Namasthe- Hamsan and Paramahamsan

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

 

A jeevathma is often compared to a swan and from that relation the word hamsan and paramahamsan came into existence. I was trying to explore about both words. Hamsa = ham + sa. 'Ham' is exhaled breath and 'sa' is inhaled breath. Thus, Hamsa represents life. Hamsa or swan flies very high and hence it is used as a metaphor for the spiritual endeavor of jeevaathma to attain Paramaathma.

 

 

 

When a sanyasi looses the awareness of his body and becomes conscious only of his Jivathma, he is called a Hamsan. When a sanyasi leaves behind the consciousness of jeevathma and immerse in the bliss of Paramathma, then he is called a Paramahamsan.

 

 

Here is a comparison of a swan (hamsam) and the bird called Jeevan.

 

 

1. The two wings of the swan corresponds to the the breaths Praana and Apaana of jeevan.

 

2. When the swan flies in the vast sky, jeevan flies in the sky of heart or Hrudayaakaasham.

 

3. When tired, swan rests in the maanasa sarovar and jeevan rests in the mind or maanasa saras.

 

4. When the wings are broken, it is no more called a bird. Likewise, when the breath is stopped, it is no more called a jeevi.

 

5. Bird is not wings, but wing is attached to that body. Likewise, breath is not jeevan, but it is a gift from Paramathma to the gross, dead body which is misunderstood as Jivan.

 

6. Nature of a swan is not flying. It rests or swims and only for a purpose it flies. After that it comes back to it's nature of resting. The nature of Praana and Apaana or so called Jeevan is absence of motion. (in samadhi state, one stops breathing and is at complete rest).

 

7. Becasue of desires, swan flies and rest when they are tired . Jeevan also moves around because of desires and sleeps when tired.

 

 

Only when there is effort, the need for rest arises. When the waking state (jaagrat) of effort disappears completely, the superconscious state (Thuriya avashta) of eternal rest begins. The one who reached this state is called Hamsan. When one stays in this superconscious state for ever, he is called Paramahamsan.

 

With pranaamams to all hamsans and paramhamsans!

 

 

 

Regards and prayers

 

Savitri

[Guest guest]

guruvayur , Savitri Puram <savitriopuram

wrote:

>

> Dear all,

>

> A *jeevathma* is often compared to a swan and from that relation

the word *

> hamsan* and *paramahamsan* came into existence. I was trying to

explore

> about both words. Regards and prayers

> Savitri

>

Hari Om Savitriji, Pranaams!

 

Very nicely expounded.

 

Shri Shankaracharyaji says in Sadacara verse 10

 

sarvatra prANinAM dehe japo bhavati sarvadA.

haMsaH so'hamiti jnAtvA sarvabandhaiH pramucyate..

 

In the bodies of all beings 'I am he(body)' is the japa(in the form

of breathing) that is constantly going on. 'Knowing He(Brahman) I am'

one is liberated of all bondage.

 

If you fit the comparison with this,hamsa japa for ordinary jivas and

so'ham japa for paramahamsas(jnAnis) it will be nice shastra vicAra.

 

In Shri Guru Smriti

Br. Pranipata Chaitanya

[Guest guest]

Dear respected Savitriji and others Gurudevs,

Savitriji's explanation is quite logical and appealing, no doubt. But

I have been thinking all the time that "PARAMAHAMSAH" refers to

"PARAM-AHAM-SAH", meaning the same as "Aham Brahma Asmi", corroborating

that " I AM ONE

WITH HIM", the ruling principle of the Advaita philosophy. In other

words, one is entitled to be a Paramahamsah only if he/she has had the

"REALISATION of THE SELF".

 

Does this interpretation hold water? Request seniors like

respected Sastriji and Sarojamji to comment.

 

The question naturally arises, how do others know that one has realised

the "Self" ? People who had self-realisation do not advertise

themselves, or look for publicity. But others do come

to know from their behaviour, like Rishabha-yogiswara, Jada-bharatha,

Sadasiva Brahmendra, Ramakrishna Paramahamsah, Narayanatthu Bhrantha

and others. People mistake them for mad guys, throw stones on them,

insult them in all sorts of ways, etc., unless they have an entourage

like Buddha or Ramana Maharshi, but after they attain samadhi, then

only their greatness is realised, just as the saying, "THE GREATNESS OF

THE MAN IS NOT REALISED WHEN HE WAS ALIVE, BUT ONLY AFTER HE PASSED

AWAY".

 

I believe the analogy to the divine Swan who advised Brahma and others

can also be considered in this context.

