Category Posts
Hindu Scriptures & Sanskrit Literature | Mathomathis would like to present an article on Root By Kadambi Srinivasan | Published by | Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams | Tirupati 2019. The following article will explain about the creation of the universe by adopting the concepts of vedas and upanishad. Do note that, every concepts including the so called “modern science” has its own way on intercepting the cosmic creations. Readers are expected to have an open thought before making any judgemental thoughts in the article explained. King Prithu: One of the descendants of Dhruva was a tyrant named Vena. He would not listen to advice from his ministers and continued with his reign of terror. The Rishis then invoked the God of death and Vena died. After the death of Vena, the land had no king to rule. Eventually with the help of penance of the Rishis a boy and a girl was born. They named the boy as Prithu. The girl was named Archis. From the lakshanas, the Rishis knew that he was born from an amsha (part of) of Lord Narayana. Archis was Sri Maha Lakshmi. When he was old enough, the boy was crowned as king. After he was crowned as king, the Rishis called him Prithu, the great protector of the world. Prithu noticed that his subjects were thin and emaciated. He concluded that Earth was not yielding enough. So he confronted Mother Earth and decided to punish her. Mother earth got frightened and explained that as time passed sinful acts were being committed everywhere. In a fit of anger she decided that the people were not fit enough to enjoy the wealth provided to them. However, she promised that she will now agree to yield enough food for all people. Everyone then got what he wanted. King Prithu was very pleased with the earth and her bounty, that he made her his beloved daughter. Since then mother Earth came to called as Prithvi. He was the first king that ever won the hearts of the people. From his time kings have been called “Rajas”. “Ranj” means charm, “Ranjayati iti Raja”. Prithu was the first Raja – “Adiraja”. King Prithu performed one hundred Ashvamedhas. King Prithu’s grandson was Havirdhana who married Havirdhani. They had six children and the eldest was Barhishat. He married Shatadruti, daughter of the lord of the seas. Ten sons were born to this couple and they were famed as Prachetas. King Barhishat believed in the performance of yagnays and he performed many. Sage Narada took interest in him and initiated the Brahma Vidya advising him that it was the way for salvation. King Barhishat followed his advice. Prachetas, the ten sons of King Barhishat, were great devotees of Lord Narayana. Lord Mahadeva was pleased with them and decided to help them. He taught them Rudra Gita and asked them to repeat it with a steady mind in order to gain the favour of Lord Narayana. They did that. The Lord Narayana was pleased with their devotion and asked them to marry Marisha, daughter of an Apsara. He also told the brothers that she will bear them a son whose fame will spread all over the world. All ten of them married Marisha. A son was born to them and he was Daksha. It was the same Daksha Prajapati who insulted Lord Mahadeva. He was born as a human being for the sin he committed. Prachetas crowned Daksha as the king and left for the forest. However, he too left for the forest to perform Tapas. In the previous article, it was mentioned that Svayambhu Manu had two sons – Priyavrata and Uttanapada. We learnt earlier that Uttanapada’s son was the famed Dhruva. Priyavrata was the eldest son of the Manu. However, he had no desire to rule the kingdom and left for the forest to perform Tapas. Uttanapada and later Dhruva ruled the land. However, when Daksha, their descendant, left for the forest, the land was without a ruler. Lord Brahma went to Priyavrata and persuaded him to take up the reins of ruling the kingdom. Priyavrata married Barhishmati, daughter of Vishvakarma. Ten sons and a daughter were born to them. Agnitra was the eldest son. Three of his brothers left to the forest to perform Tapas. Agnitra and his six other brothers ruled the seven islands. The daughter Ojasvati was married to Shukra and their daughter was Devayani. People were happy during his rule. Priyavrata was interested in tracing the path of the Sun. He equipped himself with a chariot fast enough to travel with the Sun. He travelled with the Sun around the Earth seven times. The moats formed by the quick progress of his chariot became the seven great seas. They were named:- Lavan Ikshu Sura Sarpi Dadhi Kshira and Madhu. The earth divided into seven islands. They were named:- Jambu Plaksha