Narada Bhakthi Sutra – 9

 

Sutras 67 to 73

Sutra 67

Bhakta ekaantino mukhyaaha.

Those who are singularly focused on God are primary devotees (Mukhya bhakthas). 

          Sage Narada starts describing Mukhya bhatha from this Sutra, which is the start of Section 7.  Ekantha means “having only one end”. That end is to be ever doing service to God with love.  Such a single-minded bhaktha is Mukhya bhaktha and he has only the thought of God and he treats his body, mind, wealth, and everything else, as the property of God. He lives in the world, loving Him, as His instrument seeking no rewards, not even Moksha, from Him.   His eyes see everywhere God only always and his mind is ever absorbed in God. In short, he is obsessed with God in love, loving him for love’s sake only.  The description continues in the next sutra as well.

Sutra 68

Kanthaavarodharomaanchaashrubhihi parasparam lapamaanaahaa paavayanthi kulaani prithivim cha.

Conversing with one another with a choking voice, with hairs on the body standing on end, and with tears flowing from their eyes, they purify their families as well as the earth.

          We have here a superb graphic description of one who is filled to the brim with the emotion of Supreme divine love. A comparison is drawn of a person choked with emotion. For this bhaktha the pent-up feelings of love are so overpowering that his throat gets blocked by the words that well up from within when trying to converse with another Mukhya bhaktha; they cannot find a way out of the mouth! The words find a natural outlet through the eyes in the form of tears. Some of them even find an outlet through the hair by making them stand on end!  Sage Narada tries to do his best to describe by using the above similes how filled and fulfilled the devotee is with Supreme divine love.  We should take his words in the spirit they are given, and not literally.  Wherever they go, they radiate love and joy, dispel fear and ignorance, and inspire and elevate the people who come to them.  This way meeting them, talking about them and hearing about them and associating with them inspires and purifies people and this is described as purifying their families as well as earth. Glorification of such bhakthas continues in the next Sutra as well.

Sutra 69

Tirthikurvanti tirthaani, sukarmikurvanti karmaani, sacchaastrikurvanti shaastraani.

They impart sanctity to places of pilgrimage; they render actions righteous and good; and lend authority to scriptures.

Sutra 70

Tanmayaahaa.

(They) are full with Him.

          Their presence adds holiness to the places of pilgrimage that they visit and their thoughts transform their environments infusing peace and joy into them. When Gangaji came down to earth, Lord said, “All those who take bath in you will have all their sins washed away and be purified.”  Gangaji asked “If I gather all their sins, how can I purify myself of all those sins?”  Lord replied, “Great Mahatmas who take bath in you will purify you of all sins.”  Shirdi became a holy place of pilgrimage because Sai Baba lived there.  Generally, karma is a bondage.  These Mahatmas have shown how the karmas can be raised to purifying status through their sadhanas.  When the karma is done for God and his worship, it becomes a sukarma that elevates one and does not bind.  So many bhaktas, lived in their own life without changing their profession, occupation, vocation, etc and have shown how a sukarma can be done. It is these great lives like Sri Aadhi Sankara and Swami Vivekananda, that lend to the scriptures an extra authority and authenticity as their lives are living examples of what the scriptures teach and mean.  Through their lives and teachings, they inspire young people to study the sastras and understand the great grand truth in them. If Bhagavad Gita remained only as a small section of 700 verses in the 100,000-verse epic of Mahabharata, it would have never gained the status as one of the most revered and recognized scriptures throughout the world.  It happened because, great saints like Swami Chinmayananda held it up high and conveyed its valuable teachings to the world and made it work for everyone.  And finally, they also lend authority to the scriptures themselves (because their lives are living examples of what the scriptures teach and mean).

          In the Sutra 70, sage Narada explains why of what he said in Sutra 69. These Mahatmas have realised the presence of God in and around them, everywhere and always.  Just as the river falling into the ocean becomes one with the ocean, even so they have offered their body, mind, intellect, egoism, and all at the feet of God and have become one with Him in mind. 

Sutra 71

Modante pitaro, nrityanti devataahaa, sanaathaa cheyam bhurbhavati.

The ancestors rejoice, devatas dance, and this earth is blessed with a saviour.

          In Sutra 68, sage Narada stated that these Mukhya bhakthas purify their families and the earth by their presence and association. He describes that further in this Sutra.  All the actions of such a bhaktha are conducive to the welfare of the world. He reforms many irreligious people and guides them on the path of devotion and Dharma. So, not only the earth feels blessed, but the devas also feel happy with his advent.  The devotion of such a bhaktha redeems several generations going before and coming after him. So, the pitrus rejoice on account of the prospect of salvation.

