Tat chintanam ..

[Guest guest]

Namaste Micheal Bowes-ji, Prof-ji and all,

 

Thank you Prof-ji for your mail regarding the verse from Panchadasi.

 

Excerpt from "An Analysis of Brahma Sutra" by Swami Krishnananda of The Divine

Life Society, Rishikesh.

 

------------

 

'Tat chintanam tat kathanam

Anyonyam tatprabodhanam

Etadekaparatvam cha

Brahmabhyasam vidur Budhah'

[Panchadasi (7.106)]

 

Meditation is the practice of Brahman; in Sanskrit it is called 'Brahmabhyasa'.

What does it mean?

 

'Tatchintanam' -- like a mother who has lost her only child, like a

husband who has lost his newly-wed wife, like a wife who has lost her newly-wed

husband, like a person who has lost all his wealth -- what does he think? There

will be one thought only at that time. So 'Tatchintanam' - thinking only that.

'Oh! I want That; Oh! I want That'! Mother cries when the child is dead: 'Oh! My

dear! I want you; where have you gone? Oh, my dear! Oh, where is my child? Where

is my child?' They won't sleep, they won't eat, they will cry. Like that you

have to cry before the Almighty: 'Oh! Where are you? I want you'! You need not

say like that before other people because they will think that you are a little

out of wits. You can do it within your room only. 'My dear Almighty! Where are

you?' Like a child, put this question to your own self. Cry before That; 'Where

are you?'; 'I want you only, I don't want anything else; Don't forget me; Don't

desert me; come now! I am eagerly wanting you'! Like a bereaved person in the

world, you speak to God. You have lost Him and so you are bereaved. What a

wretched condition! You don't like to say anything; you don't want any comfort

in this world; you don't want to talk to any person. 'My dear God, where are

you? I have lost You'. Go on brooding, brooding. This is called 'Tatchintanam'

-- thinking only That, that which you have lost.

 

'Tatkathanam' -- talking to people on this subject only; if you meet

anyone, you speak only this subject; don't chit-chat on climate, country, how

the country is going on, what is the international system -- these chats are all

no good! You talk to anybody, your friend, only this. 'How are you progressing?

How are you getting on? All is well with you in this matter? Let us discuss.

Come on, let us sit, let us discuss this matter. What do you think? What is the

difficulty?' This is 'Tatkathanam'. Thinking deeply only That, speaking only

about That.

 

'Anyonyam Tat prabodhanam' -- awakening each one by mutual conversation.

Sometimes people go for a walk -- some three, four, five people go for a walk.

Why don't you think only this at that time? 'Hello, how are you? Yesterday I was

thinking like this and I am feeling like this. What are you thinking about this

matter?' Instead of looking here and there -- the shops and market places and

monkeys, etc. -- why don't you discuss this even when you are walking? You must

have no other thought. 'Anyonyam Tat prabodhanam' is the third method.

 

'Etadekaparatvamha Brahmabhyasam Vidur Budhah' -- depending entirely on

That. What do you mean by 'depending entirely'? You simply efface yourself. You

have merged your thought in It. You are going to sink into It. You have lost

interest in everything else because there is no 'else' to God Almighty. This is

Brahmabhyasa, the practice of meditation on Brahman.

 

------------------

 

Hari Om

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Ranjeet Sankar"

<thefinalsearch> wrote:

> 'Tat chintanam tat kathanam

> Anyonyam tatprabodhanam

> Etadekaparatvam cha

> Brahmabhyasam vidur Budhah'

> [Panchadasi (7.106)]

 

Namaste,

 

The same couplet is also repeated in Panchadasi : 13:83

 

For those who would like to delve further into Sw. Krishnanandaji's

commentary on Panchadasi and Brahmasutra related to this topics, the

following references will be useful -

 

http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/panch_00.html

 

http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/brahma/brahma_08.html

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder