Enigmatic Muser: The Basics of Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the major religion of India, and the vast majority of India's population today is Hindu; however, Hinduism has spread all over the world and is truly a "world" religion. Almost one billion people (approx. 900 million) practice Hinduism today

Hinduism is arguably the world's oldest organized religion. By that, I mean that it has existed for many thousand of years or so with some basic institutional traits, like priests, formalized rituals, consistent stories/myths, etc. Because Hinduism is so old, it is very diverse.

What's the connection between "old" and "diverse?"

Hinduism has evolved and adapted into many different forms over the centuries, in order to speak to human needs and to remain meaningful to people's lives. All of the large world religions have changed over time - they MUST change and adapt, as people change - in order to stay relevant. Old forms of spirituality within a religion pass away - although usually not completely - and new forms come into their place.

Therefore, when looking at the history of Hinduism, we see lots of different forms, ideas, practices, etc. that may seem contradictory to each other, but all of which form part of a large, complex tapestry of Hindu belief and practice.

Given this complexity, it is sometimes hard to describe Hinduism in simple-to-understand ways. It revolves around three of the major sacred texts of Hinduism:

- the Vedas

- the Upanishads

- the Bhagavad Gita (part of the larger Mahabharata)

These texts come into existence at very different times in Hindu history and a certain form or mode of Hindu spirituality developed around each one. All three of these modes of being Hindu exist today in some form - yet, they are distinct from each other.

The Three Modes or "Faces" of Hinduism

This is a very simplified way of grasping the long and complex history of Hinduism. Of course, this glosses over a great deal of nuance, but it's really helpful in understanding the "big picture" and explaining the incredible diversity of belief and practice we see in contemporary Hinduism.

Hindu belief and practice can be divided into three major stages of development, and each stage has its own form or mode of spirituality. The three stages are:

1. The Vedic Stage

This is the earliest form of Hinduism and centers around the sacred texts called the Vedas, which existed in oral form for many centuries before finally being written in about 800 BCE. This form of spirituality is:

- polytheistic - focused on worship of many different gods

- materialistic - focused on earthly, material concerns (i.e. abundant crops & livestock, healthy children, sufficient shelter, money, goods, etc.)

- priestly - official priests facilitate all religious learning and practice

- ritualistic - emphasis on rituals performed by priests to the gods

- sacrificial - focus on offerings made to the gods

The Vedas contain hymns of praise to the many gods in this early form of Hinduism, as well as the rituals and offerings that must be performed to them by the priests in order to obtain their blessings. People needed the gods to insure the material blessings in their lives and families.

For example, a farmer's livestock might be sick and dying. Therefore, he would consult with a priest. The priest, knowing the Vedas well, would determine which ritual sacrifices needed to be performed to which gods in order to improve the health of the livestock. The farmer would pay the priests to obtain whatever sacrificial offerings and other supplies were needed for the rituals. The priest (or priests) would conduct the ritual according to the instructions in the Vedas, making sure to do everything properly. If all goes well, the livestock get well and the farmer's livelihood is sustained.

The different texts or "books" of the Vedas (i.e. the Rig Veda) focus on the many gods and goddesses of early Hinduism, as well as their likes, dislikes and areas of power. For example, Agni is the goddess of fire; Indra the god of thunder and war; Surya of the sun; and so on. The Vedas also contain specific instructions for how to perform the many rituals in service of the gods.

Early Vedic religion is a very "this world" religion - not so much focused on afterlife - that seeks the favor of the gods through sacrificial rituals in order to obtain blessings for one's livelihood and family.

2. The Upanishadic Stage

The Upanishads are a major work of commentary on the Vedas. Like the Vedas, they existed in oral form for centuries before being written by about 500 BCE. Major 10 Upanishands are given here.

" Isha Kenakada Prashna Mundaka Mandukya Taittriya Aiteraya Chandogya Brahadaranyaka Katha "

The mode of Hinduism surrounding the Upanishads is very different from the Vedic stage. Actually, this stage developed at least in part as a reaction against the Vedic form of religion. This mode of Hinduism is:

- monistic - focused on the divine oneness of all reality, not on the many gods

- introspective - inwardly focused, not outwardly on material goods or blessings

- yogic - emphasizes individual spiritual practice rather than on priestly authority

- mystical - stresses religious experience and consciousness over rituals

- renouncing - focus on rejecting worldly life in favor of inner development

In this mode, instead of relying on priests to perform rituals that garner the favor of the gods for worldly benefit and blessing, individuals renounce regular worldly life to focus on developing their inner spiritual capacities through introspection and yogic practice.

The "renouncers" in this form of Hinduism often practice austere forms of asceticism; that is, they don't eat or sleep very much, they have no belongings beyond the few clothes they wear, they spend much of their time doing yoga postures and breathing, or meditating and chanting. They may live alone out in the forest away from everyday life, and may meet with others only for short periods of time in order to expand or share their spiritual insights.

This is a completely different mode of spirituality than that in the Vedic stage - focused on different goals and different means to achieve those goals. Yet, both of them are fully Hindu.

And there's even a third mode . . .

3. The Gita Stage

This mode of Hinduism is centered around the Bhagavad Gita - or just the Gita - which is an important sacred text that is part of a much larger epic work called the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is one of the longest epic poems in the world.

The Gita is a section of the larger poem that tells the story of Arjuna, a warrior, who is fighting in the civil war of the Bharata family. He must perform his caste duty as a warrior, but worries that he is bringing bad karma to himself by fighting against extended members of his own family.

Fortunately, his chariot driver turns out to be Lord Krishna, who helps Arjuna wrestle with this dilemma. Most of the Gita is comprised of Krishna's instructions to Arjuna about how he can do his duty with the proper intention and purity of heart so as to not bring about bad karma.

The mode of Hinduism that developed around the Gita is:

- theistic - focused on a god

- communal - concerned with the individual's relation to the community

- devotional - emphasizes love for and devotion to God

- ethical - concerned with proper behavior and fulfilling duties

- focused on average caste members - no need to renounce household life

In some ways, this mode of Hinduism reacted against the one that went before it. Instead of being solitary individuals who live away from all worldly cares in order to focus on achieving mystical knowledge through meditation and yoga, those in the "Gita" mode of Hinduism live as regular caste members in society and focus on developing love and devotion to a god (usually Krishna but maybe another of the Hindu gods) and service to the community.

So, here we have a third way of being a Hindu that is very different from the first two ways or modes.

What's amazing is that all three of these modes are alive in some form today in contemporary Hindu practice. All the various people are present: priests and the people who seek them out for sacrificial rituals; ascetic renouncers who live at the margins of society who exhibit extraordinary inner spiritual power; and regular people who lives pious lives of prayer and devotion to god and service to the community.

All three of these modes may be present in one household even! Family members might go through their daily lives at school and work, performing basic rituals of devotion to a god, but they might also practice yoga or meditation. And, when a family member dies, they may call priests to conduct ancient Vedic funeral rituals in the home and at the cremation.

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So, as you see, Hinduism is a very rich, complex tradition that encompasses many different modes of spirituality that have developed and influenced each other over periods of centuries. All these modes are central to the continued vibrancy of the religion as it navigates itself forward generation after generation

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Even though there are different forms and schools of thought within Hinduism, a few core ideas hold true across the religion as a whole. These include:

- Atman & Brahman

- Reincarnation & Karma

- Moksha & Samsara

Atman & Brahman The phrase "atman is Brahman" captures the Vedanta school's primary view about ultimate reality and our human relationship to it. The Vedanta school of Hindu thought is one of the largest and most dominant perspectives in Hindu philosophy.

What does "atman is Brahman" mean?

Let's break the phrase down into its two basic concepts.

First is "atman" - loosely translated, this means "soul" or "individual soul." Atman refers to the essence of each individual living thing - its soul or primary living energy. Each living thing - people, animals, plants - have an atman that forms each thing's eternal essence. The atman is not the body; the body is not eternal. The body houses the atman until the body dies. Atman is immortal and eternal.

Brahman is "world soul" or "cosmic soul." It is the eternal essence of the universe and the ultimate divine reality. It is the life source of all that has been, is and will be throughout the entire cosmos. It is not an individual being - it is more like the primal ground or reality of all being and existence.

So, the phrase "atman is Brahman" is saying, quite simply, that the individual soul is the world soul.

In other words, each individual soul - say, yours or mine - comes from and is made of the same reality as the world soul. There is no distinction between us, on the one hand, and the ultimate divine reality, on the other.

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Moksha or mukti, literally "release",(Within indian religions), is the liberation from samsara and the simultaneous suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and reincarnation or rebirth.

It is highly probable that the concept of moksha was first developed in India whose spiritual ideas greatly influenced later Indian religious thought. Buddhism and Jainism are continuations of this tradition, and the early Upanishadic movement was influenced by it. Reincarnation was likely adopted from this religious culture which is recorded in scriptures containing these ideas in the early Upanishads.

Traditional Philosophy

There are three major views on moksha from traditional Vedanta philosophy.

Advaita

According to Advaita Vedanta, the attainment of liberation coincides with the realization of the unreality of 'personal self in the psyche' [ego] and the simultaneous revelation of the 'Impersonal Self' as the ever-existent Truth Brahman, the source of all spiritual and phenomenal existence. The Neti Neti ("not this alone, not that alone") method of teaching is adopted. Between sentient Awareness and insentient matter is an illusion formed in the mind. Moksha is seen as a final release from this illusion when one's worldly conception of self is erased and there takes place a loosening of the shackle of experiential duality, accompanied by the realization of one's own fundamental nature: sat (true being), cit (pure consciousness), and ananda, an experience which is ineffable and beyond sensation. Advaita holds that Atman, Brahman, and Paramatman are all one and the same - the formless Nirguna Brahman which is beyond the being/non-being distinction, tangibility, and comprehension.

