Guest guest Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 please forgive me for the error in this post ... the verse quoted is verse 18 from chapter 10 , not 16 as i had stated . (vistarenatmano yogam vibhutim ca *janardana* bhuyah kathaya trptir hi shrinvato nasti me 'mrtam (chapter 10, verse 16?) ) The meaning of 'JAnardana' as 'one who bestiows Boon on one and all ' is taken from the 108 names of Sri Krishna ! Once again, it is my pleasure to bring you another verse from the Srimad Bhagvad Gita where Arjuna lovingly addresses Sri Krishna as 'Janardana' ! in chapter 3 , verse 1 , Arjuna says arjuna uvaca jyayasi cet karmanas te mata buddhir 'janardana ' tat kim karmani ghore mam niyojayasi kesava Arjuna said: O Janardana, O Kesava, why do You urge me to engage in this ghastly warfare, if You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work? This is one of the best chapters in the Srimad Bhagvad Gita where the beauty and divity of Karma yoga is explained IN DETAIL by our beloved Janardana , the boon giver ! Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna in the same chapter 3 , verse 8 niyatam kuru karma tvam karma jyayo hy akarmanah sarira-yatrapi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmanah Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. A man cannot even maintain his physical body without work. Then , OUR BELOVED JANARDANA FURTHER EXPLAINS IN CHAPTER 3 , VERSE 19 tasmad asaktah satatam karyam karma samacara asakto hy acaran karma param apnoti purusah Therefore, always perform actions which should be done, without attachment; for, by performing action without attachment, man attains the Supreme. THE BEST IS YET TO COME IN VERSE 30 , CHAPTER 3 mayi sarvani karmani sannyasyadhyatma-cetasa nirasir nirmamo bhutva yudhyasva vigata-jvarah (CHAPTER 3 , VERSE 30 ) Renouncing all actions in Me, with the mind centered on the Self, free from hope and egoism (ownership) , free from (mental) fever, (you) do fight! Dear Advaitins , what more could we ask for ! this is the best 'boon' THE AUTHOR OF SRIMAD BHAGVAD GITA , SRI JANARDANA CAN EVER GIVE US ! FURTHERMORE , IN CHAPTER 10 , VERSE 10 , sri Janardana says tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te To the ever-steadfast, worshipping Me with love, I give the " BUDDHI YOGA, " by which they come to Me. (for a complete explanation read swami chinamayananda's commentary) and this last verse is really the 'icing' on the cake ! tesam evanukampartham aham ajnana-jam tamah nasayamy atma-bhavastho jnana-dipena bhasvata Out of compassion for them, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance. Yes! my dearest Advaitins , our beloved Janardana ( the boon giver) is the One who can destroy the darkness born oF ignorance with the shining lamp of knowledge ! May the Light shine upon us all ! May Lord Janardana grant us 'buddhi' balam , 'mano' balam and 'yoga 'balam ! Rishji mentioned about 'reasoning' in one of his posts . Of late , we are also hearing the words 'parampara' or 'sampradaya ' etc ... May i please recall the words of Swami Pramarthananda in this context ? " Sankaracharya very clearly and beautifully resolves this confusion in his commentary on the Brahma Sutras. Both the buddhi and reasoning are of two types - the buddhi and reasoning that is based on perceptual (nonscriptural) data and the buddhi and reasoning that is backed by scriptural data. Sankaracharya says (not only in this commentary but in his other works also) that whenever we say atma is beyond the buddhi or atma gnanam is beyond the buddhi, it means it is beyond non scripture-backed buddhi. So we do require a buddhi or intellect to know the atma. And what type of buddhi is it? It is scripture-backed buddhi. In his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, Sankaracharya says in the second chapter that the only instrument that can give atma gnanam, is the buddhi. The Upanishads also point out that with the help of the mind alone must atma gnanam be gained. This subtle atma has to be known by the buddhi alone. Is reasoning required for the vedanta? Sankaracharya points out that reasoning is very much required because the buddhi cannot receive anything without reasoning. The intellect will not accept that which is irrational to us. Therefore Sankaracharya says we can never give up reasoning because the buddhi accepts only that