Shalmali Kusha Krauncha Shaka and Pushkara King Bharata:- Agnitra’s son was Nabhi and he had no children. He performed a great sacrifice where he worshipped Lord Narayana. The Lord was pleased with Nabhi and promised that he will be born as a son to Nabhi. The child was named Rishabha. Rishabha was crowned as the king after Nabhi. Rishabha married Jayanti the daughter of Indra. They had hundred sons; the eldest of them was Bharata. Bharata was a great king and the land was called Bharatavarsha after him. After a long number of years, Bharata decided to retire to the forest. He distributed his kingdom among his sons he went away to the ashrama of sage Pulaha near Haridwar. He worshipped Lord Narayana with great devotion. His heart was filled with peace born out of renunciation and detachment. One day he rescued a new-born deer when her mother died. He brought up the deer with great care and was greatly attached to it. His meditation and prayers were all things of the past. And when he died Bharata’s mind was on the deer. Since his thoughts were on […]
Mathomathis would like to present an article on Cosmo Graphical Mapping by JOSEPH E. SCHWARTZBERG. The following article would start a conversation on a topic called as: Celestial Mappings To speak of celestial mapping as a part of the cosmographical tradition of traditional Hindu culture is perhaps to extend the meaning of “mapping” beyond its customary limits. Nevertheless, attempts have been made, since ancient times, to present orderly graphic portrayals of portions of the heavens in painting, sculpture, and architecture. The relevant literature is extensive. It derives on the one hand from art historians and on the other from historians of astronomy, and author have studied and understood only a small portion of the total corpus and none of it from primary sources in Sanskrit and other Indian languages. Thus, in what follows author can do no more than to provide a brief sketch of a few of the means and forms by which attempts at celestial mapping, broadly conceived, have been carried out and to indicate something of the emergence on Indian soil of certain centers of observational astronomy that sought to arrive at more objective and accurate views of the heavens than those that sufficed for most religious purposes. The development in India of anthropomorphic icons to represent heavenly bodies may be traced back to the time of the Kusanas (first century A.D.) in the case of Surya, the sun-god; to the mid-second century in the case of the planetary deities (grahas), including the sun and moon; and at least to the sixth and seventh centuries, respectively, in the cases of Rahu and Ketu, the deities associated with eclipses. These “planetary deities,” nine in all, were designated by the Sanskrit term navagrahas and were customarily portrayed in a fixed order, beginning with the seven that in turn exercised their lordship over the days of the week (sun, moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn) and ending with Rahu and Ketu. They so appear in innumerable sculptures (especially on the lintels over the portals of temples), in paintings, and in other forms. Although their early manifestations would hardly be described as maps, we do find in later cosmographies, some of which are described below, the maintenance of both the icons and the order established in ancient times. Iconographic portrayals of astronomical phenomena were not confined to the navagrahas. “In some interesting paintings of the schools of Rajasthan and of Deccan we can see personifications of the lunar days (tithi), of the hours of good auspices (muhurta), of the days of the week (dina, vara), of the months (masa), of the years (varsa), of the stars (naksatra), of the signs of the zodiac (rasi), etc. These are based on iconographic texts often reproduced in the same pictures.” Plate 27 provides a characteristic example of the way naksatras (groups of stars near the plane of the ecliptic separating various lunar mansions) have been portrayed in Rajasthan in recent centuries. Not all symbols used to represent astronomical features in painted cosmographies were pictorial. As Tantric Hinduism developed, its use of essentially geometric astronomical (and astrological) charting came to be quite important. This esoteric tradition has given rise to numerous rather varied and often complex astronomical drawings, many of which have recently found their way into semipopular art books. Author, have not found it possible to study the original sources, which are never cited in the works he has seen. Nor author have been able to translate the abundant text or interpret