Dvaita/Vishistadvaita

In Dvaita (dualism) and Vishistadvaita (qualified monism) schools of Vaishnava traditions, moksha is defined as the loving, eternal union with God (Ishvara) and considered the highest perfection of existence. The bhakta (devotee) attains the abode of the Supreme Lord in a perfected state but maintains his or her individual identity, with a spiritual form, personality, tastes, pastimes, and so on.

Achieving moksha

In Hinduism, atma-jnana (self-realization) is the key to obtaining moksha. The Hindu is one who practices one or more forms of Yoga - Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, Raja - knowing that God is unlimited and exists in many different forms, both personal and impersonal.
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This is an amazing concept!

It basically means that in our deepest selves, we are divine. All living things are divine in their deepest selves. Now, that divine self may be hidden or covered over by hatred, envy, fear or other negative things. But, it is there nonetheless and it is our "true" and "eternal" selves.

Reincarnation & Karma

Reincarnation and karma are core concepts for several religions of India, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

Basically, both concepts have to do with an understanding of time and how we as human beings are propelled forward through life in time.

Reincarnation is sometimes called transmigration of the soul. To believe in this is to believe that the soul migrates through many different physical lifetimes. The soul undergoes rebirths into different kinds of lives - human, animal or even supernatural - until it reaches its final destination.

So, reincarnation implies a cyclical understanding of time instead of a linear understanding. In the Western world, people tend to think of time in a linear way - you are born, you live, then you die. Depending on one's belief about afterlife, the soul may live forever in a place of suffering or blessing. But, it does not return to earth to live again as a human or animal.

Those who believe in reincarnation, however, hold to a cyclical view of time in which the soul undergoes cycles of life, death and rebirth. The soul may be born into a human body and then, when the human body dies, it may be reborn into an animal body or the body of a supernatural being (angels, demons, etc.). This cycle may be repeated many hundreds of times.

What propels the soul forward from life to life? What determines the kind of rebirth or life the soul will have in the future? The answer is karma.

Karma refers to the energy that accompanies actions of moral worth. Not all actions have moral worth. For example, you may pick up a stick. In itself, that action has no moral worth. However, picking up a stick and hitting someone with it does have moral worth - of the negative kind. On the other hand, picking up a stick and using it to plug a hole in a levee so that the city is not flooded also has moral worth - of the positive kind.

Karma is the positive or negative energy that accompanies all actions of moral worth. Hitting someone with a stick brings negative karma to the person who does it. Using the stick for a positive reason brings positive karma to the person.

So, each person - each soul or atman - goes through life doing both positive and negative actions (hopefully more positive than negative) and accumulating the karmic energy or "baggage" that comes with them. The nature of one's karma determines the nature of one's rebirths in futures lives. Negative karma over many lifetimes will cause an unfavorable rebirth as an animal. Positive karma will cause a favorable rebirth as a human or auspicious spiritual being.

This belief in karma and its impact on future rebirths is at the heart of basic ethical sensibilities in Hinduism and in all the other religions that affirm it. People should do good actions and avoid bad actions so as to not accumulate bad karma to themselves.

Moksha & Samsara

These two concepts - moksha and samsara - refer to the ultimate goal in Hinduism which is, quite simply, escape from the cycle of life, death and rebirth and to re-merge with Brahman, or ultimate reality.

The cycle of life, death and rebirth is called samsara.

Escape from this cycle is called moksha, which means "release."

How is this escape achieved? Through making progress on the spiritual path and neutralizing all negative karma.

So, the basic life condition for every person is that they are an atman, or soul, who is transmigrating from life to life, existence to existence, all based on the effects of karma. This cycle of reincarnation may happen many hundreds, even thousands of times until the person achieves the highest spiritual state.

At that point, when the person dies, they no longer are born back into the cycle of life death and rebirth. Instead, according to one of the largest schools of philosophy in Hinduism - the Vedanta school - the atman reunites with Brahman and is never born again into cyclic existence.

This is the ultimate goal of Hinduism: re-merging of the atman with Brahman.

Traditional Philosophy

There are three major views on moksha from traditional Vedanta philosophy.

Advaita

Dvaita/Vishistadvaita

Dvaita

Dvaita Vedanta (dualistic conclusions of the Vedas) espouses dualism by theorizing the existence of two separate realities. The first and the more important reality is that of Vishnu or Brahman. Vishnu is the supreme Self, God, the absolute truth of the universe, the independent reality. The second reality is that of dependent but equally real universe that exists with its own separate essence. Everything that is composed of the second reality, such as individual soul (Jiva), matter, etc. exist with their own separate reality. The distinguishing factor of this philosophy as opposed to Advaita Vedanta (monistic conclusion of Vedas) is that God takes on a personal role and is seen as a real eternal entity that governs and controls the universe

Like Ramanuja, Madhvacharya also embraced Vaishnava theology which understood God as being personal and endowed with attributes. To Madhvacharya, Brahman of the Vedanta was same as Vishnu. He stated "brahmashabdashcha vishhnaveva" or that Brahman can only refer to Vishnu. To him, Vishnu was not just any other deity, but rather the singularly all-important Supreme One. Vishnu was the primary object of worship, while all other gods were regarded as subordinate to Him. The deities and other sentient beings were graded, with Vayu, the god of life, being the highest, and Vishnu being eternally above them.

Dvaita Vedanta is not similar to Western dualism which posits the existence of two independent realities or principles. Madhva's Dualism also acknowledges two principles, however, it holds one of them (the sentient) as being rigorously and eternally dependent on the other (Vishnu/Brahman). Because the existence of individuals is grounded in the divine, they are depicted as reflections, images or even shadows of the divine, but never in any way identical with the divine. Liberation therefore is described as the realization that all finite reality is essentially dependent on the Supreme

Vishishtadvaita

Narayana is the Absolute God. The Soul and the Universe are only parts of this Absolute. The relationship of God to the Soul and the Universe is like the relationship of the Soul of Man to the body of Man. Individual souls are only parts of Brahman. God, Soul and Universe together form an inseparable unity which is one and has no second. This is the non-duality part. Matter and Souls inhere in that Ultimate Reality as attributes to a substance. This is the qualification part of the non-duality.

Bhakti Yoga is not the sole means of liberation in Vishishtadvaita. Through Bhakti (devotion), a Jiva ascends to the realm of the Lord, where it continues to delight in His service. 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..However Sri Ramanuja and the Vishishtadvata tradition accept Saranagati, total surrender at the Lord's lotus feet alone as the sole means to moksha, liberation from samsara and going to Vaikuntha. This is a distinguishing feature of this school of philosophy, as both Adi shankara's advaita and ananda tirtha's dvaita accept bhakthi for moksha. Swami Ramanuja has supported this opinion with various citations directly from the vedas, and various incidents highlighting sharangathi as means to moksha,over bhakthi. Observing total surrender at the lord's feet guarantees moksha at the end of this birth, and in the time between sharanagathi and death, the surrendered soul may spend his time piously by invovling in devotion. So bhakthi is not a moksha sadhana, but just for anubhava in the Vishishtadvaita Sampradaya

The Vishishtadvaita philosophy of Ramanuja is refined Advaita philosophy proposed by Adi

Shankaracharya. Shankracharya’s Advaita philosophy says that Brahmin is the ultimate truth, the world is an illusion, and there is no difference between the Brahman and individual self. Whereas Ramanuja’s Vishishtadaviat philosophy says that Brahmin is ultimate and He has numerous attributes. It is incorrect to say that Brahmin is Nirguna(without attributes). Brahmin, the ultimate truth, is different from individual self. At the same time Brahmin is in every entity of this universe, which is His creation. Brahmin is Paramantma(supreme soul) and individual self is Jeevatma(minute soul). They could be compared to an ocean and drop of water simultaneously. The ultimate goal of jeevatama is to reach paramantma, juts like the destination of every rain drop is the ocean through complete surrender. Once jeevatma reaches paramatma it will continue to serve paramatma in Paramapadama, the abode of Lord Narayana or Mahapurusha.

In order to surrender to Lord SrimanNarayana, one must take the initiation just like Ramaunja did with his guru. It includes five steps-

Taapa - branding the symbols of conch and discus on the shoulders of the aspirant to eliminate past sins and also as reminder that he/she is the servant of the Lord.
Pundram –The application of sacred marks on 12 places; forehead, shoulders, chest, top and bottom end of the backbone, the head. This sacrament is protection against temptation, and also reminder that our body is a temple.
Dasya Naama – Securing a name that constantly reminds one that he/she is a servant of God.
Mantra Upadesha – Instruction of the three sacred manthras and their meaning. Recitation of these manthras redeem one from the cycle of birth and death.
Yaga - Complete surrender to supreme personality if Godhead(Narayana), and lead a sacred life by worshipping God everyday, and performing actions that please God.

The ultimate objective of the ritual is to have the sincerity in surrender to God. Going through the ritual without leading the life the way it is recommended will yield to no results, and it is not considered as complete surrender.

Achieving moksha

Maha Vakya

The Mahavakyas (sing.: mahāvākya, महावाक्य; plural: mahāvākyāni, महावाक्यानि) are "The Great Sayings" of the Upanishads the foundational texts of Vedanta. Though there are many Mahavakyas, four of them, one from each of the four Vedas, are often mentioned 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 mahāvākya 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 Supreme (Brahman)

The Mahavakyas are:

Mahavakya	Meaning	Upanishad	Veda
prajñānam brahma	Consciousness is Brahman	Aitareya Upanishad	Rig Veda
ayam ātmā brahma	This Self (Atman) is Brahman	Mandukya Upanishad	Atharva Veda
tat tvam asi	Thou art That	Chandogya Upanishad	Sama Veda
aham brahmāsmi	I am Brahman	Brhadaranyaka Upanishad	Yajur Veda

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Tat Tvam Asi ( तत् त्वम् असि or तत्त्वमसि),

A Sanskrit sentence, translated variously as "That thou art," "Thou art that," "You are that," or "That you are," is one of the Mahāvākyas in Vedantic Sanatana Dharma. It originally occurs in the Chandogya Upanishad. 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.

