained their immortality and defeated the demons.
In yogic philosophy (see yoga, Hindu philosophy) amrita is a fluid that can flow from the pituitary gland down the throat in deep
states of meditation. It is considered quite a boon: some yogic texts say that one drop is enough to conquer death and achieve
immortality.
A more positive interpretation is found in south Indian tradition, where amrita can mean “She who provides the nectar of life to
those who thirst.”
Sikhism
Amrit (Punjabi: wkafe) is the name of the holy water used in the baptism ceremony (known as Amrit Sanskar or Amrit Chhakhna
by the Sikhs). This ceremony is observed to initiate the Sikhs into the Khalsa brotherhood. The ceremony requires the drinking
of the Amrit. This water is created by mixing a number of soluble ingredients, including sugar, and is then rolled with a khanda
(a type of knife) with the accompaniment of scriptural recitation of five sacred Banis (chants). This Amrit is also referred to God’s
name as a nectar which is obtained through Guru’s word.
Buddhism
Amrita, under its Tibetan name of dutsi, also features in Tibetan Buddhist mythology, where it is linked to the killing of the monster
Rahu by Vajrapani, whose blood dripped onto the surface of this earth, causing all kinds of medicinal plants to grow.
Dutsi also refers to a herbal medicine made during ceremonies involving many high lamas in Tibetan Buddhism, known as drub-
chens. It usually takes the form of small, dark-brown grains that are taken with water, or dissolved in very weak solutions of alco¬
hol, and is said to improve physical and spiritual well- being.
Chinese Buddhism describes Amrita as blessed water, food, or other consumable objects often produced through merits of chant¬
ing mantras.
Amrta and Soma
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Amrita is the Solar Elixir and is symbolically connected with the Ether-Sphere. It is closely related to the Soma, the Lunar Elix¬
ir, which is symbolically connected with the Moon-Sphere, the Sphere of Consciousness and the Tradition.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
amrta — from the verb root mr - “to die” + the prefix a -’’not”
Related words
Soma
Sanskrit
Amrta — 3TiJcT
amrta - sppr
Ananda
Variant spellings
ananda
ananda
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ananda — ... bliss; delight; a type of samadhi in which the mind concentrates on the intellect
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ananda -
happiness, joy, enjoyment, sensual pleasure;
‘pure happiness’, one of the three attributes of atman or Brahman in the Vedanta philosophy Vedantas;
(in dram.) the thing wished for, the end of the drama [e.g. the Vlth Act in the Venis.];
a kind of flute;
N. of Siva;
(often at the beginning and end of proper names)
Dictionary - Runes
Ananda: (Skr.) Joy, happiness, bliss, beatitude, associated in the thinking of many Indian philosophers with moksa (q.v.); a con¬
comitant of perfection and divine consciousness (cf. sat- citananda). K.F.L.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ananda (“bliss”). One of the three traditional attributes of the Supreme Reality (Brahman), usually described as beingconscious¬
ness- bliss (sacchidananda). Ananda, or bliss, is heavily stressed in certain forms of tantra, an esoteric ritual tradition. In tantra,
ananda is both an aspect of mundane physical enjoyment and a way of describing the ultimate realization. In this understanding,
even ordinary pleasures are reflections of ultimate bliss. Ultimate bliss differs from ordinary pleasure both because it is permanent,
and because you lose your sense of self and are aware only of bliss.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Ananda: Bliss. Should be understood in the context of the Good in Western philosophy as a supreme Value. Bounty, goodness
and kindness are all conceptions depending upon a notion of value. Sat, existence; Chit, substantial being in a rational sense;
and Ananda as a supreme value, are terms conjointly used to describe the Absolute in Vedanta, representing three stages in the
appraisal of the true from the point of view of human intelligence. Ananda, is thus supreme bliss or goodness and describes the
Absolute in terms of human feeling.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ananda literally means “bliss.” In Hinduism, ananda is the bliss beyond comprehension that is experienced when one is in commu¬
nion with or has realized in totality the Godhead.
Ananda is seen as an aspect of the Divine and is often mentioned together with sat (divine being) and cit (divine consciousness).
The term SAT-CHIT-ANANDA (divine being, consciousness, bliss) often appears in Vedantic contexts ... and has become a prop¬
er name for SWAMIs or holy men.
Many teachers also have “ananda” appended to their names, such as Nikhilananda, “He who has realized total divine bliss,” or
Satyananda, “He who has realized the divine bliss of the One Truth,” or Muktananda, “He who has realized the divine bliss in liber¬
ation from birth and rebirth.”
Radhakrishnan. Philosophy of Upanishads
Ananda or delight is the highest fruition, where the knower, the known and the knowledge become one. Here the philosophical
quest terminates, the suggestion being that there is nothing higher than ananda. This ananda is active enjoyment or unimpeded
exercise of capacity. It is not sinking into nothingness, but the perfection of being.* “ The discerning see by their superior knowl¬
edge the Atman which shines all bliss and immortality.” Strictly speaking, we cannot give any account of the highest reality of
ananda, Even the question whether it is abstract or concrete is illogical. Intellectual necessities require us to give some descrip¬
tion. It is truer to consider it concrete than abstract. Each higher principle is more concrete and inclusive than the lower one, and
therefore nanda, which is Brahman, is the most inclusive of all. From it all things flow. By it all things are sustained, and into it all
things are dissolved. The different parts, the mineral world, the plant life, the animal kingdom, and the human society, are not relat¬
ed to the highest in any abstract or mechanical way. They are one in and through that which is universal about them. All parts in
the universe share in the light of this universal spirit and possess specific features on account of the special functions which they
have to perform.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
Bliss orananda is an all-comprehensive value factor. Even animals have this experience in their own way. Happiness with a cap¬
ital letter can even be identified with the highest aim of all absolutist teaching. The Science of the Absolute can also be called the
Science of Happiness in this sense. The secret here is to understand the all- inclusive character of absolute Happiness.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
... sat-cit-cmanda. Sat means existence, cit is subsistence, and ananda is the value-factor. Actual presences or value-factors
belonging to the universe are described in this chapter as aspects of the Absolute with which we can relate ourselves. ... We can
catalogue a long list of evil items, but we cannot assign the cause of these to an agency outside the pale of the Absolute. That is
why we don’t want to translate ananda as bliss. The term we use here is “value”. Items of pleasure can be arranged in terms of
qualitative or quantitative units of values of an ascending or descending order. We are counting positive values when we go from
indifference to the highest state of bliss. We descend in the value-scale when we go from the highest bliss to the zero point. If we
go any further from the zero point we will advance in the opposite direction, which should be counted as negative values. Thus,
pain and pleasure, irrespective of their accompanying modes of affectivity, come under the scale of values, positive or negative.
... I value my beingness and you value your beingness. Everything tends to become valuable in one way or another. All these val¬
ues are measured by our own happiness. This is called ananda.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Ananda is not mere happiness. It is rather the norm that enables us to measure and discern each event as pleasurable or painful.
Or else, it is the neutral value-sense that unfolds itself as our experiences of pleasure and pain.
This value-sense in each of us is an unsharable one; the pleasure and pain we feel are also so. One’s experience of them can
only be conjectured by others from the externally visible behaviour of one who feels pain and pleasure internally. The unsharable
value-sense is part of our being and is eternally one with us. What we do externally is only a sign of what really is within.
What is the dearest of all for each of us? It is ourselves. This love for oneself is eternal whereas the apparent bodily existence is
transient. That means, it is not the bodily existence we consider the dearest, but it is the essential, eternal Reality in us, the atma
in us, that everyone loves.
To be engaged in efforts to attain something dear to us is natural and eternal with us. It shows, despite the transience of our bodily
existence, the value-sense in us, in everyone, is beginningless and endless. And this eternal value-sense in all is what we call
ananda; it is unthinkable and non- dual. Eternally perceiving this non-dual ananda alone in and through all the ups and downs of
life is where we attain realization of the non-dual ananda, the Supreme ananda, also known as paramananda. This itself is the
moksa (liberation) the Guru perceives.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Ananda is felt after the cessation of thoughts in sleep. It is also manifest on other occasions as love, joy, etc., priya, moda and
pramoda. But they are all chitta vrittis (modes of mind).
Nagamma. Tetters from Sri Ramanasramam
A rich Reddy from Nellore who happened to be there said, “Ananda is said to be Atma. Ananda is free from sorrow. If so, when the
jiva experiences ananda, will he be free from sorrow?” Bhagavan replied, “There can be ananda (joy) only if there is duhkha (sor¬
row). It is only if a thing is known as duhkha then ananda can be known. If duhkha is not realised, how can ananda be realised?
So long as there is one who knows, these two will exist. Vastu (the thing that is) is above sukha and duhkha. Even so, that vastu
is known as sukha because Sat is above sat and asat. Jnana is above jnana and ajnana, Vidya is above vidya and avidya. The
same thing is said about several other things. So what is there to say?” said Bhagavan.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
There are a lot of people who translate the word ‘ananda’ as bliss which is not correct. Bliss itself is a vrtti-visesa, whereas the
ananda is the nature of the atma and not a vrtti.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
ananda - from the verb root nand = “to rejoice”
Related words
Moksa
Priya
Saccidananda
Sanskrit
Ananda — 3iM-q
ananda - stfrt
Anandamaya kosha
Variant spellings
anandamaya kosha
anandamaya-kosa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Anandamaya-kosa — ... the sheath of bliss
1. The innermost of the five sheaths enveloping the self. (See kosa.)
2. Truly speaking it is infinite, transcendent, and perfect and not really a sheath, according to some schools, but the very essence
of the Self.
3. It is also known as the causal body (karana-sarlra), according to Advaita Vedanta.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
anandamayakosa -
the innermost case of the body, the causal frame enshrining the soul
Wikipedia
Anandamaya kosha. Anandamaya means composed of ananda, or bliss. In the Upanishads the sheath is known also as the caus¬
al body. In deep sleep, when the mind and senses cease functioning, it still stands between the finite world and the self. Ananda¬
maya, or that which is composed of Supreme bliss, is regarded as the innermost of all. The bliss sheath normally has its fullest
play during deep sleep: while in the dreaming and wakeful states, it has only a partial manifestation. The blissful sheath (ananda¬
maya kosha) is a reflection of the Atman which is bliss absolute.
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. A Commentary on the Upanishads
“A man is, above all, his will. As is his will in this life, so does he become when he departs from it. Therefore should his will be
fixed on attaining Brahman.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:14:1b)
This is surely one of the most important statements in the upanishads. The will is the highest faculty we possess. It is higher even
than the intellect, for we often say: “I won’t think about that right now...” and we do not, because the will controls it. The only thing
higher than the will is the Self. The will approaches closer to the Self than any other aspect of our being. This is so important, be¬
cause the quality of our religion and our yoga is determined by which aspect is the basis of our belief and practice.
... The will is the anandamaya kosha, which corresponds to the ether element, whose special faculty is sound (shabda), both the
passive faculty of hearing and the active faculty of speech. Which is why the highest yoga is based on Sound-specifically, the
highest sound: Om. Om Yoga is the way to correct and develop the will. Since we are our will according to the upanishad, it must
be made alive through the continual japa and meditation of the Pranava, the Word of Life: Om. Only through Om can we gain
mastery of the will, and thereby of ourselves. We must become Om, “the Word that is God” according to the Bhagavad Gita (7:8.
“I am the sacred syllable Om.” 10:25). By becoming Om, we become God-not in the absolute sense, but in the relative sense of
knowing ourselves as an eternal part of God, identical in essence, even though not the Whole.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
The common man is aware of himself only when modifications arise in the intellect (vijnanamaya kosa); these modifications are
transient; they arise and set. Hence the vijnanamaya (intellect) is called a kosa or sheath. When pure awareness is left over it is
itself the Chit (Self) or the Supreme. To be in one’s natural state on the subsidence of thoughts is bliss; if that bliss be transient
- arising and setting - then it is only the sheath of bliss (Anandamaya kosa), not the pure Self. What is needed is to fix the atten¬
tion on the pure T after the subsidence of all thoughts and not to lose hold of it. This has to be described as an extremely subtle
thought; else it cannot be spoken of at all, since it is no other than the Real Self. Who is to speak of it, to whom and how?
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
Anandamaya sheath is the reflection of the absolute bliss, yet not free from ignorance. Its attributes are pleasure and the like,
through it the higher affections are realised (e.g. in svarga). This sheath, whose existence depends upon virtuous action, becomes
manifest as anandamaya without effort (that is, as the necessary result of a good life) in a virtuous man enjoying the fruits of his
own merit. 209
The principal manifestation of the anandamaya sheath is in dreamless slumber. In the waking and dreaming states it becomes
partially manifested at the sight of pleasant objects. 210
Nor is this anandamaya the supreme spirit, because it is subject to conditions. It is a modification oT prakrti, an effect, and the sum
of all the consequences of good acts. 211
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
209. The anandamaya kosa is a mental modification born of tamas; pervaded by reflected ananda, possessing the attributes as
priya etc.; and rises with the gain of a desirable object. For those who have done good deeds, it shines at the time of experiencing
the punya. At that time everyone who has a body, rejoices well without effort, becoming that very ananda itself.
The anandamaya is described in this verse. Anandamaya is a specific vrtti, born of tamas, avidya-tamojrmbhita. All the vrttis are
born of auidya only. Being a vrtti, the anandamaya is not anandasvarGpa.
In the Taittiriyopanisad each kosa is described with the imagery of a bird. The bird has a head, body, two wings and a tail. The tail
gives stability to the body. Describing anandamaya the upanisad says, “The head of this anandamaya is priya. Moda and pramoda
are the right and left wings. And the body is ananda”. Priya-moda-pramoda are ananda-vikaras, the modifications of the vrtti which
manifests as ananda. The body of this anandamaya-paksi is of the nature of ananda. It is the body that supplies blood, energy
etc., to the head and the wings. Similarly, in the case of anandamaya here the ananda experienced as priya-moda-pramoda is lent
by the atma that is ananda. And that ananda has its culmination in Brahman - brahma puccham pratistha. So the anandamaya
has its being in Brahman alone, which is the real ananda.
Krishnananda. The Essence of the Aitareya and Taittiriya Upanishads
Now comes the question of love and happiness. How are we happy? And how is it that when there is love for a particular object,
happiness seems to manifest itself from within? This is a very interesting philosophical as well as psychological feature in us. This
is mentioned in a few words (perhaps only three or four words) towards the end of the Taittiriya Upanishad when it discusses the
nature of the innermost sheath in us, called the anandamaya kosha. The causal sheath, the most subtle and pervasive and the in¬
nermost of sheaths in us, in our personality, is called the anandamaya kosha. It is called anandamaya because it is characterised
by blissfulness or happiness. Ananda means happiness; maya means ‘filled with’. It is filled with and constituted of happiness only,
warp and woof.
... This anandamaya kosha, or the sheath of bliss, is the subtlest layer, the most initial movement of consciousness outwardly.
Then it becomes grosser as intellect, further grosser as mind, and then as the senses, prana, and the physical body, and then as
its relationship with the other physical objects.
Krishnananda. Lessons on the Upanishads
In the state of deep sleep, none of these [prana, manas and buddhi] are active. Neither the body is operative there, nor the mind,
nor the intellect, nor is there any consciousness that we are even breathing. The consciousness is withdrawn entirely from all the
sheaths - physical, vital, mental and intellectual. There is only one sheath operating in the state of sleep. That is the causal sheath
-the anandamaya kosha, as it is called in Sanskrit.
Anandamaya and causal body
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. A Commentary on the Upanishads
“Different from the intellectual sheath is the sheath of the ego. This sheath is encased in the intellectual sheath and has the same
form.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:5:2a)
The completion of the body complex is the highest body, the anandamaya kosha which is the seat of will and the sense of asmi-
ta—“I exist.” The intellect may know it is seeing a tree, but the will decides whether or not to keep looking at it. In this way it fully
controls the lesser levels. It both brings them into function and stops their actions. Just as the buddhi makes us intelligent human
beings, the will-body makes us effective human beings.
The anandamaya kosha is the subtlest causal level, so subtle that it “touches” and partakes of the nature of the spirit-self. Func¬
tionally speaking, it is a mixture of subtle energy and pure consciousness-though it is not really, since “beyond all sheaths is the
Self.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:5:2b) Sometimes we have to speak inaccurately to get across at least a shadow of higher realities.
Diagram: The five sheaths (pancha-kosas)
Related words
Karana-sarira
Kosha
Priya
Sukha
Sanskrit
Anandamaya-kosa —
anandamaya-kosa - 3iMH^+ r RT
Ananta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ananta — ... “infinite”; without end; endless; name of the snake upon which Visnu rests.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Adishesha (also Shesha or Ananta)
Adishesha, the divine thousand-headed serpent, is the couch for Lord VISHNU as he sleeps between eras on the vast ocean
of milk. When the MILK OCEAN was churned by the demons and gods to produce the nectar of immortality Adishesha was the
churning rope, according to some versions of the story. It is also said that, when time begins again in a new era, the world sits on
the head of Adishesha; whenever he stirs, earthquakes result. At the end of each cosmic era he vomits out the fire of destruction,
which incinerates the universe.
In the story of PRAHLADA and HIRANYAKASHIPU, Prahlada prays to Adishesha when forced by his father to eat poison and is
saved. Other stories associate Adishesha with cosmic poison in different ways.
Many different personages in Indian tradition have been said to be incarnations of Adishesha, most notably BALARAMA, the
brother of Lord KRISHNA. Adishesa is usually described as the son of a rishi, a seer. However, as is common in Indian mythology
many contradictory stories exist, and some say that he was born of SHIVA. He has even been identified with the eternal, all-en¬
compassing BRAHMAN itself.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ananta -
endless, boundless, eternal, infinite;
N. of Vishnu;
of Sesha (the snake-god);
of Sesha’s brother Vasuki;
of Krishna;
of his brother Baladeva;
of Siva;
of Rudra;
of one of the Visva-devas;
of the 14th Arhat;
the letter A;
N. of Parvatl and of various females;
the plant Sariva;
the sky, atmosphere
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Ananta: Literally “endless”. Name of the snake upon which Vishnu is supposed to sleep, resting on the primordial milk-ocean of
universal goodness. The name stands for eternity. The counterpart name is Adi-Sesha meaning “what originally remains,” i.e. the
eternal present from the most ancient antiquity. This snake is many-headed, signifying the multi-sided nature of creation at any
given moment.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Dialectics
... Vishnu, who lives in Vaikuntha on the eastern peak of Mount Meru. Here there is a snake with a thousand hoods called Anan-
ta(the Endless)which represents pure duration, and on which Vishnu, ever in meditative repose, reclines. The snake itself is repre¬
sented as floating in an ocean of milk, which stands for the pure life-value of abundance or mercy, which is boundless.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
ananta - from a = “not” + anta = “end”.
Sanskrit
Ananta — 3n-ti
ananta - snprtr
Ananya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ananya — ... similar but not equal; nondifferent; identical; nonseparate.
1. One who has realized his or her oneness with the Absolute (Brahman).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ananya -
no other, not another, not different, identical;
self;
not having a second, unique;
not more than one, sole;
having no other (object), undistracted;
not attached or devoted to any one else
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
The samnyasin (renouncer of actions) here represents a thorough-going contemplative or yogi with whom no question of having to
do anything arises. His yoga has the character of being ananya (without any extraneous factors
and consists of being wholly absorbed in the Absolute).
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. The secret of the Katha upanishad
Ananya, grammatically, means ‘other than what is already there’, or ‘different from what is there’, or ‘non-difference’. This word
occurs also in the Bhagavadgita, and even there the commentators vary in the interpretation of what it really signifies. The teacher
should not be an anya, or an ‘other’, but must be an ananya, a ‘non-other’. An ananya, is one who is ‘not different from that which
he teaches’. Nowadays, we have learned men, professors, who are supposed to be repositories of knowledge, but their life is
different from what they preach. They are anya or ‘other’ from knowledge. The practical life of a professor is different from what he
teaches in his college. When knowledge is different from life, such knowledge becomes a husk without substance. It is a burden
that you carry, like an ass carrying bricks. Knowledge becomes valuable when it becomes ananya with one’s own life.
Ananya-manas
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
ananya manasah (mind strictly exclusive of all extraneous interests).
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Ananya-manas: The state in which one experiences one’s mind as fully identified with the cosmic mind.
Related words
Anya
Sanskrit
Ananya — TFF^T
ananya - sffrt
Anatma
Variant spellings
anatma
anatman
anatman
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Anatman — ... without substance; not-self.
1. The Buddhist theory of the nonexistence of the soul.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
anatman -
not spiritual, corporeal, destitute of spirit or mind
Wikipedia
In Buddhism, anatta (Pali) or anatman (Sanskrit: 3HidH'd) refers to the notion of “not- self”. In the early texts, the Buddha common¬
ly uses the word in the context of teaching that all things perceived by the senses (including the mental sense) are not really “I” or
“mine”, and for this reason one should not cling to them.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Anatma (Anatman): Non-self.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
In Chapter Six, verses 5 and 6 [Bhagavad Gita], we are given the instruction that the Self should be raised by the Self, and the
Self should never let down the Self, the Self is the best friend of the Self, and the Self can also become its own worst enemy.
Whenever you consider part of the Self as non-Self, that non-Self itself will become your enemy, it will behave as if it is your ene¬
my.
We can experience this in our everyday life. If I consider a certain person as my very Self then it will be a great joy to have him
around. Everything we do brings great joy to my heart: seeing him, talking with him, admiring him. The joy does not happen any¬
where else than in my heart, so I am bringing joy to myself by giving my love to him. But if I consider him as not being a part of
me, as not belonging to me as part of my Self, he may become my enemy. He is an ‘other’, and the very fact of seeing him walk
into my room fills me with rage. My body starts shivering and trembling with anger. I cause myself great pain by hating him in this
way, pain which may not affect him at all. Then I feel fear that this fellow has come to do some evil to me. I avoid him because I
fear for my safety: he is my enemy and may become violent. He may take away my possessions. I start living in fear.
Of course, its all just an attitude within me. I can make myself happy in my friend’s presence, or I can make myself very miserable
just by changing my attitude. This is what the Gita calls making the anatma, the non-Self, behave as the enemy. In considering
part of your own Self as non-Self, you make that part a potential enemy. In one way or another we are all doing this every day by
alienating people, by negating people, by cultivating discontent within ourselves. It is a scourge, a plague. If we do not like the
presence of certain people, their very look or sound, we don’t have anything to do with them. In this way we chop up our world into
so many small bits and poison several of them.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
... very important teaching known in Sanskrit as anatma-the teaching regarding what is not the self. Buddha emphasized this
greatly, and was being completely traditional in doing so. Sadly, those outside India who encountered his teachings thought that
the term (anatta in Pali) meant there is no self. But the term means not-self, not no-self, which would be niratma or niratta. So
wherever we see change.. .that is not the self.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
anatman - from an = “not” + atman = “Self”.
Related words
Atman
Sanskrit
Anatman —
/
anatman - 3HicfHd
Annamaya kosha
Variant spellings
annamaya kosha
annamayakosa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Annamaya-kosa — ... “the sheath of food”
1. It is the outermost sheath enveloping the individual soul. It is made of food and is also called the physical body or the gross
body. (See sthula-sarlra.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
annamayakosa -
the gross material body (which is sustained by food = sthula-sarlra)
Wikipedia
Annamaya kosha. This is the sheath of the physical self, named from the fact that it is nourished by food. Living through this layer
man identifies himself with a mass of skin, flesh, fat, bones, and filth, while the man of discrimination knows his own self, the only
reality that there is, as distinct from the body.
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
When the mind is attached to the consciousness of the external world, it sees gross objects and abides in the Annamaya-kosa,
the physical sheath of the soul, which depends on food.
Diagram: The five sheaths (pancha-kosas)
Related words
Kosha
Sthula-sarira
Sanskrit
Annamaya-kosa —
annamayakosa -
Antahkarana
Variant spellings
antahkarana
antahkarana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Antah-karana — ... the internal organ; inner sense; inner instrument; “inner causes”
1. It is comprised of the intellect, the mind, the ego, and the consciousness (buddhi, manas, ahankara, and cit), according to Ad-
vaita Vedanta. The Sankhya school recognizes only the intellect, mind, and ego as comprising the inner organ.
2. It is the seat of the functions of the senses as distinct from their outer organs. It receives and arranges what is conveyed to it
through the senses. It reflects objects by its relation with the self (purusa) according to Sankhya or by its relation to the Self (At¬
man) according to Advaita Vedanta.
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, the perceived variations of different individuals’ cognitions are due to the differences in their re¬
spective antahkaranas.
4. The inner organ functions by streaming out to an object, illumining it, assuming its shape, and then cognizing it according to
Advaita Vedanta.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
antahkarana -
the internal organ, the seat of thought and feeling, the mind, the thinking faculty, the heart, the conscience, the soul
Wikipedia
In Hindu philosophy, the antahkarana (Skt.) refers to the highest, i.e. most abstract, part of the mind, and it may include the con¬
crete part of the mind (manas). In the consciousness level classification karanopadhi it is regarded as separate from the emotion¬
al part of the mind, which in another classification (that of planes) is regarded as being on the same level of mind. Antahkarana
is higher than that level because a lower upadhi than karana includes the emotions. Antahkarana is called the link between the
higher mind and the enclosing soul (buddhi) consciousness, the latter of which is ‘thoughtful consciousness that can think of the
mind’ (some would call this ‘higher mind’). In Dharma (Sanatana, etc.) the antahkarana is described as the reincarnating part of
the mind, so it has a special link with the soul.
The concept has been compared to that of Nous, which when capitalized includes the human monad (or jivatman) and beyond,
i.e. it is the higher manas within the jive/jivatma (monad), which links its own part of the jivatma with the rupa or arupa manas
above the separate kama-manas.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Antahkaranas
The common name for the four mental faculties involved in the process of knowing: namely manas (questioning), buddhi (reason¬
ing), citta (memorizing and recalling) and ahamkara (relating what is known to oneself in terms of value experience).
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The internal organ (antah-karana) ... is here [in Advaita Vedantajconceived as bhautika [formed of the gross elements] and as
constituted of all the five elements. Though it consists of all the five elements, tejas predominates, which accounts for its being
sometimes described as taijasa (‘made out of tejas’). It accordingly partakes more of the character of that element than of any
other and is unstable—always liable to alter its form either where it is or where it reaches by ‘streaming out,’ as it is said, through
a sense. That is, the antah-karana is always active, except only in states like susupti, where it becomes latent. Each of the forms it
assumes by exercising this activity is known as a vrtti as in the Sahkhya-Yoga. The explanation that all these organs are bhautika
is important on account of the recognition it implies of the indispensableness of physical aids for the manifestation of conscious¬
ness. Though indispensable, their distinction from the psychical element is not in the least ignored. It is in fact the constant asso¬
ciation of these two incompatibles as implied in common experience that forms ... the crux of the philosophic problem according to
Samkara.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
From the light the Lord lends to the three modalities constituting the body, there arises the inner organ, which in its turn brings
about ego-consciousness, mind, intellect, and the organs of perception and action. In this sense every individuated self is a reflec¬
tion of the Divine in the physical organism. When a person dies, all that happens is the withdrawal of the circumscribed Spirit back
to its original source. When the same is re-projected in matter to again function in accordance with the impressions formed in the
previous life (vasanas), it may be called reincarnation.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Antahkarana—The inner organ, of which Chitta, Buddhi, Manas and Ahamkara are the different aspects.
Antahkarana, manas, citta, buddhi, ahankara
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The same antahkarana, according to its diverse functions, is called manas, buddhi, ahamkara, and citta. In its functions as doubt
it is called manas, as originating definite cognitions it is called buddhi. As presenting the notion of an ego in consciousness aham¬
kara, and as producing memory citta. These four represent the different modifications or states (vrtti) of the same entity (which in
itself is but a special kind of modification of ajnana as antahkarana).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Love and Blessings
All knowledge begins with the four-fold inner organ. The sense organs do not operate unless they are commissioned by the inner
organ. Then alone arises the world of external objects and the various universes of interest. The four aspects of the inner organ
are:
1) manas, the interrogating or inquiring aspect of consciousness;
2) chitta, the aspect of consciousness that memorizes and recalls;
3) buddhi, the aspect of consciousness that judges and arrives at certitude; and
4) ahamkara, the ego factor that is affected, positively, negatively or neutrally.
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
Both Yoga and Vedanta allude to the inner organ (antahkarana), an inner mechanism with four distinct agencies of operation: the
interrogative aspect (manas); the faculty of memory and recall (citta); the faculty of judgment (buddhi); and the ego, the affective
core that is intimately connected with the biological as well as psychological individuation of experiencing pain and pleasure and
all such dualities of life (ahamkara). The instrument of the registry of stimulation and recall of memory is a repository of all the col¬
orations and conditionings that happen to a person during his or her lifetime. Hence all conditional reactions throughout life stem
from this faculty (citta). Its modulation is called citta vrtti.
... The physical body encased in skin marks the separation of one individual from another. It is the physiological scaffolding of the
psychic interior operating mechanism called the antahkarana, which functions as a liaison between sense organs as well as be¬
tween the sensory and motor systems. As we have seen, the four aspects of the inner organ are:
1. the mind (manas)
2. the structuring of associations of memories with an inquiry as to their relevancy in presenting with a will to know (citta)
3. the crucial judgment that is to be made about every situation to which attention is given (buddhi)
4. the affectivity registered for the future retention of a memory that can always hold out a memory tag to caution the jiva of its
affective importance, pleasurable, painful, or indifferent (ahamkara)
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Take your mind back a few hours to when you were in deep sleep. At that time there was no consciousness. This can be ana¬
logically related to the world being completely merged in darkness. As dawn comes, things slowly begin to appear. Similarly, the
deep unconscious in you slowly moves aside, and a vague awareness of consciousness comes. When that awareness becomes
assertive, questions come to your mind. “Is it morning? What time is it now? What am I going to do today?” There is always some
question coming up in your mind. This interrogative aspect of consciousness is called manas.
According to Vedantins, there are four categories of wakeful consciousness. The first is this questioning aspect, which is an at¬
tempt to assign meaning to whatever confronts you. Meaning is given to sense impressions or stray ideas by relating them to
something already known. New impressions or ideas are oriented in relation to previously experienced situations in time and
space. When they are thus given a formal fixation, they find a place in your scheme of understanding. In order to do this, you re¬
call the memories which seem to be associated with what is being presented to your senses or mind. This faculty employed in the
recall of memory is called cittam. It is the second category of consciousness.
After the relevant memory associations are revived, they are then used to decide the nature of the impression or idea under exam¬
ination. The third category of consciousness is a faculty used to predicate the subject appropriately. It is called buddhi.
Now you are in a state of suspense until you make a judgement on the value of the new stimulus. Once its nature is decided,
you feel either satisfied or disturbed by it. This feeling affects your personal identity in a variety of ways. The fourth category of
consciousness is the affectivity of the ego, called ahamkara. Aham means T. You relate your personal experience to a central
consciousness in you called T which is affected in terms of pain, pleasure or indifference. With this, one unit of impression has
been almost instantaneously processed regarding its significance to the individual. Taken all together, these four aspects-manas,
cittam, buddhi, and ahamkara - are called karanam.
After going through the process of questioning, recollecting, reasoning and being affected, you pass on to the next stage: reacting
to the situation. For this you need the use of your organs of perception and action. The senses, body and mind all come together
in a confection which becomes a holistic action, monitored by the major urge, drive or interest that dominates that particular mo¬
ment of your life. Each action-inaction complex contains a whole universe of interest. After one interest is fulfilled or thwarted, your
mind moves on to another; thus you go from one world of interest to another in a continuous sequence. These worlds spring up
from the awakening of the latent urges lying buried in the unconscious.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
... divisions of antahkaranas as follows: (1) Ullam, (2) mind, (3) intellect, (4) chittam, (5) ego.
Sri Bhagavan said: Four divisions are usual. The fifth item ullam has been brought in to correspond to five tattvas thus:
(1) Ullam (consciousness) is akasa (ether) tattva from the cranium to the brows.
(2) Manas (thinking faculty) is vayu (air) tattva from the brows to the throat.
(3) Buddhi (intellect) is agni (light) tattva from the throat to the heart.
(4) Chitta (memory) is jala (water) tattvafrom the heart to the navel, and,
(5) Ahankar (ego) is prithvi (earth) tattvafrom the navel to the coccyx.
Ullam is thus the pure mind or the mind in its pure being, i.e., mind divested of all thoughts. It is the ether of mind corresponding to
the expanse of mind without being crowded by thoughts. When a person wakes up from sleep the head is raised and there is the
light of awareness. This light was already there in the heart which is later reflected on the brain and appears as consciousness.
But this is not particularised until ahankarsteps in. In the undifferentiated state it is cosmic (cosmic mind or cosmic consciousness).
This state lasts usually for a minute interval and passes off unnoticed. It becomes particularised or differentiated by the intrusion
of the ego and the person says T. This is always associated with an entity (here, the body). So the body is identified as T and all
else follows.
Because ullam is only the reflected light, it is said to be the moon. The original light is in the heart which is said to be the sun.
M.: The inner organs (antakaranas) are classified as five: (1) Knowledge - Jnana; (2) Mind - Manas; (3) Intellect - Buddhi; (4)
Memory - Chitta; and (5) The ego - Ahankara; some say only the latter four; others say only two, namely (1) Manas, mind and (2)
Ahankara, the ego; still others say the Antahkarana is only one whose different functions make it appear differently and hence
its different names. Heart is thus the source of the Antahkaranas. There is the body which is insentient; there is the Self which is
eternal and self-luminous; in between the two there has arisen a phenomenon, namely the ego, which goes under these different
names, mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), memory (chitta), the ego (ahankara), power (sakti), life current (prana), etc. Seek your
source; the search takes you to the Heart automatically. The antahkaranas are only ideas (kalpana) to explain the subtle body
(sukshma sarira).
Sankara tradition
Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda
The inner organ (Antahkarana) is called Manas, Buddhi, ego or Chitta, according to their respective functions: Manas, from its
considering the pros and cons of a thing; Buddhi, from its property of determining the truth of objects; the ego, from its identifica¬
tion with this body as one’s own self; and Chitta, from its function of remembering things it is interested in.
See: Jnana, antahkarana, sakshin
See: Sakshin and antahkarana
See also:
Sakshin and sushupti
in Sakshin and jiva: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Related words
Ahankara
Buddhi
Chitta
Manas
Vritti
Sanskrit
Antah-karana —
antahkarana -
Anu
Variant spellings
anu
anu
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Anu — ... “atom”; atomic; elementary particle; that which cannot be further divided; an individual being
1. The smallest indivisible particle of matter of which all material things are ultimately produced. They are said to be eternal.
2. Visistadvaita Vedanta calls the size of the soul “atomic.”
3. According to Jainism, atoms have touch, taste, smell, and color. Two atoms form a compound (skandha). They maintain that
atoms are in contact with one another (a fact which Buddhists deny).
4. According to the Vaisesikas, they are insentient. Two of them grouped together form a dyad and three dyads together form a
triad, which is the smallest visible substance. The four elements-earth, air, fire, and water-are atomic in their primary form. The
variety seen in the universe is due to the number of atoms in a particular object’s composition. Atoms are eternal and qualitatively
differ as smell, taste, color, and touch. Atoms have no parts, are nonspatial, and are globular (parimandalya).
5. In Kashmir Savisim, it is a technical term referring to the individual soul (jiva).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
anu -
fine, minute, atomic;
an atom of matter;
‘an atom of time’, the 54675000th part of a muhurta (of 48 minutes);
N. of Siva
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Anu ... fine, minute, atomic, (in Vaisesika) a positional reality that has no length, breadth, or thickness; cf. paramanu.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Anu: Atom. Litterally, “the indivisible.”
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
From the time of Democritus, Heraclitus and Lucippus in ancient Greece and Kanada in India, it has been believed that the world
is constituted of minute particles, atoms or anu-s. When two anu’s come together they become something new. Three anu’s joined
become something else. Quantitative variations therefore cause qualitative changes. As everything is made up of particles, all
things here are a manifestation of very specific elements in particular combinations.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Anu is an atom, infinitesimal. It ends in subtle perception. The subtlety is of the sukshma body, i.e., the mind. Beyond the mind
there is the Self. The greatest of things are also conceptions, the conceptions are of the mind; beyond the mind there is the Self.
So the Self is subtler than the subtlest.
See: Pramanu, anu, vayu
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
anu - from *al-nu < l-E root ale, to grind, crush
Related words
Paramanu
Sanskrit
Anu —
anu - sroj
Anubhava
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Anubhava — ... perception; direct presentation; knowledge; experience
1. According to Jainism, the result or retribution of an action; intensity.
2. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is the final court of appeal: hear the truth-sruti; reflect upon it- yukti; direct personal experi-
ence-anubhava.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
anubhava -
perception, apprehension, fruition;
understanding; impression on the mind not derived from memory;
experience, knowledge derived from personal observation or experiment;
result, consequence
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Anubhava: When the mind by intellectual sympathy enters into the reality of a subject with full sense of identity with it, as when a
man of wisdom enters Brahman-knowledge and thus becomes Brahman in effect, his is a state of anubhava.
Descriptions
General
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
... the Atman, the only godly being is not unattainable to us, is even not far from us, for we have it fully and totally in ourselves
as our own metaphysical entity; and here, when returning from the outside and apparent world to the deepest secrets of our own
nature, we may come to God, not by knowledge, but by anubhava, by absorption into our own self. There is a great difference
between knowledge, in which subject and object are distinct from each other, and anubhava, where subject and object coincide
in the same. He who by anubhava comes to the great intelligence, “aham brahma asmi”, obtains a state called by Qankara Sam-
radhanam, accomplished satisfaction
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
... the distinction between presentative cognition (anubhava) and representative cognition (smrti). The former generally leaves
behind a trace or impression called bhavana or samskara which abides in the self and, when revived, leads to recollection of what
was previously cognized. That is smrti or memory. Such bhavana is a seventh specific quality of the self.
Presentative cognition may be broadly divided into two, viz. mediate and immediate, the manas being a necessary aid to both.
The latter is termed pratyaksa which may roughly be taken as equivalent to sensation and perception; and the former, such as
inferential knowledge, is known as paroksa which is based upon pratyaksa and needs no further reference in this section. On the
primary character of pratyaksa is based its definition as knowledge which does not presuppose other knowledge. When we infer
that there is fire on the hill, we should previously have observed smoke there, not to mention our acquaintance with the induc¬
tive relation between smoke and fire. But to cognize blueness, say, no such preliminary knowledge is necessary. That is, our first
ideas are furnished by the senses.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
In the state of the incarnate, experiencing pain and pleasure through sensations is considered very important by embodied beings.
Sankara discredits experience (anubhava) as not pertaining to the Self (atman). The English word ex-perience clearly indicates
its own limitation: it is knowing something outside the Self, that is, the non-Self. Sankara substitutes anubhava, experience, with
anubhGti, imperience: an identification that comes through the establishment of an inner unity aided by intuition. It can only be
imperientially comprehended.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
In English, the word ‘experience’ implies an interaction between the knower and what is known. In Sanskrit the word for experi¬
ence, anubhava, means becoming likewise. It is not an interaction between the subject and object, but a transformation of the sub¬
ject. The knower is transforming his consciousness of the moment into what is known. In the present context, experience should
be understood as a subjective transformation. It is “in- formation” in the true sense of the word.
There is a state of knowing in which you become oblivious of your personal involvement as the knower. When you are fully en¬
gaged in an experience you are not simultaneously thinking of yourself. Ideas such as “I am knowing, I am enjoying,” etc. only
come when you ruminate on your mental states or communicate them to someone else. Otherwise there is just knowing by itself.
It is the structure of the language into which we put our thoughts that creates differences between thoughts and things. For exam¬
ple, if you see a bird in a tree you don’t think it is happening inside your head as an occurrence of knowledge, you see it as a bird
“out there.” Then the known itself is both the knowing and the knower. It is as if the knower is interjected into the known. You don’t
have to struggle in order to bring what is known into you, or to fuse the knower into the known. It all happens spontaneously and
instantly.
Etymology
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
anubhava - from anu = “according”, and bhav = “to become”.
Sanskrit
Anubhava — a^Mci
anubhava - spprsr
Anya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
anya -
other, different;
other than, different from, opposed to
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Anya: The other. That kind of knowledge which cognizes multiple appearances.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
...I have to articulate meaningful things, and you have to listen and make meaning out of them by pondering over them. So we are
all engaged in activities all the time. All these activities are happening with one consciousness.
We are always moving, shifting and changing our attention from the particular to the universal and from the universal back to the
particular. The universal aspect is here called sama, sameness, and the particular aspect is called anya, the other. As you can
see, sama is etymologically related to ‘same’ and anya to ‘another’.
... the Guru says if you are always seeing things as distinct and separate, you are in a world called anya.
... The real issue ... is how to win over anya. Anya means the tendency of proliferating otherness. We are disturbed only because
of this anya, this otherness. Wherever otherness comes it interacts with the T in us, affecting our balance. If the ‘other’ is not
there, our T has nothing to fight with. The cancellation of the ‘other’ and the ego brings peace.
And how can we cancel out the effect of the ‘other’ ? The T and the ‘other’ must be unified. By knowing what constitutes the T is
the same reality as that which constitutes the ‘other’ brings unification. We can also know that this T is a fantasized modification of
consciousness and the ‘other’ is a fantasized projection of consciousness. Both are false. Once we know that neither the T nor the
‘other’ exist, there is no trouble. But it is not as easy as it sounds.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Osborne. The collected works of Ramana Maharshi
43. Gods and goddesses, merits, demerits and their fruits, which are likewise anya (other than oneself), objects of attachment and
the knowledge of those objects — all these will lead one to bondage in mighty samsara.
Related words
Ananya
Samya
Sanskrit
anya - snrq-
Variant spellings
ap
apah
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ap (apah) — ... water
1. One of the five elements. It possesses color, taste, and touch
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ap-
work;
water;
air, the intermediate region;
the Waters considered as divinities
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Apas ... Water as an element, (in Vaisesika) the second Eternal Reality (Dravya); (in Sarhkhya) the fourth Sense-Particular
(Mahabhuta), the principle of liquidity, its function is contraction, its Special Property (Visesa) is Flavour (Rasa), its General Quali¬
ties (Samanya Gunas), are Form (Rupa), Touch (Sparsa), and Sound (Sabda)
Wikipedia
Ap (ap-) is the Vedic Sanskrit term for “water”.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
In the Rigveda, several hymns are dedicated to “the waters” (apas): 7.49, 10.9, 10.30, 10.47. In the oldest of these, 7.49, the wa¬
ters are connected with the draught of Indra (Soma, referred to as “the offspring of water”, napat apam).
In Hindu philosophy, the term refers to water as an element, one of the Panchamahabhuta, or “five great elements”. In Hinduism, it
is also the name of the deva, a personification of water, (one of the Vasus in most later Puranic lists).
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Apas from the root word ap, water
See also:
in Mahabhutas: Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Diagram: Mahabhutas (Five Elements)
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
...in Classical Sanskrit occurring only in the plural, apas (sometimes re-analysed as a thematic singular, apa-), whence Hindi ap.
The term is from PIE hxap “water”. The Indo-lranian word survives also, as the Persian word for water, Ab, e.g. in Punjab (from
pancapas “five waters”). In archaic ablauting contractions, the laryngeal of the PIE root remains visible in Vedic Sanskrit, e.g.
pratlpa- “against the current”, from *proti- hxp- o-. The word has many cognates in archaic European toponyms (e.g. Mess- apia,
perhaps also Avon).
Related words
Mahabhuta
Rasa
Sanskrit
Ap ( apah ) — 37TJ 3TTIT:
ap - 3tr
apah - stpt:
Apavada
Variant spellings
apavada
apavada
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Apavada — ... statement; recession; subsequent denial; refutation (see adhyaropa-apavada)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
apavada -
evil speaking, reviling, blaming, speaking ill of (gen.);
denial, refutation, contradiction;
a special rule setting aside a general one, exception (opposed to utsarga);
order, command;
a peculiar noise made by hunters to entice deer
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
When the rope, through illusion, appears as a snake, it does not actually change into the snake. Apavada destroys this illusion and
brings out the truth. Similarly Brahman, through illusion, appears as the phenomenal world. The breaking up of this illusion—which
consists only of name and form—and the consequent discovery of Brahman, which is the underlying reality, is called Apavada.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Karapatra. Advaita Bodha Deepika
Removal of Superimposition thus consists in the knowledge of non-dual Reality, Pure Being, beyond Maya and its effects. Its reali¬
sation is Liberation while alive in the body (Jivanmukti).
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Apavada, or negation, is the elimination, through discrimination, of falsely superimposed attributes in order to discover the true na¬
ture of a thing. Thus, by negating the attributes of the illusory water in a mirage, one discovers the true nature of the desert; by ne¬
gating the attributes of the illusory snake, the true nature of the rope; by negating the attributes of the illusory man, the true nature
of the stump; by negating the attributes of the illusory silver, the true nature of the shells. In a like manner, by negating, through
discrimination, the attributes of the non-Self, one discovers the true nature of the Self, or Atman, and by negating the attributes of
the relative world, the true nature of Brahman.
See: Adhyaropa-apavada
Related words
Adhyaropa
Sanskrit
Apavada — 3iqc<iq
apavada - 3n=iK
Apara
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Apara — ... lower; lower knowledge
1. A term employed in the Upanisads to describe knowledge relating to the phenomenal world.
2. The Supreme has two natures: lower and higher. (See para.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
apara -
having nothing beyond or after, having no rival or superior;
(fr. a’pa), posterior, later, latter (opposed to pG’rva; often in comp.);
following;
western;
inferior, lower (opposed to pa’ra);
different (with abl.);
distant, opposite.
Sometimes apara is used as a conjunction to connect words or sentences e.g. apararh-ca, moreover;
the hind foot of an elephant
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Darshana Mala
That because of which emanate all the sense-objects that constitute the gross world, is called apara. It in essence is the concreti-
zation of the atma’s intentions (adhyatma-sthula- samkalpana-mayi )(cf. para)
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Apara: Relativistic, conditional.
Related words
Opposite: Para
Sanskrit
Apara — 3TPT
apara - snr
see also: para
Apara-brahman
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Apara-brahman — ... the supreme Reality as conditioned by attributes.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Apara-brahman: Lower brahman as opposed to para-brahman (supreme brahman). The causal Reality conceived as appearing as
all the effects.
Related words
Opposite: Para-brahman
Saguna-brahman
Sanskrit
Apara-brahman — 3TP7^PT
apara-brahman -sprr^T^PT
Aranyaka
Variant spellings
aranyaka
aranyaka
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Aranyaka — ... “forest book”; “forest born”; scriptural text
1. That section of the Vedas included in the Brahmana section which gives philosophical prose treatises. It interprets the ritual
section by allegorizing them and prescribing various modes of meditation (upasana) and/or symbolic worship. It was mainly meant
for ascetics who lived in the forest.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
aranyaka -
forest, wild, forest-born, produced in a forest, relating to a forest or a forest animal, (the aranyakam parva of the Maha-bharata is
either the whole third book or only the first section of it);
a forester, an inhabitant of the woods;
N[ame] of a class of religious and philosophical writings closely connected with the Brahmanas and called Aranyakas because
either composed in forests or studied there, (the Upanishads are considered to be attached to them.)
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Aranyaka (“Forest books”). General designation for a type of literature contained in the sacred texts known as the Vedas. The
Aranyakas are transitional in nature; in their content they move away from the focus on ritual and sacrifice found in the Brahmana
literature and foreshadow the later, more speculative texts known as the Upanishads. Because of their name, the Aranyakas are
widely believed to have been composed in the forests, perhaps by ascetics who had left formal society. The tone in these texts is
questioning and speculative, and in stylistic terms there is no clear break between the Aranyakas and the Upanishads: one of the
earliest upanishads is named Brhadaranyaka (“Great Forest-Book”) Upanishad, which reinforces the connection.
Wikipedia
The Aranyakas are part of the Hindu sruti, the four Vedas; they were composed in late Vedic Sanskrit typical of the Brahmanas
and early Upanishads; indeed, they frequently form part of either the Brahmanas or the Upanishads.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Aranyaka: The four Vedas were later supplemented and appended with extra portions dealing with many injunctions and laws con¬
nected with various rituals. The simplicity of Vedic worship gave place to elaborate discussions on the merits of certain rituals and
their validity, etc. Before attaining to the status of proper critical discussion, this body of literature came to be known as Aranya¬
ka, both because of the complicated nature of the teaching (a forest-Aranya), as also perhaps because of the stage of forest-life
(Vanaprastha) to which the injunctions often referred. They mark the pre-Upanishadic stage in the development cf Vedic lore as it
developed through the centuries.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Aranyakas or “forest books,” originally part of the BRAHMANA sections within the VEDAS, contain esoteric interpretations
of the Vedic rituals. They show the ritual actors performing aspects of the ritual internally and esoterically while meditating in the
forest. In the development of Indian tradition, the Aranyakas are in one sense transitional between the typical Brahmana philos¬
ophy, which explains the Vedic acts in practical terms, and the UPANISHADS, which delve into the higher philosophical vision of
the Vedas.
Wikipedia
Aranyakas ... contain Brahmana-style discussion of ritual regarded as especially dangerous, such as the Mahavrata and Pravar-
gya, [1] and therefore had to be learned in the wilderness. They have also served as receptacles of later additions to the Vedic
corpus. However, they have nothing to do, as later tradition has it, with Sannyasins or Vanaprasthas (ascetics) and they are not of
“mystical” nature but very close in nature to the Brahmanas proper rather than to the esoteric Upanishads.
... The Aranyakas discuss sacrifices, in the style of the Brahmanas, and thus are primarily concerned with the proper performance
of ritual (orthopraxy). The Aranyakas were restricted to a particular class of rituals that nevertheless were frequently included in
the Vedic curriculum.
See: Brahmana, Aranyaka, Upanishad
See: Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
aranyaka - from the verb root r = “to move” + the prefix a = “away”
Wikipedia
“Aranyaka” (aranyaka) means “belonging to the wilderness” (aranya), that is, as Taittiriya Ar. 2 says, “from where one cannot see
the roofs of the settlement”.
Related words
Brahmana
Upanishad
Veda
Sanskrit
Aranyaka — 3 ii<ut»ch
aranyaka -
Arivu
Definitions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Wisdoms frame of reference
Arivu: A Malayalam word meaning ‘knowledge’. Narayana Guru uses it as a synonym for Self, Consciousness and sometimes on
par with Subsistence (Cit).
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Arivu: A Malayalam word for “knowledge.” Narayana Guru prefers this word, especially when he refers to Pure Consciousness.
The word is also used to denote any kind of knowledge.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Consciousness (arivu) alone is real. In its absence, the existence or otherwise of anything is irrelevant. Arivu unravels itself as
everything, and is categorized into subjective and objective knowledges, both having eight constituent factors each. Therefore, the
subjective and objective aspects of knowledge have a perfect parity. However, these analyses and classifications are meaningful
only when we subject the indivisible arivu to such divisions. For even with such analyses and divisions, in reality, arivu remains
indivisible and as one.
... What in essence is this Substance referred to both as atman and brahman? Let us, as Narayana Guru himself does in Verse
3 of his Advaita Dipika (Lamp of Non-Duality), analyze something that forms part of the world, e.g., a piece of cloth. The cloth
when analyzed disappears in the being of yarn. The yarn, taken apart, disappears in the being of cotton fibres. The fibre, likewise,
disappears in the being of constituent basic elements- akasa (space), vayu (air), agni (fire), ap (water) and prthivi (earth). These
elements, in their pure and uncompounded form, have no actual existence other than as concepts. The existence of concepts is in
consciousness or mind alone. In other words, consciousness is the one Substance that manifests itself as the basic elements, as
fibres, as yarn, as cloth, as everything perceptible, in short as the world. This unconditioned Consciousness, as the all- underlying
Substance, is called cit or samvit in Sanskrit, and the Malayalam word the Guru prefers is arivu. The Reality we are in search of,
thus, is this cit or arivu.
...Matter and life are simply two different facets of the self - unfoldment of one arivu. Relating the two as cause and effect is mean¬
ingless. The only causal Substance is arivu, and it, because of the mysterious creative urge inherent in it, unfolds itself as both
matter and life.
Related words
Atman
Brahman
Cit
Meditation
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Narayana Guru
Narayana Guru raises arivu (knowledge) to the status of the Absolute. As counterparts of a dialectical situation, subject and object
cancel each other out. Thus we arrive at a notion of the indescribable which is at once immanent as well as transcendent. Thing¬
ness and knowledge become synonymous and exchangeable. The fourth verse of the Atmopadesha satakam thus brings the
quaternion of the four limbs of the Absolute [see Mandukya Upanishad] to its epistemological finality where the unspeakable fourth
culminates in the silence that follows the secret syllable AUM:
Knowledge, the objectivization of the value of the known
and one’s personal knowledge are nothing other than one primal glory (mahas);
merging into that infinite supreme
knowledge, become that alone.
(Atmopadesha satakam, verse 4)
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
The word the Guru uses repeatedly ... is arivu, meaning the Word or Knowledge. We often think of knowledge as merely pieces
of information. To correct such a faulty notion at the very outset, the Guru qualifies arivu, knowledge, as arivilumeria arivu, the
Knowledge that surpasses all knowledge. It is further described as that which is seen as the outside world and experienced within
as one’s subjective awareness.
The word ‘knowledge’ in the English language is used in a passive sense, so by translating arivu into knowledge we minimize its
meaning. The dynamic power implied in the word arivu is not in knowledge. When we hear the word 1 knowledge’ we think of some
impression being presented to the mind as a state of awareness, but this is only one small aspect of the word we are translating
here. We have already defined the Self as that knowledge which shines by its own light, and by which alone all our experiences
are produced. When we say ‘ consciousness’ we also imply the unconscious, which is the substratum of consciousness. In fact,
consciousness is only a very fragmentary part of the general unconscious. Similarly, when we speak of arivu, we also mean that
which is prior to a thing that is being known, what the state is in which it is known, in which direction it moves, the reason for such
movement, what it can affect, how it can affect, what motivation arises, and what causes that motivation itself. All these implica¬
tions are to be taken in one sweep to understand the word arivu.
Artha
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Artha — ... wealth; meaning of a word; object; thing; purpose; aim.
1. One of the goals of life (purusartha) sought by individuals. It is the secular value which is both desired and desirable. It satisfies
the acquisitive tendency in individuals. It is the economic value.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
artha -
aim, purpose (very often artham, arthena, arthaya, and arthe ifc. or with gen. ‘for the sake of, on account of, in behalf of, for’);
cause, motive, reason;
advantage, use, utility (generally named with kama and dharma see tri-varga; used in wishing well to another dat. or gen.);
thing, object (said of the membrum virile);
object of the senses;
(hence) the number ‘five’;
substance, wealth, property, opulence, money;
(in law) lawsuit, action; sense, meaning, notion
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Artha ... aim, purpose; (in Nyaya) an object of Right Knowledge (Prameya) and defined as the object of the senses (Indriyas), viz.
sound (sabda), touch (sparsa), form (rupa), flavour (rasa), and odour (gandha); wealth, as one of the three objects of human pur¬
suit (Trivarga).
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Artha is the ordering of one ‘s material affairs so as to conduce to wealth and health. “Wealth” and “health” are the physical plane
correlatives of commonweal, wholeness and holiness. Artha pertains to the Element Earth.
Wikipedia
Artha... is a Sanskrit term meaning “purpose, cause, motive, meaning, notion”.
It refers to the idea of material prosperity. In Hinduism, artha is one of the four goals of life, known as purusharthas. It is consid¬
ered to be a noble goal as long as it follows the dictates of Vedic morality. The concept includes achieving widespread fame,
garnering wealth and having an elevated social standing. It is the second of the four purusharthas, the other three being dharma
(righteousness), kama (physical or emotional pleasure) and moksha (liberation). Artha is one of the dharmas (duties) of a person
in the second stage of life, the householder stage, and during this a person must accumulate as much wealth as possible, without
being greedy, to help and support his family.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
Artha is wealth only when wealth becomes meaningful in its instrumentality to make one happy.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Artha, or wealth, is a legitimate goal of pursuit at a certain stage of man’s life. It is, with most people, an effective mode of self-ex¬
pression and an important means of establishing fellowship with others. But wealth must be acquired according to dharma, righ¬
teousness; otherwise, instead of serving a spiritual purpose, it will aggravate greed and lust for power and ultimately be a cause of
misery.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
artha — ... from the verb root arth = “ to request the sense, to point out”.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Artha (from the root arth, to strive to obtain, desire, wish)
Related words
Kama
Dharma
Moksha
Purushartha, the four goals of human life
Sanskrit
Artha —
artha - spyr
Artha-Vada
Variant spellings
artha-vada
arthavada
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Artha-vada — ... eulogistic meaning; corroborative sentence; supplimental texts which are explanatory to injunctive texts; nones¬
sential statements
1. Sentences in the Vedas which, occurring in context, may either describe existing things, praise, or denounce some deed of an
injunction. They are held to be subordinate to injunctive sentences, according to the MTmamsakas. They indicate their meaning
only as syntactically connected with the injunctive sentences.
2. They are of three kinds: figurative statements (guna-vada); statements which reiterate what is already known (anu-vada); and a
statement of a fact which is not already known and which is not contradictory to known facts (bhutartha-vada).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
arthavada -
explanation of the meaning (of any precept);
praise, eulogium
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
... the well-known division of the Veda broadly into two parts, viz. vidhi or ‘injunction’ and artha-vada or ‘explanatory passage.’ The
latter, consisting of statements describing things as they are or were, have accordingly no independent logical status and are to be
understood as complementary to what is taught in the other portion, viz. vidhi. As complements of injunctions they commend what
is prescribed; as complements of prohibitions, they condemn what is forbidden.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The method of interpretation of the Vedic texts used by Jaimini is best shown by an outline of the terms used at random through¬
out the text. For this purpose, the contents of the Vedas are classified under five heads: (1) Vidhi (Injunctions), (2) Mantra
(Hymns), (3) Namadheya (Names), (4) Nisedha (Prohibitions), and (5) Arthavada (Explanatory Passages).
... ARTHAVADA—passages in praise or blame of a Vidhi or Nisedha.
A. Gunavada—a statement made by the text that is contradictory to the existing state of the affair and means of proof.
B. Anuvada—a statement made by the text which is in keeping with the existing state of facts.
C Bhutarthavada—a statement made which is neither against the existing state of facts nor is it m conformity with it.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
The Vedas, at least in the brahmana portion, are full of taboos and obligatory injunctions in connection with what is permissible
or not in sacrifices, recitations, etc. The Vedas ... are well known to be different from Vedanta which is based on artha-vada (free
philosophical criticism and exegesis) while the Vedas are based on viddhi nisheda (injunctions and prohibitions).
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
arthavada (compounded of artha + vada, qq.v.)
Sanskrit
Art ha-vada — 3T*Jctiq
arthavada - sttwt
Arya
Variant spellings
arya
arya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Arya — ... the noble; loyal; faithful
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
arya -
a respectable or honourable or faithful man, an inhabitant of aryavarta;
one who is faithful to the religion of his country;
N. of the race which immigrated from Central Asia into aryavarta (opposed to an-arya, dasyu, dasa);
in later times N. of the first three castes (opposed to sudra);
a man highly esteemed, a respectable, honourable man;
a master, an owner;
a friend;
Buddha;
(with Buddhists... a man who has thought on the four chief truths of Buddhism ... and lives accordingly, a Buddhist priest;
behaving like an aryan, worthy of one, honourable, respectable, noble;
of a good family; excellent; wise; suitable
Wikipedia
Arya is an Old Indie and Old Iranian language self-designator that first appears in the ancient religious literature of the Indians and
of the Iranians. The adjective is significant to Hindus, Zoroastrians, Jains and Buddhists.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Aryan: Name applied vaguely by historians to tribes who crossed over the Himalaya and penetrated into the matrix of the Indian
life of prehistoric times which consisted of various amorphous formations including the so-called proto-Dravidians.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Aryan (Arya). In the VEDAS, the earliest Indian texts, the SANSKRIT word Arya had the sense of noble or worthy person. It was
used by the tribes or peoples who recited the Vedas to distinguish themselves from other peoples. Sometimes, in early Sanskrit
the term was used to refer to the “respectable” upper three classes of the Indian tradition, to distinguish them from the disreputa¬
ble classes such as the SHUDRAS and those below them, the untouchables. Most Brahmins still refer to themselves as Aryas, as
do all Buddhists and Jains...
The earliest text of the Vedic tradition, the RIG VEDA, which is set in ancient India, has been dated to around 1500 B.C.E. This
rough estimate refers to the time the text was compiled as an anthology. Parts of the text may thus date back some centuries ear¬
lier, an indication that the Aryas were in India as early as c. 2000 B.C.E.
Vedic references to the Aryas are thus synchronous with the theoretical migration of Indo- European-speaking peoples into India
from the northwest. Much scholarship and speculation have been focused on this issue since at least the 18th century, when it
was discovered that Sanskrit was an Indo-European language related to Latin and Greek, while the languages of southern India
seemed unrelated. The term Arya also appears in ancient Persian texts (it is reflected in the name of the country Iran), and in
Hittite inscriptions from the Middle East around 1500 B.C.E. The name Ireland may also reflect the word, which would be evidence
for a simultaneous Aryan migration to Europe. Recent attempts have been made in India to refute the notion that the Aryans ar¬
rived from outside the country. It is prudent to say that the issue is not yet settled.
Within India itself there are various different understandings of the nature of the Aryans. The linguistic term Dravidian, referring to
the tongues spoken in South India, was sometimes used in the 20th century to designate a people or race different and distinct
from the Aryans of the north. The term Aryan was taken up in Europe in the 20th century by the Nazis to designate a person of a
“superrace.”
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Aryan. This word is derived from the Sanskrit word arya (“noble”), which is used in the earliest Hindu sacred literature, the Ve¬
das, to describe a certain group of people that believed the Vedas were sacred. In the beginning this word simply designated “our
group” from “other people,” whom the Veda names Dasyus (“slaves”). These provide a description of the slaves as having flat
noses and curly hair. Throughout history Hindu writers have often described themselves as “Arya,” although it is important to note
that this need not be understood as a racial designation, since it could merely be intended to mean “noble.”
Who were these Aryans? Nineteenthcentury European philological research discovered structural relationships between Sanskrit
and classical European languages and speculated that all these languages came from a common parent. Based on further anal¬
ysis, these researchers hypothesized that people speaking this parent language originated in Central Asia, somewhere near the
Caspian Sea. From there, some went west to Europe, some went southwest to Turkey, and some went south toward Iran and later
to India. The conclusion that these Indian pilgrims came from Iran is based on comparisons between the Avesta and the Veda, the
Iranian and Indian religious texts. These texts show broad linguistic similarities and indicate that the people speaking the languag¬
es were closely related. This entire theory is thus based solely on the observed similarities between languages and on how they
changed.
For the nineteenth-century philologists, “Aryan” was a linguistic category used to designate people speaking certain languages
and involved no assumptions about the speakers’ racial identity. Despite this fact, the word quickly assumed a racial connotation
in European discourse, with terrible consequences.
The Aryan movement was once described as an “invasion,” but in recent years it has become more common to describe it as a
“migration.” According to the accounts in the Vedas, the Aryans were a pastoral people, and although some Vedic passages men¬
tion war chariots, the majority describe herds of cattle. Given this picture of nomads following their cattle to pasture, the image of
an invading army seems improbable.
The Aryan migration theory accounts for the dissemination of various languages but is not universally accepted. Many modern
Indians subscribe to the Indigenous Aryan (IA) theory, which maintains that the Aryans are the original inhabitants of India and as
proof points to the artifacts found in the Indus Valley civilization. Some of the people that believe the IA theory may be reacting
against the Aryan migration theory’s perceived colonialist bias, since the theory was developed by Europeans and assumes that
the dominant groups in modern India must have come from outside. Other supporters are the proponents of Hindutva, who claim
that all Indians are “really” Hindus and thus one social group, whatever their particular religious beliefs.
This assertion has profound political implications in modern India, where Christians and Muslims are not only religious communi¬
ties but social and political ones as well. By connecting Hindu identity with good Indian citizenship, Hindutva proponents are mar¬
ginalizing Christians and Muslims as outsiders.
In Sanskrit literature
General
Wikipedia
In Sanskrit and related Indie languages, Arya refers to one of high birth or caste. Although Aryas were concentrated in North India,
the title of Arya was used with various modifications throughout the Indian Subcontinent.
Vedic Sanskrit
The term Arya is used 36 times in 34 hymns in the Rigveda. While the word may ultimately derive from a tribal name, already in
the Rigveda it appears as a religious distinction, separating those who sacrifice “properly” from those who do not belong to the
historical Vedic religion, presaging the usage in later Hinduism where the term comes to denote religious righteousness or piety.
Sanskrit Epics
Arya and Anarya are primarily used in the moral sense in the Hindu Epics. People are usually called Arya or Anarya based on
their behaviour.
Mahabharata
In the Mahabharata, the terms Arya or Anarya are often applied to people according to their behaviour. Dushasana, who tried
to disrobe Draupadi in the Kaurava court, is called an “Anarya” (Mbh:0020600253). Vidura, the son of a Dasi born from Vyasa,
was the only person in the assembly whose behaviour is called “Arya”, because he was the only one who openly protested when
Draupadi was being disrobed by Dushasana. The Pandavas called themselves “Anarya” in the Mahabharata (0071670471) when
they killed Drona through deception.
According to the Mahabharata, a person’s behaviour (not wealth or learning) determines if he can be called an Arya [8].[9].Also
the whole Kuru clan was called as Arya .
Religious use
General
Wikipedia
The term arya is often found in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain texts. In the Indian spiritual context it can be applied to Rishis or to
someone who has mastered the four noble truths and entered upon the spiritual path. The religions of India are sometimes called
collectively arya dharma, a term that includes the religions that originated in India (e.g. Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism,
Jainism, Sikhism).
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Spirituality in the religious context is permeated by the twin considerations of merit or demerit, saintly or sinful, the sacred and the
profane. In the context of Sanskritist religion the corresponding expressions are arya (good or honourable) and anarya (evil or
dishonourable). The racial implications may be said to have been completely effaced from these expressions as used at present.
An Aryan is known for gentlemanly qualities, whatever his race. Thus arya and anarya which we have translated as “sacred” and
“profane” refer to twin ambivalant aspects of personal spiritual life.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
arya - from the verb root r = “to rise upward”
Wikipedia
In its oldest recorded forms, Indo-lranian arya is an ethnonym, i.e. the name of the ethnic group of Indians and Iranians them¬
selves. More precisely, it is a self-referential adjective that - from the point of view of the Indians and Iranians themselves - effec¬
tively means “pertaining to ourselves.” Its antonym anarya- (Skt. anarya-, Av. anairiia-) effectively means “pertaining to the Other”.
These oldest forms are the Vedic Sanskrit arya-, used as an autonym of the various Rigvedic tribes taken together, and Iranian
arya- (with a short-a; Old Persian ariya, Avestan airiia) used as an autonym of the Iranian people. This significance of Indo-lranian
arya as an autonym is uncontested, and has been known to scholarship for centuries.
The word’s further etymology cannot be determined with any degree of certainty.
Sanskrit
Arya — 3TT*f
Asat
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Asat— ... “nonbeing”; nonexistence; false; the world of change; unmanifested
1. It is the basis of the universe, according to Advaita Vedanta. It is falsely real and really false. Sometimes it is said to be totally
nonexistent, as in the case of a square circle.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
asat -
not being, not existing, unreal;
untrue, wrong; bad;
non-existence, nonentity
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Asat. This word denotes a general category in Indian speculative thought and is often translated as “nonbeing.” It is the absolute
opposite of sat and is formed by the addition of the negative prefix. If sat is “that which (really and truly) exists,” then its opposite is
“that which does not exist.” Since the word sat also carries connotations of Truth—that things that exist are both “real” and “true”—
asat carries connotations of falseness.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Raja Yoga
Asat. Non-being or existence. Opposite of Sat. Applied to the changing existence of the universe.
Descriptions
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
That which appears to be real, and yet, is not real—that is the Asat. Asat does not mean non-existence, like the horns of a human
being. Here, the unreal is not of that category, because if a thing is totally non-existent, it will not be seen, and the question of ris¬
ing from it does not arise. The rise of the consciousness from one state to another becomes necessitated on account of there be¬
ing an element of the real reflected in the apparent. The world of unreality is capable of being taken for reality, and therefore one
gets involved in it. Certain characters of reality are visible in the world of unreality, and so there is a mix-up of two attributes. The
appearance, as we call it, is not a total non-existence. It is a confusion, a kind of muddled thinking. ... Our individualities, our bodily
personalities are immediately available examples of this confusion of thought, where the real and the unreal are mixed up, and we
drift from one condition to another on account of not being able to judge what is what in our own cases. We have feelings which
are combinations of two aspects—the real and the unreal, the Sat and the Asat. We have a confidence that we are existing. We
never feel that we are non-existent, not also that we are a moving flow, or we are apparent, or we are in a condition of process.
... Thus, the prayer is:—Asato ma sad gamaya: ‘Lead me from the unreal to the real, from the apparent to the Absolute, so that we
shall be steadfast in that which is free from entanglement in appearances—space, time, and causal relations.’
Related words
Opposite: Sat
Sanskrit _
Asat — 3TH(J
asat - srfffT
Ashrama
Variant spellings
ashrama
ashram
asrama
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Asrama — ... a halting place; stage of life; level; hermitage; “a place of striving” or ‘(a place of) nonwandering”; “a place that re¬
moves the fatigue (of worldliness)”
1. Some claim the word is derived from the verb root sram meaning “to become weary, tired, exhausted” plus the prefix a mean¬
ing “not.” Others claim the word is derived from the verb root sram meaning “to labor, toil, to exert oneself.” Thus the word means
either “a place which is free from weariness and exhaustion” or “a place where one exherts oneself, with an emphasis on religious
exertions.” There is a third possible interpretation which derives from the root sramana (meaning “to wander”) and thus, an asrama
is a “place of rest or peace.”
2. There are four stages (asrama) of life’s journey. They delineate the individual’s vertical ascent to liberation. These four are the
student stage (brahmacarya), the householder stage (grhastha), the forest dweller (vanaprastha), and the renunciant (sannyasa).
These emphasize the individual aspect of one’s personal development. They are stages of strife when selfishness is slowly but
steadily rooted out.
3. The abode of a guru or saint. A monastic place of retreat where spiritual seekers engage in spiritual practices and study sacred
teachings.
4. See varna.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
asrama -
a hermitage, the abode of ascetics, the cell of a hermit or of retired saints or sages;
a stage in the life of a Brahman (of which there are four corresponding to four different periods or conditions, viz. 1st, Brahmacarin,
‘student of the Veda’; 2nd, Griha-stha, ‘householder ‘; 3rd, Vanaprastha, ‘anchorite ‘; and 4th, Sarhnyasin, ‘abandoner of all world¬
ly concerns’, or sometimes Bhikshu, ‘religious beggar’;
in some places the law-givers mention only three such periods of religious life, the first being then omitted);
a hut built on festal occasions;
a college, school; a wood or thicket
Wikipedia
Traditionally, an ashram (Sanskrit/Hindi: 3TT3T14T) is a religious hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus
of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo.
An ashram would typically, but not always, be located far from human habitation, in forests or mountainous regions, amidst re¬
freshing natural surroundings conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation. The residents of an ashram regularly performed
spiritual and physical exercises, such as the various forms of Yoga. Other sacrifices and penances, such as Yajnas were also
performed. Many ashrams also served as Gurukuls or residential schools for children.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Ashram : A place of retreat for peaceful cessation of duties or ritualistic activities, where those who have become sanyasis or
those who are initiates in such a path or way of life live in small self- sufficient communities, independent of the surrounding soci¬
ety, and with an universal outlook on life as members of an open world community. It may have been derived from A, prefix mean¬
ing up to the point of, and Shrama, effort, as Ashrams are places where all the preparatory stages to spiritual effort may be carried
out in peace and seclusion.
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Ashram - A spiritual commune very much like a monastery or convent.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Sanskrit ashrama was a place for ascetics to perform austerities (practices of renouncing bodily and psychological comfort),
usually at a distance from and in isolation from the larger world (shram, means to exert oneself strongly). In later times the word
came to designate a place organized for spiritual practice, a refuge where devotees could pursue their paths. Most often the ash¬
ram would be under the tutelage and guidance of a particular guru or lineage of teachers. Isolation is no longer the determining
factor of an ashram, though many are still deliberately sited away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Hindu tradition abounds with teachings based on the Four Elements. ... The Four Asramas, or stages and ways of life, are based
on the Elements. They are Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa. The first applies to the period of growth and
education. The second is the period of life as householder, as pater-and materfamilias. It is the emotional stage. The third pe¬
riod is that which pertains to the Element Fire, the mental plane. The Vanaprastha has traditionally “to live in the forest” and “to
nourish the sacrificial fires”. The forest is a symbol of the mental plane. It is “the wilderness”. The Fire has ultimately to become
“the sacrificial fire”. The last stage, Sannyasa, that of renunciation, is the spiritual stage of Air. In traditional teachings, there is an
intimate relationship between the symbolism, the rites, and the recommended way of life. The mental plane is symbolically “the
wilderness”, where “the wild beasts” of the urges and tendencies of the “animal-man” roam about. And it is actually true that the
best environment for the subjugation of those “wild beasts” is in the retreat of a forest, away from “the world”, where the mind is
sweetened and harmonized by consorting with actual wild animals. In the Tevijja Sutta the Buddha characterizes the philosophiz¬
ing of some learned Brahmans as a “waterless desert” and a “pathless jungle”. The terms are not used merely as vivid “figures of
speech” but constitute very exact symbols as the context signifies.
Wikipedia
Ashrams have been a powerful symbol throughout Hindu history and theology. Most Hindu kings, until the medieval ages, are
known to have had a sage who would advise the royal family in spiritual matters, or in times of crisis, who was called the rajguru,
which literally translates to royal teacher. A world- weary emperor going to this guru’s ashram, and finding solace and tranquility, is
a recurring motif in many folktales and legends of ancient India.
Sometimes, the goal of a Gita Pilgrimage to the ashram was not tranquility, but instruction in some art, especially warfare. In the
Hindu epic Ramayana, the protagonist princes of ancient Ayodhya, Rama and Laxman, go to the Rishi Vishvamitra’s ashram to
protect his Yajnas from being defiled by emissary- demons of Ravana. After they prove their mettle, the princes receive martial
instruction from the sage, especially in the use of enchanted weapons, called Divyastras (Sanskrit Divya: enchanted + Astra: mis¬
sile weapon; the Sanskrit word ‘astra’ means missile weapon, such as an arrow, as opposed to ‘shastra’, which means a hand-to-
hand weapon, such as a mace.) In the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna, in his youth, goes to the ashram of Sage Sandiipanii, to gain
knowledge of both intellectual and spiritual matters.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
The Hindu view of life, as conceived in the Vedas, is spiritual. It has a spiritual end designated as moksa, or Liberation. Material
enjoyments, which are necessary and legitimate at certain periods of life, should be so regulated that in the end they may lead
men to the attainment of the Highest Good. ... Nevertheless, in the lower stages of evolution the appetite for material things cannot
be ignored. If this appetite is suppressed or inhibited, an unhealthy condition is created affecting both man’s body and his mind.
The Hindu philosophers want us gradually to transform the inclinations of the senses, will, and mind, so that they may become
man’s helpers in the attainment of his spiritual end and not remain his enemies. The various divisions of individual and social life
as described in the Vedas and the Puranas bear out the ideal of man’s spiritual destiny.
Let us state briefly the four stages into which the ancient Hindus divided the lifetime of the individual. The first known as brah-
macarya, covered the period of the young man’s study. He was at that time called a brahmacari, a celibate student who lived with
his teacher, practising such disciplines as chastity, obedience, and austerity. He studied the Vedas and particularly participated
in sacrifices and ritualistic worship. He was taught orally. Living in a forest retreat away from the complexities of the city, he led a
very simple life, looking after the teacher’s cattle, chopping wood for his sacrificial fire, and spending a great part of the time close¬
ly observing Nature. It was a life of detachment and aloofness from the world. The pupil committed to memory the texts of the Ve¬
das. After completing his education, he took his leave and the teacher said to him: “Do not deviate from truth, do not deviate from
the daily recitation of the Vedas.”
During the second stage the youth embraced the householder’s life, known as garhasthya, and himself was called a grhastha. In
company with his wife he performed various sacrifices and rituals described in Samhita and Brahmana portions of the Vedas. As a
citizen he performed his civic duties according to his position in. the Hindu-caste system, as priest, military man, or trader.
But secular duties could not keep him bound to the world for ever. As a result of experience and observation he gradually be¬
came disillusioned about the glitter of the outer world. He longed for inner peace. As the signs of old age crept in, he entrusted his
worldly duties to his children and retired into the forest (aranya) with his wife. He entered upon the vanaprastha stage and became
known as a vanaprasthi, or forest-dweller. He was still, in the technical sense of the term, a householder and, as such, had to
perform certain daily sacrifices obligatory for all but the monks. But as it was not possible for him to procure in the forest all the
ingredients for such sacrifices, the Vedas laid down for him symbolic worship. He meditated on the symbolic meaning of the vari¬
ous phases of a sacrifice and thus reaped the fruit of its actual performance. To give an illustration: The Vedas enjoined upon all
householders the daily performance of the Agnihotra sacrifice, which required several material ingredients. But the forest-dweller
meditated on the various functions of the prana, or life-breath, and regarded these as spiritual counterparts of the different ingredi¬
ents...
The last stage of the lifetime of the individual, known as sannyasa, or monastic life, was entered into by those forest-dwellers who
totally gave up the world in search of Truth and Freedom. They then became bhiksus, wandering monks, or sannyasis-world-re-
nouncers. The realization of the Supreme Truth has been described as the “flight of the Alone to the Alone”. The last stage of life
is to be walked singly. Relinquishing all longing for material happiness both here and hereafter, as well as the desire for self-grati¬
fication through progeny, wealth, or heavenly bliss after death, these monks practised total renunciation, both inner and outer. As
the ultimate ascent is steep and the lofty air extremely rarefied, they not only left behind material possessions but also stripped
themselves of ego and desires. ... They were outside all castes and beyond all social conventions. They gave up the sacrifices
and ritualistic worship prescribed for the other three stages. They lived a life of freedom, which they had earned through strict
observance of religious and moral laws. They were the spiritual teachers of men and were shining examples of peace and detach¬
ment. But by no means is a sannyasi a selfish person. His life is dedicated to the service of all, irrespective of caste or creed.
The sannyasis studied the Upanishads, the concluding parts of the Vedas, which describe the Knowledge of Brahman, or the
Absolute, and the disciplines for Its attainment. By the spiritually-minded Hindus they were naturally held in the highest esteem for
their purity, detachment, unselfishness’ and utter devotion to Truth. As the burning tip of the wick shows that a lamp is ablaze, so,
likewise, the presence of these free souls at the top of Hindu society demonstrated that its social life was functioning well. Though
in general the life of the Indo-Aryans in ancient India followed this pattern and the monastic life was the natural culmination of the
three previous stages, yet an aspirant for Truth might become a monk at any stage. An injunction of the Vedas declares: “The day
a man is seized with a spirit of dispassion he should forthwith renounce the world.” The Vedas speak of young men and women
who took the vow of renunciation without going through the stages of the householder’s and the forestdweller’s life.
A brahmachari had to read all the Vedas, though the Samhitas really moulded his life. Likewise, the householders followed the
injunctions of the Brahmanas, the forest-dwellers those of the Aranyakas, and the monks those of the Upanishads.
See also:
in Vairagya: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Related words
Brahmacarya
Grihastha
Matha
Sannyasa
Vanaprastha
Sanskrit
Asrama — 3TTW
asrama -
Ashtavakra Gita
Title
Ashtavakra Gita
mi Mill'd I
astavakragTta
Ashtavakra Samhita
Descriptions
Ashtavakra Gita is a Sanskrit work on Advaita-Vedanta from the time of the younger Upanishads, it is a dialogue between Ashta¬
vakra and his disciple Janaka.
General
Wikipedia
Ashtavakra Gita presents the traditional teachings of Advaita Vedanta with a clarity and power very rarely matched. The work was
known, appreciated and quoted by Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda, as well as by Ramana Maharshi, Osho and Sri Sri
Ravi Shankar. Radhakrishnan refers to it with great respect.
The Ashtavakra Gita or the Song of Ashtavakra is an Advaita Vedanta scripture which documents a dialogue between the Perfect
Master Ashtavakra and Janaka, the King of Mithila.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
... Others like Sankara, as we have seen in his Vivekachudamani condemn outright practices like pranayama as not conducive
to the attainment of the Absolute. He stands for pure wisdom-understanding as the only means for the attainment of the ends of
spirituality and gives his favourite example of how cooking would be impossible without fire. Superior and contemplative texts such
as the Ashtavakra Gita , said to be held in high esteem by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the Guru of Swami Vivekananda, tend to
dismiss the duality between ends and means in spirituality and say that no kind of intense or austere regime or practice is neces¬
sary.
Authors
Ashta means ‘eight’ and vakra means ‘bends’. Ashtavakra was so named
because his body had eight deformities.
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ashtavakra - (“eight bends”) In the Mahabharata, the later of the two great Hindu epics, Ashtavakra is a sage who is the son of
Khagodara. According to tradition, Ashtavakra is an exceptionally precocious child, and this gets him into serious trouble. While he
is still in his mother’s womb, Ashtavakra corrects his father’s pronunciation of a certain mantra. In response his father curses him
to be bent, and when the child is born he has eight bends in his body.
Despite his unusual appearance, Ashtavakra becomes a learned sage and is widely believed to be the author of the Ashtavakragi-
ta (“Song of Ashtavakra”).
Wilson. The Vishnu Purana
The story of Ashtavakra is related in the Mahabharata.il He was the son of Kahoda, who, neglecting his wife, was rebuked for it
by his yet unborn son. The father angrily cursed him, that he should be born bent in every part; and he was, accordingly, brought
forth crooked (vakra) in eight limbs (ashtan). He became, nevertheless, a celebrated sage.
Synopsis
Raja Janaka ruled over the country of Videha. Once he had a dream in which a rival king with a large army had invaded his coun¬
try. He was driven out of his palace barefooted and without any clothes covering him. Thirsty and hungry, Janaka was roaming
about in a jungle. He reached a small town where he begged for food. With great difficulty he obtained some rice water. Janaka
took it with intense joy and just as he put it to his lips, two large bulls tumbled fighting over him. The bowl was broken to pieces.
Janaka woke up with great fear.
He was trembling violently. He he could not understand, which of his two states was real. All the time he was in dream, he never
thought that it was an illusion.
His only thought now was, “Which is real, this or that?” From that time he left all his work and became silent. He uttered nothing
but the above words.
His ministers announced that anyone who cured the Raja will be richly rewarded and those who fail to cure the Raja will be put to
prison for life. Hundreds of Brahmins well versed in the science of curing diseases were put in the state prison.
Among the prisoners was also the father of the great sage Ashtavakra. When Ashtavakra was a boy of only ten years of age, he
was told by his mother that his father was a state prisoner because he failed to cure Raja Janaka. He at once started to see Jana-
ka and offered his answer to the Raja, he whispered into the ear of Janaka, “Neither this nor that is real.” Raja Janaka at once
became joyful. His confusion was removed.
Raja Janaka then asked Ashtavakra, “What is real?” A long dialogue ensued between him and the sage. This is recorded in
Ashtavakra Gita.
Publications
Translations
Ashtavakra Gita (Archival Special Edition). Tr. by Swami Nityaswarupananda. 2001, 1st Ed. PB , Size H, 298 pp.,1037; 81-88018-
57-0
Teachings imparted by the Sage Ashtavakra to King Janaka. The facsimile edition is a copy of the book presented to Bhagavan by
the Maharaja of Mysore in 1932. It contains Bhagavan’s handwriting of the Sanskrit text, Kannada text and English translation.
Atharva Veda
Title
Atharva Veda — 3T*icJclq
Sanscrit: srspypfc
Atharva Veda
Atharvaveda
Atharvangirasa
Author(s)
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Atharva Veda — ... wisdom of (the sage) Atharva, one of the four Vedas.
Wikipedia
According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Atharvanas and the Angirasa,
hence its oldest name is Atharvangirasa. In the Late Vedic Gopatha Brahmana, it is attributed to the Bhrigu and Angirasa. Addi¬
tionally, tradition ascribes parts to other rishis, such as Kausika, Vasistha and Kasyapa.
See also:
in Veda: Author(s)
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Atharva Veda became part of the greater tradition somewhat later. It consists primarily of spells and charms used to ward off
diseases or influence events. This text is considered the source document for Indian medicine (AYURVEDA). It also contains a
number of cosmogonic hymns that show the development of the notion of divine unity in the tradition. A priest of the Atharva Veda
was later included in all public rituals. From that time tradition spoke of four Vedas rather than three.
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The fourth collection, the Atharva-Veda, probably attained its present form considerably later than the Rg-Veda. In spirit, howev¬
er, as Professor Macdonell says, “It is not only entirely different from the Rigveda but represents a much more primitive stage of
thought. While the Rigveda deals almost exclusively with the higher gods as conceived by a comparatively advanced and refined
sacerdotal class, the Atharva-Veda is, in the main a book of spells and incantations appealing to the demon world, and teems with
notions about witchcraft current among the lower grades of the population, and derived from an immemorial antiquity. These two,
thus complementary to each other in contents are obviously the most important of the four Vedas.”
Wikipedia
The Atharvaveda is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the “fourth Veda”.
It is clear that the core text of the Atharvaveda is not particularly recent in the Vedic Samhita tradition, and falls within the classical
Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit at the end of 2nd millennium BCE - roughly contemporary with the Yajurveda mantras, the Rigve-
dic Khilani, and the Samaveda.
The Atharvaveda is also the first Indie text to mention Iron (as syama ayas, literally “black metal”), so that scholarly consensus
dates the bulk of the Atharvaveda hymns to the early Indian Iron Age, corresponding to the 12th to 10th centuries BC or the early
Kuru kingdom.
During its oral tradition, however, the text has been corrupted considerably more than some other Vedas, and it is only from com¬
parative philology of the two surviving recensions that we may hope to arrive at an approximation of the original reading.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Atharva Veda, which is often treated as a heretical Veda, not respectable enough to be counted along with the other three Vedas,
has appended to it the cream of the Upanisads, which give the substance of Advaita Vedanta. They are thirty one in number, the
most significant are: Prasna, Mundaka and Mandukya. In the Madhu Brahmana of the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad itself, there is an
attempt to cover up the identity of Atharvan to whom the Atharva Veda is attributed.
Relations of Vedas to their objects, four elements, etc.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Wikipedia
The Shaunakiya text is clearly divided into four parts: Kandas 1-7 deal with healing and general black and white magic that is to
be applied in all situations of life, from the first tooth of a baby to regaining kingship. Kandas 8-12 constitute early speculation on
the nature of the universe and of humans as well as on ritual, and are thus predecessors of the Upanishads. They continue the
speculative tradition of some Rigvedic poets. Kandas 13-18 deal with issues of a householder’s life, such as marriage, death and
female rivalry, as well as with the ambiguous Vratyas on the fringes of society and with the Rohita sun as an embodiment of roy¬
al power. Kandas 19 is an addition and Kanda 20 is a very late addition containing Rgvedic hymns for the use of the Atharvanic
Brahmanacchamsin priest as well as for the enigmatic Kuntapa ritual of the Kuru kingdom of Parikshit. The Paippalada text has a
similar arrangement into four parts (Kandas 1-15, 16-17, 18, 19-20) with roughly the same contents.
The AV is the first Indie text dealing with medicine. It identifies the causes of disease as living causative agents such as the yatud-
hana, the kimldin, the krimi or krmi and the durnama. The Atharvans seek to kill them with a variety of incantations or plant based
drugs in order to counter the disease (see XIX.34.9). This approach to disease is quite different compared to the trihumoral theory
of Ayurveda.
The Atharvaveda also informs about warfare. A variety of devices such as an arrow with a duct for poison (apaskambha) and
castor bean poison, poisoned net and hook traps, use of disease spreading insects and smoke screens find a place in the Athar¬
vaveda samhita (eg. hymns IX .9, IX.10, the trisamdi and nyarbudi hymns). These references to military practices and associated
Ksatriya rites were what gave the Atharvaveda its reputation.
Several regular and special rituals of the Aryans are a major concern of the Atharvaveda, just as in the three other Vedas. The
major rituals covered by the AV are marriage in kamda - XIV and the funeral in kamda - XVIII. There are also hymns that are spe¬
cific to rituals of the bhrgu- angirasas, vratyas and ksatriyas. One peculiar rite is the Visasahi Vrata, performed with the mantras of
the XVII kamda in a spell against female rivals. ... Finally, there are some rituals aimed at the destruction of the enemies (Abhicari-
ka hymns and rites), particularly found in chapters 1-7. While these support traditional negative views on the AV, in content they
are mirrored by several other hymns from the Rig as well as the Yajuses. Moreover, Abhicarika rites were an integral part of Vedic
culture, as is amply attested in the brahmana literature. Thus the Atharvaveda is fully within the classic Vedic fold, though it was
more specific to certain Brahman clans of priests...
Philosophical excursions are found in books 8-12. One of the most spectacular expressions of philosophical thought is seen in the
hymn XII.I, the Hymn to goddess Earth or the PrthivT Sukta used in the Agrayana rite. The foundations of Vaisesika Darsana is ex¬
pressed in the mantra XII.1.26 in which the ‘atoms’ (Pamsu) are described forming the stone, the stones agglutinating to form the
rocks and the rocks held together to form the Earth. Early pantheistic thought is seen in the hymn X.7 that describes the common
thread running through all manifest and non- manifest existence as the skambha. ...The hymn also describes a pantheistic nature
of the Vedic gods (X.7.38): skambha is the heat (tapah) that spreads through the universe (Bhuvana) as waves of water; the units
of this spreading entity are the gods even as branches of one tree. This theme is repeatedly presented in various interpretations
in later Hindu philosophies.
Publications
Translations
The Shaunakiya text. Translations into English were made by Ralph Griffith (2 vols, Benares 1897), D. Whitney (revised by Lan-
man, 2 vols, Cambridge, Mass. 1905), and M. Bloomfield (SBE Vol XLII); also see Bloomfield, “The Atharvaveda” in “Grundriss
der Indoarischen Philologie”, II (Strasburg, 1899).
The Paippalada text. Book 2 was edited and translated by Thomas Zehnder (1999) and book 5 by Alexander Lubotsky (2002), and
books 6-7 by Arlo Griffiths (2004).
Bloomfield, Maurice, trans. and ed. Hymns of the Atharva-Veda. Delhi, 1964. Reprint of “Sacred Books of the East,” vol. 42 (Ox¬
ford, 1897). Translations and interpretations of the most important incantations and hymns of the fourth Veda from ancient India by
one of the outstanding American Sanskritists of the nineteenth century.
Related words
Mahavakya: Ayamatma- Brahma
Mandukya Upanishad
Mundaka Upanishad
Prashna Upanishad
Veda
Atman
Variant spellings
atma
atman
atman
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Atman —... the inner Self
1. The Reality which is the substrate of the individual and identical with the Absolute (Brahman), according to Advaita Vedanta.
It cannot be doubted, for it is the basis of all experience. It cannot be known by thought, as the knower cannot be the known. Yet
there is no experience without it. It is the basis of all proofs, yet cannot be proved itself, though it can be experienced.
2. Nyaya and Vaisesika call it the substratum in which cognition inheres. It is of two kinds: supreme Soul and individual soul. It is
a substance which is revealed in one’s inner perceptual experience arising through the inner sense of mind, independently of the
external senses.
3. Sankhya and Yoga define it as an unrelated, attributeless, self-luminous, omnipresent entity which is identical with conscious¬
ness.
4. The Upanisads say that it denotes the ultimate essence of the universe as well as the vital breath in human beings.
5. It is the unseen basis which is the reality within the five sheaths. It is the spark of the Divine within. It is the reality behind the ap¬
pearance, and universal and immanent in every entity. It is not bom nor does it die. It is imperishable, according to the Upanisads.
6. In the Indian philosophical systems, the Self is said to be of one of three sizes: Dvaita Vedanta and Visistadvaita Vedanta call
it atomic (anu-parimana); Advaita Vedanta and Sankhya call it all-pervasive (vibhuparimana); Jainism calls it neither atomic nor
all-pervasive but of medium size (madhyama-parimana).
7. Buddhism denies any reality to the Self altogether. (See anatman.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
atman -
the breath;
the soul, principle of life and sensation;
the individual soul, self, abstract individual;
essence, nature, character, peculiarity;
the person or whole body considered as one and opposed to the separate members of the body;
the body;
the understanding, intellect, mind;
the highest personal principle of life, Brahma;
effort;
firmness;
the sun;
fire;
a son
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The atman is the self or soul. The word is derived either from the root at (to move) or the root an (to breathe). It is used both for
the individual self or soul and for the transcendent “Self” or “All- soul,” which is all reality. Often the individual self is referred to as
the jivatman, “the life self,” and the transcendent Self is referred to as the paramatman, or “Ultimate Self.”
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
... Atman, which properly is the exact equivalent of the english “Self”. Thus Atman means that which remains if we take away from
our person all that is Non-self, foreign, all that comes and passes away; it means “the changeless, inseparable essence of our
own Self”, and on the other hand the essence of the Self of the whole world.
Wikipedia
The Atman is a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the soul. It is one’s true self (hence generally
translated into English as ‘Self’) beyond identification with the phenomenal reality of worldly existence.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Atma (Atman): The self (from the root “at”, meaning “to prevade”). The invisible reality or stuff that prevades any visible form. Often
confused with jiva, the soul. Used in slightly altered senses according to the context. The simplest meaning of the word is “I” or
“oneself”.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Upanishads and Vedanta philosophy focus on realizing the unity between the individual self and the ultimate Self, by means
of various practices. When one realizes (not just intellectually knows) the unity of individual self and Ultimate Self, one breaks the
bonds of KARMA and escapes from further rebirth.
Some sort of meditation or contemplation is always necessary to realize the unity of Ultimate Self and individual self. Some Indian
paths emphasize “knowledge,” or transcendental realization; some paths emphasize devotion; some look to combine devotion and
action, or knowledge, action, and devotion, to reach this final goal. Though ADVAITA (non-dual) Vedanta emphasizes a total iden¬
tity between the individual atman and the large atman, other Indian traditions understand that there are an infinite number of totally
distinct individual selves or atmans that never merge into each other at the highest level. VAISHNAVISM generally holds this view,
as does SHAIVA SIDDHANTA.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
... The next word we have to examine is Atman. It is next in importance to Brahman only, and the two together may be called the
two pillars on which rests nearly the whole of the edifice of Indian philosophy, more particularly of the Vedanta and Samkhya sys¬
tems.
... Whenever we come across such words as Atman and Brahman we suspect Vedantic influences, whereas Purusha and PrakHti
at once remind us of Sawkhya doctrines. But Atman is by no means unknown to early Samkhya philosophers, nor is Purusha en¬
tirely outside the Vedantic horizon.
... All these [Upadhis, i.e. the Manas, the central organ of perception, the Indriyas, the five senses, etc.] are not the Atman, and it
is only through Avidya that the Atman has become identified with them.
... That there is in man something that can be called Atman or Self requires no proof, but if a proof were wanted it would be found
in the fact that no one can say, ‘ I am not ‘ (I being the disguised Atman), for he who would say so, would himself be not, or would
not be. The question then is What is really I or what is there real behind the I. It cannot be the body as influenced by our objective
environment, for that body is perishable ; it cannot be the Indriyas or the Manas or the Mukhyaprima, for all these have a begin¬
ning, a growth, and therefore an end. All these, called the Upadhis, conditions, are to be treated as Not-self; arid if it be asked why
they should ever have been treated as Self, the only possible answer is that it was through Nescience or Avidya, but through a
Nescience that is not only casual or individual, but universal. What in our common language we call the Ego or Ahamkara is but a
product of the Manas and quite as unsubstantial in reality as the Manas itself, the senses and the whole body.
Wikipedia
Philosophical schools such as Advaita (monism) see the soul within each living entity as being fully identical with Brahman - the
all- pervading soul of the universe, whereas other schools such as Dvaita (dualism) differentiate between the individual atma in
living beings, and the Supreme atma (Paramatma) as being at least partially separate beings. Thus atman refers to the individual
soul or the observer.
Within Advaita Vedanta philosophy the Atman is the universal life- principle, the animator of all organisms, and the world- soul.
This view is of a sort of panentheism (not pantheism) and thus is sometimes not equated with the single creator God of monothe¬
ism. Identification of individual living beings/souls, or jiva- atmas, with the ‘One Atman’ is the monistic Advaita Vedanta position,
which is critiqued by dualistic/theistic Dvaita Vedanta. Dvaita Vedanta calls the all-pervading aspect of Brahman Paramatman
quantitatively different from individual Atman and claims reality for both a God functioning as the ultimate metaphorical “soul” of
the universe, and for actual individual “souls” as such. The Dvaita, dualist schools, therefore, in contrast to Advaita, advocate an
exclusive monotheistic position wherein Brahman is made synonymous with Vishnu. Aspects of both philosophies are found within
the schools of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta and Achintya Bheda Abheda.
In some instances both Advaita and Dvaita schools may accommodate the others’s belief as a lower form of worship or practice
towards the same ultimate goal.
In the view of the Yoga school, the highest attainment does not reveal the experienced diversity of the world to be illusion. The
everyday world is real. Furthermore, the highest attainment is the event of one of many individual selves discovering itself; there is
no single universal self shared by all persons.
The pre-Buddhist Upanishads link the Self to the feeling “I am.” Others like the post- Buddhist Maitri Upanishad hold that only the
defiled individual self, rather than the universal self, thinks “this is I” or “this is mine”.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Every experience, we know, involves the three basic factors called triputi. The Reality, seen from that point of view,is the one that
manifests itself as the knower, the known and the act of knowing at the same time.
Every act of knowing takes place in and is inseparable from the knower. The knower, in his turn, is an integral partof the known
world. Knowing really what Reality is, therefore, in essence, is the event of the knower finding himself merged with the known,
through the act of knowing, with no distinction remaining finally among the three.
This Reality, in Vedanta, is known as atma or atman. A word derived from the verb root at, meaning to pervade the being of some¬
thing (ad vyapane), it signifies the Substance that pervades the being of all that has come into being. One such being is the know¬
er himself. Therefore, the word atma denotes the self or oneself as well. Its best English equivalant is “the self.”
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
You won’t find the eternal by meditating on the body or the mind or any of the senses or sensory pleasures that disappear after a
while.
One should turn to the pure awareness that was present even when one was in the mother’s womb as a fertilized ovum, a devel¬
oping fetus, and as a child who was pushing itself out through a strange kind of interaction between itself and the mother, finally to
come to its own liberation. All these things are done by another awareness residing within. It is the same in the mother, the child,
the father, and all the living beings all over the universe. It is a common life principle, a homogeneous principle of life, which can
remain dormant, come into a form of manifestation, and assert itself in all shades of awareness, yet it is never itself affected. It is
immortal; it never dies. It is called the atman.
To meditate on it, the ancient wise ones made a formula, ayam atma brahma. It means, this atma is brahman; this self-luminous
awareness that resides in all beings is the Absolute. That which is other than that which lies between the skin and all the oth¬
er urges, it never perishes. When we contemplate this, when we meditate on it continuously, there comes the perfection of that
awareness.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
A sannyasi asked: It is said that the Self is beyond the mind and yet the realisation is with the mind. Mano na manute, Manasa na
matam, and Manasaivedamaptavyam (The mind cannot think it. It cannot be thought of by the mind and the mind alone can real¬
ise it). How are these contradictions to be reconciled?
M.: Atman is realised with mruta manas (dead mind), i.e., mind devoid of thoughts and turned inward. Then the mind sees its own
source and becomes That. It is not as the subject perceiving an object.
When the room is dark a lamp is necessary to illumine and eyes to cognise objects. But when the sun is risen there is no need of
a lamp, and the objects are seen; and to see the sun no lamp is necessary, it is enough that you turn your eyes towards the selflu-
minous sun.
Similarly with the mind. To see the objects the reflected light of the mind is necessary. To see the Heart it is enough that the mind
is turned towards it. Then the mind loses itself and the Heart shines forth.
... Mouna [silence] is said to be that state which spontaneously manifests after the annihilation of the ego. That state is beyond
light and darkness, but still it is called light since no other proper word could be found for it.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
The different philosophies seem to agree that this Atman, whatever it be, has neither form nor shape, and that which has neither
form nor shape must be omnipresent. Time begins with mind, space also is in the mind. Causation cannot stand without time.
Without the idea of succession there cannot be any idea of causation. Time, space, and causation, therefore, are in the mind, and
as this Atman is beyond the mind and formless it must be beyond time, beyond space, and beyond causation. Now if it is beyond
time, space and causation, it must be infinite. Then comes the highest speculation in our philosophy. The infinite cannot be two.
If the soul be infinite there can be only one soul, and all these ideas of various souls you having one soul, and I having another,
and so forth are not real. The real man therefore is one and infinite, the omnipresent spirit. And the apparent man is only a limita¬
tion of that real man. In that sense all these mythologies are true, that the apparent man, however great he may be, is only a dim
reflection of the real man which is beyond. The real man, the spirit, being beyond cause and effect, not bound by time and space,
must therefore be free. He was never bound, and could not be bound. The apparent man, the reflec tion, is limited by time, space
and causation, and he is therefore bound. Or in the language of some of our philosophers, he appears to be bound, but really is
not. This is the reality in our souls, this omni presence, this spiritual nature, this infinity, which we are already. Every soul is infinite,
therefore there is no question of birth and death.
Atma and anatma
Nataraja. The Philosophy of a Guru
The Self and the non-Self can be treated as dialectical counterparts and both placed in one unitive context of the Absolute. ...
In Vedanta it is normal to speak of atma (Self) and anatma (non-Self) as pratiyogis (counterparts) with an intimate bipolar relation
(samavaya) between them, and not merely a contiguous relationship (samyoga). ..
The non-Self can be thought of in a more work-a-day sense as fitting into a horizontal world of practical values, while the purer
Self with its dialectical counterparts, one ontological here, and the other of a teleological or transcendental order elsewhere in the
beyond, above or the ultimate or infinity, referring to vertical value worlds, could represent all values possible for the Self to be
affiliated to in contemplative life. We have already explained and justified the use of these references in previous studies.
The Self can be thought of as a big fish swimming in midstream in the direction of the current, alternately avoiding the two banks,
if we may take an analogy dear the the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The two banks will represent its limits in the horizontal axis of
reference while itself and its almost motionless motion would represent the Self, whether thought of as a sphere, elipse or the trac-
tix that mathematicians like Lobachewsky have sugested for the structure of space tensorially undersood and independent of size.
The Upanishads often speak of a person, of the size of the thumb and entered into the cavity of the heart, who has his counterpart
in the Sun. There is a subtle dialectical equation of these into the unitive terms of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. The Self and
non-Self have to be fitted into a schematic structure before what we should understand as the purpose of all scriptures such as the
Upanishads can be fulfilled or justified.
Atman and manas
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Talk 99.
A sannyasi asked: It is said that the Self is beyond the mind and yet the realisation is with the mind. Mano na manute, Manasa na
matam, and Manasaivedamaptavyam (The mind cannot think it. It cannot be thought of by the mind and the mind alone can real¬
ise it). How are these contradictions to be reconciled?
M.: Atman is realised with mruta manas (dead mind), i.e., mind devoid of thoughts and turned inward. Then the mind sees its own
source and becomes That. It is not as the subject perceiving an object. When the room is dark a lamp is necessary to illumine and
eyes to cognise objects. But when the sun is risen there is no need of a lamp, and the objects are seen; and to see the sun no
lamp is necessary, it is enough that you turn your eyes towards the selfluminous sun.
Similarly with the mind. To see the objects the reflected light of the mind is necessary. To see the Heart it is enough that the mind
is turned towards it. Then the mind loses itself and the Heart shines forth.
Bhuta and atma
See: Brahman and atman
See: Cit, atman, brahman
See: Ishvara, atman, guru
See: Karma, prakriti, atman
See: Maya and atman
See: Prajapati, brahman, atman
See: Saccidananda and atman
Etymology
General
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
It is not possible, as in the case of Prajapati and Brahman, to frame a history of the word Atman. It has no regular development but
we see it emerge here and there in proportion as the thinker seeks and finds a more clear-cut expression for the word Brahman to
name that being which can never by any means be taken away from us, and therefore forms the only true essence of our nature,
our atman, our Self. With this word we have reached the sphere of the Upanishads.
Dictionary - Grimes
atma — “breath” (from the verb root at = “to breathe”) or (from the verb root ap - “to pervade, reach up to”)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
atman - variously derived fr. an, to breathe; at, to move; va, to blow
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
The etymology of Atman is again extremely obscure, probably because it belongs to a pre- Sanskritic, though Aryan stratum of
Indian speech. However, there can be little doubt that in the Veda Atman, in several places, still means breath ... It then came to
mean vital breath, life, and, like the spirit or breath, was frequently used in the sense of what we call soul. In some passages it
is difficult to say whether we should translate it by life or by spirit. From soul there is but a small step to Self... in other passages
Atman signifies simply the inmost nature of anything, and more particularly of man, so that in the end it means much the same as
what medieval philosophers would have called the quiddity, or Indian philosophers the ldant& of things ... In this sense Atman is
afterwards used as the name of the highest person, the soul of the world (Paramatman), ... the sovereign of all beings, he is the
king of all beings.
Wikipedia
The word atman is connected with the Indo- European root *et-men (breath) and is cognate with Old English “ae|3m”, Greek “asth¬
ma”, and German “Atem” : “atmen” (to breathe).
Related words
Brahman
Cit
Jiva
Jivatman
Maya
Paramatman
Saccidananda
Saksin
Sanskrit
atnflR — atma
/
atman - WdHH
Muller. The Upanishads, Part 1: When Atman occurs in philosophical treatises, such as the Upanishads and the Vedanta system
which is based on them, it has generally been translated by soul, mind, or spirit. I tried myself to use one or other of these words, but
the oftener I employed them, the more I felt their inadequacy, and was driven at last to adopt self and Self as the least liable to misun¬
derstanding.
... If we translate Atman by soul, mind, or spirit, we commit, first of all, that fundamental mistake of using words which may be
predicated, in place of a word which is a subject only, and can never become a predicate. We may say in English that man pos¬
sesses a soul, that a man is out of his mind, that man has or even that man is a spirit, but we could never predicate Atman, or self,
of anything else. Spirit, if it means breath or life; mind, if it means the organ of perception and conception; soul, if, like kaitanya,
it means intelligence in general, all these may be predicated of the Atman, as manifested in the phenomenal world. But they are
never subjects in the sense in which the Atman is; they have no independent being, apart from Atman. Thus to translate the begin¬
ning of the Aitareya- upanishad, Atma va idam eka evagra asTt, by This (world) verily was before (the creation of the world) soul
alone’ (Roer); or, ‘Originally this (universe) was indeed soul only’ (Colebrooke), would give us a totally false idea. M. Regnaud in
his ‘Materiaux pour servir a I’histoire de la philosophie de I’lnde’ (vol. ii, p. 24) has evidently felt this, and has kept the word Atman
untranslated, ‘Au commencement cet univers n’etait que I’atman.’ But while in French it would seem impossible to find any equiva¬
lent for atman, I have ventured to translate in English, as I should have done in German, ‘Verily, in the beginning all this was Self,
one only.’
Atma vidya
Variant spellings
atma-vidya
atmavidya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Atma-vidya — ... “knowledge of the Self
1. Realization of the reality of the Self.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
atmavidya -
knowledge of soul or the supreme spirit
Descriptions
General
Muller. The Upanishads, Part 1
... when we read in Sanskrit, ‘Know the Self by the self,’ atmanam atmana pasya, tempting as it may seem, it would be entirely
wrong to render it by the Greek yvd)0i oeciutov. The Brahman called upon his young pupil to know not himself, but his Self, that is,
to know his individual self as a merely temporary reflex of the Eternal Self. Were we to translate this so-called atmavidya, this self-
knowledge, by knowledge of the soul, we should not be altogether wrong, but we should nevertheless lose all that distinguishes
Indian from Greek thought. It may not be good English to say to know his self, still less to know our seifs, but it would be bad San¬
skrit to say to know himself, to know ourselves; or, at all events, such a rendering would deprive us of the greatest advantage in
the study of Indian philosophy, the opportunity of seeing in how many different ways man has tried to solve the riddles of the world
and of his soul.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Talk 379.
One Tirumalpad of Nilambur, a Malayali gentleman, asked Sri Bhagavan for an explanation of Atma Vidya. (Knowledge of the
Self.)
M.: Sri Bhagavan explained this short piece of 5 stanzas as follows: Chidambaram is the famous place of pilgrimage associated
with Nandanar who sang that Atma Vidya is most difficult of attainment. Muruganar (a long-standing devotee of Sri Bhagavan)
began however that Atma Vidya is the easiest of attainments. Ayye atisulabham is the burden of the song.
In explanation of this extraordinary statement, he argued that Atma being the Self is eternally obvious even to the least of men.
The original statement and the subsequent reasoning are incompatible because there need be no attainment if the Self is the sub¬
stratum of all selves and so obvious too. Naturally he could not pursue the theme further and laid the first four lines composed by
him before Sri Bhagavan for completion.
Sri Bhagavan admitted the truth of the disciple’s statement and pointed out why the Self, though obvious, is yet hidden. It is the
wrong identity of the Self with the body, etc.
D.: How did the wrong identity arise?
M.: Due to thoughts. If these thoughts are put an end to, the real Self should shine forth of itself.
D.: How are these thoughts to be ended?
M.: Find out their basis. All of them are strung on the single ‘l-thought’. Quell it; all others are quashed. Moreover there is no use
knowing all except the Self. If the Self is known all others become known. Hence is Self-Realisation the primary and sole duty of
man.
D.: How to quell the ‘l-thought’?
M.: If its source is sought it does not arise, and thus it is quelled.
D.: Where and how to find it?
M.: It is in fact the consciousness which enables the individuals to function in different ways. Pure Consciousness is the Self. All
that is required to realise the Self is to “Be Still.”
D.: What can be easier than that?
M.: So Atma Vidya is the easiest of attainment.
Related words
Brahmavidya
Sanskrit
Atma-vidya — aiicnfcifli
atmavidya -
AUM
See: OM
Avarana
Variant spellings
avarana
avarana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Avarana — ... concealment; veil; screen; obstruction
1. The veiling power of ignorance. According to Advaita Vedanta, one of the twofold powers of ignorance (avidya).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
avarana -
covering, hiding, concealing;
the act of covering, concealing, hiding;
shutting, enclosing;
an obstruction, interruption;
a covering, garment, cloth;
anything that protects, an outer bar or fence;
a wall;
a shield;
a bolt, lock
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Avarana: Anything which veils the vision or reality, as in the case of a thin cloth or smokescreen. A subtle and general state of ig¬
norance is suggested, also a lazy or negative state of mind, as in the case of a cow frightened by a red cloth. Degrees of Avarana
can be imagined, and the philosopher has to have a vision cleared of this smoke.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Avarana: A veil. Atman manifesting itself as the world results in not seeing atma as real, but in seeing the manifestations as real.
It is as if atma, because of its own maya, puts a veil on itself resulting in seeing the unreal as real. This veiling power of maya is
called avarana.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
When we see an ornament, it is as if the gold recedes from our view. Of course the jeweller sees all ornaments as gold when he
weighs them and fixes their price. Likewise, to the degree that we see the world, to that degree the atma-content gets concealed.
This concealment of what is real by its own assumed form is known as avarana (veil). In other words, the world as an avarana,
conceals atma. The same avarana of my individuated form conceals my being atma. The same creates the impression, “I and
consciousness are two”, “I am the possessor of consciousness.” When this avarana is removed, I and consciousness become
revealed to be non-dual, the world and atma to be non-dual. So what we are looking for is the way to remove this veil.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Lessons on the Upanishads
There is a screen covering the consciousness of... pure subjectivity in oneself. That screen is called avarana, the third defect of
the mind. Dross, physical impurity, is removed by karma yoga, or the performance of unselfish action. The fickleness of the mind
is subdued by upasana, or devout worship. And avarana, or the veil, is removed by jnana, or wisdom of life.
Avarana and vikshepa
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Hindu tradition distinguishes two aspects of Her Power [Power of Maya], The first is that of Avarana Sakti, “the Veiling Power”. It is
that which veils Consciousness in the Veils of the Spheres. The second is Vikshepa Sakti, “the Projecting Power”. It is the Power
which projects Consciousness on to ihe Veils or Mirrors of the Spheres, and which tosses it to and fro in between them. All people
who try to think or to meditate are well aware of the oscillating characteristic of the conscious mind. The mind jumps to and fro like
a monkey. Meditation aims, among other things, at overcoming this Vikshepa or tossing of the mind, as a condition for the piercing
of the Veils.
Transmutation or transfiguration is at heart a matter of a change of consciousness. Instead of a conscious identification with the
physical body there comes a conscious identification with the emotional body; next with the thinking body, the lower mind; next
with the spiritual body; next with the essential body; and then with Consciousness Itself. A man who has attained true Manhood
knows the Source of Consciousness — not in thought, but in experience. He controls the tossing power of the mind. He just IS,
naked of all veils, and unashamed, free of delusion and sin.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Ajnana has two aspects: avarana (veiling) and vikshepa (multiplicity). Of these, avarana (veiling) denotes the veil hiding the Truth.
That prevails in sleep. Multiplicity (vikshepa) is activity in different times. This gives rise to diversity and prevails in waking and
dream states (jagrat and svapna). If the veil, i.e., avarana is lifted, the Truth is perceived. It is lifted for a Jnani and so his karana
sarira (causal body) ceases to exist. Vikshepa alone continues for him. Even so, it is not the same for a Jnani as it is for an ajnani.
The ajnani has all kinds of vasanas, i.e., kartrtva (doership) and bhoktrtva (enjoyership), whereas the Jnani has ceased to be doer
(karta). Thus only one kind of vasana obtains for him. That too is very weak and does not overpower him, because he is always
aware of the Sat-Chit-Ananda nature of the Self. The tenuous bhoktrtva vasana is the only remnant of the mind left in the Jnani
and he therefore appears to be living in the body.
Sankara tradition
Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda
110. Maya can be destroyed by the realisation of the pure Brahman, the one without a second, just as the mistaken idea of a
snake is removed by the discrimination of the rope. She has her Gunas as Rajas, Tamas and Sattva, named after their respective
functions.
111. Rajas has its Vikshepa-Shakti or projecting power, which is of the nature of an activity, and from which this primeval flow of
activity has emanated. From this also, mental modifications such as attachment and grief are continually produced.
112. Lust, anger, avarice, arrogance, spite, egoism, envy, jealousy, etc., -- these are the dire attributes of Rajas, from which the
worldly tendency of man is produced. Therefore Rajas is a cause of bondage.
113. Avriti or the veiling power is the power of Tamas, which makes things appear other than what they are. It is this that causes
man’s repeated transmigrations, and starts the action of the projecting power (Vikshepa).
114. Even wise and learned men and men who are clever and adept in the vision of the exceedingly subtle Atman, are overpow¬
ered by Tamas and do not understand the Atman, even though clearly explained in various ways. What is simply superimposed
by delusion, they consider as true, and attach themselves to its effects. Alas ! How powerful is the great Avriti Shakti of dreadful
Tamas !
115. Absence of the right judgment, or contrary judgment, want of definite belief and doubt - these certainly never desert one who
has any connection with this veiling power, and then the projecting power gives ceaseless trouble.
116. Ignorance, lassitude, dullness, sleep, inadvertence, stupidity, etc., are attributes of Tamas. One tied to these does not com¬
prehend anything, but remains like one asleep or like a stock or stone.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
When the mind’s agitations (Vikshepa), are quietened through upasana, the veiling (Avarana) of the intellect also lifts and the bud-
dhi becomes quiet. As a result of mental quietude, when the intellect becomes bright, it is able to apprehend the Self. The Self is
thus apprehended as, ‘I am This’.
144. “Man’s bondage has sprung forth from these two “powers”. Deluded by them, he mistakes his body for the Self and wanders
from life to life.”
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
Because of these two powers (of veiling and agitations), man has reached his present stage of bondage and has become limited.
When an individual allows himself to be confused and beguiled by these two—avarana-sakti and vikshepa-sakti, he considers
himself to be his body, (gross, subtle and causal bodies). Normally everyone believes himself to be his gross body. An emotional
person may consider himself to be an emotional personality. A modern rational man may think of himself as an intellectual. Thus
confused they move about, satisfying their physical, emotional and intellectual needs. Each man acts in his peculiar delusion.
Thus they move like mad men, from one place to another, from one time to another, from one life to another, from one cradle to
one grave, and another cradle to another grave alas! continuously.
Related words
Ajnana
Avidya
Maya
Tamas
Vikshepa
Sanskrit
Avarana — 3 ilc^u|
avarana - 3H=H u l
Avatar
Variant spellings
avatar
avatara
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Avatara — ... “divine descent”; the descent of God into the world in a tangible form .
1. It is sometimes translated as “divine incarnation” but it should be noted that the term refers to the supreme Lord appearing in
this physical world in His/Her own Eternal Form out of His/Her own inconceivable prerogative. Noting this, the words descent or
incarnation may be employed.
2. According to the Vaisnava tradition there are ten major divine descendents (avalara) of Visnu: Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Nara-
simha, Vamana, Parasurama, Ramacandra, Balarama, Krsna, and Kalki. A variation of this list replaces Balarama with Buddha.
3. They are of two types: principal and subordinate. The former is when Visnu himself descends and the latter is the incarnation of
inspired saints. The stories of the avataras are told in the Puranas.
4. Some accounts describe twenty-six descents of Visnu: Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana, Sanatkumara, Varaha, Narada, Nara, Ka-
pila, Dattatreya, Yajna, Rsabhadeva, Prthu, Matsya, MohinT, Kurma, Garuda, Dhanvantari, Narasimha, Vamana, Parasurama,Vya-
sa, Ramacandra, Balarama, Krsna, Buddha, and Kalki.
5. Though Siva is usually depicted without incarnations, there is a school of thought which describes His twenty-eight incarnations
(who are depicted as the twenty-eight revealers of the Saiva Agamas.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
avatara -
descent (especially of a deity from heaven), appearance of any deity upon earth (but more particularly the incarnations of Vishrhu
in ten principal forms, viz. the fish tortoise, boar, man lion, dwarf, the two Ramas, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki;
any new and unexpected appearance;
a TTrtha or sacred place
Wikipedia
In Hinduism, Avatar or Avatara ... refers to a deliberate descent of a deity from heaven to earth.
The term is most often associated with Vishnu, though it has also come to be associated with other deities. Varying lists of ava¬
tars of Vishnu appear in Hindu scriptures, including the ten Dashavatara of the Garuda Purana and the twenty-two avatars in the
Bhagavata Purana, though the latter adds that the incarnations of Vishnu are innumerable. The avatars of Vishnu are a primary
component of Vaishnavism. An early reference to avatar, and to avatar doctrine, is in the Bhagavad Gita.
Shiva and Ganesha are also described as descending in the form of avatars. The various manifestations of Devi, the Divine Moth¬
er principal in Hinduism, are also described as avatars or incarnations by some scholars and followers of Shaktism. The avatars
of Vishnu carry a greater theological prominence than those of other deities, which some scholars perceive to be imitative of the
Vishnu avatar lists.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Avatar: Manifestation of divinity in human form, implying descent from above, and associated primarily with Vaishnavite religion.
The ten avatars of Vishnu are (1) Matsya, the Fish; (2) Varaha, the Boar; (3) Kurma, the Tortoise; (4) Narasimha, the Man-Lion;
(5) Vamana, the Dwarf-Brahmin (q.v.); (6) Parasu- Rama, Rama-of-the-Axe; (7) Rama (q.v.); (8) Balarama; (9) Buddha, and (10)
Kalki, the avatar yet to come. Avidya: Nescience; equivalent of Maya (q.v.) or darkness, and the oppo- site of Vidya (q.v.)
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Avatar is a modern Hindi word from the SANSKRIT word avatara, which means “one who has descended to the earthly realm.”
The word in both its Sanskrit and its Hindi forms is used in VAISHNAVISM to refer to the incarnations of Vishnu, which usually
number 10. Technically, Shiva never becomes an avatar. In recent times, the word avatar has come to be used for any enlight¬
ened teacher. It is, in effect, an honorific bestowed upon the teacher by his or her disciples or the larger community.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Avatar (“descent”). In Hindu mythology, the descent (of a deity), but more colloquially the incarnation, of a deity on earth. The con¬
cept of avatars has been best developed by the devotees (bhakta) of the god Vishnu, who perceive him as taking a specific form
to help the world. Examples of avatars can be found for other divinities as well.
Hindus draw a distinction between full avatars, which have the complete power of the deity, and partial incarnations, or ansha-
vatars. Vishnu has ten full avatars, each of whom has appeared to restore the cosmic balance when the world has fallen out of
equilibrium. The root cause of such disequilibrium is usually a demon (asura) who has grown too strong and uses that power to
oppress others. This imbalance prompts Vishnu to take form as an avatar, destroy the evildoers, and definitively restore the cos¬
mic balance.
Although there is some variation in the list of Vishnu’s avatars, the generally accepted list is as follows: Fish, Tortoise, Boar,
Man-Lion, Vamana (dwarf), Parashuram, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki. This list of avatars follows an “evolutionary” se¬
quence—the first three are animals, the fourth a hybrid mananimal, and the ones after that mythic heroes and sages; the excep¬
tion is the Buddha, a real person who has been incorporated into the Hindu pantheon. The tenth form, Kalki avatar, is yet to come,
and his coming will herald the end of the age. Vishnu’s partial avatars— as sages, saints, and gods—are countless and potentially
limitless, providing a ready-made way for new Hindu movements to ascribe divine authority to their founders.
Although the avatar concept is most commonly associated with Vishnu, it has been applied to other Hindu gods as well. One
example of partial avatars can be seen in the Mahabharata, the later of the two great Hindu epics, in which all five of the Pandava
brothers are partial incarnations of various gods. In addition, devotees of the god Shiva have developed a list of his twenty-one
avatars, who are saints, sages, and minor deities. This list was probably developed in response to the Vaishnava doctrine of ava-
tars, but Shiva’s forms are far less important than Vishnu’s; Vishnu’s avatars include Rama and Krishna, who are major objects of
worship in their own right.
For the Vaishnavas, the avatar doctrine is generally seen as a way to assimilate existing cults into the pantheon by claiming that
various deities are merely different manifestations of Vishnu. The Shaiva avatars were developed much later, essentially so that
Shiva would also have these forms.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
WHAT IS A DIVINE INCARNATION?
703. An Avatara (Incarnation) is a human messenger of God, He is like a viceroy of a mighty monarch. As the king sends the
viceroy when there is any disturbance in some far-off province, to quell it, so whenever there is waning of religion in any part of the
world, God sends there His Avatara to guard virtue and to foster its growth.
704. Think not that Rama and Sita, Krishna and Radha, are mere allegories and not historical personages, or that the scriptures
are true only in their inner or esoteric meaning. Nay, they were human beings of flesh and blood jast as you are; but because they
were divinities, their lives can be interpreted both historically and allegorically. The Avataras are to Brahman as waves are to the
ocean. 705. The Avatara is always one and the same. Having plunged into the ocean of life, the one God rises up at one point and
is known as Krishna, and when after another plunge, He rises up at another point, He is known as Christ.
706. On the tree of Sachchidananda (Absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss) there hang innumerable bunches of Ramas, Krishnas,
Buddhas, Christs, etc. Out of these, one or two now and then come down into this world and produce mighty changes and revolu¬
tions.
707. The Avataras are born with Divine powers and Divine qualities. They can go into, and stay in, any state of realisation from
the highest to the lowest. In a king’s palace a stranger can go only to the outer quarters, but the king’s own child, the prince of the
house, is free to go to every corner.
Avatar in Bhagavad Gita
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
On close examination of these verses we find that what is stated in verse 7, where the word srija (emanate) occurs, is not the
same as stated in verse 8 where the phrase sambhavami (I become) is used. The opposition between the two has just been
explained under verse 6. To say, as has often been stated, that there is a reference to Krishna as an avatar in the Gita would be
wrong. The word avatar does not occur in the Gita at all. It is foreign to the spirit in which the Gita is written, in which both ascent
and descent are equally implied and cancelled against each other in the neutrality of the Absolute.
See also:
in Vishnu: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
avatara - from the verb root trl = “to cross” + preposition ava = “down”.
Wikipedia
Avatara - Sanskrit “descent” [viz., from heaven to earth].
The Sanskrit noun avatara is derived from the verbal root tr “to cross over”, joined with the prefix ava “off, away , down”. The word
doesn’t occur in the Vedas, but is recorded in Panini (3.3.120). Avatara was initially used to describe different deities, then around
the 6th century CE it began to be used primarily to describe the manifestations of Vishnu. While earlier texts mention deities taking
on different forms, the Bhagavad Gita (4.5-9) is the first text to discuss the doctrine associated with the term even though the word
avatara itself is not mentioned.
Sanskrit
Avatara — 3T^cTT7
avatara - 3i<=iai<
Wikipedia: ... is mostly translated into English as “incarnation”, but more accurately as “appearance” or “manifestation”.
The common translation “incarnation” due to its christological implications is somewhat misleading as the concept of avatar cor¬
responds more closely to the view of Docetism in Christian theology, as different from the idea of God ‘in the flesh’ in mainstream
Christology.
Avidya
Variant spellings
avidya
avidya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Avidya — ... ignorance; nescience
1. It is the key concept in the Advaita Vedanta system. It serves as the cornerstone for Advaita Vedanta metaphysics, epistemolo¬
gy, and ethical disciplines; thus its role cannot be belittled. It is characterized by six marks: it is beginningless (anadi); it is removed
by right knowledge (jnana-nivartya); it is a positive entity of the nature of an existent (bhavarupa); it is indescribable (anirvacanlya);
it has the two powers of concealment and projection which respectively represent the truth and suggest the false (avarana and
viksepa); and its locus is either in the individual self (jlva) or in the Absolute (Brahman).
2. One of the twelve links in the causal chain of existence. ... It is the root of all and the primary cause of existence according to
Buddhism.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
avidya -
ignorance, spiritual ignorance;
(in Vedanta phil.) illusion (personified as Maya);
ignorance together with non-existence
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Avidya - (“lack of [true] knowledge”) Avidya is the absence of true understanding and is the fundamental problem in almost all
Hindu philosophical and religious thought. The presence of avidya leads people to misperceive the true nature of reality and to act
based on these misperceptions.
The most fundamental of these false perceptions is to identify the eternal Self (atman) with the body. As a result of this misidentifi-
cation, egoism leads one to try to protect and advance the Self (in its particular embodied state) and incites feelings and actions of
greed, lust, and hatred. These feelings create bondage for the soul and entrap it in samsara, the cycle of rebirth.
In most Hindu philosophical schools, the avidya tends to be conceived in epistemological rather than metaphysical terms-that is, it
is not an actual thing in its own right but exists as a function of how one comes to know things, insofar as that knowledge is inac¬
curate or incomplete. Once one’s deficient awareness has been corrected, the cause of bondage is removed, resulting in the final
liberation of the soul (moksha).
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Avidya - ignorance, especially in the spiritual sense; (in Vedanta) caused by the operation of Maya.
Wikipedia
Avidya is a Sanskrit word that means “ignorance”, “delusion”, “unlearned”, “unwise” and that which is not, or runs counter to, vidya.
It is used extensively in Hindu texts, including the Upanishads and as well in Buddhist thought.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Avidya: Nescience or ignorance. That because of which the unreal is taken as the real, and the real as the unreal. The root cause
of illusions and sufferings.
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
When a person is seeing silver where there is only shell, he certainly does not know it to be false. On the other hand, he then feels
convinced that it is quite as valid as any other knowledge.
... avidya, which is only another word for ajnana, implies, like jnana, some person to whom it belongs (asraya) and some object
to which it refers (visaya). ... the person that mistakes the shell for silver is its asraya, and the shell is its visaya. It is avidya [This
avidya should not be confounded with the one described above as the radical adjunct of the jiva. That is constitutive of the jiva;
this is only a passing characteristic of it. The one continues till moksa is attained; the other disappears with the error it has occa¬
sioned.] thus determined that is described as the cause of silver; and it operates in a double manner. It conceals the fact of shell
and shows up silver in its place. To see silver where there is only shell, a necessary condition is the concealment of the shell.
Suppression precedes substitution. These two aspects of it are respectively termed avarana or ‘veiling’ and viksepa or ‘revealing.’
As the avidya does not put the shell entirely out of sight, it is not lack of apprehension—a mere gap in thought—but misapprehen¬
sion and is therefore described as positive (bhava-rupa). It is the contrary of vidya, not its contradictory; and the condition for the
resulting error to disappear is the removal of avidya which happens when vidya arises in the self-same person in regard to the
self-same object.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
It might seem sometimes as if Avidya too, which is answerable for the whole of this phenomenal world, had to be taken as the
result of acts far back before the beginning of all things. But this is never clearly stated. On the contrary, this primeval Avidya is left
unexplained, it is not to be accounted for as little as Brahman can be accounted for. Like Brahman it has to be accepted as exis¬
tent ; but it differs from Brahman in so far as it can be destroyed by Vidya, which is the eternal life-spring of Brahman. The merit
which can be acquired by man even in this state of Avidya is such that he may rise even to the status of a god, though for a time
only, for at the end of a Kalpa even gods like Indra and the rest have to begin their career afresh. In fact it might be said with some
truth that Avidya is the cause of everything, except of Brahman ; but that the cause of that primeval Avidya is beyond our powers
of conception.
Wikipedia
In Advaita Vedanta
The work of avidya is to suppress the real nature of things and present something else in its place. In essence it is not different
from Maya (pronounced Maya). Avidya relates to the finite Self (Sanskrit: atman) while Maya is an adjunct of the cosmic Self. In
both cases it connotes the principle of differentiation which is implicit in human thinking. It stands for that delusion which breaks up
the original unity (refer: nonduality) of what is real and presents it as subject and object and as doer and result of the deed. What
keeps humanity captive in Samsara is this avidya. This ignorance is not lack of erudition; it is ignorance about the nature of ‘Being’
(Sanskrit: Sat). It is a limitation that is natural to human sensory or intellectual apparatus. This is responsible for all the misery of
humanity. Advaita Vedanta holds that the eradication of it should be humanity’s only goal and that will automatically mean Realisa¬
tion of the Self (Sanskrit: atman).
Adi Shankara on avidya
Adi Shankara says in his Introduction to his commentary on the Brahma Sutras, “Owing to an absence of discrimination, there
continues a natural human behaviour in the form of ‘I am this’ or This is mine’; this is avidya. It is a superimposition of the attri¬
butes of one thing on another. The ascertainment of the nature of the real entity by separating the superimposed thing from it is
vidya (knowledge, illumination)”. In Shankara’s philosophy avidya cannot be categorized either as ‘absolutely existent’ or as ‘abso¬
lutely non-existent’.
Buddhism
Root of suffering
Avidya plays a key role in Buddhism and Buddhist doctrine and is the primary cause of suffering in samsara.
Avidya is one of the three klesas.
Avidya is the first link of PratTtyasamutpada.
Avidya is the first spoke on the Bhavacakra.
As one of the klesas, Avidya leads to craving (trsna) and clinging (upadana). As the first link of Pratitya- Samutpada, all other links
depend on it. As the first spoke on the Bhavacakra, all subsequent states follow in its wake.
Uprooting avidya
The antidote to avidya is “wisdom” (Skt.: prajna; Pali: panna). This is achieved by practicing awareness/mindfulness (Pali: sati,
Skt: smrti), patient endurance (Skt: ksanti; Pali: khanti) and meditation (Skt: dhyana), all three of which are incorporated in the
pan- Buddhist practices of the Noble Eightfold Path and the paramitas (“perfections”).
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Avidya is ignorance. It implies subject and object. Become the subject and there will be no object...
M.: ... People ask: “How did ignorance (avidya) arise at all?” We have to say to them: “Ignorance never arose. It has no real being.
That which is, is only vidya (knowledge).”
D.: Why then do I not realise it?
M.: Because of the samskaras. However, find out who does not realise and what he does not realise. Then it will be clear that
there is no avidya (ignorance)...
D.: Is there avidya?
M.: For whom is it?
D.: For the ego-self.
M.: Yes, for the ego. Remove the ego; avidya is gone. Look for it, the ego vanishes. The real Self alone remains. The ego profess¬
ing avidya is not to be seen. There is no avidya in reality.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Avidya and pramanas
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
The avidya cannot be perceived by senses, therefore it is not available for pratyaksa-pramana, perception. Since it is not available
for perception there is no linga from which it can be inferred. So neither anumana, inference nor arthapatti, postulation is going to
be useful. Again, there is nothing like avidya, so it is not available for any kind of upamana, comparison. Avidya cannot be known
by anupalabdhi, a prarnana giving the knowledge of absence of a thing, because it has some kind of existence as it causes prob¬
lems.
Auidya is not available for the sabda-pramana, words also. If you analyse it will be seen that the sabda-prarnana is interested only
in showing you the purusartha, pursuits. Sabda is going to talk about something that is hita, beneficial to you.
See: Manas and avidya
See: Maya, avidya, ajnana
See: Vidya and avidya
See also:
Sakshin and sushupti
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
avidya— from ihe verb root vid = “to know” a = “not”
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Avidya from neg. part, a + vidya, knowing < root vid, to know.
Wikipedia
The word avidya is derived from the Proto-lndo- European root *weid-, meaning “to see” or “to know”. It is a cognate of Latin
videre (which would turn to “video”) and English “wit”.
Related words
Ajnana
Avarana
Jnana
Maya
Moha
Vidya
Vikshepa
Sanskrit
Avidya — 3iRf fli
avidya - y d EG l
Chinese: - wu ming
Japanese: - Mumyo
Pali: Avijja
Avyakta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Avyakta —... unmanifest
1. Sankhyan term for primal Nature (prakrti).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
avyakta -
(in Sankhya phil.) ‘the unevolved (Evolver of all things)’, the primary germ of nature, primordial element or productive principle
whence all the phenomena of the material world are developed
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Avyakta: That which is not specific and definable. The opposite of vyakta.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
The ancient teachers define Avyaktam, as the ‘equilibrium of the three forces,’ one of which is called sattva, the second rajas and
the third tamas. Tamas, the lowest force, is that of attraction; a little higher is rajas, that of repulsion; and the highest is the control
of these two, sattva; so that when the two forces, attraction and repulsion, are held in perfect control or balance, by the sattva,
there is no creation, no modification; but as soon as this equilibrium is lost, the balance is disturbed and one of these forces gets
stronger than the other. Then change and motion begin and evolution of all these goes on. This state of things is going on cycli¬
cally, periodically; that is to say, there is a period of disturbance of the balance, when all these forces begin to combine and re¬
combine, and this universe is projected; and there is also a period when everything has a tendency to revert to the primal state of
equilibrium, and the time comes when a total absence of all manifestations is reached. Again, after a period, this state is disturbed,
the forces tend to project outward and the universe slowly comes out in the form of waves; for all motions in this universe are in
the form of waves, in successive rises and falls.
Descriptions
General
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
The commentator [Sankhya] begins by asking, ‘Now what are the eight Prakritis?’ and he answers, again in technical terms which
will have to be explained :
‘1. The Avyakta (chaos), 2. Buddhi (light or perception), 3. Ahamkara (subjectivity), and 4-8, the five Tanmatras (transcendental
elements).’
He then continues : 1. ‘Here then the Avyakta, neuter (the undeveloped), is explained. As in the world various objects such as wa¬
ter-jars, cloth, vases, beds, &c, are manifest, not so is the Avyakta manifest. It is not apprehended by the senses, such as the ear,
&c. And why? Because it has neither beginning, middle, nor end, nor has it any parts. It is inaudible, intangible, invisible, indestruc¬
tible, eternal, without savour and odour. The learned declare it to be without beginning and middle, to be beyond what is great,
unchanging, pre-eminent. And again, this Avyakta is subtle, without attributes, without beginning or end, producing (Prasuta), but
alone of all the eight Prakritis unproduced (Aprasuta), without parts, one only, but common to all. And these are its synonyms, that
is to say, words applicable to the Avyakta, under certain circumstances : Pradhana (principal), Brahman, Pura (abode), Dhruva
(unchanging), Pradhanaka (chief), Akshara (indestructible), Kshetra (field, object),Tamas (darkness), Prasuta (productive).’
Radhakrishnan. Philosophy of Upanishads
The idea of an avyakta or prakrti, the source of all differentiation, is distinctly suggested in the Upanisads. “Beyond the senses are
the rudiments of its objects; beyond these rudiments is the mind; beyond the mind is Atman known as mahat (great), beyond the
mahat is avyakta, the unmanifested; beyond the avyakta is the purusa, beyond the purusa there is nothing.” (Katha, III, 10, 11.) “
By tapas Brahman increases in size and from it food is produced, from food life, mind, the elements, the worlds, karma, and with it
its fruits.” (Mundaka, I, 1.) Food or annam in this passage is interpreted by Sankara as the unmaniferted (avyakrtam).
See also: Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Avyakta (fr. neg. part, a + prep, vi, apart + akta, anointed, perf. pass, participle of the root anj, to anoint), ‘unmanifest matter’, an¬
other name for prakrti.
Related words
Prakriti
Opposite: Vyakta
Sanskrit
Avyakta —
avyakta -
Ayamatma- Brahma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ayam-atma brahma — ... “this Self is the Absolute (Brahman)”
1. A Great Saying (maha-vakya) which occurs in the Mandukya Upanisad of the Atharva Veda.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ayamatma Brahman (“This Self is Brahman”). In the Hindu philosophical tradition, one of the “great utterances” (mahavakyas)
expressing ultimate truth. The truth here is the identity of atman (the individual Self) and Brahman (Ultimate Reality); this identity is
the heart of the mystical texts called the Upanishads. Aside from their importance in a philosophical context as fundamental truths,
four mahavakyas were also appropriated as symbols by the four divisions of the Dashanami Sanyasi ascetics. Each division had
its own mahavakya, just as each had a different Veda, a different primary sacred center, and a different ascetic quality. Ayamatma
Brahman is the mahavakya associated with the Anandawara division of the Dashanami Sanyasis.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
To meditate on it [atman], the ancient wise ones made a formula, ayam atma brahma. It means, this atma is brahman; this self-lu¬
minous awareness that resides in all beings is the Absolute. That which is other than that which lies between the skin and all the
other urges, it never perishes. When we contemplate this, when we meditate on it continuously, there comes the perfection of that
awareness.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
To say “ I am the body,” is relativistically true, of course. We can see there are other bodies and that we are not pulsating within
them as we are within this one. Our own body does have something special in a relative sense, but in the greater search this con¬
ception is an error to be corrected.
... For this correction another great dictum was given by the Upanishads: ayam atma brahman, “ this Self of mine is the Absolute.”
Narayana Guru has already defined the Self as “ that which remains in darkness and makes things known to us, that is the Self.”
Now we say that Self is the Absolute. The light which is within us, which is Self-founded, which makes it known to us that we exist
and also makes it known to us that other things exist, that is the Self. It is not contaminated with any relativistic notion such as “
I am the body,” or “ I am in pain,” “ I am happy,” “ I am unhappy.” These are colorations. If the colorations are removed and you
understand the Absolute, the pure notion, then you have a very infallible measuring rod to discern what is true and what is not.
This does not happen in a single day, because your mind is already colored with many preconditioned prejudices. To experience
ayam atma brahman, this Self is the Absolute, many accretions of the mind have to be rubbed off and removed, many prejudices
have to fall. You have developed many likes and dislikes because of your physical sense of pain and pleasure, the kind of food
you have been given since childhood, the manners you were taught and the social values on which you were nurtured. Hundreds
and hundreds of colorations have come into your life, constraining it and directing it in so many arbitrary ways, that to remove all
these and know what the pure Self is is not an easy thing. But it is a great necessity if you want to adopt a correct methodology for
the rest of your life, to make correct appraisals, and to not mistake the right for the wrong. Once you have that correct method, you
have a testimony to measure the truth of things.
See: Mahavakyas as used for instruction
Related words
Atharva Veda
Maha-Vakya
Mandukya Upanishad
Sanskrit
Ayam-atma brahma —
ayam atma brahma -H ldH q/H
B
Badarayana
See: Vyasa
Bhagavad Gita
Title variants
^ Mill'd
Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
BhagavadgTta
Bhagavat Geeta
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhagavad Gita — ... “song of God”
One of the essential scriptures of Hinduism, a portion of the Mahabharata, in which Krsna, on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, in¬
structs Arjuna about the nature of God, the universe, and the Self; on the different forms of Yoga; and on the way to attain God.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
bhagavadglta -
(sometimes with upanisad);
... ‘Krishna’s song’, N. of a celebrated mystical poem (interpolated in the MBh. where it forms an episode of 18 chapters from vi,
830-1532, containing a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, in which the Pantheism of the Vedanta is combined with a tinge of
the Sarhkhya and the later principle of bhakti or devotion to Krishna as the Supreme Being
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Bhagavad Gita means “Song about God.” It is a segment, dating from around 200 B.C.E., of the MAHABHARATA, the classic
Sanskrit epic traditionally ascribed to VYASA. It has 18 chapters totaling approximately 700 verses. In the framework of a legend¬
ary battle, the poem presents a philosophy of life and states principles guiding the practices of YOGA.
Wikipedia
The Bhagavad Gita (“Song of God”) is one of the most important Hindu scriptures. It is revered as a sacred scripture of Hinduism,
and considered as one of the most important philosophical classics of the world. The Bhagavad Gita comprises 700 verses, and is
a part of the Mahabharata. The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Krishna, Who is revered by Hindus as a manifestation of the Lord
Himself, and is referred to within as Bhagavan—the Divine One.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Bhagavad Gita - A philosophical dialogue expounding the science of the Self occurring in the Bhisma Parva section of the great
Indian epic Mahabharata.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Ramana Smrti
... Another devotee complained that it was difficult to keep all its seven hundred verses in mind and asked if there was not a verse
that could be remembered as the gist of the whole Gita. Bhagavan immediately mentioned Verse twenty of Chapter ten:
Aham Atma, Gudakesa, Sarvabhutashayasthitah Aham
Adischa Madhyam cha bhutanam anta eva cha.
I am the Self, O Gudakesa, dwelling in the hearts of all beings.
I am the beginning, and the middle and the end of all beings.
Date and text
Wikipedia
The Bhagavad Gita occurs in the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata and comprises 18 chapters from the 25th through 42nd and
consists of 700 verses. Its authorship is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa, the compiler of the Mahabharata. Because of differenc¬
es in recensions the verses of the Gita may be numbered in the full text of the Mahabharata as chapters 6.25-42 or as chapters
6.23-40. According to the recension of the Gita commented on by Shankaracharya, the number of verses is 700, but there is
evidence to show that old manuscripts had 745 verses. The verses themselves, using the range and style of Sanskrit meter (ch-
handas) with similes and metaphors, are written in a poetic form that is traditionally chanted.
The Bhagavad Gita is later than the great movement represented by the early Upanishads and earlier than the period of the de¬
velopment of the philosophic systems and their formulation. The date and the author of the Gita is not known with certainty and
scholars of an earlier generation opined that it was composed between the 5th and the 2nd century BCE. Radhakrishnan, for
example, asserted that the origin of the Gita is definitely in the pre- Christian era. More recent assessments of Sanskrit literature,
however, have tended to bring the chronological horizon of the texts down in time. In the case of the Gita, John Brockington has
now made cogent arguments that it can be placed in the first century CE.
Based on claims of differences in the poetic styles some scholars like Jinarajadasa have argued that the Bhagavad Gita was add¬
ed to the Mahabharata at a later date.
Within the text of the Bhagavad Gita itself, Krishna states that the knowledge of Yoga contained in the Gita was first instructed to
mankind at the very beginning of their existence.
Although the original date of composition of the Bhagavad Gita is not clear, its teachings are considered timeless and the exact
time of revelation of the scripture is considered of little spiritual significance by scholars like Bansi Pandit, and Juan Mascara.Swa-
mi Vivekananda dismisses concerns about differences of opinion regarding the historical events as unimportant for study of the
Gita from the point of acquirement of Dharma.
Scripture of Yoga
Wikipedia
The Gita addresses the discord between the senses and the intuition of cosmic order. It speaks of the Yoga of equanimity, a de¬
tached outlook. The term Yoga covers a wide range of meanings, but in the context of the Bhagavad Gita, describes a unified out¬
look, serenity of mind, skill in action and the ability to stay attuned to the glory of the Self (Atman) and the Supreme Being (Bhaga-
van). According to Krishna, the root of all suffering and discord is the agitation of the mind caused by selfish desire. The only way
to douse the flame of desire is by simultaneously stilling the mind through self- discipline and engaging oneself in a higher form of
activity.
However, abstinence from action is regarded as being just as detrimental as extreme indulgence. According to the Bhagavad
Gita, the goal of life is to free the mind and intellect from their complexities and to focus them on the glory of the Self by dedicating
one’s actions to the divine. This goal can be achieved through the Yogas of meditation, action, devotion and knowledge. In the
sixth chapter, Krishna describes the best Yogi as one who constantly meditates upon him - which is understood to mean thinking
of either Krishna personally, or the supreme Brahman - with different schools of Hindu thought giving varying points of view.
Krishna summarizes the Yogas through eighteen chapters. Three yogas in particular have been emphasized by commentators:
Bhakti Yoga or Devotion,
Karma Yoga or Selfless Action
Jnana Yoga or Self Transcending Knowledge
While each path differs, their fundamental goal is the same - to realize Brahman (the Divine Essence) as being the ultimate truth
upon which our material universe rests, that the body is temporal, and that the Supreme Soul (Paramatman) is infinite. Yoga’s aim
(moksha) is to escape from the cycle of reincarnation through realization of the ultimate reality. There are three stages to self- re¬
alization enunciated from the Bhagavad Gita:
Brahman - The impersonal universal energy
Paramatma - The Supreme Soul sitting in the heart of every living entity.
Bhagavan - God as a personality, with a transcendental form.
Major themes of yoga
The influential commentator Madhusudana Sarasvati (b. circa 1490) divided the Gita’s eighteen chapters into three sections, each
of six chapters. According to his method of division the first six chapters deal with Karma Yoga, which is the means to the final
goal, and the last six deal with the goal itself, which he says is Knowledge (Jnana). The middle six deal with bhakti. Swami Gam-
bhirananda characterizes Madhusudana Sarasvati’s system as a successive approach in which Karma yoga leads to Bhakti yoga,
which in turn leads to Jnana yoga.
Bhakti Yoga
In the introduction to Chapter Seven of the Gita, bhakti is summed up as a mode of worship which consists of unceasing and lov¬
ing remembrance of God. As M. R. Sampatkumaran explains in his overview of Ramanuja’s commentary on the Gita, “The point is
that mere knowledge of the scriptures cannot lead to final release. Devotion, meditation and worship are essential.”
As Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita:
“And of all yogins, he who full of faith worships Me, with his inner self abiding in Me, him, I hold to be the most attuned (to me in
Yoga).”
“After attaining Me, the great souls do not incur rebirth in this miserable transitory world, because they have attained the highest
perfection.”
those who, renouncing all actions in Me, and regarding Me as the Supreme, worship Me... For those whose thoughts have
entered into Me, I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of death and transmigration, Arjuna. Keep your mind on Me alone, your
intellect on Me. Thus you shall dwell in Me hereafter.”
“And he who serves Me with the yoga of unswerving devotion, transcending these qualities [binary opposites, like good and evil,
pain and pleasure] is ready for liberation in Brahman.”
“Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, offer service to Me, bow down to Me, and you shall certainly reach Me. I promise you
because you are My very dear friend.”
“Setting aside all meritorious deeds (Dharma), just surrender completely to My will (with firm faith and loving contemplation). I shall
liberate you from all sins. Do not fear.”
Jnana Yoga
Jnana Yoga is a process of learning to discriminate between what is real and what is not, what is eternal and what is not. Through
a steady advancement in realization of the distinction between Real and the Unreal, the Eternal and the Temporal, one develops
into a Jnana Yogi. This is essentially a path of knowledge and discrimination in regards to the difference between the immortal
soul (atman) and the body.
In the second chapter, Krishna’s counsel begins with a succinct exposition of Jnana Yoga. Krishna argues that there is no rea¬
son to lament for those who are about to be killed in battle, because never was there a time when they were not, nor will there be
a time when they will cease to be. Krishna explains that the self (atman) of all these warriors is indestructible. Fire cannot burn
it, water cannot wet it, and wind cannot dry it. It is this Self that passes from body to another body like a person taking worn out
clothing and putting on new ones. Krishna’s counsel is intended to alleviate the anxiety that Arjuna feels seeing a battle between
two great armies about to commence. However, Arjuna is not an intellectual. He is a warrior, a man of action, for whom the path of
action, Karma Yoga, is more appropriate.
“When a sensible man ceases to see different identities due to different material bodies and he sees how beings are expanded
everywhere, he attains to the Brahman conception.”
“Those who see with eyes of knowledge the difference between the body and the knower of the body, and can also understand
the process of liberation from bondage in material nature, attain to the supreme goal.”
Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is essentially Acting, or doing one’s duties in life as per his/her dharma, or duty, without concern of results - a sort
of constant sacrifice of action to the Supreme. It is action done without thought of gain. In a more modern interpretation, it can be
viewed as duty bound deeds done without letting the nature of the result affecting one’s actions. Krishna advocates Nishkam Kar¬
ma (Selfless Action) as the ideal path to realize the Truth. Allocated work done without expectations, motives, or thinking about its
outcomes tends to purify one’s mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the value of reason and the benefits of renounc¬
ing the work itself. These concepts are vividly described in the following verses:
“To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee
any attachment to inaction”(2.47)
“Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth (Arjuna), abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for
evenness of mind is called yoga”(2.48)
“With the body, with the mind, with the intellect, even merely with the senses, the Yogis perform action toward self-purification,
having abandoned attachment. He who is disciplined in Yoga, having abandoned the fruit of action, attains steady peace...”
In order to achieve true liberation, it is important to control all mental desires and tendencies to enjoy sense pleasures. The follow¬
ing verses illustrate this:
“When a man dwells in his mind on the object of sense, attachment to them is produced. From attachment springs desire and from
desire comes anger.”(2.62)
“From anger arises bewilderment, from bewilderment loss of memory; and from loss of memory, the destruction of intelligence and
from the destruction of intelligence he perishes”(2.63)
Eighteen Yogas
In Sanskrit editions of the Gita, the Sanskrit text includes a traditional chapter title naming each chapter as a particular form of
yoga. These chapter titles do not appear in the Sanskrit text of the Mahabharata.[63] Since there are eighteen chapters, there are
therefore eighteen yogas mentioned, as explained in this quotation from Swami Chidbhavananda:
All the eighteen chapters in the Gita are designated, each as a type of yoga. The function of the yoga is to train the body and the
mind.... The first chapter in the Gita is designated as system of yoga. It is called Arjuna Vishada Yogam - Yoga of Arjuna’s Dejec¬
tion.
In Sanskrit editions, these eighteen chapter titles all use the word yoga, but in English translations the word yoga may not ap¬
pear. For example, the Sanskrit title of Chapter 1 as given in Swami Sivananda’s bilingual edition is arjunavisadayogah which he
translates as “The Yoga of the Despondency of Arjuna”. Swami Tapasyananda’s bilingual edition gives the same Sanskrit title,
but translates it as “Arjuna’s Spiritual Conversion Through Sorrow”.The English-only translation by Radhakrishnan gives no San¬
skrit, but the chapter title is translated as “The Hesitation and Despondency of Arjuna”. Other English translations, such as that by
Zaehner, omit these chapter titles entirely.
Swami Sivananda’s commentary says that the eighteen chapters have a progressive order to their teachings, by which Krishna
“pushed Arjuna up the ladder of Yoga from one rung to another.” As Winthrop Sargeant explains,
In the model presented by the Bhagavad Gita, every aspect of life is in fact a way of salvation.
Author(s)
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Bhagavad Gita - ... written by Veda Vyasa.
Etymology
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhagavad Gita - “song of God” (from the verb root bhaj = “to love, revere” + ga = “to sing”)
Synopsis
General
Wikipedia
The content of the Gita is the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before the start of the Ku-
rukshetra war. Responding to Arjuna’s confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins, Krishna explains to Arjuna
his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This
has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu theology and also as a practical, self- contained guide to life.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi describes it as a lighthouse of eternal wisdom that has the ability to inspire any man or woman to supreme
accomplishment and enlightenment. During the discourse, Krishna reveals His identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Svayam
Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe- inspiring vision of His divine universal form.
In summary the main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad- gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or “truths.”:
Ishvara (The Supreme Controller)
Jiva (Living beings/the individualized soul)
Prakrti (Nature/Matter)
Dharma (Duty in accordance with Divine law)
Kaala (Time)
Overview of chapters
The Gita consists of eighteen chapters in total:
1. Arjuna requests Krishna to move his chariot between the two armies. When Arjuna sees his relatives on the opposing army side
of the Kurus, he loses courage and decides not to fight.
2. After asking Krishna for help, Arjuna is instructed that only the body may be killed as he was worried if it would become a sin to
kill people (including his gurus and relatives), while the eternal self is immortal. Krishna appeals to Arjuna that as a warrior he has
a duty to uphold the path of dharma through warfare.
3. Arjuna asks why he should engage in fighting if knowledge is more important than action. Krishna stresses to Arjuna that per¬
forming his duties for the greater good, but without attachment to results is the appropriate course of action.
4. Krishna reveals that he has lived through many births, always teaching Yoga for the protection of the pious and the destruction
of the impious and stresses the importance of accepting a guru.
5. Arjuna asks Krishna if it is better to forgo action or to act. Krishna answers that both ways may be beneficent, but that acting in
Karma Yoga is superior.
6. Krishna describes the correct posture for meditation and the process of how to achieve samadhi.
7. Krishna teaches the path of knowledge (Jnana Yoga).
8. Krishna defines the terms brahman, adhyatma, karma, atman, adhibhuta and adhidaiva and explains how one can remember
him at the time of death and attain his supreme abode.
9. Krishna explains panentheism, “all beings are in me” as a way of remembering him in all circumstances.
10. Krishna describes how he is the ultimate source of all material and spiritual worlds. Arjuna accepts Krishna as the Supreme
Being, quoting great sages who have also done so.
11. On Arjuna’s request, Krishna displays his “universal form” (Visvarupa), a theophany of a being facing every way and emitting
the radiance of a thousand suns, containing all other beings and material in existence.
12. Krishna describes the process of devotional service (Bhakti Yoga).
13. Krishna describes nature (prakrti), the enjoyer (purusha) and consciousness.
14. Krishna explains the three modes (gunas) of material nature.
15. Krishna describes a symbolic tree (representing material existence), its roots in the heavens and its foliage on earth. Krishna
explains that this tree should be felled with the “axe of detachment”, after which one can go beyond to his supreme abode.
15. Krishna tells of the human traits of the divine and the demonic natures. He counsels that to attain the supreme destination one
give up lust, anger and greed, discern between right and wrong action by evidence from scripture and thus act rightly.
16. Krishna tells of three divisions of faith and the thoughts, deeds and even eating habits corresponding to the three gunas.
17. In conclusion, Krishna asks Arjuna to abandon all forms of dharma and simply surrender unto him. He describes this as the
ultimate perfection of life.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
TEACHER: Let me introduce the Gita to you.
STUDENT: What is the Gita?
Do you know the Mahabharata? ... an epic called the Mahabharata ... reflects the life and ideals of the people who lived in India
around 1000 B.C. ...We can easily call it an encyclopedia of psychological types and a compendium of Upanisadic thoughts and
ideals.
Who wrote this epic?
It is believed that Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa composed the Mahabharata .... The name Vyasa literally means a compiler or editor.
How is Vyasa related to the Gita?
In Vyasa’s Mahabharata there is a section called BhTsmaparva. In it there is a sub-section consisting of seven hundred verses
beginning with verse 830. This sub-section is called the Bhagavad Gita...
Is the Gita a holy book?
Many people look upon it as an object of worship. Some carry it with them as a talisman, others touch it to ward off evil. These
are very crude and childish ways of expressing appreciation for the Gita. Actually the Gita teaches us to go beyond the idea of the
holy and the unholy, so it is not right to look upon the Gita as a holy book. You should evaluate it as a book of great wisdom, and
approach it in the right manner.
What do you mean by the right manner?
If you want to understand, appreciate, and critically evaluate a book, you should first be qualified to read it. This is called, in San¬
skrit, having adhikara, competency. Secondly, you should know with what subject the book is dealing.In other words, you should
know the epistemology of the book. In Sanskrit the subject matter is called visaya. Thirdly, you should know the method employed
in the book to arrive at its conclusive teaching. The methodology adopted in a book is called its samhandha. Fourthly, you should
know the purpose of the book, and how you are going to be benefited by its study. In Sanskrit this is called the prayojana of the
book, its axiology. Thus, if you are competent to read a book with reference to its epistemology, methodology, and axiology, you
would make a correct evaluation of it. Only in that case can you claim to have the right kind of appreciation. ...
What is the subject-matter of the Gita?
In one word we can describe it as brahmavidya, the Science of the Absolute. By Absolute we mean here that supreme knowledge
which is Self-founded and by which alone everything exists and everything is known. Until you realize this truth, you know only
relative factors. One who feels the pangs of life and does not know how to get out of them is called a visadi. Visada means the
sadness generated by conflict. Conflict arises out of paradoxical situations, and life bristles with paradoxes. The enigmas and par¬
adoxes of life can be resolved only by knowing the Absolute.
The Bhagavad Gita, in a very comprehensive manner, deals with the riddles of life. In the first chapter is presented a typical seek¬
er confronted by a grave enigma which he cannot get over by mere ratiocination. A carping seeker, questioning everything in a
state of agony, is called a purvapaksin, an anterior skeptic. The whole of the first chapter and the first nine verses of the second
chapter consist of the presentation of the anterior skeptic, Arjuna.
The second chapter explains the stand of the wisdom teacher, Krsna. In contrast to the notions of a skeptic who is in conflict, the
wise one always sees the omnipresence of the Absolute as the true foundation of everything, and as the indwelling spirit in every¬
one. Knowing the Absolute as one’s own imperishable Self is described in the second chapter as Sarhkhya Yoga.
A man who is afflicted by world-consciousness, even after realizing that he is none other than the Absolute, will find it hard to keep
away from the necessary demands of his biological and psychological urges. It is these urges that necessitate action. Hence it is
necessary to discuss the implications of action in the context of wisdom. The third chapter of Gita, therefore, describes how action
can be unitively treated so that it will not bind the agent to the consequent result.
What is unitive action?
That will be explained later. Brute action is to be differentiated from action guided by wisdom. Comprehensive knowledge and uni¬
tive action are counterparts of a situation. Each has its own discipline and is to be understood separately. The secret of being wise
and also acting accordingly is taught in the fourth chapter called Jnana Yoga.
The fifth chapter is Karma Sarhnyasa Yoga. In this chapter it is shown how the necessary aspects of life can be unitively treated.
Finding peace in one’s own Self and sharing it with others is made the chief goal of life; and following the dictates of the Absolute
in every situation is treated as most natural to the realized person.
The sixth chapter is called Dhyana Yoga. This chapter describes Yoga more as a discipline than a philosophical vision. It is de¬
scribed as a sadhana (discipline undergone to achieve a specific attainment), and not as a darsana (a truth to be visualized). In
this chapter it is taught how the self is raised by the higher Self, and how the lower self can be fully established in the higher Self.
The self finding its natural repose in the Self is described as a true state of Yoga.
What is the higher Self?
It is the same as God. The seventh chapter is Jnana Vijnana Yoga. In it all values are categorized in terms of the physical,
adhibhautika, the divine, adhidaivika, and the sacrificial, adhiyajnika. These are graded and arranged in such a manner that one
value complements the other. This chapter also teaches how the Self can be related to the non-Self without conflict.
The eighth chapter is called Aksara Brahma Yoga. To contemplate the benign qualities of the Supreme Lord of one’s own Self is
the highest form of devotion. Devotion verticalizes the mind and action horizontalizes it. To fight an enemy with valour and stra¬
tegic tact is undoubtedly a horizontalized attitude of the mind. In spite of the conflicting nature of these two attitudes-fighting and
contemplation-Arjuna is taught in this chapter how he can contemplate the Lord as his own Self and also fight. The dialectical
secret by which one can cancel out pairs of opposites is presented in this chapter.
The ninth chapter is called Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga.
Guhya means secrect. Does this chapter deal with anything esoteric or occult? Is it open to all?
There is nothing esoteric about it. No discipline can be termed scientific, sastra, unless it is open and universal, both in its scope
and application. The Gita presents a Science of the Absolute. It does not withhold from anyone any secret whatsoever.
Then in what sense is this cnapter a secret?
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity can remain a secret to those who do not know higher mathematics and advanced physics. As in
the study of physics, there is a methodical way in which the Gita works out its lessons. Each chapter leads to the next, and we
come to its conclusive teaching in the ninth chapter. To be able to grasp the full implications of the secrets of the Gita, the student
should be disciplined in its special methodology, the dialectical way of reasoning, yoga mlmamsa.
The type of reasoning we commonly employ is linear. When we argue from a general principle to a specific conclusion, or induc¬
tively hypothesize a general notion, our reason conforms to the pattern of linear thinking. On the other hand, when we cognize
the polarization of counterparts that belong to a dialectical situation, and arrive at a unitive or integrated notion cancelling out the
elements of contradiction in the opposing pairs, we are employing dialectical reasoning. In this chapter our mind is lifted to the loft¬
iest heights of sublimity, and hence this is called the chapter of the supreme secret. This chapter is introductory to the tenth, which
narrates the cosmic structure of the universe in terms of divine values.
Does each chapter deal with a separate topic? Has the Gita any inner coordination?
Truth is many-faceted, and innumerable are the possible angles of vision. Each angle permits us only a relative vision. However,
each vision has its own structural secrets and functional participation with the whole. Hence it is necessary to have a separate
chapter to provide each comprehensive vision with a suitable frame of reference consistent with an overall scheme of correlation.
The eighteen chapters of the Gita are not disjunctly designed. Each chapter is structurally related to its adjacent chapters, and is
intended to be complementary to them. The eighteen chapters are arranged as spokes on the hub of brahmavidya, the Science of
the Absolute. The method employed in each chapter has, in common with the rest, the goal of the realization of the Self through
Yoga. Further, we see that the conclusive teaching given at the close of the ninth chapter is again repeated in the closing chapter.
This again shows that the Gita has a consistent teaching, which can undoubtedly be described as one-pointed devotion, ekantika
bhakti.
Instead of giving the conclusive teaching only in the last chapter, why is it given
in the ninth as well as the eighteenth chapter?
The author of the Gita has in his mind a structural design of his work. He uses the first half of the book to discuss fundamentals
and pure principles. The second half is for applied philosophy. It is in this second half that he gives the diagnostic and symptom¬
atic analysis of personality, which one can apply to oneself to discern one’s svadharma. Svadharma is the Sanskrit term for the
characteristic foundation of individual personality. Both the pure teaching of the first half and the applied teaching of the second
half lead to the same teaching that one should live always in the adoration of the Absolute, feeling one’s identity with the Absolute
in thought, word and deed. We now go on to the second half of the book.
Our true being is the Self, atman. Atman is described as sat-cit-ananda. Sat means existence, cit is subsistence, and ananda is
the value-factor. Actual presences or value-factors belonging to the universe are described in this chapter as aspects of the Ab¬
solute with which we can relate ourselves. The difference between the values presented in the previous chapter and this one is
negligible. Comparatively, the values given in the ninth chapter are more conceptual. This justifies the title, “Unitive Recognition of
Positive Values”, Vibhuti Yoga, for the tenth chapter.
Why is ananda translated as value? If atman is the same as the Absolute, all experiences should come within its scope. Pain, suf¬
fering, disease, poverty, and death are not at all blissful or enjoyable. Is not ananda the opposite of misery?
We can catalogue a long list of evil items, but we cannot assign the cause of these to an agency outside the pale of the Abso¬
lute. That is why we don’t want to translate ananda as bliss. The term we use here is “value”. Items of pleasure can be arranged
in terms of qualitative or quantitative units of values of an ascending or descending order. We are counting positive values when
we go from indifference to the highest state of bliss. We descend in the value-scale when we go from the highest bliss to the zero
point. If we go any further from the zero point we will advance in the opposite direction, which should be counted as negative val¬
ues. Thus, pain and pleasure, irrespective of their accompanying modes of affectivity, come under the scale of values, positive or
negative.
Earlier you said that from the tenth chapter onward we come to the application of the teachings given in the first nine chapters.
The tenth chapter also appears to be theoretical rather than being applied.
In the tenth chapter we only just enter the second half of the book. Here, Krsna has to prepare the mind of Arjuna to receive an
experience which is very unusual and difficult to comprehend in its entirety, or to appreciate without sufficient instruction. Thus the
tenth chapter actually marks the beginning of applied yoga in the Science of the Absolute.
How does Arjuna experience the cosmic structure of values?
The eleventh chapter is the “Unitive Vision of the Absolute”. In Sanskrit this is called Visvarupa Darsana Yoga. We get empirical
certitude by direct perception. The Absolute and spiritual values cannot be directly perceived, but they can be intuitively visualized.
Spiritual vision also is direct. While direct perception in Sanskrit is called pratyaksa, (seen by the eye), spiritual vision is called
aparoksa (not perceived by another). Arjuna gets a direct vision of the Absolute with the aid of an inner eye of spiritual vision with
which he was blessed by his Guru, SrT Krsna. The mere description of the Absolute gives only a theoretical understanding and in¬
tellectual appreciation. It should be followed by one’s own direct experience. This chapter is devoted to the description of Arjuna’s
direct experience.
The twelfth chapter is named Bhakti Yoga. We may translate it as “Unitive Devotion and Contemplation”. The term bhakti is used
here in a very specific sense. It is not just an emotional attachment or an enchantment that one feels towards the Divine. Bhakti, in
Vedanta, means “continuous contemplation of one’s own true nature as the Absolute”. A true model of bhakti (devotion), and of a
bhakta (devotee), is given in this chapter.
The thirteenth chapter is Ksetra Ksetrajna Vibhaga Yoga. Ksetra means “the field”, Ksetrajna is “the knower of the field”. In Bhakti
Yoga we learn that it is the Divine that dwells in every being. This chapter enables us to differentiate the Self from the non-Self. It
is translated as “The Unitive Understanding of the Distinction between the Actual and the Perceptual”.
Does everybody experience devotion the same way?
Peter differs from Paul. The fourteenth chapter deals with personality variations based on guna. It is entitled Gunatrayavibhaga
Yoga. Guna means “a quality”. In the present context the reference is to nature-modality. Hence this chapter is called “The Unitive
Way of Transcending the Three Nature Modalities”. All of us and everything in nature are evolutes of the three modalities of na¬
ture.
The fifteenth chapter is called Purusottama Yoga. In the Sarhkhyan philosophy there are two primary factors called purusa and
prakrti. Purusa is equivalent to the “Supreme Spirit”, and prakrti is primordial matter from which nature is supposed to have
evolved. The duality of purusa and prakrti, spirit and matter, is transcended by conniving the “Supreme Spirit” as the highest reali¬
ty. The Gita names it purusottama. The title of this chapter is translated as “The Unitive Approach to the Paramount Person”.
The sixteenth chapter is called Daiva Asura Sarhpad Vibhaga Yoga. The three gunas mentioned in the previous chapters are said
to create all conditioning impressions which are responsible for building up one’s character. Once they are formed, they persist
even through several lives. In the present chapter, reference is made to two main tendencies which run vertically through one’s
life, giving a contiguous character to one’s habitual choice. The higher nature is called daivi sampatti, and the lower nature is
called asuri sampatti. Daiva means “divine”, and asura means “demonic”. Daivi sampatti therefore means tendencies which are
spiritually rich. The opposite is asuri. To assess the value structure of your personality, you should discern these two tendencies
clearly, and should see how far your thoughts, beliefs, and behaviour are influenced by each.
How does a man diagnose the influence of inherent tendencies?
The seventeenth chapter is called Sraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga. It is very much diagnostic in character. Sraddha literally means
“deep interest”. Interest is an indicator of one’s innate disposition, nature, and character. By observing symptoms, a doctor can
diagnose a disease. In this chapter we get a symptomatic diagnosis of one’s basic character. The Gita teaches us how to analyze
our individual self in terms of the three nature-modalities discussed earlier. It also teaches us how to take into account our high¬
er and lower nature. It further discusses five types which are somewhat akin to the psychological types of Jung. These are the
Sarhnyasi, the renunciate, the Brahmin, scholarly priest, the Ksatriya, warrior, the Vaisya, tradesman, and the Sudra, the ser¬
vant. We should be cautious not to treat these as social classes belonging to the stratified social system of India, indiscriminately
termed as varna or jati. The types discussed here are universal. This chapter is aptly called “The Unitive Recognition of the Three
Patterns of Faith”.
The last chapter, which is the eighteenth, is called Sarhnyasa Yoga. For one who seeks the highest Truth, there is no knowledge
greater than brahmavidya. Realization of the Absolute gives release from all bondage. It is preceded by renunciation resulting
from proper discrimination. Correctly conceived renunciation is called sarhnyasa. Hence this chapter is described as “The Unitive
Way in Behaviour Patterns”.
Does the Gita teach Yoga, or the Science of the Absolute?
Each chapter of the Gita ends with a reference to brahmavidya, yoga-sastra, and samvada. Each of these terms connotes a differ¬
ent meaning. There is no doubt the Gita is a textbook of the Science of the Absolute, brahmavidya. The Absolute is not a thing or
an event. It gives rise to many relative notions. That means it can be approached from many angles of vision. The method of dis¬
cussion employed in the Gita is dialectical, not basically inferential. Hence it is called yoga- sastra. The literary device employed
by the author is in the form of a dialogue between Krsna as teacher and Arjuna as disciple. That is why it is called a dialogue, a
samvada. The parables and dialogues in the Upanisads are given a more cogent and philosophically structured presentation in
the Gita. For all practical purposes, the Gita can be considered the essence of the Upanisads.
Why is such a special device adopted?
In philosophical discussions there are bound to be anterior skepticisms, as well as finalized, conclusive teaching. Arjuna rep¬
resents the anterior skeptic. He raises doubts, apprehensions, and uncritically believed dogmas. Krsna examines the stand of Ar¬
juna in each case, and gives Arjuna his conclusive teaching. In the Sanskrit tradition such an anterior critic is called pGrvapaksin,
and the person who gives conclusive or final teaching is called siddhantin.
What troubles me is the description of the Gita as yoga-sastra. Each chapter is described as a different yoga. Patanjali describes
yoga as a state of the cessation of the modification of mind, citta- vrtti-nirodha. Does the Gila use the term in the same sense? If it
does, why is the first chapter called Visada Yoga? Visada is a slate of mental distress. Naturally a disturbed state cannot be de¬
scribed as yoga.
The Gita does not exclude Patanjali’s meaning of yoga. Yoga is conceived in a wider sense in the Gita. The end and means are
so interlaced in yoga that they cannot be dualistically separated. Yoga literally means “union”. It is etymologically related to the
English term “to yoke”. Dialectical thinking implies synthesis of a thesis and its antithesis. The Bhagavad Gita employs a type of
reasoning which is more dialectical than linear or inferential. Dialectical reasoning Sanskrit is called yoga mlmamsa. The visada,
or mental perturbance, of Arjuna is highlighted in the first chapter as the stand of an anterior critic who is fit to become an ac¬
complished dialectician. The chapters which follow reject Arjuna’s contentions by cancelling them out with counter-theses before
Krsna’s conclusive teaching is given. The specific sense in which visada yoga is used will be elaborated later.
When yoga is popularly understood as a state of perfection or spiritual absorption, why do you say that Vyasa uses the term yoga
in this book only to indicate the type of methodology he has adopted?
Most people think of ends and means dualistically. When taken separately, “means” can become a painful anticipation, and can
lead one ultimately even to frustration. When ends and means are unitively conceived there is a continuous and progressive re¬
alization of the end in the application of the means. For instance, when a child runs after a ball, his game is a “means” to gain the
“end” of happiness. Here, ends and means have no real dichotomy between them. Happiness is not an award given at the end
of the game. Right from the beginning, when the child kicks as well as misses the ball, he is in a state of happiness which is the
natural end of the game. In other words, the game provides to the child a yoga of ends and means. The Bhagavad Gita treats the
whole of life as a game presided over by the Supreme Lord, Isvarah. The various positions within the game offer different roles
and each person is expected to approach it from a stipulated angle in a certain manner. That is why each chapter of the Gita fo¬
cuses its attention on a different aspect.
Realization is not a static event; it is a continuous process. In all states and stages of life, the higher Self is to be realized in the
lower self, and the lower self is to be seen as an expression of the higher Self. Arjuna is presented in the Gita as the individual
mind or personal psyche, and Krsna, as the Guru, stands for the cosmic mind or universal psyche. Arjuna is confused because of
a disparity or incompatibility in his notion of the personal and the universal. The Gita attempts to avoid this implied duality by bring¬
ing Arjuna’s mind in line with Krsna’s wisdom or, say, the oneness of the jlva, the individual self, and Isvarah, the Lord. Agreement
in a certain approach need not necessarily imply agreement in all others. Hence, the Gita takes into account the various possible
approaches to the Absolute, and establishes an abiding rapport between Krsna and Arjuna on different levels. This accounts for
each chapter of the Gita being termed an Upanisad. In that sense we have in the Gita eighteen songs and eighteen Upanisads...
To understand the Gita is it imperative to study the Mahabharata also?
The Mahabharata is a rare classic. If one can afford the time to go through it even once, there is no doubt that it will be of great
help. However, it is not imperative thai we should know the whole of the Mahabharata to know the purport of the Gita. The
Mahabharata is used only as an epic- canvas upon which to paint the perennial philosophy of the Gita. The texture of the canvas
should be carefully discerned from the painting. The central teaching of the Gita stands apart, complete in itself. To get the maxi¬
mum benefit one should relate the teaching of the Gita to one’s own life.
Publications
Commentaries
Wikipedia
Traditionally the commentators belong to spiritual traditions or schools (sampradaya) and Guru lineages (parampara), which claim
to preserve teaching stemming either directly from Krishna himself or from other sources, each claiming to be faithful to the orig¬
inal message. In the words of Hiriyanna, “[The Gita] is one of the hardest books to interpret, which accounts for the numerous
commentaries on it - each differing from the rest in an essential point or the other.”
Different translators and commentators have widely differing views on what multi-layered Sanskrit words and passages signify,
and their presentation in English depending on the sampradaya they are affiliated to. Especially in Western philology, interpreta¬
tions of particular passages often do not agree with traditional views.
The oldest and most influential medieval commentary was that of the founder of the Vedanta school of extreme ‘non-dualism”,
Shankara (788-820 A. D.), also known as Shankaracharya (Sanskrit: Sankaracarya). Shankara’s commentary was based on a
recension of the Gita containing 700 verses, and that recension has been widely adopted by others. There is not universal agree¬
ment that he was the actual author of the commentary on the Bhagavad Gita that is attributed to him. A key commentary for the
“modified non-dualist” school of Vedanta was written by Ramanujacharya (Sanskrit: Ramanujacharya), who lived in the eleventh
century A.D. Ramanujacharya’s commentary chiefly seeks to show that the discipline of devotion to God (Bhakti yoga) is the way
of salvation. The commentary by Madhva, whose dates are given either as (b. 1199-d. 1276) or as (b. 1238 - d. 1317), also
known as Madhvacharya (Sanskrit: Madhvacarya), exemplifies thinking of the “dualist” school. Madhva’s school of dualism asserts
that there is, in a quotation provided by Winthrop Sargeant, “an eternal and complete distinction between the Supreme, the many
souls, and matter and its divisions.” Madhva is also considered to be one of the great commentators reflecting the viewpoint of the
Vedanta school.
In the Shaiva tradition, the renowned philosopher Abhinavagupta (10-11th century CE) has written a commentary on a slightly
variant recension called Gitartha-Samgraha.
Other classical commentators include Nimbarka (1162 AD), Vallabha(1479 AD)., while Dnyaneshwar (1275- 1296 AD) translated
and commented on the Gita in Marathi, in his book Dnyaneshwari.
In modern times notable commentaries were written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, who used the text to help
inspire the Indian independence movement. Tilak wrote his commentary while in jail during the period 1910-1911, while he was
serving a six- year sentence imposed by the British colonial government in India for sedition. While noting that the Gita teaches
possible paths to liberation, his commentary places most emphasis on Karma yoga. No book was more central to Gandhi’s life
and thought than the Bhagavadgita, which he referred to as his “spiritual dictionary”. During his stay in Yeravda jail in 1929, Gand¬
hi wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita in Gujarati. The Gujarati manuscript was translated into English by Mahadev Desai,
who provided an additional introduction and commentary. It was published with a Foreword by Gandhi in 1946. Mahatma Gandhi
expressed his love for the Gita in these words:
I find a solace in the Bhagavadgita that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and
all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the BhagavagTta. I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to
smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies - and my life has been full of external tragedies - and if they have left no visible, no
indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of Bhagavadgita.
Three translations: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, a Gujarati translation by Gita Press, and another English one published by Barnes &
Noble.
Other notable modern commentators include Sri Aurobindo, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and Swami Vivekananda, who took a syn-
cretistic approach to the text.
Swami Vivekananda, the follower of Sri Ramakrishna, was known for his commentaries on the four Yogas - Bhakti, Jnana, Kar¬
ma and Raja Yoga. He drew from his knowledge of the Gita to expound on these Yogas. Swami Sivananda advises the aspiring
Yogi to read verses from the Bhagavad Gita every day. Paramahamsa Yogananda, writer of the famous Autobiography of a Yogi,
viewed the Bhagavad Gita as one of the world’s most divine scriptures. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of
the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, wrote Bhagavad- Gita As It Is- a commentary on the Gita from the perspec¬
tive of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. In 1965, the modern sage Maharishi Mahesh Yogi published his own commentary of the Gita and
proclaimed his technique of Transcendental Meditation to be the practical procedure for experiencing the field of absolute Being
described by Lord Krishna.
Translations
English translations
The Bhagavat Geeta or Dialogs of Kreeshna and Arjoon. Transl. by Wilkins. London, 1785.
The Bhagavadgita. Transl. by J. Davis. Orient. Ser. N° 31. Tubingen, 1882.
The Bhagavadgita. Transl. by Telang. «The Sacred Books of the East». Vol. 8. Oxford. 1882.
The Bhagavadgita. Transl. by Thomson. Hertford, 1855.
The Bhagavadgita with the comment by Qri Qankaracarya. Transl. by Mahadeva Qastri. Madras. 1897.
The Bhagavadgita. Transl. by Barnett. London, 1905.
The Bhagavadgita. Transl. by A. Besant and Bh. Das. 1905.
The Bhagavadgita. Transl. by Johnson. New-York, 1908.
The Bhagavadgita. Transl. by Hill. Oxford. 1928.
Ramanuja’s commentary on the Bhagavadgita. Transl. by Igvaradatta. Hyderabad (Deccan), 1930.
Bhagavadgita (a student’s edit.). Transl. by Sarama. Madras, 1930.
The Song Celestial or Bhagavad Gita. Transl. by E. Arnold. London, 1935.
The Bhagavadgita. Transl. by Nikhilananda. Ramakrishna-Vivekananda centr. edit., 1944.
Bhagavad Gita. Transl. by F. Edgerton. Vol. 1—2. Harvard. Univ. Press, 1946. (With transcr. of the text).
Bhagavadgita. Transl. by S. Radhakrishnan. New-York, 1948.
French translations
Le Chant du Bienheureux. Trad. par. E. Burnouf. Paris. 1861. (Avec une transcr. du texte).
La Bhagavadgita. Trad, par E. Senar. Paris, 1922.
Bhagavadgita. Trad, par St. Michalski-lvenski. Paris, 1923.
La Bhagavadgita. Trad. parS. Levi. Paris, 1938.
German translations
Bhagavadgita. Ubers. von E. Peiper. Leipzig. 1834 (In yamb. Vers).
Die Bhagavadgita. Ubers. von Lorinser. Breslau, 1869.
Bhagavadgita. Ubers. von L. Schroeder. Jena, 1915.
Die Bhagavadgita. Ubers. von R. Garbe. 2 Aufl. Leipzig. 1921.
Vier Philosophische Texte des Mahabharatam. Ubers. von Deussen. 2 Aufl. Leipzig, 1922.
Latin translation
Bhagavadgita. Interp. latinae, curante Schlegeli. 2 ed. Bonn, 1846.
Russian translations
BaryaT-reia nnn Eecefla KpuwHbi c ApflwyHOM. riepeB. H. HoBMKOBa. M., 1788.
ExaraBafl Tma. riepeB. A. n. Ka3HaHeeBon. BnaflUMup, 1909.
ExaraBaflrma. «f1epeBOfl c aHrnnncKoro n caHCKpmcKoro» KaivieHCKon n MaHquapnu. Kanyra, 1914.
Wikipedia
English translations
The first translation of Bhagavad Gita to English was done by Charles Wilkins in 1785. In 1808 passages from the Gita were part
of the first direct translation of Sanskrit into German, appearing in a book through which Friedrich Schlegel became known as the
founder of Indian philology in Germany.
Another English translation is by Barbara Stoler Miller.
Related words
Bhakti Yoga
Jnana Yoga
Karma Yoga
Mahabharata
Prasthana-traya
Yoga
External links
Original text
Mahabharata 6.23-6.40 (sacred-texts.com)
Translations and Commentaries
1890 translation by William Quan Judge
1900 translation by Sir Edwin Arnold
The Gita According to Gandhi by Mahadev Desai of Mahatma Gandhi’s 1929 Gujurati translation and commentary
1942 translation by Swami Sivananda
1971 translation by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada entitled Bhagavad Gita As It Is with Sanskrit text and English com¬
mentary.
1988 translation by Ramananda Prasad
1992 translation and commentary by Swami Chinmayananda
1993 translation by Jagannatha Prakasa (John of AIIFaith)
2001 translation by Sanderson Beck
2004 metered translation by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
Six commentaries: by Adi Sankara, Ramanuja, Sridhara Swami, Madhusudana Sarasvati, Visvanatha Chakravarti and Baladeva
Vidyabhusana (all in Sanskrit)
Essays on Gita by Sri Aurobindo
Gita Supersite Original text, with several accompanying translations or commentaries in Sanskrit, English, or Hindi
Multiple English Translations easy to navigate
Bhagavan
Variant spellings
Bhagavn
bhagavan
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhagavan — ... Lord; God; revered person; venerable; the fortunate; the powerful; blessed one
1. The Lord. The one who is glorious, illustrious, divine, venerable. A term of address for God, or saints, sages, perfected ones,
denoting what is glorious, divine, venerable, and holy. He possesses six divine qualities: knowledge (jnana), strength (bala), lord-
ship (aisvarya), potency (sakti), virility (vlrya), and splendor (tejas). (SeeTsvara.)
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Bhagavan in Sanskrit means “one who is glorious, illustrious, revered, divine, or holy.” It is the most common word for “God” in
Hinduism. In its sense of “holy” or “divine” it is also used as an honorific for gurus and divine personages, for example, Bhagavan
Sri RAJNEESH.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Bhagavan (“Blessed One”). Name denoting both respect and reverence. In different contexts this name can be used as an epi¬
thet of either the god Krishna (as in the Bhagavad Gita) or the god Shiva. In modern usage, at least in northern India, it is also the
word that comes closest to expressing the notion of abstract divinity, much like the word “God” in English. It is often used to de¬
note God by Hindus who are religious but who do not worship particular deities.
Wikipedia
Bhagavan, also written Bhagwan or Bhagawan
In some traditions of Hinduism it is used to indicate the Supreme Being or Absolute Truth, but with specific reference to that Su¬
preme Being as possessing a personality (a personal God). This personal feature indicated in Bhagavan differentiates its usage
from other similar terms[3] such as Brahman, the “Supreme Spirit” or “spirit”, and thus, in this usage, Bhagavan is in many ways
analogous to the general Christian conception of God.
Bhagavan used as a title of veneration is often translated as “Lord”, as in “Bhagavan Krishna”, “Bhagavan Shiva”, “Bhagavan
Swaminarayan”, etc. In Buddhism and Jainism, Gautama Buddha, Mahavira and other Tirthankaras, Buddhas and bodhisattvas
are also venerated with this title. The feminine of Bhagavat is BhagawatT and is an epithet of Durga and other goddesses.
The title is also used as a respectful form of address for a number of contemporary spiritual teachers in India.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavan: The word denoting God, used in the context of devotion (bhakti). Literally, one in possession of brilliant qualities (bha-
gas).
Nitya. Psychology of Darsanamala
The word [bhagavan] means “that power which can remain concealed or make itself overtly manifest.” The following qualities are
attributes of bhagavan: anima, “being atomic”; laghima, “becoming very subtle”; mahima, “becoming very gross”; garima, “to be
concrete”; prapti, “to achieve anything by mere volition”; prakamyam, “experiencing the properties of an object without the actual
presence of the object”; Tsitvam, “the power to create, control, and protect”; vasitvam, “to attract”; and finally srTmat, “to be gra¬
cious.”
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Six Supreme Achievements of Hindu tradition are in their traditional order: All-Lordliness, Dharma, Fame, All-Prosperity, Wis¬
dom and Renunciation. These Six Achievements, also called Bhaga, make a sage into a Bhagavan, a word implying “the glorious,
the venerable, the worshipful, the victorious, the blessed Lord”. This title has been given to Buddhas, to Jain Tirthankaras and to
Hindu Avataras and Jnanis.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
He who is called Brahman by the jnanis is known as Atman by the yogis and as Bhagavan by the bhaktas.
... But the Reality is one and the same. The difference is only in name. He who is Brahman is verily Atman, and again, He is the
Bhagavan. He is Brahman to the followers of the path of knowledge, Paramatman to the yogis, and Bhagavan to the lovers of
God.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhagavan - from the root bhag = “good fortune, wealth, splendor, power” + van “possessor, Master, having”.
Wikipedia
Bhagavan - from the Sanskrit nt-stem bhaga-vant- nominative/vocative Bhagavan, literally means “possessing fortune,
blessed, prosperous” (from the noun bhaga, meaning “fortune, wealth”, cognate to Slavic bog “god”), and hence “illustrious, divine,
venerable, holy”, etc.
Related words
Ishvara
Sanskrit
Bhagavan — *-P 13 H
bhagavan - 'TTTTT
Bhajana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhajana — ... devotional singing
1. Individual or group singing of devotional songs, hymns, and chants. Devotional songs in praise of the Divine. It is a form of pure
and unadulterated devotion to God.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
bhajana -
the act of sharing;
possession;
reverence, worship, adoration
Wikipedia
A Bhajan is any type of Indian devotional song. It has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as sophisticat¬
ed as the dhrupad or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas. It is normally lyrical, expressing love for the Divine. The
name, a cognate of bhakti, meaning religious devotion, suggests its importance to the bhakti movement that spread from the south
of India throughout the entire subcontinent in the Moghul era.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Bhajana: Popularly, to sing devotional songs. Philosophically, intense contemplation.
Nitya. Love and Blessings
Bhajan: In practice, musical recitations of scriptures and hymns, often accompanied by musical instruments. Literally it means to
contemplate something consistently.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Anecdotes and episodes from scriptures, the teachings of saints and descriptions of gods have all been the subject of bhajans.
The Dhrupad style, Sufi qawwali and the kirtan or song in the Haridasi tradition are related to bhajan. Nanak, Kabir, Meera,
Narottama Dasa, Surdas and Tulsidas are notable composers. Traditions of bhajan such as Nirguni, Gorakhanathi, Vallabhapan-
thi, Ashtachhap, Madhura- bhakti and the traditional South Indian form Sampradya Bhajan each have their own repertoire and
methods of singing.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
bhajana - from the root bhaj = “to love, worship, praise”.
Sanskrit _
Bhajana — iTfFT
bhajana - W
Bhakta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhakta — ... devotee; lover of God
1. A devotee; a lover or worshipper of God. Followers of Bhakti Yoga, the path of love and devotion.
2. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, a devotee is one type of seeker of liberation. They are those who have read the Veda
together with its auxiliaries and the Upanisads, and who, from the knowledge of the earlier and later parts of the MTmamsa, have
determined the nature of the Absolute (Brahman) as different from individuals (cit) and the world (acit). They are of the nature of
bliss and know Brahman as of the nature of bliss, infinitude, and unsurpassability.
3. A stage of consciousness.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
bhakta -
distributed, assigned, allotted;
divided;
forming part of, belonging to;
loved, liked;
served, worshipped;
dressed, cooked;
engaged in, occupied with, attached or devoted to, loyal, faithful, honouring, worshipping, serving;
a worshipper, votary;
food or a meal;
boiled rice;
any eatable grain boiled with water;
a vessel;
a share, portion
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Bhakta (“sharer”) In Hinduism, this word denotes a devotee of any particular deity. The word’s literal meaning, “sharer,” has a two¬
fold sense. On one hand, the devotee shares in the deity’s grace by virtue of his or her piety. On the other hand, since most Hindu
devotionalism involves a community of worshipers, the devotee also gets to share in the company and community of like-minded
people.
Wikipedia
Bhakta - one who practices bhakti is called a bhakta.
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. Hindu Mysticism
Mysticism in Europe has a definite history. In spite of the variety of its types, it may roughly be described to refer to the belief that
God is realised through ecstatic communion with Him. With the Islamic mystics, the Christian mystics, and the devotional mystics
or bhaktas of India, the vision of God and His grace is attained through devotional communion or devotional rapture of various
kinds. But in all these mystics, we find a keen sense of the necessity of purity of mind, contentment, ever alert striving for mor¬
al goodness, self-abnegation, and one- pointedness to God. There can be no true mysticism without real moral greatness. This
mysticism should therefore be distinguished from a mere delusory faith that God often grants us a vision of Him or appears to us
in dreams, or from a faith in the infallibility of the scriptures and so forth, for the latter are often but manifestations of credulity or of
a tendency to believe in suggestions, and may often be associated with an inadequate alertness of critical and synthetic intellect.
... the conception of God as creator, supporter, father, lord and master, or as the ultimate philosophical principle, is subordinated
to the conception of god as the nearest and dearest. The most important feature is His nearness to and His intimacy with us-not
His great powers, which create a distance between Him and us. That He is the greatest of the great and the Highest of the high,
that there is nothing greater and higher than Him is admitted by all. His greatness, however, does not reveal the secret of why He
should be so dear to us. He may be the greatest, highest, loftiest and the most transcendent, but yet He has made His home in
our hearts and has come down to our level to give us His affection and love. Indeed He is conceived as so near to us that we can
look upon Him and love Him with the love of a very dear friend, or with the devotion and the intensity of love of a spouse. Love is a
great leveller; the best way of realizing God is by making Him an equal partner in life by the force of intense love.
The legend of Krishna supplies a human touch to God’s dealings with men. With the help of this legend the bhaktas of the new
school, by a peculiar mystical turn of mind, could conceive of God as at once a great being with transcendent powers and also as
an intimate friend or a dear lover maintaining human relations with his bhaktas. The episodes of Krishna’s life in Brindaban are
spiritualized. They are often conceived to happen on a non-physical plane where both Krishna and his partners are thought to
play their parts of love and friendship in non-physical bodies. Thus they are not regarded as particular events that took place at
specific points of time in the life of a particular man, Krishna. They are interpreted as the eternal, timeless and spaceless play of
God with His own associates and His energies, with whom He eternally realizes Himself in love and friendship. The part that his
bhaktas had to play was to identify themselves, by a great stretch of sympathy, as partners in or spectators of God’s love-play,
and find their fullest satisfaction in the satisfaction of God. For a true bhakta, it is not necessary, therefore, that his sense-inclina¬
tions should be destroyed. What is necessary is merely that these should be turned towards God and not towards himself, i.e.,
that he use his senses not for his own worldly satisfaction but to find enjoyment and satisfaction in the great love-drama of God
by identifying himself with one of the spiritual partners of God in his love- play. Hence it is not essential that all desires and sense-
functions, as the Gita says, be destroyed, or that the individual behave as if he had desires while yet being absolutely desireless.
It was required that the bhakta have the fullest satisfaction of his sense and inclinations by participating in the joys of Krishna in
his divine love-play. For such participation and vicarious enjoyment was regarded as true love (preman), while the satisfaction of
one’s own senses or of one’s own worldly purposes was viewed as a vicious passion. Thus here we have a new scheme of life.
The ideal of desirelessness and absolute self-control is replaced by that of participation in a drama of divine joy, and the desires
are given full play in the direction of God. Desires are not to be distinguished; only their directions are to be changed.
... In the Narayaniya chapter of the fifth canto of the Mahabharata God is spoken of as a father, mother and teacher; and in the
Yoga Sutra of Patanjali and elsewhere the idea is often expressed that God originally taught the Vedas to the sages and that He is
therefore the original teacher. In all these writings, however, the love of God supercedes deep reverence. The true bhakta looked
upon God as the divine dispenser; he considered all that he had-- kingdoms, riches, wife and all that he could call his own-to be
God’s. Love of God as the mother of the world plays an important part in the religious attitude of many bhakti worshippers. This
is particularly true in the case of Ramprasad and others, notably the sage Ramakrishna of recent times. And in this attribution of
motherliness to God both Ramprasad and Ramakrishna view Him as a tender mother who is always helping her child, condoning
his sins and transgressions, partial to his weaknesses and concerned to better him. Nevertheless He cannot be attained by mere
formal worship but only through a whole-hearted worship, with a proper control of the sense-inclinations.
...I have thus far confined myself to a description of different forms of mysticism as portrayed in Sanskrit writings. I shall now turn
to the mysticism of divine love that found expression in the vernaculars of North India and of the South. But this is a vast subject
and I can say only a few word.
Let me advert first to the Alvar saints of the South, the earliest of whom belonged to the second and the latest to the tenth century,
A. D. They all wrote psalms or songs in Tamil, a Dravidian tongue of South India. They were inspired by the teachings of Vaish-
navism when it travelled from the North to the South.
With reference to Nam Alvar, Govindacarya has said: “Briefly, Saint Nam Alvar declares that when one is overcome by bhakti
exaltation, trembling in every cell of his being, he must freely and passively allow this influence to penetrate his being, and carry
him beyond all known states of consciousness; never from fear or shame that bystanders may take him for a madman, ought the
exhibition of this bhakti-rapture that deluges his being, to be suppressed. The very madness is the means of distinguishing him
from the ordinary mortals to whom such beatific vision is necessarily denied. The very madness is the bhakta’s pride. In that very
madness, the saint exhorts, “run, jump, cry, laugh and sing, and let every man witness it.”
... The essence of the teachings of Namdev, as of almost all the other bhaktas of whom I shall now be speaking, is purity of mind,
speech, and deed, utter disregard of castes, creeds and other social distinctions, a tendency to leave all for God, and in love and
joy to live in God always, utterly ignoring all social, communal and religious prejudices, narrowness, dogmas and bigotry. It is held
that God is omnipotent and omnipresent and that He cannot be identified with any particular deity or his character properly narrat¬
ed by any particular legendary or mythical ways of thinking. At the same time it is contended that we may call him by any name we
like, for He is always the same in all.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
This section, moreover, does not refer to bhakti (devotion) as something to be actively cultivated from the side of the devotee, but
rather refers to conformity to the will of the Absolute by which the devotee is said to become dear to the Absolute, as stated in the
termination of almost every verse from 13 to 19.
The reference in verse 13 to being equalized in pain and happiness does not suggest any more a bhakta than a contemplative
yogi. The principal feature of the yoga of the Gita lies in the concept of samya (equalization) as recognized by Arjuna in vi 33.
There is a regular definition of yoga itself as consisting of samatvam (equanimity), in ii, 48.
Even in chapter v,wherein renunciation is the principal theme, we find in verses 19 and 20 the same idea of equanimity or equal¬
ization given due importance. Thus, whether it is action, renunciation, or devotion, this equalization of two counterparts is a com¬
mon distinguishing feature of the perfected yogi, irrespective of the section of chapter where it is discussed. If we keep this in
mind, the rest of this section (verses 13 to 19 inclusive) hardly needs further comment.
[Chapter 12]
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
However much a bhakta may experience physical joy and sorrow, he always has knowledge and the treasure of divine love. This
treasure never leaves him. Take the Pandava brothers for instance. Though they suffered so many calamities, they did not lose
their God-Consciousness even once. Where can you find men like them, endowed with so much knowledge and devotion?
... Since one cannot easily get rid of the ego, a bhakta does not explain away the states of waking, dream, and deep sleep. He
accepts all the states. Further, he accepts the three gunas—sattva, rajas, and tamas. A bhakta sees that God alone has become
the twenty-four cosmic principles, the universe, and all living beings. He also sees that God reveals Himself to His devotees in a
tangible form, which is the embodiment of Spirit.
The bhakta takes shelter under vidyamaya. He seeks holy company, goes on pilgrimage, and practises discrimination, devotion,
and renunciation. He says that, since a man cannot easily get rid of his ego, he should let the rascal remain as the servant of God,
the devotee of God.
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
The Sattvic devotee performs his devotions in secret. He meditates in the night in his bed inside the mosquito-curtain, and there¬
fore rises late in the morning—a fact explained by his friends as due to want of good sleep. The care he bestows on the body ends
by providing it with plain food—perhaps a little rice and vegetables. Of luxury he has none, either in food or in dress. There is no
show of fittings and furniture in his house, and he never seeks to rise in the world by flattery. The Rajasic devotee has perhaps
distinctive sectarian marks on his body and beads round his neck, with perhaps a few golden ones interspersed. He is particular
about outward observances such as wearing silk at the time of worship and celebrating the worship of the Deity with pomp and
splendour. The Tamasic devotee has a fiery faith. He applies force to God like a robber seizing things by force. “ What!” he says, “I
have uttered His ‘name’ and yet I am to remain sinful! I am His son! I am duly entitled to the inheritance of His wealth I” Such is his
vehement ardour.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Many visitors came on one occasion and they all saluted Sri Bhagavan with the single prayer, “Make me a bhakta. Give me mok-
sha.” After they left Sri Bhagavan said, thinking aloud: All of them want bhakti and moksha. If I say to them, ‘Give yourself to me’
they will not. How then can they get what they want?
Bhakta and Bhakti-yoga
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
Even after attaining samadhi, some retain the ‘servant ego’ or the ‘devotee ego’. The bhakta keeps this ‘l-consciousness’. He
says, ‘O God, Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant; Thou art the Lord and I am Thy devotee.’ He feels that way even after
the realization of God. His T is not completely effaced. Again, by constantly practising this kind of ‘l-consciousness’, one ultimately
attains God. This is called bhaktiyoga.
See: Saguna-brahman and bhaktas
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
bhakta - from the verb root bhaj = “to love, worship, revere”.
Related words
Bhakti
Bhakti Yoga
Sanskrit
Bhakta —
bhakta -
Bhakti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhakti — ... loving devotion
1. The path of devotion leading to union with God; the state of intense devotional love for God or guru. It is one of the paths to
liberation (bhakti marga).
2. Devotion is said to be of two types: sadhana-bhakti (comprised of astanga-yoga, sadhana-saptaka, etc.) and phala-bhakti (re¬
ceived by an individual through God’s grace spontaneously).
3. It is also divided into nine forms: sravana, klrtana, smarana, padasevana, arcana, vandana, dasya, sakhya, and atma-nivedana.
4. Devotion to God can assume many forms and the devotee can be related to God in one of many attitudes. The chief ones are
dasya, the attitude of a servant to his master; sakhya, the attitude of a friend to a friend; vatsalya, the attitude of a parent to a
child; santa, the attitude of a child to a parent; kanta, the attitude of a wife to a husband; rati, the attitude of a lover to the beloved;
and dvesa, the attitude of an atheist toward God.
5. Visistadvaita Vedanta defines devotion as “a continuous stream of remembrance of God uninterrupted like the flow of oil from
one vessel to another.”
6. Vaisnavas divide perfect love of God (ragatmika bhakti) into kamatmika (consisting of a desire for erotic and mystical enjoyment
inspired by an exclusive effort to please Krsna) and sambandhatmika (consisting of a sense of relationship to Krsna). The former
is composed of sneha (affection wherein the heart melts); mana (affected repulse of endearment due to excess emotion); pran-
aya (friendly confidence); raga (erotic transmutation of sorrow into joy); and anuraga (love as a constant freshness). Under the
latter, the modes of vatsalya and sakhya involve sneha, mana, pranaya, raga, and anuraga, while the dasya mode includes all but
anuraga and the santa mode involves none of them.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
bhakti -
distribution, partition, separation;
a division, portion, share;
a streak, line, variegated decoration;
a row, series, succession, order;
the being a part of;
that which belongs to or is contained in anything else, an attribute;
predisposition (of body to any disease);
attachment, devotion, fondness for, devotion to (with loc., gen. or ifc.), trust, homage, worship, piety, faith or love or devotion (as a
religious principle or means of salvation, together with karman, ‘works’, and jnana, ‘spiritual knowledge’;
assumption of the form of
Wikipedia
Bhakti in practice signifies an active involvement by the devotee in divine worship. The term is often translated as “devotion”,
though increasingly “participation” is being used as a more accurate rendering, since it conveys a fully engaged relationship with
God. One who practices bhakti is called a bhakta, while bhakti as a spiritual path is referred to as bhakti marga, or the bhakti way.
Bhakti is an important component of many branches of Hinduism, defined differently by various sects and schools.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Bhakti: Devotedness. Derived from the root bhaj, meaning “to meditate constantly on something.” It can either be fully supported
by wisdom (jnana) or be in the form of full surrender to God with no understanding as such. The latter form is known as prapatti. A
devotee is called bhakta.
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Bhakti - The state as well as the act of devotion, In theistic schools, bhakti is defined as intense love of God. In monistic Vedanta,
it is the continuous contemplation of one’s true being or Self.
Nitya. Love and Blessings
Bhakti: Devotion. In conventional usage this refers to religious practices in which emotions have a predominant place. Bhakti was
revalued by Sankara and Narayana Guru as “continuous contemplation on the true nature of the self.”
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. Hindu Mysticism
The theory of bhakti seems to have its original source in the Pancaratra school of Vaishnavism. However, the doctrine of supreme
self-surrender to Narayana, Hari or Krishna as the one and only God in disregard of all other mythical gods, represents a teach¬
ing of the Gita, the chief work of the Ekanti school of Vaishnavas; and this doctrine forms the universal basis of all kinds of bhakti
worship, though among the Shaktas or Shaivas the supreme deity went by the name of Shakti or Shiva. The Gita plainly teaches,
as we have already pointed out in our previous lecture, that there is no other God but Narayana or Krishna, that He alone is great
and that we should lay aside all other modes of religious worship and take refuge in Him. In Chaitanya this devotion to God devel¬
oped into a life-absorbing passion; yet in all advanced forms of bhakti the chief emphasis is on supreme attachment to God. The
sort of bhakti which Prahlada asked as a boon from Hari was such an attachment for Him as worldly persons have for the objects
of their senses. Such a bhakti, as described in the Bhagavata or the Shandilya sutra, is not worship out of a sense of duty or mere
meditation on God or mere singing of His name, but it is deep affection (anurakti). It is therefore neither knowledge nor any kind
of activity, but is a feeling. And the taking of refuge (prapatti) in God is also not motivated by knowledge but by a deep affection
which impels the individual to take his first and last stay in Him. But though a feeling, this bhakti does not bind anyone to the world.
For the world is but a manifestation of God’s maya, and God so arranges for those who love Him that His maya cannot bind His
bhakta to the world.
But how is such a bhakti possible? For this also we have ultimately to depend on God. There is a passage in the Upanishads
(Katha II. 23) which states that He can be attained by him whom He (God) chooses. This text has often been cited to indicate that
it is only the chosen man of God who has the privilege of possessing a special affection for God. Vallabha declares this special
favor (pushti) of God indispensable for the rise of such an affection for God. He further holds that according to the different de¬
grees of the favor of God one may have different degrees of affection for Him, though by avoiding the commission of sinful actions,
by cleansing the mind of the impurities of worldly passions, and by inclining the mind towards God, one may go a great way in
deserving His special favor. It is only by the highest special favor of God that one’s affection or attachment for Him can become
an all-consuming and all-engulfing passion (vyasana-see the Prameyaratnarnava). True devotion to God, affection or love for
Him, must always be an end in itself and never a means to any other end, not even salvation or liberation, so much praised in the
classical systems of philosophy. This all- absorbing passion for God is the bhakta’s eternal stay in God, and dearer to him than
liberation or any other goal of religious realization.
It is not out of place here to mention that among various Hindu sects it was held that an engrossing passion of any kind may so
possess the whole mind that all other mental functions may temporarily be suspended, and that gradually, through the repeated
occurrence of such a passion, the other mental functions may be altogether annihilated. Thus, absorption in a single supreme
passion may make the mind so one-pointed that all other attachments are transcended and the individual attains Brahmahood
(see the Spandapradipika). In the Upanishads (Brihadaranyaka IV. 3.21) we find that the bliss of Brahman is compared with the
loving embrace of a beloved woman. To love one’s husband and to serve him as a god was regarded from very early times as
the only spiritualizing duty for a woman. Hence the idea that ordinary man-and- woman love may be so perfected as to become a
spiritual force easily won acceptance in certain circles. This man-and-woman love developed an absorbing and dominant passion,
completely independent and unaided by other considerations of marital and parental duties. In its non-marital forms, it was consid¬
ered to be capable of becoming so deep as to become by itself a spiritualizing force. Moreover, it was thought that the transition
from human love to divine love was so easy that a man who had specialized in the experience of deep man-and-woman love of a
non-marital type could easily change the direction of his love from woman to God, and thus indulge in a passionate love for God.
The story is told that in his early career the saint Bilvamangala became so deeply attached to a courtesan named Cintamani that
one night he swam across a river supported by a floating corpse, then scaled a high wall by holding on to the tail of a serpent,
and finally well-nigh broke his limbs in jumping down from the wall into the yard of Cintamani. The woman, however, rebuked him,
saying that if he entertained toward God a little of the love that he had for her he would be a saint. This produced such a wonderful
change in Bilvamangala that he forthwith became a God-intoxicated man. Later, in his saintly life, when he once again felt attract¬
ed by a woman, he plucked out his eyes so that external forms and colors might not further tempt him. This blind saint became
one of the best-reputed among all the saints, devoting his life to the love of God.
Thus there grew up a school of mystics, including the great poet Candidas and others, who devoted themselves to the cultivation
of the spirituality of love and the deification of human love, and who thought that more could be learned through such efforts than
through any other mode of worship. “There is no god or goddess in Heaven who can teach spiritual truths more than the person
whom one loves with the whole heart.” The goddess Basuli whom Candidas worshipped is said to have admonished him to adhere
to his love for the washerwoman Rami, saying that Rami would be able to teach him truths that no one else could, and to lead him
to such bliss as not even the creator himself might do. A somewhat similar idea of the purificatory power of intense human love is
found in the Vishnupurana. In describing the illicit love of a cowherd-girl for Krishna, the Vishnupurana says that at her separation
from him she underwent so much suffering that all her sins were expiated, and that in thinking of him in her separation from him
she had so much delight as would be equal to the collective culmination of all the happiness that she could enjoy as a reward of
her virtuous actions. By the combination of the suffering and the bliss, she exhausted all the fruits of her bad and good deeds, and
thus by her thoughts of Krishna she attained her liberation. Somewhat allied with the idea of human worship, though not of the
man-and-women type just mentioned, is a certain attitude sometimes adopted toward man as a religious teacher. The latter was
considered in many circles as the representative of God on earth, and self- surrender, love and devotion to him was considered to
lead one to God. This sort of worship was prevalent among the Hindus and the Buddhists from pretty early times. One fact should
be noted. It was associated with reverence and a sense of the religious teacher’s superiority, whereas the other type of worship
(through romantic love) raised the man and woman by their constancy and sufferings for each other and the happiness that each
enjoys in the company and thought of the other. In this latter case, love is religion, and all pain endured for the beloved, joy.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Bhakti (SANSKRIT bhaj, to adore, honor, worship) is a central spiritual path in Hinduism, involving devotion to and service of the
chosen deity. Vedic tradition, the chief religious practice of Hinduism from around 1500 B.C.E. to roughly the start of the Common
Era, relied on a ritual process of chanting and making offerings to various divinities. Compared with the later practice of bhakti,
these divinities were not addressed with intimacy and a sense of connection; furthermore, they were never iconographically rep¬
resented and were not generally visualized in human form; the humanity of the divinity became a very important element in later
bhakti.
... The Sanskrit text the BHAGAVAD GITA, written around 200 B.C.E., was the first true bhakti text in the Indian tradition, in that
case focusing on the worship of KRISHNA. It depicts a very close, personal relationship with God, one with a human form and
personality. However, bhakti is still seen as a restrained, austere practice that takes the form of a YOGA.
As bhakti began to emerge with full force in the extreme south of India beginning in the third century, the devotion to the gods
VISHNU and SHIVA and to the Goddess became a passionate, emotional experience. Devotees such as the poetsaints who
periodically emerged until the 17th or 18th century threw themselves into bhakti with complete abandon. The quintessential dev¬
otee took pride in being considered a mad person and would be often completely lost in ecstatic song and trance. One important
reason why the bhakti movement eventually swept all India and transformed the face of Hinduism was that the songs of the saints
were all in the local dialects and languages, not in the Sanskrit language of the priestly elite. These works were lovingly remem¬
bered and compiled by their followers.
Bhakti often involved PILGRIMAGE to and worship at sacred places where ICONS of the chosen deity could be found. The temple
tradition of India developed on the basis of devotion to deities who took iconic shape in stone in temples the length and breadth of
the country. Devotees yearned to see the deity and to have audience with him or her. This audience is referred to as DARSHAN,
or “viewing,” and is the most special and intimate aspect of the temple visit.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Bhakti (“sharing”) The most common word denoting devotion to God. This is one of the three traditional paths to gain final liber¬
ation of the soul (moksha), and it has been the most widespread type of religious practice for well over a thousand years. The
word’s literal meaning conveys the sense of relationship. On one hand, it refers to an intense and passionate love between dev¬
otee (bhakta) and deity, and on the other, it refers to separate communities of people bound together by their common love of
God. Although references to bhakti can be found in such early texts as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita, the
bhakti propounded here is radically different from laterusages. In both these texts, bhakti is presented as a form of yoga in which
one contemplates God as part of a controlled and disciplined practice. This is a far cry from the abandonment and passionate
involvement in later times.
The beginnings of this latter sort of bhakti arose in the Tamil country of deep southern India between the sixth and ninth centuries
B.C.E. It had an intensity that was radically different from earlier notions, a devotional “heat” as opposed to the “coolness” of yoga.
Tamil bhakti expressed, and continues to express, its devotion through songs sung in vernacular languages, conveying an inti¬
mate relationship with a personal god.
... Aside from egalitarianism and personal experience, bhakti worship also stressed community, based on the interconnections
between devotees.
... bhakti’s regional manifestations often take on a distinct flavor marked by, if nothing else, the differing languages. The Padma
Purana speaks of bhakti (a feminine noun) as a maiden who was born in southern India, attained maturity in the state of Maha¬
rashtra, and was rejuvenated in northern India. Although this is a metaphor, it accurately charts the historical diffusion of bhakti
devotion, as well as its changes as it moved north. All forms of bhakti are shaped by specific times, places, and circumstances.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
“Bhakti”, first meaning partition and participation, and next, being a part of. It is clear therefore why “Bhakti” came to mean attach¬
ment, devotion, worship and love of God.
Wikipedia
Scholarly consensus sees bhakti as a post-Vedic movement that developed primarily during the era of Indian epic poetry. The
Bhagavad Gita is the first text to explicitly use the word “bhakti” to designate a religious path, using it as a term for one of three
possible religious approaches. The Bhagavata Purana develops the idea more elaborately, while the Shvetashvatara Upanishad
evidences a fully developed Shiva-bhakti (devotion to Shiva) and signs of guru- bhakti. An early sutra by Panini (c. 5th century
BCE) is considered by some scholars as the first appearance of the concept of bhakti, where the word “vun” may refer to bhakti
toward “Vasudevarjunabhya” (with implied reference to Krishna Vasudeva). Other scholars question this interpretation.
The Bhakti Movement was a rapid growth of bhakti beginning in Southern India with the Saiva Nayanars (4th- 10th century CE)
and the Vaisnava Alvars (6th-9th century CE) who spread bhakti poetry and devotion throughout India by the 12th-18th century
CE. The Alvars (“those immersed in God”) were Vaishnava poet- saints who wandered from temple to temple singing the praises
of Vishnu. They established temple sites (Srirangam is one) and converted many people to Vaishnavism. Their poems were col¬
lected in the 10th century as the Four Thousand Divine Compositions, which became an influential scripture for the Vaishnavas.
The Bhagavata Purana’s references to the South Indian Alvar saints, along with its emphasis on a more emotional bhakti, have
led many scholars to give it South Indian origins, though there is no definitive evidence of this.
Like the Alvars the Saiva Nayanar poets softened the distinctions of caste and gender. The Tirumurai, a compilation of hymns by
sixty-three Nayanar poets, is still of great importance in South India. Hymns by three of the most prominent poets, Appar (7th cen¬
tury CE), Campantar (7th century) and Cuntarar (9th century), were compiled into the Tevaram, the first volumes of the Tirumurai.
The poets’ itinerant lifestyle helped create temple and pilgrimage sites and spread devotion to Shiva. Early Tamil-Siva bhakti poets
quoted the Black Yajurveda specifically.
By the 12th to 18th centuries, the bhakti movement had spread to all regions and languages of India. Bhakti poetry and attitudes
began to color many aspects of Hindu culture, religious and secular, and became an integral part of Indian society. Prominent
bhakti poets such as Ravidas and Kabir wrote against the hierarchy of caste. It extended its influence to Sufism, Sikhism, Christi¬
anity, and Jainism. Bhakti offered the possibility of religious experience by anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
The highest form of devotion is called bhakti. In Vivekacudamani, Sankara defines bhakti as the continuous contemplation of one’s
true form. And what is our real form? That is what realization is: the apprehension of our own true beingness.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Reflection on one’s own Self is called bhakti. Bhakti and Self-Enquiry are one and the same. The Self of the Advaitins is the God
of the bhaktas.
Bhakti is being as the Self (Swarupa). One is always that. He realises it by the means he adopts. What is bhakti? To think of God.
That means: only one thought prevails to the exclusion of all other thoughts. That thought is of God which is the Self or it is the
Self surrendered unto God. When He has taken you up nothing will assail you. The absence of thoughts is bhakti.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Bhakti is single-minded zeal and unswerving passion for the realization of Truth. Without this emotional urge, the aspirant often
becomes lost in the wilderness of dry intellectualism or finds comfort in the ivory tower of a speculative philosophy. He fails to
reach the Goal.
Types of Bhakti
General
Wikipedia
Bhakti emphasises devotion and practice above ritual. Bhakti is typically represented in terms of human relationships, most often
as beloved-lover, friend-friend, parent-child, and master- servant. It may refer to devotion to a spiritual teacher (Guru) as gu-
ru-bhakti, to a personal form of God, or to divinity without form (nirguna). Different traditions of bhakti in Hinduism are sometimes
distinguished, including: Shaivas, who worship Shiva and the gods and goddesses associated with him; Vaishnavas, who worship
forms of Vishnu, his avatars, and others associated with; Shaktas, who worship a variety of goddesses. Belonging to a particular
tradition is not exclusive- devotion to one deity does not preclude worship of another.
Bhavas
Traditional Hinduism speak of five different bhakti bhavas or “affective essences”. Bhavas are different attitudes that a devotee
takes according to his individual temperament to express his devotion towards God in some form. The different bhavas are: San¬
ta, placid love for God; dasya, the attitude of a servant; sakhya, the attitude of a friend; vatsalya, the attitude of a mother towards
her child; and madhura, the attitude of a woman towards her lover. Several saints are known to have practiced these bhavas. The
nineteenth century mystic, Ramakrishna is said to have practiced these five bhavas. The attitude of Hanuman towards lord Rama
is considered to be of dasya bhava. The attitude of Arjuna and the shepherd boys of Vrindavan towards towards Krishna is regard¬
ed as sakhya bhava. The attitude of Radha towards Krishna is regarded as madhura bhava. The attitude of Yashoda, who looked
after Krishna during his childhood is regarded as vatsalya bhava. Caitanya- caritamrta mentions that Mahaprabhu came to distrib¬
ute the four spiritual sentiments of Vraja loka: dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and sringara. Sringara is the relationship of the intimate
love.
... In Valmiki’s Ramayana, Rama describes the path as ninefold (nava-vidha bhakti):
Such pure devotion is expressed in nine ways, . First is satsang or association with love- intoxicated devotees. The second is to
develop a taste for hearing my nectar-like stories. The third is service to the guru (...) Fourth is to sing my kirtan (communal cho¬
rus) (...) Japa or repetition of my Holy name and chanting my bhajans are the fifth expression (...) To follow scriptural injunctions
always, to practice control of the senses, nobility of character and selfless service, these are expressions of the sixth mode of
bhakti. Seeing me manifested everywhere in this world and worshipping my saints more than myself is the seventh mode of bhak¬
ti. To find no fault with anyone and to be contented with one’s lot is the eighth mode of bhakti. Unreserved surrender with total faith
in my strength is the ninth and highest stage. Shabari, anyone who practices one of these nine modes of my bhakti pleases me
most and reaches me without fail.
The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine similar facets of bhakti, as explained by Prahlada:
(1) sravanaflistening” to the scriptural stories of Krsna and his companions), (2) klrtana (“praising”, usually refers to ecstatic group
singing), (3) smarana (“remembering” or fixing the mind on Visnu), (4) pada-sevana (rendering service), (5) arcana (worshiping
an image), (6) vandana (paying homage), (7) dasya (servitude), (8) sakhya (friendship), and (9) atma-nivedana (self- surrender),
(from Bhagata Purana, 7.5.23-24)
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
15 [Chapter 12]
He who does not disturb (the peace of) the world and (whose peace) is not disturbed by the world, and who is free from exaggera¬
tions of joy, haste and fear, he too is dear to Me.
The neutrality and lack of exaggeration in the attitude of the bhakta (devotee) are referred to here. We know in the Puranas (re¬
ligious legends) and in the Indian scene generally that a great place is given to exaggerated emotionalism, from what might be
called “Lord-Lordism “or “Krishna- Krishnaism” to ecstasies of joy, horripilation or tears, all of which pass under the name of bhakti
(devotion). The Gopis (milk- maids) of Brindavan lost themselves in their love for Krishna, which is another form of popular devo¬
tion in India coming under erotic mysticism. Now, however much such types of emotion may be justified in the context of religious
legends or Puranas, such exaggerated ways of devotion are not at all countenanced in the Gita, as definitely expressed in the
phrase harshamarsha bhayodvegair mukto (free from exaggerations of joy, haste and fear).
Such emotions do have their natural place in the Puranic literature of India, and in some of the texts such as the Narada Bhakti
Sutras and even in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras where there is reference to Isvarapranidhana (worshipping Isvara) as an alternative in
yoga. In Vedantic literature however, bhakti (devotion) is referred to by writers like Sankara in the Viveka Chudamani (verse 31) as
meditation on the Self.
All exaggerations are thus discredited in the Gita and even in the Vishnu Purana as Radhakrishnan quotes in his Introductory
Essay to The Bhagavad Gita (p. 65). Bhaktiratmanusandhanam (devotion is constant meditation on the Self) is also found as a
definition in the Bhakti Darsana (Reality Viewed as Devotion) of Narayana Guru’s Darsana Mala (Garland of Visions of Reali¬
ty). He adds further that bhajatitya yadatmanam bhaktiritya bhidhiyate (from meditating on the Self it is called devotion). Though
dualism between worshipped and worshipper is recognized by Ramanuja and Madhva, they too give the wisdom of the Absolute
an important place in their writings on devotion. Even modern writers like Radhakrishnan who support the idea that the Gita is a
religious classic standing for theism, misunderstand the type of bhakti (devotion) represented in this chapter, and give recognition
to exaggerated forms of devotion belonging to the Puranas and to the context of the erotic mysticism of the milkmaids who fell in
love with Krishna. Radhakrishnan himself admits that such bhakti (devotion) is more natural to women. He writes:
“As a rule the particular qualities associated with bhakti, love and devotion, mercy and tenderness, are to be found more in women
than in men. As bhakti emphasizes humility, obedience readiness to serve, compassion and gentle love, as the devotee longs to
surrender himself, renounce self-will and experience passivity, it is said to be more feminine in character”etc. (p. 61, Introductory
Essay to The Bhagavad Gita).
However much such forms of bhakti (devotion) might find their place in religious legends, we can confidently say that the Gita
discountenances them, as is sufficiently evidenced in this chapter, and especially in this verse which condemns all forms of excite¬
ment or exaggeration. Moreover, in this verse we find the further definition of bhakti, by which it does not stand out in contrast or
relief as something that disturbs the normality of human life. A true bhakta (devotee) effaces his personality to such an extent that
he leaves no mark on his surroundings, and the surroundings on their part take no notice of him.
In India at least, ostentatious forms of devotion, especially collectively practised, often express themselves as disturbing elements
in social life. The love of the Gopis (milkmaids) for Krishna as related in the Bhagavata, none can deny, created some stir in the
life of the simple people of Brindavan judging by the descriptions given. We have only to imagine ourselves questioning Yashodha
and some of the peasant husbands to find out whether the bhakti of the Gopis to Krishna was a disturbing factor to the people or
not! Such devotion cannot therefore be said to fit into the requirements mentioned in this verse.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
STAGES AND ASPECTS OF BHAKTI
767. Love is of three varieties: unselfish (Samartha), mutual (Samanjasa) and ordinary or selfish (Sadharana). Unselfish love is of
the highest kind. The lover here seeks only the welfare of the beloved, and does not care whether he suffers pains and hardships
thereby. The second kind of love is mutual love in which the lover desires not only the happiness of his beloved, but has an eye to
his own happiness also. Selfish love is the lowest. It makes a man only care for his own happiness without having any regard for
the weal or woe of the beloved.
768. As there are shades of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas in worldliness, so Bhakti has its corresponding aspects. There is one type
of Bhakti that partakes of the humility of Sattva, another that is characterised by the ostentation of Rajas, and a third by the brute
force of Tamas.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
bhakti - from the verb root bhaj = “to love, worship, revere”.
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit noun bhakti is derived from the verb root bhaj, whose meanings include “to share in”, “to belong to”, and “to wor¬
ship”. It also occurs in compounds where it means “being a part of and “that which belongs to or is contained in anything else.”
Bhajan, or devotional singing to God, is also derived from the same root. “Devotion” as an English translation for bhakti doesn’t
fully convey two important aspects of bhakti-the sense of participation that is central to the relationship between the devotee and
God, and the intense feeling that is more typically associated with the word “love”. An advaitic interpretation of bhakti goes beyond
“devotion” to the realization of union with the essential nature of reality as ananda, or divine bliss. Bhakti is sometimes used in the
broader sense of reverence toward a deity or teacher. Bhaktimarga is usually used to describe a bhakti path with complete dedica¬
tion to one form of God.
Related words
Bhakta
Bhakti Yoga
Sanskrit
Bhakti — HfcF'
bhakti -
Nataraja Integrated Science of the Absolute: We have translated the term bhakti as “contemplation”. It is defined by Narayana
Guru as Self-contemplation. Sankara in the Vivekachudamani (Verses 31-32) also defines it as contemplation of the Self. Accord¬
ing to popular usage the term covers many forms of emotional expression and religious devotion. Agony, ecstasy, mystic trance
as well as subnormal and abnormal expressions are also sometimes covered by this term. India is essentially a religious country,
and such manifestations are normal.
Bhakti Yoga
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhakti Yoga — ... Yoga of devotion; path to union with God
1. One of the principal paths to liberation. It is of the nature of the supreme love of God. On attaining it, a person becomes perfect,
immortal, and eternally blissful. It is depicts the Divine and human relationship from the human side. (See bhakti.)
2. Vaisnavites say it is of two kinds: formal (which is the lower type dependent upon external aids and depicts a step-by-step pro¬
cess) and real (which knows no rules, involves complete surrender, and is immediate).
3. There are four kinds of devotees: those who, being hard pressed, turn to God for relief; those who, seeking intellectual satisfac¬
tion, love God to know about God; those who love God for rewards; and those who love God for love’s sake alone.
4. There are four states or stages of liberation: salokya (living in land of God), sayujya(being united with God), samTpya (nearness
to God), and sarupya (obtaining same form as God).
Wikipedia
The Bhagavad Gita introduces bhakti yoga in combination with karma yoga and jnana yoga, while the Bhagavata Purana expands
on bhakti yoga, offering nine specific activities for the bhakti yogi. Bhakti in the Bhagavad Gita offered an alternative to two domi¬
nant practices of religion at the time: the isolation of the sannyasin and the practice of religious ritual. Bhakti Yoga is described by
Swami Vivekananda as “the path of systematized devotion for the attainment of union with the Absolute”. In the twelfth chapter of
the Gita Krishna describes bhakti yoga as a path to the highest spiritual attainments. In the ninth chapter, he says,
Fill thy mind with Me, be My devotee, sacrifice unto Me, bow down to Me; thus having made thy heart steadfast in Me, taking Me
as the Supreme Goal, thou shalt come to Me. (B-Gita 9.34)
Shandilya and Narada produced two important Bhakti texts, the Shandilya Bhakti Sutra and Narada Bhakti Sutra. They define
devotion, emphasize its importance and superiority, and classify its forms.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Yoga for the emotional plane is Bhakti Yoga. It comprises purification of the emotional life and love urge, leading to devotion
and love of God, and communion with the God of Love.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita Commentary Chapter 12
UNITIVE DEVOTION AND CONTEMPLATION
Bhakti-yoga
A general discussion of devotion on the usual lines has already been covered in the latter part of the last chapter. Here an import¬
ant doubt is raised by Arjuna in regard to two possible kinds of devotion implied in what till now was just called bhakti (devotion).
We know that in the rational, heterodox or Buddhistic tradition bhakti (devotion) to a personal god was greatly discredited. The
Gita being a revaluation of both orthodox and heterodox tendencies in spirituality, covering both the rational and the emotional
aspects, has to make it clear what importance it gives to the role of devotion in the spiritual progress of the aspirant to wisdom.
Further, the variety of bipolar relationship which in the Gita is called devotion conforms more to a contemplative discipline rather
than to religious worship.
We have seen that the more ordinary approaches to devotion have been revalued or superseded in xi, 48 and 53. Discredit on Ve-
dism generally was reflected even in ii, 42, 43, 44 and 46. Brahma as a deity to be worshipped was superseded in xi, 37. There is
no mistaking therefore, that when devotion is referred to in this chapter, the usual forms of upasana (devout worship through ritual,
offerings of flowers, etc.) or even popular forms of devotion, are not implied. The word contemplation rather than devotion would
apply more especially to the type of spirituality of the person implied in verses 13-19 inclusive.
Further a bhakta (devotee) is portrayed as a detached and dispassionate individual, and wisdom is still his higher goal, as indicat¬
ed even in verse 12 of this chapter. The attitude of a devotee here shows the same traits of a yogi such as balance between op¬
posites like pleasure-pain, etc., as also found in other parts of the Gita. The only question that is discussed in this chapter, which
is of particular interest to the author Vyasa, consists in the difference between a devotee who thinks of the Absolute as a person,
which might cover even the personification of a principle; or the devotee who regards the Absolute in a more theoretical or philo¬
sophical manner.
Krishna here votes definitely for the personal, as far as a yogi is concerned, but the chapter contains verses which do recognize
the superiority of a person capable of accomplishing the more difficult task of contemplating the Absolute in a more abstract philo¬
sophical manner. The attributes of the Absolute in the latter case have to attain a certain globality. Component factors must have
an organic coherence, thus tending to constitute in their totality a unitive value, and such a value must be contemplated upon in a
bipolar manner. This bipolarity, as we have said, is the mystical way which is not different from that of yoga or contemplation. The
conditions are not consciously fulfilled by rationalists when they think of the Absolute impersonally. If their contemplation fulfils
these requirements the devotion gains a superior status, as stated in verses 3 and 4. It is only just, therefore, that there is here in
verse 5 an apologetic reference to the difficulty facing a man who wants to affiliate himself to the Absolute through mere abstrac¬
tions.
... This verse [Chapter 12, verse 12] brings the subject of devotion further in line with the discipline of yoga or contemplation as
understood in other chapters. Devotion or practice in the Gita are not to be confused with indications in such texts as the Narada
Bhakti Sutras and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, which should be looked upon as distinct darsanas (systematic visions of reality) of their
own with very little in common with the pure contemplation of the Absolute which is implied in this chapter. These darsanas have
been revalued here.
See: Bhakta and Bhakti-yoga
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhakti Yoga - from the verb root bhaj = “to share in,” “to belong to,” “to worship”.
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit noun bhakti is derived from the verb root bhaj, whose meanings include “to share in”, “to belong to”, and “to wor¬
ship”. It also occurs in compounds where it means “being a part of and “that which belongs to or is contained in anything else.”
Bhajan, or devotional singing to God, is also derived from the same root. “Devotion” as an English translation for bhakti doesn’t
fully convey two important aspects of bhakti—the sense of participation that is central to the relationship between the devotee and
God, and the intense feeling that is more typically associated with the word “love”. An advaitic interpretation of bhakti goes beyond
“devotion” to the realization of union with the essential nature of reality as ananda, or divine bliss. Bhakti is sometimes used in the
broader sense of reverence toward a deity or teacher. Bhaktimarga is usually used to describe a bhakti path with complete dedica¬
tion to one form of God.
Related words
Bhagavat Gita
Bhakti Yoga - in Wikipedia : Bhagavat Gita
Bhakta
Yoga
Sanskrit
Bhakti Yorq —
Bhakti Yoga -
Bhava
Variant spellings
bhava
bhava
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhava — ... state of being; existence; emotion; feeling; attitude;
1. Existence: That from which everything comes.
2. One of the twelve links in the causal chain of existence, according to Buddhism.
3. Becoming or a state of flux.
4. A feeling of absorption or identification. A spiritual attitude.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
bhava -
becoming, being, existing, occurring, appearance;
turning or transition into;
continuance (opp. to cessation; state, condition,
rank;
true condition or state, truth, reality;
manner of being, nature, temperament, character; manner of acting, conduct, behaviour;
any state of mind or body, way of thinking or feeling, sentiment, opinion, disposition, intention;
passion, emotion;
conjecture, supposition;
purport, meaning, sense;
love, affection, attachment;
the seat of the feelings or affections, heart, soul, mind;
that which is or exists, thing or substance, being or living creature;
a discreet or learned man (as a term of address = respected sir);
(in astron.) the state or condition of a planet;
an astrological house or lunar mansion;
(in gram.) the fundamental notion of the verb, the sense conveyed by the abstract noun (esp. as a term for an impersonal passive
or neuter verb having neither agent nor object expressed e.g. pacyate, ‘there is cooking’ or ‘cooking is going on’);
wanton sport, dalliance;
birth;
place of birth, the womb;
the world, universe;
an organ of sense;
superhuman power;
the Supreme Being;
advice, instruction;
contemplation, meditation
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Bhava - becoming, being, existing, occurring, appeared.
Wikipedia
“Bhava” is the Sanskrit word for “feeling”, “emotion”, “mood” or “devotional state of mind”. “Bhava” denotes the mood of ecstasy
and self-surrender and the channelling of emotional energies that is induced by the maturing of devotion to one’s ‘Ishta deva’
(object of devotion). Bhava is also the Pali word for “becoming” in the sense of ‘ongoing worldly existence’, from the root bhG “to
become”.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Bhava - Any state, particularly of the mind. Often used to refer to the passing or fluctuating moods of emotion to which people are
exposed.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Bhava - Any transient form the eternal Reality (sat) assumes. Without a bhava, sat never exists, neither can any bhava be there
without sat existing.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Bhavas (“states”) In Indian aesthetics the bhavas are a set of nine states considered the most basic unadulterated emotions: sex¬
ual excitement, laughter, grief, anger, energy, fear, loathing, wonder, and peace. To these nine bhavas correspond the nine rasas
(“tastes”), or moods transmitted by various types of artistic expression: the erotic, comic, compassionate, cruel, heroic, terrifying,
loathsome, marvelous, and peaceful. Although these bhavas and rasas clearly correspond to one another, there is an important
difference between them. A person’s emotive states come and go in response to circumstances that are often beyond one’s con¬
trol. Because such naturally occurring emotions usually cannot be sustained, they are generally not objects of aesthetic satisfac¬
tion. This is not true in the case of rasa, since mood can be artificially generated by an artistic endeavor. Any particular rasa can
thus be sustained and satisfying. The single most dominant aim in all the Indian arts, therefore, is to create such a mood or moods
for the audience.
Sivananda tradition
Sivananda. All about Hinduism
A philanthropist donates big sums to social institutions. He regards this as some kind of social service only. That is all. He has not
got the Bhava or mental attitude, that the whole world is a manifestation of the Lord and that he is serving the Lord. He has not got
the Bhava that the Lord is working through his instruments or senses, that every act is an offering unto the Lord, and that every
deed is a Yogic activity.
Nimitta Bhava (attitude that one is an instrument in the hands of God)
Sakshi Bhava (attitude that one is silent witness of the actions of the senses and of the mind).
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
“First of all one acquires bhakti. Bhakti is single-minded devotion to God, like the devotion a wife feels for her husband. It is very
difficult to have unalloyed devotion to God. Through such devotion one’s mind and soul merge in Him.
“Then comes bhava, intense love. Through bhava a man becomes speechless. His nerve currents are stilled. Kumbhaka comes
by itself. It is like the case of a man whose breath and speech stop when he fires a gun.”
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
bhava - from the verb root bhG = “to become, exist”.
Related words
Abhava
Sanskrit
Bhava — moT
bhava - 'AR
Bhokta
Variant spellings
bhokta
bhokta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhokta — ... enjoyer; subject; experiencer
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
Nature, into which all men are born, when treated as a global datum, has two aspects. One can be characterized objectively as
“made for man”, and the other, its reciprocal opposite, refers subjectively to “man as its enjoyer”. These two are distinguished
respectively by the technical term often employed in Vedantic literature: Viz. bhogya (something to be enjoyed or appreciated as
having value-significance), and its natural and inevitable dialectical counterpart bhokta (the enjoyer) which is the subject repre¬
sented in the Self.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. A Commentary on the Upanishads
... the upanishadic verse continues: “The wise call the Self the enjoyer when he is united with the body, the senses, and the mind.”
We certainly do not enjoy a great deal of our experiences in/through the body, so perhaps a better translation of bhokta is “expe¬
riencer” rather than enjoyer.
See also:
Ajnana, avarana, vikshepa
Related words
Jiva
Jnata
Karta
Kshetrajna
Purusa
Sanskrit
Bhokta — Plmi
bhokta - Vl'Tytl
Bhumi
Variant spellings
bhumi
bhumi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
bhumi -
the earth, soil, ground;
a territory, country, district;
a place, situation;
position, posture, attitude;
the part or personification (played by an actor);
the, floor of a house, story;
the base of any geometrical figure;
(metaph.) a step, degree, stage;
Yogas (with Buddhists there are 10 or 13 stages of existence or perfection);
extent, limit;
a matter, subject, object, receptacle i.e. fit object or person for;
the tongue
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Bhumi: Another name for the Earth.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Bhumi is the earth, the world of everyday life.
See also:
in Mahabhutas: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Related words
Prithivi
Sanskrit
Bhumi —
(\
bhumi - trD
Bhuta
Variant spellings
bhuta
bhuta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
BhGta — ... element; gross elemental principle
1. That is, the five elements: earth (ksitiorprthivl), water (ap), fire (tejas), air (vayu), space (akasa).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
bhuta -
become, been, gone, past (n. the past);
actually happened, true, real (n. an actual occurrence, fact, matter of fact, reality);
existing, present;
being or being like anything, consisting of, mixed or joined with;
purified;
obtained;
fit, proper;
a son, child;
a great devotee or ascetic;
N. of Siva;
that which is or exists, any living being (divine, human, animal, and even vegetable), the world;
a spirit (good or evil), the ghost of a deceased person, a demon, imp, goblin;
an element, one of the 5 elements (esp. a gross element, but also a subtle element;
N. of the number ‘five’;
well-being, welfare, prosperity
Dictionary - Runes
Bhuta: (Skr. become) The “has-become”, or the ultimate element or concrete thing as it has evolved from the abstract, metaphysi¬
cal unity through a process of infinite particularization and limitation. K.F.L.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Bhuta - one of the five gross elements (mahabhutas) as perceived by the senses.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Bhuta: That which has come into being.
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
In the inorganic realm, the Upanisads recognize five fundamental elements (bhutas) termed prthivi (earth), ap (water), tejas (fire),
vayu (air) and akasa (ether). All the five were not known from the beginning. ‘Water’ seems to have been the sole element thought
of at first. The next stage of advance is marked by the recognition of three elements, earth, water and fire, as in the Chandogya
Upanisad, which are stated to emerge from Brahman in the reverse order. They correspond roughly to the solid, fluid and gaseous
phases of the material universe. The last stage in the evolution of this thought, which was final and was accepted by practically
all the later philosophers of India, was reached when the number of the so-called elements was raised to five by the addition of
air and ether. It is clear that in this its last form the classification is connected with the five-fold character of the sensory organs,
whose distinctive objects, viz. odour, flavour, colour, temperature and sound, are respectively the distinctive features of earth, wa¬
ter, fire, air and ether. But these elements, it should be remembered, are subtle or rudimentary (suksma-bhuta). Out of these are
made the gross ones (sthula-bhGta), each of which contains an admixture of the other four, but gets its name as a compound from
the element predominating in it. The gross elements are what we find in nature; and strictly it is they that are to be understood by
the terms prthivi, ap, etc., the corresponding subtle elements being known as prthvT-matra, apo-matra, etc.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Hindu tradition calls the Elements the Bhutas or Mahabhutas. Apart from “Element”, the word Bhuta means furthermore “ele¬
mental, nature-spirit, ghost,” and is also applied to “any creature”. It also means “material substance”. All these things are indeed
implied in the real meaning of “Elemental”. The Hindu Bhuta-yajna or “sacrifice to Bhutas” is traditionally said to include Gods
(Devas), ancestors (Pitris), animals, birds, worms and other creatures.
... the word Bhuta has a wide meaning, including elements, elementals, nature spirits, ghosts, animals and all creatures.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
The five Tanmatras (of sound, touch, light, taste, and smell) are called Bhuta (elements), and the five Mahabhutas (gross ele¬
ments) also are called Bhuta. Then the aggregate of all these is called >S’arTra, body, and he who dwells in that body is called
Bhutatman (the elementary Atman).
Bhuta and mahabhuta
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Bhutas are those entities that have come to be; the mahabhutas, the great elements, is the term applied to those elements in their
universal aspect as fundamental principles in the creation or phenomenal emergence of the visible world.
Bhutas and tanmatras
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
... the grossest elements are the bhutas, but that all gross things are the results of fine ones. Everything that is gross is composed
of a combination of fine things, so the bhutas must be composed of certain fine particles, called in Sanskrit the tanmalras.
Bhuta linga
General
lllustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
... bhutalingas (“elemental lingas”), a network of five southern Indian sites sacred to Shiva. In each of these sites Shiva is repre¬
sented as a linga, the pillar-shaped object that is his symbolic form, and at each site the linga is believed to be formed from one of
the five primordial elements (bhuta)-earth, wind, fire, water, and space (akasha).
See also: Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Bhuta - past, pass, participle of the root bhu, to become, be.
Related words
Mahabhuta
Tanmatras
Sanskrit
Bhuta — MrT
(X
bhGta -
Bhutadi
Variant spellings
bhutadi
bhutadi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Bhutadi — ... the state where inertia (tamas) predominates over purity (sattva) and activity (rajas).
1. From this state evolve the subtle elements (tanmatra) according to Sankhya.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
bhutadi -
‘original or originator of all beings’, N. of Maha-purusha or the Supreme Spirit;
(in Sarhkhya) N. of aharh-kara (as the principle from which the elements are evolved)
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The bhutadi ... represents only the intermediate stage through which the differentiations and regroupings of tamas reals in the ma-
hat proceed for the generation of the tanmatras. ... Bhutadi is absolutely homogeneous and inert, devoid of all physical and chemi¬
cal characters except quantum or mass.
See also:
tamasa (bhutadi) tanmatras
Evolution of tanmatras
in Mahabhutas: Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Related words
Tamas
Tanmatra
Sanskrit
Bhutadi — KrTTfc
bhGtadi - ^ikD
Brahma
Variant spellings
Brahma
brahma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Brahma — ... the creator of the universe; one of the Indian trinity comprised of Brahma, Visnu, and Rudra; priest
1. The Absolute Reality manifested as the active creator of the universe, who is personifed as one of the three gods of the Hindu
trinity. The other two are Visnu, who represents the principle of sustenance, and Siva, who represents the principle of destruction.
2. One of the four principal priests in a Vedic sacrifice (the others being Hotri, adhvaryu, udgatri). The brahma priest, the most
learned of the four, was required to know the three Vedas, supervise the sacrifice, and set right mistakes committed by the other
priests.
Dictionary - Runes
Brahma: (Skr.) The creator or creative principle of the universe, main figure of the Hindu trinity (see Trimurti). K.F.L.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brahma is the first member of the Trimurti, the “three forms” of divinity made up of the dominant male deities in the Hindu panthe¬
on: Brahma as the creator of the universe, Vishnu as the preserver or sustainer, and Shiva as the destroyer. Brahma is usually
portrayed with four heads (the fifth having been cut off by Bhairava, a wrathful form of Shiva), and his animal vehicle is the hamsa,
or Indian goose.
Wikipedia
Brahma is the Hindu god (deva) of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma
Purana, he is the father of Manu, and from Manu all Hindus are descended. In the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, he is often
referred to as the progenitor or great grandsire of all human beings. He is not to be confused with the Supreme Cosmic Spirit in
Hindu Vedanta philosophy known as Brahman, which is genderless. Brahma’s consort is Savitri and Gayatri. Saraswati sits beside
him, the goddess of learning. Brahma is often identified with Prajapati, a Vedic deity.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Brahma—The highest god, the personified Cosmic Soul.
... The Creator God; the First Person of the Hindu Trinity, the other two being Visnu and Siva.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brahma is a divinity who makes his appearance in the post-Vedic Indian epics (c. 700 B.C.E.-100 C.E.). He has an important role
in the stories of the great gods in the epics and PURANAS. He is often listed in a trinity alongside Vishnu and Shiva, where Brah¬
ma is the creator god, Vishnu is the sustainer of the world, and Shiva is the destroyer of the world. Brahma is generally considered
the creator of the universe, but there are many different accounts of this act within Indian mythology; in fact, some stories credit
other divinities or entities with the creation.
Unlike the other two members of the trinity (and to a lesser extent the Great Goddess), Brahma has never had a wide following of
exclusive devotees. There are only two temples in all of India devoted solely to Brahma; one is at PUSHKARA Lake near Ajmer in
Rajasthan and the other is near Idar, on the border between Rajasthan and Gujarat. Brahma is born in the lotus that emerges from
Vishnu’s navel as he lies on the primordial MILK OCEAN. In this image he is the creator god, but still quite subsidiary to VISHNU.
Iconographically Brahma’s vehicle is the swan (Indian goose). Brahma’s wife is SARASVATI, the goddess of the arts and learning.
He is depicted carrying a vessel that pours water, prayer beads, and sometimes the VEDAS.
Brahma is always depicted as having four heads. The story is told that he was once in the midst of extended austerities in order
to gain the throne of Indra, king of the gods, when the latter sent a celestial dancing girl, Tilottama, to disturb him. Not wanting
to move from his meditative position, when Tilottama appeared to his right, he produced a face on his right; when she appeared
behind him, he produced a face behind his head; when she appeared at his left, he produced a face on the left, and when she ap¬
peared above him he produced a face above. When SHIVA saw this five- headed Brahma he scolded him for his lust and pinched
off his head looking upward, leaving Brahma humiliated and with only four heads. He did not attain the role of king of the gods.
There are a great many stories about Brahma in Indian mythology. Most commonly he is known as a boon giver who was required
to grant magical powers as a reward for ascetics, whether animal, human, god, or demon. Often these beings, ascetics, gods, and
the like would become problems for the gods when they became too powerful.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brahma is a major figure in the pantheon and is prominent in many episodes in Hindu mythology. His mythic presence often ob¬
scures the fact that he is never worshiped as a primary deity. In fact, he has only one temple devoted to him in all of India, in
Pushkar. Some Hindus have attributed this lack of worship to his status as the creator. After all, since creation has been complet¬
ed, why should one bother with Brahma, whose work is done? In the puranas, texts on Hindu mythology, this lack of worship is
usually ascribed to a curse-sometimes by the god Shiva but in other stories by the sage Bhrgu.
Wikipedia
Attributes
At the beginning of the process of creation, Brahma created eleven Prajapatis (used in another sense), who are believed to be the
fathers of the human race. The Manusmriti enumerates them as Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratuj, Vashishta, Prace-
tas or Daksha, Bhrigu, and Narada. He is also said to have created the seven great sages or the Saptarishi to help him create the
universe. However since all these sons of his were born out of his mind rather than body, they are called Manas Putras or mind-
sons or spirits.
Within Vedic and Puranic scripture Brahma is described as only occasionally interfering in the affairs of the other devas (gods),
and even more rarely in mortal affairs. He did force Soma to give Tara back to her husband, Brihaspati. He is considered the fa¬
ther of Dharma and Atri.
Creation
According to the Puranas, Brahma is self-born (without mother) in the lotus flower. Another legend says that Brahma was born
in water. A seed that later became the golden egg. From this golden egg, Brahma the creator was born, as Hiranyagarbha. The
remaining materials of this golden egg expanded into the Brahm-anda or Universe. Being born in water, Brahma is also called
Kanja (born in water). Brahma is said also to be the son of the Supreme Being, Brahman, and the female energy known as Prakrti
or Maya.
The image depiction displaying the connection by lotus between Brahma and Vishnu can also be taken as a symbolism for the
primordial fetus and primordial placenta. The placenta is generated upon conception, but only the fetus continues into the world
afterward. Likewise, Brahma is involved in creation, but Vishnu continues thereafter.
Lack of Brahma worship in India
Although Brahma is one of the three major gods in Hinduism, few Hindus actually worship him. Today, India has very few temples
dedicated to Brahma, as opposed to the tens of thousands of temples dedicated to the other deities in the Trimurti, namely Vishnu
and Shiva. Among the few that exist today, the most famous is the temple in Pushkar in Rajasthan. Others include one in Thiruna-
vaya in Kerala; one in the temple town of Kumbakonam, (Thanjavur District) in Tamil Nadu; another in Kodumudi, Erode district,
Tamil Nadu; Nerur village in Kudal taluka of Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra ; one in Asotra village in Balotra taluka of Barmer
district in Rajasthan known as Kheteshwara Brahmadham Tirtha; one in Brahma-Karmali village in Sattari Taluka in Goa; one in
Khedbrahma in Gujarat; and one in the village of Khokhan in the Kullu Valley, 4 km from Bhuntar. Regular pujas are held for Lord
Brahma at the temple in Thirunavaya, and during Navaratri the temple comes to life with colourful festivities. Another temple for
Lord Brahma, Sri Brahmapureeswarar Temple is located at Thirupattur, near Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, South India. The idol of
Lord Brahma is fully covered with turmeric everyday morning. This temple also has the Samadhi for Sage Patanjali and the nearby
Kasi Vishwanathar Temple in the same temple complex has a Samadhi for Sage Vyakrapatha.
Various stories in Hindu mythology talk about curses that have supposedly prevented Brahma from being worshiped on Earth. In¬
terestingly, the Bhavishya Purana states that, certain ‘daityas’ or demons had begun to worship Brahma and therefore the ‘devas’
of heaven could not defeat them. In order to mislead the daityas from the worship of Brahma, Vishnu appeared on Earth, as Bud¬
dha and Mahavira. With various arguments he convinced the daityas to leave the worship of Brahma. Having left the worship of
Brahma, the daityas lost power and were hence defeated. The Bhavishya Purana lays out that altogether, giving up the worship of
Brahma, was unacceptable in Hindu religion. This is because Brahma signifies a personification of Brahman (God) or is a manifes¬
tation of Brahman (God).
According to a story in the Shiva Purana (dedicated to Lord Shiva), at the beginning of time in Cosmos, Vishnu and Brahma ap¬
proached a huge Shiva linga and set out to find its beginning and end. Vishnu was appointed to seek the end and Brahma the
beginning. Taking the form of a boar, Vishnu began digging downwards into the earth, while Brahma took the form of a swan and
began flying upwards. However, neither could find His appointed destination. Vishnu, satisfied, came up to Shiva and bowed down
to him as a swarupa of Brahman. Brahma did not give up so easily. As He was going up, he saw a ketaki flower, dear to Shiva.
His ego forced him to ask the flower to bear false witness about Brahma’s discovery of Shiva’s beginning. When Brahma told his
tale, Shiva, the all-knowing, was angered by the former’s ego. Shiva thus cursed him that no being in the three worlds will worship
him.
A depiction of Khambhavati Ragini, A lady worshiping Brahma
According to another legend, Brahma is not worshiped because of a curse by the great sage Brahmarishi Bhrigu. The high priest
Bhrigu was organising a great fire-sacrifice (yajna) on Earth. It was decided that the greatest among all Gods would be made the
presiding deity. Bhrigu then set off to find the greatest among the Trimurti. When he went to Brahma, the god was so immersed in
the music played by Saraswati that he could hardly hear Bhrigu’s calls. The enraged Bhrigu then cursed Brahma that no person
on Earth would ever invoke him or worship him again.
In the Brahma Purana and Hindu cosmology, Brahma is regarded as the creator but not necessarily as God. Rather, He is regard¬
ed as a creation of God / Brahman. The lifespan of Brahma is 100 Brahma years, equivalent to 311,040,000,000,000 solar years
(311 trillion and 40 billion earth years). At the end of His lifespan, there will be a gap of 100 Brahma years, after which another
Brahma or creator will begin the process of creation anew. This cycle is thought to repeat without end.
Appearance
The complexion of Lord Brahma is red. He is clad in red clothes. Brahma is traditionally depicted with four heads, four faces, and
four arms. With each head, He continually recites one of the four Vedas. He is often depicted with a white beard (especially in
North India), indicating the nearly eternal nature of his existence. Unlike most other Hindu Gods, Brahma holds no weapons. One
of His hands holds a scepter in the form of a spoon, which is associated with the pouring of holy ghee or oil onto a sacrificial pyre,
signifying Brahma as the lord of sacrifices. Another of His hands holds a ‘kamandalu’- a jar made of metal or even coconut shell,
containing water. The water in this jar signifies the initial, all-encompassing ether in which the first element of creation evolved.
Brahma also holds a string of prayer beads called the ‘akshamala’ (literally “garland of eyes”), which He uses to keep track of the
Universe’s time. He is also shown holding the Vedas and, sometimes, a lotus flower.
Another story in connection with Brahma’s four heads is that when Brahma was creating the Universe, He made a female deity
known as Shatarupa (one with a hundred beautiful forms). Brahma became immediately infatuated with Her. Shatarupa moved
in various directions to avoid the gaze of Brahma. But wherever She went, Brahma developed a head. Thus, Brahma developed
five heads, one on each side and one above the others. In order to control Brahma, Shiva cut off one of the heads. Also, Shiva
felt that Shatarupa was Brahma’s daughter, having been created by Him. Therefore, Shiva determined it was wrong for Brahma to
become obsessed with Her. Shiva directed that there be no proper worship on earth for the “unholy” Brahma. Thus, only Vishnu
and Shiva continued to be worshiped, while Brahma is almost totally ignored. Ever since this incident, Brahma has been believed
to be reciting the four Vedas in His attempt at repentance. However, there are many other stories in the Puranas about the gradual
decrease Lord Brahma’s importance, such as in the Shiva Purana. The omission of Brahma from most temples regarding worship
is a serious concern in the orthopraxis of Hinduism. Ignoring the Supreme Creator also sidelines the importance of Saraswati, the
goddess of learning, in temples.
Symbols
The Four Hands - Brahma’s four arms represent the four cardinal directions: east, south, west, and north. The back right hand
represents mind, the back left hand represents intellect, the front right hand is ego, and the front left hand is self-confidence.
The Rosary - Symbolizes the substances used in the process of creation.
The Book - The book symbolizes knowledge.
The Gold - Gold symbolizes activity; the golden face of Brahma indicates that He is actively involved in the process of creating the
Universe.
The Swan - The swan is the symbol of grace and discernment. Brahma uses the swan as his vahana, or his carrier or vehicle.
The Crown - Lord Brahma’s crown indicates His supreme authority.
The Lotus - The lotus symbolizes nature and the living essence of all things and beings in the Universe.
The Beard - Brahma’s black or white beard denotes wisdom and the eternal process of creation.
The Four Faces - The four Vedas (Rik, Sama, Yajuh and Atharva). The Vedas Symbolises his four faces, heads and arms.
Vehicle
Brahma’s vehicle is a divine Swan. This divine bird is bestowed with a virtue called Neera-Ksheera Viveka, or the ability to sepa¬
rate milk and water from a mixture of the two. The swan signifies that all creatures deserve justice, however entwined they might
be in challenging situations. Also, this virtue indicates that one should learn to separate the good from the bad, accepting that
which is valuable and discarding what is worthless.
Temples
Though almost all Hindu religious rites involve prayer to Brahma, very few temples are dedicated to His worship. Among the most
prominent is the Brahma temple at Pushkar. Once a year, on Kartik Poornima, the full moon night of the Hindu lunar month of Kar-
tik (October - November), a religious festival is held in Brahma’s honour. Thousands of pilgrims come to bathe in the holy Pushkar
Lake adjacent to the temple.
Temples to Brahma also exist in Thirunavaya in Kerala; in the temple town of Kumbakonam in the Thanjavur District of Tamil
Nadu; in Kodumudi, Tamil Nadu;in Asotra village in Balotra taluka of Rajasthan’s Barmer district, known as Kheteshwar Brahmad-
ham Tirtha; and in Goa, in the small, remote village of Carambolim in the Sattari Taluka in the northeast region of the state. Reg¬
ular pujas are held for Lord Brahma at the temple in Thirunavaya, and during Navrathris this temple comes to life with colourful
festivities. There is also a shrine for Brahma within the Brahmapureeswarar Temple in Thirupatur, near Trichy, and a famous murti
of Brahma exists at Mangalwedha, 52 km from the Solapur district of Maharashtra. Statues of Brahma may be found in Khedbrah-
ma, Gujarat, and in Sopara near Mumbai. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Brahma in the temple town of Sri Kalahasti near
Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The largest and most famous shrine to Lord Brahma may be found in Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. There
is a statue of Brahma at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. The golden dome of the Government House of Thailand also contains a
statue of Phra Phrom(Thai representation of Brahma).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Dialectics
Brahma is more of a cosmological deity and is given a relativistic position only, as seated in a lotus arising from the navel of the
reclining Vishnu... Brahma as a god has four (sometimes five) faces looking at the four directions (and above). As a member of
this trio of divinities (Trimurti), his status would be fully absolute only if we should treat this God as representing the Vedas, or as
the Golden Germ of Creation (hiranya-garbha), which is still only the lower aspect of the Absolute, with its own higher dialectical
counterpart, para-brahman, which is not a deity, but is in the neuter gender and stands for the neutral Vedantic Absolute. The term
sabda (verbal) Brahma is said to refer to the Vedas, but the philosopher who seeks the Absolute is said to transcend this Brahma
of the Vedas by his sheer interest in pure Absolutist wisdom, as stated in the Bhagavad Gita (vi, 44), the relevant part of which
verse reads:
“By merely being one desirous of yoga (dialectical wisdom) one transcends (the domain of) the articulated (Vedic) aspect of Brah¬
ma (as a god).”
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
The Indian mythological personification of the Creator is called Brahma, who gathers the dust of the feet of the mother of creation.
This dust is the existence that can become manifested in the various individuated forms, and the awareness of this individuation
brings about interaction between one created being and another. We see creation exemplified at many levels. At the chemical
level, it may be seen in molecular functions, chemical combinations, and various forms of synthesis. At the physical level, matter
is patterned and directed by gravitational and electromagnetic fields and thermodynamics. On the psychological level, creation is
revealed through our mutual attractions and repulsions.
The three qualities, or gunas-sattva, rajas and tamas-are necessary for any creation. Sattva, the transparent, is the capacity to
clearly represent existence. Rajas is kinetic, dynamic, activating- the energy that does the making and unmaking. Tamas rep¬
resents the inertial force that stabilizes and solidifies creation. According to the legend, the Creator uses the three gunas to create
the whole world. If you philosophically understand the process, you don’t have to think of any external creator. Our mind is the
creator. It has the ability to present anything to itself. When something is presented and experienced, it exists. Thus, the mind cre¬
ates forms of existence, one after another.
After creating the existence of something, the mind assumes the role of the seer, with the creation as the seen. An interaction is
unleashed between the seer and the seen. Then the mind thinks, “ I am the knower.” After developing an affection for the known
or the seen, it perceives “ I am the enjoyer.” Yet it is all the same mind. There is an ego center which measures the situation, eval¬
uates it, and says “ I am its knower, I am its enjoyer. I am seeking enjoyment. I know what is pleasurable which is not yet present.
I want to actualize it.” Here the same ego assumes one more position, that of an actor. “ I am the seer; I am the actor; I am the
enjoyer.” When all three of these come together, we are in a single world of interest. A world of interest remains sometimes for
only five seconds, sometimes for two minutes, sometimes for the whole day, a few days, months, or even years. Its length varies,
but we go from one world of interest to another in a continuous series. This is allegorically portrayed in Sankara’s Saundarya La-
hari as the several worlds created out of the three gunas by Brahma. When we understand it in our own life, our mind is a creator
which goes on taking these three modalities and making world after world.
... In the Yoga Vasistha is a story of a man who had ten sons. They decided to meditate on Brahma. It is said that what you med¬
itate on, that you become. Here, Brahma means the Creator. When the ten boys started meditating, their identification with the
Creator was such that each created his own world. Another boy came and confronted one of these Brahmas. He showed a kind
of maturity which was beyond his age, and he was chastising him. The Brahma wanted to know where he got the authority to
come and speak so to an elder person. The boy answered, “ I know not only you as Brahma, but also all the previous Brahmas.”
He added that it takes four catur yugas, four great eons of several million years each, to make one cycle of time. That one cycle is
when Brahma is keeping his eyes open. When he closes his eyes there comes the great dissolution of everything. Creation starts
when he again opens his eyes. One opening and one closing together make one day. Three hundred and sixty such days make a
year of Brahma. Only after a thousand such years does one Brahma go. The boy was saying, “ This Brahma who is sitting here is
one of the recent ones. There have been so many already!” He knew them all.
Brahma and Brahman
General
Lurker. Dictionary of Gods
[Brahma] is properly the masculine form of the Sanskrit word brahman, and it designates the personification of Brahman in Indian
religion.
... Brahman - Sanskrit neuter noun.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
We ourselves also, that is the individual souls, can be in full reality nothing but Brahman, though for a while we are divided from it,
because forgetful of Brahman through Avidya. While that state of Avklya lasts the true Brahman, neuter, may become to us Brah¬
ma, masculine, may become the creator and ruler of the world, and, as such, receive worship from his creatures. But as soon as
the cloud of. Avidya is lifted, this creator also recedes and is restored at once to his true state and dignity. He, the so-called Isvara,
or Lord, or Creator, becomes what he is and always has been, the whole Brahman; and we ourselves also remember and thereby
recover our true Brahmahood, or Selfhood, not as if we had ever been divided from it, but only as having been blinded for a while
by Avidya so as to forget ourselves, our true Self, that is Brahman.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
... the term Brahma is frequently used instead of Brahman. This form is the nominative neuter ending and is used to indicate the
One Universal Soul or divine essence and source from which all created things emanate and to which they return. It is the Self-ex¬
istent, the Absolute, the Eternal, and is not generally an object of worship, but, rather, of meditation and knowledge. The personal
form which is deified for the purpose of worship is spelt Brahma, ending in the long “a” which is the nominative masculine ending.
This term is used when the personal spirit is intended. The mixing of the universal and individual spirit is a constant source of con¬
fusion, and it is paramount that the student learn early to differentiate between them, otherwise the philosophy will always seem to
be a source of contradiction.
See also:
Semantics and pronunciation
Related words
Siva
Trimurti
Vishnu
Sanskrit _
Brahma — ^TT
brahma -
Brahmacarin
Definitions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brahmacharin (“seeker of Brahman”). A term with several possible meanings depending on the context. In the dharma literature,
which gives instruction on religious duties, a brahmacharin is a person in a period of religious study. This period is the first of the
four ashramas (“stages of life”) of a twice-born man, that is, a man born into one of three groups in Indian society: brahmin, ksha-
triya, or vaishya. Such men are eligible to receive the adolescent religious initiation known as the “second birth.” According to the
ideal, after his initiation and adornment with the sacred thread—the most visible sign of a twice-born man—the brahmacharin shall
live in his guru’s household and study the Veda, the oldest Hindu religious text, in addition to performing other religious acts. Since
brahmacharins are focused on gaining religious knowledge, this is supposed to be a very austere time of life marked by strict
celibacy, hard work, service to the teacher, meticulous observance of all religious rites, and avoidance of luxuries such as beds,
cosmetics, and bodily ornaments. Once this period of study is over, the student will marry and enter the second ashrama, that of
the householder. The system described in the dharma literature is an idealized model, and one cannot be sure that it was ever
strictly followed. Although many contemporary brahmin boys still undergo the “second birth,” other elements— such as the ascetic
lifestyle and emphasis on the study of the Veda—are largely ignored in contemporary times.
Some of the term’s original meaning remains in an ascetic context. Brahmacharin can also be defined as a novice or junior monk,
whose duty is to serve and learn from the senior monks, or as the name of two particular ascetic groups. One of these groups is
the prestigious Swaminarayan sect, whose members are recruited solely from the caste of brahmins. The other is an organization
called the Brahmachari Sanyasis, devotees (bhakta) of the god Shiva who are distinct from the Dashanami Sanyasis. The Brahm-
achari Sanyasis have an ashram on Mount Girnar and in the bathing (snana) festival known as the Kumbha Mela, the Brahmacha¬
ri Naga (fighting) Sanyasis have a recognized place among the other Naga groups.
Related words
Guru
Sishya
Sanskrit
brahmacarin - qH ^m
Brahmacarya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Brahmacarya — ... a code of conduct; dwelling in Brahman; a student; “the path that leads to Brahman” or “moving in Brahman”;
abstention from incontinence; celibacy
1. The first stage of life—i.e., studentship. (See asrama.) The foundation for the Indian hermitage (asrama) and teacher’s school
(gurukula) system of education.
2. One of the abstentions in the Yoga system.
3. One of the great vows and one of the proper modes of conduct according to Jainism.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
brahmacarya -
study of the Veda, the state of an unmarried religious student, a state of continence and chastity
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brahmacharya literally means “conducting oneself in accord with BRAHMAN.” Brahmacharya itself has two important meanings.
It refers to the ancient practice of celibacy for men, considered an indispensable aid for the most avid yogis and seekers who wish
to break the bonds of SAMSARA, or worldly existence. Restraint of the senses has always been an important aspect of Indian
YOGAs; complete restraint on sexuality is one of the most difficult and spiritually powerful restraints. Brahmacharya was also used
to refer to the student stage of a man’s life, in the Brahmanical tradition of life stages or ASHRAMAs. One was expected to remain
celibate during the 12 years of Vedic learning with one’s guru, from the age of 12 to the age of 24, when one was to take up the
household life. These stages of life may never have been precisely practiced by most BRAHMINS, but the ideal was widely known
and respected.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brahmacharya (“going after Brahman”). In its most traditional sense, this word refers to the lifestyle of a young man belonging to a
particular class during his life as a student (brahmacharin). This period is the first of the four ashramas (“stages of life”) of a twice-
born man, that is, a man born into one of three groups in Indian society: brahmin, kshatriya, or vaishya. Such men are eligible to
receive the adolescent religious initiation known as the “second birth.” His life as a student will then commence, and he will move
into his guru’s household and study the sacred texts, the Vedas. This is conceived as a period of intense study, religious practice,
and an austere lifestyle marked by the restraint of desires, for which the hallmark is celibacy. Although the model of the four ash¬
ramas is largely archaic in modern times, the word brahmacharya still connotes this sort of austere religious lifestyle, and it is often
used as a synonym for celibacy.
Wikipedia
Brahmacharya (pronounced /,bra:me'tfarje/; Devanagari: under the tutelage of Brahman) refers to an approximate period
of 14-20 years of formal education in the traditional sciences, astronomy and religious texts contained within the Vedas and Upani-
shads, is also characterised by the practice of strict celibacy. Alternatively, Brahmacharya also denotes life long celibacy coupled
preferably with devotion to spiritual endeavours. A Brahmachari therefore is a male (and brahmacharini a female) who observes
sexual abstinence unless intentionally procreating. These characteristics correspond to Western notions of the religious life as
practised in monastic settings.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Brahmacarya: The state of being a brahmacarin.
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Brahmacharya - Literally, walking in the path of the Absolute. The four stages of life are (1) student, (2) married life, (3) an interim
period to prepare oneself for final renunciation, and 4) living as a renunciate, in a monastery or wandering as a wayfarer. The first
of these stages is called brahmacharya, followed in order by grihasthya. vaitaprostha and samnyasa.
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali s Yoga
Brahmacarya: adhering to uprightness in life, walking in the path of the Absolute (brahman) .
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Raja Yoga
Brahmacharya - chastity in thought, word and deed.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Rainbow-Bridge is the Pathway of the Solar Hero. In it the Seven Colours of the Seven Spheres are united in beauty and
harmony, the Sun on one side, and the Clouds of Heaven on the other. On this bridge Man ventures higher than the Four Ele-
ments to Realms of Glory. In the Mundaka Upanishad (II; 2, 5) it is called “the Bridge of Immortality”. In the Katha Upanishad, the
Scripture which deals with Death, is written (III; 2): “May we be able to learn that Nachiketas fire-sacrifice, which is the bridge for
those who perform sacrifice, which leads to the imperishable Brahman those who desire to cross over to the other shore which is
beyond fear.” In the Chhandogya Upanishad (VIII; 4, 3) it is said that neither day nor night, death nor sorrow, virtue nor vice, can
pass it, but such as are established in Brahmacharya can pass to and fro at will. Brahmacharya is continence and chastity. It is the
Quality which has been seen to refer to Libra. It implies the overcoming of the lower form of Kama, Desire. But in a broader, high¬
er and deeper sense it implies the overcoming of the “coveting” of Capricorn, and the realization of the very nature of Kama, in all
its aspects. The more mystical aspect of Brahmacharya — which opens up only after the achievement of Brahmacharya on lower
planes — is fully manifest in the etymology of the word. It means simply “the following of Truth”, or “the practice of Reality”. The
root char means “to move, to act”.
Radhakrishnan. Philosophy of Upanishads
The Upanishads demand a sort of physical preparation for the spiritual fight. Cleansing, fasting, continence, solitude, etc., as pu¬
rificatory of the body, are enjoined. “ May my body become fit, may my tongue become extremely sweet, may I hear much in my
ears.” This is not to despise the body as a dog and an encumbrance to the human soul. Nor has this purifying of the body, freeing
of the senses, development of the mind, anything in common with self-torture.
Again, in the Chandogya Upanishad we are told that the world of Brahman belongs to those who find it by brahmacarya. Brah-
macarya is the discipline a student has to undergo when studying under a guru. It is not an ascetic withdrawal from the world, for
the same Upanishad in viii. 5 makes brahmacarya equivalent to the performing of sacrifices. It looks as if these were meant as a
warning against the false interpretation of brahmacarya as aloofness from the world. The body is the servant of the soul and not its
prison. There is no indication in the Upanishads that we must give up life, mind, consciousness, intelligence, etc.
Wikipedia
The term brahmacharya has a number of uses.
One common usage denotes within the Vedic ashram system the particular phase that occupies the first 20 or 25 years of life.
Ancient Hindu culture divides the human lifespan into 100 years. Brahmacharya is the stage when the young child leads a student
life (ideally in the Gurukula, the household of the Guru). This stage of life is preceded by the child’s Upanayanam, a ceremony in
which the child is considered to take a second birth. Brahmacharya is the first of the four phases of human life, namely, Brahm¬
acharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, and finally Sannyasa, prescribed by Manusmriti for the dvija castes in the Hindu system of life.
The practice of brahmacharya requires, among other codes of conduct, that one be celibate.
Traditionally, such a life involved going to live with a spiritual teacher under whom the brahmachari (celibate) or chela (student)
practised strict celibacy, a life of moral restraint, dedicated to learning all aspects of “Dharma” that is learning the “Principles of
Justice and Righteousness” including personal responsibilities and duties towards himself, family, society and humanity at large
which included the environment/earth/nature AND devotion to meditation. In the Hindu scheme of life brahmacharya starts around
the age of five, when the chela starts his/her studies. In the sramanic traditions of Buddhism and Jainism (both of which stood out¬
side normal social convention) brahmacarya was practised generally by those who had already reached adulthood.
The word brahmacharya is also used for the vow of celibacy a Hindu sannyasi, or renunciate, may take at any age after under¬
standing that living for material or sensual pleasures will never bring the perfect happiness the soul desires. Thus one’s life be¬
comes centered on surrender to Guru and God, with the firm hope of God realization and the perfect divine happiness.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
Brahmacarya: Adhering to Uprightness in Life
In India a person’s life span is described as having four complementary aspects in the pursuit for the actualization of the higher
values of life. The four stages of life are said to be: studentship, the married life of a householder, weaning away from household
obligation, and, ultimately, living as a renunciate. In fact, the intrinsic values of life are such that the four aspects cannot be com¬
pletely distinguished or separated from each other.
The first stage of life is designated as brahmacarya. That is a time when a person is to be fully instructed in the normative notion
of life. The norms are spiritual, moral, social, obligatory, and transcendent. Dharma is the main ideal stressed during this period
of self-discipline and instruction in the science of life. Dharma is that which sustains life and all its potentials in the here and now.
Hence it is specific. As years pass, the horizon of value interests expands from the here and now consideration to the eternal. The
expansion intends to bring within it the good of all.
At birth a person is said to be of very little knowledge (kimcitjnatva). The path to perfection is to become conversant with the omni¬
scient (sarvajnatva), the omnipresent, and the omnipotent. Movement from the small world of little knowledge to the infinite world
of omniscience is a logarithmic spiral in which the microcosm and the macrocosm become harmonized. The unbroken growth of
persistently relating the individual to the Absolute is indicated by the word brahmacarya. Many have missed this point.
As brahmacarya is intended to provide an aspirant with a fully enlightened path that will ever lead one from finitude to infinitude,
brahmacarya is identical with the prayer given in the B®hadarajyaka UpaniQad: “Lead me from untruth to truth, from darkness to
light, and from death to immortality.” From the first cognizance of the inflow of stimuli through the five senses to the final merger in
the all- transcending imperiential unity of the Absolute, brahmacarya is the only path that one has to tread. Any deviation is vyabhi-
carya.
The restraints given by Patanjali include brahmacarya to caution the aspirant that there are false paths and temptations from
which you should recoil. One who truly understands what brahmacarya is has already attained the highest mark of discrimination
that justly qualifies one to be an enlightened person. With that wisdom-insight, one confers on oneself rishi-hood, Buddha- hood,
Christ-hood, and the peace of Islam.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: Is not brahmacharya (celibacy) necessary for realisation of the Self?
M.: Brahmacharya is ‘living in Brahman’. It has no connection with celibacy as commonly understood. A real brahmachari, that is
one who lives in Brahman, finds bliss in the Brahman which is the same as the Self. Why then should you look for other sources of
happiness? In fact the emergence from the Self has been the cause of all the misery.
... “How is Brahmacharya to be practised in order that it may be successfully lived up to?”
M.: It is a matter of will-power. Satvic food, prayers, etc., are useful aids to it.
... D.: Some young persons have taken a vow of brahmacharya. They repent of the vow after the lapse of ten or twelve years. Un¬
der these circumstances should we encourage young persons to take the vow of brahmacharya?
M.: This question will not arise in the case of true brahmacharya.
D.: Some young men take the vow of brahmacharya without knowing its full implications. When they find it difficult to carry it out in
practice, they seek our advice.
M.: They need not take a vow but they may try it without the vow.
D.: Is naishthika brahmacharya (life-long celibacy) essential as a sadhana for Self-Realisation?
M.: Realisation itself is naishthika brahmacharya. The vow is not brahmacharya. Life in Brahman is brahmacharya and it is not a
forcible attempt at it.
... Even Suka had no confidence in his brahmacharya whereas Sri Krishna was sure of his brahmacharya. Self-Realisation is des¬
ignated by so many different names, satya, brahmacharya, etc.
See also:
in Ashrama: Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
The word brahmacharya stems literally from two components:
Brahma, the deity representing the creative force (as part of the trinity of Hindu deities of Brahma as creation, Vishnu as preser¬
vation and Shiva as destruction). The word Brahma needs to be distinguished from Brahman, the absolute, eternal, never-born
godhead.
charya, which means “to be followed”. This is often translated as activity, mode of behaviour, a “virtuous” way of life.
So the word brahmacharya indicates a life lived in conformance with the creative aspects of ultimate reality or “god”.
Related words
Ashrama
Grihastha
Sannyasa
Vanaprastha
Sanskrit
Brahmacarya —
brahmacarya -
Brahman
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Brahman — ... the ultimate Reality; the ground of the universe; the Absolute; the Divine;
1. The Absolutely Great; that which is greater than the greatest. “That which puts an end to differences.” The Absolute Reality or
all- pervasive supreme principle of the universe. It has nothing similar to it and nothing different from it, and it has no empirical
distinctions from the acosmic viewpoint.
2. Vedantic term for the Absolute Reality. The Absolute or all-pervasive supreme principle of the universe. The nature of Brahman
is described in the Upanisads and in Vedantic philosophy as sat (Existence absolute), cit (Consciousness absolute), and anan-
da(Bliss absolute). (See satcidananda.)
3. Advaita Vedanta says it is not possible to explain Brahman in words. It transcends all concepts and ideas and is therefore
nirguna—beyond conceptualization. It is declared to be the only Truth. Other Vedantas explain that words may not entirely define
what Brahman is, but they do describe its glorious attributes and is therefore saguna—’’with glorious attributes.”
4. In the Upanisads it is conceived of in two modes: the Reality of which the universe is but an appearance (nisprapanca) and the
allinclusive ground of the universe (saprapanca). It is described positively as existence (sat), knowledge (cit), bliss (ananda), and
infinite (ananta) and negatively as “not this, not this” (neti neti). It has nothing similar to it and nothing different from it, and it has no
empirical distinctions from the acosmic viewpoint. According to Advaita Vedanta, Brahman is known in two forms: that as qualified
by limiting conditions owing to the distinctions of “name and form” and as what is free from all limiting conditions whatever. Both
Visistadvaita and Dvaita Vedanta conceive of Brahman as endowed with auspicious qualities (saguna).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
brahman -
(lit. ‘growth’, ‘expansion’, ‘evolution’, ‘development’, ‘swelling of the spirit or soul’, pious effusion or utterance, outpouring of the
heart in worshipping the gods, prayer;
the sacred word (as opp. to vac, the word of man), the Veda, a sacred text, a text or Mantra used as a spell;
the Brahmana portion of the Veda;
the sacred syllable Om;
religious or spiritual knowledge (opp. to religious observances and bodily mortification such as tapas &c.);
holy life (esp. continence, chastity cf brahma-carya);
(exceptionally treated as m.) the Brahman or one self-existent impersonal Spirit, the one universal Soul (or one divine essence
and source from which all created things emanate or with which they are identified and to which they return), the Self-existent, the
Absolute, the Eternal (not generally an object of worship but rather of meditation and-knowledge...);
the class of men who are the repositories and communicators of sacred knowledge, the Brahmanical caste as a body (rarely an
individual Brahman);
food;
wealth;
final emancipation;
one who Prays, a devout or religious man, a Brahman who is a knower of Vedic texts or spells, one versed in sacred knowledge;
one of the 4 principal priests or ritvijas (the other three being the Hotri, Adhvaryu and Udgatri;
the Brahman was the most learned of them and was required to know the 3 Vedas, to supervise the, sacrifice and to set right mis¬
takes;
at a later period his functions were based especially on the Atharva-veda);
Brahma or the one impersonal universal Spirit manifested as a personal Creator and as the first of the triad of personal gods (=
prajapati, he never appears to have become an object of general worship, though he has two temples in India his wife is Saras-
vatl;
a lifetime of Brahma;
an inhabitant of Brahma’s heaven;
the sun;
N. of Siva;
the Veda;
the intellect (= buddhi).
Dictionary - Runes
Brahman, Brahma: (Skr.) The impersonal, pantheistic world-soul, the Absolute, union with which is the highest goal of the Upa-
nishads (q.v.) and Vedic (q.v.) thinking in general. It is occasionally identified with atman (q.v.) or made the exclusive reality (cf.
brahma eva idam visvam; sarvam khalv idam brahma), thus laying the foundation for a deep mystic as well as rational insight into
the connaturalness of the human and divine and an uncompromising monism which gave its impress to much of Hindu thinking.
K.F.L.
Wikipedia
Brahman
In the Hindu religion, Brahman is the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all
matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe. The nature of Brahman is described as transperson¬
al, personal and impersonal by different philosophical schools. In the Rig Veda, Brahman gives rise to the primordial being Hira-
nyagarbha that is equated with the creator God Brahma. The trimurti can thus be considered a personification of Hiranyagarbha
as the active principle behind the phenomena of the universe.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Brahman - The Absolute. Often described as sat-cit-ananda, (which see) where the pure awareness of cit links the beingness of
the Absolute, sat, with its value dynamics, ananda.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Brahman: The Absolute. Derived from the verb root brh, “to grow constantly.” Literally, “that which grows constantly.”
Descriptions
General
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
Every attempt to explain this central idea of Indian philosophy must proceed from the fact that the word Brahman throughout the
Rigveda in which it occurs more than 200 times, signifies without exception nothing more than “prayer”. Like Soma and other gifts,
the prayer of the poet is offered to the gods; they enjoy it; they are fortified by it for their heroic deeds ; and as man stands in need
of the various benefits of the gods, the gods need for their welfare the offerings and especially the prayers of mankind; “prayer is
a ‘tonic’ of the gods”; “Indra for his battles is fortified by prayer” (offered to him); phrases like these occur frequently in the Rigve¬
da; thus the idea became more and more prominent that human prayer is a power which surpasses in potency even the might of
the gods. In the moments of religious devotion man felt himself raised above his own individuality, felt awakening in himself that
metaphysical power on which all worlds with their gods and creatures are dependent. By this curious development (comparable
to the history of the Biblical Adyoe) Brahman, the old name for prayer, became the most usual name for the creative principle of
the world. An old Rigvedic question “which was the tree, which was the wood, of which they hewed the earth and heaven”? is
repeated in a Brahmana text, and followed by the answer: “The Brahman was the tree, the wood from which they hewed the earth
and heaven.” Here the term Brahman has become already what it has been through all the following centuries - the most common
name for the eternal and changeless principle of the world.
Wikipedia
Conceptualization
Conceptualization
Brahman is the Absolute Godhead; Absolute Reality or universal substrate (not to be confused with the Creator god Lord Brah¬
ma) in Hinduism. It is said to be eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and ultimately indescribable in human language.
The sage- seers of the Upanishads had fully realized Brahman as the reality behind their own being and of everything else in this
universe. They were thus Brahmins in the true sense of the word. These rishis described Brahman as infinite Being, infinite Con¬
sciousness, and infinite Bliss (saccidananda). Brahman is regarded as the source and essence of the material universe. The Rig
Veda says that by the desire of the Supreme GOD (RV 10.12.94), the initial manifestation of the material universe came into being
from Hiranyagarbha (literally “golden womb”), out of which all worlds, organisms and divine beings (devas) arise:
“Great indeed are the devas who have sprung out of Brahman.” — Atharva Veda
Para Brahman corresponds to the concept of Godhead and Saguna Brahman to God as the Primordial Being.
It is said that Brahman cannot be known by material means, that we cannot be made conscious of it, because Brahman is our very
consciousness. Brahman is also not restricted to the usual dimensional perspectives of being, and thus enlightenment, moksha,
yoga, samadhi, nirvana, etc. do not merely mean to know Brahman, but to realise one’s “brahman- hood”, to actually realise that
one is and always was Brahman. Indeed, closely related to the Self concept of Brahman is the idea that it is synonymous with jiva-
atma, or individual souls, our atman (or soul) being readily identifiable with the greater soul (paramatma) of Brahman.
Generally, Vedanta rejects the notion of an evolving Brahman since Brahman contains within it the potentiality and archetypes
behind all possible manifest phenomenal forms. The Vedas, though they are in some respects historically conditioned are con¬
sidered by Hindus to convey a knowledge eternal, timeless and always contemporaneous with Brahman. This knowledge is con-
sidered to have been handed down by realised yogins to students many generations before the vedas were committed to writing.
Written texts of the Vedas are a relatively recent phenomenon.
Connected with the ritual of pre-Vedantic Hinduism, Brahman signified the power to grow, the expansive and self-altering process
of ritual and sacrifice, often visually realized in the sputtering of flames as they received the all important ghee (clarified butter)
and rose in concert with the mantras of the Vedas. The term Brahmin in the Vedic period actually meant one who has realized
Brahman. However, later on Brahmin came to be identified with the highest of the four castes, the Brahmins, who by virtue of their
purity and priesthood held themselves as proprietors of rituals, though mostly without actual realization of Brahman, and void of
Vedantic knowledge.
Among Hindu sects, Advaita Vedanta is the first instance of monism in organized religion and Hinduism is the only religion with
this concept. The closest interpretation of the term can be found in the Taittariya Upanishad (11.1) where Brahman is described as
satyam jnanam anantam brahman (“Brahman is of the nature of truth, knowledge and infinity”). Thus, Brahman is the origin and
end of all things, material or otherwise. Brahman is the root source and Divine Ground of everything that exists, and is the only
thing that exists according to Shankara. It is defined as unknowable and Satchitananda (“Truth- Consciousness- Bliss”). Since it is
eternal and infinite, it comprises the only truth. The goal of Vedanta is to realize that the soul (Atman) is actually nothing but Brah¬
man. The Hindu pantheon of gods is said, in the Vedas and Upanishads, to be only higher manifestations of Brahman. For this
reason, “ekam sat” (“Truth is one”), and all is Brahman. This explains the Hindu view that “All paths lead to the one Truth, though
many sages [and religions] call upon it by different names.”
Several maha-vakyas, or great sayings, indicate what the principle of Brahman is:
prajnanam brahma “Brahman is knowledge”
ayam atma brahma “The Self (or the Soul) is Brahman “
aham brahmasmi “I am Brahman”
tat tvam asi “Thou art that”
sarvam khalv idam brahma “All this that we see in the world is Brahman”,
sachchidananda brahma “Brahman or Brahma is existence, consciousness, and bliss”.
In Advaita Vedanta
Georg Feuerstein summarizes the advaita realization as follows: “The manifold universe is, in truth, a Single Reality. There is only
one Great Being, which the sages call Brahman, in which all the countless forms of existence reside. That Great Being is utter
Consciousness, and It is the very Essence, or Self (Atman) of all beings.”
The universe does not simply possess consciousness, it is consciousness, and this consciousness is Brahman. According to Adi
Shankara, knowledge of Brahman springs from inquiry into the words of the Upanishads, and the knowledge of brahman that
shruti provides cannot be obtained in any other way.
In Advaita Vedanta, Brahman is without attributes and strictly impersonal. It can be best described as infinite Being, infinite Con¬
sciousness, and infinite Bliss. It is pure knowledge itself, similar to a source of infinite radiance. Since the Advaitins regard Brah¬
man to be the Ultimate Truth, so in comparison to Brahman, every other thing, including the material world, its distinctness, the
individuality of the living creatures and even Ishvara (the Supreme Lord) itself are all untrue. Brahman is the effulgent cause of
everything that exists and can possibly exist. Since it is beyond human comprehension, it is without any attributes, for assigning
attributes to it would be distorting the true nature of Brahman. Advaitins believe in the existence of both Saguna Brahman and
Nirguna Brahman, however they consider Nirguna Brahman to be the Absolute Truth.
When man tries to know the attributeless Brahman with his mind, under the influence of an illusionary power of Brahman called
Maya, Brahman becomes God (Ishvara). God is the reflection of the Brahman in the environment of illusion (Maya). Just like re¬
flection of moon, in a pool of water. The material world also appears as such due to Maya. God is Saguna Brahman, or Brahman
with attributes. He is omniscient, omnipresent, incorporeal, independent, Creator of the world, its ruler and also destroyer. He is
eternal and unchangeable. He is both immanent and transcedent, as well as full of love and justice. He may be even regarded
to have a personality. He is the subject of worship. He is the basis of morality and giver of the fruits of one’s Karma. He rules the
world with his Maya. However, while God is the Lord of Maya and she (i.e. Maya) is always under his control, living beings (jlva, in
the sense of humans) are the servants of Maya (in the form of ignorance). This ignorance is the cause of all material experiences
in the mortal world. While God is Infinite Bliss, humans, under the influence of Maya consider themselves limited by the body and
the material, observable world. This misperception of Brahman as the observed Universe results in human emotions such as hap¬
piness, sadness, anger and fear. The ultimate reality remains Brahman and nothing else. The Advaita equation is simple. It is due
to Maya that the one single Atman (the individual soul) appears to the people as many Atmans, each in a single body. Once the
curtain of maya is lifted, the Atman is exactly equal to Brahman. Thus, due to true knowledge, an individual loses the sense of ego
(Ahamkara) and achieves liberation, or Moksha.
Relevant verses from Bhagavad-Gita which establish the Advaita position:
The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman, and its eternal nature is called adhyatma, the self. (Bhagavad
Gita 8.3)
Similar to a person who is not attached to external pleasures but enjoys happiness in the Atman (soul), the person who perceives
Brahman (all- pervading consciousness) in everybody feels everlasting joy. (Bhagavad Gita 5.21)
In Dvaita Vedanta
Brahman of Dvaita (substantial monism) is synonymous with Hari or Vishnu, who is the most exalted Para Brahman (Supreme
Brahman), superior to liberated souls and even the impersonal Brahman. Dvaita holds that the individual soul is dependent
(paratantra) on God, since it is unable to exist without the energizing support of the universal spirit, just as a tree cannot survive
without its sap.
Dvaita schools argue against the Advaita concept that upon liberation one realizes Brahman as a formless God is erroneous,
quoting from Vedanta Sutra:
The form of Brahman is unmanifest, but even the form of Brahman becomes directly visible to one who worships devoutly (tat
avyaktam aha, api samradhane pratyaksa anumanabhyam) (Vedanta Sutra 3.2.23)
Within His divine realm, devotees see other divine manifestations which appear even as physical objects in a city (antara bhuta
gramavat svatmanah). (Vedanta Sutra 3.3.36)
In Visishtadvaita Vedanta
Brahman of Visishtadvaita is synonymous with Narayana, who is the transcendent and immanent reality. Brahman or Narayana
is Saguna Brahman with infinite auspicious qualities, and not the Advaita concept of attributeless Nirguna Brahman. “Sarvam
khalvidam brahma, tajjalaniti santa upasita”: According to Ramanuja, considering the appearance of the word “tajjalan iti” (Roots:
tat + ja = born + la = dissolved), this statement from the Chandogya Upanishad does not simply mean that the universe is Brah¬
man, but that it is pervaded by, born from and dissolves into Brahman. An analogy: fish is born in water, lives in water, and is
ultimately dissolved into water; yet the fish is not water.
The concept of Brahman in Visishtadvaita is explained as an inseparable triad of Ishwara- Chit-Achit. Ishvara, the Supreme Self
(Paramatman) is the indwelling spirit (Antaryami) in all. Both the Chit (sentient) and Achit (insentient) entities are pervaded and
permeated by Ishvara. Brahman is the material and efficient cause of the universe. The concept of Brahman in Visishtadvaita can
be seen as a hybrid of Advaita and Dvaita positions. Like all other Vaishnava schools of thought, Visishtadvaita is also panentheis-
tic unlike the pantheism of Advaita. It also proposes a qualified attributive monism approach as opposed to the absolute monism of
Advaita.
Brahman is, Antaryami, the real self of all beings. Everything other than Brahman form the Sarira (body) of Brahman. The insep¬
arable relation between the body and the soul is similar to that of substance and attribute which are inseparable. So Brahman is
the prakari and the universe is the prakara, mode of Brahman. Hence anything that describes a sentient or insentient being has its
connotation only with Brahman, the real and ultimate self.
Followers of Visishtadvaita refute Advaita thought that if it is indeed true that the one undivided Brahman, whose very nature is
pure spirit, is the foundation of Maya and also embodies the liberating force of knowledge, then it is illogical to say that the very
same Brahman falls under the influence of the illusory power of Maya and gets covered by ignorance. Thus establishing that Jiva
and Ishvara are indeed separate entities. Since both their identities and capabilities are different, the Jiva and the Lord are essen¬
tially distinct. In other words, if Brahman is indivisible, changeless, and supreme, then a force of Maya cannot appear within Brah¬
man, modify it, and put it into ignorance.
Bhakti Yoga is the sole means of liberation in Visishtadvaita. Through Bhakti (devotion), a Jiva ascends to the realm of the Lord to
become one with Him. Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga are natural outcomes of Bhakti, total surrender, as the devotee acquires the
knowledge that the Lord is the inner self. A devotee realizes his own state as dependent on, and supported by, and being led by
the Lord, who is the Master. One is to lead a life as an instrument of the Lord, offering all his thought, word, and deed to the feet of
the Lord. One is to see the Lord in everything and everything in Him. This is the unity in diversity achieved through devotion.
In Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna is Ishvara and denotes Saguna Brahman, and the term Brahman means Nirguna Brahman:
I (Ishvara) am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable and eternal and is the constitutional position
of ultimate happiness. (Bhagavad Gita 14.27)
I (Ishvara) am transcendental, beyond both kshara (the fallible, perishable world) and akshara (the infallible). (Bhagavad Gita
15.18)
Semantics and pronunciation
Semantics and pronunciation
In Vedic Sanskrit:-
Brahma (sk^h) (nominative singular), brahman (q. J qHm) (stem) (neuter gender) means the Great Cosmic Spirit, from root brha
(growth, development, expansion, swelling).
Brahmanda (47^41 u !^) (nominative singular), from stems brha (to expand) + anda (egg), means universe as an expansion of a
cosmic egg (Hiranyagarbha), or the macrocosm. Brahmanda Purana discusses cosmogenesis. Bhagavata Purana also discusses
cosmogony and fundamental principles of material nature in detail.
In later Sanskrit usage:-
Brahma (sk^h) (nominative singular), brahman (stem) (neuter gender) means the concept of the transcendent and immanent
ultimate reality of the One Godhead or Supreme Cosmic Spirit in Hinduism; the concept is central to Hindu philosophy, especially
Vedanta; this is discussed below. Also note that the word Brahman in this sense is exceptionally treated as masculine (see the
Merrill- Webster Sanskrit Dictionary). It is called “the Brahman” in English. Brahm is another variant of Brahman.
Brahma (sR^HI) (nominative singlular), Brahman (d, J qHH) (stem) (masculine gender), means the deity or deva Prajapati Brahma.
He is one of the members of the Hindu trinity and associated with creation, but does not have a cult in present day India. This
is because Brahma, the creator-god, is long-lived but not eternal i.e. Brahma gets absorbed back into Purusha at the end of an
aeon, and is born again at the beginning of a new kalpa.
One must not confuse these with:
A brahmana (sp!|^H IJ l) (masculine, pronounced as /bra:h me Ne/ - the N being retroflex), (which literally means “pertaining to
prayer”) is a prose commentary on the Vedic mantras—an integral part of the Vedic literature.
A brahmana (ski^h^i) (masculine, same pronunciation as above), means priest; in this usage the word is usually rendered in En¬
glish as “Brahmin”. This usage is also found in the Atharva Veda. In neuter plural form, Brahmani. See Vedic priest.
Ishvara, (lit., Supreme Lord), in Advaita, is identified as a partial worldly manifestation (with limited attributes) of the ultimate real¬
ity, the attributeless Brahman. In Visishtadvaita and Dvaita, however, Ishvara (the Supreme Controller) has infinite attributes and
the source of the impersonal Brahman.
Devas, the expansions of Brahman/God into various forms, each with a certain quality. In Vedic Hinduism, there were 33 devas,
which later became exaggerated to 330 million devas. In fact, devas are themselves regarded as more mundane manifestations
of the One and the Supreme Brahman (See Para Brahman). The Sanskrit word for “ten million” also means group, and 330 million
devas originally meant 33 types of divine manifestations.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
One cannot become Brahman by continuing to repeat the mantra. It means that Brahman is not elsewhere. It is your Self. Find
that Self; Brahman is found. Do not attempt to reach Brahman as if it were in some far off place.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
MASTER: “A man had two sons. The father sent them to a preceptor to learn the Knowledge of Brahman. After a few years they
returned from their preceptor’s house and bowed low before their father. Wanting to measure the depth of their knowledge of
Brahman, he first questioned the older of the two boys. ‘My child,’ he said, ‘You have studied all the scriptures. Now tell me, what
is the nature of Brahman?’ The boy began to explain Brahman by reciting various texts from the Vedas. The father did not say
anything. Then he asked the younger son the same question. But the boy remained silent and stood with eyes cast down. No
word escaped his lips. The father was pleased and said to him: ‘My child, you have understood a little of Brahman. What It is can¬
not be expressed in words.’”
See: Brahma and Brahman
Brahman and Atman
General
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
Highest Brahman is that it is one, never changing, never in contact with anything, devoid of all form, eternally pure, intelligent and
free. To ascribe anything phenomenal to that Brahman or Atman would be the same error as to ascribe blue colour to the colour¬
less ether of the sky.
... Having no qualities, this highest Brahman cannot of course be known by predicates. It is subjective, and not liable to any objec¬
tive attributes. If it knows, it can only know itself, like the sun that is not lighted, but lights itself. Our knowledge of Brahman also
can only be consciousness of Brahman as our own subjective Atman or Self.
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
When Bahva was questioned by Vashkali, he expounded the nature of Brahman to him by maintaining silence-- “Teach me,”
said Vashkali, “most reverent sir, the nature of Brahman.” Bahva however remained silent. But when the question was put forth a
second or third time he answered, “I teach you indeed but you do not understand; the Atman is silence.” The way to indicate it is
thus by “neti neti”, it is not this, it is not this. We cannot describe it by any positive content which is always limited by conceptual
thought.”
Brahman, Brahmin, Brahmana
General
Wikipedia
Brahman and Brahmin (brahman, brahman, masculine) are not the same. Brahman (brahman, neuter), since the Upanishads,
refers to the Supreme Self. Brahmin or Brahmana (brahman, brahmana) refers to an individual. Additionally, the word Brahma
(brahma, masculine) refers to first of the gods.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
Brahman in Sanskrit is neuter and stands for the Absolute. The true Brahmin (Anglicised version of Brahmana, is either a Brahma-
jnani or knower of the Absolute, or one whose life is dedicated to Brahman.).
Brahman, Ishvara, Hiranyagarbha, Virat
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
In the Panchadasi and other Vedantic scriptures, much is told to us about the way in which Brahman becomes Isvara, Isvara
becomes Hiranyagarbha, Hiranyagarbha becomes Virat. The illustration given in the Sixth Chapter of the Panchadasi is that
Brahman is like a clean cloth. Isvara is like the very same cloth stiffened with starch. The painter cannot paint directly on the cloth.
The cloth must first be stiffened. Starch is applied to the cloth - that is, the cloth assumes a concretised form, as it were. It is not
the pure cloth that it was, but cloth is still there as the base. Without the cloth, there cannot be the starchiness; but without the
starch, the cloth cannot be a good background for any painting. Similarly, there cannot be a movie in a cinema without the screen.
Though we are not going to the cinema to see the screen, we know very well how important the screen is. The painting on the
canvas is very attractive indeed and we go on looking at it, but we never think of the background on which the painting has been
made. We never recognise its existence, just as we do not think of the building’s foundation when we look at it.
This foundation is the cloth, and it gradually stiffens itself into a will to create, just as the cloth is stiffened by the application of
starch. That stiffened form, which is the will of Brahman, as they call it, is Isvara tattva. Then what does the painter do? After the
cloth is stiffened with starch, he draws an outline of the picture that he will paint; with a pencil or a slight touch of ink, he draws an
outline. This outline of the universe which is not yet fully manifest is Hiranyagarbha. We have a faint idea as to what will be the
character of the universe that is going to be created, even as by seeing the pencil drawing, we can know what the painter is actu¬
ally going to paint. The full painting is the Virat. The drawing on the canvas is filled with ink of various colours, and then we have
the beautiful picture of the painting. This is the Virat - the whole cosmos looking so beautiful, the finest and the most complete
manifestation of that which was only an outline in Hiranyagarbha, and which was only the will to create in Isvara, with Brahman as
the background. Aham kritsnasya jagatah prabhavah pralayas tatha.
The cloth can say that it is the entire painting because without it there would be no painting at all. Though we see only the painting
and do not appreciate or even think of the cloth on which it is made, where would the painting be without the cloth? In the same
way, Isvara, Hiranyagarbha and Virat - this beautiful creation that we see - cannot exist if there is no universal background which
is Brahman. Brahman is totally invisible, as is the cloth behind the painting, but it is very, very substantial; and without it, nothing
can be. Therefore, Lord Krishna says, “I am everything. I am the origin and the sustenance of this cosmos.”
See: Maya and Brahman
See: Prakriti and Brahman
See also:
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Brahman — from the root brh = “to expand, greater than the greatest”
Wikipedia
The word “Brahman” is derived from the verb ((brh)) (Sanskrit: to grow), and connotes greatness. The Mundaka Upanishad says:
Om- That supreme Brahman is infinite, and this conditioned Brahman is infinite. The infinite proceeds from infinite. Then through
knowledge, realizing the infinitude of the infinite, it remains as infinite alone.
Sanskrit brahman (an n-stem, nominative brahma) is from the root brh “ to swell, grow, enlarge”, brahman is a masculine deriva¬
tion of brahman, denoting a person associated with brahman. The further origin of brh is unclear. It could be from PIE *bherg’h- “to
rise, high, eminent”, cognate to Old Norse Bragi. Some, including Georges Dumezil, have said that the Latin word flamen “priest’
may also be cognate.
Related words
Apara-brahman
Atman
Cit
Maya
Nirguna-brahman
Para-brahman
Prajapati
Prakriti
Prapanca
Saccidananda
Saguna-brahman
Saksin
Sanskrit
Brahman —
brahman -
Brahmana
Variant spellings
brahmana
brahmana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Brahmana — ... a spiritual and intellectual being endowed with purity, who has understood Reality (Brahman), who fosters spiritu¬
ality, and who helps others to know the Reality; a member of the priestly caste; the liturgical texts of the Vedas.
1. One of the four castes whose duty it is to study and perpetuate the Vedas. (See varna.)
2. Liturgical texts written in prose and explanatory of the significance of the different rituals found in the sarhhitas. They are the
guidebooks for performing sacrificial rites. Distinct from the mantra and Upanisad sections, the brahmanas contain rules for the
employment of the mantras, or hymns, at various sacrifices, with detailed explanations of their origin and meaning and numerous
ancient legends. They are said by Sayanacarya to contain two parts: vidhi, or rules for rites and arthavada, or explanatory re¬
marks. Each Veda has its own Brahmana. That of the Rg Veda is preserved in two works, Aitareya and Kausitaki. The White Yajur
Veda has the Satapatha Brahmana and the Black Yajur Veda has the TaittirTya Brahmana. The Sama Veda has eight Brahmanas,
the best known of which are the Praudha and the Sadvinsa. The Atharva Veda has one Brahmana called the Gopatha.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brahmanas are texts that delineate the workings of the BRAHMAN in its oldest sense of the power, efficacy, or energy of Vedic rit¬
ual. They are considered SHRUTI or revelation and are part of the VEDAS. They accompany the MANTRA text of the four Vedas
and are memorized along with them; the Brahmana of the Black YAJUR VEDA is interspersed with the mantras; the other three
are stand alone texts. All the Brahmanas are written in prose.
The Brahmanas are designed to guide and explain the ritual sacrifice (YAJNA). Much Vedic mythology is found in the Brahmanas,
explaining how particular rituals relate to the actions of particular divinities. For example, the SHATAPATHA BRAHMANA explains
that goat hair is to be mixed with other ingredients for a ritual fire (AGNI), because the gods once collected Agni from among cat¬
tle. Brahmanas abound in much obscure, esoteric material that is not easy for the outsider to grasp, but that assure the efficacy
and intelligibility of the Vedic ritual for practitioners.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brahmana. General name for the second literary stratum in the Vedas, the earliest and most authoritative Hindu religious texts.
Although the composition of these differing parts of the Veda is not completely linear, the Brahmanas generally come after the
hymns of praise to the gods known as samhitas and precede the speculative texts known as the Aranyakas and the Upanishads.
In theory, each Veda has a Brahmana as an appendix, which is intended to give further explanation of the Vedic rituals. Although
the Yajur Veda is the only one for which this is actually true, this understanding gives the Brahmanas the authority of revealed
scripture (shruti) and thus makes them unquestionable. There are several different Brahmanas, of which the most important are
the Aiteraya Brahmana and the Shatapatha Brahmana; the latter’s tone and contents (including the Isha Upanishad) clearly mark
it as the most recent of the Brahmanas.
The Brahmanas are primarily ritual manuals, and they give exacting, painstaking instructions for performing these Vedic rituals.
These texts indicate a fundamental shift in religious practice, from the earlier emphasis on sacrifice as a means of invoking and
pleasing the Vedic gods to an importance on the power of ritual itself. This new emphasis makes the sacrificial priests the most
powerful people of all, since even the gods themselves are subject to the rituals. The power of correctly performed ritual paves
the way for the Aranyakas and the Upanishads, which asks more speculative questions about the rituals themselves. At times
these differing religious genres are juxtaposed—as in the Shatapatha Brahmana, in which the Isha Upanishad is embedded. Such
juxtapositions indicate that although the stress varied in differing types of texts, there was some overlap during the time they were
composed.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Brahmana: One of the four varnas in the caturvarnya concept, referring to those who love to learn and teach.
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The Brahmanas.
After the Samhitas there grew up the theological treatises called the Brahmanas, which were of a distinctly different literary type.
They are written in prose, and explain the sacred significance of the different rituals to those who are not already familiar with
them. “They reflect,” says Professor Macdonell, “the spirit of an age in which all intellectual activity is concentrated on the sacrifice,
describing its ceremonies, discussing its value, speculating on its origin and significance.” These works are full of dogmatic asser¬
tions, fanciful symbolism and speculations of an unbounded imagination in the field of sacrificial details. The sacrificial ceremonials
were probably never so elaborate at the time when the early hymns were composed. But when the collections of hymns were be¬
ing handed down from generation to generation the ceremonials became more and more complicated. Thus there came about the
necessity of the distribution of the different sacrificial functions among several distinct classes of priests. We may assume that this
was a period when the caste system was becoming established, and when the only thing which could engage wise and religious
minds was sacrifice and its elaborate rituals. Free speculative thinking was thus subordinated to the service of the sacrifice, and
the result was the production of the most fanciful sacramental and symbolic system, unparalleled anywhere but among the Gnos¬
tics. It is now generally believed that the close of the Brahmana period was not later than 500 B.C.
[Footnote 2: Weber (Hist. Ind. Lit., p. 11, note) says that the word Brahmana signifies “that which relates to prayer brahman.” Max
Muller (S.B.E., l.p. Ixvi) says that Brahmana meant “originally the sayings of Brahmans, whether in the general sense of priests, or
in the more special sense of Brahman-priests.” Eggeling (S.B.E. XII. Introd. p. xxii) says that the Brahmanas were so called “prob¬
ably either because they were intended for the instruction and guidance of priests (brahman) generally; or because they were, for
the most part, the authoritative utterances of such as were thoroughly versed in Vedic and sacrificial lore and competent to act as
Brahmans or superintending priests.” But in view of the fact that the Brahmanas were also supposed to be as much revealed as
the Vedas, the present writer thinks that Weber’s view is the correct one.]
Wikipedia
The Brahmanas (Devanagari: ski^h u ih) are part of the Hindu sruti literature. They are commentaries on the four Vedas, detailing
the proper performance of rituals.
Each Vedic shakha (school) had its own Brahmana, and it is not known how many of these texts existed during the Mahajanapa-
das period. A total of 19 Brahmanas are extant at least in their entirety: two associated with the Rigveda, six with the Yajurveda,
ten with the Samaveda and one with the Atharvaveda. Additionally, there are a handful of fragmentarily preserved texts. They
vary greatly in length; the edition of the Shatapatha Brahmana fills five volumes of the Sacred Books of the East, while the Vamsa
Brahmana can be printed on a single page.
The Brahmanas were seminal in the development of later Indian thought and scholarship, including Hindu philosophy, predeces¬
sors of Vedanta, law, astronomy, geometry, linguistics (Panini), the concept of Karma, or the stages in life such as brahmacarya,
grihastha and eventually, sannyasi. Some Brahmanas contain sections that are Aranyakas or Upanishads in their own right.
The language of the Brahmanas is a separate stage of Vedic Sanskrit, younger than the text of the samhitas (the mantra text of
the Vedas proper) but for the most part older than the text of the Sutras. It dates to the Iron Age, or about the 9th, 8th and 7th cen¬
turies BC, with some of the younger Brahmanas (such as the Shatapatha Brahmana) overlapping with the Sutra period, dating to
about the 6th century BC. Historically, this corresponds to the emergence of great kingdoms or Mahajanapadas out of the earlier
tribal kingdoms during the later Vedic period.
See also:
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Related words
Aranyaka
Brahmin
Sruti
Upanishad
Varna
Veda
Sanskrit
Brdhmana — <5tifDi
brahmana - sRl^Di
Brahma-sutra
Title variants
Brahma-sutra
brahma-sutra -
Badarayana Sutra
Vedanta Sutra
Vyasa Sutra
Sariraka Sutra
Vedanta Sutras
Uttara MTmamsa-sutras
Sariraka Sutras
Sariraka Mimamsa-sutras
Vaishnavas also call this the Bhikshu sutras
Author(s)
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Brahma-sutra — ... written by Badarayana...
... It is ascribed to Vyasa [two names of the same rishi].
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
It is difficult to ascertain the time when the Brahma-sGtras were written, but since they contain a refutation of almost all the other
Indian systems, even of the Sunyavada Buddhism (of course according to Sankara’s interpretation), they cannot have been writ¬
ten very early. I think it may not be far from the truth in supposing that they were written some time in the second century B.C.
Dictionary - Grimes
Brahma-sGtra — ... “threads of the Absolute”; brief aphorisms written by Badarayana harmonizing the teachings of the Upanisads
1. An authoritative treatise on the Vedanta philosophy dealing with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahman). It is ascribed to
Vyasa and known by various names such as Badarayana Sutra, Vedanta SGtra, Vyasa SGtra, Sarlraka SGtra. Every founder of a
Vedantic school has to write a commentary on the book, though Sarikaracarya’s is perhaps the most famous.
2. It sets forth the teachings of the Vedanta in a logical order. (See prasthana traya.)
3. The Bhasyakaras or main commentators (exponents) on the Brahma- sGtra are Sankara, Bhaskara, Yadava, Nimbarka,
Ramanuja, Srikantha, Madhva.Vallabha, and Baladeva.
4. Other names for the Brahma-sGtra include Vedanta-sGtra SarTrakasGtra, Bhiksu-sGtra, and Uttara-MTmarr)sa-sGtra.
5. It is divided into four chapters (adhyaya), with each chapter consisting of four parts (pada) and each part being divided into a
number of sections (adhikarana). Each section contains one or more sGtras depending upon the interpretation of the Bhasyakara
thereof.
6. Its four chapters are entitled “harmony” (samanvaya)—bringing out the coherent import of the Upanisads by explaining appar¬
ently doubtful statements; “nonconflict” (avirodha)—presenting the Vedantic position philosophically with regard to other systems;
“the means” (sadhana)—outlining the spiritual pathway to liberation; and “the fruit” (phala)—discussing the nature of the goal itself.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
brahmasGtra -
the sacred thread worn over the shoulder;
a SGtra work treating of the knowledge of Brahman (esp. the aphorisms of the Vedanta philosophy ascribed to Badarayana or
Vyasa, also called badarayana- or vedanta- or vyasa- or sarTraka-sGtra, and uttara- or brahma-mTmarhsa)
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
There is evidence to show that this systematization [of the teaching of the Upanisads] was effected in more than one way. In the
SGtra of Badarayana there is reference to as many as seven Vedantic teachers— whether they were his predecessors or contem¬
poraries is not known; and he alludes to differences of view among them in respect of essential points like the nature of moksa
and the need of samnyasa for the spiritual aspirant. ... Differences like these on fundamental issues show that the teaching of the
Upanisads was from very early times understood in several ways by Vedantic teachers. Badarayana’s exposition is only one; and,
in all likelihood, the most influential of them. All current schools of Vedanta, though differing from one another in important matters,
alike claim to represent precisely what Badarayana himself taught. The extremely laconic form of his sGtras has rendered such va-
riety in interpretation possible. In fact, they are more cryptic than the Upanisads, and it is consequently much more difficult to get
at their meaning than at that of those old treatises. The result is that even as regards the most essential points there is ambiguity.
We do not for instance know for certain whether, according to Badarayana, the world actually emerges from Brahman (parinama)
or is only a phenomenal appearance of it (vivarta). There seem to have been once commentaries on the Vedanta-sutra uphold¬
ing both these views with all their implied differences under theory as well as practical discipline; but they were all superseded by
Sarhkara ‘s great commentary upholding the latter view and are now lost. ... There have also been purely theistic interpretations of
the Sutra, especially subsequent to Sarhkara; and among them again we find distinctions due to the identification of the supreme
God with Visnu or Siva. Thus Ramanuja and Madhva uphold the supremacy of Visnu, while SrTkantha exalts Siva above him. Of
these various schools of Vedanta, we shall consider here only two - one, that of Sarhkara t o represent the philosophic interpreta¬
tion and the other, that of Ramanuja to represent the theistic.
Wikipedia
The Brahma sutras, also known as Vedanta Sutras, constitute the Nyaya prasthana, the logical starting point of the Vedanta phi¬
losophy (Nyaya = logic/order). No study of Vedanta is considered complete without a close examination of the Prasthana Traya
(Prasthanatrayi), the texts that stand as the three starting points. The Brahma Sutras are attributed to Badarayana.
While the Upanishads (Sruti prasthana, the starting point of revelation) and the Bhagavad-GTta (Smriti prasthana, the starting point
of remembered tradition) are the basic source texts of Vedanta, it is in the Brahma sutras that the teachings of Vedanta are set
forth in a systematic and logical order.
,,, The Brahma Sutras attempt to reconcile the seemingly contradictory and diverse statements of the various Upanishads and
the Bhagavad Gita, by placing each teaching in a doctrinal context. The word sGtra means thread, and the Brahma sutras literally
stitch together the various Vedanta teachings into a logical and self- consistent whole.
However, the Brahma Sutras are so terse that not only are they capable of being interpreted in multiple ways, but they are often
incomprehensible without the aid of the various commentaries handed down in the main schools of Vedanta thought.
The Vedanta Sutras supply ample evidence that at a very early time, i.e. a period before their own final composition, there were
differences of opinion among the various interpreters of the Vedanta. Quoted in the Vedanta Sutras are opinions ascribed to Aud-
ulomi, Karshnagni, Kasakrtsna, Jaimini and Badari, in addition to Vyasa.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Brahma-Sutras: Original aphorisms of canonical rank, which, together with the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishadsare known as
the Prasthana Thrayas or the three bases of belief. The Sutras sometimes called Vedanta Sutras,are attributed to Badarayana,
sometimes identified with Vyasa (q.v.) or Veda Vyasa. Their importance is enhanced as Sankara commented upon them, as also
Madhva and Ramanuja. Their study thus gives a thorough grounding for a Brahmachari in Vedanta in its anterior and posterior
forms, as re-stated by Sankara.
Commentaries
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Brahma-sutra —,,,
3. The Bhasyakaras or main commentators (exponents) on the Brahma-sutra are Sarikara, Bhaskara, Yadava, Nimbarka, Ra¬
manuja, Srikantha, Madhva.Vallabha, and Baladeva.
Wikipedia
Many commentaries have been written on this text, the earliest extant one being the one by Adi Shankara. His commentary set
forth the non-dualistic (Advaita) interpretation of the Vedanta, and was commented upon by Vacaspati and Padmapada. These
sub-commentaries, in turn, inspired other derivative texts in the Advaita school.
Ramanuja also wrote a commentary on the Brahma sutra, called Sri Bhasya, which lays the foundations of the Vishishtadvaita
tradition. In this, he firmly refutes the Advaita view as proposed by Adi Shankara in his commentary.
Other commentators on the Brahma Sutras, belonging to other schools of Vedanta, include Bhaskara, Yadavaprakasa, Kesava,
NTIakantha, Madhvacharya, Vallabha, Vijnanabhiksu, Nimbarka, and Baladeva Vidyabhushana.
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
A SUTRA is a short aphoristic line of text; Vedanta Sutra can thus be translated as “lines relating to the VEDANTA.” There are
about 560 lines in this text.
The work was composed to resolve difficulties in the interpretation of the UPANISHADS and to refute the views of certain oppos¬
ing schools. Chapter I systematically and with great specificity discusses the Upanishad passages dealing with BRAHMAN (the
universal reality) and ATMAN (the soul or self). Chapter II is devoted to a refutation of the other interpretations, as presented by
the schools of SAMKHYA, YOGA, NYAYA, VAISHESHIKA, MIMAMSA, CHARVAKA, Buddhism, and JAINISM. Chapter III dis¬
cusses the PRAMANAS, the valid methods of obtaining knowledge (such as perception, inference, or scripture) in order to under¬
stand the brahman and atman. The fourth and final chapter discusses the results of brahman realization.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The Sutra consists of about 560 sutras divided into four books as follows:
1. Book one discusses the theory of Brahma, and the ultimate principle, reconciling all previous views.
2. Book two discusses all the objections against the viewpoint and shows the relationship of the world and soul with the ultimate
principle, and how all eventually merge into it.
3. Book three discusses the theory of ways and means of attaining knowledge of the ultimate principle, that is, Brahmavidya.
4. Book four discusses the theory of the departure of the soul after death.
Each book is divided into four-parts called padas; the sutras of each section are related by what are called adhikaranas.
The sutras are so concise and recondite that without commentary they are scarcely to be understood. They refuse to be caught in
any definite interpretation. It is thought that Badarayana wrote them in this manner so that they would have universal appeal and
not be limited to any definite time or place, thereby serving as the source of knowledge for all peoples during all ages.
Wikipedia
The Brahma Sutras consist of 555 aphorisms or sutras, in four chapters (adhyaya), each chapter being divided into four quarters
(pada). Each quarter consists of several groups of sutras called Adhikaranas or topical sections. An Adhikarana usually consists of
several sutras, but some have only one sutra.
The first chapter (Samanvaya: harmony) explains that all the Vedanta texts talk of Brahman, the ultimate reality, which is the goal
of life. The very first sGtra offers an indication into the nature of the subject matter. VS 1.1.1 athato brahma jijnasa - Now: therefore
the inquiry (into the real nature) of Brahman.
The second chapter (Avirodha: non-conflict) discusses and refutes the possible objections to Vedanta philosophy. The third chap¬
ter (Sadhana: the means) describes the process by which ultimate emancipation can be achieved. The fourth chapter (Phala: the
fruit) talks of the state that is achieved in final emancipation.
These sutras systematize the jnanakanda (path of wisdom, as opposed to Karmakanda, the path of action) of the Veda, by com¬
bining the two tasks of concisely stating the teaching of the Veda and argumentatively establishing the specific interpretation of the
Veda adopted in the sutras.
The sutras also discuss the role of karma and God and critically address the various doctrines associated with Buddhism, Jainism,
Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Shaiva, Shakta, Atheism, and Sankhya philosophies.
Publications
Translations
Apte, V. M., tr. Brahma-sutra Shankara-Bhasya. Bombay, India: Popular Book Depot, 1960.
Badarayana & Radhakrishnan, S. 1960, The Brahma sautra, Allen & Unwin, London.
Sankaracarya, S. i. & Gambhiranada, S. 1977, Brahma Sutra Bhasya of Sankaracarya, Advaita Ashram, Calcutta.
Sivananda, S. 1949, Brahma sutras, Sivananda Publication League, Rishikesh. Baadaraayaona & Vireswarananda. 1948, Brah-
ma-sutras, with text, word-for-word translation, English rendering, comments and index, Advaita ashrama, Mayavati, Almora,
Himalayas.
Related words
Prasthana-traya
Sutra
Vedanta
Vyasa
External links
http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil.htm#Brahm
Brahmavidya
Variant spellings
brahmavidya
brahmavidya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
brahmavidya -
knowledge of ‘the one self-existent Being’, knowledge of Brahman, sacred knowledge; N. of an Upanishad
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Brahmavidya: The science of the Absolute. Another name for Vedanta.
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Brahma-Vidya: The Science of the Absolute as understood in the Vedantic context of non-dual wisdom.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
The Indian philosophy of Advaita Vedanta explains that we suffer as a result of our avidya (ignorance) and maya (misconceived,
misinterpreted views of Reality). According to this philosophy, acquiring the awareness of Brahmavidya (direct perception or
awareness of Reality) alleviates this deep source of suffering. Only this awareness directly leads us to moksha (liberation).
Brahmavidya is an ancient system of Yoga and Philosophy. In ancient Sanskrit philosophical literature the term Brahma is used to
denote the Supreme Being, which is commonly called as God, Ishwar, Bhagvan. Hence Brahmavidya is a teaching, which leads to
knowledge of Brahma - God.
This system maintains that spiritual functions are related to physiological functions of ductless glands. It emphasizes the role of
meditation in realizing the spiritual nature of a person and uses exercises involving breathing to support and nurture related phys¬
iological ability. The subconscious mind is assigned the central role in bringing about physiological and spiritual transformation.
Exercises related to the subconscious mind are therefore also crucial to this system.
Brahma-Vidya is knowledge given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna at Krukshetra Ground in Dwapur Yuga (around 5112 years back).
The same knowledge (GYAN)is given by his other Incarnations in every Yuga. The same knowledge (gyan) was given by Lord
Shri Chakradhar Swami to his followers during period 1265-1273 A.D. in Paithan, Domegram (along the river godavari) Maharash¬
tra. At, present the same Gyan is being taught to the followers of this incarnation (Shri Chakradhar Swami) in various Ashrams of
this sect known as “Mahanubhav Panth”. The ancient hand written scriptures are taught in 700 years old Lipi (coded language)
to the individuals. This vidya, knowledge, Gyan is known as Brahmavidya. It teaches about achieving MOKSHA (salvation) thru
worship of GOD (his various incarnations). The same Brahma-Vidya knowledge was given to King Yaduraj by Lord Shri Duttatreya
Prabu in Treta Yuga popularly known as 24-guru vayakhan.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
What is the subject-matter of the Gita?
In one word we can describe it as brahmavidya, the Science of the Absolute. By Absolute we mean here that supreme knowledge
which is Self-founded and by which alone everything exists and everything is known. Until you realize this truth, you know only
relative factors.
... The eighteen chapters are arranged as spokes on the hub of brahmavidya, the Science of the Absolute. The method employed
in each chapter has, in common with the rest, the goal of the realization of the Self through Yoga.
... Does the Gita teach Yoga, or the Science of the Absolute?
Each chapter of the Gita ends with a reference to brahmavidya, yoga-sastra, and samvada. Each of these terms connotes a dif¬
ferent meaning. There is no doubt the Gita is a textbook of the Science of the Absolute, brahmavidya. The Absolute is not a thing
or an event. It gives rise to many relative notions. That means it can be approached from many angles of vision. The method of
discussion employed in the Gita is dialectical, not basically inferential. Hence it is called yoga-sastra. The literary device employed
by the author is in the form of a dialogue between Krsna as teacher and Arjuna as disciple. That is why it is called a dialogue, a
samvada.
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
In the Vedanta of India with its textbooks such as the Bhagavad Gata and the large body of literature called the Upaniuads, we
have already stated that these books claim to be a Science of the Absolute called brahma-vidya. It is a mistake commonly made
to treat this part of wisdom literature as belonging to Hindu religion. By its dynamic and open outlook such literature refuses to be
fitted into any orthodox context of a closed and static religious set-up.
... In India brahma-vidya is referred to as the science (vidya) which is the foundation of all sciences. It deals not merely with 'truth’
but with the Truth of truths, the Light of lights, or the Value of all values. The Absolute is a natural and normative notion around
which this science was built. When stated in such a wholesale fashion the Science of the Absolute becomes repugnant to the spirit
of modernism because it appears as a seemingly totalitarian discipline. Totalitarianism in politics and religion has left a bad taste
in the mouth of most Europeans, who prefer a humbler piecemeal approach to truth. In spite of such an understandable objection,
this is in itself another form of prejudice not necessarily justified with equal force in other contexts, outside religion or politics.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Drg-Drshya-Viveka
It is a matter of general knowledge that a Hindu not infrequently exclaims, when he finds anything supremely difficult to achieve
or understand, “It is like Brahmavidya!” This Brakmavidya, or knowledge of Brahman, the attainment of which is thought to be so
hard, is acquired only gradually, the steps being those of religion, theology including scholasticism, mysticism and philosophy
including science. All these are comprehended by the term Vedanta.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mundaka Upanishad
Mantra No. 1: Brahma was the first among the divine beings. This Lord of all, the protector of all, imparted to his eldest son Athar-
va this Brahma-Vidya which is the basis of all sciences. Brahma-Vidya is the fundamental science because it is the explanation
and the very substance of all knowledge, the different aspects and branches of which are all lower forms of knowledge.
... Brahma-Vidya is not a knowledge which excludes other kinds of knowledge, but that which transmutes into itself all kinds of
knowledge. Spiritual knowledge means the direct experience arrived at through the fusion of the essence of the object of knowl¬
edge into the essence of the subject of knowledge. Hence spiritual knowledge is indivisible experience, not divisible like intellec¬
tual knowledge. It is intuition which does not function on the basis of duality, but is essentially a self-identical, integral experience.
Spiritual Knowledge means the essence of the knowledge of everything that exists in generality as well as in particularity. It is the
Knowledge of the highest cause, the knowledge of which means the knowledge of all its effects also.
... Brahma-Vidya is the technique or the science enabling one to reach Absolute Experience. This Knowledge is attained through
great effort in the forms of Viveka, Vichara, Vairagya and Abhyasa.
Krishnananda. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
God knew only Himself; nothing else. Not anything other than He was there, and, therefore, no chance of knowing anything other
than He could be there. Brahma-Vidya. is the knowledge of God, the science of Brahman, the Absolute. But it is not knowledge
of something. The word ‘of is to be eliminated in this sentence. Our language is inadequate to the purpose. We cannot express
this knowledge in language, because our sentences are split into the subject and the predicate. There is a subject connected by
the verb to its predicate. There is no such possibility here of describing this knowledge by the subject-object connection through
a verb. There is no verb in the sentence if we are to use a sentence for describing what God knew. When we say, God knew
Himself, it is not that God as the subject knew Himself as the object; hence a sentence is not apt for the purpose of describing
what the state of affairs was then. It was not someone knowing something, or something knowing something else. It was not the
state where one can use a sentence with a transitive verb. There was no object for the verb in the sentence, ‘It knew Itself. It
was a union of the knower and the known. It was Awareness of Being. It was Being which became aware that It was. The Being
that was, became aware that it was. It was Being-Consciousness, or the Awareness of Being Itself may be said to be God-Con¬
sciousness. That is Absolute-Consciousness; and this isthe meaning of ‘God knew Himself, ‘It knew Itself, ‘tad atmanam evavef.
It knew Itself only, and if we, too, can know only the Self in the way It knew Itself, that would be the greatest knowledge that we
can have. But, we must know ourselves in the same way as ‘It knew Itself, not as we think that we are, in the present state of
individuality, because that is a knowledge of the Subject of knowledge, which included within Its Existence every object that It has
to know, so that the usual process of knowledge does not exist in this act of knowing the object. There is no process of knowing
between the Pramata (knower) and the Prameya (known). As they say, there is no Pramana (knowing) linking the two together. It
is at once, a simultaneous Being-Consciousness. This is what the Vedanta terminology often designates as Satchidananda, i.e.,
Pure Existence-Consciousness-Blis.
... Brahma-Vidya is the science of liberation. It liberates by the very fact of its presence, and not by any other process that takes
place in the rise of that knowledge than just its existence.
Related words
Atma vidya
Vidya
Sanskrit
brahmavidya dHD l
Brahmin
Variant spellings
brahmin
brahman
Brahmana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Brahmin — ... member of the priestly caste; priest
1. The first caste of Hindu society. The members of this caste or class are, by tradition, priests and scholars.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
brahmin -
belonging or relating to Brahman or Brahma;
‘possessing sacred knowledge’;
N. of Vishnu
Wikipedia
A Brahmin (also Brahman; Brahmana, y-' lyn ij i) is a member of the priestly class in the Indian subcontinent. According to ancient
Hindu texts including the Manusmrti, there are four “varnas”, or social classes, into which Hindu society is divided: the Brahmins
(teachers, scholars and priests), the Kshatriyas (kings and warriors), the Vaishyas (agriculturists, artisans and merchants), and the
Shudras (service providers and laborers). Brahmins are charged with performing religious duties as priests and preaching Dharma
as “one who prays, a devout or religious man, a Brahman who is well versed in Vedic texts, one versed in sacred knowledge”. The
Brahmins held authority of interpretation of Vedic and Puranic spiritual texts like the Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Brahmin: One who conforms to the religion of the Vedas and initiated or confirmed by the bestowal of the sacred thread which
causes him to be known as a “ twice-born” (dwija) and fit thereby to assist at ceremonies of burnt offerings to the Gods of the
Vedas. Socially he is the highest of the types of castes statically viewed in the Indian world of caste hierarchies, the others being
Kshatriya (warrior), Vaishya (merchant) and Shudra (servant). Vedic learning and ritual accompanied the Brahmin as priest in the
formation of society as it stratified with the penetration of the Aryans into the Indian matrix, about 1500 B.C.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brahmin (Brahman)
A Brahmin is a member of the hereditary priestly class of India. ... In Sanskrit the same Vedic word designates prayer and the one
who prays, the overseer of the Vedic ritual and its MANTRAS. In the ancient VARNA or class system the Brahmin was said to
emerge from the mouth of the divine being, the warrior from his arms, the ordinary people from his thighs, and the servants from
his feet.
Originally, Brahminical status was ensured by Vedic authority. Brahmins were responsible for the transmission of the VEDAS
over the centuries via oral tradition within Brahminical families. This assured Brahminical authority over all ritual, since it was only
through knowledge of the Vedas that the rituals could be performed. All public rituals had to be supervised by Brahmins and all
private rituals could be learned only from Brahmins.
... If there is a stereotypical or ideal role for a Brahmin in the modern world it is teaching. Transmission of knowledge is the tradi¬
tional role of the Brahmin and remains so today. Brahmins continue to perform the rituals at all the great temples in India, but the
role of ritualist is now viewed as less important for Brahmins than the role of teacher or preceptor.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brahmin
In the traditional Hindu theory of the four major social groups (varnas), the brahmins are the group with the highest status, based
on the belief that they are purer than all others. This belief is based on the creation story known as the Purusha Sukta, in which
the brahmins are created from the Primeval Man’s mouth. The mouth is part of the head and thus the highest part of the body, and
it is also associated with speech, one of the definitively human faculties. From the earliest Hindu recorded history, brahmins have
been associated with speech and the sacred word; they were the scholars, priests, ritual technicians, and protectors of sacred
learning. This is still true in modern times, although there are also many brahmins who have other occupations, such as trade,
business, and government service.
Aside from their traditional association with sacred learning, their other source of social status is their ritual purity, which is be¬
lieved to be greater than that of all other human beings. This ritual purity is inherent, conferred by birth. According to tradition,
even an uneducated brahmin should be considered a “god on earth,” whereas a learned brahmin is more sacred still. This ritual
purity makes brahmins preferable for service to many of the gods of the Hindu pantheon, since they are considered the best inter¬
mediaries to “insulate” the deities from ordinary people. Although brahmins as a whole have the highest status, within the brahmin
community there are highly defined subgroups (jatis), which are often defined by region of origin.
Wikipedia
The history of the Brahmin community in India begins with the Vedic religion of early Hinduism, now often referred to by Hindus as
Sanatana Dharma. The Vedas are the primary source of knowledge for brahmin practices. Most sampradayas of Brahmins take
inspiration from the Vedas. According to orthodox Hindu tradition, the Vedas are apauruseya and anadi (beginning-less), but are
revealed truths of eternal validity.
... Brahmins are also called Vipra “inspired”, or Dvija “twice-born”.
Due to the diversity in regional, religious traditions and the Vedic schools which they belong to, Brahmins are further divided into
various sub-castes. Not all Brahmins are priests; only a subset of brahmins are involved in the priestly duties, with vedic learning,
ascetic and humble living. Brahmins have been practicing other professions since late Vedic ages like doctors, smiths, lawyers,
engineers, warriors, writers, poets, landlords, ministers, etc. Many Brahmins have emigrated to other parts of the world in sizable
numbers, particularly to the USA, UK, Canada and Australia.
... In 1931 (the last Indian census to record caste), Brahmins accounted for 4.32% of the total population. Even in Uttar Pradesh,
where they were most numerous, Brahmins constituted just 12% of the recorded population. In Andhra Pradesh, they formed less
than 2%; in Tamil Nadu they formed less than 3%. In Kerala, Nambudiri Brahmins make up 0.7% of the population. According to
the 2001 census, Brahmins constitute less than 4.1% of the Indian population.
See also:
Semantics and pronunciation
Etymology
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The term is derived from the Vedic word BRAHMAN, which means (among other things) “prayer.”
Wikipedia
The English word brahmin is an anglicised form of the Sanskrit word Brahmana.
Related words
Brahmana
Ksatriya
Sanskrit
Brahmin —
brahmin- ^ qhR
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Title variants
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad —
Brhadaranyaka upanisad -
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad name is literally translated as “great-forest- teaching”.
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad — ... “sitting down nearby (the scripture of) the great forest”
1. This Upanisad belongs to the Satapatha Brahmana of the Sukla Yajur Veda. The theme of this Upanisad is the nondifference
of the Absolute (Brahman) and the individual (Atman). It is the largest Upanisad and is considered great (brhad) due both to its
length and its profundity. It consists of three sections (kanda), each having two chapters. The Madhu Kanda expounds the basic
identity of the individual self with the Universal Self. The Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) provides the philosophical justification
of the teaching. The Khila Kanda deals with certain modes of worship and meditation (upasana, sravana, manana, nididhydsana)
and contains much information per meditation. This Upanisad also contains the mahavakya, aham brahmasmi. Noble personages
found in this Upanisad include MaitreyT, GargT, Janaka, and Yajnavalkya.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 700 B.C.E.) The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is a classical UPANISHAD connected to the White
YAJUR VEDA. It is probably the oldest of the classical Upanishads and retains much material on ancient Vedic ritual, which the
later classical Upanishads ignore.
Wikipedia
The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad is one of the older, “primary” (mukhya) Upanishads. It is contained within the Shatapatha Brahma¬
na, and its status as an independent Upanishad may be considered a secondary extraction of a portion of the Brahmana text. This
makes it one of the old texts of the Upanishad corpus, dating to roughly the 8th to 5th centuries BCE. It is largely the oldest Upa¬
nishad, excluding some parts which were composed after the Chandogya and the largely neglected Jaminiya Upanisad Brahma¬
na. It is associated with the Shukla Yajurveda. It figures as number 10 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads and was notably
commented upon by Adi Shankara.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Author(s)
[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad] is ascribed to Yajnavalkya.
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The work opens with a meditation on the ashva medha, or HORSE SACRIFICE, seeing the horse itself as universal reality in all its
particulars. This is a feature that is well established in the earlier BRAHMANA literature, which focused on the deeper meaning of
ritual.
The Upanishad contains a cosmogony of the Ultimate Self or ATMAN as it differentiates into worldly reality. It also preserves sev¬
eral ancient dialogues about the nature of the universe, the atman, and the BRAHMAN. Particularly, it contains the disquisitions or
answers of the famous sage YAJNAVALKYA to these questions.
In the course of this Upanishad, the doctrine of the two forms of brahman, the formed and the formless, is outlined (Bri. 2.3. 1-6).
This doctrine is repeated in later Upanishads and is a central issue in the thought of later VEDANTA. Brihadaranyaka also pres¬
ents for the first time the image of the divine reality as a spider and the worldly reality its spun web or threads (Bri. 2.1.20). In the
course of one of Yajnavalka’s dialogues, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad also outlines, perhaps for the first time, the three levels
of consciousness: waking (jagarita), dreaming sleep (svapna), and deep sleep (sushupti). (The fourth level appears to be a later
development: turiya, the transcendent state of consciousness.) The work also outlines (Bri. 4.4. 3-6) the first extended discourse
on REINCARNATION and KARMA, as well as the karmic paths of the Sun and Moon: liberation is the path via the Sun and rein¬
carnation is the path via the Moon (Bri. 6.2. 16). Finally, it introduces the negative description of the brahman as being “Not thus,
not thus” (NETI NETI) (Bri. 4.5.15.).
Wikipedia
[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad] includes three sections, namely, Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda (or Yajnavalkya Kanda) and Khila Kan¬
da. The Madhu Kanda explains the teachings of the basic identity of the individual or jiva and the Atman. Muni Kanda includes the
conversations between the sage Yajnavalkya and his wife, Maitreyi. Various methods of worship and meditation are dealt in the
Khila Kanda. The doctrine of “neti neti” (“neither this, nor that”) and a often quoted verse, “Asato Maa” is found in this Upanishad.
Publications
Translations
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
Nitya Chaitanya, Y. 1993, The Brhadaranyaka Upanisad : with original text in Roman transliteration, English translation and ap¬
pendices, {D.K.} Printworld.
Madhva, Vasu, S. C. & Bhattacharya, R. 1974, The Brihadaranyaka Upanisad, AMS Press, [New York],
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953, The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
Sivananda. 1985, The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad : Sanskrit text, English translation, and commentary, Divine Life Society, Shiva-
nandanagar, Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, U.P., India.
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya¬
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
Related words
Mahavakya: Aham Brahma Asmi
Upanishads
Yajur Veda
Buddhi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Buddhi — ... intellect; the discriminative faculty
1. The ascertaining intelligence and the impersonal or superpersonal state of consciousness of a limited individual.
2. The first evolute of primordial Nature (prakrti).lt is the basis of the intelligence of the individual. It is the determinative faculty and
by it one resolves upon a course of action. (See antahkarana.)
3. According to Nyaya-Vaisesika, it is of two kinds: recollection (smrti) and experience (anubhava).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
buddhi -
the power of forming and retaining conceptions and general notions, intelligence, reason, intellect, mind, discernment, judgement;
perception (of which 5 kinds are enumerated, or with manas 6; cf. indriya, buddhindriya);
comprehension, apprehension, understanding;
(with atnanah, or buddhir brahml) knowledge of one’s self, psychology;
(in Sarhkhya phil.) Intellect (= adhy-avasaya, the intellectual faculty or faculty of mental perception, the second of the 25 Tattvas;
cf. buddhi-tattva);
presence of mind, ready wit;
an opinion, view, notion, idea, conjecture;
thought about or meditation on (loc. or comp.), intention, purpose, design;
impression, belief, notion;
right opinion, correct or reasonable view;
a kind of metre;
N. of the 5th astrol. mansion;
Intelligence personified (as a daughter of Daksha and wife of Dharma and mother of Bodha)
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Buddhi is a technical term in the SAMKHYA YOGA system that refers to discriminative intellect. Ultimately, one seeks to calm the
mind so that the discriminative intellect or buddhiwill be able to discern the clear division between the self or soul and the whirling
world of phenomena. This discernment is a crucial step in the liberation of the self from the cycle of birth and rebirth. The buddhi is
considered to have the greatest predominance of sattva (purity) of anything in existence. Ultimately, however, liberation can occur
only when buddhi,too, is transcended (in consciousness), as it too is part of the world of phenomena and, in its own way, a hin¬
drance to the highest spiritual realization.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
INTELLIGENCE (buddhi) is the power of forming and retaining conceptions and general notions, the faculty of the mind to discern,
judge, comprehend, apprehend, and understand the meaning :>f right knowledge. It is that power of man which enables him to
contemplate the eternal.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Buddhi This word refers to the mental faculty often translated as “intellect,” but it carries connotations beyond mere knowledge.
The buddhi is the intellectual capability for awareness, mental perception, and decision-making, and as such it is the basis for all
cognitive thought. In the account of evolution found in the Samkhya philosophical school, buddhi is one stage in the evolution of
the human personality and the external world. In the Samkhya account, buddhi is the first faculty to emerge from prakrti, or “primal
matter,” and is also known by the name mahat (the “great one”). The mental processes facilitated by buddhi spur the development
of the next stage of evolution,ahamkar, or “subjective consciousness.” In more colloquial language, buddhi describes the overall
quality of a person’s mind, whether it is wholesome or unwholesome, sound or unsound.
Wikipedia
Buddhi is that faculty of mind, discriminative in nature (^riRrf^iyHiciHRi ■'iRd-'tddl)', which is able to discern truth from falsehood
and which makes wisdom possible.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Buddhi - Understanding. Also denotes the reasoning faculty of mind.
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The first stage of this synthetic unit called Mind (Citta) is buddhi, derived from budh> “to wake up, recover consciousness, ob¬
serve.” Here the term is used to mean the seat of intelligence, the intuitive capacity of the individual, his means of direct percep¬
tion. It accounts for the capacity of illumination, abstraction, determination, certainty. It is the seat of virtue, non-attachment and
wisdom. It manifests itself through determination, resolution in thought and action, formation and retention of concepts and gen¬
eralizations. It is the last to act in all cognitional, affectional, and volitional processes of the ego (ahamkara), mind (manas), and
senses (indriyas). It is the sole basis for knowing, willing, feeling and resolving. It is the background or mere awareness, without
thought of “I.” When the mind (manas) is registering the objects of thought, it is the intelligence (buddhi) that discriminates, de¬
termines, and recognizes. In contemplation, the mind (manas) raises the objects of thought, and the intelligence (buddhi) dwells
upon them.
Wikipedia
It corresponds to the Platonic conception of nous and just as that faculty plays a central role in salvation within Orthodox Christian¬
ity within Buddhism, Yoga and orthodox Hinduism Buddhi plays a central role in the attainment of liberation (moksha) or enlighten¬
ment (bodhi).
Buddhi makes its first scriptural appearance in the Katha Upanisad (1,3) where it is compared in a famous simile to the driver of
a horse and carriage, where the reins held by the driver represent the lower mind (manas); the horses represent the five senses
and the carriage itself - the body. Ontologically, buddhi is equivalent to hiranyagarbha and is to individual living souls - jivas - as
hiranyagarbha is to the insentient phenomena of the universe. Buddhi is that dimension (or pole) of the heart/mind (chitta) which is
attracted to Brahman. The other ‘pole’ of chitta is called manas and is characterised by an attraction to form and ego- construction
(ahamkara). Manas, through identification with matter and desire for sensual pleasures (kama) causes the incarnation of Brahman
into material existence as an individual soul. Buddhi, through wisdom (prajna) and discernment (vitarka}, leads an incarnate soul
in the opposite direction dissolving identification with material phenomena with cessation of corresponding worldly desires (vairag-
ya) and eventually attaining liberation (moksha).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
Buddhi,or intellect, is that special aspect of consciousness originating from purusa, the pure Spirit. It becomes conjoined with
mind, which is an evolute of the ego, acted upon by the three gunas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. This conjunction of intelligence and
mind works for the good when the mind becomes subservient to intelligence. On the other hand, when intelligence becomes a tool
in the hands of the mind, which is already vitiated by the colourations of past impressions, it loses its efficacy to release the lower
self from bondage and becomes durmati, perverted intelligence. In this state the individual, who is helplessly caught in the impera¬
tiveness of action and cannot recognize it as merely belonging to the field, mistakes it for the action of the Self.
Why is the intelligence of such a person qualified as akrta buddhi, unfinished intelligence?
The proper function of buddhi, intelligence, is to discern right from wrong, the Self from the non- Self, and the eternal from the
transient. If buddhi fails to do this it is akrta buddhi, unfinished intelligence.
Some people, like John Locke, think that when a child is born it comes into the world with a mind as blank as a clean slate, a tabu¬
la rasa. / / this is true, the power to discern must come as an acquired or learned skill. Also, the scope to train intelligence being
unlimited, shouldn’t all people be considered to have unfinished intelligence?
This is not the view of present-day scientists and psychologists. Sir Karl Popper writes:
This idea [of tabula rasa] is not merely mistaken, but grotesquely mistaken: we have only to remember the ten thousand million
neurons of our cerebral cortex, some of them (the cortical pyramidal cells) each with an “estimated total of ten thousand” synaptic
links. These may be said to represent the material traces of our inherited and almost entirely unconscious knowledge, selected by
evolution. Although there is really no method of comparing the two (this is so in general with the nature versus nurture problem) I
should be intuitively inclined to say that the huge amount of information we can acquire in a lifetime through our senses is small
compared with the amount of this inherited background of potentialities.*
What is referred to as “inherited and almost entirely unconscious knowledge” is treated by the Vedantin as superconsciousness
coming from the Ground, sat-cit-fmanda. It is the continuation of life. It reaches its teleologic goal only when the awareness of the
individual is brought to its final fruition of total emancipation. Until this is achieved it is akrta buddhi, unfinished intelligence.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
There is another aspect of our consciousness which comes to a decision: “ This is such-and-such.” The part making the decision
is called the intellect. In Malayalam it is mati. In Sanskrit grammar we have nirdesika, pratigrahika and sambandhika. Nirdesika is
that which integrates, pratigrahika is that which you grasp or learn or understand, and sambandhika is that which relates one thing
to another. Corresponding to these three in Vedanta are three categories of mind: the questioning aspect, manas; the recalling
aspect, cittam; and the deciding aspect, buddhi. In logic, these are called the subject, the copula and the predicate: the subject is
interrogative or suggestive, the copula is relative, and the predicate is the decisive.
Now, just what kind of decision is the intellect making? It is deciding what name should be given to what form. It is coordinat¬
ing a name and a form, a mental image and a corresponding word symbol. When you say “ this is a pot,” there is an image of a
pot, which is a concept. ‘ Pot’ is a sound which revives an image from your consciousness. The image is then conjoined with the
sound. The intellect is finalizing, out of a series of concepts, one which is most appropriate for each situation. This is then under¬
lined and promoted as “ the” concept.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: How to get peace?
M.: That is the natural state. The mind obstructs the innate peace. Our investigation is only in the mind. Investigate the mind; it will
disappear.
There is no entity by name mind. Because of the emergence of thoughts we surmise something from which they start. That we
term mind. When we probe to see what it is, there is nothing like it. After it has vanished, Peace will be found to remain eternal.
D.: What is buddhi (intellect)?
M.: The thinking or discriminating faculty. These are mere names. Be it the ego, the mind or the intellect, it is all the same. Whose
mind? Whose intellect? The ego’s. Is the ego real? No. We confound the ego and call it intellect or mind.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
65. Intellect (Buddhi) is that modification of the internal instrument (Antahkarana) which determines [the real nature of an object].
See: Antahkarana, manas, citta, buddhi, ahankara
Buddhi and purusha
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
[Sankhya]... what is the soul that can be thought of as the subject of experience in this system? We have the purusa, no doubt,
but it really remains external to everything and cannot therefore stand for the subject of experience. There is another element that
serves as an important aid in the process of knowing, viz. mahat or buddhi; but that is equally unsuited to be the subject though
for quite a different reason. It is non-sentient (jada) being derived from prakrti, and experience cannot therefore be ascribed to it.
Though neither by itself can serve as the subject, it is stated, they do so together, the buddhi contributing all the activity involved in
it and the purusa the element of awareness (caitanya). The purusa illumines or is reflected in the buddhi, which though physical is
fine enough to receive the reflection; and, thus illumined, it serves as the conscious subject. The buddhi may therefore be viewed
as the physical medium for the manifestation of spirit. We may call their unity in this sense the empirical self to distinguish it from
the purusa or the transcendental self. Owing to such association, each of the two elements in the empirical self appears complete¬
ly transmuted—nonsentient buddhi becoming sentient, as it were, and passive purusa, active. The illustration commonly given in
this connection is the ‘red-hot iron ball’ where the formless glow of fire appears spherical and cold iron, hot. Every jnana is a state
of this blend. When we consider its two parts separately, the modification of the buddhi which such a state involves is called a vrtti
and the reflection of the purusa in it jnana. Owing to the felt identity of the two elements, the vrtti also is sometimes designated
jnana.
See: Sushupti and Buddhi
See also:
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
in Manas and avidya: Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
in Vijnanamaya kosha: Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
in Sadhana: Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
buddhi -... from the verb root budh = “to enlighten, to know”
Wikipedia
buddhi is a feminine Sanskrit noun derived from the same root (budh - to be awake; to understand; to know) as its more familiar
masculine form Buddha.
Related words
Antahkarana
Cit
Citta
Manas
Vijnanamaya kosha
Sanskrit
Buddhi -5%
buddhi - fTStT
Buddhi-yoga
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The primary sense of the word yoga in the Gita is derived from the root yujir yoge or yuj, to join, with which is connected in a neg¬
ative way the root yuj in the sense of controlling or restricting anything to that to which it is joined. Joining, as it means contact with
something, also implies disjunction from some other thing. When a particular type of mental outlook or scheme of action is recom¬
mended, we find the word buddhi-yoga used, which simply means that one has intimately to associate oneself with a particular
type of wisdom or mental outlook.
The word buddhi-yoga is also used at least three times, in II. 49, x. 10 and XVIII. 57 [Gita ].
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
(Bhagavadgita, Ch.X, 10)
To such established in unbroken union (with) affectionate adoration, I grant that kind of unitive understanding by which they attain
to Me.
The result or reward of this dedication is not anything of the order of a siddhi (spiritual attainment) as usually mentioned in books
on yoga, including such respectable treatises as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. This and the next verse refer to an award which might
appear too simple or plain. It is of the order of Self-realization or what is here called buddhi-yoga (unitive understanding).
This is a special phrase which runs throughout the Gita and is employed and extolled as early as ii, 49, where it is contrasted with
mere karma (action, ritual, works) which is condemned there as very inferior. In vi, 43 the term again appears, where it is em¬
ployed in a more technical sense, suggesting that one fallen from yoga re-establishes a link with it through the medium of intelli¬
gence or reason.
Here in this verse we find the expression used, it would seem, with the same intended precision. The same expression is used in
xviii, 57 in summing up the whole teaching, which is sufficient support for its importance as a significant phrase. Moreover in x, 4
we find buddhi (reason) occupying premier place among the unique values whose source is the Absolute. The gift of intelligence
or reason is the greatest which God could confer on man, according to the teaching of the Gita.
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
The division made in the Bhagavad-Gita (III.3) refers to the kind of principle of classification of the two kinds of Yoga and conforms
and justifies the same when it says that the Yoga of wisdom of the Sankhyans and the Yoga of action of the Patanjali yogins, are
the two main disciplines found in this world since ancient times. The Yoga of wisdom has also other descriptive titles applied to it,
such as jnana- yajna (the wisdom-sacrifice), Sankhya-yoga (meditation based on reason), tyaga (renunciation), sannyasa (more
mature renunciation), buddhi (discrimination), buddhi yoga (meditation based on discrimination), akarma (non-ritualism), naiu-
karmya (non-activity), and kevala-jnana (plain and simple wisdom).
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
The Reality sought is one that appears as all phenomena both subjective and objective, the former pertaining to mind and the
latter to matter. Of the Reality, these two aspects alone are recognizable. Hence these alone are the references available to lead
the seeker to the Reality. Reality as such, remains imperceptible and, therefore, unreferable. The only way therefore to attain the
core of the Reality is pointing out the two referable aspects to the seeker and leaving to him or her the job of intuitively perceiving
what lies hidden in between . This must be accomplished on one’s own. The way could well be compared to knowing what the
content and value of a coin is, by making use of both its sides. Neither of the sides reveals the total content and value of the coin.
Yet without both the sides the coin would be no coin, nor could it be recognized as a coin. The real value and content of it is brack¬
eted by the two sides. Brahman, likewise, is a coin which has the subjective and objective aspects of appearance for its two sides
or references. This subjective-objective duality is apparent both in the being of oneself and of the world as a whole. Realizing that
which is in between the two, that remains always as if bracketed by the two, is our goal. The two apparent aspects, in the present
enquiry, are to be treated as two counterparts of a dialectical situation, somewhat like the two poles of a single magnet. Pointing
out these two counterparts correctly and leaving the job of seeking and meditatively perceiving what is between those poles, which
is to be done by the seeker on his or her own, is the only way open to a guide or master. This method has always been relied
upon by all seers and gurus, even from the time of the Upanisads. Narayana Guru is no exception.
Subject and object are not the only discernible dialectical pairs; micro-cosm (anu) and macro- cosm (akhandam) form yet another
pair, and so do many others.
... Intuitively perceiving the unitive Reality by making use of its own two manifest aspects of opposite nature, is the only method
helpful in seeking brahman, and it is called yoga- buddhi in the Bhagavad Gita. The one who is fully conversant with its application
and its result is called yoga- yukta, literally the one already united through yoga. The implication is that the effective using of the
method results in the effacement of the seeker, who becomes merged in what is sought. The same method in the West has been
well known as “dialectics” even from the time of Plato.
Summary of Above
The Reality searched for is cit in essence; the seeking mind is cit in essence; the seeker knowing Reality therefore means, cit
knowing cit. There being no two cit-s, this knowing, in effect, is none other than the knower becoming merged in the known, or the
the knower becoming the known or the other way around. It is simply an intuitive experience of the transparency of mere being¬
ness.
The method relied on by the Guru in the search for Realityor atma thus apparently is that of interiorizing one’s perception, and
then resorting to dialectical reasoning, rather than to linear logical reasoning.
Peculiarity of the Method
An all-comprehensive science has to have an all comprehensive method of enquiry or rather methodology of its own. An absolutist
science has to have an absolutist method of its own. No method that works with any of the ordinary sciences we are familiar with
will cope with an absolutist science that has to be a Science of all sciences.
Relying on no “other”, interiorized perception is not relative, and hence is absolutist in nature. The self is the most certain of all
entities that one is undeniaby sure, exists. Therefore, knowing oneself is the surest means of knowing what Reality is.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. Bhagavad Gita
“Now learn this buddhi yoga, declared to you in the Sankhya philosophy. By the yoga of the buddhi [or: by uniting the buddhi in
yoga], you shall rid [free] yourself of the bondage of karma.” (2:39)
Buddhi yoga
Buddhi is the intellect, understanding, and reason. It is not just the thinking mind, it is the understanding mind, the seat of intelli¬
gence and wisdom. Buddhi Yoga, then is the Yoga of Intelligence which later came to be called Jnana Yoga, the Yoga of Knowl¬
edge. We have four levels of being, and the buddhi-also called the jnanamaya kosha-is one of the highest. So a buddhi yogi has
his consciousness centered in the higher levels of his being. And he uses his buddhi to extend that yoga even higher into that
level which is virtually indistinguishable from spirit. From then on Self-realization is assured. Yoga and Sankhya are inseparable,
so buddhi yoga involves meditation as its paramount aspect. A Buddha is a successful buddha yogi. Unprejudiced reading of the
Pali Sutras of Buddhism will reveal that Buddha was not only an Aryan, he was a classical Sankhya philosopher, a buddhi yogi.
Anyone who wishes to follow Buddha must be the same. (Just as anyone who wishes to follow Christ must follow Sanatana Dhar-
ma as found in the Gita. Then he, too, will be a follower of Sankhya and a practicer of Yoga.)
“Yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means to join or connect or even to unite in the sense of making many into one.
It can also mean to bring together. But in the scriptures of India it always is applied in a spiritual sense, meaning both union with
God and the way by which that union is effected. Yoga, then is both spiritual life and the culmination of spiritual life. Yoga is union
with the Supreme Being, or any practice that makes for such union.
According to Krishna, the direct effect of buddhi yoga is the dissolving of karmic bonds created by past actions (karmas) and the
freeing of the yogi from the compulsion to future karmas-binding actions. So we should look at karma itself.
Buddhi yoga is the state in which desire can no longer arise, being eclipsed by awareness of the spirit-Self. These are high ideals
virtually beyond our present comprehension, but not beyond our attainment.
Buddhi Yoga is the Yoga of Intelligence which later came to be called Jnana Yoga, the Yoga of Knowledge.
Krishna does not bother with short-sighted strategies, but tells us to literally “shoot for the top,” saying: “Seek refuge in buddhi!” In
this instance buddhi means in the state of consciousness that is attained through-and is-buddhi yoga. (Actually the Sanskrit word
is buddhau, which means the consciousness that is the buddhi.)
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
Buddhi-Yoga = the state of steady restraint of the mind. Resorting to that Buddhi-Yoga and surrenderingto none else, you fix your
heart ever on Me.
See also:
Yoga and dialectics
Related words
Jnana Yoga
Sanskrit
buddhi-yoga -
c
Catuspada, Four States of Consciousness
Variant spellings
catuspada
catushpada
catuspada
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
catuspada -
4 padas;
4 partitions or divisions;
quadruped;
consisting of 4 Padas;
consisting of 4 words;
comprising 4 partitions or divisions;
tetranomial;
a quadruped;
a kind of coitus;
certain zodiacal signs;
N. of a shrub;
N. of a particular Karana
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
In the course of one of Yajnavalka’s dialogues, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad also outlines, perhaps for the first time, the three
levels of consciousness: waking (jagarita), dreaming sleep (svapna), and deep sleep (sushupti). (The fourth level appears to be a
later development: turiya, the transcendent state of consciousness.)
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
The four tier theory is presented in the Mandukya Upanisad and the Mandukya Karika of Gaudapada. Sankara, being the grand
disciple of Gaudapada, subscribes to the theory of the surface consciousness as Jagrat, dream consciousness as svapna and
deep sleep as susupti. There is a transcendence where the consciousness is unwound so it has homogeneity and remains with
the fourth, the turiya. In all the other Upanisads, including the Brhadaranyaka, the fourth state is not mentioned.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
M.: ... when you identify yourself with the body as in jagrat you see gross objects; when in subtle body or in mental plane as in
svapna, you see objects equally subtle; in the absence of identification as in sushupti you see nothing. The objects seen bear a
relation to the state of the seer. The same applies to visions of God.
By long practice the figure of God, as meditated upon, appears in dream and may later appear in jagrat also.
M.: There are different methods of approach to prove the unreality of the universe. The example of the dream is one among them.
Jagrat, svapna and sushupti are all treated elaborately in the scripture in order that the Reality underlying them might be revealed.
It is not meant to accentuate differences among the three states. The purpose must be kept clearly in view.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Hindu tradition teaches that there are four states of consciousness. These are indicated by the names of the waking state, the
dream state, the deep sleep state, and the fourth state. The waking state represents the consciousness of the physical plane and
body, the dream state the consciousness of “the middle region”, consisting of feelings and lower mind, the deep sleep state the
spiritual consciousness, and “the fourth state” the “essential” consciousness. In other words, the four states represent conscious¬
ness in the Five Elements, the Elements Water and Fire being taken together.
As the West views consciousness, the three states of waking, dreaming and sleep are actual physical phenomena, but from the
point of view of Hinduism the states, as described, are symbols for psychological realities rather than the actualities themselves.
Emotion and thought are forms of “dreaming” both from the point of view of the consciousness of the physical world and brain and
from the angle of vision of “superconsciousness”; and spiritual activity is as mysterious as sleep to the conscious mind.
It is clear that modern conceptions of “consciousness” are very different from the traditional conceptions of old. The “waking state
of consciousness” is what modern thinkers call “consciousness”. What is now called “super-consciousness”, the men of old, who
thought and lived in terms of Tradition, called “consciousness” proper. The word “proper” is most appropriate, for it means natural,
genuine and pure, — and consciousness, as it is in its true state, is natural and genuine, pure and undefiled. ...
Hindu tradition teaches that when Consciousness comes down into the Elements, it assumes various veils. It veils itself consecu¬
tively in material of the Element Air, of the Element Fire and of the Element Water. Finally, in the physical brain, the outer cover, it
manifests as waking consciousness.
Traditionally these veils are conceived either as “vehicles” or “bodies”, in an objective sense, as meant above, or in a subjective
sense, in which they indicate elements that hide pure consciousness and bare truth.
... The “deep sleep” which the Lord God caused to fall upon man, symbolizes “spiritual consciousness”. From the point of view
of “the waking consciousness”, that is, the ordinary consciousness of the world and the body, spiritual consciousness is some¬
thing dark and mysterious, hence it is associated with sleep. It is placed in the unconscious, in other words. It is possible to trace
thought and follow it up in its sequence of causes and effects and associations, but it is not possible to trace the working of spiri¬
tual consciousness, at least rationally. The function of intuition, which belongs to “spiritual consciousness”, works in a moment of
time, in a manner which must simply be accepted by the rational function. The function of faith and insight, which is one higher
than intuition, works even more mysteriously, symbolized generally by “in a flash”. To the waking consciousness intuition and in¬
spiration appear to come from the unconscious. Hence spiritual consciousness is symbolized by “deep sleep”. The symbolism also
implies the perfect peace and restfulness of the spiritual function, to which all the problems and complexes of the emotional plane
and the lower mind are foreign.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
... we come across an original idea of Indian philosophy, the doctrine of the four states, the state of being awake, the state of
dreaming, the state of deep and dreamless sleep, to which is added as the fourth, the state of death. In the first state the Atman
is supposed to be perceiving and acting by means of the Manas and the Indriyas. In the second the Indriyas cease to act, but the
Manas remains active, and the Atman, joined to the Manas, moves through the veins of the body and sees dreams made out of
the remnants of former impressions (Vasanas). The third state arises from a complete separation of Atman from Manas and Indri¬
yas. While these are absorbed in the vital spirit, which remains in full activity, the Atman in the heart is supposed to have for a time
become one with Brahman, but to return unchanged at the time of awakening. In the fourth or disembodied state the Atman with
the Sukshma-sarira is supposed to escape from the heart through a vein in the head or through the hundred veins of the body,
and then to take, according to merit and knowledge, different paths into the next life.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Psychology of Darsanamala
The four states of consciousness according to Vedanta can also be superimposed on the coordinate axes. Waking conscious¬
ness, jagrat, corresponds to the horizontal positive, while the dream state, svapna, is placed at the horizontal negative. Susupti,
the deep sleep state, is placed at the vertical negative, and turiya, the transcendental, is represented by the vertical positive. Thus
the horizontal covers the range of perceptual values from objectivity on the plus side to subjectivity on the negative, and the verti¬
cal comprises conceptual values which rise from the alpha to the omega in a graded series. Such is the frame of reference which
comprises the core of the Science of the Absolute, of which Darsanamala is a textbook.
Nitya. Saundaryalahari of Sankaracarya
In the Mandukya Upanisad the Absolute is described as catuspada, the four-limbed. The Absolute that is symbolized with aum
also has four quarters. They are the four aspects of consciousness: the wakeful or objective, the dream or subjective, the uncon¬
scious, and the transcendental.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Maharshis Gospel
M: You exist in sushupti without being associated with the body and the mind, but in the other two states you are associated with
them. If you were one with the body, how could you exist without the body in sushupti? You can separate yourself from what is
external to you but not from that which is one with you. Hence the ego cannot be one with the body. This must be realised in the
waking state. The three states are studied in order to gain this knowledge.
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
There are five states for the individual. They are: (1) Jagrat, (2) Swapna, (3) Sushupti, (4) Turiya, (5) Turyatita. Of these the jagrat
is the waking state. In it the jiva in the Visva aspect and the Lord in the Virat aspect, abiding together in the eight petals of the
Heart lotus, function through the eyes and enjoy novel pleasures from various objects by means of all the senses, organs, etc. The
five gross elements which are widespread, the ten senses, the five vital airs, the four inner faculties, the twenty-four fundamen¬
tals - all these together form the gross body. The jagrat state is characterised by satva guna denoted by the letter A and presided
over by the deity Vishnu. The swapna is the dream state in which the jiva in the Taijasa aspect and the Lord in the Hiranyagarbha
aspect, abiding together in the corolla of the Heart-Lotus, function in the neck and experience through the mind the results of the
impressions collected in the waking state. All the principles, the five gross elements, the will and the intellect, seventeen in all, to¬
gether form the subtle body of the dream which is characterised by the rajo guna denoted by the letter U and presided over by the
deity Brahma, so say the wise.
The sushupti is the state of deep sleep in which the jiva in the Prajna aspect and the Lord in the Isvara aspect, abiding together in
the stamen of the Heart-Lotus, experience the bliss of the Supreme by means of the subtle avidya (nescience). Just as a hen after
roaming about in the day calls the chicks to her, enfolds them under her wings and goes to rest for the night, so also the subtle
individual being, after finishing the experiences of the jagrat and swapna for the time being, enters with the impressions gathered
during those states into the causal body which is made up of nescience, characterised by tamo guna, denoted by the letter M and
presided over by the deity Rudra.
Deep sleep is nothing but the experience of pure being. The three states go by different names, such as the three regions, the
three forts, the three deities, etc. The being always abides in the Heart, as stated above. If in the jagrat state the Heart is not relin¬
quished, the mental activities are stilled and Brahman alone is contemplated, the state is called the Turiya. Again when the indi¬
vidual being merges in the Supreme it is called the turyatita. The vegetable kingdom is always in sushupti; the animals have both
swapna and sushupti; the gods (celestials) are always in jagrat; man has all the three states; but the clear-sighted yogi abides only
in turiya, and the highest yogi remains in turyatita alone.
The three states alternate involuntarily for the average man. The last two (turiya and turyatita) are however the results of practice
and form clear aids to liberation. Of the other three states (Jagrat, swapna and sushupti) each one is exclusive of the other two
and limited by the conditions of time and space. They are therefore unreal.
Our very experience of the jagrat and the swapna states proves that the Consciousness as the Self underlies all the five states,
remains perfect all along and witnesses all of them. But with regard to similar consciousness in the deep sleep, every person is
known to say “I was not aware of anything; I slept soundly and happily”. Two facts emerge from the statement (unawareness of
anything and the happiness of sound sleep). Unless these existed and were experienced in sleep they could not find expression
by the same person in the waking state. Inference also leads to the same conclusion. Just as the eye sees the darkness which
remains enveloping all objects, so also the Self sees the darkness of nescience which remained covering the phenomenal world.
This darkness was experienced when it (the Self) emerged in dots of supreme bliss, shone a trice and fleeted away in such fine
subtlety as the rays of the moon which peer through the waving foliage. The experience was however not through any media
(such as the senses of the mind), but bears out the fact that consciousness does exist in deep sleep. The unawareness is owing
to the absence of relative knowledge, and the happiness to the absence of (seething) thoughts.
If the experience of bliss in deep sleep is a fact, how is it that no one among all the human beings recollects it? A diver who has
found the desired thing under water cannot make his discovery known to the expectant persons on the shore until he emerges
from the water. Similarly the sleeper cannot express his experience because he cannot contact the organs of expression until he
is awakened by his vasanas in due course. Therefore it follows that the Self is the light of Sat, Chit, Ananda.
The Self is the basis of all the experiences. It remains as the witness and the support of them all. The Reality is thus different from
the three states, the waking, the dream and the deep sleep.
M.: Whatever state one is in, the perceptions partake of that state. The explanation is that in the waking state (jagrat) the gross
body perceives gross names and forms; in swapna (the dream state) the mental body perceives the mental creations in their
manifold forms and names; in the sushupti (deep dreamless sleep), the identification with the body being lost, there are no percep¬
tions; similarly in the Transcendental state identity with Brahman places the man in harmony with everything, and there is nothing
apart from his Self.
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
The perceiver in the jagrat and svapna states who always experiences subject-object relationship, finds its absence in susupti.
That the Atman is the witness of the three states is known from the perception of the change of one state into another. The Atman
is the witness not only of the three states but also of their cognizers, viz., Visva, Taijasa and Prajna. In this body and in the Jagrat-
state alone, the three states as well as their cognizers are perceived.
Catuspada and Atman
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
This Subject, this Atman, whose investigation we are to make now, is regarded as fourfold for the purpose of this analysis, -
so’yamatma chatushpat. ... The four quarters of the Atman described in the Mandukya Upanishad are the four aspects in the study
of the Atman, and not four distinguishable, partitioned quarters of the Atman. These quarters, these four aspects in the study of
the nature of the Atman, which are the main subject of the MandGkya Upanishad, are also a process of self-transcendence.
... we transcend ... the universal physical for the sake of the attainment of the universal psychic or the astral; transcend that also,
later, and then reach the universal causal; and transcend that, too, further, and reach the Universal Spiritual ... So, we have the
physical, the subtle, the causal and the Spiritual. These are the four feet of the Atman, or rather, four aspects of the study of the
nature of the Atman, four stages of self-transcendence described in the Upanishad. These four stages are called jagrat, svapna,
sushupti and turlya, - the waking state, the dreaming state, the sleeping state, and the transcendent spiritual state. There are the
four states of Consciousness, and a study of Consciousness is the same as the study of the Absolute or Brahman, because Brah¬
man is Consciousness. ... So, we have to take, one by one, the stages of waking, dream, sleep and the pure Spirit, or the Abso¬
lute, for the sake of attaining this self-transcendence.
Catuspada and OM
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
II. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY SANKARA
Though the name and the object signified by the name are one and the same, still the explanation 1 has been given (here) by
giving prominence [N’s Note (Nikhilananda’s Note). Prominence—Because Aum is the first word of the first Upanisad. The purport
of the sentence is that Aum is the symbol, the most universal, for all the phenomena of the world. Therefore prominence is given
to Aum.] to the name (Aum). Though in the Upanisadic passage—’Aum, this word, is all this’— explanation has been furnished
by giving prominence to the name (Aum), the same thought is again expounded by giving prominence to the thing signified by the
name. The object is to realise the knowledge of the oneness of the name and the thing signified by it. Otherwise, (the explanation)
that the knowledge of the thing is dependent on the name, might suggest that the oneness of the name and the thing is to be tak¬
en only in a figurative sense. The purpose of the knowledge of the unity (of the name and the thing signified by it) is to simultane¬
ously remove, by a single elfort. (the illusion of) both the name and the thing and establish (the nature of) Brahman which is other
than both. Therefore the Sruti says, The quarters (Padas) are the letters of Aum (Matra) and the letters are the quarters’.
Therefore it says:
All this is verily Brahman. This Atman is Brahman. This Atman has four quarters.
SANKARA’S COMMENTARY
All this is verily Brahman. All that has been said to consist merely of Aum (in the previous text, See OM) is Brahman. That Brah¬
man which has been described [N’s Note. By the Sruti.] (as existing) inferential^ [N’s Note, i.e., we cannot directly perceive its
presence but we can infer it. It is opposed to Aparokshajnana which refers to the knowledge of a thing that is not directly perceived
but about the existence of which one becomes absolutely certain by means of what is known as realization] - is now pointed out,
as being directly known [N’s Note. The word Pratyaksha, nowdays, is applied, especially in the Nyaya Philosophy, to the knowl¬
edge of the objects of sense-perception. But occasionally it is used, in the Upanisad and the Vedantic text, in the sense of Ap-
aroksha], by the passage, This Self is Brahman’. The word this, meaning that which appears divided into four quarters [N’s Note.
Namely, Visva (the waking slate), Taijasa (dream state), Prdjna (Susupti or the state of dreamless sleep) and Turiya which is
same as Brahman or Atman. These four quarters correspond to the three Matras of Aum and the Amatra of Aum. A, U, and M are
the three Matras. The fourth, which is known as Amatra or without a letter, has no corresponding letter or sound. This is silence or
Atman corresponding to Turiya. The idea of sound suggests the idea of soundlessness or silence from which sound may be said
to proceed.], is pointed out as the innermost Self, with a gesture (of hand) [N’s Note. I.e., by placing the hand on the region of the
heart which, in popular belief, is the seal of Atman.] by the passage, This is Atman’. That Atman indicated by Aum, signifying both
the higher and the lower Brahman, has four quarters (Padas) [N’s Note. The four quarters arc imagined in Atman lo faeililale the
understanding of the pupil], not indeed, like the four feet (Padas) of a cow [N’s Note. Because cow has actually four feet which are
unrelated with one another], but like the four quarters (Padas) of a coin known as Karshapana [N’s Note. Karshapana is a coin
made up of four quarters. A quarter-Karshapana is merged in the half-Karshapana; the half is merged in the three-fourth-Karshap-
ana and the three-quarters ultimately is merged in the full Karshapana.]. The knowledge of the fourth (Turiya) is attained by merg¬
ing the (previous) three, such as Visva etc., in it in the order of the previous one in the succeeding one [N’s Note. Visva is merged
in Taijasa, Taijasa in Prajna and finally Prajna is merged in Turiya.] Here the word ‘Pada’ or ‘foot’ is used in the sense of instru¬
ment. The word ‘Pada’ is again used in the sense of an object when the object to be achieved is the fourth (Turiya) [N’s Note. It is
because the ‘fourth’ pada is realized by means of merging the three slates in it, and the attention is here drawn to the fourth pada
which is the object of the enquiry].
See also:
OM
Sanskrit
catuspada -
Diagram: Catuspada, Four States of Consciousness
Cetana
Variant spellings
ceana
chetana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Cetana — ... consciousness; volition; intelligence (see cit)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
cetana -
consciousness, understanding, sense, intelligence;
the state of a sentient or conscious being, intelligence
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Cetana: The life principle that animates beings. Cit in its functional state.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
A car needs energy to make it run; the cosmos, on the other hand, lives on its own. This vitality that keeps both the cosmos and
individuals alive is called cetana. The cosmos being changeful, this cetana has also necessarily to be likewise. Of presumed exis¬
tence, cetana the subtlest of the constituent factors, is known as “soul” in theology.
See: Cit, chaitanya, cetana
See: OM (Pranava) and cetana
Related words
Chaitanya
Cit
Citta
Opposite: Jada
Sanskrit
Cetana — ^cm
cetana -
Chaitanya
Variant spellings
chaitanya
caitanya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Caitanya — ... consciousness; intelligence; spirit; awareness; Pure Consciousness
1. The fundamental Consciousness which has absolute freedom of knowing (jhana sakti) and doing (kriya sakti). According to
Kashmir Saivism, it is the Absolute Reality, and is essentially, one and nondual, Pure Illumination (Suddha prakasa), self-lumi¬
nous, and self-revealed.
2. Krsna Caitanya (1486-1533) was the name of a Bengali saint who is considered the founder of the Vedanta school called
Acintya Bhedabheda. He is also considered the founder of the Hah Krishna sect of Vaisnavism and responsible for a great revival
of Krsna devotion in the sixteenth century.
3. Stages of consciousness: vyahjanavagraha, arthavagraha, iha, avaya, dharana.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
caitanya -
(fr. ce’tana) consciousness;
intelligence, sensation, soul, spirit;
the Universal Soul or Spirit;
N. of a reformer of the Vaishnava faith (born about 1485 A.D.)
Dictionary - Runes
Caitanya: (Skr.) Consciousness, “superconsciousness”, a quality near the in-it-self aspect of the Absolute Spirit, and hence some¬
times a synonym for it. K.F.L.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Chaitanya - Consciousness that is illuminating the conscious mind of an individuated organism and also governing it as its uncon¬
scious self. It has the potential to transform itself into various mental functions, ranging from simple sensation to the highest form
of self-awareness.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
Chaitanya - Pure intelligence. Name of a great Hindu sage (born 1485) who is regarded as a Divine Incarnation.
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The technical term used to describe the eternal substance in which all things inhere is Caitanya, which means the changeless
aspect of pure consciousness, the Universal Intelligence or Spirit. It is technically defined as Sat-Cit-Ananda, that is, Being-Con¬
sciousness- Bliss. This does not mean that Being is a Consciousness of Bliss, but that Being is Conscious and Bliss as such. This
represents the perfect condition of the supreme ideal, when Nature rests in Herself, when there is no feeling of a want to be satis¬
fied, when there is no feeling of a need to go forth. It is the transcendental condition of universal potentiality.
Caitanya is, therefore, pure consciousness and can be defined as the boundless plenum in which the universe is born, grows, and
dies; the continuum of experience that pervades, sustains, and vitalizes all existence; the source of all things; the spiritual sub¬
stance of all things; the foundation upon which all things appear; the one and only reality. It is by definition without parts (Niskala),
and, therefore, unproduced, indestructible, and motionless, for all these necessitate the displacement of parts. It must also be
eternal and allpervading, and therefore, with no inside or outside; it is without attributes (Nirguna), and, therefore, beyond time and
space; it is beyond the mind, and, therefore, not a subject of knowledge. It is a principle of pure experience and can be realized
only by the ecstasy of spiritual illumination.
[KasmTr Saivism]
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
Caitanya is a sort of matter and mind, and is an evident reality in common life as when we say an animal has lost its caitanya.
Consciousness has not attained any degree of richness or purity as when we use the expressions cit or samvit which refer to pure
consciousness where duality is further resolved into absolute unity. This concept therefore corresponds to the elan vital of Berg¬
son.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Vedantins have a theory of perception which is very different from those of behavioral psychologists, for instance. As the behavior-
ists see it, the object outside is a stimulant causing energy to flow through the senses, in the manner of light falling on the eye or
sound vibrating the eardrum. But to the Vedantin there is only one reality, called akhanda caitanya, unbroken consciousness. The
unbroken consciousness circumlimits itself and says aham, “I am.” This broken fragment thinking of itself as a personal self is said
to have pramatru caitanya, the consciousness of an observer or seer. The object towards which this observer is turned is also a
circumlimitation within the same field of consciousness. The observer and the observed have both become fragments in the to¬
tality of consciousness. These are united by sensory acts such as looking or listening. Whether you are seeking enjoyment in the
field of your own fantasy or with actual objects, it is always nothing more than a play in consciousness.
... In Sanskrit the looking side is called pramata caitanya, and the seeing side is prameya caitanya. The criterion by which you
relate the looking to the seeing is called pramana caitanya. In these three is a common factor, caitanya or consciousness. The
objective and subjective aspects of consciousness taken together with the criterion of consciousness, give you what you think of
as a valid experience.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
The Hindu says the karma is jada (non intelligent) and not chaitanya (intelligent), therefore some chaitanya is necessary to bring
this cause to fruition. Is it that chaitanya is necessary to bring the plant to fruition? If I add water and plant the seed, no chaitanya
is necessary. You may say there was some original chaitanya, but the souls themselves were the chaitanya, none else is neces¬
sary.
... If there is a yogi among you, he knows himself as chaitanya, for him the body has vanished. An ordinary man thinks of himself
as a body; the idea of spirit has vanished.
See: Cit, chaitanya, cetana
See also:
Buddhi and purusha
Related words
Abhasa
Cetana
Cit
Citta
Opposite: Jada
Samvit
Sanskrit
Caitanya —
caitanya -
Chakra
Variant spellings
chakra
cakra
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Cakra — ... “wheel or circle”; center; disc; plexus; centers in the body (from the verb root car = “to move”)
1. In the human body, there are seven major energy centers or nerve plexes called cakras. A cakra is a center of energy located
in the subtle body where the channels (nadT) converge, giving the appearance of a lotus. Energy is said to flow in the human body
through three main channels (nadls), namely, sushumna, pingala, and ida. Sushumna is located inside the spinal column while the
pingala and ida start respectively from the right and left nostrils, move up to the crown of the head and course downwards to the
base of the spine. These two nadls intersect with each other and also with the sushumna. These junctions of the nadls are known
as cakras or the fly-wheels which regulate the body mechanism. There are six main cakras located in the sushumna (the subtle
central channel). The cakras are centers of consciousness within the human being which control the functions of all the nerves of
the body. One’s cosmic energy (KundalinT) lies dormant, coiled at the base of the sushumna in the mGladhara cakra. When awak¬
ened, either by yogic practices or by guru’s grace, KundalinT begins to ascend through the sushumna piercing all the cakras until
She enters the sahasrara, the topmost spiritual center.
2. The six main cakras are (1) MGladhara, a four-pelaled lotus located at the base of the spinal column where KundalinT lies coiled
up; (2) Svadhisthana, a six-petaled lotus located at the root of the reproductive organs; (3) ManipGra, a ten-petaled lotus located in
the naval region; (4) Anahata, a twelve-petaled lotus located in the region of the heart; (5) Visuddhi, a sixteen-petaled lotus locat¬
ed at the base of the throat; and (6) Ajna, a two-petaled lotus located between the two eyebrows, a seat of the guru. Other cakras
include sGrya (sun) situated in the region between the navel and the heart; soma (moon) situated in the center of the brain; and
lalata (forehead) situated at the top of the forehead.
3. See chart no. 13.
cakra
location
principle
tanva
sense
animal
Goddess
blja
number of petals
muladhira
bottom of
spine
anna
earth
smell
elephant
dUkini
lam
4
svkdislhUna
generative
organ
prana
water
taste
crocodile
rakinl
vam
6
manipura
navel
man as
fire
sight
ram
lakinl
ram
10
anahata
heart
vijft&na
air
touch
antelope
kakinT
yam
12
visuddhi
throat
ananda
ether
hearing
white elephant
44k ini
ham
16
ajfta
between
eyebrows
cit
mahat
mind
swan
hakini
om
2
sahasrara
crown of
the head
sat
—
—
—
—
—
1000
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
cakra -
the wheel (of a carriage, of the Sun’s chariot;
a potter’s wheel;
a discus or sharp circular missile weapon (esp. that of Vishnu);
an oil-mill;
a circle;
an astronomical circle;
a mystical circle or diagram, Tantr.;
a cycle, cycle of years or of seasons;
a form of military array (in a circle);
circular flight (of a bird);
a particular constellation in the form of a hexagon;
a circle or depression of the body (for mystical or chiromantic purposes ; 6 in number, one above the other, viz. 1. mGladhara, the
parts about the pubis ; 2. svadhisthana, the umbilical region ; 3. manipura, the pit of the stomach or epigastrium ; 4. anahata, the
root of the nose ; 5. vizuddha, the hollow between the frontal sinuses ; 6. ajnakhya, the fontenelle or union of the coronal and sag¬
ittal sutures ; various faculties and divinities are supposed to be present in these hollows);
N. of a metre;
a circle or a similar instrument (used in astron.);
a troop, multitude;
the whole number of;
a troop of soldiers, army, host;
a number of villages, province, district;
range, department;
the wheel of a monarch’s chariot rolling over his dominions, sovereignty, realm;
(pi.) the winding of a river;
a whirlpool;
a crooked or fraudulent device;
N. of a medicinal plant or drug;
N. of a people;
N. of a man;
of a naga;
of a mountain
Wikipedia
Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices which, according to traditional Indian medicine, are believed to exist in the
surface of the etheric double of man. The Chakras are said to be “force centers” or whorls of energy permeating, from a point on
the physical body, the layers of the subtle bodies in an ever-increasing fan-shaped formation. Rotating vortices of subtle matter,
they are considered the focal points for the reception and transmission of energies. Different systems posit a varying number of
chakras, the most well known system in the West is that of 7 chakras.
It is typical for chakras to be depicted as either flower-like or wheel-like. In the former, a specific number of “petals” are shown
around the perimeter of a circle. In the latter, a certain number of spokes divide the circle into segments that make the chakra re¬
semble a wheel (or “chakra”). Each chakra possesses a specific number of segments or petals.
Texts describing the chakras go back as far as the later Upanishads, for example the Yoga Kundalini Upanishad.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
Each chakra ... represents a psychophysical point of equilibrium, attained at various levels of the dynamism between the Self and
the non-Self.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Chakra, literally, “wheel” or “discus,” is a term used in KUNDALINI yoga to designate energy centers along the spine. These cen¬
ters do not reside in the gross body, at the physical level, but in what is termed the “subtle body.” Though they have a physical
position, they have no definite physical adjuncts or precise nervous system connections as in the case of the Chinese system of
meridians in acupuncture. They are instead believed to be connected to a network of channels in the subtle body called NADIS.
The chakras are usually visualized as being lotus flowers with differing numbers of petals. Each of the chakras is a center of con¬
sciousness of sorts, playing a role in the makeup of the full human being (including his or her transcendent aspect).
There are six basic chakras found in almost every kundalini system with a seventh “highest chakra” that technically is beyond the
chakras, but is often called “chakras” nonetheless. The names of these chakras vary in different systems. The most common sys¬
tem lists the following chakras, moving from the base of the spine to a place above the head: MULADHARA, SVADHISHTHANA,
MANIPURA, ANAHATA, VISHUDDHA, AJNA. In this system the seventh level is usually called SAHASRARA, the transcendent
level, which is not in most systems actually a chakra, but for convenience is sometimes designated as such.
Some accounts include an additional chakra, the LALATA or soma chakra, between ajna and sahasrara. In kundalini yoga one
raises the kundalini, which is seen to be a coiled serpent, through breath control and/or MEDITATIONS so that it pierces in suc¬
cession each of the chakras, giving the adapt control or mastery over them. This movement results in complete personal transfor¬
mation and, ultimately, access to the transcendent state.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Chakra (“wheel”). In Hindu iconography the chakra is the discus-weapon carried by several of the Hindu deities. It is often associ¬
ated with the god Vishnu and is one of the four objects he invariably carries, along with the club (gada), lotus (padma), and conch
shell (shankha). The discus was an actual weapon in the Indian military arsenal, and its sharp edges made it fearsome in close
combat. Vishnu’s discus (named Sudarshana) is even more fearsome in its power. According to tradition it was fashioned by the
divine craftsman, Vishvakarma, from pieces trimmed off of the sun; thus it carries the power of the sun’s blazing energy. The dis¬
cus is also carried by certain powerful forms of the Goddess. In her charter myth, she was formed from the collected radiance of
all the gods and received duplicates of all their weapons.
In the esoteric ritual tradition known as tantra, a chakra is a psychic center in the subtle body. The subtle body is an alternate
physiological system that corresponds to the material body but is believed to reside on a different plane of existence. The subtle
body is visualized as a set of chakras, or psychic centers, that are arranged in a column from the base of the spine to the top of
the head and connected by three vertical channels. Each chakra is pictured as a multipetaled lotus flower. All tantric traditions
speak of six chakras: muladhara, svadhishthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddha, and ajna; some traditions name additional ones.
Each of these chakras has important symbolic associations- with a different human physiological capacity, subtle element (tan-
matra), and with differing seed syllables (bijakshara) formed from the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, together encompassing all
sacred sounds.
Wikipedia
Although there are various different interpretations as to what exactly a chakra is, the following features are common in all sys¬
tems:
They form part of a subtle energy body, along with the energy channels, or nadis, and the subtle winds, or pranas.
They are located along a central nadi, Sushumna, which runs either alongside or inside the spine.
Two other nadis, Ida and Pingala, also run through the chakras, and alongside Sushumna. They occasionally cross Sushumna at
the location of the chakras.
They possess a number of ‘petals’ or ‘spokes’. In some traditions, such as the Tibetan, these spokes branch off into the thousands
of nadis that run throughout the human body.
They are generally associated with a mantra seed-syllable, and often with a variety of colours and deities.
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda describes a chakra as:
...[a] powerhouse in the way it generates and stores energy, with the energy from cosmos pulled in more strongly at these points.
The main nadis, Ida, Pingala and Shushumna (sympathetic, parasympathetic, and central nervous system) run along the spinal
column in a curved path and cross one another several times. At the points of intersection they form strong energy centers known
as chakras. In the human body there are three types of energy centers. The lower or animal chakras are located in the region
between the toes and the pelvic region indicating our evolutionary origins in the animal kingdom. The human chakras lie along the
spinal column. Finally, the higher or divine Chakras are found between the top of the spine and the crown of the head.
Anodea Judith (1996: p. 5) provides a modern interpretation of the chakras:
A chakra is believed to be a center of activity that receives, assimilates, and expresses life force energy. The word chakra literally
translates as wheel or disk and refers to a spinning sphere of bioenergetic activity emanating from the major nerve ganglia branch¬
ing forward from the spinal column. Generally, six of these wheels are described, stacked in a column of energy that spans from
the base of the spine to the middle of the forehead, the seventh lying beyond the physical world. It is the six major chakras that
correlate with basic states of consciousness...
... The study of the Chakras is a central part of many esoteric traditions, as well as to many different therapies and disciplines.
In the east, the theory of chakras is a central part of the Hindu and Buddhist tantra, and they play an important role in attaining
deep levels of realisation. Yoga, Pranayama, Acupuncture, shiatsu, tai chi and chi kung focus on balancing the energetic nadis
or meridians that are an integral part of the chakra system. Within the West, subtle energy is explored through practices such as
aromatherapy, mantras, Reiki, hands-on healing, flower essences, radionics, sound therapy, colour/light therapy, and crystal/gem
therapy, to name a few.
Separate chakras
Sahasrara chakra
Wikipedia
Sahasrara (Sanskrit: Sahasrara) Crown Chakra (Top of the head; ‘Soft spot’ of a newborn) .
Sahasrara is either located at the top of the head in the crown area, or a little way above it (see Sahasrara system of minor
chakras below).
Sahasrara is described with 1000 multi-coloured petals which are arranged in 20 layers each of them with 50 petals. The pericarp
is golden, and inside of it is a circular moon region, inside of which is an downward pointing triangle.
Sahasrara chakra symbolizes detachment from illusion; an essential element in obtaining supramental higher consciousness of
the truth that one is all and all is one.
Often referred as thousand-petaled lotus, it is said to be the most subtle chakra in the system, relating to pure consciousness, and
it is from this chakra that all the other chakras emanate. When a yogi is able to raise his or her kundalini, energy of consciousness,
up to this point, the state of Samadhi, or union with God, is experienced.
Meditating on this point is said to bring about the siddhis, or occult powers, of transforming into the divine, and being able to do
whatever one wishes.
Ajna chakra
Wikipedia
Ajna (Sanskrit: 3 imou, Aina, meaning ‘command’) Brow or Third Eye Chakra (pineal gland or third eye).
The Ajna chakra is positioned in the brain, directly behind the eyebrow centre, while its ksehtram or superficial activation site is at
the eyebrow region, in the position of the ‘third eye’.
Ajna is white in colour, with 2 white petals. Inside of the pericarp is the Shakti Hakini, who is moon white, with 6 faces, and 6 arms,
holding a book, a skull, a drum, a rosary, and making the gestures of granting boons and dispelling fears. Above her is a down¬
ward pointing triangle, within which is a moon-white lingum. In some systems the deity Ardhanarishvara a hermaphrodite form
of Shiva-Shakti, symbolising the primordial duality of subject and object, resides within the lingum. Above the triangle is another
smaller triangle, within which is the bija mantra Aum.
The seed syllable is Aum, or “Pranava Om”, the supreme sound.
Ajna has two white petals, said to represent the psychic channels, Ida and Pingala, which meet here with the central Sushumna
nadi (channel) before rising to the crown chakra, Sahasrara. Written upon them in white are the letters ‘Ham’ on the left petal, and
‘ksham’ on the right petal, representing Shiva and Shakti, respectively. These petals also represent the manifest and unmanifest
mind, and are said by some to represent the pineal and pituitary glands.
Ajna translates as ‘command’, and is considered as the eye of intuition. When something is seen in the mind’s eye, or in a dream,
it is being ‘seen’ by Ajna. It is a bridge that links gurus with disciples, allowing mind communication to occur between two people.
The sense organ and action organ associated with Ajna is the mind in both cases.
Hindus believe that spiritual energy from the external environments enter their body through this gateway and hence take utmost
precaution in protecting it with spiritually positive protecting forces. The various religious marks one sees on the foreheads of men
and women belonging to the Hindu faith (like holy ash,namam, vermilion etc.) are thus the blessed spiritual prasadam of their re¬
spective form of the Hindu gods.
Meditation upon Ajna supposedly grants the following siddhis or occult powers; to quickly enter anothers body at will; to become
omniscient; he realizes unity with Brahman; and he has the ability to create, preserve and destroy the 3 worlds.
Vishuddha chakra
Wikipedia
Vishuddha (Sanskrit: Visuddha) Throat Chakra (throat and neck area).
Vishuddha is positioned at the neck region near the spine, with its ksehtram or superficial activation point in the pit of the throat.
This chakra is white with 16 purple or smoke coloured petals, and within the pericarp is a sky-blue downward pointing triangle,
within which is a circular region which is white like the full-moon, representing the element of akasha or ether. This region is rep¬
resented by the deity Ambara, who is white in colour, with four arms, holding a noose and a goad, making the gestures of granting
boons and dispelling fear, and seated upon a white elephant.
The bija mantra (seed sound) is the syllable ham, and is written in white upon the chakra. In the bindu or point above the mantra
resides the deity Sadashiva, who has 5 faces and 10 arms. The right side of his body is a white Shiva, and the left half of the body
is a golden Shakti. He is holding a trident, chisel, sword, vajra, fire, a great snake, a bell, a goad, and a noose, and is making the
gesture of dispelling fear. He is clad in a tiger skin. His Shakti is Shakini, who is shining white, with five faces, three eyes each,
and four armed, with a bow and arrow, noose, and goad, and seated on a red lotus.
Vishuddha chakra is known as the purification centre. Here the nectar amrit that drips down from the Bindu chakra, and is split
into a pure form and a poison. In its more abstract form, it is associated with higher discrimination, and it is associated with cre¬
ativity and self-expression. When Vishuddha is closed, we undergo decay and death. When it is open, negative experience is
transformed into wisdom and learning. The success and failure in one’s life depends upon the state of this chakra (polluted/clean).
Guilty feeling is the most prominent reason for this chakra; to block the Kundalini Energy moving upwards. It is associated with the
element Akasha, or ether, and the sense of hearing, as well as the action of speaking. Meditation upon this chakra is said to bring
about the following siddhis or occult powers; vision of the three periods, past, present and future; freedom for disease and old age;
destruction of dangers; and the ability to move the three worlds.
Anahata chakra
Wikipedia
Anahata (Sanskrit: sptt^cT, Anahata) Heart Chakra (heart area).
The Anahata chakra is positioned in the central channel behind the spine at the heart region, with its kshetram or superficial acti¬
vation site actually in the heart region between the two breasts.
Anahata is represented by a smoke grey lotus flower, with 12 Vermillion petals. Inside of it is a smoke-coloured region that is made
from the intersection of 2 triangles, creating a shaktona. The Shatkona is a symbol used in Hindu yantra that represents the union
of both the male and feminine form. More specifically it is supposed to represent Purusha (the supreme being), and Prakriti (moth¬
er nature, or causal matter). Often this is represented as Shiva - Shakti. The deity of this region is Vayu, who is smoke coloured,
four-armed, holding a kusha and riding upon an antelope, the animal of this chakra.
The seed syllable is the mantra ‘Yam’, dark-grey in colour. Within the bindu or dot above the syllable resides the deity Isha (Lord
in an all pervading form), who is either shining white or blue in colour, with either 1 or 5 faces, 3 eyes on each face, with either 2, 4
or 10 arms, clad in a tiger skin, holding a trident and a drum, or making gestures of granting boons and dispelling fear. His shakti
is Kakini, who is shining yellow or rose in colour. She has a number of variations, having either 1,3 or 6 faces, 2 or 4 arms, and
holding a variety of implements, occasionally a sword, shield, skull and trident. She is seated on a red lotus.
The twelve petals are Vermillion coloured, and upon them are inscribed the syllables kam, kham, gam, gham, ngam, cham, ch-
ham, jam, jham, nyam, tarn and tham in Sanskrit. They match the vrittis of lust, fraud, indecision, repentance, hope, anxiety, long¬
ing, impartiality, arrogance, incompetence, discrimination and defiance.
Anahata is considered the seat of the Jivatman, and Para Shakti. In the Upanishads, this is described as being like a tiny flame
that resided inside the heart. Anahata is so called because it is in this place that sages hear that sound (Anahata - Shabda) which
comes without the striking of any two things together.” [2], It is associated with the element of air, the sense of touch, and with
actions of the hands.
Anahata is associated with the ability to make decisions outside of the realm of karma. In Manipura and below, man is bound by
the laws of karma, and the fate he has in store for him. In Anahata, one is making decisions, ‘following your heart’, based upon
one’s higher self, and not from the unfulfilled emotions and desires of lower nature.
It is also associated with love and compassion, charity to others, and forms of psychic healing.
Meditation on this chakra is said to bring about the following siddhis, or occult powers; he becomes a lord of speech; he is dearer
than the dearest to women; his senses are completely under control; and he can enter at will into another’s body.
Manipura chakra
Wikipedia
Manipura is located at the spine directly behind either the navel or the solar plexus, depending on the system, while its kshetram
or superficial activation point is located directly on the navel (or solar plexus).
Manipura is represented by a downward pointing red triangle, the fire region, within a bright yellow circle, with 10 dark-blue or
black petals, like heavily laden rain clouds. The triangle has a t-shaped swastika on each of it’s sides. The fire region is represent¬
ed by the god Vahni, who is shining red, with 4 arms, holding a rosary and a spear, and making the gestures of granting boons
and dispelling fear. He is seated on a ram, the animal that represents this chakra.
The seed mantra is the syllable ‘Ram’. Within the bindu or dot above this mantra resides the deity Rudra, who is red or white, with
3 eyes, of ancient aspect with a silver beard, and smeared with white ashes. He makes the gestures of granting boons and dis¬
pelling fear. He is either seated upon a tiger skin, or upon a bull. His Shakti is the goddess Lakini. She is black or dark-blue Vermil¬
lion, with 3 faces with 3 eyes each, and four-armed, holding a thunderbolt, the arrow shot from the bow of Kama, fire, and making
the gesture of granting boons and dispelling fear. She is seated upon a red lotus.
The ten petals are dark-blue or black, like heavily laden rainclouds, with the syllables dda, ddha, nna, ta, tha, da, dha, na, pa, and
pha upon them in a dark-blue colour. They correspond to the vrittis of spiritual ignorance, thirst, jealousy, treachery, shame, fear,
disgust, delusion, foolishness and sadness.
Manipura is considered the centre of dynamism, energy, willpower and achievement (Itcha shakti.), which radiates prana through¬
out the entire human body. It is associated with the power of fire, and digestion. It is also associated with the sense of sight, and
the action of movement. Manipura is “the center of etheric-psychic intuition: a vague or non-specific, sensual sense of knowing; a
vague sense of size, shape, and intent of being.” As such, some psychics recommend “listening” to it since it may help in making
better decisions in one’s life on many different levels.
Through meditating on Manipura, one is said to attain the siddhi, or occult power, to create and destroy the world.
Svadhisthana chakra
in spinal cord, the coccyx).
Swadhisthana is positioned at the tailbone, two finger-widths above Muladhara. It has six petals which match the vrittis of affec¬
tion, pitilessness, feeling of all-destructiveness, delusion, disdain and suspicion. Its corresponding point in the front of the body
(i.e. its kshetram) is at the pubic bone.
Swadhisthana is described as a black lotus, with 6 Vermillion coloured petals. Inside of this lotus is a white crescent moon, formed
by two different sized inner circles, one inside of the other. The crescent moon is the water region, whose deity is Varuna, white in
colour, four-armed, holding a noose and seated on a crocodile. The two inner circles also have petals, the larger one has 8 out¬
ward facing petals, and the smaller one has 8 inward facing petals.
The seed mantra, located in the innermost circle, is a moon-white Vam. Within the bindu, or dot, above the mantra is the deity
Vishnu. He is shining dark blue, wearing a yellow dhoti, and holds a conch, a mace, a wheel and a lotus. He wears the shriwatsa
mark, and the koustabha gem, and is seated either on a pink lotus, or on the divine eagle Garuda. His Shakti is the goddess Raki-
ni (or Chakini). She is dark black, dressed in a red or white sari, seated on a red lotus, and she is either one faced and two armed,
holding a sword and a shield, or two faced and 4 armed, holding either a trident, lotus, drum and vajra, or an arrow, skull, drum
and axe.
Wikipedia
Swadhisthana (Sanskrit: ^TT&iRiM, Svadhisthana) called ‘One’s own abode’, Sacral Chakra (last bone
The 6 petals are Vermillion, and have the following syllables written on them in the colour of lightning; bam, bham, mam, yam, ram
and lam. They represent the vritties of affection, pitilessness, feeling of all-destructiveness, delusion, disdain and suspicion.
Swadhisthana is associated with the unconscious, and with emotion. It is closely related to Muladhara in that Swadhisthana is
where the different samskaras (potential karmas), lie dormant, and Muladhara is where these samskaras find expression. It is as¬
sociated with the element of water, the sense of taste, and the action of reproduction.
Swadhisthana contains unconscious desires, especially sexual desire, and it is said that to raise the kundalini shakti (energy of
consciousness) above Swadhisthana is extremely difficult for this reason. Many saints have had to face the sexual temptations
associated with this chakra.
Through meditation on Swadhisthana, the following siddhis or occult powers are said to be obtained. One is freed from all his
enemies, and becomes a lord among yogis. His words flow like nectar in well-reasoned discourse. One gains loss of fear of water,
awareness of astral entities, and the ability to taste anything desired for oneself or others.
Muladhara chakra
Wikipedia
, Muladhara),meaning “root place”, Base or Root Chakra (ovaries/prostate).
Muladhara is said to be located at the base of the spine in the vicinity of the coccygeal plexus beneath the sacrum, while it’s kshet-
ram, or superficial activation point, is located on the perineum.
Muladhara is described as a yellow, square lotus, surrounded by 8 shining spears on the sides and corners, and with 4 red petals.
The deity of this region is Indra, who is yellow in colour, 4-armed, holding a vajra and blue lotus in his hands, and mounted upon
the white elephant Airawata, who has seven trunks, denoting the seven elements vital to physical functioning. Occasionally, in¬
stead of Indra, the deity is Ganesha, with coral orange skin, wearing a lemon yellow dhoti with a green silk scarf draped around his
shoulders. In his 3 of his hands he holds a ladu, a lotus flower, a hatchet, and the fourth is raised in the mudra of dispelling fear.
The seed mantra syllable is ‘Lam’. Within the bindu, or point that forms a part of the letter, just above it, is Brahma, who is deep
red, with 4 faces and 4 arms, and holding a staff, a sacred vase of nectar, a rosary and making the gesture of dispelling fear (alter¬
natively instead of the staff and rosary he is holding a lotus flower and the sacred scriptures). He is seated on a swan. His Shakti
is a goddess called Dakini. She is seated on a red lotus, and is shining red or white, a beautiful face with 3 eyes, with 4 arms,
holding a trident, a skulled staff, a swan, and a drinking vessel (instead of a swan and drinking vessel, she sometimes is holding a
sword and a shield).
In the centre of the square, below the seed syllable, is a deep red inverted triangle. Within this resides/sleeps the kundalini shakti,
the great spiritual potential, waiting to be aroused and brought back up to the source from which it originated, Brahman. She is
represented as a snake wrapped 3 and a half times around a smokey grey lingam.
The 4 petals are red, with the Sanskrit syllables Va, Scha, Sha and Sa written in gold upon them, representing 4 vritties of greatest
joy, natural pleasure, delight in controlling passion, and blissfulness in concentration, or alternatively; dharma (psycho-spiritual
longing), artha (psychic longing), kama (physical longing) and moksha (longing for spiritual liberation).
Muladhara is the base from which the three main psychic channels or nadis emerge: the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. It is also be¬
lieved that Muladhar is a subtle abode of the Hindu God, Ganapati. And in the highest revered prayer for Ganapati, the Ganapati
Atharvashirsha, it is mentioned that ‘one who worships Lord Ganapati would easily grasp the concept and realize Brahman.
Muladhara is considered the ‘root’ or ‘foundation’ chakra, and is the transcendental basis of physical nature. It is also the seat
of kundalini awakening, which begins its ascent here. Alternatively it is called the seat of the ‘red bindu’, or subtle drop, which is
caused to rise up to the ‘white bindu’ in the head in order to unite the female and masculine energies of Shakti and Shiva.
It is associated with the element of earth, and the sense of smell, and the action of excretion.
Through concentration on muladhara, one is said to attain various siddhis or occult powers; one is said to become a Lord of
Speech and king among men, with the luster of 10 million suns, and adept in all kinds of learning. He is ever free of disease, and
his inmost spirit is full of gladness.
The Minor Chakras
Wikipedia
In addition to the 7 major chakras, there are a number of other chakras which have importance within different systems. For exam¬
ple, Woodroffe describes 7 head chakras (including Ajna and Sahasrara) in his other Indian text sources. Lowest to highest they
are: Talu/Talana/Lalana, Ajna, Manas, Soma, Brahmarandra, Sri (inside Sahasrara), Sahasrara. In addition, the chakra Hrit known
as the wish-fulfilling tree is often included below the heart, which may be the same as a chakra known as Surya located at the
solar plexus. Some models also have a series of 7 lower chakras below muladhara that go down the legs.
Hrit chakra or Surya chakra
This chakra is a minor chakra located just below the heart at the solar plexus, and is known as the wish-fulfilling tree. Here, the
ability to determine your destiny becomes a reality. It is also known as the Surya chakra. It supports the actions of Manipura
chakra by providing it with the element of heat, and is responsible for absorbing energy from the sun.
In Tibetan buddhism, a similar chakra called the Fire Wheel is included in the scheme, but this is located above the heart and be¬
low the throat.
Lalana/Talumula
A chakra known as Lalana is situated in one of two places, either in the roof of the mouth, between Visuddhi and Ajna, or on the
forehead, above Ajna. The Lalana chakra on the roof of the mouth is related to Bindu and Vishuddhi. When the nectar amrit trick¬
les down from Bindu, it is stored in lalana. This nectar can fall down to Manipura and be burned up, causing gradual degeneration,
or through certain practices it can be passed to Visuddhi and purified, becoming a nectar of immortality.
Manas
A chakra known as Manas (mind) is located either between the navel and the heart, close to Surya, or is located above Ajna on
the forehead. The version on the forehead has 6 petals, connected to the 5 sense objects plus the mind. In Tibetan buddhism, the
chakra located on the forehead is called the Wind wheel, and has 6 spokes.
Bindu Visarga/Indu/Chandra
Bindu visarga, is located either at the top back of the head, where some Brahmins leave a tuft of hair growing, or in the middle
forehead. It is symbolised by a crescent moon. This chakra secretes an ambrosial fluid, amrit, and is the seat of the white bindu
(compare with the white bodhicitta drop in the crown chakra in the Vajrayana system).
Brahmarandra/Nirvana
In some systems, Sahasrara is the chakra that is on the crown of the head. However, other systems, such as that expounded by
Shri Aurobindo, state that the real Sahasrara is located some way above the top of the head, and that the crown chakra is in fact
Brahmarandra, a sort of secondary Sahasrara with 100 white petals.
Shri/Guru
This is a minor chakra located slightly above the top of the head. It is an upward facing 12 petalled lotus, and it is associated with
the Guru, that higher force that guides us through our spiritual journey.
Lower Chakras
There are said to be a series of 7 chakras below muladhara going down the leg, corresponding the base animal instincts, and to
the Hindu underworld patala. They are called atala, vitala, sutala, talatala, rasatala, mahatala and patala.
Atala
This chakra is located in the hips, it governs fear and lust.
Vitala
Located in the thighs, it governs anger and resentment.
Sutala
Located in the knees, it governs jealousy.
Talatala
Translated as ‘under the bottom level’, it is located in the calves, and it is a state of prolonged confusion and instinctive wilfulness.
Rasatala
Located in the ankles, it is the centre of selfishness and pure animal nature.
Mahatala
Located in the feet, this is the dark realm ‘without conscience’, and inner blindness.
Patala
Located in the soles of the feet, this is the realm of malice, murder, torture and hatred, and in Hindu mythology it borders on the
realm of Naraka, or Hell.
Others
There are said to be 21 minor chakras which are reflected points of the major chakras. These 21 are further grouped into 10 bilat¬
eral minor chakras that correspond to the foot, hand, knee, elbow, groin, clavicular, navel, shoulder and ear. The spleen may also
be classified as a minor chakra by some authorities despite not having an associated coupled minor chakra.
See also:
in Sadhana: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Etymology
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Unlikely though it looks, etymologists have traced the relationship of the word “wheel” to the Greek word “kuklos”, whence comes
“cycle”, and also to the Sanskrit word “chakra”.
Sanskrit
Cakra —
cakra -
Chandogya Upanishad
Title
Chandogya Upanisad —
Chandogya Upanisad - -TlHiiyTlHnEl't
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Chandogya Upanisad — ... “Singer of the Saman”
1. This Upanisad belongs to the Chandogya Brahmana of the Sama Veda. Broadly speaking, one can divide the Chandogya Upa¬
nisad into two parts. The first five chapters deal with ritualistic worship (upasana) with an emphasis on meditation. The second five
chapters deal with three fundamental Vedantic doctrines: Tat tvam asi, doctrine of infinity, and doctrine of Atman. Along with the
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad, it is considered one of the oldest of the Upanisads. Some noble personages in this Upanisad include
Satyakama Jabala, Narada, Gautama, Aruni, Sanatkumara, Prajapati, Uddalaka, and Svetaketu.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Chandogya Upanishad The classical Chandogya Upanishad is part of the Chandogya Brahmana, which is attached to the SAMA
VEDA. It is one of the oldest UPANISHADS. It retains much of the character of the BRAHMANA from which it comes, in that it is
largely devoted to delineating the deeper meaning and significance of the elements of the Vedic sacrifice or YAJNA.
Wikipedia
The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the “primary” (mukhya) Upanishads. Together with the Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana and
the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad it ranks among the oldest Upanishads, dating to the Vedic Brahmana period (probably before mid-
first millennium BCE).
It is associated with the Samaveda. It figures as number 9 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. It is part of the Chandogya
Brahmana, which has ten chapters. The first two chapters of the Brahmana deal with sacrifices and other forms of worship. The
other eight constitute the Chandogya Upanishad. Though there are more than two hundred Upanishads, ten are principal. These
are called the Dashopanishads and are known for their philosophical depth, having become popular through the commentaries of
Adi Shankara and Madhvacharya. Along with Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, the Chandogyopanishad is an ancient source of princi¬
pal fundamentals of Vedanta philosophy. A number of references made to this Upanishad in Brahma sutras indicate the special
importance of this Upanishad in Vedantic philosophy. Important Upasana’s such as Dahara vidya and Shandilya vidya are its
speciality.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Much of the Chandogya Upanishad is devoted to the true meaning of the Udgitha, the loud chant of the Sama Vedic priest at the
sacrificial ritual. The Udgitha is said to be tantamount to OM (Ch. 1.1.1- 10) and is identified with the breath (Ch. 1.2.1-14). The
esoteric meaning of each of the syllables in the word Udgitha is explicated (Ch. 1.3.1-12). The Udgitha is also identified with the
Sun, with space as the ultimate, and with divinities.
The Chandoga Upanishad goes on to coordinate the sounds of the fuller Sama Vedic chant with cosmic and human entities.
Through this process, the elements of the Sama Vedic chant are shown to encompass a wide range of human, worldly, and cos¬
mic entities; it is much more important than a simple musical recitation. Chapter three raises the familiar Upanishadic theme of
the identity of ATMAN (the individual self) and the BRAHMAN (the Ultimate Reality). The fifth chapter gives the famous teaching
of Uddalaka Aruni to his son, Shvetaketu; in defining the Ultimate Reality of the brahman he tells his son, “You are THAT” (TAT
TVAM ASI). This is one of the most well known MAHAVAKYAS or “Great Sayings” quoted in the VEDANTA.
Chapters seven and eight relate the nature of the atman or individual self and show that it resides within the human heart. They
tell the famous tale in which INDRA, king of the gods, at last learns the nature of the brahman/atman identity.
Wikipedia
Organization
The Chandogya Upanishad contains eight chapters, with each chapter divided into subchapters called Khandas.
First Chapter
The first chapter contains thirteen khanda’s.
The first khanda ordains the Upasana of udgitha (or holy syllable OM). The syllable OM is called by the term udgitha since a priest
designated as Udgata starts his singing of Sama’s with OM in Vedic yajnas.
The second khanda ordains that udgitha should be meditated as Vital Life Force or Prana, and tells a story to explain the Holiness
of Prana describing how it remained untouched by evil while all other five senses got tainted by evil.
Third khanda says that udgitha should be meditated as sun god.
Fourth khanda continues telling one more method ( Upasana )for meditating upon OM as the Eternal and Ultimate Refuge ( Amri-
tam, Abhayam) and tells that one who mediatates this way becomes himself an Eternal and Ultimate Refuge.
Fifth khanda tells that one who meditates on the Sun and its rays as separate from each other or Prana and its functions such as
speech etc as separate from each other would beget many children.
One more Upasana of udgitha is told in Sixth khanda for obtaining all round wealth.
Seventh khanda ordains that OM (or udgitha) should be meditated as Purusha (Divine Person) present in the right eye who is
nothing but another manifestation of Sun (Aditya)who in turn another manifestation of OM. Hence describes the equality of OM,
Devine Person present in the Right Eye and Sun.
Another Upasana of udgitha is told in ninth and tenth khanda’s which is said to result in a Superior Divine Essence (Parovareeya
Satva ) in the practitioner. This is told in the form of a story of Three Scholars of Sama.
Tenth and Eleventh khandas describe three parts of Sama called Prastava, udgitha and Pratihaara which are sung by priests in
vedic Rituals and their respective gods through a Story of Priest Ushasti Chakrayana.
Twelfth khanda tells about the Udgitha Sama revealed by gods in the form of Dogs. The result of singing this Sama is availability
of food.
Thirteenth khanda describes the various Upasana’s of Sthobha- Akshara’s.
Second Chapter
There are 24 khanda’s in the second chapter. After having elaborated on different Upasana’s of various organs of Sama, the sec¬
ond chapter elaborates many Upasana’s of full Sama as a whole (that is, combined Sama with all Sama organs or parts). In other
words, it can be said that if first chapter describes the Upasana of different body parts separately, the second chapter describes
the Upasana’s of whole body (Full Sama). Worshipping Full Sama or Whole Sama is described to be yielding good character
(Saadhu Dharma) to worshipper in first khanda.
Second khanda describes Five-Fold Sama or Sama with Five Organs (Pancha Vidha Sama). HIM- Kara, Prastava, udgitha, Prati-
hara and Nidhana are the names of Five organs of Sama.
In second to seventh khanda’s this Five-Fold Sama is ordained to be conceptualized or viewed as different worlds such as earth,
heaven etc in worldview, as wind, lightning etc in view of process of raining, as cloud, rain, ocean etc in water view, as different
seasons like spring etc in seasons view, as sheep etc in animal view and finally as vital airs (Prana).
Each of these conceptualizations or views of FiveFold Sama is a separate Upasana of Fivefold Sama and described to be having
definite fruit or result for the practitioner.
Eighth khanda ordains Seven-Fold Sama. Two more organs Adi and Upadrava are added to Five organs described in second
khanda to make Sama Seven Fold. This Seven Fold Sama is ordained to be seen or viewed in the speech in eighth khanda. Fruit
of this Upasana is worshipper never faces scarcity of food and will have enough food to provide for others.
Next Upasana is to meditate or view sevenfold sama in the movement of sun in the sky. Fruit of this upasana is worshipper attains
Sun’s form ( Aditya Swarupa ). This is the content of ninth khanda.
Tenth khanda ordains Upasana of syllables of seven organs of Seven Fold Sama (Sapta Vidha Sama Namakshara Upasana).
Khanda’s 11-21 describe how some famous Samas or ( Sama Mantras ) to viewed.
Gayatra Sama is ordained to be viewed as Mind, Speech, Eye, etc.
Rathantara Sama is ordained to be viewed as process of generating fire by rubbing two wood pieces.
Vaamya Devya Sama is ordained to be viewed as mating process between male and female human beings.
Brihat Sama is ordained to be viewed as world activity as per of movement of sun across the horizon.
Vairupa Sama is ordained to be viewed as process of raining.
Vairaja Sama is ordained to be viewed as Seasonal Cycle.
Shakvaree Sama is ordained to be viewed as different worlds.
Revati Sama is ordained to be viewed as grazing animals.
Yagnya-Yagneeya Sama is ordained to be viewed as hair, skin, meat, etc.
Rajana Sama is ordained to be viewed as Fire, Wind, Stars, etc.
Finally Complete Sama or Sarva Sama is ordained to be viewed as three veda’s (Trayi Vidya) which are Rigveda, Yajurveda and
Sama veda and whole world.
Each of these Upasana’s are mentioned along with a distinct fruit or result to the worshipper.
Later khandas of this chapter describe various modes of singing Sama, upasana on holy syllable OM, three Savana’s, their re¬
spective gods and Sama’s to them.
Third Chapter
This chapter has 19 khanda’s. First 11 khanda’s deal with Upasana of Sun and this Upasana is known as Madhu Vidya. Khandas
12 and 13 teach Brahman through Gayatri. 14th Khanda elaborates famous meditation Shandilya Vidya, known after its revealer
the seer Shandilya. 15th Khanda describes Kosha Vidya for begetting long life and valour for one’s son. 16th and 17th Khandas
detail Purusha Vidya which results in increased life span of practitioner. It is told that seer Mahidasa Aitareya lived for 116 years
by practicing Purusha Vidya. 18th Khanda ordains that Mind should be meditated as Brahman.
Fourth Chapter
A story of king Janushruti Pautrayana and Self realized seer Raikva is told in this chapter. A meditational practice called Samvar-
ga Vidya is described.
Fifth Chapter
An esoteric knowledge of Five Fires (Panchangi Vidya) is described in this chapter.
Sixth Chapter
This chapter contains the most important message of this Upanishad. It establishes the principle of oneness of Atman with all be¬
ings and non beings. In this chapter, the famous story of Uddalaka and his son Shvetaketu is told and the dialogue between them
establishes the principle of oneness of Atman. The Mahavakya Tat Tvam Asi (“That art Thou”) is found in this chapter.
Seventh Chapter
In this chapter there is a well known dialogue between sage Sanatkumara and Narada establishing that realizing the ultimate prin¬
ciple of universe is only way to ride over sorrows of man.
Eighth Chapter
A meditation technique of concentrating in the cave of heart about Brahman (Dahara Vidya) is told in this chapter
Commentaries
General
Wikipedia
Commentary
Of the available commentaries, the oldest was written by Adi Shankara. Adi Shankara stated that his commentary is a brief book
for those who want a summary of this Upanishad. Ananda Giri mentioned in his commentary that a Dramidacharya wrote an
elaborate and detailed commentary well before Adi Shakara, but little is known about this Dramidacharya and his work is now lost.
Brahmanandi Tankacharya wrote a brief explanation for this upanishad and Dramidacharya wrote an elaborate and detailed com¬
mentary on the work of Brahmanandi Tankacharya. Sri Ramanuja makes many references to these two scholars in his commen¬
taries, Vedanta Sangraha and Sri Bhasya.
Publications
Translations
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
Krishnananda. 1984, The Chhandogya Upanishad, Divine Life Society, Shivanandanagar, Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, U.P., Himalayas,
India.
Prasad, N. 2007, Chandogya Upanfrsad : with the original text in Sanskrit and roman transliteration, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953, The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
Sankaracarya & Gambhirananda, S. 2003, Chandogya Upanishad, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata.
Senapati, Fakir Mohan, 1843-1918. 1916, Chandogya Upanishad, The Utkal Sahitya Press, Cuttack.
Swahananda. 1965, The Chandogya Upanisad; containing the original text with word-by-word meaning, running translation and
copious notes, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras.
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya-
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
Related words
Mahavakya: Tat- tvam-asi
Sama Veda
Upanishads
Cinta
Variant spellings
cinta
cinta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Cinta — ... enquiry; thought; discussion
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
cinta -
thought, care, anxiety, anxious thought about;
consideration;
N. of a woman
See: Manana, vicara, cinta
Related words
Manana
Vicara
Sanskrit
Cinta — IVrli
cinta - ^rRyli
Cit
Variant spellings
cit
chit
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Cit — ... spirit; consciousness; the individual self; Reality; Siva.
1. One of the three ultimate realities (tattva- traya) according to Visistadvaita Vedanta.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
cit -
as a noun
‘thinking’;
thought, intellect, spirit, soul;
pure Thought
as a verb
forming a layer or stratum, piled up;
‘knowing’;
‘giving heed to’ or ‘revenging’ [guilt];
to perceive, fix the mind upon, attend to, be attentive, observe, take notice of;
to aim at, intend, design (with dat.);
to be anxious about, care for (acc. or gen.);
to resolve;
to understand, comprehend, know;
to become perceptible, appear, be regarded as, be known;
to cause to attend, make attentive, remind of;
to cause to comprehend, instruct, teach;
to observe, perceive, be intent upon;
to form an idea in the mind, be conscious of, understand, comprehend, think, reflect upon;
to have a right notion of, know;
‘to recover consciousness’, awake;
to remember, have consciousness of (acc.);
to appear, be conspicuous, shine;
to have in view, aim at, be desirous;
to care for, be anxious about;
to treat medically, cure;
to wish to appear;
Dictionary - Runes
Cit: (Skr.) Awareness. Cf. sat-cit-ananda. K.F.L.
Wikipedia
Cit is a Sanskrit word meaning awareness. It is a core principle in all ancient religions originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is
the Sense of all the physical and mental senses. In Upanishads it is referred to as the Drishta or the Seer. The Sense that makes
sense of all other sense experiences.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Wisdoms frame of reference
Cit: Consciousness. The second attribute of Brahman as in ‘Sat-Cit- Ananda’. That which substantiates truth as well as value-dy¬
namics.
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Chit (cit) - Primordial consciousness in its most pure and unmanifested state.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
In Hinduism it is consciousness in satchitananda.
In Sikhism it is that which is to be meditated on in “Chit Aavai Chit Avan”.
In Jainism it is the Supreme Self.
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
... there is some other principle which enlivens these knowledge-forms, by virtue of which they become conscious. This principle of
consciousness (cit) cannot indeed be separately perceived per se, but the presence of this principle in all our forms of knowledge
is distinctly indicated by inference. This principle of consciousness has no motion, no form, no quality, no impurity. The movement
of the knowledge-stuff takes place in relation to it, so that it is illuminated as consciousness by it, and produces the appearance
of itself as undergoing all changes of knowledge and experiences of pleasure and pain. Each item of knowledge so far as it is an
image or a picture of some sort is but a subtle knowledge-stuff which has been illumined by the principle of consciousness, but so
far as each item of knowledge carries with it the awakening or the enlivening of consciousness, it is the manifestation of the princi¬
ple of consciousness.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
We have translated the word chit by “mind-stuff’ as affording the nearest point of contact for the natural insertion of mind into
matter or vice-versa. The word chit, as used in Vedanta, specifically refers to that aspect of clear consciousness that is capable of
entering into some bipolar relation with an outside object.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
I am aware of my existence, of your existence, of the existence of the world. Thus I have an allembracing awareness that includes
everything. What is not in it, I will never know. This awareness, which includes in it good and bad, far and near, one and many,
big and small, irrespective of all variations, is just one knowledge, cit. So we have one all-inclusive existence and one all-inclusive
knowledge.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
The Reality searched for is cit in essence; the seeking mind is cit in essence; the seeker knowing Reality therefore means, cit
knowing cit. There being no two cit-s, this knowing, in effect, is none other than the knower becoming merged in the known, or the
the knower becoming the known or the other way around. It is simply an intuitive experience of the transparency of mere being¬
ness.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
... knowledge, however it manifests itself, either as ignorance or as learning, is but the manifestation of that same Chit, that es¬
sence of knowledge; the difference is only in degree, and not in kind. The difference in knowledge between the lowest worm that
crawls under our feet and the highest genius that the heavens may produce, is only one of degree, and not of kind.
Cit, chaitanya, cetana
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
The relation between the Self [atman] and the bodies illuminated by it is said to have three characteristics. When the Self is pure
and unpolluted consciousness it is called clt. When it illuminates this world, the effulgence which is circumlimited by its exposure to
a conditioned ground is called caitanya. When the animation of the Self affects and transforms a body to be a carrier of the dic¬
tates of consciousness, it is called cetana. Thus cetana, cattanya and clt come in an ascending gradation.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
When the vertical principle of pure consciousness, cit, gives room for horizontality, it is called caitanya, and when it is fully horizon-
talized as an individual being with body consciousness, feeling and sensibilities, it is called cetana.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
chit — from the verb root cit = “to perceive, observe, think, be aware, know”
Related words
Atman
Bhana
Brahman
Buddhi
Chaitanya
Cetana
Cidabhasa
Citta
Opposite: Jada
Saccidananda
Sanskrit
Cit — f%TcJ
cit-^rftt
Citta
Variant spellings
citta
chitta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Chitta — ... consciousness; mind; thought; apperception
In Kashmir Saivism, the limitation of the Universal Consciousness manifested in the individual mind. It is the mind of the empirical
individual. In Raja Yoga, citta means mind, and in Advaita Vedanta, it refers to the subconscious.
In the Vaibhasika system, it is samskrta-dharmas, born out of the interaction of the senses with their objects.
In the Yogacara system, it is the mano-dharma. It is the primary dharma and essentially the only dharma.
In the Yoga system, the intellect (buddhi), ego (ahankara),and the senses (indriyas) are often called citta.
According to the Sankhya, the mind (citta) has five processes: pramana, viparyaya, vikalpa, nidra, and smrti.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
citta -
‘noticed’;
‘aimed at’;
‘appeared’, visible;
attending, observing;
thinking, reflecting, imagining, thought;
intention, aim, wish;
the heart, mind;
memory;
intelligence, reason;
(in astrol.) the 9th mansion
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
The memorizing and recalling faculty of mind. One of the antahkaranas (see).
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Chitta: Mind, mindstuff; the inert, substantial basis and store of perception and memory.
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Mind (Citta) is divided into three categories in accordance with its respective functions. They are intelligence (buddhi), ego (aham-
kara), and mind (manas). Each has its distinguishing characteristics and individual function; however, they are actually a single
functioning unit, and do not form separate and individual parts.
Hume. The thirteen Upanishads
Chandogya Upanishad, Ch.7, Fifth Khanda.
1. Thought (citta), assuredly, is more than Conception. Verily, when one thinks, then he forms a conception, then he has in Mind,
then he utters Speech, and he utters it in Name. The sacred sayings (mantra) are included in Name, and sacred works in the sa¬
cred sayings.
2. Verily, these things have Thought as their union-point, have Thought as their soul, are established on Thought. Therefore, even
if one who knows much is without Thought, people say of him : “ He is not anybody, whatever he knows! Verily, if he did know, he
would not be so without Thought!” On the other hand, if one who knows little possesses Thought, people are desirous of listening
to him. Truly, indeed, Thought is the union-point, Thought is the soul (atman), Thought is the support of these things. Reverence
Thought.
3. He who reverences Thought as Brahma—he, verily, attains the Thought-worlds; himself being enduring, the enduring worlds;
himself being established, the established worlds; himself being unwavering, the unwavering worlds. As far as Thought goes, so
far he has unlimited freedom, he who reverences Thought as Brahma.’
‘Is there, sir, more than Thought?’
There is, assuredly, more than Thought.’
‘Do you, sir, tell me it.’
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali’s Yoga
Citta has a dual function. Sensations from the external world that are carried to the inner organ are registered in the citta in terms
of the information that is sought after by the questioning, doubting, or emotionally activated mind. Then citta preserves the net out¬
come of the encounter between the sensory system and stimulus as data for future reference. As inquiry, judgment, and affectivity
are all mainly based on the registration, retention, and recall of memory, citta is considered to be the main body of consciousness.
Hence yogis mainly concern themselves with the modification of this aspect that mimes the external world in every organism. It is
very similar to a mirror reflecting the image of its surroundings, or the external world being mirrored in each bubble that clusters in
a frothy mass of foam.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. The Study and Practice of Yoga
Citta is not merely the conscious mind or the mentation process, but the stuff of the mind. ... The stuff of the mind is the substance
out of which the entire internal organ is constituted—what we call thinking, feeling, willing, memory or remembrance, etc. Various
functions are there, including even ego.
These functions all put together are the citta, the stuff of the mind. This stuff it is that reveals itself as various functions, though it is
true that the stuff itself cannot be discovered and we can know its nature only from the functions that it performs. ... the energy of
the total system is to be harnessed for the purpose of encountering this total situation that is called the citta.
See: Antahkarana, manas, citta, buddhi, ahankara
Citta and vritti
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Raja Yoga
... Dharana, holding the mind to certain points. What is meant by holding the mind to certain points? Forcing the mind to feel cer¬
tain parts of the body to the exclusion of others. For instance, try to feel only the hand, to the exclusion of other parts of the body.
When the Chitta, or mind-stuff, is confined and limited to a certain place, this is called Dharana.
1. Now concentration is explained.
2. Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Chitta) from taking various forms (Vrittis).
A good deal of explanation is necessary here. We have to understand what Chitta is, and what are these Vrittis. I have this eye.
Eyes do not see. Take away the brain centre which is in the head, the eyes will still be there, the retinae complete, and also the
picture, and yet the eyes will not see. So the eyes are only a secondary instrument, not the organ of vision. The organ of vision is
in the nerve centre of the brain. The two eyes will not be sufficient alone. Sometimes a man is asleep with his eyes open. The light
is there and the picture is there, but a third thing is necessary; mind must be joined to the organ. The eye is the external instru¬
ment, we need also the brain centre and the agency of the mind. Carriages roll down a street and you do not hear them. Why? Be¬
cause your mind has not attached itself to the organ of hearing. First, there is the instrument, then there is the organ, and third, the
mind attachment to these two. The mind takes the impression farther in, and presents it to the determinative faculty Buddhi which
reacts. Along with this reaction flashes the idea of egoism. Then this mixture of action and reaction is presented to the Purusha,
the real Soul, who perceives an object in this mixture. The organs (Indriyas), together with the mind (Manas), the determinative
faculty (Buddhi), and egoism (Ahamkara), form the group called the Antahkarana (the internal instrument). They are but various
processes in the mind-stuff, called Chitta. The waves of thought in the Chitta are called Vritti (“the whirlpool” is the literal transla¬
tion)... Now we understand what is meant by these Vrittis. The real man is behind the mind, and the mind is the instrument in his
hands, and it is his intelligence that is percolating through it. It is only when you stand behind it that it becomes intelligent. When
man gives it up it falls to pieces, and is nothing. So you understand what is meant by Chitta. It is the mind-stuff, and Vrittis are the
waves and ripples rising in it when external causes impinge on it. These Vrittis are our whole universe.
The bottom of the lake we cannot see, because its surface is covered with ripples. It is only possible when the ripples have sub¬
sided, and the water is calm, for us to catch a glimpse of the bottom. If the water is muddy, the bottom will not be seen; if the water
is agitated all the time, the bottom will not be seen. If the water is clear, and there are no waves, we shall see the bottom. That
bottom of the lake is our own true Self; the lake is the Chitta, and the waves the Vrittis.
... Although this Chitta is in every animal, from the lowest to the highest, it is only in the human form that we find intellect, and until
the mind-stuff can take the form of intellect it is not possible for it to return through all these steps, and liberate the soul. Immediate
salvation is impossible for the cow and the dog, although they have mind, because their Chitta cannot as yet take that form which
we call intellect.
... Each experience that we have comes in the form of a wave in the Chitta, and this subsides and becomes finer and finer, but is
never lost. It remains there in minute form, and if we can bring this wave up again, it becomes memory.
See: Manas, buddhi, chitta
See also:
in Sadhana: Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
chitta - from the verb root cit = “to perceive, observe, know”
Related words
Ahankara
Antahkarana
Buddhi
Chaitanya
Cetana
Cit
Manas
Samskara
Vrtti
Sanskrit
Citta — f^TcT
citta -
D
Dakshinamurti
Variant spellings
dakshinamurti
Daksinamurti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Daksinamurti — ... “south-facing form”; the embodiment of wisdom
1. A name for Lord Siva as the silent teacher. He, as the guru of gurus, sat beneath a banyan tree and taught his four disciples
through the elegance of silence.
Wikipedia
Dakshinamurthy or Jnana Dakshinamurti (Daksinamurti) is an aspect of Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all type of knowledge, partic¬
ularly the jnana. This aspect of Shiva is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowl¬
edge. This form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom, and giving exposition on the shastras.
He is worshipped as the god of wisdom, complete and rewarding meditation.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Dakshina-Murti: Literary “ the deity of the south.” Name applied to a form of Siva in which this god-hero is the Guru to the Vedic
rishis. He is represented as seated on a stone facing the south under a spreading tree with meditative light on his features and
the Jnana- Mudra or wisdom-gesture formed by his right hand. Here in this image, Siva gains ascendancy over Vedic wisdom and
also triumphs in Kailas (the seat of the Vedic gods.) In the context of Guru-wisdom Dakshina-Murti affords the achetype for Guru-
hood; as this same pattern of a wise man seated under a tree runs right through historic tradition in perennial philosophy down to
the most ancient of periods known on the Indian soil.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. The Word That is God
Dakshinamurti: A name for Lord Shiva as the silent teacher. Vedic Religion declares that in every cycle of creation God manifests
as Dakshinamurti and becomes the guru of the first human beings-those who were most spiritually evolved in the previous cre¬
ation-teaching them the path to liberation (moksha).
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In Hindu tradition the Divine Silent Guru is Dakshinamurti, the “Form facing South”, representing Siva as Initiator. One of his hands
is held in the Jnana-mudra, “the posture of Gnosis”, also called Mouna-mudra, “the posture of Silence”, and Chin-mudra, “the
posture of consciousness-enlightenment”. Unlike that of other Hindu Deities, his image always faces South. This Direction is sym¬
bolically associated with Capricorn..., as has been pointed out before in connection with Death. The worshipper, facing the God,
looks in the Direction of the North, spiritually the Direction of the Pole of Manifestation, of Leo. As regards the South, it has been
mentioned that Dakshina, besides “south”, also means “Grace and largess”, and is used for the offering symbolizing renunciation
of the world.
Wikipedia
Meaning
Dakshinamurti literally means ‘one who is facing south (daksina)’ in Sanskrit. South is the direction of Death, hence change. In
every Siva temple the stone image of Dakshinamurthy is installed, facing south, on the southern circumambulatory path around
the sanctum sanctorum. Perhaps, of all Hindu Gods, he is the only one sitting facing south. The great seer Ramana Maharshi, has
interpreted the name as “Dakshina-amurty”, meaning one who is capable but without form.
Depiction
In his aspect as Jnana Dakshinamurti, Shiva is generally shown with four arms. He is depicted seated under a banyan tree, facing
the south. Shiva is seated upon a deer-throne and surrounded by sages who are receiving his instruction. He is shown as seated
with his right foot on mythical apasmara(a demon which, according to Hindu mythology, is the personification of ignorance) and
his left foot lies folded on his lap. Sometimes even the wild animals, are depicted to surround Shiva. In his upper arms, he holds a
snake or rosary or both in one hand and a flame in the other; while in his lower right hand is shown in vyakhyanamudra, his low¬
er left hand holds a bundle of kusha grass or the scriptures. The index finger of His right hand is bent and touching the tip of his
thumb. The other three fingers are stretched apart. This symbolic hand gesture or Mudra is the Gnana Mudra (or Jnana Mudra
or Jana Mudra), a symbol of knowledge and wisdom. Sometimes, this hand is in the Abhaya Mudra, a posture of assurance and
blessing.
Dakshinamurthy is portrayed as being in the yogic state of abstract meditation - and as a powerful form brimming with ever flowing
bliss and supreme joy. Variations of this iconic representation include Veenadhara Dakshinamurthy (holding a Veena), Rishabha-
rooda Dakshinamurthy (mounted on a Rishabha - the bull) etc.
Significance
Indian tradition accords a special reverence to the Guru or the teacher. Dakshinamurthy, in the Saivite system of beliefs is re¬
garded as the ultimate Guru - the embodiment of knowledge and the destroyer of ignorance (as represented by the demon being
crushed under the feet of the deity). The Jnana Mudra is interpreted in this way:- The thumb denotes the God and the index finger
denotes the man. The other three fingers stand for the three congenital impurities of man viz. arrogance, illusion and bad deeds of
the past births. When man detaches himself from these impurities, he reaches God. The Abhaya Mudra, a gesture with the hand
lifted above thigh with palm facing out, fingers pointing, is interpreted as His grace upon His students. The rosary or the snake
signifies Tantric knowledge. The fire represents illumination, removing the darkness of ignorance.
Impact on Indian Life
The fifth day of the week, Thursday is associated with the planet Jupiter and is referred to as Guruvar (or Guruvaaram). Thursdays
are considered auspicious to start any educational endeavours. It is on Thursdays that special worship services are offered to
Dakshinamurthy in many Saivite temples. Some temple traditions hold full moon nights, particularly the night of the Guru Poornima
as the appropriate time for worship services to Dakshinamurthy.
Temples
Even though the idol of Dakshinamurthy is installed in every Shiva temple, there are only a few temples where Dakshinamurthy is
the chief deity. Only one of the twelve Jyotirlingas is Dakshinmurthy, The Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain. Being the only Dakshinmurthy
Jyotirlinga, It holds special importance for Shaivites as a site of learning. Other notable temples are the Vaikom Mahadevar temple
in Kerala, where the deity enshrined in the form of a Shivalingam is considered as Dakshinamurthy, and Alangudi (Kumbakonam)
in Tamil Nadu. In the Sivanandeswarar temple in Thirupanthurai, (Tanjore) Tamil Nadu, He is depicted in the Ardhanari form. In
Thirupulivanam, we can find Dakshinamurthy in the form of Ardhanariswara. This temple is on the Uthiramerur-Kanchipuram road,
5 km from Uthiramerur, near Chennai. In March 2007, a big temple of Lord Dakshinamurty (the first in Maharashtra) was created
in the Shrutisagar Ashram, about 30 km from Pune.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Osborne. The collected works of Ramana Maharshi
According to Hindu legends, Dakshinamurti (which means ‘southward-facing’) is God or Siva manifested as a youth who is the
divine Guru and guides disciples older than himself through silent influence on their Heart. The name is also divided as Dakshi-
na-amurti and taken to mean ‘formless power’.
The Maharshi was Siva manifested, the divine Guru who taught through silence and was therefore identified with Dakshinamurti.
Ramana. The Silent Power
WHEN IN ANCIENT DAYS even Sri Dakshinamurti the Adiguru, guru of all gurus was able to reveal the truth of that one Self only
through silence, the speechless speech, who else can reveal it through speech?
In this connection, Sri Bhagavan once told the following story to Sri Muruganar. When the four aged Sanakadi rishis first saw the
sixteen-year-old Sri Dakshinamurti sitting under the banyan tree, they were at once attracted by him, understanding him to be the
real Sadguru.
They approached him, did three pradakshinas around him, prostrated before him, sat at his feet and began to ask very shrewd
and pertinent questions about the nature of Reality and the means of attaining it. Because of the great compassion and fatherly
love (vatsalya) which he felt for his aged disciples, the young Sri Dakshinamurti was overjoyed to see their earnestness, wisdom
and maturity, and hence he gave apt replies to each of their questions. As he answered each consecutive question, further doubts
rose in their minds and still they asked further questions. Thus they continued to question Sri Dakshinamurti for one whole year,
and he continued to clear their doubts through his compassionate answers.
Finally, however, Sri Dakshinamurti understood that if he gave more answers to their questions more doubts would rise in their
minds and hence there would never be an end to their ignorance (ajnana). Therefore, suppressing even the feeling of compassion
and fatherly love which was welling up within him, he merged himself into the supreme silence. Because of their great maturity
(which had been ripened to perfection through their year-long association with the Sadguru), as soon as Sri Dakshinamurti thus
merged himself, they too were automatically merged within, into silence, the state of Self.
Wonder-struck on hearing Sri Bhagavan narrating the story in this manner, Sri Muruganar remarked that in no book is it mentioned
that Sri Dakshinamurti ever spoke anything. “But this is what actually happened” replied Sri Bhagavan. From the authoritative way
in which Sri Bhagavan thus replied and from the clear and descriptive way in which he had told the story, Sri Muruganar under¬
stood that Sri Bhagavan was none other than Sri Dakshinamurti himself.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Daksinamurti — from daks = “to be able” + murti = “form”.
Sanskrit
Daksinamurti — c*f8i u HMlcl
Daksinamurti -
Dama
Definitions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
[dama] control over the senses by which these are restrained from everything but that which aids the attainment of right knowl¬
edge.
Dictionary - Grimes
Dama — ... self-control; control of the senses; restraint.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
dama -
house, home (Lat. domus);
‘taming, subduing’;
self-command, self-restraint, self-control;
taming;
punishment, fine;
N. of a brother of Damayanti;
of a Maha-rshi
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Dama : Checking and turning away of the mind from its distractions.
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Dama (self-restraint) is one’s ability to keep one’s mind and sense organs in one’s own control so as to be conducive to the attain¬
ment of the final goal of life.
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Dama - self-restraint or control of conduct, restraining the senses from external actions.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Dama, or self control: restraining the organs of both perception and action from their respective objects, and keeping them under
control. The organs of perception are those of tasting, hearing, smelling, seeing, and touching. The organs of action are those of
speaking, grasping, moving about, procreating, and evacuating. Endowed with this virtue, the aspirant engages only in hearing
about Brahman, reasoning about it, and meditating upon it.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
dama—... The fulfillment of a pursuit, whether spiritual or mundane, is delayed and obstructed by various distractions coming
from outside as well as from one’s own inner restlessness. There are many evil forces prowling in the unconscious, waiting for an
opportunity to take possession of our mind and senses. If a wakeful and vigilant mind can foresee all such destructive forces and
ward them off from causing obstruction to the harmonious function of mind, this is an act of dama.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Dama is the restraining of the external organsl from all objects except that2.
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
1 External organs— These are of two kinds, viz., of action and of knowledge. The five acting organs are those of speaking, grasp¬
ing, going, evacuating and generating. The five perceiving organs are those of heaving, touch, sight, taste and smell. Mind is
called the inner-organ. Here the word Dama implies that particular function of the mind which turns away the external organs from
such objects as are other than hearing etc.
2 That—Hearing etc. Hearing of the scriptures, thinking of their meaning and meditating on it.
See also:
“Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda” on page 789
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
dama — from the verb root dam = “to control”.
Related words
Sama
Samadhana
Broader term: Satsampatti
Sraddha
Titiksa
Uparati
Sanskrit
Duma — cTPT
dama -
Dana
Variant spellings
dana
dana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Dana — ... “giving”; gift; charity; alms giving; self-sacrifice; donation; generosity
1. One of the ethical limbs (niyama) of Patanjali’s Yoga System.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
dana -
the act of giving;
giving in marriage;
giving up;
communicating, imparting, teaching;
paying back, restoring;
adding, addition;
donation, gift;
oblation;
liberality;
bribery
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Dana: Giving, granting, teaching. A gift offered as a religious rite.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. A Commentary on the Upanishads
Almsgiving (dana) means giving of time and money to the welfare of others. It is also the cultivation of generosity as a trait of mind
and heart. These three are discussed in the Bhagavad Gita, especially in chapter seventeen, as absolute necessities on the spiri¬
tual path, never to be abandoned-not even by the renunciate. For these are not part of worldly life, but essentials of spiritual life.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Dana (“giving”). Charitable giving. This is a common religious practice, for it is believed to be a pious act that generates religious
merit. Dana is especially prevalent at pilgrimage places and other sacred sites (tirthas), since the sacredness of these places is
believed to magnify the consequences of any act, whether good or bad. Dana is one of the traditional paradigms for exchange, the
other being dakshina (preceptor’s fee). The difference between them is that dakshina is a fee for services, whereas dana is given
freely and brings one no tangible benefits. Aside from the intangible religious merit generated by dana, it is also a common way to
get rid of any inauspiciousness or ill fortune, which is transferred to the receiver along with the gift. This assumption makes receiv¬
ing dana karmically risky, whereas there are no such stigmas associated with dakshina. People who live solely by receiving gifts,
such as beggars at pilgrimage sites, are thus in an unenviable position, since they are commonly described as “vessels” (patras)
for the depositing of ill fortune. Yet this transfer of inauspiciousness is a pervasive pattern in regular society, and even within the
family there are means to transfer inauspiciousness through well-established gift-giving patterns, particularly the kanyadan, or gift
of a bride in marriage.
Wikipedia
Gifts in the Hindu Dharmasastras
Hindu law breaks the giving and receiving of gifts down by caste, as it does other activities. Each caste has its own rules and regu¬
lations on the topic of religious gifts. Manu explains that the reason for this is to ensure the protection of all creation, of how things
should be. Brahmins can both receive and give gifts. Ksatriyas are allowed only to give gifts, as are the vaisyas. Manu does not
even speak of the sudras as being related to giving gifts in this part of his text... Brahmins can accept gifts, but only under the right
circumstances and from the right people. If a brahmin has enough to sustain himself and his family, he is then not to ask for gifts.
If, however, he finds himself in a time of trouble and he anticipates struggling for his maintenance, he may seek gifts from the king.
It is the duty of the king to supply proper livelihood for a brahmin in distress. Brahmins would not, however, seek gifts from a king
that was not of the ksatriya lineage, nor from any greedy king, or a king who disobeys the sastras.
Manu makes it clear under his section on Accepting and Giving Gifts that the acceptance of gifts is a special occurrence, and
should not be taken for granted. If a man, a brahmin, becomes accustomed to this, his vedic energy will eventually become extin¬
guished. Kane elucidates this: “though entitled to accept gifts, a bramana should not again and again resort to that method, since
the spiritual power that he acquires by vedic study is lost by accepting gifts.” It is crucially important to know the law on how to ac¬
cept a gift, which is why brahmins are the only ones to be able to do so, since they are learned in the Vedas. It is said that when a
man who is not learned accepts certain gifts, he is then reduced to ashes, like a piece of wood. These certain gifts have the ability
to burn up different parts of the ignorant man’s life, such as his land, his sight, his offspring, and his life-force, to name a few. In
this way, an ignorant man should fear any gift, for it has the ability to make him sink “like a cow in the mud”. In the same way, the
donor must be weary of who really is learned and worthy of accepting his gifts.[8] It is important also that both the giver and the re¬
ceiver share the same respect when giving and obtaining gifts. “When due respect is shown in accepting and in giving a gift, both
the receiver and the giver go to heaven; but when the opposite happens, both go to hell.”
When it comes to the gifts that are being given, each item brings the donor something to his own life. For instance, he who gives
sesame seeds obtains desirable offspring, he who gives food obtains inexhaustible happiness, he who gives an ox obtains boun¬
teous prosperity, he who gives land obtains land, he who gives a bed obtains a wife, and the list goes on. The gift of the Veda,
which only a brahmin would be able to give, far exceeds any other gift, however.
It is important that the giver is truthful about what he has given or how he has made a gift or sacrifice. A sacrifice is lost by telling
a lie about it. In the same way, a man must not flaunt his asceticism, for by doing so this too will be lost. The Naradasmrti also
touches on the topic of gifts in the Dharmasastra, but only briefly. This smrti takes a different approach from Manu to giving and
receiving gifts. It is a more concise advance on the subject. Here we find that there are specifically four kinds of gifts in legal pro¬
cedures: what should and should not be given, along with legitimate and illegitimate gifts.[12] Going further into these stipulations,
it says that there exist “eight kinds of things which should not be given, one kind of thing which may be given, seven kinds of legiti¬
mate gifts, and sixteen kinds of illegitimate gifts.”...
The knowledge of gifts in Hindu Law is important because gifts are used also under the topics of varna, food, sin and penance,
duties of the king, and so on.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
dana (offering gifts) is also of three kinds: The offering of gifts made with the clear understanding that such are to be offered, to a
fit person who does nothing in return, at a fit time at a fit place, is counted as sattvika...
The gift offered expecting some return benefit or motivated by its fruits, and offered with vexation, is considered rajasa...
The gift given to an unworthy person improperly and with disrespect, at a wrong place, at a wrong time, is said to be tamasa...
The Vedic ritual dana (offering free gifts) underscores the idea, “Nothing is mine; everything belongs to God or Brahman”. The
riches that happen to come under one’s control, therefore, are shared with the deserving. Brahma-vadins (exponents of Brahman)
alone offer gifts with the awareness of this principle, and they, as a sign of this awareness, utter the word AUM while offering gifts.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
dana — from the verb root da = “to give”.
Sanskrit
Dana — <TPT
dana - TFT
Darshana
Variant spellings
darshana
darshan
darsana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Darsana — ... “sight”; vision; to have auspicious sight of; to see a great or holy being, either human or divine; sensation; appre¬
hension; intuition; a philosophical school.
1. Seeing or being in the presence of a revered person, sacred idol, or sacred place. It refers to both “seeing” and “being seen.”
2. According to Jainism, that stage of knowledge where there is an awareness of sensations of sense data. The specific character¬
istics of the objects are not noted however.
3. A standpoint or a system of thought. The various philosophical schools are known as darsanas.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
darsana -
showing;
seeing, looking at;
‘knowing’;
exhibiting, teaching;
seeing, observing, looking, noticing, observation, perception;
ocular perception;
the eye-sight;
inspection, examination;
visiting;
audience, meeting;
experiencing;
foreseeing;
contemplating;
apprehension, judgement;
opinion;
view, doctrine, philosophical system (6 in number, viz. [Purva-] rmmarhsa by Jaim. uttara-mTmarhsa by Badar.; Nyaya by Gotama,
Vaiseshika by Kanada, Sarhkhya by Kap.; Yoga by Pat.);
the eye;
the becoming visible or known, presence;
appearance (before the judge);
the being mentioned (in any authoritative text);
a vision, dream;
appearance, aspect, semblance;
colour;
showing;
a sacrifice;
= dharma
Wikipedia
Darsana (Darshan, Sanskrit: TT3R) is a Sanskrit term meaning “sight” (in the sense of an instance of seeing or beholding;... vision,
apparition, or glimpse. It is most commonly used for “visions of the divine,” e.g., of a god or a very holy person or artifact. One
could “receive darshana” of the deity in the temple, or from a great saintly person, such as a great guru.
In the sense “to see with reverence and devotion,” the term translates to hierophany, and could refer either to a vision of the divine
or to being in the presence of a highly revered person. In this sense it may assume a meaning closer to audience. “By doing dar¬
shan properly a devotee develops affection for God, and God develops affection for that devotee.
Darshan is ultimately difficult to define since it is an event in consciousness - an interaction in presence between devotee and
guru; or between devotee and image or sculpture, which focuses and calls out the consciousness of the devotee. In either event, a
heightening of consciousness or spirituality is the intended effect.
The other common use of the term ‘darshan’ is its application to the six systems of thought, dealt with under ‘Hindu philosophy’.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Darshana: Vision of certain aspect, especially as seen from the particular point of view of a given system of philosophy. Facets of
truth can be strung together systematically, so as to bring out the particularity of each while revealing the truth of truth underlying
the whole. In Vedanta, darshanas are thus studied in an interrelated fashion, as in the Sarva-Darshana- Sangraha and the Sarva
Darshana Siddhanta Sangraha which method finds its culminating example in modern times in the Darshana Mala (Garland of
Visions) of a hundred verses in ten sections or Darshanas of ten verses each, of the Guru Narayana. The German word Anschau-
ung corresponds to what is meant by Darshana.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Darsana: Literally, “vision.” The Indian equivalent to “philosophy.” Vision of Reality as seen from the point of view of a given sys¬
tem of philosophy.
Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa are the six such systems of Indian philosophy.
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Our belief in the reality of diversity as such is the result of perception and is therefore immediate. So nothing but an equally im¬
mediate apprehension of unity can effectively remove it. If variety, in the reality of which we almost instinctively believe, is not to
delude us, we must see the unity underlying it, not merely know it. Seeing is believing. That is why the Upanisads speak of darsa¬
na or ‘spiritual perception’ in respect of the atman or Brahman.
... darsana, which literally means ‘sight,’ ... may be taken to indicate that what the Indians aspired after in philosophy was not a
mediate knowledge of the ultimate truth but a direct vision of it. The word in that case would express what is a distinguishing fea¬
ture of Indian philosophy in general—its insistence that one should not rest content with a mere intellectual conviction but should
aim at transforming such conviction into direct experience.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
Our idea of a system of philosophy is different from the Indian conception of a Darsana. In its original meaning philosophy, as a
love of wisdom, comes nearest to the Sanskrit Gignissi, a desire to know, if not a desire to be wise. If we take philosophy in the
sense of an examination of our means of knowledge (Epistemology), or with Kant as an inquiry into the limits of human knowl¬
edge, there would be nothing corresponding to it in India. Even the Vedanta, so far as it is based, not on independent reasoning,
but on the authority of the Sruti, would lose with us its claim to the title of philosophy.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
According to Indian tradition there is only one Ultimate Reality, but there are six fundamental interpretations of that Reality. These
are called the Sad Darsanas or “six insights,” because they give man sight of the sensible verities and enable him to understand in
the light of reason the super-sensible Truth attainable only through the revealed scriptures or through the experience of rsis (sag¬
es). The word darsana comes from the root drs, “to see,” and is the Sanskrit term used for philosophy. The six darsanas constitute
the classic philosophical systems of India. They are Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta. They are not
the creation of any one mind nor the discovery of any single individual. The real founders are unknown, and there is considerable
controversy as to when they were first reduced to writing, but neither of these conditions detracts from the value of their principles.
Together they form a graduated interpretation of the Ultimate Reality, so interrelated that the hypothesis and method of each is
dependent upon the other. In no way are they contradictory or antagonistic to one another, for they all lead to the same practical
end, knowledge of the Absolute and Liberation of the Soul.
They have many characteristics in common. They all grew out of the Upanisads, the philosophical portion of the Veda which is
accepted as the supreme authority; they are delivered in the Sutra style, that is as aphorisms; as such, they are extremely con¬
cise, avoiding all unnecessary repetition and employing a rigid economy of words, making it difficult to understand them correctly
in their original form without the use of commentaries, for they use many of the same terms, but each system gives its own mean¬
ing to the use of the term. They rest their conclusions on several common concepts: all accept the eternal cycle of Nature which
is without beginning and end, and which consists of vast periods of creation, maintenance, and dissolution; all accept the principle
of regeneration of the soul that maintains that life and death are but two phases of a single cycle to which the soul is bound and to
which it clings because of ignorance of the true nature of things; all accept Dharma as the moral law of the universe that accounts
for these eternal cycles of Nature, as well as the destiny of the human soul; all agree that knowledge is the path to freedom and
that Yoga is the method to attain final liberation.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Each schol of thought is called a darsana.and aiming at the happiness of everyone is common among all of them. In other words,
how can happiness in life be ensured by knowing the Reality that appears as life, is the central theme of all Indian schools of
thought.
Nitya. Narayana Guru
Two Sanskrit terms which come closest in meaning to ‘philosophy’ are darshana and tattvajnana. Darshana means the envision¬
ing of truth. Tattvajnana means knowledge of the fundamentals. Narayana Guru looked upon knowledge as both conditional and
unconditional. In the Indian context, the epistemological inquiry into truth is identical with the search for liberation from all kinds of
genetic or psychosomatic conditionings and socio-cultural colorations to which an individual is exposed in the course of his or her
life. In the Western world, philosophical pursuits are mainly generated by one’s curiosity to know Truth, whereas in India, philo¬
sophical pursuits also imply the disciplining of one’s life in the light of one’s best knowledge.
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
Darsana ... from the root drs “to see”.
Related words
Hindu philosophy
Sutra
Sanskrit
Darsana —
darsana - TT3R
Deha
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Deha — ... the physical body; form; shape; person.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
deha -
(from root ‘dih’, to plaster, mould, fashion) the body;
form, shape, mass, bulk (as of a cloud);
person, individual;
appearance, manifestation ifc. having the appearance of;
N. of a country
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Deha: Physical body. Literally, “that which grows.”
Descriptions
Deha and sarira
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Root-wise, the word deha means “that which grows”; and Sarira, “that which perishes,” both signifying the same.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
The body is called sarira because it is subject to disintegration, siryamana-svabhavatvat sariram. The body is also called deha as
it is subject to cremation, dahana-yogya.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
deha — from the verb root dih = “to smear, annoint, mould, shape”.
Muller. The Upanishads, Part 2
The body is meant, and is called deha from the root dih, to knead together.
Related words
Sarira
Sanskrit
Deha — ^
deha - ^
Deva
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Deva — ... “shining”...; one who shines; god(s); celestial being; light giver; abode; sphere.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
deva -
heavenly, divine (also said of terrestrial things of high excellence);
a deity, god;
(rarely applied to) evil demons;
(pi.) the gods as the heavenly or shining ones; vi’sve deva’s, all the gods RV. ii, 3, 4 &c., or a partic. class of deities [see under
vi’sva], often reckoned as 33, either 11 for each of the 3 worlds RV. i, 139, 11 &c. [cf. tri-dasa], or 8 Vasus, 11 Rudras, and 12 Adi-
tyas [to which the 2 Asvins must be added] Br. ; ... ; deva’nam pa’tnyas, the wives of the gods RV. VS. Br.
N. of the number 33 (see above);
N. of Indra as the god of the sky and giver of rain;
a cloud;
the image of a god, an idol Vishn.;
a god on earth or among men, either Brahman, priest RV. AV., or king, prince (as a title of honour, esp. in the voc. ‘your majesty’
or ‘your honour’); ... and in names as purusottama-d... [lit. having Vishnu as one’s deity... ; rarely preceding the name e.g. de-
va-candamahasena;
a husband’s brother;
a fool, dolt;
a child;
a man following any partic. line or business;
a spearman, lancer;
emulation, wish to excel or overcome;
sport, play;
a sword;
N. of men;
of a disciple of Nagarjuna;
dimin. for devadatta;
an organ of sense
Wikipedia
Deva ... is the Sanskrit word for god or deity. In modern Hinduism, it can be loosely interpreted as angel, or any benevolent super¬
natural beings. The devas in Hinduism are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers. Devas are also the maintainers of
the realms as ordained by the Trimurti.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
Whether Indian philosophy overlaps religion or not is a matter of how one thinks of “religion.” The majority of the early Indian phil¬
osophical systems (darsana) do not acknowledge, and in some cases explicitly deny, the existence of a supreme being or lord (is-
vara). All classical Indian thinking accepts gods (deva). They are viewed as unliberated, like humans; they are beings who inhabit
other realms and occasionally visit ours. They eventually live out their lengthy period as gods and are reborn into lower realms as
humans or even animals. This process is part of the Indian theory of karma—accepted until modern times—according to which
selves are beginningless and are caused by their past actions to inhabit a series of bodies ranging from insects (or even plants) up
to gods, depending on the particular portion of the stored-up results of past actions (karman) that becomes activated (prarabdha)
as one enters the next birth.
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Here [Brhadaranyaka Upanisad]. the inmates of the world are classified as gods (deva), men (manusya) and demons (asura), and
are all described as the children of Prajapati. They approach their father seeking instruction from him as to how they should con¬
duct themselves. The answer is brief, but it clearly indicates the necessity for grades in moral discipline according to the capacity
and temperament of the persons in question. To the asuras, the commandment given is ‘Have compassion on man’ (dayadhvam);
to the manusyas, ‘Be generous’ (datta); and to the devas, ‘Learn self-control’ (damyata). The first two of these prescribe regard for
others as the chief principle of action. The third is unlike them and may appear-to be purely individualistic; but, being addressed to
the best, it should be taken to presuppose the training of the other two stages. The same Upanisad in another of its sections rep¬
resents the gods as unwilling to allow man to withdraw from the sphere of social or relative morality, which is merely a rhetorical
way of expressing that man ought not to break away from society until he has discharged his duty towards it and gained its good¬
will, so to speak.
... the old Vedic view of deva—a luminous something presented as external to us.
Hume. The thirteen Upanishads
The gods (deva) and the devils (asura) were the twofold offspring of Prajapati. Of these the gods were the younger, the devils the
older. They were struggling with each other for these worlds.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The word deva literally means “shining one,” although the most common (and often most appropriate) translation is “god.” This
word is an epithet for any superhuman being, although it can also be used figuratively for any person of high status, such as a king
or a brahmin (priest). The notion of “gods” in Hinduism must be understood in light of the generally assumed context of reincarna¬
tion (samsara), which assumes that a person can be reborn in many different realms of reality. Some of these are realms of pun¬
ishment where people atone for the effects of their bad karma, while others are realms of pleasure (the heavens) where people
enjoy the results of their good karma. The devas are the inhabitants of these heavens, and are thus “gods,” since gods, by defini¬
tion, live in heaven.
Yet all these gods are still subject to the vicissitudes of reincarnation—even Indra, the ruler of heaven. Birth in heaven is based on
one’s good karma, which is inevitably diminished by enjoying the rewards of life in heaven, just as a savings account is depleted
by continuing withdrawals. When their good karma has been exhausted, even the gods are subject to rebirth in other realms. So
even though these gods are superhuman, they are still subject to the law of reincarnation. There is thus a qualitative difference
between these gods (the devas) and the so-called Great gods, such as Vishnu, Shiva, and the Goddess. These latter deities are
seen by their devotees (bhakta) as totally outside the realm of space, time, and the causes and effects of karma, and thus corre¬
spond more directly to the Judeo- Christian notion of “God,” as the ultimate power in the universe.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Five Kins. The most important teachings are based on the symbolism of the Five Elements. ... The Panchajana or “Five Kins”
of Hindu tradition represent the various aspects of human life in the Five Elements, from Earth to Heaven. Their names are men¬
tioned in the Aitareya Brahmana, the Brihad Devata and other scriptures.
The first kin is called either Sarpa, “Serpents”, or Uraga-Rakshasa, or Yaksha-Rakshasa. Uragas are Serpent beings, Yakshas
are Gnomes. Rakshas, from which the word Rakshasas has been derived, is the Spirit of Illusion, generally taking the form of a
monstrous serpent. This first Kin belongs to Earth. ... The word Rakshasas is generally rendered by “demons”; but in the myths
fierce and terrible looking Rikshasas were sometimes pious in nature. ...
The second Kin is called Pitara, meaning “Fathers” or “Ancestors”. The link with the members of the family, alive and dead, is
predominantly an emotional one. The Pitaras belong to the Element Water. It has been mentioned before that the “dream-state” of
consciousness is connected with the Element Water. ...
The third Kin is called Manushya, “Men”, and occasionally Asura, “Not-Angels”. (The word Asura has also other etymological an¬
tecedents). These terms, belonging to a Vedic tradition, developed a different meaning in subsequent Hindu tradition. A Manushy-
an was originally a mental being, a thinker, a denizen of the Element Fire. Now it means a man, a human being. In the East as
well as in the West, “man” derived his name from the “mind”.
The fourth Kin is called Deva, Gods, “heavenly beings”, Angels. They belong to the Element Air or Spirit. They are sensed by the
Buddhi: the faculty of spiritual discrimination.
The fifth Kin is called Gandharva. To a modern Hindu it may seem strange that Gandharvas rank higher than Devas: for now
Gandharvas are taken to be no more than heavenly singers and musicians in Indra’s heaven. Yet even in this conception some-
thing of the original meaning hss been preserved, for Indra’s heaven is the Ether. He is Lord of the Akasha. The original meaning
of Gandharva is a most exalted one. In the Vedas the Gandharva was a glorious being, a “measurer of space”. He is the Higher
Self, the Son of God, the Lord of Ether, the Quintessence, the Lord of Light.
Wikipedia
Vedas
The Vedas, the earliest comprehensive literature, contain mantras for pleasing the Devas to obtain blessings. The Rig Veda, the
earliest of the four, enumerates 33 Devas.
Some Devas represent the forces of nature and some represent moral values. The main Devas addressed in the Rig Veda are
Varuna, Mitra and Indra. Agni (fire) and Soma represent modes of fire-sacrifice, called yagna, but personified are also seen as
Devas. Aitareya Brahmana in its opening stanza suggests a hierarchy among Devas. All Gods taken together are worshiped as
the Vishvedevas. Varuna has the dual title of Deva and Asura. There are also other Devas like Savitr, Vishnu, Rudra (later giv¬
en the exclusive epithet of Shiva, “auspicious one”), Prajapati (later identified with Brahma), and devis (Goddesses) like Ushas
(dawn), Prithvi (earth) and Sarasvati (Knowledge).
Upanishads
The Upanishads distinguish between the celestial gods from the Divine forms of God. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says there
are 33 devas in the celestial world, in terms of performance of yajnas. They are eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Adityas, Indra,
and Prajapati.
Purana
Purana describes genealogy and histories as remembered by the teller. As per Purana, Brahamadeva had seven assumed sons
(manasputra) called saptarishi. They were Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya (Kulastya), Pulaha, Kratu and Wasishtha. Marichi had
a son called Kashyapa. Kashyapa had thirteen wives: Aditi, Diti, Danu, Duhita, Kadru etc. The sons of Aditi are called Aditya, the
sons of Diti are called Daitya, the sons of Danu are called Danava and the sons of Duhita are called Duhev or Deva. Duhita’s sons
Deva were: Vishnu, Yama (Dharma) and Indra.
Nature and Hinduism
According to Vedas, the 33 devas are reflection of Nature. It means worship of devas is actually worship of nature. Primary Devas
like Indra, Varuna (water), Agni (fire), Soma, Vayu (air), Sun, Earth, Hill, Van (forest) are actually symbols of Nature.
Classical Hinduism
Nature Devas are responsible for elements or objects such as fire, air, rain and trees - most of them assumed a minor role in the
later religion. Certain other deities rose into prominence. These higher Devas control much more intricate tasks governing the
functioning of the cosmos and the evolution of creation. Mahadevas, such as Lord Ganesha, have such tremendous tasks under
their diligence that they are sometimes called themselves Gods under the Supreme One God. The Trimurti is composed of Brah¬
ma, Visnu and Siva. (Note: Mahadeva generally refers to Siva)
There are also many other lesser celestial beings in Hinduism such as the Gandharvas (celestial musicians), or their wives, the
Apsaras (celestial dancers).
Vayu, the Lord of the wind, is an example of an important Deva. Also, Death is personified as the Deva Yama.
Devas, in Hinduism, are celestial beings that control forces of nature such as fire, air, wind, etc. They are not to be confused with
the One and the Supreme God or His personal form, Saguna Brahman which can be visualized as Visnu or Siva. God (see Ish-
vara) or Brahman (the Supreme Spirit) is the ultimate controller. A famous verse from the Katha Upanishad states: “From fear
(here, power) of Him the wind blows; from fear of Him the sun rises; from fear of Him Agni and Indra and Death, the fifth, run.” In
actuality, Brahman is the only Ultimate Reality, and all Devas are simply mundane manifestations of Him.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
The word Deva (god) means bright or shining one, and corresponds to what the Christians and Mahommedans call ‘angels.’
... The gods, the Devas, are not eternal, they have to die. In heaven they will all die. The only deathless place is Brahmaloka.,
where alone there is no birth and death. In our mythology it is said—there are also the demons, who sometimes give the ‘gods
chase.’ In all mythologies you read of these fights between the demons or wicked angels, and the gods, and sometimes the de¬
mons conquer the gods. In all mythologies also, you find that the Devas were fond of the beautiful daughters of men. As a Deva,
the Jiva only reaps results of past actions but makes no new Karma. Karma means actions that will produce effects, also those
effects or results of actions. When a man dies and becomes a Deva, he has a period of pleasure, and during that time makes no
fresh Karma ; he simply enjoys the reward of his past good works. But when the good Karma is worked out then the other Karma
begins to take effect.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
deva — from the verb root div = “to shine”.
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit deva- derives from Indo-lranian *deva- which in turn descends from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) word, *deiwos,
originally an adjective meaning “celestial” or “shining”, which is a PIE (not synchronic Sanskrit) vrddhi derivative from the root *diw
meaning “to shine”, especially as the day-lit sky.
Sanskrit
Deva — ^cT
deva - %=r
Devayana
Variant spellings
devayana
devayana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Devayana — ... the “way or path of the gods”
1. It is also called the Northern Path (uttarayana), characterized by various luminous stages such as flame, day, the bright fort¬
night of the moon, the bright half of the year when the sun travels northward, the sun, and lightning. Those who follow this path
and reach Brahmaloka generally do not return to the earth. It is meant for those who cultivate faith and asceticism. At death, those
individuals who attain liberation (moksa) by the devayana, never return to the cycle of birth and death.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
devayana-
leading to the gods, serving them as a way;
way leading to the gods;
the vehicle of a god
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Commentary by Prasad:
Devayana: The path of the gods. One of the two paths through which the departed souls supposedly go to the other world, from
where tney will not return. Literally, “the bright path.” Also called sukla-gati, the white path. Another name for arcir-marga.
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The second story of Shvetaketu and Pravahana Jaibali seems to be fairly conclusive with regard to the fact that the transmigration
doctrines, the way of the gods (devayana) and the way of the fathers (pitryana) had originated among the Ksattriyas.
... the way of gods (devayana), meant for those who cultivate faith and asceticism (tapas). These souls at death enter successively
into flame, day, bright half of the month, bright half of the year, sun, moon, lightning, and then finally into Brahman never to return.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Ganapati and Janus, the two-headed God, supervise the Two Paths and the choice to tread them. These are called by various
names. The Downward Path, that of the Fall, is called Pitri-Yana, “the Path of the Ancestors”, or Bhokti-Marga, “the Path of Plea¬
sure (literally ‘eating’)”, or the Path of the Moon, or the Path of Death. The Return Path to God has been called the Deva-Yana,
“the Path of the Gods”, or Mukti-Marga, “the Path of Liberation”, or the Path of the Sun, or the Path of Life. At every moment anew
— for every moment is a new beginning — the choice of Path must be made — till the Goal is reached. In crude words, the choice
must be made between materialism, selfishness and sin on the one hand, and spirituality, unselfishness and virtue (meaning true
manhood) on the other.
In connection with the apparent movement of the sun the Two Paths have been called the Northward and the Southward Paths.
The Spiritual Path then starts with the commencement of winter, when the sun begins to move Northwards. It is the Birth of Christ,
Mitra, the Son of Man, in Capricorn. Capricorn is the House of Yama, the God of Death, who is also Lord of Life. It is in this sense
that tradition teaches the spiritual striver “to go North”. Just as the South may have a meaning varying with the meaning of “dying”
in the context in which it occurs, the North also may imply different and opposite things.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
The archiradi-marga, or the devayana, the Northern Path of the gods, of the celestials, the path of the liberation of the spirit from
the bondage of samsara, is being described. Those who meditate like this, those who live the spiritual life of knowledge, those who
have an insight into the secret mentioned here in this Upanishad, those who practise austerity (tapas), endowed with the great
faith (shraddha) in the efficacy of this knowledge, they rise to the realm of the divine Agni, or the deity of fire, on departing from
this world. They are carried to a higher realm by the deity of the flame, or fire, and from there they are taken up to the still higher
realm of the deity of the day. There, again, the matter does not end; they go higher up to the realm of the deity which superintends
over the bright half of the lunar month. From there, again, they go higher up into the realm of the deity of the six months during
which the sun moves to the north. Then they go higher up to the deity which superintends over the entire year. Then, further, they
go to the sun, which is a very important halting place, as it is said, in the passage of the soul to liberation. Then the soul goes
higher up into the more subtle regions of experience and enjoyment of a divine a nature, comparable to cool lunar radiance. Then
comes the realm which the Upanishad calls the flash of lightning represented by its deity. This is not the lightning that we see in
the sky, but the flash of the lightning of the knowledge of Reality. We are on the borderland of the Creator, as it were. There the
light flashes and then the individuality is about to drop. Effort ceases there and some other law begins to take the soul by hand. A
superhuman force begins to work there, an amanava-purusha, a superhuman being comes there. Someone comes and recognis¬
es you, “Lo, the exiled has come, the prodigal son has returned.” Such is the joy of the gods when this exiled being returns after
years and years of suffering. The superhuman being catches hold of you by the hand and leads you along the path of light, higher
and higher, until you are taken to the realm of the Creator Himself, the Brahma-loka. This is the path of light; this is the path of
freedom; this is the path of liberation.
Devayana and pitriyana
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Ganapati is worshipped at the beginning of every religious rite, and at the beginning of every important enterprise, by the devout
Hindu. For he watches over the beginning of the Path. The belief is, that no obstacles can be overcome, and no progress made,
on the Spiritual Path, without the guidance, help and blessings of this God, who stands ever at the cross-roads of human choice.
He is the Lord of Karmic causes-and-effects, hence he is the “Bringer and Remover of Obstacles”. Capricorn, the stage he rep¬
resents, is the “crucial” stage on the Path. ... That choice lies before one and all. The opportunity traditionally suited for it comes
in the time when the Cycles meet, marked by the winter solstice. Ganapati is called “the Lord of the Two Paths” which are the
Pitri-yana or “Path of the Ancestors”, and the Deva-yana or “Path of the Gods”. The “Ancestors” are the symbols of the forces of
Karma... The Two Paths begin from the winter solstice, leading in opposite directions. In some contexts they are associated with
both the winter and the summer solstices. When we compare the situations in the heavens of the first points of Capricorn and
Cancer, with which the two solstices are connected, the one, the Path of Heaven, is high above, from the point of view of a be¬
holder on earth, while the other, the Path of Hell, is deep underneath, in the opposite direction.
Devayana, pitriyana and the third path
General
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
And now a few words about this way out of the Samsara, and first about the exoteric theory of it. In the ancient time of the hymns
there was no idea of Samsara but only rewards in heaven and (somewhat later) punishments in a dark region (padam gabhiram),
the precursor of the later hells. Then the deep theory of Samsara came up, teaching rewards and punishment in the form of a new
birth on earth. The Vedanta combines both theories, and so it has a double expiation, first in heaven and hell, and then again in a
new existence on the earth. This double expiation is different (1) for performers of good works, going the pitriyana, (2) for worship¬
pers of the sagunam brahma, going the devayana, (3) for wicked deeds, leading to what is obscurely hinted at in the Upanishads
as the tritiyam sthanam, the third place, (I) The pitriyana leads through a succession of dark spheres to the moon, there to enjoy
the fruit of the good works and, after their consumption, back to an earthly existence. (2) The devayana leads through a set of
brighter spheres to Brahman, without returning to the earth. But this Brahman is only sagunam brahma, the object of worshipping,
and its true worshippers, though entering into this sagunam brahma without returning, have to wait in it until they get moksha by
obtaining samyagdarcanam, the full knowledge of the nirgunam brahma. (3) The tritiyam sthanam, including the later theories of
hells, teaches punishment in them, and again punishment by returning to earth in the form of lower castes, animals, and plants. All
these various and fantastical ways of Samsara are considered as true, quite as true as this world is, but not more. For the whole
world and the whole way of Samsara is valid and true for those only who are in the avidya, not for those who have overcome it, as
we have to show now.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
We are told there that, in the case of persons who have fulfilled their religious or sacrificial duties and have lived a good life, but
have not yet reached the highest knowledge, the subtle body in which the Atman is clothed migrates, carried along by the Udana
through the Murdhanya Nadi, the capital vein, following either the path of the fathers (Pitriyana) or the path of the gods (Devaya¬
na). The former is meant for good people, the latter for those who are good and have already reached the lower, if not the highest
knowledge. The former leads on to smoke, night, the waning moon, the waning year, the world of the fathers, the ether, and lastly
the moon. In the moon the departed souls remain for a time enjoying the rewards of their good deeds, in company with the Pitris,
and then descend again, supported by the remnant of unrewarded merit due to their good works, to the ether, wind, smoke, cloud,
rain, and plants. From the plants springs seed which, when matured in the womb, begins a new life on earth in such a station as
the rest of his former deeds (Anusaya), Anlage, may warrant.
Little is said in the Upanishads of those who, owing to their evil deeds, do not even rise to the moon and descend again. But
Badarayana tries to make it clear that the Upanishads know of a third class of beings (III, i, 12) who reap the fruits of their evil ac¬
tions in Samyamana (abode of Yama) and then ascend to earth again. Theirs is the third place alluded to in the Khand. Upanishad
V, 10, 8.
But while evil doers are thus punished in different hells, as mentioned in the Puranas, and while pious people are fully rewarded in
the moon and then return again to the earth, those who have been pious and have also reached at least the lower knowledge of
Brahman follow a different road. After leaving the body, they enter the flame, the day, the waxing moon, the waxing year (northern
precession), the year, the world of the Devas, the world of Vayu, air, the sun, the moon, and then lightning ; but all these, we are
told, are not abodes for the soul, but guides only who, when the departed has reached the lightning, hand him over to a person
who is said to be not-a-man. This person conducts him to the world of Varuna, then to that of Indra, and lastly to that of Prajapa-
ti or the qualified Brahma. Here the souls are supposed to remain till they realise true knowledge or the Samyagdarsana, which
does not mean universal, but thorough and complete knowledge, that knowledge which, if obtained on earth, at once frees a man
from all illusion. Finally the souls, when fully released, share in all the powers of Brahman except those of creating and ruling the
universe. They are not supposed ever to retura to the world of Samsara (IV, 4, 17).
All this is hardly to be called philosophy, neither do the different descriptions of the road on which the souls of the pious are sup¬
posed to wander towards Brahma, and which naturally vary according to different schools, help us much towards a real insight into
the Vedanta. But it would have been unfair to leave out what, though childish, is a characteristic feature of the Vedanta-philoso-
phy, and must be judged from a purely historical point of view.
Related words
Pitryana
Pancagnividya
Sanskrit
Devayana — cJcfqH
devayana - ^44H
Dharma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Dharma — ... righteousness; merit; religious duty; religion; law; a goal of life (purusartha); medium of motion (Jainism); scriptural
texts (Buddhism); quality (Buddhism); cause (Buddhism); religious teaching (Buddhism); unsubstantial and soulless (Buddhism)
(from the verb root dhr = “to uphold, to establish, to suport”)
1. Literally it means “what holds together”; thus, it is the basis of all order, whether social or moral. As an ethical or moral value, it
is the instrumental value to liberation (except for the MTmamsaka who considers it the supreme value).
2. Varna asrama-dharma is one’s specific duty.
3. Sanatana-dharma is the eternal religion.
4. Sva-dharma is one’s own individual duty.
5. Apad-dharma is the dharma prescribed at the time of adversities.
6. Yuga-dharma is the law of time (aeon).
7. Sadharana-dharma is the general obligations or the common duties of each and every individual. It is comprised of virtues like
self-control, kindness, truthfulness, and so on. This is based on the idea that individuals are born with a number of debts and
these duties help to repay one’s debts to humanity.
8. According to Jainism, it is the medium of motion and pervades the entire universe. It is one and eternal. It is neither active itself
nor can it produce action in others. However, it makes the motion of all else possible by providing the movement medium for them.
9. According to Buddhism, the chief definitions of this term include cosmic order, the natural law, the teachings of the Buddha,
norms of conduct, things or facts, ideas, and factors of existence.
10. According to the MTmamsa school, it is what is enjoined in the Veda. It is religious duty, the performance thereof bringing merit
and its neglect bringing demerit.
1 1 . Generally dharma is twofold: sadharana-dharma, which is common to everyone, and varna-asrama-dharma, which is specific
to each class and stage of life.
12. According to Nyaya-Vaisesika, dharma is a specific quality (vlsesaguna) that belongs to the self. However, dharma signifies
merit (punya) rather than right. They believe that dharma is directly perceived, though it takes yogic power to do so. This is done
by means of alaukika-pratyaksa.
13. According to Sankhya-Yoga, dharma is a mode of the intellect (buddhi). It is due to a confusion that one may believe that dhar¬
ma belongs to the empirical sphere and that merit and demerit do not ever touch the trans-empirical individual soul.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
dharma -
that which is established or firm, steadfast decree, statute, ordinance, law;
usage, practice, customary observance or prescribed conduct, duty;
right, justice (often as a synonym of punishment);
virtue, morality, religion, religious merit, good works (dha’rmena ind. or ...mat ind. according to right or rule, rightly, justly, accord¬
ing to the nature of anything; cf. below; ...mesthita mfn. holding to the law, doing one’s duty) AV.;
Law or Justice personified (as Indra SBr. &c.; as Yama MBh.; as born from the right breast of Yama and father of Zama, Kama
and Harsha ib.; as Vishnu Hariv.; as Praja-pati and son-in-law of Daksha Hariv. Mn. &c.; as one of the attendants of the Sun L.; as
a Bull Mn. viii, 16; as a Dove Kathas. vii, 89, &c.);
nature, character, peculiar condition or essential quality, property, mark, peculiarity;
a partic. ceremony MBh.;
sacrifice;
the ninth mansion;
an Upanishad;
associating with the virtuous;
religious abstraction, devotion;
a Soma-drinker;
N. of the 15th Arhat of the present Ava-sarpinT;
of a son of Anu and father of Ghrita;
other names
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Dharma is a complex and multifaceted term in Hindu tradition. It can be translated as “religious law,” “right conduct,” “duty,” and
“social order.” Its root, dhri, means “to hold up.”
The social concept of dharma emerges from the VEDIC notion of RITA or “cosmic order.” In this worldview, dharma (the social or¬
der) is maintained by dharma (right conduct and the fulfillment of duty and religious law). Social activity was traditionally very much
circumscribed by tradition; following dharma meant doing what was required.
Starting as early as the fourth century B.C.E., a voluminous literature in Sanskrit was created called DHARMASHASTRA (authori¬
tative texts on dharma). These included the Dharmasutras (aphoristic texts).
Dharma later became personified as a god in mythology and literature. His son was YUDHISHTHIRA, one of the five PANDAVAS
in the MAHABHARATA story.
In the Jain tradition, dharma refers to the complex of duties required of a Jain. Jains recognize 10 forms of dharma that monks are
to follow. The word dharma can be used in association with any religion or faith, such as the Zoroastrian dharma.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Dharma. One of the four purusharthas, or aims of life, the others being artha (wealth, power, and prosperity), kama (desire), and
moksha (liberation). The concept of dharma is so fundamental to Hindu culture that it cannot be adequately translated by any
single English word— possible translations are “religious law,” “religious duty,” “duty,” “religion,” “law,” or “social order.” The root
meaning for the word dharma comes from a verb meaning “to support” or “to uphold.” Dharma is thus that which supports or
upholds society, which shows why all the aforementioned translations could make sense in context. Dharma provides the overall
regulatory framework for life in the world and gives a sense of ultimate purpose to keep one’s life in balance. Although Hindu cul¬
ture sanctions the pursuit of both power (artha) and pleasure (kama), it is always assumed that both of these will be regulated by
an underlying commitment to dharma, to keep one’s life integrated and balanced.
Wikipedia
The term dharma is an Indian spiritual and religious term, that means one’s righteous duty or any virtuous path in the common
sense of the term. A Hindu’s dharma is affected by a person’s age, class, occupation, and sex. In Indian languages it can be
equivalent simply to religion, depending on context. The word dharma translates as that which upholds or supports, and is gener¬
ally translated into English as law.
Dharma also refers to the teachings and doctrines of the founders of Buddhism and Jainism, the Buddha and Mahavira. In Bud¬
dhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for “phenomenon”
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Dharma - The most basic quality or intrinsic property by which a thing is what it is. It is the differentia of a species that distinguish¬
es it from all other species. In its ethical connotation, righteousness.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Dharma: Derived from the root dhr, “to support.” The universal functional system that sustains the world and life. Righteous way of
life fully in harmony with the universal order.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Dharma: (1) the course of action enjoined to each particular being by its own nature; (2) one of the four aims of human life, i.e.
attaining righteousness and virtue, the other three aims being Kama (sense-enjoyment), Artha (gaining of wealth) and Moksha
(liberation) as the highest; (3) a common term for righteousness, virtue and religion.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
“Whenever unrighteousness prevails and Righteousness declines, I manifest Myself in a human form to re-establish the Righ¬
teous and to destroy the unrighteous,” says the Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (IV; 7-8). The word “Dharma”, here rendered,
as is generally done, by “Righteousness”, could also have been rendered by “the Tradition”. For that is the deeper meaning of this
word, much misused by Hindu conservatives and sectarians. It comes from the root “Dhr”, meaning to support, to uphold, to main¬
tain. The Tradition is the support, the only support, of humanity. It upholds and maintains humanity, which, losing it, sinks to the
level of beasts, plants and stones. This is what, according to Hindu tradition, has happened during the progressive “decadence” or
“Fall away” from man’s natural state of communion with God. It is written in the Puranas that Dharma originally went in the shape
of a cow on four legs, in the second age on three, in the third on two, and in the fourth only on one.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
According to Indian tradition there are four ages, collectively called a Mahayuga, namely, the Satya Yuga (also called Krta Yuga),
or golden age; the Treta Yuga (age), in which righteousness (dharma) decreased by one-fourth; the Dvapara Yuga (age), in which
righteousness (dharma) decreased by one-half; and the present Kali Yuga (age) (lit. the age of quarrel), in which righteousness
(dharma) has decreased three-fourths, considered the most evil of all ages. According to this doctrine each age has its appropri¬
ate scripture (sastra), designed to meet the requirements and needs of men of each age in their effort to attain liberation.
Wikipedia
The various Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, have all accorded a central focus to dharma and
advocate its practice. Each of these religions emphasizes Dharma as the correct understanding of reality in its teachings. In these
traditions, beings that live in accordance with Dharma proceed more quickly toward dharma yukam, moksha or nirvana (personal
liberation). The antonym of dharma is adharma meaning unnatural or immoral.
In traditional Hindu society, dharma has historically denoted a variety of ideas, such as Vedic ritual, ethical conduct, caste rules,
and civil and criminal law. Its most common meaning however regarded two principal ideals; namely, that social life should be
structured through well- defined and well- regulated classes (varna), and that an individual’s life within a class should be organized
into defined stages (ashrama, see dharmasastra).
Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are called Hindu Dharma, Bauddha-Dharma, Jain-Dharma and Sikh dharma, respec¬
tively.
In Hinduism
In the Rig veda, the belief (or observation) that a natural justice and harmony pervades the natural world becomes manifest in the
concept of rta, which is both ‘nature’s way’ and the order implicit in nature. Thus rta bears a resemblance to the ancient Chinese
concept of tao and the Heraclitan or stoic conception of the logos.
This “power” that lies behind nature, and which keeps everything in balance became a natural forerunner to the idea of dharma as
one can see in this early Vedic prayer. This idea laid the cornerstone of Dharma’s implicit attribution to the “ultimate reality” of the
surrounding universe, in classical Hindu.
The following verse from the Rig-Veda is an example where rta finds mention :
“O Indra, lead us on the path of Rta, on the right path over all evils.” (RV 10.133.6)
The transition of the rta to the modern idea of Dharma occurs in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The Upanishads saw dharma as
the universal principle of law, order, harmony, all in all truth, that sprang first from Brahman. It acts as the regulatory moral prin¬
ciple of the Universe. It is sat, truth, a major tenet of Hinduism. This hearkens back to the conception of the Rig Veda that “Ekam
Sat,” (Truth Is One), of the idea that Brahman is “Sacchidananda” (Truth- Consciousness- Bliss). Dharma is not just law, or harmo¬
ny, it is pure Reality. In the Brihadaranyaka’s own words:
“Verily, that which is Dharma is truth.
Therefore they say of a man who speaks truth, ‘He speaks the Dharma,’
or of a man who speaks the Dharma, ‘He speaks the Truth.’
Verily, both these things are the same.”
(Brh. Upanishad, 1.4.14) (2)
In the Mahabharata, Krishna defines Dharma as: “Dhaaranaad dharma ity aahur dharmena vidhrtaah prajaah, Yat syaad dhaara-
na sanyuktam sa dharma iti nishchayah,” or, “Dharma upholds both this- worldly and other- worldly affairs” (Mbh 12.110.11).
In Buddhism
For many Buddhists, the Dharma most often means the body of teachings expounded by the Buddha. The word is also used in
Buddhist phenomenology as a term roughly equivalent to phenomenon, a basic unit of existence and/or experience.
In East Asia, the translation for Dharma is )£, pronounced fa in Mandarin, beop in Korean, ho in Japanese, and phap in Vietnam¬
ese. However, the term Dharma can also be transliterated from its original form.
The tradition says that the Buddha spent forty- nine days in the neighborhood of the Bodhi Tree. Then the two merchants en route
from Orissa passed close by and were advised by the spirit of a dead relative to make offerings to the new Buddha, who was
sitting at the foot of a certain tree. They offered honey cakes and sugar cane and “took refuge in the Buddha and his Dharma, thus
becoming the first Buddhists and the first lay devotees in the world.”
In this case, Gautama did not preach Dharma to the two men, but merely received their reverence and offerings. Worship of holy
persons is nonsectarian, and does not involve subscribing to their ideas. The Buddhist lay cult is here shown developing naturally
out of pre- Buddhist practices.
In Zoroastrianism
Daena (din in modern Persian) is the eternal Law, whose order was revealed to humanity through the Mathra- Spenta (“Holy
Words”). Daena has been used to mean religion, faith, law, even as a translation for the Hindu and Buddhist term Dharma, often
interpreted as “duty” or social order, right conduct, or virtue. The metaphor of the ‘path’ of Daena is represented in Zoroastrianism
by the muslin undershirt Sudra, the ‘Good/Holy Path’, and the 72- thread Kushti girdle, the “Pathfinder”.
In Sikhism
For Sikhs, the word “Dharma” means the “path of righteousness”. What is the “righteous path”? That is the question that the Sikh
scriptures attempt to answer. The main holy scriptures of the Sikhs is called the Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS.) It is considered to be
more than a holy book of the Sikhs. The Sikhs treat this Granth (holy book) as a living Guru. The holy text spans 1430 pages and
contains the actual words spoken by the Sikh Gurus and various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism and Islam.
Sikh Dharma is a distinct religion revealed through the teachings often Gurus who are accepted by the followers as if they were
spiritually the same. The Gurus are considered “the divine light” and they conveyed Gurbani (the word of God) in the form of the
Guru Granth Sahib to the world. In this faith, God is described as both Nirgun (transcendent) and Sargun (immanent). Further,
God pervades in His creation and is omnipresent, but cannot be incarnate. The principal Sikh belief lays stress on one’s actions
and deeds rather than people’s religious labels, rituals or outward appearance or signs.
In Jainism
Dharma is natural. Jain Acharya Samantabhadra writes: “Vatthu sahavo dhammo” the dharma is the nature of an object. It is the
nature of the soul to be free, thus for the soul, the dharma ia paralaukika, beyond worldly. However the nature of the body is to
seek self-preservation and be engaged in pleasures.
Thus there are two dharmas.
The two Dharmas
Acharya Haribhadra (approx. 6-7th cent.) discusses dharma in Dharma-Bindu. he writes (Translation by Y. Malaiya):
Because of the difference in practice, dharma is of two kinds, for the householders and for the monks.
Of the householder’s dharma, there are two kinds,’’ordinary” and “special”
The ordinary dharma of the householder should be carried out according to tradition, such that it is not objectionable, according to
ones abilities such as wealth, in accordance with nyaya (everyone treated fairly and according to laws).
Somadeva suri (10th c.) terms the “ordinary” and “special” dharmas laukika (“worldly”) and pralaukika (“extra- worldly”) respective¬
ly:
A householder follows both laukika and the paralaukika dharmas at the same time.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Dharma is righteousness; it is the law of inner growth and the basis of man’s actions. It is in harmony with a man’s spiritual evolu¬
tion. Therefore by following dharma one attains success in all actions. By negating dharma one brings confusion into one’s life and
retards the clock of progress. Dharma is not a sort of duty imposed from outside, but a sense of righteousness, integrity, and hon¬
our with which one is born as a result of past actions. So every man has his own dharma, in consequence of which he reacts in his
own unique way to the outside world. His education and environment give to this basic life-form only an outer shape. By fulfilling
his dharma a man marches along the path of progress until he attains the supreme dharma of all beings, namely, the realization of
Truth.
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
In the Rigveda, the word appears as an n- stem, dhrman-, with a range of meanings encompassing “something established or
firm” (in the literal sense of prods or poles), figuratively “sustainer, supporter” (of deities), and semantically similar to the Greek
ethos (“fixed decree, statute, law”). In Classical Sanskrit, the noun becomes thematic, dharma-.
It is a derivation from Proto-lndo-lranian root *dhar- (“to fasten, to support, to hold”), in turn reflecting Proto- Indo- European root
*dher- (“to hold”), which is in Sanskrit is reflected as class- 1 root Vdhr. Etymologically it is related to Avestan Vdar- (“to hold”), Old
Persian Vdar- (“to hold, have”), Latin frenum (“rein, horse tack”), Lithuanian dereti (“to be suited, fit”) and OCS drbzati (“to hold,
possess”). Classical Sanskrit word dharmas would formally match with Latin o-stem firmus < *PIE *dher- mo-s “holding”, were it
not for its historical development from earlier Rigvedic n- stem.
From the Atharvaveda and in Classical Sanskrit, the stem is thematic, dharma- (DevanagarT: £R*T), and in Pali, it takes the form
dhamma. It is also often rendered dharam in contemporary Indian languages and dialects. It is used in most or all philosophies
and religions of Indian origin—sometimes summarized under the umbrella term of Dharmic faiths—including Hinduism, Buddhism,
Jainism, and Sikhism. It is difficult to provide a single concise definition for dharma, as the word has a long and varied history and
straddles a complex set of meanings and interpretations.
Related words
Artha
Kama
Moksha
Purushartha, the four goals of human life
Rama
Rita
Opposite: Adharma
Sanskrit
Dharma — Vjif
dharma - srnr
Dharma Sastra
Variant spellings
dharma sastra
dharma shastra
dharma-sastra
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Dharma-sastra — ... Law Book
1. The texts codifying customary law.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Dharmashastra. The Indian literary genre of Dharmashastra (authoritative scripture prescribing the rules of right conduct) began
around the fourth century B.C.E. It included the subgenre of Dharmasutras, or aphoristic works about DHARMA. Traditionally, the
LAWS OF MANU (Manusmriti or Manavadharmashastra) is considered the first and most authoritative text, written by the leg¬
endary MANU. Dharmashastra literature prescribes the laws, norms, rules, and regulations of life for both the individual and the
community. It covers social norms, ethics, and moral tenets but also includes direction on the proper performance of rituals and
ceremonies. It is usually quite specific concerning diet, domestic law, the proper conduct of kings, and, most important, the proper
conduct of each caste. Major Dharmashastras were written by Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhayana, and Vasishtha, among others.
Wikipedia
Dharmasastra... is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the sastra, or Indie branch of learning, pertaining to Hindu dharma, re¬
ligious and legal duty. The voluminous textual corpus of Dharmasastra is primarily a product of the Brahmanical tradition in India
and represents the elaborate scholastic system of an expert tradition.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Because of its sophisticated jurisprudence, Dharmasastra was taken by early British colonial administrators to be the law of the
land for Hindus in India. Ever since, Dharmasastra has been linked with Hindu law, despite the fact that its contents deal as
much or more with religious life as with law. In fact, a separation of religion and law within Dharmasastra is artificial and has been
repeatedly questioned. Others have, however, argued for a distinction of religious and secular law within Dharmasastra. Dhar¬
masastra is important within the Hindu tradition—first, as a source of religious law describing the life of an ideal householder and,
second, as symbol of the summation of Hindu knowledge about religion, law, ethics, etc.
Pandurang Vaman Kane, a great Sanskritist..., continued the earlier tradition of scholarship. His monumental work entitled the
“History of the Dharmasastra”, published in five volumes in the 20th century, is an encyclopedia of ancient social laws and cus¬
toms.
All Dharmasastras derive its authority with reference to the Vedas, though few, if any, of the contents of most Dharmasastra texts
can be directly linked with extant Vedic texts. Traditionally, Dharmasastra has, since the time of the Yajnvalkyasmrti, been divided
into three major topics: 1) acara, rules pertaining to daily rituals, life-cycle rites, and other duties of four castes or varnas, 2) vya-
vahara, rules pertaining to the procedures for resolving doubts about dharma and rules of substantive law categorized according
the standard eighteen titles of Hindu law, and 3) prayascitta, rules about expiations and penances for violations of the rules of
dharma.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
When examining a Dharma Sastra (code belonging to ritual commandments, injunctions and prohibitions) one has to look for the
vidhi or rules to be unquestionably followed. As with the soldier on the battlefield - 'their’s not to question why, their’s but to do or
die,’ - it is final. But the obligatory nature of the Sastra changes in the Uttara (later) Mimamsa (critique) where one can discuss and
question with the guru. Arthavada (discussion of implications) becomes not only permissible, but something encouraged by the
guru.
Related words
Smriti
Sanskrit
Dharma sastra —
dharma-sastra - UTWtqTIT
Dhyana
Variant spellings
dhyana
dhyana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Dhyana — ... meditation, (total) concentration.
1. The mind flowing in an unbroken current toward a particular object.
2. The seventh limb of Patanjali’s astanga-yoga.
3. One of the six virtues (paramita) in Buddhism.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
dhyana -
meditation, thought, reflection, (esp.) profound and abstract religious meditation;
mental representation of the personal attributes of a deity;
insensibility, dulness;
N. of the 11th day of the light half in Brahma’s month
Wikipedia
Dhyana in Sanskrit (Devanagari: spTPT) or jhana (stpt ) in Pali can refer to either meditation or meditative states. Equivalent terms
are “Chan” in modern Chinese, “Zen” in Japanese, “Seon” in Korean, “Thien” in Vietnamese, and “Samten” in Tibetan.
As a meditative state, dhyana is characterized by profound stillness and concentration.... There has been little scientific study of
the states so far.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Commentary by Nataraja:
dhyana - establishing bipolar contemplation with the higher self.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The term dhyana (meditation) is used by Jains, Buddhists, and Hindus, with somewhat different technical meanings.
The Jains may very well have been the first to practice meditation. Their tradition does not preserve a great deal of information
about the early practice; there is no mention of PRANAYAMA or breath control, but dharana (focus), as known to the PATANJALI
Yoga tradition, was apparently included.
Jain tradition has four types of dhyana: artadhyana (focus on things unpleasant or sorrowful), raudradhyana (focus on cruel and
perverse things), dharmyadhyana (virtuous concentration), and shukladhyana (pure concentration). Most literature on the SIDDHA
(perfected beings) and TIRTHANKARAS (most exalted personages) refers to the shukladhyana state, which involves intense con¬
centration.
In the Hindu tradition, the term dhyana first appears in the Upanishads, in a handful of places, used as a rather generic term. By
the time of the epics (c. seventh century B.C.E. to third century C.E.), dhyana was a well-established practice. Most later Hindu
YOGA traditions derive from raja yoga or Patanjali Yoga, where dhyana is a refined meditative practice that is taken up after one
has mastered pranayama, or breath control, and dharana, “mental focus.” It is a deeper concentration of the mind, eventually lead¬
ing to the SAMADHI state, which involves highly concentrated focus on the highest reality (or realities).
In other yogic traditions, those practicing dhyana focus on a MANTRA (recited word or phrase); a YANTRA, or sacred diagram; or
an ISHTA DEVATA, or chosen divinity.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Sixth Lesson [Gheranda Samhita] is on Dhyana or Contemplation. It applies to the Sphere of Ether, the Paradise, ruled by the
Guru. The first verse is: “(1) Dhyana (contemplation) is of three kinds: gross, subtle and luminous. When a particular figure, such
as one’s Guru or Deity, is contemplated, it is Sthula (gross) contemplation. When Brahma or Prakriti (Mater-Materia) is contem¬
plated as a mass of light, it is called Jyotis (luminous) contemplation. When Brahma as a Bindu (symbolic point) and Kundali Pow¬
er are contemplated, it is Sukshma (subtle) contemplation.” — The very practical hints for meditation are well worth quoting, giving
ample variety of choice for people focussed on any particular plane, and providing a richness of form and a beauty which appeals
to the emotional-imaginative life, combined with a methodical rational construction.
Wikipedia
According to the Hindu Yoga Sutra, written by Patanjali, dhyana is one of the eight methods of Yoga, (the other seven steps are
Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, and Samadhi).
In the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali, the stage of meditation preceding dhyana is called dharana. In Dhyana, the meditator is not
conscious of the act of meditation (i.e. is not aware that s/he is meditating) but is only aware that s/he exists (consciousness of
being), and aware of the object of meditation. Dhyana is distinct from Dharana in that the meditator becomes one with the object
of meditation. He/she is then able to maintain this oneness for 144 inhalations and expirations.
Dhyana, practiced together with Dharana and Samadhi constitutes the Samyama.
The Dhyana Yoga system is specifically described by Sri Krishna in chapter 6 of the famous Bhagavad Gita, wherein He explains
the many different Yoga systems to His friend and disciple, Arjuna. In fact Lord Shankar described 108 different ways to do Dhya¬
na to Mata Parvati.
In Hinduism, dhyana is considered to be an instrument to gain self knowledge, separating maya from reality to help attain the
ultimate goal of moksa. Depictions of Hindu yogis performing dhyana are found in ancient texts and in statues and frescoes of
ancient Indian temples.
The Bhagavad Gita, thought to have been written some time between 400 and 100 BC, talks of four branches of yoga:
Karma Yoga: The yoga of action in the world
Jnana yoga: The yoga of Wisdom and intellectual endeavor
Bhakti Yoga: The yoga of devotion to God
Dhyana Yoga: The yoga of meditation
Dhyana in Raja Yoga is also found in Patanjali’s Yoga SGtras. Practiced together with dharana and samadhi it constitutes the
samyama.
For example, in the Jangama Dhyana technique, the meditator concentrates the mind and sight between the eyebrows. According
to Patanjali, this is one method of achieving the initial concentration (dharana: Yoga Sutras, III: 1) necessary for the mind to be¬
come introverted in meditation (dhyana: Yoga Sutras, III: 2). In deeper practice of the technique, the mind concentrated between
the eyebrows begins to automatically lose all location and focus on the watching itself. Eventually, the meditator experiences only
the consciousness of existence and achieves self realization. Swami Vivekananda describes the process in the following way:
When the mind has been trained to remain fixed on a certain internal or external location, there comes to it the power of flowing in
an unbroken current, as it were, towards that point. This state is called dhyana. When one has so intensified the power of dhyana
as to be able to reject the external part of perception and remain meditating only on the internal part, the meaning, that state is
called Samadhi.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
STUDENT: Does dhyana mean “meditation” or “contemplation”?
TEACHER: Neither of these terms are apt to bring out the proper meaning of the Sanskrit term dhyana. It is actually a state in
which the tranquillity of consciousness is not disturbed by any specific modulation.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Raja Yoga
The mind tries to think of one object, to hold itself to one particular spot, as the top of the head, the heart, etc., and if the mind suc¬
ceeds in receiving the sensations only through that part of the body, and through no other part, that would be Dharana, and when
the mind succeeds in keeping itself in that state for some time it is called Dhyana (meditation).
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: What is dhyana?
M.: Dhyana is holding on to a single thought and putting off all other thoughts.
D.: What is to be meditated upon?
M.: Anything that you prefer.
D.: Siva, Vishnu, and Gayatri are said to be equally efficacious. Which should I meditate upon?
M.: Any one you like best. They are all equal in their effect. But you should stick to one.
D.: How to meditate?
M.: Concentrate on that one whom you like best. If a single thought prevails, all other thoughts are put off and finally eradicated.
So long as diversity prevails there are bad thoughts. When the object of love prevails only good thoughts hold the field. Therefore
hold on to one thought only. Dhyana is the chief practice.
A little later Sri Bhagavan continued:
Dhyana means fight. As soon as you begin meditation other thoughts will crowd together, gather force and try to sink the single
thought to which you try to hold. The good thought must gradually gain strength by repeated practice. After it has grown strong the
other thoughts will be put to flight.
This is the battle royal always taking place in meditation.
One wants to rid oneself of misery. It requires peace of mind, which means absence of perturbation owing to all kinds of thoughts.
Peace of mind is brought about by dhyana alone.
D.: What is the need then for pranayama?
M.: Pranayama is meant for one who cannot directly control the thoughts. It serves as a brake to a car. But one should not stop
with it, as I said before, but must proceed to pratyahara, dharana and dhyana. After the fruition of dhyana, the mind will come un¬
der control even in the absence of pranayama.
The asanas (postures) help pranayama, which helps dhyana in its turn, and peace of mind results. Here is the purpose of hatha
yoga.
Later Sri Bhagavan continued:
When dhyana is well established it cannot be given up. It will go on automatically even when you are engaged in work, play or
enjoyment. It will persist in sleep too. Dhyana must become so deep-rooted that it will be natural to one.
D.: What rite or action is necessary for the development of dhyana?
M.: Dhyana is itself the action, the rite and the effort. It is the most intense and potent of all. No other effort is necessary.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Meditation (Dhyana) is the intermittent resting of the mental state on Brahman, the One without a second.
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
[Intermittent—Because of deficiency in concentration. This shows the difference between Dhyana and Samadhi.]
See: Upasana and dhyana
Related words
Samadhi
Upasana
Sanskrit
Dhyana — votH
dhyana - SPTTT
Dukha
Variant spellings
dukha
duhkha
duhkha
dukham
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Duhkha — ... pain; suffering; sorrow; grief; unhappiness; that which is unsatisfactory (because it is impermanent)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
duhkha -
(according to grammarians properly written dus-kha and said to be from dus and kha [cf. su-kha’] ; but more probably a Prakritized
form for duh-stha q.v.) uneasy, uncomfortable, unpleasant, difficult;
uneasiness, pain, sorrow, trouble, difficulty;
to be sad or uneasy;
to cause or feel pain
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
Pain = dukham. Dukham is pain, suffering, misery, sorrow, grief, unhappiness, stress, or distress-also that which is unsatisfactory
or produces dukha.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Duhkha — from dur = “bad” + kha = “state”
Related words
Manomaya kosha
Opposite: Sukha
Sanskrit
Duhkha —
duhkha -
Dvaita
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Dvaita — ... dual; duality; dualism.
I.The name given to Madhvacarya’s system of philosophy. It is a school of Vedanta which teaches that God, the individual souls,
and the world of matter are all eternally separate and real.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
dvaita -
duality, duplicity, dualism
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Dvaita (from dvi, two) is usually translated as “dualist.” In theological terms it refers to the notion that God is completely separate
and different from the human soul.
Abrahamic traditions in their normative form— Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—would be seen as dvaita or dualistic because
they believe that the human soul is a separate entity and reality from God. Normative Hinduism tends toward forms of ADVAITA,
non-dualism, the opposite of dvaita. But there are some Indian systems that are truly dvaita in nature. One form of VEDANTA,
championed by MADHVA, a 12th-century sage, is authentically dvaita. Also, the South Indian tradition of Shaiva Siddhanta can be
classified as dvaita.
Wikipedia
Dvaita ... (also known as Bheda-vada, Tattva-vada and Bimba-pratibimba-vada) is a school of Vedanta founded by Shri Madh-
vacharya. Dvaita stresses a strict distinction between God (Brahman) and individual souls (jivas). According to Madhvacharya,
souls are not ‘created’ by God but do, nonetheless, depend on Him for their existence.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Like Ramanuja, Madhvacharya espoused a Vaishnava theology that understands God to be endowed with attributes and a per¬
sonal God. By Brahman, he referred to Vishnu, as per his statement “brahmashabdashcha vishhnaveva” that Brahman can only
refer to Vishnu. Madhva states that Vishnu is not just any other deity, but rather the singularly all-important Supreme One. Vishnu
is always the primary object of worship, with all others regarded as subordinate to Him. The deities and other sentient beings are
graded among themselves, with Vayu, the god of life, being the highest, and Vishnu eternally above them.
Dvaita or (Indian) Dualistic philosophy is not to be confused with the Western “Dualism” that posits two ‘independent’ principles.
Although Madhva’s Dualism acknowledges two principles, it holds one of them (the sentient) rigorously and eternally dependent
on the other (Vishnu/God).
Five fundamental, eternal and real differences exist in his system.
Between the individual soul (orjTva) and God (Ishvara or Vishnu).
Between matter (inanimate, insentient) and God.
Among individual souls (jivas)
Between matter and jTva.
Among various types of matter.
These five differences are said to make up the universe. The universe is aptly called “prapancha” for this reason.
Madhva differed significantly from traditional Hindu beliefs, owing to his concept of eternal damnation. For example, he divides
souls into three classes. One class of souls, which qualify for liberation (Mukti-yogyas), another subject to eternal rebirth or eternal
transmigration (Nitya-samsarins) and a third class that is eventually condemned to eternal hell or andhatamas (Tamo-yogyas). No
other Hindu philosopher or school of Hinduism holds such beliefs. In contrast, most Hindus believe in universal salvation; that all
souls will eventually obtain moksha, even if after millions of rebirths.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
An educated visitor asked Bhagavan about dvaita and advaita.
M.: Identification with the body is dvaita. Non-identification is advaita.
Related words
Advaita Vedanta
Vedanta
Visishta-Advaita
Sanskrit
Dvaita —
dvaita - ^fttr
E,F
Ekagrata
Variant spellings
ekagrata
ekagrata
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ekagrata — ... one-pointed; close attention
1. The one-pointed mind is that which is devoted to a single object. It is a mind filled with purity, luminosity (sattva).
2. According to Buddhism, one of the five elements which comprise meditation.
3. According to the Yoga school, it is a stage of the mind (citta) in which one concentrates steadily on an object for a long time.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ekagrata -
intentness in the pursuit of one object, close and undisturbed attention
Wikipedia
Ekagrata ... is translated as either “one-pointedness” or “unification”.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Ekagrata: One-pointed attention and concern, particularly with regard to the attainment of the final goal of life.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in his own words
B.: Breath-control is also a help. It is one of the various methods that are intended to help us attain ekagrata or onepointedness of
mind. Breath-control can also help to control the wandering mind and attain this one-pointedness and therefore it can be used. But
one should not stop there. After obtaining control of the mind through breath-control, one should not rest content with any experi¬
ences which may accrue therefrom but should harness the controlled mind to the question, ‘Who am I?’ till the mind merges in the
Self.
Sanskrit
Ekagrata — VcFHT
ekagrata -
Five elements
See: Bhutas; Mahabhutas
G
Ganesha
Variant spellings
Ganesha
ganesa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ganesa — .. elephant-headed son of Siva and Parvatl; remover of obstacles; lord of the hosts; lord of wisdom; lord of beginnings
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ganesa -
N. of the god of wisdom and of obstacles (son of Siva and Parvatl, or according to one legend of Parvatl alone; though Ganesa
causes obstacles he also removes them; hence he is invoked at the commencement of all undertakings and at the opening of all
compositions with the words namo ganesaya vighnesvaraya; he is represented as a short fat man with a protuberant belly, fre¬
quently riding on a rat or attended by one, and to denote his sagacity has the head of an elephant, which however has only one
tusk; the appellation Ganesa, with other similar compounds, alludes to his office as chief of the various classes of subordinate
gods, who are regarded as Siva’s attendants; ... he is said to have written down the MBh. as dictated by Vyasa MBh.;
N. of Siva MBh.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ganesha, lord of beginnings and remover of obstacles, is probably the most worshipped divinity of the Hindu pantheon. With the
head of an elephant and a human body that shows a protruding belly—the sign of Ganesha’s fondness for sweets—the god is
a central figure in the cult of SHIVA, as the elder son of Shiva and PARVATI. He is also worshipped as a deity on his own, as is
shown in Ganesha PURANA. Nearly every Indian PUJA or worship service commences with verses to and adoration of Ganesha.
The figure of the sitting Ganesha and his incongruous vehicle, the rat, is found near the entranceway or one of the entranceways
of many, many Hindu temples.
As is usual in Hindu mythology and lore, there are many and various stories about the events of Ganesha’s life. The most com¬
mon story of his origin is that he was made by Parvati, who rubbed off material from her skin and formed it into a shape of a per¬
son. She set this “child” Ganesha to guard her shower or inner chamber. Shiva, unaware of this, found Ganesha at his post and
thinking that he was a lover or intruder he cut off the child’s head. Scolded by an angry Parvati, Shiva hastily rushed off to find a
new head for the child and returned with the head of an elephant.
In one popular story Parvati declares a race around the universe between the ponderous Ganesha and his younger brother, Skan-
da or KARTTIKEYA. The younger boy takes off on his swift peacock vehicle swift as lightning, leaving the slow Ganesha with his
pitiful rat vehicle far behind. Thinking a moment, Ganesha realizes that his mother and father themselves constitute the entire
universe. He simply walks around his mother and father and wins the race. Ganesha is also said to have written down the MA-
HABHARATA epic as quickly as its reciter VYASA was able to tell it. For this Ganesha broke off one of his tusks to use as a sty¬
lus. In South India Ganesha is known as a bachelor, but in other parts of India he is seen as married.
Iconographically Ganesha appears in many poses and forms, but he is most often sitting, accompanied by the rat, with one tusk
broken. Most often he is shown with two arms, but he is also depicted with several pairs. In his hands are sweets, his tusk, an axe,
a noose, or an elephant goad.
After his popularity had been well established in the Brahminical tradition, Ganesha appeared in Jain tradition as well, in which he
was seen as a remover of obstacles. Outside India Ganesha is found in Buddhist contexts as a TANTRIC deity, with sometimes
unbenign characteristics. He is found in Southeast Asian art, in Tibet, in China, and even in Japan. The cult of Ganesha is proba¬
bly quite old, originating in the worship of the elephant, but its actual origin is difficult to determine.
The cult is visible in extant sources dating from the fourth century C.E. He is not mentioned at all in earlier texts such as the Ma-
habharata or the RAMAYANA, in which Shiva and VISHNU and their emerging cults are developing.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Deity that watches over the beginning of the Spiritual Path in Hindu tradition is the Elephant-headed God Ganapati. His
Jayanthi or “victory-day of birth”, symbolizing the spiritual birth, is celebrated in the period of Capricorn. The word “Ganapati”
means “Lord of hosts” or “Lord of quantities”. These quantities form the parallel of the “Sands of time” in the Sand-clock, which is
a symbol of Saturn. Pan is also Lord of Ouantities. While unity or oneness belongs to the Divine, multiplicity pertains to the Tinanic
world. Titanic multiplicity and Divine oneness can only meet in an Intelligence or Power who is at one and the same time Titan and
God. We have seen that that is Saturn.
Ganapati or Ganesa, “the God of Ganas”, is like Saturn a Sower. One Ganapati scripture has a verse: “Innumerable Univers¬
es were born from his belly, of this there is no doubt.” Ganapati is worshipped at the beginning of every religious rite, and at the
beginning of every important enterprise, by the devout Hindu. For he watches over the beginning of the Path. The belief is, that no
obstacles can be overcome, and no progress made, on the Spiritual Path, without the guidance, help and blessings of this God,
who stands ever at the cross-roads of human choice. He is the Lord of Karmic causes-and-effects, hence he is the “Bringer and
Remover of Obstacles”. Capricorn, the stage he represents, is the “crucial” stage on the Path. The time comes when the Titanic
multiple fragments, numerous as the particles of sand or the dust of the Earth, should be reunited to Divine Union. The time comes
when a soul should choose the Return Path to GOD, that is, Reality. Hercules, at the beginning of his heroic career, had to make
the choice at the Cross-roads. That choice lies before one and all. The opportunity traditionally suited for it comes in the time when
the Cycles meet, marked by the winter solstice. Ganapati is called “the Lord of the Two Paths” which are the Pitri-yana or “Path of
the Ancestors”, and the Deva-yana or “Path of the Gods”. The “Ancestors” are the symbols of the forces of Karma, as we shall see
later. The Two Paths begin from the winter solstice, leading in opposite directions. In some contexts they are associated with both
the winter and the summer solstices. When we compare the situations in the heavens of the first points of Capricorn and Cancer,
with which the two solstices are connected, the one, the Path of Heaven, is high above, from the point of view of a beholder on
earth, while the other, the Path of Hell, is deep underneath, in the opposite direction.
Ganapati shares some of his Saturnian characteristics with Siva, his Father, and some with Yama, the God of Death. All three
Gods are Initiators into a higher, spiritual, mode of life.
Occasionally Ganapati is represented with five heads: one in each of the four directions and one crowning them. These symbol¬
ize, like the four angles of a pyramid, with the fifth at the top, the Four Elements Earth, Water, Fire and Air, sprung from the Fifth,
the Quintessence, Ether. Images of Ganapati are found, usually in small shrines, at cross-roads and in the doorways of countless
houses.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. An intelligent mans guide to the Hindu religion
GANAPATI
Ganapati comes first. The first obeisance is to him. Everything auspicious should begin with a consecration to Ganapati or Gane-
sha is the Lord of the Hosts (Ganas). The two ganas are the shining ones (devas) and the dead souls, ancestors, or pitris. The
devas belong to the ascending path and the pitris to the descending path. The ascending path leads to the world of the intelligibles
and the descending path binds us to actualities with the strings of action. Being the lord of both, Ganesha can offer us obstacles
as well as release.
Ganesha in Sanskrit is etymologically related to Janus. Janus is the same as ‘Yana’ which means path. The Roman God Janus
was symbolically representing initiation into a new mode of life. Ganapati as a Guru is the guiding principle at the crossroads of
life. To stand at the crossroads not knowing the path to realization is not an uncommon experience of those who seek wisdom.
Those who are wise take a hint from the finger post and proceed in the right direction. The finger post stands for the silent Guru.
The Guru is truly the light that shows us the way. All those who deny the light stumble in darkness. Accepting the Guru is the
same as accepting Ganapati as the Vigneshvara and denying the Guru is like getting caught in the noose of obstacles.
Ganapati as a Connecting Link
India’s spiritual glory was at its climax even before the growth of Aryan society in India. The pre-Aryan civilization was essentially
contemplative, but negative. Siva was the central figure in their spiritual life. He was worshipped as the supreme Guru. The depart¬
ed ones were considered to be in his care. The pre-Aryan civilization at its best was one of renunciation. Tyaga (relinquishment)
was its hallmark. But in its extremity it amounted to a total denial of life. This negation of possible enjoyment was not appreciated
by the Aryans. In the Bhagavad Gita, when Arjuna shows his preparedness to beg in the street rather than wage war, Krshna re¬
fers to his attitude of negativism as anaryajushtam--an attitude that displeases the Aryans.
The Aryan concept of the good life is to have a happy life here and now, as well as in the hereafter, enjoying all the good things of
the world. For the Aryan it was a covetable virtue to possess beautiful and chaste wives, many virtuous sons, thousands of good
cows, plenty of food and reputation. The Aryan gods can smile. They even worshipped the light and fire. Yajna (sacrifice) for the
shining ones was dear to them.
In the concept of Ganapati the pre-Aryan contemplative and negative traditions of India merge into the Aryan positivism. The
South and North get linked in his worship. In the havana or fire sacrifice of Ganapati, the tila and coconut of South India find a
place in the agnihotra which was foreign to their tradition.
According to tradition, the Mahabharata, the great epic of India written by Vyasa, the greatest revaluator of Indian spirituality, was
dictated by him to Ganapati, and Ganapati wrote it with his broken tusk, using it as a pen. This story throws light on the entire spir¬
itual background of India. Ganapati is the son of Siva. Siva as we know was the prehistoric God-Guru of India. As a literary device
Vyasa introduces the spiritual values of the happy Vedic life to the austere contemplatives who had no regard for the simple joys
of life. The Bhagavad Gita, the finalized wisdom textbook, itself comes in the middle of the Mahabharata epic. From this it is evi¬
dent that Ganapati’s real role in Indian spiritual life is to effect a unitive integration of the diverse trends in religious understanding
and practices in spite of their apparent differences.
Vyasa was the great preserver of traditions. He compiled and arranged the Vedas in their present comprehensive form. The highly
profound teachings of the Upanishads were strung together by him in the Vedanta Sutras. He composed the Mahabharata and the
Bhagavad Gita. Thus he happened to be the great custodian of India’s highest spiritual tradition. Ganesha sat at his feet and lis¬
tened to his finalized wisdom teaching. Symbolically, Vyasa presents Ganapati as the wisdom teacher forever for the preservation
of the tradition.
The Lotus-Carved Seat
Ganapati is seated on a pedestal resembling the fully opened petals of a lotus flower. The lotus is a sign of wisdom born of de¬
votion or contemplative mysticism. To sit is to be established. To sit on a lotus seat is to be a Guru to proclaim the tradition. This
symbol refers to Ganapati’s Guruhood.
The Crown on the Head
To have a crown or a halo is the same as being anointed, with chrism or sanctified oil. The Christos or Christhood of Jesus refers
to the same anointing. The “Anointed One” is the divinely blessed or commissioned teacher of the supreme wisdom. As a crowned
king has full authority over the region he rules, so Ganapati has absolute authority over both avidya (nescience) and vidya (knowl¬
edge).
Big Ears
Being elephant-headed, Ganapati has very wide and long ears. Ears are for hearing. Wisdom never comes unsought. True wis¬
dom is well-established in such a knowledge which is beyond the dualities of subjective-objective division. For all those who have
not attained it there is the absolute necessity to sit at the feet of a Guru. Wisdom literature in India of the highest order is called
shruti, which literally means that which is heard. In ancient days there were no written books to read. The tradition of India was to
listen to a Guru. Listening, in Sanskrit is shravana. One who listened to many great Gurus was known as a bahu-shruta.
Listening to a Guru and learning the shruti is an essential part of brahmacarya the “treading of the path of the Absolute”. Thus
in any true education worth that name, the disciple has to establish a reciprocal relationship with the Guru. Both the Guru and
shishya should have only one common interest. Disadoption on the part of the disciple or the Guru is the greatest tragedy in the
seeker’s life. In Europe unfortunately this tragedy was repeated several times. The breaking away of Aristotle from Plato was a
colossal blow to the Socratic tradition. On the other hand in India even a Guru of our own time can trace back the parampara
(hierarchical succession) to Adi-Narayana bringing in Brahma, Vasishtha, Sakti, Parashara, Vyasa, Suka, Gaudapada, Govinda,
Sankara, Padmapada, Hastamalaka and his own Guru, all in the vertical line of succession or parampara. To be initiated into the
secret of all secrets contained in the shrutis it is absolutely necessary to sit at the feet of a wisdom teacher and listen to him with
one-pointed attention. The big ears of Ganapati are a symbol of shraddha, faithful attentive listening to the wisdom teaching.
Small Eyes
Eyes are to see. There are two poles. The outer organ is to contact the various and variegated objects; the inner pole brings the
orientation of unitive vision. The wide opened eyes of the extrovert sees the big bewildering world around him in which he is only
an insignificant individual caught in the competitive world of technology, and mechanism. To have a comprehensive vision of the
cosmos with its starry heavens as a complementary counterpart of the awareness within introspection is necessary. We should
turn our eyes inwards and look into our own mind to discover our real self. We live, as it were, in two worlds, the cosmological
world of objective phenomena and the subjective world of values within our own being. To link these two worlds in one’s own
knowledge and to be non-dualistic, we have to be contemplative. Contemplative introspection is symbolically expressed by the
small half-closed eyes of Ganapati.
Introspective contemplation in Sanskrit is known as manana. Svadhyaya or study of the scripture is to be followed by critical con¬
templation. It is not mainly for adoration that we stand before the altar of Ganapati. We should be able to read the silent language
of contemplation in his symbolic features. His eyes require us to meditate and ponder on the values of life and the nature of our
self.
The Long Proboscis
On hearing some intriguing news we say we smell danger. On hearing something unpleasant we screw up our nose, as if it had
sensed some foul smell. A dog recognizes its master by smell. Even a pig will not care to eat something which does not give it a
favorable smell. In all these instances we find the nose is associated with the function of discriminating between the pleasant and
the unpleasant, the favorable and the unfavorable. This discriminative faculty at its best enables us to recognize the perennial
from the falsehood. In Sankara’s Vivekacudamani the first qualification of the wisdom seeker is viveka or discrimination, followed
by vairagya (absolute detachment). Keeping oneself detached is a discipline. It refers to the practical aspect of spiritual life. The
symbolism of the ear teaches us to listen to the wisdom teaching. The symbolism of the eye refers to its critical consideration and
sympathetic appreciation. The symbolism of the nose consequently teaches us to apply that wisdom in our everyday life. In San¬
skrit it is named nididhyasana.
The Broken Tusk
Ganapati is shown with a broken tusk. According to tradition this deformity was caused by Parashurama who was an advocate
of pure brahmanism. Ganapati as the son of Siva was naturally his opponent. But the latter’s acceptance of brahmanical values
amounted to his tusk being broken. The tusk, as we know, shows his individuality. Even those who become adepts of the high¬
est wisdom develop a spiritual ego. The story of Vishvamitra illustrates such an instance. This spiritual ego is much worse than a
worldly ego. It should be broken. Narayana Guru in his Atmopadesha Satakam says:
Skin and bone and excreta,
With all those traits of inner life
Which suffering do portend;
These know, one ego wields;
The other, growing
Doth fullness attain;
From self-gratification to save
O! Grant the boon!
The pathetic humiliation of having the tusk broken is no shame to Ganapati. He requires that our egoistic horns also should be
broken. That is why the hard shell of a coconut is broken before Ganapati.
The Pot-Belly
The potbelly is a sign of contentment. A beggar or a hungry man cannot settle down to peaceful meditation. Like Ganapati we
should also be content. A maxim of the Chinese contemplative life is “Empty the mind and fill the belly”.
The Rice Ball and the Vedas
Ganapati has a rice ball in his left hand and the Vedas in the right. Some times instead of the Vedas a lotus or the broken tusk or
a jnana-mudra (the gesture of wisdom-teaching) is shown. All these are symbols of wisdom. This is a delicate expression in the
language of dialectics of yoga. With the ball of rice he wants to fill our belly and with the wisdom symbol he wants to nourish our
soul. All good things of this world come under the category called preyas. The rice ball represents preyas. The Vedas, the lotus or
the jnana-mudra represents shreyas which includes all spiritual values. A really wise man never gives up one for the other. He ac¬
cepts both. Enjoying a good meal is not against understanding a book of wisdom like the Bhagavad Gita. Each has its respective
place in our life. A woman can plait her hair and put on her best jewels without sacrificing her spiritual virtues. Most of the excess¬
es in the name of spirituality like eating bitter leaves, or fasting to death, and all such mortifications of the body are unnecessary.
This simple but profound lesson was known to all great Gurus. Jesus advised his disciples to give Caesar his dues and to give
God what was God’s.
The Hook with an Ax
In one of his raised upper hands, Ganapati holds a hook which has also the blade of an ax. A determined seeker has to restrain
his thoughts, words and deeds from going astray through dissipating channels. According to the Gita a mind which gets bifurcat¬
ed and is running in different directions seldom reaches truth. A contemplative has to bring his mind again and again back to one
central issue. It is not an easy task. The mahout of the elephant controls the animal with a hook. Similarly, we should also have
the hook of restraint to keep ourselves always on the path of the Absolute (brahmacarya). Like wild creepers which choke the free
growth of a tree, irrational and sentimental ties prevent most of us from being free. It is with the ax of discrimination that we must
chop them down.
The Noose
Ganapati has also a noose in another hand. A noose is a sign of bondage and an obstacle. Another name of Ganapati is Vignesh-
vara the Lord of Obstacles. One who can create an obstacle can also remove it. According to Saivite belief, to which context Ga¬
napati also belongs, all beings are cows. Siva is the cowherd (Pashupati) and all beings are held bound by Him with a noose. He
saves the stray cows from going into the wilderness by pulling the noose of destructive forces or of deliverance. Mind alone binds
the mind. By knowing this we can diligently work out our deliverance.
The mouse with a little rice ball
A mouse for an elephant to ride on! Is it not ridiculous? But herein lies the beauty and dialectical subtlety of the contemplative art¬
ist of the past. In Indian religion humor is not tabooed, particularly in the South. Saint Thayamanyavar addresses Siva as the ‘Mad
One’ Narayana Guru calls Subrahmanya the ‘Beggar’s Son’. But beyond the humorous situation of an elephant riding on a mouse
there is something which is akin to the inexpressible wonder in this dialectical picture which is referred to in the Keno Upanishad
by the mere sound “Ah!” and in the Bhagavad Gita as the wonder with which one speaks of Brahman, the wonder with which one
listens to Brahman.
Among the animals on dry land the elephant is the biggest and the mouse is one of the smallest. Both Ganapati and the mouse
keep a ball of rice in their hands. All beings are thus linked together on the physical plane with food. The first impulse of life is the
eating of food. As soon as the child is born it cries for food. It is the same with a puppy or a newly born calf. Soon after they are
born they suck from the mother’s breast. The greatest wonder of the world is the provision in nature for every living being to get
food and drink to suit its requirements.
In the Taittiriya Upanishad food is first equated to Brahman, the Absolute. Because the first joy of life is the joy of nourishment.
Life itself is nothing but nourishment. Decay is death. The golden thread of food links all forms of life from the highest to the low¬
est. Psychologically viewed, the joy of taking food is as much spiritual or belonging to the Atman as the joy of meditation. It is in
this joy Ganapati and the mouse get related.
The Universal is never seen but in the particular. The ideal never exists but in the actual. Even so the incomprehensible Paramat-
ma is to be perceived in the Jiva. The allegory of the elephant riding on the mouse refers to the all-pervading Almighty God resid¬
ing in the tiny heart of his devotee
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ganesa — from gana - ’multitude” and Isa = “lord”
Sanskrit
Ganesa — Mil'll
ganesa -
Ganga
Variant spellings
Ganga
ganga
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ganga — ... the Ganges river; a Goddess; the “one who goes swiftly”
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ganga -
‘swift-goer the river Ganges (personified and considered as the eldest daughter of Himavat and Mena...; as the wife of Santanu
and mother of BhTshma MBh...; or as one of the wives of Dharma Padma...; there is also a Ganga in the sky [Akasa- or vyoma-g...,
... and one below the earth...; BhagT-ratha is said to have conducted the heavenly Ganga down to the earth
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ganga. In Hindu mythology, the goddess whose material form is the Ganges River. The Ganges is sacred because the river is
considered to be a goddess who has the power to take away the sins of those who bathe (snana) in her. There are numerous
legends to explain her origin. The best-known is the tale of King Bhagirath, who by his ascetic practice succeeds in bringing the
Ganges down from heaven to earth. Bhagirath is the great-greatg rand son of King Sagar, whose 60,000 sons had been burned
to ash by the sage Kapila’s magic power after they had erroneously accused Kapila of being a thief. Kapila later tells Anshuman,
King Sagar’s grandson and sole surviving descendant, that the only way to bring peace to the souls of Sagar’s sons is to bring the
Ganges down from heaven to earth. Anshuman strives unsuccessfully to do this, as does his son Dilip after him. Dilip’s son Bh¬
agirath takes their efforts to heart and retires to the Himalayas, where he performs asceticism until the gods finally agree to send
the Ganges down to earth. Yet Bhagiratha’s efforts are not yet over. Next, he has to gain the favor of the god Shiva, so that Shiva
will agree to take the shock of the falling river on his head. Otherwise, its force will destroy the earth. When all is finally in place,
the Ganges falls to earth onto the head of Shiva. Bhagirath leads Ganga out of the mountains to the sea, where she touches his
ancestors’ ashes and they finally find peace. This myth highlights both the salvific touch of the Ganga and her intimate association
with the last rites (antyeshthi samskara) for the dead.
According to another story, the Ganges comes down to earth because of a curse pronounced during a family quarrel between
Vishnu and his wives Ganga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. When one day Ganga and Vishnu begin exchanging lustful glances in pub¬
lic, Saraswati gets angry and begins to beat Ganga. As Lakshmi tries to stop her, Saraswati let loose a string of curses: that Vish¬
nu will be born as a stone (the shalagram), that Lakshmi will be born as a plant (the tulsi plant), and that Ganga will be born as a
river and take the sins of the world on her. In the struggle, Saraswati is cursed to become a river. Vishnu sweetens Ganga’s curse
by telling her that she will be considered very holy on earth and have the power to remove people’s sins. Vishnu also tells her that
she will fall from heaven onto the head of the god Shiva and become his consort.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Ganges or Ganga is India’s most sacred river. It is 1,557 miles long and sweeps a valley or basin 200 to 400 miles wide. Its
scientific source is in glaciers on the southern slopes of the HIMALAYAS, some 10,300 feet above sea level, but its traditional
source is the glacial site Gangotri. Its major flow begins where the Alaknand and Bhagirathi rivers meet at a site called Devpray-
ag. It is joined by the YAMUNA River at ALLAHABAD (known traditionally as Prayag) in Uttar Pradesh and then flows eastward
through Bihar, traversing the holy city of BENARES (Varanasi), the city of Patna, and Calcutta (Kolkata) before entering the Bay of
Bengal.
Although the Ganges has long been the most sacred of Indian rivers, it is mentioned unambiguously only twice in the RIG VEDA,
the oldest extant Indian text. Its prominent mention and sacred status are fully established only in the PURANAS, Indian texts of
mythology. There the river is said to have descended from heaven, taken down to Earth by the prayers of the sage Bhagiratha to
sanctify the ashes of the sons of his progenitor Sagara. The latter had dug out a huge hole looking for a lost horse, but the Gan¬
ges filled this vast expanse to form the ocean. Descending from Lord VISHNU’s toe, the river might have inundated all the Earth,
had not SHIVA agreed to let it first flow through his topknot. Shiva has since that time been depicted with the Ganges flowing
through his hair.
Ganga is considered a goddess, the eldest daughter of HIMAVAT (the Himalayas). Ganga’s husband is Shantanu; their son
BHISHMA plays an important role in the MAHABHARATA epic, as great uncle of both the warring factions. Ganga’s water is al¬
ways pure and purifying, and pilgrims take flasks and casks home for rituals and blessings. It is every Hindu’s wish to have his or
her ashes thrown into the Ganges after cremation. It is widely believed that such an act confers heaven or liberation on the dead
person. Because of the sacredness of the Ganges and its importance to Hinduism India has made great efforts to try to clean up
this very heavily polluted waterway. Activist movements have for decades agitated for cleaning up this valuable resource.
Encyclopedia of religion
Just as waters that give birth to the earth or nourish nascent life beneath its surface are often female, so also are waters flowing
over the earth’s surface. India is the preeminent land of sacred female watercourses; all of its rivers are goddesses, the first of
them being Ganga Mata (Mother Ganges).
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Power of Consciousness is often represented as a Kaliya. Serpent Power. In Yoga, Sakti is called Kundalini, the Serpent
Power. Serpents are associated with the Goddess Kali, as also with Hekate and Hel, and it is not quite accidental that the Serpent
King of the Krishna myth is called Kaliya. This Serpent lived in the river Yamuna, now called the Jumna. In Tantrik symbolism the
Yamuna represents the Pingala or Sun-channel, and the river Ganga or Ganges represents the Ida or Moon-channel. These two
“channels” are found, as we have seen before, at either side of the Sushumna, the central “channel” in the spine. In Yoga these
two “channels” meet at the Ajna Chakra, the Centre of the Moon-Sphere. In geography the two rivers meet at the famous junction
at Allahabad, where periodically “Melas” are held, at which vast numbers of pilgrims assemble to bathe at the sacred junction.
Such a Mela is representative of a “gathering of fragments” on the Return Path, in one context in the Moon-Sphere, where origi¬
nally the “fragments” came into existence, and in another context at the stage of Taurus and Aries, where on the Path of the Fall
the fragmentation or dilaceration entered its period of culmination.
Sanskrit _
Ganga —
ganga -
Grihastha
Variant spellings
grihastha
grhastha
garhasthya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Grhastha — ... householder
1. The second stage in the Indian social order. (See asrama.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
garhasthya -
(sometimes wrongly spelt ...stha) (from grha-stha), fit for or incumbent on a householder MBh.;
the order or estate of a householder, of the father or mother of a family
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Grhastha (“householder”) In the dharma literature, which gives instruction on religious practice and duties, a grhastha is a “house¬
holder.” According to the dharma literature, the grhastha is the second of the four stages of life (ashramas) in the life of a man
born into one of the three twice-born groups—brahmin, kshatriya, or vaishya—which have the highest religious and social status
in Indian society. The householder stage is preceded by that of the brahmacharin or celibate student, and succeeded by the va-
naprastha or forest-dweller, and the sanyasi or wandering ascetic. In practical terms, for most men the householder stage is the
final stage of life, since most men do not choose to move beyond it. The householder stage begins with marriage, and leads to
raising and supporting a family. This stage is an active and fruitful time of life, and the householder is indispensable to society
since his labors and resources support those in the other three stages of life. This is also the only stage of life in which sexual
intercourse is not explicitly forbidden, since the general fruitfulness of this stage of life is expressed through procreation. A house¬
holder is permitted to pursue three of the traditional aims of life (purushartha): wealth (artha), desire (kama), and religious duty
(dharma). Given the depth and richness of the householder’s life, it is not surprising that many men have little inclination to move
on to the two other stages.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
M.: Everyone can be a devotee. Spiritual fare is common to all and never denied to anyone - be the person old or young, male or
female.
D.: That is exactly what I am anxious to know. I am young and a grihini (housewife). There are duties of grihastha dharma (the
household). Is devotion consistent with such a position?
M.: Certainly. What are you? You are not the body. You are Pure Consciousness. Grihastha dharma and the world are only phe¬
nomena appearing on that Pure Consciousness. It remains unaffected. What prevents you from being your own Self?
D.: Yes I am already aware of the line of teaching of Maharshi. It is the quest for the Self. But my doubt persists if such quest is
compatible with grihastha life.
M.: The Self is always there. It is you. There is nothing but you. Nothing can be apart from you. The question of compatibility or
otherwise does not arise.
See also:
in Ashrama: Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Related words
Ashrama
Brahmacarya
Sannyasa
Vanaprastha
Sanskrit
Grhastha
grhastha -
Gandha
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Gandha — ... smell (see tanmatra).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
gandha -
smell, odour (nine kinds are enumerated, viz. ista, anista, madhura, katu, nirharin, sarhhata, snigdha, ruksa, vizada MBh. xii, 6848;
a tenth kind is called amla L.);
a fragrant substance, fragrance, scent, perfume (generally used in pi.);
sulphur;
pounded sandal-wood;
a sectarial mark on the forehead (called so in the south of India);
myrrh;
the mere smell of anything, small quantity, little;
connection, relationship;
a neighbour;
pride, arrogance;
Siva MBh.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Gandha ... the subtle element (tanmatra) of odour.
Descriptions
See: Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Gandha ... from gandh, to injure, hurt.
Related words
Prithivi
Tanmatra
Sanskrit
Gandha — Tpy
gandha - *FT£T
Gunas
Variant spellings
guna
guna
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Guna — ... quality; attribute; characteristic; excellence; rope; constituent; subsidiary; mode
1. The three basic qualities of nature, which determine the inherent characteristics of all created things. They are sattva—purity,
light, harmony; rajas—activity, passion; and tamas—dullness, inertia, and ignorance.
2. It is either composed of, or constituted of (depending on individual school’s interpretations) the three aspects: sattva, which is
buoyant, light, illuminating, knowledge, and happiness; rajas, which is stimulating, mobile, pain, and action; and tamas, which is
heavy, enveloping, indifferent, and laziness.
3. According to Nyaya, it is that which has substance for its substratum, has no further qualities, and is not the cause of, or con¬
cerned with conjunction or disjunction. There are twenty-four qualities, some being material and others being mental: color (rupa),
taste (rasa), odor (gandha), touch (sparsa), sound (sabda), number (sankhya), measure (parimiti), mutual difference (prthaktva),
connection (samyoga), separation (vibhaga), perception of long time (paratva), perception of short time (aparatva), heaviness (gu-
rutva), fluidity (dravatva), viscidity (sneha), knowledge (buddhi), happiness (sukha), sorrow (duhkha), will (iccha), hatred (dvesa),
effort (yatna), latent tendencies (samskara, which is of three types: vega, sthiti-sthapaka, and bhavana), righteousness (dharma),
and unrighteousness (adharma).
4. According to Dvaita Vedanta, it is the first product of primordial Nature (prakrti). It always resides in a substance. There are
infinite number of qualities, mental as well as physical. Insentient entities have physical qualities while sentient beings have both
physical and mental qualities.
5. According to Advaita Vedanta and Visistadvaita Vedanta, it is an attribute of prakrti and is threefold. However, the two schools
differ as to the ontological status of the gunas.
6. According to Sankhya, gunas, being the three constituents of prakrti (composed on sattva, rajas, and tamas), are like a rope in
that they bind the individual and they are subsidiary in that they provide enjoyment for the individuals and also serve to liberate
them. They are the subtle substances or cosmic constituents which evolve into all the various categories of existence.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
guna -
a single thread or strand of a cord or twine ..., string or thread, rope;
a garland;
a bow-string;
(in geom.) a sinew;
the string of a musical instrument, chord ... with numerals ' fold, times ‘ (see catur-, tri-, dasa-, dvi-, panca-);
a multiplier, co-efficient (in alg.);
subdivision, species, kind (e.g. gandhasya gunah, the different kinds of smell);
the 6 subdivisions of action for a king in foreign politics (viz. peace, war, march, halt, stratagem, and recourse to the protection of
a mightier king) Mn.;
‘requisite’;
a secondary element, subordinate or unessential part of any action;
an auxiliary act;
a secondary dish (opposed to anna i.e. rice or the chief dish), side-dish;
the secondary or less immediate object of an action;
a quality, peculiarity, attribute or property;
an attribute of the 5 elements (each of which has its own peculiar quality or qualities as well as organ of sense; thus 1. ether has
sabda, or sound for its guna and the ear for its organ; 2. the air has tangibility and sound for its gunas and the skin for its organ; 3.
fire or light has shape or colour, tangibility, and sound for its gunas, and the eye for its organs; 4. water has flavour, shape, tangi¬
bility, and sound for its gunas, and the tongue for its organ; 5. earth has the preceding gunas, with the addition of its own peculiar
guna of smell, and the nose for its organ);
(in Sarhkhya phil.) an ingredient or constituent of Prakriti, chief quality of all existing beings (viz. sattva, rajas, and tamas i.e. good¬
ness, passion, and darkness, or virtue, foulness, and ignorance;
a property or characteristic of all created things (in Nyaya phil. twenty-four gunas are enumerated, viz. 1. rGpa, shape, colour; 2.
rasa, savour; 3. gandha, odour; 4. sparsa, tangibility; 5. sarhkhya, number; 6. parimana, dimension; 7. prthaktva, severalty; 8.
sarhyoga, conjunction; 9. vibhaga, disjunction; 10. paratva, remoteness; 11. aparatva, proximity; 12. gurutva, weight; 13. dravatva,
fluidity; 14. sneha, viscidity; 15. sabda, sound; 16. buddhi or jnana, understanding or knowledge; 17. sukha, pleasure; 18. duhkha,
pain; 19. iccha, desire; 20. dvesa, aversion; 21. prayatna, effort; 22. dharma, merit or virtue; 23. adharma, demerit; 24. sarhskara,
the self-reproductive quality);
an epithet;
good quality, virtue, merit, excellence;
the merit of composition (consistency, elegance of expression, &c.);
the peculiar properties of the letters (11 in number, viz. the 8 bahya-prayatnas ... and the 3 accents);
the first gradation of a vowel, the vowels a (with ar, al ...), e, o;
an organ of sense;
a cook
Wikipedia
Guna means ‘string’ or ‘a single thread or strand of a cord or twine’. In more abstract uses, it may mean ‘a subdivision, species,
kind, quality’, or an operational principle or tendency.
[In Samkhya philosophy], there are three major gunas that serve as the fundamental operating principles or ‘tendencies’ of prakrti
(universal nature) which are called: sattva guna, and rajas guna, tamas guna. The three primary gunas are generally accepted to
be associated with creation (satva), preservation (rajas), and destruction (tamas). The entire creation and its process of evolution
is carried out by these three major gunas.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Gunas - The creative dynamics of Nature, having three constituent modalities, sattva, rajas and tamas, which operate in rotation.
Sattva, like a pure monad, mirrors all items of perception with dependable accuracy, and illuminates conceivable ideas with cor¬
rect logical precision. It has the quality of transparency, and under its influence the mind remains calm. Rajas causes agitation and
emotional turbulence. It distorts and exaggerates the meaning and significance of percepts and concepts. Under its influence the
mind becomes self-centered and conceited. Tamas is the inertial aspect of nature. It is opaque and veils consciousness from the
reality of the Self. Under its influence the mind becomes negative and dark.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Guna (“quality”). A fundamental concept that originated in the Samkhya philosophical school, but has become one of the key ideas
in the Hindu worldview. The word guna literally means “strand,” and by extension a “quality,” of which there are believed to be
three: sattva (“goodness”), rajas (“passion”), and tamas (“darkness”). According to the Samkhyas, in the time before the evolution
of prakrti (primal matter), these three qualities were in perfect equilibrium. As mental activity began to disturb the balance, prakrti
evolved into the subjective self and the objective world. All things and beings in the world have these three basic qualities, but their
nature and tendencies differ according to the differing proportions. The quality sattva is always positive and carries associations
with goodness, truth, wholesomeness, health, cognitive thought, and deep-rooted religious life. The quality tamas is always neg¬
ative and is associated with darkness, ignorance, sloth, spoilage, and death. Rajas can be either positive or negative, depending
on the context. It is negative when one becomes a slave to one’s passions, blinding one to careful and conscious thought. How¬
ever, one’s passions can also help to engender activity and industriousness. Although much of Samkhya metaphysics has been
long discredited, the notion of all things drawing their tendencies from the differing proportion of these three gunas has become an
accepted part of Indian culture.
Wikipedia
In classical Vedic literature
In classical Vedic literature (for example, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana and the Bhagavad Gita), the gunas are also
associated with the five elements (mahabhutas), five senses, and five associated body parts:
Akash (space), associated with the guna sabda (“sound”) and with the ear.
Vayu (air), associated with the guna sparsa (“feeling”) and with the skin.
Tejas or Agni (fire), associated with the guna rupa (“appearance”, and thus color and tangibility) and with the eye.
Apas or Jal (water), associated with the guna rasa (“taste”, and thus also flavor and tangibility, as well as shape) and with the
tongue.
Prithivi (earth), associated with all the preceding gunas as well as the guna gandha (“smell”) and with the nose.
In Sankhya philosophy
In Samkhya philosophy, a guna is one of three “tendencies”: tamas, sattva, and rajas. These categories have become a common
means of categorizing behavior and natural phenomena in Hindu philosophy, and also in Ayurvedic medicine, as a system to
assess conditions and diets. For this reason Triguna and tridosha are considered to be related in the traditions of Ayurveda. Guna
is the tendency not action itself. For instance, sattva guna is the tendency towards purity but is not purity itself. Similarly rajas guna
is that force which tends to create action but is not action itself. Each of the three gunas is ever present simultaneously in every
particle of creation but the variations in equilibrium manifest all the variety in creation including matter, mind, body and spirit.
All creation is made up by a balance composed of all three forces. For creation to progress, each new stage “needs a force to
maintain it and another force to develop it into a new stage. The force that develops the process in a new stage is sato guna, while
tamo guna is that which checks or retards the process in order to maintain the state already produced, so that it may form the ba¬
sis for the next stage”.
Sattva (originally “being, existence, entity”) has been translated to mean balance, order, or purity. Indologist Georg Feuerstein
translates sattva as “lucidity”. This typically implies that aspects of creation with more of sattva have uplifting and life supporting
qualities.
Rajas (originally “atmosphere, air, firmament”) is also translated to mean preservation or dynamism. (Rajas is etymologically unre¬
lated to the word raja.)
Tamas (originally “darkness”, “obscurity”) has been translated to mean “too inactive” or “inertia”, negative, lethargic, dull, or slow.
Usually it is associated with darkness, delusion, or ignorance. A tamas quality also can refer to anything destructive or entropic. In
his Translation and Commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi explains “The nature of tamo guna is to check or
retard, though it should not be thought that if the movement is upward tamo guna is absent”.
In Nyaya philosophy
In Nyaya philosophy, 24 gunas are enumerated as properties or characteristics of all created things, including sabda, sparsa,
rupa, rasa, and gandha.
rupa: appearance (shape and color).
rasa: taste.
gandha: smell.
sparsa: feeling (touch).
samkhya: amount.
parimana: dimension.
prthaktva: distinctness.
samyoga: conjunction.
vibhaga: disjunction.
paratva: remoteness.
aparatva: proximity.
gurutva: weight.
dravatva: fluidity.
sneha: viscidity.
sabda:sound.
buddhi/jnana: enlightenment/knowing.
sukha: pleasure.
duhkha: pain.
iccha: desire.
dvesa: aversion.
prayatna: effort.
dharma: merit or virtue.
adharma: demerit.
samskara: the self-reproductive quality;
In grammar
In Sanskrit grammatical tradition (Vyakarana), guna is a technical term referring to the vowels a, e, o,(for example, the full grade
ablaut stages.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
... according to the Sankhya and it has been admitted by all our sects of philosophy the body is composed of three sorts of gu¬
nas (materials not qualities). It is the general idea that Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are qualities. Not at all, they are not qualities but
materials of this universe, and with ahara suddhi (pure food), the Sattva material becomes pure. The one aim of the Vedanta is
to get this Sattva. As I have told you, the soul is already pure and perfect but, according to the Vedanta, it is covered up by Rajas
and Tamas particles. The Sattva particles are the most luminous, and the effulgence of the soul penetrates through them as easily
as light through glass. So if the Rajas and Tamas particles are eliminated, leaving the Sattva particles uncovered, the powers and
purity of the soul will appear, and make the soul more manifest. Therefore it is necessary to have this Sattva.
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
... the Sankhya philosophy may justly claim to have fully developed the theory of the three Gunas.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Talk 497.
In the course of a different conversation. Sri Bhagavan said:
Satva is the light,
Rajas is the subject, and
Tamas is the object.
Even the satva light is only reflected light.
the advice is to keep the mind clear, and when rajas and tamas are wiped off, then the satva mind alone exists. So the T vanishes
in the satva (oonadhal kan).
Gunas, prakriti, maya
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Maya, or Prakrti, is said to consist of the three gunas, known as sattva, rajas, and tamas. The word guna, is usually translated into
English as “quality”, which does not give the precise meaning of the original. Sattva, rajas, and tamas are not qualities of maya
in the same sense that hardness is a quality of iron, or softness of butter, or heat of fire. The three gunas are the ingredients of
maya; they may be compared to three strands which constitute the rope of maya, the rope by which maya binds man to the illuso¬
ry world. Maya has no existence independent of the gunas. The three gunas are present, in varying degrees, in all objects, gross
or subtle, including the mind, the buddhi, and ego. The food which nourishes our body, the thought which is the function of the
mind, the duty which elevates a man from the animal level, charity, worship, sacrifice—in short, everything belonging to the uni¬
verse of maya—contains these three gunas.
At the end of a world cycle, when names and forms go back to the state of non-manifestation or involution, the gunas remain in a
state of non-differentiation or equilibrium. This is called the seed state of the universe; it is described as the sleep of the Cosmic
Soul. Maya, in association with Brahman, or Pure Consciousness, at that time exists as the Cause, alone, without any of its man¬
ifestation. Suddenly this equilibrium is disturbed, by the will of the Lord, and the gunas begin to assert their individual characteris¬
tics. Different objects, subtle and gross, come into existence. The tangible universe manifests itself step by step.
Rajas and tamas have opposing characteristics, while sattva strikes the balance between the two. The principal trait of rajas is
energy, and from it has emanated the “primal flow of activity”. Through its power the phenomenal universe alternates between
evolution and involution, manifestation of names and forms and their recession into the seed state. The visible effect of rajas, in a
human being for instance, is a ceaseless activity through which expression is given to ambition, lust, anger, avarice, arrogance,
egotism, envy, pride, jealousy, and so forth. Under its influence a man becomes violently attached to the world. Rajas is the
source of suffering.
Tamas is the veiling-power that hides the true nature of a thing and makes it appear as other than what it really is. The influence
of tamas is seen, in man, in his ignorance, lassitude, dullness, inadvertence, and stupidity. When tamas predominates over sattva
and rajas, he goes to sleep or remains inactive. It deprives a man of right judgement or definite belief and subjects him to doubt
and uncertainty. After tamas has veiled the true nature of the Self, rajas exerts its projecting-power and creates the many fantasies
that constitute an unenlightened man’s practical life. And alas, even scholars well versed in philosophy cannot escape its hypnotic
spell. It is the mother of delusion.
Sattva is the giver of happiness and is the real friend of man in his effort to realize Truth. It manifests itself, in man. as humility,
guilelessness, self-control, unselfishness, purity, contentment, truthfulness, fearlessness, faith, devotion, yearning for Liberation,
and other similar spiritual attributes. When sattva predominates, a man feels detached with respect to the world, lessens his physi¬
cal activities, intensifies his contemplation, and strives in various ways to attain peace and blessedness. Through the cultivation of
sattva, both rajas and tamas are kept under control.
The three gimas always exist together. There cannot be pure sattva, without rajas and tamas; or pure rajas, without sattva and
tamas; or pure tamas, without sattva and rajas. The difference between one being and another lies in the varying preponderances
of the gunas.
The three gunas, it must not be forgotten, belong to maya, Prakrti or ignorance, which includes everything in Nature—inorganic,
organic, or psychic. They are the characteristics of relativity. As long as a man is attached to any of them he is a phenomenal
being and not a free soul. Even the gods and angels are under the influence of the gunas. The gods or superhuman beings show
a preponderance of sattva; men, of rajas; and sub-human beings of tamas. Brahman, alone untouched by maya, is beyond the
gunas. Sattva binds a man with attachment to happiness, rajas with attachment to activity, and tamas with attachment to delusion.
The three gunas may be compared to three robbers who waylay a man in a forest. Tamas, one of the robbers, wants to destroy
him; but at the persuasion of rajas, the second robber, he is bound hand and foot to a tree and relieved of all his treasures. After
some time sattva, the third robber, returns, frees the man from his bondage, takes him gently out of the forest, and sets him on the
highway leading to his house. Then sattva takes leave of him, because he too, being a robber, does not dare accompany the man
out of the forest for fear of the police. Tamas wants to destroy a man; rajas binds him to the world and robs him of his spiritual
treasures; sattva sets him on the path to Freedom. Tamas is to be overcome by rajas, and rajas by sattva. But finally sattva, too, is
to be given up if the aspirant seeks total Freedom. Truth lies beyond the three gunas.
See also:
Avyakta
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Maya, avidya, ajnana
in Ahankara: Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
in Catuspada: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The word guna is derived from the Indo-European base gere, “twirl, wind.” Here the term is used to mean a single thread or strand
of a cord, that is, a constituent of Prakrti (Cosmic Substance). The Gunas are as essential to Prakrti as heat is to fire, for one can¬
not exist without the other.
Related words
Maya
Rajas
Sattva
Tamas
Sanskrit
Guna — TjtJT
guna - ^r
Guru
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Guru — ... teacher; preceptor; great; “heavy”; weighty; venerable
1. A spiritual master who has attained oneness with the Self/God and who initiates his or her disciples and devotees into the spiri¬
tual path and guides them to liberation.
2. One who removes the darkness of ignorance. A guru should be both an exemplar and articulator of Reality. Sankara defined a
guru as one who is firmly convinced that he or she is the supreme consciousness; one whose mind is rooted in the highest reality;
one who has a pure and tranquil mind; one who has realized one’s identity with the Absolute (Brahman).
