let us spend our lives the way the gods ordained

The vedas say "vysema devahitam yadaayu 

 व्यशेम देवहितं यदायुः ..

let us spend our lives the way the gods ordained."

And we should not be biased in our interpretations of divine will.

The rule is for me and for you and all others should be the same as much as possible.

Our mind, lips and fingers should speak in sync and our actions should also conform.

Hypocrisy is the quality which actually separated humans against animals.

They do not have it and it is our abundant possession.

That is all

may we live possessing healthy mind and limbs and expecting a full life span as decided by you the deities

भद्रम् कर्णेभिः शृणुयाम देवाः भद्रम् पश्येम अक्षभिर् यजत्राः

स्थिरैः अङ्गैः तुष्टुवांसः तनूभिः व्यशेम देवहितम् यदायुः॥

bhadram karṇebhiḥ śṛṇuyāma devāḥ bhadram paśyema akṣabhir yajatrāḥ

sthiraiḥ aṅgaiḥ tuṣṭuvāṁsaḥ tanūbhiḥ vyaśema devahitam yadāyuḥ||

देवाः वयं भद्रं कर्णेभिः शृणुयाम Oh Gods may we hear with our ears only safe tidings and good thins.

यजत्राः अक्षभिः भद्रं पश्येम Oh the protectors of Sacrifices, may we see with our eyes only nice and good things..

वयं स्थिरैः अङ्गैः तनूभिः तुष्टुवांसः देवहितम् यद् आयुः तद व्यशेम May we live our lives as favourably decided by gods, with happiness arising out of bodies with firm limbs and with all round welfare..

Meaning

“Using our ears and eyes only to see and hear what is good and beneficial to us, Oh Gods, the protectors of the Yajnas, may we live possessing healthy mind and limbs and expecting a full life span as decided by you the deities..”

This is a Vedic prayer.. Interestingly, it is found in all the four Vedas.. Rik, Yajus, Saman and Atharva..

Do Vedas retain the status of Pramanams at that point and beyond...?

when we progress in brahmasutra bhashyam, the reasoning goes even beyond the praamaanyam of Vedas..

You can see a point in the thoughts of Shankara where he is absolutely faithful to Vedas..

but when his thoughts soar to the extent of stating that the whole jagat in mithya and the brahmam alone is satyam.. that the manifest world is illusory and only that Supreme being is real ,and all we see, perceive and learn are just illusions,

even the positions of Vedas become enigmatic very unsure..

Do Vedas retain the status of Pramanams at that point and beyond...?

there is hardly any answer for that..

Are vedas to be included in jagat.. or are vedas brahma.?.

Shanakara has not assigned that position to Vedas..

So any logic stops at a certain level..

And you analyse with a mind that is yours,

that which is conditioned by certain thought process,

and conclude that some intricate issues are getting proved..

But any proof is conditional..

Any set of data, even though it may remain rather unchanged could and would be analyzed by a more evolved mind later and there can arise different conclusions.. which may not be in agreement with the present findings..

Okay, you may be right in the present set of circumstances, perhaps.. That is all..

That is no reason for celebration..

The journey in search of truth never ends..

Because the truth in absolute terms is far far beyond anyone of us.. maybe even Vyasa or Shankara..

svasti na indro vrṛddhaśravāḥ svasti na pūṣā viśvavedāḥ|

स्वस्ति न इन्द्रो व्रृद्धश्रवाः स्वस्ति न पूषा विश्ववेदाः।

स्वस्ति न तार्क्ष्यो अरिष्टनेमिः स्वस्ति नो बृहस्पतिर्ददातु॥

svasti na indro vrṛddhaśravāḥ svasti na pūṣā viśvavedāḥ|

svasti na tārkṣyo ariṣṭanemiḥ svasti no bṛhaspatirdadātu || svasti na indro vrṛddhaśravāḥ svasti na pūṣā viśvavedāḥ|

svasti na tārkṣyo ariṣṭanemiḥ svasti no bṛhspatirda dātu ||

व्रृद्धश्रवाः इन्द्रो नः स्वस्ति ददातु I May Indra of long- enduring renown bestow on us welfare.

