s'radDHA sUktA

August 9, 2009

Dear Members,

In one old posting(830) of mine in "Shaktheyem".

I had mentioned thus:

"One person who met me recently told me that he did so many things like doing rudrabhisheka,homas etc but he is not getting involved in the process and that he is just doing it for the sake of doing.Since he was a vedic person he just sought my help in a vedic way.

I told him to do Shraddha sooktham. It comes in rigveda (10.151). Even though his shakha was Krishna yajur Veda I advised him to do that and gain benefit."

Actually, there is an epilogue to this story which emphasizes some points:

Now, I was testing this person.

What happened was thus:

He started following with half-heart what I had proscribed him to do.He after a few trials started searching around for a kris'na-yajur vEdA version of the sUktA.He could not find it and came to me.

I then taught him the sUktA in the fashion he wanted.His age was more than 60 years and yet he had lot of faith in my intuition and wisdom.I not even half his age, taught him and tested him for a second time wrt the hrasvAs,dwi-aksharAs and dErghAs.

He passed both the tests.

He then continued with his spiritual pursuits after extolling and praising me with elegant phrases.He started considering me as his Guru.

After a few days he called me over phone and asked me:

"If you had the krishna yajur vEdA version of the sUktA, why then did you ask me to chant the vedic litany in Rg vEdA?"

I replied back: "You say Im your Guru, don't you then trust my intuition and wisdom? It was to create s'hradDHA in you.A sUktA can only do so much.I'm not like other people who parrot sUktAs and try to get euphemestic and ephemeral benefits.I would like to 'deepen'."

I then continued: "The first test was put whether you had any latent spark.You passed through that test because even half-heartedly you started the practice* and read something.There was an ember glowing inside you,though covered with some karmic debris."

(* Half-heartedly because one who cultivates one s'AkA of a vE'dA would not normally venture into other s'AkA or vE'dAs)

"The second actual test was the recitation/chanting of the Vedic Mantriacal litany properly.You passed both counts and now reap the benefits of the chant."

He was satisfied with my reply and said, "I have never seen anyone like you.My association with you is my good fortune.I see drastic improvements in my sAdhanA and first I thought to be some placebo effect, but I can see myself sustaining for longer hours,no longer am I beset with doubts so much, no more am I enervated..."

In reality it was his own s'radDHA which helped him not me.However, to light the spark of s'radDHA an externality in the form of a human-guru was needed.

s'radDhA most inappropriately and inadequately translated into faith is actually a combination of 7 divine elements:

1. Intense faith and reverence.

2. Concentration

3. Fire in one's belly

4. Fire in one's heart

5. Total involvement

6. Using one's intellect in coherence with an inbuilt capacity to believe

7. Goodness for all sentient and insentient being ('hitham').

When these 7 fuse, it creates a divine conviction.(The word "s'rAdDhA" to mean the annual vedic rites done for the departed comes etymologically from the same root.If you extrapolate the 7 above and think deeply you would understand why we do s'rAdDhA to our ancestors.I leave this exercise to you.)

s'radDhA is an essential aspect of any spiritual or material assay.Without s'radDhA one cannot dream of doing or proceeding to finish anything successfully.Most people don't lack spiritual-intellect(mEdhA) to get fruits of any spiritual endeavour or mundane intelligence(budDHI) to get the positive results of any material endeavour.They lack s'radDhA.

Such s'radDhA does not come from scriptural learning but from spontaneous experience from within(antarAgni-spandanA).

kAnvA recension mentions five of the six treasures:

1. s'AntA(calmness)--An agitated mind cannot really learn anything or assimilate knowledge.It just crams something before an "exam" and promptly forgets once the affair comes to an end.

2. dAntA(Restraint)--What would a student learn if his indriyAs(sense organs) or manas-budDHI(mind-intellect combo) are unrestrained?

3. uparatA(Withdrawal)--What would a student really learn if the student interacts with the outside world and not focus on his studies?(spiritual or otherwise)

4. titIkshA(Endurance)--What would the student learn if he cannot endure pains and tribulations of a study period?

5. samAhitA(Laser-like coherent concentration)--Is anything possible without concentration?

These are auxilliaries(angA) to knowledge of any kind and one of the means of sAdhanA-chatushTayA.(4 inherent elemental means of sAdhanA).

The sixth quality has been mentioned in mAdhyandina recension and the sixth the vedic seer says is more important than the 5 mentioned supra.

It is s'radDhA.

These six are called shat-sampatHI('Six-treasures' which one must possess if one has to learn anything(be it a mundane professional exam or spiritual knowledge).

sAdhanA-chatushTayA must have these 4 (infra) to obtain spiritual knowledge:

1. Discrimination between the real and the unreal.(vivEkA)

2. Aversion to the enjoyment of fruits of action in this world and the world hereafter(vAiragyA)

3. Six Treasures mentioned above(shat-sampatTHI)

4. Yearning for knowledge/emancipation through it.(mumukshAtwA)

These 4 are indicators of a purified mind(or a mind in the process of intense catharsis for the good).

s'radDhA is a kind of dynamic faith which has been extolled and likened to the "Mother which protects the spiritual aspirant" by Vyasa in His commentary of the sUtrAs.

Sri Adishankara BhagavathpAdA in His aparokshAnubhUthI which I had the good fortune of learning from my sikshA gurU says thus:

"nigmAchArya vAkyeshU bhakthI-shradDHE'thi vis'rutTHA..."