Sutra 72

Naasti teshu jaatividyaarupakuladhanakriyaadibhedaha.

Among them, there is no distinction based on caste, education, appearance, family, wealth, profession, etc.

Sutra 73

Yatastadiyaahaa.

Because they are His own.

          Sutra 72 can be interpreted two ways.  In the first interpretation it means that these bhaktas (tanmaya) can be anybody, regardless of the factors, that are mentioned in the Sutra, i.e., their caste, education, appearance, family, wealth, profession etc.  Another interpretation is that these bhakthas make no discrimination against any one based on such factors as mentioned in the Sutra.  Let us look at the Sutra on the basis of both interpretations, one by one.

The great spiritual luminaries like Viswamitra, Vyasa, Nammalwar and Tukaram were not Brahmins.  Kabir was a weaver; Nandanar belonged to untouchable caste; Kannappar was a hunter; Ashtavakra had eight bends in the body; Agasthya was a dwarf; Sabari was a rustic woman; Vidura was poor; Vibhishana was a rakshsa; gopis of Brindavan were not literate; yet all these attained God-realisation on account of their bhakthi and self-surrender to God. For, such devotees are objects of His special Love.  He loves them for their sincere love and devotion to Him and their pure and virtuous life.  Wealth, beauty, culture, education, family, caste etc., are of no value without these two qualifications.

          The great bhakthas see God in all and look upon all irrespective of their wealth or poverty; beauty or ugliness; education or ignorance; upper or lower caste; virtue or vice; as children of God.  So, they treat everyone alike, without discriminating on the basis of various factors mentioned in the Sutra.

          In Sutra 73, sage Narada reiterates this by saying ‘they are His own’.  In the case of first interpretation, the reason is that all devotees are equal in the sight of God because their devotion is the same irrespective of their apparent social and physical differences.  They all belong to the same group of Mukhya bhakthas.  In the case of second interpretation, the reason is that a Mukhya bhaktha sees all creatures in the world as children of God or God Himself.  He sees them all with equal vision or Samadrishti.  With this Sutra, chapter 7 ends.

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Chandogya upanishad (ch. 6,7 & 8) – 11

 Chapter 6, Sections 14 & 15

Mantras 6-14-1to3

yatha somya purusham gandharebhyo'bhinaddhakshamaniya tam tato'tijane visrjetsa yatha tatra prangvodanvadharangva pratyangva pradhmayitabhinaddhaksha anito'bhinaddhaksho visrshtah || 6.14.1 ||

tasya yathabhinahanam pramuchya prabruyadetam disam gandhara etam disam vrajeti sa gramadgramam prcchanpandito medhavi gandharanevopasampadyetaivamevehacaryavanpuruso veda tasya tavadeva ciraṃ yavanna vimokshye'tha sampatsya iti || 6.14.2 ||

sa ya esho'nimaitadatmyamidam sarvam tatsatyam sa athma tattvamasi svetaketo iti bhuya eva ma bhagavanvijnapayatviti tatha somyeti hovacha || 6.14.3 || iti chaturdasah khandah ||

Dear son, just as a person is brought blindfolded from the Gandhara country (by some robber) and left in a deserted place, and just as he would turn sometimes to the east, sometimes to the north, sometimes to the south, and sometimes to the west, shouting: ‘I have been brought here blindfolded! I have been left here blindfolded!’; (1) and as someone might remove that person’s blindfold and say, ‘Ghandhara is this way; go this way,’ and as the intelligent man goes from one village to another, asking his way and relying on the information people give, until he reaches Gandhara; in the same way, a person who gets a teacher attains knowledge. His delay is only as long as he is not free of his body. After that he becomes merged in the Self. (2) ‘That Sat which is the subtlest of all is the Self of all this. It is the Truth. It is the Athma. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ [Svetaketu then said,] ‘Sir, please explain this to me again.’ ‘Yes, my son, I will explain it again,’ replied his father.  End of fourteenth section

            In the previous section Uddalaka emphasised the importance of sastra pramanam through the salt and water experiment.  Now in the present section he shows the importance of guru-upadesa through another example, as follows. A rich man of Gandhara is kidnapped, robbed and abandoned, tied and blind-folded in a distant forest.  Feeling desperate he turns round and round screaming for help. Luckily, a kind knowledgeable traveller hears his cry for help and comes to his rescue.  He removes the cloth covering the eyes and gives him proper guidance as to how to get back to his place.  He travels as per the stranger’s advice, getting confirmation from the villages on the way and reaches his place.  Similarly the thieves of ignorance (avidya) and inherent tendencies (vasanas) rob the individual (Jiva) of his inner peace and distance him from his true nature.  His hands are tied by attachments to home, family and pleasures and his eyes of discrimination are covered by the cloth of delusion.

