Guest guest Posted August 15, 2009 Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 Njanappana 43 Vidya kondariyendathariyaathe Vidwaanennu nadikkunnithu chilarKumkumathinte gandhamariyaathe Kumkukumam chumakkum pole garddabham Some do not even know, knowledge of " what " has to be acquired by vidya and still act as if they are vidwaans or scholars. This is like a donkey carrying kumkumam or saffron with out knowing the smell of it. Let us look at the meaning of the first word " vidya " . The root word for Veda and Vidya is " vid " means " to know " . Kanchi Kamakoti Shri Chandrasekhara Saraswathi says that " Vidya means a work that imparts knowledge, that sheds light on the truth of religion. Even though " vid " means " to know " , the word does not connote every type of knowledge. The " vid " in vidya means knowledge of the truth " . We normally use " education " to translate Vidya. But actually Vidya is " that knowledge by knowing which one comes to know everything or we can call that Brahma Vidya " . So Brahma Vidya only deserves to be called Vidya. When we do not know what is vidya, how can we know what needs to be known by vidya and how to acquire vidya? Poonthanam says that some self -proclaimed Vidwaans or scholars do not know even the real meaning of vidya and what knowledge is their goal. At this context , it is nice to explore the word " avidya " or ignorance also. When does Vidya becomes Avidya? This happens when the education we pursue dissolves the " wisdom " in knowledge pertaining to transient world, when knowledge ends with information about the world we see and experience everyday and when spirituality completely dissolves in the materialism. At this point, one seeks only material pleasures which are far from eternal happiness. Avidya is often described as a deep rooted tree with six branches namely: kama, krodha, moha, mada, lobha and maastharya. Only with Vidya or knowledge of the Brahmam, one can cut off the branches and destroy the tree of Avidya along with it's deep roots. Poonthaanam compares the ignorance of a self -proclaimed scholar to a donkey which carries the sweet smelling saffron. The donkey has no clue that it is carrying such a sweet smelling bundle on his back. Even though the smell of saffron permeates his nostrils, he does not know how to discriminate and appreciate the sweet smell of saffron from the smell of a bundle of nasty and dirty clothes he was carrying the previous day. Poonthanam used this metaphor to reinforce that these false scholars who has no knowledge about Paramaathma are as stupid as a donkey. In Mundaka Upanishad, a disciple called Shaunaka is asking Sage Angiras about Vidya. Angiras explains about two types of Vidya: Para vidya and Apara vidya. According to Swami Atmananda saraswathi: " Apara Vidya encompasses the entire spectrum of 'objects', that is, anything that can be objectified by our senses or mind. Anything that can be 'seen' is an object of Apara Vidya. Under this category comes all our worldly knowledge, science, arts, commerce, management, technical knowledge etc. Apara Vidya shall help us to make a living, have a dignified & respectable life, have a thoughtful intelligent mind, but never ever hope that you shall move towards omniscience. This is not the way for the fulfillment of such an aspiration. The second category of knowledge is the so called Para Vidya, or Higher Knowledge. The teacher says that by Para Vidya is meant 'that knowledge' by which the imperishable is known. " Paravidya leads us to that " self " we reach after negating everything- " nethi, nethi " or " not this, not this " . It is the knowledge of that " self " from which this world and the world itself springs forth. Poonthaanam assures that Namasankeerthanam removes avidya from our minds and leads us from apara vidya to para vidya in the most easy and enjoyable way. Naamasankeerthanam will make us aware of the paramaathma dwelling in us and we will never be again like the ignorant donkey carrying the saffron. Let us do Naamasankeerthanam along with Shri Poonthaanam and millions of other devotees around the world: Krishna! Krishna! Mukunda! Janardara! Krishna! Govinda! Naaraayana! Hare! Achtyuthaananda! Govinda! Maadhava! Sachindaananda! Naaraayana! Hare! Samasthaaparaadham kshamaswa Sreekrishnaarpanamsthu Regards and prayers Savitri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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