Implicit faith in the words of the vEdAs and the teachers who interpret them is termed as s'radDHA.

s'radDHA is the ghee which is poured into the hOmAgnI which makes the agnI satisfied and makes the flame of sacrifice to blaze up into a lumnious fire to bless all.It makes our flame of devotion to blaze up similarly into a luminous spiritually aspirative fire.

There are 3kinds of s'radDHA:

1.satwA

2.rajAs

3.tamas

trividDHA bhavatTHI s'radDHA dehinAm sA swabhAvajA

sAtwIkI rajasI chAivA tAmsI cha iti tAm shrunu

The first kind increases longevity,spiritual merits,gives eternal happiness and peace,and is infact the real s'radDHA

The second kind which we use in the mundane world to clear exams, projects in professional field,etc give rise to more desires,agitate the mind,makes the soul listless,incites passions,etc.However,there are some people(very rare, I would say these days) who exhibit satwIkI-s'radDHA even in their professional work.

The third kind really is abominal and it is for evil activities.It should be avoided.It is the realm of asurAs.(Even asurAs need s'radDHA to go about their functions."yetTHA de'vAasurE's'u s'radDHA mugrEs'U chakrirE'..."(s'radDHA sUktA)

In the Gita too it is declared, "I am the bliss of Brahmam, of Positive Immortality, of Timeless Dharma, and Eternal Bliss". The Sloka is in the XIV Chapter:

brahmanOhi pratTHis'taAaham amrutTHasya avyayasya chasAs'wathasya cha dDHarmasya sukhasya - AikAnthikasya cha

It is this Amrita dharma that is described in the Upanishads and since the Gita is the kernel of the Upanishads, the same is emphasised in the Gita too. The following is the import of the above verse:

The Dharmic way of life is as the very breath: It is the road to self-realisation.

Those who walk along it are dear to the Lord

He dwells with all who are truthful, whose deeds spring from Dharma.

That is the reason why the Gita teaches Arjuna to develop certain qualities, which help the practice of AthmIkA Dharma. These are delineated in slokas 13 to 19 of the XII Chapter. Those who have drunk deep at the fountain of the Gita will remember these. The most important of the slokas in this context is:

Ye' thu dharmyAamrutham idam yathOktham ParyupAsathe

s'radDHAnA math paramA bhakthAsthE' athIva math priyAh: II

What a grand idea this Sloka conveys! That is the concluding Sloka of the series, which gives the qualities one has to develop. It calls the entire group DharmyAamrutham, the Dharmic way to immortality! The Lord has declared therein that those who have these qualities, those who trust in Him as the only ultimate Goal, those who are attached to Him as the single-mindedly are dearest and nearest to Him.

s'radDHAagnih samidhyathe' s'radDHAahUyathe' havih:s'radDHAam bhagasya mUrdhanivachassAa:' VedayAamasi

"It is only through Shraddha that the Flame of the Sacrificial Fire is lit and fed. It is through Shraddha alone that the offerings reach the Gods who are called. Let us praise Shraddha, which is the highest form of worship". See, how mighty is the power of Shraddha!This verse comes in s'radDHA sUktA itself.

I can keep penning(read:'typing') more and more on this subject, but I think for now this is enough and moreover, I have to show some s'radDHA to my studies for a forthcoming professional examination! I got inspired when Sri Y.Raghuveer Garu sent me a MP3 on the subject and posted this,which I had saved long time ago adding a few images.

I'm attaching the mp3 with this e-mail for the benefit of all and also filing it in the groups for future hearing.

Unless, this s'radDHA is developed in us, nothing can happen much spiritually.

Even a thousand purasch'aranAs of any mantrA will not be of use.They would be mere numbers in the air.Towards, this our vE'dic seers have created the sUktA which invokes mantriacal energies in a specific manner to clear the kArmic debris which surrounds our Free-will(It means the power to determine the action that one shall take as a consequence to or for the purpose of some event or goal. It is a goal directed action and not an

involuntary action.)

Pundit Sanjay Rath(a famous Oriya astrologer) writes thus: "This(free-will) is where the question of Upachaya comes up and the houses 3,6,10 & 11 deal with the actions that one can or will take given the various inputs from the environment (33% is bounded rationality like the Simonian model of decision making) . Thus, in the first place, this action itself is bounded by various inputs and this is called bounded rationality depending on four factors that are like four boundaries of a plot - Information (Knowledge) called BUDDHI [Dharma-Ayana], Resources that are focused on VRIDDHI or increase of wealth [Artha-Ayana], Abilities that fulfil desires based on (the purity of) the purpose SUDDHI [Kaama -Ayana] and finally Time that is the final giver of emancipation and end of all Karma whether Sanchita or Prarabdha called SIDDHI [Moksha-Ayana]. Here comes the greatest teaching of the

Gita "KARMA IS YOUR BIRTH RIGHT BUT YOU HAVE NO RIGHT (ADHIKARA) ON THE FRUITS". This adhikara or right to freedom of Action is the only birth right given by God.Hence Harihara (Prasna Marga) praysMadhyatavyadhipam Dugdhasindhukanyadhwam DhiyaDhiyayami sadhwaham Buddhe Suddhyai Vriddhyai cha Siddhye "

To increase the power of this purified Free-will, sradDHA is required.sradDHA sUktA(even hearing it) is the first step towards this divine assay.

Jaya sradDHAa-BhagOllAsinI !!

Shreeram Balijepalli

Hreem Rajarajeshwari Paradevatha!

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Sraddha