            As he cries helplessly and desperately for relief and a way out of the forest of samsara, a kind-hearted guru comes to his help, by God’s Grace.  Sri Aadhi Sankara says in Vivekachudamani (verse 3) as follows:

durlabhaṃ trayamevaitad, devanugrahahetukam |

manushyatvam, mumukshutvaṃ, mahapurushasamsrayah ||3||

Very rare indeed are these three things and happen only due to the utmost Grace of God—a human birth, a burning desire for liberation, and the blessed refuge of an illuminated sage.

Guru, curing him of his delusions and freeing him from his attachments shows the way to get out of samsara, attaining the Jnanam of his Real Self.  By intelligently following the guidance steadfastly with discrimination, detachment, desire for Liberation and the disciplines of sama, dama etc., he discovers that his Real Self is not the body-mind complex but It is Sat, the Existence that is Brahman, and merges with Sat, the Brahman, permanently at the exhaustion of his prarabhdha karma. Uddalaka now adds that this Sat, the Brahman is the subtlest essence, the Self of all and It is the Athma and declares “Tat Tvam Asi (You are that)”. Svetaketu seeks more clarification and Uddalaka agrees.  This part of the Mantra is only a repetition of earlier Mantras - 6.8.7 / 6.9.4 / 6.10.3 / 6.11.3 / 6.12.3/ 6.13.3.  This section ends here.

Mantras 6-15-1to3

purusham somyotopatapinam jnatayah paryupasate janasi mam janasi mamiti tasya yavanna vangmanasi sampadyate manah prane pranastejasi tejah parasyam devatayam tavajjanati || 6.15.1 ||

atha yadasya vangmanasi sampadyate manah prane pranastejasi tejah parasyam devatayamatha na janati || 6.15.2 ||

sa ya esho'nimaitadatmyamidam sarvam tat satyam sa athma tattvamasi svetaketo iti bhuya eva ma bhagavanvijnapayatviti tatha somyeti hovacha || 6.15.3 || iti panchadasah khandah ||

When a person is seriously ill, my son, his relatives sit around him and ask: ‘Do you recognize me? Do you recognize me?’ As long as his speech is not merged with his mind, his mind with his Prana, his Prana with the heat (Fire) in his body, and the heat with the Supreme Self, he will be able to recognize them. (1).  Then when his speech merges into his mind, his mind into Prana, his Prana into the heat (Fire) in his body, and the heat into the Supreme Self, he no longer knows them. (2).  ‘That Sat which is the subtlest of all is the Self of all this. It is the Truth. It is the Athma. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ [Svetaketu then said,] ‘Sir, please explain this to me again.’ ‘Yes, my son, I will explain it again,’ replied his father. End of fifteenth section. 

            In this section Uddalaka does not cite any example but describes the process of death which was earlier described in the course of the Mantra 6.8.6.  There is no difference in the death process of a Jnani and ajnani. Death being the resolution of the faculties, one by one, i.e. gradual folding back of the faculties, Jivathma at death merges into Paramathma with the gross body merging into gross elements. For the Jnani Jiva, the remaining prarabhdha also getting exhausted at death, merger is final and the subtle body also gets merged with subtle elements.  But merger is only temporary for ajnani Jiva as his subtle body remains in a dormant state and manifests again with a new gross body determined by his sanchita karma, the collected capital of past outstanding karmas.  Mantra 6-15-3 is only a repetition of the earlier Mantras; 6.8.7 / 6.9.4 / 6.10.3 / 6.11.3 / 6.12.3/ 6.13.3/ 6.14.3. where Uddalaka quotes the Mahavakhya “Tat Tvam Asi” and emphasises the identity of one’s Self, Athma with Brahman the Supreme, referred to here as Sat (Existence), and which is the Self of all as well and Svetaketu makes the request for more clarification to which Uddalaka agrees.  This section ends here.

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Aitareya Upanishad - 1

Introduction

 Aitareya Upanishad is one of the ten Major Upanishads for which Sri Aadhi Sankara has written commentary.  In fact, it is the only Upanishad from Rig Veda for which Sri Aadhi Sankara has written the commentary and his commentary for this small Upanishad is one of the lengthiest.  This Upanishad contains one of the four chosen Mahavakhyas spread over four Vedas i.e. “Prajnanam Brahma (Consciousness is Brahman)”.  This is one of the few Upanishads whose author is known to us. The Rishi’s name is Rishi Maheedasa Aitareya. There is an anecdote concerning the life of the young Maheedasa.  The Rishi’s mother was called Itara, which means “the other one”, presumably because she was the ‘other’ wife, from a backward caste, of the Brahmana, Vishaala.  The 5-year old boy was not allowed to sit on his father’s lap during a Havan ceremony, presumably because his mother was the ‘other’ wife.  The boy felt depressed and went to his mother and conveyed his depression.  This disturbed the mother, a potter-woman, who then prayed to her Ishta Devata, Goddess Earth, and the Goddess appeared, placed the boy in a celestial seat and elevated the boy’s physical status, and also elevated his mind by teaching him Divine Wisdom. The boy grew up to become a great Rishi, and acquired the name ‘Maheedasa’ meaning “servant of Mother Earth”.  Swami Chinmayananda writes in the preface to his commentary on this Upanishad, “Godhood attained by a son of the soil is our Aitareya and the Upanishad is the song of our Hindu culture from a hut of the slum”.

Aitareya Rishi has contributed to Karma yoga, Upasana yoga and Jnana yoga through Aitareya Brahmana dealing with rituals, Aitareya Aranyaka dealing with Upasana and Aitareya Upanishad dealing with Jnanam respectively.  Of these we will be seeing the Aitareya Upanishad which is part of Aitareya Aranyaka of Aitareya Brahmana.  This is a small Upanishad of 33 Mantras in 5 sections distributed over 3 chapters.  The Upanishad is in prose form.  Let us start with the peace invocation, Shanthi Mantra, which is unique to Rig Veda, and which appears at the end of this Upanishad as a separate section. 

OM vang me manasi pratishthita

mano me vachi pratishthitamaaviraavirma edhi I

vedasya ma aanisthah shrutam me ma prahasih I

anenadhitenahoratran sandadhami, ritam vadishyami I

 satyam vadishyami I tanmamavatu I tadvaktaramavatu I

avatu mam avatu vaktaramavatu vaktaram II

OM shantih shantih shantih II.

Om! May my speech be rooted in my mind; may my mind be rooted in my speech; Brahman, reveal Thyself to me.  Enable me to grasp the Vedic Truths.  Let not what I have heard forsake me.  May I, in my studies, join day with night (i.e. spend all my time).  May I assimilate the Truth (into my intellect); May I express the Truth (through my speech); May that Truth protect me.  May that Truth protect my teacher; protect me, protect my teacher, protect my teacher!!  

Om! Peace, Peace, Peace!!

This is a very beautiful prayer especially for spiritual students and therefore very relevant for the seekers as through this prayer the student seeks Jnana yogyatha prapthi, Jnana prapthi, Jnana nishta prapthi and Prathibanda nivrritti.  The student first prays to the Lord for harmony between his thought and also his word i.e. “What I say, I should mean. And what I mean alone, I should say”.  This is a very, very important value because the upanishadic teaching is in the form of a dialogue and in dialogue, two organs play important role. One is the mind which receives the message. And the other is the speech which gives the message.  Therefore, these two organs are very important.   So the student first prays for inner strength to live every moment of his life in healthy harmony between his mental waves and verbal expressions. Secondly his prayer is that Brahman reveal Itself to him through BrahmaVidya, which means success in his studies which is reiterated clearly in the succeeding prayers where he spells out clearly that he should remember the teaching and spend all his time in studies i.e. Sravanam, Mananam and Nitidyasanam only, without distraction until it is understood and absorbed.  He also prays that he should speak only truth.  It can be vyavaharika or Paramarthika depending upon the context, but never the untruth.  He seeks protection of the Lord for the successful completion of studies and also protection for his Guru as he has to learn from him.  This Shanti Mantra like all Shanthi Mantras, ends with “Om shantih, shantih, shantih!”.  Here Om is the sound representation of Brahman.  ‘shantih’ stands for the peace that comes from the removal of obstacles to the successful pursuit of study of Upanishad.  The obstacles are classified into three types.  These are:

1. Adhyathmikam – Obstacles arising from within oneself like one’s personal ill-health, negative mood etc. 
2. Aadhi bauthikam – Obstacles arising from other known sources or external situations like ill-health of a family member, noisy neighbourhood etc.
3.  Aadhi daivikam – Obstacles arising from unseen sources like floods, storm etc.

We shall start with Mantra 1 from next blog.

