What does the word samskara literally mean?

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

I know its meaning of wandering together but what does it literally

mean in Vedic or Sanskrit? How is it compounded to form sam

sara...?.Tony ..Thanks

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Tony OClery" <aoclery wrote:

>

> Namaste,

>

> I know its meaning of wandering together but what does it

literally

> mean in Vedic or Sanskrit? How is it compounded to form sam

> sara...?.Tony ..Thanks

>

Namaste, Tony-ji

 

Here are the meanings from a Learner's Sanskrit Dictionary published

by the Sanskrit Education Society, Mylapore, Chennai 1982.

 

samskAra: (Noun, masculine)

1. accomplishment, perfecting

2. purifying

3. refining

4. educating, training

5. decorating

6. cooking, preparation of food

7. preparation

8. impression, shape

9. idea

10. effect of action

11. faculty of remembering

12. sacred or purificatory rite

13. religious ceremony.

14. funeral ceremonies.

 

samsAra : (Noun, masculine)

1. course of worldly life

2. series of lives

3. illusion about the world

4. world

5. course, path of.

 

PraNAms to all lovers of Sanskrit.

profvk

[Guest guest]

Tony-ji:

 

may i also list the 16 Samskaras that are currently in vogue in the

life of a devout hindu?

 

These 16 Samskaras (purificatory rites) are performed from the time

of conception of any individual continuing up to the last rites

performed after death. It is believed that by performing these

sixteen samskaras ( shodasha samskaras) , one develops positive

qualities which in turn purifies the soul. (chitta shuddhi).

 

These Sixteen Samskaras are :

 

Garbhadana Samskara - is performed by a married couple when

conceiving a child. This important Samskara raises the act of

conception to a sacred occasion, and is powerfully purifying and

uplifting for the unborn child.

 

2. Pumsavana Samskara - is usually performed between the second and

fourth month of pregnancy. Its purpose is: first, to promote the

birth of a male child (for perpetuation of the family line and

tradition); second, to insure the good health of the foetus and the

proper formation of its organs, regardless of gender.

 

 

3. Simantonoyana Samskara - In the fourth or fifth month of

pregnancy, the mind of the foetus begins to develop. This is when

simantonoyana Samskara is performed. Its purpose is to protect the

foetus–especially its newly forming mind–from all negative

influences, and also to stimulate the development of the unborn

child's intellect.

 

4. Jatakarma Samskara is the ritual performed at the birth of a

child. It awakens the child's intellect, gives it strength, and

promotes long life for the child.

 

5. Namakarana Samskara - On the eleventh day after the child's birth,

namakarana Samskara is performed. In this ceremony, the child

receives its name.

 

6. Nishkramana Samskara - The baby's first outing into the world,

beyond the confines of the home, is the occasion of nishkramana

Samskara

 

7. Annaprashana - The first feeding of solid food to the baby,

usually in the sixth month after birth, is the occasion of

Annaprashana Samskara

 

8. Karnavedha Samskara - usually performed in the sixth or seventh

month after birth, consists of the piercing of the baby's ear lobes,

so earrings may be worn.

 

 

9. Chudakarana Samskara - At the end of the first year after birth,

or during the third year, the child's hair is shaved–all but a tuft

on the top of the head. This ritual shaving of hair, performed with

ceremony, prayers, and chanting of Vedic hymns, is chudakarana

Samskara This Samskara is for both boys and girls.

 

10. Vidyarambha Samskara - begins a student's primary education by

ceremonially introducing the child to the alphabet

 

11. Upanayana Samskara - initiates the formal study of the Vedas. It

is one of the most important and esteemed of the samskaras. Upon

performance of Upanayana, a boy traditionally moves from home to live

in the ashram of the guru.

 

 

12. Samavartana Samskara - With samavartana Samskara the disciple

graduates from his Vedic studies and returns from the house of his

guru. Thereafter, the disciple will marry and raise a family, and so

enter the stage of householder, grihasthashrama.

 

13. Vivaha Samskara - The traditional Hindu wedding ceremony is known

as vivaha Samskara It is considered by many to be the most important

of all the samskaras.

 

14. Panchamahayagna Samskara - A married couple performs the

panchamahayajna, or five great sacrifices, daily. In this Samskara,

one honours, in turn, the rishis (ancient seers of Truth), the gods,

the ancestors, humankind, and all created beings.

 

15. Vanaprastha Samskara - According to the Vedic tradition,

vanaprastha is the third stage of life, following brahmacharya (Vedic

student/disciple) and grihasta (householder). Here, a man leaves

behind his life in the world and retires to the forest (with or

without his wife), to live an ascetic life devoted to study of the

scriptures and to meditation.

 

16. Antyeshti Samskara - The final sacrament, the funeral rites, are

known as antyeshti Samskara

 

http://www.amritapuri.org/cultural/samskara/shodasha.php - 19k -

 

**********************************************************************

Tonyji, as you know i went to Sacramento recently to participate in

the "seemandham' ceremony of my niece - is it a coicidence that

Sacrament and samskara mean one and the same thing? smile ...

Catholics also perform 'christening' etc , right?

 

ON another note there is a 'world' of difference between Samskara and

Samsara - the difference is not only in the spelling and

pronounciation ! smile ! Samskara are purifying 'Rituals' wheras

Samsara is ocean of worldly existence !

 

 

at your service

 

Y

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

advaitin, "V. Krishnamurthy" <profvk

wrote:

>

> advaitin, "Tony OClery" <aoclery@> wrote:

> >

> > Namaste,

> >

> > I know its meaning of wandering together but what does it

> literally

> > mean in Vedic or Sanskrit? How is it compounded to form sam

> > sara...?.Tony ..Thanks

> >

> Namaste, Tony-ji

>

> Here are the meanings from a Learner's Sanskrit Dictionary

published

> by the Sanskrit Education Society, Mylapore, Chennai 1982.

>

> samskAra: (Noun, masculine)

> 1. accomplishment, perfecting

> 2. purifying

> 3. refining

> 4. educating, training

> 5. decorating

> 6. cooking, preparation of food

> 7. preparation

> 8. impression, shape

> 9. idea

> 10. effect of action

> 11. faculty of remembering

> 12. sacred or purificatory rite

> 13. religious ceremony.

> 14. funeral ceremonies.

>

> samsAra : (Noun, masculine)

> 1. course of worldly life

> 2. series of lives

> 3. illusion about the world

> 4. world

> 5. course, path of.

>

> PraNAms to all lovers of Sanskrit.

> profvk

>

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sri Toni:

 

I believe that you really want to know the meaning of Samsara and due

to a typo, it became Samskara! Srimathy Dhyanasaraswati and ProfVK

have provided detailed answers to both these special concepts of

Hinduism.

 

Let me provide briefly my understanding of Samsara.

 

In both Hinduism and Buddhism terminology, Samsara literally implies

the eternal cycle of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth. Samsara

is this world, filled as it is with so much pain and sorrow. All

beings in this world are subject to the law of karma and the

consequences can occur in this life, or in a future life. The Hindu

philosophers began to develop the concept of samsara in line with

other aspects of Vedantic thought. They considered that the material

world as fragmented and constantly changing and this changing aspect

of the universe came to be called samsara. Samsara can also be

interpreted as "reincarnation based on past actions." This

interpretation is based on the assumption that all our actions must

produce some action in the future; the only way this can happen for

all our actions is if we have lives in the future.

 

As Vedantins, our goal is to get liberated from Samsara and we do

recognize that this liberation is only possible by acquiring Vidya

(wisdom) and removing avidya (ignorance). The Hindus often make the

casual remark - 'Samsara Sagarm.' This is just to indicate that

crossing the worldly life is a very difficult task and is similar to

crossing the ocean (sagaram).

 

Warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

advaitin, "Tony OClery" <aoclery wrote:

>

> Namaste,

>

> I know its meaning of wandering together but what does it literally

> mean in Vedic or Sanskrit? How is it compounded to form sam

> sara...?.Tony ..Thanks

>

[Guest guest]

Samsara's original meaning is a negative one, it literally means stagnation at

the level of the senses.

Samskara can have myriad meanings, an important one being the karmic

impressions constituting the subtle body or sushma sarira

 

Regards,

Saurav

 

 

Tony OClery <aoclery wrote:

Namaste,

 

I know its meaning of wandering together but what does it literally

mean in Vedic or Sanskrit? How is it compounded to form sam

sara...?.Tony ..Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussion of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy of nonseparablity of Atman

and Brahman.

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[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Ram Chandran" <ramvchandran wrote:

>

> Namaste Sri Toni:

>

> I believe that you really want to know the meaning of Samsara and due

> to a typo, it became Samskara! Srimathy Dhyanasaraswati and ProfVK

> have provided detailed answers to both these special concepts of

> Hinduism.

>

> Let me provide briefly my understanding of Samsara.

>

> In both Hinduism and Buddhism terminology, Samsara literally implies

> the eternal cycle of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth. Samsara

> is this world, filled as it is with so much pain and sorrow. All

> beings in this world are subject to the law of karma and the

> consequences can occur in this life, or in a future life. The Hindu

> philosophers began to develop the concept of samsara in line with

> other aspects of Vedantic thought. They considered that the material

> world as fragmented and constantly changing and this changing aspect

> of the universe came to be called samsara. Samsara can also be

> interpreted as "reincarnation based on past actions." This

> interpretation is based on the assumption that all our actions must

> produce some action in the future; the only way this can happen for

> all our actions is if we have lives in the future.

>

> As Vedantins, our goal is to get liberated from Samsara and we do

> recognize that this liberation is only possible by acquiring Vidya

> (wisdom) and removing avidya (ignorance). The Hindus often make the

> casual remark - 'Samsara Sagarm.' This is just to indicate that

> crossing the worldly life is a very difficult task and is similar to

> crossing the ocean (sagaram).

>

> Warmest regards,

>

> Ram Chandran

>

> advaitin, "Tony OClery" <aoclery@> wrote:

> >

> > Namaste,

> >

> > I know its meaning of wandering together but what does it literally

> > mean in Vedic or Sanskrit? How is it compounded to form sam

> > sara...?.Tony ..Thanks

 

Namaste all,

 

I have been told by my teacher that the word, samsara,

derives from the Sanskrit word, sre, which means,

to change, or to move.

 

And also that the word samsara can be broken in this way,

samyak saraha, which means that which changes very well.

 

Therefore samsara refers to everything in duality,

as all of duality is constantly changing.

 

I apologize if my transliteration of the words is

not correct, as I have never seen them written,

only heard them spoken. I understand from my teacher

that many words in Sanskrit can be traced back to their

infinitive root form, and that by doing so, one

can discover how to use the word properly in the

unfoldment of the Upanishads.

 

I am only a very beginning student, and I hesitate

to make any comment on the Sanskrit language in

this arena, which must include many who are far

more advanced in all aspects of the study than I.

 

Yet this is what my teacher, who is fluent in Sanskrit,

and a highly trained teacher of Vedanta, has said.

 

My pranams,

Durga

[Guest guest]

dhyanasaraswati <dhyanasaraswati wrote: Tony-ji:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**********************************************************************

 

ON another note there is a 'world' of difference between Samskara and

Samsara - the difference is not only in the spelling and

pronounciation ! smile ! Samskara are purifying 'Rituals' wheras

Samsara is ocean of worldly existence !

 

 

at your service

 

Oh! What a hell of a list! What not further to add! I don't find any distinction

between samskara and samsara; both are one and the same. That is why a sensitive

Brahmendra ran away from his house at a very young age, terrorized by this

awesome, rather awful list. Patanjali is correct in his statement that by virtue

of the inherent mutation involved in the dispositions, their constant

fluctuations, the very tendency towards the creation of opposition ingrained in

the psychological becoming, the very mechanism of thought-process, all is pain

for the discerning. Aurobindo is correct in his pronuncement: " Life has no

lasting issues; death brings no final release. Indifferent Eternity watches

Time."

