Guest guest Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 - Some definitions-1 Some of the terms which commonly appear in vedAnta have definitions in the form of shlokas. Some of these are given below, with their meanings. All these definitions are given in Devanagari script at http://www.geocities.com/snsastri/definitions.pdf 1. guruH The definition is: gushabdastvandhakAraH syAt rushabdastannirodhakaH | andhakAranirodhitvAt gururityabhidhIyate || gushabdah- the letter 'gu', syat- is (stands for), andhakAraH- darkness; rushabdaH- the letter 'ru', tannirodhakaH- is what removes that; andhakAranirodhitvAt- because of removing darkness, gurH iti- as guru, abhidhIyate- he is called. The guru is one who removes the darkness of ignorance. 2. AcAryaH Definition:-- Acinoti ca shAstrANi AcAre stApayatyapi | svayam Acarate yasmat tam AcAryam pracakshate || yasmAt- Because, shAstrANi- the scriptures, Acinoti- he imparts the knowledge of, AcAre- in the right conduct, stApayati api - he establishes (his disciples), svayam Acarate- he himself practises the same, tam-him, AcAryam- an AcArya, pracakshate- they call. He is known as an AcArya who imparts the knowledge of the scriptures to his disciples, instills right conduct in them and himself practises what he teaches. 3. bhagavAn Definition 1:-- aishvaryasya samagrasya dharmasya yashasaH shriyaH j~nAnavairAgyayoshcaiva ShaNNAm bhaga iti IraNA || samagrasya aishvaryasya- of Total lordliness, dharmasya- of righteousness, yashasaH- of renown, shriyaH- of beauty (and auspiciousness), j~nAnavairAgyayoh ca- and of knowledge and detachment, ShaNNAm eva- of these six collectively, bhaga iti IraNa- the name is bhaga'. The word 'bhaga' stands for these six qualities collectively:-- total lordliness, righteousness, renown, beauty (and auspiciousness), knowledge and detachment. One who has all these six qualities is called 'bhagavAn' (God). Definition 2:-- utpattim pralayam caiva bhUtAnAm Agatim gatim | vetti vidyAm avidyAm ca sa vAcyo bhagavAn iti || utpattim- The origin of the universe, pralayam- its dissolution, bhUtAnAm Agatim- the coming of all beings (into the universe), gatim- their departure, vidyAm- knowledge, avidyAm ca- and ignorance, vetti- he who knows, saH- He, bhagavAn iti- as bhagavAn, vAcyate- is called. He who knows the origin and dissolution of the universe, the birth and death of all beings, as well as what is knowledge and what is ignorance, is called bhagavAn. 4.vedaH pratyaksheNAnumAnena yastUpAyo na budhyate | enam vidanti vedena tasmAd vedasya vedatA || yaH upAyaH tu- That means indeed, pratyaksheNa- by direct perception, anumAnena- or by inference, na budhyate- cannot be known, enam- that, vidanti- people know, vedena- through the vedas. tasmAt- therefore, vedasya- of the veda- vedatA- the character as veda (source of knowledge). The vedas enlighten us on the means of attaining various ends (such as heaven) which cannot be known through other means of knowledge such as perception and inference. That is why they are known as vedas. How the vedas should be recited:-- 1. gItI shIghrI shiraHkampI tathA likhitapAThataH | anarthaj~no'lpakanThashca ShaDete pAThakAdhamAH || gItI- Singing it, shIghrI- reciting very fast, shiraHkampI- shaking the head while reciting, tathA- as also, likhitapAThataH- from a written text, anarthaj~naH- not knowing the meaning, alpakanThaH ca- and in a feeble voice, ete ShaD- these six, pAThakAdhamAH- are reciters of mediocre quality. This shloka indicates how the veda should be recited. It should not be sung like a song. It should not be recited very fast. The person reciting should not shake his head while reciting. He should not read from a written text, but should recite from memory. He should know the meaning of the mantras. He should recite in a loud voice. 2. vyAghrI yathA haret putrAn damShTrAbhyAm na ca pIDayet | bhItA patanabhedAbhyAm tadvad varNAn prayojayet || yathA vyAghrI- Just as a tigress, putrAn- its cubs, haret- carries, damShTrAbhyAm- with its teeth, na ca pIDayet- and does not cause any pain to the cub, patanabhedAbhyAm bhIta- always afraid that the cub may fall off or be harmed by her teeth, tadvat- in like manner, varNAn- the letters of the vedas, prayojayet- one should pronounce. The tigress carries its new-born cub with her teeth. She has to take care that the cub is not hurt by her holding it too firmly, and at the same time she has to ensure that the grip is firm enough to prevent the cub from falling down. In the same way, when reciting the vedas one has to be very careful to pronounce the letters with the right amount of stress. (To be contd) - Hara Hara Sankara Jaya Jaya SankaraS.N.Sastri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Dear Sastri-ji, Could you tell us the source of these definitions, please. I had said in ‘Book of One’ that the word ‘guru’ meant ‘heavy’, used when referring to one’s elders, expressing reverence; or possibly ‘heavy with knowledge’. And I said that the dictionary recognized no meaning such as ‘remover of darkness’, so that I thought that, though this sounded good, it was not actually true. I would, however, happily be corrected on this! Best wishes, Dennis advaitin [advaitin ] On Behalf Of S.N. Sastri Sunday, August 03, 2008 7:21 AM advaitin Some definitions-1 1. guruH The definition is: gushabdastvandhakAraH syAt rushabdastannirodhakaH | andhakAranirodhitvAt gururityabhidhIyate || gushabdah- the letter 'gu', syat- is (stands for), andhakAraH- darkness; rushabdaH- the letter 'ru', tannirodhakaH- is what removes that; andhakAranirodhitvAt- because of removing darkness, gurH iti- as guru, abhidhIyate- he is called. The guru is one who removes the darkness of ignorance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 advaitin , " Dennis Waite " <dwaite wrote: > > Dear Sastri-ji, > > > > Could you tell us the source of these definitions, please. I