विश्ववेदाः पूषा नः स्वस्ति ददातु I May Pushaa who is renowned all over the world and who knows all bestow on us welfare

अरिष्टनेमिः तार्क्ष्यो नः स्वस्ति ददातु I May Taarkshya the destroyer of enemies and evil bestow on us welfare

बृहस्पतिः नः स्वस्ति ददातु I May Brihaspathi bestow on us welfare..

Indra is the leader of Gods.. Pushaa is a god arrayed with the Sun.. Taarksya is the divine bird.. possibly the Garuda ..Brihaspathi is Guru, the preceptor of Gods..

May Indra of long- enduring renown bestow on us welfare.

May Pushaa who is renowned all over the world and who knows all bestow on us welfare

May Taarkshya the destroyer of enemies and evil bestow on us welfare

May Brihaspathi bestow on us welfare..

The above vedic mantra is a benediction for all invoking the great and powerful Gods..

It is chanted at the commencement of some rituals .. and it is also the opening mantram of some Upanishads..

May we all joined together, be protected by that Supreme Being

ॐ सह नाववतु सहनौ भुनक्तु। सह वीर्यं करवावहै।

तेजस्विनावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै। ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः।।

ഓം സഹ നാവവതു സഹനൌ ഭുനക്തു। സഹ വീര്യം കരവാവഹൈ।

തേജസ്വിനാവധീതമസ്തു മാ വിദ്വിഷാവഹൈ। ഓം ശാന്തിഃ ശാന്തിഃ ശാന്തിഃ।।

oṃ saha nāvavatu sahanau bhunaktu। saha vīryaṃ karavāvahai।

tejasvināvadhītamastu mā vidviṣāvahai। oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ।।

May we all joined together, be protected by that Supreme Being

May we all joined together, eat and nourish ourselves and be nourished

May we all joined together, execute our assigned tasks with vigour and valour

May we all joined together, be rendered brilliant, may our intellectual faculties be sharpened

May we all joined together, never nurture any enmity or strife among ourselves

May there be peace, May there be peace, May there be peace

( Peace in spirituality or splendour of the Self, Adyaatmika, Peace in material possessions.. Aadhi Bhautika, and Peace in what comes our way by way of Divine blessings, luck and serendipity.. Aadidaivika

an important vedic mantra regarding Peace..

an important vedic mantra regarding Peace..

ॐ द्यौ शान्तिरन्तरीक्षं शान्तिः पृथ्वी शान्तिरापः शान्तिरोषधयः शान्तिः।

वनस्पतयः शान्तिः विश्वे देवाः शान्तिः ब्रह्म शान्तिः सर्वम् शान्तिः शान्तिरेव शान्तिः सा मा शान्तिरेधि। ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

om dyau śāntiranatrīkṣaṁ śāntiḥ pṛthvī śāntirāpaḥ śāntiroṣadhayaḥ śāntiḥ|

vanaspatayaḥ śāntiḥ viśve devāḥ śāntiḥ brahma śāntiḥ sarvam śāntiḥ śāntireva śāntiḥ sā mā śāntiredhi| om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

ഓം ദ്യൌ ശാന്തിരന്തരീക്ഷം ശാന്തിഃ പൃഥ്വീ ശാന്തിരാപഃ ശാന്തിരോഷധയഃ ശാന്തിഃ।

വനസ്പതയഃ ശാന്തിഃ വിശ്വേ ദേവാഃ ശാന്തിഃ ബ്രഹ്മ ശാന്തിഃ സര്‍വ്വം ശാന്തിഃ ശാന്തിരേവ ശാന്തിഃ സാ മാ ശാന്തിരേധി। ഓം ശാന്തിഃ ശാന്തിഃ ശാന്തിഃ

Om, may the skies be peaceful,

may the earth be peaceful,

may the waters be peaceful,

may the medicinal herbs be peaceful,

may the grand trees in the forest be peaceful,

may the lords of the universe be peaceful,

may the Brahma be peaceful,

may everything be peaceful

may the eternal peace visit the peaceful state itself,

may that peace be attained by us (the devout worshippers of peace and the righteous path)..

