Guest guest Posted November 4, 1998 Report Share Posted November 4, 1998 Hari om ! >From this issue I plan to start lessons on a well known introductory text of Vedanta philosophy called 'Tattva Bodha'. These lessons will be sent as & when I get time, but hopefully one lesson will be sent once in a week, except ofcourse when I am out of station. I suggest our members to keep these lessons in a separate folder, and go through these lessons again & again till they catch the implied meaning of the section. This text is said to have been written by Sri Adi Sankaracharya himself, and therefore we can rest assured that anyone closely following it will be able to get a good hold on the basics of Vedanta and its terminology. You are free to write to me any of your doubts or questions which you may possibly encounter. We are also continuing with lessons on the same text of 'guru-prasad list', which being HTML compatible has the facility of usage of other fonts too. We thus provide the original text in Devnagari script too. Those desirous of accessing the Sanskrit text can go to the following URL and see the archieves on the web itself : /list/guru-prasad 'TATTVA BODHA' Tattva bodha literally means 'Knowledge of the Truth'. This small but all encompassing text has been written by one of the greatest teachers of Vedanta, Bhagwan Sri Adi Sankaracharya, who was not only a great philosopher, but also a great writer, poet, visionary, reformer, organiser. He is seen as the 'Gyana Avatar' of Lord Shiva himself. The entire text except the opening and the concluding sentences are in prose. The opening & concluding statements are in a shlokas. The opening verse is what is generally called as a Mangalacharan shloka, or an invocatory shloka. All our endeavors should start with remembering God - the Truth. Such shlokas also reveal some important facts about the text being started. Sri Sankara in this opening shloka says : "Having saluted Sri Vasudeva, the King of Yogis, the Guru who is the bestower of the knowledge of Truth, the Tattva Bodha - the knowledge of Truth, is being expounded for the benefit of the seekers after liberation." Knowledge of Truth alone liberates man from all the shackles, limitations and problems of life. Basically man has no intrinsic problem. He is that divinity itself. There is no problem in the world too. It is a perfect creation, extremely beautiful too. All problems are man-made and have to be solved by man himself, with the help of right knowledge. This is what the scriptures do, provide right knowledge. This is what my teacher gave to me, and this is what I present for all such seekers of Truth - says Sankara. All gurus basically reveal the truth of life to their students. Helping them take decisions on various worldly matters is & should be only a temporary feature. Ultimately the goal is to make the student strong & enlightened enough to tread alone. If someone continously keeps taking decisions for the students even for small things, then there is certainly something very wrong with either the teacher, taught or the teaching. Such a tendency not only stunts the growth of the student, but also brings about dependence on their teachers, which may be good in the beginning but when the teacher is not around they are back to square one. Such teachers may help solve some problems, but the basic dependence always remains. This is not an ideal condition. Ultimately the students should become mature and enlightened enough to not only take their decisions themselves but also attain heights attained by their teachers themselves. For this one has to go one day into the very 'Knowledge of Truth'. When this understanding dawns in a person that all our problems are only because of 'ignorance of Self' then alone a true seeker is born. It is for such a seeker of the 'knowledge of truth' that Sri Sankara starts this Prakarana granth. No miracles, no short-cuts to fulfillment of desires, no decision taking for others, simply knowledge of the Truth of life. That's Sri Adi Sankara. Prakarana granths are introductory texts which reveal the fundamentals of the philosophy, its various technical words without going into dialectics. Moreover they limit themself to a particular prakarana alone. Prakarana means a particular section of the shastra. A Prakarana granth thus talks about only a particular section of the shastra, which by itself talks about everything whatsoever about the self unfoldment or the journey within. Here the topic to be dealt with is 'Knowledge of Truth' alone. The target audience is one who is a mumukshu. Mumukshu is someone who has resolved to attain Moksha - the param purushartha or the ultimate goal of life. There are four goals of life. Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. All are important requirements of everyone's life. 