 

The importance of the "So-aham", aham-sah", which is known as the

"Ajapa-manthra" is expounded in detail by the commentators of the

Narayaneeyam Bhaktaranjini commentary of sloka 8 in dasakam 38 in the

context of Bhattatiri's expression "AMBHORUHASTTHA-KALA-HAMSA-

KISHORA-RAMYAM", the english

version of which I reproduce below:

 

“It looked as though the lotus hands of the Lord’s father, Vasudeva,

was a more appropriate place for Him, than the lotus hearts of the

Yogis where He is renowned to be enshrined,” in poetic fancy. Here,

the comparison with a swan, and that, too, a baby swan is quite fitting

and appropriate. Even as the baby swan has the capability to

separate milk from water, so also the Lord, right from the commencement

of the incarnation, is capable of discriminating between the good and

the evil and according them just deserts based on their actions.

 

According to the Vedic text “TANNEHA VA ETANI CHATWARI-AMBHAMSI DEVAH

MANUSHYAH PITHARO ASURAH " [the Devas, humans, the Pithrus

(ancestors), and Asuras (demons), those who are bound by

characteristics like birth, death, etc., in short, the mortals, are

known as "AMBHAS". Hence it can also be interpreted that the

all-pervading “Hamsa” (Para-brahman), known to be “indistinct” and

nothing but sweetness and the unmanifested form of Eternal Bliss

residing in all forms of "AMBHAS ", has now incarnated as the little

Balakrishna. The aspirants for salvation worship the Paramatman as

having the form of a "Hamsa" or the "Divine Swan", as detailed in the

Hamsopanishad. As the individual's Jivatman resides in the "Prana",

the breath of life or the Life-principle, every cycle of respiration

comprising an inhalation and exhalation is supposed to be accompanied

by an utterance of the syllables,"HAMSO-HAMSO". When the

chanting of this Mantra is continuously repeated, it automatically gets

pronounced as "SO-AHAM, SO-AHAM" which means that " I ", or the

"Self" and "He", the Supreme Consciousness, pure and clear as a

crystal, are one and the same. The average person, in the normal

course, carries out the function of respiration more than twenty

thousand times a day involuntarily and hence, repeats this Mantra an

equal number of times without his own knowledge. The aspirants for

salvation need only to understand this concept and realise the identity

of one's self with the Paramatman, and contemplate with undivided

attention on the Lord in the form of Parama-hamsa or the Great Divine

Swan. Even if a person does not chant any other Mantra, he is

incessantly repeating this Mantra without break and without giving

exercise to the vocal cords.

 

Hence, this Mantra has come to be known as "Ajapamantra", a mantra,

not chanted). It is said that there is no

other Mantra superior to this. What worship can be greater than

worshipping the Lord who is the Supreme Spirit installed in the temple

of our body, casting off the old garland of ignorance and repeatedly

chanting the Mantra of " HAMSAH, SO-AHAM", contemplating on Him with

undivided attention? This does not necessitate going to temples or

taking pains to learn and chant like other difficult Mantras. One can

visualise this concept and contemplate on this Mantra, which goes on,

on its own, irrespective of time and place. “It is none but You, the

Supreme Consciousness, ever omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent and

residing in all animate and inanimate objects in the form of the

Divine Great Swan, who has now incarnated in the shape of Balagopala,

assuming the aspect of the scion of Vasudeva.”

 

Regards

KVG.

 

 

 

 

Savitri Puram wrote:

 

Dear all,

A *jeevathma* is often compared to a swan and from that relation the word *

hamsan* and *paramahamsan* came into existence. I was trying to explore

about both words. Hamsa = ham + sa. 'Ham' is exhaled breath and 'sa' is

inhaled breath. Thus, Hamsa represents life. Hamsa or swan flies very high

and hence it is used as a metaphor for the spiritual endeavor of jeevaathma

to attain Paramaathma.

When a sanyasi looses the awareness of his body and becomes *conscious only

of his* *Jivathma, he is called a Hamsan*. When a sanyasi leaves behind the

consciousness of jeevathma and *immerse in the bliss of Paramathma, then he

is called a Paramahamsan*.

Here is a comparison of a swan (hamsam) and the bird called Jeevan.

1. The two wings of the swan corresponds to the the breaths Praana and

Apaana of jeevan.

2. When the swan flies in the vast sky, jeevan flies in the sky of heart or

Hrudayaakaasham.

3. When tired, swan rests in the maanasa sarovar and jeevan rests in the

mind or maanasa saras.