Om Peace, Peace, Peace...

I feel human mind has hardly ever again soared to such heights of Universal Love for all..

𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙫𝙚𝙙𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙚𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙨.

evolution of vedas and vedangas.

We have reason to believe that Vedas were in existence and were being chanted in some way or other,, even before the rules of Niruktham, Chandas Sheeksha, etc were formally introduced. ( the formal rules appeared centuries later)

Such rules were more or less formalization of the intonation in vogue which had happened naturally.. and of course there would have been some give and take during the formalization...

Take the case of music..

Music in its pure and original form occurred in nature in sounds of various frequencies, pitches and decibel levels..

Music was there in the flow of a stream, the noise of the wind changing its speed and rustling the leaves and trees, the drone of a bee, the cooing of a cuckoo, air sneaking in and out of reeds and so on..

But various races of people simply propounded some theories and chose to make certain musical notes following certain audio frequencies, leaving behind or suppressing the background noise..

The vocal chords when trained also did the same..

Music was already there.. It was just discovered by us,

Same with Veda chanting too..

The conversational words must have been arranged are tested to chanting, then words must have been rearranged to enable easier chanting, and then the vedic rendering pleasant to the ears and the heart took shape gradually..

Subsequently Yaska and others must have worked on the theories..

Vedas took shape as natural vocal praise of the humans in praise of the Supreme one

and

as vocal expressions of their pleasures and woes..

Application of the Vedic hymns for rituals and yajnas was a later epoch...

It can be seen that when the Vedic poetry was adapted to suit rituals and yajnas, the simple hymns till then were actually interpreted differently to suit the ritualistic purposes..

The Vedangas were actually the tools for that modification..

This we can understand if we just keep aside spiritualism and trace to analyze the evolution of Vedic literature applying simple laws of linguistics, etymology, pronunciation etc..

Any text on the cultural history of India either writted western or oriental authors have appreciated this issue..

Vedas, pre-Vedangas period, or post- Vedanga period are both great..

We can be proud of that even without taking the help of hardcore ritualism..

Significance of Guru.. Vedarambham.. Nitya karmam.. Brahmin Rituals. upakarma

Significance of Guru.. Vedarambham.. Nitya karmam.. Brahmin Rituals. upakarma 
लक्ष्मीनाथ समारम्भां नाथयामुन मध्यमां ।।
अस्मदाचार्य पर्यन्तां बन्दे गुरुपरंपरां ।।
Lakshmeenaatha samarambhaam naathayaamuna madhyamaam asmadaachaarya paryantaam vande guruparamparaam
for Vaishnava Parampara..

and
सदाशिव समारंभाम् शङ्कराचार्य मध्यमाम्।
अस्मदाचार्यपर्यन्ताम् वन्दे गुरुपरंपराम्॥
sadaashiva samaarambhaam shankaraachaaryam madhyamaam asmadaachaarya paryantaam vande guruparamparaam
is the Smartha Shaiva parampara..

The first stanza of first of the Vedas.. rigvedam.. calls agni as purohita and offers pranams to him.. Puro Hita... is the one who leads us from the front, and whom we just follow.. it is none other than the Guru.. Agnimeeley Purohitam..
Why, whenever we sit to chant a mantram,in fact just before that, we place our fingers on the head mentioning the rishi.. what is it.?.
We are paying respect to the guru.who was the drashta of the mantram and gave it to us...
we place the guru in a place as high as possible..
We offer pranams to Krishna, and all the dwijas before starting the gayatri upasana..
Namo Brahmnaya... नमो ब्रह्मण्य देवाय गो ब्राह्मण हिताय च जगद्दिताय कृष्णाय गोविन्दाय नमो नमः Aabrahmalokaat... आ ब्रह्मलोकादाषेशाद् आलोका लोक पर्वतात् ये वसन्ति द्विजा देवा तेभ्यो नित्यं नमो नमः
Maybe such actions have become so common that their significance is lost on us..
Guru is the first and foremost in our lives at every stage..
We perform the Vedavyasa pooja and Kandarshi tarpanam on Upakarma..
Every Brahmayjanam is an offering to the Vedas, upanishads, Kandarishis, Itihasam Puranam, Kalpam... the list is long..
We do not celebrated Guru Purnima only because it appears to be in the realm of yatis.. a prelude to chaturmasyam..

Vedic Prayer and entreaty to God

Vedic Prayer and entreaty to God.. in the bhakthi way are different..

The vedic arrangement of words..and letters are supposed to be according to the patterns of six Vedangas..

like kalpam shiksha niruktham, chandas, vyakarana and also following Jyothisha..

The first five are dependent on exact pronunciation.. intonation and so on..

You must understand that the Vedic belief was that when the rituals according to the prescriptions are performed, the recipient deities that is the deities who receive their due share of offerings from the sacrifice are bound to deliver the goods without fail.

They would deny such delivery when the rituals are incomplete and are not performed correctly in all respects.

The modern day authors and swamis added some sort of exemptions and condonations to the rigours..

The mimamsa schools did not allow such things.. but the bhakthi schools seem to support the existence of some concessions when the intention is good.. 

The modern gurus hold that it is sufficient to have good intentions.. 

Agreed, good intentions are okay when we consider earthly and mundane matters..

But if you ask the modern gurus,as to what is the basis for such concessions, he or they will have no answers.. 

No major concessions or exemption can be found in ritualistic matters.

In brahmin rituals we have to follow the Vedas and Vedangas..

Bhakthi schools or semi secular swamis can give their opinions, but such opinions cannot hold the fort in Vedic and Yajnik matters.

To believe in Vedas or to believe in Swamis is your choice..

But it is unfair to counter the requirements of Vedas with what some persons who are not exactly subscribing to Vedic ways are saying is not fair..

Those who want to follow Vedas can follow Vedas by subscribing to the rules prescribed in Vedas.. 

If they choose they can followed the ways prescribed by modern gurus.. and swamis too..

But the fallacy lies in creating hybrids or mules.. Hybrids will not work well..

Saammanasya Sooktham

Saammanasya Sooktham

Atharvavedam.. Chapter 3 Sooktham 33

This is the benediction Athrvan representing the supreme being is conferring on all of use human beings.. exhorting us to live in harmony.. 

This is similar to the Aikamatya Sooktham in the tenth mandalam of Rigvedam.. of course the wording and even tone her is different from rig vedam but the underlying idea is Saammanasyam or unity of purpose and unity in action..

