Da, da, da - One word but understood differently !

[Guest guest]

Respected Advaitins!

 

Today, i would like to share a favorite story of mine from the

Brihadaranyaka upanishads...

 

Here it is in Swami Krishnananda's words...

 

trayah prajapatyah prajapatau pitari brahmacaryam usuh, deva manusya

asurah, usitva brahmacaryam deva ucuh; bravitu no bhavan iti;

tebhyo. haitad aksaram uvaca; da iti, vyajnasista iti; vyajnasisma

iti hocuh, damyata, iti na attheti, aum iti hovaca, vyajnasisteti.

Verses with diacritical marks.

 

Trayah prajapatyah prajapatau pitari brahmacaryam usuh, deva

manusya asurah, usitva brahmacaryam deva ucuh; bravitu no bhavan

iti: On one occasion the gods, the human beings and the demons, all

observed self-restraint, Brahmacharya, Tapasya and austerity for the

sake of gaining knowledge from the Creator. Having observed great

austerity they went to Brahma, the Creator Himself and said, 'Give

us instruction'. Who went? Three groups. One group of the

celestials, the gods, denizens of Indra-loka, paradise, who enjoy

all sorts of pleasures, second the men of this earth plane, and

third the demons, extremely cruel in their nature.

 

To the gods He said, 'I give you instruction. Listen! Da. He said

but one word 'Da'. 'Do you understand what I say? 'Yes, we

understand'. 'Very good! So, follow this instruction'. Then he

looked to the human beings, 'Do you want instruction from

me'? 'Yes'! 'Da', he said again. 'Do you follow what I say?T 'Yes,

we understand'. 'Very good! Now go and follow this instruction'.

Then the demons were called and He said, 'Da' to the demons also and

the demons like the others said, 'Yes, we have understood what it

is'. 'Go and follow this instruction'. To all the three He told the

same thing, but the meaning was taken differently by the different

groups. 'Da, Da, Da', He said. That is all He spoke.

 

The celestials, the people in paradise, are supposed to be

revelling in pleasures of sense. They are fond of enjoyment. There

is no old age there. There is no sweating, no toiling, no hunger, no

thirst, no drowsiness and nothing untoward as in this world. It is

all pleasure and pleasure, honey flowing everywhere in paradise.

They are addicted to too much enjoyment. So the instruction to those

people was Da - 'Damyata'. In Sanskrit Damyata means, restrain

yourself. Damyata comes from the word Dam, to restrain. Subdue your

senses. Do not go too much in the direction of the enjoyment of the

senses. That was Da to the celestials. Kama is to be controlled by

self-restraint.

 

Human beings are greedy. They want to grab everything.

Hoarding is their basic nature 'I want a lot of money'; 'I have got

a lot of land and property'; 'I want to keep it with myself'; 'I do

not want to give anything to anybody'. This is how they think. So,

to them 'Da' meant Datta - 'give in charity'. Do not keep with you

more than what you need. Do not take what you have not given. Do not

appropriate what does not belong to you. All these are implied in

the statement - be charitable. Charitable not only in material

giving but also in disposition, in feeling, in understanding and in

feeling the feelings of others. So, to the human beings this was the

instruction Datta - give because they are not prepared to give. They

always want to keep. Greed is to be controlled by charity.

 

And to the demons, who are very cruel, who always insult,

injure and harm other people 'Da' meant 'Dayadhvam' - be merciful to

others. The third 'Da' means Dayadhvam - be merciful. Do not be

cruel and hard-hearted. Demons are hard-hearted people. They eat,

swallow, destroy and demolish everything. Anger is to be controlled

by mercy.

 

So, these three letters Da, Da, Da instructed three types of

individuals in three different ways. All instructions were conveyed

by a single word only; a single letter, but the meaning was conveyed

properly to the individual groups concerned. Wear the cap that fits -

tebhyo haitad evaksaram uvaca; da iti, vyajnasista iti; vyajnasisma

iti hocuh, damyata, iti na attheti, aum iti hovaca vyajnasisteti.