3. There is a tradition which says that a guru gives instruction in the Veda; an acarya initiates one and then gives instruction; an
upadhyaya is a secondary type of teacher in that they give only partial instruction and take fees for it; an adhvanka is an instructor
of knowledge; a pradhyapaka is a seasoned teacher instructing advanced students and other teachers; a pravakta is a generic
word for teacher; and a pracarya is a retired teacher.
4. A sannyasa should know four generations of his preceptors: guru, parama guru, paramesti guru, and parapara guru.
5. In Hinduism, the true guru is God — “guru-deva.”
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
guru -
heavy, weighty (opposed to laghu’);
heavy in the stomach (food), difficult to digest;
great, large, extended, long;
(in prosody) long by nature or position (a vowel);
high in degree, vehement, violent, excessive, difficult, hard;
grievous;
important, serious, momentous;
valuable, highly prized;
haughty, proud (speech);
venerable, respectable;
any venerable or respectable person (father, mother, or any relative older than one’s self);
a spiritual parent or preceptor (from whom a youth receives the initiatory Mantra or prayer, who instructs him in the sastras and
conducts the necessary ceremonies up to that of investiture which is performed by the acarya;
the chief of;
‘preceptor of the gods’;
the planet Jupiter;
‘Pandu-teacher Drona;
Prabha-kara (celebrated teacher of the rtiTmarhsa, usually mentioned with Kumarila);
‘venerable ‘, the 9th astrological mansion;
pi. parents and other venerable persons;
a honorific appellation of a preceptor (whose N. is also put in the pi.);
‘venerable woman ‘, a mother;
‘great (with child) ‘, pregnant, a pregnant woman;
the wife of a teacher
Wikipedia
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others
(teacher). As a principle for the development of consciousness it leads the creation from unreality to reality, from the darkness of
ignorance to the light of knowledge. In its purest form this principle manifests on earth as a divine incarnation (saint), a person with
supreme knowledge about God and all creation. Other forms of manifestation of this principle also include parents, school teach¬
ers, non-human objects (books) and even one’s own intellectual discipline.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Guru - Literally, remover of darkness. In a broad sense any teacher, and specifically a spiritual preceptor. The Guru is not an out¬
side factor. As one who reveals the reality of the Self, the Guru is Brahma. As one who preserves and guards the revealed wis¬
dom of the Absolute, the Guru is Vishnu. As one who causes the final dissolution of everything into the undifferentiated beingness
of the Absolute, the Guru is Mahesvara or Siva. The implied anthropomorphism of personifying Awareness as Brahma, Vishnu
and Mahesvara is to be treated as a poetic fancy of the Indian mind. In essence the Guru is the same as the Absolute.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The SANSKRIT word guru (“weighty” or “heavy” or “father”) is said to derive from gu (the darkness of ignorance) and ru (driving
away)—thus, “the one who drives away the darkness of ignorance.” The notion of the guru began in VEDIC times; a student would
live with a master for 12 years to acquire the Vedic learning. He treated the guru as his father and served his household as well.
Today, a guru is a person’s spiritual father, who is entitled to special deference, as are his wife and daughter.
The guru is a spiritual guide. Almost all traditions understand that spiritual progress and liberation from birth and rebirth cannot oc¬
cur without the aid of a guru. In many contemporary Indian traditions he is seen to be God himself and is treated as such; thus, his
disciples may often refer to their devotion to the “feet of the guru” or their fealty to the “sandals [paduka]” of the guru. (Touching of
the feet in India is a sign of deep respect.) So important is the guru that every year a holiday, Gurupurnima, is celebrated. It takes
place on the full Moon in the lunar month of Ashadha (June-July). It was dedicated originally to the sage VYASA, who compiled
the VEDAS and the MAHABHARATA, but it is observed by worship or honoring of one’s teachers and gurus.
The SIKH tradition, which was founded by Guru Nanak in the 16th century, honors a line of 10 gurus whose teachings form the
core of the tradition. The teachings were eventually gathered together along with the teachings of certain Indian saints into the
Sikh sacred scripture, the Granth Sahib or Guru Granth. Since then the book has became the true “guru” for the Sikhs, and none
other has been recognized.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Guru (“heavy”). In its most commonly accepted meaning, a guru is a spiritual teacher or religious mentor; in an extended sense
the word can refer to any teacher. The term is often used in the arts, where the relationship between master and disciple is still
a vital part of learning. The relationship between guru and disciple (shishya) is one of the most fundamental and enduring facets
of Hinduism and is the accepted model for the transmission of religious teaching, tradition, and authority. Aside from transmitting
knowledge, the guru-disciple connection also assumes a close and trusting relationship. The guru takes responsibility for the dis¬
ciple’s development, based on an assessment of the disciple’s strengths, inclinations, and capacities, while the disciple faithfully
follows the guru’s direction. The literal meaning of the word guru is “heavy,” indicating the impression they have on the lives of
their students—weighty and marked. As a guiding presence, a guru is considered indispensable for true spiritual attainment. This
is particularly true of secret traditions such as tantra, in which the guru’s transmission of authority gives the disciple the necessary
adhikara or “qualifications” for practice.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The heavenly or inner Guru is represented in the world in the form of men who are Gurus to their disciples. Their function is to
enlighten their disciples, till the Guru within their own soul shines forth. The relation of the function of faith and insight in the soul to
the lower functions is that of a Guru to his disciples.
The very conception of “the Guru” is often misunderstood in our time, because Gurus who are truly enlightened and have subject¬
ed the lower functions within themselves, are unfortunately very rare. Nowadays, a Guru is generally supposed to be, and gen¬
erally is, in fact, nothing more than an instructor of philosophy and (what is deemed to be) “Yoga”. There is no harm in this if the
teacher is a man of pure and humble character. But if he has not purified himself of Ahankara, he may do more harm than good
to his follower. There may be serious consequences, if the so-called or self-styled “Guru” is a man who is out for “power”, or who
likes to dabble in secret rites and occult practices that increase egotism. There are also “Gurus” who impose upon others dogmas,
beliefs, actions, and — worst of all — themselves. The law of supply and demand works on all planes. People obtain the type of
leader or master they desire and deserve. For those who have pure spiritual aspirations, the traditional saying, “the Guru appears
when the disciple is ready”, applies.
The other traditional saying, “the Guru is God”, can be understood from the fact that Guru is Zeus-Jupiter-Jehovah, the Enlighten¬
er.
The inner or divine Guru is projected in the outer world on a suitable person — for the purpose of the enlightenment of a disciple.
Enlightenment is evoked in the disciple by the “participation mystique” of Guru and disciple.
It may not be out of place to remark that the emotional and intellectual links between Guru and disciple are secondary and form
only reflections of the spiritual link. The purity of the Guru, that is, the lack of Ahankaric factors in his life, purifies the lives of those
who live with him. The disciple who surrenders and annihilates his Ahankara at the Guru’s feet (to use the traditional expression),
finds insight or enlightenment through the Guru’s grace, which is the Grace of God. It is evident that faith in the Guru is of the high¬
est importance, for it is faith that brings insight into the mystery of life, and the bliss of harmonization.
The Guru or Enlightener is the embodied Word, born from the Voice, representing the Tradition.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Mr. Evans-Wentz continued another day: “May one have more than one spiritual master?”
M.: Who is a Master? He is the Self after all. According to the stages of the development of the mind the Self manifests as the
Master externally. The famous ancient saint Avadhuta said that he had more than 24 Masters. The Master is one from whom one
learns anything. The Guru may be sometimes inanimate also, as in the case of Avadhuta. God, Guru and the Self are identical.
A spiritual-minded man thinks that God is all-pervading and takes God for his Guru. Later, God brings him in contact with a per¬
sonal Guru and the man recognises him as all in all. Lastly the same man is made by the grace of the Master to feel that his Self is
the Reality and nothing else. Thus he finds that the Self is the Master.
D.: When loyal to one Master can you respect others?
M.: Guru is only one. He is not physical. So long as there is weakness the support of strength is needed.
D.: J. Krishnamurti says, “No Guru is necessary?”
M.: How did he know it? One can say so after realising but not before.
D.: It is said that the Guru can make his disciple realise the Self by transmitting some of his own power to him? Is it true?
M.: Yes. The Guru does not bring about Self-Realisation. He simply removes the obstacles to it. The Self is always realised.
D.: Is there absolute necessity of a Guru for Self-Realisation?
M.: So long as you seek Self-Realisation the Guru is necessary. Guru is the Self. Take Guru to be the Real Self and your self as
the individual self.
The disappearance of this sense of duality is removal of ignorance. So long as duality persists in you the Guru is necessary. Be¬
cause you identify yourself with the body you think the Guru, too, to be some body. You are not the body, nor is the Guru. You are
the Self and so is the Guru.
This knowledge is gained by what you call Self-Realisation.
D.: How can one know whether a particular individual is competent to be a Guru?
M.: By the peace of mind found in his presence and by the sense of respect you feel for him.
D.: If the Guru happens to turn out incompetent, what will be the fate of the disciple who has implicit faith in him?
M.: Each one according to his merits.
Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
Question: How is one to decide upon a proper Guru? What is the swarupa of a Guru?
Bhagavan: He is the proper Guru to whom your mind is attuned. If you ask, how to decide who is the Guru and what is his swaru¬
pa, he should be endowed with tranquillity, patience, forgiveness and other virtues capable of attracting others, even by a mere
look, like the magnetic stone, and with a feeling of equality towards all — he that has these virtues is the true Guru. If one wants
to know the true Guru swarupa, one must know his own swarupa first. How can one know the true Guru swarupa, if one does not
know one’s own swarupa first? If you want to perceive the true Guru swarupa, you must first learn to look upon the whole universe
as Guru rupam. One must have the Gurubhavam towards all living beings. It is the same with God. You must look upon all objects
as God’s rupa. How can he who does not know his own Self perceive Ishwara rupa or Guru rupa? How can he determine them?
Therefore, first of all know your own real swarupam.
Question: Isn’t a Guru necessary to know even that?
Bhagavan: That is true. The world contains many great men. Look upon him as your Guru with whom your mind gets attuned. The
one in whom you have faith is your Guru.
Dattatreya is the universal Guru, isn’t he? And he has said that the whole world was his Guru. If you look at evil you feel you
should not do it. So he said evil also was his Guru. If you see good, you would wish to do it; so he said that good also was his
Guru; both good and evil, he said, were his Gurus. It seems that he asked a hunter which way he should go, but the latter ignored
his question, as he was intent upon his aim to shoot a bird above. Dattatreya saluted him, saying, ‘You are my Guru! Though kill¬
ing the bird is bad, keeping your aim so steadfast in shooting the arrow as to ignore my query is good, thereby teaching me that I
should keep my mind steadfast and fixed on Ishwara. You are therefore my Guru.’ In the same way he looked upon everything as
his Guru, till in the end he said that his physical body itself was a Guru, as its consciousness does not exist during sleep and the
body that does not exist should therefore not be confused with the soul — dehatmabhavana (the feeling that the body is the soul).
Therefore that too was a Guru for him. While he looked upon the whole world as his Guru, the whole world worshipped him as its
Guru.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
Such a person [who is fit to know the true nature of atman] must approach the guru through whom freedom from bondage is at¬
tainable; one who is wise, well versed in the scriptures, sinless, free from desire, knowing the nature of Brahman.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
what is a Guru? Let us go back to the Srutis “He who knows the secret of the Vedas, not book-worms, not grammarians, not pan¬
dits in general, but he who knows the meaning of the Scriptures, he alone is the GURU. ... He who knows the secret of the Srutis,
the sinless, and he who does not want to make money by teaching—he is the Shanta(saint), the Sadhu (Holy one), who comes as
the Spring, which brings the leaves and fruits to various plants but does not ask anything from the plant, for its very nature is to do
good. It does good and that is all. Such is the Guru. “Who has himself crossed this ocean of life, and without any idea of gain to
himself helps others to cross the ocean also, this is the Guru, and mark that none else can be a Guru. As for others: “Themselves
steeped in darkness, but in the pride of their hearts thinking they know everything, do not stop even there, but want to help others,
and, blind leading the blind, both fall into the ditch.”
Guru-sishya relationship
General
Wikipedia
The guru-shishya tradition, lineage, or parampara, denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in traditional Indian culture and
religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism. It is the tradition of spiritual relationship and mentoring where teach¬
ings are transmitted from a guru “teacher” (Sanskrit: *J5) to a sisya “disciple” (Sanskrit: 3Tf^r) or chela. Such knowledge, whether
it be Vedic, agamic, architectural, musical or spiritual, is imparted through the developing relationship between the guru and the
disciple. It is considered that this relationship, based on the genuineness of the guru, and the respect, commitment, devotion and
obedience of the student, is the best way for subtle or advanced knowledge to be conveyed. The student eventually masters the
knowledge that the guru embodies.
Historical background
Beginning in the early oral traditions of the Upanishads (c. 2000 BC), the guru-shishya relationship has evolved into a fundamental
component of Hinduism. The term “Upanishad” derives from the Sanskrit words “upa” (near), “ni” (down) and “sad” (to sit) — so it
means “sitting down near” a spiritual teacher to receive instruction. The relationship between Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad
Gita portion of the Mahabharata, and between Rama and Hanuman in the Ramayana are examples. In the Upanishads, gurus and
disciples appear in a variety of settings (a husband answering questions about immortality, a teenage boy being taught by Yama,
the Hindu Religion’s Lord of Death, etc.) Sometimes the sages are women, and the instructions may be sought by kings.
In the Vedas, the knowledge of Brahman (brahmavidya) is communicated from guru to shishya by oral lore.
Common characteristics of the guru-shishya relationship
Within the broad spectrum of the Hindu religion, the guru-shishya relationship can be found in numerous variant forms including
tantra. Some common elements in this relationship include:
The establishment of a teacher/student relationship.
A formal recognition of this relationship, generally in a structured initiation ceremony where the guru accepts the initiate as a
shishya and also accepts responsibility for the spiritual well-being and progress of the new shishya.
Sometimes this initiation process will include the conveying of specific esoteric wisdom and/or meditation techniques.
Gurudakshina, where the shishya gives a gift to the guru as a token of gratitude, often the only monetary or otherwise fee that the
student ever gives. Such tokens can be as simple as a piece of fruit or as serious as a thumb, as in the case of Ekalavya and his
guru Dronacharya.
Parampara and Sampradaya
Traditionally the word used for a succession of teachers and disciples in ancient Indian culture is parampara (parampara). In the
parampara system, knowledge (in any field) is believed to be passed down through successive generations. The Sanskrit word lit¬
erally means “an uninterrupted series or succession”. Sometimes defined as “the passing down of Vedic knowledge”, it is believed
to be always entrusted to the acaryas. An established parampara is often called sampradaya, or school of thought.
Guru-shishya relationship types
Advaita Vedanta requires anyone seeking to study Advaita Vedanta to do so from a guru (teacher). The guru must have the fol¬
lowing qualities (see Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12):
Srotriya — must be learned in the Vedic scriptures and sampradaya
Brahmanistha — literally meaning “established in Brahman”; must have realised the oneness of Brahman in everything and in
himself.
The seeker must serve the guru and submit his questions with all humility so that doubt may be removed, (see Bhagavad Gita
4.34). According to Advaita, the seeker will be able to attain liberation from the cycle of births and deaths (moksha).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
Traditionally, the aspiring youth arrives at the abode of the Guru who generally lives away from society in a forest hermitage. The
future Sishya is expected to bring a token bundle of firewood as a sign of his willingness to submit to the household discipline
required of him when he enters the Gurukula (the family of the Guru), He proves in this way that he is one who has sacrificed all
for the wisdom that he prizes more than family and friends. He is therefore a true orphan of God or humanity; a stowaway on the
cosmic ship, unwanted by society; a radical idealist by inclination. Even if he is of highly respectable parentage he is expected to
take no pride in his family traditions. He has transcended and left behind that chapter in his life.
So, like a stray animal pleading for adoption, he appears of his own accord at the Guru’s threshold. He is docile, of good manners
and of pleasant mien. He is earnest enough and zealous to pay the utmost price for the wisdom he seeks; willing, if need be, to
give the loyalty of a lifetime. He does not know wisdom in its completion, but he is aware that there is wisdom. He has, as it were,
a foretaste of its value, known in a vague way, and this inkling gives him the impetus, enabling him to take the ultimate step to
discover it with whole-hearted aim, come what may. All this is understood and symbolically implied when he knocks at the Guru’s
door. Thus he is deeply sensitive, but neither timid nor hesitant.
The Brahmacharin of tradition rises before the sun and usually has his morning dip in the nearest river or lake. There is nothing
severe about this in a tropical climate. At early dawn he is ready for service at the Guru’s bedside. Various kinds of service are
exacted from him in keeping with his character as a student. Begging is not taboo provided it is just as much as is needed for ele¬
mentary bodily needs.
Competition with others in this connection is forbidden, as may be seen from the story of Aruni who was reprimanded by the Guru,
as mentioned in the Mahabharata. Extreme tests are sometimes applied until the mutual adoption between the Sishya and the
Guru becomes firmly established. It is an educative process, a drawing out, and, without the essential bi-polar adoption recog¬
nized on both sides, it must fail.
Such in outline was the practice employed traditionally, according to the sources at our disposal. The Sishya was not to question
the authority of the Guru. It is clear also from the stories concerning Milarepa and others equally famous, whether from the Indian
or Tibetan Guru-Sishya literature. The testing period over, and adoption complete, proved by service to the Guru or by other meth¬
ods, all is ready for the instruction, which generally takes but a little time to give. The mantra (sacred syllable or word) is given to
the disciple, the Maha-vakyas (Grand Aphorisms) are bestowed, and the climax of the relationship is reached.
There is glory in being a Guru, but by its own terms there is greater glory in being a Sishya. The willingness, submission, disci¬
pline and extra good breeding implied in the tender strength of the personality of the Brahmacharin is no less a marvel than that of
Guruhood. The Brahmacharin is at the beck and call of the Guru. In the Guru’s presence he never sits or plays pranks, but rises
respectfully when the Guru enters.
In the presence of other elder Gurus he is expected to be modest and only when asked shows off his knowledge. To be request¬
ed to sit in the Guru’s presence is a rare recognition, gained only in the later period of discipleship. The word ‘Upanishad’ which
means ‘to sit beside’ (derived from the Sanskrit root ‘shad’, to sit, and ‘upa’, near by 21) indicates the privileged nature of the Gu¬
ru-Sishya institution. It is an instruction to be given only when ritualistic service and works have been rightly performed or tran¬
scended. After these comes wisdom (jnana) as a distinct chapter.
The understanding between the Guru and Sishya is like that of a knight-errant who takes up the gauntlet. A tacit challenge is in¬
voked. The Guru may want something in the middle of the night. The Sishya is not to be caught napping. When the Guru speaks,
the Sishya is all ears.
As in a well-bred domestic animal, his eyes follow the Guru’s least movements. Subtle exchanges must be taken in good faith and
in the spirit of a chivalric code of honour. Dogged pursuit of truth is demanded. No retrospective glance of regret is permissible to
the strict Brahmacharin. He must gaze ever forwards. The peak has to be conquered, the citadel stormed. Moral courage dare not
flag for even a minute. Ever listening, ever wakeful, ever willing to serve, and cut off from every situation irrelevant to the task in
hand, the student treads the path. Such is the heroic nature of genuine Sishyahood.
All vital relations, such as those between father and son or husband and wife imply the same bipolarity of relationship which is the
secret of contemplative reasoning...
It is in this way that the Guru becomes as important as the sishya (disciple), or vice versa...
It is the Word which stands neutral and silent between the Guru and the Sishya (Master and Disciple). Silence is the normal state
of Guruhood. That normal Guru state has no message to deliver - except that of the silent Word, perhaps. Neither has it any gos¬
pel to spread, nor course of action to recommend on its own initiative. It is free from the sense of agency in the world of activities
or works. These exist in the domain of necessity or restraint and take care of themselves according to natural laws of imperative
urges, causal chains or obligation. Thus the Guru rests in his heart’s cave of tranquillity, locked in the secret of his silence, beyond
all turmoil in the peace that passeth understanding. Someone might approach a Guru with a question. The best answer and the
reply the Guru wants to give is his silence. The indifference on the surface is only seeming. The Guru really intends to honour the
questioner by his silence. Indeed silence is a form of recognition given sometimes to the most intelligent of questioners. For the
well-formulated question, fundamentally sound in its basic premiss, supplies in itself half at least of the desirable question-answer
situation which is a dialectical situation, like a subject seeking an object or predicate...
The question can refer to one specifically possible answer, but the silence is an answer to all possible varieties of questions, even
to those concerning the future. It is the crowning answer of answers, a finalized reply to the endlessness of questioning in an un¬
expected form which is itself paradoxically rhetorical...
What looks like reserve is only the underlining of the most effective method of conveying his meaning, which is incapable of being
given by the methods usual to other kinds of knowledge. The Guru truth implies the negative approach. It is given a priori, and
sounds as if it is ‘dogmatic’ and not reasoned in the modern sense. ... Again and again frustrated in their attempts to transmit their
deepest affections, the Gurus often subside into the most intensely expressive of silences. Such loneliness - such an ‘orphanage
in God’ - might be called their everlasting agony, crucifixion, or state of detached Nirvana - so great is the hunger of the Guru for a
true disciple.
In ‘the flight of the Alone to the Alone’, which constitutes the Guru-state, the sympathetic call arises for winging another into the
joy of this Samadhi. This constitutes the ‘sad’ element, for this Advaita consciousness seeks expression, final consummation and
fulfilment - and that can be only by transmission somehow to the right kind of disciple.
Without Sishyahood, which is the counterpart of Guruhood, the latter would be meaningless. As a king cannot be without subjects;
so no Guru can be without the typical ‘purvapakshin’ (the doubter, the one who is sceptical, who has the point of view which is
anterior to finalized wisdom, the persistent critic found in all the texts of the Word-wisdom)...
The bipolar Guru-Sishya relationship requires not only a genuine Brahman-knowing Guru, but also an enthusiastic or earnest dis¬
ciple. Only then can the Word of the Guru be elaborated.
The Guru-Sishya relational technique has to conform minutely to a science of its own, to a code which is at the same time tradi¬
tional - the result of long experience - and dialectically universal. All leakages to other interests have to be blocked and a constant
pressure uniformly maintained until results accrue. The nervous system has to be trained to bear the strain of the psychological
search. On some occasion, suddenly, the votary may relapse into regret. The soldier has to be removed to a rest-camp. He may
have tried his best, but a freer flight into the alone, into the adventure of the unknown, may be too much for his moral stamina to
sustain.
Guru and Sishya form the two poles of a process of Self-realization that is essentially an axial relationship. The disciple seeking
knowledge - at the cost of his life if need be - touches the foot of the Guru who is established in that high wisdom. In his turn, the
Guru blesses the Sishya and touches him on his forehead in recognition of his aspiration. A mutual appreciation each of the other
then begins, which results in their further spiritual rapprochement. Finally, all distinctions vanish. The Guru is the Sishya and the
Sishya is the Guru.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
8. Therefore, the learned seeker who is striving to gain this freedom within and who has renounced all his desires for pleasures in
the sense-objects, should duly approach a good and generous Master and must live attuned to the true significances of the words
of the Master.
Commentary by Chinmayananda: A seeker in Vedanta ... can gain admission only when he has had a good education, not only
in the market place but also in the great works discussing the theory and meaning of life. Hence the word Vidwan is used here to
indicate a true seeker. When, therefore, a student having had a cursory knowledge of life and its meaning realises the futility of
running after sense-objects, he comes to a certain amount of renunciation of desires and thus he approaches his Master. Sankara
in this verse also lists the special qualifications necessary for a seeker on the spiritual path.
... A Guru must not only be a man of full Realisation and experience but he should be a Mahantam, a large-hearted, sympathetic,
kind person. Without these qualifications of the heart, he will not be able to come down from the high seat of his experience and
mingle with the imperfect seekers who come to him, and fully understand their difficulties on the path. One can be a Guru only if
one has the required magnanimity, intimate personal experience of the Divine and great familiarity with the scriptures.
Even if a seeker discovers such a perfect Master, he will not be able to react favourably in the Master’s presence or even to his
discussions if he has not the necessary mental attitude, denoted by the word samupetya. The manner of approaching a Master is
not merely a prescription for a sapless formality. It specifies, mainly, a mental attitude. If we approach a Master with the objective
of judging him or evaluating his knowledge, certainly we are not going to benefit. There are some who approach a man of wisdom
to make him understand how far they are men of wisdom themselves. This exhibitionism of their laboriously gathered second hand
informations will choke their hearts and they will not be able to gain anything from the Master’s words which rise from his own first
hand experiences. Water flows only from a higher level to a lower level; so too it is with the flow of knowledge. Unless we have the
meekness and the spirit of surrender, knowledge cannot reach us.
The divine attitude of full receptivity is the aroma of a heart which has reverence for and surrender to, faith in and love for, the
Guru. These are, therefore, insisted upon in the Sastras, but they may seem to the modern man as arrangements set up by a
team of social criminals to loot and plunder the credulous public. Such an opinion reflects the level of decadence into which mod¬
ern man has fallen.
Again, even with all the prescribed qualifications if a seeker were to reach the feet of a perfect Master, the transferred knowledge
cannot take root in the student unless he is himself ready to strive along the path. The instructions given here explaining how he
should conduct himself in the presence of the Master are very significant indeed, especially so in our times when we are all labour¬
ing under terrible misunderstandings about this Guru-sishya relationship.
After all, a Master can only explain truths and give sufficient logic to give the seeker intellectual conviction. These ideas are, at
best, prescriptions for certain values of life which cannot yield any benefit unless they are taken up and made a part of the entire
scheme of our evolution. The major part of the work depends upon our own efforts to rehabilitate ourselves. Thus, it is said, the
individual should try to live the deep significances of the precepts of the Master.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
guru — from the verb root gr = “to invoke or to praise”...
6 . The etymological derivation of the word guru is in this verse from the Guru Gita: “The root gu stands for darkness; ru for its re¬
moval. The removal of the darkness of ignorance in the heart is indicated by the word guru.” The meanings of gu and ru can also
be traced to the Panini-sutras gu samvarane and ru himsane, indicating concealment and its annulment.
Wikipedia
Guru is composed of the syllables ‘gu’ and ‘ru’, the former signifying ‘darkness’, and the latter signifying ‘the destroyer of that
[darkness]’, hence a guru is one characterized as someone who dispels spiritual ignorance (darkness), with spiritual illumination
(light) - as per Advaya- Taraka Upanishad (verse 16),
The syllable gu means shadows
The syllable ru, he who disperses them,
Because of the power to disperse darkness
the guru is thus named.
- Advayataraka Upanishad 14—18, verse 5
As a noun the word means the imparter of knowledge (jnana). As an adjective, it means “heavy,” or “weighty,” in the sense of
“heavy with knowledge,” “heavy with spiritual wisdom,” “heavy with spiritual weight,” “heavy with the good qualities of scriptures
and realization,” or “heavy with a wealth of knowledge.” The word has it roots in the Sanskrit gri (“to invoke”, or “to praise”), and
may have a connection to the word gur, meaning “to raise, “to lift up”, or “to make an effort.” Barnhart’s “Dictionary of Etymology”
compares gravis (Latin: grave, weighty, serious) as cognate with the Sanskrit “guru.”
A traditional etymology of the term “guru” is based on the interplay between darkness and light. The Guru is seen as the one who
“dispels the darkness of ignorance.” In some texts it is described that the syllables gu (*j) and ru ( 5 ) stand for darkness and light,
respectively.
Reender Kranenborg disagrees, stating that darkness and light have nothing to do with the word guru. He describes this as a folk
etymology.
Another etymology of the word “guru” found in the Guru Gita, includes gu as “beyond the qualities” and ru as “devoid of form”, stat¬
ing that “He who bestows that nature which transcend the qualities is said to be guru”.[ The meanings of “gu” and “ru” can also be
traced to the Sutras indicating concealment and its annulment.
In Western Esotericism and the Science of Religion, Pierre Riffard makes a distinction between “occult” and “scientific” etymolo¬
gies, citing as an example of the former the etymology of “guru” in which the derivation is presented as gu (“darkness”) and ru (“to
push away”); the latter he exemplifies by “guru” with the meaning of “heavy”.
Related words
Gurukula
Sishya
Sanskrit
Guru — TJ?
guru -
Gurukula
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Gurukula — ... “teacher’s school,” or “teacher’s abode”
1. Traditionally, the gurukula referred to the residence of a spiritual teacher wherein young students came to live and learn.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
gurukula -
the house of a Guru
Wikipedia
A gurukul (Sanskrit guru “teacher” or “master”; kul domain, from kula, “extended family”) is in India a type of school, residential in
nature, with shishyas living in proximity to the guru, often within the same house. In a gurukul, shishyas reside together as equals,
irrespective of their social standing, learn from the guru and help the guru in his day-to-day life, including the carrying out of mun¬
dane chores such as washing clothes, cooking, etc.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
The guru-shishya parampara is a hallowed tradition in Hinduism. Other religious groups in India have adapted it into different
forms that fall within their religious ideology and framework such as Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Typically, a guru does not
receive fees from a shishyas studying with him. At the end of his studies, a shishya offers the guru dakshina before leaving the
ashram. The gurudakshina is a traditional gesture of acknowledgment, respect and thanks, which may be monetary, but may also
be a special task the teacher wants the student to accomplish.
By the colonial era the gurukul system was almost dead in India excepting in a few remote regions. An exception was Kerala
where the warrior Nair clan and their own military gurukulas called Kalaris.
Recently, several gurukulas have begun, both driven by monetary gain and by a desire to uphold the traditions. Examples of these
new schools are Ananda Marga Gurukula established by Ananda Marga in 1990 at Anandanagar (India) with a network of branch¬
es in scores of countries around the world. It is not a religious school in Hindu tradition but rather a secular academic institution
based on universal spiritual principles. Vivekananda College near Madurai is an NAAC -accredited 'A’ grade autonomous college
that is run under a Gurukula system.
There are many Vedic Gurukulas in modern India which follow ancient tradition. Government of India provides financial and other
help to Vedic teachers who establish such Vedic gurukulas for imparting Vedic education without asking for any fees from the stu¬
dents ; the leading government institution offering such assistance is Sandipani in Ujjain, named after the guru of Krishna, which
also helps Vedic gurukulas in preparing students for examinations held by recognized Sanskrit universities.[citation needed] (An¬
other Fact,April 2008).
In India and other parts of the world, gurukul [4]is becoming synonym for Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul, a socio-spiritual, non prof¬
it organization with over 14 branches and centers, head branch at Gurukul Rajkot.
In Andhra Pradesh, the first attempt of expanding the Gurukul Tradition was made at Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Hyderabad by
Sadguru Shri Devprasaddasji Swami.
In Mayapur (West Bengal, India) an ISKCON gurukul project, which has been in operation since the 70’s, is rejuvenating the an¬
cient gurukul system and providing students with a system of traditional education and values.
Others examples of Gurukula instituts: [www.arshayoga.org] and [www.jjkgurukulam.org]
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
The word kula comes from the root kul = “to gather or group together” and, thus, refers to any manifestation from the smallest to
the largest (i.e., an abode, house, body, family, school, teachings, lineage, state of being, etc.). The word guru comes from gu =
“remover of darkness” + ru = “bestower of light.” Thus, the gurukula is any place where the darkness of ignorance is removed by
the light of wisdom.
Related words
Guru
Sishya
Sanskrit
Gurukula —
gurukula -
H
Hatha Yoga
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Hatha yoga — ... physical exercises or postures; “sun-moon union”
1. A yogic discipline by which the unitive (samadhi) state is attained by uniting the prana and apana (ingoing and outgoing breath).
Various bodily and mental exercises are practiced for the purpose of purifying the 72,000 nadis and to bring about the even flow of
prana. When the flow of prana is even, the mind becomes still. One then experiences equality consciousness and enters into the
state of samadhi.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
hathayoga -
a kind of forced Yoga or abstract meditation (forcing the mind to withdraw from external objects; treated of in the Hatha-pradTpika
by Svatmarama and performed with much self-torture, such as standing on one leg, holding up the arms, inhaling smoke with the
head inverted
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Hatha yoga is an amalgam of yogic practices that may have emerged separately and were later comcombined. Its origins are ob¬
scure, but it is likely that the system began to develop in the early centuries of the Common Era.
Hatha yoga includes basic practices that can be found in ASHTANGA YOGA, which relies on the YOGA SUTRA of PATANJALI.
It includes different arrays of postures (ASANAS), joined to various TANTRA practices. The term hatha originally meant “violent,”
and it is possible that this style of YOGA originated in certain types of severe yoga that were later softened for protection of the
body.
Some types of hatha yoga include or even focus on KUNDALINI practice. Here the focus of breath control is on the “serpent” or
“Goddess Energy” at the base of the spine, which must be awakened and forced upward to pierce the psychic centers or chakras
that run parallel to the spine. The NADIS, or subtle bodily channels, are used to guide breath into the central spinal channel to
help the raising of the kundalini through the centers. Finally, the kundalini meets SHIVA at a point above the head called SAHAS-
RARA CHAKRA. This meeting provokes absolute enlightenment.
Traditionally, hatha yoga has encompassed a wide range of practices including those of such sects as the NATH YOGIS, who
sought bodily immortality through the ingestion (and transformation) of poisons such as oxides of mercury and practiced a physical
alchemy. Today, in the West, hatha yoga is typically confined to postures and a simple focus on the breath; more advanced practi¬
tioners may begin to focus on the kundalini and the channeling of the breath in the nadis.
Wikipedia
Hatha Yoga, also called Hatha Vidya G^R^i), is a system of Yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a sage of 15th century In¬
dia, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. In this treatise Swatmarama introduces Hatha Yoga as preparatory stage of physi¬
cal purification that the body practices for higher meditation. The Asanas and Pranayama in Raja Yoga were what the Hindu Yogis
used to physically train their body for long periods of meditation. This practice is called shatkarma.
Hatha yoga follows the same principles as the Raaja Yoga of Patanjali including moral restraint yama and spiritual observances
niyama. Hatha Yoga is what most people in the West associate with the word “Yoga” and is practised for mental and physical
health throughout the West.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
... it is interesting to go through a tradition of Yoga, focussed in the Element Fire. The Gheranda Samhita is a scripture embodying
such a tradition. ... The special variety of Yoga which it embodies is Hatha Yoga. This is the form of Yoga which begins with the
physical body and proceeds stage by stage inwards. It always stresses the substance and form-aspect of the psyche, on one and
all of the planes. ... Like all scriptures of Yoga, the Gheranda Samhita has been misunderstood and manhandled by idolatrous
literalists. So-called, or rather self-styled, “Yogis”, having no eyes to see the symbolic nature of the instructions, have spent years
and even life-times in practising many of the instructions verbatim. Since the mind is a powerful creator, they have had some
success to book in the development of abnormal psychic powers and the admiration of misguided admirers. But they have not at¬
tained the greater powers which the Yogi Gheranda taught. They have been side-tracked and remained far distant from the Goal.
The beginning of the Samhita at once reveals its profundity. “(1) Once Chanda Kapali going to the cottage of Gheranda saluted
him with reverence and devotion. (2) Chanda Kapali said: O Master of Yoga! O best of Yogis! O Lord! I wish now to learn the
Hatha Yoga, which leads to the realization of the essence of truth (Tattva-Jnana). (3) Gheranda replied: Well asked, indeed, O
mighty-armed. I shall tell thee, O child, what thou askest me. Attend to it with diligence. (4) There are no fetters like those of Maya,
there is no strength like that which comes from Yoga, there is no friend higher than Realization (Jnana), and no greater enemy
than Ahankara. (5) As by learning the alphabets one can, through practice, master all the sciences, so by thoroughly practising
first the Hatha Yoga, one acquires the knowledge of the True. (6) On account of good and bad deeds, the bodies of all animated
beings are produced, and the bodies give rise to works (Karma which leads to rebirth) and thus the circle is continued like that of a
Persian wheel. (7) As the Persian wheel in drawing water from a well goes up and down, moved by the bullocks, so the soul pass¬
es through life and death moved by its deeds. (8) Like unto an unbaked earthen pot thrown in water, the body is soon decayed (in
this world). Bake it hard in the fire of Training in order to strengthen it and purify the body.”... The average man is much like an
unbaked pot, which dissolves in the troublous waters of the emotional imaginative plane. The “body”, that is to say, the composite
“body” consisting of the six sheaths in the Six Spheres, should be made strong by the Fire of Tapas, implying systematic spiritual
practices. It has already been remarked that Hatha Yoga stresses the substantial aspect of things. Its very nature is to prevent
“the decaying in Water” and to bring about “the hardening in Fire”. The Hatha Yoga system of the Yogis Matsyendra Nath, Gorakh
Nath, Gheranda, and others, has often been called the “Yoga of hardiness”. It might also very well be called “the Yoga of the back¬
bone”, for that is what it is metaphorically and that is also what is practically its starting point physically.
... After the Introduction quoted above, Gheranda says: “(9) The Seven Exercises which appertain to this Training of the body are
the following: — Purificatory, strengthening, steadying, calming, and those leading to lightness, perception, and isolation.” From
the text to follow it stands out that the purificatory exercises are introductory ones, and that the Six Exercises to follow refer to the
Six Spheres from Earth to the Moon. “(10—11) First: The purification is acquired by the regular performance of six practices (to be
mentioned shortly); Second: Asana (body-posture) gives Dridhata (strength); Third: Mudra (organ-posture) gives Sthirati (steadi¬
ness); Fourth: Pratyahara(mind-discipline) gives Dhairyata (calmness); Fifth: Pranayama (breath-control) gives Laghima (light¬
ness); Sixth: Dhyana (meditation) gives Pratyakshatva (perception) of Self; and Seventh: Samadhi (perfect contemplation and
absorption) gives Nirliptata (detachment, isolation), which is verily Liberation.”
Wikipedia
Hatha Yoga is one of the two branches of Yoga that focuses on the physical culture, the other one being Raja Yoga. Both of these
are commonly referred to as Sadanga Yoga, i.e., Yoga of six parts (‘sad’ meaning six and ‘anga’ meaning limbs). The six limbs are
described below in detail. Svatmarama emphasizes many times in his Hathapradipika text that there is no Raja Yoga without Ha¬
tha Yoga and no Hatha Yoga without Raja Yoga. The main difference is that Raja Yoga uses asanas mainly to get the body ready
for prolonged meditation, and hence focuses more on the meditative asana poses: Lotus Posture (padmasana), Accomplished
Posture (siddhasana), Easy Posture (sukhasana) and Pelvic Posture (vajrasana). Hatha Yoga utilizes not only meditative postures
but also cultural postures. Similarly, Raja Yoga’s use of Pranayama is also devoid of extensive locks (bandha).
The most comprehensive text of Hatha Yoga is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Yogi Swatmarama. This work is nonetheless derived
from older Sanskrit texts on Yoga besides Yogi Swatmarama’s own yogic experiences. It includes information about shatkarma
(purification), asana (postures), pranayama (subtle energy control), chakras (centers of energy), kundalini (instinct), bandhas
(muscle force), kriyas (techniques; manifestations of kundalini), shakti (sacred force), nadis (channels), and mudras (symbolic
gestures) among other topics.
Traditionally, Lord Shiva (3 ikP1i«t) is credited with propounding Hatha Yoga. It is said that on a lonely island, assuming nobody
else would hear him, he gave the knowledge of Hatha Yoga to Goddess Parvati, but a fish heard the entire discourse, remain¬
ing still throughout. Lord Shiva took mercy on the fish (Matsya) and made him a siddha, who came to be known as Matsyendra-
naatha. Matsyendranaatha taught Hatha Yoga to Chaurangi, a limbless man who was given hands and feet by Matsyendranaatha
just by looking at him. Hatha Yoga Pradipika mentions Adinaatha, Matsyendranaatha, Gorakhanaatah and many other yogis who
became famous Hatha Yogis.
Many modern schools of Hatha Yoga derive from the school of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who taught from 1924 until his
death in 1989. Among his students prominent in popularizing Yoga in the West were Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, famous for popularizing
the vigorous Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga style, B.K.S. Iyengar who emphasizes alignment and the use of props, Indra Devi and Krish-
namacharya’s son T.K.V. Desikachar who developed the Viniyoga style. Desikachar founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandi-
ram in Chennai, with the aim of making available the heritage of yoga as taught by Krishnamacharya.
Another major stream of influence was Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh (1887- 1963) and his many disciples, including Swami
Vishnu- devananda - founder of International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, Swami Satyananda - of the Bihar School of
Yoga, and Swami Satchidananda - of Integral Yoga, among others.
Many modern schools of Hatha Yoga derive from the school of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who taught from 1924 until his
death in 1989. Among his students prominent in popularizing Yoga in the West were Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, famous for popularizing
the vigorous Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga style, B.K.S. Iyengar who emphasizes alignment and the use of props, Indra Devi and Krish-
namacharya’s son T.K.V. Desikachar who developed the Viniyoga style. Desikachar founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandi-
ram in Chennai, with the aim of making available the heritage of yoga as taught by Krishnamacharya.
Another major stream of influence was Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh (1887- 1963) and his many disciples, including Swami
Vishnu- devananda - founder of International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, Swami Satyananda - of the Bihar School of
Yoga, and Swami Satchidananda - of Integral Yoga, among others.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: Is hatha yoga necessary?
M.: It is one of the aids - not that it is always necessary. It depends upon the person. Vichara surpasses pranayama. In Yoga Va-
sishta Chudala advises investigation (vichara) to Sikhidvaja for killing the ego.
Reality can be reached by holding on to prana or intellect. Hatha yoga is the former; Vichara is the latter.
D.: A man sometimes finds that the physical body does not permit steady meditation. Should he practise yoga for training the body
for the purpose?
M.: It is according to one’s samskaras (predispositions). One man will practise hatha yoga for curing his bodily ills; another man
will trust to God to cure them; a third man will use his will-power for it and a fourth man may be totally indifferent to them. But all of
them will persist in meditation. The quest for the Self is the essential factor and all the rest are mere accessories. A man may have
mastered the Vedanta philosophy and yet remain unable to control his thoughts. He may have a predisposition (purva samskara)
which takes him to practise hatha yoga. He will believe that the mind can be controlled only by yoga and so he will practise it.
D.: What is most suitable for gaining facilities for steady dhyana?
M.: It depends on one’s samskara. One may find hatha yoga suitable and another man nama japa, and so on. The essential point
is the atma-vichara - enquiry into the Self.
D.: Is not hatha yoga necessary for the inquiry into the Self?
M.: Each one finds some one method suitable to himself, because of latent tendencies (purva samskara).
D.: Can hatha yoga be accomplished at my age?
M.: Why do you think of all that? Because you think it exterior to yourself you desire it and try for it. But do you not exist all along?
Why do you leave yourself and go after something external?
D.: It is said in Aparoksha-anubhuti that hatha yoga is a necessary
aid for inquiry into the Self.
M.: The hatha yogis claim to keep the body fit so that the enquiry may be effected without obstacles. They also say that life must
be prolonged so that the enquiry may be carried to a successful end. Furthermore there are those who use some medicines (kay-
akalpa) with that end in view. Their favourite example is: the screen must be perfect before the painting is begun. Yes, but which is
the screen and which the painting? According to them the body is the screen and the inquiry into the Self is the painting. But is not
the body itself a picture on the screen, the Self?
D.: But hatha yoga is so much spoken of as an aid.
M.: Yes. Even great pandits well versed in the Vedanta continue the practice of it. Otherwise their minds will not subside. So you
may say it is useful for those who cannot otherwise still the mind.
Yoga and jnana
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Path of Jnana begins with and starts from Consciousness and Reality. The Path of Yoga, on the other hand, begins with man
as he is found in his stage of ignorance and decay in the world, and lifts him up, stage by stage, by means of methodical self-dis¬
cipline and spiritual practice. If Jnana begins “at the top”, Yoga begins “at the bottom”. As is clear, in actual life there can be no
Jnana without some Yoga and no Yoga without some Jnana. Since life consists of cyclic recapitulations, an aspirant on the Path
of Jnana is bound to recapitulate, often without his conscious intention, stages of Yoga. Similarly an aspirant on the Path of Yoga
is bound to receive inspiration from previous contacts made with Jnana. Jnana is oriented on Siva, Static Divinity, and Yoga is
oriented on Sakti, Dynamic Divinity, Energy, Power, Creative Activity, which takes for the Yogis the form of Kundalini, the Serpent
Fire. But both traditions teach that Siva and Sakti are at heart One. Where they appear to be two by the power of Maya, the aim of
the Sadhaka or spiritual striver should be to re-unite them into One within his soul and in his life. Both traditions teach this in their
own terms.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
hatha yoga — from the verb root hath = “to oppress”
Wikipedia
Hatha Yoga, pronounced ['hefe] in Hindi, is also known as hatha vidya or the “science of hatha” yoga. The word Hatha comes
from combining the two Sanskrit terms “ha” meaning sun and “tha” meaning moon, referring to Praana and Apaana. The word “ha”
refers to the solar nadi (pingala) in the subtle body and “tha” the lunar channel (ida). However, when the two components of the
word are placed together, “hatha” means “forceful”, implying that powerful work must be done to purify the body. Yoga means to
yoke, or to join two things together, hence hatha yoga is meant to join together sun (masculine, active) energy with the moon (fem¬
inine, receptive) energy, thus producing balance and greater power in an individual.
Related words
Yoga
Sanskrit
Hatha yoga —
hathayoga - ^TTFt
Hindu philosophy
Descriptions
Summary
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
All systems of Hindu Philosophy are in complete agreement that the purpose of philosophy is the extinction of sorrow and suffer¬
ing and that the method is by the acquisition of knowledge of the true nature of things which aims to free man from the bondage of
ignorance which all teachers agree is the cause of human suffering.
Hindu Philosophy does not attempt to train one to discern metaphysical truths; it offers a way of thinking which enables one ratio¬
nally to understand the reality experienced by self-fulfilled personalities, and thereby to lead one to the realization of Truth. In this
light, philosophy is seen as an art of life and not a theory about the universe, for it is the means of attaining the highest aspirations
of man. It is not for the discovery, but for the understanding of Truth.
Chakravarti. Lectures on Hindu Religion
The Hindu philosophy ... is a part of the Hindu religion.
Systems of Hindu philosophy
Classic systems of Hindu philosophy
Sankhya
Yoga
Nyaya
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Nyaya was founded by Gotama. It is purely a system of logic, concerned with the means of acquiring right knowledge which it
classifies under sixteen topics.
Vaisesika
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vaisesika was founded by Kanada. It classifies all knowledge of the objective world under nine realities and discusses how the
various combinations of these nine basic realities bring all things into being.
Mimansa
Vedanta
Comments on the systems
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
According to Indian tradition there is only one Ultimate Reality, but there are six fundamental interpretations of that Reality. These
are called the Sad Darsanas or “six insights”. ... Together they form a graduated interpretation of the Ultimate Reality, so interre¬
lated that the hypothesis and method of each is dependent upon the other. In no way are they contradictory or antagonistic to one
another, for they all lead to the same practical end, knowledge of the Absolute and Liberation of the Soul.
Wikipedia
In Hindu history, the distinction of these six schools was current in the Gupta period “golden age” of Hinduism. With the disap¬
pearance of Vaiseshika and Mimamsa, it was obsolete by the later Middle Ages, when the various sub-schools of Vedanta (Dvaita
“dualism”, Advaita “non-dualism” and others) began to rise to prominence as the main divisions of religious philosophy. Nyaya
survived into the 17th century as Navya Nyaya “Neo-Nyaya”, while Sankhya gradually lost its status as an independent school, its
tenets absorbed into Yoga and Vedanta.
Other classifications
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
The Hindu systems are here distinguished into six groups: (1) Samkhya and Yoga, which share a common metaphysics; (2)
Nyaya and Vaisesika, which share an ontology; (3) “Mimamsa,” more properly “Purvamimamsa,” whose members share a com¬
mon approach to the interpretation of the authority of the Vedas, which they view mainly as a source of prescriptions about be¬
havior; (4) “Vedanta,"which treats the “closing sections of the Vedas” (vedanta)—the Upanishads—as authoritative; (5) a group
of philosophical systems whose common ground is that their proponents are worshipers of Siva; and (6) the Grammarians (vaiya-
karana), who view the study of language as providing the key to liberation. Many of these approaches claim ancient authority for
their standpoints.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
For the purpose of study, the six Darsanas have been classified into three divisions:
Nyaya -- Vaisesika
Samkhya -- Yoga
Mimamsa - Vedanta
The first division lays down the methodology of science and elaborates the concepts of physics and chemistry to show how man¬
ifestation of phenomena comes into being; the second division sets forth an account of cosmic evolution on purely logical princi¬
ples; and the third division critically analyses the basic principles, developing them in greater detail and furnishing arguments to
substantiate, as well as making incidental contributions on points of special interest.
Astika ("orthodox") darsanas
General
Wikipedia
Hindu philosophy is divided into six astika (“orthodox”) schools of thought, or darshanas (literally, “views”), which accept the Vedas
as supreme revealed scriptures. The other three nastika (“heterodox”) schools, which do not accept the Vedas as supreme do not
form part of Hindu philosophy. The astika schools are:
- Sankhya, a strongly dualist theoretical exposition of mind and matter.
- Yoga, a school emphasizing meditation closely based on Sankhya
- Nyaya or logics
- Vaisheshika, an empiricist school of atomism
- Mimamsa, an anti-ascetic and anti-mysticist school of orthopraxy.
- Vedanta, opposing Vedic ritualism in favour of mysticism. Vedanta came to be the dominant current of Hinduism in the post- me¬
dieval period.
Nastika ("heterodox") darsanas
General
Wikipedia
The nastika schools are:
- Buddhism
- Jainism
- Carvaka, a skeptical materialist school, which died out in the 15th century and whose primary texts have been lost.
Common assumptions in Hindu philosophy
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
To understand correctly Hindu Philosophy, it is paramount that one realize that the basis of all the schools is the same. Together
they form a graduated interpretation of the Ultimate Reality. Each school is based on the same metaphysical doctrine, while dis¬
cussing some particular aspect of the whole. For example: Nyaya discusses the means by which knowledge may be had of the
Ultimate Reality; Vaisesika, the things to be known about that Ultimate Reality; Samkhya, the evolution of metaphysical doctrine;
Yoga, the metaphysical doctrine in relation to the individual; Mimamsa, the rules and method of interpreting the doctrine; Vedanta,
the relationship between God, Matter, and the world.
... They have many characteristics in common. They all grew out of the Upanisads, the philosophical portion of the Veda which is
accepted as the supreme authority; they are delivered in the Sutra style, that is as aphorisms; as such, they are extremely con¬
cise, avoiding all unnecessary repetition and employing a rigid economy of words, making it difficult to understand them correctly
in their original form without the use of commentaries, for they use many of the same terms, but each system gives its own mean¬
ing to the use of the term. They rest their conclusions on several common concepts: all accept the eternal cycle of Nature which
is without beginning and end, and which consists of vast periods of creation, maintenance, and dissolution; all accept the principle
of regeneration of the soul that maintains that life and death are but two phases of a single cycle to which the soul is bound and to
which it clings because of ignorance of the true nature of things; all accept Dharma as the moral law of the universe that accounts
for these eternal cycles of Nature, as well as the destiny of the human soul; all agree that knowledge is the path to freedom and
that Yoga is the method to attain final liberation.
Srinivasa. Outlines of Indian philosophy
It was in ancient Greece and Rome so it is in modern Europe and America ; various schools of Philosophy are being propound¬
ed, each challenging every fundamental principle of the rest, Not so in India, where though the different Darsanas disagree about
important questions, the ideas common to all these systems are so many and so vital that these deserve to be formulated by
themselves under the name of Hindu Philosophy. These ideas are as a rule assumed and not definitely expounded in the literature
of the different schools; each school being naturally anxious to explain and justify by argument, the special points of doctrine and
discipline which constitute its individuality, and differentiate it from its sister philosophies. These philosophical schools are com¬
monly enumerated as six.
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Ballantyne
Commentary by Ballantyne:
Grand Aim of Hindu Philosophy. As already mentioned, Hindu philosophy arose when a pessimistic view began to be taken of life
when existence was regarded as a curse, and freedom from future births was considered the highest good. All the six systems
agree in this.
... This freedom from future births is called mukti or moksha, liberation. The doctrine is not found in the four Vedas ; it is a later
development.
Related words
Advaita Vedanta
Darshana
Dvaita
Indian philosophy
Vedanta
Visishta-Advaita
Hiranyagarbha
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Hiranyagarbha — ... “golden egg”; gold germ; the cosmic form of the self; cosmic womb; creator of the subtle universe
1. It is the thread self or the subtle vesture. It is the form of all the individuals together or the only individual. (See eka-jiva-vada.)
It is the seed of the universe. It is also known as sutratman. The Rg Veda (X.121) says, “Hiranyagarbha arose in the beginning;
born, he was the one lord of things existing.”
2. A name of God, the Creator (saguna Brahman) as born from a golden egg. This egg was formed from the seed deposited in the
primordial waters by the self- existent Brahman on the eve of creation. The seed took the form of a golden egg, out of which Brah¬
man was born as Brahma, the creator. It also means the soul invested by the subtle body. Various synonyms for this term include
mahat, virat, Isvara, saguna Brahman.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
hiranyagarbha -
a golden fetus;
N. of Brahma (so called as born from a golden egg formed out of the seed deposited in the waters when they were produced as
the first creation of the Self-existent; according to Mn. i, 9, this seed became a golden egg, resplendent as the sun, in which the
Self-existent Brahma was born as Brahma the Creator, who is therefore regarded as a manifestation of the Self-existent;
N. of the author of the hymn Rigveda x, 121;
of a VedAnta teacher;
of various other persons;
of Vishnu;
of a flamingo;
(in phil.) the soul invested with the sGkshma-sarTra or subtle body (= sGtratman, pranatman) Vedantas;
N. of a river;
N. of a Linga;
relating to Hiranya-garbha or Brahma
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Hiranyagarbha ... is the Golden Embryo, Golden Egg, or Golden Womb identified in the Rig Veda (X.121) as the cause of the uni¬
verse. Paradoxically, it has both a masculine and a feminine aspect. It is referred to as “he,” but it is also the “womb” of manifest
reality.
From the beginning the term hiranyagarbha has had multivalent and sometimes contradictory meanings. In Rig Veda X.82 it is
the cosmic egg that separates into two hemispheres, in the beginning of the world, its upper portion forming the sky and its yolk
becoming the Sun. This vision is elaborated in the PURANAS, where other elements of the egg make up elements of the manifest
universe: the water in the cosmic egg, for instance, becomes the ocean.
Various Hindu traditions have offered various and quite different understandings of this ancient image, even within the same
tradition. Influenced by SAMKHYA concepts, some say that the PURUSHA (the transcendent divine) with the cooperation of
PRAKRITI (nature) made the cosmic egg from which the world emerges. In one context BRAHMA, the creator, emerged from the
egg to create the universe. In other contexts, however, Brahma is himself the hiranyagarbha; the word can be used as an epithet
or alternate name of Brahma.
In Shaivite ... contexts hiranyagarbha is seen as a creation of SHIVA that embodies aspects of him. From hiranyagarbha, in turn,
Brahma or the universe can emerge. In Vaishnavite ... mythology, VISHNU inspires or creates the hiranyagarbha, from which the
universe derives. In the VEDANTA of SHANKARA the term takes on various meanings depending on the lineage and tradition
expounding upon it. In this tradition it is often associated with a state of consciousness rather than an entity per se. For example,
in Shankara’s own commentaries hiranyagarbha is considered synonymous with the manifest universe, which is the product of
MAYA.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Golden Embryo One of the earliest cosmological myths. It first appears in the Rg Veda (10.121), the oldest Hindu religious text.
According to this account, the universe originally consisted of the Golden Embryo (Hiranyagarbha). The Golden Embryo stirred
and evolved into Prajapati, the creator of all things and ruler over all creatures. In this story, as with most other accounts of Hindu
cosmology, the cosmos originates from a single source and is thus an organic whole.
Wikipedia
Hiranyagarbha (... literally the ‘golden womb’ or ‘golden egg’, poetically rendered ‘universal germ’) is the source of the creation
of the Universe or the manifested cosmos in Indian philosophy, it finds mention in one hymn of the Rigveda (RV 10.121), known
as the ‘Hiranyagarbha sukta’ and presents an important glimpse of the emerging monism, or even monotheism, in the later Vedic
period, along with the Nasadiya sukta suggesting a single creator deity predating all other gods (verse 8: yo devesv adhi deva eka
aslt, Griffith: “He is the God of gods, and none beside him.”), in the hymn identified as Prajapati.
The Upanishads calls it the Soul of the Universe or Brahman, and elaborates that Hiranyagarbha floated around in emptiness and
the darkness of the non-existence for about a year, and then broke into two halves which formed the Swarga and the Prithvi.
In classical Puranic Hinduism, Hiranyagarbha is a name of Brahma, so called because he was born from a golden egg (Manusmrti
1.9), while the Mahabharata calls it the Manifest.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikilananda:
Hiranyagarbha, or th Golden Egg, is the first manifestation of Brahman, in which the future living beings remain in seed form.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
... the symbol of the most superactive principle of generation with which the world commences. It is called hiranyagarbha. Htranya
is the golden hue which symbolizes the delight that accompanies hope. Before the sun appears, the eastern sky gets a crimson
hue. That indicates that the oriental sky is already pregnant with the golden sun.
... The best example of hiranyagarbha is the legendary golden egg. The egg has within it a thesis and an antithesis. The thesis
is the enveloping mass of the yolk that is seen in an egg. The antithesis is the sperm which sits as a nucleus in the center of the
yolk. It is hard to say whether the yolk is primeval or the nucleus is primeval. In all dialectical counterparts the polarized opposites
have a simultaneity in their origin and a binary interaction between diem. In the case of an egg which has the program to hatch, it
has the nucleus which is quantitatively far less than that of the yolk. And yet, the nucleus which is unicellular increases its hunger
and the hunger is its dynamic to eat or absorb into it more and more of the yolk. Thus, qualitatively, the nucleus is superior to the
voluminous yolk and the consequential synthesis changes the nucleus into a growing chicken whose enjoyment of Its feeding is
continuously promulgated by its hunger. Ultimately the shell cannot contain the nucleus any longer. The shell breaks. The whole
process of generation is one of the solitary act of self-beneficience.
Prasad. Three Acharyas and Narayana Guru tradition
Hiranya-garbha : Literally;”golden germ”, “golden embryo”. The Absolute treated as the seed of the universe. Also known as
sutratman (the thread-self). The creator imagined to be born from a golden egg. Various synonyms for this term include mahat,
virat purusa, Isvara, saguna-Brahman.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Holding the mind and investigating it is advised for a beginner. But what is mind after all? It is a projection of the Self. See for
whom it appears and from where it rises. The ‘l-thought’ will be found to be the root-cause. Go deeper; the ‘l-thought’ disappears
and there is an infinitely expanded ‘l-consciousness’. That is otherwise called Hiranyagarbha. When it puts on limitations it ap¬
pears as individuals.
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Commentary by Nikilananda:
... a deity known as Hiranyagarbha (The Golden Germ) who is the first of all the evolved effects and from whom, as the matrix, the
whole evolution proceeds. It is described in the Vedantic texts as the summation of all subtle bodies.
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Ballantyne
“Hiranyagarbha, the spirit of dreaming sentiencies. The next emanation in the order of descent is Hiranyagarbha, Prana, the
Threadspirit. This divine emanation is the totality of migrating souls in the state of dreaming sleep, the sum of the dreaming con¬
sciousness of the world. His body is the sum of the invisible bodies, the tenuous involucra ( wrappers, sheaths) clothed in which
the soul passes from body to body in the long process of metempsychosis. These invisible bodies are made up of three vestures
one upon the other, the cognitional, the sensorial, and the aerial garments of soul. These three wrappers clothe Hiranyagarbha
(the embryo of light.) He is called Sutratma, the Thread-spirit, as stringing together all dreaming souls clothed in the invisible bod¬
ies that accompany them in their migrations, as pearls are strung upon a thread to form a necklace.
Vedantaparibhasa. Dharmaraja
37. What is called Hiranyagarbha is the first jiva, other than the three mGrti-s (Brahma, Visnu and Rudra) ; for there are such sruti
texts as ‘He verily is the first embodied one; he verily is called pnrusa; the first creator of [all] beings, Brahma, existed at first’, ‘Hi¬
ranyagarbha existed at first’ (Rv.,X.121.1), etc.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
The Cosmic Mind, Hiranyagarbha, as we call it in the Vedanta, is the Cosmic ‘l-Am’. It is Self-Consciousness, Pure Universality.
And, here is the seed of all diversity.
See: Brahman, Ishvara, Hiranyagarbha, Virat
Hiranyagarbha and Virat
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
In the state of Isvara or Hiranyagarbha, there are no subjects and objects, and there is no seeing and seen. The seer-seen context
of difference arises only after the Virat appears as a threefold reality: as adhibhuta which is the visible universe, adhyatma which
is the perceiving consciousness, and an invisible transcendent connecting link which is adhidaiva. Until this takes place, there is a
total, integrated, direct consciousness which is omniscient. That omniscience which is transcendent to both the seer and the seen
aspect of reality is Isvara - though He may be called by any other name.
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Katha Upanishad
Hiranyagarbha, the universal mind or intelligence, is also the support of all the worlds, the cause of all creation. The virat is an
external or physical expression of that internal hiranyagarbha.
See: Taijasa and Hiranyagarba
See also:
Evolution of Prakriti (Sankhya)
Etymology
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Hiranyagarbha (hiranya, gold; garbha, seed, egg, womb, embryo)
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Hiranyagarbha or “Golden Womb”. ... The Sanskrit “Garbha” means both “womb” and “germ”.
Related words
Ishvara
Mahat
Prajapati
Taijasa
Virat
Sanskrit
Hiranyagarbha —
Hiranyagarbha -
Hita
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Hita — ... means to the end; beneficial; good; salutary
1. Visishtadvaita Vedanta refers to three main aspects of philosophy: tattva (reality), hita (means), and purusartha (goal of life).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
hita -
put, placed, set, laid, laid upon, imposed, lying or situated or contained in;
set up, established, fixed (as a prize);
planned, arranged (as a race or contest);
prepared, made ready;
beneficial, advantageous, salutary, wholesome, suitable, agreeing with (often, said of diet, regimen, medicines &c.), convenient,
suitable, fit, agreeable to or for;
well-disposed, favourable, friendly, affectionate, kind;
N. of partic. veins or arteries;
anything useful or salutary or suitable or proper, benefit, advantage, profit, service, good, welfare, good advice &c.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Hita - what you like most, what you like to be or what makes you happy.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
... the whole of creation is based on paradox. When you are lopsided and see only one side and not the other, you don’t truly un¬
derstand the game. You need to balance yourself at the neutral place where the two meet.
In the right eye is Indra, the master of the senses, and in the left eye is Viraj, the principle of sensation. They divide and then syn¬
chronize in the cavity of the heart. It is exactly like maithuna, the copulation of a man and a woman. They are so completely lost in
each other that there is no separate identity of man or woman. There is no other. There is only the pure joy of oneness, unition. In
that unition is hita, that which you like.
Hita is considered to be a system of nerves as fine as a single hair split into its thousandth part. It is very subtle, but it fills your
whole system, extending in all directions like a spherical radiation of light. It goes to the east, west, north, south, above and be¬
low—in all directions. If you close off all the avenues by which you are distracted and your mind asks “ what next?” you say, “
Nothing next, neti, not this, not this. Never mind.” After a time you come to a stillness everywhere. On all sides you are filled with
that great stillness, that overwhelming, all-pervading stillness. Do not try to give it a name. What operates then is your hita, what
you like most.
The hita is affected by the blood, where the residual karma is said to be located. I was wondering how that could be, and then I
found a reference in McCullough’s Embodiments of Mind to Aristotle, who had before him Hippocratus. They spoke of the same
thing. From their time to 1921 it was believed that you think with your blood.
And how does it work? What you are and what you are going to be are always in your blood. This karma comes again and again
to afflict your hita, causing ahita, what you don’t like. Whenever ahita comes you should not let it prevail upon you, you should say
neti, neti, “ not that, not that.” In this way you can become absolutely doubtless about your hita, in other words, what you like to be
or what makes you happy. If you meditate that you are all light and all happiness, no one can keep you from it.
This combination of Viraj and Indra brings you the highest happiness, which is becoming one with the Total. Remain in it. How
about your hands and legs moving, your lungs breathing and your senses functioning? These never cease, but you can just say “I
am not that.” You experience everything, but there is a silence in it. You are not restraining or restricting, just allowing things to be.
At the same time, your mind is in a state of total reflection.
This brings you what Narayana Guru calls the state of all-knowingness. When you know everything, you are That.
Sanskrit
Hita — f^cT
hita - ffcT
I
Idam
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Idam —... “this”
1. The Veda often uses this term to refer to the manifested universe.
2. Advaita Vedanta uses this term to refer to the foundation (adhisthana) of illusions. The “this” in the perception of a snake super¬
imposed upon a rope, is the rope which is the basis of the illusion of the snake.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
idam -
this, this here, referring to something near the speaker;
known, present;
this earthly world, this universe;
here, to this place;
now, even, just;
there;
with these words;
in this manner
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Idam: This. Stands for “this world,” the world here and now.
Descriptions
General
Muller. The Upanishads, Part 2
In English it may seem to make little difference whether we say, ‘Brahman was this,’ or ‘this was Brahman.’ In Sanskrit too we
find, Brahma khalv idam vava sarvam, ‘Brahman indeed is all this’ (Maitr. Up. IV, 6), and Sarvam khalv idam Brahma, ‘all this is
Brahman indeed’ (Khand. Up. Ill, 14, i). But the logical meaning is always that Brahman was all this, i. e. all that we see now, Brah¬
man being the subject, idam the predicate. Brahman becomes idam, not idam Brahman.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
... all knowledge begins by saying idam, this. Bertrand Russell, in his Logical Positivism, makes an analysis of what he calls atom¬
ic sentences. In them, the nuclear aspect is ‘this’.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
The mind is formed of thoughts only Idam (this) is the object and aham (T) is the subject; the two together form the vijnanamaya-
kosa (intellect-sheath)...
Another devotee: Is it not that the T exists only in relation to a ‘this’ (aham - idam)?
M.: T, ‘this’ appear together now. But ‘this’ is contained (vyaptam) in the T - they are not apart. ‘This’ has to merge into and be¬
come one with T. The T that remains over is the true T.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Swahananda
18. Whatever of this world is perceived by the senses, the organs of action, the mind, reasoning and the scriptural texts, is re¬
ferred to as ‘this’ (idam) in the Shruti text that follows.
19. “Before all this was created there was Being alone, one only, without a second; there was neither name nor form”, so said
Aruni.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Mandukya Upanishad
(34) This manifold plurality does not exist as identified with the Atman. Nor can it remain ever independently of itself. It is neither
separate from Brahman, nor is the plurality non-separate from It. So say the realised wise men of the Upanishads.
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
... Here the pluralistic world of phenomena is indicated by a beautiful expression which cannot be replaced; Idam (This). The phe¬
nomenal world is indicated by the term This '; all that we can perceive as ‘This’ and gain thereby a knowledge of them belong to
the world-of-objects.
... Note that Idam (this) was used to indicate the world-of-objects (Yushmath pronoun); and Ayam (this) is used to indicate the
world-of-subject (Asmath pronoun).
Related words
Aham
Vijnanamaya kosha
Sanskrit _
Idam —
idam -
Indian philosophy
Summary
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
Indian philosophy. The “India” in question is the Indian subcontinent—the land constituting present-day India, Pakistan, Bangla¬
desh, and surrounding countries such as Sri Lanka to the south and Bhutan, Sikkim, Afghanistan, and Nepal to the north. And
although philosophy in the sense in question covers much of what is covered by the term philosophy in its contemporary usage
in English-speaking countries, it also has a specific use in the Indian context, in which it refers to the thoughts expressed in the
literature relating to liberation (moksa; nirvana). In this usage, philosophy, and the philosophical literature of India, is contrasted
in Indian thinking with the literature pertaining to other matters, notably the literature concerned with political and social concerns
(arthasastra), with interpersonal relations such as the sexual and aesthetic dimensions of love (kamasastra), and with morals
(dharmasastra), each of which has a pertinent literature of its own. The “philosophical” literature of India, then, relates to ultimate
concerns, especially how to achieve liberation from rebirths and the nature of a universe in which liberation is possible and avail¬
able. It is a literature that does not primarily include such Western fields of philosophy as political and social philosophy (for that
is artha), aesthetics (for that is kama) and ethics (for that is dharma). It also does not include the literature concerning the natural
and social sciences (although it is arguable that parts of Indian philosophy are offshoots of aspects of early Indian protoscience) or
the applied sciences (agriculture, astronomy, and so on); nor does it include the domain of poetry and prose literature.
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
The philosophy of the Indians must become for every one who takes any interest in the investigation of philosophical truth, an
object of the highest interest; for Indian philosophy is and will be the only possible parallel to what so far the Europeans have con¬
sidered as philosophy. ... the whole of European thought from Pythagoras and Xenophanes, from Moses and Zoroaster, through
Platonism and Christianity down to the Kantian and post-Kantian philosophy, forms a complex of ideas, whose elements are var¬
iously related to and dependent on each other. On the other hand Indian philosophy through all the centuries of its development
has taken its course uninfluenced by West-Asiatic and European thought; and precisely for this reason the comparison of Europe¬
an philosophy with that of the Indians is of the highest interest.
Wikipedia
The term Indian philosophy (Sanskrit: Darshanas), may refer to any of several traditions of philosophical thought that originated in
the Indian subcontinent, including Hindu philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, and Jain philosophy. Having the same or rather inter¬
twined origins, all of these philosophies have a common underlying theme of Dharma, and similarly attempt to explain the attain¬
ment of emancipation. They have been formalized and promulgated chiefly between 1,000 BC to a few centuries A.D, with resid¬
ual commentaries and reformations continuing up to as late as the 20th century by Aurobindo and ISKCON among others, who
provided stylized interpretations.
The characteristic of these schools is that they may belong to one “masthead” and disagree with each other, or be in agreement
while professing allegiance to different banners. An example of the latter is the non- Vedic Jain and the Vedic Samkhya schools,
both of which have similar ideas on pluralism; an example of the former would be the Dvaita and the Advaita schools, both of
whom are Vedic. However, every school has subtle differences.
Competition between the various schools was intense during their formative years, especially between 800 BC to 200 AD. Some
like the Jain, Buddhist, Shaiva and Advaita schools survived, while others like Samkhya and Ajivika did not. The Sanskrit term for
“philosopher” is darsanika, one who is familiar with the systems of philosophy, or darsanas.
Descriptions
Periods of Indian philosophy
General
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
India falls into three parts — (1) the Panjab, (2) the plain of the Ganges, (3) the Deccan plateau. To these three geographical
divisions correspond the three periods of Indian life: — (1) The domain of the Aryan Hindus in the oldest period was limited to the
valley of the Indus with its five tributaries; the only literary monuments of this epoch are the 1017 hymns of the Rigveda. Though
chiefly serving religious purposes they give by the way a lively and picturesque delineation of that primitive manner of life in which
there were no castes, no agramas (stages of life), and no Brahmanical order of life in general. The hymns of the Rigveda display
not only the ancient Indian polytheism in its full extent, but contain also in certain of the later hymns the first germs of a philosoph¬
ical view of the world. (2) It may have been about 1000 B. C. that the Aryans starting from the Panjab began to extend their con¬
quests to the east and occupied little by little the plain extending from the Himalayas in the north and the Vindhyas in the south
to the mouth of the Ganges. The conquest of this territory may have been accomplished, roughly speaking, between 1000 and
500 B. C. As literary monuments of this second period of Indian life we find the Samhitas of the Yajur-, Sama-, and Atharvaveda,
together with the Brahmanas and their culmination in the Upanishads. Hand in hand with this literary development we have under
the spiritual dominion of the Brahmans the establishment of that original organisation which as the Brahmanical order of life has
survived in India with some modification until the present day. (3) After these two periods, which we may distinguish as “old-Vedic”
and “new-Vedic”, follows a third period of Indian history — the “post-Vedic” — beginning about 500 B. C. with the rise of the hereti¬
cal tendencies of Buddhism and Jainism, and producing in the succeeding centuries a large number of literary works in which, to¬
gether with poetry, grammar, law, medicine and astronomy, a rich collection of philosophical works in Sanskrit permits us to trace
the development of the philosophical mind down to the present time. In this period Indian, i. e., Brahmanical, civilisation makes its
way round the coast of Southern India and Ceylon and penetrates conquering into the remotest districts of Central India.
Wikipedia
pre-1500 BCE - the Vedas and early prose Upanishads
pre-500 BCE - the Jaina, the Buddha, the Bhagavad Gita, the Manu Smriti
pre-300 BCE - the rise of the orthodox Darshanas
200 CE - Nagarjuna and the rise of Mahayana Buddhism
800 CE - Shankaracharya and the peak of Vedanta
post-900 CE - rise of dualistic/qualified dualistic Vedantic schools: Visishtadvaita, Dvaita, etc.
Systems of Indian philosophy
Common classification
Hindu philosophy
Jain philosophy
General
Wikipedia
Jainism came into formal being after Mahavira synthesized philosophies and promulgations, during the period around 550 BC, in
the region that is present day Bihar in northern India. This period marked an ideological renaissance, in which the patriarchal Ve-
dic dominance was challenged by various groups. Buddhism also arose during this period.
Jains however believe that the Jaina philosophy was in fact revived by Mahavira, whom they consider as the 24th and final Jain
Tirthankars (enlightened seers), a line that stretches to time immemorial. The 23rd seer, Parsva may be dated to around 900 B.C.
The Hindu scholar, Lokmanya Tilak credited Jainism with influencing Hinduism in the area of the cessation of animal sacrifice in
Vedic rituals. Bal Gangadhar Tilak has described Jainism as the originator of Ahimsa...
A Jain is a follower of Jinas, spiritual ‘victors’ (Jina is Sanskrit for ‘victor’), human beings who have rediscovered the dharma,
become fully liberated and taught the spiritual path for the benefit of beings. Jains follow the teachings of 24 special Jinas who
are known as Tirthankars (‘ford- builders’). The 24th and most recent Tirthankar, Lord Mahavira, lived in c.6th century BC, which
was a period of cultural revolution all over the world. Socrates was born in Greece, Zoroaster in Persia, Lao-Tse and Confucious
in China and Mahavira and Buddha in India. The 23rd Thirthankar of Jains, Lord Parsvanatha is recognised now as a historical
person, lived during 872 to 772 B.C. Jaina tradition is unanimous in making Rishabha, as the First Tirthankar.
One of the main characteristics of Jain belief is the emphasis on the immediate consequences of one’s physical and mental be¬
havior. Because Jains believe that everything is in some sense alive with many living beings possessing a soul, great care and
awareness is required in going about one’s business in the world. Jainism is a religious tradition in which all life is considered to
be worthy of respect and Jain teaching emphasises this equality of all life advocating the non- harming of even the smallest crea¬
tures.
Non-violence ( Ahimsa) is the basis of right View, the condition of right Knowledge and the kernel of right Conduct in Jainism.
Jainism encourages spiritual independence (in the sense of relying on and cultivating one’s own personal wisdom) and self-control
(3RTT, vratae) which is considered vital for one’s spiritual development. The goal, as with other Indian religions, is moksha which in
Jainism is realization of the soul’s true nature, a condition of omniscience (Kevala Jnana). Anekantavada is one of the principles of
Jainism positing that reality is perceived differently from different points of view, and that no single point of view is completely true.
Jain doctrine states that only Kevalis, those who have infinite knowledge, can know the true answer, and that all others would only
know a part of the answer. Anekantavada is related to the Western philosophical doctrine of Subjectivism.
Buddhist philosophy
General
Wikipedia
Buddhist philosophy is a system of beliefs based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince later known as the
Buddha(from Sanskrit “buddhi”, enlightenment).
From its inception, Buddhism has had a strong philosophical component. Buddhism is founded on the rejection of certain ortho¬
dox Hindu philosophical concepts. The Buddha criticized all concepts of metaphysical being and non- being as misleading views
caused by reification, and this critique is inextricable from the founding of Buddhism.
Buddhism shares many philosophical views with other Indian systems, such as belief in karma, a cause-and- effect relationship
between all that has been done and all that will be done. Events that occur are held to be the direct result of previous events.
However, a major difference is the Buddhist rejection of a permanent, self- existent soul (atman). This view is a central one in Hin
du thought but is rejected by all Buddhists.
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
It is, indeed, impossible to give a finite list of Indian systems of philosophy. For one thing, new schools are being founded even
now; their durability might be far from certain, but some recent ones have their adherents. For another thing, it is not always clear
how to differentiate one system from another.
Common assumptions in Indian philosophy
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
All [major] systems in this survey accept at least two relevant theses: The first is that there was no absolute beginning of things,
that the series of lives each of us has lived is without beginning. This doctrine of beginninglessness (anaditva) entails, of course,
that there can be no God who created us ab initio or who functions as the first cause of the universe. As we shall see, this does
not necessarily stop Indian philosophers talking about God (isvara); various roles are assigned to Him aside from that of ultimate
creator.
The other thesis generally accepted by all systems except Carvaka is what is often referred to as the “karma theory” or the “law
of karma.” Although many details about how karma works can be gleaned from the pages of the Indian philosophical literature,
karma remains an assumption underlying all philosophical theories rather than a theory itself. It is infrequently defended, merely
assumed.
Wikipedia
Indian thinkers viewed philosophy as a practical necessity that needed to be cultivated in order to understand how life can best
be led. It became a custom for Indian writers to explain at the beginning of philosophical works how it serves human ends (pu-
rusartha). They centered philosophy on an assumption that there is a unitary underlying order, which is all pervasive and omni¬
scient. The efforts by various schools were concentrated on explaining this order. All major phenomena like those observed in
nature, fate, occurrences, etc. were outcomes of this order.
The earliest mention of this appears in the Rig Veda, which speaks of the Brahman, or the universally transcendent and “ethereal
building block of all the world. It is described as dimensionless, timeless and beyond reach of the known frontiers of happiness
and knowledge.
The idea of rta, translated as “righteousness” or “the cosmic and social order” by Gavin Flood, also plays an important role. The
Indian philosophy is different from western philosophy: in their basic approach Indian philosophy is not only based on reason as
the western philosophy is, instead as the word implies darshana it focuses on the real encountering of the truth and ultimate and
that’s why all the Indian schools whether believe in god or not but they all have the same concepts of encountering the truth by
some practical practises. The most important school of Indian philosophy is vedanta.
Modern philosophy
General
Wikipedia
Modern Indian philosophy was developed during British period (1750- 1947). The philosophers in this era gave contemporary
meaning to traditional philosophy. Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Ramana
Maharshi and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan interpreted traditional Indian philosophy in terms of contemporary significance. Osho and
J. Krishnamurti developed their own schools of thought.
Today, there are several spiritual personalities: philosophers, teachers (gurus) or thinkers, such as Sri Sri Ravishankar, Deepak
Chopra, Amma, Anadamayi and movements such as the Brahmakumaris.
Indian philosophy and religion
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
Whether Indian philosophy overlaps religion or not is a matter of how one thinks of “religion.” The majority of the early Indian
philosophical systems (darsana) do not acknowledge, and in some cases explicitly deny, the existence of a supreme being or lord
(isvara).
Related words
Hindu philosophy
Indra
Variant spellings
Indra
Indha
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Indra — ... “ruler”; “chief (of the gods in the Vedic pantheon); mighty; powerful
1. The Vedic king of heaven. The god of thunder, lightning, and rain. The Deity identified with strength. Known as the god of the
atmosphere and sky as well as the god of rain, who in Vedic mythology, rules over the deities of the midregion and fights against,
and conquers with his thunderbolt the demons or forces of darkness.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
indra -
the god of the atmosphere and sky;
the Indian Jupiter Pluvius or lord of rain (who in Vedic mythology reigns over the deities of the intermediate region or atmosphere;
he fights against and conquers with his thunder-bolt [vajra] the demons of darkness, and is in general a symbol of generous her¬
oism; indra was not originally lord of the gods of the sky, but his deeds were most useful to mankind, and he was therefore ad¬
dressed in prayers and hymns more than any other deity, and ultimately superseded the more lofty and spiritual Varuna; in the
later mythology indra is subordinated to the triad Brahman, Vishnu, and Siva, but remained the chief of all other deities in the
popular mind);
(he is also regent of the east quarter, and considered one of the twelve Adityas);
in the Vedanta he is identified with the supreme being;
best, excellent, the first, the chief (of any class of objects;
the pupil of the right eye (that of the left being called IndranT or Indra’s wife);
the number fourteen;
N. of a grammarian;
of a physician;
a vegetable poison;
the twenty-sixth Yoga or division of a circle on the plane of the ecliptic;
the Yoga star in the twenty-sixth Nakshatra, Pegasi;
the human soul, the portion of spirit residing in the body;
night
Lurker. Dictionary of Gods
Indra (the original meaning is ‘strong’, ‘mighty’) The supreme god in the Vedic pantheon. He brings rain, and is the heavenly rep¬
resentative of warriors; his weapon is the thunderbolt, which may have four or a hundred edges (vajra). He is red or gold in colour,
and he is mounted on horseback or sits in a chariot drawn by horses. As Vrtrahan, Indra is the great dragon-slayer, who frees the
streams obstructed by Vritra. In Hinduism, Indra is white in colour, clad in red, and he rides on the elephant Airavata which was
generated by churning the ocean of milk. He is ruler of the easterly quarter. IndranT or Saci (= power) are named as his wives, and
he is constantly accompanied by the Maruts. In Jainism, the word denotes the highest rank in divine hierarchies: that is to say,
each class of gods has its specific Indra.
Wikipedia
Indra ... or Sakra is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God
of War, Storms, and Rainfall.
Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda. He is celebrated as a demiurge who pushes up the sky, releases dawn (Ushas)
from the Vala cave, and slays Vrtra; both latter actions are central to the Soma sacrifice. On the other hand, he also commits (like
Zeus) many kinds of mischief (kilbisa) for which he is sometimes punished. He has many epithets, notably vrsan the bull, and
vrtrahan, slayer of Vrtra and maghavan “the bountiful’. Indra appears as the name of an arch-demon in the Zoroastrian religion,
while his epithet Verethragna appears as a god of victory.
In Puranic mythology, Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash and amorous character at times, even as his reputation
and role diminished in later Hinduism with the rise of the Trimurti. In Buddhist tradition, Indra is also called Sakra (Pali: Sakka). He
is known in Burmese ...; in Thai ..., in Malay as Indera, in Tamil as Intiran, in Chinese as Dishitian, and in Japanese as ^
Taishakuten.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Indra is the king of the gods in the VEDIC pantheon. He is a symbol of strength and has the character of a warrior. He is associ¬
ated with the thunderstorm and is said to hold a lightning bolt in his hand. Many early Vedic hymns tell of his battle with the snake
demon, Vritra, in the course of which Indra splits a mountain to release the terrestrial waters that Vritra has held back. Indra also
fights a demon named Vala in order to release the “cows of the dawn,” perhaps indicating that he was the creator of daylight.
Indra’s enemies are the Dasas and Dasyus; these have often been taken to refer to the indigenous tribes of India, but the context
is not at all clear. At times the terms can best be translated as “enemy,” and at times they are seen to be mythological beings. In
the Vedas Indra is also known as a great drinker of Soma, an intoxicant used in the Vedic ritual. SOMA itself is seen as a god.
Indra is frequently invoked ritually in Vedic ritual. There are more hymns to him in RIG VEDA than to any other god. Sometimes he
is invoked along with AGNI (the god of fire), probably linking the main divinity of the heavens, Indra, with a primary terrestrial deity,
Agni, who is also the messenger of the gods.
The Vedic tradition often mentions Indra’s wife, Indrani. Post-Vedic mythology gives Indra the white elephant AIRAVATA as a
mount to ride. Eventually Indra loses his supremacy and begins to be challenged and even ridiculed. KRISHNA protects his village
from Indra by holding a mountain up as an umbrella to keep away his rains. Indra is cursed for consorting with a sage’s wife (AHA-
LYA) and is afflicted, in one version of the story, with 1,000 vaginas, which are then changed into 1,000 eyes to justify his common
Vedic epithet “thousand- eyed one.”
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In the older Vedic texts there is mention of Seven Adityas (Rig-veda IX; 114; 3 etc., Samavidhana Brahmana III; 1; 3; 3). In the lat¬
er period of the Brahmanas there are Twelve Adityas (Satapatha Brahmana IV; 5; 7; 2 etc.). Actually, more than twelve names of
Adityas are mentioned, therefore some names belong to alternative Gods or represent alternative functions of the same God. For
reasons which will become apparent later, we shall begin with the Aditya of Pisces, following Varuna, “the King”, who represents
Aquarius and is certainly the main Aditya.
Pisces is represented by the Aditya Indra or Hiranyagarbha. We have dwelt at length on the Indra or Jupiter of later Hindu tradi¬
tion. His prototype existed in the Aditya Indra. This Indra is associated with gathering Clouds and Rain. Pisces is a Water-House.
A Vedic hymn says that he “prepares the way for Surya”, that is, the Sun, who will rise in Aries, the Sign following on Pisces. It is
further said that he “caused him to shine”. The Resurrection is presided over by the Guru in the previous House. It is said in the
Rig-veda (X; 72) that “the Gods lifted Surya out of the Sea wherein he lay hidden”. The Sea represents Aquarius-Pisces or even
the entire stage of the Celestial Ocean.
... Vedic hymns say about Indra: “He contains all that exists as the tyre of a wheel contains the spokes.” The Wheel being the Path
of the Zodiac, Jupiter, Lord of the Ether, appearing at the beginning in Pisces and at the end in Sagittarius, rules the Four Ele¬
ments. “Not a hundred heavens and a hundred earths, with a thousand suns — no, not all created worlds could contain him.” This
is the case because heavens, earths and suns are created forms of Manifestation. The Lord of the World contains all as the tyre
contains the wheel. He towers over all as the Summit over the Mountain.
Wikipedia
Origins
Aspects of Indra as a deity are cognate to other Indo-European gods; they are either thunder gods such as Thor, Perun, and
Zeus, or gods of intoxicating drinks such as Dionysos. The name of Indra (Indara) is also mentioned among the gods of the Mitan-
ni, a Hurrian speaking people who ruled northern Syria from ca.1500BC-1300BC.
In the Rig Veda
Indra is, with Varuna and Mitra, one of the Adityas, the chief gods of the Rigveda (besides Agni and the others such as the Ash-
vins). He delights in drinking Soma, and the central Vedic myth is his heroic defeat of Vrtra, liberating the rivers, or alternatively,
his smashing of the Vala cave, a stone enclosure where the Panis had imprisoned the cows that are habitually identified with Ush-
as, the dawn(s). He is the god of war, smashing the stone fortresses of the Dasyu,but he is also is invoked by combatants on both
sides in the Battle of the Ten Kings.
The Rig-Veda frequently refers to him as Sakra: the mighty-one. In the Vedic period, the number of gods was assumed to be thir¬
ty-three and Indra was their lord. (Some early post Rigvedic texts such as the Khilas and the late Vedic Brihad-Aranyaka Upani-
shad enumerates the gods as the eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, the twelve Adityas, Indra, and Prajapati). As lord of the Vasus,
Indra was also referred to as Vasava.
By the age of the Vedanta, Indra became the prototype for all lords and thus a king could be called Manavendra (Indra or lord
of men) and Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, was referred to as Raghavendra (Indra of the clan of Raghu). Hence the original
Indra was also referred to as Devendra (Indra of the Devas). However, Sakra and Vasava were used exclusively for the original
Indra. Though modern texts usually adhere to the name Indra, the traditional Hindu texts (the Vedas, epics and Puranas) use In¬
dra, Sakra and Vasava interchangeably and with the same frequency.
Status and function
In the Rig Veda, Indra is the king of the gods and ruler of the heavens. Indra is the god of thunder and rain and a great warrior, a
symbol of courage and strength. He leads the Deva (the gods who form and maintain Heaven) and the elements, such as Agni
(Fire), Varuna (Water) and Surya (Sun), and constantly wages war against the opponents of the gods, the demon-like Asuras. As
the god of war, he is also regarded as one of the Guardians of the directions, representing the east. As the favourite ‘national’ god
of the Vedic Indians, Indra has about 250 hymns dedicated to him in the Rigveda.
Characteristics
In Rig Veda, Indra the solar god is sometimes described as golden-bodied (“Gora” that means golden-yellowish) with golden jaw,
nails, hair, beard.
One Atharva Vedic verse reads, “In Indra are set fast all forms of golden hue.”
In the RV 1.65 reads, “SAKRA, who is the purifier (of his worshipers), and well-skilled in horses, who is wonderful and golden-bod¬
ied.” Rig Veda also reads that Indra “is the dancing god who, clothed in perfumed garments, golden-cheeked rides his golden
cart.” One passage calls him both brown and yellow. “Him with the fleece they purify, brown, golden-hued, beloved of all, Who with
exhilarating juice goes forth to all the deities”
Indra’s weapon, which he used to kill Vritra, is the (Vajra), though he also uses a bow, a net, and a hook. In the post-Vedic period,
he rides a large, four-tusked white elephant called Airavata. When portrayed having four arms, he has lances in two of his hands
which resemble elephant goads. When he is shown to have two, he holds the Vajra and a bow. He lives in Svarga in the clouds
around Mt. Meru. Deceased warriors go to his hall after death, where they live without sadness, pain or fear. They watch the
Apsaras and the Gandharvas dance, and play games. The gods of the elements, celestial sages, great kings, and warriors enrich
his court.
Relations with other gods
In Hindu myth, he is married to Indrani (whose father, Puloman, Indra killed), and is the father of Arjuna (by Kunti), Jayanta, Mid-
husa, Nilambara, Khamla, Rbhus, Rsabha. Indra is a brother to Surya. He is attended to by the Maruts (and the Vasus), children
of Diti (mother of demons), and Rudra. Indra had slain Diti’s previous wicked children, so she hoped her son would be more pow¬
erful than him and kept herself pregnant for a century, practicing magic to aid her fetal son. When Indra discovered this, he threw
a thunderbolt at her and shattered the fetus into 7 or 49 parts; each part regenerated into a complete individual, and the parts
grew into the Maruts, a group of storm gods, who are less powerful than Indra.
Indra and Vrtra
In post-Vedic myth, Vrtra, an asura, stole all the water in the world and Indra drank much Soma to prepare himself for the battle
with the huge serpent. He passed through Vrtra’s ninety-nine fortresses, slew the monster and brought water back to Earth.
In another version of the story, Vrtra was created by Tvashtri to get revenge for Indra’s murder of his son, Trisiras, a pious Brah¬
min whose increase of power worried Indra. Vrtra won the battle and swallowed Indra, but the other gods forced him to vomit Indra
out. The battle continued and Indra fled. Vishnu and the Rishis brokered a truce, and Indra swore he would not attack Vrtra with
anything made of metal, wood, or stone, nor anything that was dry or wet, or during the day or the night. Indra used the foam from
the waves of the ocean to kill him at twilight.
In yet another version, recounted in the Mahabharata, Vrtra was a Brahmin who got hold of supernatural powers, went rogue and
became a danger to the gods. Indra had to intervene, and slew him after a hard fight. A horrible goddess named Brahmanahatya
(the personified sin of Brahmin murder) came from the dead corpse of Vrtra and pursued Indra, who hid inside a lotus flower. Indra
went to Brahma and begged forgiveness for having killed a Brahmin. “Vajrayudha”, which Indra possessed, is believed to be pre¬
pared from backbone of a sage Dadhichi to kill Asuras.
In the Puranas
In post-Vedic texts, Indra is described with more human characteristics and vices than any other Vedic deity. Modern Hindus, also
tend to see Indra as minor deity in comparison to others in the Hindu pantheon, such as Shiva, Vishnu, or Devi. A Puranic story il¬
lustrating the subjugation of Indra’s pride is illustrated in the story of Govardhan hill where Krishna, Avatar or incarnation of Vishnu
carried the hill and protected his devotees when Indra, angered by non-worship of him, launched rains over the village.
Gautama's curse
Indra tricked Ahalya, the wife of Gautama Maharishi, in the guise of the saint into letting him make love to her. He was punished
by Gautama with a curse that one thousand vaginas would cover his body in a grotesque and vulgar display, and that his reign as
king of the gods would meet with disaster and catastrophe. The quote was something along the lines of “your body will be covered
by that which you desired so much”.[13] Gautama later commuted the curse, upon the pleading of Brahma, to one thousand eyes
instead. But according to Valmiki Ramayana the thousand eyed Indra was cursed by Gautama to lose his testicles. Indra later gets
a new pair of testicles from a ram with the help of Agni.
Due to this sin Indra’s throne is supposed to remain insecure forever. He is repeatedly humiliated by demonic kings like Ravana of
Lanka, whose son Indrajit (whose name means victory over Indra) bound Indra in serpent nooses and dragged him across Lanka
in a humiliating display. Indrajit released Indra when Brahma convinced him to do so in exchange for celestial weapons, but Indra,
as the defeated, had to pay tribute and accept Ravana’s supremacy. Indra realized the consequences of his sin, and was later
avenged by the Avatar of Vishnu, Rama, who slew Ravana to deliver the three worlds from evil, as described in the epic Ramaya¬
na.
However, according to the tradition of the temple of Suchindrum, near Nagercoil, in Southern Tamil Nadu, Indra was promised re¬
lief from the curse, if he could manage to worship the Divine Trinity of Hinduism, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva simultaneously. This
he succeeded in doing at Suchindrum, where the presiding deity is Sthanumalayan, a combined form of Shiva (Sthanu), Vishnu
(Mai) and Brahma (Ayan), and was accordingly granted relief. Tradition maintains that he continues to worship each night at the
temple, on account of which the priests of the temple, on appointment, are made to take a vow in Tamil “Aham kandathai puram
golla mattan”, meaning “I will never reveal anything I see within”. Further, part of their duty is to clean the sanctum sanctorum of
the temple and leave it ready for all rituals at night before closing the temple and clean it again, when they re-open it in the morn¬
ing.
Indra and the Ants
In this story from the Brahmavaivarta Purana, Indra defeats Vrtra and releases the waters. Elevated to the rank of King of the
gods, Indra orders the heavenly craftsman, Vishvakarma, to build him a grand palace. Full of pride, Indra continues to demand
more and more improvements for the palace. At last, exhausted, Vishvakarma asks Brahma the Creator for help. Brahma in turn
appeals to Vishnu, the Supreme Being.
Vishnu visits Indra’s palace in the form of a Brahmin boy; Indra welcomes him in. Vishnu praises Indra’s palace, casually adding
that no former Indra had succeeded in building such a palace. At first, Indra is amused by the Brahmin boy’s claim to know of
former Indras. But the amusement turns to horror as the boy tells about Indra’s ancestors, about the great cycles of creation and
destruction, and even about the infinite number of worlds scattered through the void, each with its own Indra. The boy claims to
have seen them all. During the boy’s speech, a procession of ants had entered the hall. The boy saw the ants and laughed. Finally
humbled, Indra asks the boy why he laughed. The boy reveals that the ants are all former Indras.
Another visitor enters the hall. He is Shiva, in the form of a hermit. On his chest lies a circular cluster of hairs, intact at the circum¬
ference but with a gap in the middle. Shiva reveals that each of these chest hairs corresponds to the life of one Indra. Each time a
hair falls, one Indra dies and another replaces him.
No longer interested in wealth and honor, Indra rewards Vishvakarma and releases him from any further work on the palace. Indra
himself decides to leave his life of luxury to become a hermit and seek wisdom. Horrified, Indra’s wife Shuchi asks the priest Bri-
haspati to change her husband’s mind. He teaches Indra to see the virtues of both the spiritual life and the worldly life. Thus, at the
end of the story, Indra learns how to pursue wisdom while still fulfilling his kingly duties.
The 14 Indras
Each Manu rules during an eon called a Manvantara. 14 Manvantaras make up a Kalpa, a period corresponding to a day in the life
of Brahma. Every Manvantara has 1 Indra that means with every Kalpa 14 Indras changes.
See also:
Hita
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Indra (the etymology is much disputed)...
Related words
Soma
Viraj
Sanskrit _
Indra — PS
indra -
Indriyas
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Indriya — ... sense organ; “pertaining to Indra”
1. According to the Buddhists, the senses are but orbs.
2. According to the Mimamsakas, the senses are the capacities of the orbs.
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, the senses are the instruments of perception.
4. According to Dvaita Vedanta, the senses are the five external senses, the mind (manas), and the witness consciousness (sak-
sin).
5. The five organs of knowledge are the ear (srotra), skin (tvak), eye (caksus), tongue (jihva), and nose (ghrana). (See jnanendri-
ya.)
6. The five organs of action are the voice (vak), hand (pani), foot (pada), organ of excretion (payu), and the organ of generation
(upastha). (See karmendriya.)
7. According to Nyaya, a sense organ is the seat of such contact with the mind which causes a cognition.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
indriya -
fit for or belonging to or agreeable to Indra;
a companion of Indra;
power, force, the quality which belongs especially to the mighty Indra;
exhibition of power, powerful act;
bodily power, power of the senses;
virile power;
semen virile;
faculty of sense, sense, organ of sense;
the number five as symbolical of the five senses. (In addition to the five organs of perception, buddhlndriyani or jnanendriyam,
i.e. eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin, the HindGs enumerate five organs of action, karmendriyanl i.e. larynx, hand, foot, anus, and
parts of generation ; between these ten organs and the soul or atman stands manas or mind, considered as an eleventh organ
; in the Vedanta, manas, buddhi, aharhkara, and citta form the four inner or internal organs, antar-indriyani, so that according to
this reckoning the organs are fourteen in number, each being presided over by its own ruler or niyantr; thus, the eye by the Sun,
the ear by the Quarters of the world, the nose by the two Asvins, the tongue by Pracetas, the skin by the Wind, the voice by Fire,
the hand by Indra, the foot by Vishnu, the anus by Mitra, the parts of generation by Prajapati, manas by the Moon, buddhi by
Brahman, aharhkara by Siva, citta by Vishnu as Acyuta ; in the Nyaya philosophy each organ is connected with its own peculiar
element, the nose with the Earth, the tongue with Water, the eye with Light or Fire, the skin with Air, the ear with Ether; the Jainas
divide the whole creation into five sections, according to the number of organs attributed to each being.)
Wikipedia
Indriya, literally “belonging to or agreeable to Indra” is the Sanskrit and Pali term for physical strength or ability in general, and for
the five senses more specifically.
In Buddhism, the term refers to multiple intrapsychic processes and is generally translated as “faculty” or, in specific contexts, as
“spiritual faculty” or “controlling principle.” The term literally means “belonging to Indra,” chief deity in the Rig Veda and lord of Ta-
vatimsa heaven, hence connoting supremacy, dominance and control, attested in the general meaning of “power, strength” from
the Rigveda.
In Buddhism, depending on the context, indriya traditionally refers to one of the following groups of faculties:
the “Five Spiritual Faculties”
five or six sensory faculties
22 phenomenological faculties.
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
... called Indriyas, meaning power, force or capacity. They are divided into two groups, five Abstract Knowing-Senses or powers of
cognition called Jnanendriyas, and five Abstract Working-Senses or capacities for action called Karmendriyas. These powers are
evolved to construct the world as a system of purposes or objects of desire. Their function is to give position to the objects.
The Jnanendriyas (Abstract Knowing-Senses) are the power to Hear (Srota), the power to Feel (Tvak) the power to See (Caksus),
the power to Taste (Rasana), and the power to Smell (Ghrana). The Karmendriyas (Abstract Working-Senses) are the power to
express (Vak), the power to procreate (Upastha), the power to excrete (Payu), the power to grasp (Pani), and the power to move
(Pada).
It must be kept in mind that these Abstract Sense-Powers (Indriyas) are only inherent capacities on the part of the Cosmic Mind
(Manas) to cognize and act in one of five ways. They are powers which need instruments through which to function. All the Indri¬
yas (Sense-Powers) arise simultaneously with Mind (Manas), and are classified as evolutes since they are produced, and do not
produce new modes of being.
These ten-fold Abstract Sense-Powers (Indriyas) could have no real existence without objects. For example, the power to hear
could have no meaning without something to hear, that is, sound. Similarly, with the other sense powers of feeling, seeing, tasting,
and smelling. They must have something upon which to operate. So the moment these ten-fold Abstract Sense-Powers (Indriyas)
manifest themselves, their correlated Subtle Elements (Tanmatras) come into being.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
Here is the eye, but the eye does not see. If the eyes did see, when a man is dead and his eyes are still perfect, they would still be
able to see. There is some change somewhere; something has gone out of the man, and that something, which really sees and of
which the eye is but the instrument, is called the organ. So this nose is an instrument, and there is an organ corresponding to it.
Modern physiology can tell you what that is, a nerve centre in the brain. The eyes, ears, etc., are simply the external instruments.
Thus the organs, indriyas, as they are called in Sanskrit, are the real seats of perception.
What is the use of having one organ for the nose, and one for the eyes, and so on? Why will not one serve the purpose? To make
it clear to you: I am talking, and you are listening, and you do not see what is going on around you because the mind has attached
itself to the organ of hearing, and has detached itself from the sight organ. If there were only one organ, the mind would see and
hear and smell at the same time, and it would be impossible for it not to do all three at the same time. Therefore it is necessary
that there should be separate organs for all these centres. ... It is certainly possible for us to see and hear at the same time, but
that is because the mind attaches itself partially to both centres, which are the organs. What are the instruments? We see that
these are external and made of the gross materials. Here they are—eyes, nose, and ears etc. Of what are the organs made ?
They are made of finer materials and are internal things because they are the centres. Just as this body is composed of gross
material for transforming prana into different gross forces, so these finer organs behind are composed of finer materials, for the
manufacture of prana into the finer forces of perception.
See: Inndriyas in Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
See also:
in Mahabhutas: Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Related words
Jnanendriyas
Karmendriyas
Manas
Tanmatras
Sanskrit
Indriya —
indriya -
Variant spellings
Isa
Isha
Isa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Isa — ... Lord; master; ruler
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
Tsa -
owning, possessing, sharing;
one who is completely master of anything;
capable of;
powerful, supreme;
a ruler, master, lord;
a husband;
a Rudra;
the number ‘eleven’ (as there are eleven Rudras);
N. of Siva as regent of the north-east quarter;
N. of Siva;
of Kuvera
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Isa: The Sanskrit equivalent to God. Literally, “one who controls.” It refers to the principle that controls the integral law that sus¬
tains each entity as a particular mode of expression of the universal being.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
We may not arrive at etymological conclusions from similarity of letters or sounds, but we may, on account of a striking parallel¬
ism in the field of comparative symbolism, come to the conclusion that there has been association of ideas and words. In this light
there is little doubt that there is a connection between the Ish of Genesis 2;23, the Isha of Hinduism, and the Isha who is Jesus. All
three represent the spiritual stage on man’s path. Furthermore, the Isha who is Jesus, is “God’s Saviour”, and the Isha of Hindu¬
ism represents God as Lord and Saviour, whose name, in the same or a derived form, is called upon for succour, by itself, or as
suffix to another name of God. The most important of these names is Ishvara.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Experiencing the Isavasya Upanishad
Although it is a convention.to call God Tsvara, we need not give an anthropomorphic God as our reference here. Isa means that
which oversees, governs and controls from within as a principle, law or intristic nature.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
... the word isa means that which shines within you, animates you, gives you this never-ending supply of life’s resources, and
which functions as a definite, imperative law.
Isa and jiva
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Upadesa saram
God, the Creator, or Isa, has the attributes, ‘all knowing’ and ‘all powerful’. The individual, or jiva, is ignorant and weak. Yet, basi¬
cally, Isa and jiva are the same substance.
See also:
in Ishvara: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Related words
Isha Upanishad
Ishvara
Jiva
Sanskrit
ha — fsr
Tsa — f $T
Isha Upanishad
Title
Isa Uparti sad —
Tsa upanisad
Ishopanishad
Tsopanisad
Tsavasya upanisad
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Tsa Upanisad — ... “sitting steadfastly nearby the Lord”; the Lord Upanisad
1. The opening mantra of the wisdom section (Jnana Kanda) section of the VajasaneyT School of the Sukla Yajur Veda begins
"Tsavasyamidam sarvam .. . —’’all things of this world, the transitory, the evanescent, are enveloped by the Lord who is the real
Reality of each,” and thus the Upanisad’s name. This Upanisad has only eighteen mantras, the first two which deal directly with
the problem of liberation and the other sixteen which elaborate this solution and serve as commentaries thereon. It deals with the
problem of the material causality of the world and of the human being’s relation thereto; with the nature of the highest truth; and
with the difference between Reality and unreality and between knowledge and ignorance.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Isha Upanishad appears in the White Yajur VEDA; it constitutes the Veda’s last chapter (unlike most Upanishads, which are
found within the BRAHMANAS of the Veda). Isha literally means “lord” or “ruler,” and the Upanishad clearly has theistic overtones.
It is a short Upanishad of only 18 stanzas.
Wikipedia
The Isha Upanishad ... is one of the shortest of the Upanishads, consisting of 17 or 18 verses in total; like other core texts of the
vedanta, it is considered revealed scripture (Sruti) by diverse traditions within Hinduism. The name of the text derives from the
incipit, Isa, “by the Lord (Isha)”. The Upanishad appears in the final chapter (adhyaya) of the Shukla Yajurveda, but is historically
one of the latest of the principal (mukhya) Upanishads, dating approximately to Mauryan times.
The short text covers a wide spectrum of philosophy, religion, ritualism and metaphysics.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Isha opens with a stanza describing the world as “indwelt by the Lord” (ishavasya). Stanza 5, frequently quoted, describes the
BRAHMAN or ultimate reality: “It moves. It moves not. It is far and it is near. It is within all this; it is outside all this.” This attempts
to show the incomprehensible infinitude of the ultimate. Also quoted often is verse 11, which states that the path of ritual and the
path of knowledge of brahman are complementary. The cryptic verses 9, 12, 13, and 14, which speak of the relationship between
higher knowledge and ignorance, have been frequently explicated by the classical commentators.
Wikipedia
The Isha Upanishad is significant amongst the Upanishads for its description of the nature of the supreme being (Ish). It presents
a monist or non- dual perspective of the universe, in that it describes this being, ‘is unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach,
without veins, pure and uncontaminated’ (verse 8), who ‘moves and does not move’, who is ‘far away, but very near as well’, who
‘although fixed in His abode is swifter than the mind’ (verses 4 & 5).
The text then asserts the oneness of the supreme self;
For the enlightened one all that exists is nothing but the Self and asks;
So how could any delusion or suffering continue for those who know this oneness?
The later verses take the form of a series of prayers requesting that the speaker be able to see past the supreme light or efful¬
gence in order to understand the true nature of the Supreme Lord.
Publications
Translations
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
In: Gambhirananda, S. 1972, Eight Upanisads : Vol 1 (Isa, Kena, Katha and Taittiriya), Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta.
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953, The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
In: Sankaracarya, Panoli, V. & Acarya, G. 1991, Upanishads in Sankara’s own words : Isa, Kena, Katha, and Mandukya with the
Karika of Gaudapada : with the bhashyas in the original Sanskrit, English translation, exhaustive explanatory notes and footnotes,
Mathrubhumi Print. & Pub. Co., Calicut.
Sri Aurobindojsha Upanishad, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1965
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya-
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
Related words
Isa
Upanishads
Yajur Veda
Ishvara
Variant spellings
Ishvara
isvara
Is vara
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Isvara — ... Lord; God; the Great God ...; a quality (tattva) in Saivism
1. The Divine with form (saguna-brahman).
2. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, He is the supreme Ruler and Controller. He is full of auspicious qualities. He is both tran¬
scendent and immanent. The world of animate and inanimate entities emerge from His body. He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and
omniscient. He is all-merciful and by His grace, individual souls attain liberation. He is the author of the universe, both as its ma¬
terial and efficient causes. He manifests himself in five forms as transcendent (para); emanations (vyuha); incarnations (vibhava);
indweller (antaryamin); and sacred icons (area). As para, He possesses six divine qualities: knowledge (jnana), strength (bala),
lordship (aisvarya), potency (sakti), virility (vlrya), and splendor (tejas).
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, God (Isvara) is the Absolute (Brahman) as conditioned by ignorance or illusion (avidya/maya).
The Absolute knows no distinctions; yet in relation to the world, the Godhead becomes its source and ground. Isvara is both the
material and efficient cause of the world. The saguna-brahman (Isvara) is said to be omnipotent, omniscient, and the creator, etc.
4. The fourth category (tattva) in the process of universal manifestation. In this tattva, “I” and “this” are equally prominent. The con¬
sciousness of Sadasiva is “I am this.” The consciousness of Isvara is “This am I.” Knowledge (jnana) is predominant in this tattva.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
Tsvara -
able to do, capable of (with gen. of Vedic inf., or with common inf.), liable, exposed to;
master, lord, prince, king, mistress, queen;
a husband;
God;
the Supreme Being;
the supreme soul (Atman);
Siva;
one of the Rudras;
the god of love;
N. of a prince;
the number ‘eleven’;
N. of Durga;
of LakshmT;
of any other of the Saktis or female energies of the deities;
N. of several plants
Wikipedia
Ishvara is a philosophical concept in Hinduism, meaning controller or the Supreme controller (i.e. God) in a monotheistic sense or
as an Ishta-deva of monistic thought.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Isvara: The Sanskrit equivalent to “God.” Literally, “one who controls everything.” Isa + vara; vara, means “the highest.”
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ishvara (“lord”). Primarily an epithet of the god Shiva, especially when the word is used at the end of compound names, such as
Rameshvar, “the Lord of Rama,” or Mahakaleshvar, “the Lord of Death.” In its more general meaning as “lord,” ishvara can also be
part of the name taken by earthly rulers, such as the Chalukya monarch Someshvara (r. 1242-1268).
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Some have sought an etymological relationship between the Sanskrit “Ishvara” and the ancient Egyptian “Ausar”, which is the true
form of “Osiris”. “Ishvara” is said to mean etymologically “the Ruling One, the Order-bringing One” and “Ausar” (Osiris) is said to
mean “the Highest of the Powers” and “the Ruler”. Osiris brought the order of the Tradition and was the offspring of Heaven and
Earth
... It is clear that the saving factor in human life is the order of the Tradition as given by, and embodied in, a Man. In this con¬
nection it can be understood that Ishvara is the saving God and Osiris the saving God- Man. And Jesus is etymologically “God’s
Saviour”.
Osiris being “Ausar”, Isis is “Auset”. The two form at heart the same duality as Ish and Isha, Ishvara and Ishvari, and Jesus and
“the bride the soul”.
Wikipedia
In Sanskrit and in the languages of some Indianized countries that have borrowed vocabulary from Sanskrit, “Ishvara” is also used
to denote a “lord” in a temporal sense, as any master or king (a dual usage also found in English). In this sense, “Ishvara” is often
used in compounds, to designate the lord of some place or group. For example, “Lokesvara” is a compound of “loka” (world) and
“isvara” (lord); it means “Lord of the world.” “Campesvara” is a compound consisting of “Champa” (the name of a medieval Indian¬
ized polity in central Vietnam) and “isvara” that means “lord of Champa.”
In Hinduism, the term is used as part of the compound “Maheshvara” (“great lord”) as a name for Siva. In Mahayana Buddhism it
is used as part of the compound “Avalokitesvara” (“lord who hears the cries of the world”), the name of a bodhisattva revered for
his compassion. When referring to Divine as female, particularly in Shaktism, the feminine IsvarT is sometimes used.
Schools of thought
Among the six systems of Hindu philosophy, early Samkhya and Mimamsa reject the concept of Ishvara, while later Samkhya,
Yoga, Vaisheshika, Vedanta and Nyaya believe in the existence of an Ishvara.
Vedanta
Ishvara is a transcendent and immanent entity best described in the last chapter of the Shukla Yajur Veda Samhita, known as the
Ishavasya Upanishad. It states ishavasyam idam sarvam which means whatever there is in this world is covered and filled with
Ishvara. Ishvara not only creates the world, but then also enters into everything there is.
He created all this, whatever is here. Having created it, into it, indeed, he entered. Having entered it, he became both the actual
and the beyond, the defined and the undefined, both the founded and the unfounded, the intelligent and the unintelligent, the true
and the untrue. (Taittiriya Upanishad 2.6.1)
The conception of Ishvara in Hinduism is very much dependent on the particular school of thought. While any one of five forms
of a personal God can embody the concept of Ishvara in Advaita Vedanta, schools of Vaishnavism consider only Vishnu and His
incarnations as the omnipotent Ishvara and all other forms of God as merely expansions or aspects of the Supreme Being.
Advaita Vedanta
Advaitism holds that when human beings think of Brahman, the Supreme Cosmic Spirit is projected upon the limited, finite human
mind and appears as Ishvara. Therefore, the mind projects human attributes, such as personality, motherhood, and fatherhood on
the Supreme Being. An interesting metaphor is that when the “reflection” of the Cosmic Spirit falls upon the mirror of Maya (Maya;
the principle of illusion, which binds the mind), it appears as the Supreme Lord. God (as in Brahman) is not thought to have such
attributes in the true sense. However it may be helpful to project such attributes onto God.
Shankara
Ishvara is Saguna Brahman or Brahman with innumerable auspicious qualities. He is all- perfect, omniscient, omnipresent, in¬
corporeal, independent, Creator of the world, its ruler and also destroyer. He is causeless, eternal and unchangeable — and is
yet the material and the instrumental cause of the world. He is both immanent (like whiteness in milk) and transcendent (like a
watch-maker independent of a watch). He may be even regarded to have a personality. He is the subject of worship. He is the
basis of morality and giver of the fruits of one’s Karma. However, He himself is beyond sin and merit. He rules the world with his
Maya — His divine power. This association with a “false” knowledge does not affect the perfection of Ishvara, in the same way as
a magician is himself not tricked by his magic. However, while Ishvara is the Lord of Maya and she (ie, Maya) is always under his
control, the living beings (jlva, in the sense of humans) are the servants of Maya (in the form of ignorance). This ignorance is the
cause of the unhappiness and sin in the mortal world. While Ishvara is Infinite Bliss, humans are miserable. Ishvara always knows
the unity of the Brahman substance, and the Mayic nature of the world. There is no place for a Satan in Hinduism, unlike Abra-
hamic religions. Advaitins explain the misery because of ignorance. Ishvara can also be visualized and worshipped in anthropo¬
morphic form as deities such as Shiva, Vishnu or Devi.
Now the question arises as to why the Supreme Lord created the world. If one assumes that Ishvara creates the world for any
incentive, this slanders the wholeness and perfection of Ishvara. For example, if one assumes that Ishvara creates the world for
gaining something, it would be against His perfection. If we assume that He creates for compassion, it would be illogical, because
the emotion of compassion cannot arise in a blank and void world in the beginning (when only Ishvara existed). So Adi Shankara
assumes that Creation is a sport of Ishvara. It is His nature, just as it is man’s nature to breathe.
The sole proof for Ishvara that Adi Shankara gives is Shruti’s mentions of Ishvara, as Ishvara is beyond logic and thinking. This
is similar to Kant‘s philosophy about Ishvara in which he says that “faith” is the basis of theism. However, Adi Shankara has also
given few other logical proofs for Ishvara, but warning us not to completely rely on them:
The world is a work, an effect, and so must have real cause. This cause must be Ishvara.
The world has a wonderful unity, coordination and order, so its creator must have been an intelligent being.
People do good and sinful work and get its fruits, either in this life or after. People themselves cannot be the giver of their fruits, as
no one would give himself the fruit of his sin. Also, this giver cannot be an unconscious object. So the giver of the fruits of Karma
is Ishvara. See, Karma in Hinduism for more information.
Vishishta Advaita Vedanta
In Vishishtadvaita, Ishvara is the Supreme Cosmic Spirit who maintains complete control over the Universe and all the sentient
beings, which together also form the pan- organistic body of Ishvara. The triad of Ishvara along with the universe and the sentient
beings is Brahman, which signifies the completeness of existence. Ishvara is Para Brahman endowed with innumerable auspi¬
cious qualities (Kalyana Gunas). Ishvara is perfect, omniscient, omnipresent, incorporeal, independent, creator of the world, its
active ruler and also the eventual destroyer. He is causeless, eternal and unchangeable — and is yet the material and the efficient
cause of the world. He is both immanent (like whiteness in milk) and transcendent (like a watch- maker independent of a watch).
He is the subject of worship. He is the basis of morality and giver of the fruits of one’s Karma. He rules the world with His Maya —
His divine power.
Dvaita Vedanta
According to the Dvaita school, Ishvara possesses all the qualities seen in Vishishtadvaita. Ishvara is the efficient and material
cause of the universe and the sentient beings and yet exists independently. Thus, Dvaitism does not separate Ishvara and Brah¬
man, and does not believe that the highest form of Brahman is attributeless, or that Ishvara is incorporeal. Instead, Ishvara is the
highest form of truth and worship of God involves belief in God as an infinite and yet personal and loving being.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Ballantyne
Isvara is not a personal God but the universal soul. Gough says:
“This conception of the world-projecting deity is not theistic- He is nothing else than the totality of souls in dreamless sleep, pres¬
ent in the heart of every living thing; himself only the first figment of the world-fiction; resolved into the characterless unity of Brah¬
man, at the close of each age of the world, and issuing out of that unity at each palingenesia (second birth) in the eternal proces¬
sion of the aeons. He is eternal, but every migrating soul is co-eternal with him, a co-eternal and only equally fictitious emanation
of the one and only self. He can hardly be conceived to have any separate personality apart from the souls he permeates and
vivifies; and his state is not one of consciousness, but that of the pure bliss of dreamless sleep. One with the sum of living beings
in that state, he is yet said to allot to each of them their portion of weal and woe, bat only in accordance with their merits in prior
forms of embodied existence.... Isvara is no less unreal than the migrating soul; and both Isvara and the soul are only so far exis¬
tent as they are fictitious manifestations of the one and only Self.”
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Brahman associated with the upadhi of collective ignorance is designated by Vedantists as Isvara or Saguna Brahman, who
corresponds roughly to the Personal God of various religions. According to Non-dualistic Vedanta the Personal God is one step
lower than Brahman, though He is the highest symbol or manifestation of Brahman in the relative world. Isvara is endowed with
such qualities as omniscience, omnipresence, universal lordship, and unlimited power. Brahman cannot be described by any
specific attribute. It is Isvara, and not Pure Brahman, who in His different aspects, is called the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer
of the universe. Isvara, or Saguna Brahman, with the help of sattva, creates; with the help of rajas, preserves; and with the help
of tamas, destroys. He is the Inner Controller of the universe. The light of Isvara that illumines the cosmic ignorance is the Light
of Brahman. From the standpoint of Pure Brahman there is no creation; hence none of the attributes ascribed to Isvara applies to
Brahman. As gold without dross cannot be used for ornaments, so pure Brahman, without the dross of maya, cannot create the
universe. Isvara is, as it were, a corruption or deterioration of Brahman.
See: Brahman, Ishvara, Hiranyagarbha, Virat
Ishvara and Maya
General
Wikipedia
Ishvara
Ishvara (literally, the Supreme Lord) — According to Advaita Vedanta, when man tries to know the attributeless Brahman with his
mind, under the influence of Maya, Brahman becomes the Lord. Ishvara is Brahman with Maya — the manifested form of Brah¬
man. Adi Shankara uses a metaphor that when the “reflection” of the Cosmic Spirit falls upon the mirror of Maya, it appears as the
Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is true only in the pragmatic level — his actual form in the transcendental level is the Cosmic
Spirit.
Ishvara is Saguna Brahman or Brahman with innumerable auspicious qualities. He is all- perfect, omniscient, omnipresent, in¬
corporeal, independent, Creator of the world, its ruler and also destroyer. He is causeless, eternal and unchangeable — and is
yet the material and the instrumental cause of the world. He is both immanent (like whiteness in milk) and transcendent (like a
watch-maker independent of a watch). He may be even regarded to have a personality. He is the subject of worship. He is the
basis of morality and giver of the fruits of one’s Karma. However, He himself is beyond sin and merit. He rules the world with his
Maya — His divine power. This association with a “false” knowledge does not affect the perfection of Ishvara, in the same way as
a magician is himself not tricked by his magic. However, while Ishvara is the Lord of Maya and she (ie, Maya) is always under his
control, the living beings (jlva, in the sense of humans) are the servants of Maya (in the form of ignorance). This ignorance is the
cause of the unhappiness and sin in the mortal world. While Ishvara is Infinite Bliss, humans are miserable. Ishvara always knows
the unity of the Brahman substance, and the Mayic nature of the world. There is no place for a Satan in Hinduism, unlike Abra-
hamic religions. Advaitins explain the misery because of ignorance. Ishvara can also be visualized and worshipped in anthropo¬
morphic form as deities such as Shiva, Vishnu or Devi.
Now the question arises as to why the Supreme Lord created the world. If one assumes that Ishvara creates the world for any
incentive, this slanders the wholeness and perfection of Ishvara. For example, if one assumes that Ishvara creates the world for
gaining something, it would be against His perfection. If we assume that He creates for compassion, it would be illogical, because
the emotion of compassion cannot arise in a blank and void world in the beginning (when only Ishvara existed). So Adi Shankara
assumes that Creation is a sport of Ishvara. It is His nature, just as it is man’s nature to breathe.
The sole proof for Ishvara that Adi Shankara gives is Shruti’s mentions of Ishvara, as Ishvara is beyond logic and thinking. This
is similar to Kant‘s philosophy about Ishvara in which he says that “faith” is the basis of theism. However, Adi Shankara has also
given few other logical proofs for Ishvara, but warning us not to completely rely on them:
The world is a work, an effect, and so must have real cause. This cause must be Ishvara.
The world has a wonderful unity, coordination and order, so its creator must have been an intelligent being.
People do good and sinful work and get its fruits, either in this life or after. People themselves cannot be the giver of their fruits, as
no one would give himself the fruit of his sin. Also, this giver cannot be an unconscious object. So the giver of the fruits of Karma
is Ishvara. See, Karma in Hinduism for more information.
See: Jiva, samsara, Ishvara
See also:
in Virat: Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Swahananda
Evolution of Prakriti (Sankhya)
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Isvara — from the verb root is = “to rule”.
Related words
Bhagavan
Brahman
Hiranyagarbha
Isa
Jiva
Kshetrajna
Mahat
Maya
Saguna-brahman
Vi rat
Sanskrit
Isvara —
Tsvara -
;
Jada
Variant spellings
jada
jada
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jada — ... inert, unconscious; matter
1. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, it is a substance devoid of pure sattva. It is of two types, prakrti and akasa.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jada -
cold, frigid;
stiff, torpid, motionless, apathetic, senseless, stunned, paralysed;
stupid, dull;
void of life, inanimate, unintelligent;
dumb;
stunning, stupefying;
N. of Sumati (who simulated stupidity);
cold, frost;
idiocy;
dulness, apathy;
‘inanimate’, lifeless, matter (opposed to cetana);
water (= jala);
lead
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Jada (“inert,” “insentient”). In a philosophical context, the word jada is used to designate physical matter, which is inert and devoid
of cognitive functions. In a more extended sense, the word can refer to any person completely lacking religious capacities, sensi¬
bilities, or interest, and who is, thus, from a religious perspective, simply inert.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
The present state is due to a mixing up of the chit (sentient) with jada (insentient).
D.: Is that Light like sunlight?
M.: No. The sunlight is jada (insentient). You are aware of it. It makes objects perceptible and chases away darkness, whereas
consciousness is that Light which makes not only light but also darkness perceptible. Darkness cannot exist before sunlight, but
it can remain in the Light of Consciousness. Similarly, this consciousness is pure Knowledge in which both knowledge and igno¬
rance shine.
Another visitor asked: There is differentiation made between the sentient and the insentient (chit and jada) in the opening verse of
Upadesa Sara.
M.: The Upadesa is from the standpoint of the hearer. There is no truth in the insentient (jada). One whole consciousness (chit)
prevails all alone.
Related words
Opposite: Cetana
Opposite: Chaitanya
Opposite: Cit
Prakriti
Sanskrit
Jada —TT5"
jada - ^
Jagad-Guru
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jagadguru — ... world teacher; great guru
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jagadguru -
the father of the world;
Brahma;
Vishnu;
Siva;
Rama (as Vishnu’s incarnation)
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Jagat-Guru: A Guru or preceptor as distinguished from the patriarch of a tribe or the leader of a parochial religion. What is
stressed is the universal nature of the authority and the teaching here. All mystical teachers or contemplatives who identify them¬
selves with no closed or static group may be said to be world or universal Teachers in this sense.
Sanskrit _
Jagadguru —
jagadguru -
Jagat
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jagat — ... the world; cosmos
1. In Indian philosophy the world origin is traced either to a plurality of ultimate reals which are simple and atomic (as in
Nyaya-Vaisesika) or it may be derived from a single substance which is assumed to be complex and all-pervasive (as in
Sankhya-Yoga).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jagat -
moving, movable, locomotive, living;
composed in the JagatT metre RV;
air, wind;
people, mankind;
that which moves or is alive, men and animals, animals as opposed to men, men;
the world, esp. this world, earth;
N. of a saman;
heaven and the lower world;
n. pi. the worlds (= ...gat-traya);
people, mankind
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Jagat: The world. Literally, “that which is always on the move.”
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Psychology of Darsanamala
Jagat is “that which is of the nature of flux or becoming.”... That which becomes a form and then changes into another form is
jagat.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Drg-Drshya-Viveka
what is ... the nature of the universe ?
... all this, consisting of the elements [Ether, air, fire, water and earth] and their products [various animate and inanimate objects]
which are of the nature of the objects of enjoyment, is called Jagat (universe).
... Both Jiva and Jagat are the products of Maya; hence they are cognized so long as a man is in a state of ignorance.
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Chinmayananda
6. The world which is full of attachments, aversions, etc., is like a dream. It appears to be real, as long as it continues but appears
to be unreal when one is awake (i.e., when true wisdom dawns).
7. The Jagat appears to be true (Satyam) so long as Brahman, the substratum, the basis of all this creation, is not realised. It is
like the illusion of silver in the mother-of pearl.
8. Like bubbles in the water, the worlds rise, exist and dissolve in the Supreme Self, which is the material cause and the prop of
everything.
9. All the manifested world of things and beings are projected by imagination upon the substratum which is the Eternal All-pervad¬
ing Vishnu, whose nature is Existence- Intelligence; just as the different ornaments are all made out of the same gold.
See also:
in Namarupa and vastu: Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
Related words
Jiva
Loka
Prapanca
Sanskrit
Jagat — HTTcT
jagat -
Jagrat
Variant spellings
jagrat
jagarita
jagrat
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jagrat — ... the waking state
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jagrat-
waking
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
... the jagrat is the waking state. In it the jiva in the Visva aspect and the Lord in the Virat aspect, abiding together in the eight
petals of the Heart lotus, function through the eyes and enjoy novel pleasures from various objects by means of all the senses, or¬
gans, etc. The five gross elements which are widespread, the ten senses, the five vital airs, the four inner faculties, the twenty-four
fundamentals - all these together form the gross body. The jagrat state is characterised by satva guna denoted by the letter A and
presided over by the deity Vishnu.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In Hindu tradition the first state of consciousness is known as Jagrat, or “the waking state”. It is traditionally called “the state of ex¬
perience of gross objects”, hence “objective state”. It refers to consciousness on the physical plane and is associated with Vaikhari
Sabda or “Sound manifested in spoken words”.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Cohen. Guru Ramana
Bhfagavan], Patanjali’s first sutras are indeed the climax of all systems of yoga. All yogas aim at the cessation of the vritti (modifi¬
cation of the mind). This can be brought about in the variety of ways mentioned in the scriptures through mind control, which frees
consciousness from all thoughts and keeps it pure. Effort is necessary. In fact effort is itself yoga.
C. I suppose efforts have to be made in the waking state, which implies that moksha can be gained only in jagrat.
Bh. Quite so, awareness is necessary for mind control; otherwise who is to make the effort? You cannot make it in sleep or under
the influence of drugs. Also mukti has to be gained in full awareness, because the Reality itself is pure awareness.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
The waking consciousness is jagaritasthanah, that consciousness which has its abode in the wakeful condition of the individual.
And what is its special feature? Bahihprajnaah: It is conscious only of what is outside, not conscious of what is inside. ... Seven
limbs this consciousness has, and nineteen mouths it has, and it eats the gross, - sthulabhug. It swallows, consumes what is
gross. And what is its name? Vaisvanara is its name. This is the first foot of the Atman. This is the outermost appearance of the
Atman...
The seven limbs of the first phase of the Atman refer to a definition of the Cosmic Self given in one Upanishad and the nineteen
mouths refer to the functions of the self in its capacity as an individual, isolated from the cosmos...
There are nineteen functional apparatuses of this wakeful consciousness through which it receives vibrations from and establishes
a contact with the outer world, [the fourfold antahkarana-catushtaya, coupled with the five jnanendriyas, five karmendriyas and five
pranas, - the nineteen mouths of the jlva, the individual.]...
What do the nineteen mouths of the jlva consume? Physical objects. What do we see? Physical objects. What do we hear? Phys¬
ical things. What do we taste? Physical objects. And what do we grasp with our hands? Physical objects. Where do we walk with
our feet? On the physical earth. What do we think in our minds? Physical objects. All the functions of ours through these nineteen
mouths are connected with the physical world. Even the ideas that we may entertain in our minds are connected with physical ob¬
jects. ... This is jagaritasthana, the waking abode of consciousness, waking in the sense that it is wakeful to the physical world, it is
aware of the physical world, and it knows nothing other than the physical world.
See: Sushupti and Jagrat
See also:
in Avarana: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
in Catuspada: Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Diagram: Catuspada, Four States of Consciousness
Related words
Broader term: Catuspada
Sushupti
Svapna
Turiya
Virat
Visva
Sanskrit
Jagrat —Aucj
jagrat - 4HKH
Japa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Japa — ... repetition; the recitation of the name of God, or of a mantra
1. Repetiton of a mantra. It may be practiced orally, whispered, or mentally.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
japa-
‘muttering, whispering’;
muttering prayers, repeating in a murmuring tone passages from scripture or charms or names of a deity, &c., muttered prayer or
spell
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Japa (“muttering,” “whispering”). Individual recitation, usually the repeated utterance of a particular mantra or divine name(s), often
while using a string of beads (mala) to perform a definite number of such repetitions. Such recitation is usually performed as an
individual religious act, in a tone of voice audible to the reciter but not others who may be present. Japa is a particularly important
practice in Hindu traditions stressing the benefits of reciting the divine name—such repetitions are believed to have gradual spir¬
itual benefits. Japa is particularly stressed in the Gaudiya Vaishnavas community founded by the Bengali saint Chaitanya, where
public recitation of the divine name is an important part of religious life.
Wikipedia
Japa ... is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of God. The mantra or name may be spoken
softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken purely within the recitor’s mind. Japa may be performed while sit¬
ting in a meditation posture, while performing other activities, or as part of formal worship in group settings. The practice of repeti¬
tive prayer is present in varied forms within most religions in the world, although the religions of India generally give more empha¬
sis to it as a specific discipline.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
japa: repetition of a sacred word or syllable or a name of God.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Varieties of Japa
Beads. In most forms of japa, the repetitions are counted using a string of beads known as a japa mala. Within Hindu traditions
Vaishnava devotees commonly chant on beads made from the Tulsi plant (Holy Basil), held as a sacred manifestation of Tulsidevi;
whereas Shaivites use Rudraksha beads. The number of beads in the japa mala is generally 108, which has great significance in
both traditions. It is not uncommon for people to wear japa beads around their neck, although some practitioners prefer to carry
them in a bead-bag in order to keep them clean.
Mental repetition. Independent of all beads or prayer devices, many Hindus will recite mantras, either under their breath or in
mental introspection, at any given time of the day. This sort of casual chanting is said to be a way of inspiring reflection on either
the self or God at all times, thereby attaining a life which, though interrupted by daily chores and concerns, is a constant flow of
prayer...
Analogues in other traditions. Some Catholic prayer forms that involve repetition of prayers, such as use of the Rosary or one of
various chaplets, could be classified as forms of japa, as with other Christian prayer forms... The practice of dhikr by Sufis and
some other Muslims is also similar to japa, as is the practice of nembutsu in Pure Land Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhists include japa
meditation as a large part of their religious practices.
Aims
The stated aim, or goal of japa may vary greatly depending on the mantra involved and the religious philosophy of the practitioner.
In both Buddhist and Hindu traditions mantras may be given to aspirants by their guru, after some form of initiation. The stated
goal could be moksha, nirvana, bhakti, or simple personal communion with God in a similar way to prayer. Many gurus and oth¬
er spiritual teachers, and other religious leaders, especially Hindu and Buddhist, teach that these represent different names for
the same transformed state of consciousness. However, this claim is not made about mantras that are not intended for spiritual
growth and self-realization.
After long use of a mantra that is intended to foster self-realization or intimacy with God, an individual may reach a state of ajapa-
japam. In ajapajapam, the mantra “repeats itself” in the mind. Similar states have been reached by Christians using the Jesus
Prayer,[6] as well as by adherents to other major faith traditions, using prayers from their own traditions.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali s Yoga
Japa is “continuous repetition” of the mantra, in the present case, AUM. Japa is intended to include the burning away of the dross
of the mind (tapas), becoming intimate with the true nature of oneself (svadhyaya), mentally suggesting the general direction in
which the revelation of the Absolute can be expected (bhavana), and establishing coordination between the conscious mind and
the unconscious from where an archetypal revelation is believed to be arising (abhyasa).
When you repeatedly say the same word, it may produce monotony, which can induce a hypnotic slumber. When the mind turns
into a tangent, if it is again and again brought back with deliberation to the attentiveness with which the mantra japa was started,
this will help to dispel lethargy and inattentiveness. This is how tapas or the burning of the dross of the mind happens.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Mr. K. S. N. Iyer, a railway officer, asked about japa.
M.: The utterance and then remembrance and later meditation are the successive stages finally ending in involuntary and eternal
japa. The japakarta (doer of japa) of that kind is the Self. Of all the japas, ‘Who am I?’ is the best.
M.: When japa is the predominating tendency, vocal japa becomes eventually mental, which is the same as meditation.
M.: You are always repeating the mantra automatically. If you are not aware of the ajapa (unspoken chant) which is eternally going
on, you should take to japa. Japa is made with an effort. The effort is meant to ward off other thoughts. Then the japa becomes
mental and internal. Finally, its ajapa and eternal nature will be realised. For it will be found to be going on even without your effort.
The effortless state is the state of realisation.
Another visitor asked: What should we do to make the mind still?
M.: First let the mind be caught hold of and brought here: then we shall consider ways and means of stilling it.
D.: I meant to say that it is always changing - even when we do our japa.
M.: Japa is meant only for stilling the mind.
D.: What japa is good for it?
M.: Anything suitable, such as Gayatri.
D.: Will Gayatri do?
M.: Can anything excel it? Only those who cannot do it look for others. It contains the whole range of truth in it. Chanting Capa) will
lead to dhyana (meditation) and it is the means for realising the Self.
D.: Will half an hour a day do for it?
M.: It must be done always, or as long as you can.
D.: How is that ‘l-thought’ to be checked from rising?
M.: By Self-quest.
D.: I try to understand but without success. Can I find the Self by means of japa? If so, please tell me how.
M.: What japa? Why should you make artificial Japa? You can find out the eternal and natural japa always going on within you.
D.: Some upadesh will probably help me.
M.: If I say “Do - Rama, Rama” to one who has not struggled through books like you, he will do it and stick to it. If I say so to one
like you who have read much and are investigating matters, you will not do it for long, because you will think, “Why should I do it?
Above all, who am I that should be repeating the mantra? Let me find who I am before I proceed further”; and so you will stop japa
and begin investigation.
A simple man, not learned, is satisfied with japa or worship. A Jnani is of course satisfied. The whole trouble is for the book¬
worms. Well, well. They will also get on.
Mr. Venkatakrishnayya, a lawyer-devotee, visited Sri Bhagavan ten years before and asked Him what he should do to improve
himself. Sri Bhagavan told him to perform Gayatri Japa. The young man went away satisfied. When he returned after some years,
he asked:
D.: If I meditate on the meaning of the Gayatri mantra, my mind again wanders. What is to be done?
M.: Were you told to meditate on the mantra or its meaning? You must think of the one who repeats the mantra.
Ramana. Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in his own words
Japa, that is the use of incantations and invocations of a Divine Name, is one of the most widely practised techniques of spiritual
training. It has particular affinity with the bhakti paths of love and devotion.
... The point is to keep out all other thoughts except the one thought of OM or Ram or God. All incantations and invocations help to
do that. The more devotion there is behind the words the better this is accomplished, and therefore the more effective is the incan¬
tation.
... When the japa becomes continuous, all other thoughts cease and one is in one’s real nature which is invocation or absorption.
... Oral incantation consists of sounds. The sounds arise from thoughts, for one must think before one expresses one’s thoughts in
words. The thoughts form the mind. Therefore mental invocation is better than oral.
... The repetition aloud of His name is better than praise. Better still is its faint murmur. But the best is repetition with the mind -
and that is meditation
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit word japa is derived from the root jap-, meaning “to utter in a low voice, repeat internally, mutter”.
Related words
Mantra
Tapas
Yajna
Sanskrit
Japa —
japa -
Jiva
Variant spellings
jiva
jiwa
jiva
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jiva — ... individual soul; life; embodied self; living entity
1. According to Jainism, the individual soul is characterized by consciousness, life, immateriality, and extension in space. Con¬
sciousness is its characteristic mark and consists in knowledge, insight, bliss, and power. The size of the individual (soul) is the
same as that of the body that it occupies; expanding and contracting as the case may necessitate. It is held that there is plurality
of individuals. They are of two basic kinds; stationary and mobile.
2. According to Buddhism, there is no individual (soul) apart from a cluster of factors. The individual is a mere name for a complex
of changing constituents.
3. According to Nyaya, it is a noncomposite, partless, pervasive, eternal substance. There is an infinite number of individual souls.
4. According to Vaisesika, it is an eternal, imperceptible, all-pervading, spiritual substance. There is an infinite number of individual
souls.
5. According to Sankhya, purusa is an eternal, immutable, conscious entity. It is nonactive and has neither birth nor death. What
is subject to experience and empirical changes is the phenomenal self which is a blend of purusa and mind. There is an infinite
number of individual souls.
6. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, individual souls are real, eternal, unborn, spiritual, have knowledge, and are of the nature
of knowledge. They are atomic in size and infinite in number. They are an inseparable part of God and dependent thereupon.
They are of three types: those eternally free (nitya), those liberated (mukta), and those bound (baddha). The individual soul as
knowledge does not change, but bound soul’s knowledge changes. The soul’s knowledge is eternal and in the state of liberation is
all-knowing, but on account of empirical limitations this knowledge is diminished. The souls are both agent and enjoyer. They are a
part or mode of God. Their relation is one of inseparability, with the individual soul related to and dependent upon God.
7. According to Dvaita Vedanta, individual souls are atomic in size and infinite in number. They are eternal and no two are alike.
They are similar to God (Brahman) in kind, but not in degree. They are active agents dependent upon God’s will. They are of three
grades: the ever free (nitya), those having attained freedom (mukta), and those bound (baddha). Among the liberated souls there
is an intrinsic gradation, and among the bound souls, there are three types: those fit for release (mukti-yogya), those eternally
within the cycle of birth and death (nitya-samsariri), and those fit only for hell (tamo-yogya).
8. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is a blend of the Self and not-Self with a wrong identification of each of the other. It is a com¬
plex entity consisting of the mind-body organism. It is a complex of the substrate intelligence plus the subtle body plus a reflection
of consciousness therein. It is consciousness, inseparably qualified by the internal organs. It is a reflection of the consciousness
(cidabhasa) in impure sattva-predominant ignorance. It is the phenomenal, empirical ego. Intrinsically individuals are one, but phe¬
nomenally they are many; they are held to be all-pervading in size.
9. According to Vira Saivism, individual souls are in three stages of spiritual maturity: vlra, purusa, and anga. They are a part of
Lord Siva, eternal and essentially pure and perfect. They are also distinct from Siva in that, though they share his essence, they
do not possess his attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, etc. Their powers of knowledge and action are limited
due to impurities. Thus, they are both identical and different from Lord Siva. This relation is called difference-cum-nondifference
(bheda-bheda).
10. According to Saiva Siddhanta, individual souls are infinite in number, all-pervasive, and omniscient by nature, though veiled
by the three impurities (mala). They are dependent upon God. They are of three types: those completely liberated (para-muk-
ta), those liberated while living (jlvan-mukta), those craving power (adhikara-mukta). Individual souls are also of three classes:
those subject to the three malas (sakala), those subject only to anava- and karma-malas (pralayakala), and those subject only to
anava-mala (vijnanakala). Individual souls are related to Lord Siva as the body is related to the individual soul. That is, they are
different, but they are not separate. In nature they are similar but in essence, as an entity, they are different. Even in release this
distinctiveness remains.
11. According to Kashmir Saivism, individual souls are called bound (pasu) due to limitations caused by impurities. Individual souls
are eternal, real, identical with Lord Siva, and essentially unlimited, allpervading, ever-conscious luminosity. Liberation comes by
recognition of their real nature as being identical with Siva. They are of four types: bound (pasu), peaceful (santa), conceited and
devoid of knowledge (pralaya-kevalin), and liberated (yijnana-kevalin). The individual soul passes through the five elements (tat-
tva) of the pure creation in a reverse order on its way to liberation. These stages are called mantra, mantresa, mantra-mehesa,
saktija, and sambhava. Liberation comes when the soul remembers its identity with Lord Siva.
12. According to Sivadvaita, individuals are a part of God (Brahman), eternal, atomic in size, infinite in number, dependent, and
bound by their impurities (mala), though in essence they are pure and perfect. Liberation is being similar to, but not identical with,
Lord Siva. It is the realization of one’s own essential nature. This is achieved through contemplation of Lord Siva.
13. According to MTmamsa, the individual soul is one of the substances. It is eternal and distinct from the mind-body complex. It is
an agent of action and the enjoyer of the fruits thereof. There is a plurality of individual souls.
14. According to the Yoga school, the individual soul is a changeless, eternal, omnipresent, conscious entity. It is entirely passive.
Liberation comes when the individual soul roots out ignorance and stills the modifications of the mind.
15. The word jlva is derived from the root jlv which means “to continue breathing.” Other names for it include bhotka (experient)
and kartd (agent). It is also described as purusa, which is explained as purisaya or “what lies in the citadel of the body.”
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jlva -
living, existing, alive RV;
healthy (blood);
living by;
causing to live, vivifying;
any living being, anything living RV. &c.;
life, existence MBh.;
the principle of life, vital breath, the living or personal soul (as distinguished from the universal soul see jlvatman) RV;
N. of a plant;
Brihaspati (regent of Jupiter);
the 3rd lustrum in the 60 years’ Brihaspati cycle;
N. of one of the 8 Maruts;
Kama;
N. of a metre;
life;
the earth;
a bow-string;
the chord of an arc;
the sine of an arc;
N. of a plant;
the tinkling of ornaments;
Wikipedia
In Hinduism and Jainism, a jiva is a living being, or more specifically the immortal essence of a living being (human, animal, fish or
plant etc...) which survives physical death. It has a very similar usage to ‘atma’, but whereas atma refers to ‘the cosmic self, ‘jiva’
is used to denote an individual ‘living entity’ or ‘living being’ specifically.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
jiva - The animating self of an individual organism, Similar to the Christian concept of the soul, except that Hindus believe that all
living organisms have a jiva.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
In the Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism the jiva is described as immutable, eternal, and indestructible. It is said not to be a product of
the material world (Prakrti), but of a higher ‘spiritual’ nature. At the point of physical death the jiva takes a new physical body de¬
pending on karma and the individual desires and necessities of the particular jiva in question.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
An individual living being is designated in Sanskrit by the word jiva. Derived from the root “jiv” meaning “to survive through breath¬
ing” (jiva- pranadharane), it is the Sanskrit equivalent to the modern word “organism.” So I can say, “I am a jiva;”not,“l have a jiva.”
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: There are six centres mentioned in the Yoga books; but the jiva is said to reside in the Heart. Is it not so?
M.: Yes. The jiva is said to remain in the Heart in deep sleep; and in the brain in the waking state. The Heart need not be taken
to be the muscular cavity with four chambers which propels blood. There are indeed passages which support the view. There are
others who take it to mean a set of ganglia or nerve centres about that region. Whichever view is correct does not matter to us.
We are not concerned with anything less than ourselves. That we have certainly within us. There could be no doubts or discus¬
sions about that.
The Heart is used in the Vedas and the scriptures to denote the place whence the notion T springs. Does it spring only from the
fleshy ball? It springs within us somewhere right in the middle of our being. The T has no location. Everything is the Self. There is
nothing but that. So the Heart must be said to be the entire body of ourselves and of the entire universe, conceived as T. But to
help the practiser (abhyasi) we have to indicate a definite part of the Universe, or of the Body. So this Heart is pointed out as the
seat of the Self. But in truth we are everywhere, we are all that is, and there is nothing else.
D.: What becomes of the jiva after death?
M.: The question is not appropriate for a jiva now living. A disembodied jiva may ask me, if convenient. In the meantime let the
embodied jiva solve its present problem and find who he is. There will be an end of such doubts.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
An infinite number of jlvas fills this cosmos. All these jlvas are animated by a consciousness that is common to all. This conscious¬
ness is vaisvanara; but, individually, when this consciousness is considered in terms of bodies, it is called jiva.
... When this consciousness [the initial state of our becoming aware of ourselves immediately after we wake up from deep sleep,
[see in Sushupti ] relates itself to other objects and persons, it becomes the individual, jiva.
See: Isa and jiva
Jiva and ahankara
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Narayana Guru
... in the case of a red-hot iron ball, fire and iron appear to be identified with each other. Similarly, the reflection of consciousness,
coming in contact with ego, becomes completely identified with it and they cannot be separated from each other. This reflection of
consciousness which identifies itself with the insentient ahankara is what is known as jiva or embodied being.
Jiva and upadhi
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
The jiva or embodied soul, is limited by three kinds of upadhis In dreamless sleep it is limited by the upadhi of the causal body;
in the dream state, by that of the subtle body; and in the waking state, by the upadhi of both the gross and the subtle body. Con¬
sciousness, as it identifies itself with each of these upadhis, is technically known as prajna, taijasa and visva.
Jiva, samsara, Ishvara
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
... externality-consciousness of the jiva binds it to what is called samsara, and this bondage is due, not merely to its being aware
of the world outside, but because of its evaluating the world, judging the world, wanting it or not wanting it in some way. There
is no desire in the virat [isvara], while in the jiva there is desire. This is the only difference, if at all, between jiva and Tsvara. Jiva,
without desire, becomes Tsvara; and Tsvara, with desire, becomes jTva.
See: Prana and jiva
See: Sakshin and jiva
See: Samskaras and jivas
See also:
Sakshin and sushupti
in Advaita Vedanta: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
jlva — from the verb root jTv = “to live”.
Wikipedia
The word originates from the Sanskrit Jivas, with the root jTv- ‘to breathe’. It has the same Indo- European root as the Latin word
Vivus: “Alive”.
Related words
Ahankara
Atman
Bhokta
Isa
Ishvara
Jagat
Kshetrajna
Moksha
Purusa
Saksin
Vaishvanara
Sanskrit
Jlva — ^TtoT
jlva - ''jftr
Jivan Mukta
Variant spellings
Jivan Mukta
jivanmukta
jlvan-mukta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
JTvanmukta — ... liberated while living
1. A doctrine admitted by Sahkhya, Advaita Vedanta, Kashmir Saivism, and Saiva Siddhanta, though with variations according to
each system. The doctrine posits that an individual may be liberated even while living in a physical body.
2. According to Sahkhya, it occurs the moment there is an essential, experiential discrimination between the individual soul (pu-
rusa) and primordial Nature (prakrti). The physical body continues due to past actions (karma), which had brought it about in the
first place. When this action (karma) subsides, through experience thereof, the physical body calls and one is then released with¬
out the body (videhamukti).
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, liberation occurs with the destruction of ignorance (avidya). The continuance of the physical
body is in no way incompatible to liberation. Before liberation, one realizes that the physical body is only an illusory appearance.
If the body were real, liberation could occur only after its destruction. However, liberation is a change of perspective. Since the
physical body is not real, its continued appearance or disappearance is of no consequence. Thus, the jTvanmukta is one who lives
in the world, but is not of it. Whether such an individual has a body or not is of no difference.
4. According to Saiva Siddhanta, it is an individual soul which is freed from anava-, maya-, and karma-malas and their operations.
The individual enjoys bliss even while living in an embodied state.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jTvammukti -
emancipation while still alive
Descriptions
General
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
The esoteric Vedanta does not admit the reality of the world nor of the Samsara, for the only reality is Brahman, seized in our¬
selves as our own Atman. The knowledge of this Atman, the great intelligence: “aham brahma asmi”, does not produce moksha
(deliverance), but is moksha itself...
When seeing Brahma as the highest and the lowest everywhere, all knots of our heart, all sorrows are split, all doubts vanish, and
our works become nothing. Certainly no man can live without doing work, and so also the Jivanmukta; but he knows, that all these
works are illusive, as this whole world is, and therefore they do not adhere to him nor produce for him a new life after death. ... He
feels himself everything, — so he will not desire anything, for he has whatever can be had; — he feels himself everything, — so
he will not injure anything, for nobody injures himself. He lives in the world, is surrounded by its illusions but not deceived by them:
like the man suffering from timira, who sees two moons but knows that there is one only, so the Jivanmukta sees the manifold
world and cannot get rid of seeing it, but he knows, that there is only one being, Brahman, the Atman, his own Self, and he verifies
it by his deeds of pure disinterested morality. And so he expects his end, as the potter expects the end of the twirling of his wheel,
after the vessel is ready. And then, for him, when death comes, no more Samsara ... He enters into brahman, like the streams into
the ocean ... he leaves behind him nama and rupam, he leaves behind him individiality, but he does not leave behind him his At¬
man, his Self. It is not the falling of the drop into the infinite ocean, it is the whole ocean, becoming free from the fetters of ice, re¬
turning from its frozen state to that what it is really and has never ceased to be, to its own all-pervading, eternal, all-mighty nature.
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The jivan-mukta’s life has two phases: It is either samadhi or mystic trance when he turns inwards and loses himself in Brahman;
or the condition known as vyutthana or reversion to common life when the spectacle of the world returns but does not delude him
since he has once for all realized its metaphysical falsity. Diversity continues to appear then as the sun, we may say, continues
to appear as moving even after we are convinced that it is stationary. A jivan-mukta experiences pain and pleasure, but neither
really matters to him. He does not necessarily give up all activity as is abundantly illustrated by the strenuous life which Samkara
himself led, but it does not proceed from any selfish impulse or even from a sense of obligation to others. Blind love for the narrow
self which ordinarily characterizes man and the consequent clinging to the mere particular are in his case replaced by enlightened
and therefore equal love for all. The basis for this universal love is furnished by the Upanisadic teaching That thou art.’ We should
do unto others as we do to ourselves, because they are ourselves—a view which places the golden rule of morality on the surest
of foundations. ‘Who sees all beings in himself and himself in all beings—he will dislike none,’ as the Upanisad says; or as the
Gita puts it, ‘He harms not self by self.’ The common laws of social morality and ritual which are significant only in reference to one
that is striving for perfection are meaningless for him. The jivan-mukta, having transcended the stage of strife, is spontaneously
virtuous. Impulse and desire become one in him. He is not then realizing virtue but is revealing it. ‘In one that has awakened to a
knowledge of the self, virtues like kindness imply no conscious effort whatsoever. They are second nature with him. When at last
he is dissociated from the physical accompaniments, he is not reborn, but remains as Brahman. That is videha mukti.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
Philosophy is no joke or talk. It will be realised, this body will vanish, this earth and everything will vanish, this idea that I am the
body or the mind, will for some time vanish, or if karma is ended it will disappear never to come back ; but if a part of the karma
remains—as a potter’s wheel after the potter has finished the pot, will sometimes go on from the past momentum—the body, when
this delusion has vanished altogether, will go on for sometime. Again this world will come, men and women and animals will come
..., but not with the same force; for along with it will come the idea that I know its nature now and it will cause no bondage, no more
pain, nor grief, nor misery. Whenever anything miserable will come the mind will be able to say, I know you as hallucination. When
a man has reached that state he is called jivan-mukta, ‘living free’—free even while living. The aim and end in this life for the
Jnana Yogi is to become this jivan-mukta, or attain the state of ‘living freedom.’ He is jivan-mukta who can live in this world without
being attached. He is like the lotus leaves in water, which are never wet by the water. He is the highest of human beings, nay, the
highest of all beings, for he has realised his identity with the Absolute—he has realised that he is one with God. So long as you
think you have the least difference from God, fear will seize you, but when you have known that you are He, that there is no differ¬
ence, entirely no difference, between you and Him, that you are all of Him and the whole of Him, all fear ceases.
See also:
in Sravana: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Related words
Moksha
Sanskrit
Jlvanmukti —
jTvanmukti - dldHH+dP
Jivatman
Variant spellings
jivatman
jivatman
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jivatman — ... the individual self (see jlva)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jivatman -
the living or personal or individual soul (as distinct from the paramat... q.v.), the vital principle
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Jivatma (Jivatman): Individuated self, as against the universal self (paramatman), in Sankara’s school of Vedanta.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
As long as one is confusing the body with the Atman, Atman is said to be lost and one is said to seek for it, but the ATMAN itself is
never lost. It always exists. A body is said to be Atman, an indriya is said to be Atman, then there is the Jivatman and Paramatman
and what not. There are a thousand and one things called Atman. The search for Atman is to know that which is really Atman.
Jivatman and Paramatman
General
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
16. The identity of the highest and the individual atman, though perfectly true from the metaphysical standpoint, remains incom¬
prehensible for the empirical view of things; this view distinguishes a plurality of souls different from each other and from the
highest atman, the creative power of the universe. This distinction between the highest soul (paramatman) and the individual souls
(jivatman) is the characteristic feature of what we may term the theism of certain later Upanishads. It emerges for the first time in
Kathaka, where the two, God and the soul, are contrasted as light and shadow, which intimates that the latter has no reality of its
own. But the constantly growing realistic tendencies went on sharpening this contrast, until in the Qvetagvatara-Up. the highest
soul, almighty and all-pervading as it is, is represented as essentially different from the individual soul which, limited and indigent,
lives in the heart, smaller than the point of a needle, smaller than the ten-thousandth part of a hair; and this, says the text, “be¬
comes infinity”. Even here God, though isolated and severed from the soul, lives together with it in the heart. As two birds living on
the same tree, one of which feeds on the fruits of his works, while the other abstains from eating and only looks on; thus the indi¬
vidual soul, bewildered by his own impotence and grieving, looks for the help of the highest soul, or rather of his own divine and
almighty self.
what is the relation between my individual soul, the JTva-Atman, and the highest soul, the Parama-Atman or Brahman ? Here Qan-
kara, like a prophet, foresees the deviations of Ramanuja, Madhva and Vallabha and refutes them in showing, that the JTva cannot
be a part of Brahman (Ramanuja), because Brahman is without parts (for it is timeless and spaceless, and all parts are either suc¬
cessions in time or co-ordinations in space, — as we may add), — neither a different thing from Brahman (Madhva), for Brahman
is ekam eva advitiyam, as we may experience by anubhava, — nor a metamorphose of Brahman (Vallabha), for Brahman is un¬
changeable (for, as we know now by Kant, it is out of causality). The conclusion is, that the JTva being neither a part nor a different
thing, nor a variation of Brahman, must be the Paramatman fully and totally himself, a conclusion made equally by the Vedantin
Qankara, by the Platonic Plotinos, and by the Kantian Schopenhauer. But Qankara in his conclusions goes perhaps further than
any of them. If really our soul, says he, is not a part of Brahman but Brahman himself, then all the attributes of Brahman, all-per-
vadingness, eternity, all-migthiness (scientifically spoken: exemption of space, time, causality) are ours ; aham brahma asmi, I am
Brahman, and consequently I am all-pervading (spaceless), eternal (timeless), almigthy (not limited in my doing by causality). But
these godly qualities are hidden in me, says Qankara, as the fire is hidden in the wood, and will appear only after the final deliver¬
ance.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
19. The union of the Jivatman with the Paramatman is like the union of the hour and the minute hands of a watch once in every
hour. They are inter-related and interdependent, and though usually separate, they may become united as often as favorable op¬
portunities occur.
21. What is the relation between the Jivatman and the Paramatman? As a current of water seems to be divided into two when a
plank of wood is placed against it edgewise, so the Indivisible appears divided into two, the Jivatman and the Paramatman, due to
the limitation of Maya.
22. Water and a bubble on it are one and the same. The bubble has its birth in the water, floats on it, and is ultimately resolved
into it. So also the Jivatman and the Paramatman are one and the same, the difference between them being only one of degree.
For one is finite and limited while the other is infinite; one is dependent while the other is independent.
920. When the nest of a bird is destroyed, it betakes itself to the sky. Similarly, when the consciousness of the body and the outer
world is effaced from the mind, the Jivatman (individual Spirit) soars into the sky of the Paramatman (Supreme Spirit) and merges
itself in Samadhi.
Related words
Atman
Paramatman
Sanskrit
Jivatman — tfffgrfiTH'
/
jivatman -
Jnana
Variant spellings
jnana
jnana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jnana — ... knowledge; wisdom; comprehension
1. According to Jainism, it is the knowledge of details.
2. According to Saiva Siddhanta, it is a path to liberation. It is the direct means and takes the individual straight to God. Its goal is
union with God (sayujya).
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is the ultimate means to liberation. Since it is the only thing which is opposed to ignorance
(avidya), it is the only means to release.
4. According to Nyaya-Vaisesika, knowledge is not only about objects but also about itself.
5. According to MTmamsa, knowledge is a mode of the self. It is described as an act (kriya), or process (vyapara). It is supersen¬
sible and though knowable, it is known only indirectly through inference and not directly through introspection as Nyaya-Vaisesika
posits. It may be either mediate or immediate.
6. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is a modification (vrtti) of the mind as inspired by the witness self (saksin). The mental modifi¬
cation (vrtti) element is contingent and the element of consciousness is eternal. It is divided into saksi-jnana and vrtti-jnana. ... It
may be either mediate or immediate. The “that” of an object is known in mediate knowledge. In immediate knowledge, the “what”
is also revealed. Immediate knowledge takes place when the following conditions are fulfilled: the object must be directly knowable
(yogya); the object must be existent at the time; there should be established a certain intimate relation between the subject and
the object.
7. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, knowledge is able to manifest itself and other objects unaided, but what it manifests is nev¬
er for itself. It pertains to either individual soul (jTva) or to God (Tsvara).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jnana -
knowing, becoming acquainted with knowledge, (esp.) the higher knowledge (derived from meditation on the one Universal Spirit);
‘knowledge about anything, cognizance’;
conscience MBh.;
N. of a Sakti
Wikipedia
Jnana or gnana is the Sanskrit term for knowledge or philosophy.
In Buddhism, it refers to pure awareness that is free of conceptual encumbrances, and is contrasted with vijnana, which is a mo¬
ment of ‘divided knowing’.
In Hinduism it means true knowledge, the knowledge that one’s self (atman) is identical with Ultimate Reality Brahman. It is also
referred to as ‘Atma Jnana’ which is frequently translated as ‘self- realization’.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Jnana: Wisdom. In the Vedantic context, the Wisdom of the non-difference of oneself from the universal Reality. The way of Jnana
(Jnana marga) is contrasted with that of rituals and actions (karma marga).
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Jnana (from the root jna, “to know”) literally means “knowledge” but is better translated as “gnosis” or “realization.” Specifically, it
is the knowledge of the unity between the highest reality, or BRAHMAN, and the individual self, or JIVATMAN. The role of jnana
is developed in the philosophy of the UPANISHADS and most clearly outlined in the ADVAITA (non-dualist) philosophy of SHAN-
KARA. Much thought and writing have focused on the nature of jnana in Indian tradition. Some see it as a cognitive function: once
one understands the truth of the unity of brahman and the self intellectually, that is enough. Others require a realization of a mystic
sort. VEDANTA has often been characterized as interested only in gaining jnana, but it has many paths that stress BHAKTI or de¬
votion as the first step on the path toward the ultimate. Jnana yoga is one of the three major yogas mentioned in the BHAGAVAD
GITA.
Wikipedia
As per hinduism, Jnana means a divine wisdom or total knowledge of everybody, everything, everywhere and everytime in the
entire cosmos. This wisdom can only be given by God to a qualified human being.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Cohen. Guru Ramana
Bh. Subjective knowledge - knowledge knowing itself is jnana. It is then the subject as the knower, the object as the known and
the knowledge which connects them.
C. This last is not clear to me in this case.
Bh. Why so? Knowledge is the light which links the seer to the seen. Suppose you go in search of a book in a library in pitch dark¬
ness. Can you find it without light, although you, the subject, and the book, the object, are both present? Light has to be present to
unite you. This link between the subject and the object in every experience is chit, consciousness. It is both the substratum as well
as the witness of the experience, the seer of Patanjali.
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
... asked: “Can jnana be lost after being once attained?”
M.: Jnana, once revealed, takes time to steady itself. The Self is certainly within the direct experience of everyone, but not as one
imagines it to be. It is only as it is. This Experience is samadhi. Just as fire remains without scorching against incantations or other
devices but scorches otherwise, so also the Self remains veiled by vasanas and reveals itself when there are no vasanas. Owing
to the fluctuation of the vasanas, jnana takes time to steady itself. Unsteady jnana is not enough to check rebirths. Jnana cannot
remain unshaken side by side with vasanas. True, that in the proximity of a great master, the vasanas will cease to be active, the
mind becomes still and samadhi results, similar to fire not scorching because of other devices. Thus the disciple gains true knowl¬
edge and right experience in the presence of the master. To remain unshaken in it further efforts are necessary. He will know it to
be his real Being and thus be liberated even while alive. Samadhi with closed eyes is certainly good, but one must go further until
it is realised that actionlessness and action are not hostile to each other. Fear of loss of samadhi while one is active is the sign of
ignorance. Samadhi must be the natural life of everyone. There is a state beyond our efforts or effortlessness. Until it is realised
effort is necessary. After tasting such Bliss, even once one will repeatedly try to regain it. Having once experienced the Bliss of
Peace no one would like to be out of it or engaged himself otherwise. It is as difficult for a Jnani to engage in thoughts as it is for
an ajnani to be free from thought.
The common man says that he does not know himself; he thinks many thoughts and cannot remain without thinking.
Any kind of activity does not affect a Jnani; his mind remains ever in eternal Peace.
... jnana. It is the state beyond knowledge and ignorance. Yet jnana is not ignorance but knowledge.
Jnana and ajnana
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Knowledge (jnana) is not incompatible with ignorance (ajnana) because the Self in purity is found to remain along with igno¬
rance-seed (ajnana beeja) in sleep. But the incompatibility arises only in the waking and dream states.
Jnana and vijnana
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
Jnana, ajnana, and vijnana
SHYAM: “What remains with a man when he goes beyond jnana and ajnana, knowledge and ignorance.”
MASTER (smiling): “It is vijnana, special Knowledge of God. To know many things is ignorance. To know that God dwells in all
beings is knowledge. And what is vijnana? It is to know God in a special manner, to converse with Him and feel Him to be one’s
own relative.
“To know that there is fire in wood is knowledge. But to make a fire with that wood, cook food with that fire, and become healthy
and strong from that food is vijnana.”
SHYAM (smiling): “And about the thorn?”
MASTER (smiling): “Yes. When a thorn gets into the sole of your foot, you procure a second thorn. After taking out the first thorn
with the help of the second, you throw both thorns away. Likewise, you should procure the thorn of knowledge in order to remove
the thorn of ignorance. After destroying ignorance, you should discard both knowledge and ignorance. Then you attain vijnana.”
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Swami Lokesananda, a sannyasi: What is meant by jnana and vijnana?
M.: These words may mean differently according to the context. Jnana = samanya jnana or Pure consciousness. Vijnana = Vise-
sha jnana. Visesha may be (1) worldly (relative knowledge); and (2) transcendental (Self-Realisation).
Mind is necessary for visesha; it modifies the purity of absolute consciousness. So vijnana represents intellect and the sheath
composing it, i.e., relative knowledge. In that case jnana is common (samanya) running through vijnana samjnana, prajnana,
ajnana, mati, dhirti - different modes of knowledge (vide: Aitareyopanishad, Chapter 3) or jnana is paroksha (hearsay) and vijnana
is aparokska (direct perception) as in jnana vijnana triptatma, one perfectly content with jnana and vijnana.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
The knowledge of the Self and the rest acquired from the scriptures and preceptors is jnana and the personal experience of knowl¬
edge thus acquired is vijnana.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
In commentaries of the Gita, the interpreters vary in the meaning they give to the words vijnana and jnana. Amarakosha, the fa¬
mous dictionary of Sanskrit, says mokshe dhirjnanam anyatra vijnanam silpasastrayoh: When you are endowed with the wisdom
of the Ultimate Reality which is moksha, that wisdom is called jnana; and vijnana is the arts and the sciences of the world, such as
architecture, sculpture, etc. - vijnanam silpasastrayoh. But Acharya Sankara and certain other teachers say vijnana is the direct
experience of what one has already known through jnana, or what may be called lower knowledge.
Jnana and yoga
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Path of Jnana begins with and starts from Yoga and Jnana Consciousness and Reality. The Path of Yoga, on the compared,
other hand, begins with man as he is found in his stage of ignorance and decay in the world, and lifts him up, stage by stage, by
means of methodical self-discipline and spiritual practice. If Jnana begins “at the top”, Yoga begins “at the bottom”. As is clear,
in actual life there can be no Jnana without some Yoga and no Yoga without some Jnana. Since life consists of cyclic recapitula¬
tions, an aspirant on the Path of Jnana is bound to recapitulate, often without his conscious intention, stages of Yoga. Similarly an
aspirant on the Path of Yoga is bound to receive inspiration from previous contacts made with Jnana.
Jnana is oriented on Siva, Static Divinity, and Yoga is oriented on Sakti, Dynamic Divinity, Energy, Power, Creative Activity, which
takes for the Yogis the form of Kundalini, the Serpent Fire. But both traditions teach that Siva and Sakti are at heart One. Where
they appear to be two by the power of Maya, the aim of the Sadhaka or spiritual striver should be to re-unite them into One within
his soul and in his life. Both traditions teach this in their own terms.
Jnana, antahkarana, sakshin
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
By jnana or knowledge in general we must understand in the system neither a vrtti of the internal organ [antah-karana] nor the
saksin by itself, but a blend of both —the vrtti as inspired by the saksin. In jnana thus understood, the vrtti element is contingent;
the other, viz. the element of consciousness, is eternal, being intrinsically Brahman itself which, owing to its association with the
vrttis that appear and disappear, only seems to be characterized by change, but is really untouched by it. It is sometimes termed
saksi-jnana to distinguish it from vrtti-jnana or empirical knowledge which is a result of the interaction of subject and object. It is
present always and it is impossible to think it away. It is ‘the light of all our seeing’ and does not cease to be even in deep sleep.
Vidya and jnana
See also:
Buddhi and purusha
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
jnana — from the verb root jna = “to know”.
Related words
Avidya
Moksha
Triputi
Vidya
Vijnana
Vrtti
Sanskrit
Jfidna — fTFT
jnana - ^otpt
Jnana-kanda
Variant spellings
jnana-kanda
jnana-kanda
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jnana-kanda — ... the parts of the Veda dealing with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahman) (see karma- kanda)
Descriptions
See: Karma-kanda and jnana-kanda
Related words
Kanda
Karma-kanda
Upanishad
Veda
Sanskrit
Jnana-kanda — tfHcpiu s
jnana-kanda -
Jnana Yoga
Variant spellings
jnana yoga
jnanayoga
Jnana Yoga
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jnana Yoga — ... the path of wisdom; the Yoga of knowledge
1. One of the principal means to liberation (moksa). According to Advaita Vedanta it is the means to Self-realization. According to
other schools of Vedanta, it is an aid to liberation.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jnanayoga-
the Yoga as based on the acquisition of true knowledge (opposed to karma-y... or the Yoga as based on performance of ceremo¬
nial rites)
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
732. Jnana Yoga is communion with God by means of Knowledge. The Jnani’s object is to realise Brahman, the Absolute. He
says “Not this” “Not this” and thus leaves out of account one unreal thing after another until he gets to a point where all Vichara
(discrimination) between the real and the unreal ceases, and Brahman is realised in Samadhi.
743. Jnana Yoga is exceedingly difficult in this age of Kali. In the first place, our life in this age depends entirely upon food (Anna-
gataprana). Secondly, the term of human life now is much too short for this purpose. Thirdly, it is almost impossible in this age to
get rid of the illusion that the Self is one with the body (Dehatmabuddhi), which clings to us. Now the conclusion which the Jnani
must come to is : “ I am not the body, I am one with the Universal Soul, the Absolute and Unconditioned Being. “As I am not the
body, I am not subject to the conditions of the body, such as hunger, thirst, birth, death, disease and the rest. One subject to these
physical conditions and yet calling oneself a Jnani, is like a person who is suffering from intense pain caused by a thorn that has
run into his hand and who nevertheless says, “ Why, my hand is not at all scratched or torn. It is all right. This kind of talk will not
do. First of all the thorn of body-consciousness has to be burnt into ashes by the fire of Jnana.
744. Very few persons are fit for the attainment of Jnana. The Gita declares: “One among thousands desires to know Him; and
even among thousands of those who are desirous to know, one perhaps can actually know Him.” The less one’s attachment to the
world, i.e., for ‘woman and gold’ the more will be one’s Jnana (knowledge of God).
See also:
in Bhagavat Gita: Wikipedia
Related words
Buddhi-yoga
Yoga
Sanskrit
Jnana Yoqa — STFT rffiT
Jnana Yoga -
Jnanendriyas
Variant spellings
jnanendriya
jnanendriya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jnanendriya — ... organs of knowledge; senses of knowledge
1. The five cognitive sense organs are the organs of knowledge. They are the organs of hearing (srotra), touch (tvak), sight
(caksus), taste (rasana), and smell (ghrana).
2. The Sankhya school also includes the mind (manas) as one of the sense organs. The Nyaya- Vaisesika also includes mind as
one of the indhyas.
3. They are also referred to as the “internal senses” as they impact knowledge from inside.
Dictionary - Runes
Jnanendriya : (Skr.) One of the five indriyas (q.v.) of knowledge, the cognitive senses or powers of hearing, seeing, feeling, smell¬
ing, and tasting. K.F.L.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Jnanendriya (“organ of awareness”). In Indian philosophy, jnanendriya refers to any of the sense organs, traditionally considered
to be the eyes, ears, tongue, nose, and skin.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The knowing senses (jnanendriyas) are: the power to hear (srota), the power to feel (tvak), the power to see (caksus), the power
to taste (rasana), and the power to smell (ghrana). They function respectively through the organs of ears, skin, eyes, tongue and
nose.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jnanendriya -
‘knowledge-organ’, an organ of sensation
Descriptions
See: Jnanendriyas in Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
See: Manomaya kosha, manas, jnanendryas
See also:
in Tanmatras: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Related words
Broader term: Indriyas
Karmendriyas
Sanskrit
Jnanendriya —
jnanendriya - ^[--A lHHyp R
Jnanin
Variant spellings
jnanin
jnani
jnanin
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jnanin -
knowing, endowed with knowledge or intelligence, wise, (opposed to vi-) knowing the higher knowledge or knowledge of spirit;
a fortune-teller, astrologer;
‘possessing religious wisdom’, a sage
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Jnanin: One who possesses jnana. One who has attained elightenment. Jnana means wisdom as contrasted with karma (works or
rituals). Jnana marga or the way of wisdom gives primacy to reason and intuition.
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
The jnani sticking to the path of knowledge, always reasons about the Reality, saying, ‘Not this, not this’. Brahman is neither ‘this’
nor ‘that’; It is neither the universe nor its living beings. Reasoning in this way, the mind becomes steady. Then it disappears and
the aspirant goes into samadhi. This is the knowledge of Brahman. It is the unwavering conviction of the jnani that Brahman alone
is real and the world illusory. All these names and forms are illusory, like a dream. What Brahman is cannot be described. One
cannot even say that Brahman is a Person. This is the opinion of the jnanis, the followers of Vedanta philosophy.
... the jnani—the Vedantist, for instance—always reasons, applying the process of ‘Not this, not this’. Through this discrimination
he realizes, by his inner perception, that the ego and the universe are both illusory, like a dream. Then the jnani realizes Brahman
in his own consciousness. He cannot describe what Brahman is.
The jnani experiences God-Consciousness within himself; it is like the upper Ganges, flowing in only one direction. To him the
whole universe is illusory, like a dream; he is always established in the Reality of Self.
... just as a cholera patient feels excruciating pain at the time of death, because of retaining consciousness, so also a jnani with
partial knowledge must feel extremely miserable leading the life of the world, which he knows to be illusory.
M: “People who are completely ignorant are like typhoid patients, who remain unconscious at the time of death and so do not feel
the pain.”
The jnani gets rid of all desire if any is left, it does not hurt him. At the touch of the philosopher’s stone the sword is transformed
into gold. Then that sword cannot do any killing. Just so, the jnani keeps only a semblance of anger and passion. They are anger
and passion only in name and cannot injure him.
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
The Jnani says, the mind does not exist, neither the body. This idea of the body and of the mind must go, must be driven off;
therefore it is foolish to think of them. It would be like trying to cure one ailment by bringing in another. His meditation therefore is
the most difficult one, the negative; he denies everything, and what is left, is the Self. This is the most of analytical way. The Jnani
wants to tear away the universe from the Self by the sheer force of analysis. It is very easy to say “I am a Jnani,’’but very hard to
be one really. The way is long; it is, as it were, walking on the sharp edge of a razor, yet despair not. Awake, arise, and stop not
until the goal is reached,’ says the Vedas.
So what is the meditation of the Jnani? He wants to rise above every idea of body or mind, to drive away the idea that he is the
body. For instance, when I say, “I, Swami—’’immediately the idea of the body comes. What must I do then? I must give the mind a
hard blow and say, “No, I am not the body, I am the Self.”Who cares if disease comes or death in the most horrible form? I am not
the body. Why make the body nice? To enjoy the illusion once more? To continue the slavery? Let it go, I am not the body. That
is the way of the Jnani. The Bhakta says—’’The Lord has given me this body that I may safely cross the ocean of life and I must
cherish it until the journey is accomplished.’’The Yogi says, “I must be careful of the body so that I may go on steadily and finally
attain liberation.’’The Jnani feels that he cannot wait, he must reach the goal this very moment. He says: “I am free through eterni¬
ty. I am never bound: I am the God of the universe through all eternity. Who shall make me perfect? I am perfect already.’’When a
man is perfect he sees perfection in others. When he sees imperfection, it is his own mind projecting itself. How can he see imper¬
fection if he has not got it in himself ? So the Jnani does not care for perfection or imperfection. None exists for him. As soon as
he is free, he does not see good and evil. Who sees evil and good ? He who has it in himself. Who sees the body ? He who thinks
he is the body. The moment you get rid of the idea that you are the body, you do not see the world at all. It vanishes for ever. The
Jnani seeks to tear himself away from this bondage of matter by the force of intellectual conviction. This is the negative way—the
‘Neti, Neti’ (‘Not this, Not this’).
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Someone enquired: Why is it said in scriptures that the Sage is like a child?
M.: A child and a Sage (Jnani) are similar in a way. Incidents interest a child only so long as they last. It ceases to think of them af¬
ter they have passed away. So then, it is apparent that they do not leave any impression on the child and it is not affected by them
mentally. So it is with a Sage.
Major A. W. Chadwick, an ardent English devotee, asked, “Why did Jesus call out ‘My God! My God!’ while being crucified?”
M.: It might have been an intercession on behalf of the two thieves who were crucified with Him. Again a Jnani has attained liber¬
ation even while alive, here and now. It is immaterial as to how, where and when he leaves his body. Some jnanis may appear to
suffer, others may be in samadhi, still others may disappear from sight before death. But that makes no difference to their jnana.
Such suffering is apparent only to the onlooker and not to the Jnani, for he has already transcended the mistaken identity of the
Self with the body.
Having once experienced the Bliss of Peace no one would like to be out of it or engaged himself otherwise. It is as difficult for a
Jnani to engage in thoughts as it is for an ajnani to be free from thought.
The common man says that he does not know himself; he thinks many thoughts and cannot remain without thinking.
Any kind of activity does not affect a Jnani; his mind remains ever in eternal Peace.
D.: Should not a Jnani (a sage) be insensible to pain?
M.: Physical pain only follows body-consciousness; it cannot be in the absence of body-consciousness. Mind, being unaware of
the body, cannot be aware of its pains or pleasures. Read the story of Indra and Ahalya in Yoga Vasishta; there death itself is said
to be an act of mind.
Pains are dependent on the ego; they cannot be without the T, but T can remain without them.
M.: Until you gain jnana you cannot understand the state of a Jnani. There is no use asking about the work of Isvara and the rest.
Some ask why Siva went naked in Daruka forest and spoiled the chastity of the rishi’s wives.
The puranas which record this incident have also said that Siva had previously saved the Devas and the universe by consuming
the poison halahala at the time of churning the ocean of milk. He, who could save the world from the deadly poison and lead the
sages to emancipation, had also wandered nude amongst their women. Their actions are incomprehensible to ordinary intellects.
One must be a Jnani to understand a Jnani or Isvara.
D.: Should we not learn the jnani’s ways and imitate them?
M.: It is no use.
See also:
in Avarana: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Related words
Jnana
Jnana Yoga
Vidvan
Sanskrit
Jnanin- <niPl*i
jnanin - ^ mPi
Jnata
Variant spellings
jnata
jnata
jnatr
jnatr
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jnata (jnatr) — ... knower
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Jnata - The agent of awareness; the knower of a thing or idea.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Jnatr (Jnata): The knower Subject in the context of knowing.
Related words
Bhokta
Jnana
Jneya
Karta
Sanskrit
Jnata (jnatr) — *TTcTT
jnata (jnatr) -
Jneya
Variant spellings
jneya
jneya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Jneya — ... knowable things; the known object of knowledge
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
jneya -
to be known;
to be learnt or understood or ascertained or investigated or perceived or inquired about;
‘understanding what is to be understood’, the mind;
intelligibleness
Related words
Jnana
Jnata
Sanskrit
Jneya — ?PT
jneya -
1C
Kalpa
Variant spellings
kalpa
kalpa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Kalpa — ... a cycle of time of an extremely long duration; way; method.
1. One of the six limbs of the Vedas. Texts describing sacrificial rites.
2. It is a “day” of Brahma and is divided into a number of lesser periods called manvantara. Four yugas makes a maha-yuga (or
manvantara) and 1000 maha-yugas make a half-kalpa or 4,320,000,000 years, which is the duration of one day or one night of
Brahma. Two half-kalpas make a kalpa which is one day of Brahma (i.e., a day and a night).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
kalpa -
practicable, feasible, possible;
proper, fit, able, competent, equal to;
a sacred precept, law, rule, ordinance, manner of acting, proceeding, practice (esp. that prescribed by the Vedas);
a rule to be observed before any other rule, first duty;
the most complete of the six Vedangas (that which prescribes the ritual and gives rules for ceremonial or sacrificial acts);
one of two cases, one side of an argument, an alternative;
investigation, research;
resolve, determination;
treatment of the sick, manner of curing;
the art of preparing medicine, pharmacy;
the doctrine of poisons and antidotes;
having the manner or form of anything, similar to, resembling, like but with a dGOfffefffeegree of inferiority, almost;
a fabulous period of time (a day of Brahma or one thousand Yugas, a period of four thousand, three hundred and twenty millions
of years of mortals, measuring the duration of the world ; a month of Brahma is supposed to contain thirty such Kalpas. ; according
to the MBh., twelve months of Brahma constitute his year, and one hundred such years his lifetime ; fifty years of Brahma’s are
supposed to have elapsed, and we are now in the svetavaraha-kalpa of the fifty-first; at the end of a Kalpa the world is annihilated
; hence kalpa is said to be equal to kalpanta below L.; with Buddhists the Kalpas.are not of equal duration);
a kind of dance;
N. of the first astrological mansion;
N. of a son of Dhruva and Bhrami;
of Siva;
the tree of paradise;
a kind of intoxicating liquor (incorrect for kalya)
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Kalpa The largest unit of cosmic time, equivalent to 4.32 billion years. According to one concept, the kalpa is broken up into one
thousand mahayugas, each lasting 4.32 million years. The kalpa, or Day of Brahma, is the longest conceived measure of time and
is used to determine the duration of the universe. After the kalpa is complete, it is followed by an equally long “Night of Brahma,” a
period of universal dissolution (pralaya).
Wikipedia
Kalpa is a Sanskrit word (=m^h kalpa) meaning an aeon, or a long period of time in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. The concept is
first mentioned in the Mahabharata. The definition of a kalpa equalling 4.32 billion years is found in the Puranas (specifically Vish¬
nu Purana and Bhagavata Purana).
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The symbolic nature of the numbers connected with the Cycles also stands revealed from another tradition which tells that a thou¬
sand times Four Yugas make up the period which is called a Kalpa. Fourteen Kalpas make one Mahakalpa; fourteen Mahakalpas
make one Chakra; fourteen Chakras make one Nishtha; fourteen Nishthas make one Manu; and fourteen Manus make one Ma-
ha-Manvantara. Many interpreters have multiplied these figures and made them refer in a literalistic manner to earthly periods.
Actually the Kalpa is the period which refers to the material plane, the Mahakalpa that which refers to the Element Water, the
Chakra that which refers to the Element Fire, the Nishtha that which refers to the Element Air, the Manu-period that which refers to
the Element Ether, and the Maha-Manvantara that which refers to the Moon- Sphere. It is well-known to a great many people from
dream and sleepexperiences that on the inner planes time is subtler and quicker in nature than in the world. This tradition records
that the desireful life of the emotional or astral plane proceeds fourteen times as quickly as the life of the physical plane, that the
activity of thought proceeds fourteen times as quickly as the activity of the emotional plane, that the Spirit works fourteen times
as quickly as the lower mind, that the action of the Guru works fourteen times as quickly as that of the Spirit, and that Pure Con¬
sciousness works fourteen times as quickly as the Light of the Guru. The number fourteen has its special symbolical implications
which have been dealt with before.
Wikipedia
In Hinduism (cf. Hindu Time Cycles), it is equal to 4.32 billion years, a “day of Brahma” or one thousand mahayugas, measuring
the duration of the world (scientists estimate the age of the Earth at 4.54 billion years). Each kalpa is divided into 14 manvantara
periods, each lasting 71 yuga cycles (306,720,000 years). Preceding the first and following each manvatara period is a juncture
(sandhya) the length of a Satya-yuga (1,728,000) years. Two kalpas constitute a day and night of Brahma. A “month of Brahma” is
supposed to contain thirty such days (including nights), or 259.2 billion years. According to the Mahabharata, 12 months of Brah¬
ma (=360 days) constitute his year, and 100 such years the life cycle of the universe. Fifty years of Brahma are supposed to have
elapsed, and we are now in the shvetavaraha-kalpa of the fifty-first; at the end of a Kalpa the world is annihilated.
See also: Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Kalpa — ... from the verb root kal - “to count, or impel”.
Related words
Pralaya
Yuga
Sanskrit _
Kalpa — cr><-M
kalpa -
Kama
Variant spellings
kama
kama
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Kama — ... desire; pleasure; lust; love
1. One of the four values of life. It is the hedonistic or the psychological value of life.
2. The god of beauty and love. Born from the Creator’s (Brahma’s) mind.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
kama -
wish, desire, longing;
pleasure, enjoyment;
love, especially sexual love or sensuality;
Love or Desire personified;
N. of the god of love;
(represented as son of Dharma and husband of Rati [MBh...] ; or as a son of Brahma VP. ; or sometimes of Sarhkalpa;
N. of Agni;
of Vishnu;
of Baladeva;
a stake in gambling;
a species of mango tree;
N. of a metre consisting of four lines of two long syllables each;
a kind of bean;
a particular form of temple;
object of desire;
semen virile;
wishing, desiring;
desirous of, desiring, having a desire or intention
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Kamadeva or Kama is the Indian cupid, the god of love. He is found in the VEDAS as a divinity, but his character was developed
in the Indian epics and PURANAS. Most famously Kamadeva is known to have been burned to ashes by the third eye of Lord
SHIVA. In that tale, Shiva was in a state of MEDITATION and ascetic withdrawal. The gods desperately wanted him to marry and
have progeny, because they knew that his offspring would be able to defeat the demon Taraka who was plaguing them. They
sent the god of love to awaken sexual desire by shooting him with his flower arrows. Shiva became angry at Kamadeva for his
presumption and he incinerated him with his third eye. Upon the mournful request of Kamadeva’s wife, RATI, Shiva relented and
restored the god of love to life, but without a body. This is why he is invisible. In other versions of the story, Kama is not revived,
but rather reborn as Pradyumna, the son of KRISHNA.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Kama or Kama-Deva: The Eros of India. Rati is his consort. The central eye of Siva which erupts fire is said to have burnt Kama to
ashes when Kama aimed his flowery-arrow at Siva in order to make him erotic, as commissioned by the gods who needed a mar¬
tial deity. The war- god was born, however, without erotic love in circumstances portrayed by Kalidasa in his poem called Kumara
Sambhava (The Birth of the War-God).
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Kama. In Indian philosophy, one of the four purusharthas, or aims of life, with the others being artha (wealth, power, and prosperi¬
ty), dharma (righteousness), and moksha (liberation). The most basic meaning of kama is “desire,” with strong overtones of sexual
desire, but kama can also refer to all types of attraction, including aesthetic pleasure from the arts. The most famous treatise on
the fulfillment of kama is the Kama Sutra, which details the satisfaction of sexual desires. When pursued within the boundaries of
righteous action, or dharma, desires and their satisfaction are recognized as a normal, acceptable part of life. It is when this gov¬
erning force is absent that the search for pleasure becomes inappropriate and destabilizing.
Kama
(2) Minor deity identified as the personification of kama (“desire”). Kama is comparable to the Greek deity Eros and carries simi¬
lar responsibility for igniting human sexual attraction and sensual desire. Kama is represented as a young man riding on a parrot,
armed with a bow and arrows. The bow is a stalk of sugar cane, the bowstring a line of buzzing bees; his five arrows are five dif¬
ferent flowers, each bringing a different emotional effect to the person it pierces. The five flowers and emotions are: lotus, infatua¬
tion; ashoka, intoxication (with love); mango, exhaustion; jasmine, pining; blue lotus, paralysis. Kama’s iconography carries strong
associations with spring, and the spring season (personified as another minor deity, Vasant) is perceived as Kama’s friend and
ally in awakening desire through the regeneration of the natural world and the showy display of spring blossoms.
The most famous episode in Kama’s mythology begins with the ascent to power of a demon named Taraka, who can only be killed
by a son of Shiva. Taraka seems impossible to defeat, since Shiva has no sons and is in deep meditation, grieving over the death
of his wife Sati. The other gods ask Kama to shoot Shiva with an arrow of desire so he will marry the goddess Parvati and produce
a son. Kama creeps up on Shiva and shoots him with an arrow. When Shiva realizes who has disturbed his meditation, he releas¬
es a stream of fire from the third eye in the middle of his forehead, instantly burning Kama to ashes. Through Shiva’s grace, Kama
is eventually brought back to life. One of Kama’s epithets or alternate names is Ananga, or “bodiless,” because of the loss of his
body (and the fact that desire seems to strike in unseen ways). Despite being destroyed by Shiva and seemingly foiled, in the end
Kama achieves his goal. His attempt to draw Shiva out of his meditation succeeds, and eventually Shiva marries Parvati.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
M.: There is room for kama (desire) so long as there is an object apart from the subject (i.e., duality). There can be no desire if
there is no object. The state of no-desire is moksha. There is no duality in sleep and also no desire. Whereas there is duality in the
waking state and desire also is there. Because of duality a desire arises for the acquisition of the object. That is the outgoing mind,
which is the basis of duality and of desire. If one knows that Bliss is none other than the Self the mind becomes inward turned. If
the Self is gained all the desires are fulfilled. That is the apta kamah atma kamah akamascha (fulfilment of desire) of the Brihada-
ranyaka Upanishad. That is moksha.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
kama —from the verb root kam= “to desire”.
Related words
Artha
Dharma
Moksha
Purushartha, the four goals of human life
Sankalpa
Sanskrit
Kama — oFHT
kama -
Kanda
Variant spellings
kanda
kanda
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Kanda — ... section; part; chapter
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
kanda
a single joint of the stalk or stem of a plant, such as a bamboo or reed or cane (i.e. the portion from one knot to another...), any
part or portion, section, chapter, division of a work or book..., any distinct portion or division of an action or of a sacrificial rite (as
that belonging to the gods or to the manes);
a separate department or subject (e.g. karma- kanda, the department of the Veda treating of sacrificial rites;
a stalk, stem, branch, switch;
the part of the trunk of a tree whence the branches proceed;
a cluster, bundle;
a multitude, heap, quantity;
an arrow;
a bone of the arms or legs, long bone;
a kind of square measure;
a cane, reed, Saccharum Sara;
water;
opportunity, occasion;
a private place, privacy;
praise, flattery;
vile, low
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Kanda: As in “ karma-kanda” refers to section or part. Jnana-kanda designates the philosophical section, while the karma-kanda
refers to the ritualistic or religious section.
Related words
Jnana-kanda
Karma-kanda
Sanskrit
Kanda — crh'J's
kanda - WR
Karana
Variant spellings
karana
karana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Karana — ... “instrument”; cause; the efficient or instrumental cause
1. The unique or special cause through the action of which a particular effect is produced. The adherents of satkarana-vada hold
that the cause alone exists and all effects are illusory appearances of the cause.
2. Sadharana-karanas are common causes.
3. Asadharana-karanas are specific causes.
4. Samavayi-karana is the material cause.
5. Asamavayi-karana is that which produces its characteristics in the effect through the medium of the material cause.
6. Nyaya-Vaisesika, unlike the other systems which posit that all positive effects have two sets of causes (the material cause—up-
adanakarana— and the efficient cause—nimitta-karana), says that besides the efficient cause, the material cause is taken by two
causes known as samavayi- and asamavayi-karanas. The samavayi-karana is invariably a dravya and the asamavayi-karana is a
guna or karma.
7. The means of knowledge and action. The inner and outer instruments (sense organs).
8. One of the practices in the anava upaya, in which the aspirant contemplates the body and the nervous system as a replica of
the cosmos.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
karana -
cause, reason, the cause of anything;
instrument, means;
motive origin, principle;
a cause (in phil. i.e. that which is invariably antecedent to some product...);
an element, elementary matter;
the origin or plot of a play or poem;
that on which an opinion or judgement is founded (a sign, mark ; a proof; a legal instrument, document);
an organ of sense;
an action;
agency, instrumentality, condition;
‘the cause of being’, a father;
‘cause of creation’, a deity;
the body;
a kind of musical instrument;
a sort of song
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Karana. In Indian philosophy, the name for an instrumental cause, or the cause by which another thing is accomplished. An exam¬
ple often given by the Nyaya philosophical school states that when a potter connects two pot-halves using a stick, the stick is the
instrumental cause for the creation of the pot. In Sanskrit grammar, the word karana has a parallel sense; it designates the word in
a sentence that shows how the action is accomplished.
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
There was practically no systematic theory of causation in the Upanisads. Shankara, the later exponent of Vedanta philosophy,
always tried to show that the Upanisads looked upon the cause as mere ground of change which though unchanged in itself in re¬
ality had only an appearance of suffering change. This he did on the strength of a series of examples in the Chandogya Upanisad
(VI. 1) in which the material cause, e.g. the clay, is spoken of as the only reality in all its transformations as the pot, the jug or the
plate. It is said that though there are so many diversities of appearance that one is called the plate, the other the pot, and the other
the jug, yet these are only empty distinctions of name and form, for the only thing real in them is the earth which in its essence
remains ever the same whether you call it the pot, plate, or Jug. So it is that the ultimate cause, the unchangeable Brahman, re¬
mains ever constant, though it may appear to suffer change as the manifold world outside. This world is thus only an unsubstantial
appearance, a mirage imposed upon Brahman, the real par excellence.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Darsanamala of Narayana Guru
A clear understanding of what cause is and what effect is, is necessary to perceive clearly what the Guru tries to convey here. It is
easier to clarify with the help of an example. Pots, plates and many such utensils are made of clay. Clay here is to be understood
as cause, and pots and plates as effects. Clay on its own does not assume the form of utensils; a potter’s effort is also needed.
Potter then is yet another cause. The former cause (clay) is called material cause (upadana karana), and the latter (potter) effi¬
cient cause {nimitta karana). In the place of the utensils is to be seen the world. The problem is, “What is its cause?” In the pres¬
ent case, the world’s material cause and efficient causes cannot be different, for one God or sat alone is there to serve as both
the causes. God or Brahman, for this reason, in Vedanta, is considered the material-cumefficient cause (abhinna-nimitta-upada-
na-karana) of the world.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
A stone falls and we ask why. This question is possible only on the supposition that nothing happens independently, that every
motion must have been preceded by a cause of some kind. I request you to make this very clear in your minds, for whenever we
ask why anything happens, we are taking for granted that everything that happens must have a why, that is to say, it must have
been preceded by something else which acted as cause. This precedence and succedence are what we call the law of causation.
It means that everything in the Universe is by turn a cause and an effect. It is the cause of certain things which come after it and
is itself the effect of something else which has preceded it. This is called the law of causation, and is a necessary condition of all
our thinking. ... But first we have to understand this, that the very asking of the question why presupposes that everything round
us has been preceded by certain things, and will be succeeded by certain other things. The other belief involved in this question is
that nothing in the universe is independent, everything can be acted upon by something outside itself. Inter-dependence is the law
of the whole universe. In saying, ‘What caused the Absolute?’ what error are we making! We are applying the same supposition in
this case. To ask this question we have to suppose that the Absolute also is bound by something else, and that the Absolute also
is dependent on something else. That is to say, in so using the word Absolute, we drag the Absolute down to the level of the uni¬
verse. For above that line there is neither time, space, nor causation, because it is all one. That which exists by itself alone cannot
have any cause. That which is free, cannot have any cause, else it would not be free, but bound. That which has relativity cannot
be free. Thus, we see that the very question, why the infinite became the finite, is an impossible one, it is self-contradictory.
According to the dualistic sects of India, the individual souls remain as individuals throughout, and God is the Creator of the uni¬
verse out of pre-existing material. He is the efficient cause. According to the Advaitins, on the other hand, God is both the material
and the efficient cause of the universe. He is not only the Creator of the universe, but He creates it out of Himself. The one sect of
Advaitins that you see in modern India is composed of the followers of Sankara. According to Sankara, God is both the material
and the efficient cause through Maya, but not in reality. God has not become this universe, but the universe appears because God
is its Background. This is one of the highest points to understand of Advaitic Vedanta, this idea of Maya.
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
‘Karana’ or the cause is that which acts, i.e., it is the state in which the effect remains latent.
Karana and karya, cause and effect
General
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
Creation with Badarayana [Advaita Vedanta] would be nothing but the result of Nescience, and yet Brahman is again and again
represented as the cause of the world, and not only as the efficient, but as the material cause as well, so far as such foreign terms
can be applied to the reasoning of the Vedanta. Here lies our great difficulty in rendering Hindu philosophy intelligible. The terms
used by them seem to be the same as those which we use ourselves, and yet they are not. It is easy to say that Karana is cause
and Karya effect, that the created world is the effect, and that Brahman is the cause. But the Vedantists have elaborated their own
theory of cause and effect. According to them cause and effect are really the same thing looked at from two points of view, and
the effect is always supposed to be latent in the cause. Hence, if Brahman is everything, and nothing exists besides Brahman, the
substance of the world can be nothing but Brahman.
The Vedantists stand up for Karya-karanabheda, the non-difference or substantial identity of cause and effect, and the Samkhya
philosophers agree with them up to a certain point. In the Vedanta, II, i, 14, we read ... that ‘they, cause and effect, are not other,
are not different from each other.’ On this, as a general principle, rests their dogma of the substantial identity of Brahman and the
phenomenal world. Nor does Samkara support this principle by passages from the Veda only, but he appeals likewise to observa¬
tion. Thus he continues, II, 1,15, ‘Only when a cause exists is an effect observed to exist, not when it does not exist. The non-dif¬
ference of the two (cause and effect) is perceived, for instance, in an aggregate of threads, when we do not perceive the thing
which we call cloth in addition to the threads, but merely threads running lengthways, and crossways. In the threads again we
perceive finer threads, and in these again still finer threads, and so on. On this ground we conclude that the very finest parts which
we can perceive are ultimately identical with their causes, viz. red, white, and black, these again with air, the air with ether, and, at
last, the ether with Brahman which is without a second and the ultimate cause of the whole world.’ ... The Veda has declared ‘ that
what is posterior in time, i. e. the effect, has its being, previous to its actual beginning, in the nature of the cause.’ And Sankara
adds that, even in cases where the continued existence of the cause (in the effect) is not perceived, as, for instance, in the case of
seeds of the fig-tree from which spring sprouts and new trees, the term birth, as applied to the sprout, means only that the causal
substance, viz. the seed, becomes visible by becoming a sprout through the continued accretion of similar particles, while the term
death means no more than that through the secession of these particles, the cause passes again beyond the sphere of visibility.
The Karya- karanabheda, the identity of cause and effect, is valid as much for Samkhya as for Vedanta. According to both, no
real effect would be possible without the continuance of its cause. Though different in appearance or phenomenally, both are the
same substantially. An effect is not something newly produced or created, it is a new manifestation only, the cause being never
destroyed, but rendered invisible only. This is so characteristic a dogma of the Samkhya that this philosophy is often spoken of as
the Sat-karyavada, the doctrine that every effect pre-exists, and is the effect of something real, while the Asat-karyavada is pecu¬
liar to Nyaya and Vaiseshika, and strongly supported by the Buddhists. ...Sankara himself certainly gives us the impression that
with him the recognition of the identity of cause and effect came first, and afterwards its religious application, the identity of Brah¬
man and the world. For he says (II, i, 20), Thus the non-difference of the effect from the cause is to be conceived. And therefore,
as the whole world is an effect of Brahman, and non-different from it, the promise is fulfilled.’
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Later, Sri Bhagavan continued: “The Vedanta says that the cosmos springs into view simultaneously with the seer. There is no
detailed process of creation. This is said to be yugapat srshti (instantaneous creation). It is quite similar to the creations in dream
where the experiencer springs up simultaneously with the objects of experience. When this is told, some people are not satisfied
for they are so rooted in objective knowledge. They seek to find out how there can be sudden creation. They argue that an effect
must be preceded by a cause. In short, they desire an explanation for the existence of the world which they see around them.
Then the Srutis try to satisfy their curiosity by such theories of creation. This method of dealing with the subject of creation is
called krama srshti (gradual creation). But the true seeker can be content with yugapat srshti - instantaneous creation.”
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
According to the Samkhyas this Prakriti is omnipresent, one omnipresent mass of matter in ‘which are the causes of everything
that exists.’ What is meant by cause ? Cause is the more subtle state of the manifested state, the unmanifested state of that which
becomes manifested. What do you mean by destruction ? It is reverting to the cause: the materials out of which a body is com¬
posed go back into their original state. Beyond this idea of destruction, any idea such as annihilation is, on the face of it, absurd.
The material cause is the cause which becomes effect: the effect is nothing but the cause in another form. Wherever you see ef¬
fect, it is cause reproduced. If the universe is the effect, and God the cause, this must be the reproduction of God. If it be claimed
that the universe is the body of God and that, that body becomes contracted and fine and becomes the cause, and out of that the
universe is evolved, then the Advaitist says it is God Himself who has become this universe.
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
‘Karya’ or effect is that which is done, i.e., which has the characteristic of result. ‘Karana’ or the cause is that which acts, i.e., it is
the state in which the effect remains latent.
11. Visva and Taijasa are conditioned by cause and effect. But Prajna is conditioned by cause alone. These two (cause and effect)
do not exist in Turiya.
16. First of all, is imagined the Jiva (the embodied being) and then are imagined the various entities, objective and subjective, that
are perceived. As is (one’s) knowledge so is (one’s) memory of it.
SANKARA’S COMMENTARY
What is the source of the imagination of various objects, subjective [Such as, pain and pleasure, knowledge, attachment, etc.]
and objective [Such as, various objects perceived outside of us.] that are perceived and appear to be related to one another as
cause and effect ? It is thus explained: The Jiva is of the nature of cause and effect and is further characterised by such ideas as,
‘I do this, I am happy and miserable’. Such Jiva is, at first, imagined [The Atman itself imagines the idea of a Jiva through the pow¬
er of Maya.] in the Atman which is pure and devoid of any such characteristics, like the imagination of a snake in a rope. Then for
the knowledge of the Jiva are imagined various existent entities, both subjective and objective, such as Prana etc., constituting dif¬
ferent ideas such as the agent, action and the result (of action). What is the cause of this imagination? It is thus explained: It, the
Jiva, who is the product of imagination and competent to effect further imagination, has its memory determined by its own inherent
knowledge. That is to say, its knowledge is always followed by a memory, similar to that knowledge. Hence, from the knowledge of
the idea of cause results the knowledge of the idea of the effect. Then follows the memory of both cause and effect. This memory
is followed by its knowledge which results in the various states of knowledge characterised by action, actor and the effect. These
are followed by their memory, which, in its turn, is followed by the states of knowledge. In this way are imagined various objects,
subjective and objective, which are perceived and seen to be related to one another as cause and effect.
Material and efficient cause
Sankara tradition
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Swahananda
6. The material cause is of three kinds: (1) the Vivarta, which gives rise to a phenomenal appearance, not materially related to the
cause; (2) the Parinama which gives rise to an effect which is a modification or change of state of the cause; and (3) the Arambha
which consists of effect being different from the causes. The last two (which presuppose parts) have no scope with reference to
partless Brahman.
7. The Arambhavadins accept the production of one kind of material from another, as cloth from threads and they consider threads
and cloth to be quite different. [Not Advaitins]
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Dhole
6. This material cause is of three different forms, viz. : (1) Altered condition without change of form and state; ( 2) Altered condi¬
tion with change of form and state; and (3) Combination of the units of material cause producing different results (Arambhaka)*. In
respect to substances without form, the second and third do not apply.
7. The Vaisheshikas and others who support the doctrine of arambha admit other causes than those which produce results as the
source from which they are produced: because yarn is seen to produce cloth. Verily yarn is quite distinct from loth, its product;
and their modifications and uses are different; no thread can be worn, but cloth is.
* When from the relation or connection of the units or parts of the material cause a substance is produced differing in form, then it
is called arambha; as from the combination of atoms and ther half of jar the result is jar. Altered condition of the material is parina-
ma as curd is of milk. It will at once be apparent that these indications can only apply to substances which have form and shape,
and not elsewhere, where form and shape are wanting; because both in regard to relation, and altered condition, on which ar¬
ambha and parinama depend, parts, features or form is necessary. Felicity has neither parts, features, nor form, hence it is quite
possible to regard it as the material cause of the universe of the first variety or Vivartta ; a trite instance of which is the snake in
rope. Here the rope is not transformed into snake, but a substance (snake) extremely opposed to the site (rope) and an altered
condition of it, is projected on it. Similarly the blue of ether (blue sky) and its convexity are illustrations of Vivartta.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
karana — from the causative form of the verb root kr = “to make, to cause to make”.
Related words
Antahkarana
Karana-sarira
Karya
Nimitta karana
Upadana-Karana
Satkarana-Vada
Sanskrit
Karana — c*>i<! u i
karana - TTTT
Karana-sarira
Variant spellings
karana-sarira
karana-sarira
karanasarlra
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Karana-sarira — ... causal body
1. The sheath of bliss enveloped in ignorance, according to Advaita Vedanta.
2. It is also called anandamayakosa.
3. See sarira.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
karanasarlra -
‘causal body’, the original embryo or source of the body existing with the Universal impersonal Spirit and equivalent to A-vidya
(equivalent also to Maya, and when investing the impersonal Spirit causing it to become the Personal God orlsvara)
Wikipedia
The Causal body - originally Karana-Sarira - is a Yogic and Vedantic concept that was adopted and modified by Theosophy and
from the latter made its way into the general New Age movement and contemporary western esotericism. It generally refers to the
highest or innermost subtle body that veils the true soul.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
The Mandukya Upanishad refers to the Self having four “feet” or states of consciousness. These are: waking, dreaming, dream¬
less sleep, and the transcendent (Turiya). Each of these is associated with both an individual state of consciousness and a cos¬
mic state. Dreamless sleep corresponds to prajna. In Advaita Vedanta, this is associated with the Anandamaya kosha or “sheath”
(kosha) made of bliss, and with the causal principle or causal body (karana sarira).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
The essence of the present life is taken by the causal consciousness. It is like a migrating agent (karana sarira) which carries the
essence of the vijnanamaya and anandamaya aspects of the soul. Vijnana means the essence of the perfection of talents In which
a person is engaged all through his or her life. The choice of the memory package depends on the ananda substance of the Self.
This is given figuratively in these mantras [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad] as being like a departing king.
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali s Yoga
The karana sharira (causal body) contains the essence of all the previous lives and the conditioning achieved in the present life.
The causal body is constituted of four main factors. First, it has the light of the Self as its ground. Then it has the dynamic of the
blissful Self to push consciousness to a new level where its inherent value essence and an existential factor can be brought in
conjunction with an experience. The third factor is an archetypal impact that can propel unconscious energy into the preconscious
field of the subtle. Finally, it has the magical power to make the archetypal thrust change into the establishment of an interest with
a certain identity.
A person who is infatuated with love identifies with the archetype of a lover. A person who is soaked with fear identifies herself as
a fugitive. An angry man shaking with hatred identifies himself as an enemy. Thus the archetypes we speak of are not identical
with Jung’s archetypes of Mother, Father, Trickster, and Magician. There is a much richer literature of archetypes to be found in
the Mahabharata and similar books. In any case, when an archetype dominates, it uses causal energy to become a manipulator of
dreams, then the dream percolates into the wakeful, giving it both the status of a daydream and of an action program.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Osborne. The collected works of Ramana Maharshi
Inexpressible and beginningless ignorance is said to be the causal body (as in deep sleep)...
The undifferentiated power which is spoken of as a compound of the three gunas is the causal body of the soul. Its state is that of
deep sleep in which all the sense organs and functions of the mind are at rest. In this state all perceptions cease and the mind in
its subtle seed-like form experiences supreme bliss. This is borne out by the universal experience, ‘I slept soundly and knew noth¬
ing.’
See: Anandamaya and causal body
See also:
Ajnana, avarana, vikshepa
Sakshin and sushupti
Diagram: Three bodies (sharira traya)
Related words
Anandamaya kosha
Karana
Sarira
Sthula-sarira
Suksma sarira
Sanskrit
Karana-sarira — 3’T7 tT T?rft7
karana-sarTra - TTT’wffc
Karma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Karma — ... action; rite; deed; cause and effect; accumulation of past actions; physical, verbal, or mental action
1. The accumulated effect of deeds in lives, past and present.
2. All the Indian systems except the Carvaka school accept the theory of karma in one form or the other. They agree that “As one
sows, so shall one reap” or “what goes around comes around.” That is, an action performed by an individual leaves behind some
sort of potency which has the power to cause either joy or sorrow in the future according to its nature.
3. According to Jainism, karma means an aggregate of extremely fine matter which is imperceptible to the senses. This matter
consists of eight main types: comprehension obscuring (jnanavarana), apprehension obscuring (darsanavarana), feeling produc¬
ing (vedaniya), deluding (mohaniya), age determining (ayus), status determining (gotra), personality making (nama), power ob¬
scuring (antaraya). The first four are obstructive (ghati) and the rest are nonobstructive (aghati).
4. According to Buddhism, it is the correlation between cause and consequence and the effect is conditional upon circumstances.
According to the Buddha, one of the three factors—external stimuli, conscious motives, and unconscious motives—determines
karma. Though the Buddhists deny identity, they do not deny continuity. Their doctrine of karma is based on the doctrine of depen¬
dent origination (pratitya- samutpada).
5. According to the Yoga school, it is divided into four classes: white (sukla) actions which produce happiness; black (krsna) ac¬
tions which produce sorrow; white-black (sukla-krsna) actions which produce partly happiness and partly sorrow; and neither white
nor black (asukla- krsna) actions which are devoid of any pleasure or pain.
6. According to Mimamsa, the Veda has action as its purport. The aim of the Veda is to prescribe certain actions and to prohibit
others. Liberation or release is said to be gained through actions alone. There are obligatory actions (nitya- karma); occasional
rites (naimittika- karma), and optional rites (kamya- karma). One is enjoined to perform the first two types of actions and to refrain
from the optional rites. One should also refrain from prohibited actions (pratisiddha- karma). By these actions one will balance
one’s karma and at the end of one’s life, there will be no more samsara for that person. Release requires what- is-to-be- accom¬
plished and the latter requires action for its accomplishments.
7. According to Advaita Vedanta, the entire Veda does not have its purport in ritualistic action and action is not the means to re¬
lease. Action is for the purification of mind and is, thus, a remote auxiliary to liberation.
8. Vihita-karmas are the actions prescribed by the Veda.
9. Sancita-karma is residue produced by acts performed either in this life or in a previous one, but which remains latent during this
present life.
10. Agami-karma is the result of acts performed during this present life which will mature in the normal course of events.
11. Prarabdha-karma is the residue of acts that is working itself out during the present life.
12. Prayascitta-karma is expiatory action. It is performed to purify oneself because one has failed to do certain prescribed acts
either in this life or in past lives.
13. According to the VaiSesika school, it means physical motion. It is defined as “That which resides in only one substance, is
devoid of qualities, and is the direct and immediate cause of both conjunction and disjunction.” Motion is of five kinds: upward (utk-
sepana), downward (avaksepana), contraction (akuncana), expansion (prasarana), and locomotion (gamana).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
Note. ‘Karma’ is used in compound words for ‘karman’.
karman -
act, action, performance, business;
office, special duty, occupation, obligation;
any religious act or rite (as sacrifice, oblation &c., esp. as originating in the hope of future recompense and as opposed to specula¬
tive religion or knowledge of spirit);
work, labour, activity (as opposed to rest);
physicking, medical attendance;
action consisting in motion (as the third among the seven categories of the Nyaya philosophy);
calculation;
product, result, effect;
(in Gr.) the object (it stands either in the acc. [in active construction], or in the nom. [in passive construction], or in the gen. [in con¬
nection with a noun of action] ; opposed to kartr the subject);
former act as leading to inevitable results, fate (as the certain consequence of acts in a previous life);
the tenth lunar mansion
Wikipedia
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of “action” or “deed”, understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect
(i.e., the cycle called samsara) originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies.
Karma is a concept in Hinduism which explains causality through a system where beneficial effects are derived from past benefi¬
cial actions and harmful effects from past harmful actions, creating a system of actions and reactions throughout a person’s rein¬
carnated lives.
The doctrine of transmigration of the soul, or fateful retribution for acts committed, does not appear in the Rig Veda, (though it
is hinted at in Canto 4, Hymn 26 ,Verse 1 through 4 , along with the Avatar concept. The concept of karma appeared in Hindu
thought during the period 800- 200 BC and became widespread during the period considered as “Classical Hinduism” 200 BC -
1100 AD.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
Karma means actions that will produce effects, also those effects or results of actions.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
‘Karma’ is an Eastern religious concept in contradistinction to ‘faith’ espoused by Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam), which view all human dramas as the will of God as opposed to present - and past - life actions. In theistic schools of Hindu¬
ism, humans have free will to choose good or evil and suffer the consequences, which require the will of God to implement kar¬
ma’s consequences, unlike Buddhism or Jainism which do not accord any role to a supreme God or gods. In Eastern beliefs, the
karmic effects of all deeds are viewed as actively shaping past, present, and future experiences. The results or ‘fruits’ of actions
are called karma-phala.
Karma means “deed” or “act” and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction that governs
all life
According to Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, we produce Karma in four ways:
through thoughts
through words
through actions that we perform ourselves
through actions others do under our instructions
Hindu scriptures divide karma into three kinds:
Sanchita is the accumulated karma. It would be impossible to experience and endure all Karmas in one life. From this stock of
sanchita karma, a handful is taken out to serve one lifetime and this handful of actions, which has begun to bear fruit and which
will be exhausted only on their fruit being experienced. Hence, it is the sum of one’s past karmas - all actions (good and bad) that
follow through from one’s past life to the next.
Prarabdha Fruit-bearing karma is the portion of accumulated karma that has “ripened” and appears as a particular problem in the
present life.
Kriyamana is everything that we produce in current life. All kriyamana karmas flow in to sanchita karma and consequently shape
our future.
In this way, so long as the stock of sanchita karma lasts, a part of it continues to be taken out as prarabdha karma for being expe¬
rienced in one lifetime, leading to the cycle of birth and death. A Jiva cannot attain moksha until the accumulated sanchita karmas
are completely exhausted.
Followers of Vedanta consider Ishvara, a personal supreme God, as playing a role in the delivery of karma. Theistic schools of
Hinduism such as Vedanta thus disagree with the Buddhist and Jain views and other Hindu views that karma is merely a law of
cause and effect but rather is also dependent on the will of a personal supreme God. Examples of a personal supreme God in¬
clude Shiva in Shaivism or Vishnu in Vaishnavism. A good summary of this theistic view of karma is expressed by the following:
“God does not make one suffer for no reason nor does He make one happy for no reason. God is very fair and gives you exactly
what you deserve.”
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Karma is apparent in the realms of both the universal and the particular. Water flows, fire blazes, wind blows, rain pours down, the
earth supports everything - all these are universal karmas. Luminaries in their thousands move around in the outer space, super¬
novae explode, stars emerge and remerge -- these are karmas of cosmic dimension.
You breathe, you eat, you drink, the food eaten getsdigested, blood circulates, sense organs function, mind thinks, wills, imagines
and becomes emotional — all these are karmas related to the individual. Sub- atomic particles function in different, already-fixed
ways to form a perfectly functioning system called an atom; this karma is of the microcosmic level.
Together, all these form the functional existence of prakrti. The well known “eternal flux” thus is an eternal flow of karmas
See: Avidya and Karma
Karma and karta
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Sri Bhagavan: There is no karma without a karta (doer). On seeking for the doer he disappears. Where is Karma then?
Karma-Vikarma-Akarma
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
Commentary by Nataraja:
Three classes of action are referred to here. The first is just plain karma (action), the second is vikarma (distorted or misaction),
and the third is akarma (non- action or inaction). Inaction is included under the title “action” here, and this could be justified in the
light of the Samkhya teaching where abhava (non- existence) is spoken of as a padartha (entity) as “nothing” could be conceived
only in terms of negative existence.
Under vikarma (misaction) we should include all such merely traditional actions which are extraneous to the discipline of brahma-
vidya (science of the Absolute) as understood in the Gita. Akarma (inaction) would refer to a negative attitude towards action, as
when a man obstinately tries to live in a vacuum repressing all activity, natural or otherwise, as heterodox anti- ritualists in India
tended to be in the post- Buddhistic period.
When the notion of action has been subjected to these two correctives and both subtracted, as it were, there remains a residue
of action pure and simple which properly belongs to the way of life of a perennial philosopher who neither rejects anything wilfully
because of his moods, nor suppresses anything wilfully against his own deeper nature. The wise man dialectically revalues his
position constantly as his life is spent in keeping with the perennial way of those who went before him in the path of the Absolute.
Such a path is full of wonder and mystery as the word gahana (subtle, elusive) indicates. No sastra (scientific text) definitely lays
down this way of life. A man of intuition is supposed to be aware of it.
Isa Upanishad. Nitya
Commentary by Nitya:
Each relationship is experienced as a challenge. Every challenge has in it an implied compulsion to fight or to flee. ... When I be¬
come convinced of the relevancy of an encounter, I accept the challenge as a command to react. The action that I have to perform
in that context is my apportioned duty. It is imperative and it cannot be discarded. If I act upon it, it is an action, karma. If I improp¬
erly act, it becomes an evil action, duskarma. If I do not act, it is an act of ommission which can be called inaction, akarma. If my
action becomes perverted, that becomes vikarma. In any case it will be followed by its result, karma phala. Now a question arises,
“How many times will a person be exposed to such dire situations of challenge?” If a person has his/her physical consciousness
of sense perception,, reflex actions, and urge to act or react, action situations will recur from the day of birth until his or her vital
breath is silenced with death. Hence in the second mantra of the tsavasyopanisad we are told that for a sentient person there is no
vacation from action.
Does this mean that every living person has to be a creature of suffering exposed to inevitable action situations to the very end of
his or her life? Only the action is inevitable; to suffer or not to suffer is your choice. The fruit of action is binding on the actor only if
that person identifies himself or herself as the one who wills the act. Actually the command comes from “This” - the world at large.
You are only lending the instrumentality of body, mind, energy, and know - how to carry out the command as one who is given a
role to play in the sportive arena of nature.
See also:
in Sankalpa: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
karma — from the verb root kr = “to act, do, make”.
Wikipedia
Karma, karman- “act, action, performance”
Related words
Akarma
Karta
Nishkama-karma
Nitya-karma
Samsara
Sankalpa
Svarga
Sanskrit
Karma —
karma -
Karma-kanda
Variant spellings
karma-kanda
karma-kanda
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Karma-kanda — ritual portion of the Veda.
1. The section of the Veda dealing with actions. Also known as Purvakanda.
Descriptions
Karma-kanda and jnana-kanda
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The Veda, we know, is in two sections, which seem to contradict each other in what they teach; and, since both alike are looked
upon as revealed, it becomes necessary for every school of Vedanta to explain their mutual relation in some manner. According to
Sankara, the two are really antithetical, and he gets over the antithesis between them by assuming that they are addressed to dif¬
ferent classes of persons (adhikarin). The karma-kanda is intended for one who is still under the spell of avidya and the jnana-kan¬
da, for one that has seen the hollowness of the activities it commends and is striving to transcend them. What is desirable and true
from a lower standpoint is thus undesirable and not altogether true from the higher. Such a gradation of the teaching is permissible
according to the Advaita with its belief in the relativity of pramanya.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Chandogya Upanisad
The Upanisads form the last of the four sections of each of the four Vedas, the other three being Samhita, Brahmana and Aranya-
ka. These three sections are of ritualistic import — they contain praising different gods, instructions on how to perform fire-sac¬
rifices, how to invoke the blessing of the gods, details of how and why each minute step of the ceremonies is to be performed,
pointing out their rewards and so on. These three sections together are therefore known as karma-kanda (the section dealing with
karmas, karma here meaning Vedic rituals). The Upanisads in this context are known as jhana-kanda(section dealing with wis¬
dom) of the Vedas. The Chandogya Upanisad forms part of the jnana-kanda of the Samaveda.
Related words
Jnana-kanda
Kanda
Veda
Sanskrit
Karma-kanda — cpifoFFT
karma-kanda -
Karma Yoga
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
karmayoga -
performance of a work or business (esp. of religious duties);
active exertion, industry;
agriculture and commerce;
practical application;
connection with a sacrifice
Wikipedia
Karma yoga (also known as Buddhi Yoga) or the “discipline of action” is based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred
Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. One of the four pillars of yoga, Karma yoga focuses on the adherence to duty (dharma) while re¬
maining detached from the reward. It states that one can experience salvation (Moksha) or love (bhakti) of God by performing their
duties in an unselfish manner for the pleasure of the Supreme, which is the welfare of the world. Karma Yoga is an intrinsic part of
many derivative types of yoga, such as Natya Yoga.
Shankaracharya says by practicing Karma, one’s mind gets purified. Thus, he describes Karma yoga as a path to Jnana yoga,
with Jnana yoga ultimately leading to a state of Moksha or realisation.
Some consider personalities such as the Buddha to have been karma yogis. Buddha is the ideal karma yogi... acting entirely with¬
out motive, and the history of humanity shows him to have been the greatest man ever born, beyond compare, the greatest combi¬
nation of Head & Heart that ever existed. — Swami Vivekananda
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Karma yoga: The yoga of action. Realizing one’s oneness with the total existence by performing deeds with the awareness that all
actions belong to total nature, not to any individual being.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Karma yoga is described as a way of acting, thinking and willing by which one orients oneself toward realization by acting in ac¬
cordance with one’s duty (dharma) without consideration of personal self- centered desires, likes or dislikes. Acting without being
attached to the fruits of one’s deeds.
The practice of Karma Yoga in daily life makes an individual fit through action, meditation and devotion to sharpen his reasoning,
develop the intuitive power of acquiring knowledge, and to transcend the mind itself.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Psychology of Darsanamala
Action, non-action, perverted action, and unitive action are all to be distinguished very carefully. Unitive action is called karma
yoga. For achieving karma yoga a person has to see that everything pertaining to nature goes through series of changes which
are entirely governed by physicochemical and biological laws of nature. These are like the ceaseless formations of waves in the
ocean of phenomenality, which an individual can do nothing either to stop or to modify. Whether man wants or not, fire will burn,
water will flow, the sun will shine, and the moon will wax and wane. Even his own body will have birth, existence, growth, evolu¬
tion, and decay. In this vast field of phenomenal changes, action belongs to the ‘other’ and one need not pin one’s responsibility
or conscience to it. One has to own actions when they are willed with the motivation of achieving an end. It is here action has to
become unitive. When the ego is infatuated with the emotional or value-significance of the end of action, one loses sight of the
binding nature of action. So a karma yogi, as advocated by the Gita, sees action in inaction and inaction in action. Natural actions,
actions to fulfill bodily necessities, and actions to perpetuate the welfare of the world are always relevant. When the relevancy is
accepted with full understanding, and actions are performed in accordance with the injunctions of the science of the Absolute, kar¬
ma becomes unitive. Such knowledge of the non-Self distinctly reveals the Self as the Supreme Knower in all sentient beings.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
WHAT IS KARMA YOGA?
814. Karma Yoga is communion with God by means of Work. Ashtanga Yoga or Raja Yoga is Karma Yoga, if practised without
attachment. It leads to communion through meditation and concentration. The performance of the duties of householders (i.e.,
self-regarding or altruistic work, social and political)—doing them without attachment, to the end that God may be glorified—is
Karma Yoga. Again, worship according to the scriptures, silent repetition of the name of God and other pious duties of this kind,
is Karma Yoga if done without attachment, for the glorification of God. The end of Karma Yoga is the same (as of other Yogas),
namely, the realisation of God, impersonal or personal or both.
819. In this age Work without devotion to God has no legs to stand upon. It is like a foundation of sand. First cultivate devotion. All
the other things—schools, dispensaries, etc.—will, if you like, be added to you. First devotion, then work. Work, apart from devo¬
tion or love of God, is helpless and cannot stand.
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: If one remained quiet how is action to go on? Where is the place for karma yoga?
M.: Let us first understand what Karma is, whose Karma it is and who is the doer. Analysing them and enquiring into their truth,
one is perforce obliged to remain as the Self in peace. Nevertheless the actions will go on.
D.: How will the actions go on if I do not act?
M.: Who asks this question? Is it the Self or another? Is the Self concerned with actions?
D.: No, not the Self. It is another, different from the Self.
M.: So it is plain that the Self is not concerned with actions and the question does not arise.
D.: I agree.
D.: What is Karma yoga? Is it non-attachment to Karma or its fruit?
M.: Karma yoga is that yoga in which the person does not arrogate to himself the function of being the actor. The actions go on
automatically.
D.: Is it the non-attachment to the fruits of actions?
M.: The question arises only if there is the actor. It is being all along said that you should not consider yourself the actor.
D.: So Karma yoga is kartrtva buddhi rahita karma - action without the sense of doership.
M.: Yes. Quite so.
D.: The Gita teaches active life from beginning to end.
M.: Yes, the actor-less action.
See also:
in Bhagavad Gita: Karma Yoga
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
The word Karma is derived from the Sanskrit Kri, meaning ‘to do’, in its most basic sense karma simply means action, and yoga
translates to union. Thus Karma yoga literally translates to the path of union through action.
Related words
Karma
Yoga
Sanskrit
Karma Yoga - 4--H4 M
karma yoga -
Karmendriyas
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Karmendriya — ... organs of action.
1. The five conative sense organs. They are the organs of speech (vak), prehension (pani), movement (pada), excretion (payu),
and generation (upastha).
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The working senses (karmendriyas) are the powers or capacities to express (vak), to procreate (upastha), to excrete (payu), to
grasp (pani), and to move (pada). Their physical organs are the voice, sex organs, anus, hands, and feet, (1) The power of ex¬
pression means the working of ideas, and not the mere production of vocal sound; (2) the power of procreation means the capac¬
ity of the entire being for recreation and passive enjoyment and not the mere physical act; (3) the power of excretion means the
process of rejection throughout the entire organism, and not the single capacity of elimination; (4) the power of grasping means
the capacity of permeating things, and not necessarily the physical act of handling objects; (5) the power of locomotion means the
mental life behind all function, and not the aimless walking about.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Karmendriya (“organ of action”). In Indian philosophy, any of the five organs through which human beings act on their environ¬
ment, traditionally considered to be: voice, hands, feet, and the organs of elimination and generation.
Descriptions
See: Karmendriyas in Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
See: Pranamaya kosa, prana, karmendriyas
See also:
in Tanmatras: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Related words
Indriyas
Jnanendriyas
Pada
Upastha
Vac
Sanskrit
Karmendriya —
karmendriya - ayf-Hv D
Karta
Variant spellings
karta
karta
kartr
kartr
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Karta — ... agent; doer
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
kartr -
one who makes or does or acts or effects, a doer, maker, agent, author;
doing any particular action or business, applying one’s self to any occupation;
one who acts in a religious ceremony, a priest;
the creator of the world;
N. of Vishnu;
of Brahman;
of Siva;
(in Gr.) the agent of an action (who acts of his own accord [sva-tantra], the active noun, the subject of a sentence (it stands either
in the nom. [in active construction], or in the instr. [in passive construction], or in the gen. [in connection with a noun of action] ; it is
opposed to karman, the object);
one who is about to do, one who will do
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Karta (Kartr): The doer of karmas.
Descriptions
See: Karma and karta
Related words
Bhokta
Jnata
Karma
Karya
Sanskrit
Karta — cFcTf
karta - d><di
Karya
Variant spellings
karya
karya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Karya — ... effect; product
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
karya -
to be made or done or practised or performed, practicable feasible;
to be imposed (as a punishment);
to be offered (as a libation);
proper to be done, fit, right;
work or business to be done, duty, affair;
a religious action or performance;
occupation, matter, thing, enterprise, emergency, occurrence, crisis;
conduct, deportment;
occasion, need;
lawsuit, dispute;
an effect, result;
motive, object, aim, purpose;
cause, origin;
the denouement of a drama
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Karya or effect is that which is done, i.e., which has the characteristic of result.
Descriptions
See: Karana and karya, cause and effect
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Karya (fut. passive, participle of kar, to do, make, perform), to be done; motive, object, aim, purpose.
Related words
Karana
Karma
Karta
Sanskrit
Karya —
karya -
Katha Upanishad
Title
Katha Upanisad — cpo'ImPi^c^
Katha Upanishad
Kathopanisad -
Kathaka
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Katha Upanisad — ... lit. “story upanisad”
1. This Upanisad contains the story of the young child, Naciketas, with the lord of death, Yama. It has become famous on account
of its clarity and depth. Many of its thoughts are also found in the Bhagavad Gita. It belongs to the Katha Sakha of the TaittirTya
school of the Krsna Yajur Veda. Some noble personages in this Upanisad include Yama, Naciketas, and Vajasravasa (Usanas
also called Gautama of Gautama Gotra).
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Katha Upanishad One of the later and more developed Upanishads, the speculative religious texts that form the latest stratum of
the oldest Hindu sacred texts, the Vedas. As with most of the Upanishads, the Katha Upanishad investigates profound questions,
in particular the nature of the Self (atman). The text tells the story of a boy, Nachiketas, whose father sends him to Death in a fit
of anger. Nachiketas goes to Death’s abode, but finds no one. He waits for three days before Death returns. To make amends for
ignoring a brahmin guest—which the text describes as a serious sin— Death gives Nachiketas three boons, or wishes. Nachiketas
uses the first boon to be restored to his father’s house and the second to receive instruction in performing a sacrificial fire. With the
final boon, he asks what happens to a person after the death of the body. Death first tries to evade the question, then tries to bribe
Nachiketas with other gifts. When the boy insists on an answer, Death begins to reveal his secrets; these revelations make up the
bulk of the text. Death’s secrets focus mainly on the reality of the Self, its eternal and indestructible nature, its subtle qualities, and
the difficulties in realizing it. The Self is the ultimate truth, and to know it is to know the only thing that really matters.
Wikipedia
The Katha Upanishad..., also titled “Death as Teacher”, is one of the mukhya (“primary”) Upanishads commented upon by Shan-
kara. It is associated with the Caraka- Katha school of the Black Yajurveda, and is grouped with the Sutra period of Vedic San¬
skrit. It is a middle Upanishad. It contains passages that suggest contact with Buddhist ideas, so was likely composed after the
fifth century BCE. It figures as number 3 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. It consists of six parts (or two chapters with
three sections each). It has some passages in common with the Gita.
It propounds a dualistic philosophy.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
The pupil had to pass through various tests before the teacher would instruct him in the Knowledge of Brahman. We read, for
example, in the Katha Upanisad that young Nachiketa approached Yama, the king of death, for the Knowledge of the Self. In order
to test his sincerity and earnestness, Yama tried to dissuade him from seeking it by offering him, in its place, the possession of
sons and grandsons who would live one hundred years: and of cattle, elephants, gold and horses, without number. He tempted
the young aspirant with celestial dancing-girls of exquisite beauty, and with wealth, longevity, suzerainty over the whole earth, and
the promise of any other acquisition he might desire. He requested Nachiketa not to bother himself with such a useless question
as that of the nature of Atman. To the king of death the boy made this spirited reply: “These are all ephemeral and only tend to
the decay of the vigour of our senses. Even the longest life on earth is indeed short compared to Immortality. May the chariots the
music, and the dancing-girls remain with you.” Finding him firm and unshakable in his resolve, the king of death granted Nachikela
his wished-for boon.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Katha Upanishad is part of the Black YAJUR VEDA. It is based on an ancient story of a young man, NACHIKETAS, who is
mistakenly sent to hell by his father after he questions his father’s generosity. When the boy reaches the realm of the god of death
(YAMA), he finds no one at home. Since he, as a guest, is kept waiting, Yama offers the young, but very wise, boy three boons.
The story of the three boons of the god of death forms the narrative core of this Upanishad. The first boon the boy asks for is that
he be returned to the upper world to live with his father. The second boon he asks for is the secret of preserving good works. His
final request is to learn the secret of overcoming continuous rebirth. Death gladly assents to the first two requests, giving the boy
the Nachiketas fire, named for him, to fulfill the second wish. When asked for the secret of ending rebirth, however, Death tries to
dissuade the boy with offers of wealth and other boons. When Nachiketas persists he is given the secret of Ultimate Reality or the
BRAHMAN.
Wikipedia
The Upanishad uses as its base the story of Vajasravasa (alluded to in Rigveda 10. 135), a poor and pious Brahmin who performs
a sacrifice and gives away all his worldly possessions as reward to the priests, which included a few old and feeble cows. His son,
Naciketas, feeling disturbed by the inappropriateness of his father’s observance of the sacrifice, proposes that he himself may be
offered as payment. As he insisted, his father said in anger, “Unto Yama, I give thee.”, whereupon Naciketas goes to the abode
of Yama, and, finding him absent, waits there for three days and nights. Yama on his return, offers to grant him three wishes. (1.9)
Naciketas wishes the following:
to be allowed to return to his father alive (1.10);
to be instructed as to the proper performance of Vedic fire-sacrifice in order to gain immortality (1.12- 13);
to be given knowledge about life after death (1.20).
Yama grants the first wish immediately (1.11). In answer to Naciketas’ second question, Yama expounds the performance of a
special fire-sacrifice, which he states is to be named after Naciketas (1.15- 19).
“He who knows the three-fold Naciketa-fire and performs the Naciketa fire-sacrifice with three-fold knowledge, having cast off the
fetters of death and being beyond grief, he rejoices in the realm of heaven.” (1.19, trans. Paramananda).
Yama tries to avoid answering the third question and offers all sorts of worldly pleasures instead, but Naciketas insists (1.21- 29).
The remainder of the text (parts II to VI) contains Yama’s teaching concerning true immortality. It notably includes the parable of
the chariot (III.3-4), not unlike (and roughly contemporary to) the one found in Parmenides, or the one in Plato’s Phaedrus. Yama’s
parable consists of the following equations:
- atman, the “Self” is the chariot’s passenger
- the body is the chariot itself
- consciousness (buddhi) is the chariot driver
- the mind (manas) is the reins
- the five senses (indriya) are the chariot horses
- the objects perceived by the senses are the chariot’s path
The Katha Upanishad is also notable for first introducing the term yoga (lit. “yoking, harnessing”) for spiritual exercise:
“When the five organs of perception become still, together with the mind, and the intellect ceases to be active: that is called the
highest state. This firm holding back of the senses is what is known as Yoga.” (VI. 10- 11, trans. Paramananda)
Publications
Translations
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
In: Gambhirananda, S. 1972, Eight Upanisads : Vol 1 (Isa, Kena, Katha and Taittiriya), Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta.
Prasad, N. 1998, Katha Upanishad : with the original text in Sanskrit and Roman transliteration, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953, The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
In: Sankaracarya, Panoli, V. & Acarya, G. 1991, Upanishads in Sankara’s own words : Isa, Kena, Katha, and Mandukya with the
Karika of Gaudapada : with the bhashyas in the original Sanskrit, English translation, exhaustive explanatory notes and footnotes,
Mathrubhumi Print. & Pub. Co., Calicut.
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya-
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
Related words
Upanishads
Yajur Veda
Kena Upanishad
Title
Kena Upanisad — Pi
Kena Upanisad
Kenopanisad -
Kenopanishad
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Kena Upanisad — ... lit. “By whom? Upanisad”
1. This Upanisad derives its name from the first word of the first stanza of the first section of the Upanisad: “Kenesitham .. ,”-”by
whom?” It belongs to the Sama Veda. It is a small text in four sections dealing essentially with the nature of the Absolute (Brah¬
man) as the efficient cause of the universe as well as the knowledge thereof. The main teaching is that Brahman cannot be known
by the mind.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Kena Upanishad or “By Whom [Kena] Upanishad,” takes its name from its first words, which ask the question, Who impels
mind, breath and speech? Its subsidiary name, the Talavakara Upanishad, is from the Talavakara BRAHMANA of the SAMA
VEDA, in which this Upanishad is sometimes found. The answer to the initial question is found in the second stanza: “That which
is the hearing of the ear, the thought of the mind, the voice of speech and also the breathing of breath, and the sight of the eye” is
the thing by which everything comes about.
Wikipedia
The Kena Upanishad is one of the earlier, “primary” Upanishads, a genre of Hindu scriptures, commented upon by Shankara and
Madhvacharya. It is associated with the Samaveda. It figures as number 2 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads.
... The Kenopanishad derives its name from the first word Kena , meaning ‘by whom’. It belongs to the Talavakara Brahmana of
Sama Veda and is therefore also referred to as Talavakara Upanishad. It has four khandas (sections), the first two in verse and
the other two in prose. Adi Shankara who has written commentaries on 12 Upanishads, chose to write two commentaries on
Kenopanishad. One is called Kenopanisad Padabhasya and the other is Kenopanisad Vakyabhasya.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
This short Upanishad, with about 34 stanzas, tells a story (vss. 14-28) about the gods’ first encounter with the BRAHMAN. They
approached the unknown being to see whether they could overpower it, but all were defeated. INDRA himself could not overcome
it, but on his way back the goddess Uma told him that the being was brahman. He passed on this information to the rest of the
gods, and was recognized as the greatest of the gods because of this knowledge. Uma somehow does not get the credit.
Wikipedia
Not that which the eye can see, but that whereby the eye can see: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people here
adore;
Not that which the ear can hear, but that whereby the ear can hear: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people
here adore;
Not that which speech can illuminate, but that by which speech can be illuminated: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not
what people here adore;
Not that which the mind can think, but that whereby the mind can think: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people
here adore.
The One Power that illumines everything and every one is indivisible. It is the Ear behind the ears, Mind behind the mind, Speech
behind speech, Vital Life behind life. The ears cannot hear it; it is what makes the ears hear. The eyes cannot see it; it is what
makes the eyes see. You cannot speak about it; it is what makes you speak. The mind cannot imagine it; it is what makes the
mind think. It is different from what all we know; yet it is not known either. Those who feel they know Him know Him not. Those
who know that anything amenable to the senses is not Brahman, they know it best. When it is known as the innermost witness of
all cognitions, whether sensation, perception or thought, then it is known. One who knows thus reaches immortality.
... Once the divines won a victory over the evil forces. The victory must have been credited to the power of the Absolute Brah¬
man. Instead the divines thought it was theirs. Brahman appeared before them in a visible form of a spirit (yaksha) but they did
not recognize the Absolute. One by one, Agni the God of fire and Vayu the God of air, came to challenge this new appearance in
and tried to show off their powers. The God of Fire could not burn even the straw placed before him. The God of air could not blow
even the straw placed before him. Finally Indra the God of all the divines came nearest to that spirit to find out who it is that is pre¬
senting these challenges to the divines. And before him stood a highly adorned woman in the name and form of Uma who finally
reveals to Indra that the Spirit is the Absolute Brahman.
Publications
Translations
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
In: Gambhirananda, S. 1972, Eight Upanisads : Vol 1 (Isa, Kena, Katha and Taittiriya), Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta.
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953, The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
In: Sankaracarya, Panoli, V. & Acarya, G. 1991, Upanishads in Sankara’s own words : Isa, Kena, Katha, and Mandukya with the
Karika of Gaudapada : with the bhashyas in the original Sanskrit, English translation, exhaustive explanatory notes and footnotes,
Mathrubhumi Print. & Pub. Co., Calicut.
Sri Aurobindo, Kena Upanishad, Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1952
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya-
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
Related words
Sama Veda
Upanishads
Kosha
Variant spellings
kosha
kosa
kosa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Kosa — ... sheath; cover, subtle body; treasury; lexicon (from the root kus = “to enfold”)
1. The individual self is enveloped within five subtle bodies: physical (annamaya), vital (pranamaya), mental (manomaya), con¬
sciousness (vijnanamaya), and bliss (anandamaya). Each sheath is within the previous one and, thus, they become subtler and
subtler, one within the next.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
kosa -
a cask, vessel for holding liquids, (metaphorically) cloud;
a pail, bucket;
a drinking-vessel, cup;
a box, cupboard, drawer, trunk;
the interior or inner part of a carriage;
a sheath, scabbard, &c.;
a case, covering, cover;
store-room, store, provisions;
a treasury, apartment where money or plate is kept, treasure, accumulated wealth (gold or silver, wrought or unwrought, as plate,
jewellery, &c.);
(in surg.) a kind of bandage;
a dictionary, lexicon or vocabulary;
a poetical collection, collection of sentences &c.;
a bud, flower-cup, seed-vessel;
the sheath or integument of a plant, pod, nut-shell;
a nutmeg;
the inner part of the fruit of Artocarpus integrifolia and of similar fruits;
the cocoon of a silk-worm;
the membrane covering an egg (in the womb);
the vulva;
a testicle or the scrotum;
the penis;
an egg;
(in Vedanta phil.) a term for the three sheaths or succession of cases which make up the various frames of the body enveloping
the soul (these are, 1. the ananda-maya k... or ‘sheath of pleasure’, forming the karana-sarlra or' causal frame ‘ ; 2. the vijna-
na-maya or buddhi-m... or mano-m... or prana-m... k..., ‘the sheath of intellect or will or life’, forming the suksma-sarTra or ‘subtile
frame’ ; 3. the anna-m... k..., ‘the sheath of nourishment’, forming the sthula-sarlra or ‘gross frame’);
a ball or globe;
the water used at an ordeal or judicial trial (the defendant drinks thrice of it after some idol has been washed in it);
an oath;
a cup used in the ratification of a treaty of peace;
N. of a conjunction of planets;
of the 2nd astrological mansion
Wikipedia
A Kosha ... usually rendered “sheath”, one of five coverings of the Atman, or Self according to Vedantic philosophy. They are often
visualised like the layers of an onion. Belling states:
According to the Kosha system in Yogic philosophy, the nature of being human encompasses physical and psychological aspects
that function as one holistic system. The Kosha system refers to these different aspects as layers of subjective experience. Lay¬
ers range from the dense physical body to the more subtle levels of emotions, mind and spirit. Psychology refers to the emotional,
mental and spiritual aspects of our being. Together, all aspects make up our subjective experience of being alive.
The five sheaths (pancha-kosas) are alluded to in the fourteen verse of the Atmabodha. From gross to fine they are:
Annamaya kosha, food-apparent-sheath
Pranamaya kosha, air-apparent-sheath
Manomaya kosha, mind-stuff-apparent-sheath
Vijnanamaya kosha, wisdom-apparent- sheath(Vijnana)
Anandamaya kosha, bliss-apparent-sheath (Ananda)
According to Vedanta the wise man should discriminate between the self and the koshas, which are non-self.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
The description of the human person as found in the Taittiriya Upanishad (II, 1-5) became paradigmatic in later Vedanta. Accord¬
ing to this description a person consists of five sheaths within which the atman lies enclosed. Starting from the outside, the first
sheath consists of the body made of food (annamaya-kosa); within it are the vital airs that comprise the second sheath (pranamay-
akosa). The mind comprises the third sheath (manomaya kosa), consciousness the fourth (vijnanamaya kosa) and bliss the fifth
(anandmaya). In Advaita the self consists of self-effulgent consciousness (svaprakasa caitanya), which is rather than has con¬
sciousness. It is one and the same in all human subjects (unlike Sakhya) and eternally free.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Five Elements form the “material” of the Five Kosas or “Sheaths” of Hindu tradition. These form the bodies or veils of man on
the various planes. The grossest is the Annamayakoa or “sheath made of or by Anna” which means both Food and Earth. The
second is Pranamayakosa. Prana here indicates the flowing, fluidic, liquid Element, Water. The third sheath is the Manomayako-
sa, “the sheath made of or by the lower mind”. The fourth is the Vijnanamayakosa, “the sheath made of Buddhi”, for Vijnana and
Buddhi are synonyms. The fifth sheath is the Anandamayakoia, “the sheath made of Bliss”. The Bliss is the experience of the
Sphere of Ether. It is the Pure Joy of Paradise, the Kingdom of Heaven.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
Lord Chaitanya used to have three sorts of states’: (1) the conscious state in which the mind dwelt on the gross and the subtle
bodies. (2) The semi-conscious state in which the mind soared to the causal body and felt the causal bliss, and (3) the state of
in-turned consciousness (superconscious state) in which the mind used to merge completely in the Mahakarana—the great First
Cause.
There is a great similarity between this and the five sheaths or Kosas of the Vedanta—the Annamaya and Pranamaya Kosas (to¬
gether forming the gross body), the Manomaya and Vijnanamaya Kosas (together forming the subtle body) and Anandamayakosa
(forming the causal body). The First Cause is beyond all these Kosas. When the mind used to merge in this First Cause, he (Sri
Chaitanya) used to fall into Samadhi; this is known as the Nirvikalpa or Jada Samadhi.
Nirmalananda. A Commentary on the Upanishads
We have five levels or “bodies.” They are: 1) the physical, material body (annamaya kosha), 2) the magnetic or bio-energetic body
(pranamaya kosha), 3) the sensory mind (manomaya kosha), 4) the intelligent mind, the intellect (jnanamaya kosha), and 5) the
will (anandamaya kosha). These also correspond to the five elements: earth (prithvi), water (apa), fire (agni), air (vayu), and ether
(akasha) which are also the seats of the five senses-smell, taste, sight, touch, and hearing.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Lessons on the Upanishads
The layers, or degrees of reality, that constitute the universe are also to be found in the human individual in the form of the ko-
shas, or the sheaths, as they are called: the physical, vital, mental, intellectual and the causal. These are known in the Sanskrit
language as annamaya kosha, pranamaya kosha, manomaya kosha, vijnanamaya kosha and anandamaya kosha. These are the
five layers of objectivity which, in a gradational form, externalise consciousness. The grosser the sheath, the greater is the force
of externality, so that when consciousness enters the physical body, we are totally material in our outlook, physical in our under¬
standing and assessment of values, intensely body-conscious, and know nothing of ourselves except this body. It is only when we
go inward that we have access to the subtler layers of our personality, not otherwise.
The Taittiriya Upanishad deals with this subject of the five layers, known as the koshas; and the Mandukya Upanishad, which is
another important Upanishad, sometimes considered as the most important, deals with the very same koshas in a different way -
namely, by way of the elucidation of the involvement of consciousness in these koshas. The five koshas have been classified into
three groups: the physical, the subtle and the causal. In the waking state in which we are now, for instance, the physical body is
intensely operative and we always think in terms of the physical body, physical objects and physical sensations.
This physical sensation is absent in the state of dream, but three of the koshas operate in dream. All the five are operative in the
waking condition, concentrating their action mostly on the physical body. The physical body is not operative in the dream state,
but the vital, the mental and the intellectual sheaths are active. The prana is there, the mind is there, and the intellect is there, in
a diminished intensity. We breathe, we think and we understand in the state of dream. That means the prana, manas and buddhi
are all active in the state of dream minus the physical element - namely, the body consciousness. In the state of deep sleep, none
of these are active. Neither the body is operative there, nor the mind, nor the intellect, nor is there any consciousness that we are
even breathing. The consciousness is withdrawn entirely from all the sheaths - physical, vital, mental and intellectual. There is
only one sheath operating in the state of sleep. That is the causal sheath - the anandamaya kosha, as it is called in Sanskrit.
See: Aham and koshas
See also:
in Virat: Krishnananda. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
kosa, sheath <I-E base *(s) geu-ke, to cover, envelop
Related words
Sarira
Sanskrit
Kosa —
kosa -
Diagram: The five sheaths (pancha-kosas)
Krishna
Name
Krishna
Krsna
Krsna
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Krsna-... black; ninth descent (avatara) of Visnu; “the dark one,” “the one who attracts irresistibly” (from the verb root krs =
“black, dark colored”); or (from krs = “truth” + na = “bliss”); i.e., He whose nature is truth and bliss
1. The dark blue One-i.e., Lord Krsna (black or dark blue is the color of the infinite, the formless).
2. The one who attracts irresistibly. The eighth incarnation of Visnu, whose life story is described in the SrTmad Bhagavatam and
the Mahabharata and whose spiritual teachings are contained in the Bhagavad Gita.
3. According to the Yoga school, a type of action (karma).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
krsna -
black, dark, dark-blue (opposed to sveta’, sukla’, ro’hita, and aruna’);
wicked, evil;
the dark half of the lunar month from full to new moon;
the fourth or Kali-yuga;
black (the colour) or dark-blue (which is often confounded with black by the Hindus);
the antelope;
a kind of animal feeding on carrion;
the Indian cuckoo or Kokila;
a crow;
Carissa Carandas;
N. of one of the poets of the RV. (descended from Angiras);
N. of a celebrated avatar of the god Vishnu, or sometimes identified with Vishnu himself... as distinct from his ten avatars or incar¬
nations (in the earlier legends he appears as a great hero and teacher [ MBh. Bhag.]; in the more recent he is deified, and is often
represented as a young and amorous shepherd with flowing hair and a flute in his hand; the following are a few particulars of his
birth and history as related in Hariv. 3304 ff. and in the Puranas &c.: Vasu-deva, who was a descendant of Yadu and Yayati, had
two wives , RohinT and DevakT; the latter had eight sons of whom the eighth was Krishna; Karhsa, king of Mathura and cousin of
DevakT, was informed by a prediction that one of these sons would kill him; he therefore kept Vasu-deva and his wife in confine¬
ment , and slew their first six children; the seventh was Balarama who was saved by being abstracted from the womb of DevakT
and transferred to that of RohinT; the eighth was Krishna who was born with black skin and a peculiar mark on his breast; his father
Vasu-deva managed to escape from Mathura with the child, and favoured by the gods found a herdsman named Nanda whose
wife Yazo-da had just been delivered of a son which Vasu-deva conveyed to DevakT after substituting his own in its place. Nanda
with his wife Yazo-da took the infant Krishna and settled first in Gokula or Vraja, and afterwards in Vrindavana, where Krishna and
Bala-rama grew up together, roaming in the woods and joining in the sports of the herdsmen’s sons; Krishna as a youth contest¬
ed the sovereignty of Indra , and was victorious over that god, who descended from heaven to praise Krishna, and made him lord
over the cattle ...; Krishna is described as sporting constantly with the GopTs or shepherdesses ... of whom a thousand became his
wives , though only eight are specified , Radha being the favourite ... ; Krishna built and fortified a city called Dvaraka in Gujarat,
and thither transported the inhabitants of Mathura after killing Karhsa; Krishna had various wives besides the GopTs, and by Ruk-
minT had a son Pradyumna who is usually identified with Kama-deva; with Jains, Krishna is one of the nine black Vasu-devas; with
Buddhists he is the chief of the black demons, who are the enemies of Buddha and the white demons);
N. of an attendant in Skanda’s retinue;
of an Asura;
of a king of the Nagas;
of Arjuna (the most renowned of the Pandu princes , so named apparently from his colour as a child);
of Vyasa;
of a son of Suka by PTvarT (teacher of the Yoga);
of a pupil of Bharad-vaja;
of a son of Arjuna;
[name of a number of other persons - Compiler’s Note];
N. of a hell
Wikipedia
Krishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of perspectives. While many Vaishnava groups rec¬
ognize him as an avatar of Vishnu, other traditions within Krishnaism consider Krishna to be svayam bhagavan, or the Supreme
Being.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The god Krishna is understood to be an incarnation of VISHNU. None of the other incarnations of Vishnu has attracted as pas¬
sionate and widespread a devotion in India as Krishna. There is some evidence that Krishna was originally a historical figure.
Krishna is technically the black god, since the Sanskrit word krishna means “black.” However, he is generally depicted with blue
skin. Krishna appears in the MAHABHARATA epic as a friend to the PANDAVA brothers. In that epic Krishna is rarely referred
to with divine epithet, or as a divinity. It is only in the BHAGAVAD GITA, the famous text that recounts the teaching of Krishna to
ARJUNA just before the battle, that the divinity of Krishna is clearly detailed. Some have suggested that the worship of Krishna in
this context may constitute a form of euhemerism, or the deification of a famous warrior.
A second role of Krishna is as the divine lover, dancing at midnight with the cowherd maidens (GOPIS), who are drawn to his
beauty, his beautiful music, and the magic of his divine presence. According to tradition he eventually favors Radha among the go-
pis; the passionate love of Radha for her furtive, often unavailable lover becomes the paradigm for Krishna devotionalism. Finally,
Krishna appears as a child and youth, mischievous, naughty, and beloved of every mother who lays eyes upon him.
The god was born in Mathura, where his father, VASUDEVA, was minister to the evil king Kamsa. Kamsa discovered that Vasude-
va’s wife, DEVAKI, was to give birth to a son who would eventually kill him. Therefore, he kept Vasudeva and Devaki under guard
and killed their first six children.
The seventh child, BALARAMA, was miraculously transferred to the womb of Vasudeva’s other wife, Rohini. When the eighth
child, Krishna, was born, a profound slumber fell upon Vasudeva’s guards and the father was able secretly to take the child across
the YAMUNA River to BRINDAVAN and consign him to the cowherd Nanda and his wife, YASHODA, who became Krishna’s fos¬
ter mother.
As a child, Krishna was extremely mischievous, stealing milk and butter (one of his epithets is “butter thief”), overturning wagons,
and felling trees with strength far beyond that of an ordinary child. Once Yashoda tied him to a huge mortar used for grinding
things. Krishna, even though a baby, dragged it out of the house and used it to fell two trees.
Once when Yashoda caught him eating mud, she forced him to open his mouth; within, she saw the entire universe. Krishna’s
magic made her forget this incident, lest she not be able to treat him as an ordinary child.
In two stories of his childhood he outwits evil forces. Putana, a witch, was sent by the evil king Kamsa to kill the infant by suckling
him with poisonous milk. Krishna was completely unharmed, but he sucked so ferociously at her breast that the demon’s innards
were sucked out and she died. In a later incident the snake demon Kaliya poisoned the drinking water in the Yamuna River,
threatening the lives of the cowherds and the cows. Krishna found the pool where Kaliya was hiding and danced a furious dance
upon him until he was killed.
In another tale the young Krishna asked people to worship the mountain Govardhana, rather than the great king of the gods Indra.
Indra, learning this, sent terrible rain storms to wash away the cowherds who had defied him. Krishna with his divine strength lifted
up the mountain, Govardhana, to use as an umbrella to protect the people and thus defeated Indra himself.
As a young man, Krishna began to attract the interest of the cowherd women as he played his magical flute day and night. He
would flirt with them and play tricks on them. Once when the cowherd girls were bathing he took all their clothes and put them up
into a big tree. When the women left the water and begged him for their garments, he bent the tree down and let them retrieve
their clothes.
Particularly at night Krishna would work his divine magic. The women would yearn to see him and could not find him. They would
begin to think of all his magical deeds and praise him. When they finally found him, they began to dance with him; he became
many Krishnas, pairing with each woman as though she were the only one. This is referred to as the Rasalila dance and is the
metaphor for the way that god is intimate with each soul while it is only one. Finally, in the stories of later times (c. 10th century)
one cowherd woman alone, named RADHA, becomes Krishna’s favorite. Her passionate love for him, her yearning when he does
not appear at their assigned spot, and their loveplay are all celebrated in the passionate liturgy of Krishna worship, where the dev¬
otee sees himself or herself as Radha seeking passionate union with god.
After the death of Kamsa, Krishna becomes an ally of the Pandavas. He assists them in every way fair and foul and helps them
triumph; the BHAGAVAD GITA makes clear that this was divine aid.
We are left here with the mystery of Krishna, a divinity who is mischievous and naughty as a child, naughty as a young man—
playing games with the hearts of many women—and who in war does not hesitate to use stratagems that the SHASTRAS the
authoritative texts, might find inappropriate for a warrior. Krishna effects his LILA, his divine game, in ways that humans cannot
grasp, except through complete devotion. Krishna must eventually die, as must all the other AVATARS of Vishnu. While in the
forest doing YOGA then, he is accidentally pierced in the foot with a spear by a hunter who mistook his foot for a deer’s foot. He
blesses the man who threw the spear that will take him to heaven.
Many devotional Vaishnavite movements in India focus on worship of Krishna only. Most famous of these are the followers of
Saint CHAITANYA of Bengal, whose Goswamis, or followers of Chaitanya’s tradition, moved to Brindavan to be closer to the place
where Krishna lived. The followers of Chaitanya include Sri Swami Prabhupada BHAKTIVEDANTA, who traveled to the United
States to found the Hare Krishna movement. As do many Krishnaites, they worship in ecstatic devotion, while chanting MANTRAS
to their god.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Krishna.Hindu deity usually considered as the eighth avatar or incarnation of the god Vishnu; in certain religious contexts, howev¬
er, as in the Gitagovinda, he is described as the ultimate deity and the source of all the avatars. In either case, Krishna is one of
the major deities in the modern Hindu pantheon. Part of his popularity may stem from the extraordinary breadth of his manifesta¬
tions, allowing his devotees (bhakta) to worship him in many different ways. His earliest appearance comes in the Mahabharata,
the later of the two great Hindu epics, where he is a friend and adviser to the five Pandava brothers who are the epic’s protago¬
nists. His epic portrayal is highly complex, and his character is not always truthful or good. He is a regal king and heroic warrior, a
cunning opponent, and a Machiavellian politician with his own underlying agenda. Here Krishna plays the role of a trickster, al¬
though late in the story, in the section of the epic known as the Bhagavad Gita, he eventually drops the mask to reveal himself as
the supreme deity.
The later sectarian literature, particularly the Harivamsha and the Bhagavata Purana, virtually ignore this exalted, royal figure, pre¬
ferring to concentrate on Krishna’s birth, childhood, and adolescence. This latter stratum of Krishna’s mythology has been clearly
imposed on the earlier, heroic image, rendering Krishna a character with unusual mythic depth. Religiously speaking, the image of
Krishna as child and lover has been far more important than the stern and somewhat amoral hero.
The characters in the story of Krishna’s life, including his parents, friends, and companions, are not aware of his divinity, and
throughout the story they confront many surprises and bewildering events. However, none of these plot twists surprise the read¬
ers, since they are aware that all of the characters are taking part in Krishna’s divine play (lila). According to tradition, Krishna is
the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudeva. He is born in a prison in the city of Mathura, where his parents have been confined by
his uncle, the wicked king Kamsa. On Devaki’s wedding day, a divine voice warns Kamsa that her eighth child will eventually kill
him. In an effort to forestall this prophecy, he puts the couple in prison, and kills all of Devaki’s children as soon as they are born.
Kamsa intends to do the same with Krishna, but when Krishna is born, a deep sleep falls on all the jailers, the locked prison doors
are miraculously opened, and Vasudeva is able to spirit the infant out of the prison to the home of his foster parents, Nanda and
Yashoda. Vasudeva returns that night, bearing Yashoda’s newborn baby girl, who is really Bhadrakali, the Goddess, in disguise.
The next morning Kamsa kills the child by dashing it against a stone. From the body arises the Goddess, who taunts Kamsa, tell¬
ing him that the person who will slay him has escaped.
Krishna lives happily at Nanda and Yashoda’s home. His mythic images from that early time stress either his persona as the ador¬
able child or unexpected feats of strength and heroism. As an infant he is placed under a cart, which he strikes with his foot and
kicks into the air; he also slays a variety of demon assassins sent by his uncle Kamsa, most notably Putana, Keshi, and Trnavarta.
During all these feats his companions are amazed but never realize that divinity is in their midst. Nor, for that matter, do his foster
parents. In one story Yashoda looks in Krishna’s mouth when he has been eating some dirt and sees the entire universe inside it.
Through the workings of Krishna’s power of illusion (maya), she immediately forgets the whole incident. The themes of forgetful¬
ness and hidden divinity are central to Krishna’s childhood mythology. The people in Braj treat Krishna with easy familiarity, be¬
cause they are unaware of his true identity. Krishna is said to prefer this sort of natural interaction over all other worship.
As a boy Krishna becomes known for his mischief, particularly his penchant for stealing butter from the gopis (milkmaids), al¬
though when he is caught he can usually manage to charm his way out of punishment. His adolescence is marked by two heroic
episodes—driving off the serpent Kaliya, and defeating the storm-god Indra by holding up Mt. Govardhan—and by the develop¬
ment of his persona as a lover. On moonlit, autumn nights, he plays his flute Murali on the banks of the Yamuna River. Hearing its
irresistible call, the village women rush to meet him, whiling away the night in the circle dance known as the ras lila. Although she
is not mentioned in the earliest texts, Radha appears as Krishna’s special companion and consort, symbolizing the relationship
between deity and devotee using the imagery of lover and beloved.
Some parts of Krishna’s mythology relate episodes from later in his life, including his return to Mathura, the slaying of Kamsa,
taking his rightful place as ruler, and marrying Rukmini and a host of other wives. The earlier strands of his mythic identity—the
king, hero, and cunning diplomat portrayed in the Mahabharata—can be tied in here, to make it seem like the account of a single
life. Some of the most poignant devotional (bhakti) poetry details the exchange between Krishna’s female devotees, the gopis,
and Uddhava, Krishna’s companion sent back from Mathura. Uddhava reassures them that Krishna is the indwelling God and is
omnipresent. For the gopis, this abstract concept is a poor substitute for the sweet boy they know so well. Their attention remains
focused on the charming child of Braj, who never grows up, never grows old, and who invites his devotees to share his world.
The worship of Krishna emphasizes relationship and communion, both with the deity and one another. In the most elaborate forms
of worship, Krishna’s devotees envision themselves as entering Krishna’s world and spending the day doing the ordinary activities
of a village cowhand, such as getting up, eating, taking the cows to pasture, and bringing home the cows. Some devotional man¬
uals give detailed daily calendars, for which the devotees can visualize themselves going to particular places and doing particular
things at certain times—building a relationship with God through sharing the mundane parts of everyday life. Another common
practice is communal singing, usually collections of the divine names known as kirtans, as a way to build relationships and com¬
munion among the devotees.
Another feature of Krishna’s character and worship is the notion of lila or “play.” As David R. Kinsley points out, the infant Krish¬
na dispatches the demon assassins as a form of play, and they never pose any serious threat. His relationship with the people of
Braj is also a sort of play. He comes as the divine presence in their midst, but keeps them completely unaware of this, occasion¬
ally hinting at it through his wondrous deeds, but unwilling to ruin their natural interactions with him by revealing their difference
in status. In the same way, he is believed to be active in the lives of his devotees, always present, but dropping only teasing hints
of his presence. Finally, lila is the name for a series of dramas performed during the monsoon season in the town of Brindavan.
These productions, known as the ras lila, are not mere drama but combine both liturgy and drama. Krishna and his companions
are played by local brahmin boys. While in costume, the boys are believed to have become the characters they portray. Part of
the program is worship. The players, known as svarups (“own-forms”), gather on stage to give darshan to the audience. The most
common religious act in modern popular Hinduism, darshan allows direct eye contact between the devotee and the image of a dei¬
ty, which is considered to be a conscious, perceiving being. The second part of the program is the lila, a rendition of some episode
in Krishna’s mythology. The audience participates by virtue of its presence, making Krishna’s lila part of present-day experience
by performing or attending these productions. Given his stature as a Hindu deity, there are many works on Krishna.
Wikipedia
Krishna is often depicted as an infant, as a young boy playing a flute as in the Bhagavata Purana, or as a youthful prince giving
direction and guidance as in the Bhagavad Gita. The stories of Krishna appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical
and theological traditions. They portray him in various perspectives: a god- child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero and the
Supreme Being. The principal scriptures discussing Krishna’s story are the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana
and the Vishnu Purana.
The various traditions dedicated to different manifestations of Krishna, such as Vasudeva, Bala Krishna and Gopala, existed as
early as 4th century BC. The Krishna-bhakti Movement spread to southern India by the 9th century AD, while in northern India
Krishnaism schools were well established by 11th century AD. From the 10th century AD, with the growing Bhakti movement,
Krishna became a favorite subject in performing arts and regional traditions of devotion developed for forms of Krishna such as
Jagannatha in Orissa, Vithoba in Maharashtra and Shrinathji in Rajasthan.
The name Krishna is also the 57th name in the Vishnu Sahasranama and means the Existence of Bliss, according to Adi San¬
kara’s interpretation. Krishna is also known by various other names, epithets and titles, which reflect his many associations and
attributes. Among the most common names are Govinda, “finder of cows”, or Gopala, “protector of cows”, which refer to Krishna’s
childhood in Vraja. Some of the distinct names may be regionally important; for instance, Jagannatha (literally “Lord of the Uni¬
verse”), a popular deity of Puri in eastern India.
Iconography
Krishna is easily recognized by his representations. Though his skin colour may be depicted as black or dark in some represen¬
tations, particularly in murtis, in other images such as modern pictorial representations, Krishna is usually shown with blue skin.
He is often shown wearing a yellow silk dhoti and peacock feather headgear. Common depictions show him as a little boy, or as a
young man in a characteristic relaxed pose, playing the flute. In this form, he usually stands with one leg bent in front of the other
and raises a flute to his lips, accompanied by cows, emphasising his position as the divine herdsman, Govinda, or with the gopis
(milkmaids).
The scene on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, notably where he addresses Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, is another common subject
for representation. In these depictions, he is shown as a man, often shown with typical god- like characteristics of Hindu religious
art, such as multiple arms or heads, denoting power, and with attributes of Vishnu, such as the chakra or in his two- armed form
as a charioteer.
Representations in temples often show Krishna as a man standing in an upright, formal pose. He may be alone, or with associated
figures: his brother Balarama and sister Subhadra, or his main queens Rukmini and Satyabhama.
Often, Krishna is pictured with his gopi- consort Radha. Manipuri Vaishnavas do not worship Krishna alone, but as Radha Krishna,
a combined image of Krishna and Radha. This is also a characteristic of the schools Rudra and Nimbarka sampradaya, as well as
that of Swaminarayan faith. The traditions celebrate Radha Ramana murti, who is viewed by Gaudiyas as a form of Radha Krish¬
na.
Krishna is also depicted and worshipped as a small child (bala krsna, the child Krishna), crawling on his hands and knees or danc¬
ing, often with butter in his hand. Regional variations in the iconography of Krishna are seen in his different forms, such as Jaga-
natha of Orissa, Vithoba of Maharashtra and Shrinathji in Rajasthan.
Life
This summary is based on details from the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana. The
scenes from the narrative are set in north India, mostly in the present states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat.
Birth
Traditional belief based on scriptural details and astrological calculations gives the date of Krishna’s birth, known as Janmashtami,
as either 18 or 21 July 3228 BCE. Krishna belonged to the royal family of Mathura, and was the eighth son born to the princess
Devaki, and her husband Vasudeva. Mathura was the capital of the Yadavas, to which Krishna’s parents Vasudeva and Deva-
ki belonged. The king Kamsa, Devaki’s brother, had ascended the throne by imprisoning his father, King Ugrasena. Afraid of a
prophecy that predicted his death at the hands of Devaki’s eighth son, he had locked the couple into a prison cell. After Kamsa
killed the first six children, and Devaki’s apparent miscarriage of the seventh, being transferred to Rohini as Balarama, Krishna
took birth.
Since Vasudeva believed Krishna’s life was in danger, Krishna was secretly taken out of the prison cell to be raised by his foster
parents, Yasoda and Nanda in Gokula. Two of his other siblings also survived, Balarama (Devaki’s seventh child, transferred to
the womb of Rohini, Vasudeva’s first wife) and Subhadra (daughter of Vasudeva and Rohini, born much later than Balarama and
Krishna). According to Bhagavata Purana it is believed that Krishna was born without a sexual union, by “mental transmission”
from the mind of Vasudeva into the womb of Devaki. Hindus believe that in that time, this type of union was possible for achieved
beings.
The prince
On his return to Mathura as a young man, Krishna overthrew and killed his uncle, Kamsa, after avoiding several assassination at¬
tempts from Kamsa’s followers. He reinstated Kamsa’s father, Ugrasena, as the king of the Yadavas and became a leading prince
at the court. During this period, he became a friend of Arjuna and the other Pandava princes of the Kuru kingdom, who were his
cousins. Later, he took his Yadava subjects to the city of Dwaraka (in modern Gujarat) and established his own kingdom there.
Krishna married Rukmini, the princess of Vidarbha, by abducting her from her wedding on her request. According to Bhagavata
Purana, Krishna married with 16,108 wives, of which eight were chief—including Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati; Krishna sub¬
sequently married 16,100 maidens who were being held in captivity by demon Narakasura, to save their honor. Krishna killed the
demon and released them all. According to strict social custom of the time all of the captive women were degraded, and would be
unable to marry, as they had been under the control of Narakasura, however Krishna married them to reinstate their status in the
society.This wedding with 16100 abandoned daughters was more of a mass women rehabilitation. In Vaishnava traditions, Krish¬
na’s wives are believed to be forms of the goddess Lakshmi—consort of Vishnu, or special souls who attained this qualification
after many lifetimes of austerity, while his queen Satyabhama, is an expansion of Radha.
Kurukshetra War and Bhagavad Gita
Once battle seemed inevitable, Krishna offered both sides the opportunity to choose between having either his army or simply
himself alone, but on the condition that he personally would not raise any weapon. Arjuna, on behalf of the Pandavas, chose to
have Krishna on their side, and Duryodhana, chief of the Kauravas, chose Krishna’s army. At the time of the great battle, Krishna
acted as Arjuna’s charioteer, since it was a position that did not require the wielding of weapons.
Krishna displays his Vishvarupa (Universal Form) to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Upon arriving at the battlefield, and seeing that the enemies are his family, his grandfather, his cousins and loved ones, Arjuna
becomes doubtful about fighting. Krishna then advises him about the battle, with the conversation soon extending into a discourse
which was later compiled as the Bhagavad Gita.
Later life
At a festival, a fight broke out between the Yadavas who exterminated each other. His elder brother Balarama then gave up his
body using Yoga. Krishna retired into the forest and sat under a tree in meditation. While Vyasa’s Mahabharata says that Krishna
ascended to heaven, Sarala’s Mahabharata narrates the story that a hunter mistook his partly visible left foot for a deer and shot
an arrow wounding him mortally.
According to Puranic sources, Krishna’s disappearance marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga, which is dated
to February 17/18, 3102 BC. Vaishnava teachers such as Ramanujacharya and Gaudiya Vaishnavas held the view that the body
of Krishna is completely spiritual and never decays as this appears to be the perspective of the Bhagavata Purana. Krishna nev¬
er appears to grow old or age at all in the historical depictions of the Puranas despite passing of several decades, but there are
grounds for a debate whether this indicates that he has no material body, since battles and other descriptions of the Mahabharata
epic show clear indications that he seems to be subject to the limitations of nature. While battles apparently seem to indicate lim¬
itations, Mahabharatha also shows in many places where Krishna is not subject to any limitations as through episodes Duryodha¬
na trying to arrest Krishna where His body burst into fire showing all creation within Him. Krishna is also explicitly told to be without
deterioration elsewhere.
Worship
Vaishnavism
The worship of Krishna is part of Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu as the Supreme God and venerates his associated avatars,
their consorts, and related saints and teachers. Krishna is especially looked upon as a full manifestation of Vishnu, and as one
with Vishnu himself. However the exact relationship between Krishna and Vishnu is complex and diverse, where Krishna is some¬
times considered an independent deity, supreme in his own right. Out of many deities Krishna is particularly important, and tradi¬
tions of Vaishnava lines are generally centered either on Vishnu or on Krishna, as supreme. The term Krishnaism has been used
to describe the sects of Krishna, reserving term “Vaishnavism” for sects focusing on Vishnu in which Krishna is an avatar, rather
than a transcended being.
All Vaishnava traditions recognise Krishna as an avatar of Vishnu; others identify Krishna with Vishnu; while traditions, such as
Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Vallabha Sampradaya and the Nimbarka Sampradaya, regard Krishna as the svayam bhagavan, original
form of God, or the Lord himself. Swaminarayan, the founder of the Swaminarayan Sampraday also worshipped Krishna as god
himself. “Greater Krishnaism” corresponds to the second and dominant phase of Vaishnavism, revolving around the cults of the
Vasudeva, Krishna, and Gopala of late Vedic period. Today the faith has a significant following outside of India as well.
Early traditions
The deity Krishna-Vasudeva (krsna vasudeva “Krishna, the son of Vasudeva”) is historically one of the earliest forms of worship
in Krishnaism and Vaishnavism. It is believed to be a significant tradition of the early history of the worship of Krishna in antiquity.
This tradition is considered as earliest to other traditions that led to amalgamation at a later stage of the historical development.
Other traditions are Bhagavatism and the cult of Gopala, that along with the cult of Bala Krishna form the basis of current tradi¬
tion of monotheistic religion of Krishna. Some early scholars would equate it with Bhagavatism, and the founder of this religious
tradition is believed to be Krishna, who is the son of Vasudeva, thus his name is Vasudeva, he is belonged to be historically part
of the Satvata tribe, and according to them his followers called themselves Bhagavatas and this religion had formed by the 2nd
century BC (the time of Patanjali), or as early as the 4th century BC according to evidence in Megasthenes and in the Arthasastra
of Kautilya, when Vasudeva was worshiped as supreme deity in a strongly monotheistic format, where the supreme being was
perfect, eternal and full of grace. In many sources outside of the cult, devotee or bhakta is defined as Vasudevaka. The Harivam-
sa describes intricate relationships between Krishna Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha that would later form a
Vaishnava concept of primary quadrupled expansion, or avatara.
In the West
Since 1966, the Krishna bhakti movement has also spread outside India. This is largely due to the Hare Krishna movement, the
largest part of which is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
Jainism
The most exalted figures in Jainism are the twenty- four Tirthankaras. Krishna, when he was incorporated into the Jain list of
heroic figures presented a problem with his activities which are not pacifist or non- violent. The concept of Baladeva, Vasudeva
and Prati- Vasudeva was used to solve it. The Jain list of sixty- three Shalakapurshas or notable figures includes amongst others,
the twenty- four Tirthankaras and nine sets of this triad. One of these triads is Krishna as the Vasudeva, Balarama as the Balade¬
va and Jarasandha as the Prati- Vasudeva. He was a cousin of the twenty- second Tirthankara, Neminatha. The stories of these
triads can be found in the Harivamsha of Jinasena (not be confused with its namesake, the addendum to Mahabharata) and the
Trishashti- shalakapurusha- charita of Hemachandra.
Buddhism
The story of Krishna occurs in the Jataka tales in Buddhism, in the Ghatapandita Jataka as a prince and legendary conqueror
and king of India. In the Buddhist version, Krishna is called Vasudeva, Kanha and Keshava, and Balarama is his younger brother,
Baladeva. These details resemble that of the story given in the Bhagavata Purana.
As depicted in the Mahabharata, all of the sons are eventually killed due to a curse of sage Kanhadipayana (Veda Vyasa, also
known as Krishna Dwaipayana). Krishna himself is eventually speared by a hunter in the foot by mistake, leaving the sole survivor
of their family being their sister, Anjanadevi of whom no further mention is made.
Since Jataka tales are given from the perspective of Buddha’s previous lives (as well as the previous lives of many of Buddha’s
followers), Krishna appears as one of the lives of Sariputra, one of Buddha’s foremost disciples and the “Dhammasenapati” or
“Chief General of the Dharma” and is usually shown being Buddha’s “right hand man” in Buddhist art and iconography. The Bodhi-
sattva, is born in this tale as one of his youngest brothers named Ghatapandita, and saves Krishna from the grief of losing his
son. The ‘divine boy’ Krishna as an embodiment of wisdom and endearing prankster is forming a part of worshipable pantheon in
Japanese Buddhism.
See: Vishnu, Narayana, Krishna
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit word krsna means “black”, “dark” or “dark- blue” and is used as a name to describe someone with dark skin. Krishna
is often depicted in murtis (images) as black, and is generally shown in paintings with a blue skin.
Some Hindu traditions often ascribe varying interpretations and powers to the names. The Mahabharata’s Udyoga- parva (Mbh
5.71.4) divides krsna into elements krs and na, krs (a verbal root meaning “to plough, drag”) being taken as expressing bhu “be¬
ing; earth” and na being taken as expressing nirvrti “bliss”. In the Brahmasambandha mantra of the Vallabha sampradaya, the syl¬
lables of the name Krishna are assigned the power to destroy sin relating to material, self and divine causes. Mahabharata verse
5.71.4 is also quoted in Chaitanya Charitamrita and Prabhupada in his commentary, translates the bhu as “attractive existence”,
thus Krishna is also interpreted as meaning “all- attractive one”. This quality of Krishna is stated in the atmarama verse of Bhagav-
atam 1.7.10.
Related words
Narayana
Vishnu
Sanskrit
Krsna — <yUj|
Krsna -
Ksatriya
Variant spellings
ksatriya
kshatriya
ksatriya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ksatriya — ... warrior; member of the second caste (see asrama)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ksatriya -
governing, endowed with sovereignty;
a member of the military or reigning order (which in later times constituted the second caste);
a red horse;
N. of a people;
the power or rank of the sovereign
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Kshatriya. The Kshatriyas are the warrior/kingly class in the ancient fourfold class system of India. They are second in the hierar¬
chy beneath the BRAHMINS. Their duty was to protect and rule. They were always allied with Brahmins in their role as kings and
overlords, but they vied for control of the top of the social hierarchy. In the sixth century B.C.E. the heterodox movements of Bud¬
dhism and JAINISM, which opposed Brahminical orthodoxy, were founded by men of Kshatriya lineage, respectively, Siddhartha
Gautama (later, BUDDHA) and Vardhamana (later, MAHAVIRA).