the mathematical formulas that characteristically accompany the published drawings. Author have referred above to a pair of huge cosmographic paintings in Minaksi temple in the south Indian city of Madurai, both recent (1963 and 1966) replacements for accidentally destroyed works that were originally executed in 1568. One of this pair, entitled Bhugolam (the earth) has already been described. The other (Figure 1), several meters to the left of it and of the same size (about 4.25 X 4.25 m), is designated Khagolam (the celestial dome). Although there is a bit of hindrance for explaining the details of the painting with confidence, He suggests that, much of it could correspond fairly well to the following summation, by Pingree, of a portion of the cosmological sections of various Puranas. [About Figure 1: This oil painting on canvas is in the waiting hall of Minaksi temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It is a repainting (1966) of an original dated 1568. This diagram is believed to represent, among other things, the twelve zodiacal months; the paths of the sun, moon, and five known planets; and presumably the ties of the celestial deities Rahu and Ketu to other heavenly bodies. Size of the original: approx. 4 X 4.5 m. Photograph by Joseph E. Schwartzberg.] Above the earth’s surface and parallel to its base are a series of wheels the centers of which lie on the vertical axis of Meru, at the tip of which is located the North Polestar, Dhruva. The wheels, bearing the celestial bodies, are rotated by Brahma by means of bonds made of wind. The order of the celestial bodies varies; the earliest seems to be sun, moon, naksatras, and Saptarishis (Ursa Major). Some Puranas place the grahas (planets) between the moon and the naksatras; in others, interpolated verses add Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn (in that order) between the naksatras and the Saptarishis. Which of the many concentric circles shown in figure 1 represent the orbits (wheels) noted in the previous description is uncertain. But it seems safe to assume that the male and female figures seated in the center of the painting represent the sun and the moon, respectively, and that the wheels for the planets occupy the relatively light space between the more central and more peripheral groups of concentric rings. Radiating outward from the center of the diagram are twelve spokes that may be described as like hour divisions of a clock. Presumably these are the divisions between the twelve zodiacal months. The spokes vary in color. Those at […]
Mathomathis would like to present an article on Purusha Sukta by author Zachary F. Lansdowne Ph.D (who served as President of the Theosophical Society in Boston, has been a frequent contributor to The Esoteric Quarterly. His book The Revelation of Saint John, which provides a verse-by-verse analysis of the entire Revelation, was reviewed in the Fall 2006 issue). The following article is a continuation from the previous article The Purusha Sukta | Human Evolution | 103. Verses 15 and 16 would be presented in the following post. 15. Seven were his altar sticks, three times seven were the kindling bundles, when the gods, performing the sacrifice, bound the beast Purusha. Human beings, like their prototype, face seven inward initiations that are milestones for three interrelated schemes of evolution, are subject to various hierophants who administer these initiations, and remain prisoners of the planet until they complete them. This verse is applicable to either human beings or the Planetary Logos. First, let us consider its application to human beings. Initiations, which are mentioned in the commentary for the fifth verse, occur during inward ceremonies. Bailey writes, “This ceremony of initiation marks a point of attainment. It does not bring about attainment, as is so often the misconception. It simply marks the recognition by the watching Teachers of the race of a definite point in evolution reached by the pupil.” Thus, initiations could be thought of as milestones for the evolutionary journey of human beings. An altar stick burning with fire symbolizes an initiation ceremony that is taking place because, as Bailey says, “An initiation is a blaze of illumination.” In the verse, the seven altar sticks indicate that human beings face, or have as a prospect, seven initiations on their evolutionary journey. These altar sticks are not yet burning, indicating that the seven initiations do not take place at the beginning of the evolutionary journey but instead lie ahead. Bailey has the same time orientation when she writes, “There are five initiations ahead of the