'Artha' is discovering the art of generating resources from our existing capabilities & assets. It is a means to bring about greater security and capacity to fulfill other aspirations of life. In simple term we can say it is the ability to earn money - basic resource of human setup, with which all worldly transactions are possible. With basic resource available with us we can go about planning and getting other aspects of life. 'Kama' is the ability to enjoy of sensual pleasures properly. It implies discovering the art of making the best of every experience brought about by our senses. It is the ability to live fully in the present moment. Mere availability of objects of pleasures is not enough, we should know how to make the best of each moment. These two Artha & Kama are important worldly goals. The majority are pursuing these alone. These two help bring about a relatively higher degree of sense of security and happiness in man. The joys of man can be compounded greatly if the person is also a very conscientious & sensitive being. Thus comes the third goal called 'Dharma'. One should be as sensitive to others as he or she is to oneself. That is the spirit of Dharma. Man being a social being this spirit of mutual respect, love & cooperation is extremely important for his very existence too. Dharma also implies doing ones duties enjoined as per ones Varna & Ashram, as if they were the very command of God himself. A person who is living a very conscientious & righteous life, after fulfilling his own personal requirements is generally considered an ideal man. The scriptures don’t agree. They say that it is good that a person is virtuous, but it is also important to see whether all activities are an act of love & freedom, or an escape from oneself. Many a times a person just cannot be with himself. He or she just has to have some company, some entertainment, some escape. By being with oneself, he feels bored, lonely. A deep rooted sense of lack lingers inspite of all worldly achievements, and this lack just doesn’t seem to go by any achievement or experience. He thereafter just aspires for freedom from this sense of lack, which is called 'Moksha'. That sense of lack is because of their very sense of individuality which was the basis of all his earlier pursuits. This is a strange problem. How can the very individuality be eliminated by the efforts of this individual him self ? Is it possible to transcend all limitations of time & space while being perceptibly bound by time & space. We are not interested in some posthumous attainments but freedom from limitations in this very life. These people are called Mumukshus. Here the teacher indicated that while the whole system seems to cater to fulfillment of the aspirations & desires pertaining to Artha, Kama & Dharma, the desire of Moksha is rarely catered to. He thus says that here in this text I am going to cater to such people alone, who now aspire for Moksha and nothing else. I am going to expound the Knowledge of Truth which will certainly liberate these people. Thus with this verse the teacher not only pays his obeisance's to his teacher, but also reveals the why's & what's of the text. Adhikari (student), Visaya (subject matter), Prayojana (goal) and also indicated the Sambandha (relationship between the subject-matter and the ultimate goal). These four points are invariably revealed in the beginning of any text. They are together termed as Anubandha Chatustaya - the four fold things which binds the text into being what it is. Questions : 1.. Who is the author of Tattva Bodha, and what is the meaning of the title of the text ? 2.. What is the difference between a Prakarana granth and a Shastra ? 3.. Which are the four goals of human life ? 4.. What are Anubandha Chatustayas ? 5.. Explain what is implied by Moksha ? Those desirous of getting their answers evaluated may send their replies to me at the following address : atma Hari om ! Swami Atmananda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 1998 Report Share Posted November 6, 1998 Swami Atmananda <atma Advaitin List <advaitin > Thursday, November 05, 1998 9:39 AM Lessons on Tattva Bodha # 1 >Hari om ! > >From this issue I plan to start lessons on a well known introductory text >of Vedanta philosophy called 'Tattva Bodha'. These lessons will be sent >as & when I get time, but hopefully one lesson will be sent once in a week, >except ofcourse when I am out of station. I suggest our members to keep >these lessons in a separate folder, and go through these lessons again & >again till they catch the implied meaning of the section. This text is said >to >have been written by Sri Adi Sankaracharya himself, and therefore we can >rest assured that anyone closely following it will be able to get a good >hold >on the basics of Vedanta and its terminology. You are free to write to me >any of your doubts or questions which you may possibly encounter. We are >also continuing with lessons on the same text of 'guru-prasad list', which >being HTML compatible has the facility of usage of other fonts too. We >thus provide the original text in Devnagari script too. Those desirous of >accessing the Sanskrit