langauge. Sankaracharya also clarifies that whenever we talk about reasoning, it is not the reasoning of the tarka shastra because it is not backed by shruti. So if any guru tells us to drop our intellects and reasoning, he is a non-traditional guru. A traditional guru will ask us to retain our buddhi and reasoning. And for how long must we retain these faculties? Until the end. With the buddhi and reasoning supported by the scriptures, we have to gain atma gnanam That is why he say gnanam is gained by shastra vichara or enquiry. Shastra vichara has three aspects. Vichara conveys the importance of buddhi and tarka (logic). So the three aspects are shastra, buddhi and tarka. Knowledge is an intellectual process that happens because of shastra vichara. But there is a problem. We are ready to use our buddhi and reasoning to acquire the knowledge of the shastras. But the shastras do not communicate directly to us however talented we may be because the shastras have their own method of communication. We do not have the 'key' to open the shastras. Without the 'key', not only will we not get any benefit, we may also misunderstand the shastras. In one of his commentaries, Sankaracharya says that nobody should study the scriptures independently. We must go to a person who has the 'key'. The 'key' is called mimamsa or sampradaya. The person who has the 'key' is called as sampradayavith. So the shastras are important, buddhi is important and reasoning is important. All the three put together is called shastra vichara. But what is even more important is the person who has the secret key to open the secret shastras. He is the guru. " Krishnam Vande jagadgurum Sri Gurubyo Namaha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 Further to that has already been said about " janaaardana " , here is some additional information: " janaardana " is Lord VishNu's name.. At Kanchi VishNu is supposed to have appeared in form of Sage Kashyapa. In Gaya, he is supposed to be in the form of " pitara " , where " piNDa is offered for the living and not only to the " Dead " . During oblation following manatra is recited: namaste puNDariikaxa R^iNatraya vimocana | laxmiikantaM naamaste.astu pitrumoxaprabhava || Meaning – To bow to puNDarikaaxa who liberates from all three obligations (R^iNatraya). laxmiikanta grant liberation to my forefathers. This brings us to think about what are these " R^iNatraya " ? Answer is found in the taittariiya samhitaa (6.3.10.5) – jaayamano vai brahmaNastribhiR^iNavavaaN jaayate | brahmacaryeNa R^iShibhyo, yaj~nena devebhyaH, prajaayaa pitrubhyaH | eShavaa anR^ito yaH pytrii yajvaa brahmacaarivaasii || Meaning (liberal) – A brahmin is born with three R^iNa. brahmacharyya satisfies R^iShiR^iNa. (NOTE: brahmacharya is not the colloquial celibacy but the the one who id I devoted to the understanding of brahman.). yaj~na quenches deva's R^iNa. Pitira R^iNa gets satisfied through (begetting) progeny. In shatapatha brahmaNa (1.7.2. 1-6) have added manuShya R^iNa as will, which can be satisfied with donation & distribution of food. (I like to interpret that as our duty towards humanity.) Now getting back to " janaardana " it is regarded as Lord ViShNu's incarnation in the form of " hayagriiva " . Story is narrated in taittariiya samhitaa 4.9.1 and taittariiya aaraNyaka 5.1. Stories with variation alos appear in devii bhagavata 1.5, mahaabhaaarata shantiparva 122.46. shanti parcva also narrates a story that ViShNu reincarnated as hayagiiva in order to subdue madhuu & kaiThabha (shantiparva 335. 52-55). Hope this is helpful Rregards, Dr. Yadu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 advaitin , " ymoharir " <ymoharir wrote: >................. > During oblation following manatra is recited: > > namaste puNDariikaxa R^iNatraya vimocana | > laxmiikantaM naamaste.astu pitrumoxaprabhava || > > Meaning – To bow to puNDarikaaxa who liberates from all three > obligations (R^iNatraya). laxmiikanta grant liberation to my > forefathers. > > This brings us to think about what are these " R^iNatraya " ? why? you are travelling in the way you want to.... > Answer is found in the taittariiya samhitaa (6.3.10.5) – > > jaayamano vai brahmaNastribhiR^iNavavaaN jaayate | > brahmacaryeNa R^iShibhyo, yaj~nena devebhyaH, prajaayaa pitrubhyaH | > eShavaa anR^ito yaH pytrii yajvaa brahmacaarivaasii || > > Meaning (liberal) – A brahmin is born with three R^iNa. brahmacharyya > satisfies R^iShiR^iNa. (NOTE: brahmacharya is not the colloquial > celibacy but the the one who id I devoted to the understanding of > brahman.). yaj~na quenches deva's R^iNa. Pitira R^iNa gets > satisfied through (begetting) progeny. > > In shatapatha brahmaNa (1.7.2. 1-6) have added manuShya R^iNa as > will, which can be satisfied with donation & distribution of food. > (I like to interpret that as our duty towards humanity.) Well! How many are really practiccing this? And How many are really 'acting' out them but are satisfying their egos? > > Now getting back to " janaardana " it is regarded as Lord ViShNu's > subdue madhuu & kaiThabha > (shantiparva 335. 52-55). > > Hope this is helpful not really, because it is leading too far......I THINK, 'Janardhana' as the 'emancipator of the masses' is enough.... Namaste, :::Anand > Rregards, > > Dr. Yadu > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 Thank you Dr. Yaduji for bringing to our attention the following interesting fact : ( Now getting back to " janaardana " it is regarded as Lord ViShNu's incarnation in the form of " hayagriiva " . ...................... shantiparva 122.46. shanti parcva also narrates a story that ViShNu reincarnated as hayagiiva in order to subdue madhuu & kaiThabha (shantiparva 335. 52-55).) Yaduji , it is always nice to hear from you because you cover all the finer aspects of a topic under discussion ! " In Hinduism, Hayagriva is an avatar of Vishnu. He is worshipped as the God of knowledge and wisdom, with a human body and a horse's head, brilliant white in color, with white garments and seated on a white lotus. Hayagriva is celebrated in the Puranas for rescuing the Vedas from the demons Madhu and Kaitabha and teaching them again to Brahma. Symbolically, the story of Hayagriva represents the triumph of pure knowledge, guided by the hand of God, over the demonic forces of passion and darkness. Hayagriva is a very important deity in the Vaishnava tradition. His blessings are sought when beginning study of both sacred and secular subjects. Special worship is conducted on the day of the full moon in August (Sravana-Paurnami) (his avatara-dina) and on Mahanavami, the ninth day of the Navaratri festival. He is also hailed as " Hayasirsa " jnAna-Ananda-mayam devam nirmala-sphaTikAkRtim AdhAram sarvavidyAnAm hayagrIvam upAsmahe! This verse, originally found in the Pancaratra Agamas, is popular among devotees of Hayagriva. Also, A great devotee named Vaadhiraja Theerthar of Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt used to offer cooked horse oats(Kollu) to Lord Hayagriva. He used to recite the Hayagriva Sloka and keep the offerings on his head. Lord Hayagriva would come in a beautiful white horse form and will have oats. Such a very staunch devotee. He would recite the following sloka - Na HayagrivAth Param Asthi MangaLam Na HayagrivAth Param Asthi Paavanam Na HayagrivAth Param Asthi Dhaivatham Na Hayagrivam Pranipathya Seedhathi! There is no other auspiciousness which is greater than Hayagrivan There is nothing more sacred than Sri Hayagrivan to destroy our accumulated sins There is no God superior to Hayagrivan There is no one grieves after performing Saranagathi at the sacred feet of Hayagrivan. He is called as Veda Moorthy. He is the Akararthan. He protects all creatures. He who taught knowledge to Goddess Saraswati. Without his grace, we cannot obtain good knowledge. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayagriva PS : a NOTE TO OUR NEW MEMBER AGHORABHAIRAVA from Australia ? sir , could you please sign off as 'aghora ' instead of 'ananda ' ? please please ? Sri Ananda wood is a senior moderator( and a regular contibutor) of this group who is well known for his unique contributions to this list on Advaita . This will avoid any confusion ! thanx . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 > PS : a NOTE TO OUR NEW MEMBER AGHORABHAIRAVA from Australia ? sir , > could you please sign off as 'aghora ' instead of 'ananda ' ? please > please ? Sri Ananda wood is a senior moderator( and a regular > contibutor) of this group who is well known for his unique > contributions to this list on Advaita . This will avoid any > confusion ! thanx . > O.K. sir! No-problem! namaste! yours, aghora. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.