4. When the wings are broken, it is no more called a bird. Likewise, when

the breath is stopped, it is no more called a jeevi.

5. Bird is not wings, but wing is attached to that body. Likewise, breath is

not jeevan, but it is a gift from Paramathma to the gross, dead body which

is misunderstood as Jivan.

6. Nature of a swan is not flying. It rests or swims and only for a purpose

it flies. After that it comes back to it's nature of resting. The nature of

Praana and Apaana or so called Jeevan is absence of motion. (in samadhi

state, one stops breathing and is at complete rest).

7. Becasue of desires, swan flies and rest when they are tired . Jeevan also

moves around because of desires and sleeps when tired.

Only when there is effort, the need for rest arises. When the waking state

(jaagrat) of effort disappears completely, the superconscious state (Thuriya

avashta) of eternal rest begins. The *one who reached this state is called

Hamsan*. When *one stays in this superconscious state for ever, he is called

Paramahamsan. *

**

With pranaamams to all hamsans and paramhamsans*!*

**

Regards and prayers

Savitri

[Guest guest]

Dear and respected KVGji,

 

Your explanation about Paramahamsa is very nice and I am delighted to learn that it means the same as Aham Brahma asmi. Even though I have read the Bhaktharanjini translation of Naaraayaneeyam in English, I do not remember the " ajapamanthra " and details and now I will go back and read that to learn more. This type of discussion and input from people like you are really helping all the devotees.

 

I have a very funny thing to share with all of you. In 1973 or 1974, we were in Trivandrum and one Christian father and a few others visited our house to talk about the greatness of Christianity. So he told us that " ye-shu " is inhaling and exhaling breath exactly like " so-ham " . He said even when they utter the name of their God, they are breathing. We asked him how it can be true for nonmalayalees who call " ye-shu " by the name Christ or even Crishtu by some Malayalees. He did not have an answer. I just remembered that.

 

Anyway whether we know or not, all living beings are saying " so-ham " while inhaling and exhaling and as you said, this ajapamanthra is repeated by all living beings 20,000 or more times a day. Where ever we live all are " worshipping the Divine Great Swan who has incarnated as our Balagopalan " . Sarvadevanamskaaram Keshavam prathigacchathi.

 

With respectful regards and prayers

 

savitri

On Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 11:36 AM, K.V Gopalakrishna <gopalakrishna.kv wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

Dear respected Savitriji and others Gurudevs,Savitriji's explanation is quite logical and appealing, no doubt. But I have been thinking all the time that " PARAMAHAMSAH " refers to " PARAM-AHAM-SAH " , meaning the same as " Aham Brahma Asmi " , corroborating that " I AM ONE WITH HIM " , the ruling principle of the Advaita philosophy. In other words, one is entitled to be a Paramahamsah only if he/she has had the " REALISATION of THE SELF " .

Does this interpretation hold water? Request seniors like respected Sastriji and Sarojamji to comment.The question naturally arises, how do others know that one has realised the " Self " ? People who had self-realisation do not advertise themselves, or look for publicity. But others do come to know from their behaviour, like Rishabha-yogiswara, Jada-bharatha, Sadasiva Brahmendra, Ramakrishna Paramahamsah, Narayanatthu Bhrantha and others. People mistake them for mad guys, throw stones on them, insult them in all sorts of ways, etc., unless they have an entourage like Buddha or Ramana Maharshi, but after they attain samadhi, then only their greatness is realised, just as the saying, " THE GREATNESS OF THE MAN IS NOT REALISED WHEN HE WAS ALIVE, BUT ONLY AFTER HE PASSED AWAY " .

I believe the analogy to the divine Swan who advised Brahma and others can also be considered in this context.The importance of the " So-aham " , aham-sah " , which is known as the " Ajapa-manthra " is expounded in detail by the commentators of the Narayaneeyam Bhaktaranjini commentary of sloka 8 in dasakam 38 in the context of Bhattatiri's expression " AMBHORUHASTTHA-KALA-HAMSA- KISHORA-RAMYAM " , the english version of which I reproduce below:

"It looked as though the lotus hands of the Lord's father, Vasudeva, was a more appropriate place for Him, than the lotus hearts of the Yogis where He is renowned to be enshrined," in poetic fancy. Here, the comparison with a swan, and that, too, a baby swan is quite fitting and appropriate. Even as the baby swan has the capability to separate milk from water, so also the Lord, right from the commencement of the incarnation, is capable of discriminating between the good and the evil and according them just deserts based on their actions.