disciple, with two more ahead of the Master, making in all seven initiations.” After human beings undergo five initiations, they become a “Master,” which means that they have become a member of the spiritual kingdom and therefore a candidate for the two remaining initiations. The verse says, “three times seven were the kindling bundles.” Here, the phrase “three times seven” is the literal translation of the original Sanskrit words. Some translators carry out this multiplication and assume that the Sanskrit words denote the number “twentyone.” What else could the phrase “three times seven” mean? The number seven has a symbolic meaning in the Rig Veda, as Aurobindo explains: “The number seven plays an exceedingly important part in the Vedic system, as in most very ancient schools of thought. We find it recurring constantly—the seven delights … ; the seven flames, tongues or rays of Agni … ; the seven forms of the Thought-principle … ; the seven rivers … All these sets of seven depend, it seems to me, upon the Vedic classification of the fundamental principles, the tattvas, of existence … In the Veda, then, we find the number of the principles variously stated … But the full number ordinarily recognized is seven.” As in the sixth verse, “kindling” symbolizes the limitations that support the continuation of the evolutionary process. If we regard the number seven as a symbol of completion, then seven “kindling bundles” symbolize a complete scheme of evolution; so three sets of seven kindling bundles symbolize three complete schemes of evolution. These multiple schemes of evolution must refer to different vehicles of consciousness because more than one scheme cannot be associated with the same vehicle. These schemes must be interrelated because they have common milestones. What might these schemes be? Blavatsky writes, “It now becomes plain that there exists in Nature a triple evolutionary scheme … or rather three separate schemes of evolution, which in our system are inextricably interwoven and interblended at every point. These are the Monadic (or spiritual), the intellectual, and the physical evolution.” The word hierophant comes from the Greek word (hierophantes) that means “one who shows sacred things.” It was the title of the chief priest at the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were outward initiation ceremonies held in ancient Greece. Bailey uses this title to denote the chief officer at an inward initiation ceremony and says that the identity of this officer depends upon the initiation being taken. For example, she writes, “At the seventh initiation … the Logos of our scheme on His own plane, becomes the Hierophant,” which means that the Planetary Logos Himself administers the seventh initiation. A human being is a prisoner of the planet, but, as Bailey explains, such a prison house enables evolution to occur: “Into the prison house of form enter all that live; some enter consciously and some unconsciously, and this we call birth, appearance, incarnation, manifestation … This produces therefore in the world field of awareness a gradual and slow growth towards self expression, self-appreciation, and self realization… Finally the time arrives when the Principle of Liberation becomes active and a transition is effected out of a prison house that cramps and distorts into one that provides adequate conditions for the next development of consciousness.” The symbols in the above verse also apply to the Planetary Logos because Bailey states: “Our Planetary Logos has for objective seven initiations.”36 Bailey goes on to say that “the cycles in the evolutionary process of all these Entities [a Solar Logos, a Planetary Logos, and a human being] may be divided mainly into three groups” and that “the ‘prisoners of the planet’ … [include] the Planetary Logos.” Further, she states that the hierophant is “a Cosmic Logos in the initiations of a Solar Logos, and of the three major Planetary Logo,” and is “a Solar Logos in the initiations of a Planetary Logos.” Here, “Cosmic Logos” denotes a composite Life who is even greater than the Solar Logos. 16. The gods sacrificed […]