Major Vedantic schools offer different interpretations of the phrase:

· Advaita - absolute equality of 'tat', the Ultimate Reality, Brahman, and 'tvam', the 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†† of Madhvacharya - “Sa atmaa-tat tvam asi” in Sanskrit is actually “Sa atma-atat tvam asi” or “Atman, thou art not that”. In refutation of Mayavada (Mayavada sata dushani), text 6, 'tat tvam asi" is translated as "you are a servant of the Supreme (Vishnu)"

· Acintya Bheda Abheda - inconceivable oneness and difference between individual self as a part of the whole which is 'tat'.

Tat Tvam Asi ( तत् त्वम् असि or तत्त्वमसि),

Major Vedantic schools offer different interpretations of the phrase:

Advaita - absolute equality of 'tat', the Ultimate Reality, Brahman, and 'tvam', the 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†† of Madhvacharya - “Sa atmaa-tat tvam asi” in Sanskrit is actually “Sa atma-atat tvam asi” or “Atman, thou art not that”. In refutation of Mayavada (Mayavada sata dushani), text 6, 'tat tvam asi" is translated as "you are a servant of the Supreme (Vishnu)"

Acintya Bheda Abheda - inconceivable oneness and difference between individual self as a part of the whole which is 'tat'.

Tat tvam asi
Tat tvam asi is the Mahāvākya The Advaita school of Shankara assigns a fundamental importance to this Mahāvākya.This is actually a statement meted out by Sage Aruni to Shvetaketu, his son. It says literally 'That thou are'. In other words that Brahman which is the common Reality behind everything in the cosmos is the same as the essential Divinity, namely the Atman, within you. It is this identity which is the grand finale of Upanishadic teaching, according to Advaita. The realisation of this arises only by an intuitive experience and is totally different from any objective experience. It cannot be inferred from some other bit of knowledge. To comprehend the meaning an analysis of the three words in the pronouncement is needed.
Who is this 'Thou'?'Thou' stands for the inherent substratum in each one of us without which our very existence is out of question. Certainly it is not the body, mind, the senses, or anything that we call ours. It is the innermost Self, stripped of all egoistic tendencies. It is Ātman.
The entity indicated by the word 'That' according to the notation used in the Vedas, is Brahman, the transcendent Reality which is beyond everything that is finite, everything that is conceived or thought about. You cannot give a full analogy to it and that is why the Vedas say words cannot describe it. It cannot even be imagined because when there is nothing else other than Brahman it has to be beyond space and time. We can imagine space without earth,water, fire and air. But it is next to impossible to imagine something outside space. Space is the most subtle of the five elemental fundamentals. As we proceed from the grossest to the subtle, that is, from earth to water, to fire, to air, and to space the negation of each grosser matter is possible to be imagined within the framework of the more subtle one. But once we reach the fifth one, namely space or Ākāsha, the negation of that and the conception of something beyond, where even the space is merged into something more subtle, is not for the finite mind. The Vedas therefore declare the existence of this entity and call it 'sat' (existence), also known as Brahman.

That and This The Ātman or the innermost core of our self seems to have an individuality of its own. So, in saying that it is the same as the unqualified Brahman in the Infinite Cosmos, we seem to be identifying two things: one that is unlimited and unconditioned, and one that is limited and conditioned. Whenever someone says, for instance, that the person B whom you are meeting just now is the same as the person A whom you saw twenty years ago at such and such a place, what is actually meant is not the identity of the dresses of the two personalities of A and B, nor of the features (those of B may be totally different from A), but of the essential person behind the names. So whenever such an identity is talked about we have to throw away certain aspects which are temporarily distinctive or indicative in both and cling on only to those essentials without which they are not what they are. B and A may have distinct professions, may have different names, may have different attitudes towards you or towards a certain issue, or may have an additional identity, exemplified by, say, having different passports—but still they are the same, is what is being asserted by the statement 'B is the same as A'.
Brahman minus its Māyā and Ātman minus its avidyā are identical
In the same way, when Brahman and Atman are identified by this Mahāvākya, we have to discard those inessential qualities that are only indicative (and therefore extraneous), choosing only to explore what commonality or essentiality there is in them that is being identified. Brahman is the primordial Cause of this Universe. But this is a predication of Brahman and so is extraneous to the identity about which we are speaking. The Self, or Ātman, appears to be limited by an individuality which keeps it under the spell of ignorance; this is extraneous to the essentiality of the Ātman. So what is being identified is Brahman, minus its feature of being the Cause of this Universe and Ātman minus its limitations of ignorance-cum-delusion. That these two are the same is the content of the statement 'Tat tvam asi'. The cosmic Māyā is what makes Brahman the cause of this Universe. The individual avidyā (ignorance) is what makes the Ātman circumscribed and delimited. So the Mahāvākya says that Brahman minus its Māyā and Atman minus its avidyā are identical.

Tat Tvam Asi

Enlightenment reveals the true nature of reality. How is it treated in three important Indian systems: Samkhya-Yoga, early Buddhism, and Shankara's Advaita Vedanta.

Enlightenment has different names in the various systems -- kaivalya, nirvana, moksha, etc. -- and is described in different ways, but the similarities among them are great. Perhaps the most significant is the agreement that enlightenment is intellectually incomprehensible; it cannot be understood or attained through conceptual knowledge, because it escapes all categories of thought. Hence Indian philosophy points beyond itself to a realization which transcends philosophy. Samkhya-Yoga is dualistic, early Buddhism may be considered pluralistic, and Advaita Vedanta is monistic.

Samkhya-

Sāmkhya is apparently dualist. Sage Kapila is considered as the founder of the Samkhya school, but there is no evidence to prove that the texts attributed to him. Samkhya does not mention the existence of God or any other exterior influence, which is taken by many modern critics to be a denial of existence of God. Sāmkhya philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two realities: Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (phenomenal realm of matter). They are the experiencer and the experienced

Jiva is that state of Puruṣa in which Puruṣa lies bonded to Prakriti through the glue of desire, and end of this bondage is Moksha. Samkhya does not describe what happens after Moksha and does not mention anything about Ishwara or God, because after liberation there is no essential distinction of individual and universal Puruṣa

Samkhya Yoga may emphasize the isolation from the natural world which kaivalya (aloofness) brings because it is based upon the dualism of a purusha (pure consciousness) which realizes its distinction from prakrti (everything else). Samkhya-Yoga is dualistic because they postulate two basic substances: purusha (pure unchanging consciousness) and prakrti,( the natural world which encompasses everything else) prakrti includes all mental as well as all physical phenomena. The purusha is reduced to a pure "Seer" which actually does nothing, although its presence is necessary. In our usual deluded condition we are not able to distinguish between them. Pure consciousness mistakenly identifies with its reflections; so I cling to "my" mental panorama and "my" body and its possessions. The purusha is not even able to realize the distinction between itself and prakrti; it is actually the buddhi (the most rarified mental part of prakrti) that realizes the distinction, whereupon the purusha is established in its own nature as solitary and independent, indifferently observing the natural world.

Samkhya is a metaphysical system, Yoga deals with the yogic path which one follows in order to attain kaivalya. It is significant that there is nothing within the eight limbs of yoga practice which is antithetical to Vedanta; in fact, the Yogic path actually seems to fit an Advaitic metaphysics better than a Samkhya one. In samadhi, the eighth and highest limb, the mind loses ego-awareness and becomes one with the object of meditation, but this non-dualistic experience is only "as it were" in Yoga, since the ultimate goal of the yogic system is the discrimination of pure consciousness from all those objects it identifies with. But this experience accords very well with the Advaitic aim of "realizing the whole universe as the Self

Sankhya does not believe in an Ishvara (God). Sankhya does not disbelieve in an Ishvara (God) either. Sankhya says that Ishvara is asiddha, ie. the existence of Ishvara cannot be proved.

Buddhist philosophy The nature of nirvana is perhaps the greatest problem, probably because Buddha himself refused to speculate on it. His attitude was, in effect: If you want to know what nirvana is like, then attain it. But clearly nirvana does not involve the isolation of a pure consciousness, because there is no such thing in early Buddhism. The unique feature of Buddhism is that there is no self at all, and never was; there are only five skandhas, "heaps" of elements, which constantly interact. It is significant that the skandhas do not constitute a self; the sense of a self is merely an illusion created by their interaction. The Buddha emphasized that one should not identify anything as the self.

The Theravadin Abhidharmists analyzed reality into a set of separate dharmas ("elements" ),whose interaction creates the illusion of a self and of external objects. Nirvana for them seems to have been the cessation of cooperation among these various dharmas, leading to their quiescent isolation from each other. Since consciousness is conditioned, a result of their interaction, this would seem to be the cessation of consciousness as well.

Mahayanists accepted the theory of dharmas, but not their objective reality; in themselves the elements are unreal because they are relative (shunya, "empty"). There is a higher, absolute truth (paramartha), about which one can say nothing (according to the Madhyamika of Nagarjuna) but which comes close to the pure consciousness of Vedanta (according to the Yogacara "Mind-only" school).

Shankara's Advaita (nondual) Vedanta is generally regarded as having best developed and systematized the main strand of Upanishadic thought, which stresses the identity of Atman and Brahman. Brahman is an infinite, self-luminous (self-aware) consciousness that transcends the subject-object duality. Unqualified and all-inclusive, perhaps its most significant feature is that it is "One without a second," for there is nothing outside it. Hence Atman -- the true Self, what each of us really is -- is one with this Brahman. Tat tvam asi: "That thou art." This is "All-Selfness": "...there is nothing else but the Self." "To realize the whole universe as the Self is the means of getting rid of bondage." "To the seer, all things have verily become the Self."

So the Atman should not be understood as a distinct self that merges with Brahman. To realize Atman is to realize Brahman because they are really the same thing; in fact, the two words are used interchangeably in some Upanishads. One may state, in answer to the Buddhists, that a consciousness, a self, is needed to organize experience, but that turns out to have been Brahman itself, when Brahman is realized -- that is to say, when Brahman realizes its own true nature. The world of multiplicity and change is maya, illusion. There is nothing but the all-inclusive Self: Atman should be rejected as superfluous, because it suggests another entity apart from Brahman. One should not multiply entities beyond necessity.

Shankara says, moksha, liberation, is the realization that I am, and always have been, Brahman; my individual ego-consciousness is destroyed, but not the pure, non-dual consciousness which it was always just a reflection of. It must be emphasized that one does not attain or merge with this Brahman; one merely realizes that one has always been Brahman. Shankara uses the analogy of the space within a closed jar: that space has always been one with all space; there is but the illusion of separateness. This point -- that really there is nothing to attain -- is especially significant because the same is true for Yoga and Buddhism. In Buddhism, there never was a self; it was always just an illusion

Differences

The similarities between Mahayana and Advaita Vedanta have been much noticed; they are so great that some commentators conceive of the two as different stages of the same system. Curiously, both Shankara and his predecessor Gaudapada were accused of being crypto-Buddhists, while on the other side, Theravadins criticized Mahayana for being a degeneration back into Hinduism.

Yet there is undeniably a serious difference between early Buddhism and Vedanta: the first says there is no self and the other says everything is the self; there is apparently no consciousness in nirvana, but everything is consciousness in moksha. The fact that these systems are so diametrically opposed here, that one is the mirror image of the other, is suggestive. They are both extreme positions, trying to resolve the relation between the self and the non-self by conflating the one into the other. The not-self of Buddhism swallows the self; the self of Advaita swallows the not-self. But do they amount to the same thing?

Does enlightenment involve shrinking to nothing, or expanding to encompass everything?

Early Buddhism may be seen to emphasize the nothing, the extensionless point which shrinks to nonexistence; Shankara emphasizes the unique world which remains. But they are describing the same phenomenon.

It has already been stated that all forms of the spiritual path, including of course Samkhya-Yoga, Buddhism, and Advaita, involve complete non-attachment. One should not identify with any physical or mental phenomenon; in other words, one learns to relax and "let go" of literally everything. In doing so, the sense of self "shrinks to an extensionless point" and when that abruptly disappears -- which is enlightenment -- "what remains is the reality co-ordinate with it." On the one side nothing, not even the extensionless point, is left -- this is the Buddhist void, the complete absence of a self. On the other side remains -- everything, the whole world, but a transformed one since it now encompasses awareness within itself; this is the non-dual Brahman of Vedanta.

Early Buddhism claims that consciousness is nothing more than all those things that are experienced; Shankara insists that all those things are consciousness. Buddhism says there is no self, there is only the world (dharmas), Shankara says the world is the Self. To say that there is no self, or that everything is the self, would also then be equally correct -- or false, depending on how one looks at it. Both descriptions amount to the same thing; what is clear in each case is that there is no longer a duality between an object which is observed and a consciousness which observes it; or between the external world and the self which confronts it.

But why is there nothing corresponding to "Brahman" in Buddhism? Early Buddhism refers not to the One but to a plurality of separate dharmas, which is ontologically lopsided: the self has been analyzed away, but the reality of the world as objective has been left unchanged. Later Buddhism corrected this by making the dharmas relative, hence unreal -- they are shunya, empty in themselves. In Mahayana Buddhism shunyata, "emptiness," not only refers to the absence of a self but also becomes the most fundamental characteristic of all reality; in function shunyata is the category which corresponds most closely to the Vedantic concept of Brahman. But can shunyata be reconciled with the One without a second?

For example, it makes no sense to ask whether the universe exists or not; we know how to inquire whether a particular thing in the universe exists, but what criterion could we use to determine whether the universe itself exists? Because the universe, by definition, is not part of a larger structure from which it can be distinguished, so the universe cannot meaningfully be said to exist. In a similar way, because Brahman is One without a second, it cannot be experienced as One.Brahman encompasses all, hence it is empty, shunya. By definition, then, Brahman is also necessarily infinite in the original sense of "not-bounded" (by anything else), as a sphere would be to an ant crawling on it.

So there are two paradoxes: to shrink to nothing is to become everything, and to experience everything as One is again equivalent to nothing -- although a different sense of nothing. It seems to me that these two points are critical in providing a common ground where the two opposed systems meet. Buddhism and Vedanta may be seen as describing the same phenomenon from different perspectives. From their different perspectives, different metaphysical systems are derived. But we may still wonder why they opt for different perspectives. Why did Shankara prefer to speak of the One and the Buddha of nothingness?

Shankara tries to describe reality from outside, as it were, because that is the only perspective from which it can be understood as One. And this of course is what philosophy tries to do: to look upon the whole of reality objectively and comprehend its structure, as if the philosophizing intellect were itself outside that whole.

But the Buddha realized that we cannot get outside of reality and describe it as an object; our efforts as well as our viewpoints are inevitably contained within that whole. Thinking and its conclusions are events in and of the nondual world, although they are carried on as if they were outside, an independent and fixed measure.

we might say that there is only One Mind which encompasses all, but we must realize that phenomenologically there is no such thing, because such a One Mind could not be aware of itself as a self-contained mind in the sense that each of us is aware of his own mind.

What does this imply about how attaining nirvana/moksha would be experienced?

The difference between the Buddhist nirvana and the Vedantic moksha is one of perspective. The Vedantic explanation -- that of merging into the One-is a more objective philosophical view. The Buddhist interpretation is more accurately a phenomenological description. But in each case the actual experience is the same.

Shankara ends up defining substance so narrowly that it ceases to have any meaning. Nothing can be predicated of Nirguna Brahman, and it can only be approached through the via negativa of neti, neti: "not this, not this..." Although Shankara would deny it, Brahman ends up as a completely empty ground, a Nothing from which all things arise as its ever-changing appearance.

In a similar fashion, the early Buddhist elimination of all substance gives the dharma-attributes nothing in which to inhere. As the result of a necessary dialectic Mahayana Buddhism ended up hypostasizing shunyata, the emptiness which is the true nature of all things (and which the later Bhutatathata schools saw as the creative source from which all things arise).

There is still a difference of emphasis. The Nirguna Brahman of Advaita cannot be characterized, but Saguna Brahman is most essentially pure cit, nondual consciousness; whereas Buddhism speaks of nirvana as realizing the emptiness of everything. It is significant that the Atman of Vedanta is not self-conscious in the Cartesian sense: "...He is never thought, but is the Thinker; He is never known, but is the Knower. There is...no other thinker but Him, no other knower but Him." "By what could one know the Knower?" "You cannot know that which is the knower of knowledge." (Brhadaranyaka Upan., III: 7.23; II: 4.14; III: 4.2) Shankara explains: "That which is unknown can be made known and requires proof, but not the self [the knower]. If it be granted that the self requires proof, then who will be the knower [because the self becomes one of the knowables, and without a knower there can be no application of proof]? It is settled that the knower is the self." (Atmajnanopadesa-vidhi, IV, 10)

In Vishishtadvaita

Objections to the Advaita interpretation

The proclamation of Śankaracarya 'Tat Tvam Asi' is correct that both Ātmā and Paramātmā are sat-cit-ānanda, meaning qualitative unity of the Soul and God. However Ātmā, being localized Paramātmā consequently has localized consciousness. Paramātma, being the reservoir of Ātmā is situated within every heart is burning for me badly sentenceTherefore 'Tat Tvam Asi' falls short to understand that the Soul is not equal to the Absolute Truth in all respects. For example, as a single drop of water has the same qualities as an ocean of water, so has our consciousness the qualities of God's consciousness but is proportionally subordinate. Furthermore, if Ātmā and Paramātmā were indeed one and the same, it would be possible for any ordinary person to claim omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence in equivalence to God. Scientifically we know this to be false. Shankara however does not claim the person is God, but that the person is unreal, so no contradictions with science.
According to Advaita, there are 3 orders of reality:
1. paramarthika satyam (absolute reality) 2. vyavaharika satyam (empirical reality) 3. pratibhasika satyam (subjective reality)
"I salute that Govinda who is the extreme limit of happiness, Who is pretty, cause of causes, primeval, without beginning and a form of time, Who danced again and again on the head of serpent Kaliya in the river Yamuna, Who is black in colour, ever present in time and destroys the evil effects of Kali, And who is the cause of the march of time from the past to the future." -Adi Sankara Bhagwat Pada

Ramanuja on the Mahavakya

In the expression 'Blue Lotus' for example, the two attributes of 'blueness' and 'lotus nature' both inhere in a common substratum without losing their individuality. Such subsistence of many attributes in a common substratum is the correct apposition (samānādhikaranya), rather than the mere apposition as propounded by the advaita school. Direct meanings of the expressions should be taken, simultaneously fulfilling the conditions of Samānādhikaranya.

Meaning of the Mahavakya

The mighty Iswara, who is the indweller in the cosmic Body is also the indweller in every Jiva. Every Jiva individually is the body of Isvara, just as the Cosmos as a whole is. The 'Tat' of the statement refers to Iswara who resides in the Cosmic Body and the 'Tvam' refers to the same Iswara who indwells the Jiva and has got the Jiva as the body. All the bodies, the Cosmic and the individual, are held in adjectival relationship (aprthak-siddhi) in the one Isvara. Tat Tvam Asi declares that oneness of Isvara

The key to the correct interpretation of the full text is whether the statement - "Aham BrahmAsmi" is a simple grammatical sentence - in which Aham is a first person pronoun, Brahma is the entity which is the main subject of the Upanishath (what ever it may be interpreted as) and Asmi - is a verb, indicating the status of Aham. The Upanishath has itself offered the following clues to indicate its purpose :

Aham Brahma Asmi
The key to the correct interpretation of the full text is whether the statement - "Aham BrahmAsmi" is a simple grammatical sentence - in which Aham is a first person pronoun, Brahma is the entity which is the main subject of the Upanishad (what ever it may be interpreted as) and Asmi - is a verb, indicating the status of Aham. The Upanishad has itself offered the following clues to indicate its purpose :
The expression Aham in this case must therefore refer to the realisation of the Advaitha consciousness - Aham (Soul) is totally identical with Brahman

If we look at the statement at the outset its understood as "I am Brahman". Usually the meaning for "aham" according to the present day dictionary is "I". But the etimological meaning or the meaning of Aham according to the vedic days was "something without which u cant exist " . Similarly "Ham" means "something without which u exist" .We may leave ur friends, food , relatives, samsara etc but u can never leave urself and thats " Myself " . We can only be Aham for ourself thats it..similarly i can be Aham for myself..neither can i be Aham for anyone nor anyone can be Aham for me..But Brahman or the supreme godhead is the only independent reality whos Aham for everyone and hence Aham and Asmi are nothing but his secret name......he's understood himself that i am Aham for eveyone...... godhead being omnipresent he's poorna even when he's in u, he's poorna even when he's out of u and where ever he is his purnathe is anadi & thats the reason his purnathe is "Nirapeksha". So when u worship u need to worship to realize the bimba roopi paramatma in u & by being in u he has given to the eligibility to use the term "I"..So Aham and Asmi are his own secret names.

Ayam Atma Brahma

Atharva Veda proclaims 'ayam atma brahma' this holy axiom of Atharva Veda means that "this soul is God". It implies that the individual self, in its untarnished inner most purity and originality is the unaffected non-participant witness to the activities of the body mind- complex.

The concept of Ayam Atma Brahman is explained as Atman and Brahman being the same. A Mahavakya in Hinduism, this saying protrays the idea that individual self is one and the same with absolute.

The concept of Ayam Atma Brahman is explained with the wave and ocean, Clay and pot or Gold and Ornament. The waves and ocean is not considered as separated entity, similarly Atma and Brahman is the same.
Atman refers to tthat pure, perfect, eternal spark of consiciousness that is the deepest, central core of human being,. While, Brahman refers to the oneness of the real and unreal universe. It is like saying that atman is a wave and the Brahman is the ocean. The insight of Ayam atma brahma is that the wave and the ocean are one and the same.
It is like standing at the beach, looking out at both the wave and the ocean and declaring that the wave of the ocean is one. The person trying to understand this Mahavakya is observing from witnessing stance who is not related to either Atma or Brahma.
To attain the real meaning of Ayam Atma brahma, sit quietly and reflect on the inner core of his real being ,such as by placing his attention in the space between the breasts at the axact heart centre.Do not visualize anything. but allow the awareness to touch the feeling aspect of the centre of existence. Or if prefered, visualize a tiny spark of light that represents the eternal essence of your own self, the atman, on holding this attention for a few seconds or minutes, one can realise the maning of Ayam atma Brahman

Asi - Are
Aham Asmi - I Am
Asti - is

Tat tvam asi

Tat tvam asi is the Mahāvākya The Advaita school of Shankara assigns a fundamental importance to this Mahāvākya.This is actually a statement meted out by Sage Aruni to Shvetaketu, his son. It says literally 'That thou are'. In other words that Brahman which is the common Reality behind everything in the cosmos is the same as the essential Divinity, namely the Atman, within you. It is this identity which is the grand finale of Upanishadic teaching, according to Advaita. The realisation of this arises only by an intuitive experience and is totally different from any objective experience. It cannot be inferred from some other bit of knowledge. To comprehend the meaning an analysis of the three words in the pronouncement is needed.

Who is this 'Thou'?'Thou' stands for the inherent substratum in each one of us without which our very existence is out of question. Certainly it is not the body, mind, the senses, or anything that we call ours. It is the innermost Self, stripped of all egoistic tendencies. It is Ātman.

The entity indicated by the word 'That' according to the notation used in the Vedas, is Brahman, the transcendent Reality which is beyond everything that is finite, everything that is conceived or thought about. You cannot give a full analogy to it and that is why the Vedas say words cannot describe it. It cannot even be imagined because when there is nothing else other than Brahman it has to be beyond space and time. We can imagine space without earth,water, fire and air. But it is next to impossible to imagine something outside space. Space is the most subtle of the five elemental fundamentals. As we proceed from the grossest to the subtle, that is, from earth to water, to fire, to air, and to space the negation of each grosser matter is possible to be imagined within the framework of the more subtle one. But once we reach the fifth one, namely space or Ākāsha, the negation of that and the conception of something beyond, where even the space is merged into something more subtle, is not for the finite mind. The Vedas therefore declare the existence of this entity and call it 'sat' (existence), also known as Brahman.

Brahman minus its Māyā and Ātman minus its avidyā are identical

In the same way, when Brahman and Atman are identified by this Mahāvākya, we have to discard those inessential qualities that are only indicative (and therefore extraneous), choosing only to explore what commonality or essentiality there is in them that is being identified. Brahman is the primordial Cause of this Universe. But this is a predication of Brahman and so is extraneous to the identity about which we are speaking. The Self, or Ātman, appears to be limited by an individuality which keeps it under the spell of ignorance; this is extraneous to the essentiality of the Ātman. So what is being identified is Brahman, minus its feature of being the Cause of this Universe and Ātman minus its limitations of ignorance-cum-delusion. That these two are the same is the content of the statement 'Tat tvam asi'. The cosmic Māyā is what makes Brahman the cause of this Universe. The individual avidyā (ignorance) is what makes the Ātman circumscribed and delimited. So the Mahāvākya says that Brahman minus its Māyā and Atman minus its avidyā are identical.

Tat Tvam Asi

Enlightenment reveals the true nature of reality. How is it treated in three important Indian systems: Samkhya-Yoga, early Buddhism, and Shankara's Advaita Vedanta.

Samkhya-

Sankhya does not believe in an Ishvara (God). Sankhya does not disbelieve in an Ishvara (God) either. Sankhya says that Ishvara is asiddha, ie. the existence of Ishvara cannot be proved.

Differences

Does enlightenment involve shrinking to nothing, or expanding to encompass everything?

What does this imply about how attaining nirvana/moksha would be experienced?

But such a self that can never be experienced, because by definition it is the experiencer, can be described just as well as shunya, empty -- not however a nihilistic emptiness (Shankara's mistaken criticism of Madhyamika) but a shunyata which will be cherished as the Buddhanature essence of all being.
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In Vishishtadvaita

Objections to the Advaita interpretation

According to Advaita, there are 3 orders of reality:

1. paramarthika satyam (absolute reality) 2. vyavaharika satyam (empirical reality) 3. pratibhasika satyam (subjective reality)

"I salute that Govinda who is the extreme limit of happiness, Who is pretty, cause of causes, primeval, without beginning and a form of time, Who danced again and again on the head of serpent Kaliya in the river Yamuna, Who is black in colour, ever present in time and destroys the evil effects of Kali, And who is the cause of the march of time from the past to the future." -Adi Sankara Bhagwat Pada

Ramanuja on the Mahavakya

Meaning of the Mahavakya

The key to the correct interpretation of the full text is whether the statement - "Aham BrahmAsmi" is a simple grammatical sentence - in which Aham is a first person pronoun, Brahma is the entity which is the main subject of the Upanishath (what ever it may be interpreted as) and Asmi - is a verb, indicating the status of Aham. The Upanishath has itself offered the following clues to indicate its purpose :

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aham Brahma Asmi

The key to the correct interpretation of the full text is whether the statement - "Aham BrahmAsmi" is a simple grammatical sentence - in which Aham is a first person pronoun, Brahma is the entity which is the main subject of the Upanishad (what ever it may be interpreted as) and Asmi - is a verb, indicating the status of Aham. The Upanishad has itself offered the following clues to indicate its purpose :

The expression Aham in this case must therefore refer to the realisation of the Advaitha consciousness - Aham (Soul) is totally identical with Brahman

If we look at the statement at the outset its understood as "I am Brahman". Usually the meaning for "aham" according to the present day dictionary is "I". But the etimological meaning or the meaning of Aham according to the vedic days was "something without which u cant exist " . Similarly "Ham" means "something without which u exist" .We may leave ur friends, food , relatives, samsara etc but u can never leave urself and thats " Myself " . We can only be Aham for ourself thats it..similarly i can be Aham for myself..neither can i be Aham for anyone nor anyone can be Aham for me..But Brahman or the supreme godhead is the only independent reality whos Aham for everyone and hence Aham and Asmi are nothing but his secret name......he's understood himself that i am Aham for eveyone...... godhead being omnipresent he's poorna even when he's in u, he's poorna even when he's out of u and where ever he is his purnathe is anadi & thats the reason his purnathe is "Nirapeksha". So when u worship u need to worship to realize the bimba roopi paramatma in u & by being in u he has given to the eligibility to use the term "I"..So Aham and Asmi are his own secret names.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ayam Atma Brahma

Atharva Veda proclaims 'ayam atma brahma' this holy axiom of Atharva Veda means that "this soul is God". It implies that the individual self, in its untarnished inner most purity and originality is the unaffected non-participant witness to the activities of the body mind- complex.