had said in > 'Book of One' that the word 'guru' meant 'heavy', used when referring to > one's elders, expressing reverence; or possibly 'heavy with knowledge'. And > I said that the dictionary recognized no meaning such as 'remover of > darkness', so that I thought that, though this sounded good, it was not > actually true. I would, however, happily be corrected on this! > > > > Best wishes, > > Dennis Dear Dennis-ji, The shloka about guru is from the Brahma samhita of Skanda purana. Though the word guru has not been given such a meaning in the dictionary, this shloka is well-known and oft-quoted. The others are from various sources. I took most of them from the lectures of Kanchi Paramacharya which had come in the form of a book. Regards, S.N.Sastri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Hi,Guru definitely means " heavy " , and with reference to people, it is used in the context of being " heavy with knowledge/authority " , as you have rightly inferred. This is the scientific (and older) meaning to this word. The other meaning " remover of darkness " is however the more popular and recent meaning for this term that has gradually gained currency over the last 1000 years or so, more among people who don't have a strong samskrit background. Thanks & Regards,RamakrishnanOn Sun, Aug 3, 2008 at 12:49 PM, Dennis Waite <dwaite wrote: Dear Sastri-ji, Could you tell us the source of these definitions, please. I had said in 'Book of One' that the word 'guru' meant 'heavy', used when referring to one's elders, expressing reverence; or possibly 'heavy with knowledge'. And I said that the dictionary recognized no meaning such as 'remover of darkness', so that I thought that, though this sounded good, it was not actually true. I would, however, happily be corrected on this! Best wishes, Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 advaitin , Ramakrishnan <srkris wrote: > > Hi, > > Guru definitely means " heavy " , and with reference to people, it is used in > the context of being " heavy with knowledge/authority " , as you have rightly > inferred. This is the scientific (and older) meaning to this word. > > The other meaning " remover of darkness " is however the more popular and > recent meaning for this term that has gradually gained currency over the > last 1000 years or so, more among people who don't have a strong samskrit > background. > > Thanks & Regards, > Ramakrishnan > > On Sun, Aug 3, 2008 at 12:49 PM, Dennis Waite <dwaite wrote: > > > Dear Sastri-ji, > > > > > > > > Could you tell us the source of these definitions, please. I had said in > > 'Book of One' that the word 'guru' meant 'heavy', used when referring to > > one's elders, expressing reverence; or possibly 'heavy with knowledge'. And > > I said that the dictionary recognized no meaning such as 'remover of > > darkness', so that I thought that, though this sounded good, it was not > > actually true. I would, however, happily be corrected on this! Namaste all. One other meaning of Guru has been given in my father's manuscripts. The Absolute is actually something which transcends the three strands ( = guNas) of Prakriti, namely satva, rajas and tamas. The absolute is therefore guNAtIta, that is, that which transcends the three guNas. The Absolute is also rUpa-varjita, that is, devoid of form. It is such an absolute that has come as Gu-ru in flesh and blood -- Gu for guNAtIta and Ru for rUpa-varjita. This profound idea is what is implied by the following verse which is only one of the many that dwell on the Guru concept. gukAraSca guNAtIto rukAro rUpa-varjitaH; gunAtItam arUpamca yat-tatvam sa guru-smRtaH. meaning, the syllable Gu stands for gunAtIta and the syllable Ru stands for rUpa-varjitaH. The principle therefore that combines the transcedence beyond the guNas and the absence of form is what is known as Guru. PraNAms to all advaitins. propfvk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 advaitin , " V. Krishnamurthy " <profvk wrote: > One other meaning of Guru has been given in my father's manuscripts. > The Absolute is actually something which transcends the three strands > ( = guNas) of Prakriti, namely satva, rajas and tamas. The absolute > is therefore guNAtIta, that is, that which transcends the three > guNas. The Absolute is also rUpa-varjita, that is, devoid of form. It > is such an absolute that has come as Gu-ru in flesh and blood -- Gu > for guNAtIta and Ru for rUpa-varjita. This profound idea is what is > implied by the following verse which is only one of the many that > dwell on the Guru concept. > > gukAraSca guNAtIto rukAro rUpa-varjitaH; > gunAtItam arUpamca yat-tatvam sa guru-smRtaH. > > meaning, the syllable Gu stands for gunAtIta and the syllable Ru > stands for rUpa-varjitaH. The principle therefore that combines the > transcedence beyond the guNas and the absence of form is what is > known as Guru. > > PraNAms to all advaitins. > propfvk Dear Prof VK, Thanks for giving another beautiful definition of guru. Regards, S.N.Sastri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 advaitin , " V. Krishnamurthy " <profvk wrote: > > > > gukAraSca guNAtIto rukAro rUpa-varjitaH; > gunAtItam arUpamca yat-tatvam sa guru-smRtaH. > > meaning, the syllable Gu stands for gunAtIta and the syllable Ru > stands for rUpa-varjitaH. The principle therefore that combines the > transcedence beyond the guNas and the absence of form is what is > known as Guru. Namaste, The Guru Gita also gives these verses: http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_giitaa/gurugita.itx gukaarashchaandhakaaro hi rukaarasteja uchyate | aGYaanagraasakaM brahma gurureva na sa.nshayaH || 44|| gukaarashcha guNaatiito ruupaatiito rukaarakaH | guNaruupavihiinatvaat.h gururityabhidhiiyate || 46|| Regards, Sunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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