 

atha hainam manusya ucuh: bravitu no bhavan iti; tebhyo haitad

evaksaram uvaca; da iti; vyajnasista iti, vyajnasisma iti hocuh,

datta iti na attheti; aum iti hovaca vyajnasisteti.

 

 

atha hainam asura ucuh, bravitu no bhavan iti; tebhyo haitad

evaksaram uvaca, da iti, vyajnasista iti, vyajnasisma iti hocuh,

dayadhvam iti na attheti, aum iti hovaca vyajnasisteti. tad etad

evaisa daivi vag anuvadati stanayitnuhda, da, da, iti, damyata,

datta, dayadhvam iti. tad etat trayam sikset, damam, danam, dayam

iti.

These are the three great injunctions given by Prajapati, the

Creator to three types of people. If this instruction can be

followed in its spirit, then the desire, greed and anger of the

personality can be sublimated by self-restraint, charity and mercy

respectively.

 

This instruction which was communicated to the Devas,

Manushyas and Asuras - gods, men and demons - by the single letter

Da repeated three times, meaning Damyata, Datta, Dayadhvam - be self-

controlled, be charitable and be compassionate is applicable to all

mankind. This is like a thunder of teaching. Stanayitnuh: A 'roaring

sound'. This message of Prajapati is not merely an ancient one; it

is an eternal one. This is what the Upanishad tries to make out

because it was not intended for only a particular time in creation,

but is a teaching for everyone. Evaisa daivs vag anuvadati

stanayitnuhda, da, da iti, damyata, datta, dayadhvam iti, tad etat

trayam sikset, damam, danam, dayam: 'This is a Divine teaching, a

supernatural message'. Daivi vag anuvadati: Like a thunder coming

from the clouds in the sky. Like the thunder-clap you hear during

the monsoon, this thunder-clap of message comes from God Himself, as

it were, in the form of a mere sound 'Da' repeated several times. In

fact all instruction is comprehended in this teaching. That is why

so much importance has been given to it in the Upanishad.

 

http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/brdup/brhad_V-02.html - 38k -

 

Aum Shanti! Aum Shanti! Aum Shantihi!

[Guest guest]

--- adi_shakthi16 <adi_shakthi16 wrote:

> Respected Advaitins!

>

> Today, i would like to share a favorite story of

> mine from the

> Brihadaranyaka upanishads...

 

Namaste again,

This 'Da, da da, thunderous teaching) is also one of

my favourites but if, as we tend to do, we label

ourselves as woman or man, good or bad, maybe we lose

the element of meaning for the gods and demons who

also manifest their powers in that 'inner space'.

Just a thought.

 

The earliest reference I know is S.Br. XIV.8.2.4 where

the sound of thunder is dadada.

Panini gives 'dada' as one of his first dhattus and

offers this dhatvarttha:

'dAna'.

 

I previously explained how you can find two meanings

in Sanskrit words, meanings that appear to have

opposite meanings so 'dAna' means the act of giving as

well as giving up and communicating [cf. the English

donor and doctor ( as in teacher and medical) are

rooted here]. But also it has the meaning of dividing,

cutting off and liberality.

 

However, as we think of ourselves mostly as men and

women we may take the Bhagavad Gita's teaching on

'dAna'.

Gita 17. 20-22

'That which is given without expectation of return, in

the right place, at the right time and to a worthy

recipient, because liberality is a duty, that gift is

declared to be sattvic.

That gift which is given in expectation of return, or

with expectation of a reward, or with reluctance, that

gift is declared to be rajasic.

That gift given in the wrong place, and time, to an

unforthy recipient, without respect or with insult,

such a gift is said to be tamasic.'

 

Or a final word from the Siva Sutra 3.38 whcih brings

us back to the One:

'Knowledge of the self is the gift.'

dAdaM AtnajnAnaM |

 

Happy giving

 

ken Knight

 

 

=====

‘From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed, breathed forth.’