The concept of Ayam Atma Brahman is explained as Atman and Brahman being the same. A Mahavakya in Hinduism, this saying protrays the idea that individual self is one and the same with absolute.

The concept of Ayam Atma Brahman is explained with the wave and ocean, Clay and pot or Gold and Ornament. The waves and ocean is not considered as separated entity, similarly Atma and Brahman is the same.

Atman refers to tthat pure, perfect, eternal spark of consiciousness that is the deepest, central core of human being,. While, Brahman refers to the oneness of the real and unreal universe. It is like saying that atman is a wave and the Brahman is the ocean. The insight of Ayam atma brahma is that the wave and the ocean are one and the same.

It is like standing at the beach, looking out at both the wave and the ocean and declaring that the wave of the ocean is one. The person trying to understand this Mahavakya is observing from witnessing stance who is not related to either Atma or Brahma.

To attain the real meaning of Ayam Atma brahma, sit quietly and reflect on the inner core of his real being ,such as by placing his attention in the space between the breasts at the axact heart centre.Do not visualize anything. but allow the awareness to touch the feeling aspect of the centre of existence. Or if prefered, visualize a tiny spark of light that represents the eternal essence of your own self, the atman, on holding this attention for a few seconds or minutes, one can realise the maning of Ayam atma Brahman

Asi - Are

Aham Asmi - I Am

Asti - is

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"AN AVATAR IS ONLY A PARTIAL MANIFESTATION OF ISHWARA, THE CREATOR, WHEREAS THE JNANI, THE SELF-REALISED MAN IS BRAHMAN (SUPER BEING) ITSELF "

Ramana Maharishi

The Isha Upanishad starts with the famous and insightful verse:

Om
Purnamadah Purnamidam
Purnat Purnamudachyate
Purnasya Purnamadaya
Purnameva Vashishyate
Om shanti, shanti, shanti

There are many translations and commentaries on this verse, each of which adds a different slant on the vast meaning. In some sense, a complete explanation of the nature of Reality and the entire wisdom of the path of Self-Realization is contained in this short summary. Here are several translations:

Om.
That is infinite, this is infinite;
From That infinite this infinite comes.
From That infinite, this infinite removed or added;
Infinite remains infinite.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

One group says atma is a flicker.What comes and goes, comes and goes is atma. Another says shoonya is atma that which is in between the flicker. Atma is karta. Atma is other than physical body which is Jeeva which will take any physical body according to karma or punya papa.. Jeeva is the karta. He can earn this during this physical body. Some he will spend and balance will be carried over till he spends the entire karma.This is called sanchita karma.These sanchita karma come together to form a physical body may be animal, human being or celestial being etc.

If Karta does good karma he goes to swarga. If after death he sits with God is Moksha this is one school of thougt

Atma is not a Karta but is a boktha or purusha.There is no connection but he only thinks that he has the connection. This is because of no knowledgeThere are many Atmas and you are one among them. This is Sankya.. He does not accept Ishwara
I am Kartha and Boktha is Mmansaka
I am Boktha alone is vaithika
There are many Atmas and another person called Ishwara which is Yoga philosophy.

Saguna brahma vishaya manasa vyaparaa

We need to be clear about the distinction between meditation and contemplation. Both are mental activities. Meditation is saguNa brahma vishaya mAnasa karma (mental activity with saguna Brahman – Brahman with attributes – as its object). And contemplation is nirguNa brahma vishaya mAnasa karma (mental activity with nirguNa Brahman – Brahman without attributes – as its object). In contemplation you dwell upon the nature of the Reality, Brahman. This means dwelling upon the nature of the knower’s very Self – the meditator’s svarUpam. In contemplation there is no difference between the meditator and the meditated.

Japam (mantra repetition) is preparation for meditation, or it can also be meditation – what you are meditating upon makes the difference. You cannot simply do japam on something that is meaningless. It needs to be the Lord's name, BhagavAn nAma.

SaguNa brahma vishaya mAnasa vyApAraA is meditation. This is when you meditate upon something – even if it stands for Ishvara-Brahman – where the object is different from the meditator. In meditation the subject-object difference is there, the meditator-meditated difference is there. In contemplation what is meditated upon is not different from the meditator. That’s why contemplation is meditation, but meditation is not contemplation.

People are all after an experience – even the experience of silence. Experience is of an object. And, if the attention is on an object, it is not contemplation. When people talk about meditation upon the silence, they are often confused. First of all you need to know that silence is the svarUpam of consciousness. Then you need to know what is consciousness – what action does consciousness do? Nothing. The knower is consciousness. Consciousness is not the knower. You negate all the known as objects of consciousness. Consciousness alone is the subject. There is nothing other than consciousness – knowing isn’t an action, it is the svarUpam. Actionlessness is the svarUpam of consciousness. That actionlessness implies speechlessness – it is the silence.

You need to understand the nature of the svarUpam of Brahman through study (shravaNam). That’s how you arrive at the understanding that the knower is consciousness. Then you see that consciousness is of the nature of actionlessness, of silence, of timelessness, of limitlessness (spatially, timewise and objectwise). You come to understand that consciousness is not dependent upon anything else for its existence – it is of the nature of self-existence. Then you dwell upon that nature of Reality, which is the Self.

The meditator’s attention is just there – on the very svarUpam of the meditator. The meditator-meditated difference is not there in contemplation – nirguNa brahma vishaya mAnasa vyApAraA. This is the meditation that can lead all the way.

The many names denote the One Supreme Truth:

Ekam Sad (One Truth)
Yama (The Controller)
Indra (Lord of the Senses)
Shiva (He who is auspicious)
Shakti (She who is power)
Saraswati (She who is the essence of the Self)
Shri (She who is prosperity brings to her devotees)
Agni (He who is Fire)
Surya (He who is Supreme as Sun)
Jatavedas (One who knows all births Jivatma)
Vaishvanara (Cosmic man)
Vishnu (Cosmic pervader)

There is no He or She or Male / Female (Purusha or Prakrti) in the Supreme, and there is no one or singular Godï as such, as this is more a state of consciousness of shuddha chaitanya, pure chit or consciousness, beyond forms, names, sex, creed etc., but represented in such forms for humans to grasp.

Veda

Veda (the pronouciation does not have akaram)

Veda is a mass of knowledge and not from one. Veda comes from the root Vid. Vid has four meaning. It can be seen in aa Thesarus for Sanskrit. It is called Amara Kosha . Kosha means storehouse or store. This is store of words by Amarasingha. Veda is not in book form. It has beginning or end. It is given by Rishis – Rishis are Mantra Drashta (seer of Truth) Mantra is Manana Traayeta. Cogitate for liberation, Sloka is particular Meter.

What is Shastra – Shas – control, teach command. – For the people to follow

What is Vedanta – Vedasya Antha – Culmination of veda, Acme of veda. It is not an end.

Tileshu Tailavat veda vedantah supratushtukag – Like oil in the seaseme seed vedantah is established essentially in every part of the Vedas

What is Darma – Anything which is selfish is immoral and which is unselfish is moral - Vevekananda

Means of Knowledge – 1) Prataksha(Direct) 2) Anumana (Inference ) 3) Shabda (Verbal testimony)

Agnyathe grapaka Apravarta prathaka – No knowledge to knowledge and no action to act

Types of Knowledge. – Para and Apara Vidya - Supreme knowledge and mundane knowledge

Veda contains Mantra, Stuti or samhita, Brajmana, Aaranyaka and Upanishads

Upanishads tell how to become immortal,. By understanding that mortal things like body and mind are not you. Aavrtha sakshuhu amiartatvam ichchan

Four Ashrama - Brahmacharya, Gaarahasta, Vanaprasta. Sanyasa. Sankara took sanyasa at the age of 7 and wrote all that he has to wrte by 8 . All his work by 18 like creating ashrama etc and then travelled for the next 16 years. Sankara says a person can become a sanyasa and Gurugrahat, Garahasta or vaanaprasta

Vedas are classified into 3 based on results

1) Karma Kanda (Ritul)

2) Upasana Kanda (Please lords by sacrifice

3) Gnana Kanda (By attaining knowledge)

What is Agama – It is command, faith, tradition, doctrine,

What is Nigama – It is settled text, Amnaya – Vedic Visdom.

What is vedanga – Auxilary to Veda like grammar, Astronomy, Jothisa.

Prakarana Grantha – Auxiliary - Viveka Choodamani. That which takes the particular part of the scripture and it serves other purpose and this is what is known as prakarana.

Anubandha Chadushtaya are (AVSP)

1) Adhikari (Fit student or Qualification)

2) Visheya (Subject Matter)

3) Sambandha (Relation of subject and the text)

4) Prayojana (Use or object of this study )

Sadhana Chadushtaya

1) Viveka ( Nitya anitya viveka.Analyse if it is useful)

2) Vairagya ( Detachment from the fruits to be enjoyed in this world and other world)

3) Sham Adi shatka sampati

Shama,(Turn senses inward withdraw mind except hearing)
Dama(control of sense organ except hearing),
Uparati,(Stopping all sense organs)
Thitiksha (Endurance of opposite experience like heat and cold, Sukha and Dukha )
Samadana (Focus, Constant concentration of mind, Like pouring oil from one container to another)
Shraddha (Faith in Scripture and Guru )
Mumukshutva (Desire for liberation)

4) Smosutva

Prushaartha or chaturvarta

Darma, Artha, Kama, Moksha

Darma should be basis for Artha (wealth) and kama (Fulfillment)

During Bramhacharya understand s darma

Garahasta is the time when a person acquires wealth and also fulfills desire. He gives wealth for other three ashrama. . It is highest ashrama as they give money for

There are 4 varnas is called varnashrama darma. . It is by Karma or guna. What you do and as per prarda karma.

