Showing posts with label adi shankaracharya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adi shankaracharya. Show all posts

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Essence of his Philosophy of Advaitha-Dasa Sloki or Nirvana Dasakam- Adi Shankaracharya-Advaita Philosophy


Adi Sankara explains the essence of his Philosophy of Advaitha
in the following ten verses......Dasa Sloki or Nirvana Dasakam.
There are two stories about its origin.
One says that when Adi Sankara approached Sage Govinda Pada and requested him to make him his disciple, then it seems Govinda Pada asked the young boy, “Who are you?” and this is his reply.
Another story tells that when Sri Sankara said that he is about to leave this earth, his disciples wanted to tell them all his teachings in a summary form and this is the reply.
Swami Madhusudhana Sarawathi has written a commentary called “Sidhantha Bindu” on these ten verses.
You can hear this great stotra by clicking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VwEr1lJSVU
Dasa Sloki or Nirvana Dasakam
Na bhoomir na thoyam na thejo na vayu,
Na Kham nendriyam vaa na thesham samooha,
Anaikanthikathwath suspthyeka siddha,
Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham. 1
I am not earth, I am not water.
I am not light, I am not wind,
I am not ether, I am not sense organs,
Nor am I a combination of these,
Because they don’t always exist.
I am simply Shiva the self,
For this remains even in sleep,
After everything is taken out.
Na varna , na varnasramachara dharma,
Na me dharana dhyana yogadhayopi,
Anathmasrayo aham mamadhya sahanath,
Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham. 2
I am not the caste, I am not the caste rules,
I am not stages of life,
I am not rules , I am not the just conduct,
I am not meditation, I am not yogic practice,
For the concept of I and me destroy all these.
I am simply Shiva the self,
For this remains even in sleep,
After everything is taken out.
Na matha pitha vaa na deva na loka,
Na veda na yagna na theertham bruvanthi,
Sushupthou nirasthadhi soonyath makathwath,
Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham. 3
Neither the mother nor the father.
Neither the celestial gods nor the earth,
Neither the Vedas ,nor the fire sacrifice,
Nor the holy waters, they say, exist in sleep.
But there is no void in sleep, either.
So I am simply Shiva the self,
For this remains even in sleep,
After everything is taken out.
Na sankhyam na saivam na thath pancha rathram,
Na jainam , na meemamskader matham vaa,
Visishtanubhoothya vishudhath maka thwath,
Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham. 4
Neither the Sankhya principle,
Nor the doctrine of Shaiva,
Not the principle of pancha rathra,
Nor the doctrine of Jainas,
Nor the principle of Meemasa,
Are Unique experiences,
For the soul is the purest known truth.,
So I am simply Shiva the self,
For this remains even in sleep,
After everything is taken out.
Na shuklam na krishnam na raktham na peetham,
Na peenam na kubjam na hruswam na deergam,
Na roopam thada jyothirakarakathwath,
Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham. 5
Neither white nor black,
Neither red nor yellow,
Neither large nor thin,
Neither short , nor tall,
And neither with a form is the soul,
For this soul is the form of the light,
So I am simply Shiva the self,
For this remains even in sleep,
After everything is taken out.
Na jagranna me swapnako vaa sushupthi,
Ne viswo na vaa thaijasa pragnako vaa,
Avidhyathmakathwath trayanam thureeyam,
Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham. 6
Neither the state of waking,
Nor the state of dream,
Nor the state of deep sleep is for me,
Neither the earthy feelings,
Nor the glorified feelings of dreams,
Nor the feeling of wakefulness in sleep am I,
For these are the souls of avidya,
And I am the fourth , the thureeya, which is beyond these,
So I am simply Shiva the self,
For this remains even in sleep,
After everything is taken out.
Na sastha na sasthram na sishyo na siksha,
Na cha thwam, na cha aham na cha ayam prapancha,
Swaroopavabadhadhi vikalapa sahishnu,
Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham. 7
Neither the origin of knowledge,
Nor the books of knowledge,
Neither he disciple nor the teacher,
Neither you, nor me and nor this world am I,
For this is not tolerated by innate realization,
So I am simply Shiva the self,
For this remains even in sleep,
After everything is taken out.
Na chordhwam na chadho na cha andhar na bahyam,
Na madhyam na thiryang na poorva paraddik,
Viyad vyapakathwath Akandaika roopa,
Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham. 8
Neither above , nor below,
Neither inside nor outside,
Neither the middle , nor the across,
Neither the east nor the west am I,
For like the all pervading ether,
I am spread everywhere,
So I am simply Shiva the self,
For this remains even in sleep,
After everything is taken out.
Api vyapakathwadhi Thathwa prayogath,
Swatha sidha bhavananya asrayathwath,
Jagat thuchamethath samastham thadanya,
Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham. 9
Being all pervasive and goal oriented,
Being dependent on its own nature,
Than depending on any out side thing,
This world is trivial as it is different from self.
So I am simply Shiva the self,
For this remains even in sleep,
After everything is taken out.
Na chaikam thadanyath dweetheeyam kutha syath,
Na chaa kevalathwam na vaa kevalathwam,
Na soonyam na chaa soonyamadvaidhakathwath,
Kadam sarva vedhatham sidham braveemi 10
It is not even one and how can it be two,
Neither is it unique and nor not unique,
Neither is it a vacuum nor something different from it,
For it is the essence of non dual reality
So how can I tell about what is established by all philosophy?
~ By Adi Sankara Bhagawat Pada: Translated by P.R.Ramachander via Puducode