The four essential steps in furthering a philosophy or view, as per Indian traditions

 

The four essential steps in furthering a philosophy or view, as per Indian traditions

The distinctive steps of treatment and evolution of any system or strain of philosophy in Indi are

Poorvapaksha .The statement and treatment with respect of what the opponents or dissenting thinkers are holding, or are likely to hold in the light of their avowed standpoints.

Khandana.. The profounder of the new theory should proceed to refute such notes of dissent, applying all precedents, logic and illustrations that the he could present and convince the audience. Such refutation should be entirely with the support of clear logic and chaste arguments and not by resorting to verbal abuse of the opponent, or through character assassination

Uttarapaksha.. Here the profounder of the philosophy, opinion or Darshana in the most convincing manner and highlighting its advantages and merits in comparison and contradistinction to the opposing viewpoints

Siddhanta- After this elaborate treatment and convincing the elite audience that there is substantial merit in the ideas he has presented, the one who propounded and perhaps the audience too can accept the view as a Siddhanta, or theory or system of opinion

Here, in India people offer pranams to the elders when they meet and the elders offer aasheervadhams or blessings

Wishing good morning, good day etc.. ti individual humans does not  appear to be not an Indian Custom.We cannot see such practice in Vedas. Even the stotras by way of suprabhatham are meant for the Divine Almighty.. maybe because He is the creator of the day, and if His day is Good and nice, all will be well with the world.  Here, in India people offer pranams to the elders when they meet and the elders offer aasheervadhams or blessings.  The hymns addressed to the morning, the hymns addressed to various deities , are all seeking welfare and blessedness for  everyone without any special mention of any Individuals.  And many key mantras too seek the welfare and protection of all and not any particular person. If any Individual makes a prayer, in the manner  prescribed in Vedas and the Indian way, it just benefits all.. no caste, creed religion or region intended..

I was aghast to see how much Indian thought had progressed millenniums ago

after studying advanced physics and also seeing the contents of the technical parts of Vedas and other scriptures of India although to a very inadequate extent later in life I was aghast to see how much Indian thought had progressed millenniums ago and how inadequate even the modern western science of this date was to keep pace with that.

But the realization is too late.

We wasted our productive lives in silly rituals and silly taxation too.

Now I am crying over spilt milk.

And today we lack the talent of people who can see through the crusty periphery of Indian metaphysics and reach the glorious core..

I agree..breaking a coconut to placate God so that we may pass an exam is not the core idea of Hinduism or for that matter any religion or faith that was born in our India

Gurus and Preceptors according to Indian Traditions..

Gurus and Preceptors according to Indian Traditions..

A dear friend was raising an issue as to who is a guru and whether the teacher of today was the Guru of Indian traditions..

I came across the definition of various types of Acharyas in Yajnvalkyasmriti and the list of Gurus as defined by Devala, the great author of Dharmasastras attributed to Him

स गुरुः यः क्रिया कृत्वा वेदमस्मै प्रयच्छति

उपनीय ददद्वेदमाचार्यः स उदाहृतः॥ ३४

एकदेशमुपाद्याय ऋत्विग्यज्ञकृदुच्यते

एते मान्या यथापूर्वमेभ्यो माता गरीयसी॥३५

याज्ञवल्क्यस्मृत्याम् ब्रह्मचारिप्रकरेणे

sa gururyaḥ kriyā kṛtvā vedamasmai prayacchati

upanīya dadadvedamācāryaḥ sa udāhṛtaḥ|| 34

ekadeśamupādyāya ṛtvigyajñakṛducyate

ete mānyā yathāpūrvamebhyo mātā garīyasī||35

yājñavalkyasmṛtyām brahmacāriprakareṇe

He is the guru who conducts or presides over all the Samskaras starting from Garbhadaanam to Upanayanam and also imparts Vedas to the Brahmachari..

The preceptor who conducts or presides over Upnayanam alone and teaches Vedas is called Aacharya..

A preceptor who imparts some parts of vedas, in a summary way,just to suit the occasion is called Upadhyaaya..

and the preceptor who presides over oblations to fire alone is called Ritvig..

These preceptors are to be respected in the order, Guru, Acharya, Upadhyaaya and Ritvig..

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But one's own mother is the greatest Guru and she gets precedence over all the four preceptors above..