Bhagavata. One which is related to bhaga (classs of qualities.Samagra Aishwarya(wealth, veeerya(valour), yesha(glory ) and sthree(splendor), Gnana and vairaygya

Sannaha baga itingnaa (person who has this quality is bhagavan)

Purana – Anything related to pura or ancient or historical. There are 18 puranas written by Veda Vyasa.

Veda Vyasa wrote all the purana but not fulfilled about anything and Narada says that you have written all the Brahma Sutra, puranas, compiled all the Vedas and further complicated it. Everthing is indirect. You have written everthing about the means to attain lord. It is about route to destination or god but nothing about god. Thus Bhagavatha Mahapurana was written as the last and 18^th one and it talks about the lord. It talks about Vishaya of veda. Jeeva Brahma Aiyka.

It is like dasarathi is related to dasaratha. Dhanavan is one who possess wealth. Masculine is van and feminine is vathi.

Vedas were compiled by Veda Vyasa . The term Vyasa explanation, classification, arranger.

Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa came in the beginning of Dwapara Yuga

Veda Vyasa gave the responsibilities of the four Vedas to four desciples Paila, Vaisampayana, Jaimini, Sumanthu

The four meanings are 1) Gnana or Knowledge 2) Vid Laba – Attainment of one.3) Vid Satta – Existence 4) Vid Vicharana – discuss

Vedas is called Thraiee (Which means three not three Vedas but the three types of text.

1) Rig Veda or formule or hylm (Responsibility of preserving given to Paila)

2) Yajur Veda Yajus or prose (Responsibility of preserving given to Vaisampayana)

3) Sama veda or songs (Responsibility of preserving given to Jaimini)

4) Atharva veda contains all the three above. (Responsibility of preserving given to Sumanthu

Nishnreyasa karnini karmani avedayarti – It came to be known as veda because it preaches those karma by following which one can attain moksha

In the vedic culture one verse in Veda becomes the essence and it is enough . If gur says Tat tvam Asi (You are that) . Desciple starts Tata pada sodhana and then he goes on Tvam pada sodhana and understands Tat and Tvam are same. Which means Veda, Jeeva and Brahman are same.

Prastana Tria (Parts of Knowledge is three)

1) Sruthi Prasthana (Heard knowledge) – Upanishads

2) Smrithi Prasthana( Remembered Knowledge) – Ramayana, Mahabaratha, Bhagawath Gita

3) Nyaya Prasthana – Logic formula which can be easily remembered and it is smaller. It is written by Badrayana. Total number in Brahma Sutra is 555

To know about Sankara - Sankara Digviyaya and Hinduism at a glance by swami Nirvedanda

Buddhism talks about Dukka and ways to come out it. What is the stram of consciousness – Each time you see a bottle it is produced then and there. The ignorance produces it.

Six Philosophy – They deal with God, soul and world. Sutra is a formula or Aphorism.

Astika Darshana

1) Sankya Sutra - Kapila

2) Yoga Sutra - Patanjali

3) Nyaya Sutra - Gautama

4) Vaisa Shika Sutra - Kaanada

5) Uttara Mimamsa Sutra – Badarayana

6) Purva Mimamsa Sutra - Jaimini

Nastika Darshana

Charvaka – Vatsauama, Jayathirtha (Charu beautiful Vak utterance)

Jainism – Mahivira

Buddhism – Buddha

Noe : Brahadaranyaka Upanishad by Sankara talks about argument with Buddhists ( Chapter 4 to 6)

Janma, Marana Chakrat Nivarti is Moksha. Freeing of Life and death cycle is Moksha

Vedas has 3 sections – Samhita (Prayer) , Brahmanas (Tituals) and Aranyaka (Knowledge)

Veda contains kalpa sutra. A shaka contains Samhita, Brahman, Aranyaka and Kalpita (this not part of veda put a tool to use the veda) This is called Shaka and difference between is beda.

Rig 21 shaka

Krish 94 shakas

Shukla 15 shakas

Sama 100 shakas

Otherva veda 5 shakas

Different kinds of chanting

Vedic matra is the way it has to be chanted.

Udatta – middle note – pa

Anudata – lower tone ma

Svarita higher tone

Dirge svarita –two tones higher

Every Upanishad will have shanti mantra – Like sahana vavathu

The Genesis of Yajur Veda

This story of two divisions of Yajur Veda was born.

Shukla Yajur Veda and Krishna Yajur Veda

Vedas says there are 6 methods to believe

Mukti are two types Krama Mukti and Videha Mukthi .

1) Krama Mukti is reaching different lokas till you reach Hiranya Garbha is final

2) Vedeha Mukthi – Attain realization (Jeevan Mukti)

Example is to become a commissioner is through applying to the post of constable and move with every promotion and reach to the post of commissioner. Else write IPS and and become commissioner

Videha Mukthi is change the perception. Changes like a child’s perception.A child does not differentiate gender. For a person who crosses the teen the perception changes

Upanishads are Shruti prastana and Mahabaratha and Ramayana is Smrithi Prasthana

Vedanta has three schools called

1) Dwaita – Dualism (merging Jeeva(consciousness to Krishna or God. ) Madvacharya came when Buddhism and Jainism were at it peak who were not believing Veda. Madhva was believed to be the reincarnation of Hanuman. He forced everyone to Dwaia by also beating them. Ge brought in Bakthi like that of Mira and Prahlad – Jeeva is eternally seperate

2) Visishta Advaira – Qualified non dualism – Jeeva becomes one with Brahman but still retains it individuality. Like merge a chakra, or Snga are part of Vishnu but not Vishnu

3) Advaita – Non dualism Jeeva and Brahman are the Same) Gaudapada was the first one to start Advaita which is called Kevala Advaita. Sankara streamlined and established as doctrine.

To study Vedanta it should be 1) Baghawat Gita, 2) Upanishads 3) Brahma Sutra

Darma, Artha, Kama, Koksha (Aram, Porul, Inbam, Veedu)

Two ways of realisaton 1) Study and understand through a Guru 2) you are convinced 3) Get concrete knowledge through experience. ----- It is ignorance removed-------

Dhwaja Sthamba - Flag post
A temple's flag post Just like the television station transmits signals to various televisions through antennas, the grace and blessings of the deity in the temple are transmitted to the whole world through the antenna called the flag post (Dhwaja Sthamba).
When the consci ousness is infused in to the deity during the Kumbhabhisheka – called as the consecration ceremony of the temple the same consciousness is also permeated into the flag post (Dhwaja Sthamba).
When this is done, from a mere stone idol, the deity becomes the very fount of cosmic energy. This energy is reflected on to the sacred flag post
(Dhwaja Sthamba), which stands directly opposite the deity, and is transmitted to
the entire cosmos itself.

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Some facts of krishna.

According to the Harivansh Puraan, Lord Krishna was born on 24th July, 3225 B.C. and graced this earth for 119 years. Lord Krishna was 83 and Arjun was 65 when the Mahabharat war was fought.and Bhagawad Geeta was written.It is said that life expectancy during that time in India was 175-200 yrs.Even Aristotle noted this thing about India in his diary.

(1) name : shri krishna vasudev shur devmidhush yadav.
(2) DOB : 20/21 july bc3228 sunday night , rashi : vrishabh. That day was of dwaper yuga's 8,63,874 year 4 month and 22nd day.
(3) He never cried in his life.
(4) beloved food : Tandul, tandalja ni bhaji & goras.
(5) beloved tree : kadamb, paarijat, piplo, Bhadir vad.
(6) beloved flower : kamal and kaanchnar.
(7) His weapons : sudarshan chakra, kaumudaki Gadaa, sarangpaani dhanush, vidhyadhar talvar, nandak khadag
(8) age at mahabharat : 89 years 2 months 7 day.
Age at death : 125 years 7 month 7 days.
Day : friday time : 2:07:30 pm (calculation by latest time)
(9) Arjun did agnisanskar of krishna.
(10) after his death, arjun's gaandiv and all other weapons became powerless and he realise that time to go from earth hence he explained to yudhishthir the same and all pandavas started their journey towards swarg after handing over all command to parikshit.
These r many unknown interesting facts about Krishna.
Jus 2 add...Parikshit was abhimanyu's son

The Parikshit, son of great Abhimanyu was sarwbhoum king after battle n he settled DHARM RAJYA

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Theory Text And Practice Of Sastha Preethi In South Indi

Sabarimalai Yatra, Ayyappa Pooja and Sasthapreethi are the three, most well known events that please the Kaliyuga Varadha Swami Shree Dharma Sastha. For a Ayyappa devotee the chanting of the celebrated three words is everything - " Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa" – Oh Lord Ayyappa, I come to Thee for refuge. The high and low meet on equal terms in the presence of the Lord who is known as Dharmasastha – one who teaches and upholds dharma.

Sasthapreethi is a time tested mode of worshipping Lord Dharmasastha in a very religious way by various samoohams and organizations in and around Kerala, and now in all parts of the country and abroad. The religious pooja is given more importance followed by Annadhanam.

One should not confuse Sastha Preethi with Ayyappa puja or Sabarimalai Yatra; Sastha Preethi in a unique and different form of worship which has its own methods and procedures.

Origin :

The spreading of Sastha Preethi as a cult (other than Kallidaikurichi) dates back to three centuries.

Over 300 years ago a handful of enterprising men, started from a village called Kallidaikurichi,(Tirunelveli district). Their aim was to establish some business and improve their material prospects.

The Karandhaiyar palayam Samooham (of Kallidaikurichi) situated on the banks of river Thamirabarani, was the origin of a concept called Sastha Preethi. Consisting of 18 Agraharams, Kallidaikurichi was in the western ghat region, it was the border of Chera and Pandya Kingdoms in yester years. Sastha was the beloved deity on both sides of hills. Kallidakuruchi had a temple for Sastha.

