Some questions on the verses after the sankalpa - Day 12:Q/A Feedback

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Dear Parvatiji,

 

thank you very much for the information concerning the Sanskrit of the

Vedas and also for the 'note of interest'. A very beautiful

explanation of why we do puja: " to remember the Supreme Divinity that

resides within all of creation". May our practice help us remember

until everything we touch and see reminds us of That.

 

Today I have studied the verses coming after the sankalpa and I have

some questions. I know it is a lot to ask, so if you don't have the

time to answer them all I will understand:

 

-the translation of the mantra beginning with "om yajjagranto" says:

'May our waking consciousness replace pain..' I have been puzzling

over this 'waking consciousness'. How does it replace pain by

something else? Is it a matter of 'seeing with Divine Eyes'? So that

what seemed painful is then seen as manifestation of Divinity? Is it a

matter of where your attention goes, to the Truth underneath or to

surface appearances? A matter of interpretation of sensory input (I am

thinking also of the Energy of the Rule of the Pure rising up in the

next mantra)?

But how does that work in case of 'our awareness when asleep'? Does

this part of the verse refer to bad dreams being replaced by good

ones? Or to dreamless sleep? And what, in this verse, is the Sanskrit

word for 'waking consciousness'?

 

-the translation of the verse beginning with 'om svasti na' mentions

'Searchers for Truth, Knowers of the Universe'; who are they? Are they

the ones who have gone before us, are they Rsis, or are these names

for specific divine beings, like Indra, with their own 'stories'?

 

-the mantra beginning with 'om gananam tva' appears to have the bija

'gum' instead of 'gam' (as in the mantra we use to offer flowers). Or

is 'gum' no a bija? And if it is, what do the letters mean?

 

-in the same mantra, it is said 'we invoke you with offerings', yet we

do not make any tangible offering at this point. Of what do our

offerings consist?

 

-in the same mantra, what is 'the Treasure'? I have found some

reference to 'the nine Treasures of Kubera', but have been unable to

find more information...

 

-in the same verse, why would the Lord of Multitudes be the one to

'give birth to the realm of Gods within me'? Does He do so by removing

all obstacles for their manifestation?

 

-in the same verse, what is the meaning of 'ahamajani' and

'tvamajasi'? (I am trying to get some grip on the Sanskrit in order to

be able to understand what I am saying and remember it better)

 

-in the second verse beginning with 'om gananam', the 'seat' of the

Lord of the Multitudes is mentioned. Is this a reference to the

Muladhara chakra? Which would give us a firm basis without obstacles

on which to build our sankalpa?

 

-in the verse beginning with 'om aditir': who are Mother and Father

and Child? Is this a reference to the union of Shakti and Shiva and

the result of their union? Or just a way of saying: 'every human

being'?

 

-in the same verse, it is said: 'The Mother of Enlightenment, She is

to be known'. As far as I can reconstruct, the word for 'is to be

known' is 'janitvam'. The dictionary mentioned that this word

jani-tvam, is used for the state of a wife, which would make that

intimate knowledge: 'known as YOU'? Am I on the right track?

 

-in the same verse, the 'five forms of living beings' are mentioned. I

have found five in the dictionary: gods, men, gandharvas and apsharas,

serpents and pitris. Are there other meanings? The five elements?

 

-in the verse beginning with 'om tvam stris', it is said in the

translation 'you are all creation existing as the mouth of the

universe'. I don't really understand what this means. Has it to do

with the mouth being an organ of expression and sound being vibration?

 

-in the verse beginning with 'om ambe-ambike', the word

'kampilavasinim' is used. What is 'Kampila'?

 

-in the verse beginning with 'tabhih shantibhih', it is said that by

means of Peace, Ignorance is eliminated etc. Does this mean that

vibrations of ignorance (tamas?) and violence (rajas?) are replaced by

the calm and regular vibrations of Peace (sattva?)

 

Please tell me if you think these questions are irrelevant or

uninteresting to the group. I would not want to bore people to death:)

But any pointer in the right direction (or website with info) would be

of great help,

 

with love,

Henny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In , sara swati <parv108> wrote:

> Day 12 Q/A feedback

>

> Dear Henny,

> Glad you were able to complete your sankalpa. I agree

> with you that the Rudri is a very beautiful scripture.

> Looking forward to our group study of it as soon as

> the puja class is finished.

>

> Henny asked:

> I noticed that there seem to be many words and sounds

> in

> the Rudri which are unfamiliar. The language seems a

> little different

> from the Sanskrit of the Chandi. Is this because it is

> an earlier,

> Vedic text? Just curious...

>

> A: The Rudri is written in Vedic Sanskrit and the

> Chandi is classical sanskrit. Swamiji says that the

> Vedic Sanskrit has a different alphabet with different

> letters. That is why there are some words that seem

> different or unfamiliar but after practice the

> unfamiliar will become familiar.

>

>

> Note of interest:

>

> Swamiji talks about Vedic times. He said that in Vedic

> times the Rishis worshipped Nirakara Brahman which is

> worship of the Supreme Divinity without form. During

> those times the Rishis would stay no more than 3 days

> in one place because they didn't want to cultivate

> attachment. They used to discuss the worship of the

> Supreme Divinity in each village they traveled to with

> the village people.

>

> The people said to the Rishis, "When you are here we feel so

inspired and so full of love and devotion. What can we do to remember

you when you are gone?"

>

> The Rishis said," See this divine stone? Come here

> everyday and give it a glass of water, give it a

> flower, and a piece of fruit. Sing to it. Make this

> environment as nice as you like. In this way you will

> remember the substance of the knowledge we shared."

>

> In this way the padhoti of external worship began.

> These teachings of the Rishis later developed into the

> Upanishads. Upa means near and asana means seat.

> Upanishad means sitting near. The village people used

> to sit near the Rishis and listen to their discourses.

>

> In a similar way when we do puja it helps us to

> remember the Supreme Divinity that resides within all

> of creation.

>

> So......keep up the puja divine friends and

> remember.........

>

> Note: If anyone is new to puja and wants to learn please

> don't hesitate to ask questions. Puja can be done to any of the

deities ie: (Lord Ganesha, Kali, Lakshmi, Vishnu, etc.), once you

know the basic outline as described in the beginner Shiva and Durga

Puja. Follow your inspiration.

>

> Om namah shivaaya!

>

>

>

>

>