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(From Brahmachariprakaranam of Yajnavalkyasmriti.. in fact this Smriti and its Mitakshari commentary form the basis for Hindu Law even in modern times..)

Sage Garga was the Guru for Krishna and Sage Vasishta was the guru for Rama.. they ensured that they presided over all the Samskaras of the respective incarnations..

According the the respected Dharmashastrakara Devala

उपाध्यायः पिता ज्येष्ठो भ्राता चैव महीपतिः मातुलः श्वशुरस्त्राता मातमहपितमहौ॥ ------- पित्तृव्यश्च पुंस्येते गुरवः स्मृताः। माता मातमही गुर्वी पितुर्मातुश्च सोदरा॥ श्वश्रूः पितमही ज्येष्टा धात्री च गुरवः स्त्रियः॥ देवलः

upādhyāyaḥ pitā jyeṣṭho bhrātā caiva mahīpatiḥ mātulaḥ śvaśurastrātā mātamahapitamahau|| -------- pittṛvyaśca puṁsyete guravaḥ smṛtāḥ| mātā mātamahī gurvī piturmātuśca sodarā|| śvaśrūḥ pitamahī jyeṣṭā dhātrī ca guravaḥ striyaḥ|| devalaḥ

the following are equal to Gurus among men

Upadhyaaya,(the family priest usually)

Father,

Elder brother,

the King,

the Maternal Uncle,

Father in law,

one who has taken care of us as a foster parent or one who has saved us from dangers,

the maternal and paternal grandfather,

father's brother

the following are gurus among women

mother,

mother's mother,

Guru's wife,

sisters of father and mother,

mother in law,

father's mother,

elder sister,

and the woman who was engaged to breastfeed the person when he was a child.

Study and acquisition of Knowledge.. curriculum as per Indian traditions.

Study and acquisition of Knowledge.. curriculum as per Indian traditions.

अङ्गानि वेदाश्चत्वात्रो मीमांसा न्यायविस्त्ररः।

पुराणं धर्मशास्त्रं च विद्याः हि एताह् चतुर्दश॥

मनुस्मृतौ पराशरस्मृतौ महाभारते शान्तिपर्वे च

पुराण न्याय मीमांसा धर्मशास्त्राङ्गमिश्रिताः।

वेदाः स्थानानि विद्यानां धर्मस्य च चतुर्दश॥

याज्ञवल्क्य

आयुर्वेदो धनुर्वेदो गान्धर्वश्चैव ते त्रयः।

अर्थशास्त्रं चतुर्थं तो विद्याह्यष्टदशैर्व ताः॥

पराशरस्मृतौ महाभारते शान्तिपर्वे च

aṅgāni vedāścatvātro mīmāṁsā nyāyavistraraḥ|

purāṇaṁ dharmaśāstraṁ ca vidyāḥ hi etāh caturdaśa||

manusmṛtau parāśarasmṛtau mahābhārate śāntiparve ca

purāṇa nyāya mīmāṁsā dharmaśāstrāṅgamiśritāḥ|

vedāḥ sthānāni vidyānāṁ dharmasya ca caturdaśa||

yājñavalkya

āyurvedo dhanurvedo gāndharvaścaiva te trayaḥ|

arthaśāstraṁ caturthaṁ to vidyāhyaṣṭadaśairva tāḥ||

parāśarasmṛtau mahābhārate śāntiparve ca

The entire spectrum of education of arts and science in India of the past consisted of eighteen items.. The details are given in the Slokas about.. found variously in Mahabharatam, Yajnavalkya Smurti, Manusmriti and Parasharasmriti

The list would be found in other texts like Shatapada brahmanam too.. But the list is more important that the quote

The Subjects of Study are

1 to 4 The four Vedas

5 to 10 The Six Vedangas

11 Meemaamsaa

12 Nyaayavistara

13 Puranas (Including Itihasas )

14 Dharmasastras

15 Ayurveda

16 Dhanurveda

17 Gandharvavidyaa

18 Artha Shastra..

The four Vedas are Rigveda, Yajurveda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda

The Six Vedangas are Shiksha, Niruktham, Kalpam Vyakaranam Jyothisham and Chandas

Meemasa actually is the study of lifestyle in the physical sense as also the study and seeking of the supreme beyond the earthly life.. The two parts are Poorvameemaamsa (which later was called Meemaasa exclusively ) and Vedanta which dealth with higher planes of life

NyayaVistara is the study of Logic.. and even Sankhya, Mathematics and such structured training on a theoretical subject would come under this category.