 

Sankarraman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

advaitin, "V. Krishnamurthy" <profvk

wrote:

>

> advaitin, "Tony OClery" <aoclery@> wrote:

> >

> > Namaste,

> >

> > I know its meaning of wandering together but what does it

> literally

> > mean in Vedic or Sanskrit? How is it compounded to form sam

> > sara...?.Tony ..Thanks

> >

> Namaste, Tony-ji

>

> Here are the meanings from a Learner's Sanskrit Dictionary

published

> by the Sanskrit Education Society, Mylapore, Chennai 1982.

>

> samskAra: (Noun, masculine)

> 1. accomplishment, perfecting

> 2. purifying

> 3. refining

> 4. educating, training

> 5. decorating

> 6. cooking, preparation of food

> 7. preparation

> 8. impression, shape

> 9. idea

> 10. effect of action

> 11. faculty of remembering

> 12. sacred or purificatory rite

> 13. religious ceremony.

> 14. funeral ceremonies.

>

> samsAra : (Noun, masculine)

> 1. course of worldly life

> 2. series of lives

> 3. illusion about the world

> 4. world

> 5. course, path of.

>

> PraNAms to all lovers of Sanskrit.

> profvk

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussion of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy of nonseparablity of Atman

and Brahman.

Advaitin List Archives available at: http://www.eScribe.com/culture/advaitin/

To Post a message send an email to : advaitin

Messages Archived at: advaitin/messages

 

 

 

 

 

Advaita vedanta

Brahman

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

post 30679

 

Sri Sankararaman avargale :

 

Was it John Maynard Keynes, the famous British Economist , who

said 'A cynic is one who knows the price of everything and value of

nothing.'

 

Sankararaman-ji, do i detect 'cynicism' in your post? Did you know

that even a great Sanyasi and a staunch advaitin , Sri Adi shankara

Bhagvadapada performed 'anthyaeshti' ( funeral rites) to his beloved

mother Smt. Aryambaal? Being the only son Sri Sankara promised his

mother before he took the vow of sanyasa that he would definitely

perform her last rites . He fulfilled his promise although he was

criticized by the fellow Namboodris in his community who refused

to help him in this noble endeavour.

 

You are so fond of quoting Sri Ramana and even Sri Ramana's mother

breathed her last in Ramanashram and sri Ramana himself oversaw her

funeral rites. Sri Ramana and Sri Shankara are the ultimate

renunciates but even thy they did not fail to discharge their 'pitru

rimam' - then what about lesser mortals like you and me? My son, to

this day, performs his dad's shradda ceremony without fail -

sometimes yo do these things not only for the 'dead' but for the

peace of the Living also.

 

IT IS EASIER TO DO 'SAMSKARAS' THEN TO COPE WITH SAMSARA for that is

an Ocean difficult to cross ! ( as ramji said so beautifully in his

post)

 

i leave you with this verse

 

from 'Bhaja Govindam':

 

kurute gañgáságaragamanam

vrataparipálnam athava dánam,

jòánavihènaç sarvamatena

muktim na bhajati janmaùatena. (17)

 

One goes on pilgrimage to the place where the Gañgá joins the

sea;

or observe the religious vows with care;

or offers gifts of charity.

 

But if he be devoid of Divine knowledge, he does not gain release-

according to all schools of thought- even in a hundred lives.

 

Take care , my dear friend

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sri Sankarraman:

 

I may agree with you if you modify your statement and say

that 'samskara' is an integral part of 'samsara.' Sri Toniji, a

westerner wants to understand the concept of 'samsara' and it is our

duty to provide him with the correct interpretation. As Vedantins, we

do need to distinguish between 'transient reality' and the 'absolute

reality' and recognize that differences do exist in a relative sense of

reality. Our understanding of concepts and terminology also changes as

we progress spiritually and the answers that we provide for a question

require careful evaluation of the context of its usage.

 

In certain contexts, for someone like you, they both may mean the same.

But in most of the contexts, they have a mountain of difference! Yes,

as samsaris, we are obligated to conduct the samskaras as ordained by

the scriptures.

 

According to Bhagavad Gita, we can't simply get out of this bondage of

samsara by renouncing our 'duties.' It is ofcourse possible for us to

remove or reduce the effects of samsara by conducting the 'ordained

duties' with the 'yagna spirit.' Bhagavad Gita declares this path to

salvation from samsara as Yoga Sadhana. The crystal clear message of

Gita is that no one can get liberated by just running away simply by

renouncing the actions!

 

Warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

 

advaitin, Ganesan Sankarraman <shnkaran

wrote:

>

>

> I don't find any distinction between samskara and samsara;

> both are one and the same.

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Durga" <durgaji108 wrote:

>

> advaitin, "Ram >

> > advaitin, "Tony OClery" <aoclery@> wrote:

> > >

> > > Namaste,

> > >

> > > I know its meaning of wandering together but what does it

literally

> > > mean in Vedic or Sanskrit? How is it compounded to form sam

> > > sara...?.Tony ..Thanks

>

> Namaste all,

>

> I have been told by my teacher that the word, samsara,

> derives from the Sanskrit word, sre, which means,

> to change, or to move.

>

> And also that the word samsara can be broken in this way,

> samyak saraha, which means that which changes very well.

>

> Therefore samsara refers to everything in duality,

> as all of duality is constantly changing.

teacher of Vedanta, has said.

>

> My pranams,

> Durga

>

Namaste Durga-ji,

 

Yes I did mean sam sara not sam skara, I understand samskara alright

and I know the meaning of the usage in samasara but I was ignorant

of its true etymology and origins.........Thank you

Durga...ONS..Tony.

[Guest guest]

Tony ji,

Namaste.

Several explanations of SamskAra have been offered; Swami

HarshAnanda of Sri Ramakrishna Mission, Bangalore offered a very

Simple and practical explanation. He described samskAra as value

adding. Smt. Dhyanasaraswati offered a list of sixteen events in

the life of a person, which are called shOdasha (16) samskArAs.

Each of these samskArAs have the objective of taking the individual

towards the next higher level of dharma in the quest towards realization

of the self. Prakriti is the natural state of existence. If neglected, it

deteriorates, called vikriti. However, by value adding, ie. by

samskArAs, prikriti is elevated to samskriti- a higher step in the

evolution of a soul. As an example, cream of wheat is the natural

state of existence - prakriti. If stored in a container and ignored,

it deteriorates to the state of vikriti. However, cooking it with

milk and sugar(samskAra) results in porridge - the state of samskriti.

Regards,

K. Ramakrishna.

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

 

Namaste,

 

I know its meaning of wandering together but what does it literally

mean in Vedic or Sanskrit? How is it compounded to form sam

sara...?.Tony ..Thanks

[Guest guest]

dhyanasaraswati <dhyanasaraswati wrote: post 30679

 

Sri Sankararaman avargale :

 

Was it John Maynard Keynes, the famous British Economist , who

said 'A cynic is one who knows the price of everything and value of

nothing.'

 

Sankararaman-ji, do i detect 'cynicism' in your post?

Thank you for your compliment rather comment. In spite of my dislike for

rites and rituals, which is a small affair, I highly rever Bhaghavan Ramana, who

is a veritable embodiment of advaita. You have asked me to take care- take care

of what, my anti-traditional views. Having read Vallalar, J.Krishnamurthy, and

Buddhistic thoughts, I have been disillusioned of all the belief systems, which

does not mean that I am a wayward person. As Ramakrishna says, there are as many

religions, for as many minds.

