Guest guest Posted January 15, 2001 Report Share Posted January 15, 2001 namaste shri Anand, I have changed the subject title as the present one reflects more fully the contents. On Fri, 12 Jan 2001, Anand Natarajan wrote: > > Namaste Murthyji, > > You have included rituals such as Sandhya in > Nitya karmA-s and have said that they belong to the > Mimansa philosophy. I have the following objections. > > 1. There are 9 samskaras (I think) that is performed > by an individual in one life (or rather from the womb > to the funeral pyre). These are supposed to be > purifcatory and beneficial (refer to Hinduism by Swami > Harshanandaji , Ramakrishna Math). > > 2. Sandhya is one amonst these 9 samskaras and as Sri > Ramakrishna says "Sandhya leads to Gayatri, Gayatri > leads to Om, and Om to Brahman". > > Moreover Jaimini was a disciple of Vyasa who organized > the Vedas. Therefore he must have been commenting on > the Karma Kanda of the Vedas and not a separate > Mimansa philiosophy. > > Why not think of Nitya Karma as that which leads To > "Ajo Nityaha Shashvathoyam Puraano"? > > Anand > Thanks very much for the query. This gives me an opportunity to clarify a few points. Firstly, what I posted in those three articles are expressions made by shri shankara in various bhAShyA-s and are compiled together by swami Atmananda. I have selected a few on nitya karma, edited them suitable for posting after double checking with cross references from swami Madhavananda's and other works. Secondly, I do not mean to say the nitya karmA-s belong only to the mimAMsa. I was trying to point out how strongly shri shankara refuted the mimAMsic interpretation of nitya karma. shri shankara says that people performing nitya karmA-s (I will come to sandhya further below), the incentive here also is desire. Karma is in the mind of the performer of karma and not in the nature of karma. That is, in doing nitya karmA-s there is some desire in the mind of the performer, just as in doing kAmya karma. Any karma has fruit attached to it. For nitya karmA-s, the daily practice yields abundance of fruit. It does not mean nitya karma has to be abandoned. nivr^itti karma leads to cittashuddhi. You mentioned about nine samskArA-s done by a human from birth to death. Would you please expand on that and list them for me. Thanks very much. Sandhya, properly, may not be called nitya karma as it is an upAsana. Karma may be physical, i.e. with the aid of wife, fire, oblations etc. Karma may also be a purely mental one where none of the above factors are required. Karma whether it is mental or physical has a fruit attached to it. UpAsana is an activity of the mind in which the flow of one single idea is kept up, excluding every other thought. It is a solitary activity with none of the other aids mentioned above involved. Sandhya may be called an upAsana rather than a nitya karma. It is popularly believed that sandhya has to be done as it has been enjoined in the vedA-s; that its performance offers no fruit at all, but not performing it brings pratyavaya (evil consequences). All these are probably ideas connected with the performance of ideal nitya karmA-s. This concept is entirely at variance with the meaning conveyed by the following passage where this upAsana was prescribed. udyantamastayantamAdityamabhidhyAyan kurva brAhmaNo vidvAnsakalaM bhadramashnute sAvAdityo brahmeti brahmaiva san brahmApyeti ya evaM veda Man attains great prosperity and security by the meditation of the rising and setting Sun, the Sun is a symbol of Brahman itself; being Brahman one attains to Brahmanhood. [ Krishna yajurveda Tai. Ar. 2.2, taken from shankara's teachings in his own words by swami Atmananda] The passage states clearly: (i) that the meditation is to be performed at dawn and dusk daily, (ii) the passage itself states that these meditations confer immense good, contrary to the mistaken idea that it does not confer any fruit at all. Doing daily means more abundance of fruit. In sandhya, the mantra used is the gAyatrI, which is the highest form of prayer. The prayer to God is not to confer on man merely his daily food and other blessings. It says that God should take full possession of man himself; the ego of the man should decay and in its place God should shine in all glory in the meditator. Sandhya is thus meant to effect the greatest transformation in man from the ignorant state to the state of being God. upAsana The main agency in upAsana is mental concentration. The objects of upAsana are various and the fruits are various. The results of these upAsanA-s, like those of karma, are temporal and not eternal. They result in rebirth. The objective of upAsana is the attainment of prosperity, svargaloka and not the Truth. Both upAsana and jnAna involve intense concentration. While upAsana longs for prosperity, jnAna strives for Truth. shri shankara treated upAsana, like karma, may be less vehemently. In brahmasUtrAbhAShya (4.1.4): The teaching that brahman is identical with Atman is true when actorship and other attributes of a migratory life are discarded from the soul. The injunction for meditation does not require the discarding of these attributes. Hence for the meditating person, as he attains only sameness with the symbol these do not ensure the Possession as