Lord ‘Manikandan’ (during his human incarnation) had come to this village and had called at the house of an old couple for some food. The Lord felt very happy with their hospitality and became "Kambankudi Daasan". People started celebrating the Lord and thus began the glorious Sastha Preethi through the Kambankudi family who hailed from Kallidakuruchi.

When the people of Karanthaiyar palaya samooham, moved out from Kallidaikurichi towards Kerala in search of a new life, Lord Sastha promised that He would accompany them.

Passing through hills and forests they underwent many hardships, but could overcome everything by the grace of Lord Dharma Sastha. They understood that the divine blessing of Lord Hariharaputra was following them. First they settled in a place between the present Mavelikkara and Kayamkulam. But they were not happy and were suffering with a sense of insecurity there… From there few groups settled at Kochi, Few at Paravoor and another pocket at Trivandrum.

Vanji paattu

Those days the geographical setup and main transport was water way. When the first Brahmin settlement went to Kochi, Vanchi Pattu (the boatmans song) was developed on the rivers and backwaters, sung by boatman on voyages to keep up their spirit. So selected few Sastha Preethis have Vanji Paattu as a part of their ritual. Singing on a typical folk tune, the glory of their Saviour - Lord Sastha is praised.

From Kallidaikurichi, Kochi and Paravoor, the concept of Sastha Preethi got widespread among the Brahmins who settled in and around Kerala. Sastha is praised as “Paradesi Kavalan” - one who protects a person of a foreign land in short Helper to the helpless. This system further spread to Palakkad, Trichur , Ernakulam districts of Kerala and Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Nagarcoil districts of Tamilnadu.

The meaning of the name Sastha Preethi is ‘appeasing Lord Dharma Sastha’ by pooja, songs and mainly by offering sumptuous feast to His devotees.

Though there is no standard written text for the procedure and methods, it is a customary practice that is being followed in all the places.

There may be slight variations on the pooja and procedures followed at various places of Sastha Preethi by different persons, but the underlying principle is same.

Generally the pooja on Sasthapreethi day comprises of Mahaganapathi Homam, Mahanyasa Japam, Rudrabhishekam, Rudra Kramaarchana, Sastha Avahanam, Pooja, Sastha Sahasranamarchana, Deeparadhana, Chaturvedaparayanam and singing of traditional Sastha Paattu songs.

Choosing the Day and Pooja practices:

Generally traditional samoohams have a fixed date for their Sastha Preethi. A convenient day is always chosen well in advance. It is a traditional practice that it’s always a Saturday. But the other aspects of the day are scrutinized so that it doesn’t hinder the feast and oil bath. (For example days like Ekadasi, Amavasai are excluded). The persons who are invited as representatives of the Lord - should compulsorily take an oil bath on the day of the event.

Regarding the pooja methods - Vaidheeka or Thanthreeka or Mishra pooja is used for Sastha Preethi according to the location. The priest invokes Lord Ganapathi, Ambal and Dharma Sastha and His attendants (Parivara Devathas) on tall brass lamps decorated tastefully.

The positioning of the Lamps varies from place to place. Sastha lamp always occupies the centre. All other lamps have fixed places with respect to the main lamp.

Kallidaikurichi and Paroor have Guru and Ganapathy on either Side of Sastha; Whereas Kochi has Ganapathi and Chellapillai on the either side. In few places all other Parivarams like Karuppan, Kaduthan etc are placed on the left side of the Lord and Yakshi or Devi swaroopams are seated on the right side. But a separate South facing lamp is compulsorily placed for Boothanatha Swami who controls all the parivaras.

Other than the traditional samoohams and in neo-Sastha Preethis, there is a common placement of Ganapathi and Devi on either side of Sastha.

It is also a practice that Sastha Lamp is lit with ghee and all others are lit with sesame oil.

Proper, procedural, detailed pujas are done to the Lord according to the Kalpam. Upacharas, Avarana Puja and other poojas are done which is followed by Kramarchana or by Sahasranama Archana. ( Pancha / Ashta / Nava Avarana puja is done to Sastha as per the school of thought. Texts like “Dharma Sasthru Pooja Kalpam” of Bala Dhandayudhapani Swamigal, “Maha Sasthru Pooja Kalpadhrumam” – attributed to Adhishankara, Dhakshinamnaya Pooja etc are used. We follow a method of Navavarana puja to Sastha which is in line with Srividya Navavaranam)

Shanka pooja plays an important role in Sastha Preethi. The people who get into trance are invoked with the Lord’s grace through this Shanka theertham.

The specific neivedhyams like Chathachayam Payasam, Ellurundai, Neiyappam are compulsory for a Sastha Preethi. And in general the entire Payasam in which vessel it’s made - is brought in front of the Lord.

Varavu Paattu

After the detailed puja, neivedyam and deeparadhana followed by mantrapushpam a detailed Veda Parayanam is made. After appeasing the Lord with Vedha gosham, the traditional Sastha paattu (Varavu Paattu – inviting Songs) songs are sung.

All these Varavu songs are written by a poet named Manidasa who lived around some 150-200 years ago.Tamil poet-saint Arunagirinathar is considered as the Gurunathar of all devotees of Lord Muruga. Likewise Manidasar, a descendant of the Kallidaikurichi (Kambangudi) family lineage, is considered as the universal Gurunather of all devotees of Lord Sastha. Manidasar has sung several hundred songs in praise of Lord Hariharaputra – which are sung during the Sastha Preethi.

For each and every event of the pooja he has rendered songs and poems called Viruttams.

He has also sung five group songs, each group consisting of five vrittams. These are known as “Kulaththur Panchagam, Aryankavu Panchagam, Achchanaar Panchagam, Muththayyan Panchagam and Sabari Panchagam.

Several songs of Manidasar register the glories and history of Lord Sastha. His songs are rich with emotive beauty with meaningful words and with a perfect symphony.

There are very few well versed singers in Kerala and in Tamilnadu. These singing follow a tradition and starts from Ganapathi. Manidasar’s songs are there in Chaste Tamil in praise of Lord Dharma Sastha inviting Him. Songs invoking Ganapathi, Shastha, Chellapillai, Yakshi, Sangili Bhoothathan and other Parivara Devathas are sung.

Sthanikas and their Trance:

While singing, the traditional upasakas or Sthanakaras of the respective deities gets into a trance and gets the supreme power invoked within them. In General Sastha, Chellapillai, Yakshi and Boothathan are the deities who are invited. Very rarely a place is given to Karuppan or Maadan.

Before the singing starts, eleven or more plantain leaves (Nuni elai) are bundled and decorated with sandal paste, kumkum and flowers and kept in the sannidhanam of the Lord during the pooja . All the ayudhams of Lord Sastha and the Parivaras are also placed near the main lamp.

A wooden plank is decorated with Kolam and placed before the Lord. In few places the peeta puja of the respective deities is done to the wooden plank. These Sthanikas (or Komarams as addressed by local people) who get into trance sit on this wooden plank.

It’s a customary practice that the moolamantram of Sastha is enchanted on Punugu (Civet) and handed over to the Sthanikar of Sastha. Once he gets into trance, he in turn hands over similar enchanted Vibhuti to Chellapillai and Boothathan, Kunkumam to Yakshi and Manjal (Turmeric) to Karuppan. Similarly the person with the trance of Lord Sastha accepts all the ayudhams from the priest and gives the respective ayudhams to the respective deities (in trance).

These Sthanikas are offered respect by the devotees and upacharas are done to them. They are seated on the wooden plank and abhishekam is done to them. They are decorated with garland, sandal paste and kumkum.

They bless the devotees with prasadam and convey the deity's satisfaction in the conduct of the Sasthapreethi.

The plantain leaves are handed over by the representative of Lord Sastha along with vibhuthi prasadam to the person organizing the pooja. Only after this ritual, prasadam, the food is served to the public.

The Lord conveys his message for the days and confirms his satisfaction about the Sastha Preethi conducted. People prostrate before him, get blessed and receive Vibhoothi as prasadam.

Once the sthanikas come out of their trance, they offer back the respective ayudhams to the priest and prostrate before the Lord and accept the shanka theertham.

The Lord accepts any form of worship with devotion and dedication and to those who cast their ego and with absolute surrender and purity prayerfully calls out to Him. He is always there, ever ready to take them under His benign shelter and bestow upon them health, wealth, happiness and prosperity. This is very well seen during the Sastha Preethi festival. This is an occasion where one directly gets the grace of the Lord.
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Kannan: My Guruswami who is a member of this group called me up to give his blessings and appreciation for the article on Sastha preethi and Kumara stavam postings. He was fondly remembering the golden days of yore about the Madan varavu and the thullal. He says that when the thullal happens Tulasi and Vilvam along with vibuthi should be offered to the person who is in trance.

A few words here about our beloved Guruswami. He is the disciple of Sri Devan swami. He has gone countless times on the Sabhari Yatra. He is a true devotee of Lord Aiyappa and his waking hours are always filled with thoughts of the Lord. His love for his disciples knows no bounds. Even when he is advanced in age he will walk fast and reach the Tavalams and cook for the group. He has never sought any comforts for himself like present day Guruswamis do. He will spend from his own pockets to take a needy person to the Malai. I am thankful to Shri Kumarji and Sat Rajalakshmi to have made him happy.

Swamiye Saranam Aiyappa
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Note : This is only a scribbling note. These are purely my understanding. These may or may not be the correct one. This is not to hurt anybody's feeling.

Enigmatic Muser

The Basics of Hinduism

Objections to the Advaita interpretation

Ramanuja on the Mahavakya

Meaning of the Mahavakya

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