text can go to the following URL and see the >archieves on the web itself : /list/guru-prasad > > >'TATTVA BODHA' > >Tattva bodha literally means 'Knowledge of the Truth'. This small but all >encompassing text has been written by one of the greatest teachers of >Vedanta, Bhagwan Sri Adi Sankaracharya, who was not only a great >philosopher, but also a great writer, poet, visionary, reformer, organiser. >He is seen as the 'Gyana Avatar' of Lord Shiva himself. > >The entire text except the opening and the concluding sentences are in >prose. The opening & concluding statements are in a shlokas. The opening >verse is what is generally called as a Mangalacharan shloka, or an >invocatory shloka. All our endeavors should start with remembering God - >the Truth. Such shlokas also reveal some important facts about the text >being started. Sri Sankara in this opening shloka says : > >"Having saluted Sri Vasudeva, the King of Yogis, the Guru who is the >bestower of the knowledge of Truth, the Tattva Bodha - the knowledge of >Truth, is being expounded for the benefit of the seekers after liberation." > >Knowledge of Truth alone liberates man from all the shackles, limitations >and problems of life. Basically man has no intrinsic problem. He is that >divinity itself. There is no problem in the world too. It is a perfect >creation, >extremely beautiful too. All problems are man-made and have to be >solved by man himself, with the help of right knowledge. This is what the >scriptures do, provide right knowledge. This is what my teacher gave to >me, and this is what I present for all such seekers of Truth - says Sankara. > >All gurus basically reveal the truth of life to their students. Helping them >take decisions on various worldly matters is & should be only a temporary >feature. Ultimately the goal is to make the student strong & enlightened >enough to tread alone. If someone continously keeps taking decisions for the >students even for small things, then there is certainly something very wrong >with either the teacher, taught or the teaching. Such a tendency not only >stunts the growth of the student, but also brings about dependence on their >teachers, which may be good in the beginning but when the teacher is not >around they are back to square one. Such teachers may help solve some >problems, but the basic dependence always remains. This is not an ideal >condition. Ultimately the students should become mature and enlightened >enough to not only take their decisions themselves but also attain heights >attained by their teachers themselves. For this one has to go one day into >the very 'Knowledge of Truth'. When this understanding dawns in a person >that all our problems are only because of 'ignorance of Self' then alone a >true seeker is born. It is for such a seeker of the 'knowledge of truth' >that >Sri Sankara starts this Prakarana granth. No miracles, no short-cuts to >fulfillment of desires, no decision taking for others, simply knowledge of >the Truth of life. That's Sri Adi Sankara. > >Prakarana granths are introductory texts which reveal the fundamentals >of the philosophy, its various technical words without going into >dialectics. >Moreover they limit themself to a particular prakarana alone. Prakarana >means a particular section of the shastra. A Prakarana granth thus talks >about only a particular section of the shastra, which by itself talks about >everything whatsoever about the self unfoldment or the journey within. Here >the topic to be dealt with is 'Knowledge of Truth' alone. The target >audience >is one who is a mumukshu. Mumukshu is someone who has resolved to >attain Moksha - the param purushartha or the ultimate goal of life. > >There are four goals of life. Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. All are >important requirements of everyone's life. > >'Artha' is discovering the art of generating resources from our existing >capabilities & assets. It is a means to bring about greater security and >capacity to fulfill other aspirations of life. In simple term we can say it >is >the ability to earn money - basic resource of human setup, with which all >worldly transactions are possible. With basic resource available with us >we can go about planning and getting other aspects of life. > >'Kama' is the ability to enjoy of sensual pleasures properly. It implies >discovering the art of making the best of every experience brought about >by our senses. It is the ability to live fully in the present moment. Mere >availability of objects of pleasures is not enough, we should know how to >make the best of each moment. > >These two Artha & Kama are important worldly goals. The majority are >pursuing these alone. These two help bring about a relatively higher >degree of sense of security and happiness in man. The joys of man can >be compounded greatly if the person is also a very conscientious & sensitive >being. Thus comes the third goal called 'Dharma'. One should be as sensitive >to others as he or she