According to the Vedic text "TANNEHA VA ETANI CHATWARI-AMBHAMSI DEVAH MANUSHYAH PITHARO ASURAH " [the Devas, humans, the Pithrus (ancestors), and Asuras (demons), those who are bound by characteristics like birth, death, etc., in short, the mortals, are known as " AMBHAS " . Hence it can also be interpreted that the all-pervading "Hamsa" (Para-brahman), known to be "indistinct" and nothing but sweetness and the unmanifested form of Eternal Bliss residing in all forms of " AMBHAS " , has now incarnated as the little Balakrishna. The aspirants for salvation worship the Paramatman as having the form of a " Hamsa " or the " Divine Swan " , as detailed in the Hamsopanishad. As the individual's Jivatman resides in the " Prana " , the breath of life or the Life-principle, every cycle of respiration comprising an inhalation and exhalation is supposed to be accompanied by an utterance of the syllables, " HAMSO-HAMSO " . When the chanting of this Mantra is continuously repeated, it automatically gets pronounced as " SO-AHAM, SO-AHAM " which means that " I " , or the " Self " and " He " , the Supreme Consciousness, pure and clear as a crystal, are one and the same. The average person, in the normal course, carries out the function of respiration more than twenty thousand times a day involuntarily and hence, repeats this Mantra an equal number of times without his own knowledge. The aspirants for salvation need only to understand this concept and realise the identity of one's self with the Paramatman, and contemplate with undivided attention on the Lord in the form of Parama-hamsa or the Great Divine Swan. Even if a person does not chant any other Mantra, he is incessantly repeating this Mantra without break and without giving exercise to the vocal cords.

Hence, this Mantra has come to be known as " Ajapamantra " , a mantra, not chanted). It is said that there is no other Mantra superior to this. What worship can be greater than worshipping the Lord who is the Supreme Spirit installed in the temple of our body, casting off the old garland of ignorance and repeatedly chanting the Mantra of " HAMSAH, SO-AHAM " , contemplating on Him with undivided attention? This does not necessitate going to temples or taking pains to learn and chant like other difficult Mantras. One can visualise this concept and contemplate on this Mantra, which goes on, on its own, irrespective of time and place. "It is none but You, the Supreme Consciousness, ever omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent and residing in all animate and inanimate objects in the form of the Divine Great Swan, who has now incarnated in the shape of Balagopala, assuming the aspect of the scion of Vasudeva."

RegardsKVG.

 

Savitri Puram wrote: Dear all,

 

A *jeevathma* is often compared to a swan and from that relation the word *

hamsan* and *paramahamsan* came into existence. I was trying to explore

about both words. Hamsa = ham + sa. 'Ham' is exhaled breath and 'sa' is

inhaled breath. Thus, Hamsa represents life. Hamsa or swan flies very high

and hence it is used as a metaphor for the spiritual endeavor of jeevaathma

to attain Paramaathma.

 

When a sanyasi looses the awareness of his body and becomes *conscious only

of his* *Jivathma, he is called a Hamsan*. When a sanyasi leaves behind the

consciousness of jeevathma and *immerse in the bliss of Paramathma, then he

is called a Paramahamsan*.

 

Here is a comparison of a swan (hamsam) and the bird called Jeevan.

 

1. The two wings of the swan corresponds to the the breaths Praana and

Apaana of jeevan.

 

2. When the swan flies in the vast sky, jeevan flies in the sky of heart or

Hrudayaakaasham.

 

3. When tired, swan rests in the maanasa sarovar and jeevan rests in the

mind or maanasa saras.

 

4. When the wings are broken, it is no more called a bird. Likewise, when

the breath is stopped, it is no more called a jeevi.

 

5. Bird is not wings, but wing is attached to that body. Likewise, breath is

not jeevan, but it is a gift from Paramathma to the gross, dead body which

is misunderstood as Jivan.

 

6. Nature of a swan is not flying. It rests or swims and only for a purpose

it flies. After that it comes back to it's nature of resting. The nature of

Praana and Apaana or so called Jeevan is absence of motion. (in samadhi

state, one stops breathing and is at complete rest).

 

7. Becasue of desires, swan flies and rest when they are tired . Jeevan also

moves around because of desires and sleeps when tired.

 

Only when there is effort, the need for rest arises. When the waking state

(jaagrat) of effort disappears completely, the superconscious state (Thuriya

avashta) of eternal rest begins. The *one who reached this state is called

Hamsan*. When *one stays in this superconscious state for ever, he is called

Paramahamsan. *

**

With pranaamams to all hamsans and paramhamsans*!*

**

Regards and prayers

Savitri