सहृदयम् सांमनस्यमविद्वेषं कृणोमि वः।

अन्यो अन्यमभि हर्यन्त वत्सम् जातमिवध्न्या॥ १

अनुव्रतः पितुः पुत्रो मात्रो भवतु संमनाः।

जाया पत्ये मधुमतीम् वाचम् वदतु शान्तिवाम्॥२

मा भ्राता भ्रातरम् द्विक्षन्मा स्वसारमुत स्वसा।

सम्यञ्चः सव्रता भूत्वा वाचम् वचत भद्रया॥३

येन देवा न वियन्ति नो च विद्विषते मिथुः।

तत् कृण्मो ब्रह्म वो गृहे संज्ञानम् पुरुषेभ्यः॥४

ज्यायस्वन्तश्चित्तिनो मा वि यौष्ट संराध्यन्तः सधुराश्चरन्तः।

अन्यौ अन्यस्मै वल्गु वदन्त एत सध्रीचीनान् वः संमनसस्कृणोमि॥५

समानी प्रपा सह वोऽन्नभागः समानी योक्त्रे सह वो युनज्मि।

सम्यञ्जोऽगनि सपर्यतारा नाभिमिवाभितः॥६

सधीचीनान् वः संमनसस्कृणोम्येकश्नुष्ठीन्त्संवननेन सर्वान्।

देवा इवामृतम् रक्षमाणाः सायम्प्रातः सौमनसः वो अस्तु॥७

सांमनस्य सूक्तम् अथर्ववेदे अध्यायः ३ सूक्तम् ३०

अथर्व ऋषिः सांमनस्यो देवता अनुष्ठुप् जगती तृष्ठुप् च्छन्दांसि

sahṛdayam sāṁmanasyamavidveṣaṁ kṛṇomi vaḥ|

anyo anyamabhi haryanta vatsam jātamivadhnyā|| 1

anuvrataḥ pituḥ putro mātro bhavatu saṁmanāḥ|

jāyā patye madhumatīm vācam vadatu śāntivām||2

mā bhrātā bhrātaram dvikṣanmā svasāramuta svasā|

samyañcaḥ savratā bhūtvā vācam vacata bhadrayā||3

yena devā na viyanti no ca vidviṣate mithuḥ|

tat kṛṇmo brahma vo gṛhe saṁjñānam puruṣebhyaḥ||4

jyāyasvantaścittino mā vi yauṣṭa saṁrādhyantaḥ sadhurāścarantaḥ|

anyau anyasmai valgu vadanta eta sadhrīcīnān vaḥ saṁmanasaskṛṇomi||5

samānī prapā saha vo'nnabhāgaḥ samānī yoktre saha vo yunajmi|

samyañjo'gani saparyatārā nābhimivābhitaḥ||6

sadhīcīnān vaḥ saṁmanasaskṛṇomyekaśnuṣṭhīntsaṁvananena sarvān|

devā ivāmṛtam rakṣamāṇāḥ sāyamprātaḥ saumanasaḥ vo astu||7

sāṁmanasya sūktam atharvavede adhyāyaḥ 3 sūktam 30

atharva ṛṣiḥ sāṁmanasyo devatā anuṣṭhup jagatī tṛṣṭhup cchandāṁsi

Meaning

1.You people who are indulging in mutual acrimony, just for your welfare I am proposing the remove all the issued which can generate adverse debate and enmity among you and would encourage you to indulge in activities with utmost unity of mind.. 

All of you must work in harmony and mutual love attached one another in the same way as the cows always love their calves..

2.May every son be in agreement with his father and obey him in all respects 

May the mother have identical thoughts like the son. 

May the wife always speak sweet words to the husband and may the relationship between husband and wife be peaceful

3.May there be no enmity among brothers.. 

May there be no enimity among sisters. 

May a brother be of the same mind and absolutely devoted to his brothers and may all of them engage in activities in mutual accord.. 

May they all speak in harmony.. 

May they all act in harmoy.

4. I am conferring on you the Sammanasyam or Unity of mind to you invoking the powers of the mantras which are enabling the gods in heaven exist without difference of opinion, and which are ever prompting them to remain without any enmity towards one another

5. May you all live in unity with identity of views and opinions, and be united in purposeful actions admitting the basic difference between individuals and at the same time acting together understanding and accommodating the differences, speaking to one another in the sweetest and most amiable words.

You human beings, please take note that when you are acting unitedly I am also working with you and supporting you in all your endeavours..