it were with the SELF, i.e., SELF-realization. In upAsana, one's mind is set generally on a form of enjoyment or power. The upAsaka is not called upon to cast off the ego, which feels as the actor and longs for the result. And in brahmasUtrAbhAShya (3.3.42): Because, in its inner core, upAsana is a kriya. In upAsana, as in karma, there is no longing to cast off saMsAra and attain SELF-realization. In both karma and upAsana, the idea that saMsAra by its very nature is the cause for misery has not dawned on the mind of man. [Again, these are excerpts taken from swami Atmananda's "sankara's teachings in his own words", edited and double-checked with cross- references.] Regards Gummuluru Murthy -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2001 Report Share Posted January 15, 2001 Namaste Murthyji, > You mentioned about nine samskArA-s done by a human > from birth to > death. Would you please expand on that and list them > for me. > Thanks very much. Some people quote 9 samskaras, others say 16 samskaras. I will mention the following samskaras. 1.garbhadhana : Upon marriage 2. Seemantha. :Before Birth 3. jata-karma : upon birth 4. Nama Karana : Naming of the child 5. Anna Prasana : First solid feeding 6. cuda-karma: Shika removal 7. Upanayana : Initiation into student life 8. Vivaha : Marriage 9. Antyeshti : Last Rites. People add other samskaras such as Shashti Sampoorthi (upon completion of 60). Well, in many rituals, one ends with Kayena Vaacha Manasendriyaiva Budhyatmana va Prakrthe Svabhavaath. Karomi Yadyath Sakalam Parasmi Narayanaayethi Samarpayaami. " Whatever has been done, spoken by the mind, senses intellect or by my nature, I offer everything done by me unto the supreme ". Therefore if properly done, we can think of all these karmas as opportunities for us to offer something to the Lord. What can we offer ? Sri Ramana Maharshi says, it is like pinching a bit of Jaggery out of the Lord Ganesha Idol made out of Jaggery and offering it back to Him. But He has given us so many Karmas, wherein we can do them and say joyfully that I offer all these unto you. After all He wants our devotion, Even his name written on a Tulasi leaf outweighs your weight in gold. Therefore I think, we are asked to do all these rituals so that maybe atleast once, sometime, we will be overpowered by devotion and offer everything onto Him. >From then on, we will be in the Tiger's Jaws. HariH Om, Anand > Sandhya, properly, may not be called nitya karma as > it is an upAsana. > Karma may be physical, i.e. with the aid of wife, > fire, oblations etc. > Karma may also be a purely mental one where none of > the above factors > are required. Karma whether it is mental or physical > has a fruit > attached to it. UpAsana is an activity of the mind > in which the flow > of one single idea is kept up, excluding every other > thought. It is > a solitary activity with none of the other aids > mentioned above > involved. Sandhya may be called an upAsana rather > than a nitya karma. > > It is popularly believed that sandhya has to be done > as it has been > enjoined in the vedA-s; that its performance offers > no fruit at all, > but not performing it brings pratyavaya (evil > consequences). All > these are probably ideas connected with the > performance of ideal > nitya karmA-s. This concept is entirely at variance > with the meaning > conveyed by the following passage where this upAsana > was prescribed. > > udyantamastayantamAdityamabhidhyAyan kurva brAhmaNo > vidvAnsakalaM > bhadramashnute sAvAdityo brahmeti brahmaiva san > brahmApyeti > ya evaM veda > > Man attains great prosperity and security by the > meditation of the > rising and setting Sun, the Sun is a symbol of > Brahman itself; > being Brahman one attains to Brahmanhood. > > [ Krishna yajurveda Tai. Ar. 2.2, taken from > shankara's teachings > in his own words by swami Atmananda] > > The passage states clearly: (i) that the meditation > is to be > performed at dawn and dusk daily, (ii) the passage > itself states > that these meditations confer immense good, contrary > to the > mistaken idea that it does not confer any fruit at > all. Doing > daily means more abundance of fruit. > > In sandhya, the mantra used is the gAyatrI, which is > the highest > form of prayer. The prayer to God is not to confer > on man merely > his daily food and other blessings. It says that God > should take > full possession of man himself; the ego of the man > should decay > and in its place God should shine in all glory in > the meditator. > Sandhya is thus meant to effect the greatest > transformation in > man from the ignorant state to the state of being > God. > > upAsana > > The main agency in upAsana is mental concentration. > The objects > of upAsana are various and the fruits are various. > The results of > these upAsanA-s, like those of karma, are temporal > and not eternal. > They result in rebirth. The objective of upAsana is > the attainment > of prosperity, svargaloka and not the Truth. Both > upAsana and jnAna > involve intense concentration. While upAsana longs > for prosperity, > jnAna strives for Truth. > > Get email at your own domain with Mail. http://personal.mail./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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