Mathomathis would like to present an article on Amrita Bindu Upanishad Translated by Swami Madhavananda which is later Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta. In the article we would like to present only the points that are categorized under the sector of Amrita Bindu Upanishad Om! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together; May we work conjointly with great energy, May our study be vigorous and effective; May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any). Om! Let there be Peace in me! Let there be Peace in my environment! Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me! The mind is chiefly spoken of as of two kinds, pure and impure. The impure mind is that which is possessed of desire, and the pure is that which is devoid of desire. It is indeed the mind that is the cause of men’s bondage and liberation. The mind that is attached to sense-objects leads to bondage, while dissociated from sense-objects it tends to lead to liberation. So they think. Since liberation is predicated of the mind devoid of desire for sense objects, therefore, the mind should always be made free of such desire, by the seeker after liberation. When the mind, with its attachment for sense-objects annihilated, is fully controlled within the heart and thus realises its own essence, then that Supreme State (is gained). The mind should be controlled to that extent in which it gets merged in the heart. This is Jnana (realisation) and this is Dhyana (meditation) also, all else is argumentation and verbiage. (The Supreme State) is neither to be thought of (as being something external and pleasing to the mind), nor unworthy to be thought of (as something unpleasant to the mind); nor is It to be thought of (as being of the form of sense-pleasure), but to be thought of (as the essence of the ever-manifest, eternal, supreme Bliss Itself); that Brahman which is free from all partiality is attained in that state. One should duly practise concentration on Om (first) through the means of its letters, then meditate on Om without regard to its letters. Finally on the realisation with this latter form of meditation on Om, the idea of the non-entity is attained as entity. That alone is Brahman, without component parts, without doubt and without taint. Realizing “I am that Brahman” one becomes the immutable Brahman. (Brahman is) without doubt, endless, beyond reason and analogy, beyond all proofs and causeless knowing which the wise one becomes free. The highest Truth is that (pure consciousness) which realizes, “There is neither control of the mind, nor its coming into play”, “Neither am I bound, nor am I a worshipper, neither am I a seeker after liberation, nor one-who has attained liberation”. Verily the Atman should be known as being the same in Its states of wakefulness, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. For him who has transcended the three states there is no more rebirth. Being the one, the universal Soul is present in all beings. Though one, It is seen as many, like the moon in the water. Just as it is the jar which being removed (from one place to another) changes places and not the Akasa enclosed in the jar – so is the Jiva which resembles the Akasa. When various forms like the jar are broken again and again the Akasa does not know them to be broken, but He knows perfectly. Being covered by Maya, which is a mere sound, It does not, through darkness, know the Akasa (the Blissful one). When ignorance is rent asunder, It being then Itself only sees the unity. The Om as Word is (first looked upon as) the Supreme Brahman. After that (word-idea) has vanished, that imperishable Brahman (remains). The wise one should meditate on that imperishable Brahman, if he desires the peace of his soul. Supreme Brahman. One having mastered the Word-Brahman attains to the Highest Brahman. After studying the Vedas the intelligent one who is solely intent on acquiring knowledge and realisation, should discard the Vedas altogether, as the man who seeks to obtain rice discards the husk. Of cows which are of diverse colours the milk is of the same colour. (the intelligent one) regards Jnana as the milk, and the many-branched Vedas as the cows. Like the butter hidden in milk, the Pure Consciousness resides in every being. That ought to be constantly churned out by the churning rod of the mind. Taking hold of the rope of knowledge, one should bring out, like fire, the Supreme Brahman. I am that Brahman indivisible, immutable, and calm, thus it is thought of. In Whom reside all beings, and Who resides in all beings by virtue of His being the giver of grace to all – I am that Soul of the Universe, the Supreme Being, I am that Soul of the Universe, the Supreme Being. Om! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together; May we work conjointly with great energy, May our study be vigorous and effective; May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any). Om! Let there be Peace in me! Let there be Peace in my environment ! Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me! Here it concludes the Amritabindupanishad, as contained in the Krishna-Yajur- Veda.