6.You humans, who are desirous of living with a lot of co operation and equality, may you partake in your food and drink together sharing them equally and fairly.. I bind you all with the noose of love. Just as the axis of a cart wheel depends for its functioning on its radial node at its centre, and the proper alignment at the centre alone can make the wheels roll on properly, may you all be having as your centre focus for guidance the Agni. And by the benevolence of that Agni may you all live in welfare..

7.I am blessing you all to remain as of common accord in all thoughts and actions with united hearts.

I am keeping you by this very same action, under a magical spell of mutual unity.

Just as the Gods in Heaven starting from Indra who guard the Amrutam or nectar there act in complete unison, may your minds too work in complete agreement and without discord in the mornings, evenings and all times.. May all your minds be beautiful..

अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं agnimeele purohitam....

अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवम् ऋत्विजं होतारं रत्न धातमम्

agnimīḻe purohitaṁ yajñasya devam ṛtvijaṁ hotāraṁ ratna dhātamam

1 -1-1 of Rigvedam.

We do not know whether this is the first Vedic Mantram uttered by man.. But it is placed as the first Mantram, in the First of the Vedas, namely Rigvedam.. as it has come to us..

This mantram is in praise of The God of Fire Agnideva

The worshipper is acutely conscious of the supremacy of the most potent force of nature that is manifest near him

He treats fire as the Primordial priest, who leads the mortals safely ahead in spiritual and temporal Life.(Purohita)

Of course, Agni is one of the deities who is offered His share in Yajnams by way of ghee and cooked grain and other offerings.. in addition Agni acts as the carrier of the offerings made to other Gods

Ritvik The official in the yajna who looks after the procedural aspects.

Hotaaram.. The official in the Yajna who invokes and invites the presence of deities who are being worshipped.

Ratnadhaatamam.. Repository of wealth.. and Agni is capable of making His worshippers too rich in wealth..

So the Plain meaning is 

I worship Agni who is the priest, the one who leads us from the front, who is the deity subject matter of a ritual, a yajna who is the one who makes the formal invocations in the yajna who is the source, storehouse and the bestower of all wealth, gems, precious stones etc 

A simple word analysis..

अहम् I

पुरोहितम् the priest, the one who leads us from the front

यज्ञस्य् देवम् the deity subject matter of a ritual, a yajna 

ऋत्विजम् the ritvik.. who conducts and supervises the procedures of Yajna

होतारम् the one who makes the formal invocations in the yajna रत्नधातमम् who is the source, storehouse and the bestower of all wealth, gems, precious stones etc 

अग्निम् The God of Fire Agni 

ईळे ईडे। Praise, takes side with praises and for refuge..

aham purohitam yajñasy devam ṛtvijam hotāram ratnadhātamam agnim īḻe īḍe |

Note.. This is a mantram which has been commented upon by the greats like Saynaacharya and Bhattabhaskara and others.. There are so many notations, so many implied meanings.. So what I wrote above is too rudimentary.

This post is just by way of introduction to a great subject in study of Sanskrit.. The Vedas..

Happy father's day

आत्मा वै पुत्रनामासि स जीव शरदः शतम्।
उपजिघ्रन्ति पितरो मन्त्रेणानेन मूर्धनि।।
aatmaa vai putranaamaasi twam jiiva sardaH satam,
upajigranti pitaro mantrenaanena moordhani,,
(the first line is found in all vedas and many upanishads and puranas.. so to pinpoint any reference is superfluous)

My son, you are my own soul and life born as my child. may you live for hundred years, with this mantra a father breathes on or kisses the top of the head of the newborn child as a token of supreme love.. This is a Vedic rite.
From this moment a father becomes a different man, with every child born to him he simply multiplies himself, his own dreams, possessions, and he is prepared to do any sacrifice for the child, he keeps the interest of the child far ahead of his own interests..There can be no exception.. Every father is like this.. My father has left me quarter of a century ago.. I do not know what my son feels about me..I am proud of my father..And I am proud of my son. And I am proud as a son and also as a father  

Happy father's day