Sankarraman

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Ram Chandran <ramvchandran wrote: Namaste Sri Sankarraman:

 

I may agree with you if you modify your statement and say

that 'samskara' is an integral part of 'samsara.' I am of the opinion

that in the modern context, when the life-style of man has changed, many of the

rituals may not have much significance. Excuse me; that is my view; I am not

indulging in blasphemy in this august, intellectual forum. The concept of action

also, I feel, has to be looked at in a philosophical context; they need not mean

all these horse-sacrifices and agnihotra, which might be only symbolical. As men

in quest for truth, we have to look at as to how all our actions are

self-centred, our views judgemental, leaning upon some conclusion. True action

may be one of acting without leaving a residue, for which we have to find out

whether there is a non-volitional realm in our being, which does not lead to

dualistic way of looking at life, which ushers in all fright and misery, and a

deep clinging to our personal ego, a sense of differentiation from others by

identification with realms of non-self like caste, family,

social status, wealth, and lastly a rigorous pursuit of untruth in all our

empirical dealings, lest we should lose our personal identity in the world. All

these things seem to count more in life in our endeavour to understand the

concept of action, inaction etc. I am not aginst Hindu Tradition. But

psychologically, I am not able to accept those ideas though I am born in an

orthodox smarta family, devoted to Sankara tradition of Kanchi. But, I belive,

that does not detract from the authenticity of the quest. I think one can be a

non-Hindu, and still attempt to know that which is enduring, sacred, and

timeless. Madam has accused me of cynicism. But cynicism, or whatever it may be,

has to be encountered. I think we should not name our psychological states of

mind, but look at them through coiceless awareness. Thank you for your kind

response. Excuse me, if my views are not religious. One has to pass through the

existential alienation before coming upon the consummation of life.

Sankarraman

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

post number 30691

 

Sankararaman writes :

 

( You have asked me to take care- take care of what, my anti-

traditional views. Having read Vallalar, J.Krishnamurthy, and

Buddhistic thoughts, I have been disillusioned of all the belief

systems, which does not mean that I am a wayward person. As

Ramakrishna says, there are as many religions, for as many minds. )

 

I don't think you are a 'wayward' person,not in the least Sri

Sankararaman-ji!

 

But you do try to be a 'way pointer' in the true tradition of

J.KRISHNAMURTHY! JK did not believe in Gurudom, Rather he believed

in being a 'waypointer' .

 

i have no problem with your being non-traditional, or non-

conventional or for that matter even an anti-ritualistic person. i am

not traditional by any standards nor am i conventional but by the

same token we should not 'knock' down practices obseved by millions

of hindus over centuries.

 

You msay run away from 'samskaras' but can you run away

from 'Samsara' - True liberation lies in knowing that there is

nothing to run away from ! We can break the chain of traditions

(samskaras)and conventions but can w break the chain of Samsara (

births, deaths, reincarnation) erc ?

 

 

regards

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sri Sankarraman:

 

First let me thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights on the

relevance of 'rituals' in modern life. Whether we like it not (or

accept it or not) modern life inevitably entertained with

more 'modern rituals.' In other words, we can't escape from Samskaras

(rituals) as long as we are trapped within the bondage of samsara

(whether modern or ancient). Rituals get reincarnated with modern

names, forms, colors, manuals and video demonstrations.. If we

contemplate on our modern daily routine, we can easily recognize

their existence at home, office, during travel, etc.

 

I sincerely believe that our scriptures contain vast amount of hidden

treasures and if we show patience and perseverance to find, cherish

and understand, we can nullify the effects of samsara. I also

believe that religion is quite essential for making our life fruitful

and meaningful. It serves the same purpose like the `camp-fire' on a

cold freezing winter night. If we keep far away from the fire, we

will be frozen and if we go too close to the fire, we can be burnt!

In other words, we need to learn to adopt the religion to our

advantage with reasoning and understanding. Let us not compare

ourselves with the modern Maharishis such as JK or Sri Ramana or Sri

Ramakrishna, and whatever is applicable to them need not necessarily

be applicable to our life. If I understand JK correctly, he is not

against `religion' but he is against `Blind faith.' If we blindly

follow JK without grasping the essence of his teaching and reasoning

we will be Blindly following him, violating all that he stood for!

Please bear with me that I do not imply that you are doing this but I

am just cautioning all of us about the pitfalls making hasty

resolutions without reasoning. I haven't seen any statements from

Sri Ramana or Sri Ramakrishna or JK scolding the relevance of the

messages of the great seers of the Upanishads or teachings of

Bhagavad Gita. As a matter of fact, their life and their works

greatly reflect the messages of the Upanishadic sages.

 

Now let me divert myself to the topic under discussion. In Bhagavad

Gita the word `samsaara' appears in three verses and I believe that

it may provide more light for our understanding.

 

Ashraddhadhaanaah purushaa dharmasyaasya parantapa;

Apraapya maam nivartante mrityusamsaaravartmani. Chapter 9, verse 3

 

Those who have no faith in this Dharma (knowledge of the Self), O

Parantapa (Arjuna), return to the path of this world of death without

attaining Me!

 

The word Dharmasya, with the demonstrative adjective Asya qualifying

it stands for the knowledge of the Nirguna and Saguna aspects of God,

which has been extolled in the preceding verse, and which has been

discussed extensively in this chapter. Reposing no faith in this

Dharma means entertaining doubt and misconception about the

statements contained in this chapter regarding the essential

character, glory, virtues and greatness of God, the means to His

realization and the fruit of such realization as untrue, far from

possible and contrary to facts, belittling them as nothing but

sentiments couched in an attractive garb, and entertaining other such

notions which run counter to faith.

 

Asraddadhanah (lacking in faith) refers to those who having no faith

in the essential character, virtues, glory and greatness etc. of God,

do not practice devotion to Him in any form and fritter away their

human existence, which is such a rare acquisition, in enjoying

worldly pleasures and obtaining the means to such enjoyment. In

course of his peregrination through eight million and four hundred

thousand varieties of existence as living beings the Jiva rarely

attains the human body through the grace of God for securing

liberation from the cycle of births and deaths, and realizing God.

Even after obtaining such a rare boon in the shape of human

existence, those who fail to practice adoration and meditation etc. ,

through lack of faith in the teachings of the Lord are unable to

realize God and begin to revolve as heretofore in samsara (the cycle

of births and deaths).

 

Tesaamaham samuddhartaa mrityusamsaarasaagaraat;

Bhavaami nachiraat paartha mayyaaveshitachetasaam. Chapter 12, verse 7

 

To those whose minds are set on Me, O Arjuna, verily I become ere

long the savior out of the ocean of the mortal Samsara!

 

Everything in this world is embraced by death. With the exception of

God nothing which makes its appearance in the universe is ever

immune, even for a moment, from the buffets of death. And even as

countless waves continue to rise and fall on the surface of the

ocean, so do births and deaths constantly take place in this world.

It may be possible to count the waves of the ocean; but there is no

knowing how many times a soul will have to undergo birth and death so

long as he does not realize God. That is why this world has been

compared to an ocean. By using the word, `samsaarasagaraat' Lord

Krishna wants to convey that samsara is like the ocean, never ending

and difficulty to cross!

 

Taanaham dwishatah krooraan samsaareshu naraadhamaan;

Kshipaamyajasram ashubhaan aasureeshweva yonishu. Chapter 16, verse 19

 

These cruel haters, the worst among men in the world,—I hurl all

these evil-doers for ever into the wombs of demons only.

 

The demonstrative pronoun `Tan', qualified by the

adjectives "Dvisatah' `Asubhan', `Kruran' and `Naradhaman', refers to

men possessing a demoniac disposition who have been spoken of at

length in the entire chapter. Their vile propensities and immoral

practices alone are responsible for their evil destiny. The idea is

that these vile men bear malice to all, bring corruption into society

by their sinful activities of various kinds perpetrate many cruel

acts in a callous manner, and harm others without any provocation.

`Demoniac wombs' represent all subhuman species of living beings such

as the lion, the tiger, beasts, birds, insects and moths, reptiles,

scorpions, dogs, crows and all other.

`Ajasram' implies that they are cast into such demoniac wombs times

without number; while the use of the indeclinable `Eva' with `Asurisu

Yonisu' rules out the possibility of their being born in higher

species such as gods, manes or human beings.

 

Lord Krishna also provides clues for getting liberated from samsara

and the verse 16 of chapter 16 is an example to that effect.

 

Kim karma kim akarmeti kavayo'pyatra mohitaah;

Tat te karma pravakshyaami yajjnaatwaa mokshyase'shubhaat. Chapter 4,

verse 16

 

What is action? What is inaction? As to this even the wise are

confused. Therefore, I shall teach thee such action (the nature of

action and inaction), by knowing which thou shall be liberated from

the evil of Samsara, the world of birth and death..

 

The word `Kavayah' in this verse stands for men of intelligence, well-

versed in the scriptures. The verse says that even they are at a loss

to understand what is action and what is inaction. The intention is

to show that their deep study of the truth and secret of Karma as

expounded in the scriptures in various ways does not enable them to

understand correctly what act done with what motive, or renounced

with what motive, will be classed as `action', and what act done with

what motive, or renounced with what motive will be classed as

`inaction'. The word `Api' shows that when even men of great learning

and wisdom are at a loss to understand the truth of this matter,

there is no wonder that ordinary men should get confused and puzzled

over it. The Lord thus seeks to convey that the mystery of action is

extremely difficult to unravel.

 

The truth about action, which the Lord promised to expound, has been

explained from verses 18 to 32 of this chapter. Knowledge of this

truth consists in correctly comprehending what action done with what

motive, or renounced with what motive, leads to bondage in the form

of rebirth, and what action done with what motive or renounced with

what motive, does not lead to bondage. He who comes to know this

truth in reality can never perform an action, or practice

renunciation of action, which may lead to bondage. Whatever he does

he does only for the pleasure of God, or with a view to maintenance

of the world order, renouncing the feeling of possession, attachment,

the desire for fruit and the sense of doership. By knowing this

truth, one gets freed from the bondage of Karma.

 

The entire Gita discusses in greater detail how we can get liberated

from Samsara through Yoga Sadhana and the more of these discussions

will continue along with the Gtia Satsangh.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

advaitin, Ganesan Sankarraman <shnkaran

wrote:

>

> I am of the opinion that in the modern context, when the life-

style of man has changed, many of the rituals may not have much

significance. Excuse me; that is my view; I am not indulging in

blasphemy in this august, intellectual forum. The concept of action

also, I feel, has to be looked at in a philosophical context; they

need not mean all these horse-sacrifices and agnihotra, which might

be only symbolical. As men in quest for truth, we have to look at as

to how all our actions are self-centred, our views judgemental,

leaning upon some conclusion.

[Guest guest]

Ram Chandran <ramvchandran wrote: Namaste Sri Sankarraman:

 

I thank you very much for your kindly and meaningful response. I don't

to the modern permissive society, which has got its own rituals. I

don't mean to suggest that one can shrug away from the pain of samsara, which is

the essence of samskaras- the samskaras going to mean the rituals as well as the

concept involved in that word of our being crystallized into a mechanistic,

material process, not being aware of the basic intelligence sustaining life-

through mere empirical knowledge like some of the finest intellects like

Ingersoll having done, their humanism having to be appreciated. J.K says in an

interview with the great scientist, David Bohm, a disciple of Einstein, that

there is a common source for thought, matter, and intelligence. He raises the

question as to why the division has been created in intelligence as thought and

matter, as to how the trinity has happened. As long as this fragmentation is

there, we will be inflicting pain on ourselves as well as others, the

division of I and thou being only the creation of thought. Truth is one only;

the sages call it by different names. I don't presume to understand the great

teachings of the modern maharishis. The word modern, I think, has been used in

an empirical context, and does not refer to the idea of some new intellectual

thought, as thought in any form, modern or ancient, is only the cause of

fragmentation. I do not have any quarrel with you; I respect your world views.

Let me take time to ponder on the concepts of action, inaction, the wisdom of

Bakavath gita referred to by you. J.K says that inaction is the highest form of

action.

Sankarraman

 

 

 

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