is to oneself. That is the spirit of Dharma. Man >being a >social being this spirit of mutual respect, love & cooperation is extremely >important for his very existence too. Dharma also implies doing ones duties >enjoined as per ones Varna & Ashram, as if they were the very command of >God himself. > >A person who is living a very conscientious & righteous life, after >fulfilling >his own personal requirements is generally considered an ideal man. The >scriptures don’t agree. They say that it is good that a person is virtuous, >but >it is also important to see whether all activities are an act of love & >freedom, >or an escape from oneself. Many a times a person just cannot be with >himself. >He or she just has to have some company, some entertainment, some escape. >By being with oneself, he feels bored, lonely. A deep rooted sense of lack >lingers inspite of all worldly achievements, and this lack just doesn’t seem >to go by any achievement or experience. He thereafter just aspires for >freedom >from this sense of lack, which is called 'Moksha'. That sense of lack is >because >of their very sense of individuality which was the basis of all his earlier >pursuits. >This is a strange problem. How can the very individuality be eliminated by >the >efforts of this individual him self ? Is it possible to transcend all >limitations of >time & space while being perceptibly bound by time & space. We are not >interested in some posthumous attainments but freedom from limitations >in this very life. These people are called Mumukshus. > >Here the teacher indicated that while the whole system seems to cater to >fulfillment of the aspirations & desires pertaining to Artha, Kama & Dharma, >the desire of Moksha is rarely catered to. He thus says that here in this >text >I am going to cater to such people alone, who now aspire for Moksha and >nothing else. I am going to expound the Knowledge of Truth which will >certainly >liberate these people. > >Thus with this verse the teacher not only pays his obeisance's to his >teacher, but also reveals the why's & what's of the text. Adhikari >(student), >Visaya (subject matter), Prayojana (goal) and also indicated the Sambandha >(relationship between the subject-matter and the ultimate goal). These four >points are invariably revealed in the beginning of any text. They are >together >termed as Anubandha Chatustaya - the four fold things which binds the text >into being what it is. > >Questions : > >1.. Who is the author of Tattva Bodha, and what is the meaning of the >title of the text ? >2.. What is the difference between a Prakarana granth and a Shastra ? >3.. Which are the four goals of human life ? >4.. What are Anubandha Chatustayas ? >5.. Explain what is implied by Moksha ? > >Those desirous of getting their answers evaluated may send their replies to >me at the following address : atma > >Hari om ! > >Swami Atmananda > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 1998 Report Share Posted November 7, 1998 Hari Om swamiji, It is nice to read "tatva bOdha", it obviously a good start to understand the advaita Sastra. >1.. Who is the author of Tattva Bodha, and what is the meaning of the >title of the text ? Writer: Sri AdiSankara. Meaning: knowledge of truth. IMHO, it should also meant "Truth about knowledge" >2.. What is the difference between a Prakarana granth and a Shastra ? SaStra : "SAsanat trAyatE iti SAstraH" - that which makes you transcend through instruction is a "Sastra". Any codification can be called as a Sastra PrakaraNa graMdha : "prakarshENa karaNaM - prakaraNaM" - That which is done by perfect understanding. Basically, it is kind of dictionary that helps you in understanding a particular Sastra. "tatva bOdha" is a prakaraNa graMdha related to "Advaita Sastra". One can find the explanation, in greater depth, of various terms in the prakaraNa graMdha. >3.. Which are the four goals of human life ? dharma, ardha, kAma and mOksha >4.. What are Anubandha Chatustayas ? adhikAri, vishaya, prayOjana and saMbaMdha >5.. Explain what is implied by Moksha ? Liberation from all false limitations. pranAms, Madhava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 1998 Report Share Posted November 7, 1998 It is interesting that many think Tattwa Bodha to be introductory. While the Sanskrit is elementary, in my opinion it is hardly an easy text for people these days, especially Westerners. For Westerners at least, I have found it to be very complex with regard to the ideas presented. It describes the truth in terms of ancient Indian general science with which most Westerners are not at all familiar. Thus, if the text is to be more than a tiresome glossary of terms, students must come to understand a wholly different view of the world around them first. If they are able to do that (not an easy task), then they must look through that view to understand the truth about the self, the Lord and God. Most of the time, I see it is just a vocabulary exercise. Beginners who are not Indian also