Characteristics of Indian Philosophy + Kumbh Mela

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>sanjeev nayyar

>"vnarayan (AT) md2 (DOT) vsnl.net.in"

>Characteristics of Indian Philosophy + Kumbh Mela >Thu, 25 Jan

2001 19:50:39 +0530 > >Hi, > >Hope you enjoyed reading the last mail " A

Tribute to the Indian Woman >". Addtions to esamskriti.com in January 2001 are

- > >1. Characteristics of Indian, Chinese and Western Philosophy - it is in

>point form. > >2. All that you wanted to know about the Kumbh Mela in a

question and >answer form.. > >3. India the Past and the Future talks briefly

about India's >contribution to the World and more importantly What She needs to

Do to >get there. > >4. When there is turbulence in your life, you could

panic---- > >This mail has the characteristics of Indian philosophy and things

that >might like to know about the Kumbh Mela. > >Common Characteristics of

Indian Philosophy > >To most of us living in India we sort of take Indian

culture, philosophy >for granted. When I asked a friend of mine to review a

recently launched >Culture Site she said it was lovely but her non resident

Indians friends >would find it’s content more interesting. This article is

based on >inputs from Seven Systems of Indian Philosophy by the respected

Pandit >Rajmani Tigunait, PHD and Introduction to Comparative Philosophy by

>P.T.Raju. Indian philosophy is inward looking, aims to help human beings >deal

with the ups and downs of life with the goal of self-realization. > >The

Sanskrit word for philosophy is darsana, which means direct vision. >The words

symbolize the difference between modern Western philosophy, >which mainly

relies on intellectual pursuit and Indian philosophy that >relies on direct

vision of truths and pure Buddhi (reasoning). Darsana >is divided into two

categories namely Astika (believer in the Vedas) and >Nastika (non-believer in

the Vedas). Astika are Nyaya, Vaisheshik, >Sakhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta.

Nastika are Carvaka, Jainism and >Buddism. Others are a mixture of the ideas of

these systems. Although >each school of philosophy is unique, they all have

characteristics in >common. Some of the important ones are - > >1. Direct

experience. All systems of Indian philosophy claim to be >derived from the Veda

but the Veda itself are a record of the sages who >realized the truth within. To

solve life’s questions related to nature >of life, death, birth, cosmic/

individual existence, they started making >rational inquiries, observations.

Unable to find satisfactory answers, >they discovered various methods of

meditation that help one attain the >higher levels of consciousness in which

one may have direct experience >of the truth. Each school originated with an

enlightened teacher who >described his experiences of the truth and method of

attaining it. > >2. Acceptance of authority. Respect for sages and ancient

scriptures is >a strong tradition in India. When a teacher advocates a new

>philosophical system, he cites established scriptures or the writings of

>authorized sages to support his statements. The Astika or orthodox >schools

always refer to the Veda to support their theories. The Nastika >or unorthodox

schools do not accept the authority of the Veda but follow >the authority of

their founder. Buddha for example reiterated many >things said in the Veda but

did not cite the Veda as the source of his >views. And so the tendency to rely

on the work of a realized teacher is >maintained in Buddhism also. > >3.

Harmony among schools. All systems of Indian philosophy have a unique >quality

of cooperating with one another. When a debate takes place the >intent is not

to destroy another’s philosophy but to clarify one’s own >theories, thoughts.

This has enabled various schools to live in harmony. >Indian philosophers

realized that every human mind is unique, must be >allowed to follow a

philosophy of its choice. > >4. Parallel growth and coexistence of so many

schools. The various >systems of philosophy flourished and grew simultaneously.

The main >reason is that the open-minded approach attracted students of various

>hues who were impressed with the practical aspects of that system of

>philosophy. When a particular teacher delivered a message, it was >studied and

teachings were put into practice by a group of people whom >it suited. So was

formed a school of philosophy. Each system continued >to coexist because it

provided a theoretical and practical philosophy to >meet intellectual and

emotional needs of students at different levels of >realization. > >There is

Saivism in Kashmir and Kerala and Vaishnavism, Shaktism and >Yoga throughout

India. The five schools of Vedanta exist even today. All >these systems

continue to undergo change, grow to meet the needs of >modern man without

deviating from the basic teachings of their founders. >One has never heard the

followers of these sects fight with one another. >Another school is to be

defeated on the strength of intellectual >argument rather than by using the

Gun, taking to terrorism. > >5. Open-mindedness. A broad outlook that reflects

its unflinching >devotion to truth distinguishes Indian philosophy. Each school

is open >to the views of all other schools. There was nothing like, this is

>X-Mozilla-Status: 0009e only way to self-realization. The established >system

of philosophical exposition in the Indian tradition involves >explaining and

criticizing the prior view of the subject, then refuting >the view and

describing a subsequent view that takes you to a higher >level or final theory.

It’s like saying at work I identify a problem, do >not criticize but offer a

solution too. Because of a continuos exchange >of ideas, the philosophical

systems have with time, become more >sophisticated and complete. > >Simply put

an individual who enters into a discussion with an open mind >and willing to

listen to another’s point of view is likely to have a >better understanding of

the situation. It is one reason why Indians have >taken to the Western culture

so easily, are able to adjust in just about >every environment, U.S.,

Australia, Britain, South Africa. > >6. Support of logic and reasoning. Direct

experience is the foundation >of Indian philosophy, but reason and logic are

the chief tools that >enable the system to develop and grow. The theories are

presented in a >way that the rational mind can easily accept. All systems of

Indian >philosophy apply the methods of logic to argue their points of view and

>protect themselves from criticism. Reason only justifies that which >intuition

or experience has revealed. By virtue of being an important >part of our

philosophy, logic got ingrained in the Indian mind. Since >computer software

uses logic extensively, it has helped India gain >recognition as a potential

global software power. > >7. Belief of Eternity. Each system of Indian

philosophy proclaims that >there is an eternal consciousness in man and the

realization of this >consciousness is the goal of life. Imperfections are a

result of >ignorance and are on the surface of our personality but what we need

to >do is to discover the Self within that lies in a perfect state of bliss.

>Man’s physical existence depends on his karma’s (actions) but the center >of

his life is eternal. > >8. The law of karma. Every Indian school accepts this

law which states >that for every effect there is a cause and for every action

there is a >reaction. If a man becomes attached to the fruits of action, then

he >becomes a victim of his own karmas because it is attachment to the >results

that motivates him to perform future actions. The fruit has >arisen out of the

action and action out of the fruit. This cycle is the >wheel of karma. When my

only motivation to do something is because I >want to enjoy the results, I am

bound to be unhappy because I will not >always not get what I want. I am more

worried about the results than the >act itself. All schools agree that the

concept of karma is the only >explanation for the existence of suffering.

Nothing in life is >accidental, what we are today is a result of our karma’s

deeds in this >or past life. A friend of mine has, with the help of astrology,

been >able to know about acts and omissions of her previous life. After

>discovering a substantial part of his inner self she is able to >correlate the

events of this and last life. Connecting her past and >present births has

changed her perspective to life. > >Karma is not fate or kismet. Karma means

that every human being controls >his future. You reap what you sow. > >9. Moral

and ethical teachings. Ancient seers realized that there must >be some

discipline in our lives with relations to family, society, and >nation for

without law and order, the world becomes disorganized >resulting in misery.

Eastern philosophers believed that for peace within >there had to be peace

outside. Lack of morality and discipline creates >misunderstandings in relation

with others and is the cause of emotional >problems. Emotions need to be

disciplined and channeled correctly. >Disciplines related to body and mind are

generally known as moral and >ethical laws and the practical systems of Indian

philosophy are based on >these laws. These are commitments not commandments,

accepted to create >external peace without which there can be no internal

tranquility. > >10. Acknowledgement of suffering. Most quests for

self-realization start >with the reason for pain and suffering. The goal of

each system is to >overcome suffering. Buddha began his philosophy by saying

there is >suffering, next he said there is a cause for it, there is a state in

>which suffering ceases and finally there is a way to attain freedom from >all

pain. These statements are called the Four Noble Truths. The >experience is due

to our inability to experience the inner self. >Suffering comes about because of

one’s attachment with worldly objects, >the moment we start looking within, and

freedom from pain starts. > >11. Practicality. All systems of Indian philosophy

contain a practical >aspect called Sadhana. Thus the theoretical aspects of

philosophy can be >applied to everyday life. The ancient sages believed that

any philosophy >that did not enable man to handle the problems of day to day to

life was >of no use. Those of you who have read the Bhagwad Gita would agree

that >the holy book is less about religion but tells us how to handle the ups

>and downs of life. > >Self-realization, the direct experience of ones inner

nature is the goal >of all systems of Indian philosophy. Every system

prescribed its own way >of overcoming pain to achieve the goal of life. Thus

every human being >has to look within, understand his own nature and figure out

his way to >self-realization. There is nothing that this is the only way. It’s

all >about direct experience referred to above. > >The way to reach this goal

include selfless love, service to others, >purification and self-control.

Because of their usefulness, practicality >each system of Indian philosophy is

as new today as it was three >thousand years ago. It is this quality of our

philosophy that has >enabled India to survive through dark periods. > >13. An

interesting feature is the naturalistic attitude towards all >philosophical

problems including the religious. The object of religion, >the Brahman, is

conceived to be as naturally connected with man as is >with life and life with

matter. > >14. Because of this naturalism, rationalism is encouraged to the

extent >that there are no dogmas in Indian religion. > >For the same reason,

faith in the sense in which it is accepted in >Christian and Islamic thought is

not found in Indian thought. God has >become a subject of existential philosophy

in India unlike the West, >Arab world. For the same reason, Indians do not

worship, must I say >fanatically worship any of their Gods, founder of

religion. We do not >take to the streets when our Gods words are interpreted

differently. >What Lord Krishna said in the Holy Geeta has been interpreted

>differently by many great men like Sankara, Swami Chinamayananda and Dr

>Radhakrishnan. Buddha is worshipped because he is said to have spoken >the

truth, what he said was considered true on its own merits, not >because he said

it. Thus, anyone who speaks the truth can become a >Buddha. > >Classical Indian

philosophies, except the Mimamsa, showed indifference >to man as he exists in

society since there was overwhelming emphasis on >inward interest. This is

probably one of the reasons why Bharat never >developed any political thought.

> >15. Indian philosophy is concerned with the True, the Good and the

>Beautiful. It finds all the three and their identity as the extreme end >of

inwardness, not of outwardness. The three highest attributes to be >realized

are Existence, Consciousness and Bliss. (Sat, cit and Ananda). >Truth, goodness

and beauty have outward existence but existence, >consciousness and bliss have

inward significance. The Brahman alone >posses all these qualities, is the view

of all Vedantic schools. And >Vedanta is the dominant philosophy in India. >

>KUMBH MELA > >Kumbha mela of great antiquity will be held at Prayag

[Allahabad] this >month. Here is what you always wanted to know in a

question-and-answer >format. This article is verbatim from the December issue

of the monthly >magazine of The Ramakrishna Mission. > >What is Kumbha Mela?

Mela in Sanskrit means a congregation or gathering: >people from different

places assemble at a certain place on some special >occasion for some special

purpose, and such an assembly is a Mela. Melah >means an astrological

congregation or influence of planets. Kumbha >generally means a sacred vessel

or pot-in this case one containing >nectar. So Kumbha Mela very broadly means a

religious gathering at a >holy place, connected with the nectarine pot bestowing

immortality, at a >special time. > >What is the legend behind Kumbha Mela? go to

esamskriti.com > >What is the significance of Kumbha Mela according to

astrology? visit >esamskriti.com > >Kumbha Mela as a unique spiritual festival

held once in twelve years at >different times in four sacred places of

India-Prayag, Hardwar, Ujjain >and Nasik when certain rare celestial

confluence’s occur. This festival >chiefly concerns ceremonial bathing in the

sacred rivers of these >places, which purify the soul of its sins and bestow

immortality because >the sacred nectarine kumbha has touched these places. >

>What will take place next month is purna (lit. ‘complete’) Kumbha Mela, >which

comes once in twelve years. The divine arrangement is such that >within twelve

years, at equal intervals, Purna Kumbha Melas at Parayag >and Hardwar, which

come once in six years. Thus, within a period of >twelve years, there will be

six Kumbha Melas in different parts of >India. > >What is the history and

tradition of Kumbha Mela? To find the origin of >this great event is beyond the

scope of history, but that it was being >practiced even during the pre-Buddhist

era is known. The only thing that >can be said of its historicity is, Kulmbha

Mela has been talking place >since time immemorial. So far as the tradition is

concerned, the main >ritual is ceremonial bathing: At the appointed hour, when

the celestial >kumbha or puskara yoga occurs, people take ceremonial bath in

the >rivers, purifying their souls of all impurities. > >What do we gain by

participating in the Kumbha Mela? First the holy >bath. The Matsya Purana says:

> Maghe masi gamisyanti > Ganga- yamuna- samgamam; > Gavam sata- sahasrasya >

Samyak-dattasya yaatphalam. > Prayage maghamase vai > Tarayagam snatasya

tatphalam. > >‘By taking bath in the holy confluence of Ganga and Yamuna at

Prayag for >three days in the month of Magha, one attains the same merit as

when one >donates a thousand cows ceremoniously.’ Second the ceremonial bathing

>apart, there are spiritual discourses, religious meetings, criptural >readings,

worship in temples, kirtan and bhajan singing, Vedic chanting, >offering

oblations, meditation, prayers, serving the poor, etc. If a >sincere soul

attends a Kumbha Mela once, the whole event should bring >about a great

transformation in him or her, and there should be >spiritual awakening in the

heart. This is because, millions of devotees >from different parts of the globe

assemble at holy place, and think of >God. The air is surcharged with spiritual

vibration. It is not an >ordinary occurrence at all. Third, the Hindu ideal is

that this human >birth is a magnificent blessing, since it is a steppingstone

to >spiritual illumination and liberation. Immersed as we are in our daily

>tasks, we tend to forget our ideals and become engrossed in the trap of

>delusion so we become bound and suffer terribly. Great event’s like >Kumbha

Mela, taking place at regular intervals at four different corners >of the holy

land, bring to our mind that we are here to seek God or >Truth. > >Fourth, if

we can participate in all the four Kumbha Melas within a >period of twelve

years, we would have covered most of the pilgrim >centers of India. There is

another view also: Perhaps there used to be >only one Kumba Mela in very

ancient times, which catered to the >spiritual needs of numerous people then.

But as population grew and >people spread over to different regions, the sages

must have decided to >hold Kumbha Melas at different regions to benefit all

people. Fifth, >this is the one festival where anyone irrespective of caste or

creed can >participate. Everyone can take bath in the river. Sixth, we come to

an >important merit of participating in the Kumbha Mela now. > >What was

Sankara’s contribution to Kumbha Mela? It is said that Samkara, >the founder of

the dasanami monastic institution, called upon the monks >to participate in the

Mela so that they could meet monks from different >orders, take ceremonial

bath, discuss scriptural truths, teach assembled >devotees the methods of

sadhana and the glory of spiritual life, and >themselves become blessed. He

wanted sort of a religious parliament to >take place occasionally. Monasticism

is the heart of religions, >especially Hindu, and the presence of the all-

renouncing monks and >nuns make any religious event glorious. At every Purna

Kumbha Mela, >thousands of monks from different orders assemble, go in

procession, >take ceremonial bath, hold religious seminars and discourses,

initiate >aspirants into monastic life, inspire people to lead holy lives, and

>bring about a spiritual fervor everywhere. > >What are the different orders of

monks that take part in the Kumbha >Mela? Of the different orders of monastic

taking part, the dasanami >Sannyasins, the Vaisnava Baiaragis, the Nanakpanthi

Udasis,the Sikh >Nirmalas, the yogis, the Kabirpanthis, etc, are important. The

famous >Naga sadhus who roam about clad in sky belong to the dasanami group

>itself.It should be noted that Sannyasubs are divided into two large >groups,

Paramahamsa and Naga. ‘Naga’ has nothing to do with snakes but >it is a

derivative of ‘nagna’, to remain naked. The Nagasadhus, who >attract attention

at every Kumbha Mela, are Advaitines like the >Paramahamsas. They say that this

so- called fierce- looking and spirited >Nagagroup came into being in order to

face the terror that alien rulers >had created to sanatana dharma. The

aspirants who are intent upon >becoming Naga monks are divided into two groups

:Alekhiyas and >avadhutas. > >The Nagas and X-Mozilla-Status: 0009ed into four

(sometimes seven ) >akhadas or associations. They are:atal, nirvani (to which

Ramkrishna >Order monks belong ), niranjani (worshippers of Lord Niranjana),

and >juna (worshippers ofguru Dattatreya, who have nuns also within their

>fold).The other three akhadas are ananda,avahan, and agan (agni). > >There is

a regular method in which the monks take bath at the appointed >time during

Kumbha Mela. The monastic (including Paramahamsas and Nagas) >of different

akhadas divided themselves into suitable groups under a >chief (mandalesvara),

and go towards the river in a procession. At >Prayag, it is the nirvani akhadas

that leads the procession. They are >followed by monastic from other orders,

like bairagis (who are dualists >and belong to at least four schools of

philosophy, like those of >Ramanuja, Nimbarka, etc),udasis (which sect was

founded by Gurlu Nanak’s >son Srichand; udasis are chiefly non- dualists),

nirmalas (whose origin >relates to Guru Gobind Singhji, and tahaey adore Sri

Guru Granth Sahib >and sing sabads), Dadupanthis, Kabirpanthis, etc. > >What

about certain peculiarities we notice at such Melas? It’s a sight >for the gods

see when thousands of all-renouncing monastic goes in >procession, and devotees

assemble in thousands to witness this. >Undoubtedly, such huge congregations

are occasions for frauds, cheats >and beggars to mint money, and this is not

peculiar to any one religion. >However, some westernized puritans feel uneasy

at the monks of certain >orders move about and behave, specially at Kumbha

Melas. These purivans >wish these monks to be dignified, with gentlemen’s

behavior. To such >people, we quote from Swamiji’s famous poem, The Song of the

Sannyasin: > > Heed then no more how body lives or goes, > …Let one put garlands

on, another kick > This frame; say naught. …Have athou no home. > What home can

hold thee, friend? > The sky thy roof, the frass thy bed; and food > What

chance may bring, …judge not. > …Few only know the truth. The rest will hate >

And laugh at thaeae, gareat one; but pay no heed. > Without the fear of pain or

search for pleasure, go > Beyond them both,Sannyasin bold! Say- > “Om Tat Sat,

Om!” > >What is the importance of Prayag or Allahabad? This time’s Kumbha Mela

>is being held at Prayag (prayaga). The Bengali Visvakosa defines Prayag >thus:

‘Prakrsto yago yagaphalam yasya yasmat va, where we get the >greatest fruit of

our good works or sacrifices.’ In the Matsya Purana >six chapters are devoted

to eulogizing the glory of Prayag. It says: ‘ >Prayagam smaramanasya yanti

papani samksayam, just by remembering Prayag >a million sins are destroyed.’

There are six Prayags- Rudra Prayag, >Karna Prayag, etc-but this Prayag is the

most important one. There is a >beautiful song in Bengali: ‘Prayage mudayiya

matha morge papi jotha >tatha, shave your head at Prayag, O sinner, and die

wherever you will.’ >That is, even the greatest sinner is saved or is freed

from sins once he >shaves his head in Prayag. > >What is Triveni Sangama?

Prayag is the meeting place of three great >rivers: Ganga, Yamuna and

Saraswati. All the three have been mentioned >in the Vedas. The river Saraswati

has been called ‘the greatest of all >mothers, the greatest of all rivers, and

the greatest of all goddesses >(ambitame naditame devitame saraswati).’ She has

been praised in >numerous hymns in the Vedas, and most of the Vedic sages took

place on >its banks. Saraswaati, though not flowing on the holyland of Bharata

>these days, has mingled with the other two as a subterranean stream. The

>river Ganga was initially flowing in the heavens; it was Bhagiratha who

>brought it down. It ran down from the top of Lord Siva’s head. Just a >drop of

the river Ganga is enough to purify a person. Holy Mother Sri >Ramakrishna

called the river brahmavari. Though purest, swami >Vivekananda would never the

less sprinkle a drop of Ganga water on his >lips to become ‘pure’ even while in

the West. The river Yamuna is >Krsna’s favourite river and he played as a boy on

its banks. A place >where such great river unite, called Triveni Sangama

(‘triple-braid >confluence’) should certainly be the holiest of holies. > >How

many avatars have visited Prayag? go to esamskriti.com > >How did Prayag become

‘Allahabad’? Allahabad comes from ‘llaha-bad’, >derived from Akbar’s new

religion, Din-I-lahi. It was at prayag that >Akbar founded the unifying

religion; he also rebuilt the city and called >it ‘Illahabad’. Hsuan-tsang

visited Prayag and participated in the >Kumbha Mela. The Encyclopedia

Britannica (1973) writes that he along >with Emperor Harsavardhana attended the

Mela. Apart from all these, >Prayag is famous for its holy men; for thousands of

years now, >innumerable monks have performed great many austerities around the

holy >confluence. It is at such a unique place on earth that Kumbha Mela will

>be held this month. > >What are the important events and dates of this Kumbha

Mela? This time >there are five important dates Kumbha Mela begins on Tuesday,

9 January >2001 (Pausa, Purnima.) On this full-moon night, there will be Total

>Lunar Eclipse, visible in Asia, Australia and other places. The eclipse >will

begin at 12.12.00 hours midnight and end at 2.21.36 hours (i.e, >10th morning).

> >The second important date is Sunday, 14 January 2001, (30 Pausa, >Pancami),

which is the sacred Makara Samkranti occasion It is the time >of Magha snana

and the first main day of Kumbha Mela (prathama sahi >snana). > >The fourth

important date is Monday, 29 January 2001 (15 Magha, >Pancami), Vasanta

Pancami. Saraswati (and Laksmi) Puja day. The third >main day of Kumbha Mela

(trtiya sahi snana). > >Finally, Thursday, 8 February 2001 (25 Magha, Purnima),

is Maghi >Purnima. Kumbha Mela virtually ends on this day. But Wednesday, 21

>February 2001 (9 Phalguna, Trayodasi / Caturdasi) is Maha Sivaratri and >this

too is important. > >Let us pray that this mammoth event passes off peacefully

and >fundamentalists, terrorists of the Indian subcontinent are kept at bay. >

>Have a Great 2001. > >cheers sanjeev > >To , pl write back. > > > >

> > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com