Puranas.. there are eighteen Mahapuranas, eighteen upapuranas, many other minor puranas, and the great epics of India Ramayanam and Mahabharatham.. arranged under this head.

Dharmasatras.. There were great rishis and heads of clans who gave out rule books based on the Vedas and Manusmriti.. and these rule books were to be followed by the constituents of their clans without fail... The number of authors of Dharmasastra vary considerably.. We could find upto two hundred or more such authors.. But there are thirty six authors who are most respected.. and who are the authorities..

Ayurveda is the Science of health and well being.. this is considered as an Upaveda of Rigvedam

Dhanurveda.. The study of archery and techniques of warfare.. This is an upaveda of Yajurveda

Gandharva Veda or Gandharva Vidya.. This is the art and science of music and other art forms.. This is an upaveda of Samaveda

Artha Sastra... The study of economic and commerce.. This is considered as a part of Atharvana veda

Of course, any other subject above can be imparted validly only as long as they are in agreement with the four Vedas.

Each item listed about is the subject matter of thousands and thousands of students.. And many great souls actually learned and trained themselves in all these subjects..

But expansion of the subject further cannot be undertaken in a single post

Tiger for Lunch....an Indian Tale

Tiger for Lunch....an Indian Tale

A lady, it is alleged, quarreled with her husband, and was proceeding to her father's house with her two children in tandem..

The travel from one village to another involved negotiation of a route involving a fairly dense forest, which, as in all tales is infested with ferocious animals like lions and tigers and cronies like jackals..

Though quarrelsome, the lady must have been very observant and shrewd.. 

As she was entering the forest area, she saw a fairly big tiger coming their way..

And she realized to her trepidation that she could not avoid a personal interview with the tiger, and the encounter would result in her becoming the lunch for the animal. 

She was not prepared for that.. 

She thought out a plan.. 

Putting a false but almost convincingly brave face, she started a conversation with her children, all the time pretending that she had noticed nothing amiss..

"Children, I have been travelling in these jungles quite often, and I have always found that food for us is never scarce.. We get very fat and huge tigers in large numbers, and we can always stave away our hunger by eating at least a couple of tigers at anytime.. Here a plenty of them are at hand."

While talking so, she was also putting an ogling, toothy face (perhaps the memory of her husband helped in that), and the confident tone in which she declared the menu for her lunch and her appearance must have had their impact on the tiger and he really believed that if he was around, he would be eaten up by this lady sooner or later..

He thought that running away making as little noise as possible was the best way of escape, and was very quick in that swift movement..

On his bolting path, he met a jackal.. The latter enquired about the reason for the very fast and frightened retreat of the tiger, and was informed of the appearance of the lady tiger-eater..

The jackal laughed his head off, and replied." A human lady eating a tiger? Impossible.. True, she may eat her husband, but she cannot do that with you"

The tiger was not convinced..Then the jackal offered to clear up the issue by visiting the lady in person, and asked to tiger to keep company with him..The tiger was terribly afraid..

But after some management talk, it was decided that the jackal would tie himself atop the tiger, and they would face the lady together..

So the two animals marched towards the lady and her children, the jackal tied and seated atop the tiger..

The lady saw the two approaching, even from a distance.. 

Resourcefulness did not take leave of her.

.She shouted aloud.." You lazy and cunning Jackal.. You could manage to bring only a single puny tiger for my food? Don't you remember that I wanted at least three big tigers, and we had even talked about the price.. 

Now I will have to be satisfied with one small tiger .. It is really bad.. I shall make you the pickle for my lunch as I eat thing wretched tiger."

Hearing this, the tiger was terrified beyond all levels, and turned back and ran, ever forgetting that his friend was atop.. He ran helter skelter and was oblivious to the agonized cries of the jackal, which was tied fast on the tiger..

The tiger hit a low lying tree in his path, and that broke the skull of the fox who left for the abode of death...

No one knows, the lady would have eaten the tiger too, if she had to.

Our own words can kill us..A story...