are not well established in strong faith in the teacher and the teaching. This is something they will discover as they expose themselves to this beautiful tradition. Devotion to the guru cannot sustain them through the text very well. They are not necessarily yet enchanted by the grandeur of the ancient culture of India so may not be especially inspired by the prospect of this mental gymnastic required by this "introductory" text.. Furthermore, Westerners are not daily surrounded, usually, to references to the ancient Indian general science using which Tattwa Bodha makes its points. Pardon me. I am glad someone is presenting a text. In my early days I was relentlessly presented with Tattwa Bodha four times as a starting text. (Ah, she's a new person. Tattwa Bodha for her! Amazing that I continued!)By the end of the fourth rerun, that last time with Swami Dayananda at the ashram, I had become quite clear why I thought it was anything BUT an introductory texts for Westerners. I consoled myself that the Sanskrit was easy. I have never used it with beginning students. Aikya Param P.O. Box 4193 Berkeley, CA 94704-0193 Advaita Vedanta for Today (graphics) http://members.tripod.com/aikya/ Advaita Vedanta for Today (text version) http://members.xoom.com/aikya/aikya Madhava Kumar Turumella <madhava advaitin <advaitin > Saturday, November 07, 1998 2:33 AM Re: Fw: Lessons on Tattva Bodha # 1 >Madhava Kumar Turumella <madhava > >Hari Om swamiji, > >It is nice to read "tatva bOdha", it obviously a good start to >understand the advaita Sastra. > >>1.. Who is the author of Tattva Bodha, and what is the meaning of the >>title of the text ? >Writer: Sri AdiSankara. Meaning: knowledge of truth. IMHO, it should >also meant "Truth about knowledge" > >>2.. What is the difference between a Prakarana granth and a Shastra ? >SaStra : "SAsanat trAyatE iti SAstraH" - that which makes you >transcend through instruction is a "Sastra". Any codification can be >called as a Sastra >PrakaraNa graMdha : "prakarshENa karaNaM - prakaraNaM" - That which is >done by perfect understanding. >Basically, it is kind of dictionary that helps you in understanding a >particular Sastra. "tatva bOdha" is a prakaraNa graMdha related to >"Advaita Sastra". >One can find the explanation, in greater depth, of various terms in the >prakaraNa graMdha. > >>3.. Which are the four goals of human life ? >dharma, ardha, kAma and mOksha > >>4.. What are Anubandha Chatustayas ? >adhikAri, vishaya, prayOjana and saMbaMdha > >>5.. Explain what is implied by Moksha ? >Liberation from all false limitations. > >pranAms, Madhava > > >------ >Need a jump start on your web site? XOOM.com Web Site Templates 250 helps >you get your site up and running in no time. Only $29.95! >http://orders.xoom.com/tmp/lstmp1105/ >------ >Discussion of Sankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy, its true meaning, profundity, richness and beauty with the focus on the non-duality between mind and matter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 1998 Report Share Posted November 7, 1998 "Aikya_Param" <aikya In my opinion, "tatvabOdha" is never meant to be an introductory text for the beginners It is the introductory text for those who are novice to "Advaita vEdAMta" As I understood it: Sri Adisankara was teaching Advaita for people who already have firm faith in their gurus. He went to debate with them. He went to introduce them a philosophy which can answer many questions that they face in their day to day life. One should keep this point in mind--- he was trying to establish some thing which is new to the people who knew lot many things other than advaita. Let us take manDana Mishra's example. He know many things about rituals. When Sri Adi Sankara approached him and requested him for a debate, mandana misra replied "I do not know a thing about the words you are going to use in your debate". Sri Adisankara presented the prakaraNagrandhas and then once they understood the terms, he explained what is his philosophy. After then only the debate used to take place. One has to understand advaita in order to debate. "tatva bOdha" is aimed at the people who know many things except advaita vEdAMta Finally, let me quote Geeta "bahoonAM janmanAmaMtE jnAnavAnmAM prapadyatE vAsudEvassarva miti sa mahAtmA sudurlabhaH"... You said you were taught tatvabOdha 4 times... I consider you are lucky My teacher taught me only once and then moved on to teach Atma bOdha and then vivEka cooDAmaNi. Anyway, I would like to know further: "which part of tatvabOdha, did you think, is difficult for westerners to understand?" "What else do you teach your novice students if not of tatvabOdha?How do you judge your students?... I guess, it is from your own experience... isn't it?" Hari Om Madhava > > Aikya_Param [sMTP:aikya] > Saturday, November 07, 1998 8:44 PM > advaitin > Re: Fw: Lessons on Tattva Bodha # 1 > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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