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Mandukya Upanishad – 1

 

Introduction & Shanthi Mantra

Upanishad means BrahmaVidya, knowledge of Brahman, the Cosmic Supreme.  The word Upanishad primarily refers to the knowledge of the Brahman, and secondarily to the book that contains the knowledge of Brahman.  Upanishads form the end portion of Vedas, Veda anta bhaga, and so are called Vedanta as well. Since this portion deals with the knowledge of Brahman and its realization and gives the knowledge of jiva, the individual, jagat, the universe and their relationship with each other and with Brahman, this is the philosophical portion of Vedas and is called the jnana khanda.  The earlier portion of Vedas, Veda purva bhaga, deals only with karmas and upasanas and is called the karma khanda.  So while karma khanda focusses on action, the end portion, Veda anta bhaga, called Jnana khanda focusses on knowledge.

Vedas are divided into sakhas.  Each sakha contains an Upanishad.  Originally the Vedas had 1180 sakhas, of which many are lost now.  So we are now having 108 Upanishads only instead of 1180.  Out of these 108, the ten Upanishads for which Sri Aadhi Sankara had written commentaries are referred to as mukhya Upanishads. Mandukya Upanishad is a mukhya Upanishad and belongs to Atharvana Veda and is named after the sage Manduka, with whom it is associated.  It is the shortest of the ten mukhya Upanishads with just 12 Mantras but “presents the quintessence of the entire Upanishadic teaching” according to Swami Chinmayananda.   Mukthika Upanishad states “Mandukya by itself is capable of leading an aspirant to Liberation (Mandukyam ekam kevalam mumukshunam vimuktaye)”.   For Mandukya Upanishad Sri Gaudapadacharya, guru of Sri Aadhi Sankara has written a detailed explanatory analysis called Mandukyakarika consisting of 215 karikas or verses of analysis.  The importance of Mandukyakarika can be seen from the fact that for a student of Vedanta, the study of this Upanishad is not deemed complete without the study of Mandukyakarika as well.  The 12 Mantras of the Upaishad plus the 215 karikas are divided into 4 chapters.  The first chapter is called Agamaprakaraṇam (Vedic text). This chapter contains the entire Upanishad and 29 karikas. The second chapter is called Vaitathyaprakaraṇam (unreality of the objective world) containing 38 karikas on the mithya nature of the universe. The third chapter is titled Advaitaprakaraṇam (non-dualism) containing 48 karikas dealing with the non-dual nature of Athma. The fourth chapter is called Alatasantiprakaraṇam (quenching the fire-brand) containing 100 karikas, which answers all the possible objections to the teaching contained in the Upanishad.  We will deal with the main Upanishad only in these blogs.

This Upanishad opens with the peace invocation (shanthi Mantra), which is unique to all upanishads belonging to Atharvana Veda. Through this peace invocation the student prays for 1) sound physical, intellectual and emotional health, 2) A full life of worshipful attitude to all devas and 3) freedom from all types of obstacles that may hinder successful completion of the study and understanding of the Upanishad.  Swami Vivekananda interprets the first two lines of this shanthi mantra as” Let positive strong helpful thoughts enter into our brain from childhood”

The shanthi Mantra, which is self-explanatory, runs as:

“Om bhadram karnebhih shrunuyaama devaah Bhadram pashyemaakshabhiryajatraah I Sthirairangaistushtuvaamsastanoobhih Vyashema devahitam yadaayuh I Swasti na indro vridhashravaah Swasti nah pooshaa vishwavedaah I Swasti nastaarkshyo arishtanemihSwasti no brihaspatir dadhaatu.II  Om shantih, shantih, shantih!  II” 

Om, O Devas, may our ears hear what is good and auspicious! May we see what is auspicious! May we sing your praise, live our allotted span of life in perfect health and strength! May Indra (who is) extolled in the scriptures, Surya, the all-knowing, Garuda, who saves from all harm, and Brihaspati who protects our spiritual lustre, vouchsafe prosperity in our study of the scriptures and the practice of the truths contained therein! Om peace, peace, peace!

The shanti Mantra ends with “Om shantih, shantih, shantih!”  where Om is the sound representation of Brahman and  ‘shantih’ stands for the peace that comes from the removal of obstacles to the successful pursuit of study of Upanishad.  The obstacles are classified into three types.  These are:

1. Adhyathmikam – Obstacles arising from within oneself like one’s personal ill-health, negative mood etc. 
2. Aadhi bauthikam – Obstacles arising from other known sources or external situations like ill-health of a family member, noisy neighbourhood etc.
3. Aadhi daivikam – obstacles arising from unseen sources like floods, storm etc.

Mantra 1 let us see in the next blog.

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