The desire to know is the desire to experience, to realize, to become, or to create, as explained in the first part of “Aitareya Upanishad”. In Bible, the first episode of Adam in tasting the forbidden fruit is an offence attributable to the outburst of the creative force. The divine command was conservation of force, which was condition of being. Ingrained into the fancy for the forbidden, lies the assumed awareness of an ideal, and the impairment of the ideal is actual impulse of the dynamicity concentrated in reality. The awareness of the ideal and the aberration for the breach of it, are the two opposites only of a single structural whole, which is real. The real polarizes itself into the ideal and the actual is quaking motion of it. The actual is a strivance for reversal of the ideal of breach thereof. The breach sustains the actual but sanctifies the ideal. If is the possibility of the breach that sustains the ideal and keeps the actual sustainable. The process of breach implicates both the ideal and the actual. There is a breach because of the ideal. The force or the “shakti” breaks its bounds, and it is through the breach that the force becomes intelligible. The breach is basically a device for vindication of the ideal. The breach is real, because it synthesizes, in a dialectical sense, both the ideal and the actual. Each phase of becoming is revelation of the creative force of being and the scheme of becoming synthesizes the ideal and the actual and points the way in which the force is put to test or becomes tested. The force of “shakti” is inherent limitation of the indefinite. It is with accessories of limitations that the infinite reveals itself and becomes finite. In its revelation alone the infinite is apprehended. The limitations are aids to revelation. The limitation is standardized modality of the finite, since the force persists in the revelation of the infinite through finite means. It is in this revelation that the infinite chooses to put its vitality to test. The entire process is an experiment and the creative force is the tested reality, nay the continual testing of hat which is ultimately real. The genesis in the bible, is testimony of the elan of creative energy. It is elan vital in Bergson’s terminology. The fall of Adam is rhetoric revolt against dormancy of the creative force. The divine command depicts the poised rectitude of force. The divine is slumbering state of force which transcends the creative process. The fall of Adam furnishes the restive passion for creation. The fruit which is forbidden is humanity prior to procreation. The deep slumbering pose of the infinite is averse to creation. The divine command is the first awareness instilled in the being as readiness for creation. The divine command was Adam’s anthropomorphy of the infinite withholding its creative power. It was a stage of forbearance, a stage where procreation had to be forsaken. It was a pint of transition in the creative force for its transformation into tire procreative power. The fall of Adam is rhapsodic imagery of a discourse between the creator and the creature. The imbroglio of force was premeditated. The creator was aware of the forbidden, and the creature was made aware of that which was forbidden. The difference is not without meaning. The awareness of God was creative energy, that of Adam was procreative power. God is name for creative agency in nature. Adam is creature or product of nature. The character of God or Adam may be legends, and the episode may be phantasy, but the moral is correct to bear evidence that the reality in its mystery of creation carries the burden of some primaeval force. The procreative pleasure of the creature is accountable to a later formality of the operation of this force. It is this force which throughout persists prior to, or even after, the fleeting flux of the world. It is “Lebnitz” knew this by the name of “conatus” the same what Hindus know by the name of “shakti”. The desire to know as well as the knowledge derived, both refer to this force. The Knowledge Gained The desire to know, in the creature, as instanced by the character of Adam starts from the first-hand information of the forbidden, and the forbidden, in relation to the desire to know, is mere admission of the unknown. The unknown is one which eludes perception. Knowledge is the facultative art of breaking through the barriers of perception and thereby apprehending the casual nucleus of that which is perceived. Infonnation leads to intelligence, intelligence to understanding, understanding leads to learning, learning to wisdom and wisdom to knowledge; and all this, from first to the last, is a gap filed by a process of transfusion of precepts into concepts. The percept of the tree can never become knowledge of the tree without the corresponding concept of seed. The seed is cause of the tree but in knowing the seed as cause of the tree, the knower knows of the latent force in which the tree potentially exists; and what is true of the origin of tree is true of the origin of the entire universe ‘which at one stage lay dormant in a reservoir of force omnipotent. The conatus of Leibnitz, the elan vital of Bergson, the shakti of the Hindus, the forbidden fruit of the genesis, the prakrati of the samkhya, or the Maya of Vedanta, stand all as synonyms of this potential force. Knowledge, leaping back from one posterior phenomenon of force to its prior, that is, from one perceptual event to its antecedent casual potentiality, stabilizes itself in the comprehension of the first cause, which implicates in itself the vision of the law. d Vision of Law the knowledge of this potential force is knowledge of the first cause. Law is but the ingrained tendency of this force. The law of the tree is ingrained in the force […]