As do Brahmins, Kshatriyas receive the SACRED THREAD, making them “twice-born.” Up to the GUPTA era (c. 600 C.E.) they
learned SANSKRIT and to some degree the scriptures. The UPANISHADS give examples of Kshatriya kings who teach Brahmins
the highest wisdom.
Kshatriyas play a significant role in Indian literature, along with the Brahmins. Both the RAMAYANA and MAHABHARATA are es¬
sentially Kshatriya epics dealing with issues of kingly succession. They also, of course, highlight the two Kshatriya heroes RAMA
and KRISHNA, both recognized as avatars of Lord VISHNU.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Brihadaranyaka Upanisad. Tr. Madhavananda
11. In the beginning this (the Ksatiiya and other castes) was indeed Brahman, 1 one only. Being one, he did not flourish. He spe¬
cially projected an excellent form, the Ksatriya—those who are Ksatriyas among the gods: Indra, Varuna, the moon, Rudra, Par-
janya, Yama, Death, and Tsana.. Therefore there is none higher than the Ksatriya. Hence the Brahmana worships the Ksatriya
from a lower position in the Rajasuya sacrifice. He imparts that glory to the Ksatriya. The Brahmana is the source of the Ksatriya.
Therefore, although the king attains supremacy (in the sacrifice), at the end of it he resorts to the Brahmana, his source. He who
slights the Brahmana, Strikes at his own source. He becomes more wicked, a s one is by slighting one’s superior.
... although the king attains supremacy, viz the distinction of being anointed for the Rajasuya sacrifice, at the end of it, when the
ceremony is over, he resorts to the Brahmana, his source, i.e. puts the priest forward.
Related words
Brahmin
Sanskrit
Ksatriya —
ksatriya - ^U'ciyRl
Kshetra
Variant spellings
kshetra
ksetra
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ksetra — ... “field”; property; place of pilgrimage; sacred spot; astrological mansion
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ksetra -
landed property, land, soil;
‘soil of merit’, a Buddha or any holy person Divya;
a field;
place, region, country;
a house;
a town;
department, sphere of action;
place of origin, place where anything is found;
a sacred spot or district, place of pilgrimage (as Benares
an enclosed plot of ground, portion of space, superficies;
(in geom.) a plane figure (as a triangle, circle, &c.) enclosed by lines, any figure considered as having geometrical dimensions;
a diagram;
a planetary orbit;
a zodiacal sign;
an astrological mansion;
(in chiromancy) certain portions marked out on the palm;
afertile soil’, the fertile womb, wife;
the body (considered as the field of the indwelling soul);
(in Sarhkhya phil.) = a-vyakta (q.v.) Tattvas
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
6. Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the aggregate, intelligence, courage — the kshetra with its modifications has thus been de¬
scribed briefly.
The attainment of a thing which is pleasure-giving and which has been experienced before, is desired again when one sees it,, for
the reason that it gives happiness. This desire is the attribute of the antakarana and since it is knowable it is kshetra.
The aggregate is but the combination of the body and the senses and the impulses of the antakarana cast themselves on the
aggregate, even as fire manifests itself in the glowing massive metal. Thus there is only a semblance of the Atma-chaitanya.. That
too is kshetra, being knowable.
Courage which the body and the senses are supported when powerless, too, is kshetra, being knowable.
The kshetra with all its modifications such as Mahat etc. has been spoken of. The combination of the different forms of the kshetra
has been described as “This the body is the kshetra” (xiii-i), beginning from the ‘great elements down to the last viz courage.
Kshetra- Kshetraj na
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The cultivation of the field. On the Third Day of Genesis ... the Great Goddess begins to mother the World of Manifestation as
Earth-Mother and Goddess of Cultivation. Cultivation is the same as “culture”, a word which has become a bit stale in modern
use, divorced as it is from its traditional implications. This Goddess was worshipped in Greece under the name of Demeter and in
Rome under the name of Ceres.
She is not merely the Goddess of “husbandmen” who “plough” and “sow” and “reap” on the Earth-plane. That concerns only her
lowest aspect. For she is the Goddess of the Field of Life, the Kshetra or “Field” of the Bhagavad Gita. The Kshetra is the entire
field within the psyche. Sometimes it becomes a hunting-ground. The Kshetrajna or “dweller in the field” is the human soul. In the
Field, the Domain of the Goddess, the Battle of Life between the Divine and the Ahankaric-Titanic Powers is taking place. In her
Field the Ahankara grows its seeds and thorns, and there also the Aspirant exerts himself in weeding, and in sowing, tending and
reaping the seeds of Immortality.
On one occasion the Buddha went on one of his daily rounds to beg his food, when he was accosted by a peasant who ques¬
tioned him why he was not similarly cultivating the land. To an ignorant man it often seems — then as now — as if a Sage is
spending his life in idleness. The Buddha replied: “O husbandman, I too, plough and sow; and having ploughed and sown, I eat. —
Faith is the seed I sow; good works are the rain that fertilizes it; wisdom and modesty are the plough; my mind is the guiding-rein; I
lay hold of the handle of the Dhamma (the Doctrine); earnestness is the goad I use; and exertion is my draught-ox. This ploughing
is ploughing to destroy the weeds of illusion. The harvest it yields is the immortal fruit of Nirvana, and thus all sorrow ends.”
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
Kshetra-Kshetrajna: Field and Knower of the Field. Field or ground can be psychological or spiritual as well as actual. These terms
correspond to the actual and perceptual aspects of reality. The entire XIII chapter of the Bhagavad Gyata is devoted to this discus¬
sion and the distinction between these two aspects of field and knower, in itself constitutes one of the central problems of philoso¬
phy.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
1. This body, O Kaunteya, is called kshetra (field); him who knows it, those who know thereof call Kshetrajna.
The body is called kshetra because it wards off itself from injury or destruction, or it is so called because the fruits of actions are
reaped by it as in a field (kshetra).
He who knows the kshetra in the form of body from head to foot, i.e. he who knows this distinctly with all parts, through an under¬
standing derived naturally or through instructions, is called Kshetrajna (knower of the kshetra).
Thus have been (the terms) kshetra and Kshetrajna explained. Is it enough to acquire only this much knowledge about them-? No.
2. And know Me as the Kshetrajna in all bodies (kshetra), O Bharata. The knowledge of the kshetra and Kshetrajna do I regard as
(true) knowledge.
Here now follows the exhaustive interpretation of the Acharya. In the whole of the Bhagavad Gita there is no other sukta on which
the Acharya has bestowed so much of attention as in the case of this sukta. The two terms viz. kshetra and Kshetrajna are indeed
subtle to explain which one has to cover vast grounds...
Know Me, the kshetrajna, dwelling in all bodies (kshejra) as the supreme Lord with the above characteristics, not subject to
samsara, and lying divided into manifold bodies from Hiranya garbha down to a dumb of grass. Know Him as being devoid of all
conditions not subject to comprehension through such terms as sat or asat. This is the drift.
Because nothing else constitutes the object of knowledge than the real nature of the kshetra (body), Kshetrajna and Isvara, O
Bharata, therefore that alone by which these two viz. the kshetra and Kshetrajna can be realised, is the right knowledge. This is
My (Lord Vishnu’s) view.
it is a settled fact that all what is knowable is the kshetra and the knower alone is the Kshetrajna.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
Sri Krishna Himself starts speaking, without any question from Arjuna. Idam sariram kaunteya kshetram ity abhidiyate (13.1): “This
body, this particular tabernacle, this physical embodiment of the human being, is technically called kshetra or the field where some
activity takes place. A field is an area where something happens.
... while this body may be called kshetra or field, the one who knows this field is conscious of it, and operates through it - lives
in it, indwells it, and handles it in a different manner - such a principle is called kshetrajna. Jna means knower, and kshetra is, of
course, field, so kshetrajna means ‘the knower of the field’. Hence, this body is the kshetra, the field, and the one who knows this
field is kshetrajna.
Kshetrajnah iti tad-viddhi (13.1): “Arjuna, I am the knower of the field.” The Lord says, “I am the Pure Consciousness that knows
all things and operates these material forces; and I am not merely in one body. When I refer to the body, you may be thinking of
some particular body - this body or that body - and there is a consciousness in each body. That may be so - that consciousness
is inherently present in every body, within each person - but that is not the point.” Sarva-kshetreshu bharata: “I am present as the
kshetrajna, or the knower of the field, in all the fields. That is, all individuals whatsoever - right from Brahma, the creator, down to
the atom - are indwelt by Me, and I know all things as the Omniscient Knower.”
In a sense, it means that the kshetra is the entire physical universe. The whole of creation can be considered as the kshetra or
the field of action, and Omniscient Intelligence that is operating in terms of this material manifestation is kshetrajna. Therefore, the
question of the relationship between God and creation, consciousness and matter, kshetrajna and kshetra, purusha and prakriti -
all mean finally one and the same thing.
Kshetrajnam chapi mam viddhi sarva-kshetreshu bharata, kshetra-kshetrajnayor jnanam yat taj jnanam matam mama (13.2): “This
is real knowledge. I consider this to be supreme and real knowledge.” What is that knowledge? It is the knowledge of kshetra and
kshetrajna. If we can know the actual relationship between God and the world, soul and body, consciousness and matter, knower
and the known - if this can be clear to us - we have known everything. This knowledge is the highest knowledge.
Related words
Kshetrajna
Sanskrit
Ksetra — lift"
ksetra - TntJT
Kshetrajna
Variant spellings
kshetrajna
ksetrajna
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ksetrajna — ... knower of the field; the individual self
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ksetrajna -
knowing localities;
clever, dexterous, skilful;
cunning;
‘knowing the body’ i.e. the soul, the conscious principle in the corporeal frame;
a form of Bhairava (or Siva);
N. of a prince
Descriptions
General
Davies. Bhagavad Gita
... there is a higher spiritual essence, which is the animating principle of all things, Sankara says that its designation is kshetrajna,
matter-knowing, and that it maintains life.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
Kshetrajna cannot be known or seen, because kshetrajna is the knower of the field. Therefore, the knower cannot be known.
See: Kshetra-Kshetrajna
Related words
Bhokta
Jiva
Ishvara
Kshetra
Purusa
Sanskrit
Ksetrajna — StsrfT
ksetrajna - ^
Ksiti
Variant spellings
ksiti
ksiti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Ksiti — ... earth
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
ksiti -
dominion (Comm.);
an abode, dwelling, habitation, house;
the earth, soil of the earth;
the number ‘one’;
settlements, colonies, races of men, nations;
(said of the families of the gods);
estates
See also:
Prithivi
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
... Here he calls earth ksiti, elsewhere it is called dhara. These words are very important. They both refer to the earth, but have
significantly different meanings. Dhara is that which retains, that which protects, contains, holds, supports. Ksiti means that which
decays, degenerates and dissipates.
Earth becomes the supporting principle, dhara, when you understand that everything emerges from it. Then the earth as ksiti dis¬
solves everything back into itself. If you bury a corpse and then look for it after some time, all you will find are bones. After some
more time, they too will have become part of the earth. It has that power to make you decay, decompose, change and transform.
Sanskrit
Ksiti — f&fcT
ksiti -
I
Laya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Laya — ... dissolution; absorption; “to merge”.
1. It is release or liberation proper according to Dvaita Vedanta.
2. Destruction of the entire universe.
3. The Agni Purana describes four types of dissolution: daily death (nitya-laya); incidental dissolution of everything into the Abso¬
lute (naimittika-laya); material dissolution of everything at the end of a world period (prakrita-naya); and ultimate dissolution of the
individual into the Absolute (atyantikaplaya).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
laya -
the act of sticking or clinging to ..., ‘to become attached to any one ‘;
lying down, cowering;
melting, dissolution, disappearance or absorption in;
extinction, destruction, death;
rest, repose;
place of rest, residence, house, dwelling;
mental inactivity, spiritual indifference;
sport, diversion, merriness;
delight in anything;
an embrace;
(in music) time (regarded as of 3 kinds, viz. druta, ' quick ‘, madhya, ' mean or moderate ‘, and vilambita, ' slow ‘);
a kind of measure;
the union of song, dance and instrumental music;
a pause;
a partic. agricultural implement (perhaps a sort of harrow or hoe);
a swoon;
the quick (downward) movement of an arrow;
making the mind inactive or indifferent
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Laya ... melting, dissolution, disappearance or absorption in, (in Yoga) making the mind inactive or indifferent.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
In deep sleep mind is merged and not destroyed. That which merges reappears. It may happen in meditation also. But the mind
which is destroyed cannot reappear. The yogi’s aim must be to destroy it and not to sink in laya. In the peace of dhyana, laya
ensues but it is not enough. It must be supplemented by other practices for destroying the mind. Some people have gone into
samadhi with a trifling thought and after a long time awakened in the trail of the same thought. In the meantime generations have
passed away in the world. Such a yogi has not destroyed his mind. Its destruction is the non-recognition of it as being apart from
the Self. Even now the mind is not. Recognise it. How can you do it if not in everyday activities. They go on automatically. Know
that the mind promoting them is not real but a phantom proceeding from the Self. That is how the mind is destroyed.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentaries by Nikhilananda:
Though maya is indescribable and indefinable, yet its existence can be inferred from its effects, such as the projection or manifes¬
tation (Srsti), the preservation (sthiti), and the dissolution (laya), of the universe.
If the mind does not succeed in being established in Brahman after it has been detached from the world, it often lapses into a state
of sleep or torpidity (laya) A kind of stagnation sets in. The aspirant is reluctant to make fresh efforts. His progress is slowed down.
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
42. The mind distracted by desires and enjoyments as also the mind enjoying pleasure in oblivion (trance-like condition) should be
brought under discipline by the pursuit of proper means. For, the state of oblivion is as harmful as desires.
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
The word ‘Laya’2 [oblivion] in the text indicates Susupti, i.e., deep sleep in which state one becomes oblivious of all things. The3
(injunction implied in the) words ‘should be brought under discipline’, should also be applied in the case of the mind when it feels
happy, that is to say, free from all worries in the state of Laya or oblivion. Why should it be further brought under discipline if it
feels pleasure (in that state)? It is thus replied: Because the state of oblivion is as harmful as desire, the mind should be withdrawn
from the state of oblivion as it should be withdrawn from objects of enjoyment.
2. Laya—The state of Laya realised by the Yogi in Samadhi is nondifferent from the state of Susupti or deep sleep. Both are char¬
acterised by the absence of subject-object relationship. Again in both these states, the student is not aware of the real nature of
his self. The difference between the two states is this: The Yogi can induce Samadhi at his mere will, but Susupti, for an ordinary
man, is not under his control.
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Laya (from the root IT, late form of the root rT, be dissolved, melt, become fluid).
Related words
Sushupti
Sanskrit
Laya — TTZT
laya -
Linga sarira
Variant spellings
linga sarira
linga sharira
linga-sarTra
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Linga-sarTra — ... subtle body.
1. According to Sankhya-Yoga, what transmigrates is the subtle body consisting of the eleven organs of sense together with the
intellect, egoity, and the five subtle essences of the elements.
2. See suksma-sarlra.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
linga-sarTra -
the subtle body which accompanies the individual spirit or soul in all its transmigrations and is not destroyed by death (it is also
called suksma-s... q.v., and since it is the sign and accompaniment of individuality it can never perish till the individualized soul is
finally merged in the Universal)
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
LingasarTra, the subtle body, the invisible vehicle of the soul jiva; it is constant and does not change throughout the cycles of life
and death; however, it is not eternal, for it is eventually re-absorbed into the elements of which it is composed; it consists of eigh-
teen elements, viz. (1) Intelligence (buddhi), (2) Ego (ahamkara), (3) Mind (manas), (4) five Knowing-senses (jnanendriyas), (5)
five Working- senses (karmendriyas), and (6) five Subtle Elements (tanmatras); it is also called SuksmasarTra.
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The individual proceeds from the universal condition of Spirit (Purusa) and Matter (Prakrti) manifesting as an individual soul or jlva.
So it is that man consists of a subtle aspect and a gross aspect. All things must have a vehicle in which to manifest themselves;
these spiritual forces have their vehicle in what is called the linga sarlra. Linga means that invariable mark which proves the exis¬
tence of anything; sarlra means “body.” Here the two terms mean the subtle body which accompanies the individual spirit or soul
(jlva) and survives the destruction of the physical body. This subtle body (linga sarlra) is the invisible vehicle of the soul Giva); it
is constant and does not change throughout the cycles of life and death; however, it is not eternal, for it is eventually re-absorbed
into the elements of which it is composed. The subtle body (linga sarlra) consists of eighteen elements: intelligence (buddhi), ego
(ahamkara), mind (manas), five knowing-senses (jnanendriyas), five workingsenses (karmendriyas) and five subtle elements (tan¬
matras).
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Three Acharyas and Narayana Guru tradition
Linga-sarira: Subtle body. An idea borrowed from Samkhya and Yoga by Vedanta. According to this idea, what transmigrates is
the subtle body consisting of eleven organs of sense together with the intellect, ego, and the five subtle essences of elements.
This idea is not subscribed to by any of the major Upanisads, though commentators have read it into them.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
All ... organs or indriyas combined, plus the internal instrument antahkarana, are called the finer body of man—the linga (or suksh-
ma) sarira.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Talk 129.
An elderly gentleman, formerly a co-worker with B. V. Narasimha Swami and author of some Visishtadvaita work, visited the place
for the first time. He asked about rebirths, if it is possible for the linga sarira (subtle body) to get dissolved and be reborn in two
years after death.
M.: Yes. Surely. Not only can one be reborn, one may be twenty or forty or even seventy years old in the new body though only
two years after death. Sri Bhagavan cited Lila’s story from Yoga Vasishta.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
The subtle body of ours, the astral body, is called, in Sanskrit, linga-sarlra or linga-deha. Linga is a mark, an indication or a symp¬
tom. The subtle body is called a symptom, an indication or a mark, because it determines the character of the physical body which
is its manifestation. The physical body is nothing but the form that is cast in the mould of the subtle body. The subtle body is not
visible to us, and it is internal to the physical body...
This subtle body which is vibrant with desires, unfulfilled, puts on a form called the body, for the sake of the fulfilment of the de¬
sires. This putting on of a body is called birth; and birth cannot cease for us as long as the subtle body is not extinguished.
See: Namarupa, Linga sarira
Related words
Sarira
Sukshma sarira
Sanskrit
Linga-sarira — frT^rftT
linga-sarlra - ^rl^wfiT
Lila
Variant spellings
lila
III a
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Lila — play; sport; divine play.
1. The cosmic play. The idea is that creation is a play of the Divine, existing for no other reason than for the mere joy of it.
2. According to some of the Vedanta schools, it is the motive of creation. Some Nyaya-Vaisesikas and Tantrics also hold this view.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
III a -
(derivation doubtful) play , sport, diversion , amusement, pastime;
mere sport or play , child’s play , ease or facility in doing anything;
mere appearance , semblance , pretence , disguise , sham;
grace , charm , beauty , elegance , loveliness;
(in rhet.) a maiden’s playful imitation of her lover;
a kind of metre (4 times $);
N. of a Yoginl HPariz
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
lila. A common notion in Indian tradition is that there is no logical “reason” for things as they are in the universe; everything is
merely the lila (play) of the divinity. This term is used only in association with a deity who can be seen as overseeing all of the
universe. This would most often be VISHNU (or one of his incarnations), SHIVA, or the great GODDESS. Any such divinity will be
said to have his or her divine lila.
Wikipedia
Lila, or Leela is a concept within Hinduism literally meaning “pastime”, “sport” or “play”. It is common to both non-dualistic and du-
alistic philosophical schools, but has a markedly different significance in each. Within non- dualism, Lila is a way of describing all
reality, including the cosmos, as the outcome of creative play by the divine absolute (Brahman). In the dualistic schools of Vaish-
navism, Lila more simply refers to the activities of God and his devotees, as distinct from the common activities of karma.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Lila - (“play”). A word whose broad literal meaning denotes any sort of play, game, or sport, but which in a theological context
conveys a fundamental assumption about how God interacts with the world. According to this notion, the supreme deity engages
in creation not from any sense of need, but for the sheer enjoyment and entertainment gained from creating and taking part in the
world. This is particularly true for the god Vishnu, especially in his manifestations as Rama and Krishna. In this understanding, all
divine interactions between God and his devotees (bhakta) are undertaken in this spirit of play, although in their ignorance human
beings may not recognize the true nature of this encounter. Final liberation of the soul (moksha) comes when the devotee recog¬
nizes the true nature of this encounter, since after that moment of realization one’s entire life is a series of playful interactions with
God himself. One of the ways that contemporary devotees strive to enter Rama’s and Krishna’s divine world is through dramas
that are themselves known as lilas. These lilas can be attended for entertainment, but viewing them can also be a deeply serious
religious act. When child actors portraying the deities are in costume and in character, they are considered manifestations of the
deities themselves. For ardent devotees, viewing these lilas is an avenue for gaining God’s grace, and an entry-point into a privi¬
leged, divine world.
Wikipedia
Modern interpretations
Ram Shanker Misra in “The Integral Advaitism of Sri Aurobindo” -
“Brahman is full of all perfections. And to say that Brahman has some purpose in creating the world will mean that it wants to at¬
tain through the process of creation something which it has not. And that is impossible. Hence, there can be no purpose of Brah-
man in creating the world. The world is a mere spontaneous creation of Brahman. It is a Lila, or sport, of Brahman. It is created out
of Bliss, by Bliss and for Bliss. Lila indicates a spontaneous sportive activity of Brahman as distinguished from a self- conscious
volitional effort. The concept of Lila signifies freedom as distinguished from necessity.”
Rohan Bastin in “The Domain of Constant Excess: Plural Worship at the Munnesvaram Temples in Sri Lanka” -
“The relation of Purusa to Prakrti - the unfolding force of nature - becomes here a relation of male to female. This is expressed in
the Siva temple in the core image of the sivalinga, an expression of male (linga) and female (yoni) union. The basic cosmogonic
motif of an unfolding or flowering cosmos is expressed here specifically in the relation of male to female, as well as in terms of
consciousness and intentionality (in the concept of lila as the divine play of male and female). As such, the core saivite image of
cosmogony as the flowering of consciousness and sexual union rather than the sacrificial act. This theme resonates with other
Hindu doctrines, such as Tantra and Sakta.”
Heinrich Zimmer and Joseph Campbell in “Philosophies of India” -
“The Vendantic yogi never tires of stating that kaivalya, ‘isolation- integration,’ can be attained only by turning away from the dis¬
tracting allure of the world and worshiping with single-pointed attention the formless Brahman- Atman; to the Tantric, however - as
to the normal child of the world - this notion seems pathological, the wrong- headed effect of a certain malady of intellect. (...) ‘I
like eating sugar,’ as Ramprasad said, ‘but I have no desire to become sugar.’ Let those who suffer from the toils of samsara seek
release: the perfect devotee does not suffer; for he can both visualize and experience life and the universe as the revelation of that
Supreme Divine Force (shakti) with which he is in love, the all- comprehensive Divine Being in its cosmic aspect of playful, aimless
display (lila) - which precipitates pain as well as joy, but in its bliss transcends them both.”
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Lila has the additional meaning that life is to be taken sportively. A sport gladdens your heart and your mind. Within the sport there
are elements of tragedy and comedy. For instance, in a game like basketball one side has to win and the other to lose. Winning is
joyous and failure is tragic, and these are woven into the very fabric of the sport.
Related words
Nitya
Meditative verse
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
VERSE 71
Bereft of becoming none stays here on earth
In equalised state; a beginningless sport all this!
In its global fullness, when, as a whole, one knows this
There comes to him unbounded happiness.
[Compiler’s note. “Sport” = ‘lila’ in the original]
Sanskrit
Lila — F?tHT
Ilia - ^fkrr
Loka
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Loka — world; universe; plane.
1. There are seven planes according to Indian lore: bhu-, bhuvar-, svar-, mahar-, jano-, tapo-, and satya-loka. These planes rep¬
resent the heavens or the places of vastness, light, and becoming. They are said to be located in the human body, respectively, in
the feet, genitals, navel, heart, throat, between the eyebrows, and on the crest of the head. (See cakra.)
2. According to Jainism, the universe has three parts: where the gods reside (urdhva-loka), earth (madhya-loka), and hell (ad-
ho-loka). It is that place in which happiness and misery are experienced as results of virtue and vice. The perfected individual
goes beyond the urdhva-loka, to the top of lokakasa and remains motionless there.
3. Another list of planes includes: Brahma-loka, the abode of Brahma; Tapo-loka, the abode of Viraj; Jana-loka, the abode of cer¬
tain of Brahma’s sons; Mahar-loka, the abode of certain Prajapatis; Svarloka, the paradise of Visnu, Siva, Indra, and Krsna; Bhu-
var-loka, the atmosphere sphere, and abode of the pitrs; and Bhu-loka, the earth.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
loka -
free or open space, room, place, scope, free motion;
intermediate space;
a tract, region, district, country, province;
the wide space or world (either ‘the universe ‘ or, ‘any division of it ‘, esp. ‘the sky or heaven ‘; 3 Lokas are commonly enumerated,
viz. heaven, earth, and the atmosphere or lower regions; sometimes only the first two; but a fuller classification gives 7 worlds, viz.
Bhu-loka, the earth; Bhuvar-loka, the space between the earth and sun inhabited by Munis, Siddhas &c.; Svarloka, Indra’s heaven
above the sun or between it and the polar star; Maharloka, a region above the polar star and inhabited by Bhrigu and other saints
who survive the destruction of the 3 lower worlds; Janarloka, inhabited by Brahma’s son Sanat-kumara &c.; Tapar-loka, ...inh...in¬
habited by deified Vairagins; Satya-loka or Brahma-loka, abode of Brahma, translation to which exempts from rebirth...; elsewhere
these 7 worlds are described as earth, sky, heaven, middle region, place of re-births, mansion of the blest, and abode of truth;
sometimes 14 worlds are mentioned, viz. the 7 above, and 7 lower regions called in the order of their descent below the earth —
A-tala, Vi-tala, Su-tala, Rasa-tala, Tala-tala, Maha-tala, and Patala;
N. of the number ‘seven ‘;
the earth or world of human beings &c.;
(also pi.) the inhabitants of the world, mankind, folk, people (sometimes opp. to ‘king ‘);
(pi.) men (as opp. to ‘women ‘);
a company, community (often ifc. to form collectives);
ordinary life, worldly affairs, common practice or usage ... (loke either ‘in ordinary life ‘, ‘in worldly matters or, ‘in common lan¬
guage, in popular speech ‘, as opp. to vede, chandasi);
the faculty of seeing, sight
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Loka ... a sphere; world; universe; three Lokas are commonly enumerated, viz. heaven, earth, and the atmosphere or lower re¬
gions; but a fuller classification gives seven worlds, viz. (1) Earth (bhurloka), (2) Sky (bhuvarloka), (3) Heaven (svarloka), (4) Mid¬
dle Region (maharloka), (5) Place of Re-births (janarloka), (6) Mansion of the Blessed (taparloka), and (7) Abode of Truth (satyalo-
ka or brahmaloka).
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In Hindu tradition are found teachings analogous to those referring to the “evenings and mornings” of the Six Days of Genesis,
and to the Night-thrones and Day-thrones of Astrology. One set of teachings, referring not to Time, but to Space, is found in the
traditions regarding the Lokas and Talas. The Lokas are the Light-abodes or “heavens”, and the Talas are, literally, “lower places”
or “underworlds”. The root of “Tala” means “surface, level”. Sometimes Tala becomes Tala, which word has also other meanings,
as “musical time”, and “the throne of Durga”, which is significant. Tala also means the palm of the hand and the sole of the foot,
that is to say the underside, the dark and hidden side of these organs. The implication hereof will presently become clear.
In all there are Seven Lokas and Seven Talas, corresponding to the Seven Days of Creation. The Seventh Loka and Tala are, like
the Seventh Day, to be taken as being either beyond Space and Time, as measured in the Zodiac, or as referring to the Day of
Capricorn-Aquarius, the stage in which Perfection and the Beyond are represented or approximated within the Scheme of Time
and Space.
Slight variations are found in the names of the Lokas and Talas in different scriptures, such as the Vishnu Purana, the Manu Dhar-
ma Sastra, Vyasa’s Yoga-Bhashya, the Bhagavata Purana, the Vayu Purana, and the Uttaragita. It has been pointed out before,
that the Lokas are not particularly “heaven-states” and the Talas not “hell-states”. In early tradition “hells” are not mentioned at all.
Often the Talas are described as spheres of great beauty and magnificence, and as the abodes of semi-divine beings like Nagas,
Daityas and Danavas — which also shows that they are not “hells”. These “semi-divine” beings are nothing but special aspects of
humanity on the various stages of the Path through the Houses of the Universe, which are so many worlds.
The Lokas and Talas are given in the traditional order of the Elements and Seven Spheres: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, Moon
and Sun. The Seven Lokas are mentioned in a large number of scriptures by the same names. The Talas, shown like the Lokas
on Diagram 3, have been taken from Vyasa’s Yoga-Bhashya.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
To consider the Brahmaloka as a region is also admissible. That is what the pouraniks say and many other schools also imply it
by expounding kramamukti (liberation by degrees). But the Upanishads speak of sadyomukti (immediate liberation) as in Na tasya
prana utkramanti; ihaiva praleeyante - the pranas do not rise up; they lose themselves here. So Brahmaloka will be Realisation of
Brahman (Brahmasakshatkara). It is a state and not a region. In the latter case, paramritat must be properly understood. It is para
inasmuch as avyakrita is the causal Energy transcending the universe, amrita because it persists until the Self is realised. So that
paramritat will mean avyakrita. The kramamukti (liberation by degrees) school say that the upasaka goes to the region of his Ishta
Devata which is Brahmaloka to him. The souls passing to all other lokas return to be reborn. But those who have gained the Brah¬
maloka do not. Moreover those desirous of a particular loka can by proper methods gain the same. Whereas Brahmaloka cannot
be gained so long as there is any desire left in the person. Desirelessness alone will confer the loka on him. His desirelessness
signifies the absence of the incentive for rebirth.
The age of Brahma is practically immeasurable. The presiding deity of the loka is said to have a definite period of life. When he
passes away his loka also is dissolved. The inmates are emancipated at the same time, irrespective of the different nature of indi¬
vidual consciousness in them prior to Self-realisation.
Sri Bhagavan said Brahmaloka is the same as Atmaloka. Again Brahmaiva lokah = Brahmalokah (Brahma is Himself the region)
and Brahma is Atma. So Brahmaloka is only the Self.
Loka, aloka are both synonymous. It is the same as andamillakkan in Ulladu Narpadu. Lokyate iti lokah (That which is seen is
loka).
Etymology
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Lokas are “lokyante”, meaning “what are seen”. For they are the worlds ruled on the Day throne, the “mornings” of Genesis.
Etymologically related words are “to look”, the Latin “locus” or “place”, from which “local” is derived, and other more remotely relat¬
ed words from which “light” is derived.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Loka from the root lok, connected with the root rue, to shine, beam, display splendor.
Related words
Bhuh
Jagat
Naraka
Svarga
World
Sanskrit
Loka —
loka -
M
Madhva
Name
Madhva
Madhvacarya
Vasudeva at birth
PGrna-prajna
Ananda-tTrtha
Summary
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
madhva -
N. of the founder of a sect of Vaishnavas in the south of India (he was a Kanarese Brahman otherwise called ananda-tlrtha,
Bhagavat-paAda or Madhu, said to have been born about 1200; his doctrine is commonly called Dvaita, ‘Duality’, in opposition to
the Advaita, ‘Nonduality’, of the great Vedantist Sarhkaracarya, and his sect are called Madhvas)
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Madhva (c. 1197 to 1276 C.E.) Vedanta philosopher Madhva was a brilliant, prolific scholar of VEDANTA who developed his own
DVAITA or dualist philosophy.
Madhva was born near Udipi in Karnataka in a village called Rajapitha, which may be the modern Kalyanapura. He was born into
an orthodox Vaishnavite BRAHMIN family. He became the disciple of Acutyapreksha, a great teacher.
Madhva studied the writings of SHANKARA, the great non-dual (ADVAITA) philosopher, but concluded by rejecting his teachings.
In fact, he eventually wrote tracts opposing 21 important philosophers in order to establish his own philosophy of dvaita or dualist
VEDANTA. He made a circuit of the south of India, going first to Trivandrum and staying in RAMESHVARAM, the famous Vaish¬
navite holy city in Tamil Nadu. As he spoke, he would argue against the various existing philosophical schools. He later traveled
in North India, living in such places as HARIDVAR and Badarika. He is said to have converted many followers of Shankara in his
travels. Eventually, he even converted his own GURU.
Madhva produced a massive corpus of work including commentaries on all the 13 orthodox Vedic Upanishads, the Vedanta Sutra,
and the Bhagavad Gita. In these works he relentlessly argued for the idea that God and the human self or soul were completely
distinct from each other, and that the world also was completely distinct from God. His profound dualism was a challenge to the
non-dualist thinkers who preceded and followed him, who represent by far the largest school of Vedanta. He argued that only the
grace of God, in the form of KRISHNA, could save a human being from the endless round of birth and rebirth, and only BHAKTI,
or devotion to the divinity, could rescue humans from the abyss of successive rebirth.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Madhva’s Dvaita Vedanta is recognized as one of the three major schools of Vedanta (besides Sankara’s Advaita and Ramanuja’s
Visistadvaita Vedanta). It has been further developed by such major figures as Jayatirtha (1356-1388) and Vyasaraya (1478-1589)
and is kept alive by a still flourishing community [Madhva sampradaya] in India with its main center at Udipi (Karnataka).
Wikipedia
Date of Birth 1238 CE
Place of birth Pajaka, Udupi, India
Birth Vasudeva Naduilya
Date of death 1317 CE
Place of death Adi Udupi,Udupi,India
Philosophy Dvaita Vedanta
Madhvacarya ... (1238-1317) was the chief proponent of Tattvavada “Philosophy of Reality”, popularly known as the Dvaita (dual¬
ism) school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedanta philosophies. Madhvacarya was one of the import¬
ant philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in many ways, going against standard conventions and norms.
According to tradition, Madhvacarya is believed to be the third incarnation of Vayu (Mukhyaprana).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Madhva - (1199-1278 CE). One of the three great masters of Vedanta philosophy, who expounded the dualistic school of Vedanta
known as Tattva Vada. He was also known as Ananda Tirtha and Puma Prajna.
Life
General
Encyclopedia of religion
MADHVA (1238-1317), also known as Anandatirtha or Purnaprajna; founder of the Dvaita Vedanta school of Indian philosophy.
Born in Pajakakshetra near Udipi in the Tulu country of the Indian state of Karnataka, Madhva attracted attention as a young
renunciate by his prodigious abilities in reciting, interpreting, and criticizing scriptural and exegetical texts. Gathering pupils at his
classes in Udipi, he made numerous trips throughout India accompanied by his disciples, including at least two visits to Badrinath
in the Himalayas. It is believed that he debated a number of prominent scholars during his lifetime. Madhva established his main
temple, consecrated to the god Krishna, at Udipi, and installed in it the idol of Bala Krishna secured from Dwarka. The temple has
flourished to this day in the charge of a steady line of successors stemming from Madhva and his disciples. Tradition holds that in
the year 1317, in the middle of delivering a lecture, Madhva vanished and retired permanently to Badrinath.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The orthodox biographical account of the life and work of Madhva is Narayanacaryas Madhvavijaya and Manimahjari. ... He was
born in the year 1199 in a village near Udipi of the South Kanara district about sixty miles north of Mangalore. At an early age he
became proficient in Vedic learning and soon became a sannyasin. After spending several years in prayer and meditation, study
and discussion, he went forth to teach and preach. He founded a temple for Krsna at Udipi, where he taught until his death at the
age of seventy-nine.
Teachings
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
Madhva carries much further the protest against the nondualism of Samkara than Ramanuja. Whereas for Samkara the texts
teaching difference have a practical value in that they steer one in the right direction and lead one to the real teaching of the Upa-
nishads, that is, the teaching of nondifference, for Madhva the texts teaching difference convey the true import of the Upanishads.
Substance is one of the ten categories that Madhva accepts. Out of the twenty substances that Madhva enumerates, he accepts,
like Ramanuja, three as the most important: brahman or God, matter, and selves.
Bheda (difference) is the central category in Madhva’s philosophy. This is another way of saying that each object is unique; each
object possesses its own nature, which accounts for one object’s difference from another object. The brahman or God is the only
independent reality. God has a divine body and is transcendent. However, since God is the inner controller of all souls, he is also
immanent. God creates the world by his will and brings into existence the world of objects and selves. Objects and selves, though
real, eternal, and irreducible to each other, are dependent on the first. At the time of the dissolution of the world, God transforms
material objects into undifferentiated matter and selves into disembodied intelligences. It is important to note in this context that
even in the state of dissolution God, matter, and selves remain distinct. Unlike Ramanuja, for Madhva no two souls are alike.
Thus, whereas Ramanuja advocates qualitative monism and quantitative pluralism of souls, Madhva advocates both qualitative
and quantitative pluralism of souls. Since the immediate cause of bondage is ignorance of the real nature of the brahman or God,
the soul must acquire the knowledge of the real nature of God to attain moksha. It is important to remember in this context that
knowledge by itself does not and cannot remove ignorance; knowledge is only a qualification for release, which in the final analy¬
sis depends on God’s will. No matter how hard an aspirant may try, he or she cannot gain such an immediate knowledge, unless
God chooses to reveal himself to him or her.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
Although worshippers of Vishnu, the worship of Siva was allowed in the temples of the Madhva followers. The affiliations of the
Madhva cult extended in the form of temples and monasteries from Uduppi in the south to Dvaraka in the north and the followers
traced their faith to the historical personage of Krishna of the Bhagavad Gyata. South India is pervaded by the influence of this
group today.
Works
General
Encyclopedia of religion
Madhva is credited with some thirty-seven works, including commentaries on the Bhagavadgita., the Brahma Sutras, and ten of
the older Upanishads; ten independent treatises on Dvaita philosophy; short commentaries on the Bhagavata Purana, the Ma-
habharata, and part of the Rigveda; and a number of other brief works of a varied nature. Many of these treatises were subse¬
quently commented upon by Jayatirtha, Vyasatirtha, and other famous Dvaitins; the resulting large body of literature forms the
basis of Dvaita Vedanta.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The standard treatises of his school are the commentary which he composed on the Vedantasutra and a work called Anuvyakhya-
na in which he justifies his interpretation. Other works that help to elucidate his central position are his commentaries on the
BhagavadgTta and the Upanisads, his epitome of the Mahabharata called MahuhhaTututatpUTyaniTnayG, and his gloss on the
Bhagavatapurana. These are considered his most important, although he wrote many others. Much can be gleaned from the study
of Jayatlrtha’s commentary on Madhva’s Sutrabhasya and that on Madhva’s Anuvyakhyana called Nyayasudha.Still another work
of importance is Vyasatirtha s gloss on JayatTrtha’s commentary called Tatparyacandrika.
Wikipedia
Commentaries on the Bhagavadgita
(BhagavadgTtabhashyam)
This work focusses on explaining the meaning of Gita. This is said to be the first work of Sri Madhvacharya, and at a very young
age. ....
dPH IdIdH: (Bhagavadgitatatparyanirnaya)
This work compliments the Bhashya in two ways - it gives some alternate meanings to Gita (perhaps an indication to the truth in
the quotation given in the Bhashya that Gita has at least 10 meanings) and reviews and criticizes some other commentaries on
Gita, notably the advaita commentary on Gita.
Commentaries on the Brahmasutras
T" aH^dy'nmy-iH (Brahmasutra Bhashya)
This is a commentary on the Brahmasutras and covering every suutra. According to the Dvaita sampradaya, there are 564 sutras.
Commentaries on the Upanishads
id i d i d d~l h d Id-pdiuy-i h (Ishavasya Upanishad Bhashya)
dVdlMdfdd'-HlddH (Kena Upanishad Bhashya)
di'iiHdRd^iddH (Katha Upanishad Bhashya)
H'ddTIddlddddlddH (Mundaka Upanishad Bhashya)
$]dlddfhd/d lddH (Satprashna Upanishad Bhashya)
h i u (fT>dl m dfdiqpq h (Mandukya Upanishad Bhashya)
dd^dhdldd'did^dH (Aitareya Upanishad Bhashya)
Rldldd^ ld'dH (Taittireeya Upanishad Bhashya)
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Bhashya)
-^Md'ldd'l h dfdd'diddd (Chandogya Upanishad Bhashya)
For more see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_of_Madhvacharya
Mahabharata
Title variants
Mahabharata
Maha-Bharata
Mahabharata
bitthkct
Author
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The story is said to have been dictated to the god GANESHA by the sage VYASA. Vyasa is the teller of the tale for our own era,
but it is considered to have existed long before. From time to time Vyasa himself plays an important role in the epic.
Wikipedia
The epic is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa, who is also a major character in the epic. The first section of the Mahabharata states
that it was Ganesha who, at the request of Vyasa, wrote down the text to Vyasa’s dictation. Ganesha is said to have agreed to
write it only on condition that Vyasa never pause in his recitation. Vyasa agreed, provided Ganesha took the time to understand
what was said before writing it down.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
Who wrote this epic?
It is believed that Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa composed the Mahabharata. There are other great works attributed to Vya\sa, such as
the Vedanta Sutras and the Patafijaia Sutra Bhasya. We do not know whether both these Vyasas are the same person. Like the
term “Pope”, names such as Vyasa, Vasistha, Narada, and- Kasyapa, often mentioned in the archaic literature of India, were not
personal names but spiritual appellations vested on the succeeding heads of the respective hierarchies. Therefore we cannot say
whether the Mahabharata and other works were written by the same Vyasa or a number of Vyasas. All that we can surmise is that
it was written by a certain Vyasa. The name Vyasa literally means a compiler or editor.
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mahabharata — ... the great epic of the Bharatas.
1. The epic poem compiled by the sage Vyasa which recounts the struggle between the Kauravas and the Pandava brothers over
a disputed kingdom. As its vast narrative unfolds, a treasure house of Indian secular and religious lore is revealed. The Bhagavad
Gita occurs in the latter portion of the Mahabharata.
2. One of two Hindu epics. ... It consists of 220,000 lines divided into twelve books. It is the longest poem in the world containing
legendary and philosophical material worked into and around a central heroic narrative which portrays the struggles between two
Bharata families: the evil Kurus and the virtuous Pandavas. Written by Vyasa, it contains the Bhagavad Gita and is sometimes
called the fifth Veda.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mahabharata -
‘great narrative of the war of the Bharatas’ , N. of the great epic poem in about 215,000 lines describing the acts and contests of
the sons of the two brothers Dhritarashtra and Pandu , descendants of Bharata , who were of the lunar line of kings reigning in the
neighbourhood of Hastinapura (the poem consists of 18 books with a supplement called Hari-varhsa , the whole being attributed to
the sage Vyasa)
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Mahabharata (MBh), is one of the two great Indian epics (the other is the RAMAYANA). It tells the story of the descendents
of BHARATA, the legendary leader of the early Indian tribes. It is the world’s largest epic, containing at least 100,000 verses. It is
often said in India that there is nothing that is not in the MBh and that which is not in the MBh is to be found nowhere.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Mahabharata
One of the two great Sanskrit epics, traditionally ascribed to the mythical sage Vyasa. The Mahabharata is much longer than the
other great epic, the Ramayana. At almost 100,000 stanzas, the Mahabharata is the world’s longest epic poem. If the Ramaya-
na can be characterized as the tale of the “good” family, in which brothers cooperate to support and preserve their family, the
Mahabharata describes the “bad” family, in which hard-heartedness and the lust for power in an extended royal family ultimately
cause its destruction. The epic is set in the region west of modern Delhi and describes a fratricidal civil war.
Wikipedia
The Mahabharata ... is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of
itihasa.
Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, the Mahabharata contains
much philosophical and devotional material ... Among the principal works and stories that are a part of the Mahabharata are the
Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa, often considered as
works in their own right...
There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text
are not thought to be appreciably older than around 400 BCE, though the origins of the story probably fall between the 8th and 9th
centuries BCE. The text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period (ca. fourth century CE). The title may be trans¬
lated as “the great tale of the Bharata dynasty”. According to the Mahabharata itself, the tale is extended from a shorter version of
24,000 verses called simply Bharata.
The mahabharata in its longest version consists of over 100000 shloka or over 200000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a
couplet), long prose passages, or about 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and
Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana...
The epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and secular
works. It is recited to the King Janamejaya who is the great-grandson of Arjuna, by Vaisampayana, a disciple of Vyasa.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
What is Mahabharata?
... an epic called the Mahabharata which reflects the life and ideals of the people who lived in India around 1000 B.C. It is not the
usual story of a single hero and a few other characters. It is a great saga, singing the heroic deeds and thoughts of hundreds of
heroes and heroines, and highlighting all aspects of human life. The Mahabharata does not treat any human value as irrelevant or
insignificant. In its composition there are themes both beautiful and ugly; it contains side-splitting comedies as well as blood-cur¬
dling tragedies. In fact, nothing of the rich legacy of India’s ancient tradition is left out of this great epic. We can easily call it an
encyclopedia of psychological types and a compendium of Upanisadic thoughts and ideals.
Structure
General
Wikipedia
The division into 18 parvas is as follows:
1
2
3
4
5
Title
Adi Parva(The Book of the
Beginning)
Sabha Parva (The Book of
the Assembly Hall)
Vana Parva also Aranya-
ka-parva, Aranya-parva
(The Book of the Forest)
Virata Parva (The Book of
Virata)
Udyoga Parva (The Book
of the Effort)
sub-parvas Contents
How the Mahabharata came to be narrated by Sauti to the assembled
rishis at Naimisharanya. The recital of the Mahabharata at the sar-
pasattra of Janamejaya by Vaishampayana at Taksasila. The history
of the Bharata race is told in detail and the parva also traces history
of the Bhrigu race. The birth and early life of the Kuru princes, (adi
means first)
Maya Danava erects the palace and court (sabha), at Indraprastha.
20-28 Life at the court, Yudhishthira’s Rajasuya Yajna, the game of dice,
and the eventual exile of the Pandavas.
29-44 The twelve years of exile in the forest (aranya).
45-48 The year in incognito spent at the court of Virata.
Preparations for war and efforts to bring about peace between the
49-59 Kurus and the Pandavas which eventually fail (udyoga means effort or
work).
6
Bhishma Parva (The Book
of Bhishma)
60-64
7
Drona Parva (The Book of
Drona)
65-72
8
Kama Parva (The Book of
Kama)
73
9
Shalya Parva (The Book of
Shalya)
74-77
10
Sauptika Parva (The Book
of the Sleeping Warriors)
78-80
11
Stri Parva (The Book of the
Women)
81-85
12
Shanti Parva (The Book of
Peace)
86-88
13
Anushasana Parva (The
Book of the Instructions)
89-90
Ashvamedhika Parva (The
14
Book of the Horse Sacri¬
fice)^]
91-92
15
Ashramavasika Parva (The
Book of the Hermitage)
93-95
16
Mausala Parva (The Book
of the Clubs)
96
Mahaprasthanika Parva
17
(The Book of the Great
97
Journey)
The first part of the great battle, with Bhishmaas commander for the
Kauravas and his fall on the bed of arrows.
The battle continues, with Dronaas commander. This is the major
book of the war. Most of the great warriors on both sides are dead by
the end of this book.
The battle again, with Karnaas commander.
The last day of the battle, with Shalyaas commander. Also told in
detail is the pilgrimage of Balarama to the fords of the river Saraswati
and the mace fight between Bhima and Duryodhana which ends the
war, since Bhima kills Duryodhana by smashing him on the thighs
with a mace.
Ashvattama, Kripa and Kritavarma kill the remaining Pandava army in
their sleep. Only 7 warriors remain on the Pandava side and 3 on the
Kaurava side.
Gandhari, Kunti and the women (stri) of the Kurus and Pandavas
lament the dead.
The crowning of Yudhisthiraas king of Hastinapura, and instructions
from Bhishmafor the newly anointed king on society, economics and
politics. This is the longest book of the Mahabharata (shanti means
peace).
The final instructions (anushasana) from Bhishma.
The royal ceremony of the Ashvamedha(Horse sacrifice) conducted
by Yudhisthira. The world conquest by Arjuna. The Anugita is told by
Krishna to Arjuna.
The eventual deaths of Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti in a forest
fire when they are living in a hermitage in the Himalayas. Vidura pre¬
deceases them and Sanjaya on Dhritarashtra’s bidding goes to live in
the higher Himalayas.
The infighting between the Yadavaswith maces (mausala) and the
eventual destruction of the Yadavas.
The great journey of Yudhisthira and his brothers across the whole
country and finally their ascent of the great Himalayas where each
Pandava falls except for Yudhisthira.
Yudhisthira’s final test and the return of the Pandavas to the spiritual
world (svarga).
Life of Krishnawhich is not covered in the 18 parvas of the Ma-
habharata.
Mahabharata and Bhagavadgita
General
Wikipedia
The Bhagavad Gita occurs in the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata and comprises 18 chapters from the 25th through 42nd and
consists of 700 verses.
Svargarohana Parva (The
18 Book of the Ascent to
Heaven)
^ Harivamsa Parva (The
.. Book of the Genealogy of
" a Hari)
See also:
in Vyasa: Wikipedia
Etymology
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
Maha means great. Mahabharata is “Greater India”. In ancient days the term Mahabharata referred to a state of mind, or a culture
that was lived not within the limit of the political or geographical unit called “India”. It covered a vast area stretching from the Pacif¬
ic Islands in the Far East to the Mediterranean in the West, in which region the Hindu-Buddhistic culture exerted a great influence
in the arts, literature, and socio-political thought, although politically it was never under a single monarch at any time.
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The epic recounts a dynastic struggle that took place near Delhi in northern India. The eldest son in the dynasty of the Kurus is
Pandu, whose wife, Kunti, has five sons (considered Pandu’s sons, although each was fathered by a different god): YUDHISHTHI-
RA, ARJUNA, BHIMA, Nakula, and Sahadeva. Collectively they are known as the PANDAVAS. Because of a curse on Pandu that
he will die if he has sexual intercourse with either of his wives (Kunti and Madri), Pandu is forced to give up his claim to the throne
in favor of his blind brother, Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra has 100 sons, the oldest of whom is DURYODHANA. They are known
collectively as the KAURAVAS.
Dhritarashtra becomes regent until Pandu’s sons are of age, when one of them will rightfully assume the throne. Dhritarashtra
is weak-willed and cannot resist his son Duryodhana’s attempts to usurp power. The plotting of Duryodhana and his Kauravas
against the Pandavas forms the central dynamic in this intriguing story. When their plot to murder the five Pandava brothers fails,
they fleece them at dice and drive them into exile.
Finally, events culminate in open warfare between the two camps. The Pandavas are forced to fight against not only their evil
cousins and uncles, but their venerable guru DRONA and their grand-uncle BHISHMA. In fact, part of the epic’s greatness is that
the story is not pure black and white, but instead shows shades of gray on both sides.
The god KRISHNA serves as the noncombatant charioteer of the brave Pandava, Arjuna. As the two pull up to look at the op¬
posing armies before the war begins, Krishna recites the celebrated BHAGAVAD GITA, a profound poem that summarizes Hindu
philosophy. On the battlefield of KURUKSHETRA a terrible carnage ensues, as the Pandavas eventually triumph and gain the
kingdom. This epic story is known to all Indians, many of whom are named for its heroes; place names in every part of India are
taken from this story as well. There are versions in every one of the local Indian languages, as well as simplified folk dramas that
act out its tales for those who cannot read.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
A greatly abridged account can be given as follows:
Shantanu is the king of the Kurus. He dies an untimely, heirless death. In a desperate attempt to preserve the royal line, Shan-
tanu’s wife, Satyavati, calls upon her elder son, the sage Vyasa, who fathers children by Shantanu’s two wives. The elder son,
Dhrtarashtra, is born blind, and thus the rights to the throne fall to his younger brother Pandu. Pandu later abdicates his throne
because of a curse, and goes to live in the forest with his two wives, Kunti and Madri, leaving his elder brother to rule in his place.
In time Dhrtarashtra’s wife, Gandhari, magically gives birth to one hundred sons, of whom the oldest is Duryodhana; the hundred
sons are called the Kauravas, and are the epic’s antagonists. In the forest Kunti has three sons, Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna,
while Madri has the twins Nakula and Sahadeva. These five sons are the Pandavas, the epic’s protagonists. None of these chil¬
dren are actually Pandu’s sons, since he has been cursed to die the moment he holds his wife in amorous embrace. Rather, they
have been magically conceived using a mantra given to Kunti by the sage Durvasas, giving the woman reciting it the power to call
down any of the gods and have a son equal in power to that god himself. When Kunti first receives the mantra, long before her
marriage, she impulsively recites it while gazing upon the sun, and gives birth to a shining child. Distraught and desperate, Kunti
puts him in a box and abandons him in the Ganges River. The child is adopted by the charioteer Adhiratha, and grows up to be
the heroic Kama.
As the result of his curse, Pandu dies an early death, and Kunti (his wife) and his sons (the Pandavas) return to the court at Hast-
inapur, where the boys are raised as princes. From the beginning there are bad feelings between Duryodhana (the eldest of the
Kauravas) and his cousins, largely because Duryodhana desires the throne, which rightly belongs to Yudhishthira (one of the Pan¬
davas). After foiling several attempts to kill them, the Pandava brothers leave the kingdom to become mercenaries. On one of their
journeys, Arjuna wins the hand of the princess Draupadi, who becomes their common wife (their mother commands that Arjuna
share whatever he wins with his brothers). After some time Dhrtarashtra (father of the Kauravas) renounces the throne and divides
his kingdom. The Pandavas build a new capital at Indraprastha, identified near modern Delhi.
For a little while things are quiet, but Duryodhana is not content to share his kingdom. He invites Yudhishthira for a game of dice,
matching Yudhishthira against Shakuni, the most skillful gambler alive. Although Yudhishthira is a model for truthfulness and
virtue, his fatal flaw is his love of gambling. In the match Yudhishthira loses his kingdom, all his possessions, his brothers, himself,
and finally his wife. In one of the epic’s most powerful scenes, Duryodhana’s brother, Duhshasana, drags Draupadi by her hair into
the assembly hall, her clothes stained with her menstrual blood. Draupadi’s humiliation moves Dhrtarashtra to set them free, but
also sparks the enmity that helps drive the rest of the plot. After some bargaining, the parties agree that the Pandavas will spend
twelve years in exile and a thirteenth incognito. If they can remain undiscovered during the thirteenth year they will regain their
kingdom. If they are discovered, however, the cycle of exile will begin again.
After thirteen years, Yudhishthira and his brothers approach Duryodhana for their rightful share, but are haughtily rebuffed. All ef¬
forts at conciliation fail; Duryodhana claims that he will not give them enough land in which to stick the point of a needle. Pushed to
the wall, the Pandavas prepare for battle. On one side are Yudhishthira and his brothers, aided by their counselor Krishna. On the
other are Duryodhana and many respected figures, such as Drona, Bhishma, and Kama. For eighteen days the battle rages, until
most of the important people are dead. Yudhishthira and his brothers survive. Yudhishthira is crowned king and rules righteously
for many years. Late in life he installs his grandson, King Parikshit, on the throne. With his siblings he takes a final journey into the
Himalayas. During the journey his brothers fall dead, one by one; Yudhishthira eventually enters the divine realm.
The complete epic is more complex than this summary. One of the features of the epic is that it contains many unrelated tales,
for which the main story acts as a frame. Aside from being a tale of a dysfunctional family, the Mahabharata also contains a great
deal of cultural wisdom, making the names of characters symbolic even today. A televised serial of the text, which ran for more
than a year in 1989-90, was wildly popular throughout India. It is also interesting to note that many traditional Indian families will
not keep a copy of the text in the house, since it is believed that to do this will foster discord in the family.
Wikipedia
The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura, the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two
collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the Kaurava and the Pandava. Although the Kaurava is the se¬
nior branch of the family, Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, is younger than Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava. Both Duryodhana and
Yudhisthira claim to be first in line to inherit the throne.
The struggle culminates in the great battle of Kurukshetra, in which the Pandavas are ultimately victorious. The battle produces
complex conflicts of kinship and friendship, instances of family loyalty and duty taking precedence over what is right, as well as the
converse.
The Mahabharata itself ends with the death of Krishna, and the subsequent end of his dynasty and ascent of the Pandava broth¬
ers to heaven. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of Kali (Kali Yuga), the fourth and final age of mankind, in which great
values and noble ideas have crumbled, and man is heading toward the complete dissolution of right action, morality and virtue.
Publications
Critical Edition
Between 1919 and 1966, scholars at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, compared the various manuscripts of the
epic from India and abroad and produced the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata, on 13,000 pages in 19 volumes, followed by the
Harivamsha in another two volumes and six index volumes. This is the text that is usually used in current Mahabharata studies for
reference.This work is sometimes called the ‘Pune’ or ‘Poona’ edition of the Mahabharata.
Translations
General
Wikipedia
English translations
The first complete English translation was the Victorian prose version by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, published between 1883 and 1896
(Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers) and by M. N. Dutt (Motilal Banarsidass Publishers). Most critics consider the translation by
Ganguli to be faithful to the original text. The complete text of Ganguli’s translation is in the public domain and is available online.
Another English prose translation of the full epic, based on the Critical Edition, is also in progress, published by University Of
Chicago Press, initiated by Chicago Indologist J. A. B. van Buitenen (books 1-5) and, following a 20-year hiatus caused by the
death of van Buitenen, is being continued by D. Gitomer of DePaul University (book 6), J. L. Fitzgerald of Brown University (books
11-13) and Wendy Doniger of the University of Chicago (books 14-18).
A poetic “transcreation” (author’s own description) of the full epic into English, done by the poet P. Lai is complete, and in 2005 be¬
gan being published by Writers Workshop, Calcutta. The P. Lai translation is a non-rhyming verse-by-verse rendering, and is the
only edition in any language to include all slokas in all recensions of the work (not just those in the Critical Edition). The completion
of the publishing project is scheduled for 2010. Sixteen of the eighteen volumes are now available.
A project to translate the full epic into English prose, translated by various hands, began to appear in 2005 from the Clay Sanskrit
Library, published by New York University Press. The translation is based not on the Critical Edition but on the version known to
the commentator NTIakantha. Currently available are 15 volumes of the projected 32-volume edition.
Indian economist Bibek Debroy has also begun an unabridged English translation in ten volumes. Volume 1: Adi Parva was pub¬
lished in March 2010.
Related words
Bhagavad Gita
Vyasa
External links
Original text
Mahabharata 6.23-6.40 (sacred-texts.com)
GRETIL etext (Muneo Tokunaga)
Mahabhutas
Variant spellings
mahabhuta
mahabhuta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mahabhuta — ... the five great elements.
1. They are ether (akasa), which emerges from sound (sabda); air (vayu), which emerges from touch (sparsa); fire (tejas), which
emerges from color (rupa); water (ap), which emerges from taste (rasa); and earth (prthivl), which emerges from smell (gandha).
These five gross elements emerge from the subtle essences of the elements (tanmatras).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mahabhuta -
being great, great;
a great creature or being;
a great element, gross element (of which 5 are reckoned, viz. ether, air, fire, water, earth Up. Nir. Mn. &c. [cf. IW. 83, 221], as dis¬
tinguished from the subtle element or TanmAtra)
mahabhuta -
being great, great;
a great creature or being;
a great element, gross element (of which 5 are reckoned, viz. ether, air, fire, water, earth Up. Nir. Mn. &c. [cf. IW. 83, 221], as dis¬
tinguished from the subtle element or TanmAtra)
mahabhGta -
being great, great;
a great creature or being;
a great element, gross element (of which 5 are reckoned, viz. ether, air, fire, water, earth Up. Nir. Mn. &c. [cf. IW. 83, 221], as dis¬
tinguished from the subtle element or TanmAtra)
nm7c6
mahabhuta -
being great, great;
a great creature or being;
a great element, gross element (of which 5 are reckoned, viz. ether, air, fire, water, earth Up. Nir. Mn. &c. [cf. IW. 83, 221], as dis¬
tinguished from the subtle element or TanmAtra)
Wikipedia
Mahabhuta is Sanskrit and Pali for “great element.” In Hinduism, the five “great” or “gross” elements are ether, air, fire, water and
earth. In Buddhism, the “four great elements” (Pali: cattaro mahabhutani) are earth, water, fire and air.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Five Elements, from Earth to Ether, are called in the Gita (VII; 4) Bhumi, Ap, Anala, Vayu and Kha. But generally they are
called Prithvi, Ap, Agni, Vayu and Akasa. Sometimes Seven Elements are mentioned instead of five, in order to include the Lu¬
nar and Solar Spheres. In that case Akasa is subdivided into three spheres, the highest of which, called Atmakasa, Jnanakasa or
Mahakasa, or respectively the “Ether of the Self,” the “Ether of Realization” and the “Great Ether”, is no “sphere” at all, because it
refers to the state beyond Manifestation, the abode of the Supernal Sun.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The last five principles of the Samkhya system are called Mahabhutas. ... They are the five forms into which Cosmic Substance
(Prakrti) differentiates itself, namely: Ether (Akasa), Air (Vayu), Fire (Tejas), Water (Apas), and Earth (PrthivT).
The five Sense-Particulars (Mahabhutas) are postulated in order to account for the vehicles through which the Subtle Elements
(Tanmatras) manifest themselves, for example the Tanmatra of Sound (Sabda) cannot be heard if it does not have the IVIahabhu-
ta of Ether (Akasa) to serve as its vehicle. Each Sense-Particular (Mahabhuta) is conditioned and evolved from the one immedi¬
ately preceding it, and has a special property in addition to the general qualities of the others from which it was evolved. For the
sake of discussion, each can best be considered separately.
The first Sense-Particular (Mahabhuta) is Akasa (Ether), derived from the prefix a and the root his, “to appear.” Here it is used to
mean the principle of vacuity. It has the special property of sound, therefore, it can be heard, but it cannot be felt, seen, tasted, or
smelled: i.e., a clear sound has no touch, no form, no flavour, no odour. It is only a sound beyond the range of the four senses.
The second Sense-Particular (IVfahabhGta) is Vayu (Air)... Here it is used to mean the principle of motion. Its function is pressure
or impact. It has the special property of touch and the general quality of sound; therefore, it can be felt and heard: i.e., a gust of
pure air has a touch and a sound, but no form, no flavour, no odour; therefore, it cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled.
The third Sense-Particular (MahabhGta) is Tejas (Fire) ... Here it is used to mean the principle of luminosity. Its function is expan¬
sion. It has the special property of form and the general quality of touch and sound; therefore, it can be seen, felt, and heard: i.e.,
a pure blue flame has a form, a touch, and a sound, but no flavour or odour; therefore, it cannot be tasted or smelled.
The fourth Sense-Particular (Mahabhuta) is Apas (Water) ... Here the term is used to mean the principle of liquidity. Its function
is contraction. It has the special property of flavour and the general quality of form, touch, and sound; therefore, it can be tasted,
seen, felt, and heard: i.e., a glass of pure water has a flavour, a form, a touch, and a sound, but no odour; therefore, it cannot be
smelled.
The fifth Sense-Particular (Mahabhuta) is PrthivT (Earth) ... Here it is used to mean the principle of solidarity. Its function is cohe¬
sion. It has the special property of odour and the general qualities of flavour, form, touch, and sound, therefore, it can be smelled,
tasted, seen, felt, and heard; i.e., an apple has an odour, a flavour, a form, a touch, and a sound; therefore, it can be known by the
five senses.
The following outline shows the relation of the five Sense-Particulars (Mahabhutas) to one another:
Ether has sound
Air has sound and touch
Fire has sound touch and form
Water has sound and touch and form and flavour
Earth has sound and touch and form and flavour and odour.
With the manifestation of the Sense-Particular (Mahabhuta) the process of cosmic evolution comes to rest; therefore, these princi¬
ples or tattvas are classified as evolutes, that is, they are produced and do not produce any new mode of being. All manifestations
in the phenomenal world are said to be modifications of these principles and not the creation of anything new.
Wikipedia
In Hinduism’s sacred literature, the “great” or “gross” elements (mahabhuta) are fivefold: space (or “ether”), air, fire, water and
earth.
For instance, the TaittirTya Upanisad describes the five “sheaths” of a person (Sanskrit: purusa), starting with the grossest level of
the five evolving great elements:
From this very self (atman) did space come into being; from space, air; from air, fire; from fire, the waters, from the waters, the
earth; from the earth, plants; from plants, food; and from food, man.... Different from and lying within this man formed from the
essence of food is the self (atman) consisting of lifebreath.... Different from and lying within this self consisting of breath is the self
(atman) consisting of mind.... Different from and lying within this self consisting of mind is the self (atman) consisting of percep¬
tion.... Different from and lying within this self consisting of perception is the self (atman) consisting of bliss....
In the Svetasvatara Upanisad, God is identified as the source of the great elements:
Some wise men say it is inherent nature, while others say it is time — all totally deluded. It is rather the greatness of God present
in the world by means of which this wheel of brahman goes around. Who always encompasses this whole world — the knower,
the architect of time, the one without qualities, and the all- knowing one — it is at his command that the work of creation, to be
conceived of as earth, water, fire, air, and space, unfolds itself.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
These elements, in their pure and uncompounded form, have no actual existence other than as concepts. The existence of con¬
cepts is in consciousness or mind alone.
See: Bhuta and mahabhuta
Evolution of mahabhutas
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The five classes of atoms are generated from the tanmatras as follows: the sound-potential, with accretion of rudiment matter
from bhutadi generates the akasa-atom. The touch-potentials combine with the vibratory particles (sound-potential) to generate
the vayu-atom. The light-and-heat potentials combine with touch-potentials and sound-potentials to produce the tejas-atom. The
taste-potentials combine with light-and-heat potentials, touch-potentials and sound-potentials to generate the ap-atom and the
smell-potentials combine with the preceding potentials to generate the earth-atom. The akasha-atom possesses penetrability, the
vayu-atom impact or mechanical pressure, the tejas-atom radiant heat and light, the ap-atom viscous attraction and the earth-at¬
om cohesive attraction. The akasa we have seen forms the transition link from the bhutadi to the tanmatra and from the tanmatra
to the atomic production; it therefore deserves a special notice at this stage. Samkhya distinguishes between a karana-akasha
and karyakasha. The karana-akasha (non-atomic and all-pervasive) is the formless tamas--the mass in prakrti or bhutadi; it is
indeed all-pervasive, and is not a mere negation, a mere unoccupiedness (avaranabhava) or vacuum. When energy is first asso¬
ciated with this tamas element it gives rise to the sound-potential; the atomic akasha is the result of the integration of the original
mass-units from bhutadi with this sound-potential (shabda tanmatra). Such an akasha-atom is called the karyakasha; it is formed
everywhere and held up in the original karana akasha as the medium for the development of vayu atoms. Being atomic it occupies
limited space.
See: Relations of Vedas to their objects, four elements, etc.
See also:
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Related words
Agni
Panca-bhuta-viveka
Pancikarana
Tanmatra
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
MahabhGtas, derived from the root bhu, to be, to come into being, to exist.”
Sanskrit
Mahabhuta — h^I^ci
mahabhuta -
Diagram: Mahabhutas
Diagram:
Mahabhutas
j ? T
Y
akasa
vayu
apah
tejas
prthivi
Maharsi
Variant spellings
maharshi
maharsi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Maharsi — ... great sage.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
maharsi -
a great Rishi, any great sage or saint (accord, to Mn. i, 34, ten Maharshis were created by Manu Svayambhuva, viz. MarTci, Atri,
Aiigiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Pracetas, Vasishtha, Bhrigu, Narada, also called the 10 Prajapatis ; some restrict the number to
7, and some add Daksha, Dharma, Gautama, Kanva, ValmTki, Vyasa, Manu, Vibhandaka &c.);
N. of Siva;
of Buddha
Wikipedia
Maharishi (noun, mah-huh-ree-shee) is the anglicized version of the Sanskrit word Maharshi H^wPlmaha meaning “great” and rsi
meaning “seer”). Maharishi is often used as an addition to a person’s name as an honorary title. The term was first seen in modern
English literature in the 18th century.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Maharishi may refer to a Hindu guru or “spiritual teacher” of “mystical knowledge”. Additional meanings cited by dictionaries in¬
clude: sage, poet, spiritual leader, wise man and holy man.
Alternate meanings describe Maharishi as a collective name that refers to the seven rishis or saptarishis (including Maharishi
Bhrigu) cited in the scriptures of Rig Veda and the Puranas or any of the several mythological seers that are referenced in Vedic
writings and associated with the seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major.
Maharishi may refer to any individual who has added the title to their name. According to Brewers Dictionaary, outside of India, the
most well known Maharishi was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who founded the Transcendental Meditation and made it available to the
West.
Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) was an “Indian sage” with a philosophy about the path to self-knowledge and the integration of
personality espoused in books by author Paul Brunton and Ramana’s own writings such as the Collected Works (1969) and Forty
Verses on Reality (1978).
The title was also used by Maharishi Valmiki, Maharishi Patanjali and Maharishi Dayananda Sarasvati.
The term Maharishi became popular in modern English literature “sometime before 1890” and was first used in 1758.
Etymology
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Maharsi: Maha + rsi; a great rsi or seer.
Sanskrit
Maharsi —
maharsi -
Mahat
Variant spellings
mahat
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mahat— ...the Great; intellect.
1. The first evolute of primordial Nature (prakrti). It is the cosmic aspect of the intellect and, along with the intellect, ego, and mind,
it is the cause of the entire creation. It is also called buddhi which is the psychological aspect of the intellect in individuals. It is
both eternal and noneternal. Its special function is determination. From it evolves egoity (ahankara).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mahat -
great (in space, time, quantity or degree) i.e. large, big, huge, ample, extensive, long, abundant, numerous, considerable, import¬
ant, high, eminent;
abounding on rich in;
distinguished by;
early (morning);
advanced (afternoon);
violent (pain or emotion);
thick (as darkness), gross;
loud (as noise);
many (people, with jana sg.);
a great or noble man;
the leader of a sect or superior of a monastery;
a camel;
N. of Rudra;
of a Danava;
a partic. class of deceased progenitors;
of two princes;
‘the great principle’, N. of Buddhi, ‘Intellect’, or the intellectual principle (according to the Sarhkhya philosophy the second of the 23
principles produced from Prakriti and so called as the great source of Aharhkara, ‘self-consciousness’, and Manas, ‘the mind’;
the (7 or 100-stringed) lute of Narada;
the 12th day in the light half of the month Bhadrapada;
anything great or important;
greatness, power, might;
dominion;
a great thing, important matter, the greater part;
advanced state or time (mahati’ ratriyai or ratryai, in the middle of the night);
sacred knowledge
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Mahat (“great one”).In the account ofevolution found in theSamkhyaphilosophical school, mahat is the first evolutionary stage.
It consists of the initial disturbance ofprakrti(primal matter) transforming from its original state of equilibrium. Mahat is called the
“great one” because prakrti remains unchanged. Mahat is also known asbuddhi, the mental faculty for awareness, apperception,
and decision making that is believed to be at the root of mental processes. The mental processes facilitated by buddhi spur the
development of the next stage in the evolution,ahamkaror subjective consciousness, after which the division of the world into sub¬
jective and objective spheres proceeds.
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The first evolute of the prakrti is generated by a preponderance of the sattva (intelligence-stuff). ... It thus holds within it the minds
(buddhi) of all purusas which were lost in the prakrti during the pralaya. ...This state of evolution consisting of all the collected
minds (buddhi) or all the purusas is therefore called buddhitattva. ... the first transformation from prakrti becomes buddhi-trans-
formation. This stage of buddhis may thus be regarded as the most universal stage, which comprehends within it all the buddhis
of individuals and potentially all the matter of which the gross world is formed. ... it has the widest and most universal existence
comprising all creation, and is thus called mahat (the great one).
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
You must remember that the first manifestation of this Prakriti in the cosmos is what the Samkhyas called Mahat. We may call it
universal intelligence —the great principle; that is the literal meaning. The first manifestation of Prakriti is this intelligence; I would
not translate it by self-consciousness, because that would be wrong. Consciousness is only a part of this intelligence, which is
universal. It covers all the grounds of consciousness, subconsciousness and super consciousness. In nature, for instance, certain
changes are going on before your eyes which you see and understand, but there are other changes so much finer that no human
perception can catch them. They are from the same cause, the same Mahat is making these changes. There are other changes,
beyond the reach of our mind or reasoning, all these series of changes are in this Mahat.
... It is very important to understand this Mahat in man, the intelligence. This intelligence itself is modified into what we call egoism,
and this intelligence is the cause of all these changes which result in producing the body. This covers all the grounds of sub-con¬
sciousness, consciousness and super-consciousness. What are these three states ? The sub-conscious state is what we find
in animals, and call instinct. This is nearly infallible, but very limited. Instinct almost never fails. An animal instinctively knows a
poisonous herb from an edible one, but its instinct is limited to one or two things, it works like a machine. Then comes the higher
state of knowledge, which is fallible, makes mistakes often, but has a larger scope, although it is slow, and this you call reason.
It is much larger than instinct, but there are more dangers of mistakes in reasoning than in instinct. There is a still higher state of
the mind the super-conscious, which belongs only to the Yogis, men who have cultivated it. This is as infallible as instinct, and still
more unlimited than reason. It is the highest state. We must remember that as in man this Mahat is the real cause of all that which
is manifesting itself in various ways, covering the whole ground of his sub-conscious, conscious and superconscious states—the
three states in which knowledge exists—so in the Cosmos, this universal Intelligence, Mahat, exists as instinct, as reason and as
super-reason.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. The secret of the Katha upanishad
There is a higher Knowledge than the human understanding. That higher Intelligence superior to human understanding is called
mahat-tattva, also called mahat. Sometimes, in Vedantic parlance, you call it hiranyagarbha. This Cosmic Intelligence is regard¬
ed as the totality of individual intelligences. This is the usual description of Cosmic Intelligence; but it is not a correct statement of
fact. The Universal is not merely a totality of particulars. Many fools do not make one wise man. You know that even a thousand
fools put together do not make one of wisdom. Even all the individualities put together cannot make the Cosmic Mind. The ma-
hat-tattvaor the Cosmic Intelligence is qualitatively different from the totality or the mathematical union of individual understand¬
ings. God’s knowledge is not merely a total of human knowledge. It does not mean that if everybody sneezes, God will have a big
sneeze! He does not sneeze, though we all may. Quality marks the difference between cosmic existence and individual process.
You cannot call individuality as existence at all. You can only call it a process, a becoming, and not being. Being is only the su¬
preme state. The mahat or Cosmic Intelligence is as much different from individual understanding in quality as waking knowledge
is from the dreamer’s perception. You cannot say that your knowledge in the waking life is only a totality of what is there in dream.
It is qualitatively different and therefore you are happy even to be a beggar in the waking condition than a king in dream. The
cosmic knowledge is qualitatively different from, that is, superior to, the human understanding. Yama says, mahat-atman or hira¬
nyagarbha is a higher reality than human understanding, to which human nature points. Evolution is not over with human expe-
rience. Mankind is only a link in the process of a longer evolution. You have to move further, still, to the mahat.But mahat itself is
not complete. The avyakta is, yet, higher.
See: Ahankara and mahat
Mahat and buddhi
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. The secret of the Katha upanishad
This is the beginning of spirituality in the proper sense of the term. ... The spiritual element in the practice comes into relief when
the intellect, the buddhi or the jnana-atman, is attuned to the mahat-atman or the Universal Intelligence. This is not an easy affair,
but this is, precisely, meditation proper. The attunement of the intellect to the mahat, the establishment of the jnana-atman in the
mahat-atmanis possible only when we have an adequate understanding as to what this mahat-atman is. We hear of this term,
mahat,several times in the Sankhya, and also in the Vedanta. It is said that mahat comes out of prakriti and the mahatis superior
to the individual intellect, and so on. But what is this mahat? What is our relation to it? What are we supposed to do about it, espe¬
cially in our spiritual practices?
The mahat is the great, the large, or the big, literally translated. But what is this largeness or the bigness or the vastness of it?
The largeness of the mahat consists in the fact that it is inclusive of all other particular units which go to constitute it. The mahat
is the ocean, while the buddhi is a drop in the ocean. As many drops make the ocean, we may say that all the intellects constitute
the mahat in its completeness. ... For the jnana-atman to contemplate the mahat-atman, the intellect has to rise to the Universal.
... While the intellect of the human being, the individualised understanding, is a part of the Universal or the mahat-tattva, like the
drop in the ocean, this analogy again is not complete. It is only a partial illustration. ... While in quality the drop is the same as
the ocean, the intellect is not in quality the same as the mahat-atman. This is the difference. Otherwise, we would be small gods
sitting in this hall. We are not that. We have something else in us, other than the element of the mahat-Tattva. While the mahat is
imbedded in our hearts, while the mahat-atman is the soul of our intellect itself, it is the background, the presupposition of all our
thoughts and understanding. Yet, our understanding is not an exact fraction of the Universal Understanding. Our will is not a direct
part of the Divine Will. It does not mean that if all the people would think together, they would think like God. Not so! ... the reason
being that we are refracted, distorted, limited parts of the mahat-atman - parts, no doubt, but reflected ones...
The identification of the intellect or the jnana-atman with the mahat-atman, the union that is to be established through yoga be¬
tween the individual understanding or buddhi and the Universal Intelligence, is constituted of many subtle inward conscious pro¬
cesses. From now onwards, yoga becomes a purely internal affair, a growth of consciousness, properly speaking, from its lowest
involvement to the stages of its higher freedom.
See also: Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Related words
Hiranyagarbha
Ishvara
Sanskrit
Mahal — iT^Tcf
mahat -
Mahavakya
Variant spellings
mahavakya
mahavakya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mahavakya — ... Great Saying.
1. They are the Great Sayings of the Upanisads. Traditionally they are four in number: prajnanam brahma, which occurs in the
Aitareya Upanisad of the Rg Veda; ayam atma brahma, which occurs in the Chandogya Upanisad of the Sama Veda; and aham
brahmasmi, which occurs in the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad of the Yajur Veda.
2. Advaita Vedanta says that the mahavakyas posit the essential identity between the individual and the Absolute. Some Advaitins
say that this knowledge by itself can cause direct understanding while others hold that it is only by meditating on the meaning of
the mahavakya (and not the mere hearing) that cognition occurs.
3. Visistadvaita Vedanta also says that the mahavakya’s import is to affirm the identity of the individual with Brahman. However,
unlike Advaita Vedanta, the unity means that individual souls are eternal with God and not external to God. The souls and the
world are real and distinct, but they are included as parts within the one Absolute. Distinction is not denied but, at the same time,
the organic unity of the whole is affirmed.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mahavakya -
any long continuous composition or literary work;
a principal sentence, great proposition, N. of 12 sacred utterances of the Upanishads (e.g. tat tvam asi, aham brahmasmi &c., esp.
of the mystic words tattvam and om) Vedantas.;
N. of an Upanishad
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Mahavakya (“great utterance”). Short statements from the speculative texts known as the Upanishads, called “great” because they
reveal the true nature of reality and of the Self. One of the most famous mahavakya is tat tvam asi (“that thou art”), expressing
the unity of the Self with Brahman. Other well known utterances are ayamatma Brahman (“This Self is Brahman”), sarvam idam
khalu Brahman (“Truly, this universe is Brahman”), aham brahmasmi (“I am Brahman”), and prajnanam Brahman (“Knowledge is
Brahman”). These great utterances are most important in the leap philosophy propounded by the philosopher Sureshvara. Leap
philosophers believe that complete freedom is possible, but out of our immediate control, in that it cannot be gained by a precisely
specified sequence of causes and effects. According to Sureshvara’s understanding, when a person whose understanding has
been purified hears one of these mahavakyas, the profound truth in the utterance brings the flash of insight that brings final libera¬
tion of the soul (moksha).
Wikipedia
The Mahavakyas ... are “The Great Sayings” of the Upanishads, the foundational texts of Vedanta. Though there are many Ma¬
havakyas, four of them, each from one of the four Vedas, are mentioned often as “the Mahavakyas”. The subject matter and the
essence of all Upanishads being the same, all the Upanishadic Mahavakyas express this one universal message in the form of
terse and concise statements. In later Sanskrit usage, however, the term mahavakya came to mean “discourse,” and specifically,
discourse on a philosophically lofty topic.
The four Upanishadic statements indicate the ultimate unity of the individual (Atman) with God (Brahman).
The Mahavakyas are:
prajnanam brahma - “Consciousness is Brahman” (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)
ayam atma brahma - “This Self (Atman) is Brahman” (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)
tat tvam asi - “Thou art That” (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda)
aham brahmasmi - “I am Brahman” (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Yajur Veda)
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
There are four great Vedic statements through the contemplation of which the mind is led from the world of names and forms to
Brahman. They are as follows: “That thou art “ (Tattvamasi),”l am Brahman” (Aham Brahmasmi), “This Seif is Brahman” (Ayamat-
ma Brahma), “Brahman is Consciousness” {Prajnanam Brahma). All of these statements point to the same fact, namely, the ul¬
timate and essential oneness of man, or the individual soul, and God, or the Universal Soul, the reality behind them both being
Brahman, or Pure Consciousness.
Mahavakyas as used for instruction
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
In the Upanishads, four great dictums or mahavakya are given. One is called the dictum of instruction, upadesa vakyam. Upadesa
means an instruction given by a Guru to his disciple; vakyam means a sentence. Therefore it signifies a great sentence of instruc¬
tion given by a Guru to his disciple. Two other great dictums are given as methods for carrying out the instruction, called manana
vakya, dictums for meditation. Then there is one called anabhavam vakya, the great dictum of experience. So the Upanishadic
teaching begins with an instruction, then gives the methodology for carrying out the instruction, and finally describes the experi¬
ence which is the achievement of the teaching.
The great dictum of instruction is tat tvam asi. Tat means That; tvam, you; and asi, are. Together it is “That you are,” or “That thou
art.” Every Guru whispers this great secret in the ear of his disciple, but you can shout it out loud, and still nobody will hear. The
secrecy won’t be lost even in a million tellings.
Then the disciple asks, “How do I go about it? You say That thou art,’ but what is That? And how am I That?” He is helped by the
next two dictums. The first is ayam atma brahma, “this knowledge by which you know everything is the Absolute.” If you want to
find out what that is you should enter into your own knowledge and see how it is expansive, what depth it has, how it is the only
luminous reality of being you experience, and so on. You have to do a lot of manana, which is not discursive thinking but going
into the depths...
The other of the manana vakyas is prajnanam brahma, “this knowledge is That.” What you want to find out first of all is what ‘That’
is, what tat is. If this knowledge is That, what is That? Then you are told that all you experience here in this world in so many forms
are modulations of consciousness, which are nothing other than the Absolute, brahman. So you do only two things. Either you turn
inward and look at the subject who is knowing everything, or you look at everything that is not the subject and see the world of
objects, which is also consciousness. These two things can be put together. The seer and the seen put together are That, tat.
When the teacher says tvam, ‘you’, you understand it as aham, T. “That is me.” The teacher did not say “You are That.” If you first
think ‘you’, you only think of your body and the rest of your individuation. To avoid that mistake you are first instructed to meditate
on tat, and then place yourself in That...
When you engage in the contemplative reasoning by which you can relate ‘you’ to that Absolute, you are called tattva cinta grah-
an, a knower of the secret of That and thou. Then alone do you become a philosopher. Such a person who is capable of relating
the Absolute to the knower sees everything as one.
See also:
in Nididhyasana and upasana: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Related words
Aham Brahma Asmi
Ayamatma- Brahma
Prajnanam Brahma
Tal-tvam-asi
Sanskrit
Mahavakya — idicHa
sing.: mahavakya,
plural: mahavakyani, h^ni^nP
Manana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Manana — ... reflection; consideration.
1. According to Advaita Vedanta, it removes the doubt of an aspirant regarding the nature of the object (prameya) to be contem¬
plated— i.e., the Absolute (Brahman). Reflection is to be employed so as to get an intellectual conviction of the truth. It is the
constant thinking of the Absolute (Brahman).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
manana -
thoughtful, careful;
thinking, reflection, meditation, thought, intelligence, understanding (esp. intrinsic knowledge or science, as one of the faculties
connected with the senses);
homage, reverence
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Manana ... thinking, discriminative understanding, the second stage of self-culture.
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Manana. This is arguing within oneself, after knowing definitely what the Upanisads teach, how and why that teaching alone is
true. The main object of this process is not to discover the final truth, for that has been learnt already through sravana, but to
remove the doubt (asambhavana) that it may not after all be right. It is intended to transform what has been received on trust into
one’s own true conviction and brings out well the place assigned to reason in the Advaita. The recognition of the value of analyti¬
cal reflection, we may note by the way, is rather a unique feature in a doctrine which finally aims at mystic experience.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
It is not enough to read the scripture. We have to enter into the truth it presents and be it. ... To enter into it, we need manana: not
thinking, but resting with what is heard and merging into its essence. ... Listening (sravana) is to be followed by silent rumination
on whatever one has heard from one’s teacher. This exercise is called manana. Manana implies recalling the teaching to one’s
mind along with similar ideas one has heard before and looking for other appropriate examples. ... When we sit at a guru’s feet,
we are not prompted to go into vicara [linear thinking] but to engage in manana, diving deep without ever taking our attention away
from the key words uttered by the guru. It Is like knocking at the door of one’s Intuition for a revelation of truth. Only when we can
recall what we have heard before, can we reconsider it. Reconsideration brings a new clarity to our perspective. It is like going
deeper and deeper into the several layers of truth which are superimposed on the central theme of what the guru wants us to
know. Even in the most familiar words and their structures we will start finding a new insight.
Sometimes it takes years for a person to make a true manana of what one has heard from one’s guru. When one sits to listen for
the first time, what one hears is only the voice of the guru. In that voice, more and more clear impressions come to the surface.
Ultimately, the words burst into meanings that can even startle the listener. This is one way of strengthening one’s inner vision and
making the meaning of the manana real in one’s life. Some Vedantins hold the mistaken view that manana takes place while one
is listening attentively. Normally one has many convictions that have come only through hearsay. Only when one looks purposively
for deeper meaning does one’s insight become penetrating. A spiritually or mystically meaningful word shared with a student by a
guru is like a treasure chest. In the spoken word, an unspeakable volume of truth is enshrined to which the student has to slowly
become attuned...
... not reasoning, not thinking, but entering a thing and being it in an intuitive flash.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
A practiser may by long practice gain a glimpse of the Reality. This experience may be vivid for the time being. And yet he will be
distracted by the old vasanas and so his experience will not avail him. Such a man must continue his manana and nididhyasana
so that all the obstacles may be destroyed. He will then be able to remain permanently in the Real State.
Manana, vicara, cinta
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
... our thinking processes can be circular, linear or deep. When you worry your thoughts go in vicious circles, which is why you
can’t easily get away from them. This is called cinta in Sanskrit, and is the worst kind of mental operation. In linear thinking you
start with a statement, and then see what is connected or associated with it and where it leads to, before proceeding logically to
the next item. You direct your thoughts with reason, called vicara. It’s a better way of thinking, but often is somewhat limited. With
the third way of thinking, you don’t allow your mind to run away. First you decide what your standpoint is. Next you look at the field
and decide what its scope is. You have to decide not to be carried away by anything you have previously heard, not allowing any
kind of memories to come and distract you. You just repeat what you hear and penetrate into the heart of it, so that you can have
an intuitive grasp of its meaning. This is manana.
See: Sravana, manana, nididhyasana
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Manana - from the root man, to think.
Related words
Cinta
Nididhyasana
Sravana
Vicara
Sanskrit _
Manana — H'-M
manana - *FPT
Manas
Variant spellings
manas
manah
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Manah — ... mind; one of the aspects of the internal organ.
1. Mind emerges from the Pure (sattva) aspect of egoity (ahankara).
2. Mind stimulates the other senses to attend to their respective objects. Thus it is an organ of cognition and of action. It is the
doorkeeper to the senses. Its specific function is to explicate.
3. According to Nyaya-Vaisesika, it is atomic and eternal. It is an instrument of knowing and is inert as any other sense. Its cooper¬
ation is necessary for all knowledge. It exercises a double function: it helps the self to acquire knowledge and it narrows its field to
a single object or group of objects. Association with the mind is the basic cause of bondage.
4. According to Jainism, it is not a sense organ, but the organ of cognition of all objects of all the senses. It is of two types: phys¬
ical mind (bhava), which performs the mental functions proper, and material mind (dravya), which is subtle matter compounded
into the physical mind.
5. According to Dvaita Vedanta and Sankhya, the mind is considered as one of the sense organs (indriya).
6. According to Mimamsa, different cognitions are explained by a type of atom called manas. The mind alone brings about cogni¬
tions, aversions, efforts, etc., but by itself it is devoid of any qualities such as color, smell, etc. Thus it needs the aid of the other
organs to cognize these qualities.
7. See antahkarana.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
manas -
mind (in its widest sense as applied to all the mental powers), intellect, intelligence, understanding, perception, sense, conscience,
will RV. &c. &c. (in phil. the internal organ or antahkarana of perception and cognition, the faculty or instrument through which
thoughts enter or by which objects of sense affect the soul; in this sense manas is always is always regarded as distinct from at-
man and purusa, ‘spirit or soul’ and belonging only to the body, like which it is - except in the Nyaya - considered perishable ; as to
its position in the various systems ... it is sometimes joined with hrd or hrdaya, the heart... with caksus, the eye);
the spirit or spiritual principle, the breath or living soul which escapes from the body at death (called asu in animals);
thought, imagination, excogitation, invention, reflection, opinion, intention, inclination, affection, desire, mood, temper, spirit;
N. of the 26th Kalpa;
of the lake Manasa
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Manas (mind) is the term for the mental capacity in the 24 categories that define reality in SAMKHYA and YOGA. It is seen to
oversee the five capacities of action and the five capacities of perception directly. Above mind in the schema are the ego (aham-
kara) and the intellect (buddhi). While manas is essential for the proper functioning of the human being, it is always understood to
be subject to the whims of ego under the disguise of instinct or in terms of ego’s role in creating the “grasping” self.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Manas ... mind; in the widest sense of the word, it means all the mental powers, such as intellect, intelligence, understanding, per¬
ception, conscience, and will; in its limited use, it means the capacity for reflection, inference, testimony, doubt, ready wit, dream,
cognition, conjecture, memory, desire, and feeling of pleasure and pain, (in Nyaya) it is an object of Right Knowledge (Prameya);
(in Vaisesika) it is the ninth Eternal Reality or Substance (Dravya), the internal organ of cognition and perception through which
thoughts enter or by which objects affect the Soul (Atman); (in Samkhya) it is the Cosmic Mind, the principle of cognition; (in Yoga)
it is the individual mind, the power of attention, selection, and rejection.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
Manas in the Vedantic context is the seat of nescience (avidya), misdirected volition (vikalpa) and even pure volition (sankalpa).
It is a factor to be abolished by anyone who aspires to a full vision of the Absolute. It has both a transcendental and an immanent
content which can be finally abolished in favour of fuller vision of absolute truth or reality.
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The mark of the INTELLECT (manas) is the capacity for reflection, inference, testimony, doubt, ready wit, dream, cognition, con¬
jecture, memory, desire, and feeling of pleasure and pain. Another indication of the intellect is its incapacity to perceive two things
at the same time even though the senses are in contact with their objects. In contrast with the faculty of intelligence, the intellect
seeks factual knowledge which is worldly, while the intelligence aims at wisdom which is divine.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
I do not know this table as it is, but it makes an impression; it comes to the eye, then to the indriyas, and then to the mind [manas];
the mind then reacts, and that reaction is what I call ‘the table’. It is just the same as throwing a stone into a lake; the lake throws
a wave against the stone ; this wave is what we know. The waves coming out are all we know. In the same way the fashion of this
wall is in my mind; what is external nobody knows; when I want to know it, it has to become that material which I furnish; I, with my
own mind, have furnished the material for my eyes, and the something which is outside is only the occasion, the suggestion, and
upon that suggestion I project my mind, and it takes the form of what I see...
There is no difference between matter and mind save in degree. It is the same substance in finer or grosser form; one changes
into the other, ... and it will save you from a great deal of fighting and struggling if you believe it, rather than that you have a mind
separate from the brain, and all such impossible things.
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
... you ought to understand one thing more that will help us in understanding the Advaita system later on. ... most of you know how
pearls are made. Some irritating grain of dust or sand enters into the body of the pearl oyster and sets up an irritation there, and
the oyster’s body reacts towards the irritation and covers the little grain with its own juice. That crystallizes and forms the pearl. So
the whole universe is like that, the universe is the pearl which is being formed by us. What we get from the external world is simply
the blow. Even to know that blow we have to react, and as soon as we react we project really a portion of our own mind towards
the blow, and when we come to know of it, it is really our own mind as it has been shaped by the blow. Therefore it is clear... that,
supposing that we represent the external world by “X” what we really know is “X” plus mind, and this mind element is so great
that it has covered the whole of that “X” which has remained unknown and unknowable throughout, therefore if there be an exter¬
nal world it is always unknown and unknowable. What we know of it is as moulded, formed, fashioned by our own mind. So with
the internal world. The same applies to our own soul, the atman. In order to know the atman we shall have to know it through the
mind, and therefore what little we know of this atman is simply the atman plus the mind. That is to say, the atman covered over,
fashioned, and moulded by the mind, and nothing more.
Sankara tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
170. In the dream-state, even though there is no contact with the outside world, the mind alone projects the entire dreamuniverse
of enjoyer etc. Similarly, the waking-state is no different. All this (world of pluralistic phenomena), is but a projection of the mind.
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
During the dream ... the mind, out of itself, creates the dreamer, the dream-world and the dream-experience. ... The mind is the
dreamsubject, the mind is the dream-object and the mind again is the dream-experience of joy and sorrow.
Similarly, in the waking-state also there is no reality at all. Just as, in the dream, the mind creates a world of its own which has an
appearance of Reality, so too, the apparent Reality of the universe perceived in the waking world is but a hallucination. All that we
see around is a projection of our mind. Stop the mind and the world ends. One may say, “How about the other man seeing it?” But
the other man is also the perceiver’s own creation only.
171. In deep-sleep, the mind is reduced to its causal-state and nothing perceivable exists as is proved by the universal experience
of all people. Therefore, man’s world of change is just the creation of his own mind artd has no objective Reality.
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
During deep-sleep when the mind is completely dissolved, the experience of the individual is that there is nothing. ... Thus when
the mind is not there, there is no world perceived. So then, this world of variable experiences (samsar) ... is projected by man’s
mind alone.
173. The mind causes man’s attachment for the body and the sense-objects. ... Thereafter, the same mind ... liberates man from
his bondage.
175. When the mind has been made pure due to a predominance of discrimination [viveka] and dispassion [vairagya], it turns to¬
wards liberation. These two must be strengthened by one who is an intelligent seeker of liberation.
See: Antahkarana, manas, citta, buddhi, ahankara
See: Atman and manas
Manas and avidya
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
171. There is no avidya besides the manas. Manas itself is the avidya, the instrument for the production of the bondage of condi¬
tioned existence. When that (avidya) is destroyed, all is destroyed, and when that is manifested, all is manifested.
Note. Manas being the organ of doubt or the production of multiplicity of concepts in relation to one and the same objective reality,
is here taken to be the same as avidya. The buddhi determines these manas-born concepts as real and through the ahamkara
specializes them by an association with the true ego. Thus is the world of illusions produced. It will now be seen that if the manas
attains tranquillity, the world of illusions is destroyed. For then the buddhi having no hypothetical concepts with regard to the one
objective reality to deal with, reflects that reality and the ahamkara is destroyed by the destruction of its limitations and becomes
merged in the absolute Self.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
169. Apart from the mind there is no ignorance (avidya).The mind itself is the ignorance which is the cause for the bondage of
rebirth. When the mind is destroyed, everything else is destroyed. When the mind manifests, everything else manifests.
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
All avidya put together is Maya. Maya is constituted of the three Gunas: Sattwa, Rajas and lamas. These function only in the mind.
Therefore, other than the mind, there is no avidya. Mind alone is avidya. It is the cause for all the bondages in the world-of-becom-
ing.
When this mind is destroyed, all pluralistic perception and the sense of mortality end. When it is projected, the entire world gets
projected.
See: Manomaya kosha, manas, jnanendryas
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Manas - from the root man, to think, believe, imagine, suppose, conjecture.
Related words
Buddhi
Chitta
Indriya
Manomaya kosha
Sanskrit
Manah — RH:
manah - *pt:
Mandukya Upanishad
Title
Mandukya Upanisad — RH>'£cKfiRP4Rc^
Mandukya Upanisad
mandukyopanisad - hi ij i f+Tl mEH
Wikipedia:
The name, literally “Frog Scripture”, may have come about for several reasons:
1. Attribution to a sage called Manduka. Manduka means “son of Manduki” and a seer with this metronymic is mentioned in the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad along with the Mandukeyas, his disciples. The Mandukeyas figure in the Bhagavata Purana as the
receivers of a branch of the Rig Veda from Indra. This group of seers also figures in the Rig Veda itself: their hymns are mostly
connected with lingustics. A text on the etymology of Vedas with the name “Manduki Shiksha” deals with the notes of the musical
scale.
2. Connection with Varuna. Folk etymology relates that Varuna, the Lord of Cosmic waters, took the form of a frog to preach this
Upanishad. There is a hymn called the Toad Hymn (manduka sukta) in the Rgveda, ostensibly an ode to the arrival of the mon¬
soons.
3. Manduka is also a type of yoga - a “particular kind of abstract meditation in which an ascetic sits motionless like a frog”. Mandu-
kasana is one of the asanas (postures) described in yoga.
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mandukya Upanisad — ... “frog”.
1. This Upanisad is said to contain, in just twelve verses, the gist of all the other Upanisads. It belongs to the Atharva Veda. It
consists of only twelve verses and is thus the shortest of the Upanisads. Brahman (the Absolute) is identified with the sound Orh
and entire universe is represented as a manifestation of this Orh. The sound Orh consists of three parts—A, U, and M,—which are
identified with Vaisvanara, Taijasa, and Prajna. Unlike the other Upanisads, this one does not relate any anecdotes, imaginary
dialogues, or stories to illustrate its teachings. Also, unlike the other Upanisads, it is silent about rituals and worship and plunges
at once into a discussion of Atman and Brahman.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Mandukya is a short UPANISHAD (12 small stanzas) in the Atharva Veda, one of the most important for the ADVAITA
(non-dual) VEDANTA of SHANKARA. Shankara’s guru, GAUDAPADA, wrote a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad that
became important in that tradition.
Wikipedia
Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest of the Upanishads - the scriptures of Hindu Vedanta. It is in prose, consisting of twelve vers¬
es expounding the mystic syllable Aum, the three psychological states of waking, dreaming and sleeping, and the transcendent
fourth state of illumination.
This Upanishad has been greatly extolled. The Muktikopanishad, which talks about all other Upanishads, says that the MandGkya
Upanishad alone is enough for salvation. According to Radhakrishnan it contains the fundamental approach to reality.
It contains many particular Buddhist terms or uniquely Buddhist modes of expression. It was compiled at a relatively later period,
under strong influence of Mahayana Buddhism, in the 1st or 2nd centuries AD.
Aum in the Mandukya Upanishad
Wikipedia
There are three matras (“letters”, syllabic instants in prosody) in the word aum : ‘a’, ‘u’ and ‘m’. The ‘a’ stands for the state of
wakefulness, where we experience externally through our mind and sense organs. The ‘u’ stands for the dream state, in which
inward experiences are available. In the state of deep sleep, represented by the sound ‘m’, there is no desire and consciousness
is gathered in upon itself.
But there is a fourth, transcendent state, that of one “who is neither inwardly nor outwardly aware, nor both inward and outward,
nor with consciousness infolded on itself.... who is unseen and ineffable, ungraspable, featureless, unthinkable and unnameable”
The fourth state (turTya avastha) corresponds to silence as the other three correspond to AUM. It is the substratum of the other
three states. It is referred to as atyanta- shunyata (absolute emptiness).
From the fact that many Buddhist terms are used in explaining the fourth state, it is clear that this view was established under the
influence of the Mahayana Buddhist concept of emptiness.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
In its first stanza the Upanishad establishes the supremacy of the syllable om, equating it to the ultimate BRAHMAN. Stanzas 3
through 7 outline the four STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS. Stanzas 9 through 12 establish that the four parts of om (esoterically
understood as a, u, m, and a fourth, which is beyond parts) are identical to the four states of consciousness, thus establishing om
as the ATMAN or self.
Commentaries
General
Wikipedia
The first extant commentary on this Upanishad was written by Gaudapada, before the time of Adi Shankara. This commentary,
called the Mandukya- karika, is the earliest known systematic exposition of advaita Vedanta. When Shankara wrote his commen¬
tary on Mandukya Upanishad he merged the Karika of Gaudapada with the Upanishad and wrote a commentary on the Karika
also.
Gaudapada deals with perception, idealism, causality, truth, and reality. In the fourth state of consciousness - turiya - the mind
is not simply withdrawn from the objects but becomes one with Brahman. In both deep sleep and transcendental consciousness
there is no consciousness of objects but the objective consciousness is present in an unmanifested ‘seed’ form in deep sleep,
while it is transcended in turiya. Specifically, if one identifies the wordless state with turiya and meditates, one realizes the true self
and ‘there is no return to the sphere of empirical life’.[10]
[10] Swami Nikhilananda: Mandukyopanishad with Gaudapada’s Karika and Sankara’s Commentary. Shri Ramakrishna Ashrama,
Mysore. Sixth edn. 1974.
Publications
Translations
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
In: Sankaracarya, Panoli, V. & Acarya, G. 1991, Upanishads in Sankara’s own words : Isa, Kena, Katha, and Mandukya with the
Karika of Gaudapada : with the bhashyas in the original Sanskrit, English translation, exhaustive explanatory notes and footnotes,
Mathrubhumi Print. & Pub. Co., Calicut.
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya-
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953, The principal Upanishads, Harpe
Related words
Atharva Veda
Mahavakya: Ayamatma- Brahma
Upanishads
Manomaya kosha
Variant spellings
manomaya kosha
manomaya kosa
manomayakosa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Manomayakosa — ... the sheath of the mind; the mental sheath.
1. It is part of the subtle sheath (sGksma-sarTra), with its patterns of desires, motives, etc., which form the complex called mind. It
is the third sheath of the body composed of thought.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
manomayakosa -
the mental sheath (the 2nd of the subtle sheaths in which the soul is encased) Vedantas.
Wikipedia
Manomaya kosha. Manomaya means composed of manas or mind. The mind (manas) along with the five sensory organs is said
to constitute the manomaya kosa. The manomaya kosa, or “mind-sheath” is said more truly to approximate to personhood than
annamaya kosa and pranamaya kosha. It is the cause of diversity, of I and mine. Sankara likens it to clouds that are brought in
by the wind and again driven away by the same agency. Similarly, man’s bondage is caused by the mind, and liberation, too, is
caused by that alone.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
The organs of sensation together with the manas form the manomaya sheath which is the cause (hetu) of the differentiation be¬
tween “I” and “mine”; it is the result of ignorance, it fills the former sheath and it manifests its great power by distinguishing objects
by names, etc. 169
The fire of the manomaya sheath, fed with objects as if with streams of melted butter by the five senses like five Hotrs [priests
offering oblations to the fire], and blazing with the fuel of manifold desires, burns this body, made of five elements. 170
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
The manomaya has duhkhatmakatva. It is duhkha-svarGpa, one which has unhappiness as its very nature.
Manomaya kosha, manas, jnanendryas
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
The senses with the mind form the manomaya kosa (mind-sheath). They are the jnanendryas.
Diagram: The five sheaths (pancha-kosas)
Related words
Dukha
Manas
Suksma sarira
Sanskrit
Manomayako&a —
manomayakosa - RThTTTlTT
Mantra
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mantra — ... a sacred word or phrase of spiritual significance and power; hymns; “that which saves the one who reflects”... ; form
of sound.
1. Along with the Brahmanas, as hymns they constitute the ritual section of the Veda (karma-kanda).
2. They are classified according to their metres: gayatrl has twenty four syllables with nine subdivisions; usnik has twenty-eight
syllables with seven subdivisions; prakrti has forty syllables with eight subdivisions; brhafi has thirty-six syllables with nine sub¬
divisions; tristup has forty-four syllables with ten subdivisions; jagatl has forty- eight syllables with three subdivisions; ajagatl has
fifty-two syllables; sakvarl has fifty-six syllables; atisakvarT has sixty syllables; asti has sixty-four syllables; dhrti has seventy-two
syllables; and atidhrti has seventy-six syllables.
3. The mantras are preserved chiefly in the Rk- and Atharva-samhitas.
4. According to Sakta philosophy, a mantra is so called because it saves one who meditates on its significance. Each mantra has
a deity (devata). For instance, the mantra of Kali is krTm; of Maya is hrTm, etc.
5. Mantras are of two classes: kanthika, or those given expression to by the voice, and ajapa, or those nonuttered mantras which
are not spoken but repeated internally.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mantra -
‘instrument of thought’, speech, sacred text or speech, a prayer or song of praise;
a Vedic hymn or sacrificial formula, that portion of the Veda which contains the texts called rc or yajus or saman (q.v.) as opp. to
the Brahmana and Upanishad portion;
a sacred formula addressed to any individual deity (e.g. om sivaya namah);
a mystical verse or magical formula (sometimes personified), incantation, charm, spell (esp. in modern times employed by the
Saktas to acquire superhuman powers ; the primary Mantras being held to be 70 millions in number and the secondary innumera¬
ble;
consultation, resolution, counsel, advice, plan, design, secret;
N. of Vishnu;
of Siva;
the fifth mansion
Dictionary - Runes
Mantra: (Skr.) Pious thought couched in repeated prayerful utterances, for meditation or charm. Also the poetic portion of the Veda
(q.v.). In Shaktism (q.v.) and elsewhere the holy syllables to which as manifestations of the eternal word or sound (cf. sahda, vact
aksara) is ascribed great mystic significance and power. K.F.L.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
A mantra is a specially empowered spoken or chanted utterance, usually in SANSKRIT, although there are utterances called man¬
tras in every Indian language. Mantras vary in size from one short syllable to a long chant, such as found in the “mantras” of the
RIG VEDA. Etymologically mantra comes from the man, “think,” and tra, “instrument,” making a mantra literally an “instrument of
thought,” or more truly an “instrument of consciousness.” In the VEDAS the mantras were understood to be of superhuman origin,
eternal and uncreated, and were received and recited by seers and reciters in order to call to divine powers. They were used for
the removal of sins, diseases, and misfortune; the conquest of enemies; and innumerable other purposes.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
What is mantra? You are thinking of the simple sounds of the mantra. Repetition of the same excludes all other thoughts. The sin¬
gle thought of the mantra japa remains. That too drops away giving place to the Infinite Self, which is the mantra itself.
Sri Bhagavan told him to perform Gayatri Japa. The young man went away satisfied. When he returned after some years, he
asked:
D.: If I meditate on the meaning of the Gayatri mantra, my mind again wanders. What is to be done?
M.: Were you told to meditate on the mantra or its meaning? You must think of the one who repeats the mantra.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mantra — from the verb root man = “to think”.
Related words
Japa
Sanskrit
Mantra — rpT^T
mantra - ^Rc|T
Marga
Variant spellings
marga
marga
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Marga — ... way; path; street.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
marga -
(in most meanings from mrga...) seeking, search, tracing out, hunting;
the track of a wild animal, any track, road, path, way to ... or through, course (also of the wind and the stars);
a walk, journey;
reach, range;
a scar, mark (left by a wound &c.);
(in medic.) a way, passage, channel (in any part of the body, esp. the intestinal canal, anus);
a way, expedient, means;
a way, manner method, custom, usage;
the right way, proper course;
(with Buddhists) the way or path pointed out by Buddha for escape from the misery of existence (one of the 4 noble, truths);
a title or head in law, ground for litigation;
a way of speaking or writing, diction, style;
a high (opp. to ‘vulgar’) style of acting or dancing or singing;
(in dram.) pointing out the way, indicating how anything is to take place;
the 7th mansion;
a section;
musk;
the month MargasTrsha (November-December);
the constellation Mriga-siras;
N. of Vishnu (as ‘the way’ ... to final emancipation);
belonging to or coming from game or deer
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: What is Jnana Marga?
M.: Concentration of the mind is in a way common to both Knowledge and Yoga. Yoga aims at union of the individual with the uni¬
versal, the Reality. This Reality cannot be new. It must exist even now, and it does exist.
Therefore the Path of Knowledge tries to find out how viyoga (separation) came about. The separation is from the Reality only.
M.: An examination of the ephemeral nature of external phenomena leads to vairagya. Hence enquiry (vichara) is the first and
foremost step to be taken. ... If, however, the aspirant is not temperamentally suited to Vichara Marga (to the introspective analyti¬
cal method), he must develop bhakti (devotion) to an ideal - may be God, Guru, humanity in general, ethical laws, or even the idea
of beauty. When one of these takes possession of the individual, other attachments grow weaker, i.e., dispassion (vairagya) devel¬
ops. ...
In the absence of enquiry and devotion, the natural sedative pranayama (breath regulation) may be tried. This is known as Yoga
Marga. ... All attention being turned on breath or its regulation, other interests are lost. Again, passions are attended with irregular
breathing, whereas calm and happiness are attended with slow and regular breathing. ... Real peace is happiness. Pleasures do
not form happiness. The mind improves by practice and becomes finer just as the razor’s edge is sharpened by stropping. The
mind is then better able to tackle internal or external problems. If an aspirant be unsuited temperamentally for the first two meth¬
ods and circumstantially (on account of age) for the third method, he must try the Karma Marga (doing good deeds, for example,
social service). His nobler instincts become more evident and he derives impersonal pleasure. His smaller self is less assertive
and has a chance of expanding its good side. The man becomes duly equipped for one of the three aforesaid paths. His intuition
may also develop directly by this single method.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Marga — from the verb root marg = “to seek, to strive”, or from the verb root mrj = “to pursue, search for”.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The word Marga means the Path or the Pursuit, from the root “mrig” meaning “to hunt”, to follow, “to follow to the source”.
Sanskrit
Mama — JTPrf
marga - Riry
Matha
Variant spellings
matha
matha
math
mutt
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Matha — ... monastery; school of learning.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
matha -
a hut, cottage, (esp.) the retired hut (or cell) of an ascetic (or student);
a cloister, college (esp. for young Brahmans), temple;
a cart or carriage drawn by oxen
Wikipedia
A matha (also written math, matha or mutt) is a term for monastic and similar religious establishments of the Hindu tradition. A
matha is usually more formal, hierarchical, and rule- based than an ashram.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Math
(often translated as “monastery”) A dwelling place for ascetics; usually a large, well-settled dwelling for a number of ascetics
belonging to an established order. The four most famous maths are believed to have been established by the philosopher Shan-
karacharya: the Jyotir Math in the Himalayan town of Joshimath; the Govardhan Math in the city of Puri, on the Bay of Bengal; the
Sharada Math in the city of Dwaraka on the Arabian Sea; and the Shringeri Math in the town of Shringeri in southern India. These
maths are the headquarters for the four major groups in the Dashanami sect Sanyasis, renunciant ascetics who are devotees
(bhakta) of the god Shiva. Although most maths do not have the status of these four, they all serve as ascetic and religious cen¬
ters.
Wikipedia
Advaita Mathas
The oldest such institutions follow the Advaita tradition, where the head of a matha is called a Shankaracharya, a title derived from
Adi Sankara. Sankara was a prominent religious teacher of the eighth century, from whose philosophies originate the environment
of popular modern Indian thought. Adi Sankara established the following mathas, with each of his four main disciples in charge:
Sureshwaracharya, Hastamalakacharya, Padmapadacharya, and Totakacharya respectively. The four Amnaya mathas founded
by Adi Sankara, all of the Smarta tradition, are:
Sringeri Sarada PTtham, at Sringeri, Karnataka
Dwaraka PTtham, at Dwaraka, Gujarat
Govardhana matha, at Puri, Orissa
Jyotirmath, in Uttarakhand
In addition, these Advaita mathas also claim they were founded by Adi Sankara:
Swarnavalli Mutt at Swarnavalli, Sirsi
Ramachandrapura Math at Haniya, Hosanagara, Karnataka
Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, at Tamil Nadu
Ashta Mathas of Udupi
The Ashta Mathas of Udupi are a group of eight mathas or monasteries established by Sri Madhvacharya the preceptor of the
Dvaita school of Hindu thought. For each of the eight mathas, Sri Madhvacharya also appointed one of his direct disciples to be
the first Swamiji. The names of the mathas and the first Swamijis are:
Palimaru - Sri Hrishikesha Tirtha
Adamaru - Sri Narasimha Tirtha
Krishnapura - Sri Janardhana Tirtha
Puttige - Sri Upendra Tirtha
Shirur - Sri Vamana Tirtha
Sodhe - Sri Vishnu Tirtha
Kaniyooru - Sri Raama Tirtha
Pejavara - Sri Adhokshaja Tirtha
The ashta mathas are named after the villages in which they were originally located. Today, the mathas are situated in the temple
town of Udupi. The mathas work to propagate the Dvaita philosophy. They also administer the famous Udupi Krishna Temple by
way of a formal rotation scheme called Paryaya.
When the ashta mathas were formed, Sri Madhvacharya initiated the Swamijis of the mathas in pairs. Each pair of mathas is
called Dwandva (literally meaning two in the local languages Kannada and Tulu). Each matha in a pair is called a Dwandwa (dual).
In the event the current Paryaya Swamiji has difficulty performing his duties, the Swamiji from the Dwandwa matha takes over the
responsibility. The four pairs of mathas are: Palimaru and Adamaru; Krishnapura and Puttige; Shirur and Sodhe; and Kaniyooru
and Pejavara.
Related words
Ashrama
Sankara
Sanskrit
Matha —
matha - *T5
Maya
Variant spellings
maya
maya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Maya — ... the principle of appearance; illusion; marvelous power of creation; magical power; mystery; God’s power...; “that which
measures”.
1. The force which shows the unreal as real and presents that which is temporary and short lived as eternal and everlasting. The
force that conceals our divinity. In the Advaita Vedanta of Sankaracarya, it is described as the beginningless cause which brings
about the illusion of the world; an indescribable power of the Absolute (Brahman), which is neither real nor totally unreal.
2. The principle which shows the attributeless Absolute as having attributes.
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is the indeterminable principle which brings about the illusory manifestation of the universe. It
is the principle of illusion. It is the key concept of Advaita Vedanta. It is not ultimately real, nor can it function without Brahman/At¬
man as its locus. It is the device by which the Advaitin explains how the one reality appears as many. It is the power which brings
about error and has significance only at the empirical or relative level. It has six facets: it is beginningless (anadi); it is terminated
by right knowledge (jnana-nivartya); it veils and projects (avarana and viksepa); it is indefinable (anirvacanlya); it is of the nature
of a positive existence (bhavarupa); and it is located either in the individual (Jiva) or in the Absolute (Brahman). Sankara used the
term maya as interchangeable with avidya.
4. According to Dvaita Vedanta, it is God’s mysterious power.
5. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, it is the mysterious power of God. See sapta-vidha-anupapatti for Ramanuja’s major objec¬
tions to the Advaita Vedanta concept of avidyalmaya.
6. According to Saiva Siddhanta, it is the material cause of the world. It is nonconscious. It is twofold as pure (suddha) and impure
(asuddha). It is both a bond (pasa) of the individual soul and that which provides the individual souls with the means, location, and
objects of enjoyment. It requires the guidance of Siva to function, though Siva does not directly operate on maya, but only through
his cit-sakti.
7. According to Vira Saivism, it is the name of Sakti or mGla-prakrti. It evolves into the phenomenal universe.
8. According to Kashmir Saivism, it is the power of obscuration. Its purpose is to limit the experience as regards both the experi-
encer and what is experienced. It is a restrictor (mala) which is the impurity of transmigratory existence. It is real and a creation of
the Lord. It is divided into suddha and asuddha-maya.
9. Synonym for prakrti, avyakta, pradhana, avidya, ajnana, avyakrta.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
maya -
art, wisdom, extraordinary or supernatural power (only in the earlier language);
illusion, unreality, deception, fraud, trick, sorcery, witchcraft magic RV. &c. &c.;
an unreal or illusory image, phantom, apparition;
duplicity (with Buddhists one of the 24 minor evil passions)... (in phil.) Illusion (identified in the Sarhkhya with Prakriti or Pradhana
and in that system, as well as in the Vedanta, regarded as the source of the visible universe);
(with Saivas) one of the 4 Psas or snares which entangle the soul;
(with Vaishnavas) one of the 9 Saktis or energies of Vishnu;
Illusion personified (sometimes identified with Durga, sometimes regarded as a daughter of Anrita and Nirriti or Nikriti and mother
of Mrityu, or as a daughter of Adharma);
compassion, sympathy;
Convolvulus Turpethum;
N. of the mother of Gautama Buddha;
of LakshmT;
of a city Cat.;
of 2 metres;
N. of 2 Samans
Wikipedia
Maya has multiple meanings, within a Hindu or Sikh context, the word refers to concepts of “illusion”. Maya, is the principal con¬
cept which manifests, perpetuates and governs the illusion and dream of duality in the phenomenal Universe.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Maya - What is not and yet seems to be In Vedanta philosophy, the generic possibility of error shared by all alike is maya, while
the individual, specific possibility of error is called avidya, ignorance.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Maya: The mysterious urge inherent in the Absolute (brahman or atman) to unfold itself as all the worlds and the phenomenon of
life. The very appearing of the world caused thus ends up in becoming a sort of veil put over the Absolute, hiding its vision from
our view and making the illusory vision that the apparrent world is the real.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Maya is the building power of Consciousness. It creates duality, multiplicity, substance, form, dimensions, time, and so forth. It is
the creative power which involves all life in the bondage of its threads and forms, but which ultimately reveals the truth regarding
itself, thereby granting liberation and salvation. The Tradition, which is a form of Maya, is the instrument of liberation and salvation.
The passing through the five doors of the temple implies clothes and the piercing of the Veils of Spirit, from the grossest in the
physical plane to the subtlest in the “inner spheres”. The veils are those of Maya, or Isis. Who would worship the Veil of Maya,
the dark mist which hides Reality? And yet this is what is being done at the present day. The modern world stares at the Veil of
Intellect in fascination, taking it for the Truth. It does not realize that there is something beyond. Veil-worship, in another sense,
has even entered Hindu temples. Hindu tradition knows an offering of clothes to the Deity — Vastropavastram. Cloths or clothes
are symbols of Maya, they represent Maya’s Veils. In the ancient Mysteries the aspirant for the highest initiation bad to shed his
clothes and go forward naked. ... In the Element Air, the Spirit, nakedness becomes complete and symbolizes purity in the sense
of “rising above sex” and liberation from the entanglement of Maya. In the Apocryphal Gospel of the Egyptians we read that Sa¬
lome inquired of Jesus: “How long shall death prevail?” The Lord answered: “Until you have trampled on the garment of shame
and the two become one, and the male with the female is neither male nor female.” ...The tradition of complete nakedness as
symbolizing perfect “purity” in the sense of enlightenment of spirit, is found in Jain and Hindu traditions. The Jain Tirthankaras —
which are parallel with the Buddhas of Buddhism — are represented as completely naked. ... Naked Hindu ascetics of various
Hindu traditions are called Avahutas, “those who have shaken or washed off”, and Naga-swamis. ... A very exalted Hindu aspect
of God, not much known in popular hinduism, but worshipped by contemplatives, is Dattatreya, an Incarnation of the Trimurti, the
Triad Brahma-Vishnu-Siva. He is represented as naked.
The tradition of nakedness is preserved to a modified extent in the general orthodox custom, found especially in South-lndia, that
a man should enter a sacred place only with a bare upper body. ... and even if shirts are tolerated, at least the “upper cloth” has
to be taken from the shoulders and wound round the hips. This custom illustrates how the meaning of things was lost little by little.
Such a loss of insight is demonstrated very significantly by the fact that images of deities in modern Hinduism are generally cov¬
ered by cloths or clothes. The rite of Vastropavastram or renunciation of the Veils of Maya has been falsely interpreted as having
the meaning that the Gods want clothes. Instead of offering the Veils of Ignorance and laying them at the feet of the Deity, they
are projected on to the image. By doing this the priest or worshipper veils the God with his own Maya. This procedure is symbolic
of the spirit of the age. Even the Gods have become veiled in Maya since sacred tradition has been forgotten. ... Sometimes the
images are hidden by a profusion of garlands of flowers, symbolic of the fact that in the present age (in all religions) the Spirit is
often smothered by an excess of sticky sentiment or devotion.
To pierce the Veils of Maya and rise to the glories of the Moon-Sphere, one should renounce “having”, whatever form it may take,
gross or subtle. Instead of having there should be Being. Instead of being dressed in the habits or Veils of Maya, one should go
forward naked: utterly possessionless. Even the creeds, theories and beliefs of the world of Manifestation should be discarded.
Wikipedia
Maya (/ma:ja:/) According to Adi Shankara, Maya is the complex illusionary power of Brahman which causes the Brahman to be
seen as the material world of separate forms. Maya has two main functions — one is to “hide” Brahman from ordinary human per¬
ception, and the other is to present the material world in its (Brahmam) place. Maya is also said to be indescribable, though it may
be said that all sense data entering ones awareness via the five senses are Maya, since the fundamental reality underlying senso¬
ry perception is completely hidden. It is also said that Maya is neither completely real nor completely unreal, hence indescribable.
Its shelter is Brahman, but Brahman itself is untouched by the illusion of Maya, just like a magician is not tricked by his own mag¬
ic. Maya is temporary and is transcended with “true knowledge,” or perception of the more fundamental reality which permeates
Maya.
Since according to the Upanishads only Brahman is real, but we see the material world to be real, Adi Shankara explained the
anomaly by the concept of this illusionary power Maya.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
In Vedantic literature generally the term maya is used as an all-inclusive or blanket expression to cover many items of errors of
judgement and value in human life. Ambiguity, ambivalence, irrationality, absurdity as well as more delicate errors of judgement as
also more fundamental ones due to optical illusion and the like, are all jumbled together and made to be included under the overall
term maya.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Maya is defined as sadasat vilaksanam, that which has the special characteristic of being both real and unreal. Maya is often
translated into English as “illusion,” but this itself misleading. Professor Betty Heimann, in her Facets of Indian Thought gives a
better interpretation:
The Sanskritist must at the outset feel repelled when, for example, the Indian concept of maya is translated as ‘illusion’. The
western mind, according to the present use of ‘illusion’ sees here something unreal, deceptive and delusive. Yet this is not even
the primary meaning of the Latin word illusio, from the root luclere, ‘to play’. Illusio originally, though this is now forgotten, meant
‘interplay’. As such, but only in its original meaning is it a near equivalent of maya. Maya, the ‘world of the measurables’ (from the
root ma, to measure), is a relative and transitory display of forms. In this sense it actually corresponds to illusio, interplay in variant
shapes and forms, manifestations of the underlying substance. Illusio, thus interpreted according to its original meaning, truly is
analogous to the Sanskrit term lila, ‘play and display’ of the creative urge for world-formation and elusive world-manifestation, as
taught in Indian cosmogony.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Asking impossible questions and insisting on getting them definitely answered is one of the many human weaknesses, an out¬
come, so to say, of man’s divine gift of an enquiring mind. For example, how does a tiny seed keep within it a huge tree of the
future? No one can answer this question with any definiteness. Similar are some of the basic questions concerning life. How does
the one Reality become many? How does it divide itself into mind and matter? How can pure consciousness assume the form of
gross and inert objects like rock and metal? In Vedanta, the impossibility of answering all such basic questions is put under the
cover of the blanket term maya. Though it gives the impression of having given some explanation, really it explains nothing. Those
who do not insist on getting a conclusive definite answer would prefer to remain satisfied, thinking, “All this is just a lila of God.”
For the reason that maya is no answer to such questions, its well- accepted definition is:
“na vidyate ya sa maya”
That which has no existence is maya.
For the satisfaction of those who do not become content unless they get a definite answer to all questions, the concept of maya is
introduced as a sakti (an indomitable potential) inherent in atma or iswara. Though we know nothing about this sakti, having been
taught nothing about it, the word creates the impression in us of having got an answer.
No school of Vedanta can dispense with this maya concept for the reason that an element of mystery lurks in the Real. The maya
conceived by all admits mystery at one level of thinking or another, yet one’s maya concept is ridiculed by another. They differ only
in respect of the level at which the door is opened to let the mystery in.* And, providing room for mystery in philosophical thinking
is no anathema to Indian philosophers. They even admit that the greatest of all mysteries is the Reality we are in search of.
Maya, thus, is a blanket term to signify all that is inexplicable in Reality, and therefore is undefinable. It simply tells us that there is
a mystery in what we perceive. Therefore, it is thought that maya’s presence is to be inferred from its effects (karyanumeya).
The Effects of Maya
Maya, we have already seen, is a mysterious principle that could only be inferred from its effects. What are those effects? All the
apparent dualities -- such as one- many, subject-object, cause-effect, vidya-avidya, para-apara -- are its effects. For Narayana
Guru avidya also is thus an effect of maya, although with Sankara it is more or less a synonym for maya.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
The word maya was used in the Rg-Veda to denote a kind of magical power. There it is said that Indra, through the help of maya,
assumed different forms. In the Upanishads the word acquires a philosophical significance. We read in the Svetasvatara Upa-
nisad: “Know Prakrti, or Nature, to be maya, and the Great Lord to be the Master of maya”. Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gTta:
“Verily, this divine maya of Mine, consisting of the three gunas, is hard to overcome. But those who take refuge in Me alone, shall
cross over this maya.”
Sankara speaks of maya as the Power of the Lord, beginningless, and compounded of the three gunas. Though intangible, it can
be inferred from the effect it produces. Sadananda says that maya is “something positive, though intangible, which cannot be
described as either being or non-being, and which is antagonistic to Knowledge”. Let us try to understand the meaning of these
definitions.
Maya cannot be described either as being or non-being; that is why maya is said to be indefinable. If it were being, in the true
sense, then its effect, the tangible universe, woult be perceived at all times. For being can never becomi non-being; the Real can
never become unreal. But one does not behold the universe in samadhi or in communion with Brahman, neither in dreamless
sleep. On the othei hand, if maya were non-being, a non-existent unreality, like the son of a barren woman, the manifold universe
could not be seen. One could not see the world of names and forms as real. Therefore maya is said to be “something positive”.
The word something here denotes its unsubstantiality or worthlessness, because, apart from Brahman, the world, its effect, is both
unsubstantial and worthless. The word positive denotes its capability of producing the visible universe. It also serves the purpose
of removing the erroneous notion that maya, or ignorance, is pure negation because it is the absence of Knowledge. Maya is said
to be “antagonistic to Knowledge” because both maya and its effect, the material universe, disappear when one attains the Knowl¬
edge of Brahman. Brahman and maya cannot co-exist any more than the Absolute and the relative, the One and the many. When
one of these is perceived, the other is nonexistent. They are not even correlatives. That is why the question often asked as to how
the Absolute becomes the relative world is illogical and meaningless.
As long as one sees maya or its effects, one may say that it belongs to Brahman, because nothing exists, ultimately, but Brah¬
man. Thus maya has been described by Vedantists as the inexplicable Power of the Supreme Lord, Paramesa-sakti, by which is
produced the illusion of the creation, preservation, and dissolution of the universe. But from the standpoint of Brahman, which is
all Light and Knowledge, there is no maya. One identified with Brahman does not see even a trace of maya. ... As the mind itself
is a product of maya, one cannot, through reasoning, know the cause of maya. It is maya, ignorance, that produces the illusion of
desa, kala, and nimitta—time, space, and causality—which hides the true nature of Pure Consciousness and projects the multiple
universe.
See: Ishvara and Maya
See: Gunas, prakriti, maya
See: Prakriti and Maya
See: Vidya and maya
See also:
Avarana and vikshepa
in Advaita Vedanta: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
in Namarupa: Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Maya — ... from the verb root ma = “to measure, to limit, give form”.
Wikipedia
The word origin of maya is derived from the Sanskrit roots ma (“not”) and ya, generally translated as an indicative article meaning
“that.” The mystic teachings in Vedanta are centered on a fundamental truth that cannot be reduced to a concept or word for the
ordinary mind to manipulate. Rather, the human experience and mind are themselves a tiny fragment of this truth. In this tradition,
no mind- object can be identified as absolute truth, such that one may say “That’s it.” So, to keep the mind from attaching to in¬
complete fragments of reality, a speaker could use this term to indicate that truth is “Not that.”
Related words
Ajnana
Atman
Avarana
Avidya
Brahman
Gunas
Ishvara
Shakti
Vikshepa
Sanskrit
Maya — *TRT
maya - ttrtt
Mimansa
Variant spellings
mimansa
mimamsa
MTmarhsa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
MTmamsa — ... “enquiry”; investigation; debate; discussion.
1. It is short for Purva-MTmarnsa, one of the six schools of philosophy (sad-darsana).
2. It is one of the six orthodox (astika) schools and it primarily investigates the Vedic rites and their uses. Its main objective is to
establish the authority of the Veda.
3. Jaimini is the founder and the author of the MTmamsa-sutra which is the foundational work of the school, and the longest of the
sutra works.
4. The aphorisms commented on by Sabarasvamin gave rise to two main schools of interpretation: Prabhakara’s and Kumarila
Bhatta’s.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mlmarhsa -
profound thought or reflection or Consideration, investigation, examination, discussion;
theory;
examination of the Vedic text N. of one of the 3 great divisions of orthodox Hindu philosophy (divided into 2 systems, viz. the
Purva-rnTmarhsa or Karma-rnTmarhsa by Jaimini, concerning itself chiefly with the correct interpretation of Vedic ritual and text, and
usually called the MTmamsa; and the Uttara- mlmarhsa or Brahma-mTmamsa or SarTraka-mTmarhsa by Badarayana, commonly
styled the Vedanta and dealing chiefly with the nature of Brahman or the one universal Spirit)
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Vedanta Revalued and Restated
Mimamsa: A critical enquiry. Two Indian Schools of philosophy are called Mimamsas [Purva Mimamsa and Uttara-Mimamsa].
Descriptions
General
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
The MTmansa is only a methodical handbook treating of the various questions arising out of the complicated Vedic ritual.
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The Vedic texts were used as mantras (incantations) for sacrifices, and people often disputed as to the relation of words in a
sentence or their mutual relative importance with reference to the general drift of the sentence. There were also differences of
view with regard to the meaning of a sentence, the use to which it may be applied as a mantra, its relative importance or the exact
nature of its connection with other similar sentences in a complex Vedic context. The Mimamsa formulated some principles ac¬
cording to which one could arrive at rational and uniform solutions for all these difficulties. Preliminary to these its main objects, it
indulges in speculations with regard to the external world, soul, perception, inference, the validity of the Vedas, or the like, for in
order that a man might perform sacrifices with mantras, a definite order of the universe and its relation to man or the position and
nature of the mantras of the Veda must be demonstrated and established. Though its interest in such abstract speculations is but
secondary yet it briefly discusses these in order to prepare a rational ground for its doctrine of the mantras and their practical utility
for man. It is only so far as there are these preliminary discussions in the Mimamsa that it may be called a system of philosophy.
Its principles and maxims for the interpretation of the import of words and sentences have a legal value even to this day. The
sutras of Mimamsa are attributed to Jaimini, and Shabara wrote a bhasya upon it. The two great names in the history of Mimamsa
literature after Jaimini and Shabara are Kumarila Bhatta and his pupil Prabhakara, who criticized the opinions of his master so
much, that the master used to call him guru (master) in sarcasm, and to this day his opinions pass as guru-mata, whereas the
views of Kumarila Bhatta pass as bhatta-mata. It may not be out of place to mention here that Hindu Law (smrti) accepts without
any reservation the maxims and principles settled and formulated by the Mimamsa.
The Vedanta sutras, also called Uttara Mimamsa, written by Badarayana, otherwise known as the Brahma-sutras, form the origi¬
nal authoritative work of Vedanta.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Mimamsa (inquiry) is one of the six traditional orthodox schools of Indian philosophy. The Mimamsa SUTRAS of Jaimini (c. third
century C.E.) is the first extant text of the tradition.
Mimamsa in its earliest form (Purva [early] Mimamsa) preserves a strict Vedic tradition; it sees the Vedas as eternal, divine texts
that should guide all life and action. According to early Mimamsa one must do one’s ritual duties and worldly duties precisely ac¬
cording to the Vedas. The Mimamsa texts, therefore, aim to clarify the precise meaning of each Vedic injunction, so that devotees
can reach the heavenly realm after death. The Mimamsakas argue very strongly that even the UPANISHADS, valued by so many
for their philosophy, should be read only to learn any requirements for action that they may contain.
Mimamsa cannot be said to be theistic or oriented toward gods in a true sense; the gods are at the beck and call of humans
thanks to the power of the Vedic MANTRAS. Gods exist, but the Vedas supersede all. The soul or self is understood to exist in
Mimamsa, as in all six orthodox Brahminical systems.
Early Mimamsa preserved the ancient Vedic understanding of the afterlife: after death, a person went to a heavenly realm some¬
what like the earthly one, where one remained in a happy state, being fed by one’s family. There is no overt mention of reincar¬
nation in the Vedic mantras themselves, with the exception of the late ISHA UPANISHAD, which is appended to the mantras of
the YAJUR VEDA. Salvation itself in Mimamsa put the soul in an inert state, liberated from the bonds of earthly existence through
proper performance of Vedic duty. As Mimamsa developed and changed around the seventh century with the commentary of
Shabaraswamin, it accepted the notion of karma and rebirth. In this respect it converged, as did YOGA, with the other VEDANTIC
schools.
Two lines of teachers, drawing upon Prabhakara and Kumarila (eighth and ninth centuries), refined the doctrine further, using
careful philosophical analysis of perception, causation, and the like, for the purposes of this school. This precise investigation was
replicated in the commentary on the Upanishads that developed into VEDANTA. Because it was seen as an extension of the earli¬
er Mimamsic investigative method, Vedanta is often called Uttara Mimamsa, or “later Mimamsa.”
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Mimamsa was founded by Jaimini. It is concerned chiefly with the correct interpretation of Vedic ritual and texts...
Mimamsa is divided into two systems, viz., the PGrvamlmamsa and the Uttaramlmamsa. The adjective purva means “earlier’;
therefore, that which deals with the earlier part of the Vedas. The adjective uttara means “latter”; therefore, that which deals with
the latter part of the Vedas. Both are based on the Vedas; both use the same logical method of handling their problems; both use
the same literary form; but each has its own limited sphere of interpretation. PGrvamTmamsa interprets the actions enjoined in the
Vedas, leading to freedom of the soul; UttaramTmamsa interprets the knowledge revealed in the Vedas, leading to freedom of the
soul. When these two systems are referred to in this light, they are respectively called Karma MTmamsa and Jnana MTmamsa, but
their popular names are simply MTmamsa and Vedanta.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Ballantyne
Mimansa and Vedanta have very little in common. Their conjunction has arisen from the circumstance that the Mimansa (other¬
wise called the Purva or Earlier Mimansa) deals with the ritual portion of the Vedas as explained in the Brahmanas; while the Ve¬
danta or Uttara (later) Mimansa seeks to unfold and apply the principles of the Upanishads; and thus, as each expounds a portion
of what had come to be called the Veda, the two systems came to be bracketed together.
Purva-Mimansa ... founded on the Mantras [Vedas] and Brahmanas, in contradistinction to the Uttara- Mimansa or Vedanta,
based on the later Upanishads.
See also:
Classic systems of Hindu philosophy
Sanskrit
Mimamsa — 4Wi*h
MTmamsa -
Mithya
Variant spellings
mithya
mithya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mithya —... not real; neither real nor unreal; illusory; false; untrue; incorrect.
1. According to Advaita Vedanta, it has a special status as it is not the real (sat)—for it is sublatable—and it is not the unreal
(asat)—because it is perceived (unlike a barren woman’s son or a square circle).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mithya -
(contracted from mithuya’) invertedly, contrarily, incorrectly, wrongly, improperly ... (with ... to pronounce a word wrongly ... ; with
... to act wrongly ... ; with ... to behave improperly ... ; falsely, deceitfully, untruly ... (often with ... to speak falsely, utter a lie ... ; not
in reality, only apparently ... ; to no purpose, fruitlessly, in vain ...)
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Swahananda
The appearance of an object which is in fact non-existent is an illusion (mithya) just as that of the elephant seen in a dream.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
On account of... Mayas troubles appear in the Atma like the cinema pictures on the screen. Only to remove this Maya it is said
that the whole world is mithya (unreal). Atman is like the screen. Just as you come to know that the pictures that are shown are
dependent on the screen and do not exist otherwise, so also, until one is able to know by Self enquiry that the world that is visible
is not different from Atma, it has to be said that this is all mithya. But once the reality is known, the whole universe will appear as
Atma only. Hence the very people who said the world is unreal, have subsequently said that it is only Atma swarupa. After all, it
is the outlook that is important. If the outlook changes, the troubles of the world will not worry us. Are the waves different from the
ocean? Why do the waves occur at all? If asked, what reply can we give? The troubles in the world also are like that. Waves come
and go. If it is found out that they are not different from Atma this worry will not exist.”
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
The word ‘mithya’ has two meanings, one is false or not true, and the other is that which depends upon something else for its exis¬
tence.
Mithya and satyam
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in his own words
As I recalled Bhagavan saying sometimes that unreal (mithya, imaginary) and real (satyam) mean the same, but did not quite un¬
derstand, I asked him about it. He said, ‘Yes, I do sometimes say that. What do you mean by real? What is it that you call real?’
I answered: “According to Vedanta, only that which is permanent and unchanging can be called real. That is the meaning of Reali¬
ty.”
Then Bhagavan said: “The names and forms which constitute the world continually change and perish and are therefore called un¬
real. It is unreal (imaginary) to limit the Self to these names and forms and real to regard all as the Self. The non-dualist says that
the world is unreal, but he also says, ‘All this is Brahman’. So it is clear that what he condemns is, regarding the world as objec¬
tively real in itself, not regarding it as Brahman. He who sees the Self sees the Self alone in the world also. It is immaterial to the
Enlightened whether the world appears or not. In either case, his attention is turned to the Self. It is like the letters and the paper
on which they are printed. You are so engrossed in the letters that you forget about the paper, but the Enlightened sees the paper
as the substratum whether the letters appear on it or not.
This is still more succinctly stated as follows:
The Vedantins do not say that the world is unreal. That is a misunderstanding. If they did, what would be the meaning of the Ve-
dantic text: ‘All this is Brahman’? They only mean that the world is unreal as world but real as Self. If you regard the world as non¬
self, it is not real. Everything, whether you call it illusion (Maya) or Divine Play (Lila) or Energy (Shakti) must be within the Self and
not apart from it.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
Commentaries by Dayananda:
The physical body is annamaya which is mithya. And mithya cannot be away from the satya which is atma. In fact mithya is sa-
tya (but satya is not mithya). These people also say that you have to remove these kosas to reach the atma. You do not have to
remove the mithya to recognise the satya. You have to just remove the error of taking what is mithya as satya. You do not have to
remove wave to see water, you only have to recognise that wave is nothing But water.
If what is mithya is not understood, one would not know that there is no mithya without satya, the basis. There is no pot without the
clay.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
mithya —from the verb root mith = “to dispute angrily, altercate”.
Related words
Satyam
Sanskrit
Mithya — ft’CCTT
mithya - : frf*TTr
Moha
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Moha — ... infatuation; delusion
1. The power to delude. A power of illusion (maya).
2. One of the afflictions (klesa) according to Buddhism.
3. One of the five types of false knowledge (viparyaya) according to Sankhya.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
moha -
loss of consciousness, bewilderment, perplexity, distraction, infatuation, delusion, error, folly;
fainting, stupefaction, a swoon;
darkness or delusion of mind (preventing the discernment of truth and leading men to believe in the reality of worldly objects);
(with Buddhists) ignorance (one of the three roots of vice);
a magical art employed to bewilder an enemy (= mohana);
wonder, amazement;
Infatuation personified (as the offspring of Brahma)
Dictionary - Runes
Moha: (Skr.) Distraction, perplexity, delusion, beclouding of the mind rendering it unfit to perceive the truth, generally explained as
attachment to the phenomenal; in Buddhism, ignorance, as a source of vice. K.F.L.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
The state of mind in which the unreal appearance and the reality are mixed up, causing bewilderment is called moha.
Descriptions
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Katha Upanishad
... in enjoyment, the intellect is not necessary. The mind and senses work together in the lower stage, the mind merely playing
second fiddle to what they say and not being independent. The independence belongs to the intellect... Where it is lacking, moha
is created and we go after things. When the light of the soul, bereft of intelligence, works through the mind and senses, there is
samsara. But we have also the higher intellect which should guide us throughout.
The essence behind sense-perception is not properly understood, and so we are caught up in moha; we are in a helpless condi¬
tion. This condition of helplessness is samsara. It is a pitiable state of affairs when there is a mutual reaction between subject and
object caused by a force of which no one knows.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
Darkness and inertia make memory corrode and consequently partial or total forgetfulness (moha) can arise. When one forgets
one’s own true Self, false identification can easily follow. Thus moha is not mere forgetfulness. It can also indicate desires born out
of forgetfulness. When forgetfulness is extreme, it is mahamoha. Mahamoha also indicates the generic forgetfulness with which all
sentient beings are afflicted.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
Moha is delusive attachment or infatuation based on a completely false perception and evaluation of the object. Occasionally it
has an almost magical connotation, as of a person being “under a spell” of admiration or attachment. The idea is that the person
suffering from moha is bereft of reason and utterly overwhelmed by a passionate response to the object. Usually it is thought of
as being directed to a person, but it can also be delusive obsession with a material object and even an aspiration or ambition for
something or someone.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
moha — from the verb root muh = “to delude”.
Related words
Avidya
Tamas
Sanskrit
Moha — JTtjr
moha -
Moksha
Variant spellings
moksha
moksa
moksa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Moksa — liberation; spiritual freedom; release; the final goal of human life.
1. There are two views in the Upanisads toward liberation. Some say it is attainable in this very life and others say that it is attain¬
able only after death. (See JTvanmukta.)
2. MTmamsa says that it is achieved through action (karma) and Vedic rites alone. It is release from action, both in the sense of
action and in the sense of the fruits of one’s actions.
3. Advaita Vedanta says that knowledge (jnana) is the ultimate means to release. Truly speaking, release is the eternal nature of
the Self (Atman) and manifests itself once ignorance is removed. It is not a new acquisition, but the realization of what eternally is.
4. Visistadvaita Vedanta says that devotion (bhakti) is the ultimate means to release. Karma-yoga and jnana-yoga are aids to de¬
votion (bhakti-yoga). Liberation is living in Vaikuntha with a nonphysical body enjoying omniscience and bliss and dwelling in the
presence of God. Visistadvaita Vedanta also recognizes total surrender (prapatti) as a means of release.
5. Dvaita Vedanta says that God’s grace (prasada) is the ultimate means to release. Leading to ultimate release, the individual
soul practices knowledge, dispassion, action, devotion, and a loving meditation of God, regarding oneself as His reflection. In the
state of release, the individual soul remains separate from God though similar and dependent. Its personality remains in one of the
four levels of graded release which Dvaita posits.
6. Jainism says that release is the highest state of isolation in which the individual is freed from all fetters of karma particles. The
means to release are right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct. Aids to these include the maha-vratas.
7. Buddhism says that release (nirvana) is the eradication of all craving and an overcoming of the wheel of birth and death. The
means to it is the eightfold path.
8. Nyaya-Vaisesika says that release (apavarga) is a separation from all qualities. There is no pleasure, happiness, or pain, or any
experience whatsoever in release. It is achieved by cultivating ethical virtues and obtaining an insight into the nature of the catego¬
ries.
9. Sankhya says that release (kaivalya) is aloofness from all matter. There is neither pleasure nor pain, though there is an undis-
turbable peace. It is achieved once the individual is able to discriminate between the spirit (purusa) and matter (prakrti). It is de¬
fined as purusa-prakrti viveka.
10. Yoga says that the cultivation of the eight-limbed yogic path is the way to kaivalya or a state of superconscious samadhi in
which the individual is left totally alone. Yoga defines it as citta vrtti nirodha.
11. Saiva Siddhanta says that the path to release consists in carya, kriya, yoga, and jnana. In release, the soul retains its individ¬
uality. It becomes similar to God and, thus, release is unity in duality. The soul enjoys God’s nature, though it is not identical with
God.
12. Vira Saivism says that release is identity in essence between Siva and the individual soul (linganga-samarasya). The individ¬
ual soul is a part of Siva though it is also different. Release is a unity (aikya) of the individual soul with Siva, wherein the individual
soul enjoys complete and unexcellable bliss. The path to release is devotion as aided by the eight aids (astavarana).
13. Sivadvaita says that release is freedom from bondage and an attainment of bliss. Release is attained through realization of
one’s own nature. Contemplation of Lord Siva is the means to release.
14. Kashmir Saivism says that release is the recognition of the individual’s identity with the ultimate Reality. It is a return to one’s
original state of perfection and purity. It is gained by the four steps of anavopaya, saktopaya, sambhavopaya, and anupaya, culmi¬
nating in the grace of the Divine Will.
15. Liberation in theistic Saivism is generally said to be in heaven (Kailasa). Liberation in Vaisnavism is in Vaikuntha.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
moksa -
emancipation, liberation, release from;
release from worldly existence or transmigration, final or eternal emancipation;
death;
N. of partic. sacred hymns conducive to final emancipation;
the liberation of an eclipsed or occulted planet, the last contact or separation of the eclipsed and eclipsing bodies, end of an
eclipse;
falling off or down;
effusion;
setting free, deliverance (of a prisoner);
loosing, untying (hair);
settling (a question);
acquittance of an obligation, discharge of a debt;
shedding or causing to flow (tears, blood &c.);
casting, shooting, hurling;
strewing, scattering;
utterance (of a curse);
relinquishment, abandonment;
N. of the Divine mountain Meru;
Schrebera Swietenioides
Dictionary - Runes
Moksa: (Skr.) Liberation, salvation from the effects of karma (q.v.) and resulting samsara (q.v.). Theoretically, good karma as little
as evil karma can bring about liberation from the state of existence looked upon pessimistically. Thus, Indian philosophy early
found a solution in knowledge (vidya, jnana) which, disclosing the essential oneness of all in the metaphysical world- ground,
declares the phenomenal world as maya (q.v.). Liberation is then equivalent to identification of oneself with the ultimate reality,
eternal, changeless, blissful, or in a state of complete indifference either with or without loss of consciousness, but at any rate be¬
yond good and evil, pleasure and pain. Divine grace is also recognized by some religious systems as effecting moksa. No gener¬
alization is possible regarding the many theories of moksa, its nature, or the mode of attaining it. See Nirvana, Samadhi, Prasada.
K.F.L.
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Since moksa, according to Samkara, is not a state to be newly attained, but is the very nature of the self, we can hardly speak
of a means in its ordinary sense for achieving it. It is realizing what has always been one’s own innate character but happens for
the time being to be forgotten. The Upanisadic statement is That thou art,’ not That thou becomest.’ The common illustration
given here is that of a prince, brought up as a hunter from infancy, discovering afterwards that he is of royal blood. It involves no
becoming, for he has always been a prince and all that he has to do is to feel or realize that he is one. ... in the case of advaitic
moksa, all that is needed is a removal of the obstacle that keeps the truth concealed from us and the discipline that is prescribed
is solely with a view to bring about this result. It is therefore only in a negative or indirect sense that we can talk of attaining moksa
here. Empirical life being entirely the consequence of an adhyasa, the obstacle is ajnana and it is removed through its contrary
jnana. The jnana that is capable of effecting it should be, for the reasons mentioned more than once before, direct or intuitive
(saksat-kara); and it should refer to one’s own identity with Brahman, for it is the forgetting of this identity that constitutes samsara.
Such knowledge is the sole means of liberation. Neither moral perfection nor religious acts are required as direct aids to it. The
cultivation of the will and the purification of the affections are of course necessary, but they are only aids to jnana, not to moksa.
It means that the morally impure will not seriously set about acquiring the saving knowledge. When once jnana arises, it does of
itself dispel ajnana and the simultaneous revelation of spirit in all its innate splendour is moksa. To state the same in another way,
ethical improvement and religious discipline are necessary for moksa but not enough. That is what is meant by karma-samnyasa
as advocated by Samkara. The conception of jTvan-mukti is the logical result of such a view of the world and of escape from it. If
knowledge is the sole means of release from bondage, freedom should result the moment it is gained; and there is nothing in the
psychical or other equipment of the human being which renders its acquisition impossible here and now.
The discipline is to be undergone in two stages—one, preliminary which qualifies for entering upon the serious study of the Advai-
ta; and the other, Vedantic training proper which directly aims at self-realization. Of these, the former is identical with karma-yoga
as explained in the chapter on the Gita and its aim is the cultivation of detachment. The latter consists of sravana, manana and
nididhyasana.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
Bhagavan remarked, “I should give them moksha, they say. It is enough if moksha alone is given to them. Is not that itself a de¬
sire? If you give up all the desires that you have, what remains is only moksha. And you require sadhana to get rid of all those
desires.”
The devotee said, “But Bhagavan always tells us that Self-enquiry of ‘Who am I?’ is the most important, is it not?”
Bhagavan replied, “It is the same thing. For enquiry there must be somebody. There is the person and there is the Self. They are
known as the lower Arani and the upper Arani [Arani means a twig of the ‘Sami tree’ used for kindling the sacred fire by attrition.]
The enquiry itself is the attrition. As one goes on continuously with this attrition the fire called Vijnana gets generated and the bond
of ignorance that the Self is different from the object gets burnt out. That means the life’s impurities get destroyed. Then the Self
remains as the real ‘Self ’. That is ‘Moksha’.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
Neither the relinquishment of the body, nor of the staff, nor of the water-pot (the wooden water-pot used by ascetics) is moksa
(liberation); but moksa is the happiness (that results from) untying the knot of ignorance in the heart. 559
See: Purushartha, the four goals of human life
See also:
in Advaita Vedanta: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
moksa - from the verb root moks = “to liberate”.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Moksa - from moks, desiderative of the root muc, to set loose, free, release.
Related words
Artha
Ananda
Bandha
Dharma
Jiva
Jivan Mukta
Jnana
Kama
Mukti
Purushartha, the four goals of human life
Samsara
Sanskrit
Moksa — rfW
moksa - hi
Mukti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mukti — ... liberation; release.
1. One who is liberated from bondage. (See moksa.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mukti -
setting or becoming free, release, liberation, deliverance from;
final liberation or emancipation, final beatitude (= moksa);
abandonment, putting off, giving up;
throwing, casting, hurling, shooting, sending;
discharge (of a debt);
N. of a divine being (the wife of Satya)
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Mukti ... final liberation or emancipation of the soul from worldly existence, final beatitude.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Experiencing the Isavasya Upanishad
You are free to ... opt for Isvara. It takes only a moment for “This” with all its variegation to disappear. Such instant freedom is
called saddyo mukti. If you choose the sportive way of a slow climber you can also free your self. It is called krama mukti. In either
case ultimately you will come to the end of the game.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
M.: ...The instruction is [in Bhagavad Gita] for the one who sees diversity. In reality there is no bondage nor mukti for himself or for
others from the jnani’s standpoint.
D.: Are all in liberation?
M.: Where is all? There is no liberation either. It could be only if there was bondage. There was really no bondage and so, it fol¬
lows, there is no liberation.
M.: Mukti, i.e., liberation, is not to be gained hereafter. It is there for ever, here and now.
D.: I agree, but I do not experience it.
M.: The experience is here and now. One cannot deny one’s own self.
D.: That means existence and not happiness.
M.: Existence = happiness = Being. The word mukti (liberation) is so provoking. Why should one seek it? He believes that there is
bondage and therefore seeks liberation. But the fact is that there is no bondage but only liberation. Why call it by a name and seek
it?
D.: True, but we are ignorant.
M.: Only remove ignorance. That is all there is to be done.
Mr Subbaramiah, a college professor from Nellore, asked about mukti.
M.: All questions relating to mukti are inadmissible; because mukti means release from bondage which implies the present exis¬
tence of bondage. There is no bondage and therefore no mukti either.
D.: The sastras speak of it and its grades.
M.: The sastras are not meant for the wise because they do not need them; the ignorant do not want them. Only the mumukshus
look up to the sastras. That means that the sastras are neither for wisdom nor for ignorance.
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Jnana or knowledge is alone the cause of Mukti which does not depend upon anything else. The moment we know the real nature
of Aum, we become unified with it.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
mukti —from the verb root much = “to liberate”.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Mukti from the root muc, to set loose, free.
Related words
Moksha
Sanskrit ^
Mukti
mukti - TJTTrP
Mumuksutva
Variant spellings
mumuksutva
mumuksutva
mumuksuta
mumuktatram
mumukshutwa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mumuksutva — ... a burning desire for liberation.
1. It is one of the four qualifications for a spiritual aspirant. (See sadhana-catustaya.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mumuksutva -
(Vedantas) desire of liberation or of final emancipation
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Mumukshutwa is the yearning for spiritual freedom. [When the aspirant is equipped with the three abovementioned Sadhanas [see
Sadhanacatustaya], he cannot but have a strong desire for liberation. Then alone does he become fit to receive from the spiritual
guide the Absolute Knowledge.]
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Mumuksutva - right desire, which consists of earnestness to know the Ultimate Principle and thereby to attain liberation. This will
come when one dedicates his life to this single goal.
(in Vedanta) one of the four qualifications listed by Samkara for a student of philosophy, viz. (1) right discrimination (viveka), (2)
right dispassion and indifference (vairagya), (3) right conduct satsampat), and (4) right desire (mumuksutva).
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Mumuktatram or longing for Liberation: This is the intense longing of the student to free himself, through the Knowledge of the true
Self, from all bondages pertaining to the body, the mind, and the ego—bondages created by ignorance. It must be understood that
longing is totally different from restlessness, which is an inferior state of mind. A restless mind shows lack of self-control and also a
lack of firm belief in the existence of Truth. Restlessness creates confusion: the longing for Freedom is the result of all the virtues
mentioned above [see Sadhanacatustaya], It endows the mind with an intense one-pointedness and enables it to pierce through
the thick crust of ignorance. Renunciation and the longing for Freedom are the cardinal virtues through which the others bear their
fruit. Without these the mere ethical disciplines give only a veneer of spirituality.
See also:
“Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda” on page 789
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Mumuksutva from mumuksu [from desiderative of the root muc, to set loose, free] + abstract formative -tva .
Related words
Sadhanacatustaya
Sanskrit
Mumuksutva
mumuksutva - HH'V-H'-J
Mundaka Upanishad
Title
Mundaka Upanisad —
mundakopanisad -
Mundaka Upanisad
Mundakopanishad
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Mundaka Upanisad — ... lit. “shaven head Upanisad”.
1. Since this Upanisad speaks of Brahmavidya or knowledge of the Absolute as the mystery which only those with shaven heads
know, thus its name. Or, the instruction given in this Upanisad has the sharpness of a razor. It comes from the Atharva Veda. It
consists of three parts called mundakas, each subdivided into two sections. The Upanisad draws a clear line between the higher
knowledge of Brahman and the lower knowledge of the phenomenal world. It describes the phenomenal world as springing from
Brahman.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mundakopanisad -
N. of a well-known Upanishad of the Atharva-veda (called also Atharvanopanishad and said to take its former name from the word
munda, because every one who comprehends its sacred doctrine is ‘shorn’, i.e. liberated from all error, a similar idea being proba¬
bly involved in the name of the Kshurikopanishad or ‘Razor Upanishad’
Wikipedia
The Mundaka Upanishad ... is one of the earlier, “primary” (mukhya) Upanishads, a genre of Hindu scriptures commented upon by
Shankara. It is associated with the Atharvaveda. It figures as number 5 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads.
... It is a Mantra-upanishad, i.e. it has the form of a Mantra. But, as the commentators observe, though it is written in verse, it is
not, like other Mantras, to be used for sacrificial purposes. Its only object is to teach the highest knowledge, the knowledge of
Brahman, which cannot be obtained either by sacrifices or by worship (Upasana), but by such teaching only as is imparted in the
Upanishad. With its beautiful style, lucid metres, serious wording, and lofty feelings each mantra of this Upanishad gives joyous
reading. It might have derived its name from the word “Munda” meaning “Shaven Head”. The assumption is that if the principle
thought of this Upanishad is understood, the illusions of material world will be cut like hairs in the process of shaving; or because
mostly monks are audience for its teachings, and since usually Hindu monks will have a shaven head, this name might have
something to do with that background. It is the first text to mention the six disciplines of Vedanga.
It has three chapters and each chapter is divided into sub chapters which are called “Khanda”. In total this Upanishad has 64 Man¬
tras.
Traditional Origin of the Upanishad
As described in the beginning of this upanishad, it is said to be first told by Brahma to his son Atharva and Atharva taught it to
Satyavaha and Satyavaha passed it to Angiras who in turn passes the knowledge to Shaunaka, dialogue between the two forms
the content of this Upanishad.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Among the Upanishads, the Mundaka Upanishad is regarded as one the most important. It throws a flood of light on the Jnana
Marga (the path of Knowledge) and leads the aspirant to the highest rung in the ladder of Jnana—Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavati.
That this Upanishad was meant for the Sannyasin (and hence the significant name Mundaka Upanishad) is itself the highest trib¬
ute that can be paid to its sacredness. The truth that this Supreme Knowledge which the Upanishad imparts is to be had through
inspirational initiation direct from a Guru who is well versed in the Brahma Vidya and who has at the same time had the Brahma
Anubhava, is brought out very clearly in this Upanishad.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Wikipedia
This Upanishad divides all knowledge into two categories. The knowledge that leads to Self Realization is called Para Vidya
(Great or Divine Knowledge) and everything else is called Apara Vidya or Knowledge of Material world (wordly knowledge).
Shaunaka approaches sage Angiras and asks “Revered Sir, by knowing what everything will be known ?” Angiras replies that Two
knowledges should be known, one is Para Vidya and other is Apara Vidya. Knowledge of worldly things is Apara Vidya and that
by which Eternal Truth or Akshara is obtained is Para Vidya. Though Apara Vidya enables one to earn ones bread and helps one
to understand each object of universe separately, it does not show the Ultimate Reality (Akshara) or Root Cause of this universe.
While Para vidya doesn’t teach objects of this universe but enables one to understand underlying fabric of it. Like by knowing gold
all the gold ornaments could be known, by knowing Akshara, its another manifestation, the universe is known. This Upanishad
expounds the greatness of Para Vidya.
Another important feature of this upanishad is its lauding of Sarva Karma Sannyasa or Renouncement of All Action. Thus encour¬
ages the opinion that monkhood is good way for attaining self realization, verses 1.2.11,3.2.6 and 3.2.3 aptly support this view. It
teaches that one may be good Yogi and could have attained yogic powers, or could have been a person doing charities and public
welfare, or a learned intellectual man but by all these, illusion of world would not disappear in that person. To attain ultimate sal¬
vation (Moksha), knowledge of supreme reality attained through practice of monk hood is essential. It also teaches that desires
cause rebirth in the world and one who renounced all desires (by taking Sannyasa), all desires end in this life itself, thus implying
that there is no rebirth to such person (verse 3.2.2).
Another feature of this Upanishad is the Yoga prescribed for attaining Self Realization. This spiritual practice has been described
beautifully using a bow-arrow simile.
A seeker of The Truth should take the Mantra Aum or Pranava told in Upanishad’s as bow, The seeker’s Self purified by Upasa-
na is arrow, Supreme Reality or Brahman is target. By pulling back the senses from their sensual interests, should meditate and
become as much concentrated like an arrow in flight, and hit the target Brahman, (refer verse 2.2.4).
Mundaka Upanishad also tells the way in which the self realized souls enter supreme reality or Godhead (Brahman) and their
state afterwards. It says they Enter Everything (3.2.5). Just like when pot is broken, the small space inside the pot becomes one
with great space outside; cause for the individual identity or separateness would disappear. During Moksha, elements building
body and mind go back to their sources and self becomes one with overself just like rivers lose their name and form once they
enter ocean (3.2.7 and 3.2.8).
Since the whole teaching is the conversation between Shaunaka and Angiras, the Upanishad ends with saluting Angiras with deep
gratitude.
The Mundaka Upanishad is notable as the source of the phrase Satyameva jayate (3.1.6), the national motto of India, appearing in
the national emblem having four lions.
Publications
Translations
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
Krishnananda.The Mundaka Upanishad, Divine Life Society, Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India.
Prasad, N. 1998,Mundaka Upanishad: with the original text in Sanskrit and roman transliteration, {DK} Printworld.
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953,The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya-
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
Related words
Atharva Veda
Upanishads
External links
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mundak/Mundaka_Upanishad.pdf
Murti
Variant spellings
Murti
murti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
MGrti — ... embodiment; figure; image; statue.
1. Any image of the Divine, either in a temple or in a place of worship.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
mGrti -
any solid body or material form, (pi. material elements, solid particles ;... consisting or formed of);
embodiment, manifestation, incarnation, personification;
anything which has definite shape or limits (in phil. as mind and the 4 elements earth, air, fire, water, but not akasa, ether...), a
person, form, figure, appearance;
an image, idol, statue;
beauty;
N. of the first astrological house;
of a daughter of Daksha and wife of Dharma;
N. of a Rishi under the 10th Manu;
of a son of Vasishtha
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Murti (“shape,’’“form”). The most common name for a sculptural image of a Hindu deity fashioned by human beings, rather than
those that are self-manifested (svayambhu images) forms of the deity.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Murti: Concrete form that an abstract something assumes. Used also to mean any worshippable idol, in this context.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
murti — from the verb root mure =”to form, to become solid”.
Sanskrit
Murti —
<K
murti -
N,0
Nachiketas
See: Katha Upanishad
Naimittika-karma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Naimittika-karma — occasional duties to be performed on special occasions like the full moon, new moon days, etc.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Naimittika Karma (“occasional [ritual] action”). One of three general types of ritual action, the others being nitya karma and kamya
karma. Naimittika karma rites follow a particular cause (naimittika); when particular circumstances arise, one is required to perform
the ritual. For example, when a child is born, certain rites must be performed. However, the ritual is not required unless a birth has
taken place.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
The performance of one’s duties enjoined by one’s career or vocation. Any action that one is impelled to do by force of circum¬
stance (like saving a man from drowning), called naimittika karma.
Related words
Nitya-karma
Sanskrit
Naimittika-karma — 3fMlricr>ct>4
naimittika-karma - AnRdRi'tKH
Nama
Variant spellings
nama
nama
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Nama —... name.
1. According to Jainism, it is one of the eight main types of action (karma). In itself, it is of one hundred and three types. They all
have to do with personality making. They are subdivided into four groups: collective types (pinda-prakrti); individual types (praty-
eya-prakrti); self-movable body (trasadasaka); and immovable body (sthavaradasaka).
2. According to Buddhism, one of the names for the four elements (because they are objects of name).
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, every appearance consists of name and form (nama and rGpa).
4. The Name is a referent to the Divine. God’s various names are employed in chanting sacred hymns. Note the Rg Veda hymn
“The One Being the wise call by many names—ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti.”
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
nama -
(acc. of naman) by name i.e. named
naman -
a characteristic mark or sign, form, nature, kind, manner;
name, appellation;
personal name (as opp. to gotre, family name);
merely the name (as opp. to reality...), a noun (as opp. to a verb);
substance, essence;
a good or great name, renown, fame;
water
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Nama: Name. Nama with rupa (form) distinguishes every individual entity in this world.
Descriptions
Name and word
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In all traditions the Resurrection and Revelation of the Word of the Tradition is connected with the time of the vernal equinox. What
is this Word? It is not the mere, meaningless, combination of letters and sounds. It does not represent “the letter of the Law”. The
Word is the meaning of the Tradition, entering Manifestation. The word “Logos” or Word means “Meaning”. The symbolism of the
Word is associated with the symbolism of vision, insight and enlightenment, and their practical consequences in the World.
Since the conception of the Word has lost its meaning, which is Meaning itself, that is, the meaning of the symbolism of the Tra¬
dition, dealing with the meaning of life, all human traditions have lost their meaning, and therefore their bearing on practical life in
the world — for insight into the meaning of things is the most potent factor for changing life for the better...
The creative Word has sound and meaning, that is, spirit and meaning. In the first Chapter of Genesis we read repeatedly “God
said” and “God saw”. The Hindu conception is Sabdartha, which is composed of Sabda, meaning sound, and Artha, implying
thought-meaning. The Sabdartha or “Sound-Meaning” manifests as the Nama-rupa or “Name-form”. This applies to the world-of-
name-and-form of the intellectual function. The Sabdartha corresponds to the Logos (Word), which has been said to be insepara¬
ble thought-word-meaning...
The uttering of the Word at the beginning of the Path, Silence, in Aries, is followed by a steady increase of the power of the Word,
till it reaches its full strength in summer. After that its strength begins to decrease, till ultimately it vanishes in Silence. Jupiter, as
Ruler of Sagittarius, is the Guru giving the Silence-initiation. It is the Silence of the Speaker of the Word — the Supreme — about
Whom or Which nought can be said or should be said. It is the Silence of God- Reality.
The Word is born in the negative silence of a complete absence of insight into the mystery of life, and ultimately passes away in
the positive Silence of perfect Self-realization. Both, opposite, forms of “silence” pertain to the same region of the Zodiac, in which
both the beginning and the end of the Spiritual Path are conceived.
In the beginning of the Path the Word implies “So be it” in the sense of “fiat”, meaning “be it done”, and at the end of the Path the
Silence of the Word directs to the “So be it” in the sense of the return to Being or God- Reality. According to various traditions the
sacred Word should be whispered into the ear of a disciple by his Guru. In other words, the Guru conveys “the voice of the si¬
lence” rather than instruction. This symbolism has been generally interpreted as implying mere secrecy. In Jewish tradition the ut¬
terance of the four-lettered Name of God, YHVH, that is, Jehovah, is prohibited. Its pronunciation has been said to be blasphemy.
On the Day of Atonement alone the Name of God was spoken by the High Priest in the Temple. Actually, perfect pronunciation of
the Word means representing the Word and being the Word — something which only a perfect Man, a Son of God, could embody.
Wrong pronunciation, that is, wrong interpretation, of the Word, would be blasphemy.
The Name which is given in the beginning, representing the moral and thought-aspect of the Word, is ultimately given up. At the
beginning of the Spiritual Path names are very important, later they cease to count, and finally they are renounced altogether.
Definitions and literal interpretations make place for symbols and these to ever profounder symbols, till ultimately all merge and
vanish in Silence...
The words Amen, OM, Allah and YHVH are composed of syllables or letters, symbolizing the states of consciousness, connected
with the various Elements and periods of time connected with regions of space. Though the Names or Words are different, the
basic tradition dealing with the symbolic meaning of their component parts, is the same, as will be shown later.
The Speaker and the Voice are ever the same, but Word varies in accordance with the characteristics of time and place. From
time to time “a new name” arises and “a new song” bursts forth.
Word and Name should not be confused. The Name forms the rational aspect of the Word. The Sound is the spiritual aspect of the
Word. The Word itself represents the harmonious combination of “all elements” of the soul — the Elements Earth, Water, Fire and
Air, presided over by the Element Ether, which the Word represents par excellence.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
nama — from the verb root nam= “to honor”.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Nama (etymology uncertain), name; a characteristic mark or sign, as opposed to reality.
Related words
Namarupa
Rupa
Sanskrit
Nama — HPT
nama - HPT
Namarupa
Variant spellings
namarupa
namarupa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Namarupa — ... “name and form”.
1. According to Buddhism, one line of the causal chain of dependent origination. It provides the support for the six fields of contact
(ayatana) and in turn is dependent itself on consciousness (vijnana). “Name” is said to be the three groups (sensation, perception,
and predisposition); and “form” is the four elements and forms derived from the four elements.
2. In the Upanisads, the term is used in the sense of determinate forms and names as distinguished from the indeterminate inde¬
finable reality.
3. Advaita Vedanta uses the term to indicate the phenomenally existent (vyavaharika) universe.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
namarupa -
name and form;
individual being
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
In Hinduism
The term namarupa is also used in Hindu thought, nama describing the spiritual or essential properties of an object or being, and
rupa the physical presence that it manifests. These terms are used similarly to the way that ‘essence’ and ‘accidence’ are used in
Catholic theology to describe transubstantiation. The distinction between nama and rupa in Hindu thought explains the ability of
spiritual powers to manifest through inadequate or inanimate vessels - as observed in possession and oracular phenomena, as
well as in the presence of the divine in images that are worshiped through puja.
In Buddhism
This term is used in Buddhism to refer to constituent processes of the human being: nama is typically considered to refer to psy¬
chological elements of the human person, while RGpa refers to the physical. The Buddhist nama and rupa are mutually depen¬
dent, and not separable; as namarGpa, they designate an individual being.
In the Pali Canon, the Buddha describes namarupa in this manner:
“And what [monks] is name-&-form? Feeling, perception, intention, contact, & attention: This is called name. The four great ele¬
ments, and the form dependent on the four great elements: This is called form. This name & this form are [monks] called name-&-
form.”
In keeping with the doctrine of anatman/anatta, “the absence of an (enduring, essential) self”, nama and rGpa are held to be con¬
stantly in a state of flux, with only the continuity of experience (itself a product of dependent origination) providing an experience of
any sort of conventional ‘self.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
... there is one thing between the metaphysical and the moral aspect of Advaitism, it is the theory of Maya. Every one of these
points in the Advaita system requires years to understand and months to tell. Therefore you will excuse me if I only just touch upon
them en passant. This theory of maya has been the most difficult thing to understand in all ages. Let me tell you in a few words
that it is more than a theory, it is the combination of the three ideas Desa-kala-nimitta—Space, time, and causation, which have
been further reduced to nama-rupa—name and form. Suppose there is a wave in the ocean. The wave is distinct from the ocean
only in its form and name, and this form and this name cannot have any separate existence from the wave, they exist only with the
wave. The wave may subside, but the same amount of water remains, even if the name and form that were on the wave vanish
forever. So this maya is what makes the difference between me and you, between all animals and man, between men and gods.
In fact it is this maya that causes the Atman to be caught, as it were, in so many millions of beings, and these are distinguishable
only through name and form. If you let name and form go, all this variety vanishes forever, and you are what you really are. This is
maya. It is again no theory, but a statement of facts.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Commentary by Krishnananda:
The nama and the rupa of the Vedanta philosophy, or of the Upanishads, are not the names and the forms with which we are usu¬
ally familiar in our social life, but they rather correspond to what Aristotle called in his system, form and matter. Form, according to
Aristotle, is the formative power of an object, and matter is the shape this power takes by materialisation, concretisation, etc. The
subtle body may be regarded as the nama, and the physical body the rGpa. It is the nama or name in the sense that it indicates a
form which is the object corresponding to it, namely the body.
Namarupa and linga sarira
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Commentary by Krishnananda:
The linga-sarTra, the sGkshma-sarTra of ours, is our name. That is our real name, and if at all we name ourselves as Gopala, Gov-
inda, Krishna, etc., that name which is given to us at the time of namakarana, the naming ceremony, should correspond to our
character within. The name should not be incongruent with our essential nature. The real name is within us. It is not merely a word
that we utter with reference to us. You may call a man, kshlrasagara-bhatta (ocean of milk), but he may not have even a little but¬
termilk in his house. What is the use of calling a poor man as Daulat Ram? There are names that we give without any connection
with the nature or the status of the person, and the internal structure of the subtle body. The real name, linga, indication, mark, is
the sukshmasarTra, and it is the determining factor of the physical form, the body in which we are engaged.
Namarupa and vastu
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
In the jagat, there are two things: nama-rGpa, names and forms, and vastu, the reality. There is a difference between them;
namarGpa is nothing but vastu but the vastu is not namarGpa. This is the understanding with reference to vastu and the nama-rG¬
pa. The body is only nama-rGpa but is mistaken for the vastu, the atma. ... In a clay pot, the pot is nama-rGpa and the clay is vastu.
So the clay should be understood where the pot is. We have to do the viveka with reference to the pot and understand the vastu
- clay.
See also:
in Karana: Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Namarupa (compounded of nama, name -+- rupa, form), name and form, meaning the phenomenal world.
Wikipedia
Namarupa is a compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning “name (nama) and form (rupa)”.
Related words
Nama
Rupa
Vastu
Sanskrit
Namarupa — -iIh^m
namarupa - -iinys
Naraka
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Naraka — ... hell; “pertaining to the human”.
1. There are various hells: put—the childless hell; avTci—hell for those awaiting reincarnation; samhata—for general evildoers;
tamisra— where the real gloom of hell begins; rjTsa—where torments attack; kudmala—the worst hell for those who will be reincar¬
nated; talatala— the bottomless pit, the eternal hell of indescribable tortures and pain for those who have no hope of reincarnation.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
naraka -
hell, place of torment;
(distinguished from patala; personified as a son of Anrita and Nirriti or Nirkriti Markd.; there are many different hells, generally 21;
N. of a demon (son of Vishnu and BhGmi or the Earth, and therefore called Bhauma, haunting Prag-jyotisha and slain by Krishna);
of a son of Vipra-citti;
N. of a place of pilgrimage
Descriptions
General
Macdonell. Vedic mythology
Hell. - If in the opinion of the composers of the RV [Rigveda], the virtuous received their reward in the future life, it is natural that
they should have believed at least in some kind of abode, if not in future punishment, for the wicked... As far as the AV [Atharvave-
da], and the Katha Upanishad are concerned, the belief in hell is beyond doubt. The AV ... speaks of the house below, the abode
of female goblins and sorceresses, called naraka loka, in contrast with svarga loka, the heavenly world, the realm of Yama ... To
this hell the murderer is consigned ... It is in the AV several times described as ‘lowest darkness’ ... as well as ‘black darkness’...
and ‘blind darkness’ ... The torments of hell are also once described in the AV ... and with greater detail in the SB [Sataputha
Brahmana] ... ; for it is not till the period of the Brahmanas that the notion of future punishment appears plainly developed. The
same Brahmana further states that every one is born again after death and is weighed in a balance receiving reward or punish¬
ment according as his works are good or bad ... Roths favours the view that the religion of the RV knows nothing of hell, the wick¬
ed being supposed to be annihilated by death. Evidence of the belief in some kind of hell is, however, not altogether wanting in the
RV. Thus, ‘this deep place’ is said to have been produced for those who are evil, false, and untrue ... Indra-Soma. are besought to
‘dash the evil-doers into the abyss (vavre)l into bottomless darkness, so that not even one of them may get out’ ... ; and the poet
prays that ‘she (the demoness) who malignantly wanders about like an owl concealing herself, may fall into the endless abysses’
... , and that the enemy and robber may lie below all the three earths .... But such references are few and the evidence cannot be
said to go beyond showing belief in a hell as an underground darkness. The thoughts of the poets of the RV, intent on the happi¬
ness of this earth, appear to have rarely dwelt on the joys of the next life, still less on its possible punishments. The doctrine of the
Brahmanas is that after death, all, both good and bad, are born again in the next world and are recompensed according to their
deeds ... , but nothing is said as to the eternity of reward or punishment. The notion also occurs there that those who do not rightly
understand and practise the rites of sacrifice, depart to the next world before the natural term of their terrestrial life...
The idea of a formal judgment to which all the dead must submit, seems hardly traceable to the Vedic period. One or two passag¬
es of the RV in which reference to it has been found, are too indefinite to justify such an interpretation. In the TA [TaittirTya Aranya-
ka] ... it is said that the truthful and untruthful are separated before Yama, but that he acts in the capacity of a judge, is not implied
Related words
Loka
Svarga
Sanskrit
Naraka — H {cb
naraka - ^TTT
Narayana
Variant spellings
Narayana
Narayan
narayana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
narayana -
the Purusha-hymn (Rv. x , 90 , said to have been composed by Narayana’);
(as synonym of Vishnu) N. of the 2nd month;
N. of a son of Aja-mila;
of sev. men, authors and commentators;
relating or belonging to Narayana or Krishna
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Narayana. Epithet of the god Vishnu. The name is traditionally interpreted as meaning “resting on the waters,” based on the claim
that the word nara, which usually means “man,” in this case means “waters.” Narayana is the image of Vishnu in the time of cos¬
mic dissolution (pralaya). He is reclining on his serpent couch, Shesha, in the midst of the cosmic sea, with his wife, Lakshmi,
seated at his feet, and his vehicle, Garuda, standing by. Vishnu is the sole remaining agent in the cosmos, as its beginning and
end. When the time for a new creation arrives, a lotus sprouts forth from Narayana’s navel, which opens to reveal the creator-god
Brahma. The cycle of creation begins anew.
Wikipedia
Narayana or Narayan is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name.
Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana. In the Kurma Pura-
na he is identified with Brahman and Krishna- Vishnu, but in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana Narayana is considered different from
Krishna and also considered part of Krishna.
In the Mahabharata Krishna is often referred to as Narayana and Arjuna as Nara. The epic identifies them both in plural ‘Krishnas’,
or as part incarnations of the earlier incarnations of Vishnu, recalling their mystical identity as Nara- Narayana. Followers of Lord
Swaminarayan believe that Narayan manifested himself as Swaminarayan.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Vishnu in the aspect of Narayana is that under which he was first worshipped. Nara is parallel to Adam, and Narayana means
something like “the son of man”. Narayana further means the “ayana” that is, abode, or place of motion, of “nara”, the waters.This
form of Vishnu is generally represented in its first form, as a baby-boy, lying on a leaf of the sacred banyan tree, floating on the
waters. ... “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1; 2).
Wikipedia
Variations
Narayanasamy
Narayanaswamy
Narayan
Narayanan
Narine
Narayanaswami
Narain
Religious uses
Narayana is another name for Vishnu and appears as the 245th name in the Vishnu sahasranama. (See Vaishnava Theology.)
The book, Sri Ramanuja, His Life, Religion, and Philosophy, states that the name “Narayana” means, “He who is the dwelling
place, i.e., the source, support and dissolving ground of all Jivas or souls, including inert matter.”
Om Namo NarayaNaya is one of the most famous mantras chanted by Hindus. This mantra, along with Om Namah Shivaya, and
the Gayatri mantra are the most sacred prayers by Hindus.
When doing a puja, people say the 108 names of Narayana.
A verse that confers the Devas’ subordinate status comes from the Vishnu sahasranama, whose concluding verses state: “The
Rishis (great sages), ancestors, the Devas, the great elements, in fact, all things moving and unmoving constituting this universe
have originated from Narayana.” This verse indicates that the Devas are subordinate to Vishnu, but Vishnu is often named a
Deva. (Vasudeva, Narasimhadeva, etc.)
Secular uses
Among the many people with the name Narayan are the novelist R.K. Narayan, the political activist Jayaprakash Narayan, the
singer Udit Narayan T.R., and the Fijian stateswoman Irene Jai Narayan T.R.. Prithvi Narayan Shah founded the kingdom of Nepal
There is also song “Narayan” by The Prodigy on their The Fat of the Land album, with the lyrical line “Om Namah Narayana”. The
song is co- composed and sung by Crispian Mills, singer and frontman of the English psychedelic rock band Kula Shaker. Kula
Shaker covers the song in a version named “Song of Love/Narayana” in their Strangefolk album.
Narayan Holden, record producer and owner of Playakoda in Sydney, Australia.
In the video game Grand Theft Auto 2 from the Grand Theft Auto series, Narayana is the name of a neighborhood occupied by the
Hare Krishna street gang.
In the video game Myst III: Exile, the final age to which the player travels is called Narayan. It consists of an ocean extending to
the horizon, beneath a clouded sky in which float trees, suspended by bubbly “pearls” released periodically by the ocean.
The name of the Siamese king Narai (r. 1656- 1688) is a Thai pronunciation of Narayana.
narayan murthy who is supposed to be the pioneers of it revolution in india and chief mentor of infosys
See: Vishnu, Narayana, Krishna
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
In Sanskrit, another name for water is ‘Naara’. The Supreme Lord Vishnu whose resting place (‘Ayana’) is ‘Naara’ is therefore
called Naarayana. “Naara” also means the living entities (Jivas). Therefore, another meaning of Naarayana is ‘resting place for all
living entities. The close association of Narayana with water explains the frequent depiction of Narayana in Hindu art as standing
or sitting on an ocean. Another important translation of Narayana is “The supreme Man who is the foundation of all men”.
Another interpretation of the word Narayana sees Nara meaning “human” and Ayana as “direction/goal”. Hence Narayana refers
to the “direction of a human” (or the one that helps a human to his/her goal, i.e. towards moksha). Nara is related to moksha as
both are rooted to the Water element (Ap), one of the Great Elements (Mahabhuta). (See also: Tattva).
According to the Vaishnav Philosophy, the Narayana is the Purnapurrushttom Purush lord Keshav. In Gita, lord Krishna admits
that he is the Keshav.
Related words
Krishna
Vishnu
Sanskrit
Narayana — ii<w u i
narayana - mTPPT
Narayana Guru
Name
Narayana Guru
Narayana Guru
Sree Narayana Guru Swami
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Narayana Guru ... was a Hindu saint, sadhu and social reformer of India. The Guru was born into an Ezhava family, in an era
when people from backward communities like the Ezhavas faced much social injustices in the caste-ridden Kerala society. Gu-
rudevan, as he was fondly known to his followers, led Reform movement in Kerala, revolted against casteism and worked on
propagating new values of freedom in spirituality and of social equality, thereby transforming the Kerala society and as such he is
adored as a prophet...
Narayana Guru was instrumental in setting the spiritual foundations for social reform in today’s Kerala and was one of the most
successful social reformers who tackled caste issues in India. He demonstrated a path to social emancipation without invoking the
dualism of the oppressed and the oppressor.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Narayana Guru - (1854-1928.) A great seer and revaluator of Vedanta philosophy. He took the initiative in exposing the evils of all
forms of apartheid, such as the caste system in India, and eradicating social injustice. His dictum of “One in kind, One in religion,
and One in God is Man” revolutionized the sociocultural outlook of his generation.
Biography
Dates
August 20, 1856 - September 20, 1928
Sri Narayana Guru Mission of the UK
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA OF GURU
1854 Birth, Vayalvarom House, Chempazhanthy, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
1861-71 Basic education under Chempazhanthy Pillai
1872-77 Stayed in Trivandrum - learned Tamil language and literature
1877-79 Higher education under Kummampally Raman Pillai at Varanapally House
1889 Came back to Chempazhanthy
1881 Started a school at Anchuthengu; Nanu became Nanu Asan
1882-84 Got attracted to Spiritualism but relatives persuade him to marry Kaliamma Started to wander around - visited Maruthua-
mala and Aruvippuram Death of father - Madanasan
1884-87 Left the home and traveled as a mendicant; spent time in meditation Meeting with Chattabi Swamikal; Yogic practice
under Thycadu Ayya Swami
1887 Started to stay at Aruvippuram
1888 Consecration of Sivalinga at Aruvippuram - Great revolution in the life of the Guru
1891 Meeting Kumaru (who later became the greatest Poet Kumaran Asan) at Kayikkara
1893 Conditioning of Aruvippuram Temple affairs
1895 Travel to Bangalore with Kumaran Asan
1898 Formation of Aruvippuram Temple Society: known as Vavoottu Yogam
1899 Installation of Subramanya Idol at Kunnumpara, near Kovalam
1903 Formation of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (S.N.D.P) in January
1904 Exempted Guru from appearing any Courts First Anniversary of S.N.D.P Yogam with a Women Conference Started a school
at Vakkom in February Settled at Sivagiri, Varkala Organized a meeting at Paravoor to discuss about stopping bad customs in
society
1905 Started an evening school for Paryas at Vettoor near Varkala
1907 Guru visited Malabar, North Kerala
1908 Reception by Theosophical Society (January) Installation of Sree Jagannatha Temple Idol at Thalaserry, North Kerala (Feb¬
ruary) Founded Sree Khanteswara Temple, Kozhikod
1909 Traveled to Mangalore. Founded Kudroli Gokarna natha Temple at the request of Billava community
1911 Census Report of Travancore declared Guru as National Saint
1912 Stoppage of ‘Kettu Kalyanam’ (an unnecessary marriage ceremony) Installation of the idol of Goddess Sharada at Sivagiri
(April)
1914 Establishment of Adwaita Ashram at Aluva (August) Karaleeya Nair Society gave a reception at Kottayam
1916 Founded Sanskrit School at Aluva (August) Went to Thiruvannamalai and visited Ramana Maharshi (February) Celebrated
60th birthday Went to Madras accepting Justice Sadasiva Iyer’s and Justice Krishnan’s invitation
1918 Journey to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and visited many places there
1920 Installed a ‘Lighted Lamp’ as the idol in the Karamukku Temple (May 15)
1921 All Kerala Convention of Brotherhood at Aluva (May 15) Installed a slab as idol at Murikkumpuzha Temple with the words:
“Sathyam’ (Truth), Dharmam (Ethics), Daya (Compassion), Sneham (love)”
1922 Nobel Laureate Poet Rabindranath Tagore visited Guru at Sivagiri
1924 Unexpected demise of Kumaran Asan in a boat accident (January 16) Guru organized The All Religious Conference at Aluva
(February) Vaikom Sathyagraha for the rights of the Backward Classes to enter Temples
1925 Visit of Mahatma Gandhi at Sivagiri to meet Guru (March 12) Bodhananda Swami was declared as Guru’s successor (Sep¬
tember 27) Diwan Watts visits Guru at Sivagiri Laid foundation stone for Brahma Vidyalaya (A school for teaching all religions)
1926 Second journey to Ceylon Demise of Sathyavrida Swami (September 1)
1927 First statue of Guru was unveiled at Thalassery, North Kerala Installed a ‘Mirror’ as the idol at Kalavancodem (June 14) Sree
Narayana Dharma Sangham was registered (January 9)
1928 Nataraja Guru founded Gurukulam at Ootty Attained Maha Samadhi (departed this world) in September
http://www.sngm.org/biography.htm
Place of birth
General
Wikipedia
The village of Chempazhanthy near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Life
General
Wikipedia
Narayana Guru was born on August 20, 1856, in the village of Chempazhanthy near Thiruvananthapuram, the son of Madan
Asan, a farmer, and Kutti Amma. The boy was dotingly called Nanu. Madan was also a teacher who was learned in Sanskrit and
proficient in Astrology and Ayurveda. He had three sisters. ... Nanu was initiated into the traditional formal education Ezhuthinir-
ithal by Chempazhanthy Pillai, a local schoolmaster and a village officer. Besides schooling, young Nanu continued to be educat¬
ed at home, under the guidance of both his father and uncle Krishnan Vaidyan who was a reputed Ayurvedic physician and a San¬
skrit scholar, where he was taught the basics of the Tamil and Sanskrit languages and traditional subjects such as Siddharupam,
Balaprobhodhanam and Amarakosam.
He was sent to a famous scholar, Kummampilli Raman Pillai Asan at Karunagapally, a village fifty miles away from his home, at
the age of 21... Nanu, along with other students, was taught Sanskrit language and poetry, drama and literary criticism, and logical
rhetoric. He studied the Vedas and the Upanishads. He also began teaching in a near-by school...
Nanu moved to his hermitage deep inside the hilly forests of Maruthwamala, where he led an austere life immersed in meditative
thought and yoga and subjected himself to extreme sustenance rituals. This phase of solitude lasted for 8 long years. After an un¬
pretentious life of over thirty years abounding in knowledge and harsh experiences, this epoch is considered the culmination of the
meditative recluse; the point at which Narayana Guru is believed to have attained a state of Enlightenment...
A new phase began in the Guru’s life in 1904. He decided to give up his wandering life and settle down in a place to continue his
Sadhana (spiritual practice). He chose Sivagiri, twenty miles north of Thiruvananthapuram. Goddess ‘Amba’ became his deity of
worship.
Death
General
Wikipedia
Guru became seriously ill in September 1928. He remained bedridden for some time. ... On 20 September, Guru died.
Teachings
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Nataraja Guru:
We know ... that the Guru Narayana, being an avowed Advaita Vedantin who follows the steps of Sankara and revalues his po¬
sition in his own way, has the basic doctrine of non-duality preserved intact in his writings. This can be gathered from a general
examination of the other compositions of the Guru taken all together.
The task of the student of philosophy of the Guru will be facilitated if he can place his finger correctly and carefully on just those
points where the Guru tries to restate the position of Sankara’s Advaita. The later modifications given to the Science of the Ab¬
solute (brahmavidya) as brought about in the writings of the two other important classical Gurus of South India, Ramanuja and
Madhva, should also be kept in mind by the careful student.
In point of method and theory of knowledge the Guru Narayana will be seen to depart slightly from all these Gurus: Sankara,
Ramanuja and Madhva, and although the essential spirit of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita will be seen to be maintained,
and the finalised position of the Brahma Sutras generally supported, the Guru will be seen to conform closely to the requirements
of a more strictly unitive or dialectical approach.
He is not content to be merely theological like Ramanuja; nor does he make of philosophy as perhaps with Sankara,sometimes,
merely academic abstractions in which the living breezes of human values do not play. In these verses 5 to 7, it would be advan¬
tageous to note in advance that the method employed here approximates to that of Sankara in the analysis of the states of con¬
sciousness in locating the substratum of the Absolute common to waking, dreaming and deep sleep. It is compatible with Sanka¬
ra’s definition of the Absolute as avastha-traya-sakshi (the neutral witness, as it were, of the three states, jagrat or waking, svapna
or dreaming, and sushupti, sleeping). This compares with the method of the Mandukya Upanishad which equates absolute con¬
sciousness with that of the ‘fourth’ or turiya state which inclusively transcends all the other three.
Ramanuja’s dynamism of existence follows the same dialectical lines but in terms of being and becoming rather than in terms of
pure consciousness. Madhva stresses the aspect of a scale of values as between the Absolute and the Relative, understood in
the dialectical context. But here the Guru Narayana brings dialectics to bear on common human life...
It would not be wrong to fit the teaching here back upon the general teaching of the Advaita of Sankara and upon the greater
background of Vedanta thought in general as implicit in the three ‘canonical’ writings, namely, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita
and the Brahma Sutras. Only then one would be but doing justice to the Guru Narayana, who represents the Advaita tradition in a
fully revalued and restated form.
Nitya. Narayana Guru
Both in the theory and practice of Narayana Guru"s philosophy of life, his emphasis is on the philosophical oneness and unity of
all things. It would be natural for him to uphold the monistic philosophy of sankara. But after sankara"s presentation of the non-du¬
al school, many refutations of that position came from all quarters of the world. Because of this historical development, Narayana
Guru could not simply repeat what sankara said. On the one hand, he was obliged to restate Advaita Vedanta in a new format
and, on the other, he had to take full cognizance of the great masters of India who came after sankara and showered criticism on
his concept of the non-differentiated Brahman.
Works
General
Wikipedia
Next, he started a Sanskrit school in Varkala. Poor boys and orphans were taken under his care. They were given education
regardless of caste distinctions. Temples were built at different places - Thrissur, Kannur, Anchuthengu, Tellicherry, Calicut, Man¬
galore. A temple was built for Sharada Devi in 1912, at Sivagiri. Worship at such temples helped reduce to a large extent supersti¬
tious beliefs and practices.
One of the temples built in Thrissur is the Sri Narayana Temple at Koorkenchery. The temple has a school in its compound named
Sri Narayana School. The School encourages students’ talents by organizing talent competitions. These competitions, regularly
held every year, have been a platform for youngsters to stand up and recognize their talents.
In 1913, he founded the Advaita Ashram at Aluva. This was an important event in his spiritual quest. This Ashram was dedicated
to a great principle - Om Sahodaryam Sarvatra (all men are equal in the eyes of God). This became the motto of the new Ashram.
When Narayana Guru attained the age of sixty, his birth day was observed throughout the west-coast from Mangalore to Sri Lan¬
ka. Between 1918 and 1923 he visited Sri Lanka many times. In 1921, a Conference of Universal Brotherhood was held at Aluva.
Again in 1924, a conference of all religions was held there. Guru stressed the need for a Brahma Vidyalaya for a comparative
study of different religious faiths.
Organizations
General
Wikipedia
In 1913, the Guru founded an Ashram at Aluva. It was called the Advaita Ashram. The Ashram was dedicated to a great principle
- Om Sahodaryam Sarvatra (all human beings are equal in the eyes of God). In 1921, a Conference of Universal Brotherhood was
held at Aluva. Again in 1924, a conference of all religions was held there. The Guru stressed the need for a Brahma Vidyalayam
for the comparative study of various religious faiths.
An institution called Narayana Gurukulam was established in the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu by Bodhananda Swamikal and later
handed over to Nataraja Guru.
Writings
General
Wikipedia
In Malayalam
Swanubavageethi
Atmopadesa Satakam
Advaitha Deepika
Arivu
Daiva Dasakam
Jeevakarunya Panchakam
Anukamba Dasakam
Jathi Nirnayam
Jathi Lakshanam
Chijjada Chinthanam
Daiva vichinthanam - 1 & 2
Athma Vilasam
Shiva Shathakam
Kolatheereshastavam
Bhadrakaalyashtakam
In Sanskrit
Darsana Mala
Brahmavidya Panchakam
Nirvruthi Panchakam
Slokathrayi
Vedantha Suthram
Homa Manthram
Municharya Panchakam
Asramam
Dharmam
Charama Slokangal
Homa Mantram
Chidambarashtakam
Guhashtakam
Bhadrakaliashtakam
Vinayaka Ashtakam
Sree Vasudeva Ashtakam
Genani Navaratna Manjari “
In Tamil
Thevarappathinkangal
Translations
Thirukural
Isavasyo Upanishad
Ozhivil Odukkam
SNDP
1925
Homa Mantra in Sanskrit
1918
Sri Narayana Smriti (A work on relegious or social conduct) in Malayalam
1916
Darsana Mala (Garland of Visions) in Sanskrit
(This link will open a new window.)
Municharya Panchakam (Five verses on the way of the Renounced Recluse) in Sanskrit
1915
Nirvriti Panchakam (Five verses on Inward Release) in Malayalam
1914
Daiva Desakam (Ten verses on God) in Malayalam
Jati Mimamsa (A critique of Caste) First verse in Sanskrit remaining in Malayalam
Anukampa Desakam (Ten verses on Mercy) in Malayalam
Jiva Karunya Panchakam (Five verses on Kindness to life) in Malayalam
1909
Janani Nava Ratna Manjari (A cluster of nine verses on Mother) in Malayalam
1897
Atmopadesa Satakam (Life and Teachings of NG on Self Instruction) in Malayalam
1888-1897
Chinta Jadangal (Ten verses on Thought and Intertia) in Malayalam
Kundalini Pattu (Seventeen verses with a refrain of the Kundalini snake) in Malayalam
Pinda Nandi (Nine verses on Prenatal gratitude) in Malayalam
Sadasiva Darsanam (Vision of theEternal Siva) in Malayalam
Devi Stavam (Nine verses on the Goddess) in two parts one in Sanskrit another in Malayalam
Subrahmanya Stotram (Fifteen verses on Subrahmanya) in Malayalam
Indriya Vairagyam (Fifteen verses on Detachment) in Malayalam
Saravana Bhava Stuti (Ten verses on Subrahmanya) in Malayalam
Shanmukha Stavam (Nineteen verses on the Six Faced god Subrahmanya) in Malayalam
Kali Natakam (A long poem on the Dance of Kali) in Malayalam
Bahuleya Ashtakam (Eight verses on Bahuleya ) in Malayalam
Chitambara Ashtakam (Eight verses on the Mental sky, Siva) in Malayalam
Siva Prasada Panchakam (Five verses on the Grace of Siva) in Malayalam
Ottapadyangal (A sequence of fifteen verses) in Malayalam
Arivu (Fifteen verses on Knowledge) in Malayalam
Brahma Vidya Panchakam (Five verses on the Science of the Absolute) in Sanskrit
Isa Vashya upanishad (Translation of the Isa- vasya) in Malayalam
Advaita Deepika (The bright lamp of non- dual wisdom) in Malayalam.
Swanubhava Giti (Song of self-realization) in Malayalam
Ardha Nari-lswara Stotram (Five verses on the androgynous Siva) in Malayalam
Tiru Kural (Translation of Tiru Kural) in Malayalam
Ozhivil Odukkam (Translation from Tamil) in Malayalam
1887
Siva Ashtakam (Eight verses on Shiva) in Malayalam
Thevarappathinkangal (Five hymn sequences about God) in Tamil
Subrahmanya Ashtakam (Eight verses to Subrahmanya) in Malayalam.
Saravana Bhava Stotram (Hymn to the lake born god Subrahmanya) in Malayalam
1884
Vinayaka Ashtakam (Hymns in Praise of Vinayaka, the Elephant God) in Sanskrit
Guha Ashtakam (Eight verses on Guha or Subrahmanyan) in Sanskrit
Sree Vasudeva Ashtakam (Eight verses on Shree Vasudeva) in Sanskrit
Bhadralaki Ashtakam (Eight verses on Bhadrakali) in Sanskrit
Navamanjari (A cluster of nine verses) in two series, one in Malayalam and another in Sanskrit
Vairagya Desakam (Ten verses on Detachment) in Malayalam
1881
Chijjda Chintanam (Reflections of the mind and Inertia) in Malayalam
Daiva Chintanam (Reflections of the divine) in Malayalam
http://www.sndp.org
Sree Narayana Association of North America Inc
Books By Narayana Guru
* Ashramam, Five verses in Sanskrit on the rules of the of the ‘Sree Narayana Dharmasangham’ written in Sanskrit in 1928.
* Advaitha Deepika (The bright lamp of non- dual wisdom) in Malayalam. Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Admavilasam, an essay on God.
* Anukampa Desakam (Ten verses on Mercy) in Malayalam Written in 1914.
* Ardha Nari-lswara Stotram (Five verses on the androgynous Shiva) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897. Written be¬
tween 1888 and 1897.
* Arivu (Fifteen verses on Knowledge) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Atmopadesa Satakam (Life and Teachings of NG on Self Instruction) in Malayalam Written in 1897.
* Janani Nava Ratna Manjari, in Malayalam written in 18 ... in praise of the Supreme Mother.
* Bahuleya Ashtakam (Eight verses on Bahuleya ) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Bhadrakali Ashtakam (Eight verses on Bhadrakali) in Sanskrit Written in 1884.
* Bhariya Dharmam, Ten verses on the qualities of a housewife, translated from Tamil.
* Brahma Vidya Panchakam (Five verses on the Science of the Absolute) in Sanskrit Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Chinta Jadangal (Ten verses on Thought and Inertia) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Chijjada Chinthakam, an essay.
* Chijjda Chintanam (Reflections of the mind and Inertia) in Malayalam Written in 1881.
* Chit Ambara Ashtakam (Eight verses on the Mental sky, Shiva) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Darsana Mala (Garland of Visions) in Sanskrit Written in 1916.
* Daiva Chintanam part 1, (Essay on reflections of the divine) in Malayalam Written in 1881.
* Daiwa Chintanam part 2, (a verse and an essay on reflections of the divine) in Malayalam Written in 1881
* Daiwa Desakam (Ten verses on God) in Malayalam, Written in 1914.
* Dharmam, One verse written in Sanskrit.
* Charamaslokam, two verses in Sanskrit, written at the passing of Chattampi Swamykal.
* Bhadrakali Ashtakam, Eight verses and Bhalashruthi on the Goddess Bhadrakali in Sanskrit Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Brahmavidyapanchakam, Five verses in Sanskrit on the science of the Absolute written between 1888 and 1897.
* Devi Prenamadevyaastakam (©al£±dXjh©ahjneJ«), Eight verses in Sanskrit in praise of Devi. (The author ship of this Is not full
confirmed.)
* Devi Stavam, Nine verses on the Goddess Supreme in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Gadya Prardhana, A prayer in prose.
* Guha Ashtakam (Eight verses on Guha or Subrahmanyan) in Sanskrit Written in 1884.
* Homa Mantram in Sanskrit Written in 1925.
* Indriya Vairagyam (Fifteen verses on Detachment) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Isa Vashya Upanishad (Translation of the Isa- vashya) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Janani Nava Ratna Manjari (A cluster of nine verses on Mother) in Malayalam Written in 1909.
* Jati Lekshanam, Ten verses in Malayalam on the signs of Jati (kind) of living things written in Malayalam.
* Jati Mimamsa (Jati Nirnayam), A critique of Caste, First verse in Sanskrit remaining in Malayalam Written in 1914.
* Jeeva Karunya Panchakam (Five verses on Kindness to life) in Malayalam Written in 1914.
* Kali Natakam (A long poem on the Dance of Kali) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Kolatheerashwastavam, Ten verses on Shiva (Kolathukara Temple) in Malayalam.
* Kundalini Pattu (Seventeen verses with a refrain of the Kundalini snake) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Mananateetam (Vairagya Desakam), Ten verses on Detachment in Malayalam Written in 1884.
* Mannanthala Devi Stavam, Nine verses on the Goddess of Mannanthala, in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Municharya Panchakam (Five verses on the way of the Renounced Recluse) in Sanskrit Written in 1916.
* Navamanjari (A cluster of nine verses) in two series, one in Malayalam and another in Sanskrit.
* Nirvriti Panchakam (Five verses on Inward Release) in Malayalam Sanskrit Written in 1915.
* Ottapadyangal (A sequence of fifteen verses) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Ozhivil Odukkam, Translated form Tamil to Malayalam. Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Oru Samasyapooranam, one verses written in Malayalam in 1897.
* Oru Tamil Sloam, one verse in Tamil. * Oru Mangalashamsa, One verses written in Malayalam written on the occasion of the
publication of a magazine in memory of Kumaranashan in 1925.
* Pinda Nandi (Nine verses on Prenatal gratitude) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Sadacharam, Seven verses on good conduct in Malayalam.
* Sadashiva darshanam (Vision of the Eternal Shiva) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Shanmukha Dashakam, Ten verses on Subrahmanyan in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Shanmathurastavam, Hymn to the lake born god Subrahmanyan in Sanskrit Written in 1887.
* Sanyasimahima (Nittarperumai), Ten verses translated from Tamil.
* Saravana Bhava Stuti (Ten verses on Subrahmanyan) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Shanmukha Stotram, Nineteen verses on the Six Faced god Subrahmanyan in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Subramanya Keerthanam, Fifteen verses of praise to Lord Subrhamanya in Malayalam Written in 1887.
* Shiva Ashtakam (Eight verses on Shiva) in Malayalam Written in 1887.
* Shivashatakam, Life and Teachings of NG on Shiva in Malayalam.
* Shiva Prasada Panchakam (Five verses on the Grace of Shiva) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Shivastavam (Prepanchsristi), Ten verses on Shiva in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Sloktreyi, Three verses in Sanskrit.
* Shree Krishnadarshanam. (A single verse in praise of Shree Krishna written in Sanskrit) year not known.
* Subrahmanyan Ashtakam (Eight verses to Subrahmanyan) in Malayalam. Written in 1887.
* Subrahmanyan Stotram (Fifteen verses on Subrahmanyan) in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Subrahmanyan Stuthi, sixty one verses in praise of Lord Subrahmanyan written in Malayalam. (The author ship of this Is not full
confirmed.)
* Sree Narayana Smriti (A work on religious or social conduct) in Malayalam Written in 1918.
* Sree Vasudeva Ashtakam (Eight verses on Shree Vasudeva) in Sanskrit Written in 1884.
* Swanubhava Giti (Vibhoothi darshanam) Song of self- realization in Malayalam Written between 1888 and 1897.
* Thevarappathikangal (Five Hymn about God in Tamil) written in 1887.
* Tirukkural (Translation of Tirukkural) in Malayalam.
* Vanchirappu (Varshavarnanam), Ten verses on rain translated from Tamil.
* Vinayaka Ashtakam (Hymns in Praise of Vinayaka, the Elephant God) in Sanskrit Written in 1884.
* Vinayaka Stavam, Hymn in praise of Vinayakan, the elephant headed god in Sanskrit written in 1884.
* Vishnuawstakam, Hymns in Praise of Vishnu, in Sanskrit.
* Vedanta Storm, in Sanskrit,
http ://www. s n aof n a. org/
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Narayana Guru
All the works of Narayana Guru are not readily available to us. Of the sixty works that have beem recorded and published, those
which are most relevant to a basic understanding of the Guru"s philosophy are Atmopadesha satakam (One Hundred Verses of
Self-Instruction), Advaita D A pika (Lamp of Non-Duality), Brahmavidya Pancakam (The Science of the Absolute), Darshana Mala
(Garland of Visions), Svanubhavag A ti satakam (Experiential Aesthetics and Imperiential Transcendence), Citjada Cintanam, (Spir¬
it-Matter Consideration) and Arivu (Critique of Knowledge).
Temples consecrated by Narayana Guru
General
Wikipedia
Narayana Guru built Temples at different places - Trichur, Kannur, Anjuthengu, Tellicherry, Calicut, Mangalore.
On June 14, 1927 Sree Narayana Guru consecrated a mirror - with the message “Om shanti” written on the surface - in a temple
in Kalavankode. The prathishta of the mirror is symbolic in that Advaita Vedanta interpret the mirror as the visible symbol of the
unity of the Finite and the Infinite. That was the last prathishta that the Guru would do. Schools rather than temples are to be pre¬
ferred, he exhorted in a dramatic shift of focus.
Some of the temple built by guru are:
1888. Shiva temple established at Aruvippuram, Thiruvananthapuram
1889. Devi Temple dedicated at Mannanthala, Thiruvananthapuram
1892. Temple established at AayiramThengu, Alappad, Kollam
1893. Established Sree Kulathoor Kolathukara Shiva Temple, Thiruvananthapuram
1893. Dedicated Sree Subrahmanya Temple(Sree Dharmashastha Temple), Earathu near Kayikkara Thiruvananthapuram
1895. Bhagavathi temple dedicated at Karunagappalli (near Kunnazathu), kollam
1898. Subrhamaniya temple dedicated at Vazhamuttam, Kunnumpara, Thiruvananthapuram
1904. Subrhamaniya temple dedicated at Thammandi, Kumaramangalam, Erunakulam
1907 The Sree Bhakthi Samvardhini Yogam, Kannur was constituted with the blessings of Sree Narayana Guru
1907 December/1908 January . Guru laid foundation for Sreekandeswaram temple at Kozhikkode
1908 February. Jaganatha Temple at Thalasserry, kannur dedicated.
1909. Foundation stone laid for temple at Mangalapuram
1912 Kudroli Sri Gokarnatheshwara temple, In mangalore, Karnataka
1912 Sreekandeswaram temple established at Kozhikkode
1914. August, Advaitha Ashramam at Aluva started.
1914 consecrated idol of Lord Shiva at Palluruthy Sree Bhavaneeswara Temple
1914 Ernakulam(Poonurunni-Vytila Road) Sree Narayaneswaram Temple. The temple was raised at the instance of Sree Naraya-
na Guru.
1915. Dedicated Jnanaswara temple at Anchuthengu
1916. Sree Maheshwara Temple at Koorkkancheri, Trichur dedicated.
1916. Dedicated Sundareswara Temple Kannur.
1918. Sree Somasekhara temple at Peringottukara, Trichur.
1920 Dedicated the temple at Karamukku, Trichur.
1921. Dedicated the Sree Kalakandeshwaram Temple, Murukumpuza, Thiruvananthapuram
1927. June 14, Temple dedicated at Kalavamkodam(Cherthala Thaluk of Alleppey District) with a mirror inscribed with AUM
Some of the other temples built by Sree Narayana Guru are
Puthiya Kavu Subrahmanya Temple, Vaikom , Thiruvananthapuram
Vaikom Subrahmanya Temple (Velayudhan Nada), Vaikom , Thiruvananthapuram
Vaikom Deveshwara Temple, (Vaikom Puthan Nada), Vaikom , Thiruvananthapuram
Mannanthala Anandavalleshwaram Temple, Mannanthala, Thiruvananthapuram
Sreekapaleshwara Temple, Anjuthengu, Thiruvananthapuram
Poothotta Sree Narayana Vallabha Temple, Kanayanoor, Erunakulam
Vealikkattu Sree Narayanamangalam Kartikeya Temple, Kollam
Kunninezath Sree Narayana Bhoovaneshwari Temple, Kozhikod, Karunagappalli, Kollam
Sree Narayanamangalam Temple, Moothakunnam, North Paroor, Erunakulam
Sree Kumaramangalam Subrahmanya Temple, Kumarakam, Kottayam
Vezhapra Shaktiparambu Temple, Ramankari, Alappuzha
Sree Ardhanareeshwara Temple, Kumbalangi, Kochi
Sree Pillayar Kovil(Temple), Kottar, Nagarkoil, Tamil Nadu
Sree Gowreeshwara Temple, Cherai, Erunakulam
Sree Sharada Temple, Sivagiri, Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Anandabhuteshwaram Temple, Mezhuveli, Kozhanchery, Pathanamthitta
Sree Pottayil Devi Temple, Nadama , Thrupunithura, Erunakulam
Sree Njaneshwara Temple, Puthan Nada, Chirayinkeezhu, Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Mahadevar Temple, Nagambadam, Kottayam
Sree Ardha Nareeshwara Temple, Ootuparambu, Kadakkavoor, Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Maheshwara Temple, Sreenarayanapuram, Koorkenchery, Thrissur
Sree Somasekharam Temple, Tannyam, Peringottukara, Thrissur
Sree Subrahmanya Temple, Nellikkunnu, Kasaragod
Palakkunnu Sree Bhagavati Temple, Uduma, Kasaragod
Sree Narayaneshwaram Subrahmanya Temple, Vaikom, Kottayam
Sree Bhadrachala Subrahmanya Temple, Valappad, Thrissur
Sree Chidambara Temple, Kandassamkadavu, Thrissur
Sree Kandeshwaram Sree Mahadeva Temple, Cherthala, Alappuzha
Sree Kumarapuram Temple, Mangad, Kollam
Manakkal Temple, Chempazanthi, Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Balasubrahmanya Temple, Bharananganam, Meenachil, Kottayam
Aakalpantha Prashobhini Sree Subrahmanya Temple, Poonjar Thekkekara, Meenachil, Kottayam
Sree Brahmapuram (Mathaanam) Temple, Vadayar, ThalayolaParambu, Kottayam
Chernnamangalam Siva Temple, Koduvazhannoor, Pulimath Vazhi, Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Shakteeshwaram Temple, Vayalar, Alappuzha
Ullala Omkareshwara Temple, Thalayazham, Vaikom, Kottayam
Sree Nayinaar Deva Temple, Arumanoor, Neyyattinkara, Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Vishwanatha Temple, Manathala, Gurupadapuri, Chavakad, Thrissur
Vallabhasseril Siva Temple, Alamthuruthi, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta
Sree Sankara Narayana Temple, Koovappadi, Cheranellur, Erunakulam
Katiravan Kunnu Sree Balasubrahmanya Swamy Temple, Puthoor, Kollam
Sree Narayana Maheshwara Temple, Pullazhi, Thrissur
Myladum Kunnu Bhajana Madom Subrahmanya Temple,Anappad, Thiruvananthapuram
Kumarapuram Sree Subrahmanya Temple, Maannanam, Kottayam
Sree Ghuhanandapuram Temple, Thekkumbhagam, Chavara, Kollam
Kuppana Sree Velayudhamangala Temple, Kollam
Sree Swamy Madom Temple, Anjuthengu, Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Amruthamkulangara Temple, Kollam
Bhuvaneshwari Temple, Thachankonam, Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Chidambaranatha Temple, Oottara, Kanjiramkulam, Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Kalikulangara Temple, Nandyattukunnam, Paravoor, Erunakulam
Sanmargasandayini Sree Anandasayaneshwaram Temple, Kayippuram, Muhamma, Alappuzha
Sree Shaktidhara Temple, Njarakkal, Vaipin, Erunakulam
Sree Narayana Temple, Puliyannur, Meenachil, Kottayam
Sree Narayanapuram Temple, Aashraamam, Kollam
Plavazhikam Devi Temple, Nedunganda, Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram
Shivadarshana Devaswom Temple, Pampadi, Kottayam
Elankavu Sree Bhagavati Temple, Mullakkal, Alappuzha
Sree Ganeshamangalam Temple, Vadanappilli, Thrissur
Sree Suryanarayanapuram Temple, Pampadi, Kottayam
Sree Balasubrahmannya Temple, Kurichikara, Thrissur
Dharmagiri Sree Subrahmanya Swamy Temple, Thruthala, Palakkad
Erected Madam(Guruswamy Mutt) at Kudakkalam, near Thalassery, Kannur
Sri Narayana Velayudhan Kovil, Pilackool, Thalassery, Kannur District
Related words
Advaita Vedanta
Nataraja
Variant spellings
Nataraja
Nataraja
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Nataraja — ... “king of dance”; Lord of dance; name of Siva.
1. An epithet of Siva, referred to as the dancing Siva. The object of His dance is to free all souls from the fetters of illusion. The
whole cosmic play, or Ilia, is the dance of Siva. All movements within the cosmos are His dance. He sets into motion the creation
of the world, and when the time comes, also destroys all names and forms through His dancing.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Nataraja, or Lord of the Dance (nata, dance; raja, king or lord), is one of the most popular iconic forms of SHIVA (the most com¬
mon is the LINGAM). In his cosmic dance he creates, sustains, and eventually destroys the universe. When Shiva’s dance is seen
as symbolizing only the end of time, it is called the Tandava dance.
Nataraja is depicted in a pose from the BHARATA NATYAM dance, with his left leg raised and his right leg resting on a dwarflike
being representing ignorance and delusion, sometimes called Apasmara (forgetfulness [of the truth of the divine]). He has four
arms. In his upper right hand he holds the “shake-drum” (damaru) that can be sounded with one hand, a tethered ball striking
either end of a small two-sided drum. His lower right hand is formed into the ABHAYA MUDRA, a gesture that removes fear. His
upper left hand holds the flame that symbolizes the end of creation. His lower left hand points toward his upraised left foot. Around
his head and in the circular frame to which he is attached is a halo of flames that show his divine energy.
Among Shiva’s many celebrated dances: he danced in the sky with VISHNU; once he danced in the cremation ground to please
KALI, his female counterpart; once he danced as a beggar for PARVATI’S hand; once he danced a mad, erotic dance in the
deodar forest for the wives of the RISHIS there; and he danced after the destruction of DAKSHA’S sacrifice. The great shrine at
CHIDAMBARAMI in South India is perhaps the most famous one depicting Shiva’s Nataraja form. There is also an awe-inspiring
20-foot-high Nataraja in black stone in the Meenakshi Temple at Madurai.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Nataraja. Form of the god Shiva as the “Lord of the Dance.” The most famous Nataraja image is in the temple-town of Chid¬
ambaram in the state of Tamil Nadu. The temple was erected during the reign of Vira Raja (927-997 C.E.), with Nataraja as its
primary deity. However, the image of Nataraja is well known, particularly from the southern Indian bronzes of the Chola dynasty
(9th—13th c).
As a divinity, one of Shiva’s most important characteristics is that he transcends all duality; the Nataraja image symbolizes this
concept. Shiva dances within a circle of fire, symbolizing birth and death, but remains untouched by these forces. As Shiva danc¬
es, his matted locks swing wildly, showing the force of his activity, yet his face stays impassive and unmoved. One of his four
hands holds the drum that beats the rhythm of creation, while a second hand holds the fire of destruction. His third hand is held
palm upward in a gesture meaning “fear not.” The fourth points to his upraised foot, the symbol of refuge and divine mercy for
the devotee (bhakta). His other foot crushes a demon, displaying his power to destroy the wicked. The image is a well-developed
theological statement, able to be “read” by those who can interpret it.
In Nataraja’s charter myth, Shiva and Kali, the goddess, decide to settle their competition with a dance contest. Shiva finally bests
Kali by manifesting as Nataraja and doing an athletic (tandava) dance style that Kali’s feminine modesty prevents her from copy¬
ing. Mythic roots aside, the Nataraja temple at Chidambaram has been an important center for classical Indian dance for well over
a thousand years. The temple’s eastern wall bears relief carvings of the 108 basic dance positions (karanas). These positions are
central to classical Indian dance, particularly in the Bharatanatyam school, which is the major dance tradition in Tamil Nadu.
Wikipedia
The sculpture is usually made in bronze, with Shiva dancing in an aureole of flames, lifting his left leg (or in rare cases, the right
leg) and balancing over a demon or dwarf (Apasmara) who symbolizes ignorance. It is a well known sculptural symbol in India and
popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture.
The two most common forms of Shiva’s dance are the Lasya (the gentle form of dance), associated with the creation of the world,
and the Tandava (the violent and dangerous dance), associated with the destruction of weary worldviews - weary perspectives &
lifestyles. In essence, the Lasya and the Tandava are just two aspects of Shiva’s nature; for he destroys in order to create, tearing
down to build again.
Characteristics
A cobra uncoils from his lower right forearm, and the crescent moon and a skull are on his crest. He dances within an arch of
flames. This dance is called the Dance of Bliss, aananda taandavam.
The upper right hand holds a small drum shaped like an hourglass that is called a damaru in Sanskrit.[4][5][6] A specific hand
gesture (mudra) called damaru-hasta (Sanskrit for “damaru-hand”) is used to hold the drum.[7] It symbolizes sound originating
creation or the beat of the drum is the passage of time.
The upper left hand contains Agni or fire, which signifies destruction. The opposing concepts in the upper hands show the counter¬
poise of creation and destruction or the fire of life.
The second right hand shows the Abhaya mudra (meaning fearlessness in Sanskrit), bestowing protection from both evil and igno¬
rance to those who follow the righteousness of dharma.
The second left hand points towards the raised foot which signifies upliftment and liberation. It also points to the left foot with the
sign of the elephant which leads the way through the jungle of ignorance.
The dwarf on which Nataraja dances is the demon Apasmara (Muyalaka. as known in Tamil), which symbolises Shiva’s victory
over ignorance. It also represents the passage of spirit from the divine into material.
As the Lord of Dance, Nataraja, Shiva performs the tandava, the dance in which the universe is created, maintained, and dis¬
solved. Shiva’s long, matted tresses, usually piled up in a knot, loosen during the dance and crash into the heavenly bodies,
knocking them off course or destroying them utterly.
The surrounding flames represent the manifest Universe.
The snake swirling around his waist is kundalini, the Shakti or divine force thought to reside within everything. This also parallels
the cords of life warn by the Brahmins to represent the second rebirth.
The stoic face of Shiva represents his neutrality, thus being in balance.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Nataraja - from nata - “dancer” + raja = King”.
Wikipedia
Nataraja is derived from the Sanskrit words narta rajan “lord of dance”. The change of the dental /rt/ to a retroflex l\l with concomi¬
tant vowel lengthening is a normal sound change for the Prakrit languages descended from Sanskrit.
Related words
Siva
Sanskrit
Nataraja —
nataraja - d'd<H
Neti-Neti
Definitions
General
Wikipedia
In Hinduism, and in particular Jnana Yoga and Advaita Vedanta, neti neti may be a chant or mantra, meaning “not this, not this”, or
“neither this, nor that” (neti is sandhi from na iti “not so”). Neti neti is a saying found in the Upanishads and especially attributed to
the Avadhuta Gita.
Neti neti is also an analytical process of conceptualizing something by clearly defining what it is not. One of the key elements of
Jnana Yoga is often a “neti neti search.”
Adi Shankara was one of the foremost Advaita philosophers who advocated the neti-neti approach.
Neti-neti is held as the approach to understand the concept of Brahman without using affirmative (and thereby inadequate) defini¬
tions or descriptions of Brahman, comparable to apophatic theology in Eastern Christianity.
The purpose of the exercise is to negate conscious rationalizations, and other distractions from the purpose of a meditation. It is
also a sage view on the nature of the Divine, and especially on the attempts to capture and describe the essence of God. In this
respect, the phrase succinctly expresses the standpoint of negative theology.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Two methods have been adopted by the rishis of the Upanishads to arrive at what is not known. They share the assumption that
there cannot be many truths. Truth should be one, without a second. It cannot be one thing now and later something else. It can¬
not have a beginning and an end. Furthermore, there cannot be anything or anyone outside truth to be a witness; that imparts
duality...
The first of the two methods of the rishis is to affirm everything. They go on repeating asti, asti, ‘and this, and this’. They say, “
What I see is also truth; what I hear is also truth; what I touch is also truth; what I think is also truth; what I imagine is also truth;
what cannot be imagined is also truth.” Anything which comes within the frame of awareness is affirmed as also being true. They
know that each time they affirm something they are affirming only a part, which they presume belongs to a whole. This is in antici¬
pation of someday arriving at a notion of the whole.
Even before that they axiomatically believe that there is a whole. From where did that arise? Who revealed it to them? How is the
truth of axioms revealed to begin with? We do not know, and yet we experience it. This is called vibhaprangavada, the argument
of affirmation. The basis of the argument of affirmation is the revelation which comes in the form of an axiom that does not need to
be proved.
The other method is to go on denying everything, neti, neti, ‘not this, not this’. “Am I this body? neti. The senses? neti. The mind?
neti. Anything visible? neti. Anything inferential? neti. Anything not visible? neti. Anything not inferential? neti.” In the fourth quarter
of the Mandukya Upanishad, there is a whole set of such denials. After denying everything, you come to a certain mystical silence
in which you cannot further deny anything and yet you know that you cannot deny the existence of that state. You are enveloped
and engulfed by an undeniable experience.
In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Yajnavalkya uses the method of negation, while in the Chandogya
Upanishad, Aruni uses the method of affirmation. With either method you arrive at the same truth.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
One ultimately discovers God by trying to know who this T is. Is this T the flesh, the bones, the blood, or the marrow? Is it the
mind or the buddhi? Analysing thus, you realize at last that you are none of these. This is called the process of ‘Neti, neti’, ‘Not
this, not this’. One can neither comprehend nor touch the Atman. It is without qualities or attributes.
As long as one has not realized God, one should renounce the world, following the process of ‘Neti, neti.’ But he who has attained
God knows that it is God who has become all this. Then he sees that God, maya, living beings, and the universe form one whole.
Jnana is the realization of Self through the process of ‘Neti, neti’, ‘Not this, not this’. One goes into samadhi through this process of
elimination and realizes the Atman.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
M.: When Sita was asked who was her husband among the rishis (Rama himself being present there as a rishi) in the forest by the
wives of the rishis, she denied each one as he was pointed out to her, but simply hung down her head when Rama was pointed
out. Her silence was eloquent.
Similarly, the Vedas also are eloquent in ‘neti’ - ‘neti’ (not this - not this) and then remain silent. Their silence is the Real State.
This is the meaning of exposition by silence. When the source of the ‘Ithought’ is reached it vanishes and what remains over is the
Self.
Mrs. Dodwell raised a second question, asking what is meant by neti-neti.
M.: There is now wrong identification of the Self with the body, senses, etc. You proceed to discard these, and this is neti. This can
be done only by holding to the one which cannot be discarded. That is iti alone.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
neti-neti - from na = “not” + iti = “thus”.
Sanskrit
Neti-neti — %fcT %fcT
neti-neti -
Nididhyasana
Variant spellings
nididhyasana
nididhyasana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Nididhyasana — meditation; contemplation; profound and continuous meditation.
1. According to Advaita Vedanta, it removes the contrary wise tendencies of the mind. It is one of the principle aids to liberation.
2. It is a continuous, unbroken stream of ideas of the same kind as those of the Absolute (Brahman).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
nididhyasana -
profound and repeated meditation
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Nididhyasana: The last stage of gaining wisdom. Sravana (hearing the word of instruction from the guru) and manana (intense
cogitation on what is heard from the guru) are the two preceding stages.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
nididhyasana: the last of the three stages of vedantic realization; uninterrupted contemplation.
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Nididhyasana. Manana secures intellectual conviction. But there may still be obstacles in the way of self-realization. For despite
such conviction, there may be now and again an unconscious reassertion of old habits of thought (viparTtabhavana) incompati¬
ble with what has since been learnt. Nididhyasana is meant to overcome this kind of obstacle. It is meditation upon the identity
between the individual self and Brahman—the central point of Vedantic teaching. It should be continued till the desired intuitive
knowledge arises and that identity becomes immediate (aparoksa). When it does, one becomes a jTvan-mukta. The ultimate phil¬
osophic fact is no doubt to be known through the testimony of the Upanisads; but if the knowledge conveyed by it is to bring real
freedom, one should verify it by one’s own living experience in the form ‘I am Brahman’ or Aham Brahma asmi. It is this immediate
experience or direct intuition of the Absolute, which is described as vidvadanu- bhava to distinguish it from lay experience, that
accordingly becomes the final criterion of Truth here.
Sankara tradition
Sankara & Gambhirananda. Chandogya Upanishad
Commentary by Gambhirananda:
...nididhyasana ... is roughly translated as meditation. Some Vedantists, too, would think of nididhyasana as meditation in the or¬
dinary sense of the term. But Suresvara in his Varttika is at pains to show that this can never be so. In the Brhadaranyaka (11.4.5),
Yajhavalkya says to MaitreyT, his wife: The Self is to be seen, to be heard of, to be thought of, and to be made an object of ni¬
didhyasana. Everything is known when the Self is seen through hearing, thinking and realisation (vijnana).’ Commenting on this,
Suresvara says that the use of the word vijnana in the second sentence, in place of nididhyasana in the first, shows that nidid¬
hyasana is not ordinary meditation, but a meditation of a higher order in which there is no sense of exertion of will, no conscious
employment of the thinking process, and no intellection whatsoever. It is the constant presence of a conviction of the form ‘I am
Brahman’, and yet falls just short of aparoksanubhuti or the direct realisation of the Self.
Nididhyasana and upasana
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Nididhyasana in this sense [sravana, manana and nididhyasana] is the highest form of meditation and is possible only after con¬
siderable practice in concentration of thought. Hence the Upanisads prescribe several meditative exercises of a preliminary char¬
acter. They are usually called upasanas, and the prominence given to them in the Upanisads is comparable to that given to rites
in the Brahmanas. ... In upasanas, the thought may be directed wholly outwards and two selected objects, both external, may be
mentally identified...; or only one external object may be chosen and it may be thought of as identical with the contemplative’s own
self. There is an important difference between the two forms of meditation. While the former affords exercise only in concentration,
the latter gives scope... — the power to place oneself in the position of another. It accordingly serves as a more direct aid to Brah¬
ma-realization, wherein ... Brahman is to be identified with the contemplative’s self. Again the objects of contemplation may be real
objects or only symbols. ... Whatever form these meditations may take, they prepare the disciple for the final mode of contempla¬
tion as Aham Brahma asmi. When a person that has morally purified himself and has after formal study and reflection convinced
himself intellectually of the truth of unity, succeeds through nididhyasana in transforming what was heretofore known only medi¬
ately into an immediate certainty, he attains the spiritual goal.
Sankara tradition
Sankara & Gambhirananda. Chandogya Upanishad
Upasana is the pre-eminent means to nididhyasana. The latter is necessarily preceded by vicara, discrimination, between the Self
and the not-Self, whereas upasana does not depend on vicara, but on faith in the teachings of the scriptures and the teacher.
In fact, even the highly ragarded Brahma-upasana, while it results in the meditator reaching the Brahmaloka and finally merging in
Brahman after aeons of living in that world, is nothing compared to realisation of Brahman here in this very life by practising nidid-
hyasana. And for this nididhyasana the pre-requisites are discrimination between the real and the unreal, and utter disregard for
enjoying this world or the other.
See: Sravana, manana, nididhyasana
Etymology
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
Nidi means swarupa; nididhyasana is the act of intensely concentrating on the swarupa with the help of sravana and manana
of the words of the Guru. That means to meditate on that with undeflected zeal. After meditating for a long time, he merges in it.
Then it shines as itself. That is always there. There will be no troubles of this sort if one can see the thing as it is. Why so many
questions to see one’s own self that is always there?”
Related words
Manana
Sravana
Svarupa
Upasana
Vicara
Sanskrit
Nididhyasana —
nididhyasana - crf^fipTTTT
Nimitta karana
Variant spellings
nimitta-karana
nimitta-karana
nimittakarana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
nimittakarana -
instrumental or efficient cause (esp. the Deity as the agent in creation)
Related words
Karana
Upadana-Karana
Sanskrit
Nimitta-karana — RifHcict>i<u|
nimitta-karana -
Nirguna
Variant spellings
nirguna
nirguna
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Nirguna — ... attributeless; devoid of qualities; without attribute; the formless.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
nirguna [nir--guna] -
having no cord or string;
having no good qualities or virtues, bad, worthless, vicious;
devoid of all qualities or properties;
having no epithet;
(said of the Supreme Being)
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Nirguna (“without qualities”). Epithet of the divine reality in its ultimate aspect. According to many Hindu traditions, God is ultimate¬
ly without qualities or attributes, transcending all particularity and superior to any qualified form. This conception is first phrased in
the Upanishads, the speculative religious texts that are the most recent part of the Vedas, and in the philosophical traditions based
on the Upanishads such as Advaita Vedanta. This belief is opposed by certain Hindu theistic traditions, such as the Gaudiya
Vaishnava religious community, in which a particular deity—in this case, Krishna—is conceived as the Ultimate Reality.
Related words
Nirguna-brahman
Saguna
Sanskrit
Nirguna —
nirguna - dflNjyi
Nirguna-brahman
Definitions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
nirguna Brahman - unqualified Absolute.
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The advaitic Absolute is not merely indefinable; we cannot know it either, for the moment it is made the object of thought it be¬
comes related to a subject and therefore determinate...
One should ... be careful in understanding what exactly is meant when the Upanisads describe Brahman as nirguna and therefore
as indefinable and unknowable. ... Even granting that the negative definition is the only possible one, it docs not follow that the
nirguna Brahman is a blank. For all propositions directly or indirectly refer to reality and negation necessarily has its own positive
implication. As a matter of fact, however, the Advaitins assign Upanisadic statements like neti neti—’Not this, nor that’—a sec¬
ondary place while the primary place is given to those like Tat tvam asi, which point to the reality in us as the ultimate. That is, the
negative statement is not to be understood in isolation, but along with positive ones like Tat tvam asi. Negation is only a prelimi¬
nary to affirmation. It means that the Absolute is not conceived here objectively— as merely inferred from outer phenomena; but
as revealing itself within us. This alters totally the significance of the negative description, for we are thereby constrained to admit
not only its positive character but also its spiritual nature. It is not thus a bare or contentless being for which the Absolute stands
here. Nor should the statement that Brahman is unknowable lead us to regard the doctrine as agnostic. It, no doubt, rules out
all discursive thought as inapplicable to Reality; but it does not represent it as extra-empirical—as something wholly outside the
world of experience. ... we can ‘know’ Brahman by being it. This higher type of experience is not altogether unfamiliar to us. There
are moments, though all too rare, when we transcend ourselves and when even the experience that is being lived through is not
cognized. We pass in it not only beyond common consciousness in which the thought of self is implicit, but also beyond explicit
selfconsciousness to where thought merges in experience. It may be taken as a distant analogue of the attitude of the sage who,
having through long discipline learnt to feel his identity with all that exists, at last succeeds in passing beyond even that state, and
losing sight of the objective world and of himself as such, is straight away installed within Reality. That constitutes the consumma¬
tion of Advaitic teaching.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Ballantyne
Brahma nirguna, as already mentioned, exists in a state of dreamless sleep, unconscious of its own existence. It is a common er¬
ror to imagine that the nirguna Brahma, assuming qualities, made the world. According to the Vedanta the nirguna Brahma never
changes, never acquires qualities.
See also:
in Advaita Vedanta: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Nirguna and saguna brahman
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
MASTER: “When the Godhead is thought of as creating, preserving, and destroying, It is known as the Personal God, Saguna
Brahman, or the Primal Energy, Adyasakti. Again, when It is thought of as beyond the three gunas, then It is called the Attribute¬
less Reality, Nirguna Brahman, beyond speech and thought; this is the Supreme Brahman, Parabrahman.”
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Ballantyne
BRAHMA is said to exist in two conditions nirguna, unbound, and saguna, bound. The two states are sometimes called the Higher
and Lower Brahma. The former is called Brahma, neuter; the latter Brahma, masculine. The name I’svara, lord, is also often ap¬
plied to the latter.
Related words
Brahman
Nirguna
Parabrahman
Saguna-brahman
Nishkama-karma
Variant spellings
niskama-karma
nishkama-karma
niskama-karma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Niskama-karma — ... dedicated action; disinterested action; desireless action.
1. Action dedicated to the Divine without any personal desire for the fruits of one’s labor. It purifies the mind and is a remote auxil¬
iary to the path of knowledge (according to Advaita Vedanta). It is activity engaged in as dedication and worship.
2. Some aver that it is the central teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. It is to act according to God’s will; to be a successful instrument
in the divine hands through complete identity with the Divine. In doing action thus, one relinquishes the desire for any fruits of such
action.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Niskama-karma: Action not motivated by personal benefits, but performed as a part of the creative function of nature with full
sense of detachment. Such actions keep their doers always liberated from all bondages.
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
829. When the pure Sattva arises in a man, he only meditates on God, and does not find pleasure in any other work. Some are
born with this pure Sattva on account of their past actions. But one can develop this pure quality if one continues to perform
unselfish work in a spirit of devotion and dedication to God. If there be Sattva with an admixture of Rajas, the mind slowly gets
distracted in several directions and brings in its wake the egoistic feeling, “I shall do good to the world.” It is highly hazardous for
ordinary Jivas to attempt to do good to the world. But it is good if a man works without motive for the benefit of others; there is no
danger in it. This kind of work is called Nishkama Karma. It is quite desirable to do such works. But all cannot do it! Very difficult!
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Talk 118.
Mr. Rangachari, a Telugu Pandit in Voorhees’ College at Vellore, asked about nishkama karma. There was no reply. After a time
Sri Bhagavan went up the hill and a few followed him, including the pandit. There was a thorny stick lying on the way which Sri
Bhagavan picked up; he sat down and began leisurely to work at it. The thorns were cut off, the knots were made smooth, the
whole stick was polished with a rough leaf. The whole operation took about six hours. Everyone was wondering at the fine appear¬
ance of the stick made of a spiky material. A shepherd boy put in his appearance on the way as the group moved off. He had lost
his stick and was at a loss. Sri Bhagavan immediately gave the new one in his hand to the boy and passed on.
The pandit said that this was the matter-of-fact answer to his question.
Etymology
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Nishkama (karma): (Nish, without; Kama., passion)
Related words
Karma
Sanskrit
Niskamakarma —
niskama-karma - dEktiH'tKH
Nitya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
nitya -
innate, native;
one’s own;
continual, perpetual, eternal;
constantly dwelling or engaged in, intent upon, devoted or used to;
ordinary, usual, invariable, fixed, necessary, obligatory;
the sea, ocean;
N. of Durga;
of a Sakti;
of the goddess Manasa;
constant and indispensable rite or act
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
866. Whose is this Lila (this universe of change., the manifestations of which can be called a play of God), His is that Nitya (the
absolute state). And again. He who is in that Nitya state, His is this Lila. It is through the Lila that you must feel your way up to the
Nitya. It is again from the Nitya that you must feel your way back to the Lila—now no longer unreal but the manifestation of the
Nitya on the sense plane.
1055. Try to know the Nitya through the Lila.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
134. Neither is It born nor does It die; neither does It grow nor does It decay; being eternal, It does not undergo any change. Even
when this body is destroyed, It does not cease to exist. It is like the space in the jar that is broken—it is independent of the jar.
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
The first two lines of this verse contain the definition of the term “eternal” (Nitya). That which is never born nor dies, nor grows nor
reduces, nor ever is modified is infinite, eternal (Nitya), Conversely, that which is finite and ephemeral (Anitya), is that which is
born, that which grows, decays, and undergoes different modifications.
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Nitya - from prefix [e]ni, ‘in’ -+- formative -tya .
Related words
Lila
Sanskrit
Nitya — P-icM
nitya -
Nitya-karma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Nitya-karma — ... obligatory Vedic duties; categorical imperative.
1. According to the MTmamsakes, they produce no specific fruits, though if these actions are not performed, they produce demerit
or sin. This theory is denied by the Advaita Vedantins. The Advaitins claim that omission of these actions does not produce sin.
Nityakarmas are the regular rites which are to be performed daily—e.g., the daily fire sacrifice (agni-hotra), etc.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Nitya Karma (“perpetual [ritual] action”). One of the three broad types of ritual action, the others being naimittika karma and kamya
karma. Nitya karma is ritual action that is prescribed at regular fixed intervals, often on a daily basis; one gains no religious merit
from performing them, but omitting them is considered a religious demerit. One example of a nitya karma is the Gayatri Mantra,
which must be recited at morning and evening worship (sandhya) by every “twice-born” man who has received the adolescent re¬
ligious initiation known as the “second birth.” Another nitya karma is the Five Great Sacrifices (panchamahayajna), which are daily
religious duties for a “twice-born” householder; they are rarely performed today.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
The daily routines of life, such as waking up, ablutions, taking food, resting, sleeping, etc., called nitya karma.
Related words
Karma
Naimittika-karma
Sanskrit
Nitya-karma —
nitya-karma -
OM
Variant spellings
Om
Aum
Omkara
Aumkara
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Om — ... the Word; the pranava; the Eternal.
1. All words are said to be but various forms of the one sound—om— according to the Upanisads. It represents the Divine and the
power of God. It is the sound symbol for the ultimate Reality.
2. The three letters (matra)—A, U, and M—represent, respectively, the outer, the inner, and the superconscient states of con¬
sciousness and the waking, dream, and deep-sleep states. And beyond these is the modeless fourth (a-matra), which is the Self,
according to Advaita Vedanta.
Wikipedia
Om or Aum ... is a sacred/mystical syllable in the Dharma or Indian religions, i.e. Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
The syllable aum is first described as all-encompassing mystical entity in the Upanishads. Today, in all Hindu art and all over India
and Nepal, ‘aum’ can be seen virtually everywhere, a common sign for Hinduism and its philosophy and theology. Hindus believe
that as creation began, the divine, all-encompassing consciousness took the form of the first and original vibration manifesting as
sound “AUM”. Before creation began it was “Shunyakasha”, the emptiness or the void. Shunyakasha, meaning literally “no sky”,
is more than nothingness, because everything then existed in a latent state of potentiality. The vibration of “AUM” symbolizes the
manifestation of God in form (“saguna brahman”). “AUM” is the reflection of the absolute reality, it is said to be “Adi Anadi”, without
beginning or the end and embracing all that exists. The mantra “AUM” is the name of God, the vibration of the Supreme. When
taken letter by letter, A-U-M represents the divine energy (Shakti) united in its three elementary aspects: Bhrahma Shakti (cre¬
ation), Vishnu Shakti (preservation) and Shiva Shakti (liberation, and/or destruction).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
The Upanisad [Brhadaranyaka Upanisad] commences with AUM. AUM is the pranava. Signifying catuspada, or the four limbs of
the Absolute. This indicates that the Upanisad is not a delimited study. It is going to discuss in detail all four aspects of the- sci¬
ence of the Absolute. The first aspect of AUM. represented by the letter A, is the transactional world in which we live as physical
organisms and perceive its variegated forms to which we have assigned names for the purpose of identity. Our own organism is
born of this world and it will be ultimately reabsorbed in its phenomenality...
The second aspect of AUM, represented by the letter U, is the subjective depth of all our experiences which takes us again and
again from the gross to the subtle, from the perceptual to the conceptual, and from manifoldness to unity. ...the transactional world
is a projected aspect of the subjective phenomena and for every perceptual objectivization in the phenomenal world there is a
corresponding subjective reference. The transactional world needs the entire space of the cosmos and all of conceivable time for
its totality. Surprisingly, we do not need anything more than the confines of our skull and its grey matter to which we can add as an
appendix our sense organs and the spinal ganglia connected with our brain in order to subjectively conceive of such a voluminous
world or quantifiable objectivity. Thus from a large circa of immeasurable dimensions we go to a highly condensed system occupy¬
ing an awkwardly negligent space of condensation.
The third aspect of AUM is a mystery which cannot be unravelled because of its primeval and causal nature. It can at best be only
intuitively guessed or surmised from the dual phenomenal effect of the world and the mind which is holding in it a detailed and
almost mathematically precise image of the world. This highly elusive aspect is represented by the letter M which does not per-
mit any elaboration of a temporal, spatial, or conceptual detail. When we chant the mantra AUM our awareness converges into a
zero-point and the energy to chant also comes to self extinction. But we can imagine a beyond. This refers to the infinitude of a
ground which provides us with a canvas so extensive that we can spread out the entire science of the Absolute on it. Ultimately we
will come to realize that the foundation of all sciences is based on the principle implied in the magic formula of AUM.
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY SANKARA
How does, again, the determination of (the meaning of) Aum help the realization of the essential nature of Atman? It is thusl ex¬
plained: The Sruti passages such as these declare [N’s Note] (Nikhilananda’s Note) The ultimate relationship between Aum and
Brahman is thus explained. The phenomena of the world consist of ideas or the mental states. Ideas depend upon words for their
expression. The utterance of the word Aum (A.U.M.) gives the clue to the pronunciations of all words or sounds used by human
beings. The various parts of the vocal organ used in the utterance of sounds come in contact with each other while pronouncing
the word Aum. Therefore, Aum is the matrix of all sounds which in their diversified forms give rise to words used in the language.
The substratum of phenomena is Brahman. The substratum of all sounds, as seen above, is Aum. The sounds signifying the
phenomena are non-difierent from the phenomena as both are illusions. When the illusion disappears the substratum alone re¬
mains which, being one, admits of no difference. Hence Brahman is Aum.] thus: ‘It is Aum.’ [Kathopanishad, 1.2. 15. When Aum
is uttered with concentration there arises the consciousness of Brahman in the mind. Therefore Aum is the nearest symbol helping
the concentration of the mind leading to the realization of Brahman.] ... ‘Meditate on the Self as Aum.’ [N’s Note. One, who seeks
to realize the Self through ‘one-pointed’ concentration on Aum, feels that the gross universe (symbolised by A) is absorbed into
the subtle (U) and (U) into the causal (M) and, finally the universe dependent upon causal relation is withdrawn into the transcen¬
dental which is known as Amatra and which cannot be designated by any letter or sound.] ‘Aum, this word is Brahman.’ ‘All this is
verily Aum.’ [N’s Note. Both i.e., Aum and Brahman, are the support of everything, they form the most universal concept. There¬
fore the knowledge of Aum and Brahman is identical.] As the rope etc., which are the substratum of such illusions (misapprehen¬
sions) as the snake etc., so is the non-dual Atman, which is the Ultimate Reality, the substratum of such imaginations as the vital
breath (Prana) etc., which are unreal. Similarly. Aum is the substratum of the entire illusion of the world of speech having” for its
(corresponding) contents such illusory objects as Prana etc., imagined in Atman. [N’s Note. Prana, etc., are merely modifications
of speech because they cannot be conceived of without names. As again names are nothing but different manifestations of Aum,
therefore Prana etc., have Aum for their substratum.] And Aum is verily of the same essential character as the Atman; for it is the
name for Atman. All illusions such as Prana etc., having Atman for their substratum and denoted by words—which are but modi¬
fications of Aum—cannot exist without names (which are but the modifications of Aum) [N’s Note. All sounds are included in ‘A’—
the first letter of the alphabet. ‘A’ is the chief constituent of Aum. Therefore all mental manifestations (i.e.. the objects denoted by
them are identical with the sounds associated with them) cannot exist apart from Aum.]
Therefore it is said:
Hari Aum. Aum, the word, is all this. A clear explanation of it (is the following). All that is past, present and future is verily Aum.
That which is beyond the triple conception of time, is also truly Aum.
SANKARA’S COMMENTARY
Aum, the word, is all this. As all diversified objects that we see around us, indicated by names, are not different [N’s Note.That the
name and the object denoted by it are identical is understood from the standpoint of mentalism which explains everything cog¬
nized or perceived as only a form of thought.] from their (corresponding) names, and further as the different names are not differ¬
ent from Aum, therefore all this is verily Aum. As a thing is known through its name so the highest Brahman is known through Aum
alone. Therefore the highest Brahman is verily Aum. This (treatise) is the explanation of... Aum, the word, which is of the same
nature as the higher as well as the lower Brahman.
Advaita
General
Wikipedia
In Advaita philosophy it is frequently used to represent three subsumed into one, a triune, a common theme in Hinduism. It implies
that our current existence is mithya and maya, “falsehood”, that in order to know the full truth we must comprehend beyond the
body and intellect the true nature of infinity. Essentially, upon moksha (mukti, samadhi) one is able not only to see or know exis¬
tence for what it is, but to become it. When one gains true knowledge, there is no split between knower and known: one becomes
knowledge/consciousness itself. In essence, Aum is the signifier of the ultimate truth that all is one.
Examples of sacred triunes (three-in-ones):
Creation (Brahma)- Preservation (Vishnu)- Destruction (Shiva) into Brahman the Atman
Waking- Dreaming- Dreamless Sleep into Turiya (transcendental fourth state of consciousness)
Rajas (activity, heat, fire) - Tamas (dullness, ignorance, darkness) - Sattva (purity, light, serenity or peace/shanti) into Brahman
Body, Speech and Mind into Oneness
Generate(Brahma-Saraswati), Operate(Narayan-Lakshmi), Destroy(Shiv-Shakti) as GOD within
Satchitananda
Pronunciation and written representation
General
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit name for the syllable is pranava, from a root nu “to shout, sound”, verbal pra-nu- being attested as “to make a hum¬
ming or droning sound” in the Brahmanas, and taking the specific meaning of “to utter the syllable aum” in the Chandogya Upani-
shad and the Shrauta Sutras. More rarely used terms are aksara (lit. symbol, character) or ekaksara (lit. one symbol, character),
and in later times omkara becomes prevalent.
Phonemically, the syllable is /aum/, which is regularly monophthongized to [6:] in Sanskrit phonology. ... When occurring within a
Sanskrit utterance, the syllable is subject to the normal rules of sandhi in Sanskrit grammar, however with the additional peculiarity
that after preceding a or a, the au of aum does not form vriddhi (au) but guna (o) per Panini 6.1.95 (i.e. ‘om’).
The aum symbol is a ligature of Devanagari 3Tf+(om, encoded in Unicode at U+0950 #>, the Tibetan script variant ^ at U+0F00,
and the Chinese version at U+5535 or >4 at U+543D).
... Aum is most commonly pronounced as a long or over-long nasalized close-mid back rounded vowel, [6::]) though there are
other enunciations adhered to in received traditions. It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred incantation to be
intoned at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or prior to any prayer or mantra.
Vedantic literature
General
Wikipedia
The syllable is mentioned in all the Upanishads, specially elaborated upon in the Taittiriya, Chandogya and Mandukya Upanishad
set forth as the object of profound religious meditation, the highest spiritual efficacy being attributed not only to the whole word but
also to the three sounds a (a-kara), u (u-kara), m (ma-kara), of which it consists. A-kara means form or shape like earth, trees, or
any other object. U-kara means formless or shapeless like water, air or fire. Ma-kara means neither shape nor shapeless (but still
exists) like the dark energy content of the Universe. When we combine all three syllables we get AUM which is a combination of
A-kara, U-kara, and Ma-kara.
OM (Pranava) and cetana
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali's Yoga
Sutra 1:29
Also, from the repetition of the pranava mantra, the attainment of the disappearance of obstacles and the turning inward of con¬
sciousness.
Commentary by Nitya:
Consciousness is like light that oscillates. The two-way movement of light can be described as centripetal convergence and cen¬
trifugal divergence. In ordinary people who are exposed to the fivefold stimuli coming from the objects of interest of all five sens¬
es, two locations are again and again established, one in the object and a corresponding one in the subject. The outer stimulus
haunts the individuated consciousness and sensory knowledge oscillates between the object of interest and the l-consciousness
of the agent of perception. Even though the inward-moving consciousness (pratyak cetana) can ultimately reach the core of one’s
being and find its identity with the Self, this is thwarted by the oscillating consciousness. After establishing an inner picture that
corresponds to what is experienced outside, the oscillating consciousness returns to the external object to establish its relationship
with the source of the new interest.
The outward-going consciousness (paranga cetana) that is luring consciousness to the object outside is called vikshepa. Kshep-
anam is “depositing;” vikshepa is “depositing the interest of the individual in an external object.” But when pranava is meditated
upon, the unitiveness of the threefold consciousness becomes merged in the fourth and, as a result, paranga cetana is inhibited
by the wholesomeness of unmodulating consciousness. Only pratyak cetana is allowed which, in its ultimate convergence, goes
to the very core (pratyak) of the Self. By repeatedly thwarting the outward-flowing consciousness, the hindrances to imperiential
empathy with the core aspect of the Self become weaker and weaker. Because of the salutary effect of continuously repeating
pranava, the outward-going tendency of consciousness is arrested. This enables the twofold benefit of dissipating all obstacles in
the path of Yoga and making the aspirant yogi spirit-oriented.
Etymology
Compiler’s comment
Om is the original Word, it has no etymology.
Related words
Catuspada, Four States of Consciousness
Sphota
Sanskrit
Om — 2fcj
Om - 3TPT or &
Omkara - (lit. “Om form/syllable”)
P,Q
Pada
Variant spellings
pada
pada
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Pada — ... part; chapter; foot; a type of significatory power of words.
1. Vaisvanara, taijasa, prajna, and turlya are the four quarters (pada) of the Self as described in the Mandukya Upanisad. The first
three are parts and the fourth is the whole.
2. It means “a quarter,” as originally it referred to the four feet of an animal. Thus, there are four parts to the Self or four parts to a
verse, etc.
3. Sometimes it is used as an honorific ending, applied to form titles of individuals—e.g., Pujyapada.
4. See karmendriya.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
pada-
the foot (of men and animals) ... (the pi. sometimes added to proper names or titles in token of respect e.g. deva-padah, ‘the king’s
majesty’;
the foot or leg of an inanimate object, column, pillar;
a wheel;
a foot as a measure;
the foot or root of a tree;
the foot or a hill at the foot of a mountain;
the bottom;
a ray or beam of light (considered as the foot of a heavenly body);
a quarter, a fourth Part (the fourth of a quadruped being one out of 4);
the quadrant (of a circle);
a verse or line (as the fourth part of a regular stanza);
the caesura of a verse, the chapter of a book (orig. only of a book or section of a book consisting of 4 parts, as the Adhyayas of
Panini’s grammar).
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Pada, the foot, a foot as a measure, (in Samkhya) the power to move, one of the five abstract working-senses (karmendriyas).
Descriptions
General
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
Nothing shows so well the philosophical character of the Sanskrit language than this very word Padartha... It means in ordinary
Sanskrit simply a thing, but literally it meant Artha, the meaning, the object, Pada, of a word. What we should call objects of
thought, they called far more truly objects of words, thus showing that from the earliest times they understood that no thought was
possible except in a word, and that the objects of our knowledge became possible only after they had been named.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Mandukya-Upanishad explains the relationship of the states of consciousness to the Word, OM... OM is actually written as
AUM. Every letter is called a pada. The Upanishad says: “All, indeed, is AUM; even all that is beyond the triple conception of
time”. It is then equated with Brahman and Atman and said to have four padas. “The first pada is Vaisvanara whose sphere is the
state of waking, who is cognizant of the objective,. . . and whose fruition consists of the gross”. Vaisvanara is derived from Visva,
the world or universe, and is rendered as “the fire of life”... It relates to the physical plane: the Element Earth.
“The second pada is Taijasa whose region is dream, who is cognizant only of the subjective, . . . and whose fruition consists of the
subtle.” It refers to the Elements of Water and Fire. The next [third] refers to Air, the Sphere of Buddhi. “This is the state of deep
sleep wherein the sleeper does not imagine anything, and does not see any dream. The third pada therefore is the Prajna whose
sphere is deep sleep, in whom all melts into one, who is a mass all sentiency, who is all bliss, whose fruition is of bliss, and who is
the way of sentiency.” Prajna is the consciousness of the sphere of Buddhi.
... The fourth pada [Ether] is not that which is conscious of the subjective, nor that which is conscious of the objective nor that
which is conscious of both, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor that which is a mass all sentiency nor that which is all
darkness. It is unseen, transcendent, unapprehensible, uninferable, unthinkable, indescribable, the sole essence of the conscious¬
ness of self, the negative of all illusion, the ever peaceful, all bliss, the One Unit; this indeed is the Self (Atman), as it should be
known. ... The padas are the parts, and the parts the padas, those being A, U, M.”
See also: Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Related words
Karmendriya
Sanskrit _
Pada —
pada - TfT
Pancagnividya
Variant spellings
pancagnividya
pancagnividya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Pancagnividya — ... “knowledge of the five fires”
1. The eschatological doctrine of the five fires taught as a form of meditation in the Chandogya Upanisad.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
The Panchagni-Vidya [the knowledge of the Five Fires]... is a particular type of knowledge, or meditation, which is introduced to
know the inner meaning of the common phenomenon of birth and death.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Chandogya Upanisad
Pancagni-vidya, literally “the teaching on the five fires,” forms part of the Vedic rituals. These fires are known as daksinagni, gar-
hapatyagni, ahavaniyagni, sabhyagni, and avasathyagni. These five sacrificial fires are supposed to be maintained constantly by
those who follow Vedism strictly. But this Vedic concept of the five sacrificial fires is subjected to a total revision here in light of the
wisdom of Vedanta. The result is the emergence of a new set of five-fire sacrifices. The unknown realms of life, and the known
ones, are correlated by means of these sacrifices. What emerges from the unknown realms, through different stages, causes the
emergence of the individual human being. Its re-mergence back into the unknown Source is described likewise. So the emergence
and re-mergence of individual beings are to be seen as part of this process. All these are symbolically represented by the new set
of five fires taught by the King Pravahana. [see the text]
The five burnt sacrifices (pancagni-vidya) mentioned here in this Vedantic context are not intended to be understood as the five rit¬
uals of Vedism, as already noticed. Here the Vedic five-ritual concept becomes subjected to a total revision and revaluation in the
light of Vedantic Wisdom. The gods, within this Vedantic context, stand for the causal Consciousness that becomes subject to a
fivefold becoming, figuratively conceived of as five sacrifices. The emergence of a person is the final result of this fivefold becom¬
ing. ... Everything in this world emerges from and remerges back into Brahman; this is a fundamental tenet of Vedanta. The five
burnt sacrifices and the return to Brahman via deva-yana are simply poetic imageries symbolising the individual’s emergence from
and re-mergence into Brahman, or the ultimate Reality. Let it be noted that the process of going back to Brahman is five-tiered like
the five burnt sacrifices (pancagni-vidya) conceived. It covers light, time (from day to year), sun, moon, and lightning. According
to this Upanisad it is the individuals, not their souls alone, that emerge from and remerge back into Brahman. This is the truth of
everyone’s life, enlightened or not, but is understood so by jnanins alone. It appears irrelevant to most merely because they are
unaware of this secret concerning Brahman and Its creativity.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
We now come to a peculiar doctrine. I do not understand much of it myself. If you can make something out of it I will read it to you.
When a man who has meditated, and purified himself, and got knowledge, dies, then he first goes to light, from light to day, from
day to the light half of the moon, from that to the six months when the sun goes to the north, from the months to the year, from the
year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, from the moon to the lightning, and when he conies to the sphere of lightning he meets
a person who is not a man, and that person helps him to meet Brahman, to meet God. This is the path of the gods. When sages
and know ing persons die they go that way and they do not return. What is meant by this month and year and all these things, no
one understands clearly. Each one makes his own meaning, and a good many say it is all nonsense. What is meant by going to
the world of the moon, and of the sun, and this person who comes to help the Soul after it has reached the spheres of light, no
one knows. There has been a peculiar idea among the Hindus that the moon is a state of life, and we will see how life has come
from the moon, it has rained from the moon upon this earth. Those that have not attained to knowledge, but have done good work
in this life, when they die, first go through smoke, then to night, then to the dark fifteen days, then the six months when the sun
goes to the south, from that they go to the region of the forefathers, then to ether, then to the region of the moon, and there they
become the food of the gods, and are born as gods. There they live as long as their good works will permit. And when the effect
of the good work has been finished they come back. They first become ether, and then air, and then smoke, then mist, then cloud,
and then get hold of raindrops, and fall upon the earth, get into food, are eaten up by human beings, and then become their chil¬
dren. Those whose works have been very good take birth in very good families, and those whose works have been bad take very
bad births. The animals are always dying, and are continually coming in this earth. That is why this earth is not full, and not empty.
Sankara tradition
Sankara & Gambhirananda. Chandogya Upanishad
... meditation, the well-known Pancagni-vidya (the meditation on the five fires). The whole world, sentient and insentient, is here
thought of as a group of factors in a cosmic sacrifice involving five successive fires arranged in the order of their subtleness; and
they are all knit together through a spirit of self-sacrifice, so that a new creation may emerge, new life may come into existence,
at every stage. Thus faith is poured as an oblation in heaven, which is the highest of the fires; and, as a consequence, the lunar
world—the world of manes— comes into existence. The moon is then poured as an oblation in the second fire, viz the rain-god;
and so rain pours on earth, which is the third fire. From this sacrifice grows food, which is offered to man, who is considered as
the fourth fire, from whom comes the seed. The fifth fire is the wife. The most familiar emergence of life is witnessed at child-birth.
The ancients were bold enough to look on all things and processes from a higher intellectual and spiritual plane. To their spiritual
vision, the father, the mother, and the gods who presided over the organs were all agents in a sacrifice bringing new life into exis¬
tence. As the cosmic counterpart of this outlook on conjugal relationship, we are asked to think of the other world, i.e. heaven, as
fire, the sun as its fuel, the rays as the smoke of that fire, day as the light of the fire, the directions as charcoal; or of the cloud-god
as fire, the year as its fuel, the clouds as smoke, lightning as light, thunder as charcoal; and so on and so forth.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
There are various stages of manifestation. Here, a specific type of manifestation is under consideration for the purpose of medi¬
tation. How the birth of an individual takes place, how a child is born, is the actual question on hand. We are so ignorant that we
think that the child is born from the womb of the mother. We know only that much, but this is the least type of knowledge that one
can have about the birth of a child. The child is not pushed out of the womb of the mother, as if by magic. It is a tremendous pro¬
cess that takes place throughout the cosmos. ... The whole universe vibrates with action even if a single baby is to be born some¬
where in the corner of a house. ... The whole universe is our father; the entire universe is our mother; the universe is the parent.
... The Upanishad tells us this secret of cosmic interconnectedness and involution of factors which are unknown to the senses and
unthinkable to the mind. There is no such thing as a private act in this world. There is also no such thing as ‘my’ child and ‘your’
child. If this secret is known, no one will say, “It is my son, my daughter.” It is neither yours nor anybody’s. It belongs to that from
where it has come. ... It is the child of the universe, which is to take care of it; and it shall withdraw it when it is to be summoned
back; it projects it when it is to be sent out for reasons which are known to the universal law alone. Here is the philosophical back¬
ground of the vidya, called Panchagni-Vidya. The Upanishad, in its exposition of the Panchagni-Vidya, takes the standpoint of the
wider background that operates behind every event in the phenomena of natural processes. Things are not what they seem; there
is a deeper significance behind every visible process or activity in Nature. This is the esoteric side, or the invisible aspect of the
visible phase of our practical existence.
... The Celestial Region, the Atmosphere, the Earth, Man and Woman,—these are the five stages of the Fire which becomes
the object of meditation known as the Panchagni- Vidya. By the interconnection, combination and harmonious adjustment of the
structure of these five levels of manifestation, birth takes place. This symbology of the birth of the individual through the Five Fires
is applicable to the birth of every event and every form of expression in the world, whether it is what we call a living being or the
manifestation of the other levels, such as the inorganic etc.,—the physical, the superphysical, or otherwise. The theory is of the
manifestation of anything, anywhere. There is a universal concatenation of causes and effects coming together from every side,
like the rush of waters in the ocean, from every corner, in order to make the waves rise on its surface. The cooperation of the
structure of the waters in the body of the ocean is necessary for the welling up of the waves, though this may be only a local effect
whose ulterior causes are not visible to the naked eye. There is, thus, in the end, no such thing as a local event in this world. Ev¬
ery event is a universal event. So is the case with the birth of even a human individual. Every birth is a point of universal pressure.
... When the span of life is finished, there is what we call the death of the body, the extrication of the prana from the individual
embodiment. And these Fires take the individual to the destination to which it is bound after death. ... In the same way as one was
pushed into manifestation into this particular life, one is put out of existence here, and then taken through the same process of
manifestation into other realms. The process is the same, because the Five Fires work everywhere in all the realms of being.
... “One who knows this,” reaches the higher realms reached only by meritorious deeds; “ya evam veda”; yea, “One who knows
this.”
Pancagnividya and yajna
General
Wikipedia
Panchagni Yagya
This sacrifice is addressed in the Chandogya Upanishad. It enables one to achieve Brahmaloka.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
The Five Fires, called the Panchagnis, mentioned here, are not actually fires in the physical sense. They are meditational tech¬
niques. The Fire, here, is symbolic of a sacrifice which one performs through contemplation. How are these sacrifices performed
visibly with the traditional sense of rituals? There is a sacrificial ground; there is a sacred altar in which the holy oblations are
offered through the instrumentality of the sacred fire. There is the blazing fire flaming forth from the altar in the holy atmosphere of
the sacrifice. And there is a substance that is offered, the sacrament. And certain ideas are entertained in the mind of the yajama-
na or the performer of the sacrifice, which are conveyed through the recitation of certain mantras. The mantras that are chanted or
recited, in the performance of the yajna, or the sacrifice, are the sacred intentions of the performer expressed in language. This is
the methodology of the performance of a sacrifice usually. The offerings are made to certain deities. The invocation of a particular
celestial, a god, or a deity is the intention behind the performance of the sacrifice. Now, the Upanishad here tells us that the whole
universal activity of creation may be conceived as such a kind of sacrifice,—yajna.
Related words
Devayana
Pitryana
Sanskrit
Pancagnividya — UsuRnfcifl/
pancagnividya -
Pancikarana
Variant spellings
pancikarana
pancikarana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Pancikarana —... quintuplication.
1. The theory that every physical object contains all the five elements in various proportions. In the Upanisads there was reference
only to three elements, but the Vedanta extended it to five elements. (See Brahma-sutra ll.iv.22.) Visistadvaita Vedanta employs
this theory to explain their theory of error known as “cognition of the real” (satkhyati).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
pancikarana -
making into 5, causing anything to contain all the 5 elements
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Pancikarana: The way the five basic elements supposedly are blended together so as to appear as actual physical elements.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
99. The compounding takes place thus: Each of the five elements, viz., ether etc., is divided into two equal parts; of the ten parts
thus produced five—being the first half of each element—are each sub-divided into four equal parts. Then leaving one half of each
element, to the other half is added one of these quarters from each of the other four elements.
[At the time of creation the five elements remain in an uncompounded state. As such they cannot produce the phenomenal objects
of the universe. These subtle elements are then said to remain in the Apanchikrita state. Afterwards these elements combine with
one another in a certain ratio, viz., half of itself plus one-eighth of each of the other four.]
103. At that timel ether manifests2 sound; air manifests sound and touch; fire sound, touch and form; water sound, touch, form
and taste; and earth manifests sound, touch, form, taste and smell.
[1 At that time—When they are compounded.
2 Manifests—Sound, which lies in a potential state in ether, manifests at the time of Panchikarana. Thus each succeeding element
has a special property of its own to which are added those of the preceding elements.]
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
The story of the process of pancikarana or equalization of the five factors is described by Port. Lacombe as follows:
The great elements do not enter as such into the composition of individual realities, but undergo first a sort of shaking-up which is
called quintipartition-pancikarana. Each of them is divided by the Creator into two parts and each of these halves again into four
parts. Each of these quarters is afterwards mixed with the half that remains intact of each of the four elements. This takes place
in such a way that each element becomes already composed as follows: 1/2 element plus 1/8 of each of the other four elements.
And these are the composite elements which serve the constitution of individual things. The dominating proportion of the primitive
element safeguards its authenticity. But the addition of the bits of the other elements gives account of the participation of all things
with all things and explains certain anomalies of perception.” (p. 325, 0’Lacombe:L’Absolu selon le Vedanta, (Paris 1937). Our
translation.)
Although the above process of how actualization of elemental principles as individual entities is graphic enough, the reference to
the Creator therein gives it a theological flavour which is due to the fact that this version of pancikarana is taken from the writings
of Ramanuja and his followers such as Srinivasa Dipika, rather than from the more strictly philosophical Sankara school. In the
Vivekacudamani (verse 88), Sankara attributes pancikarana to actions in previous births.
The same process of pancikarana is accepted in the other Vedantic schools.
Pancikarana and tanmatras
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
74. Having united with parts of one another, they become gross, and become the cause for the formation of the gross body. Their
subtle essence constitutes the sense-objects, five in number, such as sound etc., which contribute to the enjoyment of the experi-
encer, the individual ego.
Commentary by Chinmayananda: ... now we are told how they [the subtle elements], by a process of mutual combination, con¬
dense to a grossness sufficient to become perceptible to the sense-organs. The process by which the subtle elements become the
five gross elements ... is called in Sanskrit, Panchikaranam, a pentamerous self-duplication and mutual combination.
This process is explained in Vedanta as taking place in four distinct stages of self-division and mutual combinations. The rudimen¬
tary subtle elements are constituted of units called tanmatras. There are five distinct tanmatras each for the five great elements—
Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Each tanmatra (unit of each of the five elements), in the first stage of its grossification, shows a
tendency to divide itself into two halves. In the second stage, each tanmatra of the five elements bifurcates and separates into two
equal parts.
In the third stage, one half of all the five elements remains intact while the other half (of each element) gets divided into four equal
parts. Thus ... we have in its third stage, half a tanmatra remaining intact..., and the other half divided into four equal parts, each
constituting therefore, 1 /8th of the original tanmatra.
In the fourth stage of its development, each half tanmatra combines with 1/8th tanmatra of all the other elements, constituting
one unit of the gross element. Thus ... one half of Ether joins with four 1 /8th bits borrowed from the other four elements (i.e. 1/2
Ether+1/8 Air+ 1/8 Fire+1/8 Water+1/8 Earth), which then constitute one unit of the gross Akasa (Ether). Similarly, half of Air plus
1 /8th bits borrowed from Ether, Fire, Water and Earth, becomes one unit of gross Air. Thus is the combination in each of the five
elements.
This process is called Panchikarana, the pentamerous self-division and combination process. Out of the gross elements the phys¬
ical body is formed. But the sense-objects of sound, touch, form, taste and smell are constituted of nothing other than the subtle
tanmatras of the rudimentary elements. The gross elements provide the instrument for the enjoyment of the subtle elements. All
these arrangements are made so that the ego-centre may experience a life of happiness or misery as directed by the store-house
of his vasanas.
The enjoyer or sufferer (ego) is the Self conditioned by the mind and the intellect. This conditioning can never bring about any real
bondage to the Self just as any harm done to my reflection in the mirror can never harm me.
Related words
Mahabhuta
Tanmatra
Sanskrit
Pancikarana —
pancTkarana -
Para
Variant spellings
para
para
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Para — ... higher; universal; beyond; supreme; transcendent
1. According to Sankhya, it is one of the nine kinds of laziness or contentment (tusti). Here it refers to the idea that no exertion
toward liberation is necessary because of the troubles which come of earning one’s living.
2. According to Vaisesika, it is a type of quality (guna) representing universality.
3. A term employed in the Upanisads to describe knowledge relating to Reality.
4. Generally four stages of sound are distinguished: supreme sound (para); visible sound, which can be heard as “om” (pasyantl);
middle sound, which refers to a variety of basic sounds (matrka) that are very subtle (madhyama); and manifest sound (vaikhara),
which is the grossest level of sound and is what is heard in ordinary speech.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
para -
a foreign country, abroad;
a species of plant;
N. of a sound in the first of its 4 stages;
measure of time;
N. of a river;
of a goddess;
remotest distance;
highest point or degree;
final beatitude;
the number 10,000,000,000 (as the full age of Brahma);
any chief matter or paramount object;
the wider or more extended or remoter meaning of a word;
(in logic) genus;
existence (regarded as the common property of all things)
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Para: The transcendental.
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Para: Beyond; pertaining to the Ultimate or Supreme; as opposed to the immanent here and now aspect of reality which is apaia..
It could mean trancendent. (cognizant with English word “ far “).
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Talk 57.
Sri Bhagavan said that sushumna is the name mostly mentioned in scriptures. Other names also occur; e.g., para, atma, amrita.
It is also stated that sushumna becomes leena (merged in para). So it may be said that para is the terminology of jnana, whereas
sushumna is that of Yoga.
D.: Several terms are used in the holy books - Atman, Paramatman, Para, etc. What is the gradation in them?
M.: They mean the same to the user of the words. But they are understood differently by persons according to their development.
D.: But why do they use so many words to mean the same thing?
M.: It is according to circumstances. They all mean the Self. Para means ‘not relative’ or ‘beyond the relative’, that is to say, the
Absolute.
M.: The general opinion is that para (sound) comes from the Muladhara (the solar plexus) at the bottom of the spine. All sounds
beginning from vaikhar (thought form) are contained in para which proceeds from Kundalini; and Kundalini is not different from the
Heart. In fact the whole shadadhara (six-fold centre) is contained in the heart. The sushumna with its source Kundalini is included
in the Heart.
Related words
Opposite: Apara
Sanskrit
Para — CRT
para - W
Nataraja. Wisdom’s frame of reference: ... para and apara would correspond to many pairs of words in the West, such as imma¬
nent and transcendent or pure and practical, the intelligible or the visible, the noumenal and the phenomenal, etc. We have pre¬
ferred to refer them to the two axes, each with a positive and negative, so as to tally more correctly with a scientifically revised
theory of knowledge.
Parabrahman
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Parabrahman — ... the supreme Being; the Divine as transcendent; that which is beyond all dualities
1. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is the supracosmic Divine who supports with its timeless and spaceless existence the entire
cosmic manifestation of its own being in time and space. It is infinite, attributeless, and without name and form.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
parabrahman -
the Supreme Spirit or Brahman
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In connection with That which is beyond Duality or Trinity — the Supernal, Parabrahman, Paramasiva, God-Reality — it should be
stressed that it is taught that there is no Fall from It, nor any Return to It. For It IS. It can be “expressed” only by Silence.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Para-brahman: The higher brahman. Sankara conceives of two aspects of brahman. The lower brahman (apara brahman) is the
ultimate Reality having the form of the world for its attributes. The higher brahman is attributeless, and hence inconceivable.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Para Brahman ... That which is beyond Brahman. The self-enduring, eternal, self-sufficient cause of all causes, the essence of ev¬
erything in the cosmos. In the Vedic style of writing, Para Brahman is referred to as tat (that) as opposed to the manifest universe
called idam (this). Para Brahman means Supreme Brahman, or Supreme Cosmic Spirit, or Godhead. Although an ineffable entity,
it could be said to be that which contains and pervades the universe. Para Brahman, from beyond, encompasses the transcendent
and immanent ultimate reality, Brahman. The Absolute Truth is both subject and object, so there is no qualitative difference. Terms
like Parameshvara, Ishvara, Bhagavan, Brahman, Paramatma are held to be synonymous with Para Brahman.
Para-brahman and apara-brahman
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Dialectics
Para and apara Brahman, which refer to the transcendent and immanent aspects of the Absolute, or rather to the relativistic and
the absolutist aspects of the Absolute, have to be dialectically revalued again in terms of the neutral Absolute.
Parabrahman and Om
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. The Word That is God
“The sages Angiras and Sanatkumara asked the renowned sage Atharvan: ‘Which is the form of meditation that came to be fore-
mostly employed by seekers after liberation? What should be the object of meditation by such seekers?’ Atharvan replied: The
form of meditation that came to manifest as the foremost of all, for the regeneration of all seekers, was the First Word, indicative of
Brahman: the Syllable Om. Meditation on Om should be resorted to by seekers after liberation. This Syllable is the Parabrahman,
Which it designates. Omkara is the Higher as well as the Lower Brahman,’ as the Sruti says.6 The four Vedas are the four feet of
Om. This Syllable is the Supreme Brahman.” (Atharvashikha Upanishad 1:1,2).
... Here it is plainly stated that japa and meditation of Om comprise the original yoga practiced by the Vedic Rishis at the beginning
of the human race. Moreover, this yoga was not worked out by them, but was manifested to their inner awareness even before the
Vedas were revealed to them. Om Yoga is the real Path of the Masters that “should be resorted to by seekers after liberation.” Om
is the Supreme God, as well as the primal Name of the Supreme. Om is both the Relative and the Absolute, encompassing the
entire range of being.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Parabrahman — from para = “supreme” + brahman = “Absolute”.
Wikipedia
para-brahman - from para “beyond” + Brahman (neuter) “universal self or spirit”.
Related words
Opposite: Apara-brahman
Nirguna-brahman
Sanskrit
Parabrahman — T7^FT
parabrahman -
Paramanu
Variant spellings
paramanu
paramanu
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Paramanu —... atom
1. The minutest conceivable particle of matter which cannot be further divided.
2. According to Buddhism, it consists of the fourfold substratum of color, smell, taste, and contact. It is the minutest form of rupa.
It cannot be divided, seen, analyzed, tasted, or felt. Yet it is not permanent, but a mere momentary flash into being. Single atoms
are called drayaparamanu and compound atoms are called sanghata-paramanu. Seven para-manus combine together to form an
anu and in this form it becomes visible.
3. According to Vaisesika, the four elements (earth, water, fire, and air) comprise the four kinds of atoms. They differ qualitatively,
with their respective qualities being smell, taste, color, and touch. Yet the atoms have no parts and are nonspatial. The smallest
visible substance is constituted of three dyads called a tryanuka. Two atoms constitute a dyad (dvyanuka).
4. According to Sankhya, atoms are of five types: (space, air, fire, water, earth—akasa, vayu, tejas, ap, and bhutadi). They are
generated from the subtle elements (tanmatra).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
paramanu -
an infinitesimal particle or atom (30 are said to form a mote in a sun-beam);
the passing of a sun-beam past an atom of matter;
1/8 of a Matra
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Paramanu ... atom/ the smallest possible division of matter, beyond which further division is impossible, or that whole which has
no parts; a positional reality with no magnitude, that is, no length, breadth, or thickness; (in Vai&esika) the ultimates of all things,
the first four Eternal Realities (dravyas), viz, (i) Earth (prthivT), (2) Water (apas), (3) Fire (tejas), and (4) Air (vayu)
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Saundaryalahari of Sankaracarya
According to the Nyaya and Vaisesika schools of Indian philosophy, the basic material of the physical universe is paramanu. Para-
ma means absolute and anu means a monad. It has no dimensions except a mathematical location.
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Pramanu, anu, vayu
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Saundaryalahari of Sankaracarya
Only by the coming together or contact and structural cohesion of several paramanus is one anu or atom generated. Vayu is the
field for generation of anus or atoms.
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
paramanu - compounded of parama + anu
Related words
Anu
Sanskrit
Paramanu — m<hI^
paramanu -
Paramarthika
Variant spellings
paramarthika
paramarthika
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Paramarthika — ... the Absolute; the absolutely real
1. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is the highest of the three levels of reality. It represents the absolute truth. (See vyavaharika
and pratibhasika.) This term is contextual for it is used with regard to the Absolute for the purpose of distinguishing it from all else.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
Paramarthika: This is contrasted with vyavaharika. The pure, rational or idealist aspect of life which has little or nothing to do with
social or other obligations or necessities. (Parama, ultimate; and artika, as the aim.)
Prasad. Three Acharyas and Narayana Guru tradition
Paramarthika : That which is related to paramartha, the absolute Reality or the highest goal of life, (parama = “highest”, artha =
“reality”, “purpose”, “meaning”).
Descriptions
Paramarthika, vyavaharika, pratibhasika - three types of reality
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
There are three orders of reality in Vedanta, namely the paramarthika or absolute, vyavaharika or practical ordinary experience,
and pratibhasika, illusory. The first one represents the absolute truth; the other two are false impressions due to dosa [defect,
imperfection]. The difference between vyavaharika and pratibhasika is that the dosa of the vyavaharika perception is neither dis¬
covered nor removed until salvation, whereas the dosa of the pratibhasika reality which occurs in many extraneous forms (such as
defect of the senses, sleep, etc.) is perceived in the world of our ordinary experience, and thus the pratibhasika experience lasts
for a much shorter period than the vyavaharika. But just as the vyavaharika world is regarded as phenomenal modifications of the
ajnana, as apart from our subjective experience and even before it, so the illusion (e.g. of silver in the conch-shell) is also regard¬
ed as a modification of avidya, an undefinable creation of the object of illusion, by the agency of the dosa.
Encyclopedia of philosophy
Advaita views reality as a threefold entity that includes the illusory (pratibhasika, such as dreams), worldly experience (vyavahari¬
ka), and absolute reality (paramarthikasatta).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
All visible things are the product of willing. Only where there is willing is there any object. If there is no willing there is nothing at all.
The snake imagined on the basis of a rope is merely a product of willing. For a man who has the presentiment of a snake, a piece
of rope lying in a place badly lit seems like a snake. When a lamp is brought and the object is examined, there is no snake in the
rope. If we now inquire where the snake was, we can see that it has its being only in the will. This snake has neither a work-a-day
reality (vyavaharika) nor an absolute reality (paramarthika). It has only a reflected eidetic (pratibhasika) status. In the same way
as with this eidetic snake, if we consider any other of the many objects presented to us we conclude that they are only products
of the will. ... In the same way as this eidetic snake came from the vitalistic will (of the individual), (so too) this work-a-day world
is the product of the will of the Highest Lord. All things, as presentiments of the will are unreal. When knowledge comes they are
destroyed. But the difference we should note here is that the snake-rope is of the nature of vital presentiment of the will. When
the right knowledge which belongs to the living being is operative they (i.e., snake and rope) get abolished. But in the case of this
work-a-day world, having its origin in the will of the Highest Lord, even after we come to know of it as unreal we cannot abolish
it completely because the Lord’s willing is stronger than individual vital willing and because all beings are caught and helplessly
spun around by the will of the Lord. It is only the will of the Lord that can abolish altogether this collective presentiment (called) the
visible world. In spite of this, however, those great souls who have attained to the experience of reality through Self-knowledge,
know the unreality of the world in respect of the three aspects of time whether past, present or future. Because it arises from the
will and is also dissolved by the will the world is non-existent in the same way as the snake supposed in the basis of the rope. By
bringing in the analogy of the rope and snake we have to understand that the world was not before or after but only present in the
intermediate period when nescience prevailed and knowledge had not asserted itself. What is not present in the past and in future
can certainly be said to be non-existent in the present.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
... the purpose of the whole philosophy is to indicate the underlying Reality whether of the jagrat, svapna and sushupti states, or
the individual souls, the world and God.
There are three outlooks possible:-
(1) The Vyavaharika: The man sees the world in all its variety, surmises the creator and believes in himself as the subject. All
these are thus reduced to the three fundamentals, jagat, jiva and Isvara. He learns the existence of the creator and tries to reach
him in order to gain immortality. If one is thus released from bondage, there are all other individuals existing as before who should
work out their own salvation. He more or less admits the One Reality underlying all these phenomena. The phenomena are due to
the play of maya. Maya is the sakti of Isvara or the activity of Reality. Thus, existence of different souls, objects, etc., do not clash
with the advaitic point of view.
(2) The Pratibhasika: The jagat, jiva and Isvara are all cognised by the seer only. They do not have any existence independent of
him. So there is only one jiva, be it the individual or God. All else is simply a myth.
(3) The Paramarthika: i.e., ajatavada (no-creation doctrine) which admits of no second. There is no reality or absence of it, no
seeking or gaining, no bondage or liberation and so on.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Katha Upanishad
There are three kinds of realities: pratibhasika, vyavaharika and paramarthika. The world of waking appears to have a practical
value, a utility; but it is as much a world of ignorance as the world of dream from the point of view of paramarthika-satta. The
objects are much more real than the dream objects. Our present happiness and sorrows seem to be more meaningful than dream
happiness or dream sorrows. The fact is that both are avidya or ignorance—waking and dreaming. In sleep which is avarana [a
veil], as well as in dream or waking which are vikshepa [multiplicity], ignorance prevails.
... The empirical values and realities of the world are reflections of the paramarthika-satta, or Eternal Reality. These three, prat¬
ibhasika, vyavaharika and paramarthika, are but three expressions of the One. Just as light can pass through a clear, coloured
or broken glass and get reflected accordingly, the one Reality can reveal Itself in different ways. All these manifestations: matter,
body, mind; earth, water, fire, air, ether etc., are rays, varying in intensity, of the same Light from which all lights come.
See also:
in Satya: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
paramarthika — from parama = “highest” + artha = “purpose”
Related words
Pratibhasika
Vyavaharika
Sanskrit
Paramarthika — wrftfoi
paramarthika - WTRyrf%
Paramarthika satyam
Definitions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Paramarthika satyam: absolute reality.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Katha Upanishad
In the case of the Atman, existence is general and absolute. This is paramarthika-satta.
Descriptions
See: Paramarthika, vyavaharika, pratibhasika - three types of reality
Related words
Pratibhasika satyam
Vyavaharika satyam
Paramatman
Variant spellings
paramatman
paramatman
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Paramatman — ... the supreme Self; Brahman; God; the Absolute
1. According to Sankhya, the conscious individual (purusa) is called paramatman.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
paramatman -
all the heart (only instr. = paramena cetasa);
the Supreme Spirit
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Paramatman (“the highest self”). Term generally used as a synonym forBrahman, the unqualified and undifferentiated reality that
is seen as the source of all things, and the sole true power in the universe. This name, through its inclusion of the Self (atman) as
part of the term, also emphasizes the identity in kind between Brahman and atman, between Supreme Reality and the individual
Self.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Paramatma: The Supreme or the Absolutely conceived Self. Can be equated cosmologically with the concept of Brahman, or ethi¬
cally with Ananda or Bliss as a supreme value.
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
“The yogi seeks to realize the Paramatman, the Supreme Soul. His ideal is the union of the embodied soul and the Supreme Soul.
He withdraws his mind from sense-objects and tries to concentrate it on the Paramatman. Therefore, during the first stage of his
spiritual discipline, he retires into solitude and with undivided attention practises meditation in a fixed posture.
“But the Reality is one and the same. The difference is only in name. He who is Brahman is verily Atman, and again, He is the
Bhagavan. He is Brahman to the followers of the path of knowledge, Paramatman to the yogis, and Bhagavan to the lovers of
God.”
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
a young man well-read and earnest, with a strong belief in the existence of Paramatman (Supreme Self) as different from the Ji-
vatman (individual self), raised some questions.
Sri Bhagavan clinched his various doubts by this one statement: Remove the upadhis (adjuncts), jiva and parama, from the Atman
and say if you still find the difference. If later these doubts still persist ask yourself, “Who is the doubter? Who is the thinker?” Find
him. These doubts will vanish.
D.: Several terms are used in the holy books - Atman, Paramatman, Para, etc. What is the gradation in them?
M.: They mean the same to the user of the words. But they are understood differently by persons according to their development.
D.: But why do they use so many words to mean the same thing?
M.: It is according to circumstances. They all mean the Self. Para means ‘not relative’ or ‘beyond the relative’, that is to say, the
Absolute.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
The supreme spirit (Paramatman), different from prakrti and its modifications, having ‘for its essential characteristic pure con¬
sciousness is unparticled, manifests this infinity of reality and unreality—the underlying essence of the notion “I”, “I” — manifests
itself in the conditions, waking and the rest, as the witness (or subject) of buddhi.137
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
This Atman, then, revels in all the three states of Consciousness as the ego, the “I, I, I”. In the waking state “I” am conscious of
my waking-world, in the dream state, “I” am conscious of my dream-world, and in the deep-sleep state “I” am conscious of the
absence of everything. So this Consciousness in us, the Paramatman, expresses at all times in the form of “I, I, I” but never gets
involved in the happenings around. It is the Knowing Principle—the Witness, observing all thoughts and experiences of the mind
and the intellect.
See: Jivatman and Paramatman
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
paramatman - from parama = “highest” + atma = “Self
Related words
Atman
Jivatman
Sanskrit
Paramatman — MHIcMH
%
paramatman - WTTtpnr
Parinama
Variant spellings
parinama
parinama
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Parinama — ... change; modification; transformation; evolution; development; ripening; changing
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
parinama -
change, alteration, transformation into (instr.), development, evolution;
ripeness, maturity;
alteration of food, digestion;
withering, fading;
lapse (of time);
decline (of age), growing old;
result, consequence, issue, end;
(in rhet.) a figure of speech by which the properties of any object are transferred to that with which it is compared;
N. of a holy man
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Dhole
8. When a substance is changed from its former condition into a different form it is called Parinama, as curdled milk, jar, and gold
respectively, in which their original form and condition are changed.
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Swahananda
8. Parinama is the change of one state of the same substance into another, as milk into curd, clay into a pot and gold into an ear¬
ring.
See also:
Material and efficient cause
in Brahma-sutra: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
in Parinama-vada: Prasad. Darsanamala of Narayana Guru
Related words
Parinama-vada
Vivarta
Sanskrit
Parinama — hR u iih
parinama - H <R| IH
Parinama-vada
Variant spellings
parinama-vada
parinama-vada
parinamavada
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Parinama-vada — ... transformation theory
1. The theory that the cause is continually transforming itself into its effects.
2. According to Brahma-parinama-vada, the world is a transformation of the Absolute (Brahman), and according to prakr-
ti-parinamavada, the world is a transformation of primordial Nature (prakrti).
3. According to Sankhya, causation is the manifestation of what is in a latent condition in the cause. That is, the effect exists al¬
ready in the cause in a potential state, and the causal operation only makes patent what is latent in the cause. This theory is also
called satkarya-vada. Visistadvaita Vedanta also accepts this theory.
4. Saiva Siddhanta holds that the world is a transformation of the primordial Nature (prakrrti-parinama-vada).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
parinamavada -
the ‘doctrine of evolution’, the Sarhkhya doctrine
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
parinama vada: the theory of Brahman changing into the world
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Parinamavada (“transformation-relationship”). Philosophical perspective that explains the relationship between the Ultimate Reali¬
ty or realities and the perceivable world, and describes the world as a genuine transformation of this reality.
This position is espoused by proponents of the Samkhya, Vishishthadvaita Vedanta, and Bhedabhada philosophical schools. All
three of these are proponents of a causal model called satkaryavada. The satkaryavada model assumes that effects preexist in
their causes, and that, when these effects appear, they are transformations (parinama) of those causes. The classic example
for this model is the transformation of milk to curds, butter, and clarified butter: each of these effects was already present in the
cause, emerges from it through a natural transformation of that cause, and is causally related to it.
All three schools believe that the world as perceived is real and has some single ultimate source behind it: for the Samkhyas, the
first principles are purusha and prakrti, for the Vishishthadvaita school, the god Vishnu, and for the Bhedabhada school, Brahman.
All believe that real things come into being because these first principles undergo real transformations. Parinamavada allows for
an explanation of the phenomenal world that compromises the transcendence of these first principles by making them part of the
world. Philosophically, their difficulties arise in describing how the transcendent can become mundane, and then become tran¬
scendent again.
The transformation relationship is vehemently opposed by the Advaita Vedanta philosophical school, which upholds a philosophi¬
cal position known as monism (the belief that a single Ultimate Reality lies behind all things, and that all things are merely differing
forms of that reality). Advaita proponents claim that reality is nondual (advaita)—that is, that all things are “actually” the formless,
unqualified Brahman, despite the appearance of difference and diversity in the world. Since Brahman is the only real thing, and
Brahman never changes, the parinama model is a fundamental misunderstanding of the ultimate nature of things, since it as¬
sumes real change. The Advaita proponents’ explanation for the nature of the relationship and the world is known as vivartavada
(“illusory manifestation”), in which the ultimate appears to become transformed but in reality never changes.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Darsanamala of Narayana Guru
The process in which the causal substance undergoes irreversible intrinsic change to assume the form of an effect, is known as
parinama (evolution). Milk curdling, for example, is a parinama. The content of milk undergoes total change to become curd, and
curd can never be brought back to the milkform. Similarly, when Atma, the causal substance is thought of as undergoing basic
change to appear as the world, the theory is known as parinama-vada (the theory of evolution). Certain Upanisadic texts, for in¬
stance, depict pictures interpretable as parinama, as when these say, from Atmu emerged space (akasa), from space air (vayu),
from air fire (agni), from fire water (ap), from water earth (prthivT), from earth vegetation (osadhayah), from vegetation food (an-
nam), and from food living beings. Though some Vedantins treat this creation picture as involving evolution, strict non-dualists (ad-
vaitins) treat this as a portrayal of a hierarchy of apparent forms ranging from the most subtle to the most gross. It indirectly admits
also that cause is always subtler and effect grosser.
Samkhya is the one school of Indian Philosophy that bases itself on the evolution theory.
See also:
in Vivarta-vada: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Related words
Parinama
Vivarta-vada
Sanskrit
Parinama-vada —
parinama-vada - h<Riih=ik
Patanjali
Name
Patanjali —
Patanjali -
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Patanjali — ... name of a philosopher and the greatest exponent of the Yoga philosophy
1. He is the author of the Yoga Sutras. There is a Patanjali who is the reputed author of the Mahabhasya, the great commentary
on Panini’s Sutras on grammar.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
patanjali -
N. of a celebrated grammarian (author of the Mahabhashya);
of a philosopher (the propounder of the Yoga philosophy);
of a physician &c.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Patanjali (c. second century B.C.E.) author of Yoga Sutra. In Indian tradition two books are ascribed to Patanjali: the Ma-
habhashya (the primary commentary to the grammar of Panini) and the commentary on the YOGA SUTRA. Western scholarship,
however, dates the first work to around 200 B.C.E., and the Yoga Sutra to around 200 C.E., making it impossible for the two Pa-
tanjalis to be the same. Tradition has it that Patanjali was an incarnation of the divine serpent ADISHESHA, upon whom VISHNU
reclines between ages on the MILK OCEAN. Patanjali’s name, it is said, is from this serpent, which in very tiny form fell (pat) onto
the palm (anjali) of either Panini himself or his mother, Gonika, or fell from her womb (anjali) (the word anjali has many meanings).
Patanjali is sometimes also referred to as Gonikaputra (son of Gonika). Iconographically, Patanjali is depicted with the lower body
of a snake and a canopy of five serpent heads over his head. He is shown offering anjali MUDRA with his palms joined. This clear¬
ly refers to the second element of his name.
Encyclopedia of religion
PATANJALI THE GRAMMARIAN (fl. c. 140 BCE) was a Sanskrit grammarian and author of the Mahabhasya, the major commen¬
tary on Panini’s Astadhyayi. Patanjali’s bhasya (“commentary”) focuses on Panini’s work both directly and indirectly, for it evalu¬
ates both Panini’s verses and those of Katyayana’s Varttika, the first notable commentary on the Astadhyayi. Panini, Katyayana,
and Patanjali have often been grouped together in a kind of grammatical lineage; Panini and Patanjali, however, remain by far the
foremost authorities on the Sanskrit language.
Wikipedia
Patanjali (fl. 150 BCE or 2nd c. BCE) is the compiler of the Yoga Sutras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice,
and also the author of the Mahabhasya, a major commentary on Panini’s Ashtadhyayi. However, whether these two works are that
of the same author or not remains in some doubt.
Patanjali as an incarnation of Adi Sesha
http://en.wikipedia.Org/wiki/File:Patanjali.jpg
Yoga of Patanjali and Advaita Vedanta
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
When we think of the subject of yoga in the context of Indian spirituality, the most canonical or authoritative textbook, which all
correct scholars or practitioners have to keep in mind, is Patanjali’s series of aphorisms called the Yogasutras. Although Patan¬
jali is thus an authority, his yoga, which is sometimes also called Raja Yoga, is considered defective in the full context of Advaita
Vedanta. Patanjali’s Yoga is not countenanced with favour in the Brahmasutras of Badarayana, nor in the Yoga Vasistha, which is
perhaps the latest authoritative textbook of yoga. The Yoga Vasistha contains an explicit disavowal of the astanga yoga of Patan¬
jali, where Rama is asked by his guru Vasistha, to treat his own teaching as the final authority. Vasistha speaks in terms of sapta
bhumikas, or seven grounds of consciousness, which he defines elaborately in more than one place. The main objection to the
Patanjali system of Yoga, by Vedantic texts such as the Bhagavadgita, is that its epistemology and methodology are necessarily
vitiated by their being based on the Samkhya dualism of Kapila. In the thought of Kapila and Patanjali, and their respective schools
of Samkhya and Yoga, there still persists a vestige of duality between nature (prakrti) and spirit (purusa). This duality is essentially
the same as that between matter and mind. Advaita, on the other hand, cannot tolerate even the slightest taint of duality between
these two factors. The avowed purpose of Advaita is to abolish all duality whether between causes and effects, means and ends
or between disciplines and their results. ... Patanjali’s Yogasutras itself has been commented upon by Vyasa in what is known as
the Vyasa bhasya, which is an attempt to abolish the duality which persisted as an implicit genetic element of error in Patanjali’s
original approach. The well-known Bhojavarttika of Bhojaraja and the Tattva Vaisaradl of Vacaspati Misra pushed this revaluation
still further, and Advaitic notions of yoga have also been further revised and made up to date in the writings of Sankaracarya and
Narayana Guru.
Life
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The founder of the Yoga was Patanjali. He did not discover the science of the Yoga, for it is an art that has been used since the
beginning of time. Its techniques and teachings have been accumulated through a ceaseless stream of adepts, self-fulfilled per¬
sonalities, who have handed it down from generation to generation through a group of devoted followers. Patanjali is credited with
having given us the present literary form of the Yoga doctrine in his famous treatise, the Yogasutra. However, he indicates that
there must have been a previous account by the opening sutra which says, “Now a revised text of Yoga.” According to the Ya-
jnavalkya Smrti, Hiranyagarbha was the original teacher of the Yoga; however, Patanjali is traditionally accepted as the founder of
the Yoga. Very little is known of the life of Patanjali, and the few fragments that are available are so full of legend, that they cannot
be relied upon. There is considerable controversy over the identity of Patanjali. Some authorities claim that he is the same Patan¬
jali who wrote the famous commentary called the Mahabhasya on the grammar of Panini, but the available evidence is too conflict¬
ing to warrant a settled opinion. There is no reliable source to determine the time when Patanjali flourished; so he is assigned to
various periods ranging from the third century B.C. to the fourth century A.D.
Teachings
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
The most characteristic description of yoga would be the word nirodha, which, in this context [stable psychophysical states of con¬
sciousness, conventionally named chakras in the discipline of yoga], means ‘restraint of the outgoing mental processes’, which,
through chains of natural associations, keep the mind distracted and wandering from one item of interest to another. Patanjali’s
definition of Yoga is based on this basic concept of restraint (Yogasutras, 1.2.). According to Patanjali, there are eight stages (as-
tanga) by which a yogi practises the discipline of meditation (11.29). It begins with the lowest physical limit, where control is indi¬
cated by the word yama, meaning ‘inward withdrawal of tendencies’. After yama comes niyama which applies to a slightly higher
level of the personality, and which means ‘restraint or control conditioned by rules’. Then comes asana which refers to the correct
posture for restraining the mind. Pranayama, the fourth stage in the process, refers to the regulation of the outgoing and incoming
breaths, in order to subdue the vital tendencies which are at the basis of the function of breathing so that they do not obstruct the
process of meditation (dhyana), which is one of the stages to follow. The fifth stage of Patanjali’s Yoga is pratyahara which is a
negative process of withdrawal — from the side of the non-Self to the Self — of the outgoing tendencies. In dharana, sustained
concentration or contemplation, a first degree participation is established between the Self and the non-Self. Dhyana, which is
given as the seventh stage in the Yogasutras, underlines a sustained state of dharana. Finally, the eighth stage is called samadhi.
The word sama suggests equality and dhi suggests intellect. The intellect is thus expected to attain to a certain equality or equilib¬
rium with itself. The cancellability of the Self and the non-Self is implied here.
Texts
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
The fundamental text of Yoga philosophy is the very popular, widely studied and quoted Yogasutras of Patanjali (300). An ancient
(475) commentary, the Yogabhaoya, is ascribed to someone named Vyasa, and Vacaspati Misra (940) has written a commentary
on that named Tattvavaisaradi.
Encyclopedia of religion
One of the most important of... various meditational traditions found precise articulation by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutra, written
probably during the Gupta period (320-540 CE), with important later commentaries such as the sixteenth-century Yogavarttika of
Vijnanabhikshu.
Related words
Yoga
Pitryana
Variant spellings
pitryana
pitryana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Pitryana — ... path of the ancestors.
1. The way of the ancestors in which the individual soul journeys until,after death, it once more enters a womb to be born again.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
pitryana -
trodden by or leading to the Pitris (path);
(Ved.) the path leading to the Pitris;
(Ved.)the vehicle of the Pitris, a car to convey virtuous persons after their decease to heaven
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Pitryana: The path of the manes. One of the two paths through which the departed souls supposedly travel to the other world, from
where they would be returning. Also called krsna gati (the black path) and dhuma-marga (the path of smoke).
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of religion
Those who have not achieved ultimate self-realization but have lived a life of sinless piety and devotion, through sacrifices, pen¬
ance, and charity, go along the path of the ancestors (pitryana) to the world of the moon, where they become rain and subse¬
quently food: “Gods feed on them, and when that passes away from them, they start on their return journey to the reborn as hu¬
man beings. . .Thus do they rotate.” Evildoers are reborn as insects and vermin. According to the Chandogya Upanisad, they are
reborn as dogs and pigs.
See: Devayana and pitriyana
See: Devayana, pitriyana and the third path
Related words
Devayana
Pancagnividya
Sanskrit
Pitryana — IdrjMM
pitryana -
Prajapati
Variant spellings
Prajapati
prajapati
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prajapati — ... lord of creatures; creator; lord of becoming
1. God who divided himself into male and female. The highest manifestation of the Absolute (Brahman), who is known by such
names as Hiranyagarbha, Sutratman, Prana, and so on.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
prajapati -
‘lord of creatures’, N. of Savitri, Soma, Agni, Indra &c.;
a divinity presiding over procreation, protector of life;
lord of creatures, creator... (N. of a supreme god above or among the Vedic deities ... but in later times also applied to Vishnu,
Siva, Time personified, the sun, fire, &c., and to various progenitors, esp. to the 10 lords of created beings first created by Brah¬
ma, viz. MarTci, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaka, Kratu, Vasishtha, Pracetas or Daksha, Bhrigu, Narada ..., of whom some authori¬
ties count only the first 7, others the last 3);
a father;
a king, prince;
a son-in-law;
the planet Mars;
a species of insect
Dictionary - Runes
Prajapati: (Skr.) “Lord of creatures”, originally applied to various Vedic gods, it assumed as early as the Rig Veda the importance
of a first philosophical principle of creation, and later of time as suggestive of gestation and productive periodicity. K.F.L.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Prajapati, “lord of all born beings,” was a Vedic divinity of some importance. In the period of the BRAHMANAS his status rose
even higher, as he was ritually identified with the cosmic PURUSHA, the source of all reality.
In the Rig Veda, the cosmic Purusha allowed himself to be dismembered to create all reality. This story was ritually reenacted
each year in the AGNICHAYANA—the ritual building of the fire altar—but in the ritual Prajapati’s name is substituted for Puru-
sha’s. Prajapati retained his aggrandized status in the UPANISHADS, but in later Hindu mythology he reverts to the status of “lord
of all born beings.” In some cases, BRAHMA, the creator god, takes on his role.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Prajapati: Literally, “the lord of those who are born.” Name applied to the Creator as the progenitor of all living beings, and rep¬
resents an ontological version of Brahma the Creator.
Descriptions
General
Deussen. Outlines of Indian Philosophy
It is characteristic of the way in which Indian religion developed that a mere philosophical abstraction such as Prajapati might put
in the background all the other gods and occupy in the time of the Brahmanas the highest place in the Hindu pantheon. Prajapati
in this period is considered as the father of gods, men and demons, as the creator and ruler of the world. Numerous passages of
the Brahmanas, intended to recommend some ritual usage, describe the rite or formula as produced by Prajapati and employed
by him in the creation of the world. Such passages regularly begin with the phrase that in the beginning Prajapati alone was, that
he performed penance and thereby worthily prepared himself for creating the different gods, the worlds and the various imple¬
ments and materials of sacrifice. All the gods depend on him ; in him they take refuge when harassed by the demons; and to him
as arbitrator they come if some quarrel about their relative dignity arises. Into these details we will not enter; we will here only
point out that the Indian idea of creation is essentially different from that current in the Christian world. Prajapati does not create a
world; he transforms himself, his body and his limbs into the different parts of the universe. Therefore in creating he is swallowed
up, he falls to pieces, and is restored by the performance of some rite which is in this way recommended. In later texts we observe
a tendency to get rid of Prajapati whether by deriving him from a still higher principle, such as the primordial waters, the Non-ent
preceding his existence, or by explaining him away and identifying him with the creating mind, the creating word, the sacrifice or
the year as principles of the world. In older passages Prajapati creates, among other ritual objects, the Brahman; later passages
on the other hand make him dependent on the Brahman.
Lurker. Dictionary of Gods
Prajapati (‘Lord of the creatures’). In the Rigveda, the name of the divine creator of the world. In the Atharvaveda he is said to
be the creator of heaven and earth. The world arises as an emanation from his inexhaustible being. His function as a progenitor
is underlined in the Mahabharata where he appears as protective lord of the sexual organ. Occasionally, he takes the place of -»■
Varuja, whose sacred animal, the tortoise, can be one of the forms Prajapati may assume. In Hinduism, Prajapati is understood as
one of the names of the god -*■ Brahman.
Hume. The thirteen Upanishads
Prajapati (literally ‘ Lord of creatures’) began to rise towards the end of the Vedic period, increased in prominence through the
Brahmanic.and continued on into the Upanishadic [period],
SECOND BRAHMANA [Brihadaranyaka upanishad]
The three cardinal virtues
1. The threefold offspring of Prajapati—gods, men, and devils (asura)—dwelt with their father Prajapati as students of sacred
knowledge (brahmacarya).
Having lived the life of a student of sacred knowledge, the gods said: ‘Speak to us, sir.’ To them then he spoke this syllable, ‘Da.”
Did you understand ?’ ‘We did understand,’ said they. ‘You said to us, “Restrain yourselves (damyata).”’ ‘ Yes (Om)!’ said he. ‘You
did understand.’
2. So then the men said to him: ‘Speak to us, sir.’ To them then he spoke this syllable, ‘Da.’ ‘ Did you understand?’ ‘We did under¬
stand,’ said they. ‘You said to us, “Give (datta).”’ ‘Yes (Om)!’ said he. ‘ You did understand.’
3. So then the devils said to him : ‘Speak to us, sir.’ To them then he spoke this syllable, ‘Da.’ ‘Did you understand?’ ‘We did un¬
derstand,’ said they. ‘You said to us, “Be compassionate (dayadhvam).” ‘ Yes (Om)!’ said he. ‘You did understand.’
This same thing does the divine voice here, thunder, repeat: Da ! Da ! Da ! that is, restrain yourselves, give, be compassionate.
One should practise this same triad : self-restraint, giving, compassion.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prajapati - from praja = “creation” + pati = “lord”
Related words
Brahman
Hiranyagarbha
Purusa
Sanskrit
Prajapati —
prajapati - 'y^iHdP
Prajna
Variant spellings
prajna
prajna
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prajna — ... wisdom; intuitive wisdom; gnosis
1. The intuitive wisdom, the highest knowledge, according to Mahayana Buddhism.
2. It is one of the six virtues of Buddhism.
3. The individual form of the self as the witness of the bare nescience in the state of sleep. It is also known as anandamaya. The
experiencer in deep sleep is called the prajna when there is no determinate knowledge, but only pure bliss and pure conscious¬
ness.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
prajna -
-janati, to know, understand (esp. a way or mode of action), discern, distinguish, know about, be acquainted with ...; to find out,
discover, perceive, learn ..., to show or point out (the way) ... ; to summon, invite
Ramakrishna tradition
Sarvananda. Mandukya Upanishad
11. Prajna, whose field is deep sleep, is the letter ‘M’, the third part of Om, because they are alike the measurel and the end2 of
the others. One who knows this, measures everything by his knowledge and comprehends everything within himself.
[NOTES — 1. Measure -When the syllable Om is uttered and re-uttered, the first two elements of it, A and U, seem to sink into M,
the third element, and come out of it again on the re-utterance of the syllable. So also waking and dream states seem to subside
in sleep, here identified with Prajna, and emerge from it afterwards. Hence M and Prajna are compared to a measure into which
grain is put and from which it is measured out afterwards.
2. End — When the syllable Om is uttered, its first two elements seem to merge or end in M. So also waking and dream seem to
merge into deep sleep, here identified with Prajna.]
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
When you are deep asleep, consciousness is filling that state which has within it no division of subject and object, and yet it has
all the possibilities of becoming the dream or the wakeful through the slightest stimulation. Prajna, or the seed ground of all this
universe, is within you as the basis of consciousness. It opens up as every form in the dream, and it unfolds as everything seen in
the external world.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Prajna—It is the name of the Jiva or individual soul while in a state of profound sleep. ... In the last state the Jiva remains, tempo¬
rarily, in a state of unity with Brahman, but covered with ignorance.
Karapatra. Advaita Bodha Deepika
... in deep sleep asprajna he experiences ignorance.
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
The experiencer of susupti. That the Prajna, in deep sleep, enjoys bliss is viewed from waking state.
See: Visva, Taijasa, Prajna
See also:
in Jiva: Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Diagram: Catuspada, Four States of Consciousness
Etymology
Ramakrishna tradition
Sarvananda. Mandukya Upanishad
the Prajna (lit; one who knows properly)
Related words
Sushupti
Taijasa
Visva
Sanskrit _
Prajna — ^TT
prajna - 4TA°tl
Prajnanam Brahma
Variant spellings
Prajnanam Brahma
prajnanam brahma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prajhanam-brahma — ... “Consciousness is the Absolute (Brahman)”
1. A maha-vakya (Great Saying) which occurs in the Aitareya Upanisad of the Rg Veda.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Prajnanam Brahman (“Wisdom is Brahman”). In the Hindu philosophical tradition, one of the “great utterances” (mahavakyas)
expressing the ultimate truth. The truth here is the identity ofprajnanam (ultimate wisdom) and Brahman (Supreme Reality); this
identity is the heart of the speculative texts called the Upanishads. Aside from their importance in a philosophical context, as
encapsulating fundamental truths, the four mahavakyas were also appropriated as identifying symbols by the four divisions of
theDashanami Sanyasi ascetics. Each division had a different mahavakya, just as each had a different Veda, a different primary
monastic center, and a different paradigmatic ascetic quality. Prajnanam Brahman is the mahavakya associated with theBhoga-
wara division of the Dashanami Sanyasis.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
One of these [mananavakyas, the dictums for meditation] is prajnanam brahma. When you are deep asleep, consciousness is
filling that state which has within it no division of subject and object, and yet it has all the possibilities of becoming the dream or the
wakeful through the slightest stimulation. Prajna, or the seed ground of all this universe, is within you as the basis of conscious¬
ness. It opens up as every form in the dream, and it unfolds as everything seen in the external world. Knowing this you say, “ All
these variations which I see here are all modifications of my own prajna. Prajnanam brahma: all the variations that I see in the
form of this cosmic universe are none other than the Absolute.”
This universe is not a separate thing, it is an extension of our own self. It is not something that can be rejected. It is to be en¬
deared to us. This world is our Self.
As long as you are within the frame of reference called the transactional, you have to give full validation to every item in it. It is
here that the spiritual life of some people fails, because in the name of spirituality, in the name of philosophy, or in the name of re¬
alization, they belittle the validity of transactions. This ontological error is a big problem. To correct it, prajnanam brahma is given,
to remind you that what is out there as your experience is born of the same reality that has produced you and your mind. Not until
you realize this can you be at ease with the external world.
See: Mahavakyas as used for instruction
Related words
Aitareya Upanishad
Maha-Vakya
Rig Veda
Sanskrit
Prajnanam-brahma — UiTPPJ ^T
prajnanam brahma - mmothh ^ q-H
Prakriti
Variant spellings
prakriti
prakrti
prakrti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prakrti — ... primal Nature; primordial Nature; creatrix.
1. According to Sankhya, it is also calledpradhana and avyakta; matter is one of the two categories basic to its system. It is funda¬
mentally active, but nonconscious. It is fundamentally one and imperceptible. It is the source of the universe and can be inferred
from its effects. It is a composite of three constituents called gunas (sattva, rajas, and tamas).
2. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, it is one of the six substances. Unlike in Sankhya, the qualities (guna) are the qualities of
primal Nature (prakrti) and not its constituents. These qualities are inseparable from it, but not identical with it. It is inseparably re¬
lated to God (Tsvara) and dependent upon Him, unlike the independent prakrti of Sankhya. It is the dwelling place of the individual,
and through it, of God himself. Sarikhya’s prakrti is infinite, but here it is limited above by the eternal manifestation (nityavibhuti).
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is a principle of illusion (maya), and therefore not fundamentally real. It is a phenomenon but
not a phantasm, however,
4. According to Dvaita Vedanta, it is the material cause of the world and one of the twenty substances (dravya).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
prakrti -
‘making or placing before or at first’, the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance;
cause original source;
origin, extraction;
nature, character, constitution, temper, disposition;
fundamental form, pattern, standard, model, rule (esp. in ritual);
(in the Samkhya phil.) the original producer of (or rather passive power of creating) the material world (consisting of 3 constituent
essences or Gunas called sattva, rajas and tamas), Nature (distinguished from purusa, Spirit as Maya is distinguished from Brah¬
man in the Vedantas);
the 8 producers or primary essences which evolve the whole visible world (viz. avyakta, buddhi or mahat, aharhkara, and the 5
tanmatras or subtle elements ; rarely the 5 elements alone);
(in mythol.) a goddess, the personified will of the Supreme in the creation (hence the same with the Sakti or personified energy or
wife of a deity, as LakshmT, Durga &c.; also considered as identical with the Supreme Being);
N. of a class of deities under Manu Raibhya;
a king’s ministers, the body of ministers or counsellors, ministry;
the subjects of a king, citizens, artisans &c.;
the constituent elements or powers of the state (of which are usually enumerated, viz. king minister, allies, treasure, army, territo¬
ry, fortresses);
the various sovereigns to be considered in case of war;
the crude or elementary form of a word, base, root, an uninflected word;
N. of 2 classes of metres;
(in arithm.) a co-efficient multiplier;
(in anat.) temperament, the predominance of one of the humours at the time of generation;
the third nature, a eunuch;
matter, affair;
the male or female organ of generation;
a woman or womankind;
a mother;
an animal;
N. of a woman
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Prakriti. In the list of 24 categories of reality in SAMKHYA and YOGA, prakriti refers to nature or the phenomenal universe. It is
seen as an eternal reality that always existed and always will exist. That is to say, phenomenal reality is not a created entity but is
an eternal real that always was and always will be. Prakriti is seen as an unconscious force that creates and dissolves universes;
when a universe is dissolved, prakriti becomes an inert unmanifest reality, which will once again come forward to produce a new
creation. The task of Samkhya and most yogas is to learn how to dissociate the intellect, the highest discriminatory faculty, as
much as possible from the whirl of prakriti, phenomenal existence.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Prakrti (“nature”). One of the two fundamental principles in the Samkhya school, the other being purusha (“person”). Samkhya
espouses an atheistic philosophical dualism, in which purusha and prakrti—roughly, spirit and nature—are the source of all things.
Prakrti is better conceived of as force or power rather than a specific material object. It contains within it three different forces with
three different qualities (guna): sattva tends toward the good, rajas towards activity or passion, and tamas towards darkness and
decay. In the primal prakrti these forces are in perfect equilibrium, each perfectly balancing the others, but when prakrti’s equilibri-
um is disturbed, it sets in motion a pattern of evolution that creates both the exterior physical world and the interior psychological
world. All of these evolutes— material or psychic—have a differing balance of the three gunas, which ultimately determines their
character as wholesome, active, or unwholesome.
Wikipedia
Prakriti is, according to the Bhagavad Gita, the basic nature of intelligence by which the Universe exists and functions. It is de¬
scribed in Bhagavad Gita as the “primal motive force”. It is the essential constituent of the universe and is at the basis of all the
activity of the creation. It is composed of the three gunas.
Prakriti also means nature. Nature can be described as environment. It can also be used to denote the ‘feminine’ in sense of the
‘male’ being the purusha.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Prakrti. Primordial Nature; the material substratum of the creation, consisting of sattva, rajas, and tamas.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Prakriti is closely associated with the concept of Maya within Vedic scripture.
Mulaprakriti can be translated as “the root of nature” or “root of Prakriti”; it is a closer definition of ‘basic matter; and is often de¬
fined as the essence of matter, that aspect of the Absolute which underlines all all the objective aspect of Nature. While plain
Prakriti encompasses classical earth element, i.e. solid matter, Mulaprakriti includes any and all classical elements, including any
considered not discovered yet (some tattvas.)
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
In the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, prakrti or nature is said to consist of eight basic principles: earth, water, fire, air,
ether, mind, intellect and ego. These are actually the evolutes of prakrti, which in the evaluation of Vedanta can be combined with
purusa into one purusottama, a cosmic being or entity. Prakrti in its unexpanded form consists of sattva, rajas and tamas taken
as a whole. These three gunas are primeval causes, and not the effects of anything. Then there are the five tanmatras, things-in-
themselves, which are the prakrtis of the five gross elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
We all use the word Nature, and the old Hindu philosophers called it by two different names, Prakriti, which is almost the same as
the English word ‘Nature,’ and by the more scientific name, Avyaktam (undifferentiated), from which everything proceeds, out of
which come atoms and molecules, matter and force, and mind and intellect.
See: Gunas, prakriti, maya
Prakriti and Brahman
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Prakrti: Nature. Literally, “that which is always in an active state.” This activeness is inherent in the ultimate Reality or brahman.
Brahman in its active state is called prakrti.
Prakriti and Maya
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
The Samkhya philosophers describe the universe as the modification of Prakrti, or Nature. According to them the cause mani¬
fests itself as the effect. The effect, before it is produced, exists as the cause. According to another school of philosophers, which
includes the Dualists and the Theists.. the universe did not exist before it was created. The effect is non-existent before it is
produced. Sankara, on the other hand, points out the utter impossibility of the finite mind’s ever understanding the nature of the
universe in terms of the causal relationship. He speaks of the universe as maya because—as every thoughtful man knows, even
while perceiving it with his senses—its nature is impermanence. Wheu Sankara calls the universe maya, he is only stating a fact,
namely, the’fact, that the One appears inexplicably as many. When a snake is beheld in place of a rope, the phenomenon may
be described as maya; this, however, does not imply any explanation of how or why the rope should thus appear. It states only a
tangible fact. In the same sense, a mirage is maya, dream objects arc maya, the creation is maya.
Vedantists use such terms as avidya, ajnana, and Prakrti as practically synonymous with maya. The word maya generally signifies
the cosmic illusion on account of which Brahman, or Pure Consciousness, appears as the Creator of the universe. Under the influ¬
ence of avidya, or nescience, Atman, or pure Consciousness, appears as the Jiva, or individualized self. Ajnana is the ignorance
which makes the Absolute appear as the relative or the One as the many. The word Prakrti (matter or Nature) is used to denote
maya as the material out of which the universe has been created. But in actual practice these distinctions are not always main¬
tained. The words are often interchanged.
See: Purusha and Prakriti
See also:
Sankhya
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
prakrti — from the verb root kr = “to make, to do” + pra = “forth”.
Related words
Avyakta
Jada
Maya
Purusa
Sankhya
Sanskrit
Prakrti — vlc^fd
prakrti -
Evolution of Prakriti
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
The original state of equipose is pradhana, meaning “the inferred one” because its existence is claimed on the basis of inference
by analogy from experience. The first evolute is Mahat (the Great One) or buddhi (the subtle material that forms the basis of con¬
sciousness). Next comes ahamkara (the basis of individuation or self-sense), and then evolution takes two directions where either
sattva or tamas predominates. Through the sattva route evolve manas (mind, or perhaps better brain), the five organs of percep¬
tion, and the five organs of action. Through the tamas route evolve the five subtle elements (essences of sound, touch, taste,
smell, and sight), and the five gross elements (ether, air, light, water, and earth) that are the constituents of all gross matter.
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
Samkhya believes that before this world came into being there was a state of dissolution- a state in which the guna compounds
had disintegrated into a state of disunion and had by their mutual opposition produced an equilibrium the prakrti. Then later on
disturbance arose in the prakrti, and as a result of that a process of unequal aggregation of the gunas in varying proportions took
place, which brought forth the creation of the manifold. Prakrti, the state of perfect homogeneity and incoherence of the gunas,
thus gradually evolved and became more and more determinate, differentiated, heterogeneous, and coherent.
But how or rather why prakrti should be disturbed is the most knotty point in Samkhya. It is postulated that the prakrti or the
sum-total of the gunas is so connected with the purusas, and there is such an inherent teleology or blind purpose in the lifeless
prakrti, that all its evolution and transformations take place for the sake of the diverse purusas, to serve the enjoyment of plea¬
sures and sufferance of pain through experiences, and finally leading them to absolute freedom or mukti. A return of this manifold
world into the quiescent state (pralaya) of prakrti takes place when the karmas of all purusas collectively require that there should
be such a temporary cessation of all experience. At such a moment the guna compounds are gradually broken, and there is a
backward movement (pratisancara) till everything is reduced to the gunas in their elementary disintegrated state when their mutual
opposition brings about their equilibrium. This equilibrium however is not a mere passive state, but one of utmost tension; there is
intense activity, but the activity here does not lead to the generation of new things and qualities (visadrsha-parinama)...
Wikipedia
Sankhya theorizes that Prakriti is the source of the world of becoming. It is pure potentiality that evolves itself successively into
twenty four tattvas or principles. The evolution itself is possible because Prakriti is always in a state of tension among its constitu¬
ent strands -
Sattva - a template of balance or equilibrium;
Rajas - a template of expansion or activity;
Tamas - a template of inertia or resistance to action.
All macrocosmic and microcosmic creation uses these templates. The twenty four principles that evolve are -
Prakriti - The most subtle potentiality that is behind whatever is created in the physical universe, also called “primordial Matter”. It
is also a state of equilibrium amongst the Three Gunas.
Mahat - first product of evolution from Prakriti, pure potentiality. Mahat is also considered to be the principle responsible for the
rise of buddhi or intelligence in living beings.
Ahamkara or ego-sense - second product of evolution. It is responsible for the self-sense in living beings. It is also one’s identifica¬
tion with the outer world and its content.
“Panch Tanmatras” are a simultaneous product from Mahat Tattva, along with the Ahamkara. They are the subtle form of Panch
Mahabhutas which result from grossification or Panchikaran of the Tanmatras. Each of these Tanmatras are made of all three
Gunas.
Manas or “Antahkaran” evolves from the total sum of the sattva aspect of Panch Tanmatras or the “Ahamkara”.
Panch jnana indriyas or five sense organs - also evolves from the sattva aspect of Ahamkara.
Pancha karma indriya or five organs of action - The organs of action are hands, legs, vocal apparatus, urino- genital organ and
anus. They evolve from the rajas aspect of Ahamkara.
Pancha mahabhuta or five great substances - ether, air, fire, water and earth. They evolve from the “tamas” aspect of the “Aham¬
kara”. This is the revealed aspect of the physical universe.
The evolution of primal nature is also considered to be purposeful - Prakrti evolves for the spirit in bondage. The spirit who is
always free is only a witness to the evolution, even though due to the absence of discriminate knowledge, he misidentifies himself
with it.
The evolution obeys causality relationships, with primal Nature itself being the material cause of all physical creation. The cause
and effect theory of Sankhya is called Satkaarya-vaada (theory of existent causes), and holds that nothing can really be created
from or destroyed into nothingness - all evolution is simply the transformation of primal Nature from one form to another.
The evolution of matter occurs when the relative strengths of the attributes change. The evolution ceases when the spirit realiz¬
es that it is distinct from primal Nature and thus cannot evolve. This destroys the purpose of evolution, thus stopping Prakrti from
evolving for Purusha.
Sankhyan cosmology describes how life emerges in the universe; the relationship between Purusha and Prakriti is crucial to Pa-
tanjali’s yoga system. The evolution of forms at the basis of Sankhya is quite remarkable. The strands of Sankhyan thought can be
traced back to the Vedic speculation of creation. It is also frequently mentioned in the Mahabharata and Yogavasishta.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
Prakriti ... is progressing in successive rises and falls. The stage of going back to the balance, to the perfect equilibrium, is called
the end of a cycle. The whole kalpa, the evolution and the involution, has been compared by theistic writers ip India to the oul-
breathing and inbreathing of God; God, as it were, breathes out the universe, and it returns into Him again. When it quiets down,
what becomes of the universe? It still exists, only in finer form as it is called in Sanskrit, Karana, the causal state. Causation, time
and space are still there, only they are potential. This return to an undifferentiated condition constitutes involution. Involution and
evolution are eternally going on, so that when we speak of a beginning, we refer only to the beginning of a cycle.
The most extraneous part of the universe is what in modern times we call gross matter. The ancient Hindus called it the bhutas,
the external elements. One of these, according to them, is the cause of the rest, for every other element is produced out of this
one, and this element has been called akasa. This is somewhat similar to the modern idea of ether, though not exactly the same.
Akasa is the primal element out of which every gross thing proceeds, and along with it there is something else called Prana... The
Prana and the Akasa exist as long as creation lasts. They combine and recombine and form all gross manifestations until at the
end of the cycle all these subside and go back to the unmanifested form of Akasa and Prana. There is in the Rig-Veda, the oldest
scriptures in existence, a beautiful passage describing creation, which is most poetical: When there was neither aught nor naught,
when darkness was rolling over darkness, what existed ? And the answer is given : It (the Eternal One) then existed without mo¬
tion. Prana and Akasa were latent in that Eternal One, but there was no phenomenal manifestation. This state is called Avyaktam
which literally means ‘without vibration,’ or unmanifested. At the beginning of a new cycle of evolution, this Avyaktam begins to vi¬
brate, and blow after blow is given by prana to the akasa causing condensation and gradually through the forces of attraction and
repulsion, atoms are formed. These in turn condense into molecules and finally into the different gross elements of which every
object in nature is composed.
We generally find these things very curiously translated; people do not go to the ancient philosophers or to their commentators for
their translations and have not learning enough to understand for themselves. They translate the elements as ‘air,’ ‘fire,’ and so
on. If they would go to the commentators they would find that they do not mean anything of the sort. The akasa, by the repeated
blows of prana produces vayu or the vibratory state of the akasa, which in turn produces gaseous matter. The vibrations growing
more and more rapid generate heat, which in Sanskrit is called tejas. Gradually it is cooled off and the gaseous substance be¬
comes liquid, apa, and finally solid, prithivi. We have first akasa vibrating, then comes heat, then it becomes liquefied, and when
still more condensed it apears as solid matter. It goes back to the unmanifested condition in exactly the reverse way. The solids
will be converted into liquid and the liquid into a mass of heat, that will slowly go back into the gaseous state, then disintegration
of atoms will begin and finally the equilibrium of all forces will be reached, when vibration will stop and thus the cycle of evolution,
which in Sanskrit is called kalpa, will be at an end.
... the whole universe itself built, as it were, layer after layer; first undifferentiated Prakriti (Avyaktam), and that changes into uni¬
versal intelligence (Mahat) and that again is changed into universal egoism (Ahamkara), and that changes into universal sensible
matter. That matter changes into universal sense-organs, again changes into universal fine particles, and these in turn combine
and become this gross universe. That is the cosmic plan, according to the Samkhyas and what is in the cosmos or macrocosm,
must be in the individual or microcosm.
Take an individual man. He has first a part of undifferentiated nature in him, and that material nature in him becomes changed into
Mahat— a small particle of the universal intelligence, and that small particle of the universal intelligence in him becomes changed
into egoism—a particle of the universal egoism. This egoism in turn becomes changed into the sense-organs, and the tanmatras,
and out of the latter combining, he manufactures his world, his body. I want this to be clear, because it is the first stepping stone
to Vedanta, and it is absolutely necessary for you to know, because this is the basis of the different systems of philosophy of the
whole world.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
Prakriti, which is the objectivity of the purusha, i.e. consciousness, is constituted of three properties, called sattva, rajas and
tamas. Tamas is inertia, pure inactivity; rajas is dynamism, distraction and action; and sattva is balance and harmony. The permu¬
tation and combination of these three gunas are the very substance of prakriti. The redness of a flower is a quality of the flower,
but the redness itself is not the flower; whereas the three strands of a rope are not the quality of the rope, the strands themselves
are the rope. In the same way, the three gunas that are mentioned - sattva, rajas and tamas - are the very substance of prakriti,
and they are the very essence of movement in this world. These three gunas, by permutation and combination, create a situation
of transparency in the cosmos, and the indivisible consciousness gets reflected, as it were, in this transparency, which is suddha
tattva. It is the beginning of the process of the creation of the universe. It is a dream condition, as it were, where sketches of the
future creation are drawn on the canvas of the mind itself. Thus, from the point of view of Vedanta terminology, there is a coming
down of consciousness, which is Absolute, to the state of Isvara, Hiranyagarbha and Virat, or in the language of Sankhya, prakriti
becomes mahat, and mahat becomes ahankara. Up to this level, from the top level to the Virat, or from the level of consciousness
to ahankara, there is a universal awareness. Virat is universally aware. Hiranyagarbha and Isvara are universally aware. Mahat
is universally aware, and the ahankara that is spoken of in Sankhya parlance is not the egoism of the human individual. It is the
self-consciousness of the cosmos itself.
A tragic event takes place. The one indivisible ahankara, or Virat, gets divided into a three-partite state, as it were - the object,
the subject, and the connecting link between the object and subject. These are known as the adhibhuta, adhyatma and adhidaiva.
Thus, we see there is a world outside on account of the division that has taken place, and we are set aside as subjects perceiving
the object outside, not being aware that there is a connecting link, which is called the adhidaiva, between the object and the sub¬
ject. Then there is a continuous solidification of this objectivity into tanmatras, called sabda, sparsha, rupa, rasa, gandha - prithvi,
ap, teja, vayu, akasha - the five elements; and we have come down into the solidity which is this earth.
See also:
Evolution of mahabhutas
Evolution of tanmatras
Pralaya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Pralaya — ... periodic cosmic dissolution
1. It is a period of repose or reabsorption. It is of three types: eternal (nitya), which is the sleep in which every effort dissolves for
the time being; occasional (naimittika), which occurs at the end of a day of Brahma; and prakrta, which occurs at the end of an ep¬
och of Brahma. The dissolution and reabsorption of the universe at the end of a kalpa. The passive phase or potential period when
all manifestations are dormant.
2. All the Indian schools, excepting the MTmamsa school, accept this theory.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
pralaya -
dissolution, reabsorption, destruction, annihilation;
death;
the destruction of the whole world, at the end of a Kalpa;
setting (of the stars);
end;
cause of dissolution;
fainting, loss of sense or consciousness;
sleepiness;
N. of the syllable om
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Pralaya (fr. pr. pra, before, first + laya,melting, dissolution), the dissolution and reabsorption of the universe at the end of a Kalpa;
(in Kasmir Saivism) this is the transcendental phase of consciousness, the passive phase, the potential period when all manifesta¬
tions are dormant.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Pralaya. In Hindu mythology, the dissolution of the universe that comes at the end of the kalpa or Day of Brahma. Pralaya is
considered the “night” of Brahma, and lasts for the same amount of time as the day (by one estimate, 4.32 billion years). The
approach of this “night” is preceded by the destruction of the earth, first by fire, and then by torrential rains that transform the entire
planet into one vast ocean. During this time the only living thing is the god Vishnu, who reclines on the back of his serpent vehicle
Shesha, deep in a yogic trance. When the time again comes for creation, a lotus sprouts from his navel, which opens to reveal
Brahma, and the world begins anew.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The present period is one which is called in Hindu tradition “Pralaya”, meaning “Dissolution”. “Laya” is “the merging of one thing
in another.” “Pra” means both “before” and “fulfilment”. Pralaya means both the merging of the Ahankaric scheme of appearance
with the Scheme of Tradition, and the merging of the soul in God. Both these matters are focussed in the House of the Spiritual
Pole, Aquarius. Literalists have explained Pralaya as meaning only the dissolution of the material universe or of the earth. Such an
explanation does not serve any purpose whatsoever, whether it be one of common sense or of spirituality. The figures and data
which are found in Hindu tradition with reference to Ages and Cycles cannot possibly be considered from any other angle than that
of symbolism. About this anon. Pralaya or “Dissolution” does not apply to material matters (except in as far as it may mean physi¬
cal death) but to sacred tradition. The Mysteries have been blacked out. The Mystery-teachings have become hidden in the Dark¬
ness of the Earth and in the Sterility of the Midwinter of human destiny. The Three Grey Sisters alone know the way to the Abode
of the Nymphs, and they will not show the Path if they are not forced to do so. The Revelation of the Mysteries in the human soul
brings the shining of the Light of the Ether in the Darkness of the Earth. Who will hear and who will see ? Who will put an end to
Pralaya, to the Black-out of the Light within his own self? Who will find the Treasure and give it to the world, as a Light to guide
others?
The last Age of the Fall ends in the period of Pralaya. From the point of view of Genesis this period is the First Day, Capricorn
and Aquarius: “And the earth was chaotic and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (1; 2). Though there are in that
period many — too many — scriptures, mysteries and myths, their meaning has been lost and there is no Tradition and no Cul¬
ture. The Tradition is in a state of Pralaya or dissolution — of “chaos” as far as its outer aspects are concerned. The same applies
to man’s inner life, his “intermediate worlds”. This is based on the appearance of nature in a colder climate. In a Northern winter
the vegetable kingdom is at rest and appears like dead, and the animals are invisible, since they are hibernating in caves, holes or
stables. That time of the year provided in early cultures the supreme opportunity for finding the Light of God within the Self. It was
the best time of the year for quiet prayer and meditation, “to find oneself”. It is the time for the Inaction praised by the Sages of
China and India. It is the time when the greatest Sin is Idleness or the neglect of the spiritual life. Life is supported by the stores of
food gathered during the autumn.
It is deeply significant that for “seers” this Age is the Age of the Seventh Day of Genesis, the Sabbath, the Day of Rest in which is
the Hour of Immortality in Oneness with the Spiritual Pole.
Like the Pralaya of Hindu tradition, “the end of the world” also comprises the end of the knowledge of a symbolic Tradition.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
According to the Vedanta there occurs at the end of each Kalpa a Pralaya or dissolution of the universe, and Brahman is then re¬
duced to its causal condition (Karanavastha), containing both soul and matter in an Avyakta (undeveloped) state. At the end of this
Pralaya, however, Brahman creates or lets out of himself a new world, matter becomes gross and visible once more, and souls
become active and re-embodied, though with a higher enlightenment (Vikasa), and all this according to their previous merits and
demerits. Brahman has then assumed its new Karyavastha or effective state which lasts for another Kalpa. But all this refers to the
world of change and unreality only. It is the world of Karman, the temporary produce of Nescience, of Avidya, or Maya, it is not yet
real reality. In the Samkhya philosophy these Pralayas take place whenever the three Gunas of Prakriti recover their equipoise,
while creation results from the upsetting of the equipoise between them. What is truly eternal, is not affected by the cosmic illusion,
or at least is so for a time only, and may recover at any moment its self-knowledge, that is, its self-being, and its freedom from all
conditions and fetters.
The idea of the reabsorption of the world at the end of a Kalpa (eon) and its emergence again in the next Kalpa, does not occur as
yet in the old Upanishads ... but in the Bhagavad-gTta IX, 7, the idea of Pralayas, absorptions, and of Kalpas or ages, of their end
and their beginning (Kalpakshaye and Kalpadau), are already quite familiar to the poets.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
The pralaya, or the dissolution of the cosmos that will take place at the end of the yugas - that is the night of Brahma.
There are two kinds of dissolution. There is dissolution of all life everywhere, but not dissolution of the elements - earth, water,
fire, air and ether; they remain. The dissolution of all life takes place after one day of Brahma; and then he sleeps. When Brahma
wakes up, he creates beings once again - gods, celestials, angels, men, beasts, etc. - as he has done previously. But there is
another kind of dissolution which dissolves everything. The whole cosmos is dissolved, including the five elements. After one hun¬
dred years of Brahma, the entire universe is dissolved, and Brahma also gets dissolved. He enters the Absolute.
See also: Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
pralaya - from the verb root IT = “to dissolve” + pra = “away”.
Related words
Kalpa
Yuga
Sanskrit _
Pralaya —
pralaya -
Prama
Variant spellings
prama
prama
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prama — ... valid knowledge; true knowledge
1. According to Nyaya, it is true presentational knowledge (yatha-rthanu-bhava). It is a definite and assured cognition of an object
which is true and presentational in character.
2. According to the Sautrantika and Vaibhasika schools, it is the identity of content between a cognition and the cognitum. This is
a realist view which posits that the object determines the cognition’s validity.
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is knowledge which possesses noncontradictedness (abadhita) and novelty (or sometimes just
the former).
4. According to Bhatta MTmarnsa, it is primary and original knowledge (anadhigata).
5. According to Prabhakara MTmarnsa, it is immediate experience (anubhuti).
6. According to Vaisesika, it is the unique operative cause of both true presentational knowledge and memory.
7. According to Jainism, it is immediate presentational knowledge and mediate knowledge insofar as they are true.
8. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, all knowledge is of the real. Its mark is that it is practically useful.
9. According to Sankhya, it is knowledge not previously known (anadhigata), free from error, and above doubt.
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
Prama or right knowledge means in Vedanta the acquirement of such new knowledge as has not been contradicted by experience
(abadhita). There is thus no absolute definition of truth. A knowledge acquired can be said to be true only so long as it is not con¬
tradicted. Thus the world appearance though it is very true now, may be rendered false, when this is contradicted by right knowl¬
edge of Brahman as the one reality. Thus the knowledge of the world appearance is true now, but not true absolutely. The only
absolute truth is the pure consciousness which is never contradicted in any experience at any time. The truth of our world-knowl¬
edge is thus to be tested by finding out whether it will be contradicted at any stage of world experience or not.
... prama or right knowledge is never produced, it always exists, but it manifests itself differently under different circumstances.
Right knowledge (prama) in Vedanta is the knowledge of an object which has not been found contradicted (abadhitarthavisaya-
jnanantva). Except when specially expressed otherwise, prama is generally considered as being excludent of memory and applies
to previously unacquired (anadhigata) and uncontradicted knowledge.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
Prama means “certitude.” The definition of pramana is pramakaranam karanam pramanam: “the cause by which one arrives at
certitude is the right method, pramana.” Valid testimonials of methodology are called pramana. Pramana is a spontaneous func¬
tion coming from the witnessing consciousness that provides certitude about the nature of the thing perceived or even the idea
thought of. In the empirical world, certitude is more or less a conventional common consent that most members of a group give to
the description of an object of knowledge that can be empirically experienced. For instance, it is generally agreed that salt has a
certain taste that is agreeable when moderately used in certain dishes. When a pinch of common salt is shown to a person, it is
usually recognized to be salt.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
prama - from the verb root ma = “to measure” + pra = “before or forward”.
Related words
Pramana
Sanskrit
Prama — y*TT
prama - ywr
Pramana
Variant spellings
pramana
pramana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Pramana — ... means of valid knowledge; logical proof; means of cogni tion
1. It is the instrument (karana) of valid knowledge. As the cause, so the effect (manadhlnameyasiddhih). According to each sys¬
tem, the number of pramanas accepted as valid will depend upon the types of knowledge that are recognized.
2. The Carvaka (Materialist) school accepts perception (pratyaksa) as the only means of valid knowledge. The Buddhists and
Vaisesika accept perception and inference (anumana). The Jainas, Sankhya, Yoga, Visistadvaita Vedanta, and Dvaita Vedanta
accept perception, inference, and verbal testimony (sabda). Nyaya accepts perception, inference, verbal testimony, and compari¬
son (upamana). The Prabhakara MTmamsa school accepts perception, inference, verbal testimony, comparison, and presumption
(arthapatti). The Bhatta MTmamsa and Advaita accept perception, inference, verbal testimony, comparison, presumption, and
noncognition (anupalabdhi). Saiva Siddhanta accepts Siva-cit-sakti as the only valid means of knowledge, though, as second¬
ary means, it accepts the traditional first three pramanas. Dvaita Vedanta calls the sources of valid knowledge as anu-pramana;
kevala-pramana is defined as the knowledge of an object as it is. Dvaita recognizes preception, inference, and verbal testimony as
anu-pramana.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
pramana -
measure, scale, standard;
prosodical length (of a vowel);
measure in music;
accordance of the movements in dancing with music and song;
measure of physical strength;
the first term in a rule of three sum;
the measure of a square i.e. a side of it;
principal, capital (opp. to interest);
principal, capital (opp. to interest);
a means of acquiring Prama or certain knowledge (6 in the Vedanta, viz. pratyaksa, perception by the senses; anumana, infer¬
ence; upamana, analogy or comparison; sabda or apta-vacana, verbal authority, revelation; an-upalabdhi or abhava-pratyaksa,
non-perception or negative proof; arthapatti, inference from circumstances; the Nyaya admits only 4, excluding the last two; the
Sarhkhya only 3, viz. pratyaksa, anumana and sabda; other schools increase the number to 9 by adding sambhava, equivalence;
aitihya, tradition or fallible testimony; and cesta, gesture;
any proof or testimony or evidence;
a correct notion, right perception;
oneness, unity;
= nitya;
N. of a large fig-tree on the bank of the Ganges
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. The Philosophy of a Guru
The measures applied in the validity of truth in
Vedanta are six: viz.: pratyaksa (what is directly given to the senses); anumana (inference); arthapatti (hypothetical postulation);
anupalabdhi (impossibility of a conclusion); upamana (analogy); and sabda or agama (scriptural assent).
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
PRAMANA
To the question “how can one know something?” all Indian philosophers would answer unanimously: by having a means of knowl¬
edge. This answer may sound almost tautological and no two significant philosophers would understand the term in exactly the
same manner. Nevertheless, the term pramana played a crucial role in structuring the Indian epistemologies. It is around this
concept, its definitions, and its varieties that Indian philosophy developed in its most dynamic period (roughly from the fifth to the
twelfth century). The most important means of knowledge are sense perception (pratyaksha), inference (anumana), and verbal
communication (sabda), under which sacred writings such as the Vedas or the teaching of the Buddha are subsumed.
What are the means of knowledge (pramana)?
The number of means of knowledge that are accepted by the different schools of thought varies strongly. Madhyamaka Buddhists
like Nagarjuna, skeptics like Jayarasi, and monists of the Advaita-Vedanta tradition like Sriharsha, all of whom deny the possibility
of knowledge, obviously accept no means of knowledge to be reliable. All other schools admit that sense perception is a means
of knowledge. The materialist school (Lokayata) is distinguished from other schools by its claim that only sense perception is
valid. The Vaiseshikas and the Buddhists after Dignaga (fifth century) admit two means of knowledge, namely, perception and
inference. The Samkhyas admit verbal communication by a trustworthy person (aptavacana) besides these two; Buddhist philoso¬
phers before Dignaga, for example, Vasubandhu, also admit verbal communication to be a means of knowledge. Philosophers of
the Nyaya tradition, with the notable exception of Bhasarvajna (ninth century), also admit analogy (upamana) as a fourth means
of knowledge. The same position was held by certain Buddhists. The Prabhakara Mimamsakas accept five means of knowledge:
the previously mentioned four and presumption (arthapatti). The Bhatta Mimamsakas and Advaita-Vedantins admit six means of
knowledge: the previously mentioned five and absence (abhava) or nonperception (anupalabdhi). In nonphilosophical texts one
also encounters inclusion (sambhava) and tradition (aitihya) as means of knowledge.
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The Advaita recognizes all the six pramanas mentioned in connection with the Kumarila school of MTmamsa and generally agrees
with it in matters of detail also. Of the points of difference between the two, it will suffice to touch upon only the following here, all
of them having reference to verbal testimony:—
(i) The MTmamsa rejects the view that the Veda was ever composed by anybody, and the Nyaya-Vaisesika ascribes its authorship
to Isvara. The position of Samkara in regard to this point, like that of the other Vedantins, is midway between the two. Like the
Mimamsaka, but unlike the Nyaya-Vaisesika, he admits that the Veda is apauruseya; but he re-defines that word so as to make
it signify not that the Veda has no author and is eternal, but that it is produced or, more properly, resuscitated at the beginning of
each kalpa by one that cannot interfere either with its content or with the order of its words. ... the first promulgator of the Veda in
every cycle who is God repeats it anew, but precisely as it was in earlier cycles. That is, the Veda is self-existent in this view also;
only it is not the self-same Veda that always is, but a series of what may be described as re-issues of an eternal edition which
goes back to beginningless time. This ... is not in substance different from the MTmamsa view, excepting that it finds a place for
God in the doctrine.
(ii) Samkara, following Kumarila, admits sabda to be a pramana outside the Veda also; but he does not restrict its independent
logical validity, within the Veda, to injunctive statements. Assertive propositions found there may be equally valid, so that there is
nothing in the nature of the Veda as verbal testimony to preclude it from treating directly of matters of fact (bhuta-vastu) like Brah¬
man or the highest reality. Statements like Tat tvam asi which occur in the Upanisads thereby acquire independent logical value
here; and there is no need to subordinate them in one way or another to ritualistic commands as in the MTmamsa.
(iii) The truth revealed by the scriptures, contrary to what the MTmamsaka thinks, is here the fundamental unity of Being. ... The
primary aim of perception, like that of the other pramanas, is, according to Samkara, to serve empirical purposes. It gives no guar¬
antee for metaphysical validity, so that what we commonly hold real may not be truly so. ‘Common knowledge is true,’ he says,
‘so long only as the identity of oneself with Brahman is not realized, as dreams are until one does not awake.’ In other words, the
transcendental ideality of the world does not exclude its empirical reality.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Pramana. In Indian philosophy, a means by which human beings can gain true and accurate knowledge, generally classified as
one of three types: Perception (pratyaksha), which includes magical or yogic insight as well as direct sensory perception; infer¬
ence (anumana), which ultimately depends upon direct experience; and testimony (shabda), which can be either scriptural or the
instruction of one’s teacher. Some philosophical schools also include a fourth source, analogy (upamana), but those who do not
recognize this categorize it as another form of inference. The first three are accepted by all philosophical schools except for the
materialists, who recognize only perception. The Purva Mimamsa school affirms two additional pramanas — presumption (artha-
patti), and knowledge from absence (abhava)— which they argue give one knowledge. The root meaning of this term comes from
the verb “to measure”; thus these are tools for measuring and interpreting the world we experience.
Wikipedia
Different systems of Hindu philosophy accept different categories of pramanas.
Pramana forms one part of a triputi (trio) concerning Prama (the correct knowledge of any object arrived at by thorough reasoning,
Sanskrit), namely,
Pramata, the subject, the knower
Pramana, the means of obtaining the knowledge
Prameya, the object, the knowable
In Advaita Vedanta the following pramanas are accepted:
Pratyaksa — the knowledge gained by means of the senses
Anumana — the knowledge gained by means of inference
Upamana — the knowledge gained by means of analogy
Arthapatti — the knowledge gained by superimposing the known knowledge on an appearing knowledge that does not concur with
the known knowledge
Anupalabdi — non-apprehension and skepticism in the face of non-apprehension
Agama — the knowledge gained by means of texts such as Vedas (also known as Aptavakya, Sabda pramana)
See: Avidya and pramanas
Pramanas in Advaita Vedanta
Pratyaksha
pratyaksa - perception
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Pratyaksa — ... perception (from the verb root aks = “to reach, penetrate, embrace” + prati = “against, back”)
1. It is a valid means of knowledge (pramana) for every school of Indian philosophy.
2. According to Nyaya, it is knowledge generated by sense-object contact. Later Naiyayikas defined it as direct apprehension so
as to include God’s perception and the supernormal perception of yogins.
3. What distinguishes it from all other types of cognition is its immediacy. Two stages are distinguished: indeterminate (nirvikalpa)
and determinate (savikalpa). Generally, the former is bare awareness of an object, while the latter is a cognition of an object that
is qualified. The former gives isolated sense data, while the latter compounds these elements and subject-predicate knowledge
arises.
12. According to Advaita Vedanta, indeterminate (nirvikalpa) perception presents the Absolute (Brahman) alone as its cognition. It
is knowledge which does not apprehend any relatedness of the substantive and its qualifying attribute. Thus, it is not necessarily
the first or initial perception but any perception which is indeterminate. Examples of this include “Thou art that” (tat tvam asi) or
“This is that Devadatta” (so’yam devadattah).
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
The first Pramana, Pratyaksha, is what we mean by sensuous perception, though it is also used in the sense of what can be per¬
ceived by the senses, the Drishta, i. e. what is seen. It is explained (Samkhya-Sutra I, 89) as cognition which arises from contact
(with objects) and represents their form.
It is generally explained by Indriyartha-samnikarsha, contact of the senses and their respective objects, and is said to involve real¬
ly three stages, contact of the sense-organ with its object, and at the same time union of the sense with Manas, mind, and union of
Manas, mind, with Atman, Self. There is a distinction made between two kinds of Pratyaksha, called Savikalpa and Nirvikalpa, with
doubt and without doubt. The former seems to consist in our seeing an object, and then declaring that if is this or that; the latter in
simply accepting a thing such as it is, without any previous idea of it, such as when we awake from sleep, see a tiger, and at once
run away. Each sense working by itself, and on its own objects only, is the Asadharanakarana, the special or exclusive instru¬
ment of the knowledge conveyed by it. Sound, for instance, is heard by the ear only, and is conveyed by Akasa or ether. But not
every sound is brought into immediate contact with the ear; it is transmitted through the ether, as we are told, by means of waves
(VTkita), so that we may perceive the beating of a distant drum, one wave propelling the other across the vast ocean of ether, till it
strikes the shore, i.e. the ear.
Anumana
anumana - inference
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Anumana — ... inference; syllogism; instrument of inference (from the verb root ma = “to measure, prepare, display” + anu =
“along, after”)
1. Literally it means “after-knowledge,” that is, knowledge which “follows other knowledge.” Inferential knowledge is knowledge
that results through the instrumentation of some other knowledge .
2. It is the efficient instrument of inferential cognition.
7. There are five conditions to be fulfilled in a valid inference: the reason must be present in the minor term; the reason must be
found wherever the major term is found; the reason must not be found wherever the major term is not found; the reason must not
be related to something absurd; and the reason must not be contradicted by an equally strong middle term.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Anumana (“measuring after”). In Indian philosophy this is the term for an inference, which is generally accepted as one of the pra-
manas, the means by which human beings can gain true and accurate knowledge. The word’s literal meaning reflects the Indian
conviction that any inference must be grounded in perception (pratyaksha), the most direct means of knowledge, and must ulti¬
mately appeal to perception for evidence.
A classic inference includes three terms: a hypothesis (pratijna), a reason (hetu), and examples (drshtanta), each of which is
made up of parts. One part of the hypothesis is the idea to be proved (sadhya), which is predicated on a certain class of objects,
called the paksha. In the statement “there is fire on this mountain,” the sadhya is the assertion that there is fire, and the paksha is
the particular mountain. The object mentioned in the paksha must also appear in the second term, the hetu, along with the stated
reason. In the example cited above, the hetu could be “because there is smoke on this mountain.”
As proof, it was necessary to cite positive and negative examples, known as the sapaksha and vipaksha, respectively. An appro¬
priate sapaksha could be “like kitchen,” since ancient kitchens had both fire and smoke; a vipaksha could be “unlike lake,” since
lakes contain neither of these.
This general form of an inference is subject to numerous tests for validity; one of the most important of these is vyapti, the require¬
ment that the reason given must account for all cases of the idea to be proved.
Sab da
sabda pramana - verbal testimony
aptavakya
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sabda — ... verbal testimony; verbal knowledge; sound; word; scriptural authority (from the verb root sabd = “sound”)
1. It is one of the valid means of knowledge. (See pramana.)
2. It is one of the five subtle essence of the elements. (See tanmatra.)
3. According to Nyaya, it is the testimony of a trustworthy person— one who knows the truth and communicates it correctly.
4. According to Advaita Vedanta, the truth revealed by sabda is the fundamental unity of Being.
5. According to MTmamsa, its purport lies in the injunctive texts of the ritual sections of the Vedas.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
Sabda or word, another Pramana, is explained to be instruction given by one that can be trusted (Aptopadesa); this one that can
be trusted being for the Yedantists the Veda, but for the Samkhya and other systems, any other person also endowed with author¬
ity and therefore considered as trustworthy.
Samkara ... replies, ‘ that although with regard to some things reasoning is known to be well founded, ... the true nature of the
cause of the world on which final emancipation depends cannot, on account of its excessive abstruseness, even be thought of
without the help of the holy texts; for it cannot become the object of perception because it does not possess qualities such as form
and the like, and, as it is devoid of characteristic signs or qualities, it cannot lend itself to inference and other means of right knowl¬
edge.’
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
The means of knowledge such as perception and so on that the knower has, are not helpful [for the inquiry about the real nature
of “I”, atma]; they are the means for objects other than the knower. Therefore for knowing the atma you require a pramana from
outside. And that pramana is sabda which reveals the nature of atma, destroying the ignorance of it.
Upamana
upamana - comparison
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Upamana — ... comparison; analogy
1. The distinctive cause of the valid cognition of similarity. Nyaya, MTmamsa, and Advaita Vedanta admit comparison as an inde¬
pendent means of valid knowledge (pramana).
2. Nyaya says, it is the knowledge gained from a word which signifies a thing, hitherto unknown, and on the strength of its similari¬
ty with some other known thing, it becomes known.
3. MTmamsa says, it is the knowledge which is gained by inferring that the unknown object presently being perceived is similar to
an object which has been perceived before and is remembered.
4. Advaita Vedanta agrees with MTmamsa as far as it goes. But the former also includes in its definition the knowledge of the
similarity between the perceived object to the remembered one. MTmamsa stops with the knowledge of the similarity between the
remembered object to the perceived one.
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Comparison (upamana). This is commonly rendered as ‘analogy’ in English, but the student should be careful not to confound it
with reasoning by analogy.
When a person who is familiar with the cow (say) casually comes across a gavaya, an animal of the same species, and notices
the resemblance of the latter to the former, he discovers that the cow is also similar to the gavaya. It is this second resemblance
or, to be more exact, the recollected cow characterized by it that is known through upamana. This view, no doubt, renders the
pramana liable to be classed under inference. But the MTmamsaka defends his position by pointing out that the basis for inference,
viz. a knowledge of inductive relation (vyapti) is not needed here. The relevant major premise here would signify that if one thing,
say B, is similar to another, say A, that other is similar to the first. As giving expression to a general truth, it implies the simulta¬
neous observation of both A and B. But the conditions of upamana do not require it, as even a person who has never seen two
similar things together but meets with a cow and thereafter a gavaya in the manner described above is able to arrive at the conclu¬
sion in question. A matter of metaphysical importance here is that ‘similarity’ (sadrsya) is conceived as dual, the similarity of A to B
being distinct from that of B to A.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Upamana (“analogy”). According to some philosophical schools, upamana was one of the pramanas, or the means by which
human beings can gain true and accurate knowledge. The classic example of this pramana describes a traveler going to a certain
region who is told that he will encounter a certain animal that looks somewhat like a cow; upon going there this analogy helps him
identify the animal. Some philosophical schools deny that this is a separate pramana and classify it as a variety of inference (anu-
mana). Those who accept it as a fourth pramana—primarily the Nyaya- Vaisheshika school—stress that according to the rules of
inference, a valid inference must be grounded in previous perceptions. In the case of the traveler, his ability to identify is not based
on any differences drawn from previous perceptions of that type of animal, since he has never before seen the type of animal he
actually encounters. He knows what it is because it looks “somewhat like a cow.” Thus an additional pramana was needed to ac¬
count for this. See also: philosophy.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
COMPARISON (upamana) is defined as knowledge of a thing derived from its similarity to another thing previously well known.
For example, one is told that a water-buffalo resembles a cow. Then one goes into a region where the water-buffalo lives, and on
seeing an animal resembling a cow, one concludes that it must be a water-buffalo.
Arthapatti
arthapatti - presumption
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
There is no agreed translation for this means of knowledge, and it is rendered by presumption, supposition, implication, negative
implication, circumstantial evidence, and so on. The two most common examples for arthapatti are: (1) Knowing that someone is
alive and not finding him or her at home, one concludes that he or she is outside. (2) One is told that fat Devadatta does not eat
during the day, and one concludes that he eats at night. The two examples are distinguished as presumption based on something
seen (drstarthapatti) and presumption based on something heard (srutarthapatti). In later texts one distinguishes six types of pre¬
sumption according to the six means of knowledge on which a presumption can be based.
The examples mentioned in this connection seem construed and artificial and are not taken from an actual philosophical discourse
or from everyday life. For instance, presumption based on inference is illustrated as follows: One knows by inference that the sun
moves (its movement cannot be perceived, but is inferred because it changes its place in the sky). However, things that move
usually possess limbs such as legs. Thus, a conflict between two means of knowledge arises, and this conflict is resolved by the
presumption that the sun has a moving power. Conflict or apparent contradiction (anupapatti) between two means of knowledge
is the essential ingredient of arthapatti, and the resulting presumption resolves the conflict. The contradiction must be apparent. If
the contradiction is real, for example, two awarenesses about the same object, one perceiving it as silver and the other as mother-
of-pearl, the way of resolving it is by rejecting one of the alternatives as false, not by making a new supposition.Among the import¬
ant philosophical schools, only the Mimamsa and Vedanta accepted presumption as an independent means of knowledge.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Arthapatti (“presumption”). All Indian philosophical schools concern themselves with codifying the pramanas, that is, the means by
which human beings can gain true and accurate knowledge. Almost all schools consider perception (pratyaksha), inference (anu-
mana), and authoritative testimony (shabda) as pramanas; the Purva Mimamsa school, one of the six schools of traditional Hindu
philosophy, posited two others: abhava (“knowledge from absence”) and arthapatti.
Arthapatti is an inference from circumstance in which a judgment is made about one case based solely on similarities to relat¬
ed cases. An example would be when a traveler is presumed to have reached her destination, since the train’s arrival time has
passed. According to Indian philosophy, this is not a true inference since the judgment must always be confirmed by direct per¬
ception, in this case that the train had actually reached its destination. The Purva Mimamsas justified this new pramana by arguing
that this knowledge could not be accounted for by any of the existing pramanas and thus required this new one to explain it. The
other schools were not inclined to accept it, since its presumptive nature could often lead to error.
Anupalabdhi
anupalabdhi - non-apprehension
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Anupalabdhi — ... noncognition; nonapprehension; nonperception
1. The Bhatta MTmarnsakas and the Advaita Vedantins hold that nonexistence (abhava)is known through noncognition. The ab¬
sence of an object is known due to its nonperception. It is the specific cause of an immediate knowledge of nonexistence. It is
based upon the presumption that nonexistence is a separate category. The above two schools are the only schools to accept
noncognition as a separate valid means of knowledge (pramana). Even as positive apprehension of some existent through a valid
means of knowledge is a way of cognizing, so is the nonapprehension of something another way of cognizing according to these
two schools. The critics say that this is merely a variant of perception and not really a separate source of cognition. However, as
it is the specific cause of an immediate knowledge of nonexistence which is not produced by any other means of knowledge, it
deserves a place in the list of valid pramanas (or so claim the Bhatta MTmarnsakas and the Advaita Vedantins).
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Non-apprehension (anupalabdhi). —This is the specific pramana by which negation, not nothing, is known, e.g. the absence of a
jar or of atoms somewhere. ... The word anupalabdhi means the ‘absence of apprehension,’ i.e. the absence of knowledge de¬
rived through any of the five foregoing pramanas. This means that, as knowledge got through any of the pramanas points to the
existence (bhava) of objects, the absence ot such knowledge indicates, other conditions remaining the same, their non-existence
(abhava). Only it should be remembered that the absence, to serve as the index of non-existence, must be aided by the mental
presentation of the relevant object. There may be several objects not found in a particular place; but we think of the absence of
that alone among them all, which some other circumstance has made us think of.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
pramana - from the verb root ma = “to measure” and pra = “before or forward”
Encyclopedia of philosophy
pramana (a derivate of pra-ma [3rd sg. pres, pramimlte], “apprehend”).
Related words
Abhava
Agama
Prama
Prameya
Sabda
Sanskrit
Pramana — vWiW
pramana - ^<hi u i
Prameya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prameya — ... object of cognition; object of knowledge
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
prameya -
to be measured, measurable (also = limited, small, insignificant...), to be ascertained or proved, provable;
that of which a correct notion should be formed;
an object of certain knowledge, the thing to be proved or the topic to be discussed
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Prameya ... an object of right knowledge, (in Nyaya) twelve are listed, viz. Soul (atma), Body (sarira), Senses (indriya), Objects
(artha), Intelligence (buddhi), Intellect (manas), Activity (pravrtti), Fault (dosa), Rebirth (pretyabhava), Fruit (phala), Pain (duhkha),
and Release (apavarga); one of the sixteen categories listed in the Nyaya philosophy. Prana (fr. pr. pra, before, first + ana, breath)
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Prameya from prefix pra, before, first - + meya, measurable < root ma, to measure.
Related words
Pramana
Sanskrit
Prameya — y*-iM
prameya -
Prana
Variant spellings
prana
prana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prana — ... vital air; life breath; vitality
1. It is that air which is perceptible in the mouth and nostrils. Or, it is the principle of vitality in the individual organism, whereby it is
said to be all-pervading, invisible, and the life duration of all.
2. The five vital airs (prana) are known as prana, the air which rises upwards; apana, that which moves downwards; vyana,that by
which these two are held; samana, that which carries the grosser material of food to apana and brings the subtler material to each
limb; and udana.that which brings up or carries down what has been drunk or eaten.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
prana -
filled, full;
the breath of life, breath, respiration spirit vitality;
m. pi. life;
a vital organ vital air (3 in number, viz. prana, apana and vyana ... ; usually 5, viz. the preceding with samana and, udana ... ; or
with the other vital organs 6 ... ; or 7 ... ; or 9 ... ; or 10 ... ; pi. the 5 organs of vitality or sensation, viz. prana, vac, caksus, srotra,
manas, collectively ... ; or = nose, mouth, eyes and ears;
air inhaled, wind;
breath (as a sign of strength), vigour, energy, power;
a breath (as a measure of time, or the time requisite for the pronunciation of 10 long syllables = 1/6 Vinadika);
(in Sarhkhya) the spirit (= purusa);
(in Vedanta) the spirit identified with the totality of dreaming spirits;
poetical inspiration;
myrrh;
a N. of the letter y;
of a Saman;
of Brahma;
of Vishnu;
of a Vasu;
of a son of the Vasu Dhara;
of a Marut;
of a son of Dhatri
Wikipedia
Prana is one of the five organs of vitality or sensation, viz. prana “breath”, vac “speech”, caksus “sight”, shrotra “hearing”, and
manas “thought” (nose, mouth, eyes, ears and mind; Chllp. 2.7.1).
In Vedantic philosophy, it is the notion of a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy, comparable to the Chinese
notion of Qi. Prana is a central concept in Ayurveda and Yoga where it is believed to flow through a network of fine subtle chan¬
nels called nadis. Its most subtle material form is the breath, but is also to be found in blood, and its most concentrated form is
semen in men and vaginal fluid in women. The Pranamaya-kosha is one of the five Koshas or “sheaths” of the Atman.
Prana was first expounded in the Upanishads, where it is part of the worldly, physical realm, sustaining the body and the mother of
thought and thus also of the mind. Prana suffuses all living forms but is not itself the Atman or individual soul. In the Ayurveda, the
Sun and sunshine are held to be a source of Prana.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Prana - The vital energy considered instrumental in producing all aspects of animation, ranging from simple tactual sensations
or reflex functions to the transcendental experience of Self-awareness. At the gross level it refers to the breath, and at the subtle
level the mind.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
An aspect of Spirit in Hindu tradition is Prana. The teachings about Prana have mystified many generations, because the word
may mean a great variety of things. The particular meaning in any given context has to be gauged from the number attached to it:
whether Prana is One, or whether there is question of two, five, seven, or more Pranas. From the Supreme Spirit down to animal
magnetism and the air that is breathed, the whole Cosmos is pervaded by Prana. The entire process of Creation and Dissolution,
apart from that of Maintenance, has been expressed in the symbolism of Prana in the in- and out-breathing of God.
For mention of the Prana, as the One Life and Spirit, one should go back to early traditions. In the Aitareya Aranyaka (II; 2,1) it is
stated that “The Prana shines upon the world in the form of a Person.” In the Yoga-Vasishta (Via ; 24,28) it is said that “the gener-
al name of the vital air in the Hridaya is Prana.” The Hridaya is the Heart of Hearts. The Prana in the form of a Person is the “Cos¬
mic Man”.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Pranayama
The spiritual energy that animates an organism from the most elementary to the most complex, is called prana. That which caus¬
es life’ is the literal meaning of prana. It has two functions, keeping alive and assigning function. That which animates the most
elementary parts of matter so as to structure them in various combinations and mutations is prana. Its operation as the vital ener¬
gies and breath in the human body is only a very fragmentary aspect of prana. It should be looked upon as a cosmic force and not
as a local energy. At the same time it should not be mistaken for life. It is true that life cannot function without prana, just as mind
cannot operate without a brain. When prana is stilled in the body we experience catalepsy. The factor which most differentiates
prana is that it vibrates and throbs. Like jiva, or life, prana has no desire or special goal. It lends itself to be used by jiva.
The animating prana of the body is a corporation of five vial energies called vayus. These are prana, apana, samana, udana, and
vyana.
... All the five vayus are the same prana and are separately named only to indicate the five different functions.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
Prana cannot work alone without the help of akasa. All that we know of it is motion or vibration. Every movement that we see is
a modification of this prana, and everything that we know in the form of matter, either as form or as resistance, is a modification
of this akasa. The prana cannot exist alone, or act without a medium, and in every state of it, whether as pure prana, or when it
changes into other forces of nature, as gravitation or centrifugal attraction, it can never be separate from akasa. You have never
seen force without matter or matter without force; what we call force and matter being simply the gross manifestations of the two,
and these when superfine, the old philosophers have called, prana and akasa. Prana you can call in English, life or vital energy,
but you must not restrict it to the life of man, nor should you identify it with the spirit, Atman. Thus creation is a product of prana
and akasa and it is without beginning and end; it cannot have either, for it is eternally going on.
Vivekananda. Raja Yoga
... out of this Prana is evolved everything that we call energy, everything that we call force. It is the Prana that is manifesting as
motion; it is the Prana that is manifesting as gravitation, as magnetism. It is the Pvand that is manifesting as the actions of the
body, as the nerve currents, as thought force. From thought, down to the lowest physical force, everything is but the manifestation
of Prana. The sum-total of all force in the universe, mental or physical, when resolved back to its original state, is called Prana.
The Five Pranas
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Prana or Spirit subdivides itself in Manifestation. Pranas. In the Prasna Upanishad (II) we read: “The Supreme Prana de¬
clared: Do not be deluded. I alone, dividing myseld into five parts, hold this body and support it”. The “five parts” of Prana relate to
the Five Elements. They are known as Pranadi. In the Yogic tradition of Patanjali their names are given as follows: Prana, Apana,
Udana, Vyana and Samana. The mastery of these Five Pranas gives extraordinary powers. ... The references to the Five Pranas
are partly “physiological” statements of which the symbolic nature is overlooked by literalists. These references are, however, not
entirely symbolical. The Pranas refer to the interrelationship of Spirit and its sheaths, including the physical body. The word Prana
is generally translated by “vital air”, “vital energy”, or “magnetism”.
The Five Pranas are the following. The fifth is called Apana and is considered to be “the seizer of food”, and “the vital energy that
works throughout the alimentary canal and the digestive organs.” Apa means “down, out”. It is located in the sphere of the anus, or
the digestive system. It is the Prana of the Element Earth, that is to say, of the physical body.
The fourth Prana, called Vyana, is considered to be “the energy working through the nervous system and in the blood-circulation.”
It is said to be “the father of Apana”. Vyana means “to breathe in different directions”, “to distribute breath over the whole body”. It
is “not located anywhere in particular but pervades the whole body”. It is the Prana of the emotional plane, the Element Water.
The third Prana, called Samana, is considered to be “the Prana which controls assimilation and distributes the food, etc., equally
to all parts.” Patanjali (lll;40) says: “By mastery of Samana comes light-radiance.” Samana is located “between the heart and the
navel”. The meaning of “food” has been considered previously. The solar plexus or Fire-centre is situated between the heart and
the navel. It is one which produces “light-radiance” when it and the other Centres work in perfect co-ordination. The “digestive fire”
may cause great trouble until the time when it truly becomes the Solar Fire which gives the name to the Solar plexus. Samana
also means ‘virtuous, middling, possessing honour, uniform”. It is the Prana of the moral sphere of the lower mind.
The second Prana, called Prana, relates to the Plane of Air or Spirit. It is Prana in the sense most commonly used in the scrip¬
tures. The Gheranda Samhita says (V; 61) “It moves always in the heart.” For its Centre is the Anahata Chakra, the Heart Centre.
The first Prana is called Udana. Patanjali (III; 39) describes it as follows: “By mastery of the Udana, the Yogi does not sink in wa¬
ter, or in swamps, he can walk on thorns and he gains the power of ascension.” Since it applies to mastery of the Plane of Ether,
it is clear that sinking in the waters of the emotional life and in the swamps of the lower mind is no more possible, and that the
thorns of the earth cannot hurt his feet. The power of ascension pertains to Air or Spirit. Udana is also considered to be “the Prana
that carries the soul after death to the different states according to its actions.” The Four Elements are within the domain of death;
the Ether, however, is an aeviternal state. In the after-death and pre-natal state, the future prearranges itself out of the past in the
Ether. Udana is said to “pervade the whole system”. Or, alternatively, it “rules the region of the body above the throat”, or, in other
words, the head. It is also said to “control the Sukshma Sarira” or “subtle body”, which again confirms what has been said previ¬
ously.
Wikipedia
In Yoga, the three main channels of prana are the Ida, the Pingala and the Sushumna. Ida relates to the left side of the body,
terminating at the left nostril and pingala to the right side of the body, terminating at the right nostril. In some practices, alternate
nostril breathing balances the prana that flows within the body. When prana enters a period of uplifted, intensified activity, the Yo¬
gic tradition refers to it as Pranotthana.
In Ayurveda, the Prana is further classified into subcategories, referred to as prana vayus. According to Hindu philosophy these
are the vital principles of basic energy and subtle faculties of an individual that sustain physiological processes. There are five
pranas or vital currents in the Hindu system:
Prana : Responsible for the beating of the heart and breathing. Prana enters the body through the breath and is sent to every cell
through the circulatory system.
Apana : Responsible for the elimination of waste products from the body through the lungs and excretory systems.
Udana : Responsible for producing sounds through the vocal apparatus, as in speaking, singing, laughing, and crying. Also it rep¬
resents the conscious energy required to produce the vocal sounds corresponding to the intent of the being. Hence Samyama on
udana gives the higher centers total control over the body.
Samana : Responsible for the digestion of food and cell metabolism (i.e. the repair and manufacture of new cells and growth). Sa-
mana also includes the heat regulating processes of the body. Auras are projections of this current. By meditational practices one
can see auras of light around every being. Yogis who do special practise on samana can produce a blazing aura at will.
Vyana : Responsible for the expansion and contraction processes of the body, e.g. the voluntary muscular system.
Sankara
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Dhole
Prana (vital air) ... for a variety of function is divided into
(a) ‘Prana’ the air situated at the tip of the nose.
(b) ‘Apana’ the air residing in the anus.
(c) ‘Samana’ which helps the digestion of food.
(d) ‘Udana’ situated in the throat.
(e) ‘Vyana’ which resides in all parts of the body.
See: Pranamaya kosa, prana, karmendriyas
See also:
in Prakriti: Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
in Akasa: Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
prana — from the verb root an = “to breathe” + pra = “forth”.
Wikipedia
Prana - “vital life” (from the root pra “to fill”, cognate to Latin plenus “full”)
V. S. Apte provides fourteen different meanings for the word prana (Devanagari: TTDT, prana) including these:
Breath, respiration
The breath of life, vital air, principle of life (usually plural in this sense, there being five such vital airs generally assumed, but three,
six, seven, nine, and even ten are also spoken of)
Energy, vigor
The spirit or soul
Of these meanings, the concept of “vital air” is used by Bhattacharyya to describe the concept as used in Sanskrit texts dealing
with pranayama. Thomas McEvilley translates “prana” as “spirit- energy”. Its most subtle material form is the breath, but is also to
be found in blood, and its most concentrated form is semen in men and vaginal fluid in women.
Related words
Akasa
Pranayama
Vayu
Sanskrit
Prana — yFT
prana - TTTT
Pranava
See: OM
Sanskrit
Pranava — VI J ic*
pranava TTWT [lit. “to sound out loudly”]
Pranamaya-kosa
Variant spellings
pranamaya-kosa
pranamaya-kosha
pranamaya-kosa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Pranamaya-kosa — ... the sheath of vital air
1. The second sheath encasing the body, with its instrumentality of vital airs and the nervous system. It is located within the physi¬
cal sheath. It is permeated by mental, consciousness, and bliss sheaths.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
pranamayakosa -
the vital case (one of the cases or investitures of the soul)
Wikipedia
Pranamaya kosha. Pranamaya means composed of prana, the vital principle, the force that vitalizes and holds together the body
and the mind. It pervades the whole organism, its one physical manifestation is the breath. As long as this vital principle exists in
the organisms, life continues. Coupled with the five organs of action it forms the vital sheath. In the Vivekachoodamani it is a modi¬
fication of vayu or air, it enters into and comes out of the body.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
The senses with the prana and the karmendriyas form the pranamayakosa (sense-sheath).
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
Conditioned by the five organs of action this vitality [prana] becomes the pranamaya sheath through which the embodied ego per¬
forms all the actions of the material body. 167
The pranamaya, being the modification of life-breath and the comer and goer, in and out, like air-currents, is also not the atman,
because it cannot by itself discriminate between good and evil, or the real self and another, it is always dependent on another (the
self). 168
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
88. These five vital forces such as Prana etc., together with the organs of action, constitute the vital sheath (Pranamayakosha). Its
active nature shows that it is the product of the particles of Rajas. [Pranamayakosha—Pranamayameans consisting of the Pranas
or vital forces.]
Diagram: The five sheaths (pancha-kosas)
Related words
Kosha
Suksma sarira
Sanskrit
Pranamaya-kosa — y
pranamaya-kosa - T^TTTTTDT
Pranayama
Variant spellings
pranayama
pranayama
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Pranayama — ... control of the breath
1. One of the eight limbs of raja-yoga. ... The control of the breath helps to bring the mind under control. It is the technique of regu¬
lating and restraining the function of breathing.
2. Control of breath has three aspects: inhalation (recaka), retention (kumbhaka), and exhalation (puraka). The practice of
pranayama aims at making the span of puraka, recaka, and kumbhaka longer. There are also pranayamas for purifying the blood,
vitalizing the inner organs, etc.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
pranayama -
(also pi.) N. of the three ‘breath-exercises’ performed during Sarhdhya (see pGraka, recaka, kumbhaka)
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Pranayama (lit. breath control) is one of the elements in the eightfold path of YOGA found in PATANJALI’s YOGA SUTRA and
other sources. Watching the breath is an element of virtually every yoga that emerged in India, whether Hindu, Buddhist, or Jain.
The practice of PRANAYAMA is one of not only focusing on the breath but learning to control it in its three phases of inhalation
(puraka), exhalation (recaka), and suspension of breath between the two (kumbhaka). Each must be controlled so that the three
fill equal durations of time. One must gradually develop the ability to prolong all three.
Wikipedia
Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning “restraint of the prana or breath”. The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prana,
life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and “ayama”, to suspend or restrain. It is often translated as control of the life
force (prana). When used as a technical term in yoga, it is often translated more specifically as “breath control”. Literal translations
include A. A. Macdonell’s “suspension of breath” and I. K. Taimni’s “regulation of breath”.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Pranayama: Restraining the breath during the mental recitation of sacred formulas. The fourth of the eight steps for attainment
according to the Yoga System.
Nitya. Pranayama
Pranayama is not a breathing exercise. It is a discipline to prepare a person for self-realization through yoga. In the initial steps of
this discipline the aspirant regulates his or her outgoing and incoming breath; for this reason many people think that it is an exer¬
cise in breathing.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Fifth Lesson [of the Gheranda Samhita] is on Pranayama, “the restraining of the breath”. ... It is focussed in the Element Air,
the Spirit. Gheranda says that by the practice of Pranayama a man becomes like a God. “(2) Four things are necessary in prac¬
tising Pranayama. First, a good place; second, a suitable time; third, moderate food; and, lastly, the purification of the Nadis (the
subtle channels of Prana).” — The “good place” refers to the suitable material conditions to be fulfilled. A number of verses deal
with this from various angles. The “suitable time” has emotional implications. The teachings following under this head refer to
the various seasons of the year. In general spring and autumn are recommended for beginning the practice of Yoga, or, in other
words, after the two equinoxes, and the other four seasons of the year — the winter, the cold, the hot, and the rainy season — are
condemned for making a beginning. As is well known, the emotional and imaginative life and the manifestation of various desires
are intimately linked with the seasons of the year-cycle. In India these are six in number. “Moderation of diet” refers to the lower
mental plane, that of the “animal man”. “Food” is connected with the “gastric fire”. ... With the fourth subdivision, the purification of
the Nadis or subtle spiritual channels, the Element Air proper is indicated. Detailed symbolical instructions, again referring to the
various planes, are given.
The 57th verse runs: “By Pranayama is attained the Power of levitation, by Pranayama diseases are cured, by Pranayama the
Sakti is awakened, by Pranayama is obtained the calmness of the mind and exaltation of inner powers; by this, the mind becomes
full of bliss; verily the practitioner of Pranayama is happy.” For, indeed, it concerns the Sphere of the Spirit, in which the soul rises
on high, and, while ascending, leaves worldliness behind, — the Sphere of Mercury, the Healer of diseases, caused by the antics
of the Ahankara in lower Spheres, — the Sphere of Spirit in which the inner powers are exalted and in which the Voice of the Tra¬
dition and the Music of the Spheres are heard. That Sphere is one of happiness indeed.
The Samhita next proceeds to enumerate the Ten Vayus or “vital airs”. The Five Pranadi Vayus “belong to the Inner body” (62).
They are Prana, Apana, Samana, Vyana and Udana. ... The Five Nagadi Vayus, “belonging to the Outer body”, are Naga, Kurma,
Krikara, Devadatta and Dhananjaya. The symbolic implications of these manifestations of Spirit are rather important. Their group
of ten refers to the Ten Houses of Manifestation. ... The Organs of Knowledge or Perception work with the Pranas of the Outer
body, and the Organs of Action work with the Pranas of the Inner body.
Wikipedia
Some scholars distinguish between hatha and raja yoga varieties of pranayama, with the former variety usually prescribed for
the beginner. According to Taimni, hatha yogic pranayama involves manipulation of pranic currents through breath regulation for
bringing about the control of chitta-vrittis and changes in consciousness, whereas raja yogic pranayama involves the control of
chitta-vrittis by consciousness directly through the will of the mind. Students qualified to practice pranayama are therefore always
initiated first in the techniques of hatha pranayama.
Pranayama is the fourth ‘limb’ of the eight limbs of Raja Yoga mentioned in verse 2.29 in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Patanjali
discusses his specific approach to pranayama in verses 2.49 through 2.51, and devotes verses 2.52 and 2.53 to explaining the
benefits of the practice. Patanjali does not fully elucidate the nature of prana, and the theory and practice of pranayama seem to
have undergone significant development after him. He presents pranayama as essentially an exercise that is preliminary to con¬
centration, as do the earlier Buddhist texts.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Pranayama
Only young children under twelve should not practise pranayama. Young and old, the weak and the chronically ill, may all take
advantage of pranayama.
... When pranayama becomes an accomplished fact, it ceases to be a practice. Thereafter, it becomes a spontaneous manifesta¬
tion which will keep the yogi in a perennial state of harmony within his psychosomatic system, as well as in this relation with the
external world. As mind is the conscious aspect of prana, pranayama is the common contributive factor in all the other yogic disci¬
plines, such as withdrawal of interest from sense objects, concentration, sustaining singular modality, and absorption and realiza¬
tion.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Later on Sri Bhagavan said: “Control of breath may be internal or external.”
The antah pranayama (the internal breath-regulation) is as follows:-
Naham chinta (l-am-not-the-body idea) is rechaka (exhalation).
Koham (who am I?) is puraka (inhalation).
Soham (I am He) is kumbhaka (retention of breath).
Doing thus, the breath becomes automatically controlled.
Bahih pranayama (external control) is for one not endowed with strength to control the mind. There is no way so sure as that; or a
sadhu’s company. The external practice must be resorted to by a wise man if he does not enjoy a sadhu’s company. If in a sad-
hu’s company the sadhu provides the needed strength, though unseen by others, Pranayama need not be exactly as described
in hatha Yoga. If engaged in japa, dhyana, bhakti, etc., just a little control of breath will suffice to control the mind. The mind is the
rider and the breath the horse. Pranayama is a check on the horse. By that check the rider is checked.
Pranayama may be done just a little. To watch the breath is one way of doing it. The mind abstracted from other activities is en¬
gaged in watching the breath. That controls the breath; and in its turn the mind is controlled.
If unable to do so, rechaka and puraka need not be practised. Breath may be retained a short while in japa, dhyana, etc. Then,
too, good results will follow.
See: Vayu and pranayama
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
Macdonell gives the etymology as prana + ayama and defines it as “ suspension of breath (sts. pi.)”.
Apte’s definition of ayamah derives it from a + yam and provides several variant meanings for it when used in compounds. The
first three meanings have to do with “length”, “expansion, extension”, and “stretching, extending”, but in the specific case of use in
the compound pranayama he defines ayamah as meaning “restrain, control, stopping”.
An alternative etymology for the compound is cited by Ramamurti Mishra, who says that:
“Expansion of individual energy into cosmic energy is called pranayama (prana, energy + ayam, expansion).”
The word “yama” (Devanagari: ^TPT, yama) means “cessation” or more generally “control” or “restraint”.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Pranayama
The compound word pranayama can be divided into prana, meaning the vital energy thai animates the body, and Syama, meaning
Its conservation. Corjservatiori recorwmnded of retention, kumbhaka,
Related words
Prana
Sanskrit
Pranayama —
pranayama - TTFTPTTR'
Prapanca
Variant spellings
prapanca
prapancha
prapanca
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prapanca —... the world; world appearance
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
prapanca -
expansion, development, manifestation;
manifoldness, diversity;
amplification, prolixity, diffuseness, copiousness;
manifestation of or form of (gen.);
appearance, phenomenon;
(in phil.) the expansion of the universe, the visible world;
mutual false praise;
ludicrous dialogue;
(in gram.) the repetition of an obscure rule in a clearer form;
deceit, trick, fraud, error;
opposition, reversion
General
Deussen. The System of the Vedanta
prapanca - the spatial extension (of the sense-world)
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Prapanca: The phenomenal world.
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The world as such (the prapanca) consists of names, forms and actions.
The world is said to be false-a mere product of maya. ... The world-appearance is said to be “is” or existing, since it appears to be
so for the time the state of ignorance persists in us. Since it exists for a time it is sat (is), but since it does not exist for all times it
is asat (is not). This is the appearance, the falsehood of the world-appearance (jagatprapanca) that it is neither sat nor asat in an
absolute sense. ... the being (sat), the Brahman ... appears as the world; but... when the Brahman, the being, the reality, is once
directly realized, the conviction comes that the world never existed.
The world-appearance is not however so illusory as the perception of silver in the conch-shell, for the latter type of worldly illusions
is called pratibhasika, as they are contradicted by other later experiences, whereas the illusion of world-appearance is never con¬
tradicted in this worldly stage and is thus called vyavaharika (from vyavahara, practice, i.e. that on which is based all our practical
movements). So long as the right knowledge of the Brahman as the only reality does not dawn, the world-appearance runs on in
an orderly manner uncontradicted by the accumulated experience of all men, and as such it must be held to be true. It is only be-
cause there comes such a stage in which the worldappearance ceases to manifest itself that we have to say that from the ultimate
and absolute point of view the world-appearance is false and unreal.
the notion of reality cannot be derived from the senses, nor can it be defined as that which is the content of right knowledge, for
we cannot have any conception of right knowledge without a conception of reality, and no conception of reality without a concep¬
tion of right knowledge. The conception of reality comprehends within it the notions of unalterability, absoluteness, and indepen¬
dence, which cannot be had directly from experience, as this gives only an appearance but cannot certify its truth. Judged from
this point of view it will be evident that the true reality in all our experience is the one self-luminous flash of consciousness which
is all through identical with itself in all its manifestations of appearance. Our present experience of the world-appearance cannot in
any way guarantee that it will not be contradicted at some later stage. What really persists in all experience is the being (sat) and
not its forms. ... Being is thus said to be the basis (adhisthana) on which the illusions appear. This being is not different with differ¬
ent things but one in all appearances. Our perceptions of the world-appearance could have been taken as a guarantee of their re¬
ality, if the reality which is supposed of them could-be perceived by the senses, and if inference and sruti (scriptures) did not point
the other way. Perception can of course invalidate inference, but it can do so only when its own validity has been ascertained in an
undoubted and uncontested manner. But this is not the case with our perceptions of the world-appearance, for our present per¬
ceptions cannot prove that these will never be contradicted in future, and inference and sruti are also against it. The mere fact that
I perceive the world-appearance cannot prove that what I perceive is true or real, if it is contradicted by inference. We all perceive
the sun to be small, but our perception in this case is contradicted by inference and we have hence to admit that our perceptions
are erroneous.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Mandukya Upanishad
It is only up to the gate of Thuriya that we have the plurality and the experience of the plurality. Prapancha which is constituted
of the pluralistic world of mortality is experienced only in the waking-state, the dream-state and the deep-sleep-state. Once these
three states are transcended, we enter into the world of Reality and there, at Thuriya the worlds of finitude and change, mortality
and sorrows, imperfections and deceits, limitations and tears have no entry.
Related words
Brahman
Jagat
Sanskrit
Prapanca — MUM
prapanca -
Prashna Upanishad
Title
Prasna Upanisad —
Prasna Upanisad -
Prasnopanisad - T7?n«flw^
Prashna Upanishad
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prasna Upanisad — ... “questions”
1. This Upanisad is so-called because it is in the form of questions (prasna) and answers. It consists of six sections in the form
of six questions put to a seer (rsi) by six disciples seeking knowledge of the Absolute (Brahman) and the seer’s answers to their
questions. The subjects dealt with include the ultimate cause of this world, the supreme Being, the nature and power of the sound
Om, the relation of the Supreme to the things of the world. This Upanisad belongs to the Atharva Veda. Some important personag¬
es in this Upanisad include Pippalada, Satyakama, Sukesa, Gargya, Kausalya, Bhargava, and Kabandhi.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Prashna (“Question”) Upanishad. One of the later and more developed upanishads, the speculative religious texts that form the
latest stratum of the oldest Hindu sacred texts, the Vedas. As with most of the upanishads, the Prashna Upanishad’s underlying
concern is to investigate ultimate questions, in particular the nature of the Self (atman). Considered one of the later upanishads,
the Prashna Upanishad is similar to the earliest upanishads, the Brhadaranyaka and the Chandogya, but is far shorter, and the
text is much more focused.
Wikipedia
The Prashna Upanishad is one of the earlier, “primary” Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is a Mukhya Upanishad,
associated with the Atharvaveda. It figures as number 4 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads.
Synopsis
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Like the older upanishads, the Prashna is written as a dialogue. It takes the form of a conversation between the sage Pippal-
adaand six questioners. In each section (called a prashna in the text) one of the hearers asks a question, to which Pippalada
replies. The six sections all have different themes: the nature of time, prana as the most important human power, the nature of life
after death, sleep, meditation, the sound Om, and the nature of the Self. In this way, it uses the older dialogue form to advance a
far more developed and cohesive philosophical perspective.
Wikipedia
In Sanskrit, “Prashna” means question. This book consists of six questions and their answers, hence the name. It is in the form of
question-answers, except first and last questions, all other questions are actually a group of smaller sub-questions. As narrated
in the beginning of this Upanishad, Six pupils interested in knowing divinity or Brahman come to sage Pippalada and request him
to clarify their spiritual doubts. Instead of answering immediately, Pippalada asks them to take up penance and Brahmacharya for
one year at his place. Upon completion of one year, pupils ask the sage, then the sage answers their questions.
The pupils who ask questions are:
The son of Bharadwaja the Sukesha
The son of Shibi the Satyakama
The descendant of Garga the Sauryayanee
The son of Ashwala the Kausalya
Bhargava of the country of Vidarbha belonging to Bhrigu Gotra
The son of Katya the Kabandhi
Each of them asks one question to Pippalada and answer(s) to it forms a chapter in the Upanishad.
The questions
The first question is asked by Kabandhi concerned with the root cause of the universe.
The second question asked by Bhargava is concerned with the supremacy of vital Force of Life or Prana over other sense organs
of human being.
The third question asked by Kausalya is concerned with the origin and functioning of Vital Force of Life.
The fourth question asked by Sauryayanee of Garga Gotra is related to Dream world of the sleeping person.
The fifth question is concerned with fruits one gets by meditating on holy syllable OM.
The sixth and last question is concerned with the being by whom all this known and unknown universe got created and who has
sixteen vital things (kala) or who is called as Shodashakala Purusha.
First Question
First question asked by Kabandhi puts forth an important issue of spirituality. What is the root cause of this world? In fact, Kaband-
hi’s question is literally “From where (which root) these people are born?” Pippalada answers as if the question were asked about
the root cause of the world. He says that Prajapati created a union of Prana and Rayi in order to create world and their intermixing
or mating produced all the things in the world. Max Muller has translated this union as Spirit and Matter. Term Rayi can be inter¬
preted as all subtle and gross physical Matter and Prana can be taken as intangible spirit or active life force. Pippalada extols the
greatness of Prana. Finally explains that Food represents Rayi (Matter) and from food, Semen is produced and from semen peo¬
ple are born.
Second Question
Second question is asked by Bhargava of Vidarbha. Question is concerned with relation between senses and Vital Life Force Pra¬
na in the body. Pippalada explains that Prana is the main sustainer of the body through an example. The question is “how many
divine elements hold the body?, which among them makes body living?, who is great among them?” As an answer, Pippalada
says that once space, air, fire (heat), water and earth (gross matter) and speech, mind, eye and ear said in pride that they sustain
and hold the body. Then Prana (Life Force) tells “Do not be proud, I hold and sustain the body by dividing myself as five forms”.
But other divine elements did not believe this, then Prana tried to stand up in anger, all other divine elements also rose along with
Prana automatically, just like pulled up by string, as if when king bee raises all other worker bees also raise along with it. Then
other divine elements realized who their master is and from who they derive their strength. They start pacifying Prana by praising.
Rest of the answer tells about the greatness of Prana in the form of praise. Different forms of this “Vital Life Energy” (Prana) are
described in the praise. Fire, Air, Indra, Rain, Earth etc are told be different forms Prana and is also told to be supporting outer
world in the form of luminous Sun. Pippalada also tells that both inner and outer worlds are under the control of Prana.
Third Question
After learning that Prana is the main sustainer of the body and universe, Kausalya the son of Ashvala, asks the third question
about origin of Prana. The question is “ From whom Prana originates? How does he comes into body?, How does he stays by
dividing himself? How he leaves the body? How he supports outer and inner worlds?” Pippalada answers that Prana originates
from Atman (soul), the way like shadow of the person originates. Prana comes to body by Atmans will. He divides himself into five
forms called Apana.Vyana, Udana,Samana etc and performs various functions in the body. There are Nadi’s (subtle channels of
energy) in the heart in which Prana in the form of Udana circulates. Through one of the Nadi’s, Udana carries life to heaven during
death, if man has done Punya (Good deeds), and to Naraka (Hell) if he has done Papa(sin), and to earth (human world) if both
(Papa and Punya) are present. Being in the form of sun, Prana gives light to eye for seeing, thus he supports outer world by as¬
suming form of sun.
Fourth Question
Asked by Souryayanee Gargya, this question is concerned with dream world of human being. Exact question is “Which elements
in Human being actually sleep? Which are awake at that time (while sleeping)? Among these who sees the dream, who feels bliss
in it? In whom all these elements merge finally as their final destination?” Following answer is given. The way all sun rays go back
into sun at the time of sunset, so are all the senses of man go back into their master the Mind. But still the five Prana’s ( Vyana,
Upana etc.) are awake. The one who sees the dream is mind. During dream less deep sleep this mind merges into Supreme Real¬
ity the Akshara, or Brahman. It is final refuge of elements, then Self feels bliss.
Fifth Question
What fruit does one get who regularly meditates on holy syllable OM till his/her death ? Is the fifth question of Shaibya Satyakama.
Pippalada answers that OM indicates supreme reality the Para Brahman and one who meditates will merge into Para Brahman.
Sixth Question
Final and last question asked by son of Bharadwaja the Sukesha, is about a vedic divine being called “Shodashakala Purusha” or
“Person with sixteen divine attributes”. Pippalada answers that Shodashakala Purusha is within the body and explains its great¬
ness and says “So far do I know this Highest Brahman, there is nothing higher than it”.
Conclusion
The answers to each of the questions are developed by Pippalada, within a perspective of great depth. The language and con¬
cepts of the answers are often abstruse and esoteric, but one may get from them glimpses that are rational and perceptive. Thus,
in answering the question on the origin of life, Pippalada starts with the origin of all existence in terms of matter and energy, and
develops the answer step by step, till in the last one, he gives as the most direct and immediate origin of life, the sperm of the spe¬
cies. The answer to the last question is, that the ultimate supreme source of all existence is Brahman.
Publications
Translations
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
Prasad, N. 1999, Prasna Upanishad : with the original text in Sanskrit and roman transliteration, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953, The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya-
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
Related words
Atharva Veda
Upanishads
Prasthana-traya
Variant spellings
prasthana-traya
prasthana-traya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Prasthana-traya — ... “the triple canon or foundation” (of Vedanta)
1. It consists of the Upanisads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahmasutra. These works form the primary (sruti), the secondary
(smrti), and the logical foundations (nyaya-prasthana) of Vedanta, and all teach the same doctrine—i.e., Brahman/Atman.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Osborne. The collected works of Ramana Maharshi
Unfortunately, however, there is no such happiness which has not the taint of sorrow. It is precisely for the purpose of pointing
out the straight path to true happiness that Lord Siva, taking on the guise of Sri Shankaracharya, wrote the commentaries on the
Triple Canon (Prasthana Traya) of the Vedanta, which extols the excellence of this bliss; and that he demonstrated it by his own
example in life. These commentaries, however, are of little use to those ardent seekers who are intent upon realizing the bliss of
Liberation but have not the scholarship necessary for studying them.
It is for such as these that Sri Shankara revealed the essence of the commentaries in this short treatise, The Crown Gem of Dis¬
crimination [Vivekachudamani], explaining in detail the points that have to be grasped by those who seek Liberation, and thereby
directing them to the true and direct path.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Lessons on the Upanishads
the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavadgita - constitute what is usually known as Prastana Trayi, the tripod of Indi¬
an thought. The whole of Indian philosophy in its highest reaches is to be found in these three great fundamental texts: the Upani¬
shads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavadgita.
Ten Upanishads are the foundation. These ten are: the Isavasya Upanishad, the Kena Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, the
Prasna Upanishad, the Mundaka Upanishad, the Mandukya Upanishad, the Taittiriya Upanishad, the Aitareya Upanishad, the
Chhandogya Upanishad and the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. This is the usual sequence in which these ten important Upanishads
are traditionally recounted, but modern scholars have a different sequence. They consider the oldest as the best and the later
ones as less important. Western scholars, especially, have introduced this new system of placing the Upanishads in a novel order,
or sequence, considering the prose Upanishads as older and the versified ones as later.
Related words
Bhagavad Gita
Brahma-sutras
Upanishad
Sanskrit
Prasthana-traya —
prasthana-traya - WtqTTcp^l
Pratibhasika
Variant spellings
pratibhasika
pratibhasika
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Pratibhasika — ... apparent; illusory
1. The truth that exists only in appearance—e.g., a mirage or a rope/snake.
2. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is one of three levels of reality from the relative point of view. (See vyavaharika and
paramarthika.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
pratibhasika -
having only the appearance of anything, existing only in appearance
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Pratibhasika satya: illusory reality as it appears to a particular individual.
Pratibhasika satya (illusory) - Illusion of a serpent in a coiled rope. The appearance is real to the man who thinks so. This phenom¬
enon appears at a point of time and under certain circumstances.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Integrated Science of the Absolute
Pratibhasika is an appearance given to partial and feeble-minded individuals such as cowards under special circumstances.
... Between the vyavaharika and the paramarthika (ultimate reality) there is an infinite number of quasi-stable possibilities of error,
all of which can be classed under pratibhasika (a reflection of a reflection of the truth of the Absolute).
See: Paramarthika, vyavaharika, pratibhasika - three types of reality
Related words
Adhyasa
Paramarthika
Vyavaharika
Sanskrit
Pratibhasika — MfciMiRlcp
pratibhasika -
Pratibhasika satyam
See: Pratibhasika
Preyas
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Preyas — ... pleasing; worldly gain
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
preyas -
(compar. fr. priya) dearer, more agreeable , more desired;
a lover;
a dear friend;
(in rhet.) flattery
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Preyas: The common name for the aggregate of worldly values.
Descriptions
See: Shreyas and preyas
Related words
Sreyas
Sanskrit
Preyas —
preyas - 'h m ■h
Prithivi
Variant spellings
prithivi
prthivi
prthvT
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
PrthvT— ... the earth (see maha-bhuta)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
prthvT -
the earth (also as an element);
great cardamoms;
N. of 2 kinds of metre
Wikipedia
Prithvi (Sanskrit: prthvT, also prthivT) is the Hindu earth and mother goddess. According to one tradition, she is the personification
of the Earth, and to another its Mother, being Prithivi Tattwa, the essence of the element earth. Prithvi is also called Dhra, Dharti,
Dhrithri, meaning that which holds everything. As Prithvi Devi, she is one of two wives of Lord Vishnu. His other wife is Lakshmi.
Prithvi is another form of Laxmi. Another name for Her is Bhumi or Bhudevi or Bhuma Devi.
As Prithvi Mata “Mother Earth” she contrasts with Dyaus Pita “father sky”. In the Rigveda, Earth and Sky are frequently addressed
in the dual, probably indicating the idea of two complementary half- shells. She is the wife of Dyaus Pita (‘father Dyaus’). (The
widespread belief that these two were originally a single deity appears to be mistaken. See Dyavaprthivi). She is the mother of
Indra and Agni. According to a tradition, when Indra killed Dyaus Pita, she applauded and married him. She is associated with the
cow. Prithu, an incarnation of Vishnu, milked her in the cow’s form to get food from her.
Prithvi also appears in Early Buddhism where she appears in the Pali Canon, dispelling the temptation figure Mara by attesting to
Gautama Buddha’s worthiness to attain enlightenment.
Descriptions
General
Lurker. Dictionary of Gods
Prithivi (‘the wide (earth)’) In India, the earth, felt as a mother and symbolized in the form of the cow; in Vedism, revered together
with the god of heaven -^Dyaus. Among her children are the dawn (-> Usas) and fire (-> Agni). When she gave birth to -> Indra, the
earth quaked.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Prithivi is earth, one of the five ELEMENTS (mahabhutas) of reality. The word is also a name of the earth goddess in the Vedas. In
the RIG VEDA and ATHARVA VEDA prithivi, or the “Earth,” is called the mother, while the sky is considered father. Together they
are frequently called parents, or even the parents of the gods; frequently the Sun is mentioned as their child. The Earth is seen as
protecting, sustaining, and nourishing but is only rarely referred to without reference to the sky. In later Hindu mythology the earth
goddess was called Bhumi Devi.
See also:
in Mahabhutas: Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Diagram: Mahabhutas
Etymology
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The word Prithivi, denoting the Earth, the Goddess of the Earth, and the Earth-Cow, means etymologically “the broad”, “the wide
(world)”.
Related words
Bhumi
Gandha
Mahabhuta
Sanskrit
Prthvl —
prthvT -
Priya
Variant spellings
priya
pritam
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Priyam — ... dear; pleasing
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
priya -
beloved, dear to (gen. loc. dat. or comp.), liked, favourite, wanted, own;
dear, expensive, high in price;
fond of attached or devoted to;
a friend;
a lover, husband;
a son-in-law;
a kind of deer;
N. of 2 medicinal plants
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Priya: Anything of value capable o£ giving pleasure whether applied to things, persons or ideas. Asti, Bhati and Priya are the three
philosophical categories pertaining to the Real which can exist, enter consciousness and be desireable, respectively.
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
It is obvious from this verse that the jnani is a yogi, for he is “continually united” with God through his yoga practice. He is devoted
to God and to no other for two reasons. First, he values God above all else. Second he knows that God alone is real, that all else
is unreal and therefore unworthy of his dedication. But his valuation is not an impersonal “factoid.” Rather, God is dear to him and
he is dear to God. Priya means both “dear” and “beloved.” Actually, Krishna uses two words: atyartham priya: “exceedingly dear”-
even “extraordinarily dear.” So God fills the heart and mind of the jnani, just as God is fully intent on him. As Solomon sang: “My
beloved is mine, and I am his.” (Song of Solomon 2:16. See also: 6:3 and 7:10)
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Ananda is felt after the cessation of thoughts in sleep. It is also manifest on other occasions as love, joy, etc., priya, moda and
pramoda. But they are all chitta vrittis (modes of mind).
When a man is walking in the street his mind is full of fleeting thoughts. Suppose he passes a bazaar where some fine mangoes
are for sale. He likes the mangoes and purchases them. He is next anxious to taste them. So he hastens home and eats them and
feels happy. When the fleeting thoughts give way to the pleasure at the sight of mangoes, it is priya, when he gets them as his
own, the pleasure is moda; lastly, when he eats them, the pleasure is pramoda.
All the three kinds of pleasure are owing to the disappearance of other thoughts.
Pleasures are priya, moda and pra-moda. When a desired object is near at hand there arises priya: when it is taken possession of
moda arises; when it is being enjoyed pra-moda prevails.
See also:
in Anandamaya kosha: Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
Related words
Ananda
Sanskrit
Priyam — ftRTJ
priyam - h/Rh
Puranas
Variant spellings
purana
purana
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Purana — ... “ancient”; old
1. There are eighteen major Puranas, or sacred books, containing stories, legends, and hymns about the creation of the universe,
the incarnations of God, and the instructions of various deities as well as the spiritual legacies of ancient sages and kings.
2. The legendary histories of India and the repositories of popular religious creeds. They traditionally deal with five topics: creation
(sarga), dissolution (pratisarga), lineage (vamsa), epochs (manvantarani), and the legends of future lineage (vamasanucaritam).
The eighteen major Puranas are divided into three categories. Those which are sattvic and honor Visnu are Visnu, Bhagava-
ta, Padma, NaradTya, Garuda, and Varaha. Those which are rajasic and honor Brahma are Brahma, Brahmavaivarta, Bhavisya
Brahmanda, Vamana, Markandeya. Those which are tamasic and honor Siva are Siva (Vayu), Matsya, Linga, Skanda, Agni, and
Kurma.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
purana -
belonging to ancient or olden times, ancient, old (also = withered, worn out, opp. to nGtana, nava);
a Karsha or measure of silver (= 16 Panas of cowries);
N. of a Rishi;
pi. the ancients;
a thing or event of the past, an ancient tale or legend, old traditional history;
N. of a class of sacred works (supposed to have been compiled by the poet Vyasa and to treat of 5 topics [cf. panca-laksana];
the chief Puranas are 18, grouped in 3 divisions: viz. 1. Rajasa exalting Brahma [e.g. the Brahma, Brahmanda, Brahmavaivarta,
Markandeya, Bhavishya, Vamana]; 2. Sattvika exalting Vishnu [e.g. the Vishnu, Bhagavata, NaradTya, Garuda, Padma, Varaha];
3. Tamasa exalting Siva [e.g. the Siva, Linga, Skanda, Agni or in place of it the Vayu, Matsya, Kurma]; by some the Padma are
divided into 4, and by others into 6 groups;
N. of work (containing an index of the contents of a number of Padma and some other works.)
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
puranas
A purana is a story about the deeds and life of a divinity. These stories supply a rich backdrop to Hinduism, and, together with
the epics, the RAMAYANA and MAHABHARATA, form the mythological infrastructure of the culture. Jains have their own puranic
literature, but it dwells on the lives of the great teachers, the TIRTHANKARAS and other holy personages who have broken the
bonds of karma, rather than on the gods.
There are 18 traditional puranas in Hinduism, all written in SANSKRIT. Though their names could be taken to indicate a sectarian
focus (as, for example, the Shiva Purana), most often they contain both SHAIVITE and Vaishnavite stories. At times stories outline
the supremacy of the GODDESS, such as those in the Markandeya Purana, but even these are juxtaposed with stories from the
other two sects.
Included in the category of purana are very important local stories, usually in Sanskrit, but sometimes in local languages. In partic¬
ular, the Tamil language of South India contains many stories like this. These sthala puranas, or puranas of “place,” tell the origin
stories of the vast number of local divinities who populate the Indian landscape. An example of this would be the Tiruvilayadal
Puranam, written in Tamil in the 16th century, which tells the story of MINAKSHI from the Brahminical point of view, showing how
she became subordinated to SHIVA, who became her husband.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Purana. (“old”) An important genre of smrti texts, and the repository of traditional Indian mythology. The smrtis, or “remembered,”
texts were a class of literature that, although deemed important, was considered less authoritative than the shrutis, or “heard”
texts. In brief, the shrutis denoted the Vedas, the oldest and most authoritative Hindu religious texts, whereas the smrtis included
the two great epics, namely the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the dharma literature, the Bhagavad Gita, and the compendia
known as the puranas.
According to one traditional definition, a purana should contain accounts of at least five essential things: the creation of the earth,
its dissolution and recreation, origins of the gods and patriarchs, the reigns of the Manvantaras, and the reigns of the Solar and
Lunar Lines. In practice, the puranas are compendia of all types of sacred lore, from mythic tales to ritual instruction to exaltation
of various sacred sites (tirthas) and actions. Individual puranas are usually highly sectarian and intended to promote the worship
of one of the Hindu gods, whether Vishnu, Shiva, or the Goddess. By tradition the major puranas number eighteen, but there are
hundreds of minor works. Along with the epics, the puranas are the storehouses of the mythic tales that are the common religious
currency for traditional Hindus. In this respect the puranas are much more influential than any of the Vedas, because the tales in
the puranas are common knowledge. The contents of the Vedas, though more authoritative, are less well known. Judgments on
the importance of individual puranas vary according to sectarian persuasion, but some of the most important puranas are the Agni
Purana, Shiva Purana, Brahma Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, Harivamsha, and Markandeya Purana.
Wikipedia
The Puranas are a group of important Hindu (or Jain and Buddhist) religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of
the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmolo¬
gy, philosophy, and geography.
Puranas usually give prominence to a particular deity, employing an abundance of religious and philosophical concepts. They are
usually written in the form of stories related by one person to another. The Puranas are available in vernacular translations and
are disseminated by Brahmin scholars, who read from them and tell their stories, usually in Katha sessions (in which a traveling
brahmin settles for a few weeks in a temple and narrates parts of a Purana, usually with a Bhakti perspective)....
According to Matysa Purana, they are said to narrate five subjects, called Pancha Lakshana pancalaksana...:
1. Sarga: the creation of the universe.
2. Pratisarga: secondary creations, mostly recreations after dissolution.
3. Vamsa: genealogy of the gods and sages.
4. Manvantara: the creation of the human race and the first human beings. The epoch of the Manus’ rule, 71 celestial Yugas or
308,448,000 years.
5. Vamsanucaritam: the histories of the patriarchs of the lunar and solar dynasties.
... The Puranic genealogies indicate, for example, that Sraddhadeva Manu lived 95 generations before the Bharata war. In Arrian’s
Indica, Megasthenes is quoted as stating that the Indians counted from “Dionysos” (Shiva) to “Sandracottus” (Chandragupta Mau-
rya) “a hundred and fifty- three kings over six thousand and forty-three years.”
Mahapuranas
General
Wikipedia
Of the many texts designated ‘Puranas’ the most important are the Mahapuranas. These are always said to be eighteen in num¬
ber, divided into three groups of six, though in fact they are not always counted in the same way.
The Mahapuranas are frequently classified according the three aspects of the divine Trimurti.
Vaisnava Puranas: Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Naradeya Purana, Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana,
Vamana Purana, Kurma Purana, Matsya Purana, Kalki Purana
Brahma Puranas: Brahma Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana,
Saiva Puranas: Shiva Purana, Linga Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana, Vayu Purana.
According to the Padma Purana, the texts may be classified in accordance with the three gunas or qualities...
Sattva (“truth; purity”): Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Naradeya Purana, Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana.
Rajas (“dimness; passion”): Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Pu¬
rana, Brahma Purana.
Tamas (“darkness; ignorance”): Matsya Purana, Kurma purana, Linga Purana, Shiva Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana.
Upapuranas
General
Wikipedia
The Upapuranas are lesser or ancillary texts: these are sometimes also said to be eighteen in number, with still less agreement as
to the canonical titles. Few have been critically edited. They include: Sanat-kumara, Narasimha, Brihan-naradiya, Siva-rahasya,
Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesha,
Mudgala, and Hamsa.
The Ganesha and Mudgala Puranas are devoted to Ganesha. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana, which extols the goddess Durga, has
become (along with the Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana) a basic text for Devi worshipers.
There are many others all over the Indian subcontinent.
Sthala Puranas
General
Wikipedia
This corpus of texts tells of the origins and traditions of particular Tamil Shiva temples or shrines. There are numerous Sthala Pu¬
ranas, most written in vernaculars, some with Sanskrit versions as well. The 275 Shiva Sthalams of the continent have puranas for
each, famously glorified in the Tamil literature Tevaram. Some appear in Sanskrit versions in the Mahapuranas or Upapuranas.
Kula Puranas
General
Wikipedia
These Puranas deal with a caste’s origin myth, stories, and legends (the word kula means “family” or “tribe” in Sanskrit). They are
important sources for caste identity though usually contested by rival castes. This subgenre is usually in the vernacular and may
at times remain oral. These have been little researched, though they are documented in the caste section of the British Census of
India Report and the various Gazetteers.
Jain and Buddhist Puranas
General
Wikipedia
Jain Puranas deal with Jain myths, history and legends and form a major part of early Kannada literature. The best known is the
Mahapurana of Acharya Jinasena. Among Buddhist Puranas, Swayambhu Purana narrates the mythological history of Nepal and
describes Buddhist pilgrimage sites inside the Kathmandu Valley.
See also:
in Shastras: Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Author (s)
General
Wikipedia
Vyasa, the narrator of the Mahabharata, is traditionally considered the compiler of the Puranas. However, the earliest writtenver-
sions date from the time of the Gupta Empire (third-fifth century CE) and much material may be dated, through historical referenc¬
es and other means, to this period and the succeeding centuries. The texts were probably written all over India.
The date of the production of the written texts does not define the date of origin of the Puranas. On one hand, they existed in
some oral form before being written while at the same time, they have been incrementally modified well into the 16th century and
perhaps down to the present day.
An early reference is found in the Chandogya Upanishad (circa 500BCE.) The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad refers to purana as the
“fifth Veda”, reflecting the early religious importance of these myths, presumably then in purely oral form. The term also appears in
the Atharvaveda.
Common ideas are found throughout the corpus but it is not possible to trace the lines of influence of one Purana upon another so
the corpus is best viewed as a synchronous whole.
Texts
Agni Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Agni Purana, (Sanskrit: srq^rT^TFn', Agni Purana) one of the 18 Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts, contains de¬
scriptions and details of various incarnations (avatars) of Vishnu. It also has details account about Rama, Krishna, Prithvi, and the
stars. It has a number of verses dealing with ritual worship, cosmology and astrology, history, warfare, sections on grammar and
meter, law, medicine, and martial arts. Tradition has it that it was originally recited by Agni to the sage Vasishta.
15,400 verses Contains details of Vastu Shastra and Gemology.
The text is divided into 383 chapters. The athagnipurana parisistam is an appendix of another six chapters.
The text is medieval (post-Gupta), and has been dated to anywhere between the 8th and the 11th centuries.
Text
The extant text comprisess 383 chapters. The last chapter of the text gives a list of 50 topics discussed in the text.
Outline
After the customary opening (Chapter 1), the text describes the 10 avatars of Vishnu in detail. Chapters 2-4 deal with the Matsya,
the Kurma and the Varaha avataras respectively. The next seven chapters (5-11) summarise the seven Kandas of the Ramayana.
Chapter 12 summarises Harivamsha. Chapters 13-15 narrate the story of the Mahabharata. Chapter 16 describes Buddha and
Kalki as the avataras of Vishnu. Chapters 17-20 describe the five essential characteristics of a Purana. Chapters 21-70 consist
a discussion between Narada, Agni, Hayagriva, and Bhagavan. These chapters deal with the religious bathing, construction of
a Kunda (sacrificial pit), the Mudras (the positions of fingers during worship), the mode of worship of Vasudeva, Sankarshana,
Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, consecration of an image, architecture of a temple, iconography of the images, the worship of Sala-
grama, the rules for the installation of the images and repair of a temple.
The subject of chapter 71 is the worship of Ganesha. Chapters 72-105 relate to the worship of the Lingam and the several man¬
ifestations of Devi. These chapters also contain discussions on the method of establishing Agni (sacrificial fire), Canda worship,
Kapila worship and consecration of a temple. Chapter 106 discusses Vastu related to the cities. Chapter 107 is devoted to the
creation of Svayambhuva Manu. Chapter 108 is the Bhuvana-Kosha (description of the universe). Chapters 109-116 describe a
number of Tirthas. Chapter 117 deals with the ancestral rites. Chapters 118-120 describe the Puranic concepts on the geography
of India and other parts of the world as well as the Puranic perceptions about the distances between various regions of the world.
Chapters 121-149 deal with various aspects of astronomy and astrology. Chapter 150 deals with the periods of the Manvantaras
and the names of the Manus.
Chapters 151-167 deal with the duties associated the different varnas. Chapters 168-174 discuss about the expiations for various
kinds of sins. Chapter 175-207 describe about the performances of a number of Vratas. Chapters 208-217 describe various reli¬
gious gifts and vows. Chapters 218-248 deal with various aspects of statecraft. Chapters 249-252 discuss in detail Dhanurveda or
archery, and weapons associated with it. Chapters 254-258 expound on the Vyavahara (judicature and law). This part of the text
is literally same as the Mitakshara. The next chapters (259-271) deal with miscellaneous topics regarding the perusal of the Ve¬
das. Chapter 272 deals with the gifts to be made when the Puranas are read. This chapter contains a list of the Puranas and the
number of verses each Purana contains. Chapters 273-278 deal with the genealogy of the Puranic dynasties.
Chapters 279-300 deal with the various branches of medicine. Chapters 301-316 deal with the worship of Surya and various
mantras (chants), out of which chapters 309-314 deal with mantras for worshipping of the goddess Tvarita. In Chapters 317-326
Ishvara speaks to Skanda regarding the worship of Shiva’s ganas: Vagishvari, Aghora, Pashupata, Rudra, and Gauri. Chapter 327
instructs on the glorification of establishing a linga in a temple. Chapters 328-335 summarise Pingala sutras on metrics and an
unknown commentary on it. Chapter 336 has rudimentary discussion about Vedic phonetics.
The subject of the next two chapters (337-337) is poetics and rhetoric. Chapter 338 contains a list of the different types of Sanskrit
drama. Chapters 339-340 deal with the four ritis or styles of displaying sentiments and emotions during acting. Chapters 341-342
expound on the actions and movements of the limbs of an actor and definitions of the dramatic representations. Discussions re¬
garding the various figures of speech are found in chapters 343-45. The definitions found in these chapters are same as those of
the Kavyadarsha of Dandin. The merits and demerits of a composition are discussed in chapters 346-347.
Chapter 348 consists a list of monosyllabic words. The following chapters (349-359) deal with the rules of Sanskrit grammar,
which is an abstract of the Chandra Vyakarana. Chapters 360-367 are basically a lexicon on the pattern of the Amarakosha.
Chapters 369-370 consist of discussions on human anatomy. Chapter 371 describes various types of Narakas. Chapters 372-376
deal with both Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga. The subject of the chapters 377-380 is the philosophy of Vedanta and knowledge of
Brahma. Chapter 381 gives the gist of the Bhagavad Gita. Chapter 382 is a version of the Yama Gita. Chapter 383’s verses glorify
the Agni Purana.
Bhagavata Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Bhagavata Purana (DevanagarT: also known as SrTmad Bhagavatam, or Bhagavata) is one of the “Maha” Puranic
texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti (devotion) to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna. The Sanskrit
text comprises twelve skandas (cantos or books) and some 18,000 verses. The Bhagavata includes many stories well known in
Hindu tradition, including the various avatars of Vishnu and the life of Krishna. It was the first Purana to be translated into a Euro¬
pean language, with three French translations between 1840 and 1857.
Like all Puranas, the Bhagavata is a product of oral tradition, its extant version usually dated to the ninth or tenth century CE. The
text itself credits Veda Vyasa with its authorship.
The intense and personal bhakti described in the Bhagavata is directed toward Krishna as God in human form. The tenth book
(or canto), which is dedicated to Krishna, takes up about one quarter of the entire Bhagavata. It includes the most comprehensive
collection of stories about the life of Krishna, showing him in all the stages and conditions of human life. It also includes instruction
in the practice of bhakti, an analysis of bhakti, and descriptions of the different types of bhakti.
The Bhagavata takes the form of a story recounting Vyasa’s work being recited for the first time by his son Suka to the dying King
Parikshit, who owes his life to Krishna. Longing to hear of Krishna before he dies, Suka recites the Bhagavata to Parikshit over the
course of seven days.
... Scholarly consensus holds that the text was completed no later than around 1000 CE.
Synopsis
General
Wikipedia
The Bhagavata is a recounting of events by the storyteller Ugrasrava Sauti (Suta) to Saunaka and other sages assembled in the
Naimisha Forest.
... Suta recounts the first recital of Vyasa’s work, given by Vyasa’s son Suka to King Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna. Parikshit,
who owed his life to Krishna, had angered a rishi’s son for being disrespectful to the rishi’s father. He was cursed to be bitten by
a poisonous snake and had only seven days to live. Fasting by the banks of the Ganges River, and with Krishna no longer alive,
Parikshit longed to hear of him. The Bhagavata introduces the life of Parikshit as background, thus bringing Krishna into the sto¬
ry, and is presented as part of Suka’s recital over the course of seven days. It concludes with Suka asking Parikshit the standard,
“What more do you want?”(12.5.13) Completely satisfied with what he has heard and his purpose in life fulfilled, Parikshit dies.
Book 1
The first book introduces the Bhagavata, with Saunaka gathering the sages in Naimisha Forest to hear SGta praise bhakti to Krish¬
na and describe the ten avatars of Vishnu. Suta tells the story of the life of Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu, beginning while still in his
mother’s womb, where Krishna protected him from the Brahmastra weapon of Ashwatthama. The conclusion of Parikshit’s life in¬
troduces the main storyline of the Bhagavata—a curse is placed on Parikshit that will cause him to die within seven days. Parikshit
retires to the bank of the Ganges to fast until his death, with several sages gathered around him, including Suka, son of Vyasa.
Parikshit asks Suka what he should do to prepare for death. Suka’s response constitutes the main part of the Bhagavata.
Book 2
Suka tells Parikishit that when one is about to die, they should become free of the fear of death and let go of all attachments to
pleasure, home, and family. They should control the breath and mind and concentrate on the sacred Aum. The development of
yoga and bhakti, different types of dharana, the nature of Bhagavan, and the liberation of a yogi upon his death are also explained
by Suka. In response to Parikshit’s questions, Suka describes creation and the avatars of Vishnu, concluding with a description of
the ten characteristics of a Purana.
Book 3
Vidura’s pilgrimage to various holy places provides the backdrop for the stories and spiritual teachings in Book 3. Near the Ya¬
muna River Vidura meets Uddhava, who gives him the news of the Kurukshetra War and the death of Krishna. Next he meets the
sage Maitreya, who gives instruction on the creation of the world, the divisions of time, and other subjects. The story of the birth of
Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksa is told, including the latter’s death at the hands of Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu. An important
story is the tale of Devahuti and her son Kapila—Kapila’s Samkhya teachings help lead her to final liberation.
Book 4
The story of Daksha and his sacrifice is told, in which he mocks Shiva in front of Dakshayani—his own daughter and Shiva’s con¬
sort—resulting in Dakshayani’s self-immolation, which later came to be known by one of her names, Sati. The legend of Dhruva’s
penance and devotion to Vishnu is also recounted, along with the related story of king Prithu. The book ends with the recounting
of the renunciation and liberation of the Pracetas brothers.
Book 5
The story of Manu’s sons and their children leads eventually to Bharat and a description of the world, the sun and its course, the
moon and the planets, the regions below the earth, and the twenty-eight hells (naraka).
Book 6
Book 6 includes the story of Ajamila, who reached heaven as a reward for uttering the syllables “Na-ra-ya-na” on his deathbed,
even though he was only intending to call his son. The story of the son of the Praceta brothers is also recounted, along with the
victory of Indra over Visvarupa. Book 6 ends with the birth of the Maruts.
Book 7
The main portion of the seventh book is dedicated to the well known story of Hiranyakasipu, his son Prahlada, and the death of Hi¬
ranyakasipu at the hands of Narasimha, an avatar of Vishnu. This version expands on the story of Prahlada as told in the Vishnu
Purana, and is the form that is most commonly told in Hinduism. Prahlada is considered a great devotee of Vishnu, and describes
the process of bhakti toward Bhagavan. Book seven also includes a discussion of the dharma involved with the different varnas
and with the four ashramas (stages) of life.
Book 8
The description of the six past Manvantaras (ages or time periods of Manu) and the seven future ages of Manu includes several
stories, many involving the avatars of Vishnu. Nine chapters are dedicated to the oft told story of Vishnu’s Vamana (dwarf) avatar
and his defeat of Bali. The story of the churning of the ocean of milk is also recounted, which is done with the help of the Kurma
avatar of Vishnu.
Book 9
The current age of Manu is described at length, including the traditional history of the Solar Dynasty founded by Ikshvaku and the
Lunar Dynasty of Pururavas. A long history of dynasties is described—Panchala, Magadha, Kuru, Anu, Druhyus, Turvasu, and
others—leading up to the Yadu dynasty and the birth of Krishna to his parents Vasudeva and Devaki.
Book 10
The tenth book, dedicated to Krishna, is responsible for the widespread popularity of the Bhagavata Purana. Book Ten includes
the most enduring images and stories of Krishna: the mischievous child who steals butter; the godlike child who holds the entire
universe within himself; the boy who can slay demons and move an entire mountain with one finger; the cowherd who is the love
of all the gopis, making them leave all their duties to follow him.
The tenth book is by far the lengthiest, taking up almost one quarter of the entire Bhagavata. While the Mahabharata and the
Bhagavad Gita show Krishna in various roles as teacher and diplomat, book 10 shows Krishna simply engaging in lila, or divine
and intimate play with his devotees...
Book 11
The destruction of the Yadava dynasty, including Krishna and all his kinsmen, is caused by the curse of a brahmin—instigated
by Krishna himself. The Yadavas kill each other in a drunken fight and Krishna dies as a result of the same curse, the result of a
metal-tipped arrow striking his foot. The last chapter describes Krishna’s ascent to Vaikuntha. Book eleven also includes the so-
called Uddhava Gita, the last discourse of Krishna which he addresses to his dear friend Uddhava. Canto or Book 11 section 7-9
discusses the pastimes and realizations of an Avadhuta.
Book 12
The future rulers of Magadha are predicted, along with the evils of Kali Yuga and the future destruction of the world (pralaya). The
main story ends with the death of King Parikshit—cursed to die from snakebite—and the thwarted snake sacrifice of his son Jana-
mejaya. The text finally concludes with a second description of the ten characteristics of a purana, the life of Markandeya, a sum¬
mary of the Bhagavata, and the assurance that it is the greatest among puranas.
Bhavishya Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Bhavishya Purana (Sanskrit: ym Bhavisya Purana) is one of the eighteen major Hindu Puranas. It is written in San¬
skrit and attributed to Rishi Vyasa, the compiler of the Vedas. The title Bhavishya Purana signifies a work that contains prophe¬
cies regarding the future (Sanskrit: bhavisya). Despite being labelled a Purana, purana meaning “tales of ancient times”, the work
relates only a few legends. It is one of several Puranas in which a list of royal dynasties of the “past” are followed by lists of kings
predicted to rule in the future.
The text... is a composite of material ranging from very old to very recent. Portions of the ... are drawn from the law book of Manu,
including the account of Creation which it contains. The Bhavishya Purana is classified as one of the ten Shaiva puranas. ... it is
classified in the rajas category, which contains Puranas whose central deity is Brahma.
... The greater part of the work deals with brahmanical ceremonies and feasts, the duties of castes, some accounts of snake
myths, and other matters. It also covers the duties of women, good and bad signs of people, and methods of worshipping Brahma,
Ganesha, Skanda, and the Snakes. A considerable section deals with Sun worship in a place called “SakadvTpa” which may be a
reference to Scythia.
... A. K. Ramanujan mentions finding references to Christ (as Isha Putra), Moses, and Queen Victoria in the “appropriately up-to-
date Bhavisya Purana” and cites this as an example of the fact that:
“In spite of repeated efforts to impose schemes and canons on them from time to time, Puranas are open systems.”
Brahma Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Brahma Purana (Sanskrit: WT^rjTT’T, Brahma Purana) is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas... The extant text comprises
246 chapters. It is divided into two parts... The first part narrates the story behind the creation of the cosmos, details the life and
deeds of Rama and Krishna. Chapters 70-175 deal with Gautami Mahatmya (Glorification of the Godavari River). The second part
contains the details about the Purushottama Tirtha, which is one of the holy places.
[In] Brahma Purana ... the Rajas guna prevails. It is the first of the eighteen Puranas in all the lists, except that of the Padma Pura¬
na.
Brahmanda Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Brahmanda Purana (The history of the universe) (Sanskrit: Brahmanda Purana) is one of the eighteen Maha¬
puranas ... and has been assigned the eighteenth place in almost all the lists of the Puranas.
Brahma in Sanskrit means “the biggest” or “the universe”, anda/andam means Egg. So, Brahmanda means the “Biggest Egg” sig¬
nifying the life from which Universe is born.
The Brahmanda Purana gets its name from the account of Brahmanda (the Biggest cosmic egg) and the future cosmic ages
revealed by Brahma. It deals with the origin of the Universe as told by Brahma. In the beginning, there was a golden egg, and the
prapanca (Universe with its activities) was formed out of it. Portions of Adhyatma Ramayana, references to Radha and Krishna.
... The Venkateshvara Press, Bombay edition of the text, published in 1906 comprises 14,286 verses. It is divided into two distinct
parts.
Brahma Vaivarta Purana
General
Wikipedia
Brahma Vaivarta Purana, (Sanskrit: brahma-vaivarta purana) one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu re¬
ligious text, is divided into four parts. First part describes the creation of the universe and all beings, the second part relates to
description and histories of different goddesses. The third part is mostly devoted to life and deeds of Ganesha, and the last part
details the life and deeds of Krishna.
Structure and content
Brahma Vaivarta Purana was written in Banga (ancient name for the region of Bengal). Recited by Suta to the sages at the forest
of Naimisharanya. First part is called Brahma Khanda and describes Brahma and his sons, especially Narada. Second part called
Prakriti Khanda, deals with the goddesses or saktis who are manifestations of Prakriti. The third part, Ganesha Khanda, is about
Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati. ... The fourth and last part is called Krsna Janma Khanda - a canto
about birth and life of Krishna, Svayam bhagavan.
Krishna and creation of the universe
Brahma Vaivarta Purana declares Krishna to be the supreme God,(para-Brahman) who lives in Goloka and who with Rasesvari
(Radha) has created this universe. They are married by Brahma. All Vedas and related scriptures mention the para-Brahman to be
the supreme God but this Purana specifies that this supreme God is Krishna. He created the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva...
This Purana takes a view on the creation that is slightly different to other Puranas. The fully developed legend of Radha and Krish¬
na appears in both the Narada-pancaratra and this Purana.
Garuda Purana
General
Wikipedia
Garuda Purana (Devanagari: ^<i u i) is one of the Puranas which are part of the Hindu body of texts known as smriti. It is a
Vaishnava Purana and its first part contains a dialog between Vishnu and Garuda, the King of Birds. The second half contains
details of life after death, funeral rites and the metaphysics of reincarnation, thus it is recited as a part Antyesti (Antim Sanskar) or
funeral rites (funeral liturgy) in Hinduism.
... This Purana deals with astronomy, medicine, grammar, and gemstone structure and qualities.
... the twenty-two avataras of Vishnu.
The first incarnation was a young boy. In this form, Vishnu adopted celibacy (brahmacharya) and performed difficult tapasya (med¬
itation).
The second incarnation was as a boar (varaha). In this form, Vishnu rescued the earth from the underworld.
The third incarnation was as a great sage (devarishi). In this form, Vishnu spread the knowledge of several texts (tantras).
The fourth incarnation was as two sages named Nara-Narayana.
The fifth incarnation was as the great sage Kapila. Kapila taught his disciple Asuri the wonderful philosophy known as Samkhya
yoga.
The sixth incarnation was as the sage Dattatreya, the son of Atri and Anasuya.
The seventh incarnation took place in the manvantra known as svayambhuva. Vishnu was born as the son of Ruchi and Akuti and
performed many yajnas (sacrifices).
In the eighth incarnation, Vishnu was born as Urukrama, the son of Nabhi and Meru. He taught everyone the righteous way of life.
In the ninth incarnation, Vishnu became the king Prithu and restored foodgrains and herbs to the earth.
The tenth of Vishnu’s incarnations was as a fish (matsya). He saved Vaivasvata Manu from the flood that enveloped the world.
In the eleventh incarnation, Vishnu adopted the form of a turtle (kurma). This was to help out the gods (devas) and demons (asur-
as) in the churning of the ocean (samudra manthana).
The twelfth incarnation was as Dhanvantari, physician of the gods and the originator of medicine.
The thirteenth was Mohini avatara. In this form, Vishnu adopted the body of a beautiful woman to charm and rob the asuras of the
amrita (a life-giving drink).
In the fourteenth incarnation, Vishnu became Narasimha, a being who was half-man and half-lion, to kil the evil asura Hiranyaka-
shipu.
The fifteenth incarnation witnessed Vishnu’s adoption of the form of dwarf (Vamana). This was to hoodwink the asura King Bali
and restore the heaven to gods.
In the sixteenth incarnation, Vishnu became Parashurama, killed all the wicked Kshatriyas in the world twenty-one times.
The seventeenth incarnation was as Vedavyasa, the son of Parashara and Satyavati. Vedavyasa divided and classified the Ve¬
das.
Vishnu’s eighteen incarnation was as the sage Narada.
The nineteenth incarnation was Rama. This incarnation is thought to be a bit contradictory, (Parshuram was present in the
swayamvar of Sita) but it is not. Parshuram was ardh-avatara(Half incarnation) & Rama was poorna manav Avatara (Full Incarna¬
tion as a Human Soul).
The twentieth incarnation was Balarama.
In the twenty-first incarnation, Vishnu was Krishna .
The twenty-second incarnation is yet to come. And Vishnu will come to destroy evil in the world and restore righteousness”.
There have been several other incarnations of Vishnu. But the ones mentioned above are the major ones.
Harivamsa
General
Wikipedia
The Harivamsha (also Harivamsa; Sanskrit Harivamsa frrftsrthe lineage of Hari (Vishnu)”)... containing 16,374 verses... The text
is also known as Harivamsa Purana. This text is believed as a khila (appendix or supplement) to the Mahabharata and is tradition¬
ally ascribed to Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa. ... The first book describes the creation of the cosmos and the legendary histo¬
ry of the kings of the Solar and Lunar dynasties leading up to the birth of Krishna. The next book recounts the history of Krishna
down to the events prior to the Mahabharata. The last section provides a list of future kings and a description of Kaliyuga.
Kurma Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Kurma Purana (Sanskrit: ^<i u i, Kurma Purana} is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas ... It is believed to have been directly
narrated by the Lord Vishnu to the sage Narada, and it contains the details about the Kurma Avatar. Narada is believed to have
stated the contents of this Purana to Suta, who narrated this Purana to an assembly of great sages.
... According to the tradition, the Kurma Purana originally consisted of four sarhhitas (sections): the BrahmT Sarhhita, the BhagavatT
Sarhhita, the SaurT Sarhhita and the VaisnavT Sarhhita. The extant text would correspond to the BrahmT Sarhhita.
The Narada Purana (1.106. 1 -22) gives a brief overview of these four sections. According to this work, the BrahmT Sarhhita consist¬
ed of 6,000 slokas (verses) and its contents agrees completely with the extant Kurma Purana. The BhagavatT Sarhhita consisted
of 4,000 slokas ... This section had dealt with the duties of the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras and the mixed castes.
The SaurT Sarhhita had 2,000 slokas ... This section had dealt with the six magic acts: santi, vasTkarana, stambhana, vidvesana,
uccatana and Marana. The VaisnavT Sarhhita had 5,000 slokas ... dealing with moksa dharma.
Linga Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Linga Purana is one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text. The extant text is divided into two parts, compris¬
ing 108 and 55 chapters respectively. These parts contain the description regarding the origin of universe, origin of the linga, and
emergence of Brahma and Vishnu, and all the Vedas from the Linga. In this Purana, Shiva directly tells sometimes the importance
of worship of Linga and the correct rituals to be followed during the puja of the linga.
... “The distinctive sign through which it is possible to recognize the nature of someone is called a linga.” (Shiva Purana)
Markandeya Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Markandeya Purana (Sanskrit: ^TTT) is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas... It is written in the style of a dia¬
logue between the ancient sage Markandeya and Jaimini, a disciple of Vyasa.
The three early printed editions of this text vary from one another. The Calcutta edition ends abpruptly in chapter 136, leaving
the narrative of Dama halfway. The Bombay and Poona editions have complete narrative of Dama, which ends in chapter 137.
The text begins with the four questions put forth by Jaimini to Markandeya, after he approached the latter for the solution of some
doubts raised in his mind after studying the Mahabharata. Markandeya refers him to the four wise birds living in the Vindhyas.
Consequently, the four wise birds speak to Jaimini in chapters 4-44. The chapters 53-100 contain the accounts of the 14 Manvan-
taras (the periods of the Manus) of which 13 chapters (ch.81-93) are together known as the Devi Mahatmya (Glorification of the
Great Goddess), which is embedded in this Purana. The chapters 111-137 have dealt with the genealogies of the Puranic dynas¬
ties.
Matsya Purana
General
Wikipedia
Matsya Purana is the sixteenth purana of the Hindu scriptures. During the period of mahapralaya, Lord Vishnu had taken Matsya
Avatar (fish incarnation) to save the seeds of all lives and Manu. Matsya Purana contains a comprehensive description of Manu
and Matsya avatar.
This Purana is the story of the Matsya Avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu, Manu who was the King of Dravidadesa, and the first
Mahapralaya (Great Deluge). In the end, Manu and all those he saves are safe in a large ship that he builds, atop the high Malaya
Mountains. A number of Hindu scholars have taken the progression of forms assumed by Vishnu in the narrative, from fish to turtle
to boar to “half-man, half-lion”, to dwarf human, to human with an axe, to princely human, to Krishna (bringer of scripture) to Bud¬
dha (the enlightened one) to Kalki (the future human yet to come) as an analogy for evolution.
Naradiya Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Naradiya Purana (Sanskrit: Naradiya Purana) or Narada Purana (Sanskrit: Narada Purana) is one of
the major eighteen Mahapuranas, ... It deals with the places of pilgrimages. It is in the style of dialogue between the sage Narada,
and Sanatkumara. During the course of the dialogue between the two, Narada explains to Sanatkumara the major places of pili-
grimages, their location, and significance.
Narada Purana contains some of the famous stories that are well-known and that occur in other puranas also. Some of the import¬
ant stories narrated by Narada are:
Story of Markandeya
Markandeya is a son of Sage Mrikandu, who is born with the grace of Lord Vishnu. He become as very great devotee of Lord
Vishnu and composed a purana which goes by his name as Markandeya Purana. Vishnu grants him a boon so that Markandeya
lives eternally, so much so that he even survives the Pralaya (end of cosmic cycle).
This account as narrated in Narada Purana differs from the popular story (as it occurs in Linga purana) that Markandeya was a
devotte of Lord Shiva and overcomes death with the grace of Lord Shiva.
Padma Purana
General
Wikipedia
Padma Purana (Devanagari: yym), one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text, is divided into five parts.
In the first part of the text, sage Pulastya explains to Bhishma about religion and the essence of the religion. The second part
describes in detail Prithvi (earth). In the third part, a description of the cosmos is given, including creation, and description of India
(Bharata Varsha). The fourth part describes the life and deeds of Rama. The fifth part is in the style of a dialogue between Shiva
and his consort, Parvati, and deals with the essential knowledge about religion.
... dating to roughly between the 8th and the 11th centuries.
Shiva Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Shiva Purana (Sanskrit: Siva Purana) ... According to a tradition which is stated in the Vayaviya Sarhhita (the Ven-
kateshvara Press edition) of this text, the original text was known as the Saiva Purana.
According to tradition, it originally consisted 12 Sarhhitas and 100,000 slokas (verses). After the reconstruction and the abridge¬
ment by Vedavyasa, the extant text comprises 24000 slokas (verses), which he taught to his disciple Romaharshana (or Loma-
harshana).
Several recensions of this text exist.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shiva Purana. One of the eighteen traditional puranas ... Most of the puranas stress the worship of one deity as supreme over
all others and as this one’s name clearly shows it is focused on the worship ofShiva. The Shiva Purana is one of the longer and
larger puranas. It gives an exhaustive account of Shiva’s mythic deeds—many of which have become the common mythology for
many traditional Hindus—as well as instructions for how, where, and when Shiva is to be worshiped.
Skanda Purana
General
Wikipedia
The longest Purana, it is an extraordinarily meticulous pilgrimage guide, containing geographical locations of pilgrimage centers in
India, with related legends, parables, hymns and stories.
... The text is devoted mainly to the lilas of Subramanya, a son of Shiva and Parvati. It also contains a number of legends about
Shiva, and the holy places associated with him. This Mahapurana was recited by Sage Vyasa, and is available in distinct parts,
sometimes fragmented too. It also describes the Shaiva tradition in Hemakuta region (near Vijayanagar) of Karnataka, Kashi
Khanda describes the Shaiva tradition of Varanasi, and the Utkala Khanda part states about Purusottamaksetramahatmya of Oris¬
sa.
Some of the popular narratives described in the Skanda Purana are:
The yagna (sacrifice) of Prajapati Daksha
The churning of ocean and the emergence of Amrita (Ambrosia)
The story of demon Tarakasura
The birth of Goddess Parvati and Her marriage to Lord Shiva
The Birth of Skanda (or Kartikeya)
The killing of demon Tarakasura by Skanda
The killing of Pralambasura
The queries of Karamdham
The killing of demons Shumbh, Nishimbh and Mahishasura
An account of Vishnukund
The story of Padmavati
A description of various holy places associated with Shiva and Skanda
The story of Trishanku and sage Vishvamitra
A description of Narakas (Hell)
A description of Jyotirlingas - the important holy shrines associated with Lord Shiva.
A description of Navadurgas
Vamana Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Vamana Purana, (Sanskrit: Vamana Purana), one of the eighteen Mahapuranas ... is devoted to the Vamana Ava¬
tar of Vishnu. It has a eulogy praising both Vishnu and Shiva.
There are ten characteristics evident in Vamana Purana (in fact, in all or most of the Puraans).
They are:
Sarga
Visarga
Sthaana
Poshana
Uti
Vritti
Raksha
Manvantara
Vansha
Upaashraya
Sarga deals with the descriptions of the origin of this universe. Visarg enlightens us as to how a living thing transforms itself from
one species to another. Sthaan, Poshan, Uti and Vritti deal with the descriptions of various means which are employed by a man
for his survival. Raksha describes about the various incarnations of Lord Vishnu which he takes for the protection of the human¬
kind. Manvantara deals with the complete description of the history of the whole Manvantara period. Vansh describe about the
lineage of all the kings including Lord Brahma. Upaashraya enlightens us on the real meaning of Brahma.
Mostly describes about North India and areas around Kurukshetra.
Varaha Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Varaha Purana (Sanskrit: Varaha Purana) is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas... It describes in detail about
the Varaha incarnation (Avatar) of Vishnu, and narrates about the rescue of the Prithvi.
Vayu Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Vayu Purana (Hindi: ^<i u i, Vayu Purana) is a Shaiva Purana ... dedicated to the god Vayu (the wind god), containing
about 24,000 shlokas.
The Vayu Purana deals with the following topics: creation and re-creation of the universe; measurement of the Kala (time); Origin
of Agni, Varuna and a number of gods; origin and descendants of Atri, Bhrigu, Angiras and some other sages, daityas, rakshasas,
gandharvas and pitrs; origin of animals, birds, trees and creepers; genealogies of the ancient kings descended from Vaivasvata
Manu and lla and the kings of Kaliyuga ending with the Gupta dynasty; detailed geography of the earth divided into seven dvipas
and further sub-divided into the varshas; accounts of inhabitants of different dvipas; names and descritption of the seven Patalas
(netherworlds); description of the solar system and the movements of the celestial bodies; description of the four yugas and four¬
teen manvantaras. It also contains chapters on music, various shakhas of the Vedas, Pashupata-yoga, duties of the people be¬
long to different castes and funeral rites.
Vishnu Purana
General
Wikipedia
The Vishnu Purana (Sanskrit: Tfh’T T JTFT, Visnu Purana) is a religious Hindu text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is con¬
sidered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna (gem of Puranas). Presented as a dialogue
between Parashara and his disciple Maitreya and divided into six parts, the major topics discussed include creation myths, sto¬
ries of battles fought between asuras and devas, the Avatars (divine descents) of Vishnu and genealogy and stories of legendary
kings.
The text starts with detailed stories of creation and introduces the concept of four yugas. The tale of Rudra, an elaborate story of
the Samudra Manthana, or the churning of the ocean, the Story of Dhruva, an ardent devotee of Vishnu, and stories of ancient
kings Vena and Prithu are also discussed in the first section. Tales of Prithu’s descendants, the Prachetas, the famous story of
Hiranyakashipu and Prahlada, some topological details of the known world with mentions of lands, tribes, mountains and rivers,
concepts of the universe, and the stories of the many births of Jadabharata are the major topics discussed in the next book. The
third section discusses the stories of Manvantara (cycles of creation and destruction), the sages Vyasa and Yajnavalkya, Surya
(the sun god), Yama (the god of the dead), devotees Shatadhanu and Shaivya, the four classes (varnas) and the four stages of
life (ashramas) and details of many rituals. The fourth section gives a detailed account of all the famous Kings from the solar and
lunar dynasties of ancient India, and also lists the names of kings who ‘would appear’ in the age of Kali (demon). The second list
contains the name of historical kings of Magadha, including kings from the Shishunaga, Nanda and Maurya dynasties. The next
section details the different events in the life of Lord Sri Krishna, starting from His birth, through His childhood, until the moment
He left the earth and the prominent destruction of the Yadava clan. The sixth and last section mainly discusses the impending age
of Kali, the concepts of universal destruction that would eventually follow, and the importance of the Puranas in general.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
purana - from the verb root pur - “to go before, precede”.
Publications
For a general translation of stories from puranic texts, see Cornelia Dimmitt and J. A. B. van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology,
1978.
The All India Kashiraj Trust, formed under Vibhuti Narayan Singh, the Maharaja of Kashi, dedicated itself to publishing editions of
the Puranas.
Hazra, R.C. (1962). The Puranas in S. Radhakrishnan ed. The Cultural Heritage of India, Calcutta: The Ramkrishna Mission Insti¬
tute of Culture, ISBN 81-85843-03-1
Translations
Agni Purana
The first printed edition of the text was edited by Rajendralal Mitra in the 1870s (Calcutta : Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1870-1879, 3
volumes; Bibliotheca Indica, 65, 1-3). The entire text extends to slightly below one million characters.
An English translation was published in two volumes by Manmatha Nath Dutt in 1903-04.
Bhagavata Purana
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has written a multi-volume edition that includes english translation and commentary.
Translation also available in more than 40 languages. For free online reading, see: http://www.vedabase.net
The first translation of the Bhagavata into French was made by Eugene Burnouf in 1840.
Swami Tapasyananda has written an English translation in four volumes.
Swami Prabhavananda wrote an English version that is part translation, part summary and paraphrase, titled The Wisdom of God:
Srimat Bhagavatam.
Gita Press has a two-volume English and Hindi translation (with Sanskrit text and English translation).
Kamala Subramanian has written a concise version of this book in English.
Edwin Bryant published an English translation of Book X in 2003, through Penguin Books.
Brahma-vaivarta purana
Brahma-vaivarta puranam. Translated into English by Rajendra Nath Sen, Publisher - DIVINE Books, Delhi
Harivamsa
English
The Transmigration of the Seven Brahmans. A Translation from the Harivamsa of Langois by Henry David Thoreau. With an intro¬
duction and Notes by Arthur Christy. WILLIAM EDWIN RUDGE, New York [1932],
Available online at http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/tsb/index.htm
A prose English translation of Harivamsa. M. N. Dutt. Printed and Published by H. C. Dass, Elysium press, Calcutta, 1897.
An uncorrected text is available on the internet at
http://www.archive.org/details/Harivamsha
Harivamsha: Translated into English prose from the original Sanskrit Text. Part I. Bose, D.N. (Editor) D.N. Bose. P. O. Dum Dum
(Bengal) Datta Bose & Co. 1935.
Young Krishna [translation of the Harivamsa] Francis G.Hutchinson, (West Franklin: Amarta Press, 1980)
Hutchinsons’ translation covers chapters 46-78 and part of chapter 44 of the Critical Edition (info from Peter Schreiner).
Harivamsa Purana. Translator: Bhumipati Dasa, Editor: Purnaprana Dasa. With Sanskrit mulam and English Translation.
Published by Rasbiharilal and sons, (2005-).
Vol 1: Harivamsa Parva - Chapter 1 to 25
Vol 2: Harivasmsa Parva - Chapter 26 to 55
Vol 3: Vishnu Parva - Chapter 1 to 36
Vol 4: Vishnu Parva - Chapter 37 to 61
Vol 5: Vishnu Parva - Chapter 62 89
Vol 6: Vishnu Parva - Chapter 90 to 120
The Harivamsa Mahapuranam: text with English translation. Translated by K.P. A. Menon. With Sanskrit mulam. Published by Nag
Publishers (Delhi) (2008).
French
Langlois, S. A. Harivansa, ou Histoire de la Famille de Hari, Ouvrage formant un Appendice du Mahabharata. The Oriental Trans¬
lation Fund (cloth). 4to, vol. I, xvi + 536 pp.(pub. 1834); vol. II, 591 pp. (pub. 1835). Printed by L’lmprimerie Royale de France.
Version without Devanagari characters available online at http://www.indologie.uzh.ch/text/hv.html
thanks to Dr. Peter Schreiner of the University of Zurich, who has scanned and OCR’ed the original text of Langlois.
Version (corrected) including Devanagari characters prepared by Gilles Schaufelberger, working on the files received from Dr.
Peter Schreiner.
http://mahabharata-resources.org/harivamsa/harivamsa-langlois.pdf
L'enfance de Krishna. Traduction des chapitres 30 a 78 (wd. cr.) [du Harivamsha] (y compris la traduction de passages figurant
dans les notes ou dans I’appendice). Andre Couture. Avec introduction, annotations et index. Preface de Anne-Marie Esnoul. Coll.
Patrimoines / hindouisme. Paris, Cerf; Quebec, Presses de I’Universite Laval, mars 1991. 439 p.
La manifestation du Lotus et la vision de Markandeya. Histoires anciennes tirees du Harivamsha
Andre Couture, (ed. cr., App. I, no. 41). Introduction, traduction annotee ettexte Sanskrit. Paris, Droz, 351 p. [The manifestation of
the Lotus and Markandeya’s Vision (cr. ed., App. I, no. 41)].
Le Pitrkalpa du Harivamsa: traduction, analyse, interpratation. Marcelle Saindon. [The Pitrkalpa of the HV (11-19, cr. ed.): transla¬
tion, analysis, interpretation] Quebec, Les Presses de I’Universite Laval, 390 p. [publication of the thesis, presented in Laval Uni¬
versity in 1994],
Markandeya Purana
The significant translations of this text into English include the translations by C.C. Mukherjee (1893) and F.E. Pargiter.
Vishnu Purana
Wilson, H. H. (2006). The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition. Cambridge: Read Country Books. ISBN
1846646642.
Related words
Shastras
Smriti
Vyasa
External links
Rajendralal Mitra, ed. (1876). Agni Purana (Bibliotheca Indica). Ganesh Press. (Sanskrit), [http://www.archive.org/stream/bibliothe-
caindi00unkngoog#page/n6/mode/1up]
Downloadable texts of puranas:
http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil.htm#Pur
Vishnu Purana translation by H.H. Wilson at sacred-texts
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/index.htm
Sanskrit
Purana — ^TFT
purana - x JTDr
Purusa
Variant spellings
purusa
purusha
purusa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Purusa — ... spirit; individual soul; “person”; the indwelling form of God; cosmic person
1. One of the two basic categories of the Sankhya system. It is pure consciousness, unattached and unrelated to anything. It is
nonactive, unchanging, eternal, and pure. There are an infinite number of individual souls.
2. According to Kashmir Saivism, it is enveloped in the five sheaths of time, restriction, desire, knowledge, and portion of time
(kala, niyati, raga, vidya, and kala). It is the universal Self appearing under limitation as the many individual souls.
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is fundamentally one. It is the eternal witness, the modificationless, the one who knows the
body. Really speaking, the supreme Self {paramatman) is the one and the only purusa.
4. The Purusa-sukta describes the primal purusa as thousand-headed, thousand-eyed, thousand-footed, immanent and transcen¬
dent, covering the earth on all sides and extending beyond the length often fingers, all that is, has been, and will be. One-fourth of
him is all beings, three-fourths of him are what is immortal in heaven.
5. Depending on the context, the word may refer to either the “individual soul” or “God, Supreme.”
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
purusa -
a man, male, human being (pi. people, mankind);
a person;
a friend;
a follower of the Sarhkhya Philosophy;
a member or representative of a race or generation;
the height or measure of a man (= 5 Aratnis = 120 Aiigulas);
the pupil of the eye;
(also with narayana) the primaeval man as the soul and original source of the universe;
the personal and animating principle in men and other beings, the soul or spirit;
the Supreme Being or Soul of the universe (sometimes with para, parama, or uttama ; also identified with Brahma, Vishnu, Siva
and Durga);
(in Sarhkhya) the Spirit as passive and a spectator of the Prakriti or creative force;
the, ‘spirit’ or fragrant exhalation of plants;
(with sapta) N. of the divine or active principles from the minute portions of which the universe was formed;
N. of a Pada in the Maha-namnT verses;
of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th signs of the zodiac;
of a son of Manu Cakshusha;
of one of the 18 attendants of the sun;
N. of the Brahmans of Kraunca-dvTpa;
N. of 5 princely personages or miraculous persons born under partic. constellations;
N. of mount Meru
Dictionary - Runes
Purusa: (Skr.) “Man”, a symbol for the world in the Veda. One of the two cardinal principles of the Sankhya and Yoga, represent¬
ing pure spirituality, consciousness, and self. Various, theories prevail in Indian philosophy, some semi-physical, others psycho¬
physical, or logical, taking the term to denote a real self or an entity produced by maya.
Two meanings: Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The term purusha has two meanings. In the ancient RIG VEDA, X. 90, the Purusha (usually spelled in English with a capital P) is
the divine being who existed before time and was sacrificed to create both the transcendent and the material realms. The major
Vedic ritual, the AGNICHAYANA, was seen as a reenactment of this primordial creation, and Purusha was seen as being sacri¬
ficed once again to mirror the myth. In that context the Purusha began to be called PRAJAPATI.
The second sense of the word purusha is found in the SAMKHYA and YOGA traditions, where purusha is the individual self. In the
early understanding the purushas were infinite in number and all eternally distinct from one another. In the later understanding,
affected by VEDANTIC thinking, the purushas merged with the ultimate self, or ATMAN, when they achieved liberation. In current
yoga, the term purusha is just another term for atman or “worldly self.”
Wikipedia
In some lineages of Hinduism, Purusha (Sanskrit purusa, “man, Cosmic man”, in Sutra literature also called pums “man”) is
the “Self” which pervades the universe. The Vedic divinities are interpretations of the many facets of Purusha. According to the
Rigvedic Purusha sukta, Purusha was dismembered by the devas—his mind is the Moon, his eyes are the Sun, and his breath is
the wind.
In the Rigveda, Purusha is described as a primeval giant that is sacrificed by the gods and from whose body the world and the
varnas (classes) are built. He is described as having a thousand heads and a thousand feet. He emanated Virat, the female cre¬
ative principle, from which he is reborn in turn after the world was made out of his parts.
In the sacrifice of Purusha, the Vedic chants were first created. The horses and cows were born, the Brahmins were made from
Purusha’s mouth, the Ksatriya from his arms, the Vaisyas from his thighs, and the Shudras from his feet. The Moon was born from
his mind, the Sun from his eyes, the heavens from his skull. Indra and Agni emerged from his mouth.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Purusa: Literally, “person.” The word is used both in universal and particular senses. In the universal sense, He is the cosmic per¬
son who has the entire cosmos for his body. In this sense He is often called virat-purusa.
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Purusa - The primordial spirit which is contradistinctive of anything having form, mass or any other physical property: It is self-lumi¬
nous, and by mere proximity enables prakriti to manifest.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Purusha (“person”). One of the two fundamental first principles in the Samkhya philosophical school, the other one being prakrti
(“nature”). Samkhya upholds an atheistic philosophical dualism in which the twin principles of purusha and prakrti—roughly, spirit
and nature—are the source of all things. Purusha is conceived as conscious but completely inactive and unchanging. It is the pas¬
sive witness to the myriad transformations of prakrti going on around it, and as the source of consciousness purusha is ultimately
identified with a person’s true Self (atman). Thus purusha is inferred as plural, given the plurality of conscious beings and the fact
that one person can gain final enlightenment while all the rest remain in bondage. According to the Samkhyas, the ultimate source
of bondage lies in people’s failure to distinguish between purusha and prakrti and in identifying the Self with the latter rather than
the former.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In European folklore there is the fairy-tale of Tom Thumb or Little Thumb and the Giants. He was also the youngest son. His story
is full of interesting symbolism.
The Thumbling is found in all traditions. In Alchemy he was called the Homunculus. He is often referred to in the Upanishads. For
instance the Kathopanishad (IV; 12) states: “The Purusha (Man) of the size of a thumb resides in the middle of the body (atmani)
as the Lord of the past and future, (he who knows him) fears no more.” This “Man of the size of a thumb” is also said to reside “in
the heart”, that is to say, in the Centre of the Spirit.
But, though he resides in the Heart Centre, he represents the Lord of that Heart, the Quintessence of the Spirit, and is, from differ¬
ent points of view, the forerunner, the representative, the reflection, or the pre-natal stage of the Divine Child of the Ether-Sphere.
The symbolism of the thumb has been noted before. The four fingers represent the Four Elements and the thumb the Ether. The
thumb is, even in popular tradition, a symbol of domination and will. It stands for the domination of Jupiter. Lord of the Ether. It
represents the Will of God.
For the purpose of fighting against the lower nature the Little Man of the Spirit descends to the Sphere of the Solar plexus.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
The Purusha is looking on at all these changes. He himself is never impure; but by implication, by what the Vedantists call adhya-
sa, or reflection, he appears to be so—as when a red flower is held before a piece of crystal, the crystal will look red, or with a blue
flower the crystal will look blue and yet the crystal itself is colourless. There are many Purushas or Selves; each pure and perfect,
and it is all these various divisions of gross matter and fine matter that are imposing on them and making them appear variously
coloured.
Sankara tradition
Sitarama. Aitareya and Taittiriya Upanishads
He thought “ These indeed are the worlds; I shall create the protectors of the worlds”. He gathered the Purusha from out of the
waters only and fashioned him. (3)
Com. — Having thus created the four worlds, the places where all living beings were to enjoy the fruits of their action, He, the
Lord, thought again “ Indeed these worlds, Ambhas etc. created by me would perish without protectors. Therefore I shall create
protectors of the worlds for the protection of these.” Thus thinking, he from out of the waters alone, i.e. from the five elements the
most important of which was water and from which he created the worlds Ambhas etc., gathered the Purusha, i.e., one in the form
of a man having head etc., just as a potter gathers a lump of clay from the earth, and fashions him by giving him the appropriate
limbs.
He brooded over him. Of him so brooded over, the mouth came forth, just as is the case with an egg when it is hatched; from his
mouth, speech; and from speech, fire. Then his nostrils came forth; from his nostrils, Prana; and from Prana, air. His eyes came
forth; from his eyes, sight; from sight, the sun. His ears came forth; from his ears, sound; and from sound, the cardinal points (di-
sah). His skin came forth; from the skin, hair; from the hair, herbs and big trees, the lords of the forests. His heart came forth; from
the heart, the mind; and from the mind, the moon. The navel came forth; from the navel, the Apana, and from Apana, death. His
generative organ came forth; from the generative organ, semen; and from semen, water. (4)
There is a space within the heart. There, is He, the Purusha, knowable only by the mind, Immortal, Resplendent.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
... the Purusha is etymologically that which exists in anybody, or that which animates anybody. It may be an individual body or a
Universal Body. In either case it is known as the Purusha. It may be the Purusha that is individual when we merely call it the Pu¬
rusha, otherwise we call it Purushottama.
Purusha and Prakriti
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Purusha and Prakriti are only the bifurcation of the one Supreme. They are surmised because the student has the sense of duality
deep rooted. The same Gita also says that Purushottama lies beyond Purusha and Prakriti.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
Prakriti is undergoing all these changes for the enjoyment and the benefit of the Self, so that it will realise its free nature. ... The
father of all psychologists, Kapila, denies the existence of God as Creator. His idea is that a personal God is quite unnecessary;
Prakriti is sufficient to work out all that is good. ... But he admits a peculiar kind of God. He says, we are all struggling to get free,
and when man becomes free, he can, as it were, melt away into Prakriti for the time being, to come out at the beginning of the
next cycle an omniscient and omnipotent being and be its ruler. In that sense he can be called God. ... So wherever the word God
is mentioned in our Scriptures—the Vedas, Kapila says, it means those perfected souls who have become free. ... Kapila, the
founder of the Samkhya, was dualistic. His analysis of the universe, so far as it goes, is really marvellous. He was the father of
Hindu evolutionists, and all the later philosophical systems are simply outcomes of his thought.
... what then is this Purusha? It is neither intelligence nor Buddhi (will), but yet it is the cause of both these; it is His presence that
sets them all vibrating and combining. Purusha may be likened to some of those substances which by their mere presence pro¬
mote chemical reaction, as in the case of cyanide of potassium which is added when gold is being smelted. The cyanide of potas¬
sium remains separate and unaffected, but its presence is absolutely necessary to the success of the process. So with the Puru¬
sha. It does not mix with Prakriti; it is not intelligence, or Mahat, or any one of its modifications but the Self, the Pure, the Perfect. ‘I
am the Witness and through My witnessing Prakriti is producing all that is sentient and all that is insentient.’ (Gila, IX. 10.)
Whence then is this sentiency in Prakriti? Its basis is in the Purusha, and it is the very nature of the Purusha. It is that which can¬
not be expressed or understood, but which is material of all that we call knowledge. This Purusha is not consciousness, because
consciousness is a compound, but whatever is radiant and good in this consciousness belongs to it. Sentiency is in the Purusha,
but the Purusha is not intelligence, not knowing—it is the very condition in which knowledge is possible. The Chit in the Purusha,
plus Prakriti is what is known to us as intelligence and consciousness. All the joy and happiness and light in the universe belongs
to the Purusha, but it is a compound because it is that Purusha plus Prakriti. ‘Wherever there is any happiness, wherever there is
any bliss, there is one spark of that immortality, which is Purusha.’(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, IV, iii-32) This Purushais the great
attraction of the universe; untouched by, and unconnected with the universe; yet it attracts the whole universe. You see a man go¬
ing after gold, because therein is a spark of the Purusha, even though he knows it not. When a man desires children, or a woman
a husband, what is the attracting power ? That spark of Purusha behind the child and the husband. It is there, behind everything,
only overlaid with matter. Nothing else can attract. ‘In this world of insentiency that Purusha alone is sentient.’ (Katha Upanishad,
V. 13.) This is the Purusha of the Samkhyas.
See: Buddhi and purusha
Related words
Bhokta
Jiva
Kshetrajna
Prajapati
Prakriti
Purusottama
Sankhya
Sanskrit
Purusa —
purusa - gjn
Purushartha, the four goals of human life
Variant spellings
purushartha
purusartha
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Purusartha — ... the four goals of human life.
1. The Hindu theory of values. They are wealth (artha), desire (kama), righteousness (dharma), and liberation (moksa). The first is
the economic value, the second is the psychological value, the third is the moral value, and the fourth is the spiritual value.
2. Wealth (artha), the economic value, and desire (kama), the hedonistic or acquisitive value, are the secular values of life. Dhar¬
ma tells how the secular life should be lived. It is the ethical or moral value. And along with moksa, it is a spiritual value. Dharma
is the instrumental value leading to moksa. All the four values are truly vital and must be integrated. Artha and kama are means
values or instrumental values for life’s goal. Dharma is the regulative and integrating value. Moksa is an intrinsic and end value.
3. Purusartha may be viewed from two aspects. Primarily, it signifies something to be attained for its own sake. This is the intrinsic
aspect. It also involves whatever serves as a means to it. This is the instrumental aspect. Thus, it may be defined as an end which
is consciously sought to be accomplished either for its own sake or for the sake of utilizing it as a means to t h e accomplishment
of a further end.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Aims of Life (purushartha)io Four general goals that Hindu society has accepted as legitimate ends for all human beings: artha
(wealth and power), kama (desire, especially sexual desire), dharma (righteousness or religious duty), and moksha (final liberation
of the soul from the cycle of reincarnation). Hindus have affirmed that all of these are worthy ends, but have generally accepted
that the last goal is qualitatively different from the other three, which are more strongly interrelated. There is nothing wrong with
seeking money or pleasure, and Hindu culture affirms both of these aims with the understanding that their pursuit and enjoyment
should ultimately be regulated by a commitment to dharma. Although there are paths to moksha that allow one to remain in the
world, it is generally accepted that a person pursuing moksha will be less attentive to worldly desires because they are incompati¬
ble with this ultimate goal.
Wikipedia
In Hinduism, purusartha (Sanskrit “that which is sought by man; human purpose, aim, or end”) refers to a goal, end or aim
of human existence. There are generally considered to be four such purusarthas, namely:
Dharma: “(religious, social and/or moral) righteousness, both spiritual and ritual”
Artha: “(material and/or financial) prosperity as well as pursuit of meaning”
Kama: “(sensory and/or sexual) pleasure as well as spiritual love”
Moksa: “(spiritual) liberation; or renunciation as well as detachment”
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Dharma or duty and righteousness is the moral end of life. Kama or love is the emotional end of life. Artha or wealth is the material
end of Life.
Wikipedia
Origins
The notion that proper living entails the pursuit of four goals or ends first took shape in the literary traditions of the Dharmasastras
and the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Early texts treating the goals of human life commonly refer to kama, artha and dhar¬
ma as the “trivarga” or “three categories” of possible human pursuits.
... Each of the four canonical purusarthas was subjected to a process of examination and elaboration which produced several key
works in the history of Indian philosophy, including the Kamasutra of Vatsyayana (treating kama, particularly as “sexual gratifi¬
cation”), the Arthashastra of Kautilya (treating artha as “material pursuits”), the Dharmasastras of various authors, most notably
Manu (treating dharma as “religious, social and personal ethics”) and the principle sutras of the six orthodox schools of philosophy
or darsanas, all of which are principally concerned with the attainment of moksa, often referred to as the parama-purusartha or
“chief end of human life”.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. The Allegories and Symbolism in Valmikis Ramayana
The basic tenets of sanatana dharma are dharma, artha, kama and moksa.
... Dhar means to sustain or uphold. Dharma is that which makes a thing what it is. In the hydrogen atom while the balance is kept
between the positively charged proton and negatively charged electron, it remains a hydrogen atom. If its structure is tampered
with, it leads to catastrophe. The same is true of everything in this world. So the first teaching given by the seers of India is famil-
iarization with the dharma which has constituted each element. By knowing the action-reaction properties implied in dharma, many
things can be created and many things can be destroyed also.
... To discriminate the right nature of dharma we should place it in a context where its meaning (artha) can be discerned. Dhar¬
ma can never be understood except in terms of its artha. In the course of time, artha became wrongly understood as wealth. The
instrumentality of meaning came to be mistaken for meaning itself just as in the modern world the exchange value of things has
been superimposed on the use value and people think of value as money. That simple error has caused grievous damage to the
judging faculty of human beings. If exchange value is taken as value value, one will make serious mistakes. One cannot find a
substitute for one’s father or mother, wife or child. Values of intrinsic worth cannot be placed within an exchange system.
A person is a guru or a teacher only when he adheres to his dharma of teaching in full. A judge can function as a judge only if he
can administer justice without partiality. Thus, in whichever capacity a person functions, we can discern their dharma by placing
them in a meaningful context. The clay with which bricks are made has the dharma that it can be strong and solid to support an¬
other brick and thus make a foundation or superstructure of a building. That is the intrinsic nature of clay. It cannot be substituted
by gold. Where clay is valued, its value is unique. When an ornament is to be made, clay is of no use and gold is needed. When
the Gita speaks of clay and gold representing ultimate values, that makes sense only when clay and gold are each placed in their
own transactional realm of value.
These secrets are now unknown because both dharma and artha can be concealed if a person has a hang-up of desire (kama).
There is a difference between what a person desires and what is desirable. Only when the dharma and meaning are properly con¬
ceived does one opt for the desirable. If one’s inner vision becomes confounded with hedonistic desires, wrong meaning is read
into the unknown aspects of dharma. But in the Gita, the Lord also says, where the desire is not opposed to dharma and its mean¬
ing then the Absolute itself is the desire (kama). When dharma, artha, and kama bring a fulfillment to the jiva by which the light of
the Self is actualized from moment to moment, that person is living in unbounded liberty (moksa).
Related words
Artha
Dharma
Kama
Moksha
Sanskrit
Purusartha —
purusartha -
Purusottama
Variant spellings
purusottama
purushottama
purusottama
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Purusottama — ... the supreme self; the Lord
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
purusottama -
the best of men, an excellent or superior man;
the best of servants, a good attendant;
the highest being, Supreme Spirit, N. of Vishnu or Krishna;
ksetra;
(with Jainas) an Arhat;
N. of the fourth black Vasudeva;
N. of sev. authors and various men
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Purusottama: The Absolute principle or Godhead as distinct from demigods and divinities of various religious expressions. Puru-
sa, in the Samkhya Philosophy, is the spiritual principle as contrasted with prakrti or material nature. When Advaita revalues this
concept of purusa in an effort to raise it above all taints of dualistic implications, the idea of purusottama arises, as in Chapter XV
of the Bhagavad- Gita, where there is transcendence of both the eternal and the transient aspects of knowledge.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
The word purusa is to be examined from several angles. That which dwells in different bodies is the purusa - this is a Samkhyan
concept which speaks of the plurality of purusas. The same is revalued in the Upanisads and in the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita
makes a distinction between the ksara (perishable) purusa and the aksara (imperishable) purusa The perishable aspect of prakrti
is superimposed on purusa, when true knowledge prevails, that superimposition can no longer be maintained. The spirit is imper¬
ishable but all the phenomenal superimpositions made on it are transient. Even the aksara (imperishable) purusa has in it only a
fragment of the Supreme. That is why die Gita upholds a third purusa, purusottama.
We should note the distinction drawn between these in the fifteenth chapter of the Gita, Purusottama Yoga.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
The term Purushottama is the well-known name of the Lord described above. After showing that the name is meaningful by point¬
ing to its etymological significance, the Lord reveals Himself thus, ‘I am the Lord unsurpassed.’
18. Because I surpass the perishable and am higher even than the imperishable, therefore 1 am proclaimed Purushottama (High¬
est Spirit) in the world and in the Veda.
I transcend the Tree of illusory samsara called Asvattha (Kshara) and I am higher even than the imperishable (Akshara) which
constitutes the seed of illusory samsara. Since i transcend both the Kshara and the Akshara, I am well-known as Purushottama in
the world and in the Veda, i.e. the devotees know Me as Purushottama and the sages too incorporate this name in their poetics
etc. and describe Me by the name Purushottama. (18)
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
Prajapati said: “This is the great truth, O Indra. This is the Atman. Now do you understand what the Atman is? This is the Supreme
Person, if you would call It a person.” It is not a person actually. We call it a person only by way of expression, explanation for
the purpose of helping the understanding of the immature mind. It is the Supreme Being. That is how we translate the term Utta-
ma-purusha, occurring here. Superior to the transitory purushas, we have the universal Purusha. The word Uttama-purusha oc¬
curs in the Bhagavad-Gita also in its fifteenth chapter, where we are told that there are two purushas, the kshara and the akshara,
and that there is the third, the supreme one, the Purushottama or the Uttama-purusha, which means to say that there is something
transcending both the perishable universe and the imperishable, immanent consciousness.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
purusottama - from purusa = “spirit, person” + uttama --= “highest”
Related words
Purusa
Sanskrit
Purusottama —
purusottama -
Purva Mimansa
See: Mimansa
Purva paksa
Variant spellings
purva-paksa
purva paksha
purva-paksa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Purva-paksa —... prima facie view; the opponent’s view; prior viewpoint
1. Generally, in all Indian philosophical work, first, the opponent’s view is given, and then, after this view is rejected, one gives the
final view (siddhanta).
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Purva-Pakshin : (from purva-paksha, prior side). The anterior position of doubt represented by the disciple in his dialogue- rela¬
tions with the Guru. The Guru’s finalized standpoint in the argument is the Siddha-anta, meaning the attained end, or conclusion.
Descriptions
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Mundaka Upanishad
... important rule ... a teacher has to first present all prevalent erroneous notions and negate them. Paksa is a contention. Pur¬
va-paksa is a contention presented as an objection to siddhanta, the right conclusion. Every teacher should follow this rule. Oth¬
erwise, there will always be vagueness in understanding. The more he is able to negate the wrong notions that are available,
the closer he is to the truth. The whole process is the removal of various notions, because people have swallowed lots of beliefs.
These things have to be negated. Then only one’s mind will become ready to see when the vastu is unfolded.
Sanskrit r
Purva-paksa — Ucfay
pGrva-paksa -
R
Rajas
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
rajas -
coloured or dim space, the sphere of vapour or mist, region of clouds, atmosphere, air, firmament (in Veda one of the divisions of
the world and distinguished from div or svar, ‘the sphere of light’, and rocana divah, ‘the ethereal spaces’, which are beyond the
rajas, as ether is beyond the air; often rajas, = ‘the whole expanse of heaven or sky’, divided into a lower and upper stratum, the
rajas uparam or parthivam and the rajas uttamam or paramam or divyam; hence du. rajasl, ‘the lower and higher atmospheres’;
sometimes also three ... even six such spheres are enumerated, hence pi. rajsrhsi, ‘the skies’);
vapour, mist, clouds, gloom, dimness, darkness;
impurity, dirt, dust, any small particle of matter;
the dust or pollen of flowers;
cultivated or ploughed land (as ‘dusty’ or ‘dirty’), arable land, fields;
the impurity i.e. the menstrual discharge of a woman;
the ‘darkening’ quality, passion, emotion, affection;
(in phil.) the second of the three Gunas or qualities (the other two being sattva, goodness, and tamas, darkness; ... ; rajas is some¬
times identified with tejas; it is said to predominate in air, and to be active, urgent, and variable);
‘light’ or ‘day’ or ‘world’ or ‘water’;
a kind of plant;
tin;
autumn;
sperm;
safflower;
N. of a Rishi (son ofVasishtha)
Wikipedia
Rajas guna (in Sanskrit rajas, or rajoguna) is responsible for motion, energy and preservation and thereby upholds and maintains
the activity of the other two gunas; sattva and tamas. Rajas is the force which promotes or upholds the activity of the other aspects
of Nature (prakriti) such as one or more of the following: (1) action; (2) change, mutation; (3) passion, excitement; (4) birth, cre¬
ation, generation. If a person or thing tends to be extremely active, excitable, or passionate, that person or thing could be said to
have a preponderance of rajas. It is contrasted with the quality of tamas, which is the quality of inactivity, darkness, and laziness,
and with sattva, which is the quality of purity, clarity, calmness and creativity. Rajas is viewed as being more positive than tamas,
and less positive than sattva; except, perhaps, for one who has “transcended the gunas” and achieved equanimity in all fields of
relative life.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Guna or “Quality” of Rajas is that of “motion, activity, passion, etc.” The function of Rajas sets the Universe in motion. It asso¬
ciates with Sattva in order to reveal Consciousness, and with Tamas in order to veil Consciousness.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Rajas (“passion”). One of the three fundamental qualities (gunas) believed to be present in all things, the other two gunas being
sattva (“goodness”) and tamas (“darkness”). According to this model, differing proportions of these qualities account for differenc¬
es in the properties of concrete things, and in the range of individual human capacities and tendencies. Unlike sattva and tamas,
which, respectively, carry exclusively good and bad associations, rajas and its effects can be either positive or negative, depend¬
ing on context. Rajas is negative, for example, when it leads to an enslavement to the passions that may blind one to careful and
conscious thought. Alternately, the energies derived from passion can also engender useful activity and industriousness. The
notion of the gunas originated in the metaphysics of the Samkhya school, one of the six schools of traditional Hindu philosophy,
and although much of Samkhya metaphysics connected with the gunas has long been discredited, the idea of the gunas and their
qualities has become a pervasive assumption in Indian culture.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
It is the very nature of rajas to involve a man in many worldly activities. That isis why rajas degenerates into tamas. If a man is
entangled in too many activities he surely forgets God. He becomes more and more attached to ‘woman and gold’.
Men with rajas entangle themselves in many activities. Such a man has clothes all spick and span. His house is immaculate¬
ly clean. A portrait of the Queen3 hangs on a wall in his drawing-room. When he worships God he wears a silk cloth. He has a
string of rudraksha beads around his neck, and in between the beads he puts a few gold ones. When someone comes to visit the
worship hall in visitor: ‘Please come this way, sir. There are other things too—the floor of white marble and the natmandir with its
exquisite carvings.’ When he gives in charity he makes a show of it.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
111. Rajas has projecting power (Vikshepasakti). Activity is its very nature. From it the initial flow of activity has originated. From it,
mental modifications such as attachment and grief are also continuously produced.
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
The Rajas attitude of Maya creates the agitations of the mind (Vikshepa). Maya expressed at the mental level manifests in the
form of mental agitations. The Maya which creates restlessness in the mind is called Rajoguna, from which all activities are born.
When the mind is active, we act in the world outside. When the mind is quiet, all actions end. During deep-sleep, the mind is at
rest and is calm, therefore, no activity is taking place. Activities are only possible when the mind is active. A mental picture exists
before every activity. Our association with objects and beings creates more and more attachment. We see a possibility—until it be¬
comes an agitation. Then desires and passions arise in the mind. To satisfy them, man has to act in the world outside. For it takes
less exertion to yield to them than to fight them. From this activity alone the mind’s various attitudes are born. Thus the mind gains
its experiences of joys and sorrows. The nature of Avidya when expressed in a given personality is called Rajoguna.
Rajoguna creates agitations in the mind. Due to these mental agitations, objectively we act in the world and subjectively we expe¬
rience desires, passions, lust and consequently, joys and sorrows.
112. Desire, anger, greed, hypocracy, arrogance, jealousy, egoism, envy, etc.— these are the dreadful attributes of Rajas, from
which the wordly tendencies of man are produced. Rajas is therefore the cause for bondage in life.
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
Objectively, all actions arise out of the Rajoguna aspect of Maya. Reactions arising subjectively in the human personality are ex¬
plained in this verse.
Rajas generates agitations (Vikshepa), and these very agitations of the mind veil (Avarana) the Self in us. When a. Rajasic man
gets exhausted due to his own over-exertion, he gets tired and feels sleepy—a state when he is about to enter Tamas. That is,
Rajas must necessarily lapse into Tamas. Once the higher Awareness is “veiled”, we are apt to act foolishly and get more and
more entangled in the mad pursuit of objects of pleasure.
See also:
in Avarana: Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda
in Ishvara: Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
in Vikshepa: Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
Related words
Broader term: Guna
Sattva
Tamas
Vikshepa
Sanskrit _
Rajas — 73TCJ
Rama
Name
Rama
Ram
rama - tttt
Rama — 7T*T
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Rama — ... “pleasing”; “delight”; the hero of the Ramayana; an incarnation of Visnu (from the verb root ram = “pleasing, to de¬
light”)
1. The seventh divine descent or incarnation of Visnu, whose life story is told in the Ramayana. A name of the all-pervasive su¬
preme Reality. He was the perfect embodiment of righteousness (dharma).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
rama -
(prob. ‘causing rest’, and in most meanings fr. root ram) dark, dark-coloured, black;
white (?);
pleasing, pleasant, charming, lovely, beautiful;
a kind of deer;
a horse;
a lover;
pleasure, joy, delight;
N. of Varuna;
N. of various mythical personages (in Veda two Ramas are mentioned with the patr. Margaveya and Aupatasvini; another Ramas
with the patr. Jamadagnya [cf. below] is the supposed author of RV.; in later times three Ramas are celebrated, viz. 1. Parazu-ra-
ma, who forms the 6th Avatara of Vishnu and is sometimes called Jamadagnya, as son of the sage Jamad-agni by Renuka, and
sometimes Bhargava, as descended from Bhrigu; 2. Rama-candra; 3. Bala-rama, ‘the strong Rama’, also called Halayudha and
regarded as elder brother of Krishna accord, to Jainas a Rama is enumerated among the 9 white Balas; and in VP. a Ramas is
mentioned among the 7 Rishis of the 8th Manv-antara) RV. &c. &c. N. of a king of Malla-pura;
of a king of Sringa-vera and patron of Nagesa;
various authors and teachers;
N. of the number ‘three’ (on account of the 3 Ramas);
N. of a people
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Rama (Ram) is a god worshipped over all of India. He is considered to be an AVATAR or descended form of Lord VISHNU. Ra¬
ma’s full story is told in the RAMAYANA epic.
In that famous epic, the gods ask Vishnu to incarnate in the world as a man, in order to kill the demon Ravana, who was torment¬
ing all the worlds. Ravana has a boon that he cannot be killed by any god or demon, but, in his arrogance, he never imagines he
can be killed by a human. Thus the avatar of Rama is arranged.
Rama is born to Dasharatha, king of AYODHYA, and his wife, Kaushalya. In his youth Rama is sent to the sage Vishvamitra’s her¬
mitage to help defend it from beings who are trying to disrupt the sacred Vedic rites. There he slays the female being Tataka who
was tormenting the sages. He receives certain celestial weapons and is obliged to kill the demons Marica and Subahu.
Rama later wins a contest to bend the bow of SHIVA; as his prize he wins the hand of SITA, daughter of the king of VIDEHA.
In Ayodhya another wife of Dasharatha, Kaikeyi, plots to have her son, Bharata, put on the throne in place of Rama. As a result
Rama is forced into exile for 14 years. His wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshmana, follow him.
During his exile Rama’s wife, Sita, is abducted by the demon king Ravana and taken to the island of Lanka. Making friends with
a group of monkeys, including the faithful HANUMAN, Rama carries out his divine duty in defeating Ravana and winning back his
wife. When he doubts her faithfulness, Sita passes a trial by fire. She is taken back, and the rule of Rama begins in all its perfec¬
tion. Some versions of the Ramayana, such as the Kambaramayanam in Tamil, end at this point.
In other versions the story continues. New questions are raised concerning Sita’s faithfulness, and Rama has his brother Laksh¬
mana take her to the forest. He does not realize that she is pregnant with twins. Rama’s sons Kusha and Lava are born in the
forest ASHRAM of Valmiki. Eventually, they end up in a war with Rama’s troops and defeat them.
At this point Rama realizes he has sons and wants Sita to return to live with him. She goes before him and in disgust at her two
rejections asks the Earth to swallow her up. Rama continues his just rule and dies, as all avatars must, being human forms of the
divinity. Rama is worshipped throughout India and celebrated in regional folklore and high culture alike. Sita is always included,
and Hanuman and Lakshmana are rarely omitted in any iconographic or pictorial presentation.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Rama (Rama Avatar). The seventh avatar or incarnation of the god Vishnu, the crown prince of the Solar Line and the protago¬
nist of the Ramayana, one of the two great Indian epics. As with all of Vishnu’s avatars, Rama is born to destroy a being powerful
enough to throw the cosmos out of balance, in this case Ravana, the demon-king of Lanka. The focal conflict in the Ramayana is
Rama’s quest to regain his wife Sita, who has been kidnapped by Ravana. The climactic sequence of the epic features Rama’s
struggle with Ravana, Ravana’s death, and the reestablishment of cosmic equilibrium, signified by Rama’s ascension to divine
kingship.
Unlike the god Krishna, whose divine play (lila) often subverts or ignores accepted social values, Rama is a pillar of society. As a
whole the Ramayana tends to espouse and uphold the traditional social values of religious duty (dharma), social hierarchy (var-
na), and the stages of life (ashrama). As the epic’s protagonist, Rama is the epitome of all these values. He is solid, dependable,
stable, righteous, and predictable.
In Hindu culture Rama is the model of the perfect son, and he shows this by being utterly devoted to his parents, giving far greater
weight to his duties as a son than as a husband. Unlike Krishna, who has multiple liaisons with his female devotees (bhakta), all in
the name of divine play, Rama is married and monogamous. When the time comes for battle, he is the fiercest of combatants, in¬
carnating the warrior (kshatriya) ideal of using strength to uphold justice, protect the righteous, and punish the wicked. In all these
things he personifies some of the most deeply embedded values of Hindu culture.
Yet there are also some unsettling incidents, particularly in the Valmiki Ramayana, the epic’s earliest version. These incidents
either feature Rama inexplicably stepping out of character or else point to problematic tensions in traditional Hindu values. In an
attempt to help the monkey-king Sugriva against his rival Bali, Rama shoots Bali in the back from a concealed place— an action
incompatible with the notion of fair and honorable warfare. His actions in enforcing the existing social order also show its oppres¬
sive and restrictive nature. In one incident, Rama kills a low-status shudra whom he finds performing physical asceticism (tapas),
a privilege reserved for his betters, and has molten lead poured in the ears of another shudra who was discovered listening to the
sacred Vedas—a forbidden act for such a person. Both incidents show the hierarchical nature of idealized Hindu society, and the
king’s role in preserving and sustaining this hierarchy. When Rama and his brother Lakshmana are propositioned by Ravana’s sis¬
ter Shurpanakha, they first mislead and ridicule her, then mutilate her by cutting off her ears and nose. These actions seem incom¬
patible with the kshatriya ethic of respect for women and the righteous use of force, and prompt Ravana to kidnap Sita in revenge.
Perhaps the most troubling questions arise from Rama’s behavior toward his wife Sita. Immediately after being liberated from
enslavement, she undergoes an ordeal by fire, from which her emergence unscathed upholds her claim that she remained chaste
while being held captive. Despite this definitive proof, Rama later insists on a second test, in which Sita, in protest, is swallowed
up by the earth. Thus, the picture of Rama conveyed by the epic is of a figure righteous by the standards of his time but on occa¬
sion rigid and inflexible.
In later versions of the Ramayana, particularly the Ramcharitmanas by the poet-saint Tulsidas (1532-1623?), this picture subtly
shifts, possibly in an attempt to soften or remove these troubling incidents. Certain changes in Tulsidas’s text also highlight the
centrality of devotion (bhakti) over all other religious attitudes. Tulsidas’s Rama is more explicitly portrayed as God incarnate, a
figure who is aware of his divine status and whose actions are undertaken for the benefit of his devotees. This Rama is still con¬
cerned with social values, particularly the kshatriya obligation to uphold and protect religious duty (dharma). Yet this ethic is in
tension with—and sometimes in opposition to—the importance of bhakti, which is portrayed as the ultimate religious goal. These
subtle shifts in the later text point to an occasional conflict between two differing ideals—dharma and bhakti— both of which are
affirmed as essential.
Wikipedia
Rama ... or Ramachandra is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in Hindu scriptures. In few
Rama-centric sects, Rama is considered the Supreme Being, rather than an avatar. Rama was born in Suryavansha (Ikshvaku
Vansh) later known as Raghuvansha after king Raghu. Based on Puranic genealogy, Rama is believed by Hindus to have lived in
the second Yuga called Treta Yuga, before Krishna who was born towards the end of Dwapara Yuga. Rama is traditionally consid¬
ered to have appeared in the last quarter of Treta Yuga.
Rama is one of the many popular figures and deities in Hinduism, specifically Vaishnavism and Vaishnava religious scriptures in
South and Southeast Asia. In Ayodhya, the Indian city believed to be the birthplace of Rama, he is also worshipped as an infant
or Rama Lalla. Most of the details of Rama’s life come from the Ramayana, one of the two great epics of India. Born as the el¬
dest son of Kausalya and Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya, Rama is referred to within Hinduism as Maryada Purushottama, literally
the Perfect Man or Lord of Self-Control or Lord of Virtue. Rama is the husband of Sita, whom Hindus consider to be an Avatar of
Lakshmi and the embodiment of perfect womanhood.
The primary source of the life ... of Rama is the epic Ramayana composed by the Rishi Valmiki. The Vishnu Purana also recounts
Rama as Vishnu’s seventh avatar, and in the Bhagavata Purana ... the story of the Ramayana is again recounted in brief up to ...
the slaying of Ravana and Prince Rama’s return to Ayodhya. Additionally, the tales of Rama are reverently spoken of in the epic
Mahabharata.
The epic had many versions across India’s regions. However, other scriptures in Sanskrit reflect the life of Ramayana. The fol¬
lowers of Madhvacharya believe that an older version of the Ramayana, the mula-Ramayana, previously existed but is no longer
extant. They consider it to be more authoritative than the version by Valmiki. Another important shortened version of the epic in
Sanskrit is the Adhyatma Ramayana.
See also:
in Vishnu: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Related words
Dharma
Vishnu
Ramakrishna
Name
General
Encyclopedia of religion
Born Gadadhar Chatterjee
Wikipedia
Ramakrishna, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay.
He is also referred to as “Paramahamsa” by his devotees, as such he is popularly known as Ramkrishna Paramhamsa.
The official biographies write that the name Ramakrishna was given by Mathura Biswas—chief patron at Dakshineswar Kali Tem¬
ple, it has also been suggested that this name was given by his own parents.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ramakrishna, Sri (1836-1886) influential mystic and priest of goddess Kali. Recognized as one of the greatest spiritual genius¬
es of modern Hinduism, Sri Ramakrishna was influential through his own example and through the work of his disciple Swami
VIVEKANANDA.
Encyclopedia of religion
RAMAKRISHNA (1834/6-1886) was a Hindu ecstatic and mystic, and to many Hindus a “supremely realized self” (paramahamsa)
and an avatara, or incarnation of the divine. Through his disciple, Swami Vivekananda, his gospel of the truth of all religions be¬
came a source of inspiration for modern Hindu universalism.
Wikipedia
Ramakrishna ... was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna
Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda - both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu
renaissance during the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of his disciples and devotees believe he was an Avatar or incarnation of
God...
Ramakrishna was born in a poor Brahmin Vaishnava family in rural Bengal. He became a priest of the Dakshineswar Kali Tem¬
ple, dedicated to the goddess Kali, which had the influence of the main strands of Bengali bhakti tradition. The most widely known
amongst his first spiritual teachers was an ascetic woman, called Bhairavi Brahmani skilled in Tantra and Vaishnava bhakti. Later
an Advaita Vedantin ascetic taught him non-dual meditation, and according to Ramakrishna, he experienced nirvikalpa samadhi
under his guidance. Ramakrishna also experimented with other religions, notably Islam and Christianity, and said that they all lead
to the same God. Though he quit conventional education, he attracted the attention of the middle class, upper middle class and
numerous Bengali intellectuals.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Love and Blessings
I ... read in Swami Vivekananda‘s biography. His guru Sri Ramakrishna was not a sannyasi of any regular order and didn't wear
ochre clothes, but when he passed away Vivekananda conducted a homam (fire ceremony) in which he burned his own clothes
and hair. After that he assumed the name Vivekananda and gave sannyasa to all his brother disciples.
Biography
Dates
18 February 1836 - 16 August 1886
Place of birth
The village of Kamarpukur, in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, India.
Life
Childhood
General
Wikipedia
Ramakrishna was born on 18 February 1836, in the village of Kamarpukur, in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, into a very poor
but pious, orthodox brahmin family...
Ramakrishna attended a village school with some regularity for 12 years, he later rejected the traditional schooling saying that he
was not interested in a “bread-winning education”. Kamarpukur, being a transit-point in well-established pilgrimage routes to Puri,
brought him into contact with renunciates and holy men. He became well-versed in the Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata,
and the Bhagavata Purana, hearing them from wandering monks and the Kathaks—a class of men in ancient India who preached
and sang the Puranas...
Ramakrishna describes his first spiritual ecstasy at the age of six: while walking along the paddy fields, a flock of white cranes
flying against a backdrop of dark thunder clouds caught his vision. He reportedly became so absorbed by this scene that he lost
outward consciousness and experienced indescribable joy in that state. Ramakrishna reportedly had experiences of similar nature
a few other times in his childhood ... From his tenth or eleventh year on, the trances became common, and by the final years of his
life, Ramakrishna’s samadhi periods occurred almost daily.
Ramakrishna’s father died in 1843, after which time family responsibilities fell on his elder brother Ramkumar. ... When Ra¬
makrishna was in his teens, the family’s financial position worsened. Ramkumar started a Sanskrit school in Calcutta and also
served as a priest. Ramakrishna moved to Calcutta in 1852 with Ramkumar to assist in the priestly work.
Later life
General
Encyclopedia of religion
His father’s death in 1843 increased Ramakrishna’s dependence upon his mother, while the role of father figure was assumed by
his eldest brother, Ramkumar, whom he followed to Calcutta in 1852. Ramkumar became adviser to a wealthy widow, herself a
Sakta, or devotee of 'sakti (the divine power symbolized as the Goddess), who was building a temple to the Divine Mother Kali at
Dakshineshwar, just north of the city. Though dedicated to Kali, the temple also included shrines to Siva and to Radha-Krsna, thus
combining the major strands of Hindu devotional religion. Ramkumar was appointed the temple’s chief priest and Ramakrishna
became priest to Radha-Krsna.
Wikipedia
Priest at Dakshineswar Kali Temple
In 1855 Ramkumar was appointed as the priest of Dakshineswar Kali Temple, built by Rani Rashmoni—a rich woman of Calcut¬
ta... Ramakrishna, along with his nephew Hriday, became assistants to Ramkumar, with Ramakrishna given the task of decorating
the deity. When Ramkumar died in 1856, Ramakrishna took his place as the priest of the Kali temple.
Marriage
Rumors spread to Kamarpukur that Ramakrishna had become unstable as a result of his spiritual exercises at Dakshineswar.
Ramakrishna’s mother and his elder brother Rameswar decided to get him married... Ramakrishna reportedly mentioned that
they could find the bride at the house of Ramchandra Mukherjee in Jayrambati, three miles to the north-west of Kamarpukur. The
five-year-old bride, Saradamani Mukhopadhyaya (later known as Sarada Devi, 1853-1920) was found and the marriage was
duly solemnised in 1859. Ramakrishna was 23 at this point, but the age difference was typical for 19th century rural Bengal. ...
she became a strong follower of his teachings. After the marriage, Sarada stayed at Jayrambati and joined Ramakrishna in Dak-
shineswar at the age of 18.
By the time his bride joined him, Ramakrishna had already embraced the monastic life of a sannyasi; as a result, the marriage was
never consummated. As a priest Ramakrishna performed the ritual ceremony—the Shodashi Puja-where Sarada Devi was made
to sit in the seat of goddess Kali, and worshiped as the Divine mother.
After his marriage Ramakrishna returned to Calcutta and resumed the charges of the temple again, and continued his sadhana.
Religious practices and teachers
Tantra
General
Wikipedia
In 1861, Ramakrishna accepted Bhairavi Brahmani, an orange-robed, middle-aged female ascetic, as a teacher. She carried with
her the Raghuvir Shila, a stone icon representing Ram and all Vaishnava deities. She was thoroughly conversant with the texts of
Gaudiya Vaishnavism and practiced Tantra. According to the Bhairavi, Ramakrishna was experiencing phenomena that accom¬
pany mahabhava—the supreme attitude of loving devotion towards the divine-and quoting from the bhakti shastras, she said that
other religious figures like Radha and Chaitanya had similar experiences.
The Bhairavi initiated Ramakrishna into Tantra. Tantrism focuses on the worship of shakti and the object of Tantric training is to
transcend the barriers between the holy and unholy as a means of achieving liberation and to see all aspects of the natural world
as manifestations of the divine shakti. Under her guidance, Ramakrishna went through sixty four major tantric sadhanas which
were completed in 1863. He began with mantra rituals such as japa and purascarana and many other rituals designed to puri¬
fy the mind and establish self-control. He later proceeded towards tantric sadhanas, which generally include a set of heterodox
practices called vamachara (left-hand path), which utilize as a means of liberation, activities like eating of parched grain, fish and
meat along with drinking of wine and sexual intercourse. According to Ramakrishna and his biographers, Ramakrishna did not
directly participate in the last two of those activities, all that he needed was a suggestion of them to produce the desired result.
Ramakrishna acknowledged the left-hand tantric path, though it had “undesirable features”, as one of the “valid roads to God-reali¬
zation”, he consistently cautioned his devotees and disciples against associating with it. The Bhairavi also taught Ramakrishna the
kumari-puja, a form of ritual in which the Virgin Goddess is worshiped symbolically in the form of a young girl. Under the tutelage
of the Bhairavi, Ramakrishna also learnt Kundalini Yoga. The Bhairavi, with the yogic techniques and the tantra played an import¬
ant part in the initial spiritual development of Ramakrishna.
Vaishnava Bhakti
General
Wikipedia
The Vaishnava Bhakti traditions speak of five different moods, referred to as bhavas—different attitudes that a devotee can take
up to express his love for God. They are: santa, the “peaceful attitude”; dasya, the attitude of a servant; sakhya, the attitude of a
friend; vatsalya, the attitude of a mother toward her child; and madhura, the attitude of a woman towards her lover.
At some point in the period between his vision of Kali and his marriage, Ramakrishna practiced dasya bhava, during which he
worshiped Rama with the attitude of Hanuman, the monkey-god, who is considered to be the ideal devotee and servant of Rama.
According to Ramakrishna, towards the end of this sadhana, he had a vision of Sita, the consort of Rama, merging into his body.
In 1864, Ramakrishna practiced vatsalya bhava under a Vaishnava guru Jatadhari. During this period, he worshipped a metal im¬
age of Ramlala (Rama as a child) in the attitude of a mother. According to Ramakrishna, he could feel the presence of child Rama
as a living God in the metal image.
Ramakrishna later engaged in the practice of madhura bhava— the attitude of the Gopis and Radha towards Krishna. During the
practise of this bhava, Ramakrishna dressed himself in women’s attire for several days and regarded himself as one of the Gopis
of Vrindavan. According to Sri Ramakrishna, madhura bhava is practised to root out the idea of sex, which is seen as an imped¬
iment in spiritual life. According to Ramakrishna, towards the end of this sadhana, he attained savikalpa samadhi—vision and
union with Krishna.
Ramakrishna visited Nadia, the home of Chaitanya and Nityananda, the 15th-century founders of Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava
bhakti. According to Ramakrishna, he had an intense vision of two young boys merging into his body. Earlier, after his vision of
Kali, he is said to have cultivated the Santa bhava—the child attitude — towards Kali.
Vedanta
General
Wikipedia
In 1865, Ramakrishna was initiated into sannyasa by Tota Puri, an itinerant monk who trained Ramakrishna in Advaita Vedanta,
the Hindu philosophy which emphasizes non-dualism.
Totapuri first guided Ramakrishna through the rites of sannyasa—renunciation of all ties to the world. Then he instructed him in
the teaching of advaita—that “Brahman alone is real, and the world is illusory; I have no separate existence; I am that Brahman
alone.” Under the guidance of Totapuri, Ramakrishna reportedly experienced nirvikalpa samadhi, which is considered to be the
highest state in spiritual realisation.
Totapuri stayed with Ramakrishna for nearly eleven months and instructed him further in the teachings of advaita. Ramakrishna
said that this period of nirvikalpa samadhi came to an end when he received a command from the Mother Kali to “remain in Bha-
vamukha; for the enlightenment of the people”. Bhavamukha being a state of existence intermediate between samadhi and normal
consciousness.
Islam and Christianity
General
Wikipedia
In 1866, Govinda Roy, a Hindu guru who practiced Sufism, initiated Ramakrishna into Islam. Ramakrishna said that he “devoutly
repeated the name of Allah, wore a cloth like the Arab Moslems, said their prayer five times daily, and felt disinclined even to see
images of the Hindu gods and goddesses, much less worship them—for the Hindu way of thinking had disappeared altogether
from my mind.” According to Ramakrishna, after three days of practice he had a vision of a “radiant personage with grave counte¬
nance and white beard resembling the Prophet and merging with his body”.
At the end of 1873 he started the practice of Christianity, when his devotee Shambu Charan Mallik read the Bible to him. Ra¬
makrishna said that for several days he was filled with Christian thoughts and no longer thought of going to the Kali temple. Ra-
makrishna describes of a vision in which the picture of Madonna and Child Jesus became alive and had a vision in which Jesus
merged with his body. In his own room amongst other divine pictures was one of Christ, and he burnt incense before it morning
and evening. There was also a picture showing Jesus Christ saving St Peter from drowning in the water.
Death
General
Wikipedia
In the beginning of 1885 Ramakrishna suffered from clergyman’s throat, which gradually developed into throat cancer. He was
moved to Shyampukur near Calcutta, where some of the best physicians of the time, including Dr. Mahendralal Sarkar, were en¬
gaged. When his condition aggravated he was relocated to a large garden house at Cossipore on December 11, 1885.
During his last days, he was looked after by his monastic disciples and Sarada Devi. Ramakrishna was advised by the doctors
to keep the strictest silence, but ignoring their advice, he incessantly conversed with visitors. According to traditional accounts,
before his death, Ramakrishna transferred his spiritual powers to Vivekananda and reassured Vivekananda of his avataric sta¬
tus. Ramakrishna asked Vivekananda to look after the welfare of the disciples, saying, “keep my boys together” and asked him to
“teach them”. Ramakrishna also asked other monastic disciples to look upon Vivekananda as their leader. Ramakrishna’s condi¬
tion gradually worsened and he expired in the early morning hours of August 16, 1886 at the Cossipore garden house. According
to his disciples, this was mahasamadhi.
Teachings
General
Encyclopedia of religion
Ramakrishna left no written work, but his conversations from 1882 to 1886 were recorded in Bengali by Mahendranath Gupta,
writing under the pseudonym “M,” and published as Sri Sri Ramakrsna Kathamrta (Holy nectar of Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings).
The five-volume Bengali text is widely read in Bengal. Elsewhere, readers discover the Kathamrta through Swami Nikhilananda’s
translation, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.
Ramakrishna’s followers maintain that his realization of the nondual absolute under Totapuri was the culmination of his spiritual
quest and provides the basis for his teaching of the truth of all religions as paths leading to this ultimate goal. In his teachings,
however, he stressed that withdrawal from the world as advocated by Advaita produces a “knower,” or jnam, who is negative and
self-centered. Ramakrishna contrasted the jnam with the vijnam, the “complete knower” who does not reject the world as an illu¬
sory distraction from the absolute but who sees it as the play (Ilia) of the Divine Mother. Ramakrishna saw merit in both positions.
The formless absolute is real, but so is the Divine Mother, or sakti, who is ever at play in the world of form. Viewing brahman and
sakti as two sides of the same reality, Ramakrishna affirmed the reality of the goal sought by the followers of Sankara, while also
making clear that his own ideal was a complete knowledge that realizes the reality of the One who is both beyond change and
playfully active.
Wikipedia
Ramakrishna’s teachings were imparted in rustic Bengali, using stories and parables. These teachings made a powerful impact on
Calcutta’s intellectuals, despite the fact that his preachings were far removed from issues of modernism or national independence.
His spiritual movement indirectly aided nationalism, as it rejected caste distinctions and religious prejudices.
In the Calcutta scene of the mid to late nineteenth century, Ramakrishna was opinionated on the subject of Chakri. Chakri can be
described as a type of low-paying servitude done by educated men—typically government or commerce-related clerical positions.
On a basic level, Ramakrishna saw this system as a corrupt form of European social organization that forced educated men to be
servants not only to their bosses at the office but also to their wives at home. What Ramakrishna saw as the primary detriment of
Chakri, however, was that it forced workers into a rigid, impersonal clock-based time structure. He saw the imposition of strict ad¬
herence to each second on the watch as a roadblock to spirituality. Despite this, however, Ramakrishna demonstrated that Bhakti
could be practiced as an inner retreat to experience solace in the face of Western-style discipline and often discrimination in the
workplace.
Ramakrishna emphasised God-realisation as the supreme goal of all living beings. Ramakrishna taught that kamini-kanchana is
an obstacle to God-realization. Kamini-kanchan literally translates to “woman and gold.”... Ramakrishna also cautioned his wom¬
en disciples against purusa-kanchana (“man and gold”) and Tyagananda writes that Ramakrishna used Kamini-Kanchana as
“cautionary words” instructing his disciples to conquer the “lust inside the mind.”
Ramakrishna looked upon the world as Maya and he explained that avidya maya represents dark forces of creation (e.g. sensual
desire, evil passions, greed, lust and cruelty), which keep people on lower planes of consciousness. These forces are responsible
for human entrapment in the cycle of birth and death, and they must be fought and vanquished. Vidya maya, on the other hand,
represents higher forces of creation (e.g. spiritual virtues, enlightening qualities, kindness, purity, love, and devotion), which ele¬
vate human beings to the higher planes of consciousness.
Ramakrishna practised several religions, including Islam and Christianity, and taught that in spite of the differences, all religions
are valid and true and they lead to the same ultimate goal—God. Ramakrishna’s taught that jatra jiv tatra Shiv (wherever there is a
living being, there is Shiva). His teaching, “Jive daya noy, Shiv gyane jiv seba” (not kindness to living beings, but serving the living
being as Shiva Himself) is considered as the inspiration for the philanthropic work carried out by his chief disciple Vivekananda.
Ramakrishna used rustic colloquial Bengali in his conversations. According to contemporary reports, Ramakrishna’s linguistic style
was unique, even to those who spoke Bengali. It contained obscure local words and idioms from village Bengali, interspersed with
philosophical Sanskrit terms and references to the Vedas, Puranas, Tantras. For that reason, according to philosopher Lex Hixon,
his speeches cannot be literally translated into English or any other language. Scholar Amiya P. Sen argued that certain terms that
Ramakrishna may have used only in a metaphysical sense are being improperly invested with new, contemporaneous meanings.
Ramakrishna was skilled with words and had an extraordinary style of preaching and instructing, which may have helped convey
his ideas to even the most skeptical temple visitors. His speeches reportedly revealed a sense of joy and fun, but he was not at a
loss when debating with intellectual philosophers. Philosopher Arindam Chakrabarti contrasted Ramakrishna’s talkativeness with
Buddha’s legendary reticence, and compared his teaching style to that of Socrates.
Ramakrishna’s explicitly sexual language shocked 19th-century Westerners, even scholars Max Muller who were otherwise his
admirers. Muller wrote that his language was at times “abominably filthy”. He admitted however that such direct speech was nat¬
ural to contemporary Hindus, “where certain classes of men walk stark naked”, and should not be considered intentional filthiness
or obscenity. Citing examples of classical poems like Bhartrihari, the Bible, Homer, and Shakespeare, Muller felt that few of the
sayings would have to be bowdlerized.
Religious school of thought
Several scholars have tried to associate Ramakrishna with a particular religious school of thought—Bhakti, Tantra and Vedanta.
In his influential 1896 essay “A real mahatma: Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa Dev” and his 1899 book Ramakrishna: His Life and
Sayings, the German philologist and Orientalist Max Muller portrayed Ramakrishna as “a wonderful mixture of God and man” and
as “...a Bhakta, a worshipper or lover of the deity, much more than a Gnanin or a knower.”
In London and New York in 1896, Swami Vivekananda delivered his famous address on Ramakrishna entitled “My Master.” He
said of his master: “this great intellect never learnt even to write his own name, but the most brilliant graduates of our university
found in him an intellectual giant.”...
Disciples
General
Wikipedia
Devotees and disciples
Most of Ramakrishna’s prominent disciples came between 1879-1885, and were influenced by his style of preaching and instruc¬
tion.
His chief disciples consisted of:
Grihastas or The householders—Mahendranath Gupta, Girish Chandra Ghosh, Akshay Kumar Sen and others.
Monastic disciples who renounced their family and became the earliest monks of the Ramakrishna order—Narendranath Dutta
(Swami Vivekananda), Rakhal Chandra Ghosh (Swami Brahmananda), Kaliprasad Chandra (Swami Abhedananda), Taraknath
Ghoshal (Swami Shivananda), Sashibhushan Chakravarty (Swami Ramakrishnananda), Saratchandra Chakravarty (Swami Sara-
dananda), Tulasi Charan Dutta (Swami Nirmalananda), Gangadhar Ghatak (Swami Akhandananda), Hari Prasana (Swami Vi-
jnanananda) and others.
A small group of women disciples including Gauri Ma and Yogin Ma. A few of them were initiated into sanyasa through mantra
deeksha. Among the women, Ramakrishna emphasized service to other women rather than tapasya (practice of austerities).
Gauri Ma founded the Saradesvari Ashrama at Barrackpur, which was dedicated to the education and uplift of women.
As his name spread, an ever-shifting crowd of all classes and castes visited Ramakrishna. According to Kathamrita it included,
childless widows, young school-boys, aged pensioners, Hindu scholars and religious figures, men betrayed by lovers, people
with suicidal tendencies, small-time businessmen, and people “dreading the grind of samsaric life”. Ramakrishna’s primary biog¬
raphers, describe him as talkative. According to the biographers, for hours Ramakrishna would reminisce about his own eventful
spiritual life, tell tales, explain Vedantic doctrines with extremely mundane illustrations, raise questions and answer them himself,
crack jokes, sing songs, and mimic the ways of all types of worldly people, keeping the visitors were enthralled. In preparation for
monastic life, Ramakrishna ordered his monastic disciples to beg their food from door to door without distinction of caste. He gave
them the saffron robe, the sign of the Sanyasi, and initiated them with Mantra Deeksha.
Works
Organizations
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
He did not found a movement or establish an organization, although he was the inspiration of a generation of Indian Hindus...
His famous disciple Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and Mission at Belur Math, near Calcutta (Kolkata) to
propagate the teachings of his guru. Sarada Devi, his widow, also began to assert the leadership role that Ramakrishna had spec¬
ified for her, and she became known as the mother of the movement that Ramakrishna inspired. These missions offer spiritual,
medical, and educational services to the people of India. Outside India, in 18 countries on five continents, the same organization is
known as the Vedanta Society and is headed by swamis initiated and trained at Belur Math.
Wikipedia
Several organizations have been established in the name of Ramakrishna. The Ramakrishna Math and Mission is one of the main
organizations founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897. The Mission conducts extensive work in health care, disaster relief, rural
management, tribal welfare, elementary and higher education. The movement is considered as one of the revitalization move¬
ments of India. Other organizations include the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society founded by Swami Abhedananda in 1923, the Ra¬
makrishna Sarada Math founded by a rebel group in 1929,the Ramakrishna Vivekananda Mission formed by Swami Nityananda
in 1976, and the Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission founded in 1959 as a sister organization by the Ramakrishna
Math and Mission.
Related words
Bhakti
Ramana Maharshi
Name
Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharishi
Venkataraman Ayyar
born Venkataraman Iyer
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) advaita Vedanta teacher and mystic. Ramana Maharshi was a GURU of international renown
from southern India who taught the nondual philosophy of ADVAITAVEDANTA....
Without any training by a teacher or any personal discipline, he attained a profound experience of the true Self and realized that
the body dies but consciousness is not touched by death. He saw the real “I” as immortal consciousness, as a powerful living truth
experienced directly. Thereafter, all attention was drawn to this “I” or Self and he remained conscious of his identity with the abso¬
lute at all times. All fear of death was permanently extinguished.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ramana Maharishi (1879-1950). Modern Hindu sage, whose life and message reiterated the fundamental insight of the ancient
speculative Upanishads, namely, that the inner Self (atman) is identical with Supreme Reality (Brahman).
Wikipedia
Sri Ramana Maharshi ... was a Hindu spiritual master (“jnani”). ... Although born a Brahmin, he declared himself an “Atiasrami”, a
Sastraic state of non-attachment to anything in life and beyond all caste restrictions. The ashram that grew around him, Sri Rama¬
na Ashram, is situated at the foothill of Arunchala, to the west to the pilgrimage town of Tiruvannamalai.
Biography
Dates
December 30, 1879-April 14, 1950
Place of birth
Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu, India
Life
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ramana was born on December 30, 1879, as Venkataraman Ayyar at Tiruchuli near Madurai in the state of Tamil Nadu. He was
the son of Shundaram Ayyar, a scribe and country lawyer. The family was religious, giving ritual offerings to the family deity and
visiting temples. As a child, Ramana was largely uninterested in school; throughout his life he showed a marked inclination toward
introspection and self-analysis.
In 1896, at age 17 he entered an altered state of consciousness that had a profound effect on him. He experienced what he un¬
derstood to be his own death and return to life...
Ramana ran away from home to the holy mountain Arunachala near Tiruvannamalai. He spent 10 years in silent Self-absorption
at the temple there, at the foot of the mountain, and in various caves on the mountain. Throughout these years he remained silent
and maintained disciplines of spiritual purification and nonattachment. Against the pleas of his family, he refused to return home.
His absorption in higher consciousness was so deep that he neglected care of his body and was at times famished and chewed
by insects. Disciples began to gather around him to take care of his physical needs and to gain awareness of his non-dual state of
consciousness. His disciples gave him sacred books, and he became conversant with the religious traditions of South India.
When Ramana broke his silence, he responded to questions about Self-consciousness. His teaching was given largely through
conversations with guests who visited him on the mountain, where his ASHRAM began to develop. His advice to those who
sought SELF-REALIZATION was to direct them to the question “Who am I?”—a self-inquiry that he insisted be used tirelessly as
each student discovered deeper and deeper levels of awareness. The aim of this inquiry was for each person to find an aware¬
ness of non-duality, in which the oneness of the Self and cosmos could be perceived. He taught that a person who is not attached
to the results of action can live in the world as an actor who plays a role in a drama but is immune to emotional disturbance, be¬
cause the person realizes that action is only play acting on the stage of life.
Ramana remained at Arunachala for the duration of his life, welcoming visitors from East and West, while becoming a living exam¬
ple of nondual consciousness. He died there of cancer on April 14, 1950, sitting in a lotus position. The Ramanashramam exists
today as a sanctuary that houses Ramana’s grave, his cave residence, and accommodation for many visitors.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Ramana was born into a middle-class Indian family and during his youth demonstrated no unusual abilities. In 1895 he obtained a
copy of the Periya Puranam, a text chronicling the lives of the poet-saints known as the Nayanars, and in reading about their lives
Ramana began to desire to renounce the world. This inclination was realized the next year, when he imagined the death of his
body and reached the conclusion that his real identity was the Self. He left his family and went to the temple of Tiruvannamalai,
also known as Arunachala, where he remained until his death fifty-four years later. For some time at the start he was deep in
meditation and barely attended to his physical needs. Soon he attracted disciples, through whom his family eventually discovered
his whereabouts, although Ramana refused to return home with them when they came to see him. His mother moved to Tiruvan¬
namalai in 1916, and after her death five years later Ramana relocated his dwelling to be near her grave.
Wikipedia
Family Background
Sri Ramana was born in a village called Tiruchuli (Tiruchuzhi) near Aruppukkottai, Madurai in Tamil Nadu, South India on Arudra
Darshanam day, into an orthodox Hindu Tamil (Iyer) family, the second of four children of Sundaram Iyer (18457-1892), from the
lineage of Parashara, and Azhagammal (7-1922), and named Venkataraman at birth.
Childhood
Venkataraman seemed a normal child with no apparent signs of future greatness. He was popular, good at sports, very intelli¬
gent but lazy at school, indulged in an average amount of mischief, and showed little religious interest. He did have a few unusual
traits. When he slept, he went into such a deep state of unconsciousness that his friends could physically assault his body with¬
out waking him up. ... When Venkataraman was about 11, his father sent him to live with his paternal uncle Subbaiyar in Dindigul
because he wanted his sons to be educated in English so they would be eligible to enter government service, and only Tamil was
taught at the village school in Tiruchuzhi. In 1891, when his uncle was transferred to Madurai, Venkataraman and his elder brother
Nagaswami moved with him. In Dindigul, Venkataraman attended a British School.
The Awakening
In 1892, Venkataraman’s father Sundaram Iyer suddenly fell seriously ill and unexpectedly died several days later at the age of
42. For some hours after his father’s death he contemplated the matter of death, and how his father’s body was still there, but the
T was gone from it.
After leaving Scott’s Middle School, Venkataraman went to the American Mission High School. .
... on July 17, 1896, at age 16, Venkataraman had a life-changing experience. He spontaneously initiated a process of self-enquiry
that culminated, within a few minutes, in his own permanent awakening...
After this event, he lost interest in school-studies, friends, and relations. Avoiding company, he preferred to sit alone, absorbed in
concentration on the Self, and went daily to the Meenakshi Temple, ecstatically devoted to the images of the Gods, tears flowing
profusely from his eyes.
The Journey to Arunachala
He decided to leave his home and go to Arunachala. Knowing his family would not permit this, he slipped away...
On the morning of September 1, 1896, Venkataraman boarded the train and traveled the remaining distance. In Tiruvannamalai
he went straight to the temple of Arunachaleswara.
Early Life at Arunachala
The first few weeks he spent in the thousand-pillared hall, but shifted to other spots in the temple and eventually to the Patala-lin-
gam vault so that he might remain undisturbed. There, he would spend days absorbed in such deep samadhi that he was unaware
of the bites of vermin and pests. Seshadri Swamigal, a local saint, discovered him in the underground vault and tried to protect
him. After about six weeks in the Patala-lingam, he was carried out and cleaned up. For the next two months he stayed in the Sub-
ramanya Shrine, so unaware of his body and surroundings that food had to be placed in his mouth or he would have starved.
From there, he was invited to stay in a mango orchard next to Gurumurtam, a temple about a mile out of Tiruvannamalai, and
shortly after his arrival a sadhu named Palaniswami went to see him. Palaniswami’s first darshan left him filled with peace and
bliss, and from that time on his sole concern was serving Sri Ramana, joining him as his permanent attendant. From Gurumurtam
to Virupaksha Cave (1899-1916) to Skandasramam Cave (1916-22), he was the instrument of divine protection for Sri Ramana,
who would be without consciousness of the body and lost in inner bliss most of the time. Besides physical protection, Palaniswami
would also beg for alms, cook and prepare meals for himself and Sri Ramana, and care for him as needed.
Gradually, despite Sri Ramana’s silence, austerities, and desire for privacy, he attracted attention from visitors, and some became
his disciples. Eventually, his family discovered his whereabouts. First his uncle Nelliappa Iyer came and pled with him to return
home, promising that the family would not disturb his ascetic life. Sri Ramana sat motionless and eventually his uncle gave up. It
was at the temple at Pavalakkunru, one of the eastern spurs of Arunachala, that his mother and brother Nagaswami found him in
December 1898. Day after day his mother begged him to return, but no amount of weeping and pleading had any visible effect on
him...
Soon after this, in February 1899, Sri Ramana moved further up Arunachala where he stayed briefly in Satguru Cave and Guhu
Namasivaya Cave before taking up residence at Virupaksha Cave for the next 17 years, using Mango Tree cave during the sum¬
mers (except for a six month period at Pachaiamman Koil during the plague epidemic)...
Kavyakantha Sri Ganapati Sastri (literally, “One who has poetry in his throat”), a Vedic scholar of repute in his age with a deep
knowledge of the Srutis, Sastras, Tantras, Yoga, and Agama systems, came to visit Sri Ramana in 1907. After receiving instruc¬
tions from him, he proclaimed him as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. Sri Ramana was known by this name from then on.
Discovery by Westerners
It was in 1911 that the first westerner, Frank Humphreys, then a policeman stationed in India, discovered Sri Ramana and wrote
articles about him which were first published in The International Psychic Gazette in 1913. However, Sri Ramana only became
relatively well known in and out of India after 1934 when Paul Brunton, having first visited Sri Ramana in January 1931, published
the book A Search in Secret India, which became very popular. Resulting visitors included Paramahansa Yogananda, Somer¬
set Maugham (whose 1944 novel The Razor’s Edge models its spiritual guru after Sri Ramana), Mercedes de Acosta and Arthur
Osborne. Sri Ramana’s relative fame spread throughout the 1940s. However, even as his fame spread, Sri Ramana was noted for
his belief in the power of silence and his relatively sparse use of speech, as well as his lack of concern for fame or criticism. His
lifestyle remained that of a renunciate.
Mother’s Arrival
In 1912, while in the company of disciples, he was observed to undergo about a 15 minute period where he showed the outward
symptoms of death, which reportedly resulted thereafter in an enhanced ability to engage in practical affairs while remaining in
Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi. In 1916 his mother Alagammal and younger brother Nagasundaram joined Sri Ramana at Tiruvan-
namalai and followed him when he moved to the larger Skandashram Cave, where Bhagavan lived until the end of 1922. His
mother took up the life of a sannyasin, and Sri Ramana began to give her intense, personal instruction, while she took charge of
the Ashram kitchen. Ramana’s younger brother, Nagasundaram, then became a sannyasi, assuming the name Niranjanananda,
becoming known as Chinnaswami (the younger Swami).
Mother’s Death
Beginning in 1920, his mother’s health deteriorated. On the day of her death, May 19, 1922, at about 8 a.m., Sri Ramana sat be¬
side her. It is reported that throughout the day, he had his right hand on her heart, on the right side of the chest, and his left hand
on her head, until her death around 8:00 p.m., when Sri Ramana pronounced her liberated, literally, ‘Adangi Vittadu, Addakam’
(‘absorbed’). Later Sri Ramana said of this: “You see, birth experiences are mental. Thinking is also like that, depending on sans-
karas (tendencies). Mother was made to undergo all her future births in a comparatively short time.”. Her body was enshrined in
a samadhi, on top of which a Siva lingam was installed and given the name Mathrubutheswara [Siva manifesting as mother]. To
commemorate the anniversary of Ramana Maharshi’s mother’s death, a puja, known as her Aradhana or Mahapooja, is performed
every year at the Mathrubutheswara.
After this, Sri Ramana often walked from Skandashram to her tomb. Then in December 1922, he came down from Skandashram
permanently and settled at the base of the Hill, where Sri Ramanasramam is still located today. At first, there was only one hut at
the samadhi, but in 1924 two huts, one opposite the samadhi and the other to the north were erected.
The Later Years
The Sri Ramanasramam grew to include a library, hospital, post-office and many other facilities. Sri Ramana displayed a natural
talent for planning building projects...
Sri Ramana was noted for his belief in the power of silence and relatively sparse use of speech. He led a modest and renunciate
life, and depended on visitors and devotees for the barest necessities. However, a popular image of him as a person who spent
most of his time doing nothing except silently sitting in samadhi is highly inaccurate, according to David Godman, who has written
extensively about Sri Ramana. According to Godman, from the period when an Ashram began to rise around him after his mother
arrived into his later years, Sri Ramana was actually quite active in Ashram activities until his health failed.
Death
General
Wikipedia
In November 1948, a tiny cancerous lump was found on the Maharshi’s arm and was removed in February 1949 by the ashram
doctor. Soon, another growth appeared, and another operation was done by an eminent surgeon in March, 1949, with Radium
applied. The doctor told Sri Ramana that a complete amputation of the arm to the shoulder was required to save his life, but he
refused. A third and fourth operation were performed in August and December 1949, but only weakened him. Other systems of
medicine were then tried; all proved fruitless and were stopped by the end of March when devotees gave up all hope. To devotees
who begged him to cure himself for the sake of his followers, Sri Ramana is said to have replied, “Why are you so attached to this
body? Let it go” and, “Where can I go? I am here.”
By April 1950, Sri Ramana was too weak to go to the hall, and visiting hours were limited. Visitors would file past the small room
where he spent his final days to get one final glimpse. Swami Satyananda, the attendant at the time, reports, “On the evening
of 14 April 1950, we were massaging Sri Ramana’s body. At about 5 o’clock, he asked us to help him to sit up. Precisely at that
moment devotees started chanting ‘Arunachala Siva, Arunachala Siva’. When Sri Ramana heard this his face lit up with radiant
joy. Tears began to flow from his eyes and continued to flow for a long time. I was wiping them from time to time. I was also giving
him spoonfuls of water boiled with ginger. The doctor wanted to administer artificial respiration but Sri Ramana waved it away. Sri
Ramana’s breathing became gradually slower and slower and at 8:47 p.m. it subsided quietly.”
Teachings
General
Wikipedia
Sri Ramana Maharshi maintained that the purest form of his teachings was the powerful silence which radiated from his pres¬
ence and quieted the minds of those attuned to it. He gave verbal teachings only for the benefit of those who could not under¬
stand his silence (or, perhaps, could not understand how to “tune-in” to his silent state). Silence to Ramana did not mean a state
of “not-speaking” but rather it was an active participation in being the Universal Self which generated a transformative power on
those who witnessed it in person or even through his photographs. His verbal teachings were said to flow from his direct experi¬
ence of Atman as the only existing reality. When asked for advice, he recommended self-enquiry as the fastest path to moksha.
Though his primary teaching is associated with Non-dualism, Advaita Vedanta, and Jnana yoga, he recommended Bhakti to those
he saw were fit for it, and gave his approval to a variety of paths and practices.
Sri Ramana’s teachings about self-enquiry, the practice he is most widely associated with, have been classified as the Path of
Knowledge (Jnana marga) among the Indian schools of thought. Though his teaching is consistent with and generally associated
with Hinduism, the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta, there are some differences with the traditional Advaitic school, and Sri Ra¬
mana gave his approval to a variety of paths and practices from various religions.
His earliest teachings are documented in the book Nan Yar? (Who am I?), first written in Tamil.
Selections from [The Path of Sri Ramana, Part One’ by Sri Sadhu Om] follow :
As all living beings desire to be happy always, without misery, as in the case of everyone there is observed supreme love for one’s
self, and as happiness alone is the cause for love, in order to gain that happiness which is one’s nature and which is experienced
in the state of deep sleep where there is no mind, one should know one’s self. For that, the path of knowledge, the inquiry of the
form “Who am I?”, is the principal means.
Knowledge itself is T. The nature of (this) knowledge is existence-consciousness-bliss.
What is called mind is a wondrous power existing in Self. It projects all thoughts. If we set aside all thoughts and see, there will be
no such thing as mind remaining separate; therefore, thought itself is the form of the mind. Other than thoughts, there is no such
thing as the mind.
Of all the thoughts that rise in the mind, the thought T is the first thought.
That which rises in this body as T is the mind. If one enquires ‘In which place in the body does the thought T rise first?’, it will be
known to be in the heart [spiritual heart is ‘two digits to the right from the centre of the chest’]. Even if one incessantly thinks T, T,
it will lead to that place (Self)’
The mind will subside only by means of the enquiry ‘Who am I?’. The thought ‘Who am I?’, destroying all other thoughts, will itself
finally be destroyed like the stick used for stirring the funeral pyre.
If other thoughts rise, one should, without attempting to complete them, enquire, To whom did they arise?’, it will be known To
me’. If one then enquires ‘Who am I?’, the mind (power of attention) will turn back to its source. By repeatedly practising thus, the
power of the mind to abide in its source increases.
The place where even the slightest trace of the T does not exist, alone is Self.
Self itself is God.
Sri Ramana warned against considering self-enquiry as an intellectual exercise. Properly done, it involves fixing the attention
firmly and intensely on the feeling of T, without thinking. It is perhaps more helpful to see it as ‘Self-attention’ or ‘Self-abiding’ (cf.
Sri Sadhu Om - The Path of Sri Ramana Part I). The clue to this is in Sri Ramana’s own death experience when he was 16. After
raising the question ‘Who am I?’ he “turned his attention very keenly towards himself” (cf. description above). Attention must be
fixed on the T until the feeling of duality disappears.
Although he advocated self-enquiry as the fastest means to realization, he also recommended the path of bhakti and self-surren¬
der (to one’s Deity or Guru) either concurrently or as an adequate alternative, which would ultimately converge with the path of
self-enquiry.
Sri Ramana’s teachings and Advaita
Sri Ramana’s teachings and the traditional Advaitic school of thought pioneered by Sri Adi Shankara have many things in com¬
mon. Sri Ramana often mentioned and is known to have encouraged study of the following classical works: Ashtavakra Gita,
Ribhu Gita and Essence of Ribhu Gita, Yoga Vasista Sara, Tripura Rahasya, Kaivalya Navaneetam, Advaita Bodha Deepika, and
Ellam Ondre. However, there are some practical differences with the traditional Advaitic school, which recommends a negation¬
ist neti, neti (Sanskrit, “not this”, “not this”) path, or mental affirmations that the Self was the only reality, such as “I am Brahman”
or “I am He”, while Sri Ramana advocates the enquiry “Nan Yar” (Tamil, “Who am I”). Furthermore, unlike the traditional Advaitic
school, Sri Ramana strongly discouraged most who came to him from adopting a renunciate lifestyle.
His method of teaching was characterized by the following:
He urged people who came to him to practice self-enquiry;
He directed people to look inward rather than seeking outside themselves for Realization. (“The true Bhagavan resides in your
Heart as your true Self. This is who I truly am.”);
He viewed all who came to him as the Self rather than as lesser beings. (“The jnani sees no one as an ajnani. All are only jnanis in
his sight.”);
He charged no money, and was adamant that no one ever ask for money (or anything else) in his name;
He never promoted or called attention to himself. Instead, Sri Ramana remained in one place for 54 years, offering spiritual guid¬
ance to anyone of any background who came to him, and asking nothing in return;
He considered humility to be the highest quality;
He said the deep sense of peace one felt around a jnani was the surest indicator of their spiritual state, that equality towards all
was a true sign of liberation, and that what a true jnani did was always for others, not themselves.
Teachers in his tradition
He considered his own guru to be the Self, in the form of the sacred mountain Arunachala. Sri Ramana did not publicize himself as
a guru, never claimed to have disciples, and never appointed any successors. While a few who came to see him are said to have
become enlightened through association, and there are accounts of private acknowledgements, he did not publicly acknowledge
any living person as liberated other than his mother at death. Sri Ramana declared himself an atiasrama (beyond all caste and
religious restrictions, not attached to anything in life), and did not belong to or promote any lineage. Despite his non-affiliations,
there are numerous contemporary teachers who publicly associate themselves with Sri Ramana, and some who assert being in
his lineage.
Works
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Although he spoke very seldom, he managed to compose two short works—Self-Enquiryand Who am I?—in which he stated his
basic insights.
Wikipedia
In 1902, a government official named Sivaprakasam Pillai, with writing slate in hand, visited the young Swami in the hope of ob¬
taining answers to questions about “How to know one’s true identity”. The fourteen questions put to the young Swami and his
answers were Sri Ramana’s first teachings on Self-enquiry, the method for which he became widely known, and were eventually
published as ‘Nan Yar?’, or in English, ‘Who am I?’.
The original book was published by Sri Pillai, although the essay version of the book (Sri Ramana Nutrirattu) prepared by Sri Ra¬
mana is considered definitive as unlike the original it had the benefit of his revision and review. A careful translation with notes is
available in English as The Path of Sri Ramana, Part One’ by Sri Sadhu Om, one of the direct disciples of Sri Ramana.
Sri Ramana composed The Five Hymns to Arunachala, his magnum opus in devotional lyric poetry. Of them the first is Akshara
Mana Malai (the Marital Garland of Letters). It was composed in Tamil in response to the request of a devotee for a song to be
sung while wandering in the town for alms. The Marital Garland tells in glowing symbolism of the love and union between the hu¬
man soul and God, expressing the attitude of the soul that still aspires.
Publications
Who am I? Naan Yaar
Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, by Munagal Venkataramiah. Covers the period 1935 to 1939 (ISBN 8-18801-807-4)
Reflections On Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, by S.S. Cohen (ISBN 8-18801-838-4)
The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in His Own Words, by Arthur Osborne (ISBN 81-88018-15-5)[58]
The Collected Works Of Sri Ramana Maharshi. Contains compositions by Sri Ramana, as well as a large number of adaptations
and translations by him of classical advaita works (ISBN 81-88018-06-6)
Day by Day with Bhagavan by A. Devaraja Mudaliar. An account of daily discussions during the period 1945 to 1947 (ISBN 81-
88018-82-1).
Gems from Bhagavan by A. Devaraja Mudaliar (ISBN 8188018058)
Sri Ramana Gita (The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi) translated by Sri Sankaranarayanan (ISBN 81-88018-17-1)
Be as You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi by David Godman (ISBN 0-14-019062-7)
At the feet of Bhagavan from the diary of T.S. Sundaresa Iyer
Letters from Ramanasram by Suri Nagamma Letters from Ramansram
A Search in Secret India by Paul Brunton The book credited with introducing Bhagavan to followers in the West
Guru Vachaka Kovai The Garland of Guru’s Sayings by Sri Muruganar (ISBN 0-97113-718-8)
Maha Yoga, by ‘WHO’ (Lakshmana Sharma)”, (2002; ISBN 81-88018-20-1)
The Path of Sri Ramana, Part One, by Sri Sadhu Om(ASIN B000KMKFX0)
The Path of Sri Ramana, Part Two, by Sri Sadhu Om (ASIN B000KMKFX0)
Happiness and the Art of Being” A Layman’s Introduction to the Philosophy and Practice of the Spiritual Teachings of Bhagavan
Sri Ramana (ISBN 1-4251-2465-8)[63]
Ramana Puranam, composed by Sri Ramana Maharshi and Sri Muruganar (ISBN 8162890599)
Origin of Spiritual Instruction, by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi (ISBN 978-0970366733)
Ulladu narpadu = Forty Verses On Reality, by Ramana Maharshi, translation and commentary by S.S. Cohen (ISBN 0722401612)
The Essential Teachings of Ramana Maharshi: A Visual Journey (ISBN 1-878019-18-X)
Padamalai: Teachings of Ramana Maharshi, recorded by Sri Muruganar, edited by David Godman (ISBN 0971137137)
The Spiritual Teaching of Ramana Maharshi (ISBN 1-59030-139-0)
Related words
Advaita Vedanta
Moksha
Rasa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Rasa — ... taste; essence; savor; juice; nectar of delight.
1. One of the five elements. (See tanmatra.) It is of six kinds: sweet, acid, salt, pungent, astringent, bitter.
2. The essence of things. The delight of existence.
3. The supreme delight produced in the mind of an appreciator of a work of art whose content is an emotion (bhava). It results
from the interaction of the objective factors (yibhava, anubhava, and vyabhicaribhava) and the subjective factor, a qualified ap¬
preciator (sahrdaya) with their essence of emotion (stayibhava). The stayibhava is the material cause of rasa. The vibhava, anub¬
hava, and vyabhicaribhava are together regarded as the efficient cause of rasa. These latter three excite, articulate, and develop
the stayibhava of the spectator. Vibhavas are of two kinds: alambana and uddipana. The former is made up of the human element
and the latter of the natural element in the situation. The former is the main excitant and the latter a contributory one. Anubhavas
are of two types: sattivikabhavas, which cannot be produced at will, and all of the other emotions, which can be produced at will.
Vyabhicaribhava (also called sancaribhava) is an emotion which accompanies the stayibhava.
4. According to Indian aesthetics, there are eight main types of experience: srhgara (the rasa based on conjugal love), hasya (the
rasa based on mirth), karuna (the rasa based on sorrow), raudra (the rasa based on anger), vlra (the rasa based on fortitude),
bhayanaka (the rasa based on fear), blbhatsa (the rasa based on disgust), and adbhuta (the rasa based on wonder). Sometimes it
is said that there are two more rasas—peace (santa) and devotion (bhakti).
5. According to Nyaya-Vaisesika, taste is of various types: sweet, sour, pungent (katu), astringent (kasaya), and bitter (tikta).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
rasa -
the sap or juice of plants, Juice of fruit, any liquid or fluid, the best or finest or prime part of anything, essence, marrow;
water, liquor, drink;
juice of the sugar-cane, syrup;
any mixture, draught, elixir, potion;
melted butter;
milk;
poison;
nectar;
soup, broth;
a constituent fluid or essential juice of the body, serum, (esp.) the primary juice called chyle (formed from the food and changed by
the bile into blood);
mercury, quicksilver (sometimes regarded as a kind of quintessence of the human body, else where as the seminal fluid of Siva);
semen virile;
myrrh;
any mineral or metallic salt;
a metal or mineral in a state of fusion;
gold;
Vanguieria Spinosa;
a species of amaranth;
green onion;
resin;
amrta;
taste, flavour (as the principal quality of fluids, of which there are 6 original kinds, viz. madhura, sweet; amla, sour; lavana, salt;
katuka, pungent; tikta, bitter; and kasaya, astringent; sometimes 63 varieties are distinguished, viz. beside the 6 original ones, 15
mixtures of 2, 20 of 3, 15 of 4, 6 of 5, and 1 of 6 flavours);
N. of the number ‘six’;
any object of taste, condiment, sauce, spice, seasoning;
the tongue (as the organ of taste);
taste or inclination or fondness for (loc. with or soil, upari, or comp.), love, affection, desire;
charm pleasure, delight;
(in rhet.) the taste or character of a work, the feeling or sentiment prevailing in it (from 8 to 10 Rasas are generally enumerated,
viz. srngara, love; vlra, heroism; blbhatsa, disgust; raudra, anger or fury; hasya, mirth; bhayanaka, terror; karuna, pity; adbhuta,
wonder; santa, tranquillity or contentment; vatsalya, paternal fondness; the last or last two are sometimes omitted; cf. under bha-
va);
the prevailing sentiment in human character;
(with Vaishnavas) disposition of the heart or mind, religious sentiment (there are 5 Rasas or Ratis forming the 5 degrees of bhakti
q.v., viz. santi, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and madhurya);
a kind of metre;
N. of the sacred syllable, ‘Om’;
the son of a Nishada and a SanakT
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Rasa (taste) is an important Indian aesthetic concept applied to literature, drama, and occasionally mythology. Literally, rasa is the
taste, savor, or essence of something. In aesthetics rasa is the essential sentiment embedded in a work of art that evokes a corre¬
sponding emotion in the reader, listener, or viewer.
Works of art are often classified according to their predominant rasa. The literature variously lists eight to 11 of them. The most
common listed are 10: shringara (love), hasya (mirth), karuna (pity), raudra (anger), vira (heroism), bhayanaka (fear), bibhatsa
(disgust), and adbhuta (wonder); some add shanta (tranquillity) and vatsalya (parental fondness).
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Rasa... the subtle element (tanmatra) of flavour.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
“Rasa”... means “moisture, humidity, the tongue”. The word is derived from the root “ras”, meaning “to feel, be sensible of, to love,
to taste, to relish”. “Rasa” means “savour,’ taste, the sap of plants, juice, emotion, bliss”...
In the Rig-veda (IX; 63; 13; 65; 15) the Rasa is the juice of the Soma-plant. The Rasa is the blissful essence of life. In the Taittiriya
Upanishad (11; 7; 1) and the Maitri Upanishad (V; 2) it is self luminous consciousness, ecstasy, and the perfect taste or realization
of life.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
The classical theory of aesthetics belonging to Sanskrit culture comprises all enjoyable artistic values within the scope of a fanlike
expansion or elaboration of the elements of interest that could be normal to human beings. These are supposed to be the nine es¬
sences, called rasas. The nine rasas are srhgara (love), ilira (heroism), hibhatsa (disgust), raudra (anger), hasya (mirth), bhayana¬
ka (terror), karuna (pity), adbhuta (wonder), and santa (tranquillity). If nine rasas are given to the visual (actual) side, nine rasas
must be given to the auditory (virtual) side too. Thus we have, between visible and audible arts, eighteen rasas spread out like a
fan, resembling the order of colours in the spectrum.
See: Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
rasa — from the root ras = “To feel, be sensible of”.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Rasa from the root ras, to taste.
Related words
Ap
Tanmatra
Sanskrit
Rasa — 7TT
rasa - ?TT
Rig Veda
Title
Rg Veda —
rgveda
Rigveda
Rik Veda
Wikipedia: Sanskrit: a compound of rc “praise, verse” and veda “knowledge”
Author(s)
According to Hindu tradition, the Rigvedic hymns were collected by Paila under the guidance of Vyasa, who formed the Rigveda
Samhita as we know it.
See also:
in Veda: Author(s)
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
rgveda -
‘Hymn - Veda’ or ‘Veda of praise’, the Rig-veda, or most ancient sacred book of the HindGs (that is, the collective body of sacred
verses called Ricas, consisting of 1017 hymns [or with the Valakhilyas 1028] arranged in eight Ashtakas or in ten Mandalas;
Mandalas 2-8 contain groups of hymns, each group ascribed to one author or to the members of one family; the ninth book con¬
tains the hymns sung at the Soma ceremonies; the first and tenth contain hymns of a different character, some comparatively
modern, composed by a greater variety of individual authors; in its wider sense the term Rig-veda comprehends the Brahmanas
and the Sutra works on the ritual connected with the hymns).
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Rig Veda (c. 1500 B.C.E.), which everyone agrees is the most ancient extant Indian text, is the foundational text of Hinduism.
It consists of about a thousand hymns. The great majority of the hymns are from five to 20 verses in length...
The religion of the Rig Veda has for a long time been referred to as henotheistic, meaning that the religion was polytheistic, but it
recognized each divinity in turn as, in certain ways, supreme. Certainly, later Hinduism continued and enriched this henotheistic
concept, and, through time, Hinduism has been able to accept even Christ and Allah as being supreme “in turn.” The Rig Veda,
though, was the central text in a very powerful ritual tradition. Rituals public and private, with sacred fire always a central feature,
were performed to speak to and beseech the divinities. Sacrifices of animals were a regular feature of the larger public rites of the
Vedic tradition.
Two other Vedas, the Yajur and Sama Vedas, were based on the Rig Veda. That is, most of their text is from the Rig Veda, but
the words of the prior text are reorganized for the purposes of the rituals.
Wikipedia
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts
(sruti) of Hinduism known as the Vedas. Some of its verses are still recited as Hindu prayers, at religious functions and other occa¬
sions, putting these among the world’s oldest religious texts in continued use...
According to the Satapatha Brahmana, the number of syllables in the Rigveda is 432,000, equalling the number of muhurtas (1
day = 30 muhurtas) in forty years. This statement stresses the underlying philosophy of the Vedic books that there is a connection
(bandhu) between the astronomical, the physiological, and the spiritual.
Dating and historical context
The dating of Rigveda has been a center of controversies; there is a strong disagreement among scholars. The Rigveda is far
more archaic than any other Indo- Aryan text. For this reason, it was in the center of attention of western scholarship from the
times of Max Muller and Rudolf Roth onwards. The Rigveda records an early stage of Vedic religion. There are strong linguistic
and cultural similarities with the early Iranian Avesta, deriving from the Proto- Indo- Iranian times, often associated with the early
Andronovo culture of ca. 2000 BC. The Rigveda’s core is accepted to date to the late Bronze Age, making it one of the few exam¬
ples with an unbroken tradition. Its composition is usually dated to roughly between 1700-1100 BC.[22], The EIEC (s.v. Indo- Ira-
nian languages, p. 306) gives 1500-1000. It is certain that the hymns post- date Indo-lranian separation of ca. 2000 BC and prob¬
ably that of the Indo- Aryan Mitanni documents of c. 1400 BC.[23] Several other evidences also pointed out 1400 BC as the most
reasonable date.
The Rigveda describes a mobile, semi- nomadic culture, with horse-drawn chariots, oxen-drawn wagons, and metal (bronze)
weapons. The geography described is consistent with that of the Greater Punjab: Rivers flow north to south, the mountains are
relatively remote but still visible and reachable (Soma is a plant found in the high mountains, and it has to be purchased from tribal
people). Nevertheless, the hymns were certainly composed over a long period, with the oldest (not preserved) elements possibly
reaching back to times close to the split of Proto-lndo-lranian (around 2000 BC) Thus there was some debate over whether the
boasts of the destruction of stone forts by the Vedic Aryans and particularly by Indra refer to cities of the Indus Valley civilization or
whether they rather hark back to clashes between the early Indo-Aryans with the BMAC in what is now northern Afghanistan and
southern Turkmenistan (separated from the upper Indus by the Hindu Kush mountain range, and some 400 km distant). While it
is highly likely that the bulk of the Rigvedic hymns were composed in the Punjab, even if based on earlier poetic traditions, there
is no mention of either tigers or rice in the Rigveda (as opposed to the later Vedas), suggesting that Vedic culture only penetrated
into the plains of India after its completion. Similarly, there is no mention of iron as the term ayas occurring in the Rig Veda refers
to useful metal in general. The “black metal” (krsna ayas) is first mentioned in the post- Rigvedic texts (Atharvaveda etc.). The Iron
Age in northern India begins in the 10th century in the Greater Panjab and at the 12th century BC with the Black and Red Ware
(BRW) culture. There is a widely accepted timeframe for the beginning codification of the Rigveda by compiling the hymns very
late in the Rigvedic or rather in the early post- Rigvedic period, including the arrangement of the individual hymns in ten books, co¬
eval with and the composition of the younger Veda Samhitas. This time coincides with the early Kuru kingdom, shifting the center
of Vedic culture east from the Punjab into what is now Uttar Pradesh. The fixing of the samhitapatha (by keeping Sandhi) intact
and of the padapatha (by dissolving Sandhi out of the earlier metrical text), occurred during the later Brahmana period.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
The Rg Veda has ten Upanisads connected with it, the principal ones being: Aitareya and Kausitaki.
Relations of Vedas to their objects, four elements, etc.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Rig Veda contains hymns of praise to a pantheon of divinities as well as a few cosmogonic hymns that tell of the creation
of the universe. These stories are extremely important for the development of later Hinduism. By far the greatest number of the
thousand plus hymns of the Rig Veda are devoted to Indra, king of the gods, a deity connected with rain and storms who holds
a thunderbolt, and Agni, the god of fire. The rest of the hymns are devoted to an array of gods, most prominently Mitra, Varuna,
Savitri, Soma, and the Ashvins. Less frequently mentioned are the gods who became most important in the later Hindu pantheon,
Vishnu and Rudra (one of whose epithets was shiva, the benign). A number of goddesses are mentioned, most frequently Ushas,
goddess of the dawn, and Aditi, said to be the mother of the gods. The goddess of speech, Vach (Vak), however, may be most
important, since speech is one of the most powerful sacred realities in Hindu tradition, although there are not many references to
her.
Wikipedia
The Rigvedic hymns are dedicated to various deities, chief of whom are Indra, a heroic god praised for having slain his enemy
Vrtra; Agni, the sacrificial fire; and Soma, the sacred potion or the plant it is made from. Equally prominent gods are the Adityas or
Asura gods Mitra-Varuna and Ushas (the dawn). Also invoked are Savitr, Vishnu, Rudra, Pushan, Brihaspati or Brahmanaspati, as
well as deified natural phenomena such as Dyaus Pita (the shining sky, Father Heaven), Prithivi (the earth, Mother Earth), Surya
(the sun god), Vayu or Vata (the wind), Apas (the waters), Parjanya (the thunder and rain), Vac (the word), many rivers (notably
the Sapta Sindhu, and the Sarasvati River). The Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Sadhyas, Ashvins, Maruts, Rbhus, and the Vishvadevas
(“all-gods”) as well as the “thirty- three gods” are the groups of deities mentioned.
The hymns mention various further minor gods, persons, concepts, phenomena and items, and contain fragmentary references to
possible historical events, notably the struggle between the early Vedic people (known as Vedic Aryans, a subgroup of the In-
do-Aryans) and their enemies, the Dasa or Dasyu and their mythical prototypes, the Pani (the Bactrian Parna).
Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript in Devanagari, early 19th century...
Mandala 1 comprises 191 hymns. Hymn 1.1 is addressed to Agni, and his name is the first word of the Rigveda. The remaining
hymns are mainly addressed to Agni and Indra, as well as Varuna, Mitra, the Ashvins, the Maruts, Usas, Surya, Rbhus, Rudra,
Vayu, Brhaspati, Visnu, Heaven and Earth, and all the Gods.
Mandala 2 comprises 43 hymns, mainly to Agni and Indra. It is chiefly attributed to the Rishi grtsamada saunahotra.
Mandala 3 comprises 62 hymns, mainly to Agni and Indra and the Vishvedevas. The verse 3.62.10 has great importance in Hindu¬
ism as the Gayatri Mantra. Most hymns in this book are attributed to visvamitra gathinah.
Mandala 4 comprises 58 hymns, mainly to Agni and Indra as well as the Rbhus, Ashvins, Brhaspati, Vayu, Usas, etc. Most hymns
in this book are attributed to vamadeva gautama.
Mandala 5 comprises 87 hymns, mainly to Agni and Indra, the Visvedevas (“all the gods’), the Maruts, the twin- deity Mitra- Var¬
una and the Asvins. Two hymns each are dedicated to Ushas (the dawn) and to Savitr. Most hymns in this book are attributed to
the atri clan.
Mandala 6 comprises 75 hymns, mainly to Agni and Indra, all the gods, Pusan, Ashvin, Usas, etc. Most hymns in this book are
attributed to the barhaspatya family of Angirasas.
Mandala 7 comprises 104 hymns, to Agni, Indra, the Visvadevas, the Maruts, Mitra- Varuna, the Asvins, Ushas, Indra-Varuna,
Varuna, Vayu (the wind), two each to Sarasvati (ancient river/goddess of learning) and Vishnu, and to others. Most hymns in this
book are attributed to vasistha maitravaruni.
Mandala 8 comprises 103 hymns to various gods. Hymns 8.49 to 8.59 are the apocryphal valakhilya. Hymns 1-48 and 60- 66 are
attributed to the kanva clan, the rest to other (Angirasa) poets.
Mandala 9 comprises 114 hymns, entirely devoted to Soma Pavamana, the cleansing of the sacred potion of the Vedic religion.
Mandala 10 comprises additional 191 hymns, frequently in later language, addressed to Agni, Indra and various other deities. It
contains the Nadistuti sukta which is in praise of rivers and is important for the reconstruction of the geography of the Vedic civili¬
zation and the Purusha sukta which has great significance in Hindu social tradition. It also contains the Nasadiya sukta (10.129),
probably the most celebrated hymn in the west, which deals with creation. The marriage hymns (10.85) and the death hymns
(10.10- 18) still are of great importance in the performance of the corresponding Grhya rituals.
Commentaries
Sayana (14th century)
ed. Muller 1849-75 (German translation);
ed. Muller (original commentary of Sayana in Sanskrit based on 24 manuscripts).
ed. Sontakke et al, published by Vaidika Samsodhana Mandala, Pune (2nd ed. 1972) in 5 volumes.
Sri Aurobindo: Hymns of the Mystic Fire (Commentary on the Rig Veda), Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin ISBN 0-914955-22-
5.
Publications
Original language
Friedrich Max Muller, The Hymns of the Rigveda, with Sayana’s commentary, London, 1849-75, 6 vols., 2nd ed. 4 vols., Oxford,
1890-92.
Theodor Aufrecht, 2nd ed., Bonn, 1877.
Sontakke, N. S., ed (1933-46,Reprint 1972-1983.). Rgveda-Samhita: Srimat-Sayanacharya virachita-bhasya-sameta (First ed.).
Pune: Vaidika Samsodhana Mandala. The Editorial Board for the First Edition included N. S. Sontakke (Managing Editor), V. K.
Rajvade, M. M. Vasudevasastri, and T. S. Varadarajasarma.
Original language and translation
Rgveda-Samhita, Text in Devanagari, English translation Notes and indices by H. H. Wilson, Ed. W.F. Webster, originally in 1888,
Published Nag Publishers 1990, 11A/U.A. Jawaharnagar, Delhi-7.
Wilson, H. H. Rig-Veda-Sanhita: A Collection of Ancient Hindu Hymns. 6 vols. (London, 1850-88); reprint: Cosmo Publications
(1977)
Ravi Prakash Arya and K. L. Joshi. Rgveda Samhita: Sanskrit Text, English Translation, Notes &lndex of Verses. (Parimal Publi¬
cations: Delhi, 2001) ISBN 81-7110-138-7 (Set of four volumes). Parimal Sanskrit Series No. 45; 2003 reprint: 81-7020-070-9
Translations
Joel Brereton and Stephanie W. Jamison. The Rig Veda: Translation and Explanatory Notes. (Oxford University Press) ISBN:
0195179188
O’Flaherty,W. D., ed. The Rig Veda. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1981.
H.H.Wilson, Rig Veda Samhita, Vol. l-IV(Translation), Parimal Publications, Delhi, 2001 (In English).
Ralph T.H. Griffith, The Hymns of the Rig Veda (Translation), Motilal Banarsidas Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, 1999 (In English).
Pt. Shri Ram Sharma, Rig Veda, Vol. I-IV, Sanskriti Sansthan, Bareilly, 1993 (In Hindi).
Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati, Rig Veda, Vol. I-V, Arya Pratinidhi Sabha (In Hindi), New Delhi, 2000.
N.S.Sontakke & C.G. Kashikar, Rig Veda Samhita,Vol. I-V, Vaidika Samsodhan Mandal, Poona, 1951.
General
Wikipedia
The first published translation of any portion of the Rigveda in any Western language was into Latin, by Friedrich August Rosen
(Rigvedae specimen, London 1830). Predating Muller’s editio princeps of the text, Rosen was working from manuscripts brought
back from India by Colebrooke.
H. H. Wilson was the first to make a complete translation of the Rig Veda into English, published in six volumes during the period
1850-88.[48] Wilson’s version was based on the commentary of Sayana. In 1977, Wilson’s edition was enlarged by Nag Sharan
Singh (Nag Publishers, Delhi, 2nd ed. 1990).
In 1889, Ralph T.H. Griffith published his translation as The Hymns of the Rig Veda, published in London (1889).
A German translation was published by Karl Friedrich Geldner, Der Rig-Veda: aus dem Sanskrit ins Deutsche Ubersetzt, Harvard
Oriental Studies, vols. 33-37 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: 1951-7).
Geldner’s translation was the philologically best-informed to date, and a Russian translation based on Geldner’s by Tatyana Eliza-
renkova was published by Nauka 1989-1999
A 2001 revised edition of Wilson’s translation was published by Ravi Prakash Arya and K. L. Joshi. The revised edition updates
Wilson’s translation by replacing obsolete English forms with more modern equivalents, giving the English translation along with
the original Sanskrit text in Devanagari script, along with a critical apparatus.
In 2004 the United States’ National Endowment for the Humanities funded Joel Brereton and Stephanie W. Jamison as project
directors for a new original translation to be issued by Oxford University Press.
Numerous partial translations exist into various languages. Notable examples include:
A. A. Macdonell. Hymns from the Rigveda (Calcutta, London, 1922); A Vedic Reader for Students (Oxford, 1917).
French: A. Langlois, Rig-veda, ou livre des hymnes, Paris 1948-51 ISBN 2-7200-1029-4
Hungarian: Laszlo Forizs, Rigveda - Teremteshimnuszok (Creation Hymns of the Rig-Veda), Budapest, 1995 ISBN 963-85349-1-5
Hymns of the Rig-Veda
Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty issued a modern selection with a translation of 108 hymns, along with critical apparatus. A bibliography
of translations of the Rig Veda appears as an Appendix that work.
A new German translations of books 1 and 2 was presented in 2007 by Michael Witzel and Toshifumi Goto (ISBN 978-3-458-
70001-2 / ISBN 978-3-458-70001-3).
A partial Hindi translation by Govind Chandra Pande was published in 2008 (by Lokbharti Booksellers and Distributors, Allahabad,
covering books 3-5).
Related words
Aitareya Upanishad
Mahavakya: Prajnanam Brahma
Veda
External links
The Rig Veda - English Translation by Ralph Griffith, 1896
http ://www. sacred-texts. com/h i n/rig veda/
The Rigveda in Sanskrit (Nagari lipi) and Roman English script
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rvsan/index.htm
Rishi
Variant spellings
rishi
rsi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Rsi — ... seer; a Vedic sage (from the verb root drs = “to see”).
1. Individuals who “heard,” perceived, or recorded the Vedic hymns.
2. The seven great seers (rsi) are MarTci, Atri, Amgiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, and Vasistha. Other great seers include Kasyapa,
Gautama, Jamdagni, Bharadvaja, and Visvamitra.
3. The three classes of rsis are Brahmarsis, who are born out of the mind of Brahma; Devarsis, who are of lower rank than the
former; Rajarsis, or kings who became rsis.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
rsi -
a singer of sacred hymns, an inspired poet or sage, any person who alone or with others invokes the deities in rhythmical speech
or song of a sacred character (e.g. the ancient hymn-singers Kutsa, Atri, Rebha, Agastya, Kusika, Vasishtha, Vy-asva);
the Rishis were regarded by later generations as patriarchal sages or saints, occupying the same position in India history as the
heroes and patriarchs of other countries, and constitute a peculiar class of beings in the early mythical system, as distinct from
gods, men, Asuras, &c.;
they are the authors or rather seers of the Vedic hymns i.e. according to orthodox Hindu ideas they are the inspired personages to
whom these hymns were revealed, and such an expression as ‘the Rishi says’ is equivalent to ‘so it stands in the sacred text’;
seven Rishis, sapta Rsayah, or saptarsayah or saptarsayah, are often mentioned in the Brahmanas and later works as typical
representatives of the character and spirit of the pre-historic or mythical period;
their names are given as follows, Gotama, Bharadvaja, Visva-mitra, Jamadagni, Vasishtha, Kasyapa, and Atri;
in MBh. xii, MarTci, Atri, Aiigiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, Vasishtha are given as the names of the Rishis of the first Manvantara,
and they are also called Prajapatis or patriarchs;
the names of the Rishis of the subsequent Manv-antaras are enumerated in Hariv.;
afterwards three other names are added, viz. Pracetas or Daksha, Bhrigu, and Narada, these ten being created by Manu Svayam-
bhuva for the production of all other beings including gods and men;
in astron. the seven Rishis form the constellation of ‘the Great Bear’;
(metaphorically the seven Rishis may stand for the seven senses or the seven vital airs of the body);
a saint or sanctified sage in general, an ascetic, anchorite (this is a later sense; sometimes three orders of these are enumerated,
viz. Devarshis, Brahmarshis, and Rajarshis; sometimes seven, four others being added, viz. Maharshis, Paramarshis, Srutarshis,
and Kandarshis);
the seventh of the eight degrees of Brahmans;
a hymn or Mantra composed by a Rishi;
the Veda Comm, on MBh. and Pat.;
a symbolical expression for the number seven;
the moon;
an imaginary circle;
a ray of light;
the fish Cyprinus Rishi
Wikipedia
A rishi denotes a poet-sage through whom the Vedic hymns flowed, credited also as divine scribes. According to post-Vedic tra¬
dition the rishi is a “seer” or “shaman” to whom the Vedas were “originally revealed” through states of higher consciousness. The
rishis rose into prominence when Hinduism was in its early flowering, perhaps as far back as four thousand years ago.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
A rishi in its most ancient Vedic sense was a seer and an inspired poet. The original rishis were those who saw or called forth the
eternal verses of the VEDAS. The Vedas were not seen as written by anyone; the rishis were conduits for them. Most of the Vedic
MANTRAS include the name of the rishi who recorded them. Seven of these ancient rishis are seen as the starting points for the
orthodox BRAHMIN lineages: Kashyapa, Atri, Vasishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, and Bharadvaja.
In the later epics and Puranas, or mythical lore, rishis inhabited ASHRAMS or retreat places in the wilderness, where they per¬
formed their austerities. These rishis were sages, not necessarily connected with the transmission of the Vedas. Some of them
were composers or compilers of the epics, such as the rishi VALMIKI who compiled the RAMAYANA, and the rishi VYASA who
gave us the MAHABHARATA. The rishis encountered in this later literature often are known for the frightening curses they im¬
posed upon those who had not treated them with due deference and respect. Rishi today is an honorific term, for instance, in the
case of MAHARISHI (great rishi) Mahesh Yogi, who founded the TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION movement. Few such peo¬
ple today are considered comparable to the great rishis of the past.
Wikipedia
In the Vedas, the word denotes an inspired poet of Rigvedic hymns, who alone or with others invokes the deities with poetry of a
sacred character. In particular, Rsi refers to the authors of the hymns of the Rigveda. Post- Vedic tradition regards the Rishis as
“sages” or saints, constituting a peculiar class of divine human beings in the early mythical system, as distinct from Asuras, Devas
and mortal men.
The main rishis recorded in the Brahmanas and the Rigveda-Anukramanis include Gritsamada, Vishvamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Bha¬
radvaja, Vasishta, Angiras, Kanva.
Seven Rishis (the Saptarshi) are often mentioned in the Brahmanas and later works as typical representatives of the character
and spirit of the pre- historic or mythical period; in Shatapatha Brahmana 14.5.2.6 (Brhad Aranyaka Upanisad), their names are
Uddalaka Aruni (also called Gautama), Bharadvaja, Vishvamitra, Jamadagni, Vasishtha, Kashyapa, and Atri. Daksha, Bhrigu and
Narada were also added to the saptarshis risis in Ashvalayana- Shrauta- Sutra, where these ten principals were created by the
first Manu (Svayambhuva Manu) for producing everyone else.
In Mahabharata 12, on the other hand, there is the post- Vedic list of Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya and Vasishtha.
The Mahabharata list explicitly refers to the saptarshis of the first manvantara (cf. SED by Monier- Williams) and not to those of
the present manvantara. Each manvantara had a unique set of saptarshi. In Harivamsha 417ff, the names of the Rishis of each
manvantara are enumerated.
In addition to the Saptarsi, there are other classifications of sages. In descending order of precedence, they are Brahmarshi , Ma-
harshi, Rajarshi. Devarsi, Paramrsi, Shrutarsi and Kvndarsi are added in Manusmriti iv-94 and xi-236 and in two dramas of Kalida¬
sa.
The Chaturvarga-Chintamani of Hemadri puts ‘risi’ at the seventh place in the eight- fold division of Brahmanas. Amarakosha (the
famous Sanskrit synonym lexicon compiled by Amarasimha) mentions seven types of risis : Shrutarshi, Kandarshi, Paramarshi,
Maharshi, Rajarshi, Brahmarshi and Devarshi. Amarakosha strictly distinguishes Rishi from other types of sages, such as sanyasi,
bhiksu, parivrajaka, tapasvi, muni, brahmachari, yati, etc.
It is generally agreed upon that some of the very greatest of the ancient rishis were in fact women. According to the Sarvanukra-
manika text, there were as many as 20 women among the authors of the Rig Veda. A female rishi is known as a rishika.
There is only one synonym for ‘risi’: satyavachah (one who speaks truth). According to tradition, other sages might falter, but a risi
was believed to speak truth only, because s/he existed in the Higher World (the unified field of consciousness) according to the
Sanskrit ‘risi’. Rsis are also called kavi, “brahman”, “karu”, “klri”, “vaghat”, “vipra”, “yogini” etc.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Rishi — from the verb root drs = “to see”.
Wikipedia
In Indian tradition, the word has been derived from the two roots ‘rsh’. Sanskrit grammarians (cf. Commentary on Unadi- Sutra,
iv, 119) derive this word from the second root which means (1) ‘to go, move’ (- Dhatupath of Panini, xxviii). V. S. Apte gives this
particular meaning and derivation, and Monier-Williams also gives the same, with some qualification.
Another form of this root means (2) ‘to flow, to move near by flowing’. (All the meanings and derivations cited above are based
upon Sanskrit English Dictionary of Monier- Williams). Monier- Williams also quotes Taranatha who compiled the great (Sanskrit-
to- Sanskrit) dictionary named “rsati jnanena samsara- param” (i.e., one who reaches beyond this mundane world by means of
spiritual knowledge).
Manfred Mayrhofer in his Etymological Dictionary (I 261) prefers a connection to either rs “pour, flow”, Rishi symbolizes intelli¬
gence and wisdom. The root has a close Avestan cognate eresis (Yasna 31.5; cf. 40.4) “an ecstatic” (see also Yurodivy, Vates).
However, the Indo- European dictionary of Julius Pokorny connects the word to a PIE root *h3er-s meaning “rise, protrude”, in the
sense of “excellent, egregious”.
Monier-Williams tentatively suggests derivation from drs “to see”. Monier- Williams also quotes Hibernian (Irish) form ‘arsan’ (a
sage, a man old in wisdom) and ‘arrach’ (old, ancient, aged) as related to rishi. In Sanskrit, forms of the root ‘rish’ become ‘arsh-’
in many words, e.g., arsh. Monier- Williams also conjectures that the root ‘drish’ (to see) might have given rise to an obsolete root
‘rish’ meaning ‘to see’.
Related words
Veda
Sanskrit
Rsi —
rsi -
Rita
Variant spellings
rita
rta
ritham
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Rta — ... Truth; Law; Right; Order; “the course of things”.
1. It is the working out of Truth in action. It is the eternal Order, cosmic as well as moral. It is said to be the basis for the later idea
of karma.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
rta -
met with, afflicted by (with instr.);
proper, right, fit, apt, suitable, able, brave, honest;
true;
worshipped, respected;
enlightened, luminous;
N. of a Rudra;
of a son of Manu Cakshusha;
of a son of Vijaya;
fixed or settled order, law, rule (esp. in religion);
sacred or pious action or custom, divine law, faith, divine truth;
truth in general, righteousness, right;
figuratively said of gleaning (as the right means of a Brahman’s obtaining a livelihood as opposed to agriculture, which is anrta);
promise, oath, vow;
truth personified (as an object of worship, and hence enumerated among the sacred objects in the Nir. );
water;
sacrifice;
a particular sacrifice;
the sun;
wealth;
right, duly, properly, expressly, very;
truly, sincerely, indeed
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Rita is a VEDIC concept that means “cosmic order.” VARUNA was most specifically charged with its maintenance, but many other
gods such as AGNI and INDRA were sometimes also said to maintain rita. It was understood that the Vedic rituals were necessary
to maintain the cosmic order. In fact the greatest of the ancient Vedic rituals, the AGNICHAYANA, or fire ritual, was seen to re-cre¬
ate the entire cosmic order each year. The concept of rita is most important as a precursor to the notion of DHARMA, although the
latter was extended into social law and social organization as well.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Vedic Rita is the sustaining principle and power of the higher and lower worlds, comprising the realms of the Devas and of
embodied men. It implied that which is “right” — an etymologically distantly connected word. It has been said that Rita, the “right”,
originally meant “straight, direct”. The right and the straight or direct are symbolically so intimately related, that in some language
there is only one word for these conceptions. Rita includes, of course, “righteousness”. Related more closely to the word Rita is
“rite”. Rites are ceremonial expressions of traditions reflecting the Tradition.
We understand from Rig-vedic texts that Rita also comprised the ordered course of the “heavenly bodies”. Rita was twofold: it was
the “ideal” which had to become “actual” in the world. There is a prayer to Heaven and Earth (III; 54; 3): “May your Rita be actual”.
The responsibility for this rested with the Gods. In this connection they were called “the Charioteers of Rita”. Among these Gods
the Adityas took the foremost place. ... We read in the Rig-veda (II; 27; 4): “True to Rita, they (the Adityas) exact the debts”. We
may say that Krishna did very much the same on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra. Sin was often looked upon as a debt which the
Gods had to collect. This was the case because every sin disturbed Rita, whether conscious or unconscious. This disturbance af¬
fected not only the sinner himself, but all men, for the world of the soul was known to be in essence one. All forms of wrong-doing
imply the disturbance of the ordered harmony of the inner and outer world, that is to say, of Rita, and the righting of the wrong or
the collection of the debt, had to be performed by the Adityas.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
If you once learn how to walk, you need not thereafter consciously guide every step; they automatically come the right way. In
the Upanisads it is said that to know the nature of water you need not drain all the seven seas and examine each drop of water;
if you know the nature of a cup of water you know the nature of water wherever it is. The homogeneity of the Universal Self and
the individual self is maintained by an inner participation. In the Upanisads it is termed rta. It belongs to the phenomenal, while its
counterpart, called satya, belongs to the numinous, or the Absolute. If you know the secret of holding together the satya and the
rta, you have learned the dharma of the Upanisads, which is different from the dharma of the Vedas and of other forms of religion.
E\cn a little knowledge of the Upanisadic dharma can save von from great peril.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Katha Upanishad
He is within in a universal sense. If you could conceive of the universal within, that would be the atman. He is not internal in a spa¬
tial sense, and not external in the sense of time. He is not endless expanse in space, or passage of time endlessly projected for¬
ward. The mind is habituated to think in terms of space, time and causality, and thus we try to do the same thing with the atman.
Even the topmost heavens are pervaded by Him, so you must bar the idea that He is within the body. He is purest uncontaminated
Being, untouched by the dust of earth and heaven. He enlightens the highest heights. And downward from them is the ethereal
region, also pervaded by Him. He is the cosmic principle, besides being the life- principle. He is in the five elements. He is also
vitality, and all things that move on earth. He is not merely the Pervader, but also the Material of which the universe is made, as
well as its material Cause. He is its regulating laws: the physical ones, the biological ones and all the others as well, called rita and
satya. The latter is law existing as the atman, the former is the law manifested in this universe. All our laws must be in conformity
with rita, and are meant to regulate the movement of people and bring about a balance of forces as manifestations of the supreme
Harmoniser. This atman is the largest of all Beings, and also the smallest one, pervading, as the Substance, all alike.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
rta - from the root r = “to rise, tend upward”.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
It has been said (though Ri and R are two distinct letters) that Rita comes from the root “Ar” meaning to order, to arrange, to reg¬
ulate. In that case the word Rita means the principle and power which brings, regulates and maintains order and harmony in the
world. From the root “Ar” come also words meaning “to order”, “to ordain”, etc. Others have said that Rita comes from the root “i”,
and means to go the right way, to be pious or virtuous, properly, according to law, usage, right, true, respected, worshipped, law,
order, sacred custom, divine law, righteousness, and truth as object of worship.
Related words
Dharma
Satya
Sanskrit
Rta — sficT
rta -
Rupa
Variant spellings
rupa
rupa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
RDpa — ... form; aggregate; body; matter; sight; color.
1. One of the five aggregates.
2. One of the five subtle essence of the elements. (See tanmatra.)
3. According to Nyaya-Vaisesika, the colors are white, blue, red, green, brown, and variegated (citra). Color belongs only to earth,
water, and fire.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
rupa -
any outward appearance or phenomenon or colour (often pi.), form, shape, figure;
dreamy or phantom shapes;
handsome form, loveliness, grace, beauty, splendour;
handsome form, loveliness, grace, beauty, splendour;
likeness, image, reflection;
circumstances (opp. to ‘time’ and ‘place’);
sort, kind;
mode, manner, way;
trace of;
a single specimen or exemplar (and therefore a term for the number’ one’);
coin (prob. a rupee);
a show, play, drama;
(in alg.) the arithmetical unit;
(pi.) integer number;
known or absolute number, a known quantity as having specific form (and expressed by ru i.e. first syllable of rupa);
(in gram.) any form of a noun or verb (as inflected by declension or conjugation);
(in phil.) the quality of colour (one of the 17 or 24 Gunas of the Vaiseshikas);
(with Buddhists) material form i.e. the organized body (as one of the 5 constituent elements or Skandhas);
(in dram.) a reflection or remark made under partic. circumstances when the action is at its height;
(only L.) cattle;
a beast;
a sound, word;
rereading a book;
a word of unknown meaning;
N. of a people;
or n. N. of a place
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
RGpa (etymology uncertain), the subtle element (tanmatra) of form.
Wikipedia
In Hinduism and Buddhism, rupa generally refers to material objects, particularly in regards to their appearance.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Rupa: Form, along with nama (name), distinguishes every individual entity in this world. Hence the world is often spoken of as
constituted of nama and rupa.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In Hindu as well as in Buddhist tradition Rupa, meaning form and colour, is that which is seen, that which delights or repulses the
eye. Rupa is one of the five categories of sense-objects of Hindu philosophy. The other four are Sabda, Sound, pertaining to the
Element Air; Gandha, Smell, pertaining to the Element Fire; Rasa, Taste, pertaining to the Element Water; and Sparta, Touch,
pertaining to the Element Earth.
See: Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
See also:
in Paramanu: Dictionary - Grimes
Related words
Nama
Broader term: Namarupa
Svarupa
Tejas
Tanmatra
Sanskrit
Rupa — JtT
s
Sabda
Variant spellings
sabda
shabda
sabda
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sabda — ... verbal testimony; verbal knowledge; sound; word; scriptural authority.
1. It is one of the valid means of knowledge. (See pramana.)
2. It is one of the five subtle essences of the elements. (See tanmatra.)
3. According to Nyaya, it is the testimony of a trustworthy person—one who knows the truth and communicates it correctly.
4. According to Advaita Vedanta, the truth revealed by sabda is the fundamental unity of Being.
5. According to MTmamsa, its purport lies in the injunctive texts of the ritual sections of the Vedas.
6. According to Nyaya-Vaisesika, sound is a quality perceived by the ear. It belongs only to either and is of two kinds: noise and
alphabet; viz., inarticulate noise (dhvani) and articulate alphabetic sounds (varna). MTmamsa holds that varna is eternal while
Nyaya maintains that every varna is produced by God.
7. Generally four stages of sound are distinguished: supreme sound (para); visible sound, which can be heard as om (pasyantT);
middle sound, which refers to a variety of basic sounds (matrka) that are very subtle (madhyama); and manifest sound (vaikhara),
which is the grossest level of sound and is what is heard in ordinary speech.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sabda -
sound, noise, voice, tone, note;
a word (sabdena, by word, explicitly, expressly);
speech, language;
the right word, correct expression (opp. to apa-sabda);
the sacred syllable Om;
(in gram.) a declinable word or a word-termination, affix;
a name, appellation, title;
a technical term;
verbal communication or testimony, oral tradition, verbal authority or evidence
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Sabda (possibly fr. I-E onomatopoetic base hop, to make a noise), verbal testimony, a means of correct knowledge (pramana),
defined as the instructive assertion of a reliable person; the only means (pramana)admitted by Jaimini in the MTmamsa system;
here Sabda means the Word or the first sound in Nature, and is claimed to be eternal; (in Samkhya) the subtle element (tanmatra)
of sound.
Wikipedia
Sabda is the Sanskrit for “sound, speech” In Sanskrit grammar, the term refers to an utterance in the sense of linguistic perfor¬
mance.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Sabda: Literally, any sound or word. In the philosophical context, any scriptural utterance, one of the pramanas. The only means
that leads to transcendental knowledge. Also called agama and sruti.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shabda (“word”). In Indian philosophy, the general term for authoritative testimony. This is generally accepted as one of the pra¬
manas, the means by which human beings can gain true and accurate knowledge, except by the materialists, who reject all pra¬
manas except perception (pratyaksha). Such authoritative testimony is of two sorts. It most often refers to authoritative scriptural
texts, such as theVedas, but it can also refer to verbal instruction given by one’sguru, which is considered to have equal authority,
at least by members of that spiritual lineage. Shabda is an important pramana because it tells people about those things that the
other pramanas cannot uncover, such as the nature of theheavens, the course of the soul after death, proper religious life, and so
forth. With regard to the liberation of the soul, it is often the most important pramana, since this cannot be discovered in any other
way.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The creative Word has sound and meaning, that is, spirit and meaning. In the first Chapter of Genesis we read repeatedly “God
said” and “God saw”. The Hindu conception is Sabdartha, which is composed of Sabda, meaning sound, and Artha, implying
thought-meaning. The Sabdartha or “Sound-Meaning” manifests as the Nama-rupa or “Name-form”. This applies to the world-of-
name-and-form of the intellectual function. The Sabdartha corresponds to the Logos (Word), which has been said to be insepara¬
ble thought-word-meaning.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Sound as such is called sabda, and a modification of sabda is called dhvani. In Sanskrit, the entire world of literature is called dh-
vanya loka, a world that is seen through sound.
See: Akasa and sound
See also:
in Jagrat: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
in Sushupti: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
in Svapna: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sabda — from the verb root sabd = “sound”.
Related words
Akasa
Broader term: Pramana
Sphota
Broader term: Tanmatra
Sanskrit
Sabda — ?T©cT
sabda
Saccidananda
Variant spellings
saccidananda
saccidananda
Satchidananda
Sat-cit- ananda
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Saccidananda — ... existence/knowledge/bliss; Existence Absolute, Consciousness Absolute, Bliss Absolute
1. According to theistic Vedanta schools and Saivite schools, they are the attributes of God (Brahman).
2. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is the very essence of the Absolute (Brahman).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
saccidananda -
existence and thought and joy;
consisting of existence and thought and joy;
(pure) ‘Existence and Thought and Joy’, N. of the One self-existing Spirit (= Brahman);
N. of Vishnu as identified with Brahman
Wikipedia
Saccidananda, Satchidananda, or Sat-cit- ananda (Sanskrit: *i^RmR) is a compound of three Sanskrit words, Sat (^Rf), Cit (^R;),
and Ananda (strR) (the a is of longer vocal length), meaning essence, consciousness, and bliss respectively. The expression is
used in yoga and other schools of Indian philosophy to describe the nature of Brahman as experienced by a fully liberated yogi.
Orthography may differ depending on whether the word is treated in its compound form and therefore subject to sandhi: sac¬
cidananda, or split into its elements: sat-cit- ananda, sac chid ananda, etc. The compound always sounds like: Sach- chid-ananda,
regardless of spelling.
The Vedantic philosophy understands saccidananda as a synonym of the three fundamental attributes of Brahman.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Sat chit ananda (saccidananda) - The Absolute, Brahman, is defined as existence (sat), subsistence (cit), and value affectivity
(ananda). Sat is the generic beingness that is shared by everything that exists. Cit is the self-subsisting principle of consciousness
that is experienced as awareness, as well as the knowledge that illuminates and objectifies all items of awareness. Ananda is the
innate value which serves both as a principle of affectivity and a norm for the validation of existence.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Saccidananda (sat+cit+ananda): Existence- consciousness-value-experience; the only positive definition of brahman. See sat, cit,
and ananda.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
It is said in the Yogic tradition that in the Sahasrara, the Lotus over the head of the perfected Yogi, the Goddess Kundalini and her
Lord, Siva, are united. She is called Chit, Consciousness, and He is called Sat, Reality. They unite in a place within the Sahasrara
called the Chandra-loka or “Moon-World”. It is the abode of Paramananda, “Supreme Bliss”. The name Chandra-loka gives a clue
to the nature of the Sahasrara. It is the Sun-aspect of the Moon-Sphere.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Wisdoms frame of reference
Bad translations of Vedantic expressions, loosely employed, such as sat, cit and ananda as corresponding to ‘existence’, ‘knowl¬
edge’ and ‘bliss’ respectively, have been substituted by us with ‘Existence’, ‘Subsistence’ and ‘Value’ as the triple expression more
correctly understood in the East and in the West at the same time.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
The only independent reality is the Absolute, which is defined in Vedanta as sat, cit and ananda. Sat refers to the ground of all
things, whether physical or psychic. Cit refers to the source of illumination. It comprises both luminosity and what is illumined.
Ananda is the ground of all values. When conceived of as the Absolute, there is no division between these attributes, which are
verbalized only for the sake of convenience...
The Absolute is defined as sat-cit- ananda, existence-awareness-value. You can think of it as the existence of a value in terms of
pure awareness, or you can say it is the awareness of the existence of the value, or you can say it is the value of an awareness
which exists. It’s all up to you; you have your own choice in structuring the meaning. But you cannot take away any one of the
three elements. A value that doesn’t exist cannot be a value. A value which you do not know is not a value. A knowledge which
has no value - you don’t want to know it...
One can be permeated with the consciousness of satcitananda. It can be blissful if it is not differentiated, but instead of this gener¬
ic sense of existence, subsistence and value, we tend to see things individually. When they are broken into bits we have instead
asti, this is; bhati, I know it; and priyam, I love it. In Western terms these correspond to cognition, connation and affection. In the
fragmentary notions of asti, bhati and priyam there is scope for a great deal of confusion. We can have “ This is, I know it, I dislike
it;” or even “ This is, I do not know what it is, therefore I do not know if I like it or not.” Only when we cultivate an ever-prevailing
sense of unity are we out of this confusion. When we identify with the egoistic self we see only through this fragmentation and do
not experience satcitananda.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Taittiriya Upanishad
Commentary by Dayananda:
Saccidananda does not mean ‘existence, knowledge, bliss.’ Saccidananda is existence that is the satyam of everything, which is
pure caitanyam, that which is limitless, purna.
Related words
Ananda
Atman
Brahman
Cit
Sat
Sanskrit
Saccidananda —
saccidananda - *i^R'M4
Sadhana
Variant spellings
sadhana
sadhana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sadhana — ... self-effort; spiritual discipline; means; the way
1. Generally “the means to release or liberation.”
2. Jainism is the three jewels (tri-ratna) comprised of right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct.
3. Buddhism is the eightfold path (arya-astanga-marga).
4. Sankhya is discrimination between spirit (purusa) and matter (prakrti).
5. Yoga is the eight-limbed yoga (astanga-yoga).
6. MTmarnsa is action (karma) or injunction (vidhi).
7. Advaita Vedanta is ultimately right knowledge (brahma-jnana), with the preliminary aids of the fourfold prerequisites
(sadhanacatustaya) and hearing, reflecting upon, and digesting the liberating knowledge (sravana, manana, and nididhyasana).
8. Visistadvaita Vedanta is action (karma yoga) and knowledge (jnanayoga), ultimately culminating in devotion (bhakti-yoga). The
other accepted path is total surrender (prapatti).
9. Dvaita Vedanta is discrimination followed by knowledge, followed by grace (vairagya, jnana, mahatmya-jhana, niskama-karma,
bhakti, and prasada).
10. Saiva Siddhanta is external acts of worship (carya), then acts of intimate service to God (kriya), then contemplation and inter¬
nal worship (yoga), and finally divine knowledge of God (jnana).
11. Vira Saivism is the eight protections to be observed (asta-avarana) and the five codes of conduct (pancacara).
12. Kashmir Saivism is divine Self-rememberance (pratyabhijna) with the means of anupaya, sambhavopaya, saktopaya, and
anavopaya.
13. Sivadvaita is contemplation (tatkratu-nyaya—one becomes what one contemplates) which leads to the realization of one’s own
true and essential nature.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sadhana -
accomplishment, performance
sadhana -
leading straight to a goal, guiding well, furthering;
effective, efficient, productive of;
procuring;
conjuring up (a spirit);
denoting, designating, expressive of;
N. of the author of RV.;
propitiation, worship, adoration;
the act of mastering, overpowering, subduing;
subduing by charms, conjuring up, summoning (spirits &c.);
subduing a disease, healing, cure;
enforcing payment or recovery (of a debt);
bringing about, carrying out, accomplishment, fulfilment, completion, perfection;
establishment of a truth, proof, argument, demonstration;
reason or premiss (in a syllogism, leading to a conclusion);
any means of effecting or accomplishing, any agent or instrument or implement or utensil or apparatus, an expedient, requisite for;
a means of summoning or conjuring up a spirit (or deity);
means or materials of warfare, military forces, army or portion of an army (sg. and pi.);
conflict, battle;
means of correcting or punishing (as ‘a stick’, ‘rod’ &c.);
means of enjoyment, goods, commodities &c;
efficient cause or source (in general);
organ of generation (male or female);
(in gram.) the sense of the instrumental or agent (as expressed by the case of a noun, opp. to the action itself);
preparing, making ready, preparation (of food, poison &c.);
obtaining, procuring, gain, acquisition;
finding out by calculation, computation;
fruit, result;
the conjugational affix or suffix which is placed between the root and terminations;
matter, material, substance, ingredient, drug, medicine; good works, penance, self-mortification, attainment of beatitude; concilia¬
tion, propitiation, worship; killing, destroying; killing metals, depriving them by oxydation &c. of their metallic properties [esp. said
of mercury]; burning on a funeral pile, obsequies; setting out, proceeding, going; going quickly; going after, following
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Sadhana (from the SANSKRIT root sadh, complete, accomplish) is used generically for any spiritual practice but is most frequently
used to refer to Hindu TANTRIC practice.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Sadhana (“accomplishing”). The most common colloquial Hindu term designating established and regular religious practice. It is
given this name because it is through such practice that one gains spiritual attainments. In modern Hindi, the word can also be
used to refer to anything to which one has devoted a great deal of time, attention, and hard work.
Wikipedia
Sadhana (Sanskrit *TT£PTT, literally “a means of accomplishing something”) is spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in
Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.
The historian N. Bhattacharyya provides a working definition of the benefits of sadhana as follows:
“... religious sadhana, which both prevents an excess of worldliness and moulds the mind and disposition (bhava) into a form
which develops the knowledge of dispassion and non-attachment. Sadhana is a means whereby bondage becomes liberation.”
... The term “sadhana” means spiritual exertion towards an intended goal. A person undertaking such a practice is known as a
sadhu or a sadhaka. The goal of sadhana is to attain some level of spiritual realization, which can be either enlightenment, pure
love of God (prema), liberation (moksha) from the cycle of birth and death (Samsara), or a particular goal such as the blessings of
a deity as in the Bhakti traditions.
Sadhana can involve meditation, chanting of mantra (sometimes with the help of a japa mala), puja to a deity, yajna, and in very
rare cases mortification of the flesh ortantric practices such as performing one’s particular sadhana within a cremation ground.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
This Centre [the Sahasrara] is called the Anubhava Chakra or “pure experience wheel”, in contradistinction to the other six
Chakras or Centres, which are called Sadhana Chakras. Sadhana is the practical spiritual Path to Sadhya and Siddhi, which allied
words may be rendered by Fullness, Satisfaction, and Achievement, Power. The root “sadh” means “to exert”. Sadhana is spiritual
striving. The six lower Chakras are the rungs of the ladder on which the Sadhaka or “striver” exerts himself.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
The title of the second chapter, Sadhana Pada, refers to the scope and possibilities of the study of Yoga. What we always experi¬
ence is our confrontation with necessity. Every time we are confronted with a need, the question of how it can be fulfilled arises in
our mind. We look for a potential to actualize. A possibility is suggested from inside. Then it is human nature to be hopeful and to
look for probabilities. When we pass from a possibility to a probability, the possibility gains more clarity. When several possibilities
are hypothesized, we find that certain postulations are more relevant to the given frame of reference than the others. A postulation
can be actualized only by testing the validity of a chosen probability. This is a process by which we decide what cause can yield
what result. When we see the result manifesting, we move from a postulation to its actuality. Thus we find out for ourselves that
actualization of an envisioned result is the revelation of the solution to our problem.
The person who is bent on actualizing the realization of the potential envisaged in a certain probability is called a sadhaka. The
postulation is called sadhanam. The actual performance or the exerting of energy in a methodical way to bring the actual from the
potential is sadhana. One sound that is predominant in all these terms is dha. It has dynamic affinity with the sound dhi, which
means “the discerning intelligence” in all experiences of certitude. In the case of the Yoga aspirant, the sadhanam being sought
is samadhi. Three of the functions of consciousness—the interrogative (manas), recall and remembrance (citta), and the sense of
agency known as ego (ahamkara)—are all psychic forces that pull the faculty of judgment in different directions. What is central is
the discerning intellect (buddhi), which should stand upright without being swayed by doubt and apprehension. It should not be¬
come confused by a plethora of memories and disturbing thoughts and emotions.
To be free of manas, citta, and ahamkara the intellect has to be upright like a pillar (adhana). When a steady state of conscious¬
ness is maintained by the intellect, the pull from all sides is met equally. That position is called samadhana or equipoise. When
intelligence maintains a continuous neutral position and does not yield to any emotionally tainted memory, the state that is stabi¬
lized is called samadhi. Thus both the Samadhi Pada and the Sadhana Pada point us toward the cessation of the modulation of
consciousness.
sadhana: practice, discipline, means for attainment
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
(To the devotees) “Gather all the information and then plunge in. Suppose a pot has dropped in a certain part of a lake. Locate the
spot and dive there.
“One should learn the essence of the scriptures from the guru and then practise sadhana. If one rightly follows spiritual discipline,
then one directly sees God. The discipline is said to be rightly followed only when one plunges in. What will a man gain by mere¬
ly reasoning about the words of the scriptures? Ah, the fools! They reason themselves to death over information about the path.
They never take the plunge. What a pity!
“You may say, even though you dive deep you are still in danger of sharks and crocodiles, of lust and anger. But dive after rubbing
your body with turmeric powder; then sharks and crocodiles will not come near you. The turmeric is discrimination and renuncia¬
tion.
Three kinds of sadhana
“I practised all sorts of sadhana. There are three classes of sadhana: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. In the sattvic sadhana the
devotee calls on the Lord with great longing or simply repeats His name; he doesn’t seek any result in return. The rajasic sadhana
prescribes many rituals: purascharana, pilgrimage, panchatapa, worship with sixteen articles, and so forth. The tamasic sadhana
is a worship of God with the help of tamas. The attitude of a tamasic devotee is this: ‘Hail, Kali! What? Wilt Thou not reveal Thy¬
self to me? If not, I will cut my throat with a knife!’ In this discipline one does not observe conventional purity; it is like some of the
disciplines prescribed by the Tantra.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
Sadhana is necessary only if there is a thing other than T, Self. Sadhana is required only for one who does not look towards the
Self which is permanent, but is deluded by looking at the body, etc., which are transitory and delusive; but not for one who sees
the Self and so does not see anything else different. And what else is sadhana for?”...
Sadhana is only to get rid of the bodily and other illusions which are in the way of the self standing up as Self. This delusion arises
only by thinking that this bodily world is real, instead of looking at the Self, which is real. Sadhana is only to get rid of this illusion.
Otherwise, why should there be sadhana for the Self to attain its own Self? He who has realised his own Self does not recognize
anything else.”
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
The Yoga Vasishtha prescribes three kinds of sadhana - prana nirodha, chitta-vritti nirodha and brahmabhyasa - which are pran-
ayama, control of the mind, and meditation on the Absolute.
It is frightening to conclude that one dies and achieves nothing in spite of all the effort in meditation. Sri Krishna’s answer is that
nothing dies in spiritual effort. Only the physical body dies; and the spiritual practice that we did or the yoga that we practised
was not conducted by the physical body. It is the mind that did the sadhana, and the mind does not die. The deathless individual
principle in us will carry itself forward, like a rocket, rising up into a new body where we will find favourable circumstances for the
completion of our sadhana and our onward march. Because of the sadhana that we have performed in this life, we will be reborn
into a well-to-do family that will not disturb us or place obstacles in front of us. All favourable conditions will be provided to us in
the family into which we are born. Due to a premonition of the previous practice, we will suddenly take up the thread from the very
point which we left in the previous life. We will be able to grasp things quickly. There are precocious people who immediately un¬
derstand things, who catch things better than other students. This precocity is due to the experience, learning, practice and good¬
ness that they had in the previous life, which carries them forward.
tit
The highest sadhana is the pouring forth of our soul into the universal soul; then everything shall be taken care of automatically.
We need not bother about tomorrow: “What shall I eat? Where is my raiment? How long shall I live? Who will take care of me?”
We shall be taken care of; and what is to be done tomorrow shall be told to us tomorrow. Jnanadipena bhasvata:“l shall illumine
the personality of these great devotees with the light of wisdom, destroying their ignorance and blessing them with the highest
illumination, by which they will know the truths of all things.”
This is an introductory oration by Sri Bhagavan Himself in the beginning of the Tenth Chapter, before Arjuna could raise any ques¬
tion.
... verses up to the twelfth [BA, Ch.12] are actual practical suggestions on the way of sadhana. We have a brief pithy statement
here of what spiritual practice is, what sadhana is, what the four yogas are, and how we have to conduct ourselves with propor¬
tionate attention paid to the different yogas, according to our capacity and perhaps our stage of evolution.
There is no show on the part of a spiritual seeker. He never demonstrates himself as a seeker of God, a lover of God, a spiritual
seeker. He looks like anybody else in the world. There is nothing special or anything particular that we can cognise in that person.
He hides his knowledge and his sadhana. It is said the sadhana that we perform, the mantra that we chant, and the Guru whom
we worship should not be revealed to anyone. We should not boast about who our Guru is. It should be known only to us, and to
the Guru. We should not announce to the public who our Guru is; we should not tell people what mantra japa we are doing, and
our sadhana technique also should not be revealed to other people. If we have an experience in our sadhana, that also should not
be told to anybody except our Guru.
Varieties of sadhana are mentioned in different places in the Bhagavadgita, and some of the diversities of sadhana are stated in
the Fourth Chapter: daivam evapare yajnam yoginah paryupasate, brahmagnav apare yajnam yajnenaivopajuhvati (4.25), etc.
Here also there is a brief statement of the varieties of spiritual practice - sadhana.
Some people try to behold the Supreme Being by meditation, pure and simple. Dhyanenatmani pasyanti kechid atamanam atma-
na (13.24): By intense concentration on the pure Self, some people try to behold the Self in the self. That is, they behold the uni¬
versal Self in their own self, and they behold their own self in the universal Self. ... Atmana atmanam janati: By the self, the Self is
known...
anye sankhyena yogena: There are others who contemplate on the categories of the manifestation of the world as delineated in
the Sankhya; that is also a way of sadhana...
Karma-yogena chapare: There are some, like Raja Janaka, who attained perfection only through action, because actually they do
not perform any action.
Iti te jnanam akhyatam guhyad guhyataram maya, vimrsyaitad aseshena yathecchasi tatha kuru (18.63): “I have told you every¬
thing that is necessary. Is there anything left now? I have concluded by the word that God is supreme. Surrender to Him is the
final word. Devotion to the Supreme Being is the ultimate sadhana. I have told you the secret of all secrets. Consider deeply the
pros and cons and the various aspects of this wisdom that I have imparted to you, and then do what you like.” After having said
this much, Sri Krishna does not compel Arjuna saying, ‘therefore do this’. After saying all these things, He says, “Do whatever is
proper according to your opinion.” There is freedom even then.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
sadhana — from the verb root sadh - “to go straight to the goal”.
Related words
Sadhu
Sannyasa
Siddhi
Yoga
Sanskrit
Sddhana — HTtFT
sadhana - *TT£PTT
Sadhanacatustaya
Variant spellings
sadhanacatustaya
sadhana-catustaya
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sadhana-catustaya — ... the fourfold aid to the study of Vedanta
1. According to Advaita Vedanta, these four comprise the proximate aid to liberation. They are the ability to discriminate between
the transient and the eternal (nitya-anitya-vastu-viveka); the absence of desire for securing pleasure or pain either here or else¬
where (iha-amutra-artha-phala-vairagya); the attainment of calmness, temperance, spirit of renunciation, fortitude, power of con¬
centration of mind, and faith (sama-damadi-sadhana-sampatti); and an intense desire for liberation (mumuksutva).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sadhanacatustaya -
(in phil.) four kinds of proof
Sankara tradition
Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda
17. The man who discriminates between the Real and the unreal, whose mind is turned away from the unreal, who possesses
calmness and the allied virtues, and who is longing for Liberation, is alone considered qualified to enquire after Brahman.
18. Regarding this, sages have spoken of four means of attainment, which alone being present, the devotion to Brahman suc¬
ceeds, and in the absence of which, it fails.
19. First is enumerated discrimination between the Real and the unreal; next comes aversion to the enjoyment of fruits (of one’s
actions) here and hereafter; (next is) the group of six attributes, viz. calmness and the rest; and (last) is clearly the yearning for
Liberation.
20. A firm conviction of the mind to the effect that Brahman is real and the universe unreal, is designated as discrimination (Vive-
ka) between the Real and the unreal.
21. Vairagya or renunciation is the desire to give up all transitory enjoyments (ranging) from those of an (animate) body to those of
Brahmahood (having already known their defects [limitations]) from observation, instruction and so forth.
22. The resting of the mind steadfastly on its Goal (viz. Brahman) after having detached itself from manifold sense-objects by con¬
tinually observing their defects, is called Shama or calmness.
23. Turning both kinds of sense-organs away from sense-objects and placing them in their respective centres, is called Dama or
self-control. The best Uparati or self-withdrawal consists in the mind-function ceasing to be affected by external objects.
24. The bearing of all afflictions without caring to redress them, being free (at the same time) from anxiety or lament on their score,
is called Titiksha or forbearance.
25. Acceptance by firm judgment as true of what the Scriptures and the Guru instruct, is called by sages Shraddha or faith, by
means of which the Reality is perceived.
26. Not the mere indulgence of thought (in curiosity) but the constant concentration of the intellect (or the affirming faculty) on the
ever-pure Brahman, is what is called Samadhana or self-settledness.
27. Mumukshuta or yearning for Freedom is the desire to free oneself, by realising one’s true nature, from all bondages from that
of egoism to that of the body - bondages superimposed by Ignorance.
28. Even though torpid or mediocre, this yearning for Freedom, through the grace of the Guru, may bear fruit (being developed) by
means of Vairagya (renunciation), Shama (calmness), and so on.
29. In his case, verily, whose renunciation and yearning for Freedom are intense, calmness and the other practices have (really)
their meaning and bear fruit.
30. Where (however) this renunciation and yearning for Freedom are torpid, there calmness and the other practices are as mere
appearances, like water in a desert.
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
THE FOUR QUALIFICATIONS OF THE PUPIL
Vedantic teachers maintain that genuine seekers after Knowledge must practise proper disciplines. True knowledge is always
accompanied by a direct personal experience. To know Atman is to realize that the Self of man is Pure Consciousness. To know
Brahman is to become Brahman.
Therefore intellectual understanding of Vedanta must be followed by actual transformation of life; otherwise it is of no practical
benefit to the aspirant. ...
Seekers of Self-Knowiedge are exhorted to practise four disciplines, known in Vedanta philosophy as the sadhanacatustaya, or
four instruments of spiritual knowledge. They are as follows:
(1) Viveka or discrimination between the Real and the unreal: This is an intuitive and unshakable conviction of the mind that Brah¬
man alone is the real Substance and all other things are unreal and illusory. Discrimination is the first and foremost discipline;
without it the second one, namely renunciation, is not possible.
(2) Vairagya or renunciation: This is the utter disregard of all pleasures, ranging from the enjoyment of the sensuous objects of
this world to the experience of the happiness one expects in heaven after death. From the teachings of the scriptures and person¬
al observation the intelligent aspirant realizes that no pleasure, whether here or hereafter, can have an infinite duration since all
pleasures are the results of finite action. Even good actions, such as charity, study, or worship, are finite by nature. Their results,
too, are finite. Self-Knowledge ... is not the direct result of any action. It always exists. The Vedantic discipline merely removes ig¬
norance, the barrier to this Knowledge, and the glory of the Self shines forth. This discipline may be compared to a wind that blows
away a dark cloud hiding the radiance of the sun, immediately revealing the solar orb. As the sun is not the product of the wind, so
also the Self is not the product of the discipline. But worldly happiness is the direct result of our action.
(3) S’atsampatti, or the six treasures: These form the ethical foundation of spiritual life. Their practice prepares the inner faculties
for the cultivation of higher knowledge. They are as follows: (a) S’ama or calmness: the dwelling of the mind on Brahman after it
has detached itself from all sense-objects through firm knowledge of their inherent defects. The concrete effect of this discipline
upon the aspirant is that he devotes himself entirely to hearing about Brahman from a teacher or from the scriptures, reasoning
about the instruction, and then meditating on its meaning. A student of Vedanta, like all true philosophers, must cultivate inner
calmness. He treads a very difficult path, often compared to the sharp edge of a razor. He must have convictions but should nev¬
er be swaved by passions. A Vedantist is often compared to a fire of blazing charcoal, free from smoke and noise, after the wood
is consumed, (b) Dama, or self-control: restraining the organs of both perception and action from their respective objects, and
keeping them under control. The organs of perception are those of tasting, hearing, smelling, seeing, and touching. The organs
of action are those of speaking, grasping, moving about, procreating, and evacuating. Endowed with this virtue, the aspirant en¬
gages only in hearing about Brahman, reasoning about it, and meditating upon it. (c) Uparati. or self-settledness: a function of the
mind which prevents the sense-organs, restrained by S’ama and Dama, from drifting back to their respective objects. This virtue,
according to some Vedantists, means the relinquishment of worldly duties and he acceptance of sannyasa, or monastic life, (d)
Titiksa or forbearance: the endurance of all afflictions arising from he contact of the senses with their objects. A man practising
his discipline does not care to relieve his physical suffering nor does he show any anxiety or grief on its score. By means of this
discipline the aspirant remains unagitated by heat nd cold, pleasure and pain, love and hate, and the other pairs of opposites, (e)
Samadhana, or complete concentration: concentration of the mind (after it has been disciplined by the practice of the above-men¬
tioned virtues) on Brahman as taught by the scriptures and by a competent teacher, (f) sraddha or faith: a function of the mind
which enables the aspirant to accept as true the words of Vedanta as taught by a competent teacher. This is not a mechanical or
unquestioning belief. It is rather an affirmative attitude of mind as opposed to the sceptical and negative. Endowed with this virtue
the aspirant intuitively believes in the existence of Ultmate Reality and in the eternity of the Soul. Further, he knows that he is ca¬
pable of making any sacrifice for the realization of Truth. It is said in the Katha Upanisad that Naciketa, armed with sraddha, went
to the abode of the king of death to seek the knowledge of the hereafter. Without this affirmative attitude of the mind no success is
possible in spiritual life.
(4) Mumuktatram. or longing for Liberation: This is the intense longing of the student to free himself, through the Knowledge of the
true Self, from all bondages pertaining to the body, the mind, and the ego—bondages created by ignorance. It must be understood
that longing is totally different from restlessness, which is an inferior state of mind. A restless mind shows lack of self-control and
also a lack of firm belief in the existence of Truth. Restlessness creates confusion: the longing for Freedom is the result of all the
virtues mentioned above. It endows the mind with an intense one-pointedness and enables it to pierce through the thick crust of
ignorance. Renunciation and the longing for Freedom are the cardinal virtues through which the others bear their fruit. Without
these the mere ethical disciplines give only a veneer of spirituality.
The great Sankara lays emphasis on the cultivation of bhakti or devotion, as supremely necessary to the attainment of Liberation.
Bhakti is single-minded zeal and unswerving passion for the realization of Truth. Without this emotional urge, the aspirant often
becomes lost in the wilderness of dry intellectualism or finds comfort in the ivory tower of a speculative philosophy. He fails to
reach the Goal.
Sanskrit _
Sadhana-catustaya —
sadhana-catustaya -
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
—
JL
Sadhu
Variant spellings
sadhu
sadhu
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sadhu—... holy person; saint; virtuous; good; sage ... ; a monk or ascetic
1. According to Jainism, it is the fourth stage of the ascetic order. They are saints who scrupulously observe the codes of conduct.
They are introverts who do not mix freely with others nor give spiritual discourses. Their entire being is fixed on spiritual practices.
2. Any person who is practicing spiritual disciplines (sadhana).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sadhu -
straight, right;
leading straight to a goal, hitting the mark, unerring (as an arrow or thunderbolt);
straightened, not entangled (as threads);
well-disposed, kind, willing, obedient;
successful, effective, efficient (as a hymn or prayer);
ready, prepared (as Soma);
peaceful, secure;
powerful, excellent, good for (loc.) or towards;
fit, proper, right;
good, virtuous, honourable, righteous;
well-born, noble, of honourable or respectable descent;
correct, pure;
classical (as language);
a good or virtuous or honest man;
a holy man, saint, sage, seer;
(with Jainas) a Jina or deified saint;
a jeweller;
a merchant, money-lender, usurer;
(in gram, accord, to some) a derivative or inflected noun;
a saintly woman;
a kind of root;
the good or right or honest, a good &c. thing or act;
gentleness, kindness, benevolence;
straight, aright, regularly;
well, rightly, skilfully, properly, agreeably;
good! well done! bravo!;
well, greatly, in a high degree;
well, enough of. away with (instr.)!;
assuredly, indeed
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Sadhu (“virtuous man”). A general term that can be used for anyascetic, although it more often refers to an ascetic who has not
undergone formalinitiation into an established ascetic order.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
sadhu. A sadhu ... is a renunciant, most commonly a mendicant who wanders in search of alms. Such people are regarded as
good, pure, and religiously devoted. The terms sadhu and SANNYASI (more rarely their feminine forms sadhvi and sannyasini)
are generally used interchangeably for wandering mendicants.
The name SWAMI is also sometimes used. Customs and characteristics vary greatly among sadhus and depend upon the sect to
which they belong. They may be devoted to any divinity or to the BRAHMAN, the ultimate reality. Celibacy is universally required.
Sadhus who worship Lord SHIVA may freely partake of hashish and marijuana to inspire their devotional chanting; for all others
such drugs are strictly forbidden. Sadhus are very often devoted to a particular GURU (almost always a man) and follow his dic¬
tates strictly.
The sadhu or wandering mendicant is a very familiar feature of the Indian landscape and a distinctive aspect of Hinduism. While
they are typically welcomed, there has always been some skepticism about their authenticity as well.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
“A great Mahatma was living as a sadhu under a tree in a forest. He always used to keep with him three stones. While sleeping,
he used to keep one of them under the head, another under the waist and the third under the legs and cover himself with a sheet.
When it rained, the body used to be on the stones and so the water would flow underneath, and the water that fell on the sheet
too, would flow down. So there was no disturbance to his sleep; he used to sleep soundly. When sitting, he used to keep the three
stones together like a hearth and sit upon them comfortably. Hence snakes and other reptiles did not trouble him nor did he trou¬
ble them, for they used to crawl through the slits under the stones. Somebody used to bring him food and he would eat it. And so,
there was nothing for him to worry about. “A king, who came to that forest for hunting, saw this sadhu and felt, ‘What a pity! How
much must he be suffering by having to adjust his body suitably to those stones and sleep thereon. I must take him home and
keep him with me at least one or two days and make him feel comfortable.’ So thinking, he went home and sent two of his soldiers
with a palanquin and its bearers, with instructions to invite the sadhu respectfully and bring him to his palace. He also said that if
they did not succeed in bringing the sadhu, they would be punished. They came and saw the sadhu and told him that the king had
ordered them to bring him to the palace and that he should come. When he showed disinclination to go with them, they said that
they would be punished if they returned without him. So they begged of him to come, if only to save them from trouble. As he did
not want them to get into trouble on his account, he agreed to go with them. What was there for him to pack up? A kaupeenam,*
a sheet and those three stones. He folded and kept the kaupeenam in that sheet, kept those three stones also in the sheet and
tied them together. ‘What is this? This Swami is bringing with him some stones when he is going to a Raja’s palace! Is he mad or
what?’ thought those soldiers. Anyway, he got into the palanquin with his bundle and came to the king. The Raja saw that bundle,
thought it contained some personal effects, took him into the palace with due respect, feasted him properly, arranged a tape cot
with a mattress of silk cotton to sleep upon. The sadhu opened his bundle, took out the three stones, spread them on the bed,
covered himself with the sheet and slept as usual.
“The next morning the king came, bowed to him with respect and asked, ‘Swami, is it comfortable for you here?’
“Swami: Yes. What is there wanting here? I am always happy.
“King: That is not it, Swami. You were experiencing hardships in the forest by having to sleep on those stones. Here this bed and
this house must be giving you happiness. That is why I am asking.
“Swami: The bed that was there is here also. The bed that is here is there also. So I have the same happiness everywhere. There
is nothing wanting at any time, either in regard to my sleep or to my happiness.
“The king was puzzled and looked at the cot. He saw that the three stones were on it. Whereupon, the king immediately prostrat¬
ed before the sadhu and said, ‘Oh Holy Man! Without knowing your greatness I brought you here with the intention of making you
happy. I did not know that you are always in a state of happiness, and so I behaved in this foolish manner. Please excuse me and
bless me.’ After making up for his mistake in this way, he allowed the sadhu to go his way. This is the story of the sadhu.”
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
sadhu - from the verb root sadh = “to go straight to the goal”.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
sadhu - from Sanskrit fisadhvi, “good”.
Related words
Sadhana
Sannyasin
Sanskrit
Sadhu — HTtJ
sadhu -
Saguna
Variant spellings
saguna
saguna
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Saguna — ... with attributes; with qualities.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Saguna (“with qualities”). Anything having distinguishing qualities. In the context of ideas about divinity it refers to particular deities
with particular attributes. In the religious traditions based on the ideas of the Upanishads, the speculative texts that are the final
texts in the Vedas, any manifestation of a deity with qualities is seen as ultimately inferior to the unqualified (nirguna) Brahman.
This assumption is adamantly opposed by certain theistic traditions, such as the Gaudiya Vaishnava religious community, which
insists that the highest deity, in this case Krishna, has a particular form (and thus certain qualities).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
saguna -
furnished with (or together with) a string or cord;
furnished with partic. attributes or properties;
having qualities, qualified;
having good qualities or virtues, virtuous;
worldly.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
M.: The Saguna merges into the nirguna in the long run. The saguna purifies the mind and takes one to the final goal.
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
saguna from pr. sa, with + guna
Related words
Opposite: Nirguna
Saguna-brahman
Sanskrit
Saguna —
saguna - mpr
Saguna-brahman
Variant spellings
saguna-brahman
sagunabrahman
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
... the saguna Brahman includes not merely reality but also appearance, which is something less than the real. The element of
reality in it is the ultimate of Advaita. It should be carefully noted that this reality is not the mere unity underlying the diversity of
the universe, for unity and diversity are relative to each other, and it is impossible to retain the one as real while rejecting the other
as an appearance. Both of them are alike appearances and the advaitic Ultimate is what is beyond them—their non-phenomenal
ground (nirvisesa-vastu). It is for this reason that Samkara describes his doctrine as advaita or ‘non-duality,’ and not as aikya or
‘unity.’ By discarding the notion of bhedabheda or, more specifically, by refusing to accept a changing Brahman as ultimate, Sam¬
kara differentiates his doctrine from Brahma-parinamavada advocated by other Vedantins according to whom both the physical
universe and the jivas actually emerge from Brahman. Brahman according to him does not evolve in this sense, but only gives rise
to appearances which, though entirely depending upon it, affect it no more than the silver does the shell in which it appears. He
thus enunciates a new view of causation which is different from both the parinama-vada and the arambha-vada ... According to it,
the cause produces the effect without itself undergoing any change whatsoever. It is vivartavada or the doctrine of phenomenal
development. Viewed in the light of this theory, Brahman only appears as the world. It is the original of which the world ... may
be regarded as ‘a translation at the plane of space-time’; and Brahman depends as little for its being on the world as an original
work does on its translation. This is what is otherwise known as the Maya doctrine. Though the doctrine as it appears here natu¬
rally shows considerable development in matters of detail, it has ... a definite basis in the Upanisads. The charge that it is alien to
the Vedanta is therefore really without foundation, Again, by postulating a Reality behind the self-discrepant world of experience,
Samkara differentiates his doctrine from the sunya-vada of the Madhyamika. The discrepancy characterizing the saguna Brahman
or its relativity only degrades it to the level of appearance; it does not dismiss it altogether. ... To use the terminology of the Upa¬
nisads, the Advaita denies only ‘names’and ‘forms’ but not that which appears under their guise.
Though the ideal of the saguna Brahman is ... inadequate to be the ultimate of philosophy, it must not be regarded as useless.
We have already seen how it furnishes an ethical ideal by following which the disciple can rise above his congenital limitations
and acquire that moral fitness which is indispensable for success in achieving the advaitic goal. Even from the purely theoretic
standpoint, it is not without its own value, as is shown for instance by the method followed in the Advaita. This method, we know,
starts with the more or less diverse worlds as given in individual experience and discovers as their basis a common one. System¬
atizing the variety that is manifest in it, it then arrives at unity. And it is only afterwards, since this world of unity in diversity is itself
an appearance on the reasoning adopted above, that the doctrine concludes to the spirit which lies beyond it as the sole reality.
The contradictions and anomalies of ordinary experience have at first to be resolved at least in the seeming orderliness signified
by the ideal of the saguna Brahman, if we are to reach the advaitic ultimate unerringly. Without the synthesis effected in it or, to
express the same thing differently, without the jiva’s avidya being universalized as Maya, we would land ourselves in subjectivism
reducing the world to a mere private show, for there would then be no reason for postulating anything beyond what is present to
individual consciousness. The Advaitin’s criticism of the saguna Brahman should accordingly be understood as showing only the
inadequacy of that conception to serve as the goal of philosophy and not as signifying that it is valueless. But its value is restricted
to the empirical sphere—a view which is entirely in consonance with the general advaitic position that practical utility need not rest
on metaphysical validity. It is this distinction that has given rise to what are familiarly known as the ‘two grades’ of teaching in the
Advaita—the higher one of the nirguna Brahman (paravidya) and the lower one of the saguna (apara-vidya).
Wikipedia
Advaita. According to Advaita as taught by Sankara, saguna brahman refers to the lord identical with his own infinite jnanam.
Sankara refers to him by names such as Narayana, Vishnu and Vasudeva as specified in the vedas and upanishads. This sa¬
guna brahman is Paramartha, eternal, undecaying and non-differentiated from nirguna brahman. He is not affected even when
he appears in this world as he controls the effects of his own maya shakti. Hiranyagarbha, the collection of deities in the Hindu
pantheon of gods, is not saguna brahman as popularly miscontrued. Sankara clearly says that hiranyagarbha is called brahman
only because of nearness to brahman. After many millions of years, the devotees who reach the worlds of gods (hiranyagarbha),
will reach the state of vishnu. This is called advaita siddhi and this state can be reached here and now by one who is free from all
desires and blessed by the lord.
Vaishnavism. Saguna Brahman of the various schools of Vaishnavism means Brahman with infinite attributes, including form. Sa¬
guna Brahman is immortal, imperishable, eternal, and thus the basis of the impersonal Nirguna Brahman, as clearly stated in the
Bhagavad Gita. The personal form indicated is generally Narayana, or Krishna, or Vishnu. Practically all schools of Vaishnavism
adhere to this viewpoint.
Other. Goddess Shakti (or Durga, Kali, Gayatri etc.) is seen as the Saguna Brahman in Shaktism. Shiva is the Saguna Brahman
of Shaivism. It is also understood that worshippers of a particular personal form of God or Goddess as supreme may see other
personal forms as plenary portions or expansions or aspects of Brahman.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Vedanta Revalued and Restated
Vedantic literature abounds in such terms as saguna brahman (the absolute still within the scope of the three qualities) and nir¬
guna brahman (the unqualified Absolute) which are the apara and para brahmans, sometimes also distinguished as the lower
or the higher brahmans, respectively. Whatever its implications, the lower brahman is supposed by philosophers like Sankara or
Ramanuja to lead to different grades of salvation. Others think that one implies the other, and still others say that, judged by the
effect on the votary or contemplative, both are the same.
An electric light might burn bright or dim and have still the same light involved. Between the limits, the function of electrical energy
can vary, giving us innumerable intermediate gradations. What the infinitesimal calculus recognizes is just this variability; not in
quantitative arithmetical terms but in integral or differential terms sometimes expressible in rationally denumerable numbers. When
a bulb is supplied with weak light, the filaments inside it are visible, but as the intensity is increased we pass through intermediate
stages where the duality between light and darkness is fused and they absorb each other till mere light, stunning and all-inclu-
sive, remains. The vertical stages of the same light might permit degrees of duality till full unity prevails. Between the vijnanavada
(idealism) of the Buddhists, through the saguna brahman (conditioned Absolute) of Vedanta, we have to allow for an epistemology
which recognizes dualities of various degrees, till double negation makes the vision fully positive and non-dual. Overfocussed, we
can get our own images as meditators into the picture; and when
underfocussed, relativistic networks of ramified entities, perceptual or conceptual in status, can fill the
field of vision. Laws, logical necessities and intuitive certitudes can be seen to occupy the gamut of
visions of the absolute Value, the subjective capacity for the vision being neutralized at each level by the
counterpart that meets it, as it were, descending from above.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
The Saguna Brahman is meant for the bhaktas. In other words, a bhakta believes that God has attributes and reveals Himself to
men as a Person, assuming forms. It is He who listens to our prayers. The prayers that you utter are directed to Him alone. You
are bhaktas, not jnanis or Vedantists. It doesn’t matter whether you accept God with form or not. It is enough to feel that God is a
Person who listens to our prayers, who creates, preserves, and destroys the universe, and who is endowed with infinite power.
It is easier to attain God by following the path of devotion.”
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Ballantyne
The saguna Brahma consists of Brahma associated with ignorance a union which is said to be eternal.
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Even in his theistic hymns Sankara never permits one to forget that Brahman alone is the foundation of all relative ideas and that
the effulgence of Pure Consciousness radiates through the vesture of name and form. The devotee catches a glimpse of the Ab¬
solute through the form of the Personal God, who is the highest manifestation of the Infinite that a finite mind can comprehend on
the relative plane. Sankara reiterates this principle in his philosophy. The beginner learns the art of concentration through worship
of the Personal God (Saguna Brahman) and acquires purity of heart through performance of unselfish duties. Endowed then with
concentration and purity, he sets himself to the task of acquiring the Knowledge of Brahman and realizes, in the end, the Imper¬
sonal Absolute.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Mandukya Upanishad
(26) Om is verily the Lower Brahman and it is also declared to be Supreme Brahman. Pranava is without precedent, without sub¬
sequent manifestation, without anything outside itself, unrelated to any effect, and changeless.
Commentary by Chimayananda:
Besides Gaudapada, Vasishta and others—the orthodox or the old-school-of-Advaitins—in Vedanta there is a modern school
which allows for the perceived world a relative reality. They call the multiple phenomenal world as the Lower Brahman, which is
the Supreme Reality seemingly manifested through properties, actions, qualities, etc. The lower Brahman provides the idol for the
worship of the Upasakas in Vedanta; the Lower Brahman became Saguna Brahman in later Vedantic language. The old-school-of-
Vedanta mainly started and led by Gaudapada and Vasishta, does not accept the Lower Brahman, and insists on saying that the
manifestation has never taken place. According to these non-creationists, no relationship can be fixed between the ghost and the
post; the ghost is not in any sense a “lower degree manifestation” of the post!
On the contrary, the modern-school-of-Vedanta founded by Sankara and his followers, does permit a relative reality for the man¬
ifested world. This is not because Sankara believed that the pluralistic world is in any sense real. In practice these two schools
are not mutually competing theories, but, in fact, they play a complementary role to each other. Sankara’s attempt is to guide the
Sadhaka in and through the manifested realities to the Unmanifest and the Eternal Truth.
Gaudapada, in this stanza, is emphasising the idea that the Pranava or AUM represents in itself not only the Supreme Reality, the
Higher Brahman but also the seemingly manifested-reality, the Lower Brahman.
See also:
in Ishvara: Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Related words
Apara-brahman
Brahman
Ishvara
Nirguna-brahman
Saguna
Sanskrit
sagunabrahman - qHT
Sakshin
Variant spellings
sakshin
saksin
saksin
sakshi
saksi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Saksin — ... the witness self; the intuitive faculty
1. According to Dvaita Vedanta, it is the witness consciousness which is the faculty of direct apprehension or perception. It is the
purest sense, without defects, and always produces absolutely valid knowledge. It indirectly perceives the objects presented to all
the other senses, through the senses, as well as directly perceiving the Self (Atman), internal organ (antahkarana), and the attri¬
butes of the manas or mind (pleasure and pain), ignorance, time, and unmanifested ether. It has two functions: it helps produce
knowledge and validity of knowledge. It is the essential attribute of the Self; the Self’s own sense organ.
2. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is the witness self and neutral. It is consciousness marked by the internal organ (antahkara-
na-upahitacaitanya). It is always in relation to consciousness and the witness thereof. It is self-luminous and ever present. It cor¬
responds to the purusa of the Sankhya-Yoga—i.e., as the passive observer of the states of the internal organ. It never appears by
itself, but always in association with the internal organ.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sakshin -
... seeing with the eyes, observing, witnessing;
an eye-witness, witness (in law) of or to ... (in phil.) the Ego or subject (as opp. to the object or to that which is external to the
mind...)
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Sakshin (“witness”). The perceiving consciousness believed to be the inner Self (atman), which observes changes going on
around it but is utterly unaffected by them. It is described in a primitive way as early as the Upanishads, the speculative texts that
form the final layer of the Vedas, the most authoritative Hindu religious texts. The Katha Upanishad describes the Self as a thumb¬
sized person inside the head. The Samkhya philosophical school develops this notion in a more subtle and sophisticated way: of
its two fundamental first principles, one is the purusha, which is the conscious but inert witness to the transformations of prakrti,
or nature. Later philosophical schools such as Vedanta reject the Samkhya school’s dualism by collapsing all reality into a single
ultimate principle known as Brahman. Vedanta’s conception of Brahman as “being-consciousnessbliss” (sacchidananda) also con¬
ceives of the Self as the conscious and unchanging witness to the material flux surrounding it.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Drg-Drshya-Viveka
1. The form is perceived and the eye is its perceiver. It (eye) is perceived and the mind is its perceiver. The mind with its modifica¬
tions is perceived and the Witness (the Self) is verily the perceiver. But It (the Witness) is not perceived (by any other).
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
[The Sakshin is distinct from the perceived objects. But the veiling power of Maya does not enable us to see the distinction and
therefore the Sakshin appears to have identified itself with the empirical ego, mind, sense-organs etc.]
... In the foregoing stanzas we have seen, following the methods of agreement and difference, that the word Tvam”(“Thou” in the
Vedic statement, “That Thou Art”) indicates the Witness (Sakshin) which is immutable and changeless and that the word “Tat”
indicates Brahman which is unrelated to the phenomena. The attributes generally associated with “Thou” and “That” are mere
appearances and hence unreal.
See: Jnana, antahkarana, sakshin
Sakshin and antahkarana
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The psychical element is viewed as wholly inactive. The activity it manifests only seemingly belongs to it and is in reality to be
traced to its physical accompaniment, viz. the internal organ. The element of consciousness is known as the saksin and corre¬
sponds to the purusa of the Sahkhya-Yoga—the passive observer of the states of the internal organ as they unfold themselves.
It appears never by itself, but always in association with the internal organ in its latent or manifest form. The reverse also is true
and no internal organ is conceivable without involving a reference to some saksin or other. Thus it is only the unity of the passive
saksin and the active antah-karana that is real for all practical purposes.
Sakshin and jiva
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
That is what knows, feels and wills [sakshin + antahkarana]. In this complex form it is known as the jiva or the empirical self. ...
This complex entity is believed to endure in one form or other till the time of release. When at last it breaks up, the internal organ
is absorbed by or loses its identity in its source, Maya, which for the moment we may take to be the same as the prakrti of the
Sankhya-Yoga, and the saksin losing its saksi-hood ... becomes Brahman indeed. The saksin and the jiva are thus not identical,
though at the same time they are not quite different either. While the jiva may become the object of self-consciousness on ac¬
count of the objective element it includes, it is wrong to speak of the saksin as knowable, for it is the pure element of awareness
in all knowing; and to assume that it is knowable would be to imply another knowing element—a process which leads to the falla¬
cy of infinite regress. But the saksin does not therefore remain unrealized, for being setf-luminous, by its very nature, it does not
require to be made known at all. Its presence is necessarily equivalent to its revelation and it is therefore never missed. That is
setf-luminousness.’ says the PancadasT, ‘which is revelation without any aid. In other words, the jiva is spirit as immanent in the
antah-karana, while the saksin is spirit as transcendent.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Drg-Drshya-Viveka
16. The subtle body (lingam) which exists in close proximity to the Witness (Sakshin) identifying itself with the gross body be¬
comes the embodied empirical self, on account of its being affected by the reflection of consciousness.
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
[Empirical self It is that which thinks itself as the agent, enjoyer etc. It is this Jiva that appears to die and be reborn etc. But the
Sakshin or Atman is birthless, deathless, immutable and without attributes.]
17. The character of an embodied self appears through false superimposition in the Sakshin also. With the disappearance of the
veiling power, the distinction (between the seer and the object) becomes clear and with it the Jiva - character of the Sakshin (wit¬
ness) disappears.
[1- False superimposition: This is due to the projecting powers of Maya.
2- Sakshin: Thereby the Witness appears as the world-bound Jiva.
3- Also: Though the Sakshin is ever free from all taint of worldliness.
4- Distinction: Through Knowledge one realizes that the Sakshin is ever free from worldliness and is the eternal seer and all other
ideas, trom the empirical ego to the body, are mere objects and hence negatable.
5- Disappears This is possible only through Knowledge which one acquires from the study and the understanding of the scrip¬
tures. Hence scriptures are not futile.]
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
... Jiva in reality is Sakshin and identical with Brahman. The Sakshin considers itself to be Jiva owing to his identification with the
Upadhis.
Sakshin and sushupti
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Of the two elements that make up the jiva, one, viz. the antah-karana, is lost in its cause Maya or, to state it more definitely, in
that part or aspect of it called avidya which constitutes the adjunct of individual jivas. What endures then is the saksin plus avidya
which is known as the karana-sarira or the ‘radical adjunct’ of the self as distinguished from its subtle body (linga-sarlra). [In place
of the two adjuncts of the self as conceived in the Sankhya-Yoga, we thus have three here: (i) karana-sarira, (2) linga-sarlra and
(3) sthGla sarira.] Consequently there is in sleep no subject at all as such and no states of consciousness as in dreams or waking.
This makes the ‘experience’ of dreamless sleep quite unique, though occurring normally and almost universally. What we have in
that condition is the saksin—not the jiva—associated with its own avidya, in which the internal organ has provisionally merged. In
this state also, we must remember, individuality persists; but the individuality then is due to the union of the saksin with avidya and
not with the internal organ. The avidya operates in sleep only partially. It obscures the true character of reality, but does not split
it up into a variety of ‘names’ and ‘forms’ as in dreams or in waking, since the discontinuous and mutually excluding vrttis of the
internal organ are absent there. The experience of sleep involves a reference to both these elements—continuance of personality
and absence of all variety—as is shown by the later reminiscence that one was asleep and did not know anything. Over and above
these there is felt in sleep bliss which, according to a fundamental postulate of the system, is the very nature of the self and which,
owing to the absence of all distractions then, becomes manifest. This unalloyed happiness survives even after waking, as shown
by the state of repose that continues for a while; but it disappears as man lapses back into the vortex of common life a belief which
is Wordthworthian in its character. ‘All beings visit that Brahma-world day after day, but not one realizes it.’ None of these features
of sleep, it must be noted, is ‘known’ at the time, for no knowledge, whether mediate or immediate, is possible in the absence of
the internal organ. But they are nevertheless realized then as shown by the fact of their being recalled afterwards.
See also:
Buddhi and purusha
Related words
Atman
Brahman
Jiva
Sanskrit
Saksin — HTfSTJ
saksin - ^ i an fy
Sama
Variant spellings
shama
sama
sama
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sama-calmness; tranquility; control of the internal sense organs; same; equal
1. The method of training the mind by quiet persuasion. (See sadhana-catustaya.)
2. Perfect equality is samatva. To detach the mind from all objective things by continually seeing their imperfection, and to direct it
steadfastly toward the Absolute, is called tranquility.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sama -
tranquillity, calmness, rest, equanimity, quietude or quietism, absence of passion, abstraction from eternal objects through intense
meditation;
peace, peace with;
Quietism or Tranquillity (personified as a son of Dharma and husband of Prapti);
tranquillization, pacification, allayment, alleviation, cessation, extinction;
absence of sexual passion or excitement, impotence;
alleviation or cure of disease, convalescence;
final happiness, emancipation from all the illusions of existence;
indifference, apathy;
the hand;
imprecation, malediction;
N. of a king of the Nandi-vegas;
of a son of Andhaka;
of a son of Dharma-sutra;
tame, domestic
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Sama - tranquility or control of thought by withdrawing the mind from worldly affairs.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Shama is the curbing of the mind from all objects except hearing etc.
[Curbing etc.—Shama is that particular Vritti or function of the mind which keeps it in check from the pursuit of worldly pleasures.
Hearing etc.—Hearing of the scriptures, thinking of their meaning and meditating on it.]
Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
The undisturbed concentration of mind [manas] upon the object of perception is called sama.
on account of sama egotism is dissolved.
Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda
22. The resting of the mind steadfastly on its Goal (viz. Brahman) after having detached itself from manifold sense-objects by con¬
tinually observing their defects, is called Shama or calmness.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Sama or calmness: the dwelling of the mind on Brahman after it has detached itself from all sense objects through firm knowledge
of their inherent defects. The concrete effect of this discipline upon the aspirant is that he devotes himself entirely to hearing about
Brahman from a teacher or from the scriptures, reasoning about the instruction, and then meditating on its meaning. A student
of Vedanta, like all true philosophers, must cultivate inner calmness. He treads a very difficult path, often compared to the sharp
edge of a razor. He must have convictions but should never be swaved by passions. A Vedantist is often compared to a fire of
blazing charcoal, free from smoke and noise, after the wood is consumed.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
22. The mind’s abiding in its own goal through dispassion towards the whole host of objects by seeing their limitations again and
again, is said to be sama, resolution of the mind.
Commentary by Dayananda:
Sama is resolution of the mind. When you gain a certain maturity in vairagya, you become more objective. There is a certain sub¬
jectivity in every person. To the extent you reduce the subjectivity, to that extent you are objective! It is easy for an objective per¬
son to accommodate the world, the people and oneself.
Sama comes from vairagya which is pointed out here. Vrata means group. So visaya-vrata means the group of objects. When one
discovers in oneself a dispassion with reference to the various objects in this world or in the other world, then one is objective.
Being objective means there is no sobhanadhyasa; so you do not project upon an object anything more than what it has.
When there is vairagaya, the maturity, the overriding objectivity with reference to one’s own subjectivity, there is sama, resolution
of mind.
Svalaksye niyatavastha manasah sama ucyate - an abiding mind with reference to one’s own end, svalaksya is called sama.
Niyatavastha is a state that is abiding. It means an abiding mind. We are dealing with moksa-sastra, therefore the end is atma.
Again we are talking about an adhikari here. He must have, some kind of upasana, japa or prayer. Therefore svalaksya can be
taken as Tsvara, saguna-brahma. When the person does brakma-vicara the goal is to know nirguna-brahma and as a result of that
knowledge he understands what is what. But even when he does brahma-vicara, he does relate to Tsvara, for the resolution of the
mind. That relating to Tsvara, accepting Tsuara and his order, resolving one’s resistance to that order, is svalaksya.
When you accept Isvara’s order you have an attitude, “Things happen as they should. I do what I can”. This attitude helps you to
resolve your resistance...
Bhakti is resolving the ego in Tsvara. You cannot circumvent this and go to the atma straight away. Since you are in the world, you
have to settle account with the world. Settling account with the world means to settle many accounts: one’s account with one’s
mother, father, neighbour and so on. And either people are not available to settle accounts or they are not ready to do so. So set¬
tling account with the world is impossible. And therefore you put all these people into one basket, Tsvara, and settle account with
Him straight away.
Settling account with Tsvara is to let Tsvara come to your heart...
Unless the individual ego settles account with Tsvara, it is very difficult for it to come out of its subjectivity. And unless one comes
out of that subjectivity, there cannot be objectivity, there cannot be dispassion. Only a dispassionate mind has sama; it stays with
what it wants to accomplish.
See also:
“Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda” on page 789
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
sama - from sam = “to be quiet”
Related words
Dama
Samadhana
Broader term: Satsampatti
Sraddha
Titiksa
Uparati
Vairagya
Vritti
Sanskrit
Sama —?PT
sama -
Sama Veda
Title
Sama Veda — RiFoTq
Samaveda
Sama Veda
samaveda
'HiH'D
Wikipedia: Samaveda, from saman “melody” + veda “knowledge”
Author(s)
See: Veda Author(s)
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
samaveda -
‘Veda of chants’, N. of one of the three principal Vedas;
it contains a number of verses or stanzas nearly all of which [except about 78] occur in the Rig-veda and which, modified in vari¬
ous ways, are chanted, mostly, by the Udgatri priests at Soma sacrifices;
the Sarhhita of the Sama-veda consists of two parts;
the first, called Arcika [or Purvarcika or Chando-grantha], contains 585 verses disjoined from their proper sequence in the Rig-ve-
da and arranged in 59 Dazatis or decades, which again are subdivided into Prapathakas and Ardha-prapathakas;
the second, called Uttararcika or Uttara-grantha, contains 1225 verses, also chiefly from the Rik-sarhhita, but less disjointed than
in the first part, and arranged in nine Prapathakas with Ardha-prapathakas, mostly, however, grouped in triplets;
the directions for the formation of Samans or chants out of these verses are carefully laid down in the Ganas or manuals for
chanting, two of which, viz. the Geya-gana and Aranya-gana, are a directory for the Arcika portion, and two, viz. Uha-gana and
Uhya-gana, for the Uttararcika;
in Mn. i, 23 the Sama-veda is described as drawn forth from the sun;
in iv, 124 it is described as having a special reference to the Pitris or deceased ancestors, and its sound is therefore said to pos¬
sess a kind of impurity, whereas the Rig-veda has the gods for his objects and the Yajurveda men;
the Sama-veda is said to possess 8 Brahmanas
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Sama Veda, or “VEDA of the sung chants,” is one of the three original Vedas that form the foundation of Hindu tradition (a fourth
Veda was added sometime later). Most of its hymns are devoted to the god SOMA. This god was invoked in many Vedic rituals
and was particularly honored by the preparation of a psychedelic substance that took the same name as the god: Soma. The hon¬
oring of the god and the preparation of the drug were the particular realm of the Sama Vedic priests.
Any public Vedic ritual required the recitation of passages from the Sama Veda. Many public rites also required the consumption
of the Soma drug. The priests of the Sama Veda were known for their sonorous chanting, which is considered the origin of Indian
music.
Wikipedia
The Samaveda is second (in the usual order) of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. Its earliest parts are believed
to date from 1000 BC and it ranks next in sanctity and liturgical importance to the Rigveda. It consists of a collection (samhita) of
hymns, portions of hymns, and detached verses, all but 75 taken from the Rigveda, to be sung, using specifically indicated melo¬
dies called Samagana, by Udgatar priests at sacrifices in which the juice of the Soma plant, clarified and mixed with milk and other
ingredients, is offered in libation to various deities.
The verses have been transposed and re-arranged, without reference to their original order, to suit the rituals in which they were
to be employed. There are frequent variations from the text of the Rigveda.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
There are sixteen Upanisads associated with the Sama Veda. The most important are Kena and Chandogya.
Sankara tradition
Sankara & Gambhirananda. Chandogya Upanishad
Appendix:
Udgata: The main work of the Udgata [priest] and his assistants is to chant the Sama-Veda during the Soma sacrifice. Sama-Veda
is also called the UdgTtha, but the name particularly refers to the second part of the Sama-Veda which is chanted by the Udgata
during the sacrifice. In order to understand the various duties of the Udgata and his assistants it is necessary to know the proper
meaning of the UdgTtha. The word literally means ‘to chant aloud’. It is also the general name for the Sama-Veda. The word also
stands for Om, the three syllabled name of God or the symbol for the Reality. The Sama songs are divided into five or seven parts.
In five parts, it is Prastava, UdgTtha, Pratihara, Upadrava and Nidhana. To these five are also added the Himkara and the Om-
kara. The Prastava is sung by the Prastota, the UdgTtha by the Udgata, the Pratihara by the Pratiharta, the Upadrava again by the
Udgata, and the Nidhana by the priests together. The Himkara is chanted collectively by all the priests while commencing to chant
the Sama-Veda, along with the Omkara.
i. Prastota: During the Soma-sacrifice he chants the Prastava.
ii. Pratiharta: This priest chants the Pratihara.
iii. Subrahmanya: This priest is given that name because he invokes Indra for drinking the Soma juice in the course of the sacri¬
fice. Indra is also called Subrahmanya. So this priest was named after him. Besides this duty, he has to drive the cart in which the
sacrificer and the Adhvaryu sit while going to purchase the Soma creepers, and drive them back to the place of the sacrifice.
Thus are in brief the duties assigned to the various priests at the time of the Soma-sacrifice.
See: Relations of Vedas to their objects, four elements, etc.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Publications
Original language and translation
General
Wikipedia
The Samaveda has been edited and published by Theodor Benfey (Leipzig, 1848, with a German translation) and by Satyavrata
Samashrami in Bibl. Ind. (Calcutta, 1873). An English translation is due to Griffith (Benares, 1893). A translation in Hindi by Mridul
Kirti called “Samveda Ka Hindi Padyanuvad” has also been published recently.
Griffith, Ralph T. H. The Samaveda Samhita. Text, Translation, Commentary & Notes in English. Translated by Ralph T. H. Grif¬
fith. First published 1893; Revised and enlarged edition, enlarged by Nag Sharan Singh and Surendra Pratap, 1991 (Nag Publish¬
ers: Delhi, 1991) ISBN 81-7081-244-5. This edition provides the text in Devanagari with full metrical marks needed for chanting.
Translations
S. V.Ganapati, trans., Sama Veda (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,1992)
Related words
Chandogya Upanishad
Kena Upanishad
Mahavakya: Tal- tvam-asi
Veda
External links
Ralph Griffith, Hymns of the Samaveda 1895, full text, (online at sacred-texts.com)
http ://www. sacred-texts. com/h i n/sv. htm
Samadhana
Variant spellings
samadhana
samadhana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
samadhana -
putting together, laying, adding (esp. fuel to fire);
composing, adjusting, settling;
reconciliation;
intentness, attention (acc. with root kR, ‘to attend’), eagerness;
fixing the mind in abstract contemplation (as on the true nature of spirit), religious meditation, profound absorption or contempla¬
tion;
justification of a statement, proof;
(in logic) replying to the Purva-paksha;
(in dram.) fixing the germ or leading incident (which gives rise to the whole plot
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Samadhana, balanced mental equipoise; freedom from much sleep, laziness, and carelessness.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Samadhana is the constant concentration of the mind, thus restrained, on hearing etc. of the scriptural passages and other objects
that are conducive to these. [Other objects—Such virtues as modesty, humility, etc. are meant. Or they may mean the service of
the Guru, compiling of the Vedantic books, their preservation, etc.]
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Samadhana, or complete concentration : concentration of the mind (after it has been disciplined by the practice of the above-men¬
tioned virtues) on Brahman as taught by the scriptures and by a competent teacher.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
Verse : 16
The placing of the mind always and in every manner in Brahman that is pure is said as samadhana; it is not pacifying of the mind.
Commentary by Dayananda: Samadhana, the sixth of the sama-dama group of qualifications is discussed in this verse. Samadha¬
na is placing of the buddhi always and in every manner in Brahman which is pure and free from all limitations. Whichever way
you look at the Brahman it is pure; it is neither cause nor effect; it is not subject to likes and dislikes; it is not subject to punya and
papa, much less to doership and enjoyership. Here the placing of the buddhi in Brahman is a figurative expression and it should
be properly understood. It is not like placing of a book on the table. It means that the object of inquiry of the buddhi is. Brahman.
Every other concern finds resolution in this one committed inquiry. Nothing else has any value worthy of one’s concern and pur¬
suit.
The sastra here points out further that amadhanais not meant for entertaining the mind, na tu cittasya lalanam. Cittasya lalana
can be taken as rocking of the mind. Mind is like a cradle, always going back and forth. Now it thinks of one thing; now it thinks of
another thing. This does not really keep you with one subject matter. You require absorption in a given track of thinking, which is
called amadhana.
See also:
in Sadhana: Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
“Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda” on page 789
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
Related words
Dama
Sama
Broader term: Satsampatti
Sraddha
Titiksa
Uparati
Sanskrit
samadhana - *nTTUPT
Samadhi
Variant spellings
samadhi
samadhi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Samadhi — ... one-pointedness; concentration; absorption; union; a calm, desireless fixity; a unifying concentration; “equal mind”
1. It is a deep spiritual meditation or a meditative union with the Absolute.
2. A superconscious state where there is complete absorption of the intellect into the object of meditation.
3. A state beyond expression and above all thought. Here speech and mind cannot reach. It is a state of utter calmness in which
consciousness is unwavering.
4. It is a limb of Patanjali’s raja-yoga...
.5. According to Yoga, it has four aspects: vitarka, vicara, ananda, and asmita. These are called samadhi with knowledge of ob¬
jects (samprajnata). There is also a samadhi without any knowledge of objects (asamprajnata).
6. According to Buddhism, it is of three types: upacara or preliminary; jhana or fixed and steady; and appana or achieved medita¬
tion.
7. It has also been divided into samadhi with the mind (savikalpa) and samadhi without any mental modifications (nirvikalpa).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
samadhi -
putting together, joining or combining with (instr.);
a joint or a partic. position of the neck;
union, a whole, aggregate, set;
completion, accomplishment, conclusion;
setting to rights, adjustment, settlement;
justification of a statement, proof;
bringing into harmony, agreement, assent;
intense application or fixing the mind on, intentness, attention;
concentration of the thoughts, profound or abstract meditation, intense contemplation of any particular object (so as to identify the
contemplator with the object meditated upon; this is the eighth and last stage of Yoga ...; with Buddhists Samadhi is the fourth and
last stage of Dhyana or intense abstract meditation in the Karanda-vyuha several Samadhi are enumerated);
intense absorption or a kind of trance;
a sanctuary or tomb of a saint;
(in rhet.) N. of various figures of speech;
N. of the 17th Kalpa, of the 17th Arhat of the future
Wikipedia
Samadhi is a Hindu and Buddhist technical term that usually denotes higher levels of concentrated meditation, or dhyana, in Yogic
schools.
In Hinduism, it is the eighth and final limb of the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. It has been described as a non-dualistic state of con¬
sciousness in which the consciousness of the experiencing subject becomes one with the experienced object, and in which the
mind becomes still (one-pointed or concentrated) though the person remains conscious.
Within Hinduism, Samadhi can also refer to the intentional departure from the physical body at death as well as the mausoleum of
a saint, or spiritual leader.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Samadhi refers to the highest state of concentration and absorption in YOGA; the term in used in various yoga traditions. In some
systems it is accompanied by a trance, whereby the yogi is completely detached from any external stimuli. Samadhi is a technical
term in the yoga of PATANJALI, describing the next stage for the adept after concentration skills (dharana) have been developed
and deep involvement in MEDITATION (DHYANA) has been achieved.
There are two levels of samadhi: samprajnata samadhi, in which the yogi is still aware of a degree of worldly differentiation, and
asamprajnata samadhi, in which there is a full realization of the self, or PURUSHA, and its consciousness, and there is no involve¬
ment in worldly differentiation.
Samprajnata samadhi is said to retain the “seeds” of awareness of the external world of differentiation, while aprajnata samadhi
is said to be “seedless”: it no longer engenders thoughts tied to the external world. Neither of these states can be precisely de¬
scribed, because both take consciousness beyond language into indescribable realms. Samprajnata samadhi is seen by Patanjali
to have four steps. At the savitarka step the adept can look directly into the essence of real things, but only at the gross level. This
step is still bound by conventional understandings, such as that time is divided into past, present, and future.
The second step is nirvitarka. At this point, conventional understandings, verbal and logical associations, cease. One transcends
the cognitive or perceptive act itself, and one’s consciousness meets directly with true reality. However, this meeting is still at a
gross and not a subtle level.
At the third or savichara level consciousness is able to go beyond the surface of reality to its subtle level. One is still, however,
bound by a certain residue of time and space (not as a felt experience, but as categories). Experience at this subtle level engen¬
ders the fourth step in this type of samadhi, the nirvichara level, in which consciousness descends into the very essence of the
real world, no longer mediated by “concept.”
Beyond the fourth stage of samprajnata samadhi is true asampranjata samadhi, in which concept is lost completely; there is a
direct realization of the consciousness power of the self, with no limitation. This is sometimes also called dharma-meghasamadhi.
Here one becomes completely aware that the self and its power of consciousness are not the body. All “knowledge” and all “con¬
sciousness” merge into an undifferentiated awareness that is absorbed in being itself. This does not mean that the person cannot
and does not exist and act in the world as before. It merely implies that that person’s awareness is no longer in any way affected
or perturbed by that worldly reality. The yogi is then in the “isolated state” (kaivalya) and functions on a level beyond ordinary cate¬
gories.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Seventh Lesson [of the Gheranda Samhita] is on Samadhi Yoga. It is final. After it nothing more can possibly be said. The
Moon has presided over numbers throughout the Gheranda Samhita as it does throughout Manifestation. In the final lesson the
sixfold division comes out once more, in a final form, in the description of Samadhi or mystic absorption as it is considered to be
from the respective angles of the Six Spheres. Beyond them, in what may be called the Sphere of the Supernal Sun, no more divi¬
sion, or multiplicity, or angle of vision, count. No scripture can deal with That.
Samadhi is absorption in Consciousness. It can not take the form of a trance in which consciousness is lost. The traditions of
Yoga warn against trance, technically named Nidra. This is a kind of sleep, and is said to be a form of Maya. It might be said to be
not a form of the divine quality of Inactivity, but of the sin of Idleness.
Gheranda said: “(1) Samadhi is a great Yoga; it is acquired by great good fortune. It is obtained through the grace and kindness
of the Guru, and by intense devotion to him. (2) That Yogi quickly attains this most wonderful practice of Samadhi, who has con¬
fidence (or faith) in tradition, faith in his own Guru, faith in his own Atma (Self): and whose mind awakens to intelligence from day
to day. (3) Separate the mind from the body, and unite it with the Paramatma (Supreme Self). This is known as Samadhi or Mukti
(Liberation) from all states of consciousness.” In other words, Pure Consciousness implies Liberation from the Veils of Conscious¬
ness, conditioning the states of consciousness. “(4) I am Brahman (Reality), I am nothing else, the Brahman is verily I, I am not
a participator of sorrow, I am Being, Consciousness and Bliss; always free, of One Essence.” This verse forms the climax of the
Samhita. The Triad Being-Consciousness- Bliss represents Experience in the Three Worlds: the Sun-Sphere, the Moon-Sphere
and the Ether-Sphere, which are One in Essence. The end of all is “I AM THAT I AM”.
Wikipedia
In Hinduism
Samadhi is the main subject of the first part of the Yoga Sutras called Samadhi-pada. According to Vyasa, a major figure in Hindu¬
ism and one of the traditional authors of the Mahabharata, “yoga is samadhi.” This is generally interpreted to mean that Samadhi
is a state of complete control (samadhana) over the functions and distractions of consciousness.
Samadhi is described in different ways within Hinduism such as the state of being aware of one’s Existence without thinking, in
a state of undifferentiated “Beingness” or as an altered state of consciousness that is characterized by bliss (ananda) and joy
(sukha).
Furthermore, samadhi has been categorised as:
Laya Samadhi
Savikalpa Samadhi
Nirvikalpa Samadhi
Sahaja Samadhi
Laya Samadhi is a latent (“laya”), potential level of samadhi. It begins in deep meditation or trance—even with movement, such as
dancing. This kind of samadhi is a state of joy, deep and general well-being, and peaceful meditation.
Savikalpa Samadhi refers to the initial temporary state of full-valued samadhi. The conscious mind is still active, as is the kalpa,
meaning imagination. One should compare this meaning to that of sankalpa, which is “wish.” Kalpa takes on a different, but re¬
lated, meaning to sankalpa because one must use imagination or consciousness (kalpa) to envision a wish or desire (sankalpa).
Conversely, vikalpa means “against imagination.” At this final level of samadhi, the mind has become quiet and given up its de¬
sires and attendant. Vikalpa leads to the Truth, releasing one from any binds of mind (which are mostly imaginations). In Savikalpa
Samadhi, we get the taste of Bliss and Beingness, but are still attached to our erroneous identification with the body as well as to
our numerous worldly attractions.
Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the highest transcendent state of consciousness. In this state there is no longer mind, duality, or subject-ob¬
ject relationship or experience. [3] Upon entering Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the differences we saw before have faded and we can see
everything as one. In this condition nothing but pure Awareness remains and nothing is missing to take away from Wholeness and
Perfection.
Entering samadhi in the beginning takes effort and holding on to a state of samadhi takes even more effort. The beginning stages
of samadhi (Laya and Savikalpa Samadhi) are only temporary. By “effort” it is not meant that the mind has to work more. Instead,
it means work to control the mind and release the self. Note that normal levels of meditation (mostly the lower levels) can be held
automatically, as in “being in the state of meditation” rather than overtly “meditating.” The ability to obtain positive results from
meditation is much more difficult than simply meditating. It is recommended to find a qualified spiritual master (guru or yogi) who
can teach a meditator about the workings of the mind.
Samadhi is the only stable unchanging reality; all else is ever-changing and does not bring everlasting peace or happiness.
Staying in Nirvikalpa Samadhi is effortless but even from this condition one must eventually return to ego- consciousness. Other¬
wise, this highest level of Samadhi leads to Nirvana, which means total Unity and the logical end of individual identity (and also
death of the body). However, it is entirely possible to stay in Nirvikalpa Samadhi and yet be fully functional in this world. This con¬
dition is known as Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi or Sahaja Samadhi. Only the truly Enlightened can be and remain spontaneously
free.
In Nirvikalpa Samadhi, all attachment to the material world is dissolved. All awareness is withdrawn step by step from the phys¬
ical, astral and causal bodies until self- realization or oneness with the soul is achieved. During this process, breathing ceases
and the heart stops beating[citation needed]. Aware and fully conscious oneness with soul is then achieved in a most loving way,
and all cells of the physical body are flooded with the Ocean of Divine Love and Divine Bliss for any period of duration—hours,
days, weeks, until the individual shifts his awareness from the soul back to the physical body. Being fully functional in this world,
his awareness stays in connection with the Divine. But some “strange” conditions accompany this state—better health (the body
is sustained by Divine Grace), better feelings (even for other people who may contact the body which the enlightened soul has
reidentified with) and various miraculous happenings may occur in connection with the Enlightened one.
In Bhakti
The Vaishnava Bhakti Schools of Yoga define Samadhi as “complete absorption into the object of one’s love (Krishna).” Rather
than thinking of “nothing,” true samadhi is said to be achieved only when one has pure, unmotivated love of God. Thus samadhi
can be entered into through meditation on the personal form of God, even while performing daily activities a practitioner can strive
for full samadhi.
As leaving the body
Advanced yogis have been said to intentionally leave their bodies as a final attainment or soul- liberation. It is at this time that the
soul knows a complete and unbroken union with the Heavenly Godhead, and, being free from the limitations of the body, merges
effortlessly into the transcendent amrita of Divine Bliss. It is said that sometimes the yogi leaves the body and returns.
Mahasamadhi (literally great samadhi) is a term often used for this intentional departure from the physical body at death. Every
infinitesimal piece of attachment or karma is completely surrendered unto God and dissolved into the Divine Ocean of Love. The
individual transcends to worlds beyond karma and returns to God, merging into transcendental Bliss.
As mausoleum
Samadhi mandir is also the Hindi name for a temple commemorating the dead (similar to a mausoleum), which may or may not
contain the body of the deceased. Samadhi sites are often built in this way to honour people regarded as saints or gurus in Hindu
religious traditions wherein such souls are said to have passed into maha- samadhi, (or were already in) samadhi at the time of
death.
In Buddhism
Samadhi, or concentration of the mind (one- pointedness of mind, cittassa- ekaggata), is the third division of the Eightfold Path of
the Buddha’s teaching: panna (wisdom), sila (conduct), samadhi (concentration) - within which it is developed by samatha medita¬
tion. Some of Buddhist schools teach of 40 different object meditations, according to the Visuddhimagga, an ancient commentarial
text. These objects include the breath (anapanasati meditation), loving kindness (metta meditation), various colours, earth, fire,
etc. (kasina meditation).
Important components of Buddhist meditation, frequently discussed by the Buddha, are the successively higher meditative states
known as the four jhanas which in the language of the eight- fold path, is “right concentration”. Right concentration has also been
defined as concentration arising due to the previous seven steps of the noble eightfold path in the Maha- cattarisaka Sutta.
Four developments of samadhi are mentioned in the Pali Canon:
Jhana
Increased alertness
Insight into the true nature of phenomena (knowledge and vision)
Final liberation
Post-canonical Pali literature identifies three different types of samadhi:
momentary samadhi (khanikasamadhi)
access concentration (upacarasamadhi)
fixed concentration (appanasamadhi)
Not all types of samadhi are recommended either. Those which focus and multiply the Five Hindrances are not suitable for devel¬
opment.
The Buddhist suttas also mention that samadhi practitioners may develop supernormal powers (abhijna, also see siddhis), and list
several that the Buddha developed, but warn that these should not be allowed to distract the practitioner from the larger goal of
complete freedom from suffering.
The bliss of Samadhi is not the goal of Buddhism; but it remains an important tool in reaching the goal of enlightenment. It has
been said that Samatha/samadhi meditation and vipassana/insight meditation are the two wheels of the chariot of the noble eight¬
fold path and the Buddha strongly recommended developing them both.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali s Yoga
Sutra 111:3
In that, when the object alone shines, as if there is a void of one’s form, that is samadhi.
Commentary by Nitya: Dharana leads to dhyana and dhyana to samadhi. For dharana, the inner organs are to be trained in a
certain way, which consists of two withdrawals. One is the withdrawal of the senses from objects of interest. The other is the with¬
drawal of one’s identity from the ego. Until Self-realization comes, the ego is wrongly identified as the Self. So if the mind is with¬
drawn from objects of interest, its immediate reaction is to concenter around the ego. In the case of perceiving external objects,
there are certain empirical limitations that prevent a person from seeing what the sense organ does not permit. But in the case of
the visualization of one’s ego, the stuff of the ego itself is imagination and so egotistic imagination can go wild. Thus it is far safer
to perceive an external object than to dwell on one’s ego.
The alternative is offered by dharana: dwelling on one of the several spiritually rich imaginations such as an ideal like maitri, karu-
na, or mudita. Suppose you take fellowship with others for continuous actualization. Significance is not assigned to any particular
item to which fellowship is extended. What is important is the unitive vision of seeing all as points of contact in a network of fellow¬
ship. In that total abandonment of oneself into the vision of fellowship, the idea “I am” never occurs at all. The intelligence stands
unassailed by the data brought in by the senses or by egotistic thrust of wanting to possess anything or anyone. This unflagging
steadiness of the intellect between the world outside and the ego inside brings samadhi (absorption).
Samadhi is the culmination of the eight steps of discipline enjoined by Patanjali’s Yoga Sastra: 1) restraint (yama); 2) commit¬
ment to a behavioral pattern (niyama); 3) entering into a psychophysical state or condition that provides a comfortable and stable
posture for directing one’s attention to observe one’s changing inner environment (asana); 4) slowly and gradually translating
the involuntary function of respiration into the conscious deliberation of an observing consciousness (pranayama); 5) conscious¬
ly disciplining one’s awareness to delimit the choices of interest within a frame of reference from which extraneous interests are
dropped and a basic interest is again and again promoted (pratyahara); 6) the consequent stabilization of a well scrutinized and
emphasized idea of direction (dharana); 7) expansion of the boundaries of awareness in which the conscious observer and his or
her consciousness become mutually merged to give the effect of an unmodulated state of pure consciousness, a state of at-one-
ment for beatitude (dhyana); and 8) the equipoise of the state of aloneness (samadhi).
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
As Sri Ramakrishna was singing the song he went into samadhi. Again the half-closed eyes and motionless body that one sees
in his photograph. Just a minute before, the devotees had been making merry in his company. Now all eyes were riveted on him.
Thus for the second time M. saw the Master in samadhi.
After a long time the Master came back to ordinary consciousness. His face lighted up with a smile, and his body relaxed; his
senses began to function in a normal way. He shed tears of joy as he repeated the holy name of Rama. M. wondered whether this
very saint was the person who a few minutes earlier had been behaving like a child of five.
Parable of salt doll
“In samadhi one attains the Knowledge of Brahman - one realizes Brahman. In that state reasoning stops altogether, and man
becomes mute. He has no power to describe the nature of Brahman.
“Once a salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean. (All laugh.) It wanted to tell others how deep the water was. But this it
could never do, for no sooner did it get into the water than it melted. Now who was there to report the ocean’s depth?”
A DEVOTEE: “Suppose a man has obtained the Knowledge of Brahman in samadhi. Doesn’t he speak any more?”
MASTER: “Sankaracharya retained the ‘ego of Knowledge’ in order to teach others. After the vision of Brahman a man becomes
silent. He reasons about It as long as he has not realized It. If you heat butter in a pan on the stove, it makes a sizzling sound as
long as the water it contains has not dried up. But when no trace of water is left the clarified butter makes no sound. If you put
cooked all sound stops. Just so, a man established in samadhi comes down to the relative plane of consciousness in order to
teach others, and then he talks about God.
“The bee buzzes as long as it is not sitting on a flower. It becomes silent when it begins to sip the honey. But sometimes, intoxicat¬
ed with the honey, it buzzes again.
“An empty pitcher makes a gurgling sound when it is dipped in water. When it fills up it becomes silent. (All laugh.) But if the water
is poured from it into another pitcher, then you will hear the sound again. (Laughter.)
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: Does Maharshi enter the nirvikalpa samadhi?
M.: If the eyes are closed, it is nirvikalpa; if open, it is (though differentiated, still in absolute repose) savikalpa. The ever-present
state is the natural state sahaja.
YOGI RAMIAH’S ACCOUNT OF HIS EXPERIENCES
Talk 34.
Sitting in Maharshi’s presence brings peace of mind. I used to sit in samadhi for three or four hours together. Then I felt my mind
took a form and came out from within. By constant practice and meditation it entered the Heart and was merged into it. I conclude
that the Heart is the resting place of mind. The result is peace. When the mind is absorbed in the Heart, the Self is realised. This
could be felt even at the stage of concentration (dharana).
I asked Maharshi about contemplation. He taught me as follows:- When a man dies the funeral pyre is prepared and the body is
laid flat on the pyre. The pyre is lit. The skin is burnt, then the flesh and then the bones until the whole body falls to ashes. What
remains thereafter? The mind. The question arises, ‘How many are there in this body - one or two?’ If two, why do people say T
and not ‘we’? There is therefore only one. Whence is it born? What is its nature (swaroopa)? Enquiring thus the mind also disap¬
pears. Then what remains over is seen to be T. The next question is ‘Who am I?’ The Self alone. This is contemplation. It is how
I did it. By this process attachment to the body (dehavasana) is destroyed. The ego vanishes. Self alone shines. One method of
getting mind-dissolution (manolaya) is association with great ones - the yoga adepts (Yoga arudhas). They are perfect adepts in
samadhi. Self-Realisation has been easy, natural, and perpetual to them. Those moving with them closely and in sympathetic con¬
tact gradually absorb the samadhi habit from them.
16th October, 1935
Talk 82.
A question was raised about the differences in the various samadhis.
M.: When the senses are merged in darkness it is deep sleep; when merged in light it is samadhi. Just as a passenger when
asleep in a carriage is unaware of the motion, the halting or the unharnessing of the horses, so also a Jnani in sahaja samadhi
is unaware of the happenings, waking, dream and deep sleep. Here sleep corresponds to the unharnessing of the horses. And
samadhi corresponds to the halting of the horses, because the senses are ready to act just as the horses are ready to move after
halting.
In samadhi the head does not bend down because the senses are there though inactive; whereas the head bends down in sleep
because the senses are merged in darkness. In kevala samadhi, the activities (vital and mental), waking, dream and sleep, are
only merged, ready to emerge after regaining the state other than samadhi. In sahaja samadhi the activities, vital and mental, and
the three states are destroyed, never to reappear. However, others notice the Jnani active e.g., eating, talking, moving etc. He is
not himself aware of these activities, whereas others are aware of his activities. They pertain to his body and not to his Real Self,
swarupa. For himself, he is like the sleeping passenger - or like a child interrupted from sound sleep and fed, being unaware of it.
The child says the next day that he did not take milk at all and that he went to sleep without it. Even when reminded he cannot be
convinced. So also in sahaja samadhi.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
193. Absorption (Samadhi) is of two kinds, viz., that attended with self-consciousness and that without it.
[Absorption—It is a deeper kind of concentration.]
194. Absorption attended with self-consciousness (Savikalpa Samadhi) is that in which the mental state, taking the form of Brah¬
man, the One without a second, rests on It, but without the merging of the distinction of knower, knowledge and the object of
knowledge.
[This is also called Samprajnata Samadhi.]
195. In that state the knowledge of the Absolute manifests itself in spite of the consciousness of the relative, as when we know a
clay elephant etc., the knowledge of the clay is also present.
[In this state both the phenomenon and the noumenon (or substratum) are present before the mind. The Reality peeps through the
vesture of name and form.]
197. Absorption without self-consciousness
(Nirvikalpa Samadhi) is the total mergence in Brahman, the One without a second, of the mental state which has assumed Its
form, the distinction of knower. knowledge and the object of knowledge being in this case obliterated.
[This is also called Asamprajnata Samadhi. The former kind of absorption deepens into this.]
198. Then, just as when salt has been dissolved in water it is no longer perceived separately, and the water alone remains, simi¬
larly the mental state that has assumed the form of Brahman, the One without a second, is no longer perceived, and only the Self
remains.
See also:
in Sadhana: Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
in Sravana, manana, nididhyasana: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
samadhi - from the verb root dha = “to hold” + the prefixes a + sam = “together completely”.
Wikipedia
Samadhi is a Sanskrit term for the state of consciousness induced by complete meditation. Its etymology comes from sam (togeth¬
er or integrated), a (towards), and dha (to get, to hold). Thus the result might be seen to be to acquire integration or wholeness, or
truth (samapatti). Another possible etymological breakdown of samadhi is sama (even) and dhi (intellect), a state of total equilibri¬
um (sama) of a detached intellect (dhi).
Related words
Dhyana
Sanskrit
Samadhi — PiMiEt
samadhi - ^TRTsrT
Samsara
Variant spellings
samsara
samsara
samsara
sansara
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Samsara — ... empirical existence; the wheel of birth and death; transmigration; the flux of the world; the flow of the world; the
objective universe; this world ... ; worldly illusion.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
samsara -
going or wandering through, undergoing transmigration;
course, passage, passing through a succession of states, circuit of mundane existence, transmigration, metempsychosis, the
world, secular life, worldly illusion (a sarhsarat, ‘from the beginning of the world’)
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Samsara is the round or cycle of birth and rebirth that all beings are subject to in the Hindu worldview. By extension it is often used
to designate the world, where birth and rebirth are the human destiny. The term is also used in JAINISM, Buddhism, and SIKH¬
ISM.
The negative evaluation of samsara, so prevalent in Hindu belief, began to color the ancient VEDIC tradition only in the era of
UPANISHADS, some of which begin to show attitudes that would directly lead to the development of world-denying philosophies.
The Vedic MANTRAS themselves are life-affirming and envision a peaceful, joyful heaven as the result of merit in one’s life. There
is no trace in them of REINCARNATION, of the hopeless mire of birth and rebirth. Reincarnation appears in the Upanishads, the
small texts that were appended to the prose portions (BRAHMANAS) of the Vedas, along with the first evidence of the sense of
entrapment in a web of endless births. The Buddhist and Jain traditions also focus on KARMA and the hopeless trap of the world.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Samsara (“wandering”). The cycle of reincarnation, one of the most fundamental assumptions throughout all Indian religion. In
the Indian worldview, reincarnation involves a series of births and rebirths in different realms and forms, all based on the quality
and quantity of karma, formed through previous actions and patterns of thought. Beings with good karma may be born into the
heavens, which are essentially realms of pleasure and carefree enjoyment; those with bad karma may be reborn as animals or as
ghosts, or into realms of punishment, such as hells. Neither pleasure nor punishment is eternal, although they may last an ex¬
tremely long time. Beings in heaven enjoy the results of their past actions, but when their good karma is exhausted they must take
another, lower birth; beings in realms of punishment are paying for their evil deeds, but when this has been done they will take
another birth, presumably in some higher status.
Between these two lies the human realm, which comprises infinite possibilities, based on various factors—such as high status
or low, wealth or poverty, health or disability, and the religious piety of one’s natal family. Varying mixtures of good and bad kar¬
ma combine for many different human circumstances, and according to popular belief one’s present life and body are a record of
one’s past. The notion that people are, in life, where they deserve to be because of karma can be seen as the basis for the caste
system. Fulfilling one’s particular social role (svadharma), no matter how humble, not only upholds the social order but is a means
for individual spiritual advancement.
The human realm is widely believed to be the best of all for spiritual life, partly because human beings can make rational choic¬
es, including the decision to take part in religious life. In this humans are different from animals, which are driven mainly by their
instincts, and from ghosts or helldwellers, who are simply expiating their past acts. At the same time human life, unlike life in the
heavens, is full of reverses and sorrow continually reminding human beings about the transience of life and possessions and the
need to engage in spiritual development. Embodied existence is a constant cycling from one realm to the next, leaving one body
and assuming another, and the inherent uncertainty of this condition has led to the search, dating from the time of the speculative
texts known as the Upanishads, for an unchanging state, completely out of this cycle of rebirth. This unchanging state is widely ac¬
cepted as life’s supreme goal, although in any generation very few actively seek it, with most people content to relegate it to some
indefinite future lifetime.
Radhakrishnan. Philosophy of Upanishads
The formulation of the theory of samsara or rebirth is no proof that the Upanishads are pessimistic. Life on earth is the means of
self-perfection. We have to undergo the discipline of samsara in our efforts towards the higher joy and the complete possession
of spiritual truth. That which gives zest to life is the supreme motive of the joy of self-conquest. Samsara is only a succession of
spiritual opportunities. Life is a stage in spiritual perfection, a step in the passage to the infinite. It is the time for preparing the soul
for eternity. Life is no empty dream and the world no delirium of spirit. In the later versions of rebirth in Indian thought we miss this
ennobling ideal, and birth becomes the result of an error of the soul and samsara a dragging chain.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
Commentary by Nataraja: Vedanta does not think in terms of heavenly values, because the alternating process of samsara does
not stop completely by going to heaven. One returns to the same worlds of hedonistic values when he descends again from heav¬
en to live comfortably in a suburbia on earth. This is brought out in many places in the Upanisads and the Bhagavadgita. Vedanta
believes in a full dose of absolutism, which will cure one once and for all from a recrudescence or lapse into the same malarial,
relativistic love of pleasure, whether in heaven or on earth. Emancipation, without any possibility of relapse, is the model held up
by Upanisadic teaching; one should not be born again, irrespective of heavenly or earthly values. Such values have to be tran¬
scended though not rejected. Nobody should think a comfortable life should be wilfully avoided in favour of austerities that might
torture the life within us.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
The bondage of “woman and gold”
MASTER: “ ‘Woman and gold’ is the cause of bondage. ‘Woman and gold’ alone constitutes samsara, the world. It is ‘woman and
gold’ that keeps one from seeing God. (Holding the towel in front of his face) Do you see my face any more? Of course not. The
towel hides it. No sooner is the covering of ‘woman and gold’ removed than one attains Chidananca, Consciousness and Bliss.
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
There are certain doctrines [in the Upanishads] which are agreed to by all the different sects in India. First, there is the doctrine of
Samsara, or reincarnation of the soul.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Nagamma. Tetters from Sri Ramanasramam
1st December, 1945
(11) WHAT IS MEANT BY SAMSARA?
During the early days of my arrival here, on one day at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, a middle-aged Andhra, who had come
recently, asked Bhagavan, “Swami, as I repeat Rama Namam (the name of Rama) regularly every morning and every evening for
an hour, other thoughts come in, one by one, increase from time to time and ultimately find that I have forgotten my japam. What
shall I do?”
“At that time catch hold of that name (Rama Namam)” said Bhagavan. We all laughed. Poor man! He felt grieved and said, “The
reasons for these interruption is the samsara (family), is not it? I am therefore thinking of abandoning the samsara.” Bhagavan
said, “Oh! Is that so? What really is meant by samsara? Is it within or without?” “Wife, children and others” he said. “Is that all the
samsara? What have they done? Please find out first what really is meant by samsara. Afterwards we shall consider the question
of abandoning them,” said Bhagavan. He could not reply and so kept quiet, crestfallen.
Bhagavan’s heart was full of compassion. With a look full of tender kindness he said, “Supposing you leave your wife and children.
If you are here this will become another kind of samsara. Supposing you take to sannyasa. Another kind of samsara comes into
existence in the shape of a karra (walking stick), kamandalu (water bowl) and the like. Why all that? Samsara means samsara of
the mind. If you leave that samsara, it will be the same thing wherever you are. Nothing troubles you.”
Poor man! He mustered up some courage and said, “Yes, that is it, Swami. How to give up that samsara of the mind?” Bhagavan
said, “That is just it; you said you were doing the japam of Rama Namam. During the train of thoughts, you said you were some¬
times reminded of the fact that you had forgotten the japam of Rama Namam. Try to remind yourself of that fact as often as possi¬
ble and catch hold of the name of Rama frequently. Other thoughts will then slowly decrease.
Sankara tradition
Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda
136.By means of a regulated mind and the purified intellect (Buddhi), realise directly thy own Self in the body so as to identify
thyself with It, cross the boundless ocean of Samsara whose waves are birth and death, and firmly established in Brahman as thy
own essence, be blessed.
145. Of the tree of Samsara ignorance is the seed, the identification with the body is its sprout, attachment its tender leaves, work
its water, the body its trunk, the vital forces its branches, the organs its twigs, the sense-objects its flowers, various miseries due to
diverse works are its fruits, and the individual soul is the bird on it.
148. One who is passionately devoted to the authority of the Shrutis acquires steadiness in his Svadharma, which alone conduces
to the purity of his mind. The man of pure mind realises the Supreme Self, and by this alone Samsara with its root is destroyed.
270. Relinquishing the observance of social formalities, giving up all ideas of trimming up the body, and avoiding too mush en¬
grossment with the Scriptures, do away with the superimposition that has come upon thyself.
271. Owing to the desire to run after society, the passion for too much study of the Scriptures and the desire to keep the body in
good trim, people cannot attain to proper Realisation.
272. For one who seeks deliverance from the prison of this world (Samsara), those three desires have been designated by the
wise as strong iron fetters to shackle one’s feet. He who is free from them truly attains to Liberation.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
“Nobody can visualise Him; none recognises Him.” When you behold a form, you are seeing the eternal Absolute. You have noth¬
ing else before you. But, you do not recognise Him. You call Him so-and-so. “He is my brother; she is my sister.” And you have
your own ways of relating yourself to that form according to your circumstances in society, which is an unfortunate involvement of
individuals in other individuals. Samsara (worldly involvement) is not actually taking of birth in a body, but is not recognising of the
meaning in taking birth, and the state of not being able to locate the connection of a form with the Reality that is hidden in it. It is
said that Samsara, or bondage, is not the perception of the world but the non-perception of God. There is no harm in perceiving
the world, but there is great harm in not perceiving God. But, we are not perceiving God while we are perceiving the world. The
world that we see is nothing but the form of God, and it is He that is fully present in every form. Whenever we touch any object, we
are coming in contact with that Being only. If this awareness could be awakened in a person, at that very moment there could be
liberation—here and now.
See: Jiva, samsara, Ishvara
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
samsara - from the verb root sr - “to flow” and sam = “together”.
Related words
Karma
Moksha
Sanskrit
Samsara — HHT7
samsara - MR
Samskara
Variant spellings
sanskara
samskara
samskara
samskara
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Samskara — ... latent impression; predisposition; consecration; imprint, innate tendency; innate potence; mold; inborn nature;
residual impression; purificatory rite; rite of passage
1. It is a predisposition from past impressions. It is one of the five aggregates according to Buddhism. They are impressions left in
the mind after any experience. (See vasana.)
2. It is one of the twelve links in the causal chain of existence, according to Buddhism.
3. It is a rite performed with the help of sacred syllables (mantra) to restore a thing to its original pure state.
4. It is a purificatory rite in connection with an individual’s life in Brahmanical Indian society. It includes the sacred thread ceremo¬
ny, marriage rites, funeral rites, etc.
5. It is of three kinds: velocity (vega), by virtue of which an object possesses motion; feeling (bhavana), by virtue of which there is
memory or recognition; and oscillation (sthitisthapa-katva), by means of which a substance returns from a distance to its original
position.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
samskara -
putting together, forming well, making perfect, accomplishment, embellishment adornment, purification, cleansing, making ready,
preparation, dressing (of food), refining (of metals), polishing (of gems), rearing (of animals or plants);
cleansing the body, toilet, attire;
forming the mind, training, education;
correction (also in an astronomical sense SGryas.), correct formation or use of a word;
correctness, purity (esp. of pronunciation or expression);
making sacred, hallowing, consecration;
a sacred or sanctifying ceremony, one which purifies from the taint of sin contracted in the, womb and leading to regeneration (12
such ceremonies are enjoined on the first three or twice-born classes);
the ceremony performed on a dead body (i.e. cremation);
any purificatory ceremony;
the faculty of memory, mental impression or recollection, impression on the mind of acts done in a former state of existence (one
of the 24 qualities of the Vaiseshikas, including bhavana, ‘the faculty of reproductive imagination’);
(pi., with Buddhists) a mental conformation or creation of the mind (such as that of the external world, regarded by it as real,
though actually non-existent, and forming the second link in the twelvefold chain of causation or the fourth of the 5 Skandhas);
a polishing stone
Wikipedia
In Hinduism sanskaras (singular: sanskara) (Sanskrit for impression; under the impulse of previous impressions) are the imprints
left on the subconscious mind by experience in this or previous lives, which then color all of life, one’s nature, responses, states of
mind, etc.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali s Yoga
samskara: registered and preserved impressions or conditionings, registration and preservation of impressions, formation of incipi¬
ent memories, culture.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Samskara: latent mental tendency or inclination, acquired through past experience of any kind.
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
... the fact that they [samskaras] were experienced before has so moulded and given shape to the citta that the citta will try to re¬
produce them by its own nature even without any such effort on our part. To safeguard against the revival of any undesirable idea
or tendency it is therefore necessary that its roots as already left in the citta in the form of samskaras should be eradicated com¬
pletely by the formation of the habit of a contrary tendency, which if made sufficiently strong will by its own samskara naturally stop
the revival of the previous undesirable samskaras.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Samskara [samskara] (“making perfect”). Collective name for the various life-cycle ceremonies in Hindu society. Although status
in Indian society depends most on one’s birth, this alone is not sufficient to become a complete and finished person. In an individ¬
ual’s development, the raw material given by nature must be refined through the process of culture, or the action of samskaras.
This process of transformation begins before birth, with the three prenatal samskaras, and continues to death with the antyeshthi
samskaras. In general, samskaras transform people in two ways: by removing latent or residual impurities, such as the childhood
chudakarana samskara, or by generating new capacities and entitlements, such as the upanayana (initiation) and vivaha (mar¬
riage) samskaras.
Although different writers in the dharma literature disagree on the number of samskaras, traditionally, sixteen are accepted. Three
were prenatal samskaras: one to ensure conception (Garbhadhana), one to ensure the birth of a boy (Pumsavana), and one to
ensure an easy delivery and a healthy child (Simantonnayana). Six samskaras were associated with childhood: ritual actions
immediately after birth (Jatakarma), name-giving (Namakarana), the first outing (Nishkramana), the first solid food (Annaprasha-
na), head-shaving (Chudakarana), and piercing of the ears (Karnavedha). Five samskaras were connected with life as a celibate
student (brahmacharin): beginning of learning (Vidyarambha), adolescent religious initiation (Upanayana), the beginning of Veda
study (Vedarambha), the first shave (Keshanta), and the return home at the conclusion of studies (Samavartana). The final two
samskaras were marriage, and the last rites for the dead (antyeshthi samskara).
These sixteen samskaras were the rites for a twice-born man, whom this literature considered the default person. A twice-born
man was one born into one of the three “twice-born” varnas— brahmin, kshatriya, or vaishya—who were ritually eligible for the
adolescent religious initiation known as the “second birth.” Women in the twice-born groups would undergo all the rites through the
childhood rites, but would have no further rites until marriage, which was considered equal to all samskaras for them. People born
outside the twice-born groups—namely, shudras and untouchables—would perform few if any of these rites.
These life cycle rites drive and govern the formation of the individual. In modern times many of these samskaras are still per¬
formed, but mainly by brahmins who, because of their traditional role as priests and scholars, conserve this practice to help main¬
tain their traditional prestige.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
... a friend goes and gets me a special kind of cookie. At the very sight of it my soul wakes up. “ Ah! There it comes.” If you have
them twice or thrice you cannot give them up. On the Japanese sesame cookie it is written “Warning. Habit forming.” Then they
say, “But what of that? It’s good for you.” These are called samskara, when an experience is received by the sense organs, and
the quality of that experience is condensed and kept in the system as a memory bit. Samskara in Sanskrit means cultured, that
something is cultured within you. A raw experience is made into a culture and kept there...
The ancient theory of Indian psychology is that all happenings become samskaras. Samskara means processing or culturing. As
in Western psychology, there is a processing or culturing of experience into memory. Each of the cells of our body has within it its
own cultured state. In this way we are a sanghata, an aggregate of many processed individual units. Our actions are actually a
collective behavior.
If a society of people who dwell in a particular neighborhood changes, the character of the place also changes. Similarly, the
samskara or the processing that was going on for some time can be altered or changed when you are exposed to a new situation.
Some of the previous conditionings can be erased and new ones made in just the way the Russian physiologist Pavlov spoke of
negative conditioning or deconditioning.
Pavlov made a great contribution to psychology with his experiment of dogs salivating at the sound of the dinner bell. In their mind
the dogs learned to associate various stimuli with food. This is actually a very good description of samskara. When anything hap-
pens in your life by way of an experience, it leaves an impression. The impression registers its impact on the mind and you can
recall it afterwards. The very fact that you can recall it shows that it is already recorded there.
Whatever impressions come in the present life are known as samskaras. Indian psychologists also believe that samskaras can be
further processed and consolidated to change them from a subtle to a causal state. A gross experience is first processed to be¬
come a subtle thing called memory, but this can be further processed to become part of our causal or seed consciousness.
It is believed that when life passes from one embodied being to another it leaves behind the gross body. It cannot take away even
the subtle body, because it is linked inextricably with the corporeal body. All that it can take along with it is the causal body, which
is known as lingasarira, the indicative body or individuation. The refined essence of memory that the life form carries over to its
new body is called vasana. These incipient memories are the ones with which a newly born child begins to live.
We have within us these two kinds of memories. One is all the colorations and conditionings that have come in the present life,
and the other is those conditionings we have brought over from our previous lives. Both of them are lying latent in us like a sprout
within a seed. As soon as a proper environment is available, these memories wake up to create a new life situation appropriate to
the new environment.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
M.: ... Predisposition (samskara) is acquired knowledge and kept in stock. It manifests under favourable circumstances. One with
strong samskara understands the thing when presented to him much quicker than another with no samskara or weak samskara...
M.: ... Practice is necessary too. Practice means removal of predispositions. Practice is not for any fresh gain; it is to kill the pre¬
dispositions. ... Practice removes the samskaras.
D.: But samskaras are infinite and eternal - from beginningless time.
M.: This itself is a samskara. Give up that idea and all samskaras will disappear at once. That is visranti (repose), santi (peace).
Peace is ever present. But you hold it down and rise over it and thus disturb it. Then you say, “I want Peace”.
D.: Will Peace be gradual?
M.: Yes. Make the mind gradually still (Sanaissanaih uparamet) says the Bhagavad Gita.
Samskaras and jivas
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Maharshi's Gospel
D: Does not death dissolve the individuality of a person, so that there can be no rebirth, just as the rivers discharged into the
ocean lose their individualities?
M: But when the waters evaporate and return as rain on the hills, they once more flow in the form of rivers and fall into the ocean;
so also the individualities during sleep lose their separateness and yet return as individuals according to their samskaras or past
tendencies. Even so it is in death; and the individuality of the person with samskaras is not lost.
D: How can that be?
M: See how a tree whose branches have been cut, grows again. So long as the roots of the tree remain unimpaired, the tree will
continue to grow. Similarly, thesamskaras which have merely sunk into the heart on death, but have not perished for that reason,
occasion rebirth at the right time; and that is howjivas are reborn.
D: How could the innumerablejivas and the wide universe whose existence is correlative to that of thejivas, sprout up from such
subtlesamskaras sunk in the heart?
M: Just as the big banyan tree sprouts from a tiny seed, so do thejivas and the whole universe with name and form sprout up from
the subtlesamskaras.
Etymology
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Samskaras (from the Sanskrit samskri, refined, the source of the word SANSKRIT).
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Samskara from prep, sam, together + (s)kara, action < root (s)kar, to put together, form well, compose.
Related words
Citta
Vasana
Sanskrit
Samskara — HT5H7
samskara - dtf+K
Samya
Variant spellings
samya
samyam
samya
sama
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
samya -
(from 2. sama) equality, evenness, equilibrium, equipoise, equal or normal state;
likeness, sameness, identity with;
equality of rank or position;
homogeneousness (of sounds);
measure, time;
equability towards ... , impartiality, indifference ;
justice (samyam ..., ‘to act justly towards’)
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The seeker will discover that the nearer he approaches to Truth and God-Reality, the simpler everything becomes. Truth or
God-Reality is the “simplest” of all things. The Latin “simplex” is related to the Sanskrit “sama”, meaning junction, equality, same¬
ness, and to the English “sameness”. The root is also in the Latin “semper”, meaning always. Divine Reality is sempiternal and
has simplicity and sameness at all times.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankaracarya & Gambhirananda. Eight Upanisads
... paramam samyam, absolute equality, consisting in nonduality. The equality within the range of duality is indeed inferior to it.
... the reality of the Self is ajam, birthless; samyam, equipoised (uniform); visaradam, holy.
Related words
Anya
Sanskrit
samya
Sankalpa
Variant spellings
sankalpa
sankalpa
samkalpa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sankalpa — ... wish; volition; resolution; will; determination; intention
1. The dynamic energy of Visnu.
2. One of the four ways a guru gives Saktipat initiation.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Samkalpa (“intention”). Important ritual sequence at the beginning of many religious rites in which the person performing the rite
states his or her identity, the time and place at which the action is being performed, the performer’s intention to carry out this
particular ritual act, and the benefits desired from the action. The samkalpa is important as the formal commitment to perform the
stated action. For ritual actions that promise several different possible benefits—for example, birth in heaven or final liberation—
performing the samkalpa is believed to give one the result one desires.
Sankalpa. Spoken ritual performed before a religious act. The person about to perform the act identifies himself by name, tells
the location of the act, and gives the lunar calendar date and time. He goes on to describe the religious act and what benefits he
wants to receive as a result. Sankalpa is done before rituals such as suicide and doing morning puja to the Ganges. See sam¬
kalpa.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
It is Sankalpa (will and imagination, volitional ideation) which creates the worlds and without which the slightest vibration is impos¬
sible.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Psychology of Darsanamala
Even after receiving the secret instruction tat tvam asi, “That thou art,” from one’s teacher, one may not become a yogi unless this
consciousness of the union of the subject and object is continuously realized by perpetuating the retentive idea “That thou art.”
This is not possible unless one empties oneself of one’s ego. Personal ego is an aggregate of memories called vasana, and it is
always active to produce volitional imagery. This is called sahkalpa. Sankalpa is the root cause of all human miseries. An effective
step in withholding from being influenced by the vasana is returning again and again to the true nature of the Self. This withdrawal
is called pratyahara.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
To act rightly—to do the right thing in the right way at the right time in the right place-and nothing more: that is the way of the Gita.
Therefore, to keep the fruit, the effect, of an act in mind as our purpose, is to deflect ourselves from the right motivation and to en¬
tangle ourselves in the net of egotism and the snare of binding deeds. Two forces impel us into this trap: desire (kama) and motive
(sankalpa).
Kama is desire, passion, or lust. The first meaning, that of desire, is uppermost in this part of the Gita, though people can pursue
action with a blinding and binding passion, no doubt. However, it is best for us to think mostly of simple desire, since the palest
shade of desire can mar our action. Also, desire can be incredibly subtle and undetectable to any but the keenest intelligence...
Sankalpa is wish, desire, volition, resolution, will, determination, and intention. Yes; all that. Any kind of intentions-including sub-
conscious ones-mar action. Even the slightest wish or hope in relation to the result of an action turns it into a bond. No wonder
Krishna says later on: “How hard to break through is this, my Maya!” (7:14)
But when a person becomes absolutely free of kama and sankalpa, his action slips away like a loosened bond. Even more: the
binding power of the act is broken so it cannot arise in the future to be a hindrance. Someone in this state then ceases to “make”
any more karma.
Sankalpa is a strong exercising, or resolution, of the will based on some desire.
... there is the mantra known as the sankalpa which is recited at the beginning of any ritual, stating its purpose and dedication.
Its absence would indicate religion that is vague, even purposeless, performed in a rote way simply for the doing of it, or religion
whose real purpose is not at all grasped, and is therefore meaningless.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
The karma which takes place without effort, i.e., involuntary action, is not binding.
Even a Jnani is acting as seen by his bodily movements. There can be no karma without effort or without intentions (sankalpas).
Therefore there are sankalpas for all. They are of two kinds (1) one, binding - bandha-hetu and the other (2) mukti-hetu - not
binding. The former must be given up and the latter must be cultivated. There is no fruit without previous karma; no karma without
previous sankalpa. Even mukti must be the result of effort so long as the sense of doership persists.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
sankalpa - from the root klrp - “to be in order, come into existence, determine” + sam = “completely, perfectly”.
Related words
Kama
Karma
Sanskrit
Sankalpa —
sankalpa -
Sankara
Name
Sankara
Sankara
Shankara
Sarhkara
Satikaracarya
Sarhkaracarya
Adi Sankara -
Sankara Bhagavatpadacarya
Adi Satikaracarya
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism:
Shankara (“auspicious”). Epithet of the god Shiva. With the honorific suffix acharya (“teacher”), this is also the name of the most
significant figure in the Advaita Vedanta philosophical school, Shankaracharya, who is popularly considered to be Shiva incarnate.
As noted above, the generally accepted meaning of the name Shankara has intensely positive connotations, yet the verb shank, from
which this name is almost certainly derived, has associations with doubt, uncertainty, and anxiety. This sort of ambivalence has a long
association with Shiva; the earliest accepted reference, in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, mentions both his death-dealing arrows, and
his kindness to his devotees (bhakta). The traditional meaning of this name may thus be a form of propitiation—knowing that Shiva
wields awesome and unpredictable power but describing him as “auspicious” in the hope that he will show his kinder side.
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Satikaracarya — ... the great sage and most famous exponent of Advaita Vedanta (from the verb root kr = “to make” and sam
-’auspicious” + acarya = “teacher”).
1. (788-820) The great Indian philosopher and saint who expounded the philosophy of absolute nondualism (Advaita Vedanta). He
travelled all over India defeating the contending schools of philosophy, revived Hinduism, and established maths (asramas) in the
four corners of India.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sarhkara -
causing prosperity, auspicious, beneficent;
N. of Rudra or Siva;
of a son of Kazyapa and Danu;
of Skanda;
of a serpent-demon;
of a Cakra-vartin;
N. of various authors and commentators, (esp.) of Sarhkaracarya;
N. of a female;
a partic. Raga or musical mode;
Sarhkaracarya -
N. of various teachers and authors, (esp.) of a celebrated teacher of the Vedanta philosophy and reviver of Brahmanism (he is
thought to have lived between A.D. 788 and 820, but according to tradition he flourished 200 B.C., and was a native of Kerala or
Malabar; all accounts describe him as having led an erratic controversial life; his learning and sanctity were in such repute that he
was held to have been an incarnation of Siva, and to have worked various miracles; he is said to have died at the age of thirty-two,
and to have had four principal disciples, called Padma-pada, Hastamalaka, Suresvara or Mandana, and Trotaka; another of his
disciples, Ananda-giri, wrote a history of his controversial exploits, called Sarhkara-vijaya; tradition makes him the founder of one
of the principal Saiva sects, the Dasa-nami-Dandins or ‘Ten-named Mendicants’ ...; he is the reputed author of a large number of
original works, such as the Atma-bodha, Ananda-laharT, Jhana-bodhinT, Mani-ratna-maTa, &c.; and commentaries on the Upani-
shads, and on the Brahma-mTmarhsa or Vedanta-sGtra, BhagavadgTta, and Maha-bharata, &c.)
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shankara (seventh century C.E.) founder of Vedanta philosophy.
Shankara was the great seventh-century philosophical genius who created the first widely known school of VEDANTA. He is also
known as Shankaracharya.
Shankara was born in Kerala to a family of Nambudiri BRAHMINS, a strict Vedic group. Legend has it that when he was eight
years old he wanted to become a renunciant, but his mother would not hear of it. Not long afterward, he was attacked by a croc¬
odile. He cried out to his mother to allow him to renounce the world a moment before death so that he could reach liberation from
birth and rebirth. His mother consented, and Shankara was miraculously released from the mouth of the crocodile.
He then proceeded to tour India and debate all those whom he encountered. Eventually he became known as the most brilliant
philosopher of his time. Following the lineage of his GURU’S guru Gaudpada, he argued that the BRAHMAN of the UPANISHADS
was the only reality. He saw the world as a mere trifle, an illusion, or MAYA, unreal from the point of view of the ultimate.
Shankara wrote commentaries on the VEDANTA SUTRA, the Upanishads, and the BHAGAVAD GITA. In a thoroughgoing anal¬
ysis he found that they all expressed the understanding that only the path of knowledge, the true knowing of the brahman, could
lead to liberation. Devotion and works were only secondary pursuits. He initiated a tradition of renunciant yogis (the SHANKARA¬
CHARYA ORDER) who sought the full realization of the brahman in a state of being, consciousness, and bliss (SAT-CHIT-ANAN-
DA). Shankara’s name is also connected strongly to SHAIVISM and to the worship of the GODDESS, through texts that were later
attributed to him.
Shankara’s system of Vedanta is known as the ADVAITA, or non-dual, VEDANTA, or more properly, Kevala (absolute) advaita
Vedanta.
Wikipedia
Adi Shankara (788 CE - 820 CE) was an Indian philosopher who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, a sub-school of
Vedanta. His teachings are based on the unity of the soul and Brahman, in which Brahman is viewed as without attributes. He
hailed from Kalady of present day Kerala.
Date of Birth: 788 CE
Place of birth: Kalady, Kerala, India
Date of death: 820 CE
Place of death: Kedarnath, Uttarakhand, India
Guru/Teacher: Govinda Bhagavatpada
Philosophy: Advaita Vedanta
Titles/Honors: Introduced Advaita Vedanta, Hindu Revivalism, Founded Dashanami Sampradaya, Shanmata
Biography
Dates
General
Wikipedia
At least two different dates have been proposed for Shankara:
788-820 CE: This is the mainstream scholarly opinion, placing Shankara in mid to late 8th century CE. These dates are based
on records at the Srngeri Sarada PTtham, which is the only matha to have maintained a relatively unbroken record of its Acha-
ryas; starting with the third Acharya, one can with reasonable confidence date the others from the 8th century to the present. The
Sringeri records state that Shankara was bom in the 14th year of the reign of “Vikram Aditya”, but it is unclear as to which king
this name refers. Though some researchers identify the name with Chandragupta II (4th. c. CE), modem scholarship accepts the
Vikram Aditya as being from the Chalukya dynasty of Badami, most likely Vikramaditya II (733-746 CE), which would place him in
the middle of the 8th c. The date 788-820 is also among those considered acceptable by Swami Tapasyananda, though he raises
a number of questions. It is also acceptable to Keay.
509-477 BCE: This dating, more than a millennium ahead of all others, is based on records of the heads of the Shankara Mathas
at Dwaraka matha and Puri matha and the fifth Peetham at Kanchi. However, such an early date is not consistent with the fact
that Shankara quotes the Buddhist logician Dharmakirti, who finds mention in Huen Tsang (7th c.). Also, his near-contemporary
Kumarila Bhatta is usually dated ca. 8th c. CE. Most scholars feel that due to invasions and other discontinuities, the records of
the Dwarka and Puri mathas are not as reliable as those for Sringeri. Thus, while considerable debate exists, the pre-Christian Era
dates are usually discounted, and the most likely period for Shankara is during the 8th c. CE.
Place of birth
General
Wikipedia
Veliyanadu village, in central Kerala [India]
Life
General
Wikipedia
Traditional accounts of Adi Shankara’s life can be found in the Shankara Vijayams, which are poetic works that contain a mix of
biographical and legendary material, written in the epic style. The most important among these biographies are the MadhavTya
Sankara Vijayam (of Madhava, c. 14th century), the CidvilasTya Sankara Vijayam (of Cidvilasa, c. between 15th century and 17th
century), and the KerajTya Sankara Vijayam (of the Kerala region, extant from c. 17th century).
Birth and childhood
Shankara was born to Kaippilly Sivaguru Namboodiri and Aryamba Antharjanam in Melpazhur Mana, Veliyanadu village, in central
Kerala. According to lore, it was after his parents, who had been childless for many years, prayed at the Vadakkunnathan temple,
Thrissur that Sankara was born under the star Thiruvathira.
His father died while Shankara was very young. Shankara’s upanayanam, the initiation into student-life, was performed at the age
of five. As a child, Shankara showed remarkable scholarship, mastering the four Vedas by the age of eight.
Sannyasa
From a young age, Shankara was inclined towards sannyasa, but it was only after much persuasion that his mother finally gave
her consent. Shankara then left Kerala and travelled towards North India in search of a guru. On the banks of the Narmada River,
he met Govinda Bhagavatpada, the disciple of Gaudapada. When Govinda Bhagavatpada asked Shankara’s identity, he replied
with an extempore verse that brought out the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Govinda Bhagavatapada was impressed and took
Shankara as his disciple.
The guru instructed Shankara to write a commentary on the Brahma Sutras and propagate the Advaita philosophy. Shankara
travelled to Kashi, where a young man named Sanandana, hailing from Chola territory in South India, became his first disciple.
According to legend, while on his way to the Vishwanath Temple, Sankara came upon an untouchable accompanied by four dogs.
When asked to move aside by Shankara’s disciples, the untouchable replied: “Do you wish that I move my ever lasting Atman
(“the Self”), or this body made of flesh?” Realizing that the untouchable was none other than god Shiva himself, and his dogs the
four Vedas, Shankara prostrated himself before him, composing five shlokas known as Manisha Panchakam.
At Badari he wrote his famous Bhashyas (“commentaries”) and Prakarana granthas (“philosophical treatises”).
Meeting with Mandana Mishra
One of the most famous debates of Adi Shankara was with the ritualist Mandana Misra. Mandana Misra’s guru was the famous
Mimamsa philosopher, KumarTIa Bhatta. Shankara sought a debate with KumarTIa Bhatta and met him in Prayag where he had
buried himself in a slow burning pyre to repent for sins committed against his guru: KumarTIa Bhatta had learned Buddhist philoso¬
phy from his Buddhist guru under false pretenses, in order to be able to refute it. Learning anything without the knowledge of one’s
guru while still under his authority constitutes a sin according to the Vedas. KumarTIa Bhatta thus asked Adi Shankara to proceed
to Mahismati (known today as Mahishi Bangaon, Saharsa in Bihar) to meet Mandana Misra and debate with him instead.
After debating for over fifteen days, with Mandana Misra’s wife Ubhaya BharatT acting as referee, Mandana Misra accepted defeat.
Ubhaya BharatT then challenged Adi Shankara to have a debate with her in order to ‘complete’ the victory. Later, Ubhaya BharatT
conceded defeat in the debate and allowed Mandana Misra to accept sannyasa with the monastic name Suresvaracarya, as per
the agreed rules of the debate.
Missionary tour
Adi Shankara then travelled with his disciples to Maharashtra and Srisailam. In Srisailam, he composed Shivanandalahari, a
devotional hymn in praise of Shiva. The Madhaviya Shankaravijayam says that when Shankara was about to be sacrificed by a
Kapalika, the god Narasimha appeared to save Shankara in response to Padmapada’s prayer to him. As a result, Adi Shankara
composed the Laksmi- Narasimha stotra.
He then travelled to Gokarna, the temple of Hari-Shankara and the MGkambika temple at Kollur. At Kollur, he accepted as his
disciple a boy believed to be dumb by his parents. He gave him the name, Hastamalakacarya (“one with the amalaka fruit on his
palm”, i.e., one who has clearly realised the Self). Next, he visited Srngeri to establish the Sarada PTtham and made Totakacarya
his disciple.
After this, Adi Shankara began a Dig-vijaya (tour of conquest) for the propagation of the Advaita philosophy by controverting all
philosophies opposed to it. He travelled throughout India, from South India to Kashmir and Nepal, preaching to the local populace
and debating philosophy with Hindu, Buddhist and other scholars and monks along the way.
With the Malayali King Sudhanva as companion, Shankara passed through Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Vidarbha. He then
started towards Karnataka where he encountered a band of armed Kapalikas. King Sudhanva, with his army, resisted and defeat¬
ed the Kapalikas. They safely reached Gokarna where Shankara defeated in debate the Shaiva scholar, Neelakanta.
Proceeding to Saurashtra (the ancient Kambhoja) and having visited the shrines of Girnar, Somnath and Prabhasa and explain¬
ing the superiority of Vedanta in all these places, he arrived at Dwarka. Bhatta Bhaskara of Ujjayini, the proponent of Bhedabeda
philosophy, was humbled. All the scholars of Ujjayini (also known as Avanti) accepted Adi Shankara’s philosophy.
He then defeated the Jainas in philosophical debates at a place called Bahlika. Thereafter, the Acharya established his victory
over several philosophers and ascetics in Kamboja (region of North Kashmir), Darada (Dabistan) and many regions situated in the
desert and crossing mighty peaks, entered Kashmir. Later, he had an encounter with a tantrik, Navagupta at Kamarupa.
Accession to Sarvajnapitha
Adi Shankara visited Sarvajnapitha (Sharada Peeth) in Kashmir (now in Pakistan- occupied Kashmir). The Madhaviya Shankar-
avijayam states this temple had four doors for scholars from the four cardinal directions. The southern door (representing South
India) had never been opened, indicating that no scholar from South India had entered the Sarvajna Pitha. Adi Shankara opened
the southern door by defeating in debate all the scholars there in all the various scholastic disciplines such as Mimamsa, Vedanta
and other branches of Hindu philosophy; he ascended the throne of Transcendent wisdom of that temple.
Death
General
Wikipedia
Towards the end of his life, Adi Shankara travelled to the Himalayan area of Kedarnath- Badrinath and attained videha mukti
(“freedom from embodiment”). There is a samadhi mandir dedicated to Adi Shankara behind the Kedarnath temple. However,
there are variant traditions on the location of his last days. One tradition, expounded by Keraliya Shankaravijaya, places his place
of death as Vadakkunnathan temple in Thrissur, Kerala. The followers of the Kanchi kamakoti pitha claim that he ascended the
Sarvajnapitha and attained videha mukti in Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu).
Teachings
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
... His commentary on the Vedanta Sutras, the Brahmasutra Bhashya, gives the classic formulation of Advaita Vedanta, with its
emphasis that the Ultimate Reality is the unqualified (nirguna) Brahman, which is eternal and unchanging, and to which the human
soul is identical. The changing phenomenal world (the world we see and sense) is an illusion, created through the superimposition
(adhyasa) of mistaken ideas upon the unqualified Brahman. Since Shankaracharya believes that one is released from bondage
by replacing this mistaken understanding with the correct one, insight and not action is the means to liberation. This moment of
understanding can be described as a flash of realization, but it seems mistaken to characterize Shankaracharya as a mystic. This
is because he strongly emphasizes the authority of the sacred texts as a source of accurate knowledge about the ultimate truth.
Although this stress on insight devalues the ultimate worth of ritual action, except in a preparatory role by removing defilements,
Shankaracharya also believed that required ritual actions should be performed from a sense of duty.
Shankaracharya is as philosophically significant for his silence as for his speech. He gives no definitive answer on many philo¬
sophical issues: about whether selves are one or many, about whether the locus of ignorance (avidya) was Brahman or the indi¬
vidual, about the nature of ignorance itself, and about the real nature of the material world. His refusal to take a position on these
issues left many different routes open to those who came after him. Shankaracharya himself tended to emphasize epistemological
issues—how human beings come to know things, and particularly how to correct the mistaken ideas through which human beings
are held in bondage. The image that comes through his writing is of a deeply religious man whose primary concern was to help his
hearers destroy their illusions and gain final liberation of the soul (moksha). Given this underlying goal and his acute philosophical
mind, one can argue that he was aware of such metaphysical questions but chose to ignore them, since they were unrelated to his
primary goal.
Wikipedia
Revival of Advaita Vedanta
Shankara travelled across India and other parts of South Asia to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with
other thinkers. He founded four mathas (“monasteries”), which helped in the historical development, revival and spread of Advaita
Vedanta. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organizer of the Dashanami monastic order and the founder of the Shanmata tradition
of worship.
His works in Sanskrit, all of which are extant today, concern themselves with establishing the doctrine of Advaita (Nondualism). He
also established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mimamsa
school established strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. Shankara relied entirely on the Upanishads for reference concern¬
ing Brahman and wrote copious commentaries on the Vedic Canon (Brahma Sutra, Principal Upanishads and Bhagavadgita) in
support of his thesis. The main opponent in his work is the Mimamsa school of thought, though he also offers some arguments
against the views of some other schools like Samkhya and certain schools of Buddhism that he was familiar with.
Philosophy and religious thought
Adi Shankara was the first in its tradition to consolidate the siddhanta (“doctrine”) of Advaita Vedanta. He wrote commentaries on
the Prasthana Trayi. A famous quote from Vivekacunamayi, one of his prakarana granthas that succinctly summarises his philoso¬
phy is:
Brahman is the only truth, the spatio- temporal world is an illusion, and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and
individual self.
Advaita Vedanta is based on sastra (“scriptures”), yukti (“reason”) and anubhava (“experience”), and aided by karmas (“spiritual
practices”). This philosophy provides a clear- cut way of life to be followed. Starting from childhood, when learning has to start, the
philosophy has to be realised in practice throughout one’s life even up to death. This is the reason why this philosophy is called an
experiential philosophy, the underlying tenet being “That thou art”, meaning that ultimately there is no difference between the ex-
periencer and the experienced (the world) as well as the universal spirit (Brahman). Among the followers of Advaita, as well those
of other doctrines, there are believed to have appeared Jivanmuktas, ones liberated while alive. These individuals (commonly
called Mahatmas, great souls, among Hindus) are those who realised the oneness of their self and the universal spirit called Brah¬
man.
Adi Shankara’s Bhashyas (commentaries) on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras are his principal works.
Although he mostly adhered to traditional means of commenting on the Brahma Sutra, there are a number of original ideas and
arguments to establish that the essence of Upanishads is Advaita. He taught that it was only[citation needed] through direct knowl¬
edge that one could realize the Brahman.
Adi Shankara’s opponents accused him of teaching Buddhism in the garb of Hinduism, because his non- dualistic ideals seemed
rather radical to contemporary Hindu philosophy. However, although Advaita proposes the theory of Maya, explaining the universe
as a “trick of a magician”, Adi Shankara and his followers see this as a consequence of their basic premise that Brahman alone is
real. Their idea of Maya emerges from their belief in the reality of Brahman, as opposed to Buddhist doctrines of emptiness, which
emerge from the empirical Buddhist approach of observing the nature of reality.
Shankara on Brahman
According to Adi Shankara, God, the Supreme Cosmic Spirit or Brahman (pronounced [‘breh.men]; nominative singular Brah¬
ma, [‘breh.me]) is the One, the whole and the only reality. Other than Brahman, everything else, including the universe, material
objects and individuals, are false. Brahman is at best described as that infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, incorporeal, imper¬
sonal, transcendent reality that is the divine ground of all Being. Brahman is often described as neti neti meaning “not this, not
this” because it cannot be correctly described as this or that. It is the origin of this and that, the origin of forces, substances, all of
existence, the undefined, the basis of all, unborn, the essential truth, unchanging, eternal, the absolute. How can it be properly
described as something in the material world when itself is the basis of reality? Brahman is also beyond the senses, it would be
akin a blind man trying to correctly describe color. It (grammatically neutral, but exceptionally treated as masculine), though not a
substance, is the basis of the material world, which in turn is its illusionary transformation. Brahman is not the effect of the world.
Brahman is said to be the purest knowledge itself, and is illuminant like a source of infinite light.
Due to ignorance (avidya), the Brahman is visible as the material world and its objects. The actual Brahman is attributeless and
formless (see Nirguna Brahman). It is the Self- existent, the Absolute and the Imperishable (not generally the object of worship but
rather of meditation). Brahman is actually indescribable. It is at best “Satchidananda” (merging “Sat” + “Cit” + “Ananda”, ie, Infinite
Truth, Infinite Consciousness and Infinite Bliss). Also, Brahman is free from any kind of differences. It does not have any sajatTya
(homogeneous) differences because there is no second Brahman. It does not have any vijatTya (heterogeneous) differences be¬
cause there is nobody in reality existing other than Brahman. It has neither svagata (internal) differences, because Brahman is
itself homogeneous.
Though Brahman is self-proved, Adi Shankara also proposed some logical proofs:
Shruti — the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras describe Brahman in almost exact manner as Adi Shankara. This is the testimo¬
nial proof of Brahman.
Psychological — every person experiences his soul, or atman. According to Adi Shankara, Atman = Brahman. This argument also
proves the omniscience of the Brahman.
Teleological — the world appears very well ordered; the reason for this cannot be an unconscious principle. The reason must be
due to the Brahman.
Essential — Brahman is the basis of this created world.
Perceptible feeling — many people, when they achieve the turlya state, claim that their soul has become one with everything else.
Works
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Besides the bhasya on the Vedanta-sutra, Samkara wrote commentaries on the principal Upanisads and the Bhagavadgita.Those
especially on the Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanisads treat of several points that are not dealt with in detail in the Sutra-
bhasya and are of immense value in the comprehension and appreciation of the doctrine of Advaita. In addition to them, we have
his Upadesa-sahasrT, which, though somewhat terse, gives a splendid account of his views.
Wikipedia
Adi Shankara, a Hindu philosopher of the Advaita Vedanta school, wrote many works in his life- time of thirty two years; however,
many works thought to be of his authorship are debated and questioned as to their authorship today. His works deal with logically
establishing the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta as he saw it in the Upanishads. He formulates the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta by
validating his arguments on the basis of quotations from the Vedas and other Hindu scriptures. He gives a high priority to svanub-
hava (personal experience) of the student. Also, a large portion of his works is polemical in nature. He directs his polemics mostly
against the Sankhya, Bauddha, Jaina, Vaisheshika and other non-vedantic Hindu philosophies.
Traditionally, his works are classified under Bhasya (commentary), Prakarana grantha (philosophical treatise) and Stotra (devo¬
tional hymn). The commentaries serve to provide a consistent interpretation of the scriptural texts from the perspective of Advaita
Vedanta. The philosophical treatises provide various methodologies to the student to understand the doctrine. The devotional
hymns are rich in poetry and piety, serving to highlight the helplessness of the devotee and the glory of the deity.
Bhasya (commentary)
Adi Shankara wrote Bhasya (commentaries) on:
BrahmasGtra
Aitareya Upanisad (Rigveda)
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad (Sukla Yajurveda)
Isa Upanisad (Sukla Yajurveda)
TaittirTya Upanisad (Krsna Yajurveda)
Katha Upanisad (Krsna Yajurveda)
Chandogya Upanisad (samaveda)
Mandukya Upanisad (Atharvaveda) and Gaudapada Karika
Mundaka Upanisad (Atharvaveda)
Prasna Upanisad (Atharvaveda)
Bhagavadgita (Mahabharata)
Vishnu Sahasranama (Mahabharata)
Gayatri Mantra
Prakarana grantha (treatise)
Prakarana grantha
Adi Shankara wrote the following treatises:
Vivekacudamani (Crest-Jewel of Wisdom)
Upadesasahasri (A thousand teachings)
Satasloki
Dasasloki
Ekasloki
PancTkarana
Atma bodha
Aparoksanubhuti
Sadhana Pancakam
Nirvana Satakam
ManTsa Pancakam
Yati Pancakam
Vakyasudha
Tattva bodha
Vakya vrtti
Siddhanta Tattva Vindu
Nirguna Manasa PGja
Stotra (hymn)
Adi Shankara composed many hymns on Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Ganesha and Subrahmanya:
Bhaja Govindam, also known as Mohamudgara
Sivanandalahari
Saundaryalahari
SrT LaksmTnrsimha Karavalamba Stotram
Sarada Bhujangam
Kanakadhara Stotram
Bhavani Astakam
Siva Manasa Puja
Pandurangashtakam
Subramanya Bhujangam
Editions
A lot of editions of the works of Adi Shankara are available. A few of them are given below:
Collections of Works
Sri Sankara Granthavali - Complete Works of Sri Sankaracarya in the original Sanskrit, v. 1- 10, revised ed., Samata Books, Ma¬
dras, 1998. (Originally published from Sri Vani Vilas Press, Srirangam, 191 Off., under the direction of the Sringeri matha.)
Sankaracaryera Granthamala, v. 1-4, Basumati Sahitya Mandira, Calcutta, 1995. (complete works with Bengali translation and
commentary)
Upanishad-bhashya-sangraha, Mahesanusandhana Samsthanam, Mt. Abu, 1979-1986. Sankara’s bhashyas on the Katha, Man-
dukya, Taittiriya, Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, with Anandagiri’s TTkas and other sub- commentaries.
Prakarana-dvadasi, Mahesanusandhana Samsthanam, Mt. Abu, 1981. A collection of twelve prakarana granthas, with commen¬
taries.
A Bouquet of Nondual Texts, by Adi Sankara, Translated by Dr. H. Ramamoorthy and Nome, Society of Abidance in Truth, 2006.
A collection of eight texts. This volume contains the Sanskrit original, transliteration, word-for- word meaning and alternative
meanings, and complete English verses.
Brahmasutra Bhashya
Edited with Marathi translation, by Kasinath Sastri Lele, Srikrishna Mudranalaya, Wai, 1908.
Edited with vaiyasika-nyayamala of Bharatitirtha, and Marathi commentary, by Vishnu Vaman Bapat Sastri, Pune, 1923.
Selections translated into English, byS. K. Belvalkar, Poona Oriental Series no. 13, Bilvakunja, Pune, 1938.
Edited with Adhikarana-ratnamala of Bharatitirtha, Sri Venkatesvara Mudranalaya, Bombay, 1944.
Translated into English, by V. M. Apte, Popular Book Depot, Bombay, 1960.
Translated into English, by George Thibaut, Dover, New York, 1962. (reprint of Clarendon Press editions of The Sacred books of
the East v.34, 38)
Sri Sankaracarya Granthavali, no. 3, 1964.
Translated into German, by Paul Deussen, G. Olms, Hildesheim, 1966.
Bhagavadgita Bhashya
Critically edited by Dinkar Vishnu Gokhale, Oriental Book Agency, Pune, 1931.
Edited with Anandagiri’s Tika, by Kasinath Sastri Agashe, Anandasrama, Pune, 1970.
Alladi Mahadeva Sastri, The Bhagavad Gita : with the commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, Samata Books, Madras, 1977.
A. G. Krishna Warrier, Srimad Bhagavad Gita Bhashya of Sri Sankaracarya, Ramakrishna Math, Madras, 1983.
Trevor Leggett, Realization of the Supreme Self: the Bhagavad Gita Yogas, (translation of Sankara’s commentary), Kegan Paul
International, London, 1995.
Upadeshasahasri
Sitarama Mahadeva Phadke, Sankaracaryakrta Upadesashasri, Rasikaranjana Grantha Prasaraka Mandali, Pune, 1911. (with
Marathi translation)
Paul Hacker, Unterweisung in der All- Einheits- Lehre der Inder: Gadyaprabandha, (German translation of and notes on the Prose
book of the upadeSasAhasrl) L. Rohrscheid, Bonn, 1949.
Vivekachudamani
Edited with English translation, by Mohini Chatterjee, Theosophical Publishing House, Madras, 1947.
Ernest Wood, The Pinnacle of Indian Thought, Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton (Illinois), 1967. (English translation)
Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, Shankara’s Crest-jewel of Discrimination, with A Garland of Ouestions and
Answers, Vedanta Press, California, 1971.
Sri Sankara’s Vivekachudamani with an English translation of the Sanskrit Commentary of Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati of Srin-
geri. Translated by P. Sankaranarayanan. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. 1999
Panchikarana
Edited with Sureshvara’s varttika and varttikabharana of Abhinavanarayanendra Sarasvati (17th cent.), Sri Vani Vilas Press, Sri-
rangam, 1970.
Edited with Gujarati translation and notes, Sri Harihara Pustakalya, Surat, 1970.
Organizations
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shankaracharya Order (est. seventh century C.E.).
The Shankaracharya Order is an order of renunciants said to have been founded by the great seventh-century VEDANTA philos¬
opher SHANKARA (also known as Shankaracharya). It is formally known as the Dashanami (10 Names) Order, because its re¬
nunciants or SANNYASIS all take one of 10 names: Aranya, Ashrama, Bharati, Giri, Parvata, Puru, Sarasvati, Sagara, Tirtha, and
Vana. They also add the affix ANANDA (transcendent bliss). Examples would be Brahmananda (he who has realized the bliss of
BRAHMAN) Sarasvati and Agehananda (he who has realized bliss in homelessness) Bharati.
Shankaracharya’s aim was to establish a rigorously disciplined, intellectually capable group of mendicants who could challenge
and defeat the Buddhists of his time and who would debate the theistic Hindus who clung to Vedic orthodoxy. He established four
centers or MATHS in four parts of India for this purpose: the Vimala Pitha at Puri in Orissa, the Jyoti Matha in BADRINATH in the
HIMALAYAS, the Kalika Pitha in DVARAKA in Gujarat, and the Sharada Pitha in Shringeri in Karnataka.
It is still said that the Dashanamis of the Shankaracharya Order are the most respected group of religious mendicants in India.
They are highly learned in SANSKRIT and VEDANTA philosophy and often are educated in English as well. The order is devoted
to noninjury and nonviolence; however, they hired militant mendicants carrying tridents to defend them against attacks by militant
Vaishnavite SADHUS or mendicants. Battles between these groups are famous for their carnage. There are currently six “regi¬
ments” of Dashanami NAGAS, special naked renunciants who defend the faith.
The heads of the four maths are all named Shankaracharya. They oversee extensive organizations with schools and social out¬
reach centers. These schools rely on a network of locally trained Sanskrit pandits, experts who train students in the traditions of
Hinduism, making these maths a valuable cultural resource.
Wikipedia
Adi Shankara founded four Mathas (Sanskrit: *P5) to guide the Hindu religion. These are at Sringeri in Karnataka in the south,
Dwaraka in Gujarat in the west, Puri in Orissa in the east, and Jyotirmath (Joshimath) in Uttarakhand in the north. Hindu tradition
states that he put in charge of these mathas his four main disciples: Sureshwaracharya, Hastamalakacharya, Padmapadacharya,
and Totakacharya respectively. The heads of the mathas trace their authority back to these figures. Each of the heads of these
four mathas takes the title of Shankaracharya (“the learned Shankara”) after the first Shankaracharya.
Related words
Advaita Vedanta
Matha
Sankhya
Variant spellings
sankhya
sankhya
samkhya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sankhya — ... the philosophical school which enumerates the ultimate objects of knowledge.
1. Kapila was the founder of this orthodox (astika)system and the author of the Sankhya sutra.The earliest authoritative book on
classical Sankhya is the Sankhya -karika of Tsvarakrsna. The school professes dualistic realism with its two eternal realities, spirit
(purusa) and primordial matter (prakrti).The term Sankhya means both “discriminative knowledge” and “enumeration.”
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
samkhya -
N. of one of the three great divisions of Hindu philosophy (ascribed to the sage Kapila, and so called either from ‘discriminating’,
in general, or, more probably, from ‘reckoning up’ or ‘enumerating’ twenty-five Tattvas [see tattva] or true entities [twenty-three of
which are evolved out of Prakriti ‘the primordial Essence’ or ‘first-Producer’], viz. Buddhi, Aharhkara, the five Tanmatras, the five
Mahabhutas and Manas; the twenty-fifth being Purusha or Spirit [sometimes called Soul] which is neither a Producer nor Produc¬
tion ..., but wholly distinct from the twenty-four other Tattvas, and is multitudinous, each separate Purusha by its union with Prakriti
causing a separate creation out of Prakriti, the object of the philosophy being to effect the final liberation of the Purusha or Spirit
from the fetters caused by that creation; the Yoga branch of the Samkhya recognizes a Supreme Spirit dominating each separate
Purusha; the Tantras identify Prakriti with the wives of the gods, esp. with the wife of Siva; the oldest systematic exposition of the
Samkhya seems to have been by an author called Panca-sikha [the germ, however, being found in the Shashti-tantra, of which
only scanty fragments are extant]; the original Sutras were superseded by the Samkhya -karika of Isvara-krishna, the oldest man¬
ual on the Samkhya system that has come down to us and probably written in the 5th century A.D., while the Samkhya -sutras or
Siva-pravacana and Tattva-samasa, ascribed to the sage Kapila , are now thought to belong to as late a date as the 14th or 15th
century or perhaps a little later) SvetUp. MBh. &c. IW. 73 &c.
Dictionary - Runes
Sankhya: Perhaps the oldest of the major systems of Indian philosophy, founded by Kapila. Originally not theistic, it is realistic
in epistemology, dualistic in metaphysics, assuming two moving ultimates, spirit (purusa) and matter (prakrti) both eternal and
uncaused. Prakfti possesses the three qualities or principles of sattva, rajas, tamas first in equipoise. When this is disturbed, the
world in its multifariousness evolves in conjunction with purusa which becomes the plurality of selves in the process. The union
(samyoga) of spirit and matter Is necessary for world evolution, the inactivity of the former needing the verve of the latter, and the
nonintelligence of that needing the guidance of conscious purusa. Successively, prakrti produces mahat or buddhi, ahamkara,
manas, the ten indriyas, five tanmatras and five mahabkutas. K.F.L.
Wikipedia
Sankhya, also Samkhya, is one of the six schools of classical Indian philosophy. Sage Kapila is traditionally considered to be the
founder of the Sankhya school, although no historical verification is possible. It is regarded as one of the oldest philosophical sys¬
tems in India.
Sankhya was one of the six orthodox systems (astika, those systems that recognize vedic authority) of Hindu philosophy.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Samkhya (Sankhya). Samkhya is one of the six orthodox systems of Hinduism that were first developed in ancient times. It is tradi¬
tionally believed to have originated with the sage KAPILA (c. 500 B.C.E.); its most authoritative text is the Samkhya Karika of Ish-
varakrishna (c. 200 C.E.). Today the system has few adherents, and many of its ideas are preserved in YOGA traditions, including
modern-day HATHA YOGA. (The word samkhya means “enumerate,” a reference to the precise categories within the philosophy.)
Samkhya was dualist: the everyday world of matter and the world of the soul or self were considered to be two completely sepa¬
rate and distinct realms. Early Samkhya was nontheistic; it did not include any divine being or god.
In Samkhya PRAKRITI—nature or the manifest universe—was understood to be eternal. It had always existed and would always
exist, though it might from time to time contract into an unmanifest form, awaiting the next manifestation. The selves or souls,
which were also eternal but shared nothing in common with nature, were called PURUSHAS. There was an infinite number of
them, and they were all separate and distinct from one another.
Each self or soul contained an inexplicable magnetism, which drew prakriti to collect or aggregate around it and give it life, a body,
and birth. KARMA, the actions committed in the previous birth, would determine each new aggregation. In spiritual terms, this was
seen as a constantly renewed trap for the self; the purpose of Samkhya was to show a way to escape the trap.
Wikipedia
Broadly, the Samkhya system classifies all objects as falling into one of the two categories: Purusha and Prakriti. Metaphysically,
Samkhya maintains an intermingled duality between spirit/consciousness (Purusha) and matter (Prakrti).
Purusha
Purusha is the Transcendental Self or Pure Consciousness. It is absolute, independent, free, imperceptible, unknowable, above
any experience and beyond any words or explanation. It remains pure, “nonattributive consciousness”. Purusha is neither pro¬
duced nor does it produce. Unlike Advaita Vedanta and like Purva-Mimamsa, Samkhya believes in plurality of the Purushas.
Prakriti
Prakriti is the first cause of the universe-of everything except the Purusha, which is uncaused, and accounts for whatever is phys¬
ical, both matter and force. Since it is the first principle (tattva) of the universe, it is called the Pradhana, but, as it is the uncon¬
scious and unintelligent principle, it is also called the Jada. It is composed of three essential characteristics (trigunas). These are:
sattva - fineness, lightness, illumination, and joy;
rajas - activity, excitation, and pain;
tamas - coarseness, heavyness, obstruction, and sloth.
All physical events are considered to be manifestations of the evolution of Prakriti, or primal nature (from which all physical bodies
are derived). Each sentient being is a Purusha, and is limitless and unrestricted by its physical body. Samsaara or bondage arises
when the Purusha does not have the discriminate knowledge and so is misled as to its own identity, confusing itself with the phys¬
ical body, which is actually an evolute of Prakriti. The spirit is liberated when the discriminate knowledge of the difference between
conscious Purusha and unconscious Prakriti is realized.
Ishvara (Creationist God)
The Samkhyapravacana Sutra states that there is no philosophical place for a creationist God in this system. It is also argued in
this text that the existence of Ishvara cannot be proved and hence cannot be admitted to exist and an unchanging Ishvara as the
cause cannot be the source of a changing world as the effect. Almost all modern scholars are of view that the concept of Ishvara
was incorporated into the nirishvara (atheistic) Samkhya viewpoint only after it became associated with the Yoga, the Pasupata
and the Bhagavata schools of philosophy. This theistic Samkhya philosophy is described in the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the
Bhagavad Gita.
Nature of Duality
The Samkhya recognizes only two ultimate entities, Prakriti and Purusha. While the Prakriti is a single entity, the Samkhya admits
a plurality of the Purushas. Unintelligent, unmanifest, uncaused, ever- active, imperceptible and eternal Prakriti is alone the final
source of the world of objects which is implicitly and potentially contained in its bosom. The Purusha is considered as the intelli¬
gent principle, a passive enjoyer (bhokta) and the Prakriti is the enjoyed (bhogya). Samkhya believes that the Purusha cannot be
regarded as the source of inanimate world, because an intelligent principle cannot transform itself into the unintelligent world. It is
a pluralistic spiritualism, atheistic realism and uncompromising dualism.
Theory of Existence
The Sankhya system is based on Satkaryavada. According to Satkaryavada, the effect pre-exists in the cause. Cause and effect
are seen as different temporal aspects of the same thing - the effect lies latent in the cause which in turn seeds the next effect.
More specifically, Sankhya system follows the Prakriti- Parinama Vada. Parinama denotes that the effect is a real transformation
of the cause. The cause under consideration here is Prakriti or more precisely Mula- Prakriti (Primordial Matter). The Sankhya
system is therefore an exponent of an evolutionary theory of matter beginning with primordial matter. In evolution, Prakriti is trans¬
formed and differentiated into multiplicity of objects. Evolution is followed by dissolution. In dissolution the physical existence, all
the worldly objects mingle back into Prakriti, which now remains as the undifferentiated, primordial substance. This is how the
cycles of evolution and dissolution follow each other.
Epistemology
According to the Sankhya school, all knowledge is possible through three pramanas (means of valid knowledge) -
Pratyaksha or Drishtam - direct sense perception,
Anumana - logical inference and
Sabda or Aptavacana - verbal testimony.
Sankhya cites two kinds of perceptions: Indeterminate (nirvikalpa) perceptions and determinate (savikalpa) perceptions.
Indeterminate perceptions are merely impressions without understanding or knowledge. They reveal no knowledge of the form or
the name of the object. There is only external awareness about an object. There is cognition of the object, but no discriminative
recognition.
For example, a baby’s initial experience is full of impression. There is a lot of data from sensory perception, but there is little or no
understanding of the inputs. Hence they can be neither differentiated nor labeled. Most of them are indeterminate perceptions.
Determinate perceptions are the mature state of perceptions which have been processed and differentiated appropriately. Once
the sensations have been processed, categorized, and interpreted properly, they become determinate perceptions. They can lead
to identification and also generate knowledge.
Moksha
Like other major systems of Indian philosophy, Sankhya regards ignorance as the root cause of bondage and suffering (Samsara).
According to Sankhya, the Purusha is eternal, pure consciousness. Due to ignorance, it identifies itself with the physical body and
its constituents - Manas, Ahamkara and Mahat, which are products of Prakriti. Once it becomes free of this false identification and
the material bonds, Moksha ensues. Other forms of Sankhya teach that Moksha is attained by one’s own development of the high¬
er faculties of discrimination achieved by meditation and other yogic practices as prescribed through the Hindu Vedas.
Views of what happens to the soul after liberation vary tremendously, as the Sankhya view is used by many different Hindu sects
and is rarely practiced alone.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
There is no philosophy in the world that is not indebted to Kapila, the founder of this Samkhya system. Pythagoras came to India
and studied this philosophy and carried some of these ideas to the Greeks. Later it formed the Alexandrian school, and still later
formed the basis of Gnostic philosophy. Thus it became divided into two parts: one went to Europe and Alexandria, and the other
remained in India and became the basis of all Hindu philosophy, for out of it the system of Vyasa was developed. This was the
first rational system that the world saw, this system of Kapila. Every metaphysician in the world must pay homage to him. I want to
impress on your mind that as the great father of philosophy, we are bound to listen to him, and respect, what he said.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Ballantyne
The founder of this school is said to have been Kapila. In Gaudapada’s commentary he is claimed to have been one of the seven
Rishis, the “mind-born” sons of Brahma. He was the irascible sage who reduced to ashes the 60,000 sons of King Sagara. Unlike
the Nyaya, this is a synthetic system, as it were, placing things together. It is essentially dualistic. It holds that there are two prima¬
ry eternal agencies. There is an eternally existing essence, called Prakriti, “ that which produces or brings forth every thing else.”
This is sometimes, not very accurately, rendered by “ Nature.”
Prakriti is variously called Mula-prakriti, ‘ root-principle’ Amulammulam, (rootless root; ‘Pradhdna, ‘chief one’; Avyakta, ‘unevolved
evolver’, Brahman, ‘supreme;’ Maya, ‘power of illusion.’ ‘Producer, originator’ would express the meaning more nearly than ‘Na¬
ture’. From the absence of a root in the root, the root of all things is rootless.
Prakriti is supposed to be made up of three principles, called Gunas, or cords, supposed to bind the soul. They are Sattva, Rajas,
Tamas; or Truth, Passion, and Darkness. These principles enter into all things; and on the relative quantity of each in any object
depends the quality of the object.
Souls (Purush) are countless in number; individual, sensitive, eternal, unchangeable. All that is done by Prakriti is done on behalf
of soul. In its own nature soul is without qualities, until united with Prakriti. The union of the two is compared to a lame man mount¬
ed on a blind man’s shoulder; the pair are then both (as it were) capable of perception and movement.
Beginning from the original rootless germ Prakriti, the Sankhya counts up (San-khyati) synthetically (whence its name of ‘synthetic
enumeration’) twenty-three other Tattwas or entities all productions of the first, and evolving themselves spontaneously out of it,
as cream out of milk, or milk out of a cow, while it carefully distinguishes them all from a twenty-fifth, Purusha, the soul, which is
wholly in its own nature destitute of Gunas, though liable to be bound by the Gunas of Prakriti.
The process is thus stated in the Sankhya-karika: “The root and substance of all things (except soul) is Prakriti. It is no production.
Seven things produced by it are also producers. Thence come sixteen productions (vikara). Soul, the twenty-fifth essence, is nei¬
ther a production nor producer.”
According to the Sankhya system, the five grosser elements, (mahabhuta) with their distinguishing properties and corresponding
organs of sense, are the following:
Distinguishing
Property
Organ of Sense
1. Akasa, ether
Sound
The Ear
2. Vayu, air
Tangibility
The Skin
3. Tejas, fire, light
Colour
The -Eye
4. Apas, water
Taste
The Tongue
5. Prithivi, earth
Smell
The Nose
There are eleven organs produced by Ahankara, the five organs of sense, ear, skin, eye, tongue, nose; and five organs of action,
larynx (the throat), hand, foot, and excretory and generative organs, and an eleventh organ standing between them viz., Manas,
‘the mind’ which is regarded as an internal organ of perception, volition, and action.
The liberation of Purusha, or soul, from the fetters which bind it in consequence of its union with Prakriti, is done by conveying the
correct knowledge of the 24 constituent principles of creation; and rightly discriminating the soul from them. In the Sankhya there
is no place for God; and accordingly it is known among Hindus by the name of Niriswara Sankhya, or the Sankhya without the
Lord.
The chief exponents of the system are the Sankhya Karika and the Sankhya Pravachana or Sutras.
See: Advaita-Vedanta and Sankhya-Yoga
Sankhya and Vedanta
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Science has been defined as depending on knowledge by measurement. Counting too belongs to the arithmetical world. The
Samkhya philosophy of India belongs to the world of counting the categories, numbering twenty five as between nature (prakrti)
and spirit (purusha). Enumeration is an integral part of the Samkhya school of philosophy. To the extent that abstraction and
generalization are involved in these approaches to truth, they have a place in philosophical speculation, but when we come to
the finalized notion of the Absolute, as envisaged in Vedanta, these enumerated items and measurable aspects of reality are to
be thrown into the melting pot, so as to reveal the basic reality, which is absolute and devoid of all differentiation. Measuring and
numbering fall short of this ultimate notion.
See also:
Yoga and Sankhya
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Related words
Hindu philosophy
Prakriti
Purusa
Yoga
Sanskrit
Sankhya —
sankhya -
Sannyasa
Variant spellings
sannyasa
sannyasa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sannyasa — ... monkhood; renunciation.
1. The stage of renouncing all worldly possessions and ties. The last stage of human life. (See asrama.) It is of two kinds: vivid-
isa-sannyasa or renunciation preceded by a sense of detachment from the world, and vidvat-sannyasa which is renunciation par
excellence and preceded by the dawn of realization of the Self. In the former, certain rules must be observed but, in the latter,
there is absolute freedom.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Many Hindu rituals imply the purification of the personality by Fire. One of them, aiming at the ultimate and perfect purification, is
the rite of Sannyasa or “renunciation of the world”. He who renounces worldliness burns up the impurities caused by the Ahanka-
ra, the sinful one, on the lower planes, those of Earth, Water and Fire. This idea has been preserved in substance to this day for
a man taking Sannyasa is supposed to light his own funeral pyre and cremate himself. He must become “dead to the world”. He
burns his Vasanas or attachments and tendencies and the very root of Ahankara or “Ego-action”. He ceases to be separate and is
consumed by God. At least that is what the ritual aims at.
The cremation of the bodies of the dead has to be considered in the same light. The bodies of Indian Saints and Sages are gen¬
erally not cremated, but buried. With regard to them there is no need for the last Fire, since the Fire-purification has already been
achieved during their lifetime.
The meaning of Sannyasa.
Sannyasa has been considered in its negative aspect, as implying the renunciation of worldliness and the cremation of the low¬
er man. The positive and higher aspect of Sannyasa is found in the word itself, actually sam-nyasa, meaning “conjoined and
complete dedication to the Divine”. It indeed implies the harmonization, synthesis and unification of all the part-personalities of
the human soul. It refers to the very last stage of the Path, involving utter dedication to God-Reality. Nyasa is a rite of dedication
which forms part of every major religious rite. Hindu tradition teaches what one finds expressed in the Cabalistic work the Zohar (I;
272b), where it is said that “all the members and parts of the human body” correspond with “sacred forms”. During the Nyasa rite
the tips of the fingers and the palm of the right hand are put on various parts of the body, in order that they may be filled with the
divine life, Chit-Sakti, “Dynamic Consciousness” or “the Consciring Power”, according to the Tantrik explanation. The rite is at the
same time a systematic dedication of the body in its parts to God in His Gods, and a sanctification of the body in its parts by iden¬
tification with the Intelligences which created them. The word “Nyasa” is derived from a word for to “place”. When Nyasa becomes
perfect, in other words, when dedication and sanctification has been fully achieved, a man is a Sannyasi — and not until then.
In modern times the Sannyasi way of life has unfortunately fallen into much discredit. Some people adopt it as a way of escape
from the world: for negative instead of for positive reasons. Others take it prematurely, and disgrace it by exhibitions of all kinds of
Ahankaric weaknesses, the subtlest of which is spiritual pride. And many who are complete frauds put on the sacred fire-coloured
cloth of Sannyasa, if not to indulge in vices, then to obtain food and money at the expense of those who still uphold the venerable
tradition that the Sannyasi is the Man of God, who has to be shown hospitality like God himself. As a consequence it is found that
often true Sannyasins refrain from putting on the ochre cloth, in order to stress the fact that Sannyasa is a state of the soul and
that externals do not matter.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Tiie Indian concept of sannyasa has three historical stages: the prehistoric concept, the medieval concept and the modern con¬
cept. Even in the medieval period, the prehistoric concept was held as valid. Similarly, the modern concept also has in it some
traditional beliefs. In this Upanisad, the concept is first introduced as a spiritual necessity of the rishi, Yajhavalkya. The Hindu Law
of India refers to Yajnavalkya’s renunciation in the very beginning because the Hindu Marriage Act is based on Yajnavalkya’s
smrti. The common belief in India is that marriage between a man and a woman cannot be dissolved except by the death of one of
the spouses. Yet we see the paradox of India’s best spiritual teacher announcing to his wives his intention to dissolve his marital
relationship with them. In that way, the precedent was set by Yajhavalkya himself. Another convention which came from Yajnvalk-
ya’s dissolution of his marriages on the basis of his spiritual purpose was the duty of a husband to make adequate arrangements
for the equitable sharing of his possessions among his wives. This is also cited in the Hindu Law, and thus the fourth brahmana is
historically of prime importance in understanding both the status of the householder and of the sannyasin.
Sannyasa implies the renunciation of sex, progeny and social security. The recognition of virginity as a spiritual virtue is an ar¬
chetypal notion which has been regarded as valid in different parts of the world in various cultures. In world religions, this notion
became particularly emphasized because of the Buddha’s institution of bhikku-hood which made it obligatory for his discipies to
accept the vow of chastity. ... Buddha’s example was followed by Sankara in the institution of sannyasa which came to be known
as the dasanami sannyasis. The pancasila of Buddha which is binding on all members of his sangha became obligatory for San¬
kara’s school of sannyasa also.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
25th November, 1938
Talk 588.
To an Andhra seeker, Sri Bhagavan said: Sannyasa is mentioned for one who is fit. It consists in renunciation not of material ob¬
jects but of attachment to them. Sannyasa can be practised by anyone even at home. Only one must be fit for it. Again.
A Kutichaka is one who takes sannyasa and lives in a hermitage;
A Bahudaka is one who takes sannyasa and goes to places of pilgrimage;
A Hamsa is an upasaka sannyasi;
A Paramahamsa is a realised sannyasi.
Ramana. Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in his own words
D.: Is it necessary to take sannyasa (a vow of renunciation) in order to attain Self-realisation?
B.: ‘Sannyasa’ means renouncing one’s individuality, not shaving one’s head and putting on ochre robes. A man may be a house¬
holder but if he does not think he is one he is a sannyasin. On the other hand, he may wear ochre robes and wander about, but so
long as he thinks he is a sannyasin he is not one. To think about one’s renunciation defeats the purpose of renouncing. What do
you mean by ‘taking sannyasa’? Do you think it means leaving your home or wearing robes of a certain colour? Wherever you go,
even if you fly up into the air, will your mind not go with you? Or, can you leave it behind you and go without it?
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
... in this concluding passage of the Upanishad, we are given the advice that for the sake of this Knowledge one has to dedicate
the whole of one’s life in a highly disciplined manner. ..
What we usually call the four stages of life, the asramas,—brahmacharya, (celibate student’s life), garhasthya (married house¬
holder’s life), vanaprastha (life of an anchorite), and sannyasa (monkhood)—are hinted at in this passage as the requisite process
through which one passes for the maturity of one’s mind. And at the same time, a caution also is administered that the whole of
one’s life has to be lived in such a way that it is a preparation for the spiritual goal. There is often a misconception that the spiri¬
tual part of one’s life is sannyasa alone and the earlier three stages are not. This is what is refuted by all the Upanishads. All the
stages of life right from brahmacharya onwards are preparations for spiritual life. Rather, all of them are necessary stages in one’s
ascent to the spiritual goal. It is not that the spiritual life commences only from sannyasa abruptly, as it were, and the earlier three
stages are disconnected entirely from the spiritual goal. The whole of one’s life from birth to death is a spiritual preparation. There
is nothing but the Atman, the Spirit in life, and, therefore, no activity can be entirely secular, in the sense of its being bereft of the
awareness of God’s presence, as one’s goal of life. In India particularly we have what are called samskaras, the various ceremo¬
nies symbolic of the affiliation of every stage of one’s life to the spiritual goal. There is no such thing as an unspiritual aspect of
life, whether it be brahmacharya, grahasthya, or vanaprastha. This is a very important advice by which we are told that the whole
life of a person, whoever be that person, is an entirely dedicated schooling, as it were, a period of training for the purpose of the
final achievement of Liberation. There is no part of life which can be squandered or wasted, or completely cut off from this con¬
sciousness of the ideal of one’s life.
Sannyasa and tyaga
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
4. Hear now from Me the truth about the relinquishment,
O best of the Bharatas; relinquishment,
O best of men, has verily been declared as three kinds.
Commentary by Sankara: You may understand from My words the truth underlying the divergent views regarding relinquishment
and renunciation herein set forth, O virtuous among the Bharatas.
The Lord has used the single word tyaga (relinquishment) here with the idea that it implies the sense of both tyaga and sannyasa.
Three kinds = Tamasic etc. as specifically laid down in the sastras.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
Krishna begins the answer to Arjuna’s query: “The relinquishment of actions prompted by desire the sages understand as sannya¬
sa. The relinquishment of the fruit of all action the wise declare to be tyaga.” (18:2)
Commentary by Krishnananda: Sannyasa in this chapter, then, simply means the giving up of all action motivated by kama, by
egocentric desire or emotion (passion). Other actions are permitted the seeker, as are other kinds of desire. For example, mu-
mukshutwa, which is intense desire or yearning for liberation (moksha), is permitted, for it arises from the Self, not the ego. Action
which maintains the body-such as eating or taking medicine-with the desire for continued life and good health, is also acceptable,
if life and health are desired so sadhana can be continued. So also is any action based on a desire to help others. It is important to
understand this, because many unripe aspirants get the mistaken idea that any desire whatsoever is detrimental, and that monks
cannot engage in any action-something that is impossible for the living.
Sannyasa, then, is external, even though based on internal disposition. Tyaga, however, is completely mental, a state of both
thought and attitude. It is perfect dispassion toward the results of any action-not from disinterest or indifference, but because all
actions engaged in are “to be done” in and of themselves. Even if no result comes, it does not matter. It is the simple doing that
matters. (Of course, even then, there is a result from having acting in consonance with the cosmic order-Ritam).
See also:
in Vairagya: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
sannyasa - from sam = “complete” + ni -’down” + as = “to throw”; hence, “to throw down completely”.
Related words
Ashrama
Brahmacarya
Grihastha
Sadhana
Sannyasin
Tyaga
Vanaprastha
Sanskrit
Sannyasa —
sannyasa - HHHy-l lH
Sannyasin
Variant spellings
sannyasin
sannyasin
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sannyasin — ... ascetic; monk; homeless mendicant.
1. An ascetic ordained as a monk. A renunciant who has taken the formal vows of renunciation.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Once on the banks of the Ganges in the foothills of the Himalayas, Nataraja Guru and I went for a walk. We came upon a sannya¬
sin’ s hut. Such huts are not made by the renunciates themselves. They take their advice from the book of Bhartruhari, which says
a sannyasin lives like a snake which makes no hole of its own. It goes into a hole made by a rat, eats the rat and makes the hole
its home. From Calcutta to the Himalayas, all kinds of sannyasins live in huts on the banks of the Ganges which were put there
through the work of a sannyasin called Khalikamblivala. His name means one who has merely a blanket, nothing else. He made
the paths and bridges, and arranged for shelters and food along the entire pilgrimage route. Khalikamblivala adhered to his own
vow of total poverty, but he was the richest of all. He took it all as a sport, a game. He set up a trust, to which people donate from
all over India, to provide for any poor seekers who go there. A sannyasin can go into a hut and take it as a refuge given to him by
the kindness of others. When he leaves, another will come along to occupy it.
...The example is given in Vedanta of a burned rope. The charred ashes of a rope still keep the shape of the strands, but as soon
as you touch them the shape disintegrates. It still looks like a rope even after it has been burned up, but it crumbles to ashes as
soon as you touch it. A sannyasin is like the burned rope: if you touch him he goes away. His existence is a very ephemeral one,
as he does not believe he exists.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Tales and parables of Sri Ramakrishna
A wife once said to her husband: “Dear, I am very anxious about my brother. For the past one week he has been thinking of be¬
coming an ascetic, and has been busy preparing for that life. He is trying to reduce gradually all his desires and wants.” The hus¬
band replied: “Dear, be not anxious about your brother. Pie will never become a sannyasin. No one can become a sannyasin in
that way.” “How does one become a sannyasin then?” asked the wife. “Thus” exclaimed the husband; so saying, he tore his flow¬
ing dress to pieces, took a piece and tied it round his loin, and told his wife that she and all of her sex were henceforth mothers to
him. He left the house, nevermore to return.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Should not a man renounce everything in order that he might get Liberation?
M.: Even better than the man who thinks “I have renounced everything” is the one who does his duty but does not think “I do this”
or “I am the doer”. Even a sannyasi who thinks “I am a sannyasi” cannot be a true sannyasi, whereas a householder who does not
think “I am a householder” is truly a sannyasi.
Four kinds of sannyasins
General
lllustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Bahudaka (“having much water”). The name for one of four particular types of Hindu ascetics. Each of these four types reflects the
ascetic’s supposed means of livelihood, which in practice has been much less important for ascetic identity than organizational
affiliation. The Bahudaka is an ascetic who begs for his food at sacred bathing places. The other three types are the Kutichaka,
which has lower status than the Bahudaka, and the Hamsa and Paramahamsa, which have higher status.
Kutichaka (“delighting in staying in the house”). One the of four types of Hindu ascetics. ... The Kutichaka is the least prestigious
of the four, with the others being (in order of increasing status) Bahudaka, Hamsa, and Paramahamsa. The Kutichaka is described
as an ascetic who resides in a house (kuti) erected by himself or his sons and begs for food from his sons and relatives.
Hamsa. The name for the Barheaded Goose (Anser indicus), a bird with several important symbolic associations; the most sig¬
nificant is purity and transcendence, since the bird’s color is largely white. It flies at very high altitudes, and it is reputed to nest in
Lake Manasarovar in the high Himalayas, the region believed to be the land of the gods. Since it is popularly believed to be able
to separate milk and water—drinking for former, and discarding the latter—the hamsa is also a symbol for a discriminating person,
who is able to take counsel from many different people, and to separate the good from the bad.
Perhaps because of these associations, the hamsa is also the name for a particular type of Hindu ascetic. The Hamsa ascetics
were described as peripatetic— they were directed to stay no more than one night in a village or five nights in a town. They were
also directed to perform different sorts of ascetic practices, such as subsisting on cow’s urine or dung, fasting (upavasa) for a
month at a time, or observing the chandrayana rite, a fast in which one increases and decreases one’s food consumption accord¬
ing to the waxing and waning of the moon.
Paramahamsa (“supreme Hamsa”). One of four types of Hindu ascetic. ...The Paramahamsa is the most prestigious of the four,
the others being (in order of increasing status) Kutichaka, Bahudaka, and Hamsa. Paramahamsas have no fixed abode and al¬
ways live in an uninhabited place. They are said to have transcended all questions of religious duty (dharma), purity, and impurity
(ashaucha), to have broken all attachments to the world, and to be continually immersed in contemplation of the Supreme Brah¬
man.
The word Paramahamsa has a more specialized meaning among the Dashanami Sanyasis, ascetic devotees (bhakta) of the god
Shiva whose organization is divided into ten sections, each designated by a particular name. Here the name Paramahamsa refers
to an ascetic who comes from one of the three twice-born (dvija) varnas—that is, who is a brahmin, kshatriya, or vaishya, the three
social groups with higher symbolic status—and who has been initiated as a Sanyasi in one of the six divisions that will accept non¬
brahmins. Paramahamsas have higher status in these divisions than the Naga or fighting ascetics, who will initiate shudras, but
lower status than the Dandis, who are invariably brahmins.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
RAM (to Gopal): “He [meaning the Master] says that one becomes a kutichaka after being a vahudaka. The sadhu that visits many
holy places is called a vahudaka. He whose craving for travel has been satiated and who sits down in one place is called a kuti¬
chaka.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
A Kutichaka is one who takes sannyasa and lives in a hermitage;
A Bahudaka is one who takes sannyasa and goes to places of pilgrimage;
A Hamsa is an upasaka sannyasi;
A Paramahamsa is a realised sannyasi.
See also:
in Tyaga: Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
sannyasa - from sam = “complete” + ni -’down” + as = “to throw”; hence, “to throw down completely”.
Related words
Sadhu
Sannyasa
Sanskrit
Sannyasin —
sannyasin -
Sarada
Name
Sarada
Sharada
^TRTT
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Goddess of the Tradition, who is now generally called Sarasvati or Sarada, holds a Book and a Rosary in addition to the Vina.
Both symbols ... the four main strings of the Vina symbolize the Four Vedas, the Four Elements and the Four Ends of Life.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Sarada: Synonym for the feminine counterpart of the Siva principle, called Shakti, which is a creative urge as viewed in cosmic
manifestation or existence. Shakti is “becoming” as against “being” This same principle has been variously described in mild or
terrible forms in relation with black Kali, who is time with its consuming terrors personified. Uma, Haimavati and other goddesses
also represent Shakti in varying grades, but Saraswati or Sarada is praised by Kalidasa and Sankara as the most refined and cul¬
tured personification as visualized in classical Sanskrit and in Vedanta. At the other end of this scale, as the crudest and harshest
aspect would come Bhadra Kali.
Sarada and Vedas
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Four Vedas and all they imply are represented in the four main strings of the Indian musical instrument called Vina. The Vina
forms the main symbol of the Goddess Sarasvati, the Consort of Brahma, the Creator. It has been previously considered how Cre¬
ation is associated with Sound. Sri Sankara addressed his Prapanchasara to her as the Devi Sarada: “May Devi Sarada whose
limbs divine are garlanded with the eternal, seven-hued primal letters, commencing with A and ending with Ksha, who is the Sole
Mistress of all Creation, Who is everlasting and who is the Sole Reality behind Manifestation, elevate and exalt my soul!” Sarada
is Goddess of Maya “in her pure unveiled form, Goddess of Wisdom, One with her Lord, Chitrupini or “Consciousness-formed”.
She plays “the Harmony of the Spheres” on her instrument — which is the Universe — and sings the Song of Life.
Related words
See: Saraswati
Veda
Saraswati
Name
Saraswati
Sarasvati
sarasvati
sarasvatT -
Sarasvati — TRTcRft
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
SarasvatT — ... “she of the stream”; the name of Brahma’s consort who presides over speech, knowledge, and the arts; the god¬
dess of wisdom .
1. The name of one of the monastic orders founded by Sankaracarya.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sarasvatT -
a region abounding in pools and lakes;
N. of a river (celebrated in RV. and held to be a goddess whose identity is much disputed; most authorities hold that the name
SarasvatT is identical with the Avestan Haraquaiti river in Afghanistan, but that it usually means the Indus in the RV., and only
occasionally the small sacred rivers in Madhya-desa ...; the river-goddess has seven sisters and is herself sevenfold, she is called
the mother of streams, the best of mothers, of rivers, and of goddesses; the Rishis always recognize the connection of the god¬
dess with the river, and invoke her to descend from the sky, to bestow vitality, renown, and riches; elsewhere she is described as
moving along a golden path and as destroying Vritra &c.; as a goddess she is often connected with other deities e.g. with Pushan,
Indra, the Maruts and the Azvins ...; in the AprT hymns she forms a triad with the sacrificial goddesses Ida and BharatT; accord, to
a myth told in the VS. xix, 12, SarasvatT through speech [vaca] communicated vigour to Indra; in the Brahmanas she is identified
with vac, ' Speech ‘, and in later times becomes goddess of eloquence see below) RV. &c.;
N. of a well-known small river (held very sacred by the Hindus; identified with the modern Sursooty, and formerly marking with the
DrishadvatT one of the boundaries of the region Arya-desa and of the sacred district called Brahmavarta ..., this river is represent¬
ed as flowing into the sea, although later legends make it disappear underground and join the Ganges and Jumna at Allahabad;
N. of various rivers (esp. of rivers which in sacredness are equal to SarasvatT and which are three accord, to AV. vi, 101, and sev¬
en accord, to MBh.;
N. of the goddess of eloquence and learning (cf. above; she is opposed to SrT or LakshmT [cf. Vikr. v, 24], and sometimes consid¬
ered as the daughter and also wife of Brahma, the proper wife of that god being rather Savitri or GayatrT; she is also identified with
Durga, or even with the wife of Vishnu and of Manu, and held to be the daughter of Daksha);
speech or the power of speech, eloquence, learning wisdom;
a celestial or oracular voice;
a cow;
an excellent woman;
N. of various plants (Cardiospermum Halicacabum, Egle Marmelos, Ruta Graveolens &c.);
N. of a two-year-old girl representing Durga at her festival;
of a poetess;
of various other women;
of one of the ten mendicant orders traced back to Sarhkaracarya (whose members add the word sarasvatT to their names).
Wikipedia
In Hinduism Saraswati ... is the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. She is the consort of Brahma. Saraswati is considered
to be the “mother of the Vedas”...
Saraswati is known as a guardian deity in Buddhism who upholds the teachings of Gautama Buddha by offering protection and
assistance to practitioners.
Mythology
In the Rigveda, Saraswati is a river as well as its personification as a goddess. In the post-Vedic age, she began to lose her status
as a river goddess and became increasingly associated with literature, arts, music, etc. In Hinduism, Saraswati represents intel¬
ligence, consciousness, cosmic knowledge, creativity, education, enlightenment, music, the arts, and power. Hindus worship her
not only for “secular knowledge”, but for “divine knowledge” essential to achieve moksha.
In some Puranas (like Skanda Purana) she is sister of Shiva (Shivaanujaa) and in some Tantras with Ganesha...
According to Vedanta she is considered to be the feminine energy and knowledge aspect (Shakti) of Brahman, as one of many
aspects of Adi Shakti.
Iconography
The goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful, light-skinned woman dressed in pure white often seated on a white
Nelumbo nucifera, which symbolizes that she is founded in the experience of the Absolute Truth. Thus, she not only has the
knowledge but also the experience of the Highest Reality. She is mainly associated with the color white, which signifies the puri¬
ty of true knowledge. Occasionally, however, she is also associated with the colour yellow, the colour of the flowers of the mus¬
tard plant that bloom at the time of her festival in the spring. She is not adorned heavily with jewels and gold, unlike the goddess
Lakshmi, but is dressed modestly — representing her preference of knowledge over worldly material things.
She is generally shown to have four arms, which represent the four aspects of human personality in learning: mind, intellect, alert¬
ness, and ego. Alternatively, these four arms also represent the 4 Vedas, the primary sacred books for Hindus. The Vedas, in turn,
represent the 3 forms of literature:
Poetry — the Rigveda contains hymns, representing poetry
Prose — Yajurveda contains prose
Music — Samaveda represents music.
The four hands also depict this thus — prose is represented by the book in one hand, poetry by the garland of crystal, music by
the veena. The pot of sacred water represents purity in all of these three, or their power to purify human thought.
She is shown to hold the following in her hands:
A book, which is the sacred Vedas, representing the universal, divine, eternal, and true knowledge as well as her perfection of the
sciences and the scriptures.
A mala (rosary) of crystals, representing the power of meditation and spirituality.
A pot of sacred water, representing creative and purification powers.
The vina, a musical instrument that represents her perfection of all arts and sciences. Saraswati is also associated with anuraga,
the love for and rhythm of music which represents all emotions and feelings expressed in speech or music. It is believed that chil¬
dren born with that name will prove to be very lucky in their studies.
A hamsa [swan] is often located next to her feet. The sacred bird, if offered a mixture of milk and water, is said to be able to drink
the milk alone. It thus symbolizes discrimination between the good and the bad or the eternal and the evanescent. Due to her as¬
sociation with the bird, Saraswati is also referred to as Hamsavahini, which means “she who has a hamsa as her vehicle”.
She is usually depicted near a flowing river, which may be related to her early history as a river goddess.
Sometimes a peacock is shown beside the goddess. The peacock represents arrogance and pride over its beauty, and by having
a peacock as her mount, the Goddess teaches not to be concerned with external appearance and to be wise regarding the eternal
truth.
Worship
In Hindu beliefs, great significance is attached to offering honey to this goddess, as honey is representative of perfect knowledge,
hymns dedicated to her include Saraswati Vandana Mantra.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Saraswati. Goddess associated with art, aesthetics, learning, sacred speech, and wisdom. Saraswati is the patron deity of culture
in all its manifestations. The spoken word is considered very powerful in Hindu culture and Saraswati can either promote or frus¬
trate one’s efforts by conferring or withdrawing the ability to speak clearly. Her association with sacred speech goes back to the
time of the sacrificial manuals known as the Brahmanas, in which the cult of sacrifice was based on the precise performance of
sacred speech and ritual. Her iconography emphasizes her connection with the life of the mind: She holds a book, a crystal (sym¬
bolic of a purified mind), a vina (musical instrument), and a rosary (associated with religious rites, and particularly with the repeti¬
tion of the sacred sounds known as mantras). Her animal vehicle is the swan, whose white color is a symbol of purity and whose
high flight is a symbol of transcendence. Through Saraswati’s blessings (ashirvad) human beings can transcend their biological
condition to create works of art and culture.
Saraswati is usually believed to be married, although different mythic sources give her different husbands. In some cases she is
described as the wife of the god Brahma, the creator; here their joint activity encompasses the formation of the material world and
its transformation through human cultural activity. In other stories she is described as the wife of the god Vishnu, and thus a co¬
wife of Lakshmi. Here the realms of Lakshmi and Saraswati can be seen as giving differing messages about the “good things” in
life— while Lakshmi grants wealth and material prosperity, Saraswati brings wisdom and culture. A popular Indian saying reports
that Saraswati’s devotee (bhakta) will never make money, while a follower of Lakshmi (whose vehicle is the owl) will be “blind” to
spiritual wisdom.
Macdonell. Vedic mythology
Though there is nothing to show distinctly... that Sarasvati is ever anything more, in the RV [Rig Veda] than a river goddess, we
find her identilied in the Brahmanas ..., with Vac, Speech, and in post-Vedic mythology she has become goddess of eloquence
and wisdom, invoked as a muse and regarded as the wife of Brahma.
Saraswati River
General
lllustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Saraswati River. One of the seven sacred rivers of India, along with the Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari, Narmada, Indus, and Cau-
very. The Saraswati is particularly interesting because no one is sure exactly where this river is located. A river by this name
is mentioned in the hymns of the Vedas, the earliest and most authoritative Hindu religious texts, and thus the Saraswati River
would seem to have been in the northeastern part of India, in which these hymns are set. In modern times a Saraswati River
flows through the northern Indian state of Haryana and dries up in the desert of the state of Rajasthan. Archaeologists have found
extensive settlements from the Indus Valley civilization on its banks, indicating that in earlier times the river was an active tributary
of the Indus. Popular belief holds that the Saraswati continues to flow underground, and joins the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers
at their confluence in Allahabad. This reputed confluence of three sacred rivers is the source for one of the site’s names, Triveni
(“triple stream”).
See also:
Vak
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
SarasvatT — from saras = “flowing” and vati = “having”.
Wikipedia
The name Saraswati came from “saras” (meaning “flow”) and “wati” (meaning “a woman”). So, Saraswati is symbol of knowledge;
its flow (or growth) is like a river and knowledge is supremely alluring, like a beautiful woman.
Related words
Sarada
Vac
Veda
Vidya
Sarira
Variant spellings
sarira
sharira
sarira
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sarira — ... body; “that which perishes”; sheath
1. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, the body is that which is supported by the self, controlled by the self, and exists for the sake
of the self. It has eight constituents: the five elements (mahabhuta), primordial Nature (prakrti), egoism (ahankara), and the Great
(mahat).
2. It is divided into the gross body (sthula-sarlra), the subtle body (linga or sGksma-sarTra), and the causal body (karana-sarlra).
3. Advaita Vedanta calls the causal body the sheath of bliss. The subtle body is composed of the mental sheath, the sheath of the
intellect, and the sheath of breath. The gross body is composed of the food sheath.
4. According to Nyaya-Vaisesika, the body is made up of earth, water, fire, and air and is not constituted of the five elements as
postulated by Sankhya and Advaita Vedanta.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sarira -
the body, bodily frame, solid parts of the body (pi. the bones);
any solid body (opp. to udaka &c.);
one’s body i.e. one’s own person;
bodily strength;
a dead body
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Sarira (etymology doubtful), the body, (in Nyaya) an object of Right Knowledge (Prameya) and defined as the site of motion
(cesta), of the senses (indriyas), and of the objects (arthas) of pleasure and pain.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Three Acharyas and Narayana Guru tradition
Sarira. Body; “that which perishes.” According to the Upanisadic wisdom and the teachings of Narayana Guru, the numerous
perishable forms assumed by the one imperishable Reality or Brahman, just as one imperishable gold substance assumes various
ornament forms.
According to the Gita, this sarira is inclusive of what we call the animating principle (cetana) in beings.
All the acaryas admit the classification of sarira into gross body (stula-sarira), subtle body (suksma-sarira), and causal body (kara-
na-sarira).
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
THE BODY (sarlra) is said to be the site of motion (cesta), of the senses (indriyas) and of the objects (arthas) of pleasure and
pain, As such, the body is the field of the souls experiences as it strives to reach what is desirable and avoid what is undesirable,
all of which are made known through the senses, the instruments through which the soul comes in contact with the outer world.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Sarira is to he taken in its literal sense as that which disintegrates. In the womb of the mother the process of body-building and
faculty gathering takes place. When all the faculties are properly structured and coordinated to function, the child comes out of
the womb. At the time of procreation, there is a great gathering of the essences of the father and mother in the selection of chro¬
mosomes. A very crucial bond is made between the monitoring elements in tire helix. All these are scattered at the time of death.
Not only does the personality disintegrate but also the elements that make up the body: its concreteness, viscosity, gaseousness,
thermal factor and electrical function. They are all diffused. Death nullifies all the provisions given to the individuated person...
The Sanskrit term for body, sarlra, means “having the quality of disintegration or breaking up.” The sarlra is the material basis in
which the vital principles are held.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
The physical body (sarira) is made up of the elements: earth, air, fire, water and ether; it is insentient. The Self is pure and self-lu¬
minous and thus self-evident. The relation between the two is sought to be established by positing a subtle body, composed of
the subtle aspects of the five elements on the one hand, and the reflected light of the Self on the other. In this way the subtle
body which is synonymous with the mind, is both sentient and insentient, i.e., abhasa. Again, by the play of the pure quality (satva
guna) on the elements, their brightness (satva aspect) manifests as the mind (manas), and the senses (jnanendriyas); by the play
of rajas (active quality), the raja (active) aspect manifests as life (prana) and limbs (karmendriyas); by the play of dullness (tamas)
the tama (dark) aspect manifests as the gross phenomena of the body, etc.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
sarlra — from the verb root srT = “to waste away”.
Related words
Deha
Kosha
Linga sarira
Sanskrit
Sarira — 7Tft7
sarira -
The three bodies
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
Later [after the doctrine of the five sheaths/koshas] Vedanta also developed a doctrine of the three bodies that comprise a human
being, which ostensibly seems to possess only one body. These are the sthula-sarira (or gross body) which corresponds to the
annamaya kosa; the sukma-sarira (or subtle body), which corresponds to the pranamaya —the manomaya —and the vijnanamaya
kosa and the karana-sarira (or casual body), which corresponds to the anandamaya kosa. The true self—the atman —lies beyond
all the five sheaths and the three bodies or may be said to constitute their nucleus depending on how one chooses to describe it
Sat
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sat— ... existence; reality; being.
1. According to Advaita Vedanta, the Absolute is pure Being.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sat -
being, existing, occurring, happening, being present;
abiding in;
belonging to (gen.);
living;
lasting, enduring;
real, actual, as any one or anything ought to be, true, good, right (tan na sat, ‘that is not right’), beautiful, wise, venerable, honest;
a being, (pi.) beings, creatures;
a good or wise man, a sage;
good or honest or wise or respectable people;
that which really is, entity or existence, essence, the true being or really existent (in the Vedanta, ‘the self-existent or Universal
Spirit, Brahma’) RV. &c. &c.;
that which is good or real or true, good, advantage, reality, truth;
water;
(in gram.) the terminations of the present participle;
well, right, fitly
Dictionary - Runes
Sat: (Skr.) Being, a metaphysical concept akin to Eleatic thinking, which a school of thinkers regards as fundamental, as in Chand-
ogya Upanishad 6.2.1: “In the beginning . . . this world was just being, one only, without a second.” It refutes the theory of non-be¬
ing. K.F.L.
Wikipedia
Sat is a Sanskrit adjective meaning “the ideal; pure and true essence (nature)” of an entity or existence in the Vedanta. It can thus
be concluded as “the self- existent or Universal Spirit, Brahman”.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Sat. In Indian philosophical thought, the most basic denotation for “that which (really and truly) exists.” The term is a present par¬
ticiple of the verb “to be,” so a fairly common translation is “Being,” but the word also carries connotations relating to the idea of
Truth—that things that exist are both “real” and “true.” Sat is the first of the three attributes traditionally ascribed to the unqualified,
ultimate Brahman as sacchidananda, along with consciousness (chit) and bliss (ananda).
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
It is said in the Yogic tradition that in the Sahasrara, the Lotus over the head of the perfected Yogi, the Goddess Kundalini and her
Lord, Siva, are united. She is called Chit, Consciousness, and He is called Sat, Reality. They unite in a place within the Sahasrara
called the Chandra-loka or “Moon-World”. It is the abode of Paramananda, “Supreme Bliss”.
Muller. The Upanishads, Part 1
... the Sat, ... , that which is, or Satya, the true, the real. It alone exists in the beginning and for ever; it has no second. Whatev¬
er else is said to exist, derives its real being from the Sat. How the one Sat became many, how what we call the creation, what
they call emanation (rrpooSog), constantly proceeds and returns to it, has been explained in various more or less fanciful ways by
ancient prophets and poets. But what they all agree in is this, that the whole creation, the visible and invisible world, all plants, all
animals, all men are due to the one Sat, are upheld by it, and will return to it.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
... sat, existence. I exist, you exist, this couch exists, the house exists, the sky exists, the world exists. All these can be brought
under one common heading of existence. All that exists is a genuine existence which implies the existence of all. It’s called sat.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Sat Being, called the adhara = the substratum...
Maya cannot obscure Sat, but it does obscure Chit and Ananda, making them appear as particulars.
(2) This (sat) Being is similar in all, as honey gathered from different flowers.
(3) There is no difference in the sat of individuals as illustrated by the state of deep sleep. The question arises - if so, why does not
each know it in sleep?
(4) Because the individuality is lost. There is only sat left. Illustration: rivers lost in the ocean.
Talk 283.
D.: How can one become jitasangadoshah (free from the stain of association)?
M.: By satsanga (association with the wise). “Satsangatve nissangatvam, nissangatve nirmohatvam, nirmohatve nischalatatvam,
nischalatatve jivanmuktih.” Satsanga means sanga (association) with sat. Sat is only the Self. Since the Self is not now under¬
stood to be Sat, the company of the sage who has thus understood it is sought. That is Sat-sanga. Introversion results. Then Sat
is revealed.
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Sat - participle of the root as, to be.
Related words
Ananda
Asat
Cit
Saccidananda
Satya
Sanskrit
Sat — HrT
/
sat -
Muller. The Upanishads, Part 1 : I have thought it best therefore to keep as close as possible to the Sanskrit original, and where
I could not find an adequate term in English, I have often retained the Sanskrit word rather than use a misleading substitute in
English. It is impossible, for instance, to find an English equivalent for so simple a word as Sat, to ov. We cannot render the Greek
to ov and to pq ov by Being or Not-being, for both are abstract nouns; nor by ‘the Being,’ for this would almost always convey a
wrong impression. In German it is easy to distinguish between das Sein, i.e. being, in the abstract, and das Seiende, to ov. In the
same way the Sanskrit sat can easily be rendered in Greek by to ov, in German by das Seiende, but in English, unless we say
‘that which is,’ we are driven to retain the original Sat.
Sat chit ananda
See: Saccidananda
Satsampatti
Variant spellings
satsampatti
shatsampatti
satsampat
Definitions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Satsampat... right conduct, which consists of the six acquirements, viz. (i) tranquillity (sama), (2) self-restraint (dama), (3) toler¬
ance, (uparati), (4) endurance (titiksa), (5) faith (sraddha), and (6) mental equipoise (samadhana); (in Vedanta) one of the four
qualifications listed by Samkara for a student of philosophy, viz. (i) right discrimination (viveka) (2) right dispassion and indiffer¬
ence (vayragya), (3) right conduct (satsampat), and (4) right desire (mumuksutva).
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Six Virtues (Shatsampatti) : Dama = external control, control of conduct; Uparati = tolerance, nonassociation with impurity;
Sama — control of thought, subjugation of the senses, peace; Titiksha = endurance, indifference to the pairs of opposites; Srad¬
dha = faith; Samadhana = constant spiritual Realization.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Satsampatti, or the six treasures: These form the ethical foundation of spiritual life. Their practice prepares the inner faculties for
the cultivation of higher knowledge.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Karapatra. Advaita Bodha Deepika
... Next must be effaced the latencies connected with the objects of the senses (vishayavasana) such as sound etc. These laten¬
cies are the running of the senses such as hearing etc., after their objects.
D.: How can these latencies be effaced?
M.: By a practice of the six-fold discipline consisting ofsama, dama, uparati, titiksha, samadhana and sraddha, withdrawing the
mind from going outwards, controlling the senses, not thinking of the objects of the senses, forbearance, fixing the mind on the
Reality and faith.
Sankara tradition
Vedantaparibhasa. Dharmaraja
40. Control of the internal sense is sama; restraint of the external senses is dama; non-existence of distraction is uparati; endur¬
ance of pairs [of opposites] like heat and cold is titiksa; concentration of mind is samadhana; faith in the words of the preceptor
and of the Vedanta is sraddha.
83. The Bhamati gives a slightly different account ofsama, etc. Sama is subjugation of the internal sense; the capacity of the mind
so subjugated for the investigation of truth is dama; the desire to abandon objects is titiksa; turning away from objects is uparati;
and sraddha is faith in the truth.
See also:
“Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda” on page 789
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Satsampat from sat used in composition for sas, six + sampat.
Related words
Dama
Sadhanacatustaya
Sama
Samadhana
Sraddha
Titiksa
Uparati
Sattva
Variant spellings
sattva
sattwa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sattva — ... pure; steady; goodness; illuminating; buoyant; joy; pleasure.
1. One of the three qualities (guna). Its nature is of pleasure and it serves to illumine. (See guna.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sattva -
being, existence, entity, reality (Isvara-sattva, ‘the existence of a Supreme Being’);
true essence, nature, disposition of mind, character;
spiritual essence, spirit, mind;
vital breath, life, consciousness, strength of character, strength, firmness, energy, resolution, courage, self-command, good sense,
wisdom, magnanimity;
the quality of purity or goodness (regarded in the Sarhkhya phil. as the highest of the three Gunas or constituents of Prakriti be¬
cause it renders a person true, honest, wise &c., and a thing pure, clean &c.);
material or elementary substance, entity, matter, a thing;
a substantive, noun;
a living or sentient being, creature, animal;
embryo, fetus, rudiment of life;
a ghost, demon, goblin, monster;
N. of a son of Dhritarashtra
Wikipedia
In Hindu philosophy, sattva is the most rarefied of the three gunas in Samkhya, sattvika “pure”, rajasika “dim”, and tamasika
“dark”. Importantly, no value judgement is entailed as all guna are indivisible and mutually qualifying.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In many scriptures it is written that at the beginning of the Treta Yuga, the second Age, the division of mankind into Four Varnas
or “Colours” took place. These “colours”, which have been associated with and worked out in various race-theories in India, were
originally symbolical in meaning. The highest Varna, that of the Brahmanas or “knowers of Truth”, was white. It is the “colour” of
light, of the Sattva Guna or “quality of purity and harmony”. In the Golden Age there were “only Brahmanas”.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Sattva (“goodness”). One of the three fundamental qualities (gunas) believed to be present in all things. The other two gunas are
rajas (“passion”) and tamas (“darkness”). According to this model, the differing proportions of these qualities account for the differ¬
ences between the properties of concrete things, and in individual human capacities and tendencies. Of the three, sattva is invari¬
ably positive and carries associations with goodness, truth, wholesomeness, health, cognitive thought, and deep-rooted religious
life. The notion of these three gunas originated in the metaphysics of the Samkhya school, one of the six schools of traditional
Hindu philosophy. Although much of Samkhya metaphysics connected with the gunas have been long discredited, the idea of the
gunas and their qualities has become a pervasive assumption in Indian culture.
Wikipedia
Sattvic objects
For an object or food to be sattvika, it must be uncontaminated and should not spread evil or disease in the world. On the contrary
its presence must purify the surroundings. Thus when an individual consumes such a food, he must feel that he is eating pure
food. The food should be healthy, nutritious and clean. It should also not weaken the power or equilibrium of mind. This idea dis¬
allows aphrodisiac or other drugs and intoxicants that can affect the mind in such a way. It also disallows food or objects obtained
after killing or causing pain to a creature. This is because the object would then have source in an evil act. It also excludes stale
and pungent- smelling food.
Some objects that are considered sattvika are:
Flowers, fruits, and food that are allowed as offerings to God
Neem tree
The milk of a cow which has grown in good surroundings, is healthy and has been obtained after the calf of the cow has been fed
well. In cases when the cow has been ill treated, it becomes sinful or evil to drink such milk. It must be remembered that the cow is
sacred for the Hindus.
Sattva is a state of mind in which the mind is steady, calm and peaceful. A sattvika man or woman works with no attachment to
the result.
Sattvic creatures
A person or creature can be called sattvika if the creature has predominantly sattvika tendencies.
A sattvika individual always works for the welfare of the world. He is always hardworking, alert and lives life moderately. He leads
a chaste life. He eats moderately. He speaks the truth and is bold. He never uses vulgar or insulting language. He does not feel
jealous nor is he affected by greed and selfishness. He does not cheat or mislead anyone. He does not even allow any evil ten-
dencies to enter his mind. He has good memory and concentration. He also has keen interest in improving his spiritual knowledge,
and spends time worshiping god or meditating. In the extreme state he may even perform penance or uninterrupted meditation. A
satvic individual can be recognized if his mind, speech and actions synchronize. Manasa, vacha, karmana are the three Sanskrit
words used to describe such a state.
Some of the people considered by Hindus to be sattvika are:
Holy men and bhaktas like Tulsidas, Tyagaraja, Tukaram
Ancient rishis like Vashishta, Kashyapa
Modern day sages like Ramana Maharshi, Aurobindo, Vivekananda
Divine beings in heavens
Some flora and fauna like lotus (symbolizes purity), cow (symbolizes the earth mother).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali’s Yoga
Even in the confused and vague comprehension where tamas dominates, there will necessarily be a certain amount of sattva to
aid cognition because cognition never occurs without sattva providing the ground.
Only when the purity of sattva in its manifestation as citta is maintained can the yogi successfully carry out practices (sadhanas).
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
“Do you know what a worldly person endowed with sattva is like? Perhaps his house is in a dilapidated condition here and there.
He doesn’t care to repair it. The worship hall may be strewn with pigeon droppings and the courtyard covered with moss, but he
pays no attention to these things. The furniture of the house may be old; he doesn’t think of polishing it and making it look neat.
He doesn’t care for dress at all; anything is good enough for him. But the man himself is very gentle, quiet, kind, and humble; he
doesn’t injure anyone.”
“This world itself is the forest. The three robbers prowling here are sattva, rajas, and tamas. It is they that rob a man of the Knowl¬
edge of Truth. Tamas wants to destroy him. Rajas binds him to the world. But sattva rescues him from the clutches of rajas and
tamas. Under the protection of sattva, man is rescued from anger, passion, and the other evil effects of tamas. Further, sattva
loosens the bonds of the world. But sattva also is a robber. It cannot give him the ultimate Knowledge of Truth, though it shows
him the road leading to the Supreme Abode of God. Setting him on the path, sattva tells him: ‘Look yonder. There is your home.’
Even sattva is far away from the Knowledge of Brahman.
Vivekananda. Raja Yoga
when the waves cease, and the water of the lake becomes clear, there is the state called Saliva, serenity, calmness. It is not inac¬
tive, but rather intensely active. It is the greatest manifestation of power to be calm. It is easy to be active. Let the reins go, and the
horses will drag you down. Any one can do that, but he who can stop the) plunging horses is the strong man. Which requires the
greater strength, letting go, or restraining? The calm man is not the man who is dull. You must not mistake Sattva for dulness, or
laziness. The calm man is the one who has restraint of these waves. Activity is the manifestation of the lower strength, calmness
of the superior strength.
By this practice [purification of the Sattva by Yoga] the Sattva material will prevail, and the mind will become concentrated and
cheerful. The first sign that you are becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful. When a man is gloomy that may be dys¬
pepsia, but it is not religion. A pleasurable feeling is the nature of the Sattva. Everything is pleasurable to the Sattvika man, and
when this comes, know that you are progressing in Yoga.
Sankara tradition
Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda
117. Pure Sattva is (clear) like water, yet in conjunction with Rajas and Tamas it makes for transmigration. The reality of the At¬
man becomes reflected in Sattva and like the sun reveals the entire world of matter.
118. The traits of mixed Sattva are an utter absence of pride etc., and Niyama, Yama, etc., as well as faith, devotion, yearning for
Liberation, the divine tendencies and turning away from the unreal.
119. The traits of pure Sattva are cheerfulness, the realisation of one’s own Self, supreme peace, contentment, bliss, and steady
devotion to the Atman, by which the aspirant enjoys bliss everlasting.
278. Tamas is destroyed by both Sattva and Rajas, Rajas by Sattva, and Sattva dies when purified. Therefore do way with thy
superimposition through the help of Sattva.
See also:
in Ishvara: Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
Sanskrit sattva “purity”, literally “existence, reality”; adjectival sattvika “pure”, anglicised sattvic.
Related words
Broader term: Guna
Rajas
Tamas
Sanskrit
Sattva — JTr^
sattva - TRR
Satya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Satya — ... truth.
1. The world of the highest truth or being. (See loka.)
2. The Golden Age. An age of truth, innocence, and purity. The path to liberation in this age is meditation. (See yuga.)
3. One of the abstentions of the raja-yogadiscipline. It is absolute truthfulness and abstaining from uttering any falsehood. (See
yama.)
4. One of the five ethical principles of Jainism.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
satya -
true, real, actual, genuine, sincere, honest, truthful, faithful, pure, virtuous, good, successful, effectual, valid;
the uppermost of the seven Lokas or worlds (the abode of Brahma and heaven of truth; see loka);
N. of the ninth Kalpa;
the Asvattha tree;
N. of Vishnu;
of Rama-candra;
of a supernatural being;
of a deity presiding over the NandT-mukha Sraddha;
of one of the Visve Devah;
of a Vyasa;
of one of the 7 Rishis in various Manvantaras
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Satya (abstract noun fr. sat), ‘truth/ the first of the four ages (yugas), ‘the golden age’, also called the Krita Yuga; its duration is
said to be 1,728,000 years.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Commentary by Nitya:
It is said here that the term satya has three factors in it: sa, that which is presented; ya, that which is mysteriously formulated
within our heart which gives us a compulsion to accept it as a truth corresponding to what is being experienced; and in between,
stands ta, this meager little creature of a person, which Is none other than a perishable body with its anatomy and morphology and
various kinds of bio-chemical metabolisms packed with filth, which is ever tending to decay and ultimately will be lost. That is why
in the Upanisad it is said sa is truth, ya is truth, but ta is a dark spot (tamas). There is a lurking darkness, an island of ignorance, in
the very heart of truth. This is not to be known merely intellectually, but through contemplation.
Three factors are to be recognized to contemplate on sa. First, sa refers to the totality while the individual is looking at it from a
fragmentary point of view. We insert ourselves into the total by our own conceptual ability which is rather meager. Only the divine
or shining principle in us, that is, the numlnosity of the Self, is capable of meditating on the Self. That is the only channel by which
the individual gets even a meager idea of truth. Secondly, the Absolute (brahman) is a tremendous mystery, mahadyaksa. What Is
so magnificent or tremendous is like the gold coin that can never be fully paid with our copper change. We should know this limita¬
tion to begin with. Thirdly, as there is a shadow cast by the light of the Supreme, truth is again and again interfered with by untruth.
But one who knows the whole, including the limiting adjuncts, will be able to transcend that which seems to blindfold the individual
seeker from time to time. It is not through sensuous perception or mentation the seer becomes a seer of truth, but only by exercis¬
ing a contemplative transcendence.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Talk 33.
A visitor: “The Supreme Spirit (Brahman) is Real. The world (jagat) is illusion,” is the stock phrase of Sri Sankaracharya. Yet oth¬
ers say, “The world is reality”. Which is true?
M.: Both statements are true. They refer to different stages of development and are spoken from different points of view. The aspi¬
rant (abhyasi) starts with the definition, that which is real exists always; then he eliminates the world as unreal because it is chang¬
ing. It cannot be real; ‘not this, not this!’ The seeker ultimately reaches the Self and there finds unity as the prevailing note. Then,
that which was originally rejected as being unreal is found to be a part of the unity. Being absorbed in the Reality, the world also is
Real. There is only being in Self-Realisation, and nothing but being. Again Reality is used in a different sense and is applied loose¬
ly by some thinkers to objects. They say that the reflected (adhyasika) Reality admits of degrees which are named:
(1) Vyavaharika satya (everyday life) - this chair is seen by me and is real.
(2) Pratibhasika satya (illusory) - Illusion of a serpent in a coiled rope. The appearance is real to the man who thinks so. This phe¬
nomenon appears at a point of time and under certain circumstances.
(3) Paramartika satya (ultimate) - Reality is that which remains the same always and without change.
If Reality be used in the wider sense the world may be said to have the everyday life and illusory degrees (vyavaharika and prat¬
ibhasika satya). Some, however, deny even the reality of practical life - vyavaharika satya and consider it to be only projection of
the mind. According to them it is only pratibhasika satya, i.e., an illusion.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
The word ‘satyam’ is a commonly used word and means that which exists and is real. When you say, ‘puspam satyam’, then it
means ‘flower is real’. That which is false, asatya also ‘is’. So we know satya and asatya, ‘this is true’, ‘this is not true’. We under¬
stand dream as asatya, the waking as satya. The sense that we give [here] to the word ‘satyam’ is a time-bound existence.
See: Mithya and satyam
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
satya - from the verb root as = “to be”.
Related words
Mithya
Rita
Sat
Sanskrit
Satya — Hon'
satya -
Shakti
Variant spellings
sakti
shakti
sakti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sakti — ... power; capacity; energy; potency; Citi; Kundalini, force; the divine cosmic energy which projects, maintains, and dis¬
solves the universe; the spouse of Siva.
1. According to Dvaita Vedanta, it is one of the ten categories. ... It is of four kinds: mysterious power (acintya), causal or natural
(karana or sahaja), occasioned (adheya), and word (pada).
2. According to VTra Saivism, it is of six forms: cit-sakti, para-sakti, Mi-sakti, iccha-sakti, jnana-sakti, and kriya-sakti.
3. According to Sakta philosophy, it is consciousness as dynamic. Sakti is one with Siva, being the dynamic aspect of his feminine
part.
4. It is the Divine Mother, the latent power of Siva.
5. The potential power latent in human beings is called Kundalini-sakti.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sakti -
power, ability, strength, might, effort, energy, capability;
effectiveness or efficacy (of a remedy);
regal power (consisting of three parts, prabhutva, personal pre-eminence; mantra, good counsel, and utsaha, energy);
the energy or active power of a deity personified as his wife and worshipped by the Sakta sect of HindGs under various names
(sometimes only three, sometimes eight Sakti goddesses are enumerated, as follow, IndranT, VaishnavT, Santa, BrahmanT,
KaumarT, NarasirhhT, VarahT, and MahezvarT, but some substitute Camunda and Candika for the third and sixth of these: ac¬
cording to another reckoning there are nine, viz. VaishnavT, BrahmanT, RaudrT, MahezvarT, NarasiMhT, VarahT, IndranT, KarttikT,
and Pradhana: others reckon fifty different forms of the Sakti of Vishnu besides LakshmT, some of these are KTrtti, Kanti, Tushti,
Pushta, Dhriti, Santi, Kriya, Daya, Medha &c.; and fifty forms of the Sakti of Siva or Rudra besides Durga or GaurT, some of whom
are GunodarT, Viraja, SalmalT, LolakshT, VartulakshT, DTrgha-ghona, SudTrgha-mukhT, Go-mukhT, DTrgha-jihva, KundodarT, ard-
ha-kesT, Vikrita-mukhT, Jvala-mukhT, UlkamukhT &c.; SarasvatT is also named as a Sakti, both of Vishnu and Rudra: according to
the Vayu-Purana the female nature of Rudra became twofold, one half asita or white, and the other sita or black, each of these
again becoming manifold, those of the white or mild nature included LakshmT, SarasvatT, GaurT, Uma &c.; those of the dark and
fierce nature, Durga, KalT &c.);
the female organ (as worshipped by the Sakta sect either actually or symbolically);
the power or signification of a word (defined in the Nyaya as padasya padarthe sambandhah i.e. ‘the relation of a word to the thing
designated ‘);
(in Gram.) case-power, the idea conveyed by a case;
the power or force or most effective word of a sacred text or magic formula;
the creative power or imagination (of a poet);
help, aid, assistance, gift, bestowal;
a spear, lance, pike, dart RV. &c.;
a sword;
(prob.) a flag-staff;
a partic. configuration of stars and planets (when the latter are situated in the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th astrological house);
N. of a Muni or sage (the eldest of Vasishtha’s hundred sons; accord, to VP. he was father of Parasara, and was devoured by king
Kalmasha-pada, when changed to a man-eating Rakshasa, in consequence of a curse pronounced upon him by the sage; he is
represented as having overcome Visvamitra at the sacrifice of king Saudasa; he is regarded as the author of RV. ...; Sakti is also
identified with one of the Vyasas, and with Avalokitesvara, and has elsewhere the patr. Jatukarna and Sarhkriti)
Wikipedia
Shakti is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that move through the entire universe. Shakti is the con¬
cept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes referred to as The Great Divine Mother’ in Hinduism. On the
earthly plane, Shakti most actively manifests through female embodiment and fertility - while also existing in males, in its potential,
unmanifest form.
Not only is the Shakti responsible for creation, it is also the agent of all change. Shakti is cosmic existence as well as liberation, its
most significant form being the Kundalini Shakti, a mysterious psychospiritual force. Shakti exists in a state of svatantrya, depen¬
dence on no- one, being interdependent with the entire universe.
In Shaktism, Shakti is worshiped as the Supreme Being. However, in other Hindu traditions of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, Shak¬
ti embodies the active feminine energy Prakriti of Purusha, who is Vishnu in Vaishnavism or Shiva in Shaivism. Vishnu’s female
counterpart is called Lakshmi, with Parvati being the female half of Shiva.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shakti is the primordial creative, sustaining and destructive power of all existence. Although conceived as female in nature, Shak¬
ti is not an individual goddess, but rather a dynamic quality that all goddesses (and even all women, at least within the SHAKTA
TANTRIC tradition) are said to possess. Unbridled, uncontainable, spontaneous, ecstatic, blissful, and fierce, Shakti flows from
manifestation to dissolution. She is the power to give forth and to withdraw.
The concept of Shakti is an ancient one and has pre-VEDIC, prepatriarchal origins. She is often traced to archaeological discover¬
ies from the INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (3500-1700 B.C.E.) and to other prehistoric cultures throughout western and central
Asia. In India the belief and worship of her all-pervading nature were pushed underground during the Vedic period. Shakti regains
importance in classical and medieval Hinduism, in which in many cases this primordial power is personified as Devi, the GOD¬
DESS, and held in even higher regard than the male deities. Epic texts such as the Devi Bhagavata, Devi Purana, Kalika Purana,
Markandeya Purana, and Mahabhagavata Purana accept and worship Shakti as the supreme nature of reality.
From earliest times the concept of Shakti appears in discussions of fertility as well as in reverence of the divine as mother of
nature and cosmos. In the RIG VEDA the term Shakti is not mentioned; however, various goddess manifestations (Ratri, USHAS,
ADITI, PRITHIVI, Vac-Sarasvati, goddesses) indicate the presence and influence that would later develop into the central figures
of the Shakti cult (KALI, DURGA, Ambika, Uma) that are worshipped today.
The later Shakta Upanishads and tantras (see TANTRISM) contain philosophical references to Shakti that equate her with BRAH¬
MAN. In these texts the dynamic, all-pervading nature of brahman and Shakti as the fabric underlying all existence cannot be
separated into two. In the Shakta UPANISHADS as well as in the later Shakta tantras we find references to Shakti’s independent
omnipotent nature where the complementary receptive qualities of the masculine force as Shiva are “but a corpse” without her
activating power.
In the epic RAMAYANA, Shakti does not have the independent cult status that we find in the later epics; however, she is held in
high regard. In the MAHABHARATA, Shakti once again regains the agency and importance that are evident in the prepatriarchal
traditions. Here we learn of her invincible power as Durga and the Matrikas. She is also referred to as Kalika, Ambika, Bhadrakali,
Parvati, Mahadevi, and by other names.
Shakti continues to gain importance in the puranic texts, the earliest of which, the Markandeya Purana, with its 13 chapters called
the Durga Saptasai and Devi Mahatmya, elaborate the primordial all-pervading power of Devi. Here she is philosophically con¬
ceived as pure consciousness; the creator, preserver, and destroyer; the one and the many manifestations of supreme divinity.
Shakti is both immanent and transcendent, illusive and manifest, moving and unmoving. She is knowledge, will, and action behind
all existence. Here we find Goddess as the absolute reality, and yet she incarnates from time to time to help the gods to carry out
her divine work. She also appears to help her devotees conquer the bonds of human suffering and the limitations of the physical
realm in order to achieve liberation.
In the Markandeya Purana, the goddess is identified with PRAKRITI, the natural sustaining power of existence. She takes on
various roles as mother, nurturer, warrior, lover to experience the LILA (play) of her divine consciousness. In the Devi Bhagavata
Purana, Shakti is divided into three forms or qualities of existence: sattva (purity), rajas (passion), tamas (inertia).
As Mahasarasvati, Mahalakshmi, Mahakali, the Goddess takes the universe from creation to destruction and back to creation
again. The Goddess’s distinct iconographic forms are expressions of her multiple nature. She has both benevolent and pacific as
well as wrathful and terrifying qualities. Her benevolent manifestations include Uma, Gauri, Parvati, Lakshmi, Sarasvati; her terrify¬
ing ones include Chamunda, Kali, Durga, the Mahavidyas, the Yoginis, and Matrikas.
In the Shakta tantras Shakti becomes Parashakti, the supreme reality who before manifesting through the physical world remains
in a state of unmanifest repose. In this respect she is ineffable and indescribable. She is worshipped as Mahamaya or Mahadevi in
addition to the numerous epithets that emphasize the myriad facets of her all-pervading nature.
The acknowledgment and worship of the nature of reality as female, as the mobilizing energizing primordial force called Shakti,
speaks strongly to the inherently autonomous nature of women. This concept of divinity as female ultimately lies in the biological
reality of the female body, in particular the power of the womb. Today statues, YANTRAS, and other iconic objects of Shakti wor¬
ship are not mere representations of Goddess and her ultimate power, but rather embodiments of her Shakti.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Moon is the mirror that reflects the light of the Sun. In the highest connection the Sun symbolizes Being and Reality and God,
and the Moon Consciousness and its creative power.
The Sakti or “Power” of a God represents the God in his beings, creative aspect, and is generally conceived mythologically as the
God’s Consort. In some cases the Animal of a God is partially identified with his Sakti.
Wikipedia
Evolution
According to the Vedic seers, or rishis, a woman’s femininity cannot exist apart from her Shakti, and Shakti is a metaphor for wom¬
anhood.
The Shakti goddess is also known as Amma (meaning ‘mother’) in south India, especially in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
Andhra Pradesh. There are many temples devoted to various incarnations of the Shakti goddess in most of the villages in South
India. The rural people believe that Shakti is the protector of the village, the punisher of evil people, the curer of diseases, and the
one who gives welfare to the village. They celebrate Shakti Jataras with a lot of hue and great interest once a year. Some exam¬
ples of incarnations are Gangamma, Aarti, Kamakshamma, Kanakadurga, Mahalakshmammma, Meeenakshamma, Poleramma
and Perantalamma.
Shakti temples
There are 51 important centres of Shakti worship located in the Indian sub-continent, which are located in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal,
Bangladesh, Tibet and Pakistan. These are called Shakti Peethas. Most Shakti peethas have since developed into famous temple
complexes, including: Amarnatha (Jammu and Kashmir), Jwalaji (Himachal), “Tara Tarini” (Berhampur, Orissa), Katyayani (Chat-
tarpur, Delhi), Kamakhya (Assam), Naina Devi (Himachal), Manasa devi (Chandigarh).
Main pithas in are Tuljapur (Jagdamba), Kolhapur (Mahlaxmi), vani- Nashik(sptashrungi), Mahurgad (Renukamata).
Adi-Shakti or Adi Shakti is a Hindu concept of the ultimate Shakti, the ultimate feminine power inherent in all Creation. This is es¬
pecially prevalent in the Shakta denomination within Hinduism, which worships the Goddess Devi in all Her manifestations.
Bhajans and Mantras
There are many ancient Shakti devotional songs and vibrational chants in the Hindu and Sikh traditions. The recitation of the San¬
skrit bij mantra MA is commonly used to call upon the Divine Mother, the Shakti, as well as the Moon.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
Brahman and Sakti are identical, like fire and its power to bum. When we talk of fire we automatically mean also its power to burn.
Again, the fire’s power to burn implies the fire itself. If you accept the one you must accept the other.
Women are, all of them, the veritable images of Sakti. In northwest India the bride holds a knife in her hand at the time of mar¬
riage; in Bengal, a nut-cutter. The meaning is that the bridegroom, with the help of the bride, who is the embodiment of the Divine
Power, will sever the bondage of illusion. This is the ‘heroic’ attitude. I never worshipped the Divine Mother that way. My attitude
toward Her is that of a child toward its mother.
“The bride is the very embodiment of Sakti. Haven’t you noticed, at the marriage ceremony, how the groom sits behind like an
idiot? But the bride - she is so bold!”
That which is Brahman is verily Sakti. I address That, again, as the Mother. I call It Brahman when It is inactive, and Sakti when It
creates, preserves, and destroys. It is like water, sometimes still and sometimes covered with waves. The Incarnation of God is a
part of the lila of Sakti.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
In the earlier stages the mind reverts to the search at long intervals; with continued practice it reverts at shorter intervals until final¬
ly it does not wander at all. It is then that the dormant sakti manifests. The satvic mind is free from thoughts whereas the rajasic
mind is full of them. The sattvic mind resolves itself into the Life-current.
The Heart is the Self. It is not within or without. The mind is Its sakti. After the emergence of the mind, the universe appears and
the body is seen to be contained in it. Whereas all these are contained in the Self and they cannot exist apart from the Self.
See: Siva and shakti
See also:
Avarana and vikshepa
Jnana and yoga
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
sakti - from sak - “to be able”.
Wikipedia
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - “to be able,” meaning sacred force or empowerment.
Related words
Maya
Siva
Sanskrit
Sakti — ?TTfrT
sakti -
Shastra
Variant spellings
sastra
shastra
sastra
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sastra — ... scripture; teaching; doctrine; treatise.
1. The sacred books of Indian thought are divided into four categories: primary scripture (Sruti—’’that which is heard”), secondary
scripture (Smrti—’’that which is remembered”), historical and mythological (Purana), epics (Ithihasa), and Tantra.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sastra -
an order, command, precept, rule;
teaching, instruction, direction, advice, good counsel;
any instrument of teaching, any manual or compendium of rules, any bock or treatise, (esp.) any religious or scientific treatise,
any sacred book or composition of divine authority (applicable even to the Veda, and said to be of fourteen or even eighteen kinds
[see under vidya]; the word sastra is often found after the word denoting the subject of the book, or is applied collectively to whole
departments of knowledge e.g. vedanta-sastra, a work on the Vedanta philosophy or the whole body of teaching on that subject;
dharma-s..., a law-book or whole body of written laws; kavya-s..., a poetical work or poetry in general; silpi-s..., works on the me¬
chanical arts; kama-s..., erotic compositions; alarhkara s..., rhetoric, &c.);
a body of teaching (in general), scripture, science
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shastra ... is a term for any authoritative scripture in the Brahminical or Hindu tradition. For example, the ARTHASHASTRA is an
authoritative scripture on artha (worldly action) as it relates to a king. The DHARMASHASTRA is authoritative scripture concerning
DHARMA (right conduct).
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The Hindu Sastras (scriptures) are classified into Sruti, Smrti, Purana, and Tantra; the last three assume the first as their base, in
fact, they are merely special presentments of it for the respective ages: Sruti for the Satya Yuga; Smrti for the Treta Yuga; Purana
for the Dvapara Yuga; and Tantra for the Kali Yuga. The orthodox view is that the means used during the Satya Yuga became
void of power; therefore, a new interpretation had to be given for each age in order to meet the needs of environment and the
temperament and capacity of men living in each age. Sruti is that knowledge which is seen by the rsis (sages), therefore without
authorship; Smrti is that knowledge which has been remembered by the rsis (sages); the Puranas preserved the teachings and
doctrines of the Veda for the declining intelligence and spirituality of men by means of mythology and stories; the Tantra is the
universal scripture (sastra) for this age and is therefore considered as a Yuga Sastra. It is only a reinterpretation of the Veda for
modern man and therefore is frequently called the Fifth Veda (the Mahabharata is also frequently called by this name).
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shastra (“order”). A shastra is the name given to a technical treatise explaining the standards of a particular cultural or artistic
discipline in Hinduism, as in Bharata’s Natyashastra, a technical manual that discusses dance and the theater. When it is placed
at the end of a compound (as in “Shilpa Shastra”), the word shastra can also serve to denote the whole body of teaching on that
particular subject. All of the classical arts were placed under well-defined canons, each with its own specific rules and standards
to guide artists: Sculpture and architecture were under Shilpa Shastra, music under Sangita shastra, and dance and theater under
Natya shastra. Given the prevailing emphasis on upholding such strict rules, artistic genius meant doing something unusual within
the larger confines of the tradition rather than creating something entirely new or original.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
sastra - from the verb root sas =’to rule, teach”.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
shastra from shas, to order or enjoin.
Related words
Puranas
Smriti
Sruti
Sanskrit
Sastra — ff(H
sastra -
Shreyas
Variant spellings
sreyas
shreyas
sreyas
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sreyas— ... good; beneficial.
1. In the Upanisads there is a distinction made between preyas, what is pleasing or pleasurable, and sreyas, what is good or truly
beneficial. One is warned never to be lured away by the merely pleasing, for there is no end to the pursuit of pleasure.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sreyas -
more splendid or beautiful, more excellent or distinguished, superior, preferable, better, better than;
most excellent, best;
propitious, well disposed to (gen.);
auspicious, fortunate, conducive to welfare or prosperity;
(in astron.) N. of the second MuhGrta;
of the third month;
(with Jainas) N. of the 11th Arhat of the present AvasarpinT;
N. of a deity of the Bodhi tree;
the better state, the better fortune or condition (sometimes used when the subject of a sentence would seem to require the masc.
form);
good (as opp. to ' evil ‘), welfare, bliss, fortune, happiness;
the bliss of final emancipation, felicity;
better, rather, rather than;
N. of a Saman
Descriptions
Shreyas and preyas
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
What are sreyas and preyas?
Perennial values belonging to humanity as a whole are called sreyas. Preyas is that which belongs to our here and now achieve¬
ments of an earthly nature. Arjuna was looked upon by all as a great hero of matchless chivalry. If he now leaves the battlefield
he will be looked upon as a coward. He will not gain any merit, nor achieve the goal of averting bloodshed and death among his
relatives. Preyas for him is gaining victory, the kingdom, riches, fame, and the like. If he runs away, he will lose all these. Sreyas
for him is wisdom, or higher knowledge that leads to realization. If he does not attend to the necessary requirements to actualize
his immediate goals and natural obligations, he will also lose track of his higher wisdom, by which alone he can see all as his Self,
and that he is all as the one Self without a second.
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
There are three grades of values: the first belongs to the mundane world, the second to the hypostatic world of imagination, and
the third transcends the first and second worlds of values and remains identified with the eternal Self. Mundane values are called
preyas. They are perishable. Hypostatic imaginative values are called sreyas. They are also perishable. The supreme kind of im¬
perishable value is nisreyas. The mark of nisreyas is total freedom from all bondage, physical or mental.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
Shreyas and preyas are the two things which man has to make a choice between. In the Kathopanishad it is said:
“Those who are endowed with wisdom prefer shreyas to preyas, for shreyas takes us to spiritual enlightenment while preyas
brings in material (worldly) prosperity. How rightly is now Arjuna coming round when he prayed to the Lord that he should be in¬
structed to attain shreyas (and not preyas).”
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Katha Upanishad
Yama: One is good, while another is pleasant. These two having different objects chain a man. Blessed is he who, between them
chooses the good alone, but he who chooses what is pleasant, loses the true end.
Yama: The good and the pleasant take hold of man; the wise man examines and distinguishes them. The wise man prefers the
good (Sreya) to the pleasant, but the ignorant man chooses the pleasant (Preya) for the sake of the body.
Yama: The ignorant, who live in the midst of darkness but fancy themselves as wise and learned, go round and round deluded in
many crooked ways, as blind people led by the blind.
Yama: He (the Self) of whom many are not even able to hear, whom many, even when they hear of him, do not comprehend;
wonderful is a man, when found, who is able to teach the Self; wonderful is he who comprehends the Self, when taught by an able
teacher.
Yama: This knowledge is not to be obtained by argument, but it is easy to understand it, O dearest, when taught by a teacher who
beholds no difference; thou hast obtained it now; thou art fixed in truth. May we have, O Nachiketas, an enquirer like thee!
Related words
Preyas
Sanskrit
Sr eyas —
sreyas -
Siddhi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Siddhi — ... powers; modes of success; attainment; supernatural powers attained through mantra repetition, meditation, and other
yogic practices.
1. There are eight traditional powers: anima, laghima, garima, mahima, praptih,prakamyam, vasitvam.andyatrakamavasayitvam.
These are the capacity to grow small and penetrate all things; lightness or the ability to rise up; extreme heaviness; extensive
magnitude; extreme reach; obtaining all the objects of one’s desire; infallibility of purpose.
2. Other powers include the ability to fly (dardura); the conquest of death (mrtyunjaya); the ability to acquire hidden treasure (pata-
la-siddhi); the ability to fly over the earth (bhucari); the ability to enter into another’s body (kaya-siddhi); the ability to fly in the sky
(khecari); knowledge of the past, present, and future (trikala-jnana); the power to die at will (iccha-mrtyu), the power to be free
from hunger, thirst, sorrows, infatuation, infirmity, old age, and death {anurmima-tvam), the ability to hear even at long distances
(durasravana), the ability to see even at long distances (durdarsana), the ability to move the body as quickly as the mind (mano-
java), the ability to take any form one wishes (kamarGpa), the ability to enter into another person’s body (parakaya-pravesa), the
ability to die when one wishes (svacchandamrtyu), the ability to see the sportive activities of the gods (deva-krdadarsana), the
ability to attain things of one’s predetermination (sankalpa-padartha-prapti), the ability to command anyone to do anything (aprati-
hata-adesa).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
siddhi -
accomplishment, performance, fulfilment, complete attainment (of any object), success;
the hitting of a mark;
healing (of a disease), cure by;
coming into force, validity;
settlement, payment, liquidation (of a debt);
establishment, substantiation, settlement, demonstration, proof, indisputable conclusion, result, issue;
decision, adjudication, determination (of a lawsuit);
solution of a problem;
preparation, cooking, maturing, maturity;
readiness;
prosperity, personal success, fortune, good luck, advantage;
supreme felicity, bliss, beatitude, complete sanctification (by penance &c.), final emancipation, perfection;
vanishing, making one’s self invisible;
a magical shoe (supposed to convey the wearer wherever he likes);
the acquisition of supernatural powers by magical means or the supposed faculty so acquired (the eight usually enumerated
are given in the following sloka, anima laghima praptih prakamyam mahima tatha Tsitvarh ca vasitvarh ca tatha kamavasayita
Page1216,3; sometimes 26 are added e.g. dura-sravana, sarvajna-tva, agni-stambha &c.);
any unusual skill or faculty or capability;
skill in general, dexterity, art;
efficacy, efficiency;
understanding, intellect;
becoming clear or intelligible (as sounds or words);
(in rhet.) the pointing out in the same person of various good qualities (not usually united);
(prob.) a work of art;
a kind of medicinal root;
(in music) a partic. Sruti;
a partic. Yoga (either the 16th or 19th);
Success or Perfection personified;
N. of Durga;
of a daughter of Daksha and wife of Dharma;
of the wife of Bhaga and mother of Mahiman;
of a friend of Danu;
of one of the wives of Ganesa;
N. of Siva
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Few aspects of Hindu tradition have caused more mystification, either innocent or intentional, than the teachings regarding the
Ashtasiddhi or “eight achievements” of Yoga, and few teachings have caused so much misunderstanding, often with serious con¬
sequences, as these. The Siddhis, that is, literally, “achievements, perfections, satisfactions”, are often called “the abnormal” Yo-
gic Powers”. Actually, of course, there is nothing “abnormal” in them. Like everything else, these “powers” become abnormal only
by misunderstanding and misuse. ... The Siddhis indicate Mastery over the Seven Spheres, from the Earth to the Sun-Sphere. It
is the task of the spiritual aspirant on the Path of Return to God-Reality to acquire the Siddhis; he should strive to be initiated into
them.
The Eight Siddhis or Achievements of Yoga are the following. After each Sanskrit name the current, often most contradictory, ren¬
derings or interpretations are given between inverted commas. From these traditional fragments the truth shines forth. The Siddhis
are:
1. Anima: “the power to identify oneself with the smallest atom”, “the power to project oneself into the smallest atom”. It is the
mastery over the Element Earth. In it the Creative Power is projected and broken up to the utmost. It is the power of analysis,
which has special application in material science. Ani is the point of a needle, Anu means atomic, and is also a name of Siva, in
his aspect of God of the Earth.
2. Prakamya: “the capacity to derive enjoyment from everything heard or seen”, “the power to exercise an irresistible will upon the
minds of others”, “the power to obtain more than one expects”, “the property to enter into the body of another”, “the power to main¬
tain a youthful appearance for an unusual length of time”. It is the mastery over the Element Water, the emotional or astral plane.
Kama is Eros. The traditional renderings all refer to different aspects of the Element Water, which is also the plane of the emotion¬
al aspect of sex. Will or desire in various forms, youth, enjoyment, are characteristics of this plane. “The property to enter into the
body of another” is not in the least a miraculous power. Great love and full sympathy with a person imply that power, which, for
once, may even be taken almost literally. Physical birth is determined on the emotional or astral plane in two different ways.
3. Mahima: “the power to expand one’s consciousness to the largest atom or form”, “power, might, glory”. It is the power of “great¬
ness”, referring to the Element Fire, the mental plane. It is the mastery over thought, over the lower mind, over the creative urges
of that mind. The attainment of this mastery truly implies “greatness”. It has been seen before, how height is the dimension which
symbolizes this plane. It also requires greatness to overcome the adversaries on this plane, which in myths and fairy-tales take the
form of giants, and which are known to modern psychology as forms of inflation.
4. Laghima: “the power of levitation”, “the power to render the body light at will”. This achievement is the mastery over the Ele¬
ment Air, the plane of Buddhi or spiritual discrimination. The soul, by rising up into the Air, obtains a “bird’s-eye view” of the lower
planes. The mastery over Air may also take another form. Tradition gives alternatively another Siddhi, called Garima. The Yo-
ga-Vasishta (Via; 81; 45) describes it as follows: “If by the practice of Puraka (filling up with air, that is to say, inbreathing) one
can succeed in filling up the Kundalini-nadi with Prana, and letting it remain there without any outflow, one’s body will become as
heavy as a mountain, in addition to becoming vast”. ... It refers to the fact that the true greatness of the mind, bringing expansion
of personality and influence, is due to the Spirit. Garima further means “dignity, venerableness”.
5. Prapti: “the power to give indefinite extension to the subtle body or its members”, “the power to obtain any desired objective
anywhere”, “the connection of a being with his organs as their presiding deity, known as attainment”, “success in obtaining all de¬
sired objects and powers”, “arrival at the goal, deliverance, discovery, good fortune, joyful attaining”. In all these various traditional
interpretations a fragment of the meaning has been preserved for this as well as for the other Siddhis. This particular achievement
refers to Mastery, or rulership of the Ether-Sphere. The presiding deity is Indra or Jupiter, the Lord of the indriyas or organs. A per¬
son’s essential nature in the Ether Sphere should rule his functions on the lower planes. This power of Mastery implies the discov¬
ery of Heaven, the attainment of joy and deliverance.
6. Isatva or Isita: “rulership”, “the power to control and create”. It is the power of and over Maya, granted by the Goddess of Maya.
It is a power either for creation, multiplication, manifestation, or for simplification and dissolution by purification and unveiling of
Consciousness. The word means “God-hood”. It refers to Sakti, Creative Power, the Great Goddess, the Moon-Sphere.
7. Vasitva or Vasita: “the power of command and control, resulting from non-attachment to objects”, “self-control”, “self-restraint
and power over the elements”. Indeed, it is the Power which controls Maya, and the Achievement of that Power. It controls and
restrains the All contained in the self, and the self contained in the All. It refers to Siva, the Lord of Maya, the Sun.
8. Kamavasayita: “consummation of any and every desire”, “the power of suppressing desire”. It is the Achievement of the fulfil¬
ment of the Heart’s supreme desire, which is the liberation from bondage and the salvation from suffering by the annihilation of all
desire. It is God-Realization. It is the Power which subdues the Primordial Kama or Desire, the Primal cause of Existence, and the
Achievement of the Return unto GOD, Parabrahman, the Beyond, about Which or Whom man can only stammer “neti, neti”, that is
“not this, not this”. It is Nirvana.
It is obvious that these Achievements or Powers, except the highest, can be misused. In fact, they are being gravely misused all
the time, in as far as they are not yet truly achievements or perfections. In other words, their partial acquirement constitutes mis¬
use, for perfection rules out the possibility of misuse. Yet, from another point of view, every one of these achievements is capable
of being misused, as long as the next higher achievement has not yet been attained. The fact is, of course, that there cannot really
be seven or eight, or even two or three perfections. There can be only Perfection, the perfection of a truly harmonized and aligned
state of being which is symbolized as Sonship. Every one of the seven or eight Achievements by itself is only a partial achieve¬
ment, from the point of view of the ideal to be attained. Hence the scriptures stress that the Goal is Siddhi, in the singular.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali s Yoga
When a desire comes to our minds, it is immediately followed by a question: “Is it possible to fulfill that desire?” If it is possible,
we get the answer, “It is attainable.” Attainment in Sanskrit is siddhi. The attainability of what is desired resides in its means. The
means for attainment is called sadhanam. The person who endeavors to exploit the means of attainment is a sadhaka. The action
or discipline that is implemented to actualize the attainment is sadhana. Thus, the possibility, means to be exploited, the aspirant
who acts, the discipline or procedure of action, and attainment are five interrelated factors.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
Occult powers
(To the devotees) “By ‘siddhi’ I mean the attainment of the spiritual goal and not one of the eight occult powers. About the occult
powers, Sri Krishna said to Arjuna, ‘Friend, if you find anyone who has acquired even one of the beget pride, and God cannot be
realized if there is the slightest trace of pride.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
There was a talk in Bhagavan’s presence today about siddhas. Some people said, amongst other things, that someone had tried
to attain siddhi and had succeeded. After hearing them all patiently for a long time, Bhagavan said in a tone of annoyance, “You
talk of siddhas. You say they attain something from somewhere. For that purpose they do sadhana and tapas. Is it not really a
siddhi or attainment for us who are really formless to have got a body with eyes, legs, hands, nose, ears, mouth and to be doing
something or other with that body? We are siddhas. We get food, if we want food; water, if we want water; milk, if we want milk.
Are not all these siddhis? While we experience ever so many siddhis at all times, why do you clamour for more siddhis? What else
is required?”
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
siddhi - from the verb root sidh = “to attain”.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
siddhi - present part, of the root sidh, to be accomplished, succeed.
Related words
Sadhana
Yoga
Sanskrit
Siddhi -
siddhi -
Sishya
Variant spellings
sishya
shishya
sisya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sisya— ... disciple; student.
1. One who is taught by the teacher (siksyata iti sisyah).
2. One who has become improved/introverted as a result of study of the scriptures (athava sisyate visisyate sastradi parijnanena
bahirmukhapeksaya iti sis).
3. One who controls and curbs the activities of one’s own sense organs (indriyadi pravrtim siksyati iti sisyah).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sisya -
to be taught;
to be instructed;
a pupil, scholar, disciple;
passion, anger;
violence
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
The bipolar Guru-Sishya relationship requires not only a genuine Brahman-knowing Guru, but also an enthusiastic or earnest dis¬
ciple. Only then can the Word of the Guru be elaborated. And in conforming to this genuine relationship, the Sishya on his part has
to fulfil certain preliminary requirements.
These, in the Vedanta context are often referred to as the six graces or treasures (sat-sampatti). He must first of all be prepared to
listen and not be in a hurry to teach himself. He has thus to submit himself to a self-imposed period of preliminary silence, similar
to that imposed in the Pythagorean communities at Crotona (the ‘Mystike Siote’). This patient waiting must be of a positive, alert
and actively waking kind, and not just a sloppy succumbing into the torpor of laziness. The ego has to be held back or encour¬
aged, as required, stage by stage, to positive inner adjustment. Besides the truthfulness, purity and love of wisdom for its own
sake which constitutes the pedestal or base upon which the statue of the seeker, the Brahmacharin or Sishya is to be erected,
there is also implied in these six qualities a certain rigorous immunity to hardships, an adaptability, and a stamina that is uncom¬
plaining and capable of smiling under duress. ... The typical Sishya of the Upanishads is often an interesting study himself. He is a
Devadatta (God-given) or a Satyakama (passionate lover of truth), and usually of tender years.
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Sishya - A disciple, specifically a seeker of wisdom who is willing to be disciplined by a Guru.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. The word of the Guru
... the Sishya ... has to fulfil certain preliminary requirements.
These, in the Vedanta context are often referred to as the six graces or treasures (sat-sampatti). He must first of all be prepared to
listen and not be in a hurry to teach himself. He has thus to submit himself to a self-imposed period of preliminary silence, similar
to that imposed in the Pythagorean communities at Crotona (the ‘Mystike Siote’). This patient waiting must be of a positive, alert
and actively waking kind, and not just a sloppy succumbing into the torpor of laziness. The ego has to be held back or encour¬
aged, as required, stage by stage, to positive inner adjustment. Besides the truthfulness, purity and love of wisdom for its own
sake which constitutes the pedestal or base upon which the statue of the seeker, the Brahmacharin or Sishya is to be erected,
there is also implied in these six qualities a certain rigorous immunity to hardships, an adaptability, and a stamina that is uncom¬
plaining and capable of smiling under duress. ... The typical Sishya of the Upanishads is often an interesting study himself. He is a
Devadatta (God-given) or a Satyakama (passionate lover of truth), and usually of tender years.
Traditionally, the aspiring youth arrives at the abode of the Guru who generally lives away from society in a forest hermitage. The
future Sishya is expected to bring a token bundle of firewood as a sign of his willingness to submit to the household discipline re¬
quired of him when he enters the Gurukula (the family of the Guru) 16, He proves in this way that he is one who has sacrificed all
for the wisdom that he prizes more than family and friends...
So, like a stray animal pleading for adoption, he appears of his own accord at the Guru’s threshold. He is docile, of good manners
and of pleasant mien. He is earnest enough and zealous to pay the utmost price for the wisdom he seeks; willing, if need be, to
give the loyalty of a lifetime. He does not know wisdom in its completion, but he is aware that there is wisdom. He has, as it were,
a foretaste of its value, known in a vague way, and this inkling gives him the impetus, enabling him to take the ultimate step to
discover it with whole-hearted aim, come what may. All this is understood and symbolically implied when he knocks at the Guru’s
door. Thus he is deeply sensitive, but neither timid nor hesitant.
The Brahmacharin of tradition rises before the sun and usually has his morning dip in the nearest river or lake. There is nothing
severe about this in a tropical climate. At early dawn he is ready for service at the Guru’s bedside. Various kinds of service are
exacted from him in keeping with his character as a student. Begging is not taboo provided it is just as much as is needed for ele¬
mentary bodily needs.
Competition with others in this connection is forbidden, as may be seen from the story of Aruni who was reprimanded by the Guru,
as mentioned in the Mahabharata. Extreme tests are sometimes applied 18 until the mutual adoption between the Sishya and the
Guru becomes firmly established. It is an educative process, a drawing out, and, without the essential bi-polar adoption recog¬
nized on both sides, it must fail....
The testing period over, and adoption complete, proved by service to the Guru or by other methods, all is ready for the instruc¬
tion, which generally takes but a little time to give. The mantra (sacred syllable or word) is given to the disciple, the Maha-vakyas
(Grand Aphorisms) are bestowed, and the climax of the relationship is reached.
There is glory in being a Guru, but by its own terms there is greater glory in being a Sishya. The willingness, submission, discipline
and extra good breeding implied in the tender strength of the personality of the Brahmacharin is no less a marvel than that of Gu¬
ru hood.
See: Guru-sishya relationship
Etymology
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shishya (“to be taught”). A word that in its literal meaning can refer to any student but in its most common sense refers to the dis¬
ciple of a religious instructor (guru).
Related words
Brahmacarin
Guru
Gurukula
Sanskrit
Sisya — HhM
sisya - STf^T
Siva
Name
Siva
Shiva
Siva -
Siva — f^TcT
General
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit word Shiva (Devanagari: 3Tf%, siva) is an adjective meaning “pure”. As a proper name it means “The Auspicious
One”, used as a name for Rudra. In simple English transliteration it is written either as Shiva or Siva. The adjective siva, meaning
“auspicious”, is used as an attributive epithet not particularly of Rudra, but of several other Vedic deities.
The Sanskrit word saiva means “relating to the god Shiva”, and this term is the Sanskrit name both for one of the principal sects of
Hinduism and for a member of that sect. It is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism.
Adi Sankara, in his interpretation of the name Shiva, the 27th and 600th name of Vishnu sahasranama, the thousand names of
Vishnu interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings: “The Pure One”, or “the One who is not affected by three Gunas of Prakrti
(Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas)” or “the One who purifies everyone by the very utterance of His name.” Swami Chinmayananda, in his
translation of Vishnu sahasranama, further elaborates on that verse: Shiva means “the One who is eternally pure” or “the One who
can never have any contamination of the imperfection of Rajas and Tamas”. Shiva is considered as the Hindu God who has no
Aadi or Anta i.e. no birth/death.
Shiva’s role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahadeva (“Great God”; maha = Great + deva = God),
Maheshvara (“Great Lord”; maha = Great + Tshvara = Lord), and Parameshvara (“Supreme Lord”).
There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, devotional hymns (stotras) listing many names of Shiva. The
version appearing in Book 13 (Anusasanaparvan) of the Mahabharata is considered the kernel of this tradition. Shiva also has
Dasha-Sahasranamas (10,000 names) that are found in the Mahanyasa. The Shri Rudram Chamakam, also known as the Sata-
rudriya, is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names.
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Siva — ... auspicious; the Ultimate Reality; Lord.
1. According to the Saiva schools, Siva is the supreme Godhead. The concept is traced to the Rg Veda and He is the same as
Rudra.
2. Literally siva means “good or auspicious.”
3. Lord Siva exercises five functions: creation (srsti), maintenance (sthiti),dissolution (samhara), obscuration (tirodhana), and
grace (anugraha).
4. According to Saiva Siddhanta, Siva has eight qualities: independence, purity, self-knowledge, omniscience, freedom from mala,
boundless benevolence, omnipotence, and bliss.
5. According to Saiva Siddhanta, Siva appears in eight forms: earth, water, air, fire, sky, the sun and the moon, and in human be¬
ings. See the benedictory (nandl)verse of the Abhijnana-sakuntala of Kalidasa.
6. According to Vira Saivism, Siva manifests in six forms...
7. A a name for the all-pervasive supreme Reality. As one member of the Hindu trinity, He represents God as the destroyer. He
is the personal God of the Saivites. In His personal form, He is portrayed as a yogi wearing a tiger skin and holding a trident, with
snakes coiled around His neck and arms.
8. According to Kashmir Savism, Siva has five principles: Vidya, Tsvara, Sadasiva, Sakti, and Siva. He also has five faces: Sadyo-
jata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusa, and Tsana.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
siva -
(‘in whom all things lie’; perhaps connected with root svi ...) auspicious, propitious, gracious, favourable, benign, kind, benevolent,
friendly, dear;
happy, fortunate;
happiness, welfare;
liberation, final emancipation;
The Auspicious one’, N. of the disintegrating or destroying and reproducing deity (who constitutes the third god of the Hindu
Trimurti or Triad, the other two being Brahma ‘the creator’ and Vishnu’the preserver’; in the Veda the only N. of the destroying de-
ity was Rudra ‘the terrible god’, but in later times it became usual to give that god the euphemistic N. Siva <the auspicious) [just as
the Furies were called <the gracious ones>], and to assign him the office of creation and reproduction as well as dissolution; in fact
the preferential worship of Siva as developed in the Puranas and Epic poems led to his being identified with the Supreme Being by
his exclusive worshippers [calledSaivas]; in his character of destroyer he is sometimes called Kala <black>, and is then also iden¬
tified with <Time>, although his active destroying function is then oftener assigned to his wife under her name Kali, whose formida¬
ble character makes her a general object of propitiation by sacrifices; as presiding over reproduction consequent on destruction
Siva>s symbol is the Linga or Phallus, under which form he is worshipped all over India at the present day; again one of his rep¬
resentations is as Ardha-narT, <half-female>, the other half being male to symbolize the unity of the generative principle ...; he has
three eyes, one of which is in his forehead, and which are thought to denote his view of the three divisions of time, past, present,
and future, while a moon>s crescent, above the central eye, marks the measure of time by months, a serpent round his neck the
measure by years, and a second necklace of skulls with other serpents about his person, the perpetual revolution of ages, and the
successive extinction and generation of the races of mankind: his hair is thickly matted together, and gathered above his forehead
into a coil; on the top of it he bears the Ganges, the rush of which in its descent from heaven he intercepted by his head that the
earth might not be crushed by the weight of the falling stream; his throat is dark-blue from the stain of the deadly poison which
would have destroyed the world had it not been swallowed by him on its production at the churning of the ocean by the gods for
the nectar of immortality; he holds a tri-sGla, or three-pronged trident [also called Pinaka] in his hand to denote, as some think, his
combination of the three attributes of Creator, Destroyer, and Regenerator; he also carries a kind of drum, shaped like an hour¬
glass, called Damaru: his attendants or servants are called Pramatha; they are regarded as demons or supernatural beings of
different kinds, and form various hosts or troops called Ganas; his wife Durga [otherwise called Kali, ParvatT, Uma, Gaurl, BhavanT
&c.] is the chief object of worship with the Saktas and Tantrikas, and in this connection he is fond of dancing [see tandava] and
wine-drinking; he is also worshipped as a great ascetic and is said to have scorched the god of love (Kama-deva) to ashes by a
glance from his central eye, that deity having attempted to inflame him with passion for ParvatT whilst he was engaged in severe
penance; in the exercise of his function of Universal Destroyer he is fabled to have burnt up the Universe and all the gods, includ¬
ing Brahma and Vishnu, by a similar scorching glance, and to have rubbed the resulting ashes upon his body, whence the use of
ashes in his worship, while the use of the Rudraksha berries originated, it is said, from the legend that Siva, on his way to destroy
the three cities, called Tri-pura, let fall some tears of rage which became converted into these beads: his residence or heaven is
Kailasa, one of the loftiest northern peaks of the Himalaya; he has strictly no incarnations like those of Vishnu, though Vlra-bhadra
and the eight Bhairavas and KhanDo-ba &c. are sometimes regarded as forms of him; he is especially worshipped at Benares
and has even more names than Vishnu, one thousand and eight being specified in the 69th chapter of the Siva-Purana and in the
17th chapter of the Anuzasana-parvan of the Maha-bharata, some of the most common being Maha-deva, Sambhu, Sarhkara, Isa,
Isvara, Mahesvara, Hara; his sons are Ganesa and Karttikeya);
a kind of secondSiva (with Saivas), a person who has attained a partic. stage of perfection or emancipation;
any god;
a euphemistic N. of a jackal;
sacred writings;
(in astron.) N. of the sixth month;
a post for cows (to which they are tied or for them to rub against);
the fragrant bark of Feronia Elephantum L;
a kind of thorn-apple;
quicksilver;
a partic. auspicious constellation;
demon who inflicts diseases;
the swift antelope;
rum, spirit distilled from molasses;
buttermilk;
a ruby;
a peg;
time;
N. of a son of Medhatithi;
of a prince and various authors;
of a fraudulent person;
the god Siva and his wife;
pi. N. of a class of gods in the third Manvantara;
of a class of Brahmans who have attained a partic. degree of perfection like that of Siva
welfare, prosperity, bliss;
final emancipation;
water;
rock-salt;
sea-salt;
a kind of borax;
iron;
sandal;
N. of a Purana;
of the house in which the Pandavas were to be burnt
Wikipedia
Shiva (/'Jive/; Sanskrit: Siva, meaning “auspicious one”) is a major Hindu deity, and is the Destroyer or Transformer among
the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine.
Shiva is one in whom the Universe ‘sleeps’ in a boundless void after destruction, before re-birth and during its existence. Shiva
is therefore “eternal and purest”. Thus Shiva is The Reality. Shiva is therefore also The Consciousness (frees from the bonds of
mortal desires); Shiva is The Bliss (roots out sin and fear); Shiva is Auspicious (makes the earth religious and an abode of safety
and peace).
Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power,
he lives a life of a sage at Mount Kailash. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is the Supreme God and has five important
works: creator, preserver, destroyer, concealer, and revealer (to bless). In the Smarta tradition, he is regarded as one of the five
primary forms of God. Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Saiva)
Shaivism, along with Vaisnava traditions that focus on Vishnu and Sakta traditions that focus on the goddess Shakti, is one of the
most influential denominations in Hinduism.
Shiva is usually worshipped in the abstract form of Shiva linga. In images, he is represented as immersed in deep meditation or
dancing the Tandava dance upon Apasmara, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the Lord of the dance. He is
also the father of the deities Ganesha, Murugan (Kartikeya), and Ayyappan (Dharma Sastha).
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shiva, “the beneficent one,” is the divinity at the center of the largest Hindu religious sect. The tradition identifies Shiva with the
Vedic god RUDRA, a fierce divinity who caused diseases of cattle and men and was propitiated out of fear. Rudra was known by
the epithet shiva (as he was known to relent).
Shiva as a separate divinity first appears in the RAMAYANA (c. 600-300 B.C.E.) and MAHABHARATA (c. 700 B.C.E.-100 C.E.)
epics; he is cited in the SHVETASHVATARA UPANISHAD (c. 300 B.C.E.) as the highest divinity. Clearly Shiva has ancient roots
in North India. Some see his form in a seal from the INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (c. 2600 B.C.E.) showing a seated figure with
a buffalo-horned headdress and an erect penis.
It is clear that the worship of Shiva is quite ancient, many centuries more ancient than the first extant SHIVA LINGAM, which dates
to the first century C.E. The LINGAM is an erect penis; it is the aniconic form that represents Shiva in the inner sanctum of virtually
all temples dedicated to him. The lingam is nearly always shown surrounded by a circular stone rim that represents the YONI, or
sexual organ, of the goddess, indicating his association with the divine feminine from a very early time.
In the stories of Shiva he is found first with his wife, SATI, who tragically dies, and then with Sati’s reincarnated form PARVATI.
His divine family includes the amusing elephant-headed god GANESHA, Shiva and Parvati’s elder son, and KARTTIKEYA, the
eternal youth with his peacock vehicle.
The basic Shiva myth depicts him in his youth as a fierce, ascetic naked wanderer with matted locks and smeared with ashes from
human cremation grounds. He gads about willfully, not observing any social convention.
This all changes after the gods learn that only a son of Shiva can defeat the demon that is trying to usurp their power. They send
Parvati to seduce him and then send the god of love to induce him to succumb. The uncooperative Shiva simply burns the god of
love to ashes.
Eventually, however, Shiva does take to Parvati, and their lovemaking is famous in the literature. As they make love in a beautiful
pleasure grove, his passion is so strong that everything in the grove becomes female—including an unfortunate king who happens
into the grove. Shiva’s son was actually born by accident when he spilled his semen into fire. The fire could not contain the ener¬
gy and so gave the seed to the GANGES. She, with all her coolness, could not contain it either, so she abandoned it in a bank of
reeds. There Karttikeya was born, so named because he was weaned and raised as a child by a group of female stars called the
Krittikas. The demon was eventually defeated.
Shiva is famed as Lord of the Dance; as such his NATARAJA form is known to all India and found in grand representation in many
temples. He is also the Lord of chaos, who destroys all the universe with his final dance. But of course he may dance that same
universe into existence again, if he so chooses.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shiva (auspicious). Along with the god Vishnu and the Goddess, one of the three most important deities in the Hindu pantheon.
All three are notable for being virtually absent from the Vedas, and their collective rise to dominance (and the gradual eclipse of
the original Vedic gods) points clearly to a definitive change in the Hindu tradition. Of the three, Shiva is not mentioned at all in
the Veda. He is identified with the god Rudra, who first appears in a few of the late Vedic hymns and who is later identified in the
Shvetashvatara Upanishad as the single supreme deity behind all things. The word Shiva (“auspicious”) first appears in this upani-
shad, but as an adjective modifying the feminine noun body.
Despite Rudra/Shiva’s appearance in the upanishad as a supreme divinity, his position is not clear-cut. He is described as a
master of archery who dwells in the mountains (and thus away from human beings) and is implored not to use his arrows to harm
either man or beast. It is certain that Rudra/Shiva is not a Vedic deity, and some have claimed that his roots lie in the ancient ur¬
ban-cultural center known as the Indus Valley civilization, citing as evidence one of the seals found in Harappa, an ancient city of
Pakistan, which shows a horned figure sitting cross-legged as if in meditation. This identification is possible but hardly compelling.
A more likely possibility is that he entered the pantheon as a god worshiped by ascetics, who have always been associated with
mountain dwellings. His connection with ascetics is reinforced by several ascetic characteristics attributed to Shiva, such as the
matted locks and ash-smeared body. Ascetic origins would also account for his marginal status among the gods, since this would
have rendered him an “outsider” to Vedic sacrificial cult, which was the “established” religion of the time. Shiva’s dramatic entry
into the pantheon comes in the story of the death of his wife Sati. In this story, his father-in-law Daksha’s insulting remarks— that
Shiva was an ascetic with no money, job, or family, and was unfit to join respectable society—finally resulted in the destruction of
Daksha’s sacrifice as a sign of Shiva’s supremacy.
Shiva has retained this ambivalent, sometimes marginal quality in his iconography, his mythology, and his character. Perhaps his
most basic and important characteristic is that he is a divinity whose nature allows him to move beyond the opposing forces (or
dualities) within himself and the world by being at all times the possibility of both forces at once. Shiva can represent both the wild
and dangerous side of life and the respectable and refined side. On the one hand, he is the typical ascetic, with matted hair, ash-
smeared body, and a home on Mount Kailas in the remote Himalayas. On the other hand, he is Hindu society’s ideal for the good
husband, who dotes upon his wife Parvati. His body is adorned with snakes and clothed with a bloody elephant skin, but he also
wears the Ganges River and the crescent moon, which are associated with beauty, purity, and auspiciousness. His mythic deeds
stress his overwhelming power, against which no enemy can stand, and his sudden and sometimes impetuous temper, seen
best in the destruction of Kama, the god of love; yet this sudden violence contrasts with his grace and favor toward his devotees
(bhakta), by whom he is given the name “quickly satisfied” (Ashutosh) and to whom he will give almost everything. Although he is
portrayed as simple and without deceit (as Bholanath, the “simple lord”), he is also traditionally described as the expositor of the
tantras, the most secret and hidden religious practice of all. This transcendence of all opposites can be seen in the images that
commonly represent him: in his form as Nataraja, in which many of these contrary attributes are shown, or as Ardhanarishvara, in
which the image is half male and half female. This transcendence of duality is also visible in the linga, the pillar-shaped object that
is his symbolic form, whose base and shaft are interpreted as symbolizing male and female reproductive organs. Finally, one can
see this transcendence in the tantric conception of the subtle body (the system of psychic centers, or chakras, that run through¬
out the human body), in which religious practice aims for the union of Shiva and Shakti. As Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty points out,
through his actions Shiva embodies all the contradictory possibilities for human experience, and in mythic form provides a resolu¬
tion that one ordinary human life can never provide.
In medieval times Shiva’s devotees developed a doctrine of avatars (incarnations of Shiva who take the form of a variety of saints,
sages, and minor deities who appear on earth to restore balance and perform other necessary acts), probably in response to the
older and better developed notion of avatars of Vishnu. Unlike Vishnu’s avatars, Shiva’s do not seem to have been a way to create
a place for smaller existing deities in the larger pantheon. Of Shiva’s twenty-one avatars, the most important one is Hanuman, who
is the only one with a well-established independent cult. The others were sages (such as Durvasas) and important beings, but the
worship of Shiva’s avatars has never upstaged the worship of Shiva himself, as has often happened with Vishnu.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Sexual symbolism exists widely in the ancient traditions. We read in Genesis, the basic tradition of the Bible (2; 24): “A man. . .
shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” It has been shown in “Evolution, Paradise and the Fall”, that this symboliz¬
es “the mystic marriage”.
The Linga of Siva, standing in the Ark of Sakti, representing the Yoni, symbolizes the Beginning and the End of spirituality or life,
the state of Rest or Peace. In that state Static and Dynamic Godhead — Father and Mother — are One, and the soul is completely
merged in God-Reality. The symbolism of the Linga, fixed immovably in the Receptacle, also implies that— in spite of the show of
the apparent universe — God is perpetually in contact and at One with his Power, the World of Creation. The word “Linga” means
etheric or subtle. The Linga is also the Axis of the Universe of the soul, its base represents the Earth and its head, Heaven. The
Siva-linga is worshipped by communities and people of high spiritual integrity. These have been occasionally accused of “sex-wor¬
ship” by ignorant or mentally impure adherents of other religions, who have happened to come across some semi-pornographic
work about “sex-worship through the ages” (no particular book is meant), or “enlightening” statements of adherents of some mod¬
ern school of psychology. Actually the Linga represents primarily the Spiritual Axis of the World of the soul. Its higher end symbol¬
izes the Spiritual Pole, and its lower end the Pole of Manifestation.
Therefore the lower end symbolizes among other things the power of sex.
The Linga-symbol, which has survived to the present day practically only in the form of the Siva-linga of Hinduism, was known and
revered almost universally in the ancient world. When Jacob poured oil over the stone on which his head had rested during his
sleep experiences, after putting it up right as a pillar (Genesis 28; 18), he performed the same rite which is done in Saiva temples
to-day. The rite does not imply “sex-worship”, but, as will be shown later, its opposite, namely, transmutation of sex...
It has survived in a number of forms; the one best known to the West is the May-pole. The steeples of churches, minarets have,
like the towers of temples, the same symbolism.
Siva and Daksha
For a long time already have students of Hindu mythology recognised in the quarrel between Siva and Daksha a similarity with the
encounter between Cain and Abel. Both myths apply to the first stage of the Fall.
We have so far known Siva as the Destroyer of Maya and Desire and the Enlightener. ... But why was he the Destroyer of Maya
and Desire? He came to this exalted function because he was first the Destroyer of Harmony and Light. Every great quality aris¬
es from the lack of that quality or the opposite quality. ... In some traditions, as of the Egyptian Set, the Son of Light becomes a
Son of Darkness. In others, as of Siva, the Son of Darkness becomes the Lord of Enlightenment. The Vedic name of Siva, Rudra,
means “the Howler, the Roarer, the Terrible”. He inspires fear and is the father of the warlike Maruts. In later tradition Siva is the
blissful Lord of Yogis...
The myth tells us that Siva attempted to kill his brother Brahma, who, being immortal, was only maimed, but Siva finding him af¬
terwards in a mortal shape in the character of Daksha, killed him when he was performing a sacrifice. ... The purpose of this myth
as well as of the story of Cain and Abel is primarily to show the process of the Fall which takes place within the soul. Both brothers
form aspects of the soul of one man. The Fall is a kind of spiritual suicide. Cain killed Abel also when he was performing a sacri¬
fice.
There had subsisted for a time some animosity between Brahma and Siva in their mortal shapes, and the latter on account of his
bad conduct had given much uneasiness to Svayambhuva and Satarupa, for he was libidinous, going about with a large club in his
hand. Siva was the eldest son and indignant at seeing his claim as such disregarded in favour of Brahma. The latter supported it
by such statements which so provoked Siva that Siva in his divine form cut off one of his heads. By the etymology of their names
Svayambhuva and Satarupa may be compared with the Primal Parents Adam and Eve. In Siva’s behaviour we recognize the pri¬
mal sins of “covetousness” and “jealousy”...