Our own words can kill us..A story...


I am reminded of a situation in the first Chapter of Devi Mahatmyam.(of Markandeya Puranam).

The Lord Vishnu was having his yogic sleep atop his cozy bed of Sesha the Snake floating in the Vast ocean covering the earth.deluged in the waters of deluge or Pralayam.

There came out of his ear wax two demons Madhu and Kaitabha.. and they started attacking Brahmadeva immediately..

Unable to resist, the four headed Creator entreated with Yogamaya Thamasi, , to rouse the sleeping Lord..

and Vishnu was woken up from His sleep and He fought with the demons for centuries with no success on either side ..
Then Devi entered the demons" mind as delusion or arrogance and prompted them to tell Vishnu that they were pleased with the way he and fought with them and so they would give him any boon He, the Vishnu, wanted...

The Lord, was very practical and did not resent the arrogance of the two demons..

He requested the He be granted the boon of the ability to kill those two fellows themselves..

The two demons were trapped.. bound by their own words, they granted the boons..

They just clamped only one condition.. Seeing the whole world covered with water they thought it would be impossible for the Lord to kill them in a place where there was not water and so they demanded themselves to be slain where no water was..

The Lord agreed and them simply caught hold of them, put them on his spacious laps and severed their heads with the Sudarsana Discus..

So Madhu and Kaitabha were actually killed by the words of their own mouth, uttered without thinking..

lesson from Kathopanishad

lesson from Kathopanishad 

I see the greatest lesson from Kathopanishad..as this . 

Those who fear death and bolt and hide and pray and try to cajole destiny to avoid the Yamaraja atop his black buffalo are chased and finished off with clinical precision well in time.. 

Nachiketa was an exception.. Just because he was offered as a present to Yama by his father in a fit of rage, he pursued Yama to the latter's abode, to find that Yama was on duty elsewhere.. 

And when Yama realizes when he returns home that he has kept his noble guest waiting for three days, it is the turn of the God of death to atone for the disrespect to the young but bold boy but also to send him back to live a full life.. 

See the irony.. the bold man with a sense of purpose and dedication could keep even the toughest taskmaster that was Yama on the defensive.. 

Death runs away from one who has come to offer himself to be taken by it.. 

Another lesson is that Yama was ready to offer all material wealth and comforts to the boy, but when it came to imparting of the most secretive knowledge about death, 

Yama tried to test the boy's mettle to the full by offering all the allurements which would have trapped any normal human being , and the knowledge was imparted only when the student was found to be absolutely free from temptations and completely fit to receive the knowledge.. 

So at the end of the day, determination, courage and sincerity triumph..

महाजनो येन गतः स पन्था

वेदाः विभिन्नाः स्मृतयो विभिन्ना

नासौ मुनिर् यस्य मतं न भिन्नम्।

धर्मस्य तत्त्वम् निहितं गुहायाम्

महाजनो येन गतः स पन्था॥

vedāḥ vibhinnāḥ smṛtayo vibhinnā

nāsau munir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam|

dharmasya tattvam nihitaṁ guhāyām

mahājano yen gataḥ sa panthā||

from Mahabharatam III 17402 as quoted in the Translation of Sarva Dashana Samgraha of Madhavacharya by Cowell and Gough..

വേദാ വിഭിന്നാഃ സ്മൃതയോ വിഭിന്നാ നാസൌ മുനീര്‍ യസ്യ മതം ന ഭിന്നം 

ധര്‍മസ്യ തത്ത്വം നിഹിതം ഗുഹായാം മഹാജനോ യേന ഗത സ പന്ഥാ

(മഹാഭാരതം)

Different and even contradictory views are expressed by Vedas in varied contexts. Smrithis also speak in varied voices from time to time.. 

There is not a view of a Sage which has not been contradicted.. The essence of Dharma is confined in the darkness of a Cave.. 

So the best course of action is to tread the path of life as already shown by the eminent predecessors in majority..

The Indian philosophy could accommodate Hedonistic thoughts of Charvaka, and atheistic views of Sankhya the ritualistic path of Jaimini and Vedantic trends of Vyasa and Shankara because of this Generosity of our Sages.

It is meaningless to assert that I am right or my groups is right and that you are wrong.

We tend to lose that spirit of accommodation now..

We have to think.