In his human shape (sprung from the right thumb of Brahma) we find Daksha boasting that he ruled over mankind. One day in the
assemblage of the Gods, Daksha coming in, they all respectfully arose except Siva, who kept his seat with a dark look. Daksha
resented it and cursed Siva in his human shape, wishing that he might ever remain a vagabond on the face of the earth and or¬
daining that he should be avoided and deprived of his share of the sacrifices and offerings. Siva in his turn cursed Daksha and a
dreadful contest took place, in which the Worlds trembled and the Gods became much alarmed...
Brahma (in his divine shape), Vishnu and all other Gods interfered and separated the two brothers, effecting their reconciliation.
Daksha then gave one of his daughters, Sati, in marriage to Siva. This daughter was an Incarnation of Devi, the Goddess, for Sri-
devi, the wife of Daksha, had entreated the Goddess to give her one daughter exactly like herself, and her prayer had been grant¬
ed.
Daksha and Sridevi had, according to various statements, a hundred, fifty or sixty daughters... But they had no son, a fact which
they both lamented deeply. In order to obtain one they agreed to hold a solemn sacrifice. The daughters symbolize aspects of
Sakti or the Dynamism of Tradition, the wanted son symbolizes the embodied product of the Tradition.
Daksha convened Gods and men for the sacrifice, omitting, however, to invite Siva. Siva took little notice of the slight, but Sati
insisted on going and could not be dissuaded. She was treated so contemptuously by her father Daksha, that she flung herself
into the sacrificial fire, thereby spoiling the rites. Siva on hearing this, blamed her for her rash conduct, impairing a sacrifice, and
cursed her with the necessity to live for a thousand years in an inferior embodiment. We see that at this stage of the myth jealousy
and covetousness have detached themselves from Siva — who is later known for his indifference and detachment — and use as
their dynamic embodiment Sati, the Sakti of Siva. More prominent, however, than covetousness for a share of the sacrifices, and
jealousy at the privileges of the other Gods and men, is the slighted vanity of Sati...
Siva went to Daksha, the embodiment of Brahma, and a struggle ensued in which all the Gods took the side of Daksha. Siva won
the Battle with the help of an army of Demons which he called to his assistance. Daksha “lost his head” and the Sun and the Moon
and other Gods were wounded. In a fit of divine madness resulting from the sorrow experienced at the death of Sati, Siva took her
body, put it on his head and danced frantically seven times round the World, threatening all things with destruction. The plastic,
choreographic and other arts of India of all periods have amply represented Siva’s Tandava or Dance of Destruction. At the re¬
quest of the Devas, Vishnu cut Sati’s body with his Chakra into fifty pieces, which Siva in his dancing scattered in different parts of
the World. The Gods at last succeeded in pacifying and appeasing Siva, who restored Daksha to life at their request, on the con-
dition that he would henceforth worship the symbols of Siva and Sakti. Each place where a part of Sati had fallen, became a place
for the worship of Siva and Sakti.
The myth symbolizes the first spiritual struggle and compromise of the Fall. The Power of Destruction and its Demons win the
day, but are appeased after Karma has worked itself out. The story illustrates the dilaceration of the soul and the fall and scatter¬
ing of its fragments. By worshipping the Goddess in her Resurrected Form, as the Consort of Siva, the God of Enlightenment and
Peace, and by worshipping on a round of pilgrimage at shrine after shrine sacred to Siva and Sakti, the Hindu worshipper collects
the fragments of his soul on his Path to Enlightenment. The Spiritual Path consists of a retracing of the stages of the Path of the
Fall. For the Fallen Man Siva is the Terrible, dancing his Dance of Destruction on Cemetaries and Battlefields, for the Sage Siva is
very Light and Peace and God-Reality, sitting in meditation on his Mountaintop, destroying the Desire which is the cause of Ahan-
karic World-involvement.
Wikipedia
Historical development
The worship of Shiva is a pan-Hindu tradition, practiced widely across all of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Some historians believe
that the figure of Shiva as we know him today was built up over time, with the ideas of many regional sects being amalgamated
into a single figure. ... in Shiva we find the unity of pre-Aryan, Aryan and post-Aryan religious development and an evolution of
synthesis...
Shiva as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god Rudra,[36] and both Shiva and Rudra are viewed as the
same personality in a number of Hindu traditions. Rudra, the god of the roaring storm, is usually portrayed in accordance with the
element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity...
Shiva’s rise to a major position in the pantheon was facilitated by his identification with a host of Vedic deities, including Agni, In-
dra, Prajapati, Vayu, and others.
In the Yajurveda, two contrary sets of attributes for both malignant or terrific (Sanskrit: rudra) and benign or auspicious (Sanskrit:
siva) forms can be found, leading Chakravarti to conclude that “all the basic elements which created the complex Rudra-Siva sect
of later ages are to be found here”. In the Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as “the standard of invincibility, might, and terror”, as
well as a figure of honor, delight, and brilliance.
He is depicted as both an ascetic yogi and as a householder, roles which have been traditionally mutually exclusive in Hindu
society. When depicted as a yogi, he may be shown sitting and meditating. His epithet Mahayogi (“the great Yogi: Maha = “great”,
Yogi = “one who practices Yoga”) refers to his association with yoga. While Vedic religion was conceived mainly in terms of sac¬
rifice, it was during the Epic period that the concepts of tapas, yoga, and asceticism became more important, and the depiction of
Shiva as an ascetic sitting in philosophical isolation reflects these later concepts.
As a family man and householder, he has a wife, Parvati, and two sons, Ganesha and Kartikey. His epithet Umapati (“The hus¬
band of Lima”) refers to this idea...
The five mantras
Five is a sacred number for Shiva. One of his most important mantras has five syllables (namah sivaya).
Shiva’s body is said to consist of five mantras, called the pancabrahmans. As forms of God, each of these have their own names
and distinct iconography:
Sadyojata
Vamadeva
Aghora
Tatpurusha
Tsana
These are represented as the five faces of Shiva and are associated in various texts with the five elements, the five senses, the
five organs of perception, and the five organs of action.
Attributes of Siva
Attributes
Shiva’s form: Shiva has a Trident in the right lower arm, with a crescent moon on his head. He is said to be fair like camphor or
like an ice clad mountain. He has fire and Damaru and Mala or a kind of weapon. He wears five serpents as ornaments. He wears
a garland of skulls. He is pressing with his feet the demon Muyalaka, a dwarf holding a cobra. He faces south. Panchakshara itself
is his body.
Third eye: (Trilochana) Shiva is often depicted with a third eye, with which he burned Desire (Kama) to ashes, called “Tryam-
bakam” (Sanskrit: ^H^+H), which occurs in many scriptural sources. In classical Sanskrit, the word ambaka denotes “an eye”,
and in the Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as three-eyed, so this name is sometimes translated as “having three eyes”. However,
in Vedic Sanskrit, the word amba or ambika means “mother”, and this early meaning of the word is the basis for the translation
“three mothers”. These three mother-goddesses who are collectively called the Ambikas. Other related translations have been
based on the idea that the name actually refers to the oblations given to Rudra, which according to some traditions were shared
with the goddess Ambika.
Crescent moon: (The epithets “Chandrasekhara/Chandramouli”)- Shiva bears on his head the crescent moon. The epithet Chan¬
drasekhara (Sanskrit: “Having the moon as his crest” - chandra = “moon”; sekhara = “crest, crown”) refers to this fea¬
ture. The placement of the moon on his head as a standard iconographic feature dates to the period when Rudra rose to promi¬
nence and became the major deity Rudra-Shiva. The origin of this linkage may be due to the identification of the moon with Soma,
and there is a hymn in the Rig Veda where Soma and Rudra are jointly implored, and in later literature, Soma and Rudra came
to be identified with one another, as were Soma and the moon. The crescent moon is shown on the side of the Lord’s head as an
ornament. The waxing and waning phenomenon of the moon symbolizes the time cycle through which creation evolves from the
beginning to the end. Since the Lord is the Eternal Reality, He is beyond time. Thus, the crescent moon is only one of His orna¬
ments. The wearing of the crescent moon in his head indicates that He has controlled the mind perfectly.
Ashes: (The epithet “Bhasmaanga Raaga”) - Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma). Some forms of Shiva, such as Bhaira-
va, are associated with a very old Indian tradition of cremation-ground asceticism that was practiced by some groups who were
outside the fold of brahmanic orthodoxy. These practices associated with cremation grounds are also mentioned in the Pali can¬
on of Theravada Buddhism. One epithet for Shiva is “inhabitant of the cremation ground” (Sanskrit: smasanavasin, also spelled
Shmashanavasin), referring to this connection.
Matted hair: (The epithet “Jataajoota Dhari/Kapardin”) - Shiva’s distinctive hair style is noted in the epithets Jatin, “the one with
matted hair”, and Kapardin, “endowed with matted hair” or “wearing his hair wound in a braid in a shell-like (kaparda) fashion”. A
kaparda is a cowrie shell, or a braid of hair in the form of a shell, or, more generally, hair that is shaggy or curly. His hair is said to
be like molten gold in color or being yellowish-white.
Blue throat: The epithet Nllakantha (Sanskrit 4)<n'=h u !6; nlla = “blue”, kantha = “throat”) since Shiva drank the Halahala poison
churned up from the Samudra Manthan to eliminate its destructive capacity. Shocked by his act, Goddess Parvathi strangled his
neck and hence managed to stop it in his neck itself and prevent it from spreading all over the universe supposed to be in Shiva’s
stomach. However the poison was so potent that it changed the color of his neck to blue.
Sacred Ganges: (The epithet “Gangadhara”) Bearer of Ganga. Ganges river flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The Gaiiga
(Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva’s hair. The flow of the Ganges also rep¬
resents the nectar of immortality.
Tiger skin: (The epithet “Krittivasan”).He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin, an honour reserved for the most accomplished of
Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis. Tiger represents lust. His sitting on the tiger’s skin indicates that He has conquered lust.
Serpents: (The epithet “Nagendra Haara”). Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake. His wearing of serpents on the neck
denotes wisdom and eternity.
Deer: His holding deer on one hand indicates that He has removed the Chanchalata of the mind (i.e., attained maturity and firm¬
ness in thought process). Deer jumps from one place to another swiftly, similar to the mind moving from one thought to another.
Trident: (Sanskrit: Trishula): Shiva’s particular weapon is the trident. His Trisul that is held in His right hand represents the three
Gunas—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. That is the emblem of sovereignty. He rules the world through these three Gunas. The Damaru
in His left hand represents the Sabda Brahman. It represents OM from which all languages are formed. It is He who formed the
Sanskrit language out of the Damaru sound.
Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a damaru (Sanskrit: damaru). This is one of the attributes of Shiva in
his famous dancing representation known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called damaru-hasta (Sanskrit for “dama-
ru-hand”) is used to hold the drum. This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kapalika sect.
Nandi: (The epithet “Nandi Vaahana”).Nandi, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva’s mount (San¬
skrit: vahana). Shiva’s association with cattle is reflected in his name Pasupati, or Pashupati (Sanskrit: T^TWfy, translated by Shar-
ma as “lord of cattle” and by Kramrisch as “lord of animals”, who notes that it is particularly used as an epithet of Rudra. Rishabha
or the bull represents Dharma Devata. Lord Siva rides on the bull. Bull is his vehicle. This denotes that Lord Siva is the protector
of Dharma, is an embodiment of Dharma or righteousness.
Gana: The Ganas (Devanagari: ^FT) are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailash. They are often referred to as the bhutaganas, or
ghostly hosts, on account of their nature. Generally benign, except when their lord is transgressed against, they are often invoked
to intercede with the lord on behalf of the devotee. Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganesha’s title gana-Isa
or gana-pati, “lord of the ganas”.
Mount Kailasa: Mount Kailash in the Himalayas is his traditional abode. In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailasa is conceived as resem¬
bling a Linga, representing the center of the universe.
Varanasi: Varanasi (Benares) is considered as the city specially loved by Shiva, and is one of the holiest places of pilgrimage in
India. It is referred to, in religious contexts, as Kashi.
Forms and depictions
Nataraja
The depiction of Shiva as Nataraja (... Sanskrit: nataraja, “Lord of Dance”) is popular. The names Nartaka (“dancer”) and Ni-
tyanarta (“eternal dancer”) appear in the Shiva Sahasranama. His association with dance and also with music is prominent in the
Puranic period. In addition to the specific iconographic form known as Nataraja, various other types of dancing forms (Sanskrit:
nrtyamGrti) are found in all parts of India, with many well-defined varieties in Tamil Nadu in particular. The two most common forms
of the dance are the Tandava, which later came to denote the powerful and masculine dance as Kala-Mahakala associated with
the destruction of the world. When it requires the world or universe to be destroyed, Lord Siva does it by the tandavanrtya. and
Lasya, which is graceful and delicate and expresses emotions on a gentle level and is considered the feminine dance attributed
to the goddess Parvati. Lasya is regarded as the female counterpart of Tandava. The Tandava-Lasya dances are associated with
the destruction-creation of the world.
Dakshinamurthy
Dakshinamurthy, or DaksinamGrti (... Sanskrit: literally describes a form (mGrti) of Shiva facing south (daksina). This
form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom and giving exposition on the shastras. This icono-
graphic form for depicting Shiva in Indian art is mostly from Tamil Nadu. Elements of this motif can include Shiva seated upon a
deer-throne and surrounded by sages who are receiving his instruction.
Ardhanarishvara
The five-headed Tripurantaka is seen pointing an arrow towards the Tripura (rightmost top corner) with the bow made of mount
Meru, the serpent Vasuki is seen as its string.
An iconographic representation of Shiva called (ArdhanarTsvara) shows him with one half of the body as male and the other half
as female. According to Ellen Goldberg, the traditional Sanskrit name for this form (ArdhanarTsvara) is best translated as “the lord
who is half woman”, not as “half-man, half-woman”. Some legends suggest, this is used to visualize the belief that the lord had
sacrificed half of his body to his Shakti, goddess Parvati, the sagun swaroop of Goddess Adi parashakti, as a sign of this love for
her.
Tripurantaka
Shiva is often depicted as an archer in the act of destroying the triple fortresses, Tripura, of the Asuras. Shiva’s name Tripuranta¬
ka (Sanskrit: T^TTTTT, Tripurantaka), “ender of Tripura”, refers to this important story. In this aspect, Shiva is depicted with four
arms wielding a bow and arrow, but different from the Pinakapani murti. He holds an axe and a deer on the upper pair of his arms.
In the lower pair of the arms, he holds a bow and an arrow respectively. After destroying Tripura, Tripurantaka Shiva smeared his
forehead with three strokes of Ashes. This has become a prominent symbol of Shiva and is practiced even today by Shaivites.
Lingam
Apart from anthropomorphic images of Shiva, the worship of Shiva in the form of a lingam, or linga, is also important. These are
depicted in various forms. One common form is the shape of a vertical rounded column. Shiva means auspiciousness, and linga
means a sign or a symbol. Hence, the Shivalinga is regarded as a “symbol of the great God of the universe who is all-auspicious-
ness”. Shiva also means “one in whom the whole creation sleeps after dissolution”. Linga also means the same thing—a place
where created objects get dissolved during the disintegration of the created universe. Since, according to Hinduism, it is the same
god that creates, sustains and withdraws the universe, the Shivalinga represents symbolically God Himself. Some scholars, such
as Monier-Williams and Wendy Doniger, also view linga as a phallic symbol, although this interpretation is disputed by others,
including Christopher Isherwood, Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda, and S.N. BalagangadharaThe worship of the Shiva-Linga
originated from the famous hymn in the Atharva-Veda Samhita sung in praise of the Yupa-Stambha, the sacrificial post. In that
hymn, a description is found of the beginningless and endless Stambha or Skambha, and it is shown that the said Skambha is put
in place of the eternal Brahman. Just as the Yajna (sacrificial) fire, its smoke, ashes, and flames, the Soma plant, and the ox that
used to carry on its back the wood for the Vedic sacrifice gave place to the conceptions of the brightness of Shiva’s body, his taw-
ny matted hair, his blue throat, and the riding on the bull of the Shiva, the Yupa-Skambha gave place in time to the Shiva-Linga. In
the text Linga Purana, the same hymn is expanded in the shape of stories, meant to establish the glory of the great Stambha and
the superiority of Shiva as Mahadeva.
Avatars
Shiva, like some other Hindu deities, is said to have several incarnations, known as Avatars. Although Puranic scriptures contain
occasional references to avatars of Shiva, the idea is not universally accepted in Saivism.
Virabhadra who was born when Shiva grabbed a lock of his matted hair and dashed it to the ground. Virabhadra then destroyed
Daksha’s yajna (fire sacrifice) and severed his head as per Shiva’s instructions.
Bhairava, Bhairava (Sanskrit: “Terrible” or “Frightful”,[1]), sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji (In
Rajasthan), is the fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation.[2] He is one of the most important deities of Rajas¬
than and Nepal, sacred to Hindus and Buddhists alike.When depicted as Kala Bhairava, Bhairava is shown carrying the decapitat¬
ed head of Brahma.
Nataraja or Nataraj (Hindustani: [nete'ra:d 3 ]), The Lord (or King) of Dance in Barathanatyam; is a depiction of god Shiva as the
cosmic dancer Koothan who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for god Brahma to
start the process of creation. A Tamil concept, Shiva was first depicted as Nataraja in the famous Chola bronzes and sculptures of
Chidambaram. The dance of Shiva in Tillai, the traditional name for Chidambaram, forms the motif for all the depictions of Shiva
as Nataraja. He is also known as “Sabesan” which splits as “Sabayil aadum eesan” in Tamil which means “The Lord who dances
on the dais”. The form is present in most Shiva temples in South India, and is the main deity in the famous temple at Chidam¬
baram.
Durvasa (<|<=im in Devanagari or durvasa in IAST, pronounced [durua:se] in classical Sanskrit), or Durvasas, was an ancient
sage, the son of Atri and Anasuya. He is supposed to be an incarnation of Shiva. He is known for his short temper. Hence, wher¬
ever he went, he was received with great reverence from humans and Devas alike.
Khandoba, a form of Shiva, mainly in the Deccan plateau of India, especially in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is
the most popular family deity in Maharashtra.
Sharabha, Shaiva scriptures narrate that god Shiva assumed the Avatar (incarnation) of Sharabha to tame Narasimha - the fierce
man-lion avatar of Vishnu worshipped by Vaishnava sect - into a normal pleasant form representing harmony. This form is pop¬
ularly known as Sarabeshwara (“Lord Sarabha”) or Sharabeshwaramurti. In Buddhism, Sharabha appears in Jataka Tales as a
previous birth of the Buddha.
Adi Shankara, the 8th-century philosopher of non-dualist Vedanta’Advaita Vedanta”, was named “Shankara” after Lord Shiva and
is considered by some to have been an incarnation of Shiva.
In the Hanuman Chalisa, Hanuman is identified as the eleventh avatar of Shiva, but this belief is not universal.
It is believed that the Sai Baba of Shirdi, Maharashtra and Satya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh are the modern avatars
of Lord Shiva.
Temples
There are many Shiva temples in the Indian subcontinent, the Jyotirlinga temples being the most prominent.
The holiest Shiva temples are the 12 Jyotirlinga temples.
Somnath - Prabhas Patan, near Veraval, Gujarat
Mahakaleshwar - Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
Omkareshwar - near Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Kedarnath - Kedarnath, Uttarakhand
Bhimashankar - Disputed:
Bhimashankar Temple, near Pune, Maharashtra (pictured)
Bheem Shankar (Moteshwar Mahadev), Kashipur, Uttarakhand
Bhimshankar temple near Guwahati, Assam
Bhimasankar temple near Gunupur, Orissa
Kashi Vishwanath - Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Trimbakeshwar - Trimbak, near Nasik, Maharashtra
Ramanathaswamy - Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu
Grishneshwar - near Ellora, Maharashtra
Vaidyanath - Disputed:
Vaidyanath temple, Deoghar, Jharkhand (pictured)
Vaijnath temple, Parli, Maharashtra
Baijnath temple, Baijnath, Himachal Pradesh
Nageshwar- Disputed:
Jageshwar temple near Almora, Uttarakhand (pictured)
Nageshwar Temple, Dwarka, Dwarka, Gujarat
Aundha Nagnath, Maharashtra
Mallikarjuna Swamy - Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
Manifestations
In South India, five temples of Shiva are held to be particularly important, as being manifestations of him in the five elemental sub¬
stances:
Deity
Manifestation
Temple
Location
State
Jambhukeswar
Water
Jambukeswarar Temple,
Thiruvanaikaval
Trichy
Tamil Nadu
Arunachaleswar
Fire
Annamalaiyar Temple
Thiruvannamalai
Tamil Nadu
Kalahastheeswara
Air
Srikalahasti temple
Srikalahasti
Andhra Pradesh
Vanmikanathar
Earth
Thyagaraja Temple
Thiruvarur
Tamil Nadu
Ekambareswar
Earth
Ekambareswarar Temple
Kanchipuram
Tamil Nadu
Nataraja
Sky
Natarajar Temple
Chidambaram
Tamil Nadu
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
The Indian religions can be classified as five-fold: the Saiva, the Jain, Valsnava, Vedic and Saktya. A lofty sense of peace, (san-
ti) and a universal sense of uniting all in the embrace of love is expressed in the contemplative serenity of the original votaries of
Indian religions. In the history of India’s Siva religion, the first evidence came from the excavations of Mohanjadaro and Harappa
which have given us the seals of Pasupati Siva whose image was embossed in bricks which are as ancient as 7000 years before
Christ. Pasupati is shown as a yogi seated in a lotus posture. Siva was called pasupati, the Lord of beings. The later Vedic term
prajapatl was a close imitation of the term pasupati There are also references in the Agamas to Siva as prajapati.
In the seal of Pasupati Siva ... are the various figures shown around the main figure, such as the birds of the sky, fish on either
side, forest animals like leopard or tiger, closely guarding him, and domestic animals lying at his feet. All beings were originally
called pasu. Thus the first contemplative picture of Siva was a symbol of uniting the animal world through his peaceful and loving
relationship with all. Much later, in Sankara’s time, this great contemplative guru is described as daksinamurti, making the wisdom
gesture with his right hand. Thus the first emblem of the primary exemplar of yoga spells peace to the world. The term siva itself
means peace.
Siva and shakti
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The creative power of Consciousness is called in Hindu tradition Sakti or “Power”, conceived in some contexts as a Goddess. In
the Kamakalavilasa Tantra (V;4) Sakti is described as “the Pure Mirror in which Siva reflects Himself”. Siva here represents Re¬
ality and Being, the static aspect of God, and corresponds to “the Father” of Christian tradition. Sakti, his Consort, represents the
dynamic aspect of God in the Manifested Universe (of which the material universe is only the condition of the greatest density).
She is the Great Mother, the Creatrix.
The folding of the hands symbolizes the union of the Primal Duality, Siva and Sakti, Father and Mother, Divinity and World. It fur¬
ther symbolizes the harmonious interrelationship of the Five Organs of Perception and the Five Organs of Action.
The Dhyana Bindu Upanishad refers to the Hamsa Mantra, sometimes called Ajapa Gayatri, and says that every soul utters this
Mantra during night and day both 21.600 times with its 21.600 breathings. What is the meaning of this? The Hamsa is the Swan
or “Goose”, the Bird of the Holy Spirit. Its syllable Ha represents Siva and its syllable Sa, Sakti. The two syllables symbolize the in
and out-going Breath. The expression “Ajapa Gayatri” (or non-japa Gayatri) conveys that it is the most important Mantra of Mani¬
festation which is uttered unconsciously by every living soul.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Just as the Indian people envisioned the role of mother as Sakti to counterbalance Siva, modern science conceived matter and
energy. A little confusion comes from saying that matter and energy are like Siva and Sakti, because, to the Indian people, Sakti is
energy and the source of energy is in Siva. In the Western world, matter became equivalent to mother (mater is the Latin term for
mother).
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
GOVINDA: “What is the meaning of ‘yogamaya’?”
MASTER: “It signifies the yoga, or union, of Purusha and Prakriti. Whatever you perceive in the universe is the outcome of this
union. Take the image of Siva and Kali. Kali stands on the bosom of Siva; Siva lies under Her feet like a corpse; Kali looks at Siva.
All this denotes the union of Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is inactive; therefore Siva lies on the ground like a corpse. Prakriti per¬
forms all Her activities in conjunction with Purusha. Thus She creates, preserves, and destroys.
Siva and Vishnu
General
Wikipedia
During the Vedic period, both Vishnu and Shiva (as identified with Rudra) played relatively minor roles, but by the time of the Brah-
manas (c. 1000-700 BC), both were gaining ascendance. By the Puranic period, both deities had major sects that competed with
one another for devotees. Many stories developed showing different types of relationships between these two important deities.
Sectarian groups each presented their own preferred deity as supreme. Vishnu in his myths “becomes” Shiva. The Vishnu Pu-
rana (4th c. AD) shows Vishnu awakening and becoming both Brahma to create the world and Shiva to destroy it. Shiva also is
viewed as a manifestation of Vishnu in the Bhagavata Purana. In Shaivite myths, on the other hand, Shiva comes to the fore and
acts independently and alone to create, preserve, destroy, hide, and to bless (five works). In one Shaivite myth of the origin of the
lingam, both Vishnu and Brahma are revealed as emanations from Shiva’s manifestation as a towering pillar of flame. The Sata-
rudrlya, a Shaivite hymn, says that Shiva is “of the form of Vishnu”. Differences in viewpoints between the two sects are apparent
in the story of Sarabha (also spelled “Sharabha”), the name of Shiva’s incarnation in the composite form of man, bird, and beast.
Shiva assumed that unusual form of Sarabheshwara to chastise Vishnu, who in his hybrid form as Narasimha, the man-lion, killed
Hiranyakashipu. However, Vaishnava followers including Dvaita scholars, such as Vijayindra Tirtha (1539-95) dispute this view of
Narasimha based on their reading of Sattvika Puranas and Sruti texts.
Syncretic forces produced stories in which the two deities were shown in cooperative relationships and combined forms. Hariha-
ra is the name of a combined deity form of both Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara). This dual form, which is also called Harirudra, is
mentioned in the Mahabharata. An example of a collaboration story is one given to explain Shiva’s epithet Mahabalesvara, “lord of
great strength” (Maha = “great”, Bala = “strength”, Tsvara = “lord”). This name refers to a story in which Ravana was given a linga
as a boon by Shiva on the condition that he carry it always. During his travels, he stopped near the present Deoghar in Jharkhand
to purify himself and asked Narada, a devotee of Vishnu in the guise of a Brahmin, to hold the linga for him, but after some time,
Narada put it down on the ground and vanished. When Ravana returned, he could not move the linga, and it is said to remain
there ever since.
As one story goes, Shiva is enticed by the beauty and charm of Mohini, Vishnu’s female avatar, and procreates with her. As a
result of this union, Shasta - identified with regional deities Ayyappa and Ayyanar - is born.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
In the world of symbolism. Visnu and Siva are like two contrasting counterparts in Indian mythology. Visnu sustains everything and
Siva dissolves everything. In Indian mythology Siva is seated In a yogic posture at the summit of mount Kailasa, completely drawn
inward. Jungle snakes fondly crawl all over him; his vehicle is considered to be a mountain bull. He holds a trident symbolizing
the triple aspects of Saivism: pasu, pati and pasam. He is always established In an all-knowing transcendence which is not deep
sleep, not the dream sleep and which is not the waking state.
Visnu is shown as lying in a state of dream; the phenomenal universe is considered to be the dream of Visnu. His bed is the great
snake Vasuki and he is placed in the milk ocean. Thus everything pleasing, amorous, and belonging to the world of memory is
associated with Visnu. His vehicle is Garuda, the sea bird. The Vaisnavite people call him samasta kaiyana guniadorned with
attributes, whereas Siva is gunatita. one who transcends all attributes. From the navel of Visnu comes the creator, Brahma, who
became identified as prajapati Thus it became common to accept Brahma, the creator, Visnu, the sustainer, and Siva, the annihi-
lator, as the three male concepts of God. Each of the three has a female counterpart: Sakti for Siva, Laksmi for Visnu and Saras-
vati for Brahma.
See also:
Jnana and yoga
Related words
Brahma
Shakti
Trimurti
Vishnu
Sivananda
Name
Swami Sivananda Saraswati
Swami Shivananda Saraswati
Sivananda was born Kuppuswami Iyer
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Swami Shivananda Saraswati was an Indian saint, YOGA teacher, and author of more than 200 books on spirituality. Through his
disciples, he played a major role in spreading Hinduism and YOGA throughout the world.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shivananda, Swami (1887-1963) Hindu ascetic, teacher, and founder of the Divine Life Society. Shivananda’s first calling was to
be a doctor; after getting his degree, he spent some time practicing medicine in Malaysia, spurred by a passion to serve others.
Later in life he felt the call of renunciation and, in 1924, settled in Rishikesh, where he was based for the rest of his life. Shivanan¬
da’s message stressed the teachings of the Advaita Vedanta school, which is devoted to a belief in monism (the belief in a single
Ultimate Reality where all things are united), and the practice of yoga for a disciplined life. He saw his own mission as teaching
others, a mission fostered by the Divine Life Society’s publications, which continue to be important today. Shivananda’s learning
and religious charisma made him greatly respected, and in keeping with his original vocation, one of the charitable works spon¬
sored by the Divine Life Society is a free medical clinic...
Swami Shivananda was a Dashanami Sanyasi (ascetic) in the Saraswati division, which is one of the divisions that admits only
brahmins (priests).
Wikipedia
Biography
Dates
September 8, 1887 - July 14, 1963
Place of birth
Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, India
Life
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Kuppuswami Iyer was born on September 8, 1887. His father was a pious Hindu government official who sent him to college and
to medical school. His father died before he finished medical training and Kuppuswami was forced to leave school. Neverthe¬
less, he maintained his interest in medicine and began a medical journal that specialized in preventive medicine and the Indian
AYURVEDIC system of health. He administered a hospital in Malaya, where his meeting with a wandering holy man inspired his
own spiritual search.
Returning to India he began a pilgrimage around the country. He settled in the holy city of RISHIKESH, where he was initiated into
SANNYAS (renunciation) by Swami Viswananda Saraswati and given the name Swami Shivananda Saraswati. Living at Swar-
gashram on the GANGES River, he devoted himself to MEDITATION, study, and giving of spiritual guidance to a growing group of
disciples. He emphasized BHAKTI YOGA and KARMA YOGA .
Wikipedia
Swami Sivananda Saraswati ... was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. ... He studied medicine and
served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism. He lived most part of his life near Muni Ki Reti,
Rishikesh.
Early life
Sivananda was born Kuppuswamy in Pattamadai near Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, India, as the third son to his parents on 8 Sep¬
tember 1887. As a child he was very active and promising in academics and gymnastics. He attended medical school in Tanjore,
where he excelled. He ran a medical journal called Ambrosia during this period. Upon graduation he practiced medicine and
worked as a doctor in Malaya for ten years, with a reputation for providing free treatment to poor patients. Over time, a sense that
medicine was healing on a superficial level grew in him, urging him to look elsewhere to fill the void, and in 1923 he left Malaya
and returned to India to pursue a spiritual quest.
Initiation
After a few years, Sivananda went on an extensive pilgrimage and traveled the length and breadth of India to meditate at holy
shrines and came in contact with spiritual teachers throughout India. During this Parivrajaka (wandering monk) life, Sivananda
visited important places of pilgrimage in the south, including Rameshvaram. He conducted Sankirtan and delivered lectures during
his travels. He visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and met Maharishi Suddhananda Bharati. At the Ramana Ashram, he had the
darshan of Ramana Maharshi on Maharshi’s birthday. He sang bhajans and danced in ecstasy with Maharshi’s bhaktas. He also
went on pilgrimages to various places in northern India including Kedarnath and Badrinath. He visited Kailash-Manasarovar in
1931.
Travels
After a few years, Sivananda went on an extensive pilgrimage and traveled the length and breadth of India to meditate at holy
shrines and came in contact with spiritual teachers throughout India. During this Parivrajaka (wandering monk) life, Sivananda
visited important places of pilgrimage in the south, including Rameshvaram. He conducted Sankirtan and delivered lectures during
his travels. He visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and met Maharishi Suddhananda Bharati. At the Ramana Ashram, he had the
darshan of Ramana Maharshi on Maharshi’s birthday. He sang bhajans and danced in ecstasy with Maharshi’s bhaktas. He also
went on pilgrimages to various places in northern India including Kedarnath and Badrinath. He visited Kailash-Manasarovar in
1931.
Death
General
Wikipedia
Swami Sivananda died on 14 July 1963 in his Kutir on the bank of the Ganges, in Shivanandanagar [in Rishikesh, India].
Works
Disciples
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
His student Swami Shivananda RADHA (Sylvia Hillman) founded the YASODHARA ASHRAM SOCIETY in Vancouver. Anoth¬
er student, Swami Vishnudevananda, founded a chain of SHIVANANDA YOGA VEDANTA CENTERS in the United States and
Canada. In 1959, Swami Chidananda, Shivananda’s successor as head of the Divine Life Society, organized the society in the
United States. Another student, Swami JYOTIRMAYANANDA, founded the Yoga Research Society in 1962, and SWAMI SATCHI-
DANANDA created the Integral Yoga Institute in 1966. His disciple and secretary of the Divine Life Society, Swami KRISHNANAN-
DA, although he did not travel to the West, wrote extensively and welcomed seekers from the West to the ashram in Rishikesh.
Wikipedia
Swami Sivananda’s two chief acting organizational disciples were Swami Chidananda and Swami Krishnananda. Swami Chi-
dananda was appointed President of the Divine Life Society by Swami Sivananda in 1963 and served in this capacity until his
death in 2008. Swami Krishnananda was appointed General Secretary of the Divine Life Society by Swami Sivananda in 1958 and
served in this capacity until his death in 2001. Swami Krishnananda is widely regarded as one of the most important theologians
and philosophers of the 20th century.
Other prominent disciples were Swami Venkatesananda Saraswati (South Africa, Mauritius, Madagascar, Australia), Swami Pra-
navananda Saraswati (Malaysia) and Swami Sivananda Radha (Canada). Another prominent disciple was Swami Sahajananda
Saraswati (South Africa), who was directed by Swami Sivananda to establish the Divine Life Society of South Africa.
Disciples who went on to grow new organisations:
Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati, founder of the Chinmaya Mission
Swami Jyotirmayananda Saraswati, President of the Yoga Research Foundation, Miami, USA
Swami Lalitananda Saraswati, Vice President of the Yoga Research Foundation
Swami Omkarananda Saraswati, founder of Omkarananda Ashram, Himalayas
Swami Satchidananda Saraswati, founder of the Integral Yoga Institutes, USA
Swami Satyananda Saraswati, founder of Bihar School of Yoga
Swami Shantananda Saraswati, founder of Temple of Fine Arts (Malaysia & Singapore)
Swami Sivananda Radha, founder of Yasodhara Ashram, British Columbia, Canada
Swami Vishnudevananda Saraswati, founder of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, HO Canada
Swami_Venkatesananda, inspirer of Ananda Kutir Ashrama in South Africa
Organisations
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
In 1934 Swami Shivananda established his own ashram, Ananda Kutir (Abode of Bliss), across the river in Rishikesh. It had a
dispensary and meditation rooms for silent retreats. In 1936 he founded the Divine Life Trust with the goal of spiritualizing all of
India. The Divine Life Society was begun as an auxiliary to the trust, and a monthly periodical was begun. Swami Shivananda also
began the Forest Academy to train students in his teaching. ... Although Swami Shivananda’s health prevented him from visiting
the West, he became one of the most influential forces in the dissemination of Hinduism and yoga throughout the world through
his students and disciples.
Wikipedia
Sivananda is the founder of The Divine Life Society (1936), Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy (1948) and author of over 200 books
on yoga, vedanta and a variety of subjects. He established Sivananda Ashram, the headquarters of The Divine Life Society (DLS),
on the bank of the Ganges at Shivanandanagar, at a distance of 3 kilometres from Rishikesh.
Sivananda Yoga, the yoga form propagated by him, are now spread in many parts of the world through Sivananda Yoga Vedanta
Centres, but these centres are not affiliated to Swami Sivananda’s ashrams which are run by the Divine Life Society...
Sivananda founded the Divine Life Society in 1936 on the banks of the Ganges River. The free distribution of spiritual literature
drew a steady flow of disciples to the Swami...
In 1945, Swami Sivananda created the Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmacy, and organized the All-world Religions Federation. He
established the All-world Sadhus Federation in 1947 and Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy in 1948. He called his yoga the Yoga of
Synthesis.
Publications
General
Wikipedia
A prolific author, Swami Sivananda wrote 296 books on a variety of subjects: metaphysics, yoga, religion, western philosophy,
psychology, eschatology, fine arts, ethics, education, health, sayings, poems, epistles, autobiography, biography, stories, dramas,
messages, lectures, dialogues, essays and anthology. His books emphasized the practical application of Yoga philosophy over
mere theoretical knowledge. He was known to have said, An ounce of practice is better than tons of theory. Practice Yoga, Reli¬
gion and Philosophy in daily life, and attain Self-realization.[
Sivananda (Swami.) (1946). Siva-Gita: an epistolary autobiography. The Sivananda Publication League.
Sivananda (Swami.) (1950). Principal Upanishads: with text, meaning notes and commentary. Yoga Vedanta Forest University,
Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami.); Patanjali (1950). Raja Yoga: theory and practice. Yoga Vedanta Forest University, Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami) (1953). Inspiring songs and kirtans. Yoga-Vedanta Forest University.
Sivananda (Swami) (1956). Music as yoga. The Yoga-Vedanta Forest University for the Sivananda Mahasamsthanam.
Sivananda (Swami) (1956). Yoga of synthesis. Yoga-Vedanta Forest University.
Sivananda (Swami) (1957). Story of my tour. Yoga-Vedanta Forest University.
Sivananda (Swami.); Sivananda-Kumudini Devi (I960). Sivananda’s letters ro Sivananda-Kumudini Devi. Yoga-Vedanta Forest
Academy.
Sivananda (Swami); India (1962). Lord Siva and his worship. Yoga-Vedanta forest academy, Divine life Society.
Sivananda (Swami.) (1966). Yoga practice, for developing and increasing physical, mental and spiritual powers. D.B. Taraporeva-
la Sons.
Sivananda (Swami) (1970). Fourteen lessons in raja yoga. Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami) (1970). Inspiring songs and sayings. The Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami) (1970). Yoga Vedanta dictionary. Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy.
Sivananda (Swami.) (1971). Kundalini yoga. Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami.) (1971). The science of pranayama. Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami) (1973). Ten upanishads: with notes and commentary 8th ed.. Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami) (1978). Sivananda vani: the cream of Sri Swami Sivananda’s immortal, practical instructions on the yoga of
synthesis in his own handwriting. Divine Life Society.
Swami Sivananda (1979). Practice of yoga. The Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami.) (1980). Autobiography of Swami Sivananda. Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami.) (1981). Japa Yoga: a comprehnsive treatise on mantra-sastra. Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami) (1981). Science of Yoga: Raja yoga ; Jnana yoga ; Concentration and meditation. Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami.) (1982). Moksha gita. Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami.) (1983). Samadhi yoga. The Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami) (1984). Yoga samhita. Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (1985). The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: Sanskrit text, English translation, and commentary. Divine Life Society.
Sivananda (Swami.) (1985). Karma yoga. Divine Life Society. ISBN 978-0-949027-05-4.
Sivananda (Swami) (1 January 1987). Bhakti yoga. Divine Life Society, Fremantle Branch. ISBN 978-0-949027-08-5.
Sivananda (Swami) (1996). Lord Shanmukha and his worship. Divine Life Society. ISBN 978-81-7052-115-0.
Swami Sivananda (December 2005). Raja Yoga. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4253-5982-9.
Related words
Vedanta
Yoga
Smriti
Variant spellings
smrti
smriti
smrti
smrti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Smrti — ... memory; recollection; “that which is remembered”.
1. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, it is included in perception as a valid means of knowledge. It is caused by similarity
(sadrsya), unseen effect (adrsta), deep thinking (cinta), or association (sahacarya).
2. According to Nyaya, it is nonpresentative knowledge which may be either true (yathartha) or false (ayathartha) but not valid
(prama).
3. According to the Jainas and the Vaisesikas, it is valid mediate knowledge.
4. According to Nyaya and MTmamsa, it is invalid knowledge (though their reasons for its invalidity differ).
5. According to Advaita Vedanta, it is either valid or invalid as the case may be.
6. According to Nyaya-Vaisesika, recollection is a cognition caused solely by impressions. Advaita and Bhatta MTmamsa explain it
as a cognitive complex consisting of two parts: perceptual experience and recollection. Nyaya calls it perceptual experience of a
special type.
7. Smrti also refers to traditional scriptures, which include the limbs of the Veda (Vedangas), the Law Books (Dharmasastras), the
Epics (Ithihasas), and the Puranas.
8. The principle Law Books are the Manusmrti, Parasarasmrti, and Vasisthasmrti. Other smrtis are of Sankha, Likhita, Atri, Visnu,
HarTta, Yama, Anigirasa, Usanas, Samvarta, Brhaspati, Katyayana, Daksa, Vyasa, Yajnavalkya, and Satatapa.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
smrti -
remembrance, reminiscence, thinking of or upon (loc. or comp.), calling to mind;
memory as one of the Vyabhicari-bhavas;
Memory (personified either as the daughter of Daksha and wife of Angiras or as the daughter of Dharma and Medha);
the whole body of sacred tradition or what is remembered by human teachers (in contradistinction to sruti or what is directly heard
or revealed to the Rishis; in its widest acceptation this use of the term Smriti includes the 6 Vedangas, the Sutras both srauta and
grhya, the law-books of Manu &c. the Itihasas [e.g. the Mahabharata and Ramayana], the Puranas and the Nltisastras;
the whole body of codes of law as handed down memoriter or by tradition (esp. the codes of Manu Yajnavalkya and the 16 suc¬
ceeding inspired lawgivers, viz. Atri, Vishnu, Harlta, Usanas or 6ukra, Angiras, Yama, Apastamba, Samvarta, Katyayana, Bri-
has-pati, Parazara, Vyasa, Sankha, Likhita, Daksha and Gautama; all these lawgivers being held to be inspired and to have based
their precepts on the Veda;
symbolical N. for the number 18 (fr. the 18 lawgivers above );
a kind of metre;
N. of the letter g;
desire, wish
Wikipedia
Smrti, literally “that which is remembered,” refers to a specific body of Hindu religious scripture. Smrti also denotes non-Shruti
texts and is generally seen as secondary in authority to Shruti. The literature which comprises the Smriti was composed after the
Vedas around 500 BCE. Smriti also denotes tradition in the sense that it portrays the traditions of the rules on dharma, especially
those of lawful virtuous persons. This is understood by looking at traditional texts, such as the Ramayana, in which the traditions
of the main characters portray a strict adherence to or observance of dharma.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Smrti (“[that which is] remembered”). An important class of Hindu religious literature that, despite its sacrality, is deemed less
authoritative than the other major category, shruti. According to tradition, the shruti (“heard”) texts were not composed by human
beings but are based in the primordial vibrations of the cosmos itself. The ancient sages, whose faculties of perception had been
sharpened through rigorous religious practice, were able to “hear” and understand these vibrations, and transmitted them to oth¬
ers in a lineage of learning. The smrti texts, in contrast, are attributed to human authors, who are putting forth matters that are
“remembered” and thus carry with them the possibility of error. The smrti literature is wider and much more varied than the shruti,
which is restricted to the texts in the Vedas; smrti literature includes the dharma literature, the sectarian compilations known as
puranas, the two great epics (Mahabharata and Ramayana), the Bhagavad Gita, and the tantras, which are manuals detailing the
secret, ritually based religious practice of tantra followers. Although theoretically the smrtis have less religious authority than the
shrutis, in practical terms they are often far more important, in part because their contents are much better known. This is particu¬
larly true for sectarian Hinduism, in which a group’s sectarian literature will often be given the highest religious authority.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Divine Body, the True State, including the Tradition, in the form of Dionusos, Osiris, the Cosmic Man of the Gnostics, was
dismembered by the Titans. It is the task of the spiritual aspirant to re-member it. This re-membering is indeed the re-uniting of
the members of fragments of his being into the Divine Whole. But it is also remembering in the current sense of the word, the
remembering of the True State, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Satya-loka, the Paradise within the Heart-Self, the Source and Or¬
igin of all life. The two kinds of “remembering” form the two sides of one coin. In fact, the one cannot be there without the other.
Instead of “re-member” one may also say “re-collect”. The two meanings of remember are not related etymologically. The word
“member” comes from the Latin “membrum” which is related to the Sanskrit “mamsa”, “flesh”. It means also “apartment”. “Remem¬
bering” comes from the Latin “memor”, meaning “mindful, remembering”, from a root “mer” which is related to the Sanskrit root
“smr”. From this root are derived “smarati”, “he remembers”, and “smriti”, “memory”. Smriti is also used for one of the four classes
of Hindu scriptures. Scriptures are forms of and aids in remembering the Divine Life. The language of everyday life contains very
valuable fragments. But people have ears and do not hear.
Wikipedia
Smriti is the second source of authority for dharma. The first source of dharma is Sruti: the Vedas or Revelation. With regards to
Hindu law, scholars have commonly translated Smriti as “tradition”. Although Smriti is also considered a written source; it differs
from Sruti in that Smriti does not have divine origins. Smriti’s literal translation, “to remember” explains this. In a sense, Smriti
consists of the memories of wisdom that sages have passed on to their disciples. These memories consist of traditions. It is these
memories that make up the second source of dharma and consequently have been recorded to become a written source; com¬
mentaries such as Laws of Manu, for example. The Smrti texts have become a binding of “sacred literature” which includes the six
Vedangas, the epics: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as well as, the Puranas It is within all of these works that the rules of
dharma remain and are passed down. However, Smriti is still only considered a second authority after Sruti and becomes relevant
only when Sruti provides no answer.
There are two important sides of Smriti: Smriti as Tradition and Smriti as Texts. Smriti as Tradition consists of Smriti as memories.
It is from these memories that the rules of dharma are preserved and passed down. Conversely, Smriti as Texts refers to the no¬
tion of Traditional Texts. These consists of mostly the dharmasastras and are described as literature which has been “inspired by
the smrti”.
Prodigious energy was expended by ancient Indian culture in ensuring that these texts were transmitted from generation to gener¬
ation with inordinate fidelity. For example, memorization of the sacred Vedas included up to eleven forms of recitation of the same
text. The texts were subsequently “proof-read” by comparing the different recited versions.
See: Sruti and smriti
See also:
in Soma: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
in Shastra: Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
smrti - from the verb root smr - “to remember”.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
smrti from the root smar, to remember.
Related words
Dharma Sastra
Puranas
Shastra
Soma
Sruti
Sanskrit
Smrti — FjfcT
smrti -
Soma
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Soma — ... intoxicating drink used in Vedic sacrifices; nectar of immortality.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
soma -
juice, extract, (esp.) the juice of the Soma plant, (also) the Soma plant itself (said to be the climbing plant Sarcostema Viminalis
or Asclepias Acida, the stalks [ansu] of which were pressed between stones [adri] by the priests, then sprinkled with water, and
purified in a strainer [pavitra]; whence the acid juice trinkled into jars [kalasa] or larger vessels [drona]; after which it was mixed
with clarified butter, flour &c., made to ferment, and then offered in libations to the gods [in this respect corresponding with the
ritual of the Iranian Avesta] or was drunk by the Brahmans, by both of whom its exhilarating effect was supposed to be prized; it
was collected by moonlight on certain mountains [in RV. x, 34, 1, the mountain MGja-vat is mentioned]; it is sometimes described
as having been brought from the sky by a falcon [syena] and guarded by the Gandharvas; it is personified as one of the most
important of Vedic gods, to whose praise all the 114 hymns of the 9th book of the RV. besides 6 in other books and the whole SV.
are dedicated; in post-Vedic mythology and even in a few of the latest hymns of the RV. [although not in the whole of the 9th book]
as well as sometimes in the AV. and in the Br., Soma is identified with the moon [as the receptacle of the other beverage of the
gods called Amrita, or as the lord of plants ...] and with the god of the moon, as well as with Vishnu, Siva, Yama, and Kubera; he is
called rajan, and appears among the 8 Vasus and the 8 Loka-palas [Mn. v, 96], and is the reputed author of RV.;
the moon or moon-god (see above );
a Soma sacrifice;
a day destined for extracting the Soma-juice;
Monday;
nectar;
camphor;
air, wind;
water;
a drug of supposed magical properties;
a partic. mountain or mountainous range (accord, to some the mountains of the moon);
a partic. class of Pitris;
N. of various authors (also with pandita, bhatta, sarman &c.; cf. above );
N. of a monkey-chief
rice-water, rice-gruel;
heaven, sky, ether;
relating to Soma
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Soma was a divine, intoxicating drink favored by INDRA, king of the gods, according to the Vedas. It was made from a celestial
plant taken to Earth by an eagle and was said to confer immortality on gods and humans. BRAHMIN priests in Vedic times over¬
saw its preparation, offered it to the gods, and drank it themselves at their rituals. The drink was used in such quantities that the
YAJUR VEDA includes a chant to alleviate the effects of excessive Soma drinking.
Soma was most used by the priests of the SAMA VEDA. A majority of hymns in the Sama Veda itself praise the Soma, personified
as a god. In fact, Soma is said to have inspired the composition of Vedic hymns. The drink is said to be sweet and milky. Various
attempts have been made to identify the Soma plant. Today it is the name of a vine that does not appear to have intoxicating prop¬
erties.
The Vedic god Soma acts as the husband of the dawns, supports the Earth and sky, and makes the Sun light up. In late Vedic
times Soma was connected to the Moon. In modern Hindu mythology Soma is the Moon god and the lord of all plants. Scholars
identify the beverage Soma with the Haoma, which was also offered to the gods in the Avesta, the scripture of the ancient Per¬
sians.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Soma is one of the most enigmatic deities in the Hindu tradition. The 120 hymns to soma in the Rg Veda, the oldest Hindu sacred
text, variously describe soma as a plant, as the juice pressed from that plant, and as the deified form of both juice and plant. The
Vedic hymns give detailed descriptions of how the sacrificial priests pressed it, strained and filtered it, and finally consumed it,
which then brought visions upon them. These hymns portray soma as some sort of mind-altering substance, although there is no
general agreement on what the soma plant might be. Its identity has been lost since late Vedic times, and since then various sub¬
stitutes have been used in rituals.
Although the hymns describe soma as hallucinogenic, one need not take this literally. One can explain such visions in purely psy¬
chological terms, as induced or fostered by the priests’ heightened expectations in the sacrificial arena. If one assumes that soma
was actually mind-altering, it could not have been an alcoholic beverage—since it was prepared and consumed on the same day,
this would have given no time for fermentation. One theory is that soma was hashish (charas), which is still consumed in certain
ritual contexts.
Macdonell. Vedic mythology
soma .... the intoxicating juice of the Soma plant... offered as the main libation, pressed, purified by a sieve, mixed with milk, and
described as the lord of plants, as growing on the mountains, and as brought down by an eagle or eagles.
The beverage of the gods is soma. What they eat is the favourite food of men and is of course represented by what is offered to
them at the sacrifice. It consists of milk in its various forms, butter, barley, and (though perhaps not in the oldest Vedic period)
rice; cattle, goats, and sheep, with a preference for the animal which in some way is most closely connected with a deity’s pecu¬
liar qualities. Thus the bull or the buffalo, to which Indra is so often compared, is offered to him and eaten by him, sometimes in
extraordinary numbers... The abode of the gods is variously described as heaven, the third heaven, or the highest step of Visnu,
where they live a joyous life exhilerated by Soma. The gods on the whole are conceived as dwelling together in harmony and
friendship.
Next to Indra and Varuna come the two great ritual deities Agni and Soma. These two along with Indra are, judged by the frequen¬
cy of the hymns addressed to them, the three most popular deities of the RV. For, roughly speaking, three-fifths of its hymns are
dedicated to their praise. The fact that the hymns to Agni and Indra always come first in the family books, while the great majority
of the hymns to Soma have a whole book, the ninth, to themselves, confirms this conclusion.
Though the gods in general are fond of Soma, Indra is preeminently addicted to it. He even stole it in order to drink it. He is the
one Soma-drinker among gods and men, only Vayu, his companion, coming near him in this respect. It is his favourite nutriment.
The frequent epithet ‘Soma-drinker’ is characteristic of him, being otherwise only applied a few times to Agni and Brhaspati when
associated with Indra, and once besides to Vayu alone. Soma is sometimes said to stimulate Indra to perform great cosmic ac¬
tions such as supporting earth and sky or spreading out the earth. But it characteristically exhilarates him to carry out his warlike
deeds, the slaughter of the dragon or Vrtra or the conquest of foes. So essential is Soma to Indra that his mother gave it to him or
he drank it on the very day of his birth. For the slaughter of Vrtra he drank three lakes of Soma, and he is even said to have drunk
at a single draught thirty lakes of the beverage. One entire hymn consists of a monologue in which Indra describes his sensations
after a draught of Soma. But just as too much Soma is said to produce disease in men, so Indra himself is described as suffering
from excessive indulgence in it and having to be cured uy the gods with the Sautramani ceremony.
His love of Soma is even represented as having driven him to patricide. In judging morally of Indra’s immoderate indulgence in
Soma, it must be borne in mind that the exhilaration of Soma partook of a religious character in the eyes of the Vedic poets and
that the intoxicating influence of Soma itself led to its being regarded as the drink of immortality. It is probably from the latter point
of view that Indra is conceived as having performed his grandest cosmical feats, such as fixing heaven and earth, under the influ¬
ence of Soma.
$37. Soma. - Since the Soma sacrifice forms the main feature of the ritual of the RV, the god Soma is naturally one of the most
important deities of that Veda. All the 114 hymns of the ninth besides 6 in other books, are dedicated to his praise. He is also
celebrated in portions of four or five other hymns, and as a dual divinity with Indra, Agni, Pushan, or Rudra, in about six more. The
name of Soma, in its simple form and in compounds, occurs hundreds of times in the RV. Judged by the standard of frequency,
Soma therefore comes third in order of importance among the Vedic gods. Soma is much less anthropomorphic than Indra or Var-
una, the constant presence of the plant and its juice setting limits to the imagination of the poets who describe its personification.
Consequently little is said of his human form or action. The marvellous and heroic deeds attributed to him are either colourless,
because common to almost all the greater gods, or else only secondarily belong to him. Like other gods, he is, under the name
of Indu as well as Soma, invoked to come to the sacrifice and receive the offerings on the strewn grass. The ninth book mainly
consists of incantations sung over the tangible Soma while it is pressed by the stones, flows through the woolen strainer into the
wooden vats, in which it is finally offered on a litter of grass to the gods as a beverage, sometimes in fire or drunk by the priests.
The processes to which it is subjected are overlaid with the most varied and chaotic imagery and with mystical fancies often inca¬
pable of certain interpretation.
Its mysteriously exhilerating and invigorating action, surpassing that of ordinary food or drink and prompting to deeds beyond the
natural powers, led to Soma being regarded as a divine drink which bestows immortal life. Hence it is mythologically called amrta,
the draught of immortality...
Soma naturally has medicinal power also. It is medicine for a sick man. Hence the god Soma heals whatever is sick, making the
blind to see and the lame to walk ... The Soma draught is even said to dispel sin from the heart, to destroy falsehood and to pro¬
mote truth.
Though Soma is n terrestrial plant, it is also celestial; in fact its true origin and abode are regarded as in heaven.
In the post-Vedic literature Soma is a regular name of the moon, which is regarded as being drunk up by the gods and so waning,
till it is filled up again by the sun: In the Chandogya Upanishad the statement is found that the moon is king Soma, the food of the
gods, and is drunk up by them.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Soma was said to be born “between the two sacred stones that were used to press it out”, symbolism referring to the union of
Father and Mother, or God and his Creative Power, resulting in Enlightenment, and reflected in the preparation of the unfermented
wine that was used in rituals. It is the Jnanavari, “the Water of Gnosis” of the Hindu tradition dealing with Knowledge. It is the Elixir
of Life, the production of which was the aim and end of the Great Work of the Alchemist. It is further the Rasa of the Hindu tradition
dealing with Bliss. In the Rig-veda (IX; 63; 13; 65; 15) the Rasa is the juice of the Soma-plant. The Rasa is the blissful essence of
life. In the Taittiriya Upanishad (11; 7; 1) and the Maitri Upanishad (V; 2) it is selfluminous consciousness, ecstasy, and the perfect
taste or realization of life.
According to tradition it is obtained by “smriti”, meaning memory recollection, and the scriptures that aid in the process of remem¬
bering and recollecting.
See: Amrta and Soma
Etymology
General
Macdonell. Vedic mythology
Etymologically Soma ... means ‘pressed juice’, being derived from the root su ‘to press’.
Related words
Amrta
Indra
Smriti
Sanskrit
Soma — Ht r T
soma - dhF
Sparsa
Variant spellings
sparsa
sparsha
sparsa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sparsa — ... touch; sense contact.
1. One of the five subtle essences of the elements. (See tanmatra.)
2. One of the twelve links in the causal chain of existence.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sparsa -
touching;
touch, sense of touch ..., contact;
(in gram.) collective N. of the twenty-five consonants constituting the five classes from k to m (so-called because formed by com¬
plete contact of the organs of utterance;
(in phil.) the quality of tangibility (which constitutes the skin’s;
any quality which is perceptible by touching any object (e.g. heat, cold, smoothness, softness &c.);
feeling, sensation (e.g. sirah-sula-sp..., ‘sensation of headache’);
pleasant feeling;
unpleasant or morbid sensation, illness;
air, wind;
(accord, to some) temperature;
a kind of sexual union;
a gift, offering;
a spy
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Sparsa ... the subtle element (tanmatra) of touch; this is a technical term generally translated as Touch and used to mean the
sense of feeling as the impression left on the consciousness rather than its tactual meaning; as for example, one is touched by an
act of kindness.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
2.1 salute this Yoga known as the Asparsa (i.e., free from all touch which implies duality), taught through the scripture— the Yoga
which promotes the happiness of all beings and condaces to the well-being of all and which is free from strife and contradictions.
Sankara’s commentary: Now salutation is made to the Yoga taught by the Advaita Philosophy, in order to extol it. The word Aspar-
sayoga in the text means the Yoga which is always and in all respects free from sparsa or relationship with anything and which is
of the same nature as Brahman. This Yoga is well known as the Asparsayoga to all knowers of Brahman.
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Asparsayoga—As a matter of fact there is a contradiction involved in this word. For, the word ‘Asparsa’, meaning freedom from re¬
lation, indicates only non-duality which by its very nature has no contact with any other thing, as such a thing is ever non-existent.
The word Yoga, ‘meaning contact’ implies more than one. Gaudapada names the path of knowledge as Asparsayoga, as the word
Yoga was used in his time also to denote the method for realising the Ultimate Truth.
39. This Yoga, which is not in touch with anything, is hard to he attained by all Yogis (in general). The Yogis are afraid of it, for
they see fear in it where there is really fearlessness.
Shankara’s commentary: Though such is the nature of the knowledge of the Supreme Reality, yet it is described in the Upanisads
as Yoga not in touch with anything; for, it is free from all touch implying relations (with objects)...
Commentary by Nikhilananda: The word ‘Yoga’ signifying union, generally means contact between two. But derivatively Jnana-yo-
ga is not in touch with any idea or object, as there exists nothing else but the non-dual Brahman. Therefore it is called the As-
parsa-yoga, i.e., a spiritual discipline which does not admit of relation or touch with anything else. ... The Upanisad says that the
knowledge of Atman is ever uncontaminated by any touch of action sinful or virtuous.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Mandukya Upanishad
(39) This Yoga, called the Touch-of-the-untouch, is hard to be attained by all seekers. Yogins are afraid of this Path, for they feel
frightened in That—where alone one can experience the true state of fearlessness!
Commentary by Chinmayananda: Here Gaudapada has again dipped his brush in the gilt of his own genius to paint so vividly the
idea of the Vedantic Sadhana in one incomparable expression, the “Asparsa Yoga”. There are critics who complain that this is a
phrase borrowed from the Buddhistic literature and that there is no equivalent to it in the scriptural texts. They go to the extent of
citing quotations to prove that Gaudapada is here copying the Buddhistic works.
Students of Vedanta who sincerely try to follow the text-book need not necessarily accept this criticism. There is direct evidence in
the Gita (V. 21,22 and 27) wherein the Lord has used the word ‘Sparsa’ meaning ‘mind’s contact with the external objects though
the sense-organs’. Gaudapada must have coined this expression from his knowledge of the Gita.
In the Gita ‘Sparsa’ has been used as the mental contact which an ordinary deluded one makes with the external world of objects
and thereby earns for himself either joy or happiness in life. The objects of the outer world in themselves have no capacity at all to
bring about any definite experience in the individual. The perceiving ego in us wandering out into the travails of the sense-objects,
through the indriyas, comes in contact with the external world, and we ourselves project upon them our own false notions and val¬
ues, and thereby we give the strength for the sense-objects to hoodwink and tyrannise over us ultimately. This idea is splendidly
brought out in Chapter V of the Gita. The same term is employed here by Gaudapada to make this novel term, Asparsa Yoga, to
impress upon us the Vedantic process of Self-realization...
The term “Asparsa Yoga” indicates both the aspects of spiritual practice—the negative and the positive. ‘Asparas’ indicates the
process of renouncing from ourselves our false values for and deluded attachments with the unreal, while Yoga indicates the at¬
tempt of the purified ego in the seeker to discover and re-establish its identity with the Real and the Permanent.
See: Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
See also:
in Vayu: Dayananda. Taittiriya Upanishad
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Sparsa from the root spars, to touch, feel.
Related words
Vayu
Tanmatra
Sanskrit
Sparta —
sparsa - *prr3T
Sphota
Variant spellings
sphota
sphota
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sphota— ... to burst; manifest; boil; idea; connection between letter and meaning
1. The hidden or underlying power behind individual letters of a word which present the meaning of the word to the reader or hear¬
er. It is the eternal essence of a word, according to the Grammarians. It is manifested by letters and itself manifests the meaning
of a word. It is the single meaningful symbol. The articulated sounds used in linguistic discourse are merely the means by which
the symbol is revealed, according to the Grammarians who propounded the theory.
2. It is the eternal essence of words, both because it is manifested by the letters and because it manifests the meaning. The con¬
cept arose due to the need to explain how individual letters form a meaningful word.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sphota -
bursting, opening, expansion, disclosure;
extension;
a swelling, boil, tumour;
a little bit or fragment, chip;
crackling, crash, roar;
(in phil.) sound (conceived as eternal, indivisible, and creative);
the eternal and imperceptible element of sounds and words and the real vehicle of the idea which bursts or flashes on the mind
when a sound is uttered
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Sphota (“disclosure”). Crucial element in the theory of language propounded by Bhartrhari (7th c.). Bhartrhari was the found¬
er of the Grammarians, a philosophical school that conceived of Brahman, the Supreme Reality, as being manifested in sound,
particularly the sound of the spoken word. According to this theory, a verbal utterance had three elements: the sound or sounds
produced by the speaker and heard by the listener; a phonological pattern, of which that utterance is an instance; and finally the
sphota, which was expressed by the sounds and signified the object of that utterance. According to Bhartrhari, sphota had to be
postulated to explain how words could carry meaning. They do so because they are connected to the sphota, which designated a
particular object, and in producing the sounds the speaker expressed that sphota.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Bhartrihari (c. fourth or fifth century) grammarian and philosopher Bhartrihari was a philosopher of language whose work was sem¬
inal in the development of the Indian theories of language and of MANTRA. There are several extant accounts of his life, but none
seem to have a historical basis. He was primarily known as a grammarian, but his works had great philosophical impact as well.
Bhartrihari developed a philosophy that came to be known as “word ADVAITA,” or non-dualism, based on the notion that the word
(shabda) is the transcendent reality. His idea of “Shabda BRAHMAN,” or Ultimate Reality, as the basis of all language, broke the
barrier between grammar and philosophy. He is best known for his work Vakyapadiya (Treatise on words and sentences), which
formulates the sphota theory of linguistic utterance, much debated in successive times. Bhartrihari maintained that the study of
Sanskrit grammar alone could cause one to attain liberation from birth and rebirth.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
Hindu philosophers have actually elaborated an idea which does not exist in any other philosophy, that of Sphota. It is true that
in Panini’s own Sutras the word Sphota does not occur, but the name of a grammarian whom he quotes (VI, i, 123), Sphorayana,
shows that this peculiar word Sphofa must have existed before Panini’s time. Derived as it is from Sphut, Sphota must have meant
originally what bursts forth. It has been translated by expression, notion, concept or idea, but none of these renderings can be
considered as successful. It really means the sound of a word as a whole, and as conveying a meaning, apart from its component
letters. The subject has been well treated by Madhava in his Sarva-darsana-samgraha. Here, when examining the Panini Darsa-
na, he shows first of all that the Sabda or word which Panini professes to teach in his Sabdanusasana, or grammar, is really the
same as Brahman. The eternal word’, he writes,’ which is called Sphota, and is without parts, is the true cause of the world,’ is in
fact Brahman, and he adds thereupon some lines from Bhartrihari’s Brahmakanda, where that grammarian (died 650 A.D.) says
‘Brahman, without beginning or end, the indestructible essence of language,
Which developed in the form of things, and whence springs the creation of the world.’
What more could be said of the Neo-platonic Logos ?
Raja. Theories of Meaning
The term sphota is derived from the root sphut which means ‘to burst’ and it is defined in two ways. In its linguistic sense it is
normally defined as ‘that from which the meaning bursts forth, i.e. shines forth, in other words the word-as-expressing-a meaning
(vacaka). ‘ The sphota is simply the linguistic sign in its aspect of meaning-bearer (Bedeutungstrager).’ Secondly it is defined as
an entity which is manifested by the letters.
This sphota theory was fully developed and systematized by the great grammarian-philosopher Bhartrhari in his Vakyapadiya; but
some of the ideas underlying this theory can be found even in earlier grammatical and philosophical literature. There is no evi¬
dence, however, to show that Panini knew anything similar to the sphota theory, in spite of the ... tradition ascribing this theory to
sage Sphotayana, mentioned as an authority by Panini himself.
Srinivasa. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Bhartrihari, the famous writer of the 7th. century A. D., expounds the doctrine of the sphota in his Karika called Vakyapadiya.
“Those that know sound know that there are two sounds in the words that we speak: one, the cause of sound; the other is used for
indicating an object.” (Vakyapadiya 1.44). The two sounds referred to are, first, what exists in the mind before the word is actually
pronounced, and, second, the pronounced word. “Some of those that follow the ancient path say that these two are different in na¬
ture. Others say, we divide in two by our thought what is really one. Just as the light (potential) in the fire-stick (arani) is the cause
of other lights being produced, so the sound (sphota) in the mind (buddhi) is the cause of the various sounds heard (nada). It is
first thought out by the mind, then associated with some meaning and then is grasped (by the hearer) as sound. Nada is produced
in succession (in time) ; but sphota is not before or after (i.e. produced in succession). What is not successively produced appears
as if gradually made and thus appears divided. As a reflection seems to take on the motion of the water in which it is seen (lit. ex¬
ists), being under the influence of the action of the water, that is the relation of sphota and nada.” (lb. i. 45-49). Sphota is, thus, the
potential word which exists in the mind i.e. the mental antecedent that is revealed by the uttered word, as water reveals the moon
reflected in it.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
A word is like a bomb. When I throw the grenade of a word to you it bursts into your mind, with the result that a meaning is evoked.
In Sanskrit this bursting aspect of words is called sphotam.
Nitya. Psychodynamics of Pranava
Swami Prajnanananda, in his illustrious book, A Historical Study of Indian Music (Anandadhara Prakashan, 1965 p. 396 -400),
gives a beautiful account of pranava in the context of music. Before that, he presents the word that blasts as sphota. The science
of sphota is one of the earliest sciences of semantics developed in India. We give here a gist of what the Swami says: The word
emanated from the eternal sound (sabda) or sphota. The casual sound of sphota has two aspects, dhvani (sound) and varnam
(alphabet character). When sounds are pure and simple and do not convey any definite meaning, they are known as dhvanyatma-
ka sabda. When they are intelligible and capable of being expressed by letters, they are known as varnatmaka sabda. According
to Upavarsa, varna alone is expressive of sabda. This view is endorsed by Sankara and Sahara Swamin. Patanjali also accepts
this view in his Mahabhasya, that sounds are articulate (vyaktavak) when they are turned into letters. The audible or articulated
sound is popularly known as vaikhari. The meaning of a word (conveyed by vaikhari) is ultimately expressed by sphota and not by
sounds of momentary existence. The derivation of sphota is sphutatrartho’smaditisphotah. When a word or sentence is conceived
as an indivisible unit, that is called sphota. Sphota is both the vibrating sound (dhvani) and the gestalt it presents (bhavartha rupa).
According to the grammarians, sphola is the word essence (brahman). Nagesa, in his Laghumanjusa, insists that all words come
from the cosmic sound sabda brahman. Swami Prajnanananda is of the view that sphota can be compared with the divine mystic
word AUM or pranava from which all forms of speech (vak) are supposed to emanate. Patanjali also identifies sabdatattva with
brahmatattva. In the Laghumanjusa, Nagesa identifies sphota with pranava. According to Nagesa, the nucleus of sphota is bindu
which is composed of three subtle qualities. The bindu is an inexhaustible source of energy, saktitattva. The unconscious part of
this energy is known as bija, while the combination of the conscious (cit) and unconscious (acit) parts is called nada. As the nucle¬
ic aspect ot sphota, bindu, being the intelligent part of sphota, is said to be the ultimate source of all forms of speech (vak).
The mantra we articulate is vaikhari. If we take mantras like AUM, HRIM, SRIM, etc., we can see that they are structured with spe¬
cific notes or sounds. Each mode of sound is a vibration. The vibration has a certain quality according to its amplitude, frequency
and tenor. These are all measurable as aspects of physical vibration. A sound heard by the ear or articulated by the tongue, or a
vague image seen by the eye, can burst into meaning in consciousness (sphota).
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Complete works
In the universe, Brahma or Hiranyagarbha or the cosmic Mahat first manifested himself as name, and then as form, i.e. as this
universe. All this expressed sensible universe is the form, behind which stands the eternal inexpressible Sphota, the manifester
as Logos or Word. This eternal Sphota, the essential eternal material of all ideas or names, is the power through which the Lord
creates the universe; nay, the Lord first becomes conditioned as the Sphota, and then evolves Himself out as the yet more con¬
crete sensible universe. This Sphota has one word as its only possible symbol, and this is the Om. And as by no possible means
of analysis can we separate the word from the idea, this Om and the eternal Sphota are inseparable; and therefore, it is out of this
holiest of all holy words, the mother of all names and forms, the eternal Om, that the whole universe may be supposed to have
been created.
Etymology
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
The word sphota is derived from sphut (which means to burst into clarity, as in the case of a diamond).
Related words
OM
Sabda
Sanskrit ^
Sphota —
sphota - tpbk
Sraddha
Variant spellings
sraddha
shraddha
sraddha
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sraddha —... faith.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sraddha -
to have faith or faithfulness, have belief or confidence, believe, be true or trustful (with na, ‘to disbelieve’ &c.) RV. &c. &c.; to credit,
think anything true (two acc.) MBh. Kav. &c.; to believe or have faith in or be true to (with dat., and in later language with gen. of
thing or person, or with loc. of thing) RV. &c. &c.; to expect anything (acc.) from (abl.) MBh.; to consent, assent to, approve, wel¬
come (with acc.; with na, ‘to disapprove’) Kathas.; to be desirous of (acc.), wish to (inf.) ib. BhP. : Caus. -dhapayati, to make faith¬
ful, render trustful, inspire confidence RV.;
faith, trust, confidence, trustfulness, faithfulness, belief in ..., trust, confidence, loyalty (Faith or Faithfulnesses is often personified
and in RV. x, 151 invoked as a deity; in TBr. she is the daughter of Prajapati, and in SBr. of the Sun; in MBh. she is the daughter
of Daksha and wife of Dharma; in MarkP. she is the mother of Kama, and in BhP. the daughter of Kardama and wife of Angiras or
Manu) RV. &c. &c.;
wish, desire (sraddhaya ind. ‘willingly, gladly’), longing for;
desire of eating, appetite;
the longing of a pregnant woman;
curiosity;
purity;
respect, reverence;
calmness or composure of mind;
intimacy;
a term for the fern, nouns in a;
N. of the authoress of RV. x, 151;
N. of two Samans
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Sraddha - Absolute faith and one-pointed devotion.
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Sraddha: One of the prerequisites on the part of a seeker. Willingness to have full faith in the truthfulness of the word of the Guru
and of the scriptures. A necessary stepping stone to manana.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Shraddha is the faith in the truths of Vedanta as taught by the Guru.
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shraddha (“faithful”). Ancestral memorial rite, performed either for one specific person (ekoddishta), or for a group in which the
primary beneficiaries were one’s three paternal ancestors (parvana).
An ekoddishta shraddha is usually first performed on the eleventh day after a person’s death, although it may be repeated on the
anniversary of the death. It is also usually performed every year during the Pitrpaksha, a two-week period specifically devoted to
such rites, on the lunar day during this period that corresponds to the lunar day of death.
A parvana shraddha can be performed on a number of different occasions, for a number of different reasons. In the dharma liter¬
ature and its commentaries, shraddhas are classified as falling in all three categories of ritual action: nitya, naimittika, and kamya.
Certain shraddhas are obligatory (nitya) because they are prescribed for certain particular times, such as during the Pitrpaksha.
Other shraddhas are occasional (naimittika) because they are necessary only under certain conditions, such as the obligation to
give a tirtha shraddha when one visits a pilgrimage place (tirtha). Finally, certain shraddhas are freely performed because of the
desire (kama) for certain benefits from them—usually conceived as the well-being of one’s ancestors—and these are desiderative
(kamya) shraddhas.
Whatever the motive for giving the shraddha, the general procedure always has two particular features: symbolically feeding one’s
ancestor(s) by offering balls of cooked grain (pindas), and feeding real food to a group of brahmins (the group with the highest
social status in Hinduism) representing one’s ancestors. Each of these parts is given a great deal of ritual elaboration, and there is
considerable disagreement about which should come first, but in modern times offering the pindas generally precedes the meal.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
sraddha or faith: a function of the mind which enables the aspirant to accept as true the words of Vedanta as taught by a compe¬
tent teacher. This is not a mechanical or unquestioning belief. It is rather an affirmative attitude of mind as opposed to the scepti¬
cal and negative. Endowed with this virtue the aspirant intuitively believes in the existence of Ultmate Reality and in the eternity of
the Soul. Further, he knows that he is capable of making any sacrifice for the realization of Truth. It is said in the Katha Upanisad
that Naciketa, armed with sraddha, went to the abode of the king of death to seek the knowledge of the hereafter. Without this
affirmative attitude of the mind no success is possible in spiritual life.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
26. That conviction that the sastra and the words of the teacher are true is said to be sraddha by the wise by which the truth is
known.
Commentaries by Dayananda:
Sraddha means faith or trust. These English words do not fully convey the meaning of sraddha. Sraddha is defined as ‘sastrasya
guruvakyasya satyabuddhi-avadharana’ . Avadharana means ascertainment, conviction or commitment. Satya-buddhi means
a buddhi which sees ‘this is true’. A ‘this is true’ attitude towards the words of the Veda-sastra as well as of the teacher is called
sraddha.
It is nice to hear sometimes that, ‘I am Brahman ‘. It is like someone telling you, “you are the king of the country”. It is nice to hear
that. But it is a false statement. And a false statement, however flattering, cannot be accepted by me. So I cannot accept the state¬
ment, ‘I am Brahman’. I can go by what I know. And I know very well about my limitations. But in the vision of sastra ‘I am Tsvara’,
‘the seeker is the sought’. That vision I cannot accept. I thought perhaps I did not understand the sastra properly; so I go to a guru
who understands the sastra and he confirms what the sastra says. In this situation I need sraddha to accept the vision of the sas¬
tra about me. It is just the opposite of what I think I am. When it is just the opposite to what I think I am, then definitely I require not
just ordinary faith; I make proper effort to see that the sastras words are true, and not my opinions about myself. That is sraddha.
Sraddha alone is considered the most important thing in gaining this knowledge. If sraddha is there everything else including
mumuksutva can be accomplished. The sastra says that the knower of Brahman gains the ultimate. This itself will create mumuk-
sutva in you, if sraddha is there. If sraddha is not there, your approach to the sastra will be academic. When you have sraddha,
even though you are made to study grammar, logic and so on, your pursuit is non-academic. Even if you study philosophy etc. in
the university or anywhere, it is still non-academic when you have sraddha. But without sraddha even if you study Vedanta with a
teacher it is only academic. Anyone who studies the sastra with sraddha is a mumuksu, no matter where he studies...
Before operating a means of knowledge you should have confidence and trust in it. Once knowledge is born, sraddha is no more
necessary, because the thing is known to you.
See also:
“Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda” on page 789
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
sraddha — from the verb root dha “to place” + srad = “faith”.
Related words
Dama
Sama
Samadhana
Broader term: Satsampatti
Titiksa
Uparati
Sanskrit
Sraddha —
sraddha -
Sravana
Variant spellings
sravana
shravana
sravana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sravana — ... hearing; study.
1. A proximate aid, according to Advaita, for liberation. An aspirant should hear the Upanisadic texts from a qualified teacher.
This will remove any doubts one has as to the nature of the means of valid knowledge (pramana) to know the Absolute (Brah¬
man)—i.e., sruti. It is the stage of formal study.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sravana -
the act of hearing (also ‘that which is heard’);
acquiring knowledge by hearing, learning, study;
fame, reputation;
wealth;
(rarely n.) the ear;
the hypotenuse of a triangle or the diagonal of a tetragon &c.
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Sravana. This is study and discussion of the Upanisads with the assistance of a guru that has realized the truth they teach. The
implication of this requirement is two-fold: First, it signifies that the ultimate philosophic truth is to be learnt through a study of the
revealed texts. Secondly, it emphasizes the need for personal intercourse with a competent teacher, if the study is to be fruitful
and shows that mere book-learning is not of much avail.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
The effects of sravana may be immediate and the disciple realises the truth all at once. This can happen only for the well-ad¬
vanced disciple. Otherwise, the disciple feels that he is unable to realise the truth, even after repeatedly hearing it. What is it due
to? Impurities in his mind: ignorance, doubt and wrong identity are the obstacles to be removed.
Sravana, manana, nididhyasana
General
Dictionary - Grimes
2. According to Advaita Vedanta, the path of knowledge consists of three steps: study (sravana),reflection (manana), and contem¬
plation (nididhyasana). Reflection is discovering how and why the teachings are true. The truth has been discovered by study, but
now any doubts (asambhavana) are to be removed so that what has been received on trust can be made one’s own. This reveals
a unique feature of Advaita which posits and recognizes the value of analytical reflection.
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Acquisition of knowledge (jnana).—Evil being due to a misconception of the nature of Reality, its removal can be only through right
knowledge; ... Detachment is a pre-condition of right knowledge. ... The training of this second stage [the first is vairagya] is three-
fold: sravana, manana and nididhyasana. The first stands for the study of the Upanisads under a proper guru... It defines the place
of... tradition in the training. ... Though necessary, sravana is not enough; so it is supplemented by manana or continued reflection
upon what has thus been learnt with a view to get an intellectual conviction regarding it. This training is to be further supplement¬
ed b y nididhyasana or meditation, which assists directly in the realization within oneself of the unity underlying the multiplicity of
the universe. The necessity for this part of the training arises as follows: Our belief in the reality of diversity as such is the result of
perception and is therefore immediate. So nothing but an equally immediate apprehension of unity can effectively remove it. If vari¬
ety, in the reality of which we almost instinctively believe, is not to delude us, we must see the unity underlying it, not merely know
it. Seeing is believing. That is why the Upanisads speak of darsana or ‘spiritual perception’ in respect of the atman or Brahman.
A mere reasoned conviction is not enough, though it is necessary to give us the mark, as it were, at which to shoot. A successful
pursuit of this course of training will result in right knowledge, which ... will lead to moksa.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
That questioner said, “The ancients say that for a person who wants to know that real state sadhana, sravana, manana, and ni¬
didhyasana are absolutely necessary till the very end.” Bhagavan replied, “They are necessary only to get rid of the various things
that come from outside and that too for purposes of sadhana only, but not for realising the Self. One’s own self is there at all times
and in all places. Sravana, etc., are to be resorted to only to get rid of external influences, but if they are regarded as the most
important things they will be the cause of the development of the feelings of ahankara, such as ‘I am a pandit’ (learned man), ‘I am
a great man’ and the like. That is a big samsara (family). It is difficult to get rid of it later on. It is bigger than a wild elephant. It will
not yield ordinarily.
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
By sravana, Knowledge dawns. That is the flame.
By manana, the Knowledge is not allowed to vanish. Just as the flame is protected by a wind-screen, so the other thoughts are not
allowed to overwhelm the right knowledge.
By nididhyasana, the flame is kept up to burn bright by trimming the wick. Whenever other thoughts arise, the mind is turned in¬
ward to the light of true knowledge.
When this becomes natural, it is samadhi. The enquiry “Who am I?” is the sravana. The ascertainment of the true import of T is
the manana. The practical application on each occasion is nididhyasana. Being as T is samadhi.
Sravana removes the illusion of the Self being one with the body, etc. Reflection makes it clear that Knowledge is Self. Onepoint-
edness reveals the Self as being Infinite and Blissful.
Vaidharbha’s question was: “In practice, the thoughts are found to manifest and subside alternately. Is this jnana?” Sri Bhagavan
explained the doubt as follows:
Some people think that there are different stages in jnana. The Self is nitya aparoksha, i.e., ever-realised, knowingly or unknow¬
ingly. Sravana, they argue, should therefore be aparoksha jnana (directly experienced) and not paroksha jnana (indirect knowl¬
edge). But jnana should result in duhkha nivriti (loss of misery) whereas sravana alone does not bring it about. Therefore they say,
though aparoksha, it is not unshaken; the rising of vasanas is the cause of its being weak (not unchanging); when the vasanas
are removed, jnana becomes unshaken and bears fruit. Others say sravana is only paroksha jnana. By manana (reflection) it be-
comes aparoksha spasmodically. The obstruction to its continuity is the vasanas: they rise up with reinforced vigour after manana.
They must be held in check. Such vigilance consists in remembering = “I am not the body” and adhering to the aparoksha anubha-
va (direct experience) which has been had in course of manana (reflection). Such practice is called nididhyasana and eradicates
the vasanas. Then dawns the sahaja state. That is jnana, sure. The aparoksha in manana cannot effect dukha nivritti (loss of mis¬
ery) and cannot amount to moksha, i.e., release from bondage because the vasanas periodically overpower the jnana. Hence it is
adridha (weak) and becomes firm after the vasanas have been eradicated by nididhyasana (one-pointedness).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Psychology of Darsanamala
Yajhavalkya instructed his wife and disciple, Maitreyi, to listen, sravana, ponder over, manana, and actualize the teaching, nidid¬
hyasana, when he commenced his teaching of brahmavidya to her.
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
The Absolute is within the consciousness of man, and conversely man lives within the Consciousness of the Absolute. The third
degree of contemplation in the series of sravana (hearing), manana (mental identification of what one has heard or knowing it by
heart as schoolboys say) is nididhyasana (knowing the Absolute as if from inside it or as the Absolute within you).
See also:
in Moksha: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
sravana- from the root sru, to hear.
Related words
Manana
Nididhyasana
Sanskrit
/ _
Sravana — ^cfuj
sravana -
Sruti
Variant spellings
sruti
shruti
shruthi
sruti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sruti — ... what is heard; revealed scripture; direct assertion; Veda.
1. The Vedas are called the sruti. They are the Hindu revelatory scripture. The Divine Word (Veda) which is “heard” by the Seer
(rsi) constitutes the immemorial truth.
2. It is divided into bheda- and abheda-sruti.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sruti -
hearing, listening;
the ear, organ or power of hearing;
the diagonal of a tetragon or hypothenuse of a triangle;
that which is heard or perceived with the ear, sound, noise &c.;
an aggregate of sounds (whether forming a word or any part of a word);
rumour, report, news, intelligence, hearsay (srutau- root stha, ‘to be known by hearsay’);
a saying, saw, word;
that which has been heard or communicated from the beginning, sacred knowledge orally transmitted by the Brahmans from gen¬
eration to generation, the Veda (i.e. sacred eternal sounds or words as eternally heard by certain holy sages called Rishis, and so
differing from smrti or what is only remembered and handed down in writing by human authors...; it is properly only applied to the
Mantra and Brahmana portion of the Vedas, although afterwards extended to the Upanishads and other Vedic works including the
Darsanas; iti sruteh, ‘because it is so taught in the Veda, according to a sruti or Vedic text’; pi. ‘sacred texts, the Vedas’, also ‘rites
prescribed by the Vedas’);
(in music) a particular division of the octave, a quarter tone or interval (twenty-two of these are enumerated, four constituting a
major tone, three a minor, and two a semitone; they are said to be personified as nymphs);
a name, title;
learning, scholarship;
buddhi;
N. of a daughter of Atri and wife of Kardama
Wikipedia
Sruti (Sanskrit: lit. “hearing, listening”), often spelled shruti or shruthi, is a term that describes the sacred texts comprising the cen¬
tral canon of Hinduism and is one of the three main sources of dharma and therefore is also influential within Hindu Law. These
sacred works span the entire history of Hinduism, beginning with some of the earliest known Hindu texts and ending in the early
modern period with the later Upanishads. Sruti is often cited as akin to the Vedas; however, it also contains various supplementary
commentaries on them. This literature differs from other sources of Hindu Law, particularly smrti or “remembered text”, because of
the purely divine origin of sruti. This belief of divinity is particularly prominent within the Mimamsa tradition. The initial literature is
traditionally believed to be a direct revelation of the “cosmic sound of truth” heard by ancient Rishis who then translated what was
heard into something understandable by humans.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shruti (from shru, to hear) refers to sacred texts that are received through a kind of revelation, rather than written by humans.
Shruti texts are the primary authority in Hinduism; they are complemented, but never superseded, by smriti, or human-made texts.
Shruti texts are understood to be heard from a transcendent source. The VEDIC MANTRA texts and their adjuncts, the BRAH-
MANAS, which include in them the ARANYAKAS and UPANISHADS, are accepted by all as being shruti. These texts are consid¬
ered to have been “heard” or “seen” by the Vedic RISHIS (seers). Other texts are sometimes given the status of shruti by certain
groups or regional traditions, such as the BHAGAVAD GITA, the Tamil TEVARAM, or the TANTRIC AGAMAS.
Encyclopedia of religion
The Veda has been passed from generation to generation by oral transmission. This fact explains the name sruti (“what is heard”)
by which the Veda is known. In order to preserve this extensive literature intact without the aid of writing, and to facilitate its pre¬
cise memorizing, the Vedists devised various ways of reciting the Veda (pathas or vikrtis) that involve permutations and combina¬
tions of the words in mantras (versus) and prose formulas. The emergence of various schools (sakhas) and subschools (caranas)
of Vedic study has also substantially helped the preservation of this large corpus of literature. At the same time, oral transmission
may have resulted in the loss of a considerable portion of Vedic literature in the course of time.
These communities [the Indian branch of the Indo-Europeans who gradually entered the valley of the Indus River in successive
waves in the second millennium BCE] regard as sacred and authoritative texts only those orally transmitted collections of poetic
hymns (mantras), ritual instructions (Brahmanas), and some of the early philosophical speculations (Aranyakas and Upanisads)
of the Vedic literary corpus. Together, these works are said to constitute sacred “knowledge” (veda) and are known as sruti, “re¬
vealed truth.”
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The origin of Upanisadic literature as it has been handed down to us is somewhat hard to trace. Hindu tradition places it on the
same footing as the other species of Vedic literature —the Mantras and the Brahmanas—regarding them all alike as sruti or ‘reve¬
lation,’ i.e. as works not ascribable to human authors.
Human experience may be sufficient to understand nature; but nature, the [orthodox schools] contend, transcends itself and points
to something beyond, and they postulate sruti or revelation as the sole means of acquiring what knowledge is possible of that tran¬
scendental sphere of being...
The acceptance of sruti as an authority in this sense ... has its danger; for it may lead to belief in anything under the plea that it
has been revealed. The ancient Indian realized the danger and has hedged in his view of it by various conditions. They show what
exactly revelation as conceived in orthodox circles is, and how it stands related to experience in general and to reason in particu-
lar: (i.) The first of these conditions is that the revealed truth should be new or extra-empirical (alaukika), i.e. otherwise unattained
and unattainable. The authority of revelation for instance is not to be invoked to show that heat destroys cold, which is a matter of
common experience. Now it is clear that revelation should speak to us in terms of our experience for otherwise it will be unintelli¬
gible and will therefore fail of its purpose. Even the scripture cannot teach the unknown through the unknown, so that the theme
of revelation cannot be wholly out of relation to human experience. When we take the condition of novelty along with this fact that
the terms in which transcendental truth is communicated must necessarily be known to us, we see that what is revealed, so far at
least as philosophic truth is concerned, cannot be altogether new, but can only be a new way of construing our experience, (ii.)
The next condition is that what is revealed should not be contradicted (abadhita) by any of the other pramanas. Nor should one
part of it be in conflict with another. This means that the content of revelation must be internally coherent and that, though it may
be above reason, it cannot be against it. The very fact that conditions are laid down for determining the validity of revelation makes
it evident that it cannot be opposed to reason, (iii.) It is not only thus negatively that revelation is related to reason. The relation is
also positive in that we find a third condition laid down, viz. that reason should foreshadow what revelation teaches. That is, re¬
vealed truth must appear probable. If this condition again is not to clash with the first one of novelty, we must take it as meaning
only a rough forecast of the truth under consideration by means of analogies drawn from the empirical sphere. They are not proofs
of revealed truth; yet they are not useless, since they serve to remove any ‘antecedent improbability’ that may be felt to exist about
the truth in question. The appeal to reason which we come across often in the sruti—particularly in the Upanisads—is explained
by the orthodox as really of this kind. In their view, reason by itself is incapable of discerning such truths. At best, it may lead to
two or more conclusions equally plausible; and, without the aid of revelation, it is impossible to avoid scepticism. The survival of
the self after death is a good instance of a truth taught in the Veda which satisfies these conditions. It is not accessible to reason,
but at the same time there is nothing in it to contradict reason. Despite these careful reservations, it should be admitted, sruti so
defined remains an external authority; and that is the view taken of it in the orthodox schools.
Wikipedia
Max Muller in an 1865 lecture stated
“In no country, I believe, has the theory of revelation been so minutely elaborated as in India. The name for revelation in Sanskrit
is Sruti, which means hearing; and this title distinguished the Vedic hymns and, at a later time, the Brahmanas also, from all other
works, which however sacred and authoritative to the Hindu mind, are admitted to have been composed by human authors. The
Laws of Manu, for instance, are not revelation; they are not Sruti, but only Smriti, which means recollection of tradition. If these
laws or any other work of authority can be proved on any point to be at variance with a single passage of the Veda, their authority
is at once overruled. According to the orthodox views of Indian theologians, not a single line of the Veda was the work of human
authors. The whole Veda is in some way or the other the work of the Deity; and even those who saw it were not supposed to be
ordinary mortals, but beings raised above the level of common humanity, and less liable therefore to error in the reception of re¬
vealed truth. The views entertained by the orthodox theologians of India are far more minute and elaborate than those of the most
extreme advocates of verbal inspiration in Europe. The human element, called paurusheyatva in Sanskrit, is driven out of every
corner or hiding place, and as the Veda is held to have existed in the mind of the Deity before the beginning of time...”
Role in Hindu Law
The idea of sruti established a set group of people who were granted access to the information contained in the Vedas. Because
of its divine nature and methods of transmittance, sruti literature, Vedas, was reserved solely for the twice-born or upper three
castes. This necessitated interpretations by those granted access in order to provide the proper teaching and practical rules for
those unable to approach the literature, including Sudra, women, and those outside of the caste system. As these interpretations
began to be practiced as law, the concept of Acara, or regional customary laws developed by a person who reads and interprets
the Vedas, began to be understood. This, in conjunction with Smrti texts that provide further human interpretation of Sruti, devel¬
oped the information hierarchy that Hindus looked toward to dictate the proper conduct of their lives.
The specific information regarding such proper conduct was not found directly in the Vedas because they do not contain explicit
codes or rules that would be found in a legal system. However, because of the Vedas’ divine and unadulterated form, a rule that
claims connection to this literature is given more merit even if it does not cite a specific passage. In this sense, Sruti exists as a
source for all Hindu Law without dictating any specifics.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
... an important point which should be borne in mind is that so long as the knowledge of Brahman is sought with the help of Sruti
(Revelation) and Yoga, a Guru or an enlightened teacher is an indispensable necessity. For, in the absence of confirmation by a
knower of the Truth, we can never know whether our interpretation of the words of Sruti is correct, or whether the experiences we
gain by Yogic practices have led us aright to the final goal. Hence we find that all those who approach the study of Vedanta in the
orthodox way invariably invoke the help and the blessings of the Guru.
Sruti and smriti
General
Encyclopedia of religion
... the relationship between sruti (“hearing”), the transcendent “revelation” as against the worldly or human tradition, called smrti
(“remembrance”). The word sruti does not refer to the mode of receiving the revelations: The standard term is “seeing,” not “hear¬
ing.” Sruti thus refers to the transmission of the fixed and systematized texts. In this sense it is not essentially different from the
smrti, except for the unique care and efforts spent on its preservation and transmission. But the differentiation marked by the two
terms is significant. Although the smrti equally tends to give itself as revelation, namely by the godhead, the transcendent author¬
ity of the sruti does not derive from any godhead. It stands by itself without the intermediary of a divine agency. Its authority being
ultimate, it can have no other, higher source. It therefore functions as the unassailable basis of the fluid and adaptive worldly smrti.
Another word for smrti is dharma, universal law, which then is said to be derived from or to be already contained in the sruti. At
any rate the dharma should not go counter to the sruti. In fact, however, the relationship is more complex and indeed problematic.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
The Hindus have divided the whole of their ancient literature into two parts, which really mean two periods, Srutam, what was
heard, and was not the work of men or any personal being, human or divine, and Smritam, what was remembered, and has al¬
ways been treated as the work of an individual, whether man or god. Srutam or Sruti came afterwards to mean what has been
revealed, exactly as we understand that word, while Smritam or Smriti comprised all that was recognized as possessing human
authority only, so that if there ever was a conflict between the two, Smriti or tradition might at once be overruled by what was
called Sruti or revelation...
What we call philosophy in its systematic form, is, from an Indian point of view, not revealed, Srutam, but belongs to Smriti or
tradition. We possess it in carefully composed and systematically elaborated manuals, in short aphorisms or Sutras or in metri¬
cal Karikas, ascribed to authors of whom we hardly know anything, and followed by large commentaries or independent treatises
which are supposed to contain the outcome of a continuous tradition going- back to very ancient times, to the Sutra, nay even to
the Brahmana period, though in their present form they are confessedly the work of medieval or modern writers.
Samkara, ... says: ‘ In matters to be known from Sruti mere reasoning is not to be relied on. As the thoughts of man are altogether
unfettered, reasoning, which disregards the holy texts and rests on individual opinion only, has no proper foundation. One sees
how arguments which some clever men had excogitated with great pains, are shown by people still more ingenious to be falla¬
cious, and how the arguments of the latter are refuted in their turn by other men ; so that on account of the diversity of men’s opin¬
ions, it is impossible to accept mere reasoning as having a sure foundation. Nor can we get over this difficulty by accepting as well
founded the reasoning of some person of recognised eminence, whether Kapila or any one else, since we observe that even men
of the most undoubted intellectual eminence, such as Kapila, Kanada, and other founders of philosophical schools, have contra¬
dicted each other.’
This rejection of reason and reasoning, though not unfamiliar to ourselves, seems certainly strange in a philosopher; and it is not
unnatural that Samkara should have been taunted by his adversaries with using reason against reasoning. ‘ You cannot,’ they say,
‘ maintain that no reasoning whatever is wellfounded, for you yourself can found your assertion that reasoning has no foundation,
on reasoning only. Moreover, if all reasoning were unfounded, the whole course of practical human life would have to come to an
end.’ But even this does not frighten Samkara.
See also:
in Shastra: Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
sruti - from the root sru, to hear + abstract formative -ti .
Related words
Brahmana
Shastra
Smriti
Upanishad
Veda
Sanskrit
Sruti — ^fcT
sruti - 3 TTctT
*vO
Sthula
Variant spellings
sthula
sthula
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sthula — ... gross material.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sthula -
large, thick, stout, massive, bulky, big, huge;
gross, tangible, material (opp. to suksma , ‘subtle’)
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
Sthula - from the root sthu = stha .
Whitney. Sanskrit roots
the root: stha, ‘stand’ .
Sanskrit
Sthula —
sthGla - tpjyT
Sthula-sarira
Variant spellings
sthula sarira
sthula-sharira
sthula-sarlra
sthGlasarTra
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
SthGla sarlra — ... gross body; physical body.
1. According to Sankhya, it is constituted of the twenty-five elemental principles: the five jnanendriyas (the organs of hearing,
touch, sight, taste, and smell), the five karmendriyas (the organs of speech prehension, movement, excretion, and generation), the
five tanmatras (the subtle essence of the elements of sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell), the five mahabhutas (ether, air, fire,
water, and earth), and the five vital airs (prana, apana, samana, udana, and vyana).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sthulasarTra -
the gross or material and perishable body with which a soul clad in its subtle body is invested (opp. to sGksma- and linga-s...);
large-bodied
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
The SthGla-sarTra or coarse material body consists, according to some Samkhya teachers, of the five or four coarse elements
(Bhutas), according to others of the element of the earth only, and is made up of six coverings, hair, blood, flesh, sinews, bones
and marrow.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Three Acharyas and Narayana Guru tradition
Sthula-sarira. Gross body; physical body. The body with which gross objects are enjoyed in the waking state.
Descriptions
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
The gross aspect [of man] is called the sthGla sarlra or “gross body,” that is, the material and perishable body. This perishable
body is, of course, destroyed at death, and another is formed at birth. It consists of the five gross aspects of the five tanmatras,
technically called bhutas or the five gross elements. All this is the sum and substance of man. All proceed from the Cosmic Sub¬
stance (Prakrti), and represent the true essence of each individual of the manifest world. The philosophy of the Yoga interprets
these principles as they apply to the individual, and the art of the Yoga teaches one how to control these forces.
Diagram: Three bodies (sharira traya)
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
SthulasarTra - compounded of sthGla + sarira .
Related words
Annamaya kosha
Karana-sarira
Sarira
Suksma sarira
Sanskrit ^
Sthula-sarira —
SthulasarTra -
Sukha
Variant spellings
sukha
sukham
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sukha — pleasant; happy; agreeable.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sukha -
... running swiftly or easily (only applied to cars or chariots);
pleasant (rarely with this meaning in Veda), agreeable, gentle, mild;
comfortable, happy, prosperous;
virtuous, pious;
N. of a man;
a kind of military array;
of one of the 9 Saktis of Siva;
ease, easiness, comfort, prosperity, pleasure, happiness, joy, delight in;
water;
N. of the fourth astral, house;
the drug or medicinal root called Vriddhi
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
Pleasure - sukham. Sukham is happiness and joy, also the state of being happy and joyful. It is the quality of being pleasant and
agreeable, as also the mental condition of being pleasant or agreeable.
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
“And now hear from Me the threefold happiness [sukham] that one enjoys through practice, and in which one comes to the end of
suffering.” (18:36)
Sattwic happiness
... “That which in the beginning is like poison but in the end like nectar; that happiness, born from the tranquillity of one’s own
mind, is declared to be sattwic.” (18:37)
... an important principle is set forth in this verse. In the beginning it is normal for spiritual practice to be boring or even annoying
and upsetting. But at the end it will be all sukha: happiness and ease. For it never really is poison, but only seems so to the distort¬
ed mind-mirror of those bound in ignorance.
Rajasic happiness
“That which in the beginning, through contact between the senses and their objects, is like nectar, and in the end like poison; that
happiness is declared to be rajasic.” (18:38)
Here we have the opposite of the previous verse. Those things that to the ignorant seem like the nectar of immortality (“This is re¬
ally living!” “This the way to live!” “I like it-give me more!”) will in time be seen as deadly poison, but it is often too late... The happi¬
ness of rajas is simply fool’s gold.
An interesting point: In this and the previous verse the word pariname is found. It means “when transformed,” the idea being that
in time the two kinds of happiness transmute or ripen into either amrita or poison. Actually, they reveal their inner nature, they do
not really change, but it seems so to the sadhaka.
Tamasic happiness
“That happiness which both in the beginning and afterwards deludes the self, arising from sleep, indolence, and negligence, is
declared to be tamasic.” (18:39)
Krishna describes tamasic happiness as mohanam-deluding, addicting, and confusing-arising from spiritual “sleep” (nidra), idle¬
ness and outright spiritual laziness (alasya), and negligence and confusion (pramada). Notice that, unlike sattwic and rajasic hap-
piness, tamasic happiness does not transform into anything other than what it is at the beginning. It does not lead to anything, but
remains utterly inert. Sattwic and rajasic happiness leads to conclusions about their merit or demerit. Tamasic happiness,
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
As you experience it [sukha], the object is exhausted, the sense organs are tired and the mood has changed. Sukha is possible
only when all the three are in proper alignment. The object should be there in a desirable quality and quantity, the senses should
be fit and the mood should be proper. It is not humanly possible to keep all these three in alignment for a good length of time. So
happiness has a beginning and an end. There is no guarantee that, after all the efforts, there will be happiness.
... The sukha belongs to the anandamaya.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sukha — from su = “good, fine” + kha = “state”.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sukha - said to be from ... su + ... kha, and to mean originally ‘having a good axle-hole’.
Related words
Anandamaya kosha
Opposite: Dukha
Sanskrit
Sukha —
sukha -
Suksma sarira
Variant spellings
sukshma-sarira
sukshma-sharira
suksma-sarTra
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Suksma-sarTra — ... subtle body.
1. The sheaths of vital airs (prana), mind (manas), and knowledge (vijnana) constitute the subtle body. They are called the prana-
mayakosa, manomaya-kosa, and vijnana-maya-kosa.
2. The subtle body consists of the internal organs (buddhi, ahankara, and manas), the organs of knowledge (jnanendriya), the
organs of action (karmendriya), and the five vital airs (prana).
3. It is also called the linga-sarlra or the astral body.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sGksmasarTra -
(in phil.) the subtle body (= lingas..., opp. to sthula-s...);
pi. the six subtle principles from which the grosser elements are evolved (viz. Aharh-kara and the 5 Tan-matras ... ; accord, to oth¬
er systems ‘the 17 subtle principles of the 5 organs of sense, 5 organs of action, 5 elements, Buddhi and Manas’)
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Three Acharyas and Narayana Guru tradition
Suksma-sarira : Subtle body; also called linga sarira. The body with which one sees and enjoys dreams.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
... the sukshma sarira corresponds to the pure light which one experiences just after sleep and before the rise of the ego. It is Cos¬
mic Consciousness.
There is the body which is insentient; there is the Self which is eternal and self-luminous; in between the two there has arisen a
phenomenon, namely the ego, which goes under these different names, mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), memory (chitta), the ego
(ahankara), power (sakti), life current (prana), etc. ... [These] are only ideas (kalpana) to explain the subtle body (sukshma sarira).
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
The five (faculties) beginning with speech, the five (organs) beginning with the ear, the five (vital airs) beginning with prana, the
five (elements) beginning with akasa, buddhi (intellect) and the rest, avidya (ignorance) whence Kama (desire) and Karma (action)
constitute a body called suksma (subtle) body. 98
Listen! This body produced from five subde elements is called suksma as also linga (characteristic) sarira; it is the field of desires,
it experiences the consequences of Karma (prior experience); it (with the karana sarlra added) being ignorant, has no beginning,
and is the upadhi (vehicle) of atman. 99
The characteristic condition of this body is the dreamy state; this state is distinguished from the waking state by the peculiar man¬
ner in which its senses work; in the dreamy state mind itself revives the condition created by the desires of the waking state. 100
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
89. Among these sheaths, the intelligent sheath (Vijnanamayakosha) which is endowed with the power of knowledge is the agent;
the mental sheath (Manomayakosha)which is endowed with will-power is the instrument; and the vital sheath (Pranamayakosha)
which is endowed with activity is the product. This division has been made according to their respective functions. These three
sheaths together constitute the subtle body.
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
[Power of knowledge—Vijnana or intelligence has this power on account of its proximity to the Atman.
Will-power—Will is a function of the mind.]
See also:
in Sarira: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Diagram: Three bodies (sharira traya)
Related words
Karana-sarira
Linga sarira
Manomaya kosha
Pranamaya-kosa
Sarira
Sthula-sarira
Vijnanamaya kosha
Sanskrit _
Suksma-sarira —
suksma-sarTra -
Sushupti
Variant spellings
sushupti
susupti
susupti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Susupti — ... deep sleep; sleep without dream.
I.The state of deep-sleep consciousness. There are no objects present—neither of external things of the world nor of internal
ideas; thus, there is no apprehension of duality, though ignorance (avidya) still persists in a latent state.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
susupti -
deep sleep (in phil. ‘complete unconsciousness’) Vedantas
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Sushupti: dreamless sleep
... The sushupti is the state of deep sleep in which the jiva in the Prajna aspect and the Lord in the Isvara aspect, abiding together
in the stamen of the Heart-Lotus, experience the bliss of the Supreme by means of the subtle avidya (nescience). Just as a hen
after roaming about in the day calls the chicks to her, enfolds them under her wings and goes to rest for the night, so also the sub¬
tle individual being, after finishing the experiences of the jagrat and swapna for the time being, enters with the impressions gath¬
ered during those states into the causal body which is made up of nescience, characterised by tamo guna, denoted by the letter M
and presided over by the deity Rudra.
Deep sleep is nothing but the experience of pure being.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
The third foot of the Atman the third phase of its analysis, is deep sleep, where all perceptions and cognitions converge into a
single mode of the mind, - eklbhutah. It becomes a mass of consciousness, which is not projected outside; - prajnana-ghanah.
There is no modification of the mind, and so there is no external consciousness. We are not aware of the world outside in the state
of sleep because of the absence of vrittis, or psychoses, of the mind. Only when the mind becomes extrovert can it have con¬
sciousness of the outer world, whether in dream or in waking. But, there is no agitation of the mind, of that nature, in sleep. It is as
if there is a homogeneous mass of all perceptions, where all the samskaras, vasanas, commingle into a single mode, or condition,
instead of there being many cognitive psychoses. ... It is all bliss. The happiness of deep sleep is greater than all other forms of
happiness or pleasure born of sense-contact. It is filled with ananda, bliss, delight, satisfaction.
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Dreamless sleep.—In this state, described as susupti, the manas as well as the senses is quiescent and there is consequently
a cessation of normal or empirical consciousness. There is no longer any contrasting of one object with another or even of the
subject with the object, and the embodied self is then said to attain a temporary union with the Absolute. As however susupti is not
identified with the state of release, this statement has to be understood negatively—as only signifying that the consciousness of
individuality is absent at the time though the individual himself continues to be, as shown by the sense of personal identity con¬
necting the states before and after sleep. It is not a state of consciousness in the ordinary sense; but it is not a state of blank or
absolute unconsciousness either, for some sort of awareness is associated with it. ... This state is above all desire and is therefore
described as one of unalloyed bliss. ... The perfect peace or happiness of sleep we even recollect after waking, for then our feeling
is not merely that we have slept but that we have slept soundly.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The third state of consciousness is Sushupti or “the state of deep sleep”. The words sushupti and sleep are also etymologically re¬
lated. It is the state of Parasabda or “Supernal Sound”. It has been noted before that the Element Air is the Element of Sound. The
hierarchy of Voice — Word — Sound has thus been retraced from external physical manifestation to inward spiritual principle.
... The symbolic nature of the “sleep” of the Sushupti state appears in statements like that made by the Rishi Vasishta (in the Mu-
mukshu-Prakarana of Yoga-Vasishta): “I shall ever be in the Sushupti state, and thus be able to overstep the limits of the pain¬
ful mind, though engaged in the daily actions of the world.” The Yoga-Vasishta also mentions that it is the highest of the Ajnana
states or “states of non-realization” (of Reality).
Narayana Guru tradition
Isa Upanishad. Nitya
... unconscious, which is more correctly termed in Indian psychology as susupti or karana caitanya (causal consciousness).
Nitya. Pranayama
From the moment of the fertilization of an ovum to the hour of the birth of the child, the fetus is in deep sleep. In that state it has
no desires and it does not see any dream. This long period of the unconscious state of the growing fetus can be called susupti. In
spite of having no conscious desire or semi-conscious dream, the growing felus is active. This is one of the greatest miracles of
this world.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Our wakeful experience cannot make any sense if the external items are not meaningfully related to an inner consideration of their
worth or value. A glorious sunrise comes. You turn to it and say “how wonderful!” Outside is the sun, inside is the wonder. The
love for the beautiful is embedded in us. Even when no beautiful thing is being presented, the capacity to appreciate beauty is
still within us. Everything which happens in wakeful life has a corresponding urge, interest or value vision lying buried in the deep
unconscious. This is the causal factor which produces the effect of what is experienced, called susupti, or suptam.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: What does sushupti look like?
M.: In a cloudy dark night no individual identification of objects is possible and there is only dense darkness, although the seer has
his eyes wide open; similarly in sushupti the seer is aware of simple nescience.
Sankara tradition
Sankara & Gambhirananda. Chandogya Upanishad
... the knowers of Brahman do not admit attainment of its own nature by the individual soul, in any state other than deep-sleep.
See: Sakshin and sushupti
Sushupt and Buddhi
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The State of Deep Sleep is called “the state in which there is neither the subjective nor the objective”. It is the state in which Bud¬
dhi, the intuitive, discriminative spiritual faculty functions. “Sleep” is symbolical, though the literal is not excluded. The function of
Buddhi is like sleep to the rational mind which inevitably falls short of its superior realm. ... Sleep is moreover an appropriate term,
for while the rational faculty can be followed in its activities, the faculty of Buddhi works in flashes of its own nature, without allow¬
ing itself to be watched at work. It is, indeed, “neither subjective, nor objective”.
Sushupti and Jagrat
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Interesting is another sentence in Yoga-Vasishta (Utpatti Prakarana, the Story of Akasaja): Those who are liberated in life are in
“that “ undisturbed state of mental equilibrium when they enjoy the Jagrata (Waking) state in Sushupti (Sleep) or the Sushupti in
Jagrata, devoid of all desire-tendencies (Vasanas)”.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Cohen. Guru Ramana
Mr. C. Sushupti is often characterised as the state of ignorance.
Bh. No, it is the pure State. There is full awareness in it and total ignorance in the waking state. It is said to be ajnana (ignorance)
only in relation to the false jnana (knowledge) prevalent in jagrat. Really speaking jagrat is ajnana and sushupti prajnana (wis¬
dom). If sushupti is not the real state where does the intense peace come from to the sleeper? It is everybody’s experience that
nothing in jagrat can compare with the bliss and well-being derived from deep sleep, when the mind and the senses are absent.
What does it all mean? It means that bliss comes only from inside ourselves and that it is most intense when we are free from
thoughts and perceptions, which create the world and the body, that is, when we are in our pure Be-ing, which is Brahman, the
Self. In other words, the Be-ing alone is bliss and the mental superimpositions are ignorance and, therefore, the cause of misery.
That is why samadhi is also described as sushupti in jagrat, the blissful pure being which prevails in deep sleep is experienced in
jagrat, when the mind and the senses are fully alert but inactive.
Ramana. Maharshi's Gospel
D: Can I not remain in sushupti as long as I like and also be in it at will, just as I am in the waking state? What is the jnani’s experi¬
ence of these three states?
M: Sushupti does exist in your waking state also. You are in sushupti even now. That should be consciously entered into and
reached in this very waking state. There is no real going in and coming out of it. To be aware of sushupti in the jagrat state is
jagrat-sushupti and that is samadhi.
The ajnani cannot remain long in sushupti, because he is forced by his nature to emerge from it. His ego is not dead and it will
rise again and again. But the jnani crushes the ego at its source. It may seem to emerge at times... That is, in the case of the
jnani also, for all outward purposes prarabdha would seem to sustain or keep up the ego, as in the case of the ajnani; but there is
this fundamental difference, that the ajnani’s ego when it rises up (really it has subsided except in deep sleep) is quite ignorant of
its source; in other words, the ajnani is not aware of his sushupti in his dream and waking states; in the case of the jnani, on the
contrary, the rise or existence of the ego is only apparent, and he enjoys his unbroken, transcendental experience in spite of such
apparent rise or existence of the ego, keeping his attention (lakshya) always on the Source. This ego is harmless; it is merely like
the skeleton of a burnt rope — though with a form, it is useless to tie up anything. By constantly keeping one’s attention on the
Source, the ego is dissolved in that Source like a salt-doll in the sea.
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
... the sleep state is free from thoughts and their impression to the individual. It cannot be altered by one’s will because effort is
impossible in that condition. Although nearer to Pure Consciousness, it is not fit for efforts to realise the Self.
The incentive to realise can arise only in the waking state and efforts can also be made only when one is awake. We learn that the
thoughts in the waking state form the obstacle to gaining the stillness of sleep. “Be still and know that I AM God”. So stillness is the
aim of the seeker. Even a single effort to still at least a single thought even for a trice goes a long way to reach the state of quies¬
cence. Effort is required and it is possible in the waking state only. There is the effort here: there is awareness also; the thoughts
are stilled; so there is the peace of sleep gained. That is the state of the Jnani. It is neither sleep nor waking but intermediate
between the two. There is the awareness of the waking state and the stillness of sleep. It is called jagrat-sushupti. Call it wakeful
sleep or sleeping wakefulness or sleepless waking or wakeless sleep. It is not the same as sleep or waking separately. It is ati-
jagrat (beyond wakefulness) or atisushupti (beyond sleep). It is the state of perfect awareness and of perfect stillness combined. It
lies between sleep and waking; it is also the interval between two successive thoughts. It is the source from which thoughts spring;
we see that when we wake up from sleep. In other words thoughts have their origin in the stillness of sleep. The thoughts make all
the difference between the stillness of sleep and the turmoil of waking. Go to the root of the thoughts and you reach the stillness of
sleep. But you reach it in the full vigour of search, that is, with perfect awareness.
That is again jagrat-sushupti spoken of before. It is not dullness; but it is Bliss. It is not transitory but it is eternal. From that the
thoughts proceed. What are all our experiences but thoughts? Pleasure and pain are mere thoughts. They are within ourselves. If
you are free from thoughts and yet aware, you are That Perfect Being.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
[the initial state of our becoming aware of ourselves immediately after we wake up from deep sleep] Generally, we do not think
of this condition when we get up from sleep. We remain in a state of half-consciousness, and we plunge into our usual activities
afterwards; so that we do not meditate upon this intervening period between deep sleep and waking consciousness in terms of the
outer world. We have a subtle feeling of our ‘being’, before we become aware of the world outside. We are not asleep; we have
woken up; and yet we are not fully aware of the samsara that is outside us. This state of consciousness where it is aware that it is,
and yet not aware that other things are, is the state of l-am-ness, asmitva, aham-asmi, that can be a feeble apology for Reality. A
perpetual establishment of oneself in this consciousness would land us in the experience of the Cosmic.
See also:
in Catuspada: Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
in Manas: Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
Diagram: Catuspada, Four States of Consciousness
Related words
Broader term: Catuspada
Jagrat
Laya
Prajna
Svapna
Turiya
Sanskrit
Susupti —
susupti -
Sutra
Variant spellings
sutra
sutra
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Sutra — ... aphorism; “thread”.
1. An extremely condensed and cryptic statement requiring a commentary or explanation (bhasya) to make it intelligible.
2. The sacred thread worn by the members of the three higher castes.
3. The basic text for a philosophical system. It consists of a set of aphorisms setting forth, in an ordered manner, the leading con¬
cepts and doctrines of the system concerned. These aphorisms are cryptic and are not expository statements but aids to memory.
Since they are brief, they lend themselves to divergent interpretations.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sutra -
a thread, yarn, string, line, cord, wire;
a measuring line;
the sacred thread or cord worn by the first three classes;
a girdle;
a fibre;
a line, stroke;
a sketch, plan;
that which like a thread runs through or holds together everything, rule, direction;
a short sentence or aphoristic rule, and any work or manual consisting of strings of such rules hanging together like threads (these
Sutra works form manuals of teaching in ritual, philosophy, grammar &c.: e.g. in ritual there are first the Srauta-sutras, and among
them the Kalpa-sutras, founded directly on Sruti ; they form a kind of rubric to Vedic ceremonial, giving concise rules for the per¬
formance of every kind of sacrifice ...; other kinds of Sruti works are the Grihya-sutras and Samayacarika or Dharma-sutras i.e.
‘rules for domestic ceremonies and conventional customs’, sometimes called collectively Smarta-sutras [as founded on smrti or
‘tradition’ see smarta]; these led to the later Dharmasastras or ‘law-books’ ...; in philosophy each system has its regular text-book
of aphorisms written in Sutras by its supposed founder...; in Vyakarana or grammar there are the celebrated Sutras of Panini in
eight books, which are the groundwork of a vast grammatical literature; with Buddhists, Pasupatas &c. the term Sutra is applied to
original text books as opp. to explanatory works; with Jainas they form part of the Drishtivada);
a kind of tree Divyav
Wikipedia
Sutra, literally means a thread or line that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, for¬
mula), or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual.
In Hinduism the ‘sutra’ is a distinct type of literary composition, based on short aphoristic statements, generally using various tech¬
nical terms. The literary form of the sutra was designed for concision, as the texts were intended to be memorized by students in
some of the formal methods of scriptural and scientific study (Sanskrit: svadhyaya). Since each line is highly condensed, another
literary form arose in which commentaries (Sanskrit: bhasya) on the sutras were added, to clarify and explain them.
One of the most famous definitions of a sutra in Indian literature is itself a sutra and comes from the Vayu Purana:
“Of minimal syllabary, unambiguous, pithy, comprehensive, / non- redundant, and without flaw: who knows the sutra knows it to be
thus.”
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
A sutra (line, thread, or string) is a text (on any subject) composed of short, aphoristic verses, usually only of a few words. Most of¬
ten the sutra form was used to facilitate easy memorization, as knowledge in India was most frequently communicated from mem¬
ory. Because of the extreme conciseness of the lines of text, most verses are not comprehensible without reference to some sort
of commentary. Buddhist and Jain traditions also frequently used this method in their texts (e.g., Acharanga Sutra of the Jains).
Among the many such texts are the Dharma Sutra, YOGA SUTRA, and Vedanta Sutra.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Sutra (“thread”). In a metaphorical sense, a sutra is a short phrase or aphorism that can easily be committed to memory. Many
early philosophical and grammatical texts were collections of such sutras, which are so brief that they virtually presuppose a
commentary to explain their meaning. In many cases the commentary would have been an oral exchange between teacher and
student, thus effecting the living transmission that is still the norm in tantra, a secret, ritually based religious practice. Memorizing
such sutras was a way to gain mastery over an entire text, and the sutras could also serve as an aid to memory for the commen¬
tary, thus enabling a person to preserve the “thread” of the argument. In a more literal sense, the word sutra can also refer to the
cord or cords strung through the centers of palm leaf manuscripts, which kept the pages of the text in their proper order.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
We possess it [philosophy in its systematic form] in carefully composed and systematically elaborated manuals, in short aphorisms
or Sutras or in metrical Karikas. ... In the Sutras each system of philosophy is complete, and elaborated in its minutest details.
There is no topic within the sphere of philosophy which does not find a clear or straightforward treatment in these short Sutras.
The Sutra style, imperfect as it is from a literary point of view, would be invaluable to us in other systems of philosophy, such as
Hegel’s or Plato’s. We should always know where we are, and we should never hear of a philosopher who declared on his death¬
bed that no one had understood him, nor of antagonistic schools, diverging from and appealing to the same teacher. One thing
must be quite clear to every attentive reader of these Sutras, namely, that they represent the last result of a long continued study
of philosophy, carried on for centuries in the forests and hermitages of India. The ideas which are shared bv all the systems of
Indian philosophy, the large number of technical terms possessed by them in common or peculiar to each system, can leave no
doubt on this subject. Nor can we doubt that for a long time the philosophical thoughts of India were embodied in what I call a
Mnemonic Literature.
The Sutra-period, reaching down as far as Asoka’s reign in the third century, and his Council in 242 B.C., claims not only the fa¬
mous Sutras of Panini, but has also been fixed upon as the period of the greatest philosophical activity in India, an activity called
forth, it would seem, by the strong commotion roused by the rise of the Buddhist school of philosophy, and afterwards of religion.
Sutra-style
... the structure of the Sutras. In order to discuss a subject fully, and to arrive in the end at a definite opinion, the authors of the
Sutras are encouraged to begin with stating first every possible objection that can reasonably be urged against what is their own
opinion. As long as the objections are not perfectly absurd, they have a right to be stated, and this is called the Purvapaksha, the
first part. Then follow answers to all these objections, and this is called the Uttarapaksha, the latter part; and then only are we led
on to the final conclusion, the Siddhanta. This system is exhaustive and has many advantages, but it has also the disadvantage,
as far as the reader is concerned, that, without a commentary, he often feels doubtful where the cons end and the pros begin. The
commentators themselves differ sometimes on that point. Sometimes again, instead of three, a case or Adhikarana is stated in five
members, namely :—
1. The subject to be explained (Vishaya).
2. The doubt (Samsaya).
3. The first side or prima facie view (Purvapaksha).
4. The demonstrated conclusion (Siddhanta); and
5. The connection (Samgati).
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
... the Sutra period ... extended from 600—200 B.C. The word sutra, thread, is derived from the root siv,”to sew.” Here the term is
used to mean that which like a thread runs through and holds everything together. A sutra is a short, pithy, mnemonic sentence
used to facilitate learning. It is the style used for all philosophical literature.
Main sutras
General
Wikipedia
Vedanga
Shiksha (phonetics)
Chandas (metrics)
Vyakarana (grammar)
Ashtadhyayi (Panini), discussing grammar
Nirukta (etymology)
Jyotisha (astrology)
Kalpa (ritual)
Srauta Sutras, performance of sacrifices
Smarta Sutras
Grhya Sutras, covering domestic life
Samayacarika or Dharma Sutras
Sulba Sutras, architecture of sacrificial area
Hindu philosophy
Yoga Sutras
Nyaya Sutras
Vaisheshika Sutra
Purva Mimamsa Sutras
Brahma Sutras (or Vedanta Sutra) (Badarayana)
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
sutra - from the root siv ‘to sew’, and connected with suci and sGna.
Wikipedia
It is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew (these words, including Latin suere and English to sew, all ultimately deriv¬
ing from PIE *siH-/syuH- ‘to sew’).
Related words
Brahma-sutra
Darshana
Sanskrit _
Sutra —
sutra -
Svapna
Variant spellings
svapna
swapna
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Svapna —... dream; the dream state.
1. It is to be immersed in one’s own self. The state of consciousness called dream is also known as prajna.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
svapna -
sleep, sleeping;
sleepiness, drowsiness;
sleeping too much, sloth, indolence;
dreaming, a dream (acc. with root drs, ‘to see a vision, dream’)
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
The swapna is the dream state in which the jiva in the Taijasa aspect and the Lord in the Hiranyagarbha aspect, abiding togeth¬
er in the corolla of the Heart-Lotus, function in the neck and experience through the mind the results of the impressions collected
in the waking state. All the principles, the five gross elements, the will and the intellect, seventeen in all, together form the subtle
body of the dream which is characterised by the rajo guna denoted by the letter U and presided over by the deity Brahma, so say
the wise.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The second state of consciousness is Svapna or “the dreaming state”. It is also known as “the subjective state” because denoting
the state of experience of “subtle objects”. This is the consciousness of the emotional and mental planes together. It is the state
of Madhyama Sabda, the “middle or intermediate Sound”. The word “Svapna” is related to the Latin “sopor”, sleep, and the An¬
glo-Saxon “swefen”, a dream.
See also:
See: Ajnana, avarana, vikshepa
See also:
in Catuspada: Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
in Manas: Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
Diagram: Catuspada, Four States of Consciousness
Etymology
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
When a person is in the condition of sleep, in Sanskrit we say, svapiti, “He sleeps”. Here is a linguistic interpretation of the word
svapna, describing what sleep actually means. The etymological meaning of the term svapiti,—’one sleeps’, is that ‘one goes’, or
‘reaches’ sva, i.e., the self. One word sva connotes one’s own being or essential nature. What is made out, thus, is that one gets
absorbed into oneself in sleep. You become yourself in sleep; that is why there is no consciousness of anything external, then.
Sata saumya tada sampanno bhavati: One gets absorbed into the true being that one is. But, in other conditions, i.e., waking, etc.,
one gets drawn out of the true being that one is, into its other aspects which are external, such as physical being. In sleep, you get
into yourself, you enter yourself, you become yourself, and know nothing but yourself. This is sleep...
You go to the being that you are, instead of searching for support in the non-being that is ‘the outside’. Pranabandhanam hi,
saumya, mana iti: The mind is rooted in true being which is your essential nature, which you enter in sleep. That is sleep,—that is
your basic substance.
Related words
Broader term: Catuspada
Jagrat
Sushupti
Taijasa
Turiya
Sanskrit
Svapna — WH
svapna - *f'44d
Svarupa
Variant spellings
svarupa
svarupa
swarupa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Svarupa — ... natural form; actual or essential nature; essence.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
svarupa -
one’s own form or shape, the form or shape of;
own condition, peculiarity, character, nature;
peculiar aim;
kind, sort;
a partic. relation;
occurrence, event;
having one’s own peculiar form or character;
having a like nature or .character, similar, like;
pleasing, handsome;
wise, learned;
N. of a Daitya;
of a son of Su-nanda;
of a pupil of Caitanya
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
“Are you always the same?” The answer is, “No.” If we continue and ask, ‘What is always the same in you?” the answer is. “My
intrinsic form (svarupa).” And if we ask, ‘What is changing in you?” the answer is, “My attitude or nature (svabhava) and my innate
potential (svadharma).”
“How do you explain your svarGpa?” The answer is rather complicated. “In certain respects I resemble my father or some person
in the family tree of my father from whom the gene which decides my morphology has come. 1 also resemble my mother or some¬
body in the family of my mother from whom I have genetically inherited certain other of my morphological specialties. It is only nat¬
ural that when two metals are made into an alloy they make a third metal which is not like either of them. It is much more complex
than this in living beings. Before entering Into this body, I came from another father and mother and their family tree, and before
that my genetic inheritance came from the common seed of two other family trees. Thus it goes back ad infinitum.
So there is a third factor in me which belongs neither to my paternal seed nor to my maternal egg. it comes from my true being.
This is the manusya in me. Thus I am the product of an alchemy of my paternal and maternal genes plus a continuing purusa in
me.”
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Talk 561.
D.: What is svarupa (form) and arupa (formless) of the mind?
M.: When you wake up from sleep a light appears, that is the light of the Self passing through Mahat tattva. It is called cosmic con¬
sciousness. That is arupa. The light falls on the ego and is reflected therefrom. Then the body and the world are seen. This mind
is svarupa. The objects appear in the light of this reflected consciousness. This light is called jyoti.
See also:
in Nididhyasana: Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
svarGpa - from sva = “own, self + rGpa = “form, shape, figure”.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Svarupa (compounded of sva, one’s own + rGpa), one’s own form, nature, character.
Related words
Nididhyasana
Broader term: Rupa
Sanskrit
Svarupa —
svarGpa - tptyH
Svetasvatara Upanishad
Title
Svetasvatara upanishad
Shvetashvatara upanishad
Svetasvatara Upanisad
Author(s)
The sage Svetasvatara.
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Svetasvatara Upanisad — ... the Upanisad of the sage Svetasvatara.
1. It belongs to the Taittiriya or Krsna Yajur Veda. It contains a strong theistic vein and mentions names like Hara, Rudra, Siva,
and Bhagavan. Devotion is mentioned as a means of realizing the Supreme.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad is generally dated around the third century B.C.E., making it one of the later UPANISHADS. It is
the only orthodox Upanishad that refers to a sectarian divinity, in this case RUDRA-SHIVA. It understands Shiva to be the same
as the BRAHMAN, the ultimate reality, who had not previously been characterized in purely theistic terms. The text equates the
terms PURUSHA, which is the person from whom the world evolved in the Vedas, ATMAN (soul or self), BRAHMAN, and God, so
as to make clear the identity of all designations for the highest. The theistic quality of this text is developed in later Hindu theism
and in theistic or God-oriented VEDANTA.
Hume. The thirteen Upanishads
In the Svetasvatara the Samkhya is mentioned by name in the last chapter, and the statement is made that it reasons in search of
the same object as is there being expounded. The reterences in this Upanishad to the Samkhya are unmistakable.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Shvetashvatara Upanishad. A text generally regarded as one of the latest upanishads, the speculative religious texts that them¬
selves form the most recent stratum of the Vedas. This judgment is based on both the Shvetashvatara Upanishad’s form and
on its content. Stylistically, the earliest upanishads tend to be written in prose, or prose mixed with verse, whereas the later upa¬
nishads, including the Shvetashvatara, are completely in verse. In terms of content, the earlier upanishads tend to be long and
rambling, whereas in the later ones the ideas are far more concise and clearly developed. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad’s most
original idea is its description of the Supreme Being in completely theistic terms, in contrast to the abstract, impersonal represen¬
tations in the earlier upanishads. It identifies Ultimate Reality as the god Rudra, who was later identified with the god Shiva, one
of the most important modern Hindu deities. The text is also notable for an explicit description of the process and results of yoga,
which is the first known written explanation of this tradition.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
This theory of the three Gunas, however, is altogether absent from the original Vedanta ; at least, it is not to be met with in the
purely Yedantic Upanishads, occurring for the first time in the Svetasvatara Upanishad.
A ... mixture of philosophical terms meets us in the Svetasvatara Upanishad. In verse I, 10, for instance, we have Pradhana, which
is Samkhya, and Maya, which is Vedanta, at least the later Vedanta, while in IV, 10 Maya is directly identified with Prakriti. Puru-
sha occurs in III, 12, where it evidently stands for Brahman, IV, 1. But though in this Upanishad Samkhya ideas would seem to
prevail, Vedanta ideas are not excluded. The very name of Samkhya 1 and Yoga occurs (VI, 13), but the name of Vedanta also is
not absent, VI, 22. In all this we may possibly get a glimpse of a state of Indian philosophy which was, as yet, neither pure Sam¬
khya nor pure Vedanta, unless we look on these Upanishads as of a far more modern date, and on their philosophy as the result
of a later syncretism.
Wikipedia
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad (400 - 200 BCE) is one of the older, “primary” Upanishads. It is associated with the Black Yajurve-
da. It figures as number 14 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. Adi Shankara has called it the “Mantra Upanishad” of the
Vedic Shvetashvatara school in his commentary on Brahma sutras.
This Upanishad contains 113 mantras or verses in six chapters. In the last chapter we find the following verse.
“The Sage Shvetashvatara got this knowledge of Brahman, which is very sacred and revered by many great sages, through his
penance and through God’s grace, and he taught it very well to his disciples.”
By this verse we learn that this Upanishad was attributed to a sage called “Shvetashvatara” or to his line of ancient spiritual
teachers. The name “Shvetashvatara” is not uncommon in vedic literature. It means “White Mule”. The Mule was a prized animal
in ancient vedic India. A person who owns a white horse is called “Shvetashva” and one who owns a white mule can be called
“Shvetashvatara”. One of Arjuna’s names in the epic Mahabharata is “Shvetashva.” In the Rigveda, too, we find a sage’s name as
“Shyavashva,” meaning “One who owns a black horse.”
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad is the earliest textual exposition of a systematic philosophy of Shaivism.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Commentaries
General
Wikipedia
There is one commentary available on this Upanishad that is attributed to Adi Shankara, but on comparison with his other com¬
mentaries, there is some doubt that is indeed composed by him. There are three other commentators, namely Vijnanatma, Shan-
karananda and Narayana Tirtha.
Publications
Translations
Siddhesvar Varma, Shastri. The Svetasvatara Upanishad, translated. Allahabad, Panini Office, 1916. 135 pages. (Sacred Books
of the Hindus, vol. 18, part 1.)
In: Bhagavata, Rajarama Ramkrlshna. : The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, 2d of the series. Bombay, Nirnaya-Sagara Press, 1900.
119 pages.
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953,The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya-
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
Related words
Upanishads
Yajur Veda
T
Taijasa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Taijasa — ... the dream self; the vital self; the fiery
1. It is the self having a conceit in an individual subtle body in dream experience. It is so called because it is of the nature of light
and, thus, can function in the absence of external objects. It knows subtle internal objects and enjoys them through the mind.
2. See visva and prajna.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
taijasa -
originating from or consisting of light (te’jas), bright, brilliant;
consisting of any shining substance (as metal), metallic;
said of the gastric juice as coloured by digested food;
passionate;
metal;
vigour;
long pepper
Ramakrishna tradition
Sarvananda. Mandukya Upanishad
10. Taijasa, who has the dream state for his field, is the letter ‘U’, the second part of Om, because they are both superiorl and in
between2. One who knows this, becomes great in knowledge and the equal of all. No one ignorant of Brahman is born in his fami¬
ly-
[NOTES—1. Superior—The superiority of Taijasa identified with the dream state, consists perhaps in the subtleness of dream,
which helps one realize the world to be made only of ideas. U is said to be superior only apparently, because it comes after A.
2. In between — In the syllable Om, U is in between A and M. So also dream is in between waking and sleep, and Taijasa, identi¬
fied with dream, in between Vaisvanara and Prajna.]
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
93. Consciousness associated with each individual subtle body is known as Taijasa (full of light) on account of its being associated
with the effulgent inner organ (Antahkarana).
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Taijasa ... is the “middle state” of consciousness, “whose region is dreanTas the Mandukya-Upanishad says. It concerns the Ele¬
ments Water and Fire.
Sankara tradition
Karapatra. Advaita Bodha Deepika
D.: What is dream?
M.: After the senses are withdrawn from external activities the impressions formed by the mental modes of the waking state repro¬
duce themselves as visions in dreams. The experiencer of this subtle state is known as the taijasa.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Internal to the waking consciousness, and pervading the waking consciousness, there is a subtler function of this very same con¬
sciousness, which is subjectively known as the dream-consciousness, or taijasa, and universally known as hiranyagarba, or the
Cosmic Subtle Consciousness.
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
The Supreme Consciousness functioning through the individual subtle body is known as Taijasa. It expresses itself in the dream
condition and so is called the “dreamer”.
Taijasa and hiranyagarba
Taijasa individually and hiranyagarba cosmically are antahprajna, internally conscious because of their objects being
not physical but subtle, constituted of tanmatras: sabda, sparsa, rupa, rasa and gandha.
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Taijasa is identical with Hiranyagarbha on account of its existence being realised in mind. Mind is the characterstic indication (of
both). This is supported by such scriptural passages as, This Purusa (Hiranyagarbha) is all mind’ etc.
Hiranyagarbha and Taijasa are only what are termed as the cosmic mind and the individual mind respectively. Really speaking,
macrocosm and microcosm, both being mere forms of thought, are identical. Therefore the perceivers, Hiranyagarbha and Tai¬
jasa, are identical because they are also forms of thought. Their different appellations are due to their identification with different
Upadhis (adjuncts) namely, the thoughts of macrocosm and microcosm.
See: Visva, Taijasa, Prajna
See also:
in Jiva: Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Diagram: Catuspada, Four States of Consciousness
Related words
Hiranyagarbha
Prajna
Svapna
Tejas
Visva
Sanskrit
Taijasa —
taijasa -
Taittiriya Upanishad
Title
Taittiriya Upanisad —
Taittiriya Upanishad
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Taittiriya Upanisad — ... “partridge”; an Upanisad belonging to the Krsna or Black Yajur Veda named after the sage Tittiri
1. Though relatively short, it is regarded as a source book of Vedanta philosophy. It is divided into three sections (vallT). The first
section deals with pronunciation and prayers addressed to deities for the removing of obstacles to spiritual wisdom. The second
part discusses knowledge of the Absolute (Brahman) through an analysis of the five sheaths (kosa). The third part deals with a
dialogue between Varuna and his son, Bhrgu, which puts forth Brahman as the cause of the creation, continuance, and dissolution
of the universe.
Wikipedia
The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the older, “primary” Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is associated with the Taittiri¬
ya school of the Yajurveda. It figures as number 7 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. It belongs to the Taittiriya recension
of the Yajurveda and is constituted by the seventh, eighth and ninth chapters of Taittiriya Aranyaka. The tenth chapter of the same
Aranyaka is the Mahanarayana Upanishad.
The Taittiriya Upanishad describes the various degrees of happiness enjoyed by the different beings in creation.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Taittiriya Upanishad is an UPANISHAD of the Black YAJUR VEDA. It is considered one of the oldest Upanishads. It consists
of three sections.
The first section is devoted to teaching; it outlines elements of the sacred study of the VEDAS. The second section is named for its
description of the ANANDA (infinite bliss) of the BRAHMAN (ultimate reality). While in passing, defining the terms self and ulti¬
mate reality, it introduces the five SHEATHS that make up a human being. These are the sheath of food, the sheath of breath, the
sheath of mind, the sheath of understanding, and the sheath of bliss.
In the final section, named after the teacher Bhrigu, these five levels of being are fully described: the sheath of food describes the
external body and the sheath of bliss lies in the core of the heart, as the ultimate Self or brahman. The Upanishad concludes with
a memorable chant, the vision of the sage who realizes brahman: “I am food; I am food; I am food. I am the food-eater; I am the
food-eater; I am the food-eater. . . . Earlier than the gods; at the navel of immortality ... [I see] the golden light!” The food is the
manifest universe. The food-eater is the transcendent reality. The sage understands that in SELF-REALIZATION he encompasses
all the manifest and unmanifest world.
Wikipedia
The Taittiriya Upanishad is divided into three sections or vallis, the Siksha Valli, the Brahmananda Valli and the Bhrigu Valli. Each
Valli further subdivided into anuvakas or verses.
1st Section: Shiksha Valli
The Siksha Valli deals with the discipline of Shiksha (which is the first of the six Vedangas or “limbs” or auxiliaries of the Vedas),
that is, the study of phonetics and pronunciation.
First Anuvaka of this Valli starts with Shanti Mantra “OM Sham no Mitra
Second Anuvaka lists the contents of Shiksha discipline.
Third Anuvaka tells about the intimate connection between the syllables using five examples and implicitly tells that one should
meditate on those examples to realise connections told in them. Each of these examples are called a Maha Samhita. Each Syl¬
lable is called a Samhita. There is also a method of reciting Vedic Mantras where each syllable of mantra is recited separately of
preceding and next syllables known as “Samhita Patha”. This anuvak also declares that one who realises connection between syl¬
lables, will get good fruits including heaven. One of the example used under the heading of Self or Adhyaatmaa tries to make point
that the connection between syllables is as intimate and innate as speech and elements producing it. “Lower jaw is former form (or
first syllable), upper jaw is next form (next syllable), speech is union or connection, tongue is connector”
Fourth Anuvaka consists of Mantras and rituals to be done by those who aspire for Divine Knowledge (Medha Kama) and Wealth
(Shree Kama). In this anuvak teacher prays that “As water flows from high land to low land, as months join to become year, let
good disciples come to me from everywhere”
Fifth and Sixth Anuvakas try to describe Brahman in the form of Vyahrutis. The words “Bhooh”, “Bhuvah”, “Suvah”, “Mahah”,
“Janah”, “Tapah” and “Satyam” arecalled seven Vyahruti’s or Sapta Vyahrutis. These denote different worlds in Puranas. The
term “Vyahruti” means pronunciation, since these above mentioned words are pronounced in Vedic rituals like Agnihotra, these
are called Vyahruti’s. Fifth Anuvaka states that the fourth Vyahruti “Mahah” was discovered by a Rishi called “Mahachamasya”
and “Mahah” is Brahman all other Vyahrutis are its organs. This Anuvak says that “Bhooh” denotes earth, fire, Richa’s and Prana.
“Bhuvah” denotes space, air, Sama’s and Apana. “Suvah” denotes heaven, sun, Yajus and Vyana. “Mahah” denotes sun, moon,
Holy Syllable OM and food. This way, each of first four Vyahrutis become four each and in total they are 16. So all these four
Vyahrutis should be meditated as all of their sixteen manifestations, this is known as famous vedic term Shodasha Kala Purusha
in vedic literature. Finally this anuvak says that one who knows all sixteen manifestations of Vyahrutis knows Brahman and all
gods bring gifts to him.
Sixth Anuvaka tells that in the space inside the heart there exists an immortal golden being (Hiranmaya Purusha) and states that
there is a subtle route through the middle of the head through which a self realized Yogi travels when he/she leaves the body and
joins the all pervading Brahman.
The Seventh Anuvaka describes a meditation called Paanktha Upasana, where Brahman is meditated upon as a Set Of Five
called Paanktha. There is also a vedic meter of five lines called Paanktha. Outer world seen is classified into 3 set of five things
called “AdiBootha” and also inner body world into 3 sets of five things called “Adhyaathma”. This inner-outer grouping is then
meditated upon and meditator realizes both inner and outer paankta are one and the same Brahman and every thing is Paank¬
tha. This Anuvak states that Earth (Prithvi), Space (Antariksha), Heaven (Devloka), Directions (North, South etc), Subdirections
(South- East, North- West etc..) (Worldly set of Five or Loka- Paankta) and Fire (Agni), Air(Vayu), Sun(Aditya), Moon(Chandra),
Stars(Nakshatra) (Divine- Five or Deva- Paanktha) and Water, Herbs(Oshadhi), Trees, Sky(Akasha), Body of meditator (Elemental
Five or Dhaatu- Paanktha) are called Adibhuta or Outer Elements, further it states that Prana, Vyana, Apana, Udana, Samana (all
these are Five inner pranas of the body) and Eye, Ear, Mind, Speech(Vaak), Outer- Skin(Tvak)(Sensory- Five or Indriya-Paank-
tha) and Inner- Skin (Charma), Flesh, tendon- Ligaments, bones, Fat or Bone-Marrow (Elemental Five or Dhaatu Paanktha) are
called Adhyaatma or Inner Elements. The Rishi who realized oneness among these says “Thus everything is Paankta”. It further
says that one who realized everything as Paanktha, completes Paanktha with Paanktha itself.
Eighth Anuvaka states the greatness of Holy Syllable OM. It says that OM is Brahman and everything.
Ninth Anuvaka explains a pious way of life to be lead by persons aspiring realization of Brahman, see a prescription for an ideal
life
Tenth Anuvaka is a Mantra for self practice (Swadhyaya) or meditation. It is stated by a Rishi called Trishanku as an exclamation
of awe after he realized that he is one with Brahman. It is also called Mantramnaya of Trishanku.
Eleventh Anuvaka is a set of instructions that teacher(Acharya) gives to his disciple after completion of vedic education. The ninth
and eleventh Anuvaks collectively define a prescription for an ideal life.
Twelfth Anuvaka concludes the Shikshavalli with Shanti Mantra “OM Sham no mitra..” expressing gratitude toward gods who re¬
moved obstacles for study of Upanishad as prayed for in first anuvak of this Valli.
Prescriptions
The ninth and eleventh anuvakas of Shiksha Valli prescribe a moral or religious way of life which a person aspiring for self realiza¬
tion or divine knowledge follow. Ninth Anuvak emphaises heavily on learning, studying and teaching (Swadhyaya and Pravacha-
na) and ordains that this should be done althrough the life of an individual. Accoding to this anuvaka, the following are the duties
to be performed.
Observing truth always, observing perseverance, controlling indulgence in sensory organs or sensory pleasures(Shama), con¬
trolling external flow of mind (Dama), performing mandated vedic rituals like Agnihotra etc, hospitality to guests, facing worldly
odds and pleasures with even mind, procreation and begetting children and grand children (family life emphasised). Further this
verse says, According to truthful Raathithara, he says, truth must be observed as priority. According to great penance performer
Paurushishti, perseverance/penance (Tapas) should be observed. According to Naka the son of Mudgala, studying/learning¬
teaching of Vedas (Swadhyaya and Pravachana)should be observed.
So there seems to be three teachers emphasizing on one of the aspects of ideals of pious life. This part of the verse lead some
scholars think that there was a difference of opinions on way of life leading to divine knowledge/realization at time of composition
of this Upanishad.
All through this anuvak, emphasis is laid on continuous study, learning and teaching of Vedas to students. This is termed as
Swadhyaya and Pravachana.
Eleventh Anuvak is a set of instructions that teacher(Acharya) gives to his disciple after the completion of vedic education and the
disciple is about to start a household life. In this anuvak we find famous saying “Matrdevo bhava” which emphasizes on reverence
to ones mother, father, teacher and guests. Here teacher ordains disciple as follows.
Tell truth always, observe Dharma or (eternal divine laws), continue progeny, never leave truth, never leave Dharma, never aban¬
don care of your health, never abstain from good rituals ordained in scriptures, never leave study/learning and teaching, never
abandon worshipping gods (Deva’s) and revering ancestors (Pitru’s). Treat mother as a God. Treat father as a God. Treat your
teacher as a God. Treat guests as Gods. Those deeds, rituals that are good and lauded by people should be done, have rever¬
ence for great men, sages and wise ones.
Engage in charity work with diligence, donate according to your wealth, donate with faith, donate with humility. Donate with friend¬
liness (not belittling the receiver) in case of any doubts about performing these duties follow as do the selfless, kindhearted sages
do. Finally to emphasize that these duties to be performed with greater importance and due care, this verse says that, This is di¬
vine ordain and divine commandment. Form the gist of these two Anuvaks, one can guess what kind of life a house holder, aspir¬
ing divine knowledge tried to lead at the time of this Upanishad.
2nd Section: Brahmananda Valli
The statement “Brahmavida Apnoti Param” which means “The one who knows Brahman attains supreme state” is the formula
(Sutra- Vaakya) to get the high level gist of this Valli. First Anuvak starts with Shanti Mantra “OM sham no mitra” and “Sahana
vavatu” pleasing gods and removing obstacles for study of Upanishad being the objective of these Mantras. Second Anuvak starts
with formula sentence “Brahmavida Apnoti Param” as stated above and also tries to define Brahman succinctly as “Truth, Omni¬
scient, and Infinite” (Satyam Jnyanam Anantam Brahma).
Anuvaks Second to Fifth describe that Five sheaths subtle bodies or (Five Atmans) reside in one another in human body. Starting
with grosser, tangible human body called “Annamaya” or “Formed out of Food” to “Pranamaya” or “formed out of Vital life force” to
“Manomaya” or “Formed out of Mind” to “Vijnyanamaya” or “One who is of Knowledge” to Final and subtle most being “Anandama-
ya” or one who is full of Joy.
In Sixth and Seventh Anuvaks, some of the questions asked by a disciple are answered, such as
“Brahman being equal to both knower and ignorant, who gets the Brahman after death, knower or ignorant and why?”
Eighth Anuvak, compares happiness of various evolved beings starting from Man to that of next higher level till Happiness of Brah¬
man itself.
Ninth Anuvak describes that knower of Brahman doesn’t repent for not having done any good because for him/her, the terms good
and bad loses their meaning and he/she has equalled them with Brahman since it is the only one which is really existing.
3rd Section: Bhr.gu Valli
This Valli describes how son of Varuna(The Water God) Bhr.gu obtained realization of Brahman through repeated Tapas under
his fathers guidance.
Rest of the part of Valli describes greatness of donating food, that is feeding the hungry. It also emphasises on greatness of Food.
It says that since food is support of all life, food should not be insulted, food should not be declined.
Publications
Translations
In: Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
(Pvt. Ltd).
In: Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the phi¬
losophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
In: Gambhirananda, S. 1972, Eight Upanisads : Vol 1 (Isa, Kena, Katha and Taittiriya), Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta.
Prasad, N. 1994, The Taittireiya Upanisad : with the original text in Sanskrit and roman transliteration, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
In: Radhakrishnan, S. 1953, The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
In: Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranya-
ka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
Related words
Upanishads
Yajur Veda
Tamas
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Tamas — ... darkness; inertia; dullness; sluggish; state of rest; that which resists activity
1. One of the three qualities (guna). It is of the nature of indifference and serves to restrain. It is heavy and enveloping. (See
guna.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
tamas -
darkness, gloom (also pi.);
the darkness of hell, hell or a particular division of hell;
the obscuration of the sun or moon in eclipses, attributed to Rahu;
mental darkness, ignorance, illusion, error (in Sarhkhya phil. one of the 5 forms of a-vidja ...; one of the 3 qualities or constituents
of everything in creation [the cause of heaviness, ignorance, illusion, lust, anger, pride, sorrow, dulness, and stolidity; sin ...; sor¬
row ...; see guna
Wikipedia
Tamas (Sanskrit tamas “darkness”) is one of the three gunas (qualities), the other two being rajas, “passion, activity” and sattva,
“purity”. Tamas is the template of inertia or resistance to action. It has also been translated from Sanskrit as “indifference”.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The root “tern”, inclining towards “ten”, is interesting. A number of words are derived from it, all connected with the fall from light
into darkness, from peace to disturbance, from being to having, from freedom to bondage. “Tern” implies several, distinct, ideas,
which are traditionally related in their implications. It means dark, cut off, separate. The Latin “temere” meant in the dark, later it
got the sense of rashly, from which the English “temerity” was derived. It also assumed the sense of thoughtlessly, indiscreetly.
Related to it is the Latin “tenebrae”, darkness, and the Sanskrit “tamas”, meaning darkness, ignorance of truth, gloom, materiality.
The function of Tamas is traditionally said to be “the veiling of consciousness”.
Wikipedia
The classification between sattva, rajas and tamas is seen in various facets (including dietary habits) of Hinduism, Buddhism and
Sikhism, where tamas is the lowest of the three. Tamas is a force which promotes darkness, death, destruction, ignorance, sloth,
and resistance. The result of a tamas- dominated life is demerit by karma: demotion to a lower life-form. A tamasic life would be
marked by laziness, irresponsibility, cheating, maliciousness, insensitivity, criticizing and finding fault, frustration, aimless living, no
logical thinking or planning, and making excuses. Tamasic activities include overeating, oversleeping, and consuming drugs and
alcohol.
This is the most negative guna because of its rejection of Karmic Law and the central principle of dharmaic religions; that one’s
Karma must be worked out and not ignored.
The gunas (tamas, rajas and sattva) are defined and detailed in Samkhya, one of the six schools of classical Indian philosophy.
Each of the three gunas has its own distinctive characteristics and it is believed that everything is made up of these three. Tamas
is lowest, heaviest, slowest, and most dull (for example, a stone or a lump of earth). It is devoid of the energy of the rajas and the
brightness of sattva.
Tamas cannot be counteracted by tamas. It might be easier to counteract it by means of rajas (action), and it might be more diffi¬
cult to jump directly from tamas to sattva.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
Characteristics of tamas
(To the doctor) “There are a few men who cannot attain knowledge of God: men proud of their scholarship, proud of their edu¬
cation, or proud of their wealth. If you speak to such people about a holy man and ask them to visit him, they make all kinds of
excuses and will not go. But in their heart of hearts they think: ‘Why, we are big people ourselves. Must we go and visit someone
else?’
“A characteristic of tamas is pride. Pride and delusion come from tamas.
“It is said in the Purana that Ravana had an excess of rajas, Kumbhakarna of tamas, and Bibhishana of sattva. That is why Bibhis-
hana was able to receive the grace of Rama. Another characteristic of tamas is anger. Through anger one loses one’s wits and
cannot distinguish between right and wrong. In a fit of anger Hanuman set fire to Lanka, without thinking for a moment that the fire
might also burn down the hut where Sita lived.
“Still another feature of tamas is lust.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
113. The veiling power (Avriti), is the power of Tamas, which makes things appear to be other than what they actually are. It caus¬
es man’s repeated transmigration and initiates the action of the projecting power (Vikshepa).
114. Even the wise and the learned, and those who are proficient in the vision of the supremely subtle meaning of the scriptures,
are overpowered by Tamas and cannot comprehend Truth, even though It is clearly explained in various ways. They consider as
real what is simply superimposed by delusion and attach themselves to its effects. Alas! How powerful is the veiling power of dire
Tamas!
115. Absence of correct judgement, or contrary judgement, lack of definite belief, and doubt—certainly these never leave one who
has any connection with this veiling power; also, the projecting power gives endless trouble.
116. Ignorance, laziness, dullness, sleep, inadvertance, stupidity etc., are the attributes of Tamas. One tied up with these cannot
comprehend anything, but remains like one asleep, or like a stump of wood or a block of stone.
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
What is tamas? Tamas tv ajnana-jam viddhi mohanam sarva-dehinam (14.8): Tamas is total ignorance, idiocy, lethargy, fatigue,
and a desire to not do anything. It deludes the intellect so that we always confuse one thing with another thing. “Oh! I forgot it. Oh!
I did not know it!” is the kind of attitude we develop. An illusion is spread before the mind by tamoguna, and it is deluding in its
character as far as the individual is concerned. It causes us to blunder and make mistakes. We make mistakes everywhere, and
we cannot even speak a good sentence; everywhere there is some confusion. Also, we are fatigued immediately - alasya nidra
pramada. These are some of the results that follow from the preponderance of tamas.
When tamas is predominating, we have no idea as to what to do and what not to do. There is confusion about the pros and cons
of things. There is no proper judgment as to the way any step has to be taken in a given direction; and even if some step is taken,
it will be a wrong step and it will end in some fumbling and catastrophic conclusion. This is what tamas does.
When tamas predominates, what happens? There is no light in front of oneself. There is no radiance or hope on the horizon at all
and, therefore, there is no inclination to do anything. There is an inactive tendency in the person. As mentioned already, there is
always the committing of mistakes whenever any kind of initiative is taken. There is delusion at the back of all these things. That is
the essential nature of tamoguna.
See also:
in Avarana: Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda
in Ishvara: Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
Related words
Avarana
Bhutadi
Broader term: Guna
Moha
Rajas
Sattva
Sanskrit
Tamas — cRTT
tamas - chTtf
Tanmatras
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Tanmatra — ... the subtle essence of the five elements; the pure elements; elemental essence
1. They are sound (sabda), touch (sparsa), sight (rupa), taste (rasa), and smell (gandha). The five elements (mahabhGta) are de¬
rived from the tanmatras: from sound comes ether; from touch comes air; from sight comes fire; from taste comes water; and from
smell comes earth. The tanmatras are said to evolve from the tamasa aspect of egoity according to Sankhya.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
tanmatra -
merely that, only a trifle;
a rudimentary or subtle element (5 in number, viz. sabda-, sparsa-, rGpa-, rasa-, gandha-, from which the 5 Maha-bhutas or gross¬
er elements are produced
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The tanmatras are the subtle elements, the subtle forms of the five gross elements (earth, air, fire, water, and akasha) from which
the gross elements are derived. The senses corresponding to the subtle elements are gandha (smell) for earth, sparsha (touch)
for air, rupa (shape) for fire, rasa (taste) for water, and shabda (sound) for akasha. The tanmatras first appeared in the account
of the evolution of the universe propounded by the Samkhya school, one of the six schools of traditional Hindu philosophy. In the
Samkhya account, the subtle elements are the stage of evolution preceding the evolution of the gross elements. The Samkhya
school espoused an atheistic dualism in which the two fundamental principles were purusha (spirit) and prakrti (matter); all of this
evolution was associated with prakrti because, according to the Samkhyas, the purusha never changed. The Samkhya account of
evolution was appropriated by other groups—although these groups often adapted it to reflect theistic assumptions in which the
world came from God—and thus the notion of the subtle elements became an accepted philosophical convention.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
... the scheme of Tamasic Ahankara may be here mentioned. At a first glance it reveals its Material nature. It belongs to the
Sankhya School (and is found, for instance, in the Mahabharata II; 233; 4—7, Manu I; 75—78, and the Bhagavata Purana Dia¬
logue between Sri Krishna and Uddhava).
According to it the Tanmatra or “cause, subtle quality, characteristic” of the Element Earth is “odour”; that of the Element Water is
“taste”; that of the Element Tejo, “Fire, Light” is Rupa, “form and colour”; that of the Element Air is “space, sensitiveness, touch”;
and that of the Element Ether is “sound”, namely the A of the Om (AUM). The dissolution of the Material Universe is taught by
Krishna to Uddhava to take place in the following order: Earth — Odour — Water — Essence — Fire — Form and Colour — Air —
Touch — Ether — Sound — Tamasa Ahankara.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
4-8. If it is asked, What are the five Tanmatras (substances) ? he answers, The five substances or essences as emanating from
Ahamkara, the essence of sound, contact colour, savour, and odour.
The essences of sound are perceived in sounds only. Differences of sound, such as acute, grave, circumfiexed, and the notes of
the gamut, such as Shadya, C, Rishabha, 1), Gandhara, E, Madhyama, K, Pankama, G, Dhaivata, A, Nishada, B, are perceived ;
but there is no difference in the essence of sound.
The essences of touch are perceived in touch only. Differences of touch, such as soft, hard, rough, slippery, cold, and hot, are
perceived, but there is no difference in the essence of touch.
The essences of colour are perceived in colour only. Differences of colour, such as white, red, black, green, yellow, purple, are
perceived, but there is no difference in the essence of colour.
The essences of savour are perceived in savour only. Differences of savour, such as pungent, bitter, astringent, corrosive, sweet,
acid, salt, are perceived, but there is no difference in the essence of savour.
The essences of odour are perceived in odour only. Differences of odour, such as sweet and offensive, are perceived, but there is
no difference in the essence of odour.
Thus have the essences been indicated; and their synonyms, though sometimes very inaccurate ones, are said to be : Avise-
sha, not differentiated, and therefore not perceptible, Mahabhutas (?), the great elements ; Prakritis, natures, Abhogya, not to be
experienced, Anu, atomic, Asanta, not-pleasurable, Aghora, not-terrible, Amudha, not-stupid ; the last three being negations of
the qualities of the Mahabhutas, according to the three Gunas preponderating in each. And if it is asked why these eight Prakritis
only, from Avyakta to the Tanmatras, are called Prakritis, the answer is because they alone Prakurvanti, they alone bring forth, or
evolve.
... the question arises, how this process of perception could take place, how perception is possible subjectively, how it is possible
objectively. If we begin with the objective side, the answer of Kapila is that there must be Tanmatras (This-only), potential percep-
tibilia, which are not the potentialities of everything in general, but of this and this only(Tan-matra). These five potentialities are
Sound, Touch, Odour, Light, and Taste. They are not yet what is actually heard, seen, &c, nor what actually hears and sees, but
they contain the possibilities of both. As there is no hearing without sound, the Samkhyas seem to have argued, neither is there
any sound without hearing. But there is in the Tanmatras the potentiality of both. Hence, according to the division produced by
Ahamkara into subject and object, the five Taninatras are realised as the five subjective powers of perception, the powers of hear¬
ing, touching, smelling, seeing, and tasting, and corresponding to them as the five objects of sense, the objects of sound, touch,
odour, sight, and taste. In their final form the five potential Tanmatras stand before us in their material shape, subjectively as ear,
skin, nose, eyes, and tongue, objectively as ether, air, light, water, and earth (the five Mahabhutas). These five supply all possible
and real forms under which perception can and does take place.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
I smell a flower; in doing so, something must have come in contact with my nose. The flower is there. I do not see it move towards
me; but without something coming in contact with my nose how can I have the smell? That which from the flower come into con¬
tact with my nose are the tanmatras, fine molecules of that flower, so fine that no diminution will be perceived in the flower, even
if we all smell it the whole day. So with heat, light, sight, and everything. These tanmatras can again be subdivided into atoms.
Different philosophers have different theorios about, the dimentions of atoms but we know these are only theories, so we leave
them out of discussion. Sufficient for us that everything gross is composed of things that are very minute. We first get the gross
elements, which we feel externally, and composing them are the fine elements, which our organs touch, which come in contact
with the nerves of the nose, eyes and ears. The ethereal wave which touches my eyes, I cannot see, yet I know it must come in
contact with my optic nerve before I can see the light. So with hearing, we can never see the particles that come in contact with
our ears, but we know that they must be there. What is the cause of these tanmatras? A very startling and curious answer is given
by our [old] psychologists— self-consciousness. That is the cause of these fine materials, and the cause of the organs [indriyas],
Vivekananda. Raja Yoga
,,, Tanmatras, which cannot be sensed by ordinary men. If you practice Yoga, however, says Patanjali, after a while your percep¬
tions will become so fine that you will actually see the Tanmatras. For instance, you have heard how every man has a certain light
about him; every living being is emanating a certain light, and this, he says, can be seen by the Yogi. We do not all see it, but we
are all throwing out these Tanmatras, just as a flower is continuously emanating these Tanmatras, which enable us to smell it.
Every day of our lives we are throwing out a mass of good or evil, and everywhere we go the atmosphere is full of these materials,
and that is how there came to the human mind, even unconsciously, the idea of building temples and churches. Why should man
build churches in which to worship God? Why not worship Him anywhere? Even if he did not know the reason, man found that that
place where people worshipped God became full of good Tanmatras. Every day people go there, and the more they go the holier
they get, and the holier that place becomes. If any man who has not much Sattva in him goes there the place will influence him,
and arouse his Sattva quality. Here, therefore, is the significance of all temples and holy places, but you must remember that their
holiness depends on holy people congregating there. The difficulty with mankind is that they forget the original meaning, and put
the cart before the horse. It was men who made these places holy, and then the effect became the cause and made men holy.
If the wicked only were to go there it would become as bad as any other place. It is not the building, but the people, that make a
church, and that is what we always forget.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
In reply to a question if tanmatras are the operating factors in dreams, Sri Bhagavan said: No. Tanmatras are sukshma - subtler
than that. Although the dream-creations are subtle as compared with the gross world of the wakeful state, yet the dream-creations
are gross compared to tanmatras. Tanmatras after panchikarana give rise to the form of the antahkaranas (inner organ, mind).
There too, by the different sets of operating causes. Influenced by satva the predominance of ether (akasa) it gives rise to jnana
(knowledge) whose seat is the brain.
vayu (air) gives rise to manas (mind)
tejas (light) gives rise to buddhi (intellect)
jala (water) gives rise to chitta (memory etc.)
prthvi (earth) gives rise to ahankara (ego).
They are samashti (collective) for the reason that they can operate collectively or individually with any or all of the senses or or¬
gans. By rajoguna they are changed to jnanendriyas in the vyashti (individual); by tamoguna to karmendriyas in the vyashti (the
individual). The relation between the external world and the individual now becomes easy because the tanmatras are common to
them.
The tanmatras proceed from Prakriti. The statements on creation differ considerably. There is mentioned yugapatsrshti (simultane¬
ous creation) and kramasrshti (gradual creation). The significance is not emphasis on creation but on the original source.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Katha Upanishad
The tanmatras are the deeper essence behind objects—including our body, which is also an object. They are not electric ener¬
gy, but finer than the molecules, protons and electrons of the scientists. While electric energy is wholly inert, without intelligence
to direct itself, the tanmatras are midway between the cosmic prana and the world, being the vital forces regulating the physical
objects and thus superior to and higher than these and the senses. There are three gunas of prakriti; and the sattvic element of
these constitutes the tanmatras, the rajasic element constitutes the prana, and the tamasic one the physical world. Hence, beyond
the physical world, there are the tanmatras; and beyond them, there is the mind constituted of their subtle, sattvic principles like:
sabda, sparsa, rupa, rasa and gandha.
See: Bhutas and tanmatras
Evolution of tanmatras
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
... tanmatra represents subtle matter, vibratory, impingent, radiant, instinct with potential energy. These “potentials” arise from the
unequal aggregation of the original mass-units in different proportions and collocations with an unequal distribution of the original
energy (rajas). The tanmatras possess something more than quantum of mass and energy [unlike the bhGtadi from which they
are generated]; they possess physical characters, some of them penetrability, others powers of impact or pressure, others radi¬
ant heat, others again capability of viscous and cohesive attraction. In intimate relation with those physical characters they also
possess the potentials of the energies represented by sound, touch, colour, taste, and smell; but, being subtle matter, they are
devoid of the peculiar forms which these “potentials” assume in particles of gross matter like the atoms and their aggregates. In
other words, the potentials lodged in subtle matter must undergo peculiar transformations by new groupings or collocations before
they can act as sensory stimuli as gross matter, though in the minutest particles thereof the sensory stimuli may be infra-sensible
(atindriya but not anudbhGta).
Of the tanmatras the shabda or akasha tanmatra (the sound-potential) is first generated directly from the bhGtadi. Next comes the
sparsha or the vayu tanmatra (touch-potential) which is generated by the union of a unit of tamas from bhutadi with the akasha
tanmatra. The rGpa tanmatra (colour-potential) is generated similarly by the accretion of a unit of tamas from bhGtadi; the rasa
tanmatra (taste-potential) or the ap tunmatra is also similarly formed. This ap tanmatra again by its union with a unit of tamas from
bhutadi produces the gandha tanmatra (smell-potential) or the ksiti tanmatra. The difference of tanmatras or infra-atomic units and
atoms (paramanu) is this, that the tanmatras have only the potential power of affecting our senses, which must be grouped and
regrouped in a particular form to constitute a new existence as atoms before they can have the power of affecting our senses. It
is important in this connection to point out that the classification of all gross objects as ksiti, ap, tejas, marut and vyoman is not
based upon a chemical analysis, but from the points of view of the five senses through which knowledge of them could be brought
home to us. Each of our senses can only apprehend a particular quality and thus five different ultimate substances are said to
exist corresponding to the five qualities which may be grasped by the five senses. In accordance with the existence of these five
elements, the existence of the five potential states or tanmatras was also conceived to exist as the ground of the five gross forms.
See: Pancikarana and tanmatras
See: Tanmatras and mahabhutas
See also:
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
in Bhuta: Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
in Mahabhutas: Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
This term is composed of the pronoun tad, “that,” and the root ma, “to measure,” used here in the word matra, meaning “an ele¬
ment or elementary matter.” Here it is translated as “merely that” or “thatness.”
Related words
Bhuta
Bhutadi
Indriyas
Mahabhuta
Pancikarana
Sanskrit
Tanmatra — <i~mM
tanmatra - ddHidy
Tapas
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Tapas — ... austerity; concentrated discipline; penance; heat; energy; “to heat up” (from the verb root tap = “to burn”)
1. A burning enquiry and aspiration. It is a spiritual force of concentrated energy generated by a spiritual aspirant.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
tapas -
warmth, heat (panca taparhsi, the 5 fires to which a devotee exposes himself in the hot season, viz. 4 fires lighted in the four quar¬
ters and the sun burning from above);
pain, suffering;
religious austerity, bodily mortification, penance, severe meditation, special observance (e.g. ‘sacred learning’ with Brahmans,
‘protection of subjects’ with Kshatriyas, ‘giving alms to BrAhmans’ with Vaizyas, ‘service’ with sudras, and ‘feeding upon herbs and
roots’ with Rishis;
‘father of Manyu’;
N. of a month intervening between winter and spring;
the hot season;
N. of a Kalpa period
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Tapas (heat) or tapasya is a concept of great importance in Hindu practices of austerity. The word refers to the sacred heat that is
generated by bodily mortifications and ascetic denial. Tapas confers wondrous powers and abilities upon the YOGI and makes it
easier for the adept to break the bonds of attachment to worldly life.
In a very literal example of tapas, ancient orthodox yogis used to sit surrounded by five fires under the noonday Sun in order to
absorb the heat and gain spiritual power. Other ascetics doing tapasya would endure lengthy fasts or extreme bodily mortifica¬
tions. There is some indication that the notion of tapasya developed within the Brahminical tradition as a result of association with
the fires of the Vedic sacrifice.
Wikipedia
Tapasya (tapasya) in Sanskrit means “heat”. In Vedic religion and Hinduism, it is used figuratively, denoting spiritual suffering,
mortification or austerity, and also the spiritual ecstasy of a yogin or tapasa (a Vriddhi derivative meaning “a practitioner of austeri¬
ties, an ascetic”). In the Rigveda, the word is connected with the Soma cult. The adjective tapasvin means “wretched, poor, miser¬
able”, but also “an ascetic, someone practicing austerities”.
In the yogic tradition, tapasya may be translated as “essential energy”, referring to a focused effort leading towards bodily purifica¬
tion and spiritual enlightenment. It is one of the Niyamas (observances of self- control) described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
Tapasya implies a self- discipline or austerity willingly expended both in restraining physical urges and in actively pursuing a high¬
er purpose in life. Through tapas, a yogi or spiritual seeker can “burn off” or prevent accumulation of negative energies, clearing a
path toward spiritual evolution.
Personified, Tapasya appears as the father of Manyu in the Rigveda. The tapo- raaja (“king over austerities”) is a name of the
Moon.
Sanskrit tapasya (neuter gender), literally “heat”, refers to a personal endeavor of discipline, undertaken to achieve a goal, ac¬
companying suffering and pain. Earliest reference of this word is to be found in the Rgveda- 8.82.7, where its is used in the sense
‘pain, suffering’ (Monier-Williams). It is usually applied in religious and spiritual terms, but can be applied to any field or context.
One who undertakes tapas is a Tapasvin. From tapas the more widespread word tapasya was derived, which is used in all three
genders and was mentioned in Katyayana-Shrauta- Sutra, Baudhayana’s Dharma- shashtra, Panini- 4.4.128, etc. Rigveda has
dozens of references to words derived from ‘tapas’ which indicate that “suffering, austerity” was its meaning from the Rigvedic
times.
Monks and gurus in Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism practice tapasya as a means to purify and strengthen their devotion to God,
practice a religious lifestyle and obtain moksha, or spiritual liberation.
Tapas may be the striving for nirvana, or moksha. It may also be striving for perfection in a particular sport, field of knowledge or
work. Tapasya may also be undertaken as penance, to liberate oneself from the consequences of a sin or sinful activities, or kar¬
ma.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Tapas: (from root, tap to burn) Intense self- discipline in a secluded place or forest, aimed at spiritual illumination. It involves effort
in Self- realization in which all instinctive impurities are burnt up.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The unsuccessful marriage of Fire and Water, resulting in the spilling or losing of Blood or “fiery water”, must be successfully con¬
summated. In the terms of the tradition of Alchemy this is expressed by: “Boil the Water over the Fire.” This is an important part of
the Great Work of the Philosophers. When water boils the resultant is steam, which, in its perfect state, is invisible. It is Air. The
perfect coordination and harmony of Water and Fire, of emotions and lower mind, prepare the ground for the revelation of Spirit.
Herein lies also the clue to the meaning of the Hindu practice of Tapas. This word has been variously rendered and interpreted as
“spiritual practice”, “heating-up process”, “burning”, “asceticism, with all that implies”, “spiritual striving”. It means all these things
and much more. The word “tepid”, derived from the Latin tepidus, warm, is related to tapas. The purpose of Tapasya, the life of
tapas, is the coordination of the three lower planes of existence: Earth, Water and Fire, under the presidency of the Fire. Tapas
has been traditionally defined as being triple: 1. Sariraka, that is, bodily; 2. Vachika, that is, voiced; and 3. Manasa, that is, mental.
“Voiced” implies the emotional benefits of reciting scriptures and chanting hymns. Tapasya is the coordination and purification of
thought, word and deed.
Tapasya also implies something deeper. The Fire of Mars should be transmuted into the Solar Fire. The Sariraka, or bodily as¬
pect of it, then refers to the three Sariras of bodies, consisting of the five kosas or “sheaths” which relate to the five Elements. The
Vachika then refers to Vach, “the Voice”, and the Manasa to the Mahat, “the Great One”. In this sense Tapas includes the entire
spiritual Path till the final “Enlightenment”. Ultimately the Blood of Suffering changes into the Wine of Rapture. The fiery experienc¬
es of highly spiritual people, especially in the chest and in the head, have often been noted. The inner experiences often impress
themselves on the matter of the physical body.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Tapas (“heat”) Term denoting any physical asceticism, or what in earlier times was referred to as mortification of the flesh. The
term tapas encompasses rites of denial, such as fasting (upavasa) or celibacy, as well as rites of enduring physical pain, such as
the “five fires” (panchagni) rite. In this rite a person sits during the hot season surrounded by four fires, with the fifth fire being the
sun overhead. Other rites include enduring cold from bathing (snana) in snow-fed rivers, and enduring any other sort of physical
discomfort. The word tapas can also describe bizarre and even masochistic behaviors, such as remaining standing for years on
end; keeping an arm upraised until the muscles atrophy, and it cannot be lowered; lying on beds of thorns and nails, and so forth.
The governing assumption behind all of these practices is that they generate spiritual power (seen figuratively as “heat”) and that
a person who generates and amasses enough of this power will gain supernormal powers or the ability to demand boons from the
gods themselves. Even though many contemporary Hindus are skeptical of the more extreme practices and may dismiss them,
there is still great cultural respect for ascetic self-control, and combined with the right personality, such practices can still confer
considerable religious authority.
In Hindu mythology Indra, king of the gods, pays close attention to those amassing such powers to protect himself from being
replaced by someone more powerful. When an ascetic starts to amass enough power to displace him, Indra’s heavenly throne
becomes hot through the “heat” generated by the tapas. Indra must search for the aspirant and defuse this power in one of two
ways—either by giving the aspirant a boon, which in many cases is the reason for performing the tapas in the first place, or by
sending a celestial nymph (apsara) to seduce the ascetic, whose power will be discharged along with his semen. This mythology
reflects the basic Hindu belief that the starting point for ascetic power is celibacy, which conserves a man’s vital energies by con¬
serving his semen.
Wikipedia
Tapasya is closely associated with meditation, fasting and the practice of yoga. Meditative tapas involves focusing entirely upon
God, the Supreme Brahman and ignoring all environmental, artificial and other provocations or distractions. In the purest state of
meditation, no thought save that of God must occupy the processes of the mind.
A tapasvin also practices brahmacharya, endeavoring to control all his or her biological instincts, functions and senses. Tapasvins
reduce consumption of food and drink steadily, using their mental, intuitive force to reduce their biological needs. Ahimsa and veg¬
etarianism, pure non- violence towards all living beings is practiced to eliminate anger, destructive impulses and avoid the foolish¬
ness of hurting others.
Fasting is accompanied by avoiding all cooked foods, especially spices and meats. Only fruits and roots are considered accept¬
able, and one may strive to reduce the quantity one has to consume.
Yoga is closely linked with tapas. The disciplined and concentrated practice of yogic arts and exercises may be considered tapas
by itself.
A vow to observe brahmacharya, silence or fast is the commitment an individual offers to complete the objectives of tapas.
In the ancient scriptures, mythology and folklore of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism, holy men, women and heroes un¬
dertake tapas to obtain a spiritual goal of realization, or salvation. Many of the times tapas is undertaken to win a boon by pleasing
a God, and many other times it is undertaken to increase one’s pious characteristics.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
The word tapas means “warming up” or “bringing to a white heat.” Metals like gold are purified by being melted. If an alloy such as
bronze is to be made, copper and tin are to be melted and blended. If rice is to be made edible, it is to be cooked in boiling water.
Thus we are familiar with the application of heat for various constructive purposes. In the present case, warming or heating up is
to be taken both physically and metaphorically.
Heat has two powers. One is of fission, which separates two entities that otherwise seem to be inseparable. The other is fusion,
the blending of two entities into one. In Yoga, we want to apply the principles of both fission and fusion. As we are psycho-physical
organisms with the inner organs, sensory and motor systems, and a physical body in which all these faculties inhere, systematic
heat is to be applied to all parts of the body/mind complex.
... The first austerity recommended is that of using words of an inspiring nature with the right intonation at the appropriate time.
Part of that tapas is holding your tongue and keeping golden silence when your vocal expression is not going to help another.
... Using words to teach, direct, conduct, inspire, console, and encourage another is a positive value of the tapas of speech. Even
when a person is far away you can stretch your spirit to that person by writing appropriate words. All expressions of love that are
physically possible can be given to another with words in a very intimate and intense way. That is also tapas of the word.
The world comes to us in the form of heat and cold. ... So we have to acclimatize and be somewhat indifferent to heat and cold. A
yogi is therefore expected to show sameness to heat and cold, of course, only to the extent that it is not detrimental to the body.
Just as we restrain our sense organs to make our lives wholesome, we can also keep our organs of action engaged only in pur¬
suits that are beneficial to the world. Then we can say we are doing proper tapas. Thus tapas is a very important discipline.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Ramana Smrti
SRI Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni (1878-1936), who was unique in being at once a scholar, poet, patriot, political thinker and tapas-
vi, was one of the most esteemed figures of his times.
... In 1903 he came to Arunachala to perform tapas. He visited Sri Ramana Maharshi, who was then known as Brahmana Swa-
mi on the hill twice before he accepted a teacher’s job at Vellore in 1904... [Later he] resigned his job at Vellore and returned to
Arunachala in 1907.
... An intellectual and spiritual giant who had high achievements to his credit and a host of followers as well, Kavyakantha still felt
that his life’s purpose was not fulfilled. He remembered Brahmana Swami whom he had met before and went to him again. This
was to give him the inward peace that he still seemed to lack. The meeting was of profound significance not only for Kavyakan¬
tha but for the world at large which could learn from such a high authority about the real stature of the swami. Kavyakantha ap¬
proached the Virupaksha cave where Brahmana Swami was staying, and prostrating himself before him, said in a trembling voice,
“All that has to be read I have read. Even Vedanta Sastra I have fully understood. I have performed japa to my heart’s content. Yet
I have not up to this time understood what tapas is. Hence have I sought refuge at thy feet. Pray, enlighten me about the nature of
tapas”. For fifteen minutes Sri Ramana silently gazed at Kavyakantha.
He then spoke:
If one watches whence this notion of T springs, the mind will be absorbed into that. That is tapas. If a mantra is repeated and at¬
tention is directed to the source whence the mantra sound is produced, the mind will be absorbed in that. That is tapas.
The scholar was filled with joy and announced that the upadesa was original, and that Brahmana Swami was a Maharshi and
should be so called thereafter. He gave the full name of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi to Brahmana Swami, whose original
name had been Venkataraman (named after the Lord of Tirupati). Kavyakantha was now the foremost disciple of Sri Ramana. His
disciples also came to the Maharshi.
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Talk 401.
Mr. Krishnamurti, an Andhra gentleman, asked as follows:- When we make tapas, on what object must we fix our sight? Our mind
is fixed on what we utter.
M.: What is tapas for?
D.: For Self-Realisation.
M.: Quite so. Tapas depends on the competency of the person. One requires a form to contemplate. But it is not enough. For can
anyone keep looking at an image always? So the image must be implemented by japa. Japa helps fixing the mind on the image, in
addition to the eyesight. The result of these efforts is concentration of mind, which ends in the goal. He becomes what he thinks.
Some are satisfied with the name of the image. Every form must have a name. That name denotes all the qualities of God. Con¬
stant japa puts off all other thoughts and fixes the mind. That is tapas. One-pointedness is the tapas wanted. The question what
tapas is was asked in order to know what purpose to serve. It will take the form required for the purpose.
D.: Are not physical austerities also tapas?
M.: May be one form of it.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
Commentary by Panoli: The absorption of the mind in that one and only aim (with intense desire to realise the Self) is samadhana.
This actually is samadhi. Sri Sancaracharya is of opinion that this verily is tapas (austerities) as could be seen from his Bhashya
on Taittiriya Aranyaka”, wherein occurs the following:—
“To the novice (Brahmachari) the study of the Vedas is tapas.
To the one belonging to the third institution i.e. Vanaprastha, tapas consists in the control of eating.
To the Yati (Sannyasi) the concentration of the mind and senses is the foremost tapas.”
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
tapas — from the verb root tap= “to burn”.
Related words
Japa
Yoga
Sanskrit
Tapas — cm}?
tapas - ttTFT
Tal-tvam-asi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Tal-tvam-asi — ... “That thou art”
1. A Great Saying (mahavakya) which occurs in the Chandogya Upanisad of the Sama Veda. According to Advaita Vedanta, it im¬
plies that you, the individual, are not different from the Absolute (That). According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, it implies that you, the
individual, are a part of God (That).
Wikipedia
Tat Tvam Asi, a Sanskrit sentence, translating variously to “Thou art that,” “That thou art,” “You are that,” or “That you are,” is one
of the Mahavakyas (Grand Pronouncements) in Vedantic Sanatana Dharma. It originally occurs in the Chandogya Upanishad
6.8.7, in the dialogue between Uddalaka and his son Svetaketu; it appears at the end of a section, and is repeated at the end of
the subsequent sections as a refrain. The meaning of this saying is that the Self - in its original, pure, primordial state - is wholly or
partially identifiable or identical with the Ultimate Reality that is the ground and origin of all phenomena. The knowledge that this is
so characterises the experience of liberation or salvation that accompanies the Unio Mystica.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In connection with That which is beyond Duality or Trinity — the Supernal, Parabrahman, Paramasiva, God-Reality —it should be
stressed that it is taught that there is no Fall from It, nor any Return to It. For It IS. It can be “expressed” only by Silence.
Wikipedia
Major Vedantic schools offer different interpretations of the phrase:
Advaita - absolute equality of ‘tat’, the Ultimate Reality, Brahman, and ‘tvam’, the individual self, jiva.
Shuddhadvaita - oneness in “essence” between ‘tat’ and individual self; but ‘tat’ is the whole and self is a part.
Vishishtadvaita - identity of individual self as a part of the whole which is ‘tat’, Brahman.
Dvaitadvaita - equal non-difference and difference between the individual self as a part of the whole which is ‘tat’.
Dvaita - “Sa atmaa-tat tvam asi” in Sanskrit is actually “Sa atma-atat tvam asi” or “Atman, thou art not that”.
... The Advaita school of Shankara assigns a fundamental importance to this Mahavakya and three others of the same kind from
three other Upanishads.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
The last word of Advaita is ‘Tat-tvam-asi’—’That thou art.’
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
The realization of the precise meaning of “That thou art” is a transcendental experience felt only on the spiritual plane. The mean¬
ing is lost if the aspirant has the slightest attachment to such material things as body, senses, mind, or ego, or to the pleasure
associated with them. The Freedomf Peace, Blessedness, Knowledge, and Immortality which result from the transcendental ex¬
perience are totally different from their counterparts on the physical plane of time, space, and causality. Through the realization of
the ultimate identity of thou and Thatone knows the true meaning of religion, which is the realization of the eternal oneness of the
eternal God and the eternal Soul. Religion, in its ultimate sense, has nothing to do with devising means to enhance man’s material
happiness in this transitory world.
Vedantic teachers explain to their pupils the real nature of the Self through the “method of the tenth” (dasamanyaya). The follow¬
ing story is told in Vedantic books: Once ten men forded a swift-flowing river. None of them could swim. Reaching the other side,
they wanted to know if they had all safely arrived; so one of them counted the number of men and found only nine—because he
had omitted himself. He was sure that one man was drowned. The others did the same thing and came to the same conclusion,
because each of them counted all except himself. So they began to bewail the loss of one of their comrades. Another man, pass¬
ing by, inquired about the cause of their weeping. He was told that while the ten friends were crossing the river, one had been
drowned. Of course it took no time for the stranger to detect their mistake. So he asked one of them to count again. The man
counted nine and said. “You see, we have lost our tenth friend”. Immediately the stranger touched him on the chest and said.
“Thou art the tenth”. In order to reassure all, he repeated the same thing with each of them; and thus each found out that he was
the tenth. So their anguish disappeared and their happiness was restored. Likewise, the disciple comes to the teacher and tells
him that he has searched, for Truth everywhere—in books, in temples, in images, in heaven—and has not found it. Of course, he
has not sought the Truth in the right place, that is to say, in his own self. So the teacher touches him and says, emphatically, “That
thou art”
See: Mahavakyas as used for instruction
Related words
Chandogya Upanishad
Broader term: Mahavakya
Sama Veda
Tattva
Sanskrit
Tat-n’am-asi — drcWlfi
tRf r t c iH sRTf'br
Tattva
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Tattva — ... category; truth; the essence of things; reality; principle; “thatness”
1. It is the essence of anything. It is a thing’s essential being, its “thatness.”
2. Each school in Indian philosophy names a certain number of elements (tattva) as fundamentals in its system of thought. Advaita
Vedanta lists two (from the empirical, relative point of view): tat and tvam. Sankhya lists twenty-five tanmatras, the five mahabhu-
tas, the five karmendriyas, the five jnanendriyas, manas, and purusa. Kashmir Saivism lists thirty-six: Siva, Sakti, Sadasiva
(sadakhya), Tsvara, Suddha-vidya, maya, kala, niyati, raga, vidya, kala, purusa, prakrti, buddhi, ahahkara, manas, five karmen¬
driyas, five jnanendriyas, five tanmatras, and five mahabhutas. (The first five constitute the pure creation and the latter thirty-one
form the impure creation). All the other schools accept a similar number of categories—about seven to twenty-six.
3. That which is the essence of each stage of manifestation. The process of creation, according to Kashmir Saivism, contains thir¬
ty-six tattvas: Siva, Sakti, Sadasiva, Tsvara, suddhavidya, maya tattva, the five cloaks (panca kancukas), purusa (individual soul),
prakrti (primordial nature, the basic stuff of the material universe), buddhi (intellect), ahamkara (ego), manas (mind), the five pow¬
ers of sense perception, the five powers of action, the five tanmatras or rudimentary elements, and the five gross elements. These
comprise creation from Siva to the earth.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
tattva -
true or real state, truth, reality;
(in phil.) a true principle (in Sarhkhya phil. 25 in number, viz. a-vyakta, buddhi, aharh-kara, the 5 Tan-matras, the 5 Maha-bhutas,
the 11 organs including manas, and, lastly, purusa) MBh. xii, 11840; xiv, 984 R. iii, 53, 42 Tattvas.; 24 in number MBh. xii, 11242
Hariv. 14840 (m.); 23 in number BhP;
... in Vedanta phil. tattva is regarded as made up of tad and tvam, ‘that [art] thou ‘, and called maha-vakya, the great word by
which the identity of the whole world with the one eternal Brahma [tad] is expressed);
the, number 25;
the number 24;
an element or elementary property;
the essence or substance of anything;
N. of a musical instrument
Wikipedia
Tattva is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘thatness’, ‘principle’, ‘reality’ or ‘truth’. According to various Indian schools of philosophy, a
tattva is an element or aspect of reality conceived as an aspect of deity. Although the number of tattvas varies depending on the
philosophical school, together they are thought to form the basis of all our experience. The Samkhya philosophy uses a system of
25 tattvas, while Shaivism recognises 36 tattvas.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Tattva ... thatness, essence, truth, reality, principle, category, in Samkhya twenty five are enumerated, in KasmTr Saivism thirty-six
are given.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Tattva: The state of “ that” being “that” pure and simple; basic principle; basic Reality.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Tattva in Jainism
Jain philosophy can be described in various ways, but the most acceptable tradition is to describe it in terms of the Tattvas or fun¬
damentals [3], Without knowing them one cannot progress towards liberation. They are:
Jiva - Souls and living things
Ajiva - Non-living things
Punya - Results of Good Deeds (Good Karma)
Pap - Results of Bad Deeds (Bad Karma)
Asrava - Influx of karma
Bandha - The bondage of karma
Samvara - The stoppage of influx of karma
Nirjara - Shedding of karma
Moksha - Liberation or Salvation
Each one of these fundamental principles are discussed and explained by Jain Scholars in depth[4]. There are two examples that
can be used to explain the above principle intuitively.
(1) A man rides a wooden boat to reach the other side of the river. Now the man is Jiva, the boat is ajiva. Now the boat has a leak
and water flows in. That incoming of water is Asrava and accumulating there is Bandh, Now the man tries to save the boat by
blocking the hole. That blockage is Samvara and throwing the water outside is Nirjara. Now the man crosses the river and reaches
his destination, Moksha.
(2) Consider a family living in a house. One day, they were enjoying a fresh cool breeze coming through their open doors and
windows of the house. However, the weather suddenly changed to a terrible dust storm. The family, realizing the storm, closed the
doors and windows. But, by the time they could close all the doors and windows some of the dust had been blown into the house.
After closing the doors and the windows, they started clearing the dust that had come in to make the house clean again.
This simple scenario can be interpreted as follows:
1) Jivas are represented by the living people.
2) Ajiva is represented by the house.
3) Punya is represented by enjoyment resulting from the nice cool breeze.
4) Pap is represented by discomfort resulting from the storm.
5) Asrava is represented by the influx of dust.
6) Bandh is represented by the accumulation of dust in the house.
7) Samvar is represented by the closing of the doors and windows to stop the accumulation of dust.
8) Nirjara is represented by the cleaning up of already collected dust from the house.
9) Moksha is represented by the cleaned house, which is similar to the shedding off all karmic particles from the soul.
Tattvas in Samkhya
The Samkhya philosophy regards the Universe as consisting of two eternal realities: Purusha and Prakrti. It is therefore a strongly
dualist philosophy. The Purusha is the centre of consciousness, whereas the Prakriti is the source of all material existence. The
twenty-five tattva system of Samkhya concerns itself only with the tangible aspect of creation, theorizing that Prakriti is the source
of the world of becoming. It is the first tattva and is seen as pure potentiality that evolves itself successively into twenty-four addi¬
tional tattvas or principles.
Tattvas in Shaivism
In Shaivite philosophy, the tattvas are inclusive of consciousness as well as material existence. The 36 tattvas of Shaivism are
divided into three groups:
Shuddha tattvas
The first five tattvas are known as the shuddha or ‘pure’ tattvas. They are also known as the tattvas of universal experience.
Shuddha-ashuddha tattvas
The next seven tattvas (6-12) are known as the shuddha- ashuddha or ‘pure- impure’ tattvas. They are the tattvas of limited indi¬
vidual experience.
Ashuddha tattvas
The last twenty-four tattvas (13-36) are known as the ashuddha or ‘impure’ tattvas. The first of these is prakriti and they include
the tattvas of mental operation, sensible experience, and materiality.
Tattvas in Vaishnavism
Within Puranic literatures and general Vaishnava philosophy tattva is often used to denote certain categories or types of being or
energies such as :
Krishna-tattva
The Supreme personality of Godhead. The causative factor of everything including other Tattva(s).
Vishnu-tattva
Any incarnation or expansion of Krishna.
Sakti-Tattva
The multifarious energies of the Lord Krishna. It includes his internal potency Yoga Maya and material prakrti
Jiva-tattva
The living souls (jivas).
Siva-tattva
Lord Siva (excluding the Rudra(s)) is not considered to be a jiva.
Mahat-tattva
The total material energy (prakrti).
In Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy that there are a total of five primary tattvas described in terms of living beings, which are collec¬
tively known as the Pancha Tattva and described as follows:
“Spiritually there are no differences between these five tattvas, for on the transcendental platform everything is absolute. Yet there
are also varieties in the spiritual world, and in order to taste these spiritual varieties one should distinguish between them”.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: What is my tattva (truth)?
M.: You are yourself the tattva. Is there a different one to know the tattva of another? How can you exist apart from the tattva? The
very fact of your existence makes you ask this question. Your very existence is the tattva. Give up the habiliments of the tattva and
remain in your essential nature. All the Scriptures tell you only not to waste your efforts in non-truth - non-tattva. Give up the non-
tattva. Then tattva remains always shining pure and single.
D.: I want to know my tattva and my duties.
M.: Know your tattva first and then you may ask what your duties are. You must exist in order to know and do your duty. Realise
your existence and then enquire of your duties.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
Commentary by Sankara: The word Tat is a sarvanama. Brahman is what is connoted by the word sarva. Therefore, Tat is an epi¬
thet of Brahman. Tattva, therefore is Tatbhava. In other words, Tattva is the exact nature of Brahman. Those who have the inclina¬
tion to perceive it are Tattva Darshis (seers of the subtle truth).
See also:
in Antahkarana: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Tattva — from tat = “that” + the nominizing suffix tvam = “ness”
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Tattva from pronoun tad, that + abstract suffix -tva
Related words
Tal-tvam-asi
Sanskrit
Tattxa — cTrcT
tattva -
Tejas
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Tejas — ... fire; splendor; light; heat; brilliance
1. It is one of the five elements. (See mahabhuta.)
2. It is of four kinds: terrestrial (bhauma), celestial (divya), of the stomach (audarya), and mineral (akaraja).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
tejas -
(often pi.) the sharp edge (of a knife &c.), point or top of a flame or ray, glow, glare, splendour, brilliance, light, fire;
clearness of the eyes;
the bright appearance of the human body (in health), beauty;
the heating and strengthening faculty of the human frame seated in the bile;
the bile;
fiery energy, ardour, vital power, spirit, efficacy, essence;
semen virile;
marrow;
the brain;
gold;
(opposed to ksama) impatience, fierceness, energetic opposition;
(in Sarhkhya phil.) = rajas (passion);
spiritual or moral or magical power or influence, majesty, dignity, glory, authority;
a venerable or dignified person, person of consequence;
fresh buter;
a mystical N. of the letter $
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Tejas ... Fire as an element, (in Vaisesika) the third Eternal Reality (Dravya); (in Samkhya) the third Sense-Particular (Mahabhuta),
the principle of luminosity, its function is expansion, its Special Property (Visesa) is Form (Rupa), its General Qualities (Samanya
Gunas) are Touch (Sparsa), and Sound (Sabda).
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Bhagavad Gita
Brightness or mental alertness is ... a spiritual quality, to be likened to a perfectly-tuned musical instrument, or to a sportsman in
good form. There are popular notions of tejas (brightness) referred to as brahma-tejas (brightness of the Brahmin) and kshattra-te-
jas (brightness of a warrior) which are mostly based on prejudices in the name of closed loyalties, determined largely by patterns
of behaviour or dress.
Tejas which primarily means brilliance, implies an intellectual or spiritual alertness, a constant readiness or preparedness to re¬
spond to any contingency, however hazardous it might be. One hears the expressions brahma-tejas and kshattra-tejas: the former
suggesting intellectual enthusiasm for truth; and the latter a moral enthusiasm to see the truth prevail.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
Tejas is radiance and brilliance of mind and spirit.
See also:
in Antahkarana: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
in Mahabhutas: Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
in Evolution of prakriti: Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
Diagram: Mahabhutas
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Tejas (Fire), derived from the root tij, “to be sharp.”
Related words
Agni
Mahabhutas
Rupa
Taijasa
Sanskrit
Tejas —frsnr
tejas - tfarq;
Titiksa
Variant spellings
titiksa
titiksha
titiksa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Titiksa — ... endurance of opposites; forbearance; tolerance
1. The ability to withstand opposites like pleasure and pain, heat and cold, etc., with equal fortitude. The bearing of all afflictions
without caring to change them and without anxiety or lament.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
titiksa -
endurance, forbearance, patience;
Patience (daughter of Daksha; wife of Dharma; mother of Kshema)
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Titiksa - endurance, bearing heat and cold and other pairs of opposites; (in Vedanta) one of the six acquirements (satsamtat).
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Titiksa: Endurance of troubles incidental in life, without petulance or self-pity. One of the prerequisite qualities of a seeker.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Titiksha is the endurance of heat and cold and other pairs of opposites. [Endurance etc.—Being unruffled by pleasure and pain,
arising from heat and cold which are the inevitable associates of the body, by meditating on the Pure Self, which is always free
from the dual throng. Other pairs—They include respect and contumely gain and loss, weal and woe, etc.]
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Titiksa or forbearance: the endurance of all afflictions arising from he contact of the senses with their objects. A man practising his
discipline does not care to relieve his physical suffering nor does he show any anxiety or grief on its score. By means of this disci¬
pline the aspirant remains unagitated by heat and cold, pleasure and pain, love and hate, and the other pairs of opposites.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
24. Titiksa is the capacity to endure all sorrows and sufferings without struggling for redress or for revenge, being always free from
anxiety or lament over them.
Commentary by Chinmayananda: Describing the fourth psychological qualification in a man of true spiritual stamina, Sankara
gives a full and scientific definition of the quality of silent endurance which is glorified in all the religions of the world. Meek surren¬
der and silent suffering are the watchwords in all religious disciplines...
It is a great pity that many people indulge in acts of perversion in the name of titiksa. I have met a number of unintelligent people
who, in the name of spiritual seeking, persecute themselves physicaly and mentally, and as a result of their self-persecution, all
they gain at the end of years of suffering is a crooked, ugly, deformed mind! They do not ever achieve the least amount of inward
beauty or perfection.
Discarding clothes or starving oneself to a skinny existence, denying the body its bare necessities or giving unnecessary pain to
the mind, running away from life or preserving oneself on inhuman diets in solitary caves, living an animal’s life open to a brutal
climate or breaking the body in an effort to make it endure more discomforts—none of these is true titiksa. And yet, how many a
blind seeker has foundered on this rock of ignorance!
Titiksa (forbearance), is that faculty of the mind which it maintains when intellectually it is governed by a tempo and a conviction
which is complete and self-ordained, divine and noble. When the intellect is fully convinced of its accepted values of life, of the sa¬
credness of its Goal, thereafter in trying to gain it, the mind smilingly faces all difficulties and obstacles. This capacity of the mind
to accommodate cheerfully all its vicissitudes and patiently ignore any obstacles that might come its way is titiksa.
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
(24 & 25)... Objectivity to all pains without any anxiety, complaint or any attempt of revenge is said to be titiksa.
Commentary by Dayananda: Titiksa is sahanam surva-duhkhanam, being objective towards situations that cause pain. Duhkha is
physical or emotional pain which may be caused by certain external situations. Titiksa does not mean allowing the duhkha to hap¬
pen and then putting up with it. Once you have allowed the duhkha to set in, you have got to put up with it; you have no choice.
But sahana means being objective to the situations which generally cause you pain and which you are unable to change now.
Wherever you can change the situation to make it comfortable, change it; that is what action is for. Suppose in winter your window
is open at night and it is cold, then you have to get up and shut the window. If you think, ‘let me put up with the cold’, then this is
not sahana, it is foolishness. You get up and close the window, that is what is to be done. In spite of closing the window, if the
room is still cold and you cannot do anything about it for the time being, then put up with it. That is sahana.
Further, this sahana is the capacity to put up with the unpleasant and inevitable situations without cinta and vilapa. Cinta is con¬
cern, anxiety. Once you start saying ‘it is cold, it is very cold’, the mind will continue, “Yes, it is very cold. In this cold who can stay?
It is difficult to stay” etc. This is cinta. Titiksa is cinta-rahitya, absence of this build-up. Vilapa is talking about the difficult situation,
complaining about it all the time. Titiksa is the capacity to put up with difficult situations without complaining.
Titiksa is not an advice like, “do not talk to anybody about your difficulties”. That is not the point here. If you have to talk and if it is
going to help you without complicating the issue, it is better you talk. That is okay. That is processing your problem. But vilapa is
different; it is complaining about one thing or the other all the time. This complaining tendency is something that one has to deal
with. There is no advice involved here. Titiksa is describing what kind of mind is necessary for understanding the atma. If you anal¬
yse all these qualifications properly, you will find, each one of them has got a definite place in describing the qualified mind.
See also:
“Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda” on page 789
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Titiksa - from desiderative form of the root tij, to become sharp.
Related words
Dama
Sama
Samadhana
Broader term: Satsampatti
Sraddha
Uparati
Sanskrit
Titiksa — fdfclSTT
titiksa - dD'RjNI
Trimurti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Trimurti — ... the three forms—i.e., Brahma, Visnu, and Siva; the Hindu trinity.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
trimurti -
having 3 forms or shapes (as Brahma, Vishnu, Siva);
Gange;
in compound Brahma, Vishnu, Siva;
the sun;
a Buddha;
one of the 8 Vidyesvaras
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Trimurti ... is a common term in Hindu texts, referring to the triad of divinities BRAHMA, VISHNU, and SHIVA. Brahma is the
creator god, Vishnu is seen as the sustainer of the world, and Shiva is seen as its destroyer. In theistic Hinduism these three are
often seen as aspects of one divinity, either Shiva or Vishnu. Shiva and Vishnu are the two divinities around which the two great
Hindu sects, SHAIVISM and VAISHNAVISM, constellate. Brahma is not a sectarian divinity, and there are only two temples ded¬
icated solely to Brahma in all of India. Though it resembles the trinitarian conceptions of Christianity, the trimurti is a much looser
concept and was not emphasized theologically or theorized upon in any way as the Trinity was in Christianity.
Lurker. Dictionary of Gods
Trimurti (‘having three forms’; trinity) The Indian trinity consisting of the world creator ^Brahma, the sustainer -A/isNu, and the
destroyer ->Siva. According to the Samkhya school, the three are manifestations of one essential unity. In popular belief they are
often regarded as manifestations of the supreme god -»■ Isvara.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of religion
TRIMURTI. In Hindu mythology and popular theology many gods appeared, though Visnu and Siva (Rudra) became dominant.
Early in the common era a trimurti (“having three forms”) was proposed that created a triad of these two and a creator, Brahma.
These three were regarded as forms of the neuter absolute brahman, or corresponding to the three gunas of the Absolute. The
epic Mahabharata tells of these gods separately and not as a unity, and when the Trimu.rti concept appeared its exposition varied
according to the preferences of the writers for one or another deity.
A story in the Bhagavata Purana says that there was once a dispute among the gods as to which member of the triad was great¬
est. The sage Bhrgu went to each of them in turn to decide the matter by tests. First he saw Brahma, but omitted to bow to him,
whereupon the god blazed out in anger. Next he visited Siva and did not return the god’s salutation, so that Siva raised his tri¬
dent (trisula) to destroy him; the sage was spared only by the intercession of Siva’s wife. Lastly Bhrgu called on Visnu, found him
asleep, and woke him with a kick on the chest. Instead of becoming angry, Visnu begged the sage’s pardon for not having greeted
him and said that he was highly honored by the kick, which had left an indelible mark on his breast, and that he hoped the sage’s
foot had not been hurt. Bhrgu decided that Visnu was the mightiest god because he overcame his enemies with weapons of gen¬
tleness and generosity. This Vaisnava story indicates the diversity and rivalry of different sects and the problems of a triad.
It was debated whether the three gods were equal or had interchangeable functions. Each in turn might be the Supreme Lord,
Paramesvara, and take the place of the others.
... in popular religion in most of India today Brahma has virtually disappeared, while Visnu and Siva have vast followings. (The
two groups are considered almost as distinct religions.) The third most popular cult today follows the great goddess Mahadevi, the
all-pervading power sakti, known under many names and notably today as Kali.
Early students of Hinduism in the West often considered that parallels exist between the Trimurti and the Christian doctrine of the
Trinity, and attempts were made to apportion common functions to the three persons in one God. There are still writers who call
Brahma., Visnu, and Siva “the Trinity,” but the parallel with Christianity is not close, and the Trimurti concept never became popu¬
lar or embodied an orthodox and catholic creed. Hindu writers and artists tended to favor one god of the three, and Visnu and Siva
came to dominate in their own schools.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
A very exalted Hindu aspect of God, not much known in popular hinduism, but worshipped by contemplatives, is Dattatreya, an
Incarnation of the Trimurti, the Triad Brahma-Vishnu- Siva. He is represented as naked.
Radhakrishnan. Eastern Religions and Western Thought
The oneness of the three gods Brahma, Visnu, and Siva is brought out by the mystic symbol Aum, where A represents Visnu, U
Siva, and M Brahma.
Etymology
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Trimurti tri, three; murti, forms
Related words
Brahma
Siva
Vishnu
Sanskrit
Trimurti — DhIcI
OS
trimurti - ijr^fTTP
Triputi
Variant spellings
triputi
triputi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Triputi — ... triple form
1. The process of knowing or knowledge implies the subject, who knows, and the object, which is known. Every act of cognition
involves this triple form of the cognizer, the object cognized, and the means of cognition.
2. The knower, the known, the act of knowledge.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Triputi: Having three bases. Technical term in Vedanta referring to three aspects of cognition, namely the subjective, the objective
and the process itself. The knower of the pot and the object called the pot and the knowledge of the pot would illustrate the three
ways by which the same cognition could be viewed. Absolute knowledge is without this triple-based difference.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: Is the seen (drisya) world real (satya)?
M.: It is true in the same degree as the seer (drashta), subject, object and perception form the triad
yond these three. These appear and disappear, whereas the truth is eternal.
D.: These triputi sambhava are only temporal.
M.: Yes, if one recognises the Self even in temporal matters these will be found to be non-existent,
and they will be going on at the same time.
(triputi). There is a reality be-
rather inseparate from the Self;
See also:
in Jnana: Cohen. Guru Ramana
Etymology
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Triputi: Literally, “the three-petalled.”
Related words
Darsana
Jnana
Sanskrit
Triputi —
triputi -
Turiya
Variant spellings
turiya
turiya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Turiya — ... “the fourth”; the transcendental Self; the supreme Reality; the state of witness consciousness.
1. It is the fourth state of consciousness, according to Advaita Vedanta, which is beyond the states of waking, dreaming, and deep
sleep and which pervades and transcends all these states. However, it is not really a state but the underlying substratum of the
other three states, the waking, dreaming and deep-sleep states.
2. It is the real Self which is beyond the changing modes of existence. It is indivisible, ungraspable, unthinkable, and unnameable.
Each of the other three states have their own names (vaisvanara, taijasa, and prajna), but not the Absolute, which is merely re¬
ferred to as the fourth. It is a-matra or modeless.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
turiya -
consisting of 4 parts;
the 4th state of spirit (pure impersonal Spirit or Brahma);
being in that state of soul;
a 4th, constituting the 4th part
Wikipedia
In Hindu philosophy, turiya (or chaturtha) is a state of pure consciousness. It is a fourth state of consciousness that underlies and
transcends the three common states of consciousness: the state of waking consciousness (jagrata), the state of dreaming (svap-
na), and dreamless sleep (susupti).
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Turiya state—This is a state which, as its improvised name suggests, is not within the experience of ordinary man. It may there¬
fore be regarded as lying outside the strict limits of any empirical investigation. It is brought about voluntarily by the elimination of
discursive thought, and resembles dreamless sleep in all respects but one. There is in it the same withdrawal of normal conscious¬
ness, the same absence of desires and the manifestation of almost the same bliss. But while the self fully reveals itself in the
fourth state, the experience of dreamless sleep is extremely dim. The turiya is a mystic state to be testified to only by the person
that is gifted with yogic power. But the truth he vouches for is not wholly beyond us. For we have on the one hand the negative
evidence of susupti and on the other the positive one of the anandamaya phase of experience, which together enable us to get a
‘conjectural insight’ into the nature of the knower’s experience. The attainment of this state is regarded as the culmination of spiri¬
tual training.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The fourth state of consciousness is Turiya or “that beyond deep sleep”. Yoga-Vasishta says that it is the state of those “liberated
during life”: Jivanmuktas or those “living freed”. It is the state of Ether, of Heaven on Earth.
Wikipedia
Advaita concept
The first two states are not true experiences of reality and truth because of their dualistic natures of subject and object, self and
not- self, ego and non-ego. In the third state, dreamless sleep, one is not conscious of external or internal objects; however, that
does not mean consciousness is not present there. It is like saying ‘I don’t see anything in darkness’. The recognition that I don’t
see anything is what I ‘see’. So also in dreamless sleep, one is not conscious of anything and the very fact that this statement is
true proves the existence of consciousness during deep sleep.
In the waking consciousness there is a sense of T (self identity) and awareness of thoughts. In the sleep/dream state there is no
or little sense of T but there are thoughts and awareness of thoughts. In the deep sleep state there is no awareness of thoughts or
T. In Turiya there is awareness of the T but there are no thoughts. This is what makes it unique from the other 3 states.
The Mandukya Upanishad defines turiya as:
“The fourth state is not that which is conscious of the subjective, nor that which is conscious of the objective, nor that which is
conscious of both, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor that which is all- sentient mass, nor that which is all darkness. It is
unseen, transcendent, the sole essence of the consciousness of self, the completion of the world.”
Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta concept
Turiya or Turya: The fourth state of consciousness beyond the states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep and stringing together
all the states; the Metaphysical Consciousness distinct from the psychological or empirical self; the Saksi or witnessing conscious¬
ness; the transcendental Self.
“There is, however, a fourth state of consciousness, known as turiya. This is the consciousness of the central Self or Siva in each
individual. This is a witnessing consciousness of which the individual is normally not aware. The turiya is pure cidananda- con¬
sciousness and bliss. The individual’s mind is conditioned by habit energy (Vasana) of previous lives. When by yogic practices, his
mind becomes deconditioned, then he attains the turiya consciousness, and becomes a jivan-mukta i.e. liberated while still alive.”
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
In the Mandukya, Chandogya and Katha Upanishads it is said that all we experience in the present, the past and the future is only
modifications of aum. What we experience as the gross in the wakeful, the subtle in the dream, and the causal in deep sleep are
all variations of the one sound, aum. If the secret of aum is open to us, then the gross, the subtle and the causal all merge into
the pure silence that follows it. This is called turiya, the fourth state. When everything existing merges into that fourth state there
is no longer the knower, the known and knowledge. They have all been completed and merged into the sound of aum. That place
shines by itself as a pure light.
This is an experience, or the experience, which is on a par with what we hear of the Buddha getting his enlightenment under the
Bo tree, the angel calling to Mohammad in the cave, or the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus to confer on him the grace where¬
by he becomes the Son of God. It is equivalent to these-the highest possible experience one can have. The person becomes
the all-embracing consciousness, which bursts out in a flame of such brilliance that it effaces everything. Thereafter, there is no
sound. Or, the only sound is that which at one level is the wakeful world, at another level the dream world, and at still another level
the deep sleep world. They are all now merged into the fourth state of pure transcendence. In that transcendence, nothing is left
behind. It just shines by itself. This is the state to which a person comes at the height of his illumination.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Nagamma. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
The devotee asked once again, “What about those who are in complete awareness (sahaja samadhi)?”
Bhagavan replied saying, “It is just because of such questions that Vasishta narrated the story of the ‘Sage and the Hunter’ to
Rama to illustrate the fourth or turiya state. In a forest, once a great Muni sat in the lotus posture (padmasana) with his eyes open,
but in deep trance. A hunter hit a deer with an arrow, but the deer escaped and ran in front of the Muni into the bush nearby and
hid itself. The hunter came in hot pursuit of the deer and not seeing it asked the Muni where it had gone. ‘I do not know, my friend,’
said the Muni. The hunter said, ‘Sir, it ran right in front of you and you had your eyes wide open. How could you have not seen it?’
Finding that he would not leave him in peace unless a proper reply was given, the Muni said, ‘My dear man, we are submerged in
the Self; we are always in the Fourth State. We do not have the waking or dream or deep sleep states. Everything is alike to us.
These three states are the signs of the ego and we have no ego. Egoism is itself the mind and it is that which is responsible for
all the deeds done in this world. That ego (ahankara) left us long ago. Hence it does not matter whether we keep our eyes closed
or open; we are not conscious of what is happening around us. That being so, how can I tell you about your deer?” The hunter
thought that it was all sheer nonsense and went his way.
“It may well be asked, ‘If there is no T (aham), how did he speak?’ When properly understood, that which occurred as T before,
becomes our own Nature (swarupa) afterwards. That is called destruction of mind (mano nasa). That thoughtfree awareness or
other signs of awareness are cases of merging (laya) and not of destruction (nasa). So long as there is merging and emerging, it
is merely a state of spiritual practice (sadhana),” said Bhagavan.
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: What is turiya?
M.: There are three states only, the waking, dream and sleep. Turiya is not a fourth one; it is what underlies these three. But
people do not readily understand it. Therefore it is said that this is the fourth state and the only Reality. In fact it is not apart from
anything, for it forms the substratum of all happenings; it is the only Truth; it is your very Being. The three states appear as fleeting
phenomena on it and then sink into it alone. Therefore they are unreal.
The pictures in a cinema show are only shadows passing over the screen. They make their appearance; move forward and back¬
ward; change from one to another; are therefore unreal whereas the screen all along remains unchanged. Similarly with paintings:
the images are unreal and the canvas real. So also with us: the world-phenomena, within or without, are only passing phenomena
not independent of our Self. Only the habit of looking on them as being real and located outside ourselves is responsible for hiding
our true being and showing forth the others. The ever-present only Reality, the Self, being found, all other unreal things will disap¬
pear, leaving behind the knowledge that they are no other than the Self.
Turiya only another name for the Self. Aware of the waking, dream and sleep states, we remain unaware of our own Self. Never¬
theless the Self is here and now, it is the only Reality. There is nothing else. So long as identification with the body lasts the world
seems to lie outside us. Only realise the Self and they are not.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
The MandGkya Upanisad speaks of Turiya in the following manner:
“Turiya is not that which is conscious of the inner (subjective) world, nor that which is conscious of the outer (objective) world, nor
that which is a mass of consciousness, nor that which is a simple consciousness, nor that which is unconsciousness. It is unper¬
ceived (by any sense-organ), incomprehensible (to the mind), unrelated (to any object), uninfcrable, unthinkable, and indescrib¬
able; It is essentially of the nature of Consciousness, constituting the Self alone, and is the negation of all phenomena. It is Peace,
Bliss, and the One without a second. This is known as Turiya, the Fourth. This is Atman and It has to be realized.”
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
SANKARA’S INTRODUCTION TO UPANISAD
The fourth quarter [Fourth quarter—The ‘fourth’ is not the fourth state or condition in which Atman is to be viewed. Turiya which is
indicated here as the ‘fourth’ comes in only for consideration after the three states have been considered. Atman itself does not
admit of any condition or state. Waking, dream and deep sleep are its three states or quarters and Turiya, as will be seen later
on, is present in all these three. Turiya is designated here as thq fourth because in the preceding texts, three quarters of Atman
have been explained. It has occupied the ‘fourth* place in respect of explanations.] which now comes in order (for explanation)
has to be described. This is done in the words of the text: ‘Not conscious of the internal object’. It (Turiya) does not admit of de-
scription or indication by means of words, for all uses (affirmative or negative) of language fail to express it. Therefore Turiya is
sought to be indicated by the negation of all attributes (characteristics).
(Objection)—Then it becomes mere void or Shunya.
(Reply)—No, because it is impossible for imagination to exist without a substratum. The illusion of silver, a snake, a man or mirage
etc., cannot be conceived as existing without the (corresponding) substratum of the mother-of-pearl, rope, stump or desert, etc.
(Objection)—If that be the case, Turiya ought to be indicatable by words and not by the negation of all attributes. For, it is the sub¬
stratum of all imaginations such as Prana etc., in the same way as jars etc., which being the substratum of water etc., are indicat¬
ed as such by words.
(Reply)—The idea of Prana etc., (supposed to exist in Turiya) is unreal like the false idea of silver etc., in the mother-of-pearl etc.
A relation between the real and the unreal cannot be expressed by words because such relation is, itself, non-existent. Turiya can¬
not be the object of any other instrument of knowledge (such as direct perception) like the cow etc., because of its unique nature,
owing to the absence of Upadhis. Atman cannot have anything like a generic property, like the cow etc., because it is devoid of all
Upadhis or attributes; it has neither generic nor specific characteristics because it is one, without a second. It cannot be known by
any activity (proceeding from it) as in the case of a cook; because it is devoid of all actions. It cannot be described by attributes
such as blue etc., because it is without any attribute. Therefore it follows that Turiya cannot be indicated by any name.
(Objection)—Then it (Turiya) would be like the ‘horns of a hare’ and hence one’s pursuit of it must be futile.
(Reply)—No, the knowledge of Turiya as identical with Self (Atman) destroys the hankering after objects which are non-self just as
the knowledge of mother-of-pearl (mistaken for silver) removes the desire for (illusory) silver. For, once the identity of Turiya and
Self is realised there is no possibility of one’s being deluded by ignorance, desire and the like misapprehensions (which are the ef¬
fects of ignorance) and there is no reason for Turiya not being known as identical with the Self. For all the Upanisads point to this
end only as is evident from the following: That thou art’, This Atman is Brahman’, That is real and that is Atman’, The Brahman
which is directly and immediately cognized’, ‘He is both without and within, as well as causeless’, ‘All this is verily Atman’, etc. This
very Atman has been described as constituting the Highest Reality and its opposite (the unreal) and as having four quarters. Its
unreal (illusory) aspect has been described as due to ignorance, like the illusion of snake in the rope, having for its characteristics
the three quarters and being of the same nature as the seed and the sprout. Now is described (in the following Sruti) Turiya which
is not of the nature of cause but which is of the nature of the Highest Reality corresponding to the rope—by negating the three
states, enumerated above, which correspond to the snake etc.
[Mandukya Upanishad, VII]:
Turiya is not that which is conscious of the internal (subjective) world, nor that which is conscious of the external (objective) world,
nor that which is conscious of both, nor that which is a mass all sentiency, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor that which
is insentient. (It is) unseen (by any sense organ), not related to anything, incomprehensible (by the mind), uninferable, unthink¬
able, indescribable, essentially of the nature of Consciousness constituting the Self alone, negation of all phenomena, the Peace¬
ful, all Bliss and the Non-dual. This is what is known as the fourth (Turiya). This is the Atman and it has to be realised.
(‘Consciousness’ as the nearest English word is used).
See also:
in Prapancha: Chinmayananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Diagram: Catuspada, Four States of Consciousness
Related words
Broader term: Catuspada
Jagrat
Sushupti
Svapna
Meditation
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Narayana Guru defines it as, “to know that which is bottomless and topless, from top to bottom.”
Sanskrit
Tuny a —
turlya - ffFt
Tyaga
Variant spellings
tyaga
tyaga
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Tyaga — ... abandonment; renunciation
1. The Bhagavad Gita considers true renunciation to be the relinquishment of the fruits of one’s actions.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
tyaga -
leaving, abandoning, forsaking;
quitting (a place);
discharging, secretion ... giving up, resigning, gift, donation, distribution;
sacrificing one’s life;
liberality;
a sage
Descriptions
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
Tyaga literally means “abandonment,” the turning from all that hinders the realization of the Self. In the Gita, tyaga means renun¬
ciation in the sense of the relinquishment of the fruit of action. Sri Ramakrishna said “What is the message of the Gita? It is what
happens when you repeat it ten times. If Gita is repeated ten times it comes to sound like tagi [tyagi-one who renounces]. This is
the teaching of the Gita-‘Oh man, try to realize God by giving up everything.’ Be he a holy man [sadhu] or a worldly man, he has
to give up all attachment from the mind.” Again we see that this is primarily psychological. One of the saddest sights in India are
the many men who thought that they need only not have a job and wander around in gerua clothes to be sannyasis-tyagis. Now
they have found it is not so, but are trapped, and go here and there intent on nothing but food and shelter, becoming daily more
and more materialistically minded. What their next life will be, who can say? But it will not be a step up.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
When a child held something to be offered to Sri Bhagavan by the parents, they cajoled the child to offer it to Sri Bhagavan. The
child did so gladly. Sri Bhagavan remarked: Look at this! When the child can give a thing away to Jeja it is tyaga. (Jeja-God). See
what influence Jeja has on children also! Every gift implies unselfishness. That is the whole content of nishkama Karma (unself¬
ish action). It means true renunciation. If the giving nature is developed it becomes tyaga. If anything is willingly given away it is a
delight to the giver and to the receiver. If the same is stolen it is misery to both. Dana, dharma, nishkama Karma are all tyaga only.
When ‘mine’ is given up it is chitta suddhi (purified mind). When T is given up it is jnana. When the nature to give away is devel¬
oped it results in jnana.
Again a little later, a young boy came all alone, unescorted by his parents. He had come from Chengam in a bus. Sri Bhagavan
remarked, “The boy has left his parents to come here. This is also an instance of tyaga.”
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
Tyaga is living a simple, frugal life; as it is generally said, simple living and high thinking. That may be said to be tyaga. We don’t
accumulate property, treasure, wealth etc., more than what is essential for our minimal comfortable existence, and we renounce
all other things.
The whole of the Gita seems to be somehow or other centred around the principle of renunciation - abandonment of the fruit of
action - for the purpose of attaining perfection. The terms sannyasa and tyaga, meaning thereby abandonment or relinquishing,
are used frequently in the Gita. Tyaga is abandoning; sannyasa is relinquishing.
... “O Lord! I want to know the real meaning of sannyasa, and I also want to know the real meaning of tyaga. Clearly explain to me
what is sannyasa, what is tyaga.”
... Abandoning actions which are filled with desire is sannyasa. Abandoning the fruit of any action is tyaga.
... tamasic relinquishment is mentioned as that form of abandonment of action which is tantamount to abandonment of duty itself;
that is called tamasic relinquishment. There is another relinquishment, called rajasic tyaga: “Because it is difficult - it is very pain¬
ful, it involves a lot of hardship, I have to work day and night - therefore, I will not do that work.” This argument for not doing a
work is not actually feasible, and it is not tenable. The reason for not doing a work should not be merely the fact that it is a strain
upon oneself to do hard work. We have to sweat, and “I do not want to sweat; therefore, I will not do this work. Physically it is
painful, torturous and, therefore, I am afraid of doing this kind of work or undertaking this project.” When a person abandons doing
a work because it is painful and requires hard labour on their part, that kind of abandonment of work due to fear of hard work or
labour is called rajasika tyaga. It is not sattvic.
... Sattvic renunciation does not mean renunciation of action. Then, what does it mean? It is the doing of one’s work because it is
something that must be done under the circumstances in which one is placed. ... “Definitely it has to be done, because it is binding
upon me. Yet, I shall do that work but be free from attachment to the work.” It does not mean that we should be attached to duty.
The performance of duty is an impersonal involvement of ourselves in a call that is super-individual, and it does not call for attach¬
ment. Attachment is an emotional clinging to a particular form or event or anything whatsoever; and duty, being a superior call
from a law that is above human nature, cannot be an object of attachment. Therefore, when a person performs a work as a duty
incumbent upon that person and yet never feels that it is ‘my’ work; and knows that it is not anyone’s work but it is a work done for
the work’s sake; and does not expect any recompense or fruit thereof - such an impersonal work with no tag attached to it in the
form of emotional clinging or fruit accruing therefrom, such an impersonally construed unselfish action done for the sake of work
alone can be regarded as sattvic action. All other kinds of work are rajasic or tamasic.
Sannyasa and tyaga
Related words
Sannyasa
Sanskrit
Tyaga — c*hi*i
tyaga - tjWT
u
Upadana-Karana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Upadana-karana — ... material cause
1. For example, thread is the material cause of cloth.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
upadanakarana -
a proximate cause
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Upadana. In Indian philosophy, the word upadana denotes the “material cause” for something, that is, the stuff from which it is
formed. Although this notion seems obvious to modern materialist ears, it carries several important assumptions that not all Indian
philosophical schools were willing to concede—namely, that there were real objects in the world, that they were made from oth¬
er things, and that these things underwent real transformations. The notion of a material cause was held by the “realist” schools,
most notably the Samkhya, Nyaya-Vaisheshika, and Vishishthadvaita Vedanta. It was opposed by the Buddhist schools, whose
assumption that reality was constantly changing made the notion of real things problematic. It was also opposed by the Advaita
Vedanta school, whose starting assumption was that ultimately there was only one “real” thing—the formless Brahman (Supreme
Reality)—and thus that the notion of anything becoming anything else was in error.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of philosophy
Both Sankara and the Sankhyans adopt a view of causation whereby the effect preexists in the material cause (upadana kara-
na)—called satkaryavada. They differ, however, in the detail. For the Sankhyans the evolution of prakrati is a real process of nat¬
ural unfolding out of the potentialities of the gunas—a position known as parinamavada. Sankara, however, finds difficulties with
the notion of potentiality and argues instead for the more extreme position of the identity of the effect with the cause—there is only
a merely apparent transformation from cause to effect. Applying this claim—known as vivartavada—to the case of the emergence
of the experienced world out of the one real thing, Brahman, which is undifferentiated consciousness, the implication is that the
experienced world is but an illusory appearance of Brahman. The route to moksa is the realisation of this difficult truth.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Psychology of Darsanamala
... in Vedanta the material cause is not the equivalent of that of Western logic. It is called upadana. The concept of upadana con¬
tains within itself not only the material, but also the inherent possibilities of everything that might be fashioned from it. A pot would
be seen as only one of those things.
Clay, as a material from which a pot may be formed, has an existential status. However, the possibility of a pot being produced
is only a phenomenological intention in the mind of the potter. The absence of a pot in the clay does not rule out the possibility of
a pot being made from it. This possibility of a pot — the prior nonexistence of it — implies the promise of a future pot. Although it
may seem strange that the factor of nonexistence can change into an existential factor, this is exactly what happens in all creative
processes.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Taittiriya Upanishad
The spider... is nimittakaranam as well as upadanakaranam for the web. This leggy jlva, an intelligent being in a physical body,
who wants to catch prey, who plans and executes, is called a spider because of upadhi. Svapradhanatayu it is nimitta and upada¬
na for the web. Out of himself alone, from the standpoint of upadhi alone, die spider is upadanakaranam for the web.
Vivarta upadanam is that which, without undergoing change, is the material cause everything. It gives the substance for every¬
thing. Parinaml upadanam is the material cause which undergoes a change. Brahman is the vivarta upadanam; maya is the
parinamT upadanam. This is to be understood from the drsti of the jagat alone, not from the standpoint of brahmacaitanyam. All
that there is, is the one caiianyam. But in accord with the different orders of reality, you can talk about brahman in terms of the
jagat.
The upanisat says brahman is the upadanakaranam.
... Devadatta, having built a house, entered that house. In that case, the house s separate from Devadatta. That is not the kind of
situation that sruti has set up with regard to brahman and the jagat. Having created the jagat, brahman, Tsvara, entered that jagat.
Since Devadatta did not make a house out of himself, he can enter it. If brahman is upadanakaranam, there is no way for brahman
to enter the jagat. The creation itself is in the form of brahman. How can he enter that? There is a problem here.
... Having created everything, it as though entered; it is available in the antahkarana.
Related words
Karana
Sanskrit
Upadana-karana —
upadana-karana - ^TTTPTTPTT
Upadhi
Variant spellings
upadhi
upadhi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Upadhi — ... adventitious condition; association; vehicle; attribute; support; limiting adjunct; attribute; title; deceit.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
upadhi -
that which is put in the place of another thing, a substitute, substitution;
anything which may be taken for or has the mere name or appearance of another thing, appearance, phantom, disguise (said to
be applied to certain forms or properties considered as disguises of the spirit);
anything defining more closely, a peculiarity;
an attribute;
title, discriminative appellation, nickname;
limitation, qualification (e.g. an-upadhi-ramanlya, beautiful without limitation i.e. altogether beautiful);
a qualifying term added to a too general middle term to prevent ativyapti;
that which is placed under, supposition, condition, postulate;
deception, deceit;
species
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Upadhi (“obstruction”). In Indian logic, a counterexample that renders an inference (anumana) invalid by showing that the reason
(hetu) given as evidence for the initial assertion (sadhya) is not invariably true. For example, the inference that “there is smoke be¬
cause there is fire” was judged invalid because of the counterexample of the red-hot iron ball, which was considered fiery but not
smoky. Since the red-hot iron ball was a class of fiery things that did not smoke, it showed that the reason given for the inference
did not account for every case of the thing to be proved (sadhya)—and thus raised the possibility that there were other such cases
as well. This invalid inference fails the requirement known as pervasion (vyapti), in which the reason must account for every possi¬
ble case; this is critical for validity in an inference. Needless to say, the search for such counterexamples was an essential part of
Indian logic, since one such example could discredit an opponent’s argument.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Upadhi: Conditioning factors that make indistinct Reality appear in distinct forms.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Upadhi: limiting adjunct; all that is being superimposed on the formless and attributeless Brahman.
Descriptions
General
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
... we read in the S’vet. Upfanisad]. IV, 10 : ‘Know Prakriti (nature) as Maya (magic), and the great Lord as the Mayin (magician).’
Though this is not pure Vedanta, it shows us, at all events, the way by which the ignorance of the individual became the cause of
what we call objective reality, and led, at the same time, to the admission of an active and creative Lord, the personal Brahma or
isvara; how Avidya in fact became a Sakti or potentia, somehow or other related to Brahman itself.
But before there arises this Maya of objective nature, belonging as it were to Brahman himself, there was the Maya of the inter¬
nal or subjective world. This was originally the only Maya, and, deceived by that Maya or Avidya, the Atman, or pure Self, was
covered up (Upahita) or blinded, or conditioned by the so-called Upadhis, the conditions or impositions, if we may say so, in both
senses. There is here again a certain ambiguity, the Upadhis being caused by primeval Avidya, and, from another point of view,
Avidya being caused in the individual soul (JTvatman) by the Upadhis. These Upadhis are:—
1. The Mukhyaprana, the vital spirit (unconscious);
2. the Manas, the central organ of perception, ready to receive what is conveyed to it by the separate senses, and to react on
them by will, Manas being that which, as we say, perceives, feels, thinks and wills;
3. the Indriyas, the five senses, both afferent and efferent. The five afferent (Upalabdhi) senses are the senses of hearing, touch,
sight, taste, scent. The five efferent or acting senses (Adhyavasaya) are the senses of speaking, grasping, going, evacuating and
generating;
4. the material organic body.
All these, called the Upadhis, conditions, are to be treated as Not-self; and if it be asked why they should ever have been treated
as Self, the only possible answer is that it was through Nescience or Avidya, but through a Nescience that is not only casual or
individual, but universal.
Wikipedia
Upadhi (Sanskrit: “imposition” or “limitation”) is a term in Hindu philosophy. In Hindu logic, an upadhi is the condition which accom¬
panies the major term and must be supplied to limit the too general middle term. For instance, “the mountain has smoke because
it has fire” rests on the false premise that all fire is accompanied by smoke. To restrict the too general middle term here, ‘wet fuel’
should be added as the condition of fire.
It can also be viewed as a disguise or vehicle for true reality, both defining something and limiting it. For example, the body of a
man or animal is the upadhi of its spirit. Upadhi is one of many conditions of body and mind obscuring the true state of man or his
self which Indian philosophies seek to remove for the attainment of moksha. Extract from Helena Blavatsky’s Theosophical Glos¬
sary:
“Basis; the vehicle, carrier or bearer of something less material than itself: as the human body is the upadhi of its spirit, ether the
upadhi of light, etc., etc.; a mould; a defining or limiting substance.”
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
The favourite example in Indian philosophy is of a colourless, transparent crystal placed on red silk, or in contact with a ruby. The
colourless apparently becomes coloured. The conditioning factor in this case is the silk or ruby. In Sanskrit this conditioning factor
is called upadhi.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
The nature of the Jiva changes with the addition of each Upadhi. When a man dresses like a fop, wearing the fine black-bordered
muslin, the love songs of Nidhu Babu spring to his lips. A pair of English boots inflates even a languid man with the delight of vani¬
ty; he begins to whistle immediately, and if he has to ascend a flight of stairs, he leaps up from one step to another like a Saheb. If
a man holds a pen in his hand, he will go on scratching carelessly on any paper he happens to get.
... Money is an Upadhi (a deceptive influence) of a very strong nature. As soon as a man becomes rich, he is thoroughly changed.
See: Jiva and upadhi
See also:
in Ishvara: Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Etymology
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Psychology of Darsanamala
The literal meaning of upadhi is ‘intelligence that has undergone conditioning’. Upa means ‘with’ or ‘together with’, and dhi means
‘intelligence’.
Sanskrit
Upadhi — d Q i Rt
upadhi - ^ttuT
Upanishad
Title variants
upanisad
upanishad
Upanisad
-3'H'dftk
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Upanisad — ... “to sit close by devotedly”; the last portion of the Vedas ...
1. The teachings of the ancient sages which form the knowledge and/ or end portion of the Vedas. The central teaching of the
Upanisads is that the Self of a human being is the same as Brahman, the Absolute. The goal of life, according to the Upanisads, is
realization of Brahman.
2. They are treatises in poetry and prose; on spiritual and philosophical subjects.
3. There are ten principal Upanisads: Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, MandGkya, TaittirTya, Aitareya, Chandogya, and
Brhadaranyaka.
4. The concluding portion of the Vedas. They are also called Vedanta (which in turn bases its theories on the ideas of the Upa¬
nisads).
5. Some hold the view that upanisad literally means “secret teaching” (rahasya); and as the Upanisads are so varied, and difficult
to decide as to what their import is, they account for the emergence in later times of the diverse schools of Vedanta.
6. See prasthana-traya.
Encyclopedia of religion
The Upanishads are codified Sanskrit philosophical speculations of varying lengths in both prose and verse form, composed orally
and set to memory mostly by anonymous South Asian sages, primarily in the classical and medieval periods. While the most
important and influential Vedic Upanishads date from the eighth to the fourth centuries BCE, some lesser-known sectarian Upani¬
shads appear as late as the sixteenth century CE. Individually and as a whole, the Upanishads present insights and doctrines that
serve as the foundation for much of India’s philosophical thought.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
upanisad -
to sit down near to; to approach, set about;
(according to some) the sitting down at the feet of another to listen to his words (and hence, secret knowledge given in this man¬
ner; but according to native authorities upanisad means ‘setting at rest ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the supreme
spirit’);
the mystery which underlies or rests underneath the external system of things;
esoteric doctrine, secret doctrine, mysterious or mystical meaning, words of mystery &c.;
a class of philosophical writings (more than a hundred in number, attached to the Brahmanas [but see Isopanishad]; their aim is
the exposition of the secret meaning of the Veda, and they are regarded as the source of the Vedanta and Samkhya philosophies
Wikipedia
The Upanishads are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings of Vedanta. They do not belong to any particular period of
Sanskrit literature: the oldest, such as the Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads, date to the late Brahmana period (around
the middle of the first millennium BCE), while the latest were composed in the medieval and early modern period. The Upanishads
have exerted an important influence on the rest of Hindu philosophy and were collectively considered one of the 100 Most Influen¬
tial Books Ever Written by the British poet Martin Seymour- Smith.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of religion
Traditional South Asian teachings based on the Upanishads have been called the Vedanta, the “end of the Veda,” for the Upani¬
shads chronologically and formally set the closure of the Vedic canon. Perhaps more to the point, Upanishadic lessons are said to
be the end of the Veda in that they purport to present the “hidden meaning” or the “real message” of religious practice and thought.
The central teaching presented by the Upanishads as a whole centers on the notion that behind all of the spatial swirl and tempo¬
ral flux of the world as it is experienced by the senses is a subtle, pervasive, timeless, and unchanging reality that is identical to
the undying essence of the human being as well. The early Vedic Upanishads call this unified and imperishable world soul brah¬
man or atman, the former applying more typically to the godhead and the latter signifying the correlative divine “self” residing at
the deepest level of one’s person. The theistic Upanishads teach that this brahman or atman is a single deity known generically
as Isv Isa (Lord) living deep within one’s being and identified particularly as Siva, Vishnu, or the Goddess by particular sectarian
communities.
... While they explicitly or implicitly admit the difficulties of comprehending a hidden reality that either transcends or simply cannot
be known through the structures of time, space, and causation, the Upanishads hold that through disciplined practices of medita¬
tion and the cultivation of extraordinary knowledge, it can in fact be discerned.
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
... the word [‘upanisad’] used in the Upanisads themselves, and there it generally appears as synonymous with rahasya or secret.
That should accordingly have been its original meaning. Etymologically the word is equivalent to ‘sitting (sad) near by (upa) devot¬
edly (ni),’ and in course of time it came to signify the secret instruction imparted at such private sittings. That the teaching of these
works was regarded as a mystery and that much care and anxiety were bestowed upon keeping it from the unworthy lest it should
be misunderstood or misapplied, come out clearly in several Upanisads. According to the Prasna Upanisad, for example, six
pupils go to a great teacher seeking instruction of him in respect of the highest reality; but he asks them to live with him for a year
before instructing them, obviously with the purpose of watching them and satisfying himself of their fitness to be taught by him.
Again, when Naciketas, according to the Katha Upanisad, desires to know whether or not the soul survives after death.Yama does
not reply until he has tested the sincerity and strength of mind of the young inquirer. The reluctance to impart the highest truth to
every one without discrimination, we may observe in passing, was not peculiar to India, but was common to all ancient peoples.
Heraclitus in early Greece, for example, is reported to have stated, ‘If men care for gold, they must dig for it; otherwise they must
be content with straw.’
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Upanishad.The latest textual stratum in the Vedas, the oldest and most authoritative Hindu religious texts. The literal meaning of
the word upanishad is “to sit near [a teacher],” but a better sense of its true meaning would be “secret teaching.” The Upanishads
mark a clean break from the immediately preceding Vedic literature, the Brahmanas, in which the essential concern was to lay
out the concrete procedures for performing highly complex sacrificial rites. In contrast, the Upanishads were concerned with more
speculative and abstract questions: the essential nature of the cosmos, the essence of the human being, and the relationship
between these two. The conclusion in the Upanishads is that the essence of the universe is an impersonal reality known as Brah¬
man, and that the essence of the human being is called the “Self” (atman). The fundamental insight and essential teaching in the
Upanishads is the identity of Brahman and atman, and thus of the macrocosm and the microcosm. This identity is one of the most
fundamental Hindu religious ideas and underlies religious thought up to the present time.
The twelve or thirteen oldest upanishads are not a cohesive set but a series of independent documents, although the later ones
were clearly influenced by the earlier ones. The two oldest are the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad and the Chandogya Upanishad.
Each is much longer than all the others combined, they are written in prose as a series of dialogues between famous sages, the
Sanskrit language in them is clearly more archaic, and their ideas are embryonic and undeveloped. Later upanishads— such as
the Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, and Mandukya—are much shorter, are written in verse, and have well-developed ideas. Some of
these introduce the notion of theism, but not until the Shvetashvatara Upanishad is the Supreme Being identified as a god, in this
case Rudra. For much of their history, the Upanishads would have been transmitted orally from master to student; this makes it
unlikely that these texts were widely known because they would have been secret and carefully guarded teachings.
The Upanishads are important because of the speculative questions they ask and because many of their teachings are funda¬
mental assumptions in Hindu religious life, even today: the notion of an eternal Self that gives a being continuous identity; the idea
of reincarnation (samsara) commensurate with one’s deeds; the concept that some single unifying power lies behind the world’s
apparent diversity; and the conviction that this can be attained only through individual realization, usually described as a flash of
mystic insight. As texts carrying the religious authority of the Vedas, the Upanishads were also extremely important in the develop¬
ment of Hindu philosophical schools, particularly Advaita Vedanta, which shares this overriding emphasis on inner realization.
Wikipedia
Commentaries
The philosopher and commentator Shankara is thought to have composed commentaries on eleven mukhya or principal Upani¬
shads, those that are generally regarded as the oldest, spanning the late Vedic and Mauryan periods. The Muktika Upanishad
(predates 1656) contains a list of 108 canonical Upanishads and lists itself as the final one. Although there are a wide variety of
philosophical positions propounded in the Upanishads, commentators since Shankara have usually followed him in seeing idealist
monism as the dominant one.
Philosophy
The Upanishads speak of a universal spirit (Brahman) and of an individual soul (Atman), and at times assert the identity of both.
Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or
shall be. The mystical nature and intense philosophical bent of the Upanishads has led to their explication in numerous manners,
giving birth to three main schools of Vedanta. Shankara’s exegesis of the Upanishads does not describe Brahman as the God in
a monotheistic sense. His philosophy is named advaita, “not two” as opposed to dvaita, founded by Madhvacharya, which holds
that Brahman is ultimately a personal God, to be aligned with Vishnu, or Krishna (brahmano hi pratisthaham, I am the Foundation
of Brahman Bhagavad Gita 14.27). The third major school of Vedanta is Vishishtadvaita, founded by Ramanujacharya and it has
some aspects in common with the other two.
The ninth chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad says:
He who knows the Bliss of Brahman (divine consciousness)..does not distress himself with the thought “why did I not do what is
good? why did I do what is evil?”. Whoever knows this (bliss) regards both of these as Atman (self, soul), indeed he cherishes
both as Atman. Such, indeed, is the Upanishad, the secret knowledge of Brahman.
The key phrase of the Upanishads, to Advaita Vedanta, is cRf 3rf% “Tat Tvam Asi” (That thou art). Vedantins believe that in the
end, the ultimate, formless, inconceivable Brahman is the same as our soul, Atman. We only have to realize this through discrimi¬
nation. (However, interpretations of this phrase differ.) Verses 6, 7 & 8 of Isha Upanishad:
Whoever sees all beings in the soul and the soul in all beings...
What delusion or sorrow is there for one who sees unity?
It has filled all. It is radiant, incorporeal, invulnerable...
Wise, intelligent, encompassing, self- existent, It organizes objects throughout eternity.
The Upanishads also contain the first and most definitive explications of the divine syllable Aum or OM, the cosmic vibration that
underlies all existence. The mantra “Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti” (the soundless sound, peace, peace, peace)is often found in the
Upanishads. ‘Devotion to God’ (Sanskrit: bhakti) is foreshadowed in Upanishadic literature, and was later realized by texts such as
the Bhagavad Gita.
Global scholarship
In 1775, the French scholar Anquetil Duperron received a manuscript of part of the Upanishads from M. Gentil, who resided at the
court of Shula ud daula. Duperron requested the remaining part and then collated the two, translating them into French and Latin.
The French version was never published but the Latin translation was published in 1801. The Latinized title was Oupnek’hat.
The German philosopher Schopenhauer read the Latin translation and extravagantly praised it in his main work, The World as
Will and Representation, which was published in 1819, as well as in his Parerga and Paralipomena, (1851). He found that the
Upanishads accorded with his own philosophy, which taught that the individual is a manifestation of the one basis of reality. For
Schopenhauer, that fundamentally real underlying unity is what we know in ourselves as “will.”
German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling praised the mystical and spiritual aspects of the Upanishads. Schelling
and other members of the German Idealist group were dissatisfied with Christianity (as propagated by churches) and became
fascinated with the Vedas and the Upanishads. Similarly-minded English and European writers, such as Thomas Carlyle, Victor
Cousin, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Mme. de Stael, claimed to find deep wisdom in these non-Western writings.
In the United States, the group known as the Transcendentalists were influenced by Schelling’s German Idealists. These Ameri¬
cans, such as Emerson and Thoreau, were not satisfied with traditional Christian mythology and therefore embraced Schelling’s
interpretation of Kant’s Transcendental idealism, as well as his celebration of the romantic, exotic, mystical aspect of the Upani¬
shads. As a result of the influence of these writers, the Upanishads gained renown in Western countries.
Erwin Schrodinger — the great quantum physicist said “The multiplicity is only apparent. This is the doctrine of the Upanishads.
And not of the Upanishads only. The mystical experience of the union with God regularly leads to this view, unless strong prejudic¬
es stand in the West.”
Eknath Easwaran in translating the Upanishads tells how they “form snapshots of towering peaks of consciousness taken at vari¬
ous times by different observers and dispatched with just the barest kind of explanation”.
See: Brahmana, Aranyaka, Upanishad
See: Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
upanisad — from the verb root sad = “to sit” + the prefixes upa = “near” and ni = “down”; thus, “to sit down near” (the spiritual
teacher earnestly).
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit term upanisad derives from upa- (nearby), ni- (at the proper place, down) and sad, that is “sitting down near” a teach¬
er in order to receive instruction... Monier- Williams adds that “according to native authorities upanishad means ‘setting to rest ig¬
norance by revealing the knowledge of the supreme spirit’);...” A gloss of the term upanisad based on Shankara’s commentary on
the Katha and Brhadaranyaka Upanishads equates it with Atmavidya, that is “knowledge of the Self”, or Brahmavidya “knowledge
of Brahma”. Other dictionary meanings include “esoteric doctrine” and “secret doctrine”.
Texts
General
Encyclopedia of religion
Written texts
The Upanishads were first put into written form in 1656 CE, when Sultan Dara Shakoh sponsored the translation of fifty Upani¬
shads from Sanskrit into Persian. In 1801-1802, these Persian works were then translated into Latin by Antequil du Perron, be¬
coming the first, although poor, European version. Since that time, all of the Upanishads have been rendered into various Indian
scripts, and the more important or influential ones have been translated into virtually all of the world’s major languages. The Upa¬
nishads stand as works of monumental significance in the history of India and of the world.
Classification of the upanishads
It is somewhat problematic to arrive at a precise number of Upanishads, because if all Sanskrit works claiming to present secret
teachings were to be classified as Upanishads the number would be indefinite.
Nearly 250 texts call themselves Upanishads—including the Allopanishad (“secret teachings about Allah,” composed at the time of
Akbar) and the Christopanishad, dated well after the rise of Christian communities on the subcontinent—but it appears that most
of these do so merely as a way to align themselves with a respected literary genre or religious tradition.
The Muktika Upanishad and other medieval South Indian works mention 108 separate Upanishads in an enumeration that has
become somewhat of a stock list. Using the methods of historical, thematic, and textual criticism, twentieth- century scholars have
isolated 123 genuine Upanishads. These works may be classified into two general categories, the Vedic Upanishads and the later
Upanishads.
Vedic Upanishads
Virtually all Vedic and most sectarian traditions recognize ten to eighteen Upanishads as revealed authoritative scripture (sruti).
Furthermore, all of the more important traditional theologians and philosophers throughout classical and medieval India recog¬
nized the central importance of these ancient works, and have written extensive commentaries on them. For these reasons, the
Vedic Upanishads have also been called the Major, or Principal, Upanishads. They may be divided into three historical and textual
groups.
1. The earliest Upanishads (the Brhadaranyaka, Chandogya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, and Kausitaki Upanishads and the prose parts
of the Kena Upanishad) predate the rise of Buddhism in the sixth century BCE, the Brhadaranyaka and the Chandogya being the
earliest and the Kena being the latest. All are explicitly aligned with one or another of the various sakhas, or “schools” of Vedic
interpretation, and are composed in a prose that closely resembles Vedic Sanskrit. These texts make frequent use of allegorical
modes of interpretation and are often almost indistinguishable in style from the A ranyakas. In many ways these six works serve
as the philosophical foundation for all of the later Upanishads.
2. A second group of Upanishads (the Kat:ha [or Kat:haka], Isa, Svetasvatara, Mundaka, and Mahanarayana Upanishads and
the metrical parts of the Kena Upanishad) reflects a growing sectarian orientation and dates to the sixth and fifth centuries BCE.
These works, which are composed primarily in verse, are only loosely attached to the Vedic sakhas, and make less use of meta¬
phorical, allegorical, or other tropic means of expression.
3. The Upanishads of a third group (the Prasna, Maitri [or Maitrayamya], Jabala, Paingala, and Mandukya Upanishads) return to
prose form, but in a language that resembles classical Sanskrit much more than Vedic Sanskrit. They probably emerged in the
late fifth and early fourth centuries BCE although the dates for a few of them are uncertain.
Later Upanishads
To this list of principal Vedic Upanishads most authorities would add a large number of less known and, for the most part, medie¬
val works that may be classified as the later Upanishads. These works are not universally accepted as sruti, and they have not re¬
ceived the extensive attention from traditional South Asian philosophical commentators as have the Vedic Upanishads. This does
not mean that they are less important than others. Indeed, these texts may well be more influential in their respective communities
than the principal Vedic Upanishads. Such works reflect the increasing influence of Samkhya philosophy, Yoga practice and ide¬
ology, and sectarian theistic traditions through the classical and medieval periods. While many align themselves with the Rgveda,
Yajurveda, or Samaveda, most of these Upanishads are attached, at least nominally, to the Atharvaveda. Most are in prose form
and are composed almost entirely in classical Sanskrit.
The number of the later Upanishads is too large to list all of them... Only the most important or representative ones will be men¬
tioned.
1. Vedanta Upanishads. These works, which include the Muktika, Pinda, Garba, Atman, Pranagnihotra, Adhyatman, and Brahma
as well as perhaps two dozen other Upanishads, fairly consistently maintain the general doctrines presented by the Vedic Upani¬
shads, and show relatively little sectarian influence. They differ from the Vedic Upanishads only in that they are not cited in tradi¬
tional commentaries.
2. Yoga Upanishads. These texts arose out of a more specifically ascetic context than did many of the Vedic and Vedanta Upa¬
nishads, and reflect the influence of Yoga ideologies and practices within Upanishadic circles. This group includes the Yogakun-
dali, Nadabindhu, Sandilya, Yogatattva, Tejobindhu, Hamsa, Amrtabindhu, Dhyanabindhu, and Varaha Upanishads. These works
center on the direct experience of the eternal self (atman) through specific techniques of Yoga and through the meditation on the
sacred syllable om.
3. Samnyasa Upanishads. These works tend to extol the life of the wandering ascetic’s search for release from the cycle of rebirth
(samsara) and teach ways in which such release may be obtained. They include the Naradaparivrajaka, Bhiksuka, Paramahamsa,
Asrama, and Samnyasa Upanishads.
4. Mantra Upanishads. These teachings center on esoteric interpretations of specific sounds and syllables and place those inter¬
pretations into Yogic as well as Saiva, Vaisnava, and Durga theistic contexts. Typical of such works would be the Tarasara, Ka-
lisantarana, and Narayana Upanishads.
5. Saiva Upanishads. The earliest Saiva Upanishad might well be said to be the Vedic Svetasvatara Upanishad, which praised the
role of Rudra (a Vedic precursor to the god Siva) in the religious quest. The more well-known of the medieval Saiva Upanishads
would include the Nilarudra, Kalagnirudra, Kaivalya, and Atharvasiras Upanishads, all of which understand the person of Siva
(also known as Mahesvara, Bhairava, Isana, and other names) to be an embodiment of the deepest self, atman.
6. Vaisnava Upanishads. These texts tend to interpret the various incarnations of the god Visnu as representative forms of the
atman. Some Vaisnava traditions look to the Isa Upanishad as the Vedic antecedent to, or oldest sectarian representative of,
this particular genre. Works associated with this group include the Nrsimha-purvatapamya, Nrsimhottarata pamya, Maha, Rama-
pur-vatapamya, and Ramottarata pamya Upanishads.
Wikipedia
List of Upanishads
Canonical Upanishads
The Muktika (“deliverance”, see mukti) Upanishad is the final Upanishad of the Hindu canon of 108 texts of the Advaita school,
and it is itself the source of this canon. It predates 1656, when the canon was recorded by Dara Shikoh.
In this canon,
10 Upanishads are associated with the Rigveda and have the Shanti beginning vanme-manasi.
16 Upanishads are associated with the Samaveda and have the Shanti beginning apyayantu.
19 Upanishads are associated with the Shukla Yajurveda and have the Shanti beginning purnamada.
32 Upanishads are associated with the Krishna Yajurveda and have the Shanti beginning sahanavavatu.
31 Upanishads are associated with the Atharvaveda and have the Shanti beginning bhadram- karnebhih.
The first 10 are grouped as mukhya “principal”. 21 are grouped as Samanya Vedanta “common Vedanta”, 23 as Sannyasa, 9 as
Shakta, 14 as Vaishnava, 14 as Shaiva and 17 as Yoga Upanishads.
... The 108 canonical Upanishads are listed at 1:30-39 (without the associated Vedas)
"Principal" Upanishads
The following list includes the eleven “principal” (mukhya) Upanishads commented upon by Shankara, and accepted as shruti by
most Hindus. Each is associated with one of the four Vedas (Rigveda (RV), Samaveda (SV), White Yajurveda (6YV), Black Ya¬
jurveda (KYV), Atharvaveda (AV));
Aitareya (RV)
Brhadaranyaka (SYV)
TaittirTya (KYV)
Chandogya (SV)
Kena (SV)
Isa (SYV)
Svetasvatara(KYV)
Katha (KYV)
Mundaka (AV)
Mandukya (AV)
Prasna (AV)
The KausTtaki and Maitrayani Upanishads are sometimes added. All these date from before the Common Era. From linguistic evi¬
dence, the oldest among them are the Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads. The JaiminTya Upanisadbrahmana, belonging
to the late Vedic Sanskrit period, may also be included. Of nearly the same age are the Aitareya, KausTtaki and TaittirTya Upa¬
nisads, while the remnant date from the time of transition from Vedic to Classical Sanskrit.
The older Upanishads are associated with Vedic Charanas, Shakhas or schools; the Aitareya and KausTtaki Upanishads with
the Shakala shakha, the Chandogya Upanishad with the Kauthuma shakha, the Kena Upanishad with the Jaiminiya shakha, the
Katha Upanishad with the Caraka- Katha shakha, the TaittirTya and Svetasvatara Upanishads with the Taittiriya shakha, the Mai¬
trayani Upanishad with the Maitrayani shakha, the Brhadaranyaka and Isa Upanishads with the Vajasaneyi Madhyandina shakha,
and the Mandukya and Mundaka Upanishads with the Shaunaka shakha.
In the Muktika Upanishad’s list of 108 Upanishads the first 10 are grouped as mukhya “principal”. 21 are grouped as Samanya
Vedanta “common Vedanta”, 23 as Sannyasa, 9 as Shakta, 13 as Vaishnava, 14 as Shaiva and 17 as Yoga Upanishads.
Shakta Upanishads
Later Upanisads are often highly sectarian: this was “one of the strategies used by sectarian movements to legitimate their own
texts through granting them the nominal status of Sruti.” For the most part, the canonical Shakta Upanishads are sectarian tracts
reflecting doctrinal and interpretative differences between the two principal sects of Srividya upasana (a major Tantric form of
Shaktism). As a result, the many extant listings of “authentic” Shakta Upanisads vary in content, reflecting the sectarian bias of
their compilers:
“Past efforts to construct lists of Shakta Upanisads have left us no closer to understanding either their ‘location’ in Tantric tradition
or their place within the Vedic corpus. [...] At stake for the Tantric is not the authority of sruti per se, which remains largely undis¬
puted, but rather its correct interpretation. For non- Tantrics, [it is a text’s] Tantric contents that brings into question its identity as
an Upanisad. At issue is the text’s classification as sruti and thus its inherent authority as Veda.”
Of the texts listed in the Muktika Upanishad nine are classified as Shakta Upanishads:
STta (AV)
Annapurna (AV)
DevT (AV)
Tripuratapani (AV)
Tripura (RV)
Bhavana (AV)
Saubhagya (RV)
SarasvatTrahasya (KYV)
Bahvrca (RV)
The list excludes several notable and widely used Shakta Upanisads, including the Kaula Upanisad, the SrTvidya Upanisad and
the Srichakra Upanisad.
Publications
History of translations
General
Encyclopedia of religion
The last hundred years have seen the publication of a large number of Upanishads in modern languages, many of which suffer
from a lack of perspicuity due to the somewhat esoteric nature of the original works. The most objective English translation of most
of the Vedic Upanishads remains Robert Ernest Hume’s somewhat stilted The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, 2d rev. ed. (Oxford,
1949). A more fluid translation is Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s The Principal Upanishads (New York, 1953). Radhakrishnan’s work
is better than Hume’s in that it includes the Sanskrit and it translates sixteen rather than thirteen works. Some students will find
Radhakrishnan’s commentaries on the works to be of some help, although many of them reflect his neo-Vedantic bias. Another
good translation, and one that openly admits an Advaitic point of view, is Swami Nikhilananda’s The Upanishads, 4 vols. (New
York, 1949-1959). Readers interested in the later Upanishads would be advised to look to Paul Deussen’s Sechzig Upanishads
des Veda (Leipzig, 1897), to K. Narayanasvami Aiyar’s Thirty Minor Upanishads (Madras, 1914), and to Jean Varenne’s Upani¬
shads du yoga (Paris, 1974). Readers seeking only selections from the Vedic Upanishads might turn to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
and Charles Moore’s edited volume, A Source Book in Indian Philosophy (Princeton, N.J., 1957), pp. 37-96, or to Juan Mascara’s
The Upanishads (Baltimore, 1965), although the latter is somewhat colored by a theistic understanding of the texts.
Wikipedia
The Upanishads have been translated in to various languages including Persian, Italian, Urdu, French, Latin, German, English,
Dutch, Polish, Japanese and Russian. The Moghul Emperor Akbar’s reign (1556-1586) saw the first translations of the Upani¬
shads into Persian, and his great-grandson, Dara Shikoh, produced a collection called Sirr-e-Akbar (The Greatest Mysteries)
in 1657, with the help of Sanskrit Pandits of Varansi. Its introduction stated that the Upanishads constitute the Qur’an’s “Kitab
al-maknun” or hidden book.[84][85] But Akbar’s and Sikoh’s translations remained unnoticed in the Western world until 1775.
Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron, a French Orientalist who had lived in India between 1755 and 1761, received a manu¬
script of the Upanishads in 1775 from M. Gentil, and translated it into French and Latin, publishing the Latin translation in two vol¬
umes in 1802-1804 as Oupneck’hat. The French translation was never published. The first German translation appeared in 1832
and Roer’s English version appeared in 1853. However, Max Mueller’s 1879 and 1884 editions were the first systematic English
treatment to include the 12 Principal Upanishads. After this, the Upanishads were rapidly translated into Dutch, Polish, Japanese
and Russian.
Translations
Deussen, P., Bedekar, V. M. & Palsule, G. B. 1997, Sixty Upanishads Of The Veda (2 Vols.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Pvt.
Ltd).
Hume, R. E. & Haas, G. C. O. 1995, The thirteen principal Upanishads : translated from the Sanskrit, with an outline of the philos¬
ophy of the Upanishads and an annotated bibliography, Oxford University Press, Delhi; Oxford.
Radhakrishnan, S. 1953, The principal Upanishads, Harper, New York.
Sankaracarya, Panoli, V. & Acarya, G. 1991, Upanishads in Sankara’s own words : Isa, Kena, Katha, and Mandukya with the
Karika of Gaudapada : with the bhashyas in the original Sanskrit, English translation, exhaustive explanatory notes and footnotes,
Mathrubhumi Print. & Pub. Co., Calicut.
Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Prasha, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranyaka,
Taittiriya, and Chhandogya, 4 vols., New York: Harper & Row, 1964
See also:: Individual Upanishads for their thranslations
Related words
Aitareya Upanishad
Aranyaka
Brahmana
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Chandogya Upanishad
Isha Upanishad
Jnana-kanda
Katha Upanishad
Kena Upanishad
Mandukya Upanishad
Mundaka Upanishad
Prashna Upanishad
Prasthana-traya
Sruti
Shvetashvatara Upanishad
Taittiriya Upanishad
Veda
External links
Complete set of 108 Upanishads and other documents
http://www.gayathrimanthra.com/Library.html
Complete set of 108 Upanishads with Sanskrit Commentaries of Upanishad Brahma Yogin
http://hinduebooks.blogspot.com/2010/09/108-upanishads-with-sanskrit-commentary.html
Upanishads at Sanskrit documents site
http://sanskrit.gde.to/doc_upanishhat/
Uparati
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Uparati — ... (once the senses have been restricted) the power to ensure that the senses may not once again be tempted toward
worldly objects
1. It is a limb of the virtues necessary for an aspirant to be spiritually qualified. (See sadhana-catustaya.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
uparati -
cessation, stopping;
death;
desisting from sensual enjoyment or any worldly action, quietism, (Vedantas)
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Uparati - tolerance and renunciation of all sectarian religious observances, with the object of acquiring wisdom.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Uparati. or selfsettledness: a function of the mind which prevents the sense organs, restrained by Sama and Dama, from drifting
back to their respective objects. This virtue, according to some Vedantists, means the relinquishment of worldly duties and he ac¬
ceptance of sannyasa, or monastic life.
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Uparati is the cessation of these external organs so restrained, from the pursuit of objects other than that; or it may mean the
abandonment of the prescribed works according to scriptural injunctions.
[Cessation etc.—Uparati is that function of the mind which keeps the restrained organs from drifting back to the objects of the
senses.
That— Hearing of the scriptures, thinking of their meaning and meditating on it.
Or it may mean—As the word Uparati according to the first definition differs very little from Shama and Dama, the alternative defi¬
nition is given to make the meaning precise.
Abandonment—According to this definition the word Uparati means Sannyasa or entering into the fourth order. Like the practice
of Shama etc., the aspirant must accept the vow of monasticism as the essential Sadhana for the attainment of Knowledge. Cp.
“By renunciation alone some attained immortality” (Mahanar. Up. 10. 5), “Purified through the practice of Sannyasa” (Mund. Up.
3. 2. 6). “He attains the supreme perfection by renunciation” (Gita 18. 49). So Srutis and Smritis support the view, and that reason
supports it is quite obvious.
Prescribed works—Such obligatory works as Sandhya, Agnihotra sacrifice, etc.
According to etc.—This is to warn against the abandonment of the works through laziness or other tamasik propensities.]
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali s Yoga
If the spirit is not interested in the transactional world, it can refuse to illuminate the intellect. When such a negative withdrawal is
made by the purusha from the instrumentality of the mind and senses, it is called pratyahara by yogis and uparati by Vedantins.
For instance, a person may live quite close to a tavern or liquor shop without having the least awareness of what goes on there
simply because he is not at all interested in what happens in such a place. Thus, every person, to some extent, unconsciously
exercises withdrawals of the light of the spirit.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
23. ... The best uparati (self-withdrawal) is that condition of the thought-waves in which they are free from the influences of exter¬
nal objects.
When one has gained a degree of proficiency in sama and dama, uparati (self-withdrawal) automatically takes place, wherein the
seeker’s mental conditions is such that it no longer gets affected by any disturbances created by external objects.
When we think of these requirements, it is possible that we think of them as very delicate, difficult and distressing feats, but in fact,
the more we practise them, the more easily will we understand that after all this is but a verbal explanation of the state of mind of
anyone who is trying to achieve or execute any great work. Even on a material plane, we find these qualifications are essential
for a person who wants unqualified success in his activities. In any successful business man too, we observe a certain amount of
self-control within as well as without, and also uparati, at least while he is at his desk. Of course, the comparison of these qualities
with the qualities exhibited by the materialist or the money-hunter is not fair, because a seeker needs a subtlety a million times
more than the materialist. Yet, to a large extent, we can appreciate and understand these qualifications within ourselves when we
watch for them and experience them as available in our work-a-day world.
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
Uparati is aham vrtteh bahya-visaya-analambanam - not leaning upon the external objects on the part of the ego. Alambana is to
lean upon, so analambana is not leaning upon. For the aharh-vrtti, ego, not leaning upon external objects is uparati. But uparati
does not mean avoiding the world. When your sense organs are open you are going to have vrttis, thought forms, with reference
to your perception. When you open your eyes you are going to see mountains, rivers, people, situations. You are not going to
avoid them. Even if you are in a cave, you will be seeing the cave, the bats etc., and when you come out of the cave, there will be
the world waiting for you. Even if you shut your eyes and plug your ears, you are still not going to avoid the external world. Your
memories will put up an external world inside for you. So nobody can avoid the external world. The world presents itself to you in
the form of mental modifications either out of memory or out of perception. So the world is going to be in your mind. You can either
go with these thoughts in your mind or you need not go. Not identifying with these thoughts is what we call uparati which is also
considered as sannyasa.
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
See also:
“Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda” on page 789
Related words
Dama
Sama
Samadhana
Broader term: Satsampatti
Sraddha
Titiksa
Sanskrit
Uparati —
uparati -
Upasana
Variant spellings
upasana
upasana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Upasana — ... meditation; worship; adoration; sitting near; spiritual discipline; attending
1. It is of three kinds: angavabodhopasana, in which some person or thing is worshipped or meditated on as a limb of a rite (e.g.,
where a piece of grass is thought of as a deity); pratlkopasana is where an idol or picture is worshipped as God; ahamgrahopasa-
na in which the worshipper equates him(her)self with a deity.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
upasana -
the act of throwing off (arrows), exercise in archery;
the act of sitting or being near or at hand;
serving, waiting upon, service, attendance, respect;
homage, adoration, worship (with Ramanujas, consisting of five parts, viz. Abhigamana or approach, Upadana or preparation of
offering, Tjya or oblation, Svadhyaya or recitation, and Yoga or devotion);
a seat;
the being intent on or engaged in MRicch.;
domestic fire
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Upasana (“service”). General term denoting religious practice or spiritual discipline as a whole. Aside from the explicit notion of
serving the deity (or guru), the word also connotes an intent focus on the part of the performer—not so much the particular things
one is doing, but the overall attitude of care and attention with which one does them.
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
... the Upanisads prescribe several meditative exercises of a preliminary character. They are usually called upasanas, and the
prominence given t o them in the Upanissads is comparable to that given to rites in the Brahmanas. We need notice only one or
two points about them. In upasanas, the thought may be directed wholly outwards and two selected objects, both external, may be
mentally identified as in the meditation of the universe as a ‘horse’ alluded to above; or only one external object may be chosen
and it may be thought of as identical with the contemplative’s own self. There is an important difference between the two forms of
meditation. While the former affords exercise only in concentration, the latter gives scope, in addition, to the cultivation of sympa¬
thetic imagination—the power to place oneself in the position of another. It accordingly serves as a more direct aid to Brahma-re¬
alization, wherein also what is contemplated, viz. Brahman, is to be identified with the contemplative’s self. Again the objects of
contemplation may be real objects or only symbols. Among real objects which the disciple is asked to think of as one with Brah¬
man, we often find conceptions which were once taken for ultimate reality itself, but which in course of time, as philosophic thought
progressed, were superseded by higher conceptions. Such for instance is the case with Prana which marked an actual stage in
the evolution of the conception of the Absolute. Among the symbols used for Brahman may be mentioned the famous Om, the
mystic syllable, which finds a very important place in the Upanisads. Whatever form these meditations may take, they prepare the
disciple for the final mode of contemplation as Aham Brahma asmi. When a person that has morally purified himself and has after
formal study and reflection convinced himself intellectually of the truth of unity, succeeds through nididhyasana in transforming
what was heretofore known only mediately into an immediate certainty, he attains the spiritual goal.
Wikipedia
‘Upasana’ in Sanskrit literally means “Sitting near” but normally the term is used in Hinduism to denote a prescribed method for
approaching a Deity or God or getting close to a deity/deities. In the Vedas, some Upasanas are prescribed whereby one medi¬
tates on the all-pervading Brahman as some aspect of creation, such as fire, water, directions, food, mind, joy, etc. Thus, Upasana
can be described as a systematic practice of a prescribed method of worship for pleasing and winning the attention of the deity or
it can be a deity-less practice of austerities involving meditating upon some aspect of nature as told in specific Vedic Upasanas.
Normally such prescriptions of worship or meditational methods are taken from various Hindu scriptures, mainly the Puranas and
Vedas. A devotee would consult the scriptures, or a person who knows them thoroughly, to get a prescribed form of worship (Upa-
sana) for his/her deity of choice (Ishta Devata) and follow it faithfully to the best of his/her abilities.
Once the deity is pleased, She/He is said to grant the wishes of devotees either by directly appearing to the devotee and asking/
granting what he or she wants, or reading the mind of the devotee and granting his or her wishes without making any appearance
(unless one of the wishes is to see the deity personally.)
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: Is there any particular upasana which is more efficacious than others?
M.: All upasanas are equally efficacious. But each one takes easily to one kind of upasana which suits his previous vasanas.
D.: Saguna upasana (worship of the personal God) is said to be imperfect. It is also said that nirguna upasana (devotion to the
impersonal) is hard and risky. I am fit for the former only. What is to be done?
M.: The Saguna merges into the nirguna in the long run. The saguna purifies the mind and takes one to the final goal.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
12. Mental activities(l) relating to the Saguna Brahman(2)—such as are described in the Shandilya Vidya(3) are Upasanas or
devotions.
[1 Mental activities—As distinguished from real knowledge. The Upasana is distinct from Jnanam or Knowledge as in the latter
case all differences between the meditator and the object of meditation are obliterated.
2 Saguna Brahman—Brahman with attributes such as power of creation etc. The word Saguna is used to make a distinction be¬
tween mental activities and complete absorption in the Highest Self, in which case all ideas of the object are entirely effaced.
3 Shandilya Vidya—This is the famous chapter of the Chhandogya Upanishad beginning with —"All this is verily Brahman etc.” (3.
14. 1).]
Sankara & Gambhirananda. Chandogya Upanishad
The major portion of this Upanisad consists of upasanas, the import of which is a little difficult to understand.
... Upasana, which is here roughly translated as Upanisadic meditation, aimed in part at engendering higher mental attitudes
with regard to the daily avocations, social contacts, and religious preoccupations. This path of inner transformation, in the midst
of outward conformity, was worked out in all its philosophical bearings and practical details by men of action among whom were
some Upanisadic king-saints (rajarsis), who were conscious of the efficacy of the path as well as of their monopoly of this. In the
Brhadarnyaka Upanisad (VI.2.8), King Pravahana Jaivali says to the Brahmana Gautama, ‘Before this, this knowledge did not
reside in any Brahmana.’ In the Chandogya (V.3.7), too, the same king says to Gautama, ‘Before you, this knowledge reached no
Brahmana, and hence in all the worlds the Ksatriyas had their supremacy.’
Meditation in everyday life
To our forebears no philosophy had any claim to recognition unless it had some bearing on life. To illustrate the point, let us cite
some concrete examples from the Upanisadic texts.
The chanting of the Vedas was the daily duty of the students of those days. But lest it should degenerate into a mechanical pro¬
cess, the students were encouraged to add a little reflection in the form of upasana to this routine work. The Chandogya (1.3.8-9)
says, ‘One snould reflect on the sama with which one would eulogize, on the Rk on which the soma rests, on the seer who saw
the Rk verses, and one should reflect on the deity which one would eulogize.’
One of the grandest conceptions of life as a sacrifice is to be found in the Chandogya (III. 16-17), which by the way, is the richest
storehouse of Upanisadic meditation. This Upanisad says, ‘Man himself is a sacrifice’, and shows in detail how this can be so.
These meditations are often directed towards Reality or God. The Chandogya gives a practical hint as to how one can be in the
constant presence of Reality in the midst of daily duties: The Atman is in the heart, ...he who meditates thus goes to heaven every
day’.
Meaning of upasana
Literally, it [‘upasana’] means sitting near, mentally approaching an ideal. Upasana is sometimes referred to by such words as
‘upanisad’, ‘darsana’, ‘veda’ etc. which terms lay emphasis on the several aspects of Upanisadic meditation. It is firstly a secret
thing, to be diligently protected as one’s own, and not to be merely talked or argued about or exposed to the derision of the com¬
mon people. Besides, it is a mental attitude with regard to things which are not to be looked upon as detached entities, but are
to be linked up with their higher aspects in a cosmic whole. And that attitude again has to change into an experience, the whole
personality getting transformed and elevated thereby. It is both an objective outlook and a subjective realisation.
... Sankara ... defines upasana thus in his commentary on the Brhadaranyaka (1.3.9): “Upasana is mentally approaching the form
of the deity or the like, as it is presented by the eulogistic portions of the Vedas relating to the objects of meditation, and concen¬
trating on it, excluding conventional notions, till one is completely identified with it, as with one’s body, conventionally regarded as
one’s own self.’
So, according to Sankara, the object of meditation may be any object or any deity or Brahman. Besides, it is essentially a mental
process, and aims at a knowledge of the object through identification. But upasana itself is not knowledge. It may be helpful to
realisation, through the purification of the mind, but by itself it falls far short of realisation. ... The PuhcadasT (IX.74-82) brings out
this distinction very aptly: “Knowledge is determined by the object, but upasana is dependent on the subject.” Besides, upasana
implies a meditator, an object of meditation, and an uninterrupted thought. Unless the meditator is aware of himself as distinct
from the object of meditation upasana is not possible. The PancadasT also emphasises the element of faith in upasana. One must
have faith in the object and the process of meditation as taught by the scriptures and the teacher. Knowledge does not presup¬
pose any such faith. Another point to note is that the objects of upasana are not mere imaginary things or concepts, nor need they
be real in the ordinary sense of the term; but they are presented by the scriptures. Again, upasana is a process of building up from
the bottom upward, expanding the ego at every step, whereas knowledge achieves its object rather in a negative way by removing
ignorance. Thus knowledge and meditation are entirely different.
Classes of upasana
A brief survey of the different classes of upasana will clarify our ideas about this word. We have already spoken of Brahma-up¬
asana and abrahma-upasana [...in the Upanisads, we have not only Brahma-upasana, but also abrahmaupasana, i.e. it has as
its object not only the qualified Brahman, but much more that is not Brahman], Of Brahma-upasana, however, there has been
mention of only one aspect, viz meditation on Personal God, immanent or qualified Brahman. But there is a school of Vedantists
who think that it is possible to meditate on the transcendental or absolute Brahman as well. ... In the Prasna Upanisad it is stated,
“. . . any one who meditates on the supreme Purusa with the help of this very syllable Om, as possessed of three letters ...” Here
meditation is enjoined on the unqualified Brahman itself. In the sGtras, “Bliss and other characteristics of the principal entity (i.e.
Brahman) are to be combined” (B.S. III.3.11), and, “All the (negative) conceptions of the Immutable are to be combined...” (B.S.
II 1.3.33), Vedavyasa, the author of the sutras, has stated that the unqualified Brahman should be meditated on by concentrating
on the aggregate of positive and negative qualifications, viz “It is Knowledge”, “It is Bliss”, etc. and “It is not gross, not minute”,
etc. which are asserted about the subject of meditation. You cannot insist that where a combination of qualities such as Bliss etc.
are mentioned, there the unqualified Brahman is not meant. For it is possible to perform (ahamgraha-) upasana by thinking, “I am
verily the partless, homogeneous Brahman indicated by such qualifications as ‘It is Bliss’, etc. and ‘It is not gross’, etc.”, without
thereby violating Its being without any qualities. By meditating thus, the unqualified Brahman is realised in course of time’ (Sid-
dhanta-lesasahgraha, III.8).
Most Vedantists would not agree with this, since the absolute Brahman cannot be the content of any thought or meditation. When
properly analysed, it would seem that the controversy hinges on the meaning we give to the word nididhyasana. If by this word we
mean ordinary meditation, then surely there can be no upasana of the absolute Brahman; for, however we may try, we can have
no image, or concept in our minds higher than that of the qualified Brahman. If, on the other hand, nididhyasana means medita¬
tion of the higher order, as defined by Suresvara, we may have meditation on the absolute Brahman. But for clarity of thought and
expression, we shall be well advised not to call it upasana but nididhyasana, not a form of mental activity, but a flow ot conviction.
This ‘higher meditation’ is essentially nothing more than an intensification of the vision of the Truth received initially from the scrip¬
tures and the teacher through sravana (hearing). The first introduction to Truth and the last consummation do not differ in their
contents, but only in their intensity of realisation.
From another standpoint the upasanas may be placed under three heads: First, those which are connected with sacrifices etc.
actually being performed, ahgavabaddha, and are calculated to heighten the results of the sacrifices; for, according to the Vedic
people, though the sacrifices are efficacious by themselves, when they are conjoined with meditation they lead to greater results.
Secondly, there are those meditations which are neither connected with actual sacrifices nor with Brahman, but are calculated to
lead to heaven or yield other cherished results. ...
This class of upasana is found in the Chandogya, from the beginning of Chapter I to the end of the twenty second section of Chap¬
ter II. ... Thirdly, there are the Brahma-upasanas which lead to Liberation through stages (krama-mukti).
From still another point of view, there are two kinds of upasanas—Brahma-upusana (direct meditation on Brahman) and pratT-
ka-upasana (indirect meditation based on symbols). Meditation on Brahman by attributing qualities like bliss, fearlessness, immor¬
tality, etc. to It is Brahma-upasana. But these qualities in no way point to the real nature of Brahman; they are mentioned by the
scriptures only to facilitate upasana. When the mind, weighed down by past impressions of temporal objects and unable to free
itself from them, fails to dwell solely on the idea of Brahman, but concentrates on any temporal emblem (pratika) by imposing the
idea of Brahman on it,—that is called pratlka-upasana. {PratTkas are also used in the upasanas of deities). A pratika is a symbol
such as a salagrama (the aniconic stone symbol of Visnu), an image, a name etc. The ideas of the deities to be meditated on are
fastened on these symbols.
,,, Upasana may be undertaken either with a desire to secure the various results described in the relevant sections of the Vedas,
or without such a desire, but only to adore God, from which follows purification of the mind and subsequent realisation of the su-
preme Brahman. It is very clearly mentioned in the scriptures that the results of mere rites and duties, unassociated with upasana,
are inferior to the results of upasana.
Upasana and devotion
There is no significant difference between the essential natures of Vedic upasana and bhakti as known today. In fact, one may
state that bhakti is a form of upasana. An aspirant can perform upasana also of things other than Brahman and the deities. But
bhakti is directed only towards God or deities. In this way, the scope of upasana is wider than that of bhakti. Sankaracarya has
taken upasana and bhakti to imply the same thing (vide commentary on Br. 1.4.10). Bhakti is usually a discipline of the Dualists.
We have seen that though upasana is an aid to the Non-dualists, its practise involves a sense of dualism. Even where a votary
thinks of himself as identical with his deity during worship, following the dictum ‘One should worship the deity by deifying oneself,
or in the Tantric worship where an aspirant tries to imagine identity between his own body and that of the deity, through what is
called nyasa, we may reasonably draw their similarity with the Vedic ahamgraha-upasana. Certainly no non-dualistic knowledge is
involved in these practises, though they may be aids to acquire that.
... upasana has in it many elements of devotion. It is not mere thought; there is scope for emotion and volition as well. Ideas are to
be adhered to with determination, and will is to be sustained by faith. And the whole effort is to be sweetened by love—love for a
personal God sometimes, but more often love for a higher ideal which is nothing but Saccidananda (Existence-Knowledge-Bliss).
Aims and methods
The results of upasana, like those of rites and duties, are also said to be of two kinds—the perceptible nd the unseen. Certain
upasanas lead indirectly to Liberation by helping the meditator pass through the intermediate stages. The common result of all
the upasanas is concentration of the mind, which culminates in samadhi. Brahman is realised in the state of samadhi. Upasana
takes hold of man as a whole. It deepens his emotion, strengthens his will, and expands his intellect. But the maximum that can
be gained through such expanding upasana is identification with Hiranyagarbha or cosmic Intelligence-Will-Power thought of as
a Person. Higher still is the state where all thoughts and words cease and only Existence- Knowledge-Bliss reigns in its solitary
glory. The highest realisation comes as a sudden and spontaneous opening of insight. All that upasana can do is to free the mind
from all impurities and worldly distractions, and concentrate it on Brahman, so that light may descend unimpeded.
The Upanisads were, however, careful not to carry all and sundry to the highest meditation, irrespective of their mental progress.
Various upasanas of different degrees and subtlety were prescribed for people in various stages of life. ‘From the familiar to the
unfamiliar’ was their motto, as it was also ‘from the concrete to the abstract’. It is a mistake to think that the sections of the Ve¬
das dealing with upasanas were meant for those who had retired from life, the vanaprasthas. The students (brahmacarins), too,
had their upasanas... The householders (grhasthas) had theirs, as for instance the Pancagni-vidya. The sacrificer, the priests
engaged by him in the sacrifice, the chanters of hymns, the pourers of oblation, and the singers of samas—all had their adequate
upasanas. And so also had those who led a retired life, or were otherwise debarred from undertaking the costly and prolonged
ceremonies.
As a usual rule, they started from the most familiar things—the students from letters, the ordinary people from acts, the thinkers
from concepts, and the meditators from lower meditations. The whole process aimed at a grand synthesis in which the gross and
the subtle, and the microcosm and the macrocosm, lost their separate existence. Thus, at every turn, we are reminded of the
identity of the adhibhuta, the adhidaiva, and the adhyatma—the natural, the supernatural, and the personal. In fact, the upasanas
aimed not only at intellectual grasp, but also at spiritual identification where all vestige of this lower existence ceased.
To reach this highest identity (speaking relatively), the aspirant has to pass through lesser identities. Reality in its immanent form
is visualised in various ways on the personal, natural, and supernatural planes. On the personal or individual plane, the series
runs thus: gross body, vital force, thought, intelligence, and bliss; on the material plane, the progress lies from the smaller to the
larger and from the grosser to the subtler; and on the supernatural plane, the advance is from the individual presiding deities to
their cosmic counterparts. On the cosmic plane, again, first comes the gross, Virat; then the subtle, Hiranyagarbha; and lastly the
causal, Isvara—the immanent Brahman (Saguna Brahman), beyond which the transcendental Reality (Nirguna Brahman). Up¬
asana thus consists in ‘covering all this with God’, as Isa Upanisad puts it, through progressive stages.
Meditation through self-identification
And this [progressive stages of upasana ] brings us to a unique characteristic of the Upanisads. They not only searched for the
Infinite, but found it to be identical with the Self in all. They first realised ‘Brahman is all this”, and then ‘I am Brahman’ . And so the
task before the Upanisads was how to prepare the aspirants for that realisation of unity. As a potent means of accomplishing this,
they hit upon ahamgraha-upasana or meditation based on self-identification in which the individual thinks of himself as Brahman.
Thus in one meditation, Virat, (the gross cosmic Person) is thought of as food, which is raised by stages from the ordinary to the
cosmic plane, where everything is seen to merge in its cause, which is considered to be the eater of food. This final eater again
is no other than Virat; and eating, too, is Virat. When thus everything has been reduced to Virat, and cause and effect have lost
their duality, the meditator identifies himself with the non-dual Virat. This, by the way, is what is known as the samvarga-vidya or
the meditation on the mergence of everything in the cosmic Person as identified with the Self. Similarly, also in other cases. The
highest upasana is given in the Sundilya-vidya, where Brahman is presented as identified with everything that is good, noble, and
beautiful; and the meditator then thinks himself to be no other than Brahman thus qualified.
The Upanisadic seers did not rest satisfied with an objective direction of the mind, as is usual in the path of devotion and duty,
or subjective withdrawal, as is done in yoga. They combined the two processes and reaped the highest benefit in the form of
aparoksanubhuti (immediate realisation) of the Self as Brahman, of the microcosm as the macrocosm. Their life’s goal lay not in
the mere realisation of an isolated Self, but in realising their identity with God in all His fullness—in His transcendence and imma¬
nence.
It is this final objective that gave the direction to upasana, which was not allowed to be alienated from life, but through which life
was to be progressively spiritualised. It is in this realistic attitude leading to the highest realisation that the present-day worth of
Upanisadic upasanalies.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Taittiriya Upanishad
The first portion of Taittiriya Upanisad involves a number of upasana, contemplations or meditations. Modern Vedanta does not ut-
lize these upasana in a way that allows them to be of comprehensive value, and there is no sastra extant that talks about upasana
definitively. Upasana appears to be a method of visualization. In modern psychology a therapist may use visualization techniques
to help a client appreciate a more integrated sense of himself. The student will find upasana, values, and conducive attitudes pre¬
sented in the first valll. Vedanta itself begins in the second chapter.
Upasanas are found in every Upanisad. Even in the concise Kenopanisad there is upasana. In MandGkya, the omkara becomes
a kind of upasana. They are everywhere, because upasana, upasanakarma, is connected to vedantasastra. Cittasuddhi is taken
care of by karma, by religious karma or a religious life, dharmanusthanam, karmanusthanam. Cittanaiscalya, steadiness of the
mind,, is taken care of by upasana. Cittanaiscalyapeksa being antaranga, upasana is found in the jnanakanda of the sastra and
not in the karmakanda. The upasana are important and necessary sadhana for the adept.
... Each upasana has its own phala [fruit],
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
Upasana of the Guru is not a mere servile attendance upon him in an attitude of growing disgust, or in a mood of melancholy dis¬
satisfaction. The disciple, out of sheer love and reverence for the Master, forgets himself and serves him at all times and in all pos¬
sible ways; thereby the student is made to remember, constantly, the glories and the noble qualities of the Master. This constant
mental awareness of the Ideal through the person of the Guru slowly and steadily raises the moral tempo and ethical goodness
in the neophyte who finds himself wellestablished in his inner purity which would otherwise have taken him painfully long years to
develop.
See: Nididhyasana and upasana
Upasana and dhyana
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Bhagavad Gita
Could there be a worshipful meditation or a meditative worship?
Worship of a personal deity is called upasana in Sanskrit. The term describing meditation is dhyana. Though one is related to the
other, these disciplines are treated as different. To understand upasana, let us take the example of a person who worships an
image. An image is made of stone, wood, or metal. The devotee first localizes the Absolute in his own physical being. Then he
transfers these points of consciousness, synergically located in the various centers of the body, to the image, thereby psycholog¬
ically effecting a transference of the divine in him to the image. Thereafter the image, for him, is no longer a mere piece of metal
or wood. To the devotee it is perhaps more real and alive than his own being, which articulates through an equally inertial body
of bones, blood, flesh, and skin. It is as if the body and the image of the deity are two receptacles containing the same spirit. As
a person gets a clear vision of their own face by looking in a mirror, the devotee now sees in the image the otherwise unimag¬
inable Divine. He knows that the Divine is not in any way limited to the image, but it is nonetheless quite real. To this image he
offers mentally and even proto-linguistically, with gestures of the hand, various offerings such as water, light, incense, consecrated
food, flowers, and garlands. After receiving the presence of the Divine in a fitting manner, he sings the praises, repeats the divine
Name, and views the Divine as master, lord, saviour, teacher, beloved, friend, father, and mother all in one. He delights himself in
the company of the Divine. This act of worship is what is called upasana. For upasana the mind has to be kept entirely in tune with
a subtle resonance coming from the mirror image of the deity, which, as we have said, has its counterpart in the devotee’s own
thoughts, feelings, and emotions. This inevitably removes all gross sense of duality. All that remains unresolved is the attitude of
the lover to the beloved.
Let us take the example of one on the path of contemplation. The aid of an image or picture is not used. This person is likely to
adopt either the method of acceptance (affirming everything as belonging to the Absolute), or of denial (denying the visible to be
real). If the former is chosen, the contemplative reduces everything to its abstracted existence. Existence is further understood in
terms of one’s knowledge of it, or of its subsistence. That knowledge is seen as the operation of a value within one’s own self. The
discursive and the individual reference to value is further referred back to the whole gamut of value systems belonging to the Ab¬
solute; thus, the entire existential universe is integrated into a total reality. Naturally in the process, individuality and the personal
ego are lost.
If the negative way is chosen, the contemplative takes all pairs of opposites and cancels them out, such as existence and non-ex¬
istence, cause and effect, being and becoming, attention and non-attention, good and bad, and pleasure and pain. First he ne¬
gates everything, then he negates negation itself. This brings him to an overwhelming silence which fills him within and without
with the being that is as good as non-being. We may say that this is an example of dhyana, meditation. Arjuna wants to know
which of these two methods is superior. Both are included in the context of yoga, so it is only a matter of choosing between them,
and that is what is undertaken here.
See also:
in Vidya: Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
Etymology
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Bhagavad Gita
Upasana: Worship, adoration; literally, “sitting closely and doing services.”
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
Upa=Samipe (near) Asana=to sit or remain. Hence upasana means to dwell in the immediate presence of the object of worship.
Related words
Dhyana
Nididhyasana
Vidya
Sanskrit
Upasana — d4l*H
upasana - TTPTT
Upastha
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Upastha — ... organ of generation
1. One of the five organs of action. (See karmendriya.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
upastha -
‘the part which is under’, lap, middle or inner part of anything, a well-surrounded or sheltered place, secure place;
the generative organs (esp. of a woman);
the haunch or hip;
the anus
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Upastha ... the power to procreate, one of the five abstract-working senses (karmendriyas)
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Upastha from prep, wpa, towards, with, under, down + stha, standing (the root stha, to stand).
Related words
Karmendriyas
Sanskrit
Upastha —
upastha -
v,w
Vac
Variant spellings
vac
vac
vach
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vac — ... word; Divine Word; logos; speech; Goddess
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vac -
(from root ‘vac’) speech, voice, talk, language (also of animals), sound (also of inanimate objects as of the stones used for press¬
ing, of a drum &c.);
a word, saying, phrase, sentence, statement, asseveration;
Speech personified (in various manners or forms e.g. as Vac AmbhrinT in RV. x, 125; as the voice of the middle sphere in Naigh.
and Nir.; in the Veda she is also represented as created by Prajapati and married to him; in other places she is called the mother
of the Vedas and wife of Indra; in VP. she is the daughter of Daksha and wife of Kazyapa; but most frequently she is identified with
Bharat! or SarasvatT, the goddess of speech
Lurker. Dictionary of Gods
Vac (Vak _ speech). In India, the deified personification of speech, which is believed to be invested with magical powers. In the
Rigveda, Vac is the world principle which underlies all action by the gods. The goddess is regarded as the wife of ->• Prajapati. In
Buddhism, Vak is a name of -^Manjufri; he sits in the meditative posture, with his hands in his lap.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vach (Vak). Vach or Vak is Hindu goddess of speech, and the most prominent and important goddess in the VEDAS. In later
times she becomes identified with SARASVATI, the goddess of learning, and loses her separate character, except in linguistic
philosophy. In Vedic tradition the words of SANSKRIT have a divine character. Words are not arbitrary or mere names, but are the
essential truth of the object they represent. The sounds of the word tree, for instance, form the essence of a tree. All of reality can
be seen as mere congealed speech. Vedantic theory sees four levels of speech: (1) the transcendent level, where speech is the
divine silence out of which emerges the manifest universe; (2) speech as it becomes incipient thought looking toward manifesta¬
tion; (3) speech expressed as thought, but before external expression; and (4) speech as uttered words.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vac ... a word, (in Nyaya) one of the three forms of equivocation (chala); (in Samkhya) the power to express, one or the five ab¬
stract working-senses (karmendriyas).
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of religion
Words express, reveal, and expose reality. They are equal to the essence of the universe itself. In other words they are equal to
god. In Vedic tradition the word vac (word or speech) is said to be the origin and the essence of this universe. The ultimate word
is brahman (the essence of the universe.) And in the New Testament, the same concept is propounded: “In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Words in themselves are thus divine and have power.
Speech-acts such as blessings, curses, and vows are more intensified by psychological processes than normal significative ones.
Since speech is powerful, blessing has the potential to be efficacious.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In most traditions the Voice of God is represented by a Goddess. The Word, however, is “male”. The Voice speaks the Word, the
Moon-Goddess, as Virgin Mother, gives birth to the Son of God.
In the Rig-veda the Voice appears in the form of the Goddess Vach. This word, meaning voice and eloquence, is etymologically
related to the Latin “vox” and the English “voice”. She is called “Queen of the Gods” and it is said that she “entered into the Rishis”
and that she makes the man she loves great and intelligent, a priest and a Rishi. A Rishi is a Sage, a Son of God. It is evident
that she represents the Intelligence of the Tradition. This is also clear from the reference in the Taittiriya Brahmana in which she is
called “the Mother of the Vedas”, for the Vedas embody the Tradition of the Vedic Indians.
She was “generated by the Gods” (Rig-veda). The Tradition belongs to the Spiritual Path.
The Rig-veda also describes her as “the melodious cow who milked forth sustenance and water”, “who yields us nourishment and
sustenance.” There is a tradition, in which the Voice is parallel to the Water of Life, and the Word to the Bread of Life. Instances
from several religions will be given later. The tradition is the Water of Life and produces the Bread of Life.
The Taittiriya Brahmana also says that Vach is “the wife of Indra, who contains within herself all worlds.” We have seen that Indra
is Jupiter, the Overlord of the Five Elements. In many traditions there is a marriage relationship between the Intelligences of the
Moon-Sphere and the Ether-Sphere.
The Brahmanas mention that Vach is associated with Prajapati, “the Progenitor”, in the work of creation. The Progenitor is the In¬
telligence of the Process of Genesis, that is, the genesis of true Manhood on the Spiritual Path. Prajapati is a form of Brahma, the
Creator.
The Mahabharata also calls Vach “the Mother of the Vedas”, and says, “A Voice derived from Brahma entered into the ears of
them all; the celestial Sarasvati was then produced from the heavens”. The sense of hearing is the sense symbolizing the spiritual
function. Sarasvati, one with Vach, is now generally called Vagisvari, “the Voice-Goddess”. She is the Consort of Brahma, and has
a number of names — Savitri, Brahmani, Gayatri, and others, each representing a particular aspect of the Sakti of the Tradition.
The places of Brahma and Sarasvati are in Cancer and Leo, the Houses in which Voice and Word are at their mightiest. Cancer is
ruled by the Moon and Leo by the Sun. Sun and Moon represent the Duality of the Moon-Sphere, as we shall see later. Sarasvati
is worshipped as the Goddess of Wisdom — the wisdom of the Tradition which is the great constructive factor in the genesis of
Manhood on the Spiritual Path. The Goddess Vach is identified with the important Goddess Aditi, in the Rig-veda. “Aditi” signifies
“the indivisible, the infinite, liberation”. She is described as follows in the Rig-veda: “Aditi is the Heaven, Aditi is the Antariksha (the
inner region, the mid-region), Aditi is Mother, Father, Son; Aditi is the Visvadevas (All-Gods, Universe-Gods) and the Pancha-Jana
(the Five Kins), Aditi is Generation and Birth.” This verse describes all the fields of influence of the Tradition, liberating men from
bondage and moulding them into true Men. The Five Kins form, as we shall see later, the aspects of life in the Five Elements.
In the Rig-veda Aditi is also called Deva-matri, “the Mother of the Gods”, and she is invoked for blessings, for protection, and for
forgiveness. She was a Deity of the greatest importance. Terracotta images of her are among the most ancient images found in
India. In her rested the power to redeem men from sin and suffering. Only the Intelligence of the Tradition, the Queen of Heaven,
can do this.
Wikipedia
In the early Rigveda (books 2 to 7), vac- refers to the voice, in particularly the voice of the priest raised in sacrifice. She is personi¬
fied only RV 8 and RV 10, in RV 10.125.5 speaking in the first person (trans. Griffith),
“I, verily, myself announce and utter the word that Gods and men alike shall welcome.
I make the man I love exceeding mighty, make him a sage, a Rsi, and a Brahman.”
The intimate connection of speech, sacrifice and creation in (late) Rigvedic thought is expressed in RV 10.71.1-4:
“When men, Brhaspati!, giving names to objects, sent out Vak’s first and earliest utterances
All that was excellent and spotless, treasured within them, was disclosed through their affection.”
“Where, like men cleansing corn-flour in a cribble, the wise in spirit have created language,
Friends see and recognize the marks of friendship: their speech retains the blessed sign imprinted.”
“With sacrifice the trace of Vak they followed, and found her harbouring within the Rsis.
They brought her, dealt her forth in many places: seven singers make her tones resound in concert.”
“One man hath ne’er seen Vak, and yet he seeth: one man hath hearing but hath never heard her.
But to another hath she shown her beauty as a fond well-dressed woman to her husband.”
Vak also speaks, and is described as a goddess, in RV 8.100:
“When, uttering words which no one comprehended, Vak, Queen of Gods, the Gladdener, was seated,
The heaven’s four regions drew forth drink and vigour: now whither hath her noblest portion vanished?”
“The Deities generated Vak the Goddess, and animals of every figure speak her.
May she, the Gladdener, yielding food and vigour, the Milch-cow Vak, approach us meetly lauded.”
RV 1.164.45 has:
“Speech hath been measured out in four divisions, the Brahmans who have understanding know them.
Three kept in close concealment cause no motion; of speech, men speak only the fourth division.”
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
You have heard this great passage of the Bible: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. Something like this is what the Upanishad tells us here. The Eternal Wisdom was manifest, with the eternal Word, and with
this Word the whole cosmos was created. The Word which is with God, and which is God, is not merely a letter, or a sound that
we make through our lips. It is an energy; it is a force; it is a vibration, which materialises itself, concretises itself into object-forms.
The Word is the Veda, or Eternal Wisdom which is with God, and it is inseparable from God, and so, it is God Himself. The Cos¬
mic Mind projected itself in the form of this Eternal Word, and manifested this universe. In the Manusmriti, and such other ancient
texts, we are also told in a symbolic manner that Prajapati, the Creator, conceived the whole cosmos in the pattern of ‘Om’, or
the Pranava. The Pranava, or Omkara, is supposed to be the seed of the whole universe. That is the essence of the Word that is
Divine. It is also the Veda contained in a seed form. The whole of the Veda is inside ‘Om’. ... ‘Om’ is supposed to be a vibration,
which is integral in its nature, and that is the Word spoken of. This Word which is Om, is the cause of the whole cosmos. The Mind
of the Universe, the Cosmic Mind, Prajapati, got united with this Word, which means to say, Consciousness vibrated through this
Word for the purpose of the manifestation of the universe. And, in the Manusmriti, we are told that Pranava splits itself into the
Vyahritis—Bhuh, Bhavah, Svah. These are mystical syllables which are supposed to contain the inner content of the Pranava. And
we are also further told that the three Vyahritis split themselves into the three Padas, or the quarters of the Gayatri Mantra which is
supposed to be expounded in a greater detail in the three sections of the Purusha-Sukta. These three parts of the Purusha-Sukta
become the three Vedas—Rik, Yajur and Saman, and in all their multiplications. So, the origin of this creation is supposed to be a
communion of the Cosmic Mind with Cosmic Vibration, which is referred to as the Word, the Veda-Vac, which means speech, the
Original Word.
See: Name and word
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vac (from the root vac, to speak).
Wikipedia
Vak or Vac (stem vac-, nominative vak) is the Sanskrit word for “speech”, “voice”, “talk”, or “language”, from a verbal root vac-
“speak, tell, utter”.
Related words
Karmendriya
Sabda
Saraswati
Vak
Sanskrit
Vac —
/
vac - ^TTT
Vairagya
Variant spellings
vairagya
vairagya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vairagya — ... dispassion; detachment; renunciation; nonattachment
1. Renunciation is giving up all the pleasures of the eyes, ears, and the other senses, giving up all objects of transitory enjoyment,
giving up the desire for a physical body as well as for the highest kind of spirit body of a god.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vairagya -
change or loss of colour, growing pale;
disgust, aversion, distaste for or loathing of;
freedom from all worldly desires, indifference to worldly objects and to life, asceticism
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vairagya - right dispassion and indifference to the unreal and transitory. This consists of renunciation of all desires to enjoy the
fruit of action both here and hereafter.
Wikipedia
Vairagya (... also spelt as Vairagya) is a Sanskrit term used in Hindu philosophy that roughly translates as dispassion, detach¬
ment, or renunciation, in particular renunciation from the pains and pleasures in the material world. The Hindu philosophers who
advocated vairagya told their followers that it is a means to achieve moksha.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Vairagya: Sense of detachment towards everything transient.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vairagya, freedom from any attachment, or renunciation, has been a central theme in Hinduism throughout the centuries. It was
understood that attachment to worldly desires and ends can result only in continued rebirth, a continued circuit on the wheel of
SAMSARA or worldly life.
The period from the eighth to the sixth centuries B.C.E., when JAINISM and Buddhism first emerged along with the UPANISHAD
era within the VEDIC tradition, saw a great expansion in mendicancy and ascetic orders and a flowering of traditions of renuncia¬
tion. The Vedas themselves, in their ancient MANTRA sections, upheld a very different, world-affirming point of view.
Ever since in India, it has been those who left the ordinary world behind and abandoned worldly concerns who have been credited
with the greatest spiritual accomplishments. Vairagya in one form can mean simple avoidance of worldly externals, but in its most
difficult form it might mean bodily mortification. In either case it is a central feature of Hindu religious life.
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The prime object of Upanisadic discipline is the removal of ahamkara, which is the basis of all evil; and vairagya is the name given
to that attitude towards the world which results from the successful eradication of the narrow selfish impulses for which it stands.
Its accomplishment necessarily presupposes a long course of training through the three asramas or disciplinary stages—those of
the religious student (brahmacarya), the householder (garhasthya) and the anchorite (vanaprastha)— so far as they were under¬
stood at the time. As the very word asrama (‘toil’) means, they are stages of strife when selfishness is slowly but steadily rooted
out. ... This training leads to samnyasa; but we should remember that the term does not yet bear in the Upanisads its present
significance of a formal stage in the spiritual ascent of man. It there means only the transcending of the triple mode of asrama
life, and is regarded as a consequence of Brahma-knowledge rather than a means of attaining it. In the latter sense, samnyasa
appears comparatively late. The Upanisads, while fully recognizing the value of this preparatory training, do not ordinarily dwell at
length upon it. They rather take it for granted and address themselves to such as have already successfully undergone that train¬
ing and have acquired vairagya.
Wikipedia
The concept of Vairagya is found in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, where it along with practice (abhyasa), is the key to restraint of the
modifications of the mind (YS 1.12, “abhyasa- vairagyabhyarh tannirodhah”). The term vairagya appears three times in the Bhaga-
vadglta (6.35, 13.8, 18.52) where it is recommended as a key means for bringing control to the restless mind.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
556. It is useless to pore over the holy scriptures if one’s mind is not endowed with Viveka and Vairagya. No spiritual progress can
be made without these.
564. Vairagya is of many kinds. One kind of it springs from acute pain due to worldly misery. But the better kind arises from the
consciousness that all worldly blessings, though within one s reach, are transitory and are not worth enjoying. Thus, having all, he
has not anything.
565. How many kinds of Vairagya are there? Generally two: the intense and the moderate. Intense Vairagya is like digging a large
tank in one night until it gets filled with water then and there. Moderate Vairagya is slow in its growth and procrastinating. There is
no knowing when it will become complete.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
D.: How is restlessness removed from the mind?
M.: External contacts - contacts with objects other than itself - make the mind restless. Loss of interest in non-Self, (vairagya) is
the first step. Then the habits of introspection and concentration follow. They are characterised by control of external senses, inter¬
nal faculties, etc. (sama, dama, etc.) ending in samadhi (undistracted mind).
As the mind tends to go out turn it inwards then and there. It goes out owing to the habit of looking for happiness outside oneself;
but the knowledge that the external objects are not the cause of happiness will keep it in check. This is vairagya or dispassion.
Only after perfect vairagya the mind becomes steady.
Chudala illustrated Sikhidhvaja’s error by this story. He had vairagya even while ruling his kingdom and could have realised the
Self if only he had pushed his vairagya to the point of killing the ego. He did not do it, but came to the forest, had a timetable of
tapas and yet did not improve even after 18 years of tapas. He had made himself a victim of his own creation. Chudala advised
him to give up the ego and realise the Self which he did and was liberated.
It is clear from Chudala’s story that vairagya accompanied by ego is of no value, whereas all possessions in the absence of ego
do not matter.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Vairagya or renunciation: This is the utter disregard of all pleasures, ranging from the enjoyment of the sensuous objects of this
world to the experience of the happiness one expects in heaven after death. From the teachings of the scriptures and personal
observation the intelligent aspirant realizes that no pleasure, whether here or hereafter, can have an infinite duration since all plea¬
sures are the results of finite action. Even good actions, such as charity, study, or worship, are finite by nature. Their results, too,
are finite. Self-Knowledge ... is not the direct result of any action. It always exists. The Vedantic discipline merely removes igno¬
rance, the barrier to this Knowledge, and the glory of the Self shines forth.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
Vairagya is commonly translated as detachment. For many, it holds an uncanny fear, for it seems to point more to a condition of a
living death than to a state of a better and fuller living. The vairagya of Vedanta is only a fulfilment of viveka. Having discriminated
between the Real and the unreal, it should not at all be agonising to pluck ourselves away from the false.
When through discrimination, we are intellectually convinced of Ihe fallacy of our way of thinking, detachment is the fructification
of that discrimination. Accordingly it manifests to the degree to which we have been convinced by our discrimination. When I am
convinced that my shadow is not really me, it does not take an iota of my energy to rid myself of the sorrows of my shadow. Even
if ten thousand elephants pass over it I shall still smile and be happy for I know that no matter how much my shadow is trampled
upon, it cannot bring me any pain.
A spirit of detachment and a craving for dispassion may be generated in us as a result of repeated tragedies. A tragic bereave¬
ment, a shocking disappointment, a painful failure, an agonising physical pain, all these have been found, either individually or
collectively, capable of creating a temporary sense of vairagya, termed in Sanskrit as smasana vairagya,—an aversion to life and
its finitude which is usually generated when one has occasion to visit a cremation ground. This passing phase and temporary
mood is not a solid capital upon which a person can build his entire future in the spiritual world. No doubt, these temporary mental
moods may be capitalised in training the mind and intellect to generate more and more sense of discrimination, which will ultimate¬
ly increase the intensity of true vairagya.
True dispassion is a wise condition of the ego created from a deep intellectual conviction which, in its turn, has its roots in per¬
fect discrimination. Only in the maturity of an individual’s spiritual florescence, can one hope to gather the fruits of wisdom. False
vairagya has ruined more men than even atheism has ever done...
See also:
“Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda” on page 789
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
Vairagya is a compound word joining vai meaning “to dry, be dried” + raga meaning “color, passion, feeling, emotion, interest”
(and a range of other usages). This sense of “drying up of the passions” gives vairagya a general meaning of ascetic disinterest
in things that would cause attachment in most people. It is a “dis-passionate” stance on life. An ascetic who has subdued all pas¬
sions and desires is called a vairagika.[1]
[1] Apte, A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 891.
Related words
Abhyasa
Sadhanacatustaya
Sama
Viveka
Sanskrit
Vairagya — ctmM
vairagya - trFPt
Vaishvanara
Variant spellings
Vaisvanara
Vaishvanara
Vaiswanara
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vaisvanara — ... universal being
1. The self of the waking state. It is the self that leads all creatures in diverse ways to the enjoyment of different objects.
2. The locus of meditation on Vaisvanara is the right eye.
3. According to Advaita Vedanta, it stands for the cosmic self in waking, while visva stands for the waking individual self.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vaisvanara -
relating or belonging to all men, omnipresent, known or worshipped, everywhere, universal, general, common;
consisting of all men, full in number, complete;
relating or belonging to the gods collectively;
all-commanding;
relating or sacred to Agni Vaisvanara;
N. of Agni or Fire;
the fire of digestion;
the sun, sunlight;
(in the Vedanta) N. of the Supreme Spirit or Intellect when located in a supposed collective aggregate of gross bodies (= Viraj,
Prajapati, Purusha);
N. of a Daitya;
of various men;
(pi.) of a family of Rishis;
a sacrifice performed at the beginning of every year;
men collectively, mankind;
N. of a Saman
Wikipedia
In Hinduism, Vaishvanra or Vaiswanara was an Asura, more specifically a Danava, being one of the sons of Danu. He had two
daughters, Kalaka (mother of the Kalakeyas and Puloma (mother of the Paulomas). Updanavi and Harashira are additionally con¬
sidered his dauguters...
In the Rig Veda, Vaishvanara is an epithet of deity Agni.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
The gross bodies also, in their fourfold variety, may be regarded, like the subtle bodies, collectively or individually. They may be
regarded as a whole, like a wood, or as separate bodies like the trees in a wood. Consciousness limited or conditioned by the up-
adhi of the aggregate of gross bodies is called Virat or Vaisvanara; it regards all the gross bodies of the universe as its own body.
The body belonging to Virat, through which it functions, is called the annamayakosa the gross physical sheath, on account of its
being a modification of food. It functions in the waking stale and experiences gross objects.
Ramakrishna tradition
Sarvananda. Mandukya Upanishad
9. Vaisvanara, who has the waking state for his field, is the letter ‘A’, the first part of Om, because they are both all-pervasivel and
have a beginning2. One who knows this, obtains verily all desires and becomes the first.
[NOTES — 1. All-pervasive - - According to Sanskrit orthography, the letter A is included in all other sounds, because no sound
can be produced without opening the mouth and the first sound produced on opening the mouth is A. Hence it is all-pervasive.
Similarly this Upanisadic passage maintains that Vaisvanara, identified with the waking state, pervades everything, Moreover all
knowledge of other states is from the waking state, and hence it may be said to pervade them.
2. Beginning — ‘A’ being the first letter, it has no preceding letter or sound. So also the waking state, indentified with Vaisvanara,
is known from the commonsense point of view to precede dream and sleep states.]
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Vaisvanara is derived from Visva, the world or universe, and is rendered as “the fire of life”. It is the fire of the sun of manifestation.
It relates to the physical plane: the Element Earth.
Dagur, the God of the Day, that is to say, Manifestation in general... The name “Dagur” implies “burning”. The word “day” is de¬
rived from it. It corresponds to the Sanskrit Vaisvanara, the Fire of Life or Universal Fire.
Wikipedia
As per the Mandukya Upanishad, the Self has four aspects or states of consciousness. The first is the Vaishvanara manifestation,
under the jagrat or the waking state which is outwardly cognitive. The Self in Vaishvanara form has seven limbs, nineteen mouths
and has the capability to experience material objects.
The seven limbs of Vaishvanara pertain to the ‘cosmic body’ of ‘Vaishvanara’. These are enumerated in verse 18.2 of the Chando-
gya Upanishad,
[T]he heavens are his head, the sun his eyes, the air his breath, the fire his heart, the water his stomach, the earth his feet, and
space his body.
The seven limbs of Vaishvanara have also referred to in the first verse of the Mandukya Upanishad, which have been described to
encompass the entire manifest universe. The nineteen “mouths” comprise of:
(i) The five sense organs,
(ii) The five organs of action (walking, talking, expelling, procreating, and handling) and
(iii) The five pranas, the mind, the intellect, the ego sense, and thought (gitta).
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Chandogya Upanisad
Chapter VI : The Vaisvanara, which comes to light at the close of the last chapter, is the essential content of one’s own being —
atman, Self. The entire sixth chapter is the revelation of this secret as taught to Svetaketu by his father and Guru, Aruni. The Mas¬
ter tries to impart the core of wisdom with the aid of numerous analogies, each ending in one and the same conclusion — tat tvam
asi svetaketo (O Svetaketu, that thou art).
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. The Word That is God
“This fire which is within a man and digests food that is eaten is Vaisvanara. Its sound is that which one hears by stopping the
ears.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.9.1)
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
The four kinds of gross bodies are those that are born of the womb, the egg, moisture and the soil...
Consciousness associated with this aggregate of gross bodies is called Vaiswanara and Virat on account of its identification with
all bodies, and from its manifestation in diverse ways respectively.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
The theme of the Mandukya Upanishad is an exposition of the Mystic Syllable, Om, with a view to training the mind in meditation,
for the purpose of achieving freedom, gradually, so that the individual soul is attuned to the Ultimate Reality.
The basis of this meditation is explained in the Vidya (meditation), known as the Vaisvanara Vidya. This is the secret of the knowl¬
edge of the Universal Being, designated as Vaisvanara. Its simple form of understanding is a transference of human attributes to
the Divine Existence, and vice versa. In this meditation, one contemplates the Cosmos as one’s Body. Just as, for example, when
one contemplates one’s individual body, one simultaneously becomes conscious of the right eye, the left eye, the right hand, the
left hand, the right leg, the left leg, the head, the heart, the stomach, and all the limbs of the body at one and the same time, and
one does not regard the different limbs of the body as distinguished from one another in any manner, all limbs being only ap¬
parently different but really connected to a single personality, so in this meditation, the consciousness is to be transferred to the
Universal Being. Instead of one contemplating oneself as the individual body, one contemplates oneself as the Universal Body.
Instead of the right eye, there is the sun. Instead of the left eye, there is the moon. Instead of the feet, there is the earth. Instead
of the head, there is the heaven, and so on. The limbs of the Cosmic Person are identified with cosmic elements, and vice versa,
so that there is nothing in the cosmos which does not form an organic part of the Body of the Virat, or Vaisvanara. When you see
the vast world before you, you behold a part of your own Body. When you look at the sun, you behold your own eye. When you
look above into the heavens, you are seeing your own head. When you see all people moving about, you behold the various parts
of your own personality. The vast wind is your breath. All your actions are cosmic movements. Anything that moves, does so on
account of your movement. Your breath is the Cosmic Vital Force. Your intelligence is the Cosmic Intelligence. Ycur existence is
Cosmic Existence. Your happiness is Cosmic Bliss.
Though the Mandukya Upanishad gives certain symbolic instances of identification of limbs with the Cosmic Body, the meditator,
in fact, can choose any symbol or symbols for such form of identification. The creation does not consist merely of the few parts
that are mentioned in the Upanishad. There are many other things which may come to our minds when we contemplate. So, we
can start our meditation with any set of forms that may occur to our minds. We may be sitting in our rooms, and the first things that
attract our attention may be the objects spread out in the rooms. When we identify these objects with our Body, we will find that
there are also objects outside these, in the rooms. And, likewise, we can slowly expand our consciousness to the whole whole
earth and, then, beyond the earth, to the solar and stellar regions, so that, we reach as far as our minds can reach. Whatever our
mind can think, becomes an object for the mind; and that object, again, should become a part of the meditator’s Body, cosmically.
And, the moment the object that is conceived by the mind is identified with the Cosmic Body, the object ceases to agitate the mind
any more; because that object is not any more outside; it becomes a part of the Body of the meditator. When an object becomes
a part of our own body, it no more annoys us because it is not an object at all. It is a subject. The object has become the Cosmic
Subject, in the Vaisvanara meditation.
The Vidya has its origin, actually, in the Rig-Veda, in a famous Sukta, or hymn, called the Purusha-Sukta. The Purusha-Sukta of
the Rig-Veda commences by saying that all the heads, all the eyes, and all the feet that we see in this world are the heads, eyes,
and feet of the Virat-Purusha, or the Cosmic Being. With one head, the Virat nods in silence; with another face He smiles; with a
third one, He frowns; in one form, He sits; in another form, He moves; in one form, He is near; in another form, He is distant. So,
all the forms, whatever they be, and all the movements and actions, processes and relations, become parts of the Cosmic Body,
with which the Consciousness should be identified simultaneously. When you think, you think all things at the same time, in all the
ten directions; nay, in every way.
The Chhandogya Upanishad concludes this Vidya by saying that one who meditates in this manner on the Universal Personality of
Oneself as the Vaisvanara, becomes the Source of sustenance for all beings. Just ag children sit round their mother, hungry, and
asking for food, all beings in creation shall sit round this Person, craving for his blessings; and just as food consumed by the body
sustains all the limbs of the body at once, this meditator, if he consumes food, shall immediately communicate his blessings to the
whole cosmos, for his Being is, verily, All-Being.
Vaishvanara and ahankara
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
vaisvanara’s consciousness of externality is of a different kind. It is a Universal Affirmation of ‘l-am’, ‘l-am-ness’, ‘aham-asmi’. This
is the first manifestation of Self-consciousness, - Cosmic ahamkara. Therefore, it has no opposing objects in front of it. This aham-
kara does not wage a war with others. It has no misunderstandings with other persons or things, and it has, therefore, no pains of
any kind. It has, also, no dealings with other persons and things, because it is vaisvanara, and not visva. We cannot even imag-
ine this state of the “l-am-ness” of the virat. We have never been in that state, and so our minds are not capable of imagining that
condition. To some extent, they say, this condition may be compared to the initial state of our becoming aware of ourselves imme¬
diately after we wake up from deep sleep.
See: Virat and Vaishvanara
See: Visva and Vaishvanara
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vaisvanara - from visva-nara
Wikipedia
Etymologically, Vaishvanara, meaning “of or related to Visvanara”, is the genitive case of the conjoined word Vishvanara i.e. Vish-
va (Universe) + Narah (Man) i.e. the ‘Universal or Cosmic Man’.
Meditation
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
This is the secret of the knowledge of the Universal Being, designated as Vaishvanara. Its simple form of understanding is a trans¬
ference of human attributes to the Divine Existence, and vice versa. In this meditation, one contemplates the Cosmos as one’s
body. Just as, for example, when one contemplates one’s individual body, one simultaneously becomes conscious of the right eye,
the left eye, the right hand, the left hand, the right leg, the left leg, the head, the heart, the stomach, and all the limbs of the body at
one and the same time, and one does not regard the different limbs of the body as distinguished from one another in any manner,
all limbs being only apparently different, but really connected to a single personality. So, in this meditation, the consciousness is
to be transferred to the Universal Being. Instead of one contemplating oneself as the individual body, one contemplates oneself
as the Universal Body. Instead of the right eye, there is the sun. Instead of the left eye, there is the moon. Instead of the feet there
is the earth. Instead of the head, there is the heaven, and so on. The limbs of the Cosmic Person are identified with the cosmic
elements, and vice versa, so that there is nothing in the Cosmos which does not form an organic part of the body of the Virat, or
Vaishvanara. When you see the vast world before you, you behold a part of your own body. When you look at the sun, you behold
your own eye. When you look above into the heavens, you are seeing your own head. When you see all people moving about, you
behold the various parts of your own personality. The vast wind is your breath. All your actions are cosmic movements. Anything
that moves, does so on account of your movement. Your breath is the Cosmic Vital Force. Your intelligence is the Cosmic Intelli¬
gence. Your existence is Cosmic Existence. Your happiness is Cosmic Bliss.
The vidya has its origin, actually, in the Rig-Veda, in a famous sukta, or hymn, called the Purusha-Sukta. The Purusha-Sukta of
the Rig-Veda commences by saying that all the heads, all the eyes, and all the feet that we see in this world are the heads, eyes,
and feet of the Virat-Purusha, or the Cosmic Being. With one head, the Virat nods in silence; with another face He smiles; with a
third one He frowns; in one form, He sits; in another form, He moves; in one form, He is near; in another form, He is distant. So, all
the forms, whatever they be, and all the movements and actions, processes and relations, become parts of the Cosmic Body, with
which the Consciousness should be identified simultaneously. When you think, you think all things at the same time, in all the ten
directions, nay, in every way.
The Chhandogya Upanishad concludes this vidya by saying that one who meditates in this manner on the Universal Personality of
Oneself as the Vaishvanara, becomes the Source of sustenance for all beings. Just as children sit round their mother, hungry, and
asking for food, all beings in creation shall sit round this Person, craving for his blessings; and just as food consumed by this body
sustains all the limbs of the body at once, this meditator, if he consumes food, shall immediately communicate his blessings to the
whole Cosmos, for his Being is, verily, All-Being.
Related words
Jiva
Viraj
Virat
Visva
Sanskrit
VaiSvanara —
Vaisvanara -
Vak
Definitions
See: Vac
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vak — ... (see vac) — VagdevT, the Goddess of Speech; voice; word; primordial Word; Logos
1. She is the Divine Mother (sound) who became all the words.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vak -
in compound, for vac
Wikipedia
Personified, Vak is a goddess, most frequently she is identified with Bharati or Sarasvati, the goddess of speech. In the Veda she
is also represented as created by Prajapati and married to him; in other places she is called the mother of the Vedas and wife of
Indra.
Descriptions
See also:
Saraswati
Sanskrit
Vak — c(W
/
vak - TR>;
Valmiki
Name
Valmiki —
Valmiki - wrfND
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Valmiki — ... “ant hill”; author of the Ramayana
1. Considered the first poet of India.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Valmiki author of the Ramayana Valmiki is the mythological author of India’s great epic the RAMAYANA. His authorship, however,
consisted simply in putting into a lasting composition a story that was related to him by the ancient RISHI (seer) NARADA. Valmiki
is said once to have seen a hunter shoot a male bird as it was making love to its mate. The female bird, seeing her mate bleed¬
ing and in distress, cried out piteously. In grief and sorrow, Valmiki uttered a poetic verse of two lines that upon reflection made a
special meter. Because he received the line in sorrow (shoka), Valmiki termed the meter shloka. It is in this meter, suitable to be
accompanied by the Indian lute (vina), that most of the Ramayana was composed.
Wikipedia
Valmiki (Sanskrit: valmiki) (during Lord Rama’s time) is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the
author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means
First Poet, for he discovered the first sloka i.e. first verse, which set the base and defined the form to Sanskrit poetry.
Life
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Valmiki. In Hindu mythology, a sage who is regarded as the first poet, and who is traditionally cited as the author of the Ramaya¬
na, the earlier of the two great Sanskrit epics. According to legend,Valmiki is a bandit in his early life. One day, one of his vic¬
tims asks him whether his family will also share the sins he is committing, and when Valmiki finds out that they will not, he has
a change of heart. He sits down in a secluded place and begins to do japa (recitation), but his heart is so blackened by his sins
that the only words he can say are “mara mara” (“death, death”). After a long time the syllables become reversed, and by recit¬
ing “Rama Rama” he expiates his former sins. This recitation is so long that a colony of white ants (in Sanskrit, named “valmika”)
builds a hill over him, and when he emerges from this he is given the name Valmiki.
After his emergence, Valmiki builds an ashram on the banks of the Tamasa River and lives a quiet life. He gives shelter to Sita
after she has been exiled from Ayodhya by her husband, Rama, and also cares for her sons, Lava and Kusha. One day when
Valmiki is walking by the Tamasa River, he sees a hunter shoot a pair of courting Krauncha birds, and in his intense anger, his re¬
buke to the hunter comes out in verse; according to legend, this is the first poem ever composed. After this first verse composition,
the god Brahma appears, and at Brahma’s encouragement Valmiki composes the Ramayana.
Wikipedia
Valmiki was the son of Sumali. Maharishi Valmiki was born in a shudra family. His birth name was Ratnakara. But the trust factor
of the sources is questionable.When everyone left to travel south Sumali took his son and wife and moved near the bank of Vipa-
sa River (Northern India). The Uttara Khanda tells the story of Valmiki’s early life, as an unnamed highway robber who used to rob
people before killing them. Other versions name him Valya Meet. Robbing people who passed by was the only source of money
for him.
Work
Wikipedia
The Ramayana, originally written by Valmiki, consists of 24,000 verses in seven cantos (some say six i.e. excluding the Uttara
Ramayana) (kandas). The Ramayana tells the story of a prince, Rama of Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon
(Rakshasa) king of Lanka, Ravana. The Valmiki Ramayana is dated variously from 500 BC to 100 BC, or about co-eval with early
versions of the Mahabharata. As with many traditional epics, it has gone through a long process of interpolations and redactions,
making it impossible to date accurately...
Valmiki is also quoted to be the contemporary of Rama. Rama met Valmiki during his period of exile and had interacted with him.
Valmiki had Sita in his hermitage where Kusa and Lava were born to Sita. Valmiki taught Ramayana to Kusa and Lava, who later
sang the divine story in Ayodhya during the Aswamedha yaga congregation, to the pleasure of the audience, whereupon, King
Rama summoned them to his royal palace. Kusa and Lava sang the story of Rama there, and Rama confirmed that whatever had
been sung by these two children was entirely true.
Vanaprastha
Variant spellings
vanaprastha
vanaprastha
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vanaprastha — ... forest dweller
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vanaprastha -
a Brahman in the third stage of life (who has passed through the stages of student and householder and has abandoned his
house and family for an ascetic life in the woods ; see asrama);
a class of supernatural beings;
Bassia Latifolia or Butea Frondosa;
relating to a Vanaprastha;
the third stage of a Brahman’s life, forest-life
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
In the orthodox Brahminical stages of life for men, vanaprastha, going into the forest, is the third stage or ASHRAMA. After he has
completed his studentship and fulfilled his duty in life (when he has seen his children’s children), the man enters the forest with or
without his wife to devote himself to celibacy, austerity, study of the VEDAS, Vedic sacrifices, and spiritual discipline. This stage is
also called the stage of SADHU. The man must wear animal skins, bark, or rags; leave his hair and nails uncut; and eat pure food.
He may beg food, if necessary. The final stage is SANNYASI or mendicancy, when he emerges from the forest to wander alone,
seeking alms. The vanaprastha and the sannyasi stage were clearly the most ideal course of conduct and were probably never
followed completely by all BRAHMINS or other upper-CASTE men, for whom they were primarily intended.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vanaprastha (“forest-dweller”). According to the dharma literature, the vanaprastha was the third of the idealized stages of life
(ashrama) for a twice-born man, that is, a man born into the brahmin, kshatriya, or vaishya communities, who had undergone the
adolescent religious initiation known as the “second birth.” According to this idealized pattern, after engaging in religious learning
as a celibate student (brahmacharin), the first stage; marrying and raising a family as a householder (grhastha), the second stage;
a man should, in the third, gradually disengage himself from the world by giving up his attachments and withdrawing to a more
secluded place. The renunciation in this third stage of life is less severe than the last stage, the Sanyasi—the texts are very clear
that he should remain with his wife and that he should continue to perform the prescribed daily domestic sacrifices. Although in
contemporary times it is fairly common for older people to live a more retired life, bequeathing the bulk of the family affairs to their
children, few people live by the strict prescriptions for the vanaprastha. The prescription for this third stage of life is generally con¬
sidered to be a reaction to the growth of asceticism in the centuries before the turn of the common era, particularly the monastic
asceticism of the Buddhists and Jains, which they claimed was religiously superior to the life of a householder. The vanaprastha
is a transitional stage that paves the way for an ascetic life, but it is set in one’s old age and thus allows for the fulfilling of one’s
duties to family and society.
Wikipedia
When a householder is considered to be older or advanced in years, perceiving his skin become wrinkled, his hair turns gray, and
has grandchildren, the time is said to have come for him to enter the third stage of life, or vanaprastha. It is said that he should
now disengage himself from all family ties, except that his wife may accompany him, if she chooses - although maintaining total
celibacy, and retire to a lonely forest, taking with him only his sacred fires and the implements required for the daily and periodical
worship. Clad in deerskin, a single piece of cloth, or in a bark garment, with his hair and nails uncut, the hermit is to subsist exclu¬
sively on food growing wild in the forest, such as roots, green herbs, wild rice, and grain. He must not accept gifts from any one,
except of what may be absolutely necessary to maintain him; but with his own few possessions he should honor, to the best of
his ability, those who visit his hermitage. His time must be spent in reading the metaphysical treatises of the Veda, in performing
acts of worship, and in undergoing various kinds of austerities, with a view to mortifying his passions and producing in his mind an
entire indifference to worldly objects. Having by these means succeeded in overcoming all sensual affections and desires, and in
acquiring perfect equanimity towards everything around him, the hermit has fitted himself for the final and most exalted order, that
of devotee or religious mendicant (sannyasin).
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
As a result of experience and observation he [the individual] gradually became disillusioned about the glitter of the outer world. He
longed for inner peace. As the signs of old age crept in, he entrusted his worldly duties to his children and retired into the forest
(aranya) with his wife. He entered upon the vanaprastha stage and became known as a vdnaprasthi, or forest-dweller. He was
still, in the technical sense of the term, a householder and, as such, had to perform certain daily sacrifices obligatory for all but the
monks. But as it was not possible for him to procure in the forest all the ingredients for such sacrifices, the Vedas laid down for
him symbolic worship. He meditated on the symbolic meaning of the various phases of a sacrifice and thus reaped the fruit of its
actual performance. To give an illustration: The Vedas enjoined upon all householders the daily performance of the Agnihotrasac-
rifice, which required several material ingredients. But the forest-dweller meditated on the various functions of the prana, or life-
breath, and regarded these as spiritual counterparts of the different ingredients. The third section of the Vedas, namely Aranyaka,
describes all of these symbolic interpretations of the sacrifices, as well as other forms of such worship. With one or two exceptions
all four Vedas have their respective sections of Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka, and Upanisad.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
... the stage of vanaprastha. Here he withdraws his senses. All the activities get centered in the Self when the senses are with¬
drawn. Instead of external activity, there is now internal activity. A psychological function replaces all the physical duties such as
sacrifices, the panchamahayajnas. The various services that he was rendering outwardly in the world previously now become the
responsibilities of his life in an internal world of self-control and withdrawal of the senses.
See also:
in Ashrama: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
vanaprastha — from pra-stha =”go forth” + vana = “wood”.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vanaprastha - from ‘vana-prastha’.
Related words
Ashrama
Brahmacarya
Grihastha
Sannyasa
Sanskrit
Vanaprastha — dHylW
vanaprastha -
Vasana
Variant spellings
vasana
vasana
Definitions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
Vasana - beginningless root desire.
Dictionary - Grimes
Vasana — ... latent tendency; impression; conditioning; self- limitation; predisposition; desires
1. A latent potency or residual impression which clings to the individual. It is also called samskara.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vasana -
imagination, idea, semblance of;
the impression of anything remaining unconsciously in the mind, the present consciousness of past perceptions, knowledge de¬
rived from memory Sarhkara;
fancy, imagination, idea, notion, false notion, mistake;
thinking of, longing for, expectation, desire, inclination;
liking, respectful regard;
trust, confidence;
(in math.) proof, demonstration;
a kind of metre;
N. of Durga;
of the wife of Arka
Wikipedia
Vasana is a technical term in Dharmic Traditions, particularly Buddhist philosophy and Advaita Vedanta.
... the impressions remaining in the mind, the present consciousness of past (life) perceptions, knowledge derived from memory.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Vasana: Incipient memory factors and inborn traits in individuals. Such unconscious factors decide to a great extent how one be¬
haves in life.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Raja Yoga
Vasana. A habit or tendency arising from an impression remaining unconsciously in the mind from past Karma.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Vasana ... may be non-technically rendered into English with the following semantic field: past impressions, impressions formed;
the impression of anything in the mind, the present consciousness formed from past perceptions, knowledge derived from memo¬
ry; thinking of, longing for, expectation, desire, inclination.
Vasana and samskara
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
It [vasana] is often loosely used in the sense of samskara... But vasana generally refers to the tendencies of past lives most of
which lie dormant in the mind. Only those appear which can find scope in this life. But samskaras are the sub-conscious states
which are being constantly generated by experience. Vasanas are innate samskaras not acquired in this life.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
... whatever I have experienced in this life is kept in a condensed form in me as my samskara. When I take the essence of all
those to my next life, they are further condensed. First the physical was made subtle, now it becomes causal. This causal element
is called vasana.
Whatever has come to me from my previous lives is my present vasana, and my present samskara is added to it. My samskara
in its turn will someday become vasana when I am passing to the next life. The vasana of previous lives and the samskara of this
life are the past which is bearing on the present. That present is aspiring to experience the future. I look into the future with de¬
sire, and also with anxiety because of the painful experiences I previously had. Even as I get into the car to go to the dentist, I am
already anticipating all those terrible things going on. Ouch! It’s in the future, but the pain and the unpleasantness of it start from
just going out the door. Past, present and future are all filled with the impact of vasana. The present is actually a manifestation of
this vasana as it is being burned through the five senses.
See also:
in Avarana: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Etymology
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
The word vasana (Yoga sutra, IV. 24) seems to be a later word. The earlier Upanishads do not mention it and so far as I know it is
not mentioned in the Pali pitakas. Abhidhanappadipika of Moggallana mentions it, and it occurs in the Muktika Upanisad. It comes
from the root “vas” to stay.
Related words
Samskara
Sanskrit
Vasana — 3 WHI
vasana - 4TtFlT
Vastu
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vastu — ... object; thing
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vastu -
becoming light, dawning, morning;
the seat or place of;
any really existing or abiding substance or essence, thing, object, article;
(in philosophy) the real (opp. to a-v..., ‘that which does not really exist, the unreal’; a-dvitlya-v..., ‘the one real substance or es¬
sence which has no second’);
the right thing, a valuable or worthy object, object of or for;
goods, wealth, property;
the thing in question matter, affair, circumstance;
subject, subject-matter, contents, theme (of a speech &c.), plot (of a drama or poem);
a kind of composition;
natural disposition, essential property;
the pith or substance of anything
Narayana Guru tradition
Isa Upanishad. Nitya
The Sanskrit word for matter is vastu, which means “a resident unit of the real.” In other words, it is a local fixation of the notion of
the real in a delimited area where it resides.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankaracarya & Gambhirananda. Eight Upanisads
Vastu is a substance that can have attributes.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Mundaka Upanishad
There is no scope for poetry here. One has to cut out all those frills. One cannot gain Brahman poetically. Once one knows Brah¬
man, then everything is poetry. Until then, one has to be very objective and deliberate.
One requires a mind that is not poetic, a mind that is not trying to find new adjectives. One is always interested in finding new ad¬
jectives. If one just says, “It is a blue sky,” it is not enough. So one has to say, “The spotless, vast, blue sky”. In literature one may
have to make it more descriptive and flowery, if that is the style. But here, one is dealing with the teaching of the realities. One has
to drop all the adjectives.
In a subject matter like mathematics or physics there is no place for adjectives. What adjectives will one use for the particle or the
electron? There, at least one can say 4a moving electron’ and so on, because particles and electrons have attributes and location.
But here that is not possible. One has to seriously look into the need for removing the orientation towards adjectives. Only then will
the mind relax to see the vastu that is free from adjectives. Some people use adjectives for Brahman like 4the supreme Brahman’,
‘the divine Brahman’ and so on. But Brahman is always free from all attributes. What one needs are bare words, minimum words,
and that too, words implying Brahman. When words themselves have to depend upon their implied meaning to reveal Brahman,
adding more adjectives is dangerous.
See: Namarupa and vastu
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
vastu — from the verb root vas = “to live, dwell, remain, abide”.
Related words
Namarupa
Sanskrit
Vastu —
vastu -
Vayu
Variant spellings
Vayu
vayu
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vayu — ... air; life breath
1. It is of five types: prana, apana, samana, vyana, and udana.
2. It is one of the five elements. (See mahabhuta and prana.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vayu -
wind, air (as one of the 5 elements);
the god of the wind (often associated with Indra in the Rig-veda, as Vata with Parjanya, but although of equal rank with Indra, not
occupying so prominent a position; in the Purushasukta he is said to have sprung form the breath of Purusha, and elsewhere is
described as the son-in-law of Tvashtri; be is said to move in a shining car drawn by a pair of red or purple horses or by several
teams consisting of ninety-nine or a hundred or even a thousand horses; he is often made to occupy the same chariot with Indra,
and in conjunction with him honoured with the first draught of the Soma libation; he is rarely connected with the Maruts, although
in ... he is said to have begotten them from the rivers of heaven; he is regent of the Nakshatra Svati and north-west quarter;
breathing, breath Vdrat;
the wind of the body, a vital air (of which 5 are reckoned, viz. prana, apana, samana, udana, and vyana; or naga, kGrma, krkara,
devadatta, and dhanarhjaya);
(in medicine) the windy humour or any morbid affection of it;
the wind as a kind of demon producing madness;
N. of the fourth Muhurta;
a mystical N. of the letter ‘ya’;
N. of a Vasu;
of a Daitya;
of a king of the Gandharvas;
of a Marut;
pi. the Maruts
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vayu is the god of the wind in Indian mythology. He makes his first appearance in the VEDAS. He is associated with INDRA, king
of the Vedic gods. He is seen as moving along in a chariot pulled by many horses. Most importantly he is regarded as the father
of the monkey god HANUMAN. BHIMA, one of the five PANDAVA brothers in the MAHABHARATA, is said to be the son of Vayu.
The term vayu is also used for one of the five elements in Hindu physics; in that context it is best translated as “air.”
Wikipedia
Vayu is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman. He is also
known as Vata (RTT), Pavana (TTT, the Purifier), and sometimes Prana the breath).
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The God Vayu was also called Vata in the Vedas, and is now also known as Pavana, implying purity. Sometimes he is represent¬
ed as sitting on an antelope or deer, and as having four arms. The deer is a symbol of Jnanam or wisdom and realization. The
four arms indicate rulership over the four lower planes. Sometimes he is represented as sitting on a lotus-seat and holding his son
Hanuman, the so-called Monkey-God, on his lap, embracing him with his right hand...
In the aspects considered so far, the God of Air is represented as the gracious Lord of Spirit, liberator from the involvements of the
lower planes. But he is also known in another aspect: that of the Fall, the breaking off from Unity and the rebellion against God. In
this more Martian aspect he is known by the name of Marut. The origin of Marut is related in the Ramayana.
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vayu ... Air as an element, (in Vaisesika) the fourth Eternal Reality (Dravya); (in Samkhya) the second Sense-Particular
(MahabhGta), the principle of motion, its function is impact, its Special Property (Visesa) is Touch (Srarsa), its General Quality
(Samanya Guna), is Sound (Sabda); (in Yoga) ten vayus are given, five known as Pranadi, belonging to the inner body, viz. prana,
apana, samana, udana, and vyana; and five, known as Nagadi,belonging to the outer body, viz. naga, kGrma, krkara, devadatta,
and dhanamjaya; of the first five, pranahas its seat in the heart, avana in the anus, samana in the region of the navel, udana in the
throat, while vyanamoves all over the body; the remaining five perform the respective functions of eructation, opening the eyes,
hunger and thirst, gaping or yawning, and hiccuping.
Wikipedia
Connotations of Vayu
As the word for air, (Vayu) or wind (Pavana) is one of the Panchamahabhuta or five great elements. The Sanskrit word ‘Vata’
literally means “blown”, ‘Vayu’ “blower”, and ‘Prana’ “breathing” (viz. the breath of life, cf. the *an- in ‘animate’). Hence, the primary
referent of the word is the “deity of Life”, who is sometimes for clarity referred to as “Mukhya- Vayu” (the chief Vayu) or “Mukhya
Prana” (the chief of Life).
Sometimes the word “vayu,” which is more generally used in the sense of the physical air or wind, is used as a synonym for “pra-
na”.There is however a separate set of five deities of Prana (vital breath), Mukhya- Prana being chief among them, so that, in
Hindi and other Indian languages, someone’s death is stated as “his lives departed” (uske pran nikal gaye) rather than “his life
departed.” These five Vayu deities, Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana, and Samana, control life (and the vital breath), the wind, touch/
sensation, digestion, and excretion.
Vata, an additional name for Vayu, is the root of the Sanskrit and Hindi term for “atmosphere”, vatavaran (did 14^1).
In Hindu texts and philosophy
In the hymns, Vayu is “described as having ‘exceptional beauty’ and moving noisily in his shining coach, driven by two or forty-nine
or thousand white and purple horses. A white banner is his main attribute.” Like the other atmospheric deities, he is a “fighter and
destroyer”, “powerful and heroic.”
In the Upanishads, there are numerous statements and illustrations of the greatness of Vayu. The Brhadaranyaka states that the
gods who control bodily functions once engaged in a contest to determine who among them is the greatest. When a deity such as
that of vision would leave a man’s body, that man would continue to live, albeit as a blind man, and would regain the lost faculty
once the errant deity returned to his post. One by one, the deities all took their turns leaving the body, but the man continued to
live on, though successively impaired in various ways. Finally, when Mukhya Prana started to leave the body, all the other dei¬
ties started to be inexorably pulled off their posts by force, “just as a powerful horse yanks off pegs in the ground to which he is
bound.” This caused the other deities to realize that they can function only when empowered by Vayu, and can be overpowered by
him easily. In another episode, Vayu is said to be the only deity not afflicted by demons of sin who were on the attack. The Chand-
ogya states that one cannot know Brahman except by knowing Vayu as the udgitha (the mantric syllable “om”).
Followers of Dvaita philosophy hold that Mukhya-Vayu incarnated as Madhvacharya to teach worthy souls to worship the Supreme
God Vishnu and to correct the errors of the Advaita philosophy. Madhvacharya himself makes this claim, citing the Rig Veda as
his evidence.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Pranayama
All animated bodies have six aspects: existence, birth, growth, evolution, involution, and the termination of a cycle which leads to
another transformation. In all these stages there are different kinds of movements or actions. These several functions are carried
out by differently oriented energies which we call here vayus. When man eats corn, wheat and tubers, or meat, the same food is to
be split into different components and is to be sorted and re-assembled to build various tissues, such as bones, muscles, nerves,
skin and brain cells. This implies different kinds of analysis and synthesis. These bodybuilding functions are also attributed to the
vayu. In an ultimate sense, nothing perishes. There is only transformation. So, in one sense, we can say, everything floats in a
cosmic ocean of vayu. This vayu has no synonymous English term and, hence, the commonly accepted translation as air is very
misleading. Many enzymes and chemicals are produced in the body by directing emotions or thoughts in a certain way. From this
it is evident that vayu is not a mere physical principle but is causally related to psychosomatics. One out of three major physical
disorders comes from the disorganized functioning of vayu. Skin diseases, neurasthenia, muscular aches, nervous breakdowns,
rheumatic pains, tuberculosis, mental derangement and hypertensions are all caused by the malfunctioning of the vayu...
The normal functions of vayu in the body are circulation of blood, respiration of lungs, beating of the heart, digestion of food, re¬
generation of cells, rejection of impaired cells and all foreign matter, all vairety of sensations and the supply of fuej for all mental
activities.
Nitya. Saundaryalahari of Sankaracarya
In the natural process of creation, the next property [after sound - sabda] has to necessarily be touch, contact, cohesion, and
reaction. All these characterize the second element, air, which is more pronouncedly materialistic. Vayu or air is, in one sense,
akasa a bit more horizontalized. The Sanskrit word vayu, though translated as air, should not be looked upon as a gas. It is actual¬
ly the great womb of fusion and combustion which generates all the physical elements, gaseous, liquid, and solid. According to the
Nyaya and Vaisesika schools of Indian philosophy, the basic material of the physical universe is paramanu. Parama means abso¬
lute and anu means a monad. It has no dimensions except a mathematical location. Only by the coming together or contact and
structural cohesion of several paramanus is one anu or atom generated. Vayu is the field for generation of anus or atoms. Hence,
it is misleading to identify it with the air, which is only a phenomenon of the atmosphere. The other property of vayu symbolizes
the realization of the possible on the ground of the actual. Therefore, the higher functioning of the mind in spiritual visions, psychic
experiences, intuitions and revelations are all considered aspects of the manifestation of vayu.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. The science and philosophy of religion
The akas’a, by the repeated blows of prana produces vayu or the vibratory state of the akas’a, which in turn produces gaseous
matter.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Taittiriya Upanishad
Vayu has dvauguna - it has got two gunas. One is akasa... Vayu has sabdaguna by virtue of akasaguna - when the wind blows,
there is sound. In addition, vayu has its own guna, sparsaguna. Sparsa is touch; touch is vayu. Vayu cannot be seen, tasted or
smelled. The gunas of the elementals are strictly in terms of your human experience.
See: Pramanu, anu, vayu
See also:
in Mahabhutas: Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Evolution of prakriti (Sankhya)
Diagram: Mahabhutas
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vayu - from the root va, to blow.
Related words
Akasa
Mahabhuta
Prana
Sparsa
Sanskrit
Vayu — cTHJ
Vayu -
Veda
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Veda — ... knowledge; wisdom; revealed scripture
1. The sacred scriptures (sruti) of the Hindu tradition. They are impersonal (apauruseya) and eternal (nitya). There are four Vedas
as arranged by Vyasa: Rg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda. These are divided into mantra, brahmana, aranya-
ka, and upanisad sections. Strictly speaking, the Veda stands for the parts known as mantra and brahmana. The appendages to
the brahmana are the aranyakas and the concluding portion of the aranyakas are the upanisads.
2. There once existed 1131 recensions (sakhas) of the Vedic Samhitas. The Rg Veda had 21, the Yajur Veda had 101, the Sama
Veda had 1000, and the Atharva Veda had 9.
3. The Rg Veda is the Veda of hymns of wisdom. The Sama Veda is a liturgical collection of hymns, mostly taken from the Rg
Veda, sung to certain melodies. The Yajur Veda is the scripture of sacrificial rites. The Atharva Veda is comprised of formulas
intended mainly to counteract evil, diseases, and other practical events. The Yajur Veda is said to be of two recensions: the white
(sukla) and the black (krsna).
4. The Rg Veda is for the priest whose function is to recite the hymns inviting the gods to the sacrificial altar. The Sama Veda is
for the Udgatr priest who sings the hymns. Yajur Veda is for the Adhvaryu priest who performs the sacrifice according to the rules.
The Atharva Veda is for the Brahmana priest who is the general supervisor of the sacrifice.
5. The Rg Veda contains the Aitareya Upanisad. The Sama Veda contains the Chandogya Upanisad and the Kena Upanisad. The
Yajur Veda contains the Isa, the TaittirTya, the Brhadaranyaka, and the Katha Upanisads. The Atharva Veda contains the Prasna,
the Mundaka, and the Mandukya Upanisads.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
veda -
knowledge, true or sacred knowledge or lore, knowledge of ritual;
N. of certain celebrated works which constitute the basis of the first period of the Hindu religion (these works were primarily three,
viz. 1. the Rig-veda, 2. the Yajur-veda [of which there are, however, two divisions see taittirTya-sarhhita, vajasaneyi-sarhhita], 3. the
Sama-veda ...; these three works are sometimes called collectively trayl, ‘the triple Vidya’ or ‘threefold knowledge’, but the Rig-ve-
da is really the only original work of the three, and much the most ancient [the oldest of its hymns being assigned by some who
rely on certain astronomical calculations to a period between 4000 and 2500 B.C., before the settlement of the Aryans in India;
and by others who adopt a different reckoning to a period between 1400 and 1000 B.C., when the Aryans had settled down in the
Panjab]; subsequently a fourth Veda was added, called the Atharva-veda, which was probably not completely accepted till after
Manu, as his law-book often speaks of the three Vedas-calling them trayam brahma sanatanam, ‘the triple eternal Veda’, but only
once [xi, 33] mentions the revelation made to Atharvan and Angiras, without, however, calling it by the later name of Atharva-veda;
each of the four Vedas has two distinct parts, viz. 1. Mantra, i.e. words of prayer and adoration often addressed either to fire or to
some form of the sun or to some form of the air, sky, wind &c., and praying for health, wealth, long life, cattle, offspring, victory,
and even forgiveness of sins, and 2. Brahmana, consisting of Vidhi and Artha-vada, i.e. directions for the detail of the ceremonies
at which the Mantras were to be used and explanations of the legends &c. connected with the Mantras [see brahmana, vidhi], both
these portions being termed sruti, revelation orally communicated by the Deity, and heard but not composed or written down by
men [cf. IW. 24 &c.], although it is certain that both Mantras and Brahmanas were compositions spread over a considerable peri¬
od, much of the latter being comparatively modern; as the Vedas are properly three, so the Mantras are properly of three forms, 1.
Ric, which are verses of praise in metre, and intended for loud recitation; 2. Yajus, which are in prose, and intended for recitation
in a lower tone at sacrifices; 3. Saman, which are in metre, and intended for chanting at the Soma or Moon-plant ceremonies, the
Mantras of the fourth or Atharva-veda having no special name; but it must be borne in mind that the Yajur and Sama-veda hymns,
especially the latter, besides their own Mantras, borrow largely from the Rig-veda; the Yajur-veda and Sama-veda being in fact not
so much collections of prayers and hymns as special prayer- and hymn-books intended as manuals for the Adhvaryu and Udgatri
priests respectively [see yajur-veda, sama-veda]; the Atharva-veda, on the other hand, is, like the Rig-veda, a real collection of
original hymns mixed up with incantations, borrowing little from the Rig and having no direct relation to sacrifices, but supposed
by mere recitation to produce long life, to cure diseases, to effect the ruin of enemies &c.; each of the four Vedas seems to have
passed through numerous sakhas or schools, giving rise to various recensions of the text, though the Rig-veda is only preserved
in the sakala recension, while a second recension, that of the Bhashkalas, is only known by name; a tradition makes Vyasa the
compiler and arranger of the Vedas in their present form: they each have an Index or AnukramanT, the principal work of this kind
being the general Index or SarvanukramanT; out of the Brahmana portion of the Veda grew two other departments of Vedic liter¬
ature, sometimes included under the general name Veda, viz. the strings of aphoristic rules, called Sutras, and the mystical trea¬
tises on the nature of God and the relation of soul and matter, called Upanishad,, which were appended to the Aranyakas,, and
became the real Veda of thinking Hindus, leading to the Darsanas or systems of philosophy; in the later literature the name of ‘fifth
Veda’ is accorded to the Itihasas or legendary epic poems and to the Puranas, and certain secondary Vedas or Upa-vedas,are
enumerated; the Vedangas or works serving as limbs [for preserving the integrity] of the Veda are explained under vedanga be¬
low: the only other works included under the head of Veda being the Parisishtas, which supply rules for the ritual omitted in the
SGtras; in the Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad the Vedas are represented as the breathings of Brahma, while in some of the Puranas
the four Vedas are said to have issued out of the four mouths of the four-faced Brahma and in the Vishnu-Purana the Veda and
Vishnu are identified);
N. of the number ‘four’;
feeling, perception
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Veda (from root vid, to know), the generic name for the most ancient sacred literature of the Hindus, consisting of the four col¬
lections (samhita) called (i) Rgveda, hymns to gods, (2) Samaveda, priests chants, (3) Yajurveda, sacrificial formulae in prose,
and (4) Atharvaveda, magical chants; each Veda is divided into two broad divisions, viz. (1) Mantra, hymns, and (2) Brahmana,
precepts, which include (a) Aranyakas, theology, and (b) Upanisads, philosophy; the Vedas are classified as revealed literature
(sruti); they contain the first philosophical insights and are regarded as the final authority; tradition makes Vyasa, the compiler and
arranger of the Vedas in their present form; the Vedic period is conservatively estimated to have begun about 1500 to 1000 B.C.
Wikipedia
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in Ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer
of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.
In English, the term Veda is mostly used to refer to the Samhitas (collection of mantras, or chants) of the four canonical Vedas
(Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda).
The Sanskrit term veda as a common noun means “knowledge”, but can also be used to refer to fields of study unrelated to liturgy
or ritual, e.g. in agada- veda “medical science”, sasya-veda “science of agriculture” or sarpa- veda “science of snakes” (already
found in the early Upanishads); durveda means “with evil knowledge, ignorant”.
... The four Samhitas are metrical (with the exception of prose commentary interspersed in the Black Yajurveda). The term sam¬
hita literally means “composition, complation”. The individual verses contained in these compilations are known as mantras. Some
selected Vedic mantras are still recited at prayers, religious functions and other auspicious occasions in contemporary Hinduism.
The various Indian philosophies and sects have taken differing positions on the Vedas. Schools of Indian philosophy which cite the
Vedas as their scriptural authority are classified as “orthodox” (astika). Other traditions, notably Buddhism and Jainism, which did
not regard the Vedas as authorities are referred to by traditional Hindu texts as “heterodox” or “non- orthodox” (nastika) schools. In
addition to Buddhism and Jainism, Sikhism and Brahmoism do not accept the authority of the Vedas.
Chronology
The Vedas are among the oldest sacred texts. The Samhitas date to roughly 1500-1000 BCE, and the “circum- Vedic” texts, as
well as the redaction of the Samhitas, date to c. 1000- 500 BCE, resulting in a Vedic period, spanning the mid 2nd to mid 1st mil-
lennium BCE, spanning the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Gavin Flood sums up mainstream estimates, according to which
the Rigveda was compiled from as early as 1500 BCE over a period of several centuries. The Vedic period reaches its peak only
after the composition of the mantra texts, with the establishment of the various shakhas all over Northern India which annotated
the mantra samhitas with Brahmana discussions of their meaning, and reaches its end in the age of Buddha and Panini and the
rise of the Mahajanapadas (archaeologically, Northern Black Polished Ware). Michael Witzel gives a time span of c. 1500 BCE to
c. 500-400 BCE. Witzel makes special reference to the Near Eastern Mitanni material of the 14th c. BCE the only epigraphic re¬
cord of Indo-Aryan contemporary to the Rigvedic period. He gives 150 BCE (Patanjali) as a terminus ante quern for all Vedic San¬
skrit literature, and 1200 BCE (the early Iron Age) as terminus post quern for the Atharvaveda.[16]The general accepted historical
chronology of the Vedas ranks the Rig Veda as the first, followed by the Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and finally the Atharva Veda.
Transmission of texts in the Vedic period was by oral tradition alone, preserved with precision with the help of elaborate mnemonic
techniques. A literary tradition set in only in post-Vedic times, after the rise of Buddhism in the Maurya period, perhaps earliest in
the Kanva recension of the Yajurveda about the 1st century BCE; however oral tradition predominated until c. 1000 CE. Due to
the ephemeral nature of the manuscript material (birch bark or palm leaves), surviving manuscripts rarely surpass an age of a few
hundred years. The Benares Sanskrit University has a Rigveda manuscript of the mid- 14th century; however, there are a number
of older Veda manuscripts in Nepal belonging to the Vajasaneyi tradition that are dated from the 11th century onwards.
The Four Vedas
The canonical division of the Vedas is fourfold (turlya) viz.,
Rigveda (RV)
Yajurveda (YV, with the main division TS vs. VS)
Sama-Veda (SV)
Atharva-Veda (AV)
Of these, the first three were the principal original division, also called “tray! vidya”, that is, “the triple sacred science” of reciting
hymns (RV), performing sacrifices (YV), and chanting (SV). This triplicity is so introduced in the Brahmanas (ShB, ABr and oth¬
ers), but the Rigveda is the older work of the three from which the other two borrow, next to their own independent Yajus, sorcery
and speculative mantras.
Thus, the Mantras are properly of three forms: 1. Ric, which are verses of praise in metre, and intended for loud recitation; 2.
Yajus, which are in prose, and intended for recitation in lower voice at sacrifices; 3. Saman, which are in metre, and intended for
singing at the Soma ceremonies.
The Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda are independent collections of mantras and hymns intended as manuals for the Adh-
varyu, Udgatr and Brahman priests respectively.
The Atharvaveda is the fourth Veda. Its status has occasionally been ambiguous, probably due to its use in sorcery and healing.
However, it contains very old materials in early Vedic language. Manusmrti, which often speaks of the three Vedas, calling them
trayam- brahma- sanatanam, “the triple eternal Veda”. The Atharvaveda like the Rigveda, is a collection of original incantations,
and other materials borrowing relatively little from the Rigveda. It has no direct relation to the solemn Srauta sacrifices, except for
the fact that the mostly silent Brahman priest observes the procedures and uses Atharvaveda mantras to ‘heal’ it when mistakes
have been made. Its recitation also produces long life, cures diseases, or effects the ruin of enemies.
Each of the four Vedas consists of the metrical Mantra or Samhita and the prose Brahmana part, giving discussions and directions
for the detail of the ceremonies at which the Mantras were to be used and explanations of the legends connected with the Man-
tras and rituals. Both these portions are termed shruti (which tradition says to have been heard but not composed or written down
by men). Each of the four Vedas seems to have passed to numerous Shakhas or schools, giving rise to various recensions of the
text. They each have an Index or Anukramani, the principal work of this kind being the general Index or SarvanukramanT.
Post-Vedic literature
Vedanga
These subjects are treated in Sutra literature dating from the end of the Vedic period to Mauryan times, seeing the transition from
late Vedic Sanskrit to Classical Sanskrit.
The six subjects of Vedanga are:
Phonetics (Siksa)
Ritual (Kalpa)
Grammar (Vyakarana)
Etymology (Nirukta)
Meter (Chandas)
Astrology (Jyotisa)
Parisista
Parisista “supplement, appendix” is the term applied to various ancillary works of Vedic literature, dealing mainly with details of
ritual and elaborations of the texts logically and chronologically prior to them: the Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Sutras.
Naturally classified with the Veda to which each pertains, Parisista works exist for each of the four Vedas. However, only the litera¬
ture associated with the Atharvaveda is extensive.
The Asvalayana Grhya Parisista is a very late text associated with the Rigveda canon.
The Gobhila Grhya Parisista is a short metrical text of two chapters, with 113 and 95 verses respectively.
The Katiya Parisistas, ascribed to Katyayana, consist of 18 works enumerated self- referentially in the fifth of the series (the Cara-
navyuha)
The Krsna Yajurveda has 3 parisistas The Apastamba Hautra Parisista, which is also found as the second prasna of the Sa-
tyasadha Srauta SGtra’, the Varaha Srauta Sutra Parisista and the Katyayana Srauta Sutra Parisista.
For the Atharvaveda, there are 79 works, collected as 72 distinctly named parisistas.
Puranas
A traditional view given in the Vishnu Purana (likely dating to the Gupta period) attributes the current arrangement of four Vedas
to the mythical sage Vedavyasa. Puranic tradition also postulates a single original Veda that, in varying accounts, was divided
into three or four parts. According to the Vishnu Purana (3.2.18, 3.3.4 etc) the original Veda was divided into four parts, and fur¬
ther fragmented into numerous shakhas, by Lord Vishnu in the form of Vyasa, in the Dvapara Yuga; the Vayu Purana (section 60)
recounts a similar division by Vyasa, at the urging of Brahma. The Bhagavata Purana (12.6.37) traces the origin of the primeval
Veda to the syllable aum, and says that it was divided into four at the start of Dvapara Yuga, because men had declined in age,
virtue and understanding. In a differing account Bhagavata Purana (9.14.43) attributes the division of the primeval veda (aum) into
three parts to the monarch Pururavas at the beginning of Treta Yuga. The Mahabharata (santiparva 13,088) also mentions the
division of the Veda into three in Treta Yuga.
Upaveda
The term upaveda (“applied knowledge”) is used in traditional literature to designate the subjects of certain technical works. Lists
of what subjects are included in this class differ among sources. The Charanavyuha mentions four Upavedas:
Medicine (Ayurveda), associated with the Rigveda
Archery (Dhanurveda), associated with the Yajurveda
Music and sacred dance (Gandharvaveda), associated with the Samaveda
Military science (Shastrashastra), associated with the Atharvaveda
But Sushruta and Bhavaprakasha mention Ayurveda as an upaveda of the Atharvaveda. Sthapatyaveda (architecture), Shilpa
Shastras (arts and crafts) are mentioned as fourth upaveda according to later sources.
“Fifth Veda”
Some post-Vedic texts, including the Mahabharata, the Natyasastra and certain Puranas, refer to themselves as the “fifth Veda”.
The earliest reference to such a “fifth Veda” is found in the Chandogya Upanishad. “Dravida Veda” is a term for canonical Tamil
Bhakti texts.
Relations of Vedas to their objects, four elements, etc.
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
According to a tradition the Four Vedas relate to the Four Ends of Life; the Yajur-veda to Artha — which refers to the Element
Earth; the Sama-veda to Kama — which refers to the Element Water; the Atharva-veda to Dharma — which refers to the Element
Fire; and the Rig-veda to Moskha — which refers to Air, the Spirit. The Yajur-veda, the hymns of which have to be muttered, is
said to have for its objects men. It refers to the physical plane. The Sama-veda, the hymns of which have to be sung, is said to
have for its objects the Pitris or “ancestors”. ... The objects of the Atharva-veda are powers. The idea that “supernatural powers”
can be attained by the practice of austerities tapas — is very common in it. Tapas means “heat”. ... The Atharva-veda refers to the
Element Fire, the mental plane. Atharva has been derived from “athar” meaning “fire”. The hymns of this Veda are called Angiras,
a word used for “descendants of Agni”. Agni is Fire and its God. The Rig-veda, the hymns of which have to be recited, is said to
have for its objects the Gods. Many references to the Solar Light are found in it. ... The Sanskrit “Rig” is derived from the root “rich”
or “arch”, meaning shine or praise. Closely connected is “arka” meaning especially ray, sun, praise and song in praise of a deity.
Rig-veda, Yajur-veda and Sama-veda have been associated with the Satya, Treta and Dvapara Yugas, and the Atharva-veda,
said to form a summary of the other three, with Kali Yuga.
In another context the Vedas have been traditionally classified as regards their contents into five headings: 1: vidhi or injunctions,
2: mantras or verses to be recited, 3: namadheya or names, 4: nisheda or prohibitions, and 5: arthavada or that part which deals
with things, acts and historical facts. These five headings refer to the Five Elements, from Ether to Earth.
... The Vedas are said to be the whole of Manifestation, come forth from the Word, the OM. They are said to be eternal and per¬
fect... The Word is the Quintessence of the Four: “OM is the essence of the four Vedas”, according to the Siva-Jnanamrita Upani¬
shad. It is interesting to consider that the Four Vedas and the Four Gospels are both traditionally related to the Four Elements.
See: Sarada and Vedas
Veda and Vedanta
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Vedanta Revalued and Restated
Strictly speaking, the distinction between what is known as the Veda and its dialectical revaluation into Vedanta is one of the most
central and difficult problems to be faced.
For this purpose, we have to draw first the preliminary distinction between Vedism as it manifested itself in its primitive form as a
natural and actual historical occurrence, and critical Vedism, as it was subjected to later additions and amendments. Mere elab¬
oration of the raw material of the Veda is one thing, and its subjection to dialectical revaluation is another. Both have gone on
abreast in respect of the Veda, as it passed through the stages of Agamas (traditions), Brahmanas (commentaries) and Aranyak-
as (forest teachings), forming various sakhas (branches) tending to be more critical, rational or philosophical; from mere ritualistic
beginnings, supplemented by hymns, chants or mantras, (evocative sound-spells).
The four stages in a man’s life may be said to correspond to the stages of the historical development of Vedic thought itself, as it
passed through simple sacrificial acts, with their connected gestures and chants, into more elaborated forms of ritual and mutter-
ings, suited for various occasions and circumstances, and on to non-ritualistic pure wisdom.
Various Rishis (seers), Gurus (wisdom preceptors), or Munis (quietists), who lived in the forests away from society, had their own
favourite or particular Vedic traditions and chants, each with a form of ritual belonging to it, which made them into distinct units of
Vedic schools, some of whom specialised in Vedic exegetics, semantics or grammar.
In this way, a complex situation arose in which Vedism underwent a drastic modification of context as well as content.
Thus, if Veda is the tail end of a knowledge situation, we have to think of the Vedanta as belonging to the front pole, where it gets
more finalised by ever-greater dialectical revaluations.
The intermediate literature presents a region where speculation thrives both ways as in a no-man’s land between two contending
armies. Each of the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita represents the various permutations and combinations possible in
this dialectical revaluation, pertaining to the categories of Existence, Subsistence and Value in Vedanta philosophy. (As we have
devoted a volume to the unravelling of the intricacies of the Bhagavad Gita it is not necessary to linger here on this subject any
longer).
The two mimamsas (critiques) called the pracina (antique) or the purva (anterior), and the uttara (posterior or more finalised), have
between them a subtle dialectical affinity, based on an apparent opposition. It is to explain this affinity that the subtlest polemical,
logical, exegetic, and semantic powers of great teachers like Jaimini and Badarayana have been lavishly expended in their writ¬
ings. When one is understood in terms of the other, reciprocally both ways, with all their subtle epistemological and axiological
implications; cosmologically, psychologically, and eschatologically; we can consider ourselves to have touched the core of our
subject.
There are three canonical texts, which have been accepted for this purpose in Vedanta: namely, the Upanishads, the Brahma
Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita.
Between these three we can reasonably expect all Vedantic doctrines to have been touched upon in one context or another.
When these texts are treated together with the Mahavakyas (the great dicta of the Vedanta); if properly explained and understood
with their significance and position in the body of knowledge; we can rest satisfied that we have given some definiteness of con¬
tent to the complex and multi-apartmented mansion of what is vaguely referred to as Vedantic Wisdom.
Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Any of the four Vedas is properly divided into two parts, the mantra, or verse portion, and the Brahmana, or explicatory portion.
Both of these parts of the text are considered revelation, or shruti. The Brahmanas reflect on both the mantra text and the ritual
associated with it, giving very detailed, varied, and arcane explication of them. The Brahmanas abound in equations between ritual
aspects, the ritual performers, and cosmic, terrestrial, and divine realities. Early Western scholars tended to discount these texts,
as being nothing but priestly mumbojumbo. But most recent work recognizes the central importance of the Brahmanas to the de¬
velopment of Indian thought and philosophy.
The name Brahmana derives from a central word in the tradition, brahman. Brahman is generically the term for “prayer” but tech¬
nically refers to the power or magic of the Vedic mantras. (It also was used to designate the one who prays, hence the term Brah¬
min.) ... In later philosophy, the term brahman refers to the transcendent, allencompassing reality.
Within the Brahmanas two subdivisions are important in the development of later tradition. One of the subdivisions is called the
Aranyaka. From its name one can understand that this portion of the text pertained to activity in the forest (aranya)...
Last, the Brahmanas included (commonly within the Aranyaka portion) the Upanishads, the last of the Vedic subdivisions or liter¬
ary modes (no one really knows when these subdivisions were designated). As do the Brahmanas, many of these texts contained
significant material that reflected on the nature of the Vedic sacrifice. Thus the division between Brahmana proper, Aranyaka, and
Upanishad is not always clear.
Author(s)
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Two important points must be understood about the Vedic tradition. First, none of the Vedas is considered composed by humans.
All are considered to be “received” or “heard” by the rishis, divinely inspired sages, whose names are noted at the end of each
hymn. Second, none of the text of the Vedas was written down until the 15th century C.E. The Vedic tradition was passed down
from mouth to ear for millennia and is, thus, the oral tradition par excellence. The power of the word in the Vedic tradition is con¬
sidered an oral and aural power, not a written one. The chant is seen as a power to provide material benefit and spiritual apotheo¬
sis. The great emphasis, therefore, was on correct pronunciation and on memorization. Any priest of the tradition was expected to
have an entire Veda memorized, including its nonmantric portions.
Wikipedia
According to Hindu tradition, the Vedas are apauruseya “not of human agency”, are supposed to have been directly revealed, and
thus are called sruti (“what is heard”).
Etymology
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The Four Vedas are not the Root. The Root is Veda. Veda, freed from its literalistic and divisional implications, is the Tradition,
Truth. The root of the word veda is “vid”, found also in other Sanskrit and Indo-European words. Vid is to know, and also to be.
The object of spiritual practice is said to be the identification of Vedaka, the knower, Vidya, the knowing, and Vedya, the known.
Related words are the English “to wit” and “witness” and the Dutch “weten”, to know. Veda is Pure Knowledge, Reality. Also relat¬
ed is “wisdom”. The Tradition is the highest wisdom.
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit word veda “knowledge, wisdom” is derived from the root vid- “to know”. This is reconstructed as being derived from
the Proto- Indo- European root *ueid-, meaning “see” or “know”.
As a noun, the word appears only in a single instance in the Rigveda, in RV 8.19.5, translated by Griffith as “ritual lore”:
“The mortal who hath ministered to Agni with oblation, fuel, ritual lore, and reverence, skilled in sacrifice.”
Geldner’s translation of the same passage has Wissen “knowledge”.
The noun is from Proto-Indo-European *ueidos, cognate to Greek ei5o^ “aspect”, “form”. English wit, etc., Latin video “I see”, etc.
Related words
Atharva Veda
Rig Veda
Rishi
Sama Veda
Saraswati
Sruti
Vedanta
Yajur Veda
Sanskrit
Veda — ct^
veda -
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
In a simplified explanation, there were originally the four Vedas. Then Brahmanas were added to each Veda. After Brahmanas,
Aranyakas were created. Finally, each Veda was complemented with Upanishads.
Rig Veda
Brahmanas
Aitareya
Kausitaki
Paingi
Aranyakas
Aitareya
Kausitaki
Upanishads
Aitareya
Kausitaki
Sama Veda
Brahmanas
Tandya
Talavakara
Arseya
Vamsa
Daivatadhyaya
Mantra
Sama-vidhana
Samhitopanisad Brahmana
Upanishads
Chandogya
Kena
Yajur Veda
Krishna Yajur Veda
Brahmanas
Taittiriya
Ballavi
Satyayani
Maitrayani
Katha
Aranyaka
Taittiriya
Upanishads
Taittiriya
Katha
Svetasvatara
Mahanarayana
Maitrayaniya
Sukla Yajur Veda
Brahmana
Satapatha
Aranyaka
Satapatha
Upanishads
Isha
Brhadaranyaka
Jabala
Paingala
Atharva Veda
Brahmana
Gopatha
Upanishads
Mundaka
Mandukya
Prasna
Vedanta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vedanta — ... end of the Vedas; Uttara-MTmamsa; end of knowledge; wisdom
1. A name of the Upanisads.
2. A name of the different schools of philosophy founded on the teachings of the Upanisads. The major schools are Advaita,
Visistadvaita, and Dvaita Vedanta.
3. The basic texts of Vedanta are the Upanisads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma-sutra. (See prasthana-traya.)
4. The central question considered in the Vedantic schools concerns the nature of God or the Absolute (Brahman).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vedanta -
end of the Veda (= ‘complete knowledge of the Veda’);
N. of the second and most important part of the MTmarhsa or third of the three great divisions of Hindu philosophy (called Vedanta
either as teaching the ultimate scope of the Veda or simply as explained in the Upanishads which come at the end of the Veda;
this system, although belonging to the MTmarhsa and sometimes called Uttara-rnTmarhsa, ‘examination of the later portion or
jnana-kanda of the Veda’, is really the one sole orthodox exponent of the pantheistic creed of the Hindus of the present day - a
creed which underlies all the polytheism and multiform mythology of the people; its chief doctrine [as expounded by Sarhkara] is
that of Advaita i.e. that nothing really exists but the One Self or Soul of the Universe called Brahman [neut.] or Paramatman, and
that the JTvatman or individual human soul and indeed all the phenomena of nature are really identical with the Paramatman, and
that their existence is only the result of Ajnana [otherwise called Avidya] or an assumed ignorance on the part of that one universal
Soul which is described as both Creator and Creation; Actor and Act; Existence, Knowledge and Joy, and as devoid of the three
qualities [see guna]; the liberation of the human soul, its deliverance from transmigrations, and re-union with the Paramatman,
with which it is really identified, is only to be effected by a removal of that ignorance through a proper understanding of the Vedan¬
ta; this system is also called Brahma-mTmarhsa and SarlrakamTmarhsa, ‘inquiring into Spirit or embodied Spirit’; the founder of the
school is said to have been Vyasa, also called Badarayana, and its most eminent teacher was Sarhkaracarya);
pi. the Upanishads or works on the Vedanta philosophy
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Vedanta: When the Vedic teaching had been revalued in philosophical terms by later rsis, a body of literature called Vedanta
arose in the history of Indian thought. This often goes contrary to the Vedic tendency of rituals and obligations, announcing free¬
dom and stressing self- realization. Latter we find Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva, referred to as three typical Vedantic philoso¬
phers, although the Gurus of the Vedantic line (parampara) are many.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Vedanta ... was originally a word used as a synonym for that part of the Veda known also as the Upanishads. The name is a
sandhied form of Veda-anta = “Veda-end” = “the appendix to the Vedas”. Vedanta is considered to be source of all vedic literature.
Original Vedanta contained four verses, later expanded to thousands. By the 8th century CE, the word also came to be used to
describe a group of philosophical traditions concerned with the self- realisation by which one understands the ultimate nature of
reality (Brahman). The word Vedanta teaches that the believer’s goal is to transcend the limitations of self- identity. Vedanta is not
restricted or confined to one book and there is no sole source for Vedantic philosophy. Vedanta is based on two simple proposi¬
tions:
Human nature is divine.
The aim of human life is to realize that human nature is divine.
... Vedanta is also called Uttara MTmansa, or the ‘latter enquiry’ or ‘higher enquiry’, and is often paired with Purva MTmansa, the
‘former enquiry’. PGrva Mimamsa, usually simply called Mimamsa, deals with explanations of the fire- sacrifices of the Vedic man¬
tras (in the Samhita portion of the Vedas) and Brahmanas, while Vedanta explicates the esoteric teachings of the Aranyakas (the
“forest scriptures”), and the Upanishads, composed from ca. the 9th century BC until modern times.
History
History
While the traditional Vedic Karma kanda, or ritualistic components of religion, continued to be practiced through the Brahmins as
meditative and propitiatory rites to guide society to self- knowledge, more jnana (gnosis)- or knowledge- centered understandings
began to emerge. These are mystical streams of Vedic religion that focused on meditation, self-discipline and spiritual connectivity
rather than on rituals. In earlier writings, Sanskrit ‘Vedanta’ simply referred to the Upanishads, the most speculative and philosoph¬
ical of the Vedic texts. However, in the medieval period of Hinduism, the word Vedanta came to mean the school of philosophy
that interpreted the Upanishads. Traditional Vedanta considers scriptural evidence, or shabda pramana, as the most authentic
means of knowledge, while perception, or pratyaksa, and logical inference, or anumana, are considered to be subordinate (but
valid).
Formalization
The systematization of Vedantic ideas into one coherent treatise was undertaken by Badarayana in the Vedanta Sutra which was
composed around 200 BCE. Scholars know the Vedanta-sutra by a variety of names, including (1) Brahma-sutra, (2) SarTraka, (3)
Vyasa- sGtra, (4) Badarayana- sGtra, (5) Uttara-mTmansa and (6) Vedanta-darsana. The cryptic aphorisms of the Vedanta Sutras
are open to a variety of interpretations, resulting in the formation of numerous Vedanta schools, each interpreting the texts in its
own way and producing its own sub- commentaries claiming to be faithful to the original. Consistent throughout Vedanta, however,
is the exhortation that ritual be eschewed in favor of the individual’s quest for truth through meditation governed by a loving mo¬
rality, secure in the knowledge that infinite bliss awaits the seeker. Nearly all existing sects of Hinduism are directly or indirectly
influenced by the thought systems developed by Vedantic thinkers. Hinduism to a great extent owes its survival to the formation of
the coherent and logically advanced systems of Vedanta.
Sub-schools of Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta was propounded by Adi Sankara and his grand-guru Gaudapada, who described Ajativada. According to this
school of Vedanta, Brahman is the only reality, and the world, as it appears, is illusory. As Brahman is the sole reality, it cannot be
said to possess any attributes whatsoever. An illusionary power of Brahman called Maya causes the world to arise. Ignorance of
this reality is the cause of all suffering in the world and only upon true knowledge of Brahman can liberation be attained. When a
person tries to know Brahman through his mind, due to the influence of Maya, Brahman appears as God (Ishvara), separate from
the world and from the individual. In reality, there is no difference between the individual soul jTvatman and Brahman. Liberation
lies in knowing the reality of this non- difference (i.e. a-dvaita, “non-duality”). Thus, the path to liberation is finally only through
knowledge (jnana).
Vishishtadvaita
Vishishtadvaita was propounded by Ramanuja and says that the jlvatman is a part of Brahman, and hence is similar, but not iden¬
tical. The main difference from Advaita is that in Visishtadvaita, the Brahman is asserted to have attributes, including the individual
conscious souls and matter. Brahman, matter and the individual souls are distinct but mutually inseparable entities. This school
propounds Bhakti or devotion to God visualized as Vishnu to be the path to liberation. Maya is seen as the creative power of God.
Dvaita
Dvaita was propounded by Madhwacharya. It is also referred to as tatvavada - The Philosophy of Reality. It identifies God with
Brahman completely, and in turn with Vishnu or his various incarnations like Krishna, Narasimha, Srinivasa etc. In that sense it
is also known as sat- vaishnava philosophy to differentiate from the Vishishtadvaita school known by sri-vaishnavism. It regards
Brahman, all individual souls (jTvatmans) and matter as eternal and mutually separate entities. This school also advocates Bhakti
as the route to sattvic liberation whereas hatred (Dvesha) and indifference towards the Lord will lead to eternal hell and eternal
bondage respectively. Liberation is the state of attaining maximum joy or sorrow, which is awarded to individual souls (at the end
of their sadhana), based on the souls’ inherent and natural disposition towards good or evil. The achintya- adbhuta shakti (the im¬
measurable power) of Lord Vishnu is seen as the efficient cause of the universe and the primordial matter or prakrti is the material
cause. Dvaita also propounds that all action is performed by the Lord energising every soul from within, awarding the results to the
soul but Himself not affected in the least by the results.
Dvaitadvaita
Dvaitadvaita was propounded by Nimbarka, based upon an earlier school called Bhedabheda, which was taught by Bhaskara. Ac¬
cording to this school, the jlvatman is at once the same as yet different from Brahman. The jiva relation may be regarded as dvaita
from one point of view and advaita from another. In this school, God is visualized as Krishna.
Shuddhadvaita
Shuddhadvaita was propounded by Vallabha. This system also identifies Bhakti as the only means of liberation, ‘to go to Goloka’
(lit., the world of cows; the Sankrit word ‘go’, ‘cow’, also means ‘star’). The world is said to be the sport (Leela) of Krishna, who is
Sat-Cit- Ananda.
Achintya Bhedabheda
Achintya Bhedabheda was propounded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Bengal, 1486- 1534). He was a follower of the Dvaita vedanta
of Sri Madhwacharya.This doctrine of inconceivable and simultaneous oneness and difference states that the soul or energy of
God is both distinct and non-distinct from God, whom he identified as Krishna, Govinda, and that this, although unthinkable, may
be experienced through a process of loving devotion (bhakti).[6] This philosophy of “inconceivable oneness and difference” is fol¬
lowed by a number of modern Gaudiya Vaishnava movements, including ISKCON.
Purnadvaita or Integral Advaita
According to his followers, Sri Aurobindo, in his The Life Divine, synthesized all the exant schools of Vedanta and gave a compre¬
hensive resolution integrating cues from the Western metaphysics and modern science. He is said to have restored the umbilical
cord of the Vedantic exegesis with the Vedas.
Modern Vedanta
The term “modern Vedanta” is sometimes used to describe the interpretation of Advaita Vedanta given by Swami Vivekananda of
the Ramakrishna order of monks. He stressed that:
Although God is the absolute reality, the world has a relative reality. It should therefore not be completely ignored.
Conditions of abject poverty should be removed; only then will people be able to turn their minds toward God.
All religions are striving in their way to reach the ultimate truth. Narrow sectarian bickering should therefore be abandoned, and
religious tolerance should be practiced — between different Hindu denominations, as well as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Bud¬
dhism, etc.
Vivekananda traveled to the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893, and became an influential figure in synthesis¬
ing Eastern and Western thought. He played a major role in the spread of Vedanta to Western nations. His travel to the West was
criticised by some orthodox Hindus. His proponents claim that he made Vedanta living, by understanding how it could be applied
to the modern world, and by investing it with his own spirit. For Vivekananda, Vedanta was not something dry or esoteric, but a
living approach to the quest for self- knowledge.
In his interpretation of Advaita (as in Shankara’s), there is still a place for Bhakti (devotion). Monks of the Ramakrishna order
suggest that it is easier to begin meditation on a personal God with form and qualities, rather than the formless Absolute, of which
everyone is said to be part. Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman are viewed as obverse and reverse of the same coin.
List of teachers
There have been many teachers of Vedanta in India and other countries over the centuries.A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabh-
upada Maharshi Swami Dayananda Saraswati (Arya Samaj), Hari Prasad Shastri, D. Krishna Ayyar, Swami Niranjanji Mahara-
j,Bhagavan Shri Ramana Maharshi, Narayana Guru , Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj, Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj, Shri Nisargadatta
Maharaj, Sri Ranjit Maharaj, Swami Rama Tirtha, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda , Swami Jyotirmayananda , Swami
Brahmananda Saraswati, Swami Krishnananda, Swami Paramananda, Swami Chinmayananda,Swami Sri Dayananda Saraswathi
of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam,Swami Sri Lilashahji Maharaj, Shri Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Sri Aurobindo, Shri Swami Tapovan Ma¬
haraj, Sengalipuram Muthannaval, Mannargudi periyaval, Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri, Anantarama Dikshitar, Kanchi Mahaswami-
gal, Swami Ranganathananda were great Vedanta scholars. Swami Parthasarathy, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Pujya Sri Prem
Siddharth, Baba Ramdev, Nithyananda Swamigal, Muralidara Swamigal, Swami Krsnapriyananda Saraswati, Nome are distin¬
guished, traditional teacher of Vedanta of the present day. Additionally Paramahansa Yogananda.
Influence in the West
The influential philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel refers to Indian thought reminiscent of Advaita- Vedanta in his introduc¬
tion to his The Phenomenology of Spirit and in his Science of Logic. Arthur Schopenhauer was influenced by the Vedas and Upa-
nishads; in his own words: “If the reader has also received the benefit of the Vedas, the access to which by means of the Upani-
shads is in my eyes the greatest privilege which this still young century (1818) may claim before all previous centuries, if then the
reader, I say, has received his initiation in primeval Indian wisdom, and received it with an open heart, he will be prepared in the
very best way for hearing what I have to tell him.” (The World as Will and Representation) Among western figures who have been
influenced by or have commented on Vedanta are Ram Dass, Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Muller, Voltaire, J.D. Salinger, Aldous
Huxley, T. S. Eliot, J.B. Priestley, Christopher Isherwood, Romain Rolland, Alan Watts, Eugene Wigner, Arnold Toynbee, Joseph
Campbell, Hermann Hesse, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Will Durant, Nikola Tesla, Erwin Schrodinger and John
Dobson.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, theoretical physicist and director of the Manhattan Project, also was a professed Vedantist. In reference
to the Trinity test in New Mexico, where his Los Alamos team tested the first atomic bomb, Oppenheimer famously recalled the
Bhagavad Gita: “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty
one. Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
List of teachers of Vedanta
Pre-19th century
Badarayana
Gaudapada
Govinda Bhagavatpada
Adi Shankara
Bhaskara
Padmapada
Suresvara
Mandana Misra
Hastamalakacharya
Totakacharya
Appayya Dikshitar
Vacaspati Misra
Ramanuja
Madhva
Vidyaranya
Vallabha
Caitanya
Vyasathirtha
Madhusudhana Saraswati
Nimbarka
Baladeva Vidyabhushana
Vijnanabhiksu
Sankaradeva (Assam)
19th-21st century
Sant Shri AsaramJi Bapu
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Swami Niranjanji Maharaj
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Swami Vivekananda
Ramana Maharshi
Swami Parthasarathy
Swami Rama Tirtha
Mannargudi Raju Sastri
Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri
Paiganadu Ganapathy Sastri
Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Mahaswami
Nisargadatta Maharaj
Eli Marozzi
Sri Aurobindo
Mata Amritanandamayi
Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha Bharathi
Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswami
Gopal Krishna Goswami
Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Swamigal
Sri Bharati Teertha Swamigal
Jagatguru Brahmashree Shree Narayanaguru Swami Trippadangal
Swami Sivananda
Swami Jyotirmayananda
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami
Swami Chinmayananda
Paramahansa Yogananda
Hubli Siddharudha swamy
Sai Baba of Shirdi
Sathya Sai Baba
Prema Pandurang
Tamala Krishna Goswami
Satchidaanandendra Saraswati Swamiji
Swami Siddheswarananda
Krishnaguru [Assam]
Swami Tejomayananda
Sri. Sri. Ravishankar
Pujya Sri. Prem Siddharth
Source texts
Source texts
All forms of Vedanta are drawn primarily from the Upanishads, a set of philosophical and instructive Vedic scriptures. “The Upa-
nishads are commentaries on the Vedas, their putative end and essence, and thus known as Vedanta or “End of the Veda”. They
are considered the fundamental essence of all the Vedas and although they form the backbone of Vedanta, portions of Vedantic
thought are also derived from some of the earlier Aranyakas.
The primary philosophy captured in the Upanishads, that of one absolute reality termed as Brahman is the main principle of Ve¬
danta. The sage Vyasa was one of the major proponents of this philosophy and author of the Brahma Sutras based on the Upa¬
nishads. The concept of Brahman - the Supreme Spirit or the eternal, self existent, immanent and transcendent Supreme and
Ultimate Reality which is the divine ground of all Being - is central to most schools of Vedanta. The concept of God or Ishvara is
also there, and the Vedantic sub- schools differ mainly in how they identify God with Brahman.
The contents of the Upanishads are often couched in enigmatic language, which has left them open to various interpretations.
Over a period of time, several scholars have interpreted the writings in Upanishads and other scriptures like Brahma Sutras ac¬
cording to their own understanding and the need of their time. There are a total of six important interpretations of these source
texts, out of which, three (Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita) are prominent, both in India and abroad. These Vedantic schools
of thought were founded by Shri Adi Shankara, Shri Ramanuja and Shri Madhvacharya, respectively. It should be noted, however,
that the Indian pre- Shankara Buddhist writer, Bhavya, in the Madhyamakahrdaya Karika describes the Vedanta philosophy as
“Bhedabheda”. Proponents of other Vedantic schools continue to write and develop their ideas as well, although their works are
not widely known outside of smaller circles of followers in India.
While it is not typically thought of as a purely Vedantic text, the Bhagavad Gita has played a strong role in Vedantic thought, with
its representative syncretism of Samkhya, Yoga, and Upanishadic thought. Indeed, it is itself called an “upanishad” and thus, all
major Vedantic teachers (like Shankara, Ramanuja, and Madhvacharya) have taken it upon themselves to compose often exten¬
sive commentaries not only on the Upanishads and Brahma Sutras, but also on the Gita. In such a manner, Vedantists both old
and new have implicitly attested to the Gita’s importance to the development of Vedantic thought and practice
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Professor Deussen, during his visit to India, sought to ascertain the percentage of followers belonging to each sect. A Ramanujist,
“ a zealous adversary of Sankara, estimated that out of a hundred Vedantins, fifteen perhaps adhere to Ramanuja, five to Madh-
va,five to Vallabha, and seventy-five to Sankaracharya.”
Goal of Vedanta
General
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
This is indeed the real object of the Vedanta-philosophy, to overcome all Nescience, to become once more what the Atman always
has been, namely Brahman, and then to wait till death removes the last Upadhis or fetters, which, though they fetter the mind no
longer, remain like broken chains hanging heavy on the mortal body. The Atman, having recovered its Brahmahood, is even in this
life so free from the body that it feels no longer any pain, and cannot do anything, whether good or bad.
Wikipedia
The goal of Vedanta is a state of self-realization or cosmic consciousness. Historically and currently, it is assumed that this state
can be experienced by anyone, but it cannot be adequately conveyed in language.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
The traditionally held ultimate goal of Vedantic enquiry is attaining moksa, meaning “Liberation”-- liberation from everything that
binds one. All such bondages in general are signified by the term bandha. Liberation thus is from all bandhas. Bandhas eventually
end up in making life fearful. Therefore, to become free of all fears (bhaya) is thought of as another facet of the final goal of Ve¬
danta, and the goal on this account is known as abhaya (fearlessness).
Although everyone is well aware of its inevitability, the most terrific of all fears in life is that of death (mrtyu). How to attain immor¬
tality? This, in a sense, is one thing everyone aspires for. Is it possible to attain immortality even as death has its natural role in the
on-going creative process of nature? Vedanta’s answer is positive. Enabling the seeker to attain immortality in the absolute sense,
is yet another aspect of the purpose of Vedanta. The goal in this respect is known as amrtatva (immortality).
To go back again to the problem of suffering, why is it that some are destined to lead a miserable life for no fault of their own? Why
is it that some others apparently live happy and comfortable lives in spite of being involved in not-so- good activities? Is it because
deciding the future of the individual
such entangling karmas and the
viewed.
See: Sankhya and Vedanta
See: Veda and Vedanta
Related words
Advaita Vedanta
Dvaita
Veda
Visishta-Advaita
Sanskrit
Vedanta —
Vedanta - %TFRT
of their karmas of previous births, as is popularly held? What then is karma? What is its role in
as well as of the world? How can one become free of such karmas? To make one free from all
resultant reincarnations, is yet another facet of Vedanta’s goal.
All these, though differently stated, are not different goals. They simply are one goal differently
Vibhuti
Variant spellings
vibhuti
vibhuti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vibhuti — ... sacred ash (bhasma); manifestations of divine power; might; prosperity; welfare; splendor; exalted rank; greatness;
superhuman power resembling that of God (Tsvara)
1. One of the eight aids, according to Vira Saivism. It is the smearing of the sacred ash upon the body.
2. Incarnations such as spiritual teachers, etc., who aid humanity, are called vibhutis.
3. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, the manifestations of Vasudeva— e.g., Sankarasana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha.
4. Miraculous powers are also called vibhutis.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vibhuti -
penetrating, pervading;
abundant, plentiful;
mighty, powerful;
presiding over;
N. of a Sadhya;
of a son of Visvamitra;
of a king;
development, multiplication, expansion, plenty, abundance;
manifestation of might, great power, superhuman power (consisting of eight faculties, especially attributed to Siva, but supposed
also to be attainable by human beings through worship of that deity, viz. animan, the power of becoming as minute as an atom;
laghiman, extreme lightness; prapti, attaining or reaching anything [e.g. the moon with the tip of the finger]; prakamya, irresistible
will; mahiman, illimitable bulk; Tsita, supreme dominion; vazita, subjugating by magic; and kamavasayita, the suppressing all de¬
sires);
a particular Sakti;
the might of a king or great lord, sovereign power, greatness;
successful issue (of a sacrifice);
splendour, glory, magnificence;
splendour, glory, magnificence;
riches, wealth, opulence;
N. of Lakshmi (the goddess of fortune and welfare);
the ashes of cow-dung &c. (with which Siva is said to smear his body, and hence used in imitation of him by devotees);
(in music) a particular Sruti
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vibhuti (“power”). Name for the sacred ash with which devotees (bhakta) of the god Shiva mark their bodies, usually with three
horizontal lines (tripundra). According to one interpretation, the three lines represent the three prongs of Shiva’s trident, according
to another, they symbolize Shiva’s third eye. Ash is associated with Shiva in several different contexts. On one hand, he is said to
smear his body with ashes from the cremation ground, which indicates his lack of concern for all conventional distinctions between
purity and impurity (ashaucha); the ash could also symbolize Shiva’s destruction of Kama, the god of love, who is burned to ash by
Shiva’s third eye. In earlier times vibhuti was made from wood ash that had been sifted through cloth until it was as fine as talcum
powder. This is still done today, particularly by ascetics who usually use the ash from a dhuni or smoldering ascetic fire, which is
believed to give the ash a sacred quality; in modern times vibhuti has become available in stores that sell religious supplies.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
The term vibhuti is a technical name given in the science of harmonious union for any special affection generated in the con¬
sciousness of a person who consistently retains a certain impression in his or her awareness. Each type of affectivity—whether
psychological, moral, or spiritual—is a distraction from the ultimate goal. So a yogic aspirant needs to know about the various af¬
fections that can arise and how they can be resolved. Patanjali places Vibhuti Padaafter the chapter on sadhana to guide the yogi
to reach pure aloneness without being affected by many predictable distractions of allurement.
Many people have misunderstood the purpose of this chapter, seeing it as a study of supernatural powers to be actualized. In¬
duced hallucinations have been called vibhutis by pseudo-yogis, and the subject has been lost in crowd consciousness. Many
aspirants have thus unfortunately experienced hazardous results. If you choose to explore further, we wish to caution you, dear
reader, not to attempt Vibhuti Pada by taking its sutras or several of its prior commentaries literally. You need to keep your peace
and patience to arrive at a precise and useful knowledge of Vibhuti Pada.
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
In the myths of creation we hear that God felt himself to be alone. He wanted to have company, so he decided to create all this. In
some of the Upanishads, similar stories are related of the aloneness of the first spirit. The Brihadaranyaka and other Upanishads,
which are highly philosophical and metaphysical rather than legendary, say that the same knowledge that is within us as being
shows itself only by becoming vibhuti, specific manifestations.
So the Self itself changes, transforms. In those transformations are many new possibilities. It is like an artist who wants to express
her artistic talent. If she does nothing, no one will be aware of her abilities. So she makes a sketch. But there are so many other
possibilities. She can also paint, sculpt, build and combine materials, creating a tremendous variety of compositions. With a single
pen or brush she can make innumerable artistic creations. All this variety is nothing but the expression of one single mind.
Similarly, when we speak we use only our single mind and our organ of articulation, but when properly manipulated it can pro¬
duce an infinitude of sound systems. With the utterance of each word, a new concept arises, new meaning arises. These are also
vibhuti.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Taittiriya Upanishad
In a temple, there is an intentional guha, a darkness. You walk into the mandapa, and then you go to the main shrine. As you go
further, it becomes darker and darker. Then, in the place where the Lord sits, you cannot see anything. The place is dark, and the
stone image should be black stone. There is one small flame that is just enough to light up all the ornaments, the jewels and pre¬
cious metal. That is the only vibhuti you see there in the sanctum.
BhagavadvibhGti alone is what you see with the buddhi. You know bhagavan asti [bhagavan ‘is’], because that vibhuti is there. In
the same way, you know bhagavan asti when you see the stars sparkle, when you see dawn’s golden rose rays brush the swelling
twilight. Every human buddhi enjoys these heavenly vibhGti.
When you burn a body or a tree, what is left over, the avasanabhutam, are the ashes, the carbon, the vibhuti. All vibhuti is Bhaga-
van’s vibhuti. That is what is. That is what is left out after all die ndmarGpas are gone. Bhagavan’s vibhGti is in the various forms:
tree, body, jagat....
When kama controls you, it is your enemy. When it is under your control, it is vibhuti. A desire is a vibhuti as long as it does not
drive you to cross dharma. Otherwise, you come under desire’s spell, and it is your master.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
vibhuti — the verb root bhu = “the existent, manifest” + vi = “apart”.
Sanskrit
Vibhuti — ftwfcT
vibhuti -
Vicara
Variant spellings
vicara
vicara
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vicara — ... reflection; enquiry; introspection; investigation
1. According to the Yoga school, it is a state of samadhi. It is of two kinds: nirvicara (when the mind concentrates and is one with
the tanmatras without any notion of their qualities) and savicara (when the mind concentrates on the tanmatras with a remem¬
brance of their qualities).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vicara -
mode of acting or proceeding, procedure (also = a single or particular case);
pondering, deliberation, consideration, reflection, examination, investigation;
doubt, hesitation;
a probable conjecture;
dispute, discussion;
prudence
Wikipedia
Vicara (Pali, Sanskrit: vicara) means the way mind maintains attention toward any object. It first referred to pre-Hindu yoga, later in
Buddhist meditation. It has been translated as “consideration,” “deliberation,” “examination,” and “investigation.”
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
[in buddhist practice] ... objects of concentration may either be earth, water, fire, wind, blue colour, yellow colour, red colour, white
colour, light or limited space ... Thus the sage may take a brown ball of earth and concentrate his mind upon it as an earth ball,
sometimeswith eyes open and sometimes with eyes shut. When he finds that even in shutting his eyes he can visualize the object
in his mind, he may leave off the object and retire to another place to concentrate upon the image of the earth ball in his mind.
In the first stages of the first meditation ... the mind is concentrated on the object in the way of understanding it with its form and
name and of comprehending it with its diverse relations. This state of concentration is called vitakka (discursive meditation). The
next stage of the first meditation is that in which the mind does not move in the object in relational terms but becomes fixed and
settled in it and penetrates into it without any quivering. This state is called vicara (steadily moving). The first stage vitakka has
been compared in Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga to the flying of a kite with its wings flapping, whereas the second stage is com¬
pared to its flying in a sweep without the least quiver of its wings. These two stages are associated with a buoyant exaltation (pTti)
and a steady inward bliss called sukha instilling the mind.
Wikipedia
In Buddhism
Vicara is a term of buddhist psychology. This term is mostly used to describe the internal feeling of the yogi who practices sa-
matha bhavana, that is the meditation technique consisting in focusing the mind to one single point. Nevertheless, this term can
be used to describe the practice of vipassana or even, outside of any meditation context, the simple fact to maintain awareness on
any object.
In the meditation practices, the mind catches a mental object (see: vitakka), which means the meditator tries to notice a feeling
and to stay aware of it. He cultivates consciousness of this object - and the term object is understood as a psychological object, a
perception.
Vicara is focusing on an object, and holding it in consciousness, to meditate on it - like meditating over a candle flame. You medi¬
tate on the flame, watch it move, so eventually you are no longer yourself, but you can “become” the flame. The meditator focuses
all his attention on the object but not on the self image, or the distinction between himself and his environment.
Vicara eventually become one of the five factors of the first jhana.
See: Manana, vicara, cinta
See also:
in Nididhyasana: Sankara & Gambhirananda. Chandogya Upanishad
Related words
Cinta
Manana
Nididhyasana
Sanskrit
Vicara — RfW
vicara - ^rf%TT
Vidvan
Variant spellings
vidvan
vidvan
vidwan
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vidvan — ... one who has learned the kavyas, the lexicon, and grammar.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vidvas -
one who knows, knowing, understanding, learned, intelligent, wise, mindful of, familiar with, skilled in;
a wise man, sage, seer;
N. of a Brahman
Wikipedia
A vidwan (or vidvan) is a person who has vidya (knowledge) of a particular science or art. This term is usually used for Indian
Classical Musicians to denote their scholarship and experience in performing classical music concerts. Vidwan may also be re¬
ferred to as a doctorate in layman’s terms.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
... the enlightened one and the Self are identical. There is no vidvatta (enlightenment) insofar as it relates to the sum total of the
body etc. As such, it follows that the vidvan (the enlightened one, who is identical with the Self) shares the attributes of the Self,
viz. immutability. Since karma is impossible in the case of such an enlightened one, its denial in the words katham sa purusha etc.
(how does such a man slay) is justifiable. Though the Self remains immutable, due to ignorance and knowledge arising from an
intellectual pursuit devoid of discrimination, it is said to be responsive to sensory objects like sound etc., whereas (actually) the
intellect (buddhi) alone is responsive (to sound etc. and not the Self). In the same manner by means of knowledge arising from
Atma-anatma viveka (i.e. discrimination between the real and the unreal), though such an intellectual pursuit is ever of an unreal
nature, the Self, even though immutable, is regarded as vidvan (knower). Since karma is impossible for a vidvan, it is said that the
intention of the Lord is that all the karma laid down in the sastras, is for the laymen (unenlightened ones) only...
Jnani (vidvan) is referred to by the words, Kathani sa purusha (How can such a one slay or cause to be slain) and to him karma is
denied...
... when a man abandons by effort the various desires entirely, which have gone to the very core of his mind, of his hoart, and be¬
comes content himself in the (thought of) the inner Self, i.e. without any thought of external possessions, indifferent to everything
else, for the reason of his having gained the essence of the nectar constituted by the vision of the absolute reality, he is then said
to be a sthiiaprajna, i.e. one in whom the awareness born of discrimination between Self and non-Self is firmly rooted. In other
words, such a man is then said to be a Vidvan.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
“Ma bhaista vidvan - Oh vidvan! do not be afraid”. The teacher addresses the student as vidvan, learned one, the one who knows.
The student has just now come for learning. He is not a vidvan really but he has all other forms of disciplines necessary to gain
this knowledge. That is why the teacher calls him vidvan. So vidvan here means upadista-padapadartha sahgatijna, the one who
is capable of understanding the meaning of words and sentences along with the connection between them.
Krishnananda. Mundaka Upanishad
With these methods, viz., strength, carefulness and knowledge connected with renunciation, one who aspires to attain the Su¬
preme Being becomes a Vidvan, or a Knower of the Self, and his Self enters into the essence of the Absolute.
Etymology
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
The root vid means to know. Hence Vidwan is one who has known.
Related words
Jnanin
Vidya
Sanskrit
Vidvan — f^FT
vidvan - 4 R 41 H
Vidya
Variant spellings
vidya
vidya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vidya — ... knowledge; meditation; wisdom; insight
1. There are thirty-two types or varieties of Brahmavidya described in the Upanisads for securing liberation. These are various
types of meditation; for instance, meditation on the pranava mantra, om.
2. The chief branches of knowledge are four, according to Vaisesika: anvlksikl (logic and philosophy), tray! (the Vedic religion),
varta (economic science and philosophy of wealth), and dandanlti (the science of polity).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vidya -
knowledge (cf. kala-jata-v...), science, learning, scholarship, philosophy RV. &c. &c. (according to some there are four Vidyas or
sciences, 1. trayl, the triple Veda; 2. anvlksikl, logic and metaphysics; 3. danda-nlti, the science of government; 4. vartta, practical
arts, such as agriculture, commerce, medicine &c.; and Manu vii, 43 adds a fifth, viz. atma-vidya, knowledge of soul or of spiritual
truth; according to others, Vidya has fourteen divisions, viz. the four Vedas, the six Vedangas, the Puranas, the MTmamsa. Nyaya,
and Dharma or law; or with the four Upa-vedas, eighteen divisions; others reckon 33 and even 64 sciences [= kalas or arts];
Knowledge is also personified and identified with Durga; she is even said to have composed prayers and magical formulas);
any knowledge whether true or false (with Pasupatas);
a spell, incantation;
magical skill;
a kind of magical pill (which placed in the mouth is supposed to give the power of ascending to heaven);
Premna Spinosa;
a mystical N. of the letter i;
a small bell
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vidya (knowledge) from the SANSKRIT root “to know” is an important philosophical term in Hindu tradition. Initially it connoted the
knowledge of the Vedic MANTRAS and ritual, and it bestowed great power. When the UPANISHADS concluded that Vedic rituals
alone could not help break the cycle of birth and rebirth, Vedic knowledge began to be called the “lower knowledge” (apara vidya)
while the Upanishadic knowledge was called the higher or liberating knowledge (para vidya). Buddhism also used the term to refer
to knowledge of the path that breaks the cycle of birth and rebirth.
Ramakrishna tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
A higher knowledge is called vidya, something distinct from ordinary knowledge, scientific or artistic knowledge, and the like.
Descriptions
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
A man asked Sri Bhagavan: “How is it that Atma vidya is said to be the easiest?”
M.: Any other vidya requires a knower, knowledge and the object to be known, whereas this does not require any of them. It is the
Self. Can anything be so obvious as that? Hence it is the easiest. All that you need do is to enquire, “Who am I?”
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
... certain meditations. They are processes of the attunement of the mind to higher levels of being. They are called vidyas because
they are specific types of knowledge. Vidya also means a meditation, a contemplation. A higher knowledge is called vidya, some¬
thing distinct from ordinary knowledge, scientific or artistic knowledge, and the like.
As I mentioned, vidya means knowledge, meditation, a comprehensive insight into the nature of the reality behind any phenome¬
non. Now, what are these phenomena? The insight into which the Upanishad here leads us is the phenomenon of the descent of
souls from the other regions into this world and the phenomenon of the ascent of souls from this region to the higher ones,—how
souls descend and how souls ascend. When we consider these processes as mere events among many others, they exert a bind¬
ing influence upon us. You know people are born; you know people die. This much of knowledge we do have. And, perhaps, we
have also a knowledge that certain actions that we perform are responsible for our births and deaths and our experiences in life.
The good that we do brings good experiences, the pleasant ones; and the bad ones produce contrary results. This much of infor¬
mation we have gathered by study, hearing etc. But this is not the knowledge that will liberate us.
The Five Fires, called the Panchagnis, mentioned here, are not actually fires in the physical sense. They are meditational tech¬
niques...
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
The term vidya may be taken both in its Vedic connotation and in its literal dictionary meaning. In its Vedic application, vidya
means upasana—concentrated and devoted meditation wherein the intellect tries to get away from its circumscribing vanities
through a deliberate identification with a vaster concept as— “I am Prana, the All-pervading”, or “I am the Sun, the Almighty” or “I
am Fire, the Effulgent” or “I am Indra, the Omnipotent”, etc. Vidya, in its other sense, means mere learning or book-knowledge.
Vidya and avidya
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
There is a recurring idea in several Upanishads, of the two kinds of knowledge that influence our life on earth. One is called
avidya, ignorance, and the other is vidya, knowledge. Living according to the motivations of one’s ego-centered interest is called
avidya. It is mentioned in the Isa Upanishad that such people are living in darkness. Giving one’s attention to transcendental ideas
is called vidya. Paradoxically, it is mentioned in the same Upanishad that those who are attached to transcendental ideas live in
even greater darkness, as it were.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
There exist in God both vidya and avidya. Vidyamaya leads one to God, and avidyamaya away from Him. Knowledge, devotion,
compassion, and renunciation belong to the realm of vidya. With the help of these a man comes near God. One step more and he
attains God, Knowledge of Brahman.
There are two aspects of maya: vidya and avidya. Avidya deludes one with worldliness, and vidya—wisdom, devotion, and the
company of holy men—leads one to God.
He who has gone beyond maya, through the grace of God, views alike both vidya and avidya. Worldly life is a life of enjoyment.
After all, what is there to enjoy in ‘woman and gold’? As soon as a sweetmeat has gone down the throat, one doesn’t remember
whether it tasted sweet or sour.
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
Man is born in this world with two tendencies— Vidya, the tendency to pursue the path of liberation, and Avidya, the leaning to¬
wards worldliness and bondage. At his birth, both these tendencies are, as it were, in equilibrium like the two scales of a balance.
The world soon places its enjoyments and pleasures in one scale, and the Spirit, its attractions in the other. If the mind chooses
the world, the scale of Avidya becomes heavy, and man gravitates towards the earth; but if it chooses the Spirit, the scale of Vidya
becomes heavier and pulls him towards God.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
People ask: “How did ignorance (avidya) arise at all?” We have to say to them: “Ignorance never arose. It has no real being. That
which is, is only vidya(knowledge).
Vidya and jnana
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Vidya ... helps you attain jnana.
Vidya and maya
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
MAYA AS THE LIBERATING POWER (VIDYA)
62. In God there are both Vidya Maya and Avidya Maya. The Vidya Maya takes man towards God, whereas the Avidya Maya
leads him astray. Knowledge, devotion, dispassion, compassion—all these are expressions of Vidya Maya; only with their help
can one reach God.
63. It is Maya which reveals Brahman. Without Maya, who could have known Brahman? Without knowing Sakti, the manifested
power of God, there is no means of knowing Him.
64. It is only due to Maya that the attainment of supreme knowledge and final beatitude becomes possible for us. Otherwise who
could even dream of all this? From Maya alone spring duality and relativity; beyond Maya there is neither the enjoyer nor the ob¬
ject of enjoyment.
65. The cat catches her kitten with her teeth and they are not hurt; but when a mouse is so caught, it dies. Thus Maya never kills
the devotee, though it destroys others.
See also:
in Veda: Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vidya is derived from the root vid ‘to know.’
Related words
Avidya
Brahmavidya
Jnana
Maya
Saraswati
Upasana
Vidvan
Sanskrit
Vidyd — fcifli
vidya - dRyi l
Vijnana
Variant spellings
vijnana
vijnana
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vijnana — ... wisdom; cognition; intellect, consciousness; stream of consciousness
1. One of the twelve links in the causal chain of existence.
2. One of the five aggregates.
3. The intellect. It is also called buddhi.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vijnana -
the act of distinguishing or discerning, understanding, comprehending, recognizing, intelligence, knowledge;
skill, proficiency, art;
science, doctrine;
worldly or profane knowledge (opp. to jnana, ‘knowledge of the true nature of God’);
the faculty of discernment or of right judgement;
the organ of knowledge (= manas);
the understanding of (a particular meaning), regarding as;
(with Buddhists) consciousness or thought-faculty (one of the 5 constituent elements or Skandhas, also considered as one of the 6
elements or Dhatus, and as one of the 12 links of the chain of causation)
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Darsanamala of Narayana Guru
Seeing one Reality alone existing is called jnana (wisdom) in Vedanta... Those of this insight perceive in each and every changeful
aspect and experience of life, different transitory facets of the one Atma becoming manifest.
The Bhagavad-GTta calls this aspect of wisdom vijnana, and it has set apart a whole chapter (Chapter 7) to elucidate it. For exam¬
ple, water is a particular manifestation of the Real, and its specific quality is having taste. When sipping water and tasting it, you
should see in that experience the one Reality or Atma becoming manifest in a specific way, signified by the prefix “vi” of the word
“vijnana.” That kind of awareness is vijnana.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
Vijnana or Transcendental Knowledge
... After jnana comes vijnana.
... “What is vijnana? It is knowing God in a special way. The awareness and conviction that fire exists in wood is jnana, knowledge.
But to cook rice on that fire, eat the rice, and get nourishment from it is vijnana. To know by one’s inner experience that God exists
is jnana. But to talk to Him, to enjoy Him as Child, as Friend, as Master, as Beloved, is vijnana. The realization that God alone has
become the universe and all living beings is vijnana.
“He who has merely heard of milk is ‘ignorant’. He who has seen milk has ‘knowledge’. But he who has drunk milk and been
strengthened by it has attained vijnana.” Thus the Master described his own state of mind to the devotees. He was indeed a vi-
jnani.
“Suppose a thorn has pierced a man’s foot. He picks another thorn to pull out the first one. After extracting the first thorn with the
help of the second, he throws both away. One should use the thorn of knowledge to pull out the thorn of ignorance. Then one
throws away both the thorns, knowledge and ignorance, and attains vijnana. What is vijnana? It is to know God distinctly by re¬
alizing His existence through an intuitive experience and to speak to Him intimately. That is why Sri Krishna said to Arjuna, ‘Go
beyond the three gunas.’
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Osborne. The collected works of Ramana Maharshi
2. What is knowledge (vijnana)?
It is that tranquil state of existence-consciousness which is experienced by the aspirant and which is like the waveless ocean or
the motionless ether.
3. What is bliss?
It is the experience of joy (or peace) in the state of vijnana, free of all activities and similar to deep sleep. This is also called the
state of kevala nirvikalpa (remaining without concepts).
See: Jnana and vijnana
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vijnana — from the verb root jna = “to know” + vi = “apart,” hence, “to discern”.
Related words
Jnana
Vijnanamaya kosha
Sanskrit
Vijnana —
vijnana -
Vijnanamaya kosha
Variant spellings
vijnanamaya kosha
vijnanamaya-kosa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vijnanamaya-kosa — ... the sheath of the intellect
1. It is located within the mental sheath {manomaya-kosa). These two, together with the pranamaya-kosa, constitute the subtle
body.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vijnanamaya-kosa -
the sheath consisting of intelligence, the intelligent sheath (of the soul accord, to the Vedanta) or the sheath caused by the under¬
standing being associated with the organs of perception
Wikipedia
Vijnanamaya kosha. Vijnanamaya means composed of vijnana, or intellect, the faculty which discriminates, determines or wills.
Chattampi Swamikal defines vijnanamaya as the combination of intellect and the five sense organs. It is the sheath composed of
more intellection, associated with the organs of perception. Sankara holds that the buddhi, with its modifications and the organs
of knowledge, form the cause of man’s transmigration. This knowledge sheath, which seems to be followed by a reflection of the
power of the cit, is a modification of prakrti. It is endowed with the function of knowledge and identifies itself with the body, organs
etc.
This knowledge sheath cannot be the supreme self for the following reasons;
It is subject to change.
It is insentient.
It is a limited thing.
It is not constantly present.
Descriptions
General
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The fourth [kosa] is the Vijnanamayakosa, “the sheath made of Buddhi”, for Vijnana and Buddhi are synonyms.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
‘Vijnanamaya’ means identified with the intellect [about the self]; the self is so called because of our failure to discriminate its asso¬
ciation with its limiting adjunct, the intellect, for it is perceived as associated with the intellect... The intellect is the instrument that
helps us in everything, like a lamp set in front amidst darkness. It has been said, ‘It is through the mind that one sees and hears’
(I. v. 3). Every object is perceived only as associated with the light of the intellect, as objects in the dark are lighted up by a lamp
placed in front; the other organs are but the channels for the intellect. Therefore the self is described in terms of that, as ‘iden¬
tified with the intellect.’ Those who explain the word ‘ Vijnanamaya’ as a modification of the consciousness that is the Supreme
Self, evidently go against the import of the Srutis, since in the words ‘Vijfianamaya,’ ‘Manomaya,’ etc., the suffix ‘mayat’ denotes
something else than modification; and where the meaning of a word is doubtful, it can be ascertained by a reference to a definite
use of the word elsewhere, or from a supplementary statement; or else on the strength of irrefutable logic. From the use of the
expression, Through its association with the intellect,”’ a little further on, and from the words ‘within the heart (intellect),’ the word
‘Vijfianamaya’ ought to mean ‘identified with the intellect.’
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Osborne. The collected works of Ramana Maharshi
The Self which is self-luminous and the witness of everything manifests itself as residing in the vijnanakosa (sheath of the intel¬
lect). By the mental mode which is impartite, seize this Self as your goal and enjoy it as the Self.
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
As a rule Vijnanamaya kosa prevails on waking...
The common man is aware of himself only when modifications arise in the intellect (vijnanamaya kosa); these modifications are
transient; they arise and set. Hence the vijnanamaya (intellect) is called a kosa or sheath.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Vivekachudamani Tr. Chatterji
The buddhi with its functions and combined with the organs of sensation becomes the vijnanamqya sheath whose characteristic is
action and which is the cause of the revolution of births and deaths. 186
The modification of prakrti called vijnanamaya sheath, follows after the individuality (sheath) which reflects the atman and is pos¬
sessed of the faculties of cognition and action, and its function is to specialize the body, organs and the rest as the ego. 187
... It [jiva] gathers experience by wandering through various grades of incarnation and comes below and goes above. It is to this
vijnanamaya that belongs the experiences of the pleasure and pain pertaining to waking, dreaming and the other conditions. 189
Pre-eminently characterized by the closest proximity to the Paramatman, this vijnanamaya becomes its objective basis. It produc¬
es the difference between “I” and “ mine” and all actions pertaining to different stages of life and condition, and through ignorance
it passes with the spiritual intelligence from one existence to another. 190
This vijnanamaya, reflecting the Light of the Logos, is manifested in the vital breaths (subtle currents of the sGksma sarira) and in
the heart [The seat of abstract thought.]. This atman being encased in this upadhi, appears to be the actor and enjoyer. 191
... the supreme spirit is not that which is called the vijnanamaya. By reason of its changeable, detached character and limited con¬
sciousness, as well as on account of its objectivity and liability to error, it (the vijnanamaya sheath) cannot be regarded as eternal.
208
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
Verse: 52
The buddhi with its thought modifications and the organs of perception is the vijnanamaya-kosa which is of the nature of the doer
and the cause of samsara for the person.
... the word ‘vijnanamaya’ is used in the sense of both the doer and the enjoyer. The identification here is with the aham-vrtti, “I”
thought; therefore the vijnanamaya is aham-vrtti-visaya, the locus of “I” thought. Being the locus of “I” thought, it becomes the sub¬
ject - knower and doer. Everything else is idam-vrtti or object, which is looked upon as ‘this’, something different from me. So the
world becomes idam-vrtti-visaya. the object of ‘this’ thought.
... The vijnanamaya performs [all the actions] and enjoys their results. Therefore the vijnanamaya is the central figure in the whole
complex of human life.
But who is this vijnanamaya? The sastra says, “... it is the buddhi alone, with the sense organs”.
... What does it do? It becomes the cause of samsara for the person... The vijnanamaya can keep the person in samsara for ever
or it can free the person also. It is the cause for both the perpetuation of samsara as well its elimination.
Verse: 53
This kosa known as vijnana has the power of illumining due to the reflected consciousness which has entered it; it is a modified
form of prakrti having the function of knowledge and action and always identifies totally with the body, sense organs etc., as “I”.
The vijnanamaya is conscious of everything. It is the one which has got the power of illumining everything because of conscious¬
ness borrowed from the cit. Vijnanamaya is one in which the cit, the caitanya has entered as though. This is so because the
vijnanamaya is vrtti and every vrtti reflects the consciousness. So the aham-vrtti is a conscious entity. The caitanya exists in id¬
am-vrtti also. It is there in the whole antahkarana. This vijnanamaya looks at the object of the idam-vrtti and says, “This is differ-
ent from me”, because he identifies with one body-mind-sense-complex. It has got the cit-sakti or power of consciousness even
though borrowed. And he is called vijnana, vijnana-samjhah. The vijnana is not karana here but karta.
The vijnanamaya is the modified form of the prakrti or avidya alone, prakr-ter-vikarah. Among all the vrttis of the antahkarana, the
vijnanamaya is the main vrtti. Also it is jnana-kriyavan, one who does the act of knowing. He is the knower who uses all the means
of knowledge and gathers knowledge. He is the one who does a variety of jobs. Not only that, he does not stand away from the
body-mind-sense-complex but identifies himself with it. With reference to body, senses and the mind he has T-sense. When the
body goes he says, ‘I go’ and that ‘I go’ is very real. Therefore all the attributes of the physical body are assumed by the vijnana-
maya. Similarly, he identifies with the prana, senses and mind and assumes their attributes. All the attributes of the body-mind-
sense-complex are loaded on the atma. The vijnanamaya becomes the atma until one knows the real atma. What is the intensity
of this identification? It is total, complete, bhrsam. The identification is so total that he does not even entertain any doubt that ‘I
may be wrong’. That is why it is very difficult to make the person even to see the fact that the atma is to be understood and that
it is other than the vijnanamaya. Isvara’s grace alone makes him listen to this. One may undergo psychotherapy but not the at-
ma-vicara. Until Isvara-anugraha, grace of the Lord is gained, crossing the vijnanamaya cannot take place.
Vijnanamaya kosha and aham
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
The mind is formed of thoughts only Idam (this) is the object and aham (T) is the subject; the two together form the vijnanamaya-
kosa (intellect-sheath).
See also:
in Anandamaya kosha: Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Diagram: The five sheaths (pancha-kosas)
Related words
Aham
Buddhi
Kosha
Suksma sarira
Vijnana
Sanskrit
Vijnanamaya-ko&a —
vijnanamaya-kosa -
Vikshepa
Variant spellings
vikshepa
viksepa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Viksepa — ... projection; false projection; distraction
1. It is the projecting power of ignorance, according to Advaita Vedanta.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
viksepa -
the act of throwing asunder or away or about, scattering, dispersion;
casting, throwing, discharging;
moving about or to and fro, waving, shaking, tossing;
drawing (a bow-string);
letting loose, indulging (opp. to sarhyama);
letting slip, neglecting (time);
inattention, distraction, confusion, perplexity;
extension, projection;
abusing, reviling;
compassion, pity;
celestial or polar latitude;
a kind of weapon;
a camp, cantonment;
a kind of disease Cat.;
sending, dispatching;
refuting an argument
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
211. Distraction (Vikshepa) is the resting of the mental state on things other than the Absolute, because of the failure to rest on It.
Descriptions
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Lessons on the Upanishads
... other defect of the mind is known as vikshepa - which is fickleness; the inability to concentrate on anything for a long time.
Instability is the basic nature of the mind. It thinks twenty things in one minute and is not able to fix its attention on one thing, even
for a few seconds. These are the superficial aspects of the defects of the mind.
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
111. Rajas has projecting power (Vikshepasakti). Activity is its very nature. From it the initial flow of activity has originated. From it,
mental modifications such as attachment and grief are also continuously produced.
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
The Rajas attitude of Maya creates the agitations of the mind (Vikshepa). Maya expressed at the mental level manifests in the
form of mental agitations. The Maya which creates restlessness in the mind is called Rajoguna, from which all activities are born.
Rajoguna creates agitations in the mind. Due to these mental agitations, objectively we act in the world and subjectively we expe¬
rience desires, passions, lust and consequently, joys and sorrows.
See: Avarana and vikshepa
See also:
in OM: Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjali’s Yoga
Related words
Ajnana
Avarana
Avidya
Maya
Rajas
Sanskrit
Viksepa —
viksepa -
Viraj
Variant spellings
viraj
viraj
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Viraj— ... the macrocosm; the manifested universe; the world man
1. According to Advaita Vedanta, visva (sthula) and vaisvanara are equated with viraj.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
viraj -
to reign, rule, govern, master (gen. or acc.), excel (abl.); to be illustrious or eminent, shine forth, shine out (abl.), glitter; to appear
as (nom.) ... cause to shine forth, give radiance or lustre, brighten, illuminate;
ruling far and wide, sovereign, excellent, splendid;
a ruler, chief, king or queen (applied to Agni, Sarasvatl, the Sun &c.);
excellence, pre-eminence, high rank, dignity, majesty;
the first progeny of Brahma (according to Mn. i, 32 &c., Brahma having divided his own substance into male and female, produced
from the female the male power Viraj, who then produced the first Manu or Manu Svayambhuva, who then created the ten Pra-
japatis; the BhP. states that the male half of Brahma was Manu, and the other half Sata-rupa, and does not allude to the interven¬
tion of Viraj; other Puranas describe the union of Sata-rGpa with Viraj or Purusha in the first instance, and with Manu in the sec¬
ond; Viraj as a sort of secondary creator, is sometimes identified with Prajapati, Brahma, Agni, Purusha, and later with Vishnu or
Krishna, while in RV. x, 90, he is represented as born from Purusha, and Purusha from him; in the AV. viii, 10, 24; xi, 8, 30, Viraj is
spoken of as a female, and regarded as a cow; being elsewhere, however, identified with Prana);
(in Vedanta) N. of the Supreme Intellect located in a supposed aggregate of gross bodies (= vaisvanara), Vedantas;
a warrior (= ksatriya);
the body;
a particular Ekaha PancavBr.;
N. of a son of Priya-vrata and Kamya;
of a son of Nara;
of Buddha;
of a son of Radha;
of a district;
a particular Vedic metre consisting of four Padas of ten syllables each (and therefore also a symbolical N. of the number ‘ten’;
in RV. x, 130, 5 this metre is represented as attaching itself to Mitra and Varuna, and in AitBr. i, 4 Viraj is mystically regarded as
‘food’, and invocations are directed to be made in this metre when food is the especial object of prayer; in prosody Viraj is applied
to any metre defective by two syllables;
N. of particular bricks (40 in number)
Lurker. Dictionary of Gods
Viraj (‘she who extends herself in might’). In Indian mythology, a primeval being generated by -*■ Brahman; often thought of as the
primeval cow. Another tradition makes Viraj a female creative principle which has arisen from ->• Purusa.
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Psychology of Darsanamala
The principles that illuminate, indha, and animate, viraj, come together in each individuated person. This coming together is de¬
scribed as similar to the synchronization of the light that comes from the right eye, indha, and the light from the left eye, viraj. The
gross body, in which these powers manifest, is maintained by the essence of nourishment processed and evenly administered by
prana. The union of indha and viraj is in the heart, from where a network of minute conductors of energy, called hita, runs in all
directions.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. A Commentary on the Upanishads
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘Indha is the Self identified with the physical self. Viraj, the physical world is his wife, the object of his enjoy¬
ment. The space within the heart is their place of union in dream, when the Self is identified with the subtle body, or mind. The Self
in dreamless sleep is identified with the vital force. Beyond this is the Supreme Self-he that has been described as Not This, Not
That. He is incomprehensible, for he cannot be comprehended; he is undecaying, for he never decays; he is unattached, for he
does not attach himself; he is unfettered, for nothing can fetter him. He is never hurt. You have attained him who is free from fear,
O Janaka, and free from birth and death.’
Janaka said: ‘May that fearlessness come to you who teach us fearlessness. I bow down to you. Behold, this empire of Videha,
and I myself, are at your service.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:2:1-4)
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Ballantyne
“Viraj, the spirit of waking sentiencies. The third and lowest of the progressive emanations [after Isvara and Hiranyagarbha] is
Viraj, Vaisvanara, Prajapatl, or Purusha. His body is the whole mundane egg, the outer shell of the visible world, or the sum of the
visible and perishing bodies of migrating souls. He is identified with the totality of waking consciousness, with the sum of souls in
the waking state and the sum of their gross visible and tangible environments. He is the sum of souls that illusively identify them¬
selves with their outer bodies, and thus suffer hunger, thirst and faintness, and all the other miseries of metempsychosis.”
See also:
in Hita: Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
Related words
Indra
Vaishvanara
Visva
Sanskrit
Viraj —fcuiyi
viraj - ciRi^
Virat
Variant spellings
Virat
Virat
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Virat — ... the cosmic form of the Self as the cause of the gross world.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Virat: totality of gross beings
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
The gross bodies also, in their fourfold variety, may be regarded ... collectively or individually. They may be regarded as a whole,
like a wood, or as separate [entities], like the trees in a wood. Consciousness limited or conditioned by the upadhi of the aggregate
of gross bodies is called Virat or Vaisvanara; it regards all the gross bodies of the universe as its own body. The body belonging to
Virat, through which it functions, is called the annamayakosa the gross physical sheath, on account of its being a modification of
food. It functions in the waking state and experiences gross objects.
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Swahananda
113. The worshippers of Virat hold that no subtle body is seen without a physical body. So Virat, who has a physical body with
head and other organs, is the real Ishvara.
114. The Shruti says that the form of Virat is the form of the universe, extending in all directions with an infinite number of heads
and eyes. So they meditate on Virat.
115. Then there are worshippers who object to the worship of Virat on the ground that according to this conception of Virat even
insects and worms will have to be regarded as Ishvara. So the four-faced Brahma, the creator, is Ishvara and nobody else.
204. In Virat the world appears distinct and shining, like objects in broad day-light or like the figures of a fully painted picture or the
fruit of a fully matured tree. In Virat all the gross bodies are plainly seen.
205. In the Vishvarupa chapter and in the Purusha Sukta there is a description of Virat. From the creator Brahma to a blade of
grass, all objects in the world form part of Virat.
206. The forms of Virat, such as Ishvara, Hiranyagarbha, Virat, Brahma, Vishnu,Shiva, Indra, Agni, Ganesha, Bhairava, Mairala,
Marika, Yakshas, demons.
207. Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Sudras, cows, horses and other beasts, birds, fig, banyan and mango trees, wheat, rice
and other cereals and grasses;
208. Water, stone, earth, chisels, axes and other implements are manifestations of Ishvara. Worshipped as Ishvara they grant
fulfilment of desires.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
The temples, especially in Southern India, are constructed in the shape of the Virat. The Holy of Holies inside is the head of the
Virat, which is represented by a luminous glow of a sacred light in a dark room, comparable to the Anandamaya Kosha (causal
sheath) which is dark, but illumined by the Atman within, and encompassed by seven Prakaras, or corridors. Sometimes these are
five, comparable to the five Koshas or vestures of the body—Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijnanamaya, Anandamaya—
the physical, vital, mental, intellectual and causal sheaths. And there is the Balipitha, the sacrificial altar, at the entrance, which is
represented by a huge post. Before you enter the body of the Virat, you have to offer yourself first; otherwise, no entry is possible.
You have to pay a fee to the Virat before you gain access into it, and the fee is your own self. You have to cease to be, first, as
you are now, in order that you may become what you want to become. This is the symbol of temple construction, and also of the
patterns drawn in the Asvamedha Sacrifice. That pattern is described here in its correlation with the parts of the universe. Such is
the geometrical description of the creation of the universe, with its deep philosophical significance and spiritual connotation. One
who knows this becomes strong and obtains a resting place, wherever he be.
Dayananda. Taittiriya Upanishad
Virat means the total of that which is in the form of the five elements.
Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
... they gave him food. Now follows a very complicated passage. It is peculiarly archaic, as many of the mantras in the Vedas and
the Upanishads are. I give you merely the literal translation of what it is. This five and the other five make ten. This is the enigmatic
meaning of this sentence. This is called the krita. Therefore, food comes from all the ten directions. The Virat is the eater of every¬
thing. Whatever it sees, it eats. The food itself is the eater of food. This is the effect that follows in respect of anyone who knows
this secret.
Now, what do we make out of this? We cannot make out any sense if we read it literally like that. But it has a significant mystical
meaning. The five are the eater and five are the eaten. The eater is Vayu cosmically, the absorber, the supreme deity into which
everything enters. The other four are the articles of diet for this supreme deity. According to some it is fire, sun, moon and water. If
we do not want it to be so complicated, we may say that they are the four elements,—ether, fire, water and earth which are ab¬
sorbed into this Supreme Absorber. Inwardly the prana is the eater, and the food is the sense-organs, speech, eye, ear and mind.
So the four items which are regarded as food or which are the eaten, together with the eater, constitute the five. The five in the
macrocosm and the five in the microcosm make ten. ...
Another very interesting word that is mentioned here is virat. In the Veda, virat is a metre which has ten letters. So there is a com¬
parison introduced here between the metre virat having ten letters, and the number ten which has association with the deity as
the eater of food and the eaten... Or, in a more general way, it means Virat, the cosmic Person, is the All-Being, the most com¬
prehensive Reality to which everything is food. In the Virat you cannot say which is the eater and which is the eaten. There is no
object-subject difference in the Virat. Food flows from all directions to the Virat and in the form of the Virat. The Virat is the name
that we give to the all-comprehensive Reality where subject-object distinction cannot be made, as it is no more. The seer and the
seen are indistinguishable. There is no difference between the eater and the eaten. The eaten itself is the eater, and the eater
is the eaten. We can look at it either way. Whatever perceives is the stuff that is eaten, and whatever is eaten is also that which
perceives. One who knows this mystery also becomes like this. What is this mystery will be clear to anyone who has read and
understood these passages.
See: Brahman, Ishvara, Hiranyagarbha, Virat
See: Hiranyagarbha and Virat
Virat and Vaishvanara
Ramakrishna tradition
Sarvananda. Mandukya Upanishad
The gross macrocosmic aspect of the Universal Soul is called Virat and the microcomic is known as Vaisvanara. The Upanisad
describes here only the Visva or the Vaisvanara, and not the Virat. Thereby it tacitly alludes to the fact that the same Atman who is
viewed from the individual standpoint as the individual soul, is also the Universal Soul.
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
The theme of the Mandukya Upanishad is an exposition of the Mystic Syllable, Om, with a view to training the mind in medita¬
tion, for the purpose of achieving freedom, gradually, so that the individual soul is attuned to the Ultimate Reality. The basis of
this meditation is explained in the Vidya (meditation), known as the Vaisvanara Vidya. This is the secret of the knowledge of the
Universal Being, designated as Vaisvanara. Its simple form of understanding is a transference of human attributes to the Divine
Existence, and vice versa. In this meditation, one contemplates the Cosmos as one’s Body. Just as, for example, when one con¬
templates one’s individual body, one simultaneously becomes conscious of the right eye, the left eye, the right hand, the left hand,
the right leg, the left leg, the head, the heart, the stomach, and all the limbs of the body at one and the same time, and one does
not regard the different limbs of the body as distinguished from one another in any manner, all limbs being only apparently dif¬
ferent but really connected to a single personality, so in this meditation, the consciousness is to be transferred to the Universal
Being. Instead of one contemplating oneself as the individual body, one contemplates oneself as the Universal Body. Instead of
the right eye, there is the sun. Instead of the left eye, there is the moon. Instead of the feet, there is the earth. Instead of the head,
there is the heaven, and so on. The limbs of the Cosmic Person are identified with cosmic elements, and vice versa, so that there
is nothing in the cosmos which does not form an organic part of the Body of the Virat, or Vaisvanara. When you see the vast world
before you, you behold a part of your own Body. When you look at the sun, you behold your own eye. When you look above into
the heavens, you are seeing your own head. When you see all people moving about, you behold the various parts of your own
personality. The vast wind is your breath. All your actions are cosmic movements. Anything that moves, does so on account of
your movement. Your breath is the Cosmic Vital Force. Your intelligence is the Cosmic Intelligence. Ycur existence is Cosmic Ex¬
istence. Your happiness is Cosmic Bliss.
... Whatever our mind can think, becomes an object for the mind; and that object, again, should become a part of the meditator’s
Body, cosmically. And, the moment the object that is conceived by the mind is identified with the Cosmic Body, the object ceases
to agitate the mind any more; because that object is not any more outside; it becomes a part of the Body of the meditator. When
an object becomes a part of our own body, it no more annoys us because it is not an object at all. It is a subject. The object has
become the Cosmic Subject, in the Vaisvanara meditation.
The Vidya has its origin, actually, in the Rig-Veda, in a famous Sukta, or hymn, called the Purusha-Sukta. The Purusha-Sukta of
the Rig-Veda commences by saying that all the heads, all the eyes, and all the feet that we see in this world are the heads, eyes,
and feet of the Virat-Purusha, or the Cosmic Being. With one head, the Virat nods in silence; with another face He smiles; with a
third one, He frowns; in one form, He sits; in another form, He moves; in one form, He is near; in another form, He is distant. So,
all the forms, whatever they be, and all the movements and actions, processes and relations, become parts of the Cosmic Body,
with which the Consciousness should be identified simultaneously. When you think, you think all things at the same time, in all the
ten directions; nay, in every way.
See also: Evolution of Prakriti (Sankhya)
Meditation
in Vaishvanara: Krishnananda. Chhandogya Upanishad
in Upasana: Sankara & Gambhirananda. Chandogya Upanishad
Related words
Hiranyagarbha
Ishvara
Jagrat
Vaishvanara
Sanskrit
Viral — Rl < icj
Virat - =rRid
Visishta-Advaita
Variant spellings
visishta-advaita
Visistadvaita
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Visistadvaita — ... qualified nondualism; pansynthetic monism
1. A theistic school of Vedanta whose great consolidator and exponent is Ramanuja. It posits three ultimate realities: God, indi¬
viduals, and matter (Isvara, cit, and acit), which exist in an inseparable relationship, though cit and acit are dependent upon the
independent God (Isvara). The complex whole forms an organic unity and thus its name, Visistadvaita.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
Visistadvaita -
‘qualified non-duality’, the doctrine that the spirits of men have a qualified identity with the one Spirit (see Ramanuja)
Descriptions
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Visishta-Advaita: Visesha is the specialized aspect of nature or creation. The supreme divinity is the culminating stage of such
specialization as the highest of its effects or the flower of perfection. That school of Vedanta as revalued by Ramanuja which holds
that this perfected being, while retaining his status as a specialized aspect of reality, could still represent non-duality in its philo¬
sophical implications, is called the Visishta Advaita school of Vedanta.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
The second type of students ... insist, “I am a composite being, comprising an anatomical structure with physiological functions
and also a psychological entity with intellectual abilities. I am the body as well as the jeeva, the individuality, the thinking-feeling
entity”. The psychological and intellectual entity has the glow of reflected divinity, just as in the achievements of an artist or a sci¬
entist, there is certainly a spark of divinity. Such students are addressed by Sri Ramanujacharya. He says, “You are not separate
from Truth. You are a part and He is the whole.” This school of thought is Visishla-advaita or “Qualified Non-dualism”.
Related words
Advaita Vedanta
Dvaita
Vedanta
Vishnu
Sanskrit
Visistadvaita — IcififcKi^d
Visistadvaita -
Vishnu
Name
Visnu — fcreoj
Visnu - dPDt
Vishnu
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Visnu — ... the supreme Lord; the all-pervading
1. A name for the all-pervasive supreme Reality. One of the Hindu trinity of gods, representing God as the sustainer, the personal
God of the Vaisnavas. In His personal form, He is portrayed as four-armed holding a conch, a discus, a lotus, and a mace. He is
dark blue in color. During times of great wickedness and trouble, Visnu incarnates on the earth in order to protect men and gods
and reestablish righteousness. There are ten such incarnations in our present world cycle, with Rama and Krsna being the most
popular and important.
2. According to Visistadvaita Vedanta, he is the sole Reality, one without a second, having the sentient (cit) and insentient (acit)
for his qualifications. He is the means to liberation and the goal to be attained.
3. He abides in a fivefold form as para, vyuha, vibhava, antarydmin, and area.
4. He has six divine qualities: knowledge (jnana), strength (bala), lordship (aisvarya), power (sakti), virility (vlrya) and splendor
(tejas).
5. Among His manifestations are Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and Vasudeva.
6. His weapons include the conch (sankha), discus (cakra), club (gadd), sword (khadga), and bow (sarnga).
7. One of the names of the Law Books and a name of a Purana.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vishnu -
N. of one of the principal Hindu deities (in the later mythology regarded as ‘the preserver’, and with Brahma ‘the creator’ and Siva
‘the destroyer’, constituting the well-known Tri-murti or triad; although Vishnu comes second in the triad he is identified with the
supreme deity by his worshippers; in the Vedic period, however, he is not placed in the foremost rank, although he is frequently
invoked with other gods [esp. with Indra whom he assists in killing Vritra and with whom he drinks the Soma juice; cf. his later
names Indranuja and Upendra]; as distinguished from the other Vedic deities, he is a personification of the light and of the sun,
esp. in his striding over the heavens, which he is said to do in three paces [see tri-vikrama and cf. bali, vamana], explained as
denoting the threefold manifestations of light in the form of fire, lightning, and the sun, or as designating the three daily stations
of the sun in his rising, culminating, and setting; Vishnu does not appear to have been included at first among the Adityas, al¬
though in later times he is accorded the foremost place among them; in the Brahmanas he is identified with sacrifice, and in one
described as a dwarf; in the Mahabharata and Ramayana he rises to the supremacy which in some places he now enjoys as the
most popular deity of modern HindG worship; the great rivalry between him and Siva [cf. vaisnava and saiva] is not fully developed
till the period of the Puranas: the distinguishing feature in the character of the Post-vedic Vishnu is his condescending to become
incarnate in a portion of his essence on ten principal occasions, to deliver mankind from certain great dangers [cf. avatara...];
some of the Puranas make 22 incarnations, or even 24, instead of 10; the Vaishnavas regard Vishnu as the supreme being, and
often identify him with Narayana, the personified Purusha or primeval living spirit [described as moving on the waters, reclining
on Sesha, the serpent of infinity, while the god Brahma emerges from a lotus growing from his navel; cf. Manu i, 10 ]; the wives
of Vishnu are Aditi and Sinlvall, later Lakshml or Sri and even SarasvatT; his son is Kama-deva, god of love, and his paradise is
called Vaikuntha; he is usually represented with a peculiar mark on his breast called Srl-vatsa, and as holding a sankha, or conch-
shell called Pancajanya, a cakra or quoit-like missile-weapon called su-darsana, a gada or club called Kaumodakl and a padma or
lotus; he has also a bow called Sarnga, and a sword called Nandaka; his vahana or vehicle is Garuda; he has a jewel on his wrist
called Syamantaka, another on his breast called Kaustubha, and the river Ganges is said to issue from his foot; the demons slain
by him in his character of ‘preserver from evil’, or by Krishna as identified with him, are Madhu, Dhenuka, Canura, Yamala, and
Arjuna [see yamalarjuna], Kala-nemi, Haya-grlva, SakaTa, Arishta, Kaitabha, Karhsa, Kesin, Mura, Saiva, Mainda, Dvi-vida, Rahu,
Hiranya-kasipu, Bana, Kaliya, Naraka, Bali; he is worshipped under a thousand names, which are all enumerated in MBh. xiii,
6950-7056; he is sometimes regarded as the divinity of the lunar mansion called Sravana)
N. of the month Caitra;
(with prajapatya) of the author of RV;
of a son of Manu Savarna and Bhautya;
of a son of Manu Savarna and Bhautya;
of the writer of a law-book;
of the father of the 11th Arhat of the present AvasarpinT;
of various authors and others;
= agni;
= vasu-devata;
suddha;
N. of the mother of the 11th Arhat of the present AvasarpinT
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vishnu in his various forms is one of the most worshipped gods in the Indian pantheon. His tradition, known as VAISHNAVISM,
constitutes the second largest sect within Hinduism.
Vishnu first appears in the VEDAS as a rather insignificant divinity, with only minor ritual importance. There are only 64 mentions
of him in the RIG VEDA, most of them in passing, with only a handful of hymns addressed to him alone. He is celebrated in the
Vedas mostly for his “three steps” that saved the world, in his incarnation as VAMANA AVATAR.
Vishnu first gains prominence in the later Vedic period, apparently after being identified with VASUDEVA, a non-Vedic god popu¬
lar in western India in the last centuries before the Common Era, and with the god Narayana of the Vedic BRAHMANA literature.
By the time of the MAHABHARATA and RAMAYANA epics his prominence was assured. He was identified both with the gods
KRISHNA, hero of the Mahabharata, and RAMA, hero of the Ramayana.
Eventually, Vishnu’s cult reached full development when he was recognized as Mahavishnu (great Vishnu), preserver of the uni¬
verse, who entered into the world when needed in successive AVATARs or “descents.” Before the world is created, Vishnu sleeps
on the cosmic MILK OCEAN on the back of the divine serpent ADISHESHA. Out of his navel grows a lotus from which BRAHMA
the creator god emerges to create the universe. Once the world is created Vishnu reigns in his heavenly realm of Vaikuntha.
Iconographically, Vishnu is depicted as being of dark blue color with four arms. He is seated on a throne. In his four hands he
holds a conch, a war discus, a mace, and a lotus. He wears the Kaustubha gem around his neck and has a tuft of hair on his chest
called Shrivatsa. His vehicle is the man-eagle GARUDA. His spouse is LAKSHMI, or Sri. In the highest understanding he exists as
all things and also transcends them.
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
There is evidence to show that, like the conception of Siva, that of Visnu also had reached pre-eminence by the time of the
Greek invasion. There was also another conception, viz. that of Narayana, gradually evolving in the later Vedic period. The word
‘Narayana’ means ‘descendant of Nara or the primeval male,’ i.e. Purusa from whom the whole universe springs into existence,
according to the Purusa-sukta. He appears as supreme in certain passages of the Brahmanas, and later is identified with Visnu
giving rise to the conception of Visnu-Narayana, parallel to that of Rudra-Siva. Thenceforward these two conceptions dominate the
religious thought of India. Brahma has his origin and basis in speculation rather than in popular cult and therefore he did not ap¬
peal, in spite of his sublime character, to the religious feelings of the masses.
The supremacy of the Visnu-Narayana conception appears oftenest in the Mahabharata. But it is generally found blended there
with another, whose origin and general features we must now indicate. This second current of theistic thought is what is de¬
scribed as theism of the Bhagavata type. It recognized only a transcendent God while Vedic theism, as may be expected from its
kinship with the Upanisads, tended to view him as both immanent and transcendent. The Bhagavata creed seems to have been
non-Brahminic in its origin, though not non-Aryan. It probably originated in that part of the country which lies west of the classic
Madhya-desa between the Ganges and the Jumna, where most of the early Upanisads were composed. The creed was founded
long before Buddha’s time by Sri Krsna, a hero of the Aryan tribes dwelling there. Its essential features were belief in a single per¬
sonal God, Vasudeva, and in salvation as resulting from an unswerving devotion to him. ... Later, as it so often happens, the hero
who preached this creed was himself deified and identified with the Supreme. In SrT Krsna’s time, the designation of the supreme
God was probably ‘Bhagavat’ or ‘the worshipful,’ whence the name Bhagavata or ‘worshipper of Bhagavat.’ The name ‘Bhaga-
vadglta’ (‘Lord’s song’) given to the well-known work, which appears as an inset in the epic, suggests that when it was composed
Sri Krsna had come to be worshipped as the Supreme. This religion in still later times was amalgamated with the theistic teaching
of the Madhya-desa, probably as a set-off against the secessions that were gaining strength in the East; and then SrT Krsna was
identified with Visnu- Narayana, who had by that time, come to be looked upon there as the Highest. In this final form the doctrine
is very elaborately treated of in the sections of the Mahabharata known as the NarayanTya; but it there indicates a development
which almost certainly is in advance of the period with which we are now concerned. An earlier phase of the same is seen in the
BhagavadgTta where, for instance, the identification of SrT Krsna with Visnu-Narayana does not yet appear.
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vishnu (“all-pervasive”). Along with Shiva and the Goddess, one of the three most important deities in the Hindu pantheon. All
three of these are notable for being almost unmentioned in the Vedas, the earliest Hindu religious texts, and the ascendancy of
these three and the gradual eclipse of the Vedic gods points clearly to a definitive shift in Hindu religious life. Of the three, Vish¬
nu has the most significant presence in the Vedas. Many of the hymns in which he is mentioned describe him as a helper to the
storm-god Indra, the primary Vedic god, and one of Vishnu’s epithets here is Upendra (“junior Indra”). Yet he also appears in some
of the late hymns as an independent agent, who is associated with marvelous deeds for the good of the cosmos, such as taking
three steps to measure out the universe. Vishnu is also associated with the sun, both in his ability to move through the heavens,
and to fall on (and thus “observe”) all things.
In the divine triad of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva, Vishnu is identified as the sustainer or maintainer of the cosmos. One manifestation
of this can be seen in a common creation myth, which begins with Vishnu lying on the back of his serpent couch, Shesha, in the
primordial ocean at the time of cosmic dissolution (pralaya). A lotus sprouts from Vishnu’s navel, which opens to reveal Brahma,
the creator, who begins the work of creation. Vishnu presides over the creation, and when the time for dissolution comes again,
the entire process reverses, and the universe is drawn back into Vishnu, who is thus seen as the source of all.
The other way that Vishnu sustains the cosmos is through the action of his avatars or incarnations, who come into the world to
restore balance to a universe dangerously out of equilibrium, usually because of a demon grown disproportionately strong. There
are ten generally reckoned avatars. The first four are in nonhuman forms: the Fish avatar, Tortoise avatar, Boar avatar, and
Man-Lion avatar. The other six are in human form, often as sages or heroes: Vamana avatar, Parashuram avatar, Rama avatar,
Krishna avatar, Buddha avatar, and Kalki avatar; the last has yet to come. In each of these cases, Vishnu takes form to avert
some sort of disaster and to maintain the integrity of the cosmos. The doctrine of the avatars provided a mechanism to assimilate
existing deities into the larger pantheon and to give them recognizable status of their own. Although most of the avatars are no
longer objects of worship (the Boar and Man-Lion avatars each had a substantial following early in the common era), in much of
northern India the worship of Rama and Krishna has largely eclipsed that of Vishnu himself, who has largely faded into the back¬
ground. In southern India, Vishnu is still an important object of worship, particularly in the Shrivaishnava community. Aside from
the doctrine of the avatars, important local deities have also been assimilated into the pantheon as forms of Vishnu; the most sig¬
nificant examples are Jagannath, Venkateshvara, and Vithoba.
In medieval Hinduism sectarian rivalry developed between Vaishnavas and Shaivas, with each claiming that their chosen deity
(Vishnu and Shiva, respectively) was supreme. Although Vaishnavas see Vishnu as the supreme power in the universe, his myth¬
ic character and activity differ sharply from Shiva’s. Whereas Shiva is associated with ascetic life and practices (tapas), and thus
with the religious power generated by such practices, Vishnu’s headdress is a crown, and his persona is that of an allruling king.
Whereas Shiva destroys his mythic adversaries using raw power, from which all subtlety is absent, Vishnu more often triumphs
through cunning, cleverness, and trickery. Each deity’s adherents affirm their divinity as the preeminent power in the universe,
from which all the other gods gain their power, and both are seen as gracious and loving to their devotees (bhakta).
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Footprints of Gods, Angels and Gurus have been worshipped in many traditions. They have been found in Brittany, Scandinavia,
Ireland and elsewhere. For the Aztecs in Mexico they were symbols of the presence of the Sun-God. Footprints symbolize the per¬
fect meeting of the two Great Extremes: Heaven and Earth. In them Heaven leaves its mark on Earth. In Hinduism the (sole of the)
Foot of Vishnu is worshipped by Vaishnavites. The main centre of this worship is the Vishnupada or “Vishnu-foot” temple at Gaya,
only a few miles away from the Buddha-Gaya temple, built at the place where Buddha obtained Enlightenment under the Bodhi
tree. In the earliest period of Buddhism, Buddha was not worshipped in the form of an image, but in his footprint or representations
of his footprint.
In Ceylon is found on the top of Adam’s Peak the famous footprint which is venerated by Mohammedans and Christians as the
footprint of Adam, by Hindus as a footprint of Vishnu and by Buddhists as a footprint of Buddha.
The Vishnupada or Foot of Vishnu, which is worshipped by Vaishnavites, has fourteen symbols represented on its sole. The rela¬
tion between the Sun and the sole of the foot, which has been referred to before, is found in Hindu tradition in the relation between
the words “padam”, meaning foot, and “padam”. Both words are from a common root. To “padam” are related the Greek “pous,
podos”, the Latin “pes, pedis” and the English “foot”. To “padam” is related the English “path”. “Padam” means “path, goal, abode,
and ray of light” in the symbolical as well as in the literal sense of these words. “Padam” further means the Word in the sense of
Logos. OM is called a padam. The Pole Star is also called a padam. The Paramapada is the “Highest Abode or State” of Vishnu.
Many of the symbolic implications of “padam” attach to Aquarius, the Highest Abode of Divinity, the House of the Spiritual Pole,
and the Goal. On account of these traditional matters it is understandable that the Vaishnava Upanishad says concerning the
Padam or Foot of Vishnu: If you daily worship this Padam, the ancestors will be liberated from all sins, Jnana (God-Realization)
will be given to you, and the outcome will be Moksha (Liberation). In view of what has been said concerning the deeper meaning
of “ancestors” it becomes clear what this verse implies. Many devout Hindus make the pilgrimage to Gaya, where the Vishnupada
temple is, in order “to liberate their ancestors” in some sense or other, or in a way which has little sense at all at the present time.
Avataras of Vishnu
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vishnu as the sustainer divinity takes human or animal incarnations when needed to maintain or defend the world. The BHAGA-
VAD GITA says that whenever there is a decrease in righteousness and an increase in unrighteousness in the world, Vishnu
(there KRISHNA) sends himself forth. Only Vishnu among the gods is seen to take on incarnations as part of a divine duty. Oth¬
er gods such as SHIVA and the Goddess will be found in various forms, but these will not be referred to in general as avatars or
incarnations.
There are different lists of avatars or incarnations of Vishnu in different texts and traditions, variously containing 10, 12, or 22 god
names. The most common list of avatars is MATSYA (fish), KURMA (tortoise), VARAHA (boar), Narasimha (man-lion), VAMANA
(dwarf), PARASHURAMA (RAMA with the axe), Rama of the RAMAYANA, KRISHNA, BUDDHA, and KALKI (his future incarna¬
tion). Sometimes Krishna’s brother BALARAMA is made the 11th avatar and sometimes both Krishna and Balarama are clas¬
sified as one avatar. Whenever Vishnu takes an avatar, he is subject to birth and death just as a human is. Krishna of the MA-
HABHARATA, for instance, dies by being shot in the heel.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
Among the myths of Hinduism an important place is taken by those about the Avataras. This word, generally translated by “in¬
carnation”, means literally “descent”. It first of all signifies Divine Descent in the world and secondarily Divine Descent during the
Ages. The Avataras of Vishnu are usually mentioned in a group of ten, and often and generally this group is as follows: 1. Matsya
or Fish; 2. Kurma or Tortoise; 3. Varaha or Boar; 4. Narasirnha or Man-Lion; 5. Vamana; 6. Parasurama; 7. Rama; 8. Krishna; 9.
Balarama, and 10. Kalki. In a less orthodox group Balarama, the half-brother of Krishna, is replaced by the Buddha Avatara; in
that case Buddha is considered to be an Avatara of Vishnu. This is an effort to give Buddha a place within Hinduism and demon¬
strates ignorance of the original meaning of the Ten Avataras. Outside this group of ten, many other Avataras are mentioned and
described in the myths. Sometimes great Sages are called Avataras.
Matsva, Kurma, Varaha and Narasimha are said to have been born in the Krita or Satya Yuga, Vamana, Parasurama and Rama
in the Treta Yuga, Balarama and Krishna in the Dvapara Yuga and Buddha and Katki in the Kali Yuga. They are said to have been
born in three different Manvantaras...
Of the Ten Avataras four belonged to the First Age, three to the Second Age, two to the Third Age and only one to the Fourth Age.
This is in accordance with the tradition that in the First Age Dharma (in the form of a Cow) manifested itself “with four legs”, in the
Second with three, in the Third with two and in the Fourth only with one.
The Avataras of Vishnu should not be confused with Forms of the Murtis or “Forms” of Vishnu. Tradition knows a group of twen¬
ty-four of such Forms.
The Vishnu Purana says that in the Treta Age the Lord was born “to repress the wicked and to protect the three worlds.” This was
done by the three most common Avataras of this Age. In the form of Parasurama and Ramachandra the Lord “repressed the wick¬
ed” and as Vamana he protected the three worlds. The Treta Age is the Age of the Dharma...
Vamana, Parasurama and Ramachandra ... represent the entire Treta Age. We understand from the Ramayana that Parasurama
and Ramachandra lived simultaneously. At the end of the Balakanda a meeting of the two Ramas is described. Rama, the son of
Jamadagni (Parasurama) recognized Rama, the son of Dasaratha, as “the Foremost of Celestials, the Indestructible”. He said that
it was not a shame to be humbled by the Lord of the three worlds, when Rama proved to be greater than himself. In this encounter
we have a meeting of two Avataras of Vishnu...
Vishnu was born as Vamana in order to overcome a king called Bali or Mahabali. “Bali” means “sacrifice”. Mahabali was known
for his great ambition. He performed the ViSvajit Sacrifice, the object of which is World-domination. After attaining great power,
Mahabali went against the City of Heaven, ruled by Indra, and laid siege to it with his Army. After taking it, he established himself
there, while the Gods either hid themselves or became subject to him.
When Mahabali was about to perform an Asvamedha or Horse sacrifice — which we have seen to be symbolically connected
with World domination ... — Vishnu entered the king’s sacrificial hall in the form of a religious beggar. Mahabali received him and
paid due respects to him, washing his feet. He said...: “Welcome and obeisance to you, O Brahman! What we can do for you? ...
take from me whatever you desire...” Vamana replied that he wanted nothing but three feet of land, measured by his feet. Mahab¬
ali urged him to ask for something more worthy of him to give, but the Brahmachari refused. When the king wanted to ratify his
promise, he was warned ... by his Guru, Sukra,... that the beggar was Vishnu in disguise, that a great calamity would befall him
if he were to fulfil his promise, and that everything would be taken from him. But Mahabali replied: “How shall I, a descendant of
Prahlada, like some cheat, refuse (the gift) to a Brahman after having promised to give him ? I consider everything bearable ex¬
cept the man of falsehoods. I do not fear Hell or even poverty or the sea of Samsara so much as deceiving a Brahman”... After
receiving the ratification of the king’s promise through pouring water, the dwarf Vamana expanded till his form filled the Universe.
“That dwarf-form of Hari expanded itself encompassing all that are composed of the three Gunas, namely, the earth, the heavens,
the cardinal points, heaven, caves, seas, birds and beasts, human beings, gods, sages and whatever there was” ... Bali had the
vision of the Universe-form. Then the Lord paced with two steps the Universe, above and below, reclaiming it for the Gods ... And
because then there was nothing left to pace, he accused Mahabali of having deceived him, and condemned him to pass a few
years in the Underworld... Thereupon Mahabali, who had been vouchsafed the World-Vision of God, knelt down and said: “If you
consider the words I had spoken as insincere and worthless, I shall make them true; there shall be no insincerity, pray place your
third step (foot) on my head. Fallen as I am from my position, hell I fear not... or any suffering or want of wealth or Thy punishment
so much as I am afraid of being called an unrighteous creature”... At these noble words his ancestor Prahlada manifested himself
and said, addressing Vishnu: “The great abode of Indra was given by Yourself; and to-day it is taken back by Yourself. The latter
is as well done as the former, for, I think that a great blessing has been bestowed on Bali since he has been rescued from wealth
and power which deludes the mind and self-consciousness”... The Lord said: “I destroy the possessions of him whom I show My
Grace, for he who is intoxicated with wealth and power becomes haughty and disregards the world and Myself also”... The Lord
further sent the blessed Prahlada to accompany Bali to Sutala and bring happiness to his relations. To Mahabali the Lord granted
the boon that every year on that day he could come back to the world and see that his people were living in prosperity and happi¬
ness.
On the face of it, this myth is very puzzling, and it has seemed very unfair to people that God should put down a righteous man in
this wise and send him down to the Underworld. People searching for an exoteric explanation of the myth, have been much per¬
plexed by it. In modern days of anti-Brahman feeling people have even read into it an attempt of “Aryan” Brahmans to usurp power
from the “Dravidian” ruling race!
In the light of esoteric traditions the myth is deeply suggestive and illuminating. It should be understood in connection with the
Zodiacal stage of the Height of Manifestation, and particularly with the climax and end of that stage. We have seen before that this
stage is one of pride and ambition, and of the anti-traditional voice... The shortcoming of Mahabali was arrogance of power. He
had made his kingdom into a materialistic Utopia and went on expanding it at the expense of the more introvert tendencies of the
soul.
The crashing of Mahabali to the Underworld depicts the Fall of the soul from the Treta to the Dvapara Age. A worldly paradise or
Utopia can exist only on condition of obedience to the Spirit. Mere goodness, uninspired by the higher realms of the soul, cannot
exist for long. It leads either to psychical stagnation or to psychical inflation. We learn from the words of Vishnu, however, that the
Underworldabode to which Mahabali was sent — Sutala — is a “region, prayed for by the denizens of heaven”.
See: Siva and Vishnu
Meditation
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Tales and parables of Sri Ramakrishna
VISHNU EVERYWHERE
THERE was a holy man who used to live in a state of ecstasy and would not speak with anyone. He was regarded as a lunatic.
One day having begged some food in the village, he took his seat by the side of a dog and fell to eating. A strange sight now pre¬
sented itself and attracted a crowd of spectators, for the holy man would put one morsel into his own mouth and the next into that
of the dog, so that the man and the beast went on eating together like a pair of friends. Some of the spectators began to laugh at
the holyman as being a mad fellow.
Thereupon he said,
“Why do you laugh?
Vishnu is seated with Vishnu;
Vishnu is feeding Vishnu;
Why do you laugh, 0 Vishnu?
Whatever is, is Vishnu.” (153)
Related words
Brahma
Krishna
Narayana
Rama
Siva
Trimurti
Visva
Variant spellings
visva
Visva
Viswa
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Visva — ... the individual form of the Self having egoism in a gross body while awake; universe
1. It is the form of the Self in its waking state according to Advaita Vedanta.
2. It is pervasive of the entire body but, for purposes of meditation, it has its seat in the right eye. Its limiting adjunct is the gross
body (sthGla-sarTra).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
visva -
all, every, every one;
whole, entire, universal;
all-pervading or all-containing, omnipresent (applied to Vishnu-Krishna, the soul, intellect &c.);
(in phil.) the intellectual faculty or (accord, to some) the faculty which perceives individuality or the individual underlying the gross
body (sthula-sarlra-vyasty-upahita) Vedantas.;
N. of a class of gods;
N. of the number ‘thirteen’;
of a class of deceased ancestors;
of a king;
of a well-known dictionary = visva-prakasa;
all the gods collectively ‘ or the ‘All-gods ‘ (a partic. class of gods, forming one of the 9 Ganas enumerated under ganadevata q.v.;
accord, to the Vishnu and other Puranas they were sons of Visva, daughter of Daksha, and their names are as follow, 1. Vasu, 2.
Satya, 3. Kratu, 4. Daksha, 5. Kala, 6. Kama, 7. Dhriti, 8. Kuru, 9. PurG-ravas, 10. Madravas [?]; two others are added by some,
viz. 11. Rocaka or Locana, 12. Dhvani [or DhGri; or this may make 13]: they are particularly worshipped at Sraddhas and at the
Vaisvadeva ceremony; moreover accord, to Manu, offerings should be made to them daily - these privileges having been be¬
stowed on them by Brahma and the Pitris, as a reward for severe austerities they had performed on the Himalaya: sometimes it is
difficult to decide whether the expression visve devah refers to all the gods or to the particular troop of deities described above);
the whole world, universe;
dry ginger;
myrrh;
a mystical N. of the sound ‘o’
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Consciousness limited by the individual gross body ... is called visva. Though it functions through the gross body, yet it does not
dissociate itself completely from the subtle body or the mind, which is endowed with the power of thinking and imagining. The
gross body belonging to visva, through which it functions, is also called the annamayakosa. the gross physical sheath or alimenta¬
ry sheath, on account of its being a product of food. [The gross body is created by the sperma and ovum of the parents, which are
products of food. After birth the body is sustained by food.] It functions in the waking state and it experiences, through the organs
of perception, objects of sound, touch, form, taste, and smell. It uses the five organs of action for the purpose of speaking, holding,
walking, excreting, and procreating. Further, through the inner organ of the mind, it experiences uncertainty, determination, ego¬
ism, and remembrance.
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Consciousness associated with the individual gross body is designated as Viswa on account of its entering the gross body etc.
without giving up its identification with the subtle body.
[Individual gross body—Any one of the various individual gross bodies of the four kinds enumerated above. The Jiva or embodied
soul has three kinds of limitations, viz., that of ignorance, the subtle body, and the gross and the subtle body—in dreamless sleep,
dream state and waking state respectively. The embodied soul identifying itself with each of these limitations is known as Prajna,
Taijasa and Viswa respectively.]
Visva, Taijasa, Prajna
Sankara tradition
Nikhilananda. Mandukya Upanishad
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
From the ordinary empirical standpoint, Visva, Taijasaand Pvajha are generally related to three states, viz., waking, dream and
deep sleep. But the three states are comprehended from the standpoint of the waking state alone. That dream and deep sleep
are two states, having different characteristics, is known in the waking state alone. Therefore these two become known to the
waking consciousness. Besides jagrat (waking), in so far as it denotes the absence of the knowledge of Reality, covers the dream
and sleep states as well. The three apparent cognisers known as Visva, Taijasa and Prajna are really one, because a plurality of
perceivers in the same state, namely, the waking, and in the same body is an absurdity, as that would preclude the possibility of
the continuity of perception as revealed through memory. Therefore the apparently three different perceivers are identical and their
apparent distinction is due to their identification with the three states.
Visva and Vaishvanara
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
What is true of visva is also true of Vaisvanara, or Consciousness functioning through the collective gross body in the waking
state...
The collective gross body and the individual gross body are in essence identical, like a wood and the trees that constitute it. So,
likewise are the two forms of consciousness which are limited by them, known as Vaisvanara and visva,like the space limited by
the wood and the trees.
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Both Viswa and Vaiswanara at that timel, perceive the gross objects, viz., sound, touch, colour, taste, and smell, respectively
through the five sense-organs, such as the ears etc., controlled respectively by (the presiding deities, viz.) the Quarters2 (Dik), Air
(Vdyu), Sun, Varuna and the two Aswins. They also perform the functions of speech, acceptance, walking, excretion and enjoy¬
ment, respectively through the five organs of action, such as the tongue etc., controlled respectively by Fire, Indra, Vishnu, Yama
and Prajapati. They also experience uncertainty, determination, personality and remembrance, respectively through the four inner
organs, viz., mind, intellect, egoism and memory (Chitta) controlled respectively by the Moon, Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. Witness
such Sruti passages’ as: “Whose place is the waking state, who is conscious of the external world” (Mand. Up. 3).
[1. The way in which Vishwa and Vaiswanara come into touch with the universe, internal and external, during the waking state is
being indicated.
2. Quarters etc.—These are the presiding deities of the various external organs. They regulate the activities cf these organs.
3. Passages—The remaining portion of the passage is “and who enjoys the gross objects, is the first aspect (of the Atman).”]
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Mandukya Upanishad
While the consciousness in terms of the totality of all the physical bodies, inclusive of all animate and inanimate things, may be
regarded as the vaisvanara, or the virat, the very same consciousness animating a particular body in the waking consciousness is
called visva. The visva is the Atman enlivening the physical body; vaisvanara is the Atman reigning supreme in the physical cos¬
mos. This is the twofold waking life, individual and the Cosmic; - jagnritasthana.
See also:
in Jiva: Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Diagram: Catuspada, Four States of Consciousness
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
visva - prob. from the root 1. ‘vis’ , to pervade ; declined as a pron. like sarva, by which it is superseded in the Brahmanas and
later language.
Related words
Jagrat
Prajna
Taijasa
Vaishvanara
Sanskrit
Visva — IcReT
Visva -
Vivarta
Variant spellings
vivarta
vivartha
vivartta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vivartha — ... transfiguration; apparent change; illusory appearance
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vivarta -
‘the revolving one’, N. of the sky;
a whirlpool;
turning round, rolling onwards, moving about;
turning away;
dance;
changing from one state to another, modification, alteration, transformation, altered form or condition;
(in Vedanta) error, illusion, an apparent or illusory form, unreality (caused by Avidya, ‘ignorance’, and removed by Vidya, ‘true
knowledge’) Vedantas.;
collection, multitude;
N. of two Samans
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vivarta ... (in Yedanta) an ‘appearance’ the forms that manifest in the phenomenal world, regarded as illusions.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. The philosophy of Narayana Guru
Vivarta: Illusory appearance. Denoting the process by which an effect appears in a cause without the latter undergoing any intrin¬
sic change, e.g., the appearance of waves in ocean.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Dhole
9. When there is no change of its former condition but a substance is perceived in a different form it is Vivartta, as the illusion of
snake in rope. And it appears equally to form, less substances; as for instance, to ether which has no form, yet perceived blue,
resembling a frying pan in appearance.
10. Therefore it is fit to believe that the objective world is but a Vivartta of blissfulness; and the force of Maya is the potent cause
for such a belief, like things created in a magic performance by the use of chemical re-agents, spells, and charms.
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Swahananda
9. But Vivarta is mere appearance of change of a thing or its state, not a real change: like a rope appearing as a snake. It is seen
even in a partless substance, e.g., the Akasa (which has no shape or colour) appearing as the blue dome.
10. So the illusive appearance of the world in the partless bliss can be explained. Like the power of a magician, the power of Maya
may be said to bring the objective world into being.
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
... in explaining creation the Vedantin applies the Law of Vivarta which means the transformation of the cause into effect without
the former losing its own character, hence, apparent transformation. According to the Vedantin the world is the Vivarta of Brah¬
man, i.e., the whole visible universe is a mere illusion—an unreal and illusory appearance—while Brahman is the only real entity.
As the snake is the Vivarta of the rope, so is the world the Vivarta of Brahman. The law of Vivarta is fundamentally different from
the law of evolution (Parinama), which admits real change in the cause. Therefore if Brahman is posited as the material cause
of the universe, it does not follow that the universe is also a conscious entity like its cause. Ignorance is unreal and therefore the
phenomenal universe which is its effect is also unreal.
See also:
Material and efficient cause
in Brahma-sutra: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
in Vivarta-vada: Prasad. Darsanamala of Narayana Guru
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
from pr. vi, apart, away, without + varta <root vart, to turn, ‘revolving’
Vivarta, derived from vi-vart, “to turn round, go astray,” used in this sense to mean error or illusion.
Related words
Parinama
Vivarta-vada
Sanskrit
Vivartha —
vivartha -
Vivarta-vada
Variant spellings
vivarta-vada
vivarta-vada
vivartavada
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vivarta-vada — ... the theory of apparent change; the theory of phenomenal appearance
1. The Advaita Vedanta theory of causation which posits that the world is an illusory appearance superimposed by ignorance
(avidya) on the Absolute (Brahman).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vivartavada -
a method of asserting the Vedanta doctrine (maintaining the development of the Universe from Brahma as the sole real entity, the
phenomenal world being held to be a mere illusion or Maya; cf. parinama-vada).
Descriptions
General
Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
The most important of Sankara’s works is the bhasya on the Vedanta-sutra, which is as remarkable for the charm of its style as
for the logical consistency of its arguments. ... he therein maintains the vivarta-vada or the doctrine that the world is a phenomenal
appearance of Brahman. According to him, the belief to be refuted before the Advaita is established is not so much the Sankhya
or Prakrtiparinama- vada as Brahma-parinama-vada. ... his real objective is to establish the vivarta-vada or Maya-vada as against
the parinama-vada of certain commentators on the Vedanta-sGtra, especially Bhartr-prapafica that preceded him.
Brahman according to him [Samkara] ... only gives rise to appearances which, though entirely depending upon it, affect it no
more than the silver does the shell in which it appears. He thus enunciates a new view of causation which is different from both
the parinama-vada and the arambha-vada... . According to it, the cause produces the effect without itself undergoing any change
whatsoever. It is vivartavada or the doctrine of phenomenal development. Viewed in the light of this theory, Brahman only appears
as the world. It is the original of which the world ... may be regarded as ‘a translation at the plane of space-time’; and Brahman
depends as little for its being on the world as an original work does on its translation. This is what is otherwise known as the Maya
doctrine.
Narayana Guru tradition
Prasad. Darsanamala of Narayana Guru
According to ... [vivarta-vada (the theory of superimposed illusory appearances)], the causal substance, while itself undergoing
no intrinsic change, appears as all the effects, i.e. as the apparent world. This argument is clarified with the help of an example.
A piece of rope seen at twilight may appear to be a snake, making you frightened. Not seeing the real rope and seeing the unre¬
al snake as real do not make any intrinsic change in what really exists there, it always remains a piece of rope. It is in the wrong
perception of the observer that the rope appeared as a snake. The unreal snake-appearance is thought of as vivarta on the real
rope. Similar is the perceiving of the apparent world in the really existing Brahman or Atman, effected by muyG. Narayana Guru
also following the line of thought of Sankara, the propounder of the Advaita school of Vedanta, admits this vivarta-vada and rejects
the theory of evolution, as is evident from many references to it in his philosophical works.
How do the illusory appearances emerge in the one Absolute Reality or Atman? The answer is, it is like a grand magic show. A
magician makes his spectators see certain nonexistent phenomena. Similar is the way the Self makes itself appear as the unreal
world.
Is this a sufficient explanation? Of course, this is not a logical explanation. Yet the analogy of magic makes it clear how an ele¬
ment of mystery inheres in what we are trying to understand. Our minds, in a way, are so conditioned that only logical explana¬
tions based on analysis satisfy us when trying to understand something. In philosophy too we attempt our best to represent reality
in a logical way. Most of the philosophers of the West think with a mind conditioned by the preconceived notion that philosophical
thinking means logical reasoning about what is ultimately real.
Such a prejudice has never corrupted the Indian thinkers. They do not hesitate to declare openly that the Reality as a whole is a
Great Mystery. Their goal has never been arriving at a “reasonable” conclusion about what is real, but to directly and intuitively
perceive their own inseparable oneness with what they are searching for, and to make life meaningful by realizing their identity
with the meaningfulness of the Total Existence. Such is the ultimate goal of Indian thinkers, particularly of Vedantins. They there¬
fore have no reluctance to declare as part of their scientific thinking, “All this is a magic-like mystery!”, “How could any recognized
valid means of knowledge help us know this!”, “Ineffable and unthinkable indeed is this!” and so on.
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vivartavada - compounded of vivarta + vada
Related words
Parinama-vada
Vivarta
Sanskrit
Vivarta-vada —
vivarta-vada - d R < dd K
Viveka
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Viveka —... discrimination
1. Viveka is defined as an awareness by means of which one can tell the true from the false, the eternal from the impermanent. It
is an understanding that the world is impermanent and perishable and that the Self is permanent.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
viveka -
discrimination, distinction;
consideration, discussion, investigation;
true knowledge, discretion, right judgement, the faculty of distinguishing and classifying things according to their real properties;
(in Vedanta) the power of separating the invisible Spirit from the visible world (or spirit from matter, truth from untruth, reality from
mere semblance or illusion);
a water trough (= jala-dronl);
N. of work
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Viveka - right discrimination between the eternal and non-eternal, the real and the unreal. This comes from proper study.
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Atmabodha, tr. Nikhilananda
Commentary by Nikhilananda:
Viveka or discrimination between the Real and the unreal: This is an intuitive and unshakable conviction of the mind that Brahman
alone is the real Substance and all other things are unreal and illusory. Discrimination is the first and foremost discipline; without it
the second one, namely renunciation [vairagya], is not possible.
Descriptions
General
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
... the creation of the phenomenal world and our position in the phenomenal world are due to nescience (Avidya) with the Yedan-
tist, but to a want of discrimination (Aviveka) with the Samkhya philosopher... Where then, we may well ask, is the difference
between the two views of the universe? There is a difference in the mode of representation, no doubt, but in the end both Vedanta
and Samkhya look upon what we call reality as the result of a temporary error, call it nescience, illusion, want of discrimination,
or anything else. ... No doubt these two philosophies diverged in their later development, but they started with the same object in
view, and they advanced for a time in the same direction. If the Vedantists desired to arrive at what is called Atma-anatma-viveka,
discrimination between Atman and Anatman, the Samkhyas looked forward to Prakriti-purusha-viveka, discrimination between Pu-
rusha and Prakriti. Where then is the difference? If their later defenders forgot their common interest and laid greater stress on the
points of difference than on the points of similarity between them, it was but right that those who could see deeper, should bring to
light whatever features there were left of the original family likeness between the two philosophies.
Ramakrishna tradition
Ramakrishna. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna
556. It is useless to pore over the holy scriptures if one’s mind is not endowed with Viveka and Vairagya. No spiritual progress can
be made without these.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
In the beginning one has to be told that he is not the body, because he thinks that he is the body only. Whereas he is the body and
all else. The body is only a part. Let him know it finally. He must first discern consciousness from insentience and be the con¬
sciousness only. Later let him realise that insentience is not apart from consciousness.
This is discrimination (viveka). The initial discrimination must persist to the end. Its fruit is liberation.
D.: Viveka is said to be discrimination between the Self and the nonself. What is the non-self?
M.: There is no non-self, in fact. The non-self also exists in the Self. It is the Self which speaks of the non-self because it has for¬
gotten itself. Having lost hold of itself, it conceives something as non-self, which is after all nothing but itself.
Osborne. The collected works of Ramana Maharshi
20. What is the sign of wisdom (viveka)?
Its beauty lies in remaining free from delusion after realising the truth once. There is fear only for one who sees even a slight differ¬
ence in the Supreme Brahman. So long as there is the idea that the body is the Self one cannot be a realizer of truth whoever he
might be.
Sivananda tradition
Chinmayananda. Sankara. Vivekachudamani
17. He alone is considered qualified to enquire after the supreme Reality, who has discrimination [viveka], detachment [vairagya],
qualities of calmness etc., and a burning desire for liberation.
Commentary by Chinmayananda:
Viveka is the capacity to discriminate between the Real and the unreal, between the true and the false, between the permanent
and the impermanent. It is faculty which we employ in almost all our day to day decisions but when it is brought to play into the
inner constitution of the individual it is called viveka.
Though potentially there, viveka is not generally awakened in all men. However actually intelligent the generation might be, it is
the special privilege of a few to have the subtlety of intellect to delve deep into things and happenings and discriminate between
the true and the false. Those who are sufficiently evolved, exhibit a greater keenness of intellect but those who do not have it,
should not despair. For, it is not a God-given bonus which comes to us from the heavens but it is the aroma of a well-developed
and integrated mind and intellect. Where there is a large amount of viveka, it is safe to presume that the individual has a fairly
well-integrated personality.
... he alone who has destroyed the shark of desire lurking in the ocean of samsar can safely cross to the other shore. In order to
kill the enemy we have no other instrument save the sword of discriminative knowledge. With viveka alone can we end our de¬
sires. Desires can come and sabotage our happiness only when the discriminative faculties in us have, as it were, gone to sleep.
So long as the pure intellect is awake, the whims and fancies of the mind cannot emerge to loot and plunder the peace of the inner
kingdom.
See also:
“Shankara. Vivekachudamani, tr. Madhavananda” on page 789
Diagram: Sadhanacatustaya, Four-fold discipline
Related words
Sadhanacatustaya
Vairagya
Sanskrit
Viveka — fcfZjcF
viveka -
Vritti
Variant spellings
vritti
vrtti
vrtti
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vrtti — ... mental mode; a modification of the mind whose function is to manifest objects; being; condition; fluctuation; activity
1. It is what makes knowledge possible, according to Advaita Vedanta. It serves as the connecting link between the knowing sub¬
ject and the known object. It is a transformation of either the internal organ or of nescience (avidya). It goes out through the sens¬
es and pervades the object.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vrtti -
rolling, rolling down (of tears);
mode of life or conduct, course of action, behaviour, (esp.) moral conduct, kind or respectful behaviour or treatment;
general usage, common practice, rule;
mode of being, nature, kind, character, disposition;
state, condition;
being, existing, occurring or appearing in;
practice, business, devotion or addiction to, occupation with;
profession, maintenance, subsistence, livelihood;
wages, hire;
working, activity, function;
mood (of the mind) Vedantas;
the use or occurrence of a word in a partic. sense (loc.), its function or force;
mode or measure of pronunciation and recitation (said to be threefold);
(in gram.) a complex formation which requires explanation or separation into its parts (as distinguished from a simple or uncom¬
pounded form);
style of composition;
(in rhet.) alliteration, frequent repetition of the same consonant;
final rhythm of a verse;
a commentary, comment, gloss, explanation (esp. on a sutra);
N. of the wife of a Rudra
Descriptions
General
Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
... though all things are but illusory impositions on consciousness yet for the illumination of specific objects it is admitted even by
Vedanta that this can only take place through specific sense-contact and particular mental states (vrtti) or modes; ... the Vedanta
... [says] that the phenomenon of illumination has not to undergo any gradual process, for it is the work of one flash like the work
of the light of a lamp in removing darkness; so it is not possible that the external reality should have to pass through any process
before consciousness could arise; what happens is simply this, that the reality (sat) which subsists in all things as the same identi¬
cal one reveals the object as soon as its veil is removed by association with the vrtti (mental mould or state). It is like a light which
directly and immediately illuminates everything with which it comes into relation. Such an illumination of objects by its underlying
reality would have been continuous if there were no veils or covers, but that is not so as the reality is hidden by the veil of ajnana
(nescience). This veil is removed as soon as the light of consciousness shines through a mental mould or vrtti, and as soon as it is
removed the thing shines forth. Even before the formation of the vrtti the illusory impositions on the reality had still been continuing
objectively, but it could not be revealed as it was hidden by ajnana which is removed by the action of the corresponding vrtti; ...
The action of the senses, eye, etc. serves but to modify the vrtti of the mind, and the vrtti of the mind once formed, the correspond¬
ing ajnana veil which was covering the corresponding specific part of the world-appearance is removed, and the illumination of the
object which was already present, being divested of the veil, shows itself forth. ... So consciousness in itself is the ever-shining
light of reality which is never generated but ever exists; errors of perception (e.g. silver in the conch-shell) take place not because
the dosa consisting of the defect of the eye, the glaze of the object and such other elements that contributed to the illusion, gener¬
ated the knowledge, but because it generated a wrong vrtti. It is because of the generation of the wrong vrtti that the manifestation
is illusory. ... Objective phenomena as such have reality as their basis, whereas the expression of illumination of them as states of
knowledge is made through the cit being manifested through the mental mould or states. Without the vrtti there is no illuminating
knowledge. Phenomenal creations are there in the world moving about as shadowy forms on the unchangeable basis of one cit
or reality, but this basis, this light of reality, can only manifest these forms when the veil of nescience covering them is temporarily
removed by their coming in touch with a mental mould or mind-modification (vrtti).
In continuous perception of anything for a certain time as an object or as pleasure, etc. the mental state or vrtti is said to last... all
the while so long as any other new form is not taken up by the antahkarana for the acquirement of any new knowledge.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Principles and practice of Patanjalis Yoga
Vrtti, as the word suggests, has many implications. It is an operation in the time-space continuum that structures the several en¬
sembles of the present. The sense of the present is generated by vrtti. The “present” in Sanskrit is called vartamanam. Vartanam
is existence; manam is measuring. Vartamanam is the occasion provided for direct perception and evaluation. Vrtti is also sug¬
gestive of repetitive function, avarti. It is also the centripetal closing in from all sides that preserves an impression for future refer¬
ence, avrti. It is also suggestive of a vortex that is formed in consciousness, a circular motion of repetitive thinking. In that sense
it is avartini, a whirlpool. In the formation of a vrtti, a centrifugal reverberation that spreads out physically and emotionally occurs
simultaneously with a centripetal containment of the experience within a certain limit. From all sides a closing in happens which, in
physical terms, amounts to the consolidation of both the electrical and chemical energies involved in the reverberation.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Sri Bhagavan explained: Vritti is often mistaken for consciousness. It is only a phenomenon and operates in the region of abhasa
(reflected consciousness). The knowledge lies beyond relative knowledge and ignorance. It is not in the shape of vritti. There are
no subject and object in it.
Vritti belongs to the rajasic (active) mind. The satvic mind (mind is repose) is free from it. The satvic is the witness of the rajasic.
It is no doubt true consciousness. Still it is called satvic mind because the knowledge of being witness is the function of abhasa
(reflected consciousness) only. Mind is the abhasa. Such knowledge implies mind. But the mind is by itself inoperative. Therefore
it is called satvic mind.
Sankara tradition
Sadananda. Vedantasara, tr. Nikhilananda
In perception according to the Vedanta philosophy, the mind (Antahkarana) through a particular sense-organ is projected upon an
object and pervades it. It then takes the form of the object. This transformation is called Vritti or mental state. As, for instance, the
water of a lake issues through a hole as a thin stream and enters a field. It then takes the form of the field.
Vidyaranya. Panchadashi, tr. Swahananda
4. An external object, such as a pot, is cognised through the Vrittis (modifications of the intellect) assuming its form, but the knowl¬
edge ‘I know the pot’ comes (directly) through pure consciousness, Brahman.
5. Before the rise of the Vritti (i.e., before the intellectual operation) my experience was ‘I do not know that there is a pot over
there’; after the rise, the experience is ‘I know that there is a pot over there’. This is the difference the intellectual operation or Vritti
brings about. But both the above experiences of knowledge or non-knowledge of the pot are due to Brahman.
8. If the intellect is without Chidabhasa, the cognition of an object cannot take place. For how does intellect in such a case differ
from a lump of clay which is unconscious and insentient?
9. Nowhere is a pot said to be known when it is besmeared with clay. Similarly when a pot is besmeared or covered by a Vritti only
(not along with Chidabhasa) it cannot be said to be known (for both the clay and the Vritti are themselves unconscious and insen¬
tient).
10. Hence cognition (of a pot) is that reflection of consciousness (on the pot) which is produced as a result of the enveloping oper¬
ation of the Vritti-cum-Chidabhasa. Brahman or pure consciousness cannot be this resultant reflection of consciousness inasmuch
as it (being the eternal and immutable existence) exists prior to cognition.
Sivananda tradition
Dayananda. Talks on Vivekachudamani
Atma is already self-evident and it is alupta-drk, a seer that never ceases, it never even winks. It is always a witness. But it is a
witness only with reference to whatever is seen. By itself it is in the form of consciousness. This self-evident atma is Brahman, that
is the teaching. Because of this teaching a vrtti takes place in the mind which destroys the ignorance and itself goes away. That
vrtti, “All that is here is myself” is called atmaikya-bodha or aparoksa-jnaria.
The whole world enters only through the mind. The mind goes on objectifying the things. The sense organs bring in the data about
an object and the mind then undergoes a change relevant to the object. That mental modification is called vrtti - thought form or
pratyaya. In fact the mind pervades the very object you cognise and becomes the very form of the object. This is called vrtti-vyapti.
You see or cognise only that object which obtains in this vrtti. So, if the object is rope and your vrtti also has the form of rope then
you see the rope outside. But if the object in your vrtti is snake, even though the object outside is rope, you see only the snake
and not the rope. Therefore whatever you see, wherever you see is only what is there in your mind. And what is there in your mind
may be the object as it is outside or other than what is outside. So the mind is responsible for samjnadi-bheda - the duality, ‘this is
pot’, ‘this is tree’ etc., - duality of names and forms.
The mind moves very fast. It is like a movie camera and each vrtti is like a frame in the movie camera. The vrtti’s like the frames
are in motion all the time and what you cognise is not the whole motion but one frame at a given point of time and place.
... every emotion is a vrtti.
See: Citta and vritti
See also:
in Antahkarana: Dasgupta. A history of Indian philosophy
in Jnana, antahkarana, sakshin: Hiriyanna. Outlines of Indian philosophy
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
vrtti - from the verb root vrt = “to turn, revolve, roll, move”.
Related words
Antahkarana
Citta
Jnana
Vritti-jnana
Sanskrit
Vrtti — SjftT
vrtti -
Vyakta
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vyakta — ... manifest; revealed
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vyakta -
adorned, embellished, beautiful;
caused to appear, manifested, apparent, visible, evident;
developed, evolved;
distinct, intelligible (see -vac);
perceptible by the senses (opp. to a-vyakta, transcendental);
specified, distinguished;
specific, individual;
hot;
wise, learned;
heat;
a learned man;
an initiated monk;
‘the manifested One’;
of one of the 11 Ganadhipas (with Jainas);
(in Sarhkhya)' the developed or evolved ‘ (as the product of a-vyakta)
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vyakta ... manifest matter; (in Samkhya) ‘the evolved or developed,’ a product of Nature (prakrti), op. avyakta.
Descriptions
Sankara tradition
Sankara. Bhagavad Gita. Tr.Panoli
... the Lord said:
4. This entire world is pervaded by Me, the Unmaniifest. All beings aibide in Me, but I do not abide in them.
This entire earth is pervaded by that supreme nature of Mine, who am unmanifest since My form is not vyakta (manifest). The
meaning is, T am not perceptible to the senses.
Whatsoever in the world is subject to sense perception, is indeed called vyakta (manifested), as the root of the word connotes.
Etymology
General
Theos Bernard. Hindu philosophy
Vyakta from pr. vi, apart, away, without + akta, pref. pass, participle of the root anj, to anoint.
Related words
Opposite: Avyakta
Sanskrit
Vyakta — omcki
vyakta -
Vyasa
Name
Vyasa
vyasa -
Veda Vyasa
veda vyasa, (the one who split the Vedas, ... The word vyasa means split, differentiate, or describe.)
Badarayana
Krishna Dvaipayana (referring to his complexion and birthplace)
Dwaipayana, meaning ‘island- born’
Parasarya is a name of Vyasa, the son of Parasara
Vyasa - ocrw
Descriptions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vyasa — ... “arranger”; “compiler”
1. Vedic sage credited with the compilation of the Vedas and the author of the Mahabharata and the Puranas.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vyasa -
severing, separation, division;
a kind of drawl (as a fault in pronunciation);
extension, diffusion, prolixity, detailed account;
width, breadth, the diameter of a circle;
‘distributing, disjoining’, N. of the Pada-patha or ‘disjoined text’;
‘arranger, compiler ‘, N. of a celebrated mythical sage and author (often called Veda-vyasa and regarded as the original compil¬
er and arranger of the Vedas, Vedanta-sGtras &c.; he was the son of the sage Parasara and Satyavatl, and half-brother of Vici-
tra-vlrya and BhTshma; he was also called Vadarayana or Badarayana, and Krishna from his dark complexion, and Dvaipayana
because he was brought forth by Satyavatl on a DvTpa or island in the Jumna; when grown up he retired to the wilderness to lead
the life of a hermit, but at his mother’s request returned to become the husband of Vicitra-vTrya’s two childless widows, by whom
he was the father of the blind Dhrita-rashTra and of Pandu; he was also the father of Vidura by a slave girl, and of Suka, the sup¬
posed narrator of the Bhagavata-Purana, he was also the supposed compiler of the Maha-bharata, the Puranas, and other por¬
tions of HindU sacred literature; but the name Vyasa seems to have been given to any great typical compiler or author);
a Brahman who recites or expounds the Puranas &c. in public (= paThaka-brahmana);
a bow weighing 100 Palas
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Vyasa. In Hindu mythology, a sage who is traditionally considered to be the author of the Mahabharata, the later of the two great
Sanskrit epics. Vyasa is the son of the sage Parashara as a result of his dalliance with the ferrywoman Satyavati. Later in life
Satyavati marries King Shantanu but only after extracting the promise that their children will rule, instead of Shantanu’s eldest
son, Bhishma. Satyavati’s first son dies in childhood, and the second dies after his marriage but before having any children. In her
desperation to preserve Shantanu’s line, Satyavati calls on Vyasa to sleep with her younger son’s wives, Ambika and Ambalika.
According to tradition Vyasa is very ugly, and both of the women involuntarily react when Vyasa appears in her bed. Ambalika
turns pale, causing her son, Pandu, to be born with an unnaturally pale complexion, and Ambika covers her eyes, causing her
son, Dhrtarashtra, to be born blind. Vyasa also has sexual relations with Ambika’s maidservant, who gives herself to him willingly,
and from her is born Vidura. The descendants of Pandu and Dhrtarashtra are the Pandavas and Kauravas, respectively, who are
the two warring factions whose enmity drives the Mahabharata. Thus Vyasa is not only the author of the Mahabharata, but also
the source of the two families whose struggle is described in it.
Muller. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy
... if, as we are told, Vyasa collected (Vivyasa) not only the Vedas, the Mahabharata, the Puranas, but also the Vyasa-Sutras, nay
even a prose commentary on Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras, we can hardly doubt that the work ascribed to him must be taken as the
work of several people or of a literary period rather than of one man. I formerly thought that Vyasa might have represented the
period in which the first attempts were made to reduce the ancient mnemonic literature of India to writing, but there is nothing in
tradition to support such a view, unless we thought that Vyasa had some connection with Nyasa (writing). Indian tradition places
the great Vyasa between the third and fourth ages of the present world, whatever that may mean, if translated into our modern
chronological language. If Vyasa had really anything to do with our Yedanta-Sutras, it would hardly have been more than that he
arranged or edited them. His name does not occur in the Sutras themselves, while that of Badarayana does, and likewise that of
Badari, a name mentioned by Gaimini also in his Purva-MTmamsa. In the Bhagavad-gTta, which might well be placed as contem¬
porary with the Vedanta-Sutras, or somewhat later, Vyasa is mentioned as one of the Devarshis with Asita and Devala (X, 13),
and he is called the greatest of Rishis (X, 37). But all becomes confusion again, if we remember that tradition makes Vyasa the
author of the Mahabharata, and therefore of the Bhagavad-gTta itself, which is even called an Upanishad.
As to the commentary on Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras being the work of the same Vyasa, this seems to me altogether out of the ques¬
tion. There are hundreds of people in India who have the name of Vyasa.
It has actually been asserted that Vyasa, the author of a late commentary on Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras, is the same person as
Vyasa, the collector of the Yedas, the reputed author of the Mahabharata and of the Vedanta-Sutras. But there are ever so many
Vyasas living even now, and no solid argument could possibly he derived from the mere recurrence of such a name.
Wikipedia
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in the majority of Hindu traditions. ... He is accredited as the scribe of both the Vedas, and
the supplementary texts such as the Puranas. A number of Vaishnava traditions regard him as an avatar of Vishnu. Vyasa is also
considered to be one of the eight Chiranjivins (long lived, or immortals), who are still in existence according to general Hindu be¬
lief. He is also the fourth member of the Rishi Parampara of the Advaita Guru Parampara of which Adi Shankara is the chief pro¬
ponent.
The festival of Guru Purnima, is dedicated to him, and also known as Vyasa Purnima as it is the day, which is believed to be his
birthday and also the day he divided the Vedas.
It has been debated whether Vyasa was a single person or a class of scholars who did the splitting. The Vishnu Purana has an
interesting theory about Vyasa. The Hindu view of the universe is that of a cyclic phenomenon that comes into existence and
dissolves repeatedly. Each cycle is presided over by a number of Manus, one for each Manvantara, that has four ages, Yugas of
declining virtues. The Dvapara Yuga is the third Yuga. The Vishnu Purana (Book 3, Ch 3) says:
In every third world age (Dvapara), Vishnu, in the person of Vyasa, in order to promote the good of mankind, divides the Veda,
which is properly but one, into many portions. Observing the limited perseverance, energy, and application of mortals, he makes
the Veda fourfold, to adapt it to their capacities; and the bodily form which he assumes, in order to effect that classification, is
known by the name of Veda-vyasa. Of the different Vyasas in the present Manvantara and the branches which they have taught,
you shall have an account. Twenty- eight times have the Vedas been arranged by the great Rishis in the Vaivasvata Manvantara...
and consequently eight and twenty Vyasas have passed away; by whom, in the respective periods, the Veda has been divided
into four. The first... distribution was made by Svayambhu (Brahma) himself; in the second, the arranger of the Veda (Vyasa) was
Prajapati... (and so on up to twenty- eight).
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. That alone, the core of wisdom
It is believed that Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa composed the Mahabharata. There are other great works attributed to Vya\sa, such as
the Vedanta Sutras and the Patafijaia Sutra Bhasya. We do not know whether both these Vyasas are the same person. Like the
term “Pope”, names such as Vyasa, Vasistha, Narada, and- Kasyapa, often mentioned in the archaic literature of India, were not
personal names but spiritual appellations vested on the succeeding heads of the respective hierarchies. Therefore we cannot say
whether the Mahabharata and other works were written by the same Vyasa or a number of Vyasas. All that we can surmise is that
it was written by a certain Vyasa. The name Vyasa literally means a compiler or editor.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Jnana Yoga
All these Darsanas (schools of philosophy) that you have seen, or ever heard of, are based upon Upanishadic authority. When¬
ever they quote a Sruti (scriptural text), they mean the Upanishads. They are always quoting the Upanishads. Following the Upa-
nishads there came other philosophies in India, but every one of them failed in getting that hold upon India which the philosophy
of Vyasa obtained. The philosophy of Vyasa is a development out of an older one, the Sankhja; and every philosophy and every
system in India—and possibly throughout the world—owes much to Kapila, the great founder of the Sankhya system, perhaps the
greatest name in the history of India in psychological and philosophical lines. The influence of Kapila is everywhere throughout the
world. Wherever there is a recognized system of thought, there you can trace his influence; it may be thousands of years back, but
yet he stands there, the shining, glorious, wonderful Kapila. His psychology and a good deal of his philosophy have been accept¬
ed by all the different sects of India with but very slight differences. ... The philosophy of Vyasa as embodied in the Vyasa Sutras
is firm-seated, and has attained the permanence of that which it intended to present to men, the orthodox and Vedantic side of
philosophy. Reason was entirely subordinated to the Srutis and as Sankaracharya declares, Vyasa did not care to reason at all.
His idea in writing the Sutras was just to bring together with one thread and make a garland of the flowers of Vedantic texts. His
Sutras are admitted so far as they are subordinate to the authority of the Upanishads and no further. And as I have said, all the
sects of India now hold these Vyasa Sutras to be the great authority, and every new sect in India starts with a fresh commentary
on the Vyasa Sutras according to its light. The difference between some of these commentators is often very great, giving rise to
not a little text-torturing. The Vyasa Sutras however have got the place of authority in India to-day, and no one can expect to found
a new sect until he can write a fresh commentary on them.
Life
General
Wikipedia
Vyasa ... was the son of Satyavati, daughter of a ferryman or fisherman, and the wandering sage Parashara. He was born on an
island in the river Yamuna. This is said to be near Kalpi in Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh. Many also point out that the sage was
born on the confluence of the rivers Koel, Sankha and Brahmani at the present steel city of Rourkela in Northern Orissa. The
place is named after him as Vedvyas....
Vyasa was grandfather to the Kauravas and Pandavas. Both Dhritarashtra and Pandu, adopted as the sons of Vichitravirya by the
royal family, were fathered by him. He had a third son, Vidura, by a serving maid.
Works
Brahma Sutra
General
Wikipedia
The Brahma Sutra is attributed to Badarayana — which makes him the proponent of the crest- jewel school of Hindu philosophy,
i.e., Vedanta. As the island on which Vyasa was born is said to have been covered by Badara (Indian jujube/Ber/Ziziphus mauri-
tiana) trees, he is known as Badarayana. Though traditionally, Vyasa is considered the Badarayana who wrote the Sutras, many
historians think these were two different personalities.
Mahabharata
General
Wikipedia
Vyasa is traditionally known as author of this epic. But he also features as an important character in it. His mother later married the
king of Hastinapura, and had two sons. Both sons died without an issue and taking recourse to an ancient practice called Niyoga
where a chosen man can father sons with the widow of a person who dies issueless, she requests Vyasa to produce sons on be¬
half of her dead son Vichitravirya.
Vyasa fathers the princes Dhritarashtra and Pandu (by Ambika and Ambalika, the wives of the dead king Vichitravirya). Vyasa told
them that they should come alone near him. First did Ambika, but because of shyness and fear she closed her eyes. Vyasa told
Satyavati that her child would be blind. Later this child was named Dhritarashtra. Thus Satyavati sent Ambalika and warned her
that she should remain calm. But Ambalika’s face became pale because of fear. Vyasa told her that child would suffer from anae¬
mia, and he would not be fit enough to rule the kingdom. Later this child was known as Pandu. Then Vyasa told Satyavati to send
one of them again so that a healthy child can be born. This time Ambika and Ambalika sent a maid in the place of themselves.
The maid was quite calm and composed, and she got a healthy child later named as Vidura. While these are ‘legally’ not his sons,
another son Suka, born of his wife, sage Jabali’s daughter Pinjala (Vatika), is considered his true spiritual heir. He was thus the
grandfather of both the warring parties of the Mahabharata, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. He makes occasional appearances
in the story as a spiritual guide to the young princes.
In the first book of the Mahabharata, it is described that Vyasa asked Ganesha to aid him in writing the text, however Ganesha im¬
posed a condition that he would do so only if Vyasa narrated the story without pause. To which Vyasa then made a counter-condi¬
tion that Ganesha must understand the verse before he transcribed it. This is supposed to explain the complicated Sanskrit used
in some sections of the Mahabharata, recited by Vyasa when he wanted a break.
Thus Lord VedVyas had narrated the whole Mahabharta & All Upanishads and 18 Puranas, Lord Ganesha Wrote Vyasa is sup¬
posed to have meditated and authored the epic by the foothills of the river Beas (Vipasa) in the Punjab region.
Reference to writing
Within the Mahabharata, there is a tradition in which Vyasa wishes to write down or inscribe his work:
The Grandsire Brahma (creator of the universe) comes and tells Vyasa to get the help of Ganapati for his task. Ganapati writes
down the stanzas recited by Vyasa from memory and thus the Mahabharata is inscribed or written. Ganapati could not cope up
with Vyasa’s speed and he misses many words or even stanzas.
The latest portions of the Mahabharata are estimated to date from roughly the 4th century BC, the time of the introduction of writ¬
ing to India.
There is some evidence however that writing may have been known earlier based on archeological findings of styli in the Painted
Grey Ware culture, dated between 1100 BC and 700 BC and archeological evidence of the Brahmi script being used from at least
600 BC.
The difficulty faced by Ganapati (Ganesha) in writing down Mahabharata as described in the tradition, could be real, and was most
probably faced by those people who first attempted to write it down as some reciter recited it continuously. This is because, the
reciter will not be able to stop the recitation in between and resume it, as the lines are committed to his memory as a continuous
recording.
(The name Ganapati, was used in ancient days, to denote the head of a republic. In ancient India, there were kingdoms ruled by
kings or Rajas as well as republics ruled by elected heads or Ganapatis. Kambojas were a republic. To some extent Dwaraka had
republican style of rule. Ganapati who wrote down Mahabharata, probably was one of these republic chiefs, well educated in the
art of writing or inscription).
Puranas
General
Wikipedia
Vyasa is also credited with the writing of the eighteen major, if not all, Puranas.His son Shuka is the narrator of the major Purana
Bhagavat-Purana.
Vedas
General
Wikipedia
Hindus traditionally hold that Vyasa categorised the primordial single Veda into four. Hence he was called Veda Vyasa, or “Splitter
of the Vedas,” the splitting being a feat that allowed people to understand the divine knowledge of the Veda.
Yoga Bhashya
General
Wikipedia
This text is a commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Vyasa is credited with this work also, though this is impossible, if Vya-
sa’s immortality is not considered, as it is a later text.
Related words
Brahma-sutra
Mahabharata
Puranas
Veda
Vyavaharika
Variant spellings
vyavaharika
vyavaharika
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vyavaharika — ... the relative viewpoint; empirical
1. The standpoint of ignorance, according to Advaita Vedanta. At this level, the Absolute is with attributes (saguna), one individual
differs from another, and the entire pluralistic universe exists. (See pratibhasika and paramarthika.)
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
vyavaharika —
relating to common life or practice or action, practical, usual, current, actual, real (as opp. to ‘ideal’);
(in phil.) practical existence (opp. to paramarthika, ‘real’, and pratibhasika, ‘illusory’);
sociable, affable;
belonging to judicial procedure, judicial, legal;
a counsellor, minister, official;
N. of a Buddhist school;
business, commerce, trade
Descriptions
See: Paramarthika, vyavaharika, pratibhasika - three types of reality
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vyavaharika — from vi = “apart” + ava = “down” + hr = “to take”
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
Vyavaharika — fr. vyava-hara
Related words
Paramarthika
Pratibhasika
Sanskrit
Vyavaharika —
vyavaharika -
Vyavaharika satyam
Variant spellings
vyavaharika satyam
vyavaharika-satya
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Vyavaharika-satya — ... phenomenal (or relative) reality; the empirical world
Descriptions
See also:
Paramarthika, vyavaharika, pratibhasika - three types of reality
Related words
Paramarthika satyam
Pratibhasika satyam
Sanskrit
Vyavaharika-satya —
vyavaharika-satya -
X,xz
Yajna
Variant spellings
yajna
yajna
yagya
yadna
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Yajna — ... sacrifice; sacrificial ceremony.
1. Every twice-bom Hindu is enjoined to perform regularly the five great sacrifices (panca-maha-yajha). Deva-yajna is deity wor¬
ship; Brahma-yajna is worship of Brahma, a sacrifice to the sages by studying, teaching, or meditating on the Vedas; Pitr-yajna is
ancestor worship; Bhuta-yajna refers to gratification of living beings— viz., animals and birds; and Nara-yajna consists in welcom¬
ing the guests and honoring them.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
yajna -
worship , devotion , prayer, praise;
act of worship or devotion , offering , oblation , sacrifice (the former meanings prevailing in Veda , the latter in post-Vedic litera¬
ture);
a worshipper, sacrificer;
fire;
= Atman;
Sacrifice personified;
(with prajapatya) N. of the reputed author of RV;
N. of a form of Vishnu;
of Indra under Manu Svayambhuva
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Yajna is from the SANSKRIT root yaj, “to honor a god with oblations.” A yajna is a ritual involving oblations in the Vedic tradition. It
may be simply an offering of clarified butter into a fire, or it may involve 17 priests in an elaborate 12-day ritual including the build¬
ing of a large fire altar as in the AGNICHAYANA. The ritual of the yajna always includes a fire, Sanskrit MANTRAS, and some sort
of offering. In the larger public rituals a sacrifice of some animal or animals has been common. The word yajna is frequently trans¬
lated roughly as “sacrifice.”
Wikipedia
In Hinduism, Yagya is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain
certain wishes. An essential element is the sacrificial fire - the divine Agni - into which oblations are poured, as everything that is
offered into the fire is believed to reach the gods.
A Vedic (shrauta) yagya is typically performed by an adhvaryu priest, with a number of additional priests such as the hotar, udga-
tar playing a major role, next to their dozen helpers, by reciting or singing Vedic verses. Usually, there will be one or three fires
in the centre of the offering ground and items are offered into the fire. Among the items offered as oblations in the yagya include
large quantities of ghee, milk, grains, cakes, or soma. The duration of a yagya depends on the type; some can last a few minutes,
hours or days and some even last for years, with priests continuously offering to the gods accompanied with sacred verses. Some
yagyas are performed privately, others with a large number of people in attendance.
Post-Vedic yagyas, where milk products, fruits, flowers, cloth and money are offered, are called “yaga”, homa or havana.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
Brahmins and certain other castes receive a yagyopavita “sacred cord” at their upanayana rite of passage. The yagyopavita sym¬
bolizes the right of the individual to study the Vedas and to carry out yagyas or homas.
Temple worship is called agamic, while communication to divinity through Agni, is considered Vedic. Today’s temple rites are a
combination of both Vedic and Agamic rituals. The sacrificial division of Hindu scripture is the Karma-Kanda portion of the Vedas
which describe or discuss most sacrifices...
There are 400 yagyas described in the Vedas. Of these, 21 are theoretically compulsory for the Twice-Born (Dvijas: Brahmin, Ksa-
triya and Vaisya). They are also called nityakarmas. The rest of the yagyas are optional, which are performed kamyakarma (for
particular wishes and benefits). The Aupasana is not part of the above list, but is also compulsory .
Out of the 21 nityakarmas, only the Agnihotra and the Aupasana are to be performed twice daily, at dawn and dusk. The remain¬
ing ones have certain allotted frequencies over the course of the year. The more complicated the yagya, the less frequently it is
performed. The most complex ones need to be performed only once in a lifetime. The first seven yagyas are called pakayagyas
“cooked sacrifice”, the second seven haviryagyas “oblation, burnt offering”, and the third seven are called somayagyas “Soma sac¬
rifice”. yagyas such as Putrakameshti (for begetting sons), Ashvamedha (to rule), Rajasuya (royal consecration) etc. are among
the 400 which are not compulsory.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. The Word That is God
The word yajna, usually translated “sacrifice,” has more the idea of offering. Japa of Om is certainly the highest offering possible,
for it is God Who is being offered.
Five Sacrifices
General
Wikipedia
Hindu tradition has the Pancha Mahayagyas (“Five Great Yajnas”, Taittiriya Aranyaka 2.10). These sacrifices are to be performed
daily by all “householders” (married couples) daily to best of one’s ability:
Devayagya - worship of the gods (devas) through the twilight prayers (sandhya), aupasana, and agnihotra;
Pitryagya - offering libations to ancestors or pitrs;
Bhutayagya - offering food (“bali”) to animals;
Manushyayagya - charitable offerings of food to fellow humans;
Brahmayagya - recitation of a section of one’s Veda (“brahman”) in rotation.
See: Pancagnividya and yajna
Yajna and puja
General
Encyclopedia of religion
From ancient times, Hinduism has known two preeminent methods of approaching divinity in ritual: (1) the method of yajna, which
conveys offerings to a distant god by consigning them to an intermediary fire, and (2) the method of puja, which extends offerings
to a present divinity by placing them before, or applying them to, the god’s symbol or image. The yajna appears in the earlier re¬
cords; it was the principal ritual method of the ancient Aryan peoples whose priests produced the collection of texts known as the
Veda. The puja is first mentioned in texts supplementary to the Veda that are known as sutras (composed around 600-400 BCE).
It first became prominent in India as a result of the god-centered devotional movements that spread throughout India during the
early centuries of the common era. The method of puja now predominates in Hindu practice, although the yajna remains important
to priestly and domestic ritual.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
yajna — from the verb root yaj = “to sacrifice”.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
The word “sacrifice”, by forgetfulness of its original meaning, has assumed the sense of painful, almost compulsory, dutiful, renun¬
ciation of attachments, whatever they are. Originally and philologically it meant “holy-making”. Such is indeed the true intention of
a sacrifice. The Latin “Sacrum” included all things dedicated to the Light-Gods. A sacrifice was an offering symbolical of some as¬
pect of human nature. Consecratio was the rite of dedication with the laying of the obligation on the God concerned to protect and
watch over the person or object involved. The Hindu word for sacrifice is Yajna, or Yajanam, both words from the root Yaj, mean¬
ing primarily to offer and hence to shine, to worship, to combine, to dedicate. In Yajna this is combined with jna, the root of reali-
zation. In Hindu philosophy the word Yajna may also indicate the relation between God and his World. ... Life itself, in the highest
sense, is sacrifice. In the Gita (IV; 23) it is said that “When a man’s attachment is gone, when he is harmonized and his mind is
well-established in wisdom and he works for yajna (sacrifice) alone, his whole karma melts away.” The same Chapter of the Gita
enumerates a vast number of forms of sacrifice, referring to different temperaments according to the focus of consciousness on
one or other of the Planes.
Related words
Japa
Sanskrit
Yajna — n'FT
yajna - ^Tor
Yajur Veda
Title
Yajur Veda —
yajurveda -
Wikipedia: Yajurveda is a compound of yajus “sacrificial formula’, + veda”knowledge”.
Author(s)
See Veda: Author(s)
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
The Yajur Veda is the VEDA of the sacrificial formula, the YAJUS. The priest of the Yajur Veda, the ADHVARYU, is responsible
for the major sacrificial duties at the Vedic ritual, including pouring oblations and killing the sacrificial animals in the prescribed
way. The formulas from the Yajur Veda must be uttered in proper fashion at the proper times.
The Yajur Veda consists to a large extent of passages from the RIG VEDA rearranged for sacrificial purposes. The Yajur Veda
has two recensions: the White and the Black. The White Yajur Veda consists of hymns alone, numbering around 800. The Black
Yajur Veda includes the exact same hymns, but it intersperses the explanatory. BRAHMANA sections among the hymns. It is ap¬
parently this “muddied” or mixed aspect of the Veda that caused it to be named the Black Yajur Veda.
Wikipedia
The Yajurveda is the third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. By some, it is estimated to have been composed
between 1,400 and 1000 BCE, the Yajurveda ‘Samhita’, or ‘compilation’, contains the liturgy (mantras) needed to perform the sac¬
rifices of the religion of the Vedic period, and the added Brahmana and Shrautasutra add information on the interpretation and on
the details of their performance.
Narayana Guru tradition
Nitya. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Yajur Veda was split into Krsna Yajur Veda and Sukla Yajur Veda. Krsna Yajur Veda preceded Sukla Yajur Veda. There are thir¬
ty-two Upanisads associated with Krsna YajurVeda of which the main ones are Katha, Taittiriya and Svetasvatara. Of the nine¬
teen Upanisads connected with the 6ukla YajurVeda the most significant are: Isavasya and Brhadaraniyaka.
Relations of Vedas to their objects, four elements, etc.
Diagram: Summary of Vedic literature
Synopsis
General
Wikipedia
Legend
According to tradition, the vedic seer Yajnavalkya studied the Yajurveda collection under the tutelage of sage Vaishampayana ma¬
ternal uncle of Yajnavalkya. Yajnavalkya’s birth was with a purpose as purported by Gods. He was an Ekasandhigrahi, meaning
he learnt anything with just once teaching. The two came to have serious differences in interpretation. On one occasion, Vaisham¬
payana was so enraged that he demanded the return of all the knowledge he had imparted to Yajnavalkya. Yajnavalkya returned
in indignation or (literally vomited) all the knowledge he had learnt. The other disciples of Vaishampayana, eager to receive this
knowledge, assumed the form of tittiri birds and absorbed while being recited during the return (or ate the knowledge). Thus, that
knowledge came to be called the Taittiriya Samhita (a derivation of tittiri). After having regurgitated the knowledge acquired from
his teacher, Yajnavalkya worshipped Surya (the Sun God) and acquired new knowledge directly from Narayana who taught the
Shukla Yajurveda taking the shape of a stallion (vaji-rupa).
Publications
Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith, The Texts of the White Yajurveda. Translated with a Popular Commentary (1899).
Devi Chand, The Yajurveda. Sanskrit text with English translation. Third thoroughly revised and enlarged edition (1980).
The Sanhita of the Black Yajur Veda with the Commentary of Madhava ‘Acharya, Calcutta (Bibl. Indica, 10 volumes, 1854-1899)
Related words
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Isha Upanishad
Katha Upanishad
Mahavakya: Aham Brahma Asmi
Shvetashvatara Upanishad
Taittiriya Upanishad
Veda
Yati
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Yati — ... wandering ascetic.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
yati -
a ‘striver an ascetic, devotee, one who has restrained his passions and abandoned the world;
N. of a mythical race of ascetics (connected with the Bhrigus and said to have taken part in the creation of the world);
N. of a son of Brahma;
of a son of Nahusha;
N. of Siva
Descriptions
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Yati ... From the time of the Vedas, the earliest Hindu religious texts, the word yati has been one of the terms used to designate
an ascetic, as someone who had gained control over himself. At the time of the Vedas there seems to be some ambivalence for
the yatis, since the storm-god Indra is said to have fought with them, but in later times the word takes on an unequivocally positive
connotation.
Ramakrishna tradition
Nirmalananda. A Commentary on the Upanishads
yati ... means a wanderer. This is because in the ancient times in India the wandering ascetics who moved about teaching dharma
were given this title. They were not monks or sannyasis in the later sense. Obviously they were not married, as their mode of life
prevented that, and their life was dedicated to spiritual discipline and teaching. Nevertheless, they were not considered outside
society as the sadhu is today in India. They were simply those who sacrificed personal life to serve others. It was a noble way of
life, but not a separation. The original Christian ascetics were just the same. They wore ordinary clothes and were considered
Christian laity. The only distinctive thing about them was their way of life. The men usually lived on the edge of towns, usually as
hermits. The women lived together in houses within the town for mutual protection. In the eyes of everyone they were pious bach¬
elors and spinsters, not at all distinct from other Christians in an official sense.
Etymology
General
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Yati from Sanskrit yam, “to restrain”.
Sanskrit
Yati — irfcT
yati - Tif
Yoga
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Yoga — ... “union”; yoke; a process or path or discipline leading to oneness with the Divine or with one’s Self...; the state of one¬
ness with the Self, God; the practices leading to that state
1. The chief systems of yoga are hatha-yoga (the yoga of the body and life breath), karma- yoga (the path of action), bhakti-yoga
(the path of devotion), raja-yoga (the kingly yoga), japa-yoga or mantrayoga (the yoga of repeating God’s names or of repeating
holy words), kundalirii-yoga (the serpent power yoga), jnana-yoga (path of knowledge).
2. It is also the name for the school of philosophy founded by Patanjali. Its object is the union of individual soul with the divine Self
within. It is one of the six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy.
3. According to Saiva Siddhanta, it is a path to liberation characterized by contemplation and internal worship. It is called the path
of friendship to God (sakha- marga). Its goal is gaining the form of God (sarupya).
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
yoga -
the act of yoking, joining, attaching, harnessing, putting to (of horses)
a yoke, team, vehicle, conveyance;
employment, use, application, performance;
equipping or arraying (of an army);
fixing (of an arrow on the bow-string);
putting on (of armour);
a remedy, cure;
a means, expedient, device, way, manner, method;
a supernatural means, charm, incantation, magical art;
a trick, stratagem, fraud, deceit;
undertaking, business, work;
acquisition, gain, profit, wealth, property;
occasion, opportunity;
any junction, union, combination, contact with;
mixing of various materials, mixture;
partaking of, possessing;
connection, relation;
putting together, arrangement, disposition, regular succession;
fitting together, fitness, propriety, suitability;
exertion, endeavour, zeal, diligence, industry, care, attention;
application or concentration of the thoughts, abstract contemplation, meditation, (esp.) self-concentration, abstract meditation
and mental abstraction practised as a system (as taught by Patanjali and called the Yoga philosophy; it is the second of the two
Sarhkhya systems, its chief aim being to teach the means by which the human spirit may attain complete union with Izvara or the
Supreme Spirit; in the practice of self-concentration it is closely connected with Buddhism);
any simple act or rite conducive to Yoga or abstract meditation;
Yoga personified (as the son of Dharma and Kriya);
a follower of the Yoga system;
(in Sarhkhya) the union of soul with matter (one of the 10 mGlikarthas or radical facts);
(with Pasupatas) the union of the individual soul with the universal soul;
(with Pancaratras) devotion, pious seeking after God;
(with Jainas) contact or mixing with the outer world;
(in astron.) conjunction, lucky conjuncture;
a constellation, asterism;
the leading or principal star of a lunar asterism;
N. of a variable division of time (during which the joint motion in longitude of the sun and moon amounts to 13 degrees 20 minutes;
there are 27 such Yogas beginning with Vishkambha and ending with Vaidhriti);
(in arithm.) addition, sum, total;
(in gram.) the connection of words together, syntactical dependence of a word, construction;
a combined or concentrated grammatical rule or aphorism;
the connection of a word with its root, original or etymological meaning;
a violator of confidence, spy
Wikipedia
Yoga refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The word is associated with meditative practices in
Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, it also refers to one of the six orthodox (astika) schools of Hindu philosophy, and
to the goal toward which that school directs its practices. In Jainism it refers to the sum total of all activities—mental, verbal and
physical.
Major branches of yoga in Hindu philosophy include Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga. Raja
Yoga, compiled in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and known simply as yoga in the context of Hindu philosophy, is part of the Sam-
khya tradition. Many other Hindu texts discuss aspects of yoga, including Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Hatha Yoga Pradip-
ika, the Shiva Samhita and various Tantras.
Narayana Guru tradition
Narayana. One hundred verses of Self-instruction
Commentary by Nataraja:
Yoga: (from root yuj, to join) Psychic union of the self with the Self. In the history of Indian spirituality yoga has often been asso¬
ciated with psycho-physical self-discipline, and has many branches such as Hatha-yoga where the physical postures gain prima¬
cy, and Raja-yoga (meaning royal, public or rational yoga) which is very little if at all distinguishable from philosophical or global
attitudes, or contemplative stages of the personality in a philosophic context. Thus there is Jnana (wisdom) yoga, Karma (action)
yoga, and Bhakti (devotion) yoga, besides Raja-yoga. The last is associated with the system of Patanjali, while the Narada Sutras
may be said to be the basis of Bhaktiyoga. Jnana and Karma are the two broad divisions of yoga. The former is philosophical
while the latter is connected with activity and discipline, religious or psycho- physical. In its broadest connotation yoga can only
mean contemplative vision, as we find the word employed, for instance, at the end of each of the eighteen chapters of the Bhaga¬
vad Gita, where even the distress of Arjuna is called Arjuna-vishada-yoga. Yoga thus means just a unitive contemplative way.
Nitya. Meditations on the self
Yoga - A discipline to achieve union with God or the universal Self.
Ramakrishna tradition
Vivekananda. Raja Yoga
Yoga - Joining; union of the lower self with the higher self, by means of mental control. Any sort of culture that leads us to God.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Yoga is an ancient Hindu practice and belief system that aims at releasing the adept from the bonds of the endless cycle of birth
and rebirth. The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, “to yoke,” probably because the early practice concentrated on restraining
or “yoking in” the senses. Later the name was also seen as a metaphor for “linking” or “yoking to” God or the divine.
The earliest form of yoga may have been the Jain yoga (c. 900 B.C.E.), which involved severe sensual denial and restraint. To
free the soul from birth and rebirth Jains felt it was necessary to restrain the senses completely so as to be beyond both “love” and
“hate,” or more accurately, beyond any positive or negative emotion...
An element of worldly denial has always been part of all yoga, and even today yogis can be found who perform extreme feats of
restraint. Yoga of this sort is ultimately about controlling all bodily functions, so that even the autonomic nervous system can be
under the adept’s control...
The BUDDHA’s yoga (c. 600 B.C.E.) was created specifically to counter the earlier push toward complete bodily denial. He de¬
clared that mental control was the final object of yoga and did not need to be accomplished by hurting the body. Central to his
yoga were watching of the breath and observing of the sensations of the body.
The UPANISHADS (c. 900-300 B.C.E.) do not discuss yoga per se, but they point toward a mental practice that aims to realize
the unity of one’s own self with the ultimate Self. This yoga is known as JNANA YOGA, sometimes called “the Yoga of Knowl¬
edge.” Nothing is said about postures and only one Upanishad speaks of sitting in a quiet place to meditate. A form of MEDI¬
TATION, however, seems to have been central to this type of yoga. A number of passages in the Upanishads imply both bodily
denial and attention to the breath...
HATHA YOGA is an amalgam of practices that may have emerged separately and were later combined. It includes the basic prac¬
tices that can be found in Patanjali as well as postures. The term hatha originally meant “violent,” and it is possible that this style of
yoga originated in certain types of severe yoga that were softened for protection of the body...
Tantra is the most esoteric of all of the yogas. All yogas, and in fact all paths toward spiritual advance in the Indian tradition, de¬
pend upon the guidance of a GURU. However, the tantra yoga practices are so complicated and often dangerous that a guru is of
the utmost importance. The basic realization of tantra yoga is that the phenomenal world is nothing but the divine truth—the tran¬
scendent and the earthly divinity are one and the same. Whereas other yogas look toward a retreat from the sensual, tantra plung¬
es into the dangers of the senses in order to reach the highest realization...
Apart from these general categories of yoga, many specialized disciplines have emerged, including KRIYA YOGA and Integral
Yoga.
Encyclopedia of religion
In Indian religion the term yoga serves, in general, to designate any ascetic technique and any method of meditation. The “clas¬
sical” form of yoga is a darsana (“view, doctrine”; usually, although improperly, translated as “system of philosophy”) expounded
by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutra, and it is from this “system” that this article must set out if the reader is to understand the position of
yoga in the history of Indian thought. But side by side with classical Yoga there are countless forms of sectarian, popular (magi¬
cal), and non-Brahmanic yogas such as Buddhist and Jain forms.
Patanjali is not the creator of the Yoga darsana. As he himself admits, he has merely edited and integrated the doctrinal and tech¬
nical traditions of yoga (Yoga Sutra 1.1). Indeed, yogic practices were known in the esoteric circles of Indian ascetics and mystics
long before Patanjali. Among these practices Patanjali retained those that the experiences of centuries had sufficiently tested.
... Thanks to Patanjali, Yoga, which had been an archaic ascetic and mystical tradition, became an organized “system of philoso¬
phy.” Nothing is known of the author of the Yoga Sutra, not even whether he lived in the second or third century BCE or in the fifth
century CE, although claims to both datings have been vigorously defended. The earliest commentary known is the Yogabhasya
of Vyasa (seventh to eighth century CE), annotated by Vacaspatimisra (ninth century) in his Tattvavaisaradi. These two works,
indispensable for understanding the Yoga Sutra, are complemented by two works of later centuries. At the beginning of the elev¬
enth century King Bhoja wrote the commentary Rajamartanda, which is very useful for its insights into certain yogic practices, and
in the sixteenth century Vijnanabhiksu annotated Vyasa’s text in his remarkable treatise the Yogavarttika.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
To regain that lost state, that Golden Age, man’s birth-right, various Hindu traditions teach about the Four Yogas, or Ways of
Union; the Four Margas or Ways; and the Four Padas or Paths. These words have a meaning much wider and deeper than the
English terms given. Each of these Four Paths is suited to the temperament of people in accordance with the focus of conscious¬
ness and activity on any of the Four Planes...
Yoga is fourfold, in accordance with the four temperaments. It is impossible to make a clear-cut division between the four Yogas,
because every one of them is found in the other three forms. Even if one of the Elements predominates in a person’s life, he has
also to deal with the other three. The four Yogas, from the point of view of the path of pilgrimage, as represented in “one lifetime”
as well as in the greater life through the cycles, succeed one another in stages.
The Yoga for the physical plane, consisting of postures and exercises for the body and its members and organs, is called Hatha
Yoga. The Yoga for the emotional plane is Bhakti Yoga. It comprises purification of the emotional life and love urge, leading to
devotion and love of God, and communion with the God of Love. The Yoga for the mental plane, the Element Fire, is Raja Yoga
or “the Kingly Yoga”, comprising the purification of the mind and the development and training of its powers in coordination with
the other functions. The Yoga for the plane of Buddhi, the Element Air, is Jnana Yoga, the Way of Union based on Realization, the
Science, Gnosis.
Very often Karma Yoga is given as the first of the Four Yogas. In that case it applies to actions in the physical world. Karma or
action is not really a separate Yoga, for action has to take place on all the planes of existence. It is unavoidable. ... Karma Yoga
has yet another meaning: Karma is also ritual, as a means of communion with the divine. As such again all the planes, including
the physical, are involved.
Wikipedia
In Indian philosophy, Yoga is the name of one of the six orthodox philosophical schools.
History of yoga
The Vedic Samhitas contain references to ascetics, while ascetic practices (tapas) are referenced in the Brahmanas (900 to 500
BCE), early commentaries on the Vedas. Several seals discovered at Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300-1700 B.C.E.) sites in
Pakistan depict figures in positions resembling a common yoga or meditation pose, showing “a form of ritual discipline, suggesting
a precursor of yoga”, according to archaeologist Gregory Possehl. Some type of connection between the Indus Valley seals and
later yoga and meditation practices is speculated upon by many scholars, though there is no conclusive evidence.
Techniques for experiencing higher states of consciousness in meditation were developed by the shramanic traditions and in the
Upanishadic tradition.
While there is no clear evidence for meditation in pre- Buddhist early Brahminic texts, Wynne argues that formless meditation
originated in the Brahminic tradition, based on strong parallels between Upanishadic cosmological statements and the meditative
goals of the two teachers of the Buddha as recorded in the early Buddhist texts. He mentions less likely possibilities as well. Hav¬
ing argued that the cosmological statements in the Upanishads also reflect a contemplative tradition, he argues that the Nasadiya
Sukta contains evidence for a contemplative tradition, even as early as the late Rg Vedic period.
The Buddhist texts are probably the earliest texts describing meditation techniques. They describe meditative practices and states
which had existed before the Buddha as well as those which were first developed within Buddhism. In Hindu literature, the term
“yoga” first occurs in the Katha Upanishad, where it refers to control of the senses and the cessation of mental activity leading to
a supreme state. Important textual sources for the evolving concept of Yoga are the middle Upanishads, (ca. 400 BCE), the Ma-
habharata including the Bhagavad Gita (ca. 200 BCE), and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (150 BCE).
Upanishadic
While the most ancient mystic practices are vaguely hinted at in the Vedas, the ascetic practices (tapas) are referenced in the
Brahmanas (900 BCE and 500 BCE), early commentaries on the Vedas.
In the Upanishads, an early reference to meditation is made in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, one of the earliest Upanishads (ap¬
prox. 900 BCE). The main textual sources for the evolving concept of Yoga are the middle Upanishads, (ca. 400 BCE), the Ma-
habharata (5th c. BCE) including the Bhagavad Gita (ca. 200 BCE), and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (200 BCE- 300 CE).
In the Maitrayaniya Upanishad (ca. 200-300 BCE) yoga surfaces as:
Shadanga-Yoga - The uniting discipline of the six limbs (shad-anga), as expounded in the Maitrayaniya-Upanishad: (1) breath
control (pranayama), (2) sensory inhibition (pratyahara), (3) meditation (dhyana), (4) concentration (dharana), (5) examination
(tarka), and (6) ecstasy (samadhi).
An early reference to meditation is made in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the earliest Upanishad (approx. 900 BCE). Yoga is dis¬
cussed quite frequently in the Upanishads, many of which predate Patanjali’s Sutras. The actual term “yoga” first occurs in the
Katha Upanishad. A Rig Vedic cosmogonic myth declares an ascetic with “folded legs, soles turned upwards” as per his name.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a foundational text of Yoga. It forms part of the corpus of Sutra literature dating to India’s Mauryan
period.
In Indian philosophy, Yoga (also Raja Yoga to distinguish it from later schools) is the name of one of the six orthodox philosophical
schools. Though brief, the Yoga Sutras are an enormously influential work on yoga philosophy and practice.
Compilation and dating
Radhakrishnan and Moore attribute the text to Patanjali, dating it as 2nd century BCE. Scholars such as S.N. Dasgupta, claim this
is the same Patanjali who authored the Mahabhasya, a treatise on Sanskrit grammar.
Indologist Axel Michaels disagrees that the work was written by Patanjali, characterizing it instead as a collection of fragments and
traditions of texts stemming from the second or third century. Gavin Flood cites a wider period of uncertainty for the composition,
between 100 BCE and 500 CE.
Philosophical roots and influences
The Sutras are built on a foundation of Samkhya philosophy and also exhibit the influence of Upanishadic, Buddhist and Jain
thought. Karel Werner writes that “Patanjali’s system is unthinkable without Buddhism. As far as its terminology goes there is
much in the Yoga Sutras that reminds us of Buddhist formulations from the Pali Canon and even more so from the Sarvastivada
Abhidharma and from Sautrantika.” Robert Thurman writes that Patanjali was influenced by the success of the Buddhist monas¬
tic system to formulate his own matrix for the version of thought he considered orthodox. The five yamas or the constraints of the
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali bear an uncanny resemblance to the five major vows of Jainism, indicating influence of Jainism. This
mutual influence between the Yoga philosophy and Jainism is admitted by the author Vivian Worthington who writes: “Yoga fully
acknowledges its debt to Jainism, and Jainism reciprocates by making the practice of yoga part and parcel of life.” Christopher
Chappel also notes that three teachings closely associated with Jainism appear in Yoga: the doctrine of karma described as co¬
lourful in both traditions; the telos of isolation (kevala in Jainism and Kaivalyam in Yoga); and the practice of non- violence (ahim-
sa). He also notes that the entire list of five yamas (11:30) is identical with the ethical precepts (Mahavratas) taught by Mahavira.
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali prescribes adherence to eight “limbs” or steps (the sum of which constitute “Ashtanga Yoga”, the title
of the second chapter) to quiet one’s mind and achieve kaivalya. The Yoga Sutras form the theoretical and philosophical basis
of Raja Yoga, and are considered to be the most organized and complete definition of that discipline. The division into the Eight
Limbs (Sanskrit Ashtanga) of Yoga is reminiscent of Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path; inclusion of Brahmaviharas (Yoga Sutra 1:33)
also shows Buddhism’s influence on parts of the Sutras.
The Sutras not only provide yoga with a thorough and consistent philosophical basis, they also clarify many important esoteric
concepts which are common to all traditions of Indian thought, such as karma.
Text
Patanjali divided his Yoga Sutras into 4 chapters or books (Sanskrit pada), containing in all 196 aphorisms, divided as follows:
Samadhi Pada (51 sutras)
Samadhi refers to a blissful state where the yogi is absorbed into the One. The author describes yoga and then the nature and the
means to attaining samadhi. This chapter contains the famous definitional verse: “Yogas citta- vritti-nirodhah” (“Yoga is the re¬
straint of mental modifications”).
Sadhana Pada (55 sutras)
Sadhana is the Sanskrit word for “practice” or “discipline”. Here the author outlines two forms of Yoga: Kriya Yoga (Action Yoga)
and Ashtanga Yoga (Eightfold or Eightlimbed Yoga).
Kriya yoga, sometimes called Karma Yoga, is also expounded in Chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita, where Arjuna is encouraged by
Krishna to act without attachment to the results or fruit of action and activity. It is the yoga of selfless action and service.
Ashtanga Yoga describes the eight limbs that together constitute Raja Yoga.
Vibhuti Pada (56 sutras)
Vibhuti is the Sanskrit word for “power” or “manifestation”. ‘Supra- normal powers’ (Sanskrit: siddhi) are acquired by the practice of
yoga. The temptation of these powers should be avoided and the attention should be fixed only on liberation.
Kaivalya Pada (34 sutras)
Kaivalya literally means “isolation”, but as used in the Sutras stands for emancipation, liberation and used interchangeably with
moksha (liberation), which is the goal of Yoga. The Kaivalya Pada describes the nature of liberation and the reality of the tran¬
scendental self.
The eight limbs (ashtcmga) of Raja Yoga
The eight “limbs” or steps prescribed in the second pada of the Yoga Sutras are: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara,
Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.
Ashtanga yoga consists of the following steps: The first five are called external aids to Yoga (bahiranga sadhana)
Yama refers to the five abstentions. These are the same as the five vows of Jainism.
Ahimsa: non-violence, inflicting no injury or harm to others or even to one’s ownself, it goes as far as nonviolence in thought, word
and deed.
Satya: truth in word & thought.
Asteya: non-covetousness, to the extent that one should not even desire something that is not his own.
Brahmacharya: abstain from sexual intercourse; celibacy in case of unmarried people and monogamy in case of married peo¬
ple. Even this to the extent that one should not possess any sexual thoughts towards any other man or woman except one’s own
spouse. It’s common to associate Brahmacharya with celibacy.
Aparigraha: non-possessiveness
Niyama refers to the five observances
Shaucha: cleanliness of body & mind.
Santosha: satisfaction; satisfied with what one has.
Tapas: austerity and associated observances for body discipline & thereby mental control.
Svadhyaya: study of the Vedic scriptures to know about God and the soul, which leads to introspection on a greater awakening to
the soul and God within,
Ishvarapranidhana: surrender to (or worship of) God.
Asana: Discipline of the body: rules and postures to keep it disease-free and for preserving vital energy. Correct postures are a
physical aid to meditation, for they control the limbs and nervous system and prevent them from producing disturbances.
Pranayama: control of breath. Beneficial to health, steadies the body and is highly conducive to the concentration of the mind.
Pratyahara: withdrawal of senses from their external objects.
The last three levels are called internal aids to Yoga (antaranga sadhana)
Dharana: concentration of the citta upon a physical object, such as a flame of a lamp, the mid point of the eyebrows, or the image
of a deity.
Dhyana: steadfast meditation. Undisturbed flow of thought around the object of meditation (pratyayaikatanata). The act of medita¬
tion and the object of meditation remain distinct and separate.
Samadhi: oneness with the object of meditation. There is no distinction between act of meditation and the object of meditation.
Samadhi is of two kinds:
Samprajnata Samadhi conscious samadhi. The mind remains concentrated (ekagra) on the object of meditation, therefore the
consciousness of the object of meditation persists. Mental modifications arise only in respect of this object of meditation.
This state is of four kinds:
Savitarka: the Citta is concentrated upon a gross object of meditation such as a flame of a lamp, the tip of the nose, or the image
of a deity.
Savichara: the Citta is concentrated upon a subtle object of meditation , such as the tanmatras
Sananda: the Citta is concentrated upon a still subtler object of meditation, like the senses.
Sasmita: the Citta is concentrated upon the ego- substance with which the self is generally identified.
Asamprajnata Samadhi supraconscious. The citta and the object of meditation are fused together. The consciousness of the ob¬
ject of meditation is transcended. All mental modifications are checked (niruddha), although latent impressions may continue.
Combined simultaneous practice of Dharana, Dhyana & Samadhi is referred to as Samyama and is considered a tool of achieving
various perfections, or Siddhis.
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (‘Song of the Lord’), uses the term yoga extensively in a variety of ways. In addition to an entire chapter (ch. 6)
dedicated to traditional yoga practice, including meditation, it introduces three prominent types of yoga:
Karma yoga: The yoga of action,
Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion,
Jnana yoga: The yoga of knowledge.
Madhusudana Sarasvati (b. circa 1490) divided the Gita into three sections, with the first six chapters dealing with Karma yoga,
the middle six with Bhakti yoga, and the last six with Jnana (knowledge). Other commentators ascribe a different ‘y°9 a ’ to each
chapter, delineating eighteen different yogas.
Hatha Yoga
Hatha Yoga is a particular system of Yoga described by Yogi Swatmarama, compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika in 15th century
India. Hatha Yoga differs substantially from the Raja Yoga of Patanjali in that it focuses on shatkarma, the purification of the phys¬
ical body as leading to the purification of the mind (ha), and prana, or vital energy (tha). Compared to the seated asana, or sitting
meditation posture, of Patanjali’s Raja yoga, it marks the development of asanas (plural) into the full body ‘postures’ now in popu¬
lar usage. Hatha Yoga in its many modern variations is the style that many people associate with the word “Yoga” today.
Yoga practices in other traditions
Buddhism
Early Buddhism incorporated meditative absorption states. The most ancient sustained expression of yogic ideas is found in the
early sermons of the Buddha. One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative absorption should be combined
with the practice of mindfulness. The difference between the Buddha’s teaching and the yoga presented in early Brahminic texts
is striking. Meditative states alone are not an end, for according to the Buddha, even the highest meditative state is not liberating.
Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place: a liberating cognition, based on
the practice of mindful awareness. The Buddha also departed from earlier yogic thought in discarding the early Brahminic notion of
liberation at death. Liberation for the Brahminic yogin was thought to be the realization at death of a nondual meditative state an¬
ticipated in life. In fact, old Brahminic metaphors for the liberation at death of the yogic adept (“becoming cool”, “going out”) were
given a new meaning by the Buddha; their point of reference became the sage who is liberated in life.
Jainism
According to Tattvarthasutra, 2nd Century CE Jain text, Yoga, is the sum total of all the activities of mind, speech and body. Uma-
svati calls yoga as the cause of asrava or karmic influx as well as one of the essentials—samyak caritra—in the path to liberation.
In his Niyamasara, Acarya Kundakunda, describes yoga bhakti—devotion to the path to liberation—as the highest form of devo¬
tion. Acarya Haribhadra and Acarya Hemacandra mention the five major vows of ascetics and 12 minor vows of laity under yoga.
This has led certain Indologists like Prof. Robert J. Zydenbos to call Jainism as essentially a system of yogic thinking that grew
into a full- fledged religion. Dr. Heinrich Zimmer contended that the yoga system had pre- Aryan origins which did not accept the
authority of the Vedas and hence was reckoned as one of the heterodox doctrines similar to Jainism. Jain iconography depicts
Jain Tirthankaras meditation in Padmasana or Kayotsarga yogic poses. Mahavira was said to have achieved Kevala Jnana “en¬
lightenment” siting in mulabandhasana position which has the first literary mention in the Acaranga Sutra and later in Kalpasutra.
The five yamas or the constraints of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali bear an uncanny resemblance to the five major vows of Jainism,
indicating a strong influence of Jainism. This mutual influence between the Yoga philosophy and Jainism is admitted by the author
Vivian Worthington who writes: “Yoga fully acknowledges its debt to Jainsim, and Jainism reciprocates by making the practice
of yoga part and parcel of life.” The Indus valley seals and iconography also provide a reasonable evidence of the existence of
a proto- yogic tradition akin to Jainism. More specifically, scholars and archaeologists have remarked on close similarities in the
yogic and meditative postures depicted in the seals with those of various Tirthankaras: the “kayotsarga” posture of Rsabha and
the mulabandhasana of Mahavira along with seals depicting meditative figure flaked by upright serpents bearing similarities to
iconography of Parsva. All these are indicative of not only links between Indus Valley Civilisation and Jainism, but also show the
contribution of Jainism to various yogic practices.
Islam
The development of Sufism was considerably influenced by Indian yogic practises, where they adapted both physical postures
(asanas) and breath control (pranayama). The ancient Indian yogic text, Amritakunda, (“Pool of Nectar)” was translated into Arabic
and Persian as early as the 11th century.
Malaysia’s top Islamic body in 2008 passed a fatwa, which is legally non- binding, against Muslims practicing yoga, saying it had
elements of “Hindu spiritual teachings” and could lead to blasphemy and is therefore haraam. Muslim yoga teachers in Malaysia
criticized the decision as “insulting”. Sisters in Islam, a women’s rights group in Malaysia, also expressed disappointment and said
they would continue with their yoga classes. The fatwa states that yoga practiced only as physical exercise is permissible, but
prohibits the chanting of religious mantras, and states that teachings such as uniting of a human with God is not consistent with
Islamic philosophy. In a similar vein, the Council of Ulemas, an Islamic body in Indonesia, passed a fatwa banning yoga on the
grounds that it contains “Hindu elements” These fatwas have, in turn, been criticized by Darul Uloom Deoband, a Deobandi Islam¬
ic seminary in India.
In May of 2009, Turkey’s head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, AN Bardakoglu, discounted Yoga as a commercial venture
promoting extremism- comments made in the context of Yoga practice possibly competing with and eroding participation in Islam.
Christianity
In 1989, the Vatican declared that Eastern meditation practices such as Zen and yoga can “degenerate into a cult of the body”. In
spite of the Vatican statement, many Roman Catholics bring elements of Yoga, Buddhism, and Hinduism into their spiritual prac¬
tices.
Some fundamentalist Christian organizations consider yoga practice to be coherent to its religious background and therefore a
non- Christian religious practice. It is also considered a part of the New Age movement and therefore inconsistent to Christianity.
Tantra
Tantrism is a practice that is supposed to alter the relation of its practitioners to the ordinary social, religious, and logical reality
in which they live. Through Tantric practice an individual perceives reality as maya, illusion, and the individual achieves libera¬
tion from it. This particular path to salvation among the several offered by Hinduism, links Tantrism to those practices of Indian
religions, such as yoga, meditation, and social renunciation, which are based on temporary or permanent withdrawal from social
relationships and modes.
During tantric practices and studies, the student is instructed further in meditation technique, particularly chakra meditation. This
is often in a limited form in comparison with the way this kind of meditation is known and used by Tantric practitioners and yogis
elsewhere, but is more elaborate than the initiate’s previous meditation. It is considered to be a kind of Kundalini Yoga for the pur¬
pose of moving the Goddess into the chakra located in the “heart,” for meditation and worship.
Ramana Maharshi tradition
Ramana. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
M: ... What is yoga? Yoga means ‘union’. Yoga is possible only when there is ‘viyoga’ (separation). The person is now under the
delusion of viyoga. This delusion must be removed. The method of removing it is called yoga.
D.: Is yoga necessary?
M.: It is a sadhana. It will not be necessary after jnana is attained. All the sadhanas are called yogas, e.g., Karma yoga; Bhakti
yoga; Jnana yoga; Ashtanga yoga.
See: Jnana and yoga
Yoga and dialectics
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
Commentary by Scott Teitsworth:
First and foremost, Nataraja Guru thought dialectically. While dialectics has many definitions, the kind he employed is similar to a
type that occurs in the West from Plato to Hegel, where polar opposites — a thesis and antithesis — are combined to effect a syn¬
thesis. The actual source for the Guru was the yoga of the Upanisads and the Bhagavadgita, but he found it explicitly or implicitly
present in Western philosophy also. Yoga is another name for the process by which opposite poles are viewed synthetically, to be
united in a common scheme of understanding.
To Nataraja Guru, dialectics springs out of the notions of complementarity, reciprocity, compensation and cancellation. In logical
terms, a immediately implies not a. When they are taken together, there is a balance, which in a sense produces a virtual zero that
embraces the entire picture. The formula is simply: a + (-a) = 0. This zero factor is another name for the Absolute. By the use of
dialectics to balance life elements, the Absolute is brought in as a unifying factor in each and every situation. Therefore, the task of
the yogi is to constantly seek out the element not a or not this to add to whatever situation presents itself, and in so doing restore a
state of harmonious balance. The verity that is thus neutral and central between two terms of reciprocal propositions may be said
to represent the Absolute norm of that context. . . ‘ is how the Guru puts it in Dialectical Methodology...
Whatever the type of Yoga one might be interested in, there is always a subtle cancellation of counterparts implied, when Yoga is
treated as a discipline in the most general terms.
See also:
Buddhi-yoga
Yoga and Sankhya
General
Encyclopedia of religion
As to the theoretical framework and the metaphysical foundation that Patanjali provides for such techniques, his personal contribu¬
tion is of the smallest. He merely rehandles the Samkhya philosophy in its broad outlines, adapting it to a rather superficial theism
and exalting the practical value of meditation. The Yoga and Samkhya darsanas are so much alike that most of the assertions
made by the one are valid for the other. The essential differences between them are two: (1) Whereas Samkhya is atheistic, Yoga
is theistic, since it postulates the existence of a “Lord” (.Isvara); (2) Whereas according to Samkhya the only path to final deliver¬
ance is that of metaphysical knowledge, Yoga accords marked importance to techniques of purification and meditation.
Wikipedia
The Yoga philosophical system is closely allied with the Samkhya school. The Yoga school as expounded by the sage Patanja-
li accepts the Samkhya psychology and metaphysics, but is more theistic than the Samkhya, as evidenced by the addition of a
divine entity to the Samkhya’s twenty-five elements of reality. The parallels between Yoga and Samkhya were so close that Max
Muller says that “the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya
without a Lord...”
Narayana Guru tradition
Nataraja. Saundarya lahari
The fourth and fifth chapters of the Bhagavadgita are specifically directed to the purpose of cancelling the duality between Sam¬
khya and Yoga, and verse 4 of Chapter V goes to the extent of saying that only children think they are distinct disciplines.
See: Yoga of Patanjali and Advaita Vedanta
Etymology
General
Wikipedia
The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings, and is derived from the Sanskrit root “yuj”, meaning “to control,” “to yoke” or “to
unite.” Translations include “joining,” “uniting,” “union,” “conjunction,” and “means.”
Related words
Bhagavad Gita
Bhakti Yoga
Hatha Yoga
Jnana Yoga
Karma Yoga
Patanjali
Raja Yoga
Sadhana
Sankhya
Siddhi
Tapas
Sanskrit ^
Yoga — sftn -
yoga - 4^4
Yogi
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
yogi-
= yogin (only in gen. pi. yoglnam);
being in conjunction with
yogin -
joined or connected with, relating to, accompanied by, possessed of;
being in conjunction with;
possessed of superhuman powers;
a follower of the Yoga system, a Yogin (usually called Yogi) or contemplative saint, devotee, ascetic;
a magician, conjurer;
a partic. mixed caste;
an orange tree;
natron, alkali;
N. of Yajnavalkya;
of Arjuna;
of Vishnu;
of Siva;
of a Buddha
Illustrated-Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Yogi. Literally meaning “one possessing yoga,” in practice the word refers only to a yogic adept—someone who “possesses” yoga
in the sense of having mastered it—rather than to anyone simply practicing yoga. True yogis are widely believed to have super¬
human powers (siddhi) as a by-product of their long spiritual development, which they can and will exercise for the benefit of their
disciples—for physical healing of diseases, for psychological help, or for giving guidance on both spiritual and mundane matters.
The yogi is seen as a spiritually realized person, and their authority stems completely from this attribution, which paradoxically
is not subject to any sort of external verification. Consequently, there are significant differences of opinion on whether or not any
particular person is a yogi.
Descriptions
General
Wikipedia
A yogi or yogin (Sanskrit: yogin-, nominative yogi (Devanagari ^pff; feminine yogin!) is a term for a male practitioner of various
forms of spiritual practice. The Sanskrit term is an -in adjective of the root yuj “to connect”, with a general meaning “joined with,
relating to” in Epic Sanskrit, but in the Classical Sanskrit of the Puranas taking the specific meaning of “a practitioner of Yoga”.
The feminine yoginT in Classical Sanskrit literature is the name of a class of female demons, witches or sorceresses, created by or
attending to Durga.
In Hinduism the term refers to an adherent of Yoga. As an Urdu term, yogi (Nastaliq ^Xs) is mostly used to refer to wandering
Sufi saints and ascetics. The word is also often used in the Buddhist context to describe Buddhist monks or a householder devot¬
ed to meditation.
Related words
Yoga
Sanskrit
Yogin — Xlfti-}
yogi -
Yuga
Definitions
General
Dictionary - Grimes
Yuga — ... age or cycle; aeon; world era.
1. Four ages are said to exist: the Golden Age (satya or krta), the Silver Age (treta), the Bronze Age (dvapara), and the Iron Age
(kali).
2. In a day of Brahma (see kalpa) there are four yugas, each preceded by a period called its sandhya (evening twilight). Four yu-
gas make a half kalpa (4,320,000,000 years), which is the duration of one day or one night of Brahma.
Dictionary - Monier-Williams
yuga -
a yoke, team (exceptionally masculine);
a pair, couple, brace;
(also with manusa or manusya) a race of men, generation (exceptionally masculine);
a period or astronomical cycle of 5 (rarely 6) years, a lustrum (esp. in the cycle of Jupiter);
an age of the world, long mundane period of years (of which there are four, viz. 1. Krita or Satya, 2. Treta, 3. Dvapara, 4. Kali, of
which the first three have already elapsed, while the Kali, which began at midnight between the 17th and 18th of Feb. 3102 B.C.
[O. S.], is that in which we live; the duration of each is said to be respectively 1,728,000, 1,296,000, 864,000, and 432,000 years
of men, the descending numbers representing a similar physical and moral deterioration of men in each age; the four Yugas com¬
prise an aggregate of 4,320,000 years and constitute a’great Yuga’ or Maha-yuga;
a measure of length = 86 Angulas;
a symbolical N. for the number’four’;
for the number’twelve’;
N. of a partic. position or configuration of the moon;
of a partic. Nabhasa constellation (of the class called Sarhkhya-yoga, when all the planets are situated in two houses);
of a double sloka or two slokas so connected that the sense is only completed by the two together
Wikipedia
Yuga ... in Hindu philosophy is the name of an ‘epoch’ or ‘era’ within a cycle of four ages. These are the Krita Yuga, the Treta
Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created, destroyed once
every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years, which is one full day (day and night) for Brahma. The lifetime of a Brahma himself may be 311 trillion
and 40 Billion years. The cycles are said to repeat like the seasons, waxing and waning within a greater time-cycle of the creation
and destruction of the universe. Like Summer, Spring, Winter and Autumn, each yuga involves stages or gradual changes which
the earth and the consciousness of mankind goes through as a whole.
Descriptions
General
Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Yuga. In Hindu cosmology a Yuga, or “Age,” is the smallest unit of cosmological time. Four Yugas make up one MAHAYUGA, or
Great Age: the Golden Age (KRITA, or Satya, YUGA), the Silver Age (TRETA YUGA), the Bronze Age (DVAPARA YUGA), and
the Iron Age (KALI YUGA, no connection with the goddess Kali). The Yugas are named after an ancient dice game, in which a 1,
or kale, was the worst throw and a 4, or krita (literally, the one that makes it!), is the best.
The Yugas decrease in duration: Satya Yuga lasts 1,728,000 years, Treta 1,296,000 years, Dvapara 864,000 years, and Kali
432,000 years. The figures are sometimes given in “god-years,” each divine year equal to 360 human years. Then the Satya Yuga
is 4,800 divine years; the Treta Yuga 3,600 divine years; the Dvapara Yuga 2,400 divine years; and the Kali Yuga 1,200 divine
years. Each Mahayuga totals 12,000 divine years.
As the Yugas follow one another, every aspect of human life suffers a decline, including human height, longevity, and morality. We
are currently in the Kali Yuga, the most corrupt of the ages. At its end, a new Satya Yuga will begin. Mahayugas follow one anoth¬
er cyclically; after a long series, the universe undergoes a dissolution, or pralaya. After this interlude, the progression of the Yugas
resumes. The process goes on to infinity. Jain tradition has a similar progression of ages with different names.
Mees. The Revelation in the Wilderness
In the Rig-Veda the word Yuga is used many times, but not in the sense of “Age” that was later given to it. It means sometimes
“yoke”, sometimes “generation” and sometimes “period”. The names of the Four Yugas were used in the Vedas as the names of
four throws in gambling, the Krita being the most lucky and the Kali being the most unlucky. This shows either that the tradition
of the Four Ages formed part of Vedic tradition (even if not found in early Vedic literature) and that its terminology was applied to
characterize the throws of gambling, or that the names of the throws of gambling became used in a later period for the purpose of
spiritual symbolism. When we study the references to gambling in Hindu mythology, we understand that the first must be the case.
Gambling symbolizes the desireful and blindly adventurous urge of the Dragon. In Diagram 2 “gambling” is noted to refer to Tau¬
rus, the House of the Dragon’s Head. Gambling is symbolically connected with the Fall. The Four Yugas denote states and stages
of the Fall. In the Taittiriya Brahmana (III; 4, 16) we read: “to the Krita (pertains) the master of the gambling hall, to the Treta one
who takes advantage of mistakes, to the Dvapara one who sits outside, to the Kali (one who is like) a post of the gaming house
(i.e. never leaves it)”. The gaming house is the World of the Fall. The most favourable position of the four is to be its master! The
Krita-Age is the same as the Satya-Age. “Krita” means “achieved”. The Age begins at the mystic hour of Achievement.
In the earliest reference, the symbolic nature of which cannot be mistaken even by literalists, the names of the Four Yugas are
used not for stages on the Path of the Fall, but for stages on the Spiritual Path of the individual. It is found in the Aitareya Brah¬
mana (33; 3 or VII; 15), where we read: “A man while lying is the Kali; when moving himself, he is Dvapara; when rising, he is the
Treta; and when walking he becomes the Krita.” This symbolism refers to stages of awakening out of the sleep-like state of the
Fall. “Lying down” concerns the Element Earth; “moving”, the Element Water; “rising”, the Element Fire; and “walking” represents
the “walking of the Path” of the Spirit.
Wikipedia
According to the Laws of Manu, one of the earliest known texts describing the yugas, the length is 4800 years + 3600 years +
2400 years + 1200 years for a total of 12,000 years for one arc, or 24,000 years to complete the cycle (one precession of the equi¬
nox). There is no mention of a year of the demigods or any year longer than the solar year, which is consistent with description in
The Holy Science. However, the more recent and popular interpretation from the Srimad Bhagavatam states the following: “The
duration of the Satya millennium equals 4,800 years of the years of the demigods; the duration of the Dvapara millennium equals
2,400 years; and that of the Kali millennium is 1,200 years of the demigods... As aforementioned, one year of the demigods is
equal to 360 years of the human beings. The duration of the Satya-yuga is therefore 4,800 x 360, or 1,728,000 years. The dura¬
tion of the Treta-yuga is 3,600 x 360, or 1,296,000 years. The duration of the Dvapara-yuga is 2,400 x 360, or 864,000 years. And
the last, the Kali-yuga, is 1,200 x 360, or 432,000 years.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.11.19). These 4 yugas follow a timeline ratio of
(4:3:2:1).
The ages see a gradual decline of dharma, wisdom, knowledge, intellectual capability, life span, emotional and physical strength.
Satya Yuga:- Virtue reigns supreme. Human stature was 21 cubits. Average human lifespan was 400 years.
Treta Yuga: - There was 3 quarter virtue & 1 quarter sin. Normal human stature was 14 cubits. Average human lifespan was 300
years.
Dwapar Yuga: - There was 1 half virtue & 1 half sin. Normal human stature was 7 cubits. Average human lifespan was 200 years.
Kali Yuga: - There was 1 quarter virtue & 3 quarter sin. Normal human stature was 3.5 cubits. Average human lifespan will be 100
years
Sivananda tradition
Krishnananda. Commentary on the Bhagavadgita
There are four yugas - called Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. These are the time cycles or ages, as we say. We are supposed to
be in Kali Yuga, the worst age, where there is conflict. The age of conflict is called Kali Yuga. This age is supposed to extend for
432,000 years. The duration of Dvapara Yuga is double that, the duration of Treta Yuga is triple, and Krita Yuga is quadruple. The
total of all these figures is called one thousand divine years; but according to us, it is a multiple of several thousands of human
years. Imagine what it means: 432,000 multiplied by 2, then multiplied by 3, and then multiplied by 4. That total is the duration of
one day of Brahma. One day of Brahma is as long as this computation of the years of the four yugas, and one night of Brahma is
equally long. This is twelve hours of day and twelve hours of night of Brahma.
Etymology
General
Dictionary - Grimes
yuga — from the root yuj = “to unite”.
Related words
Kalpa
Pralaya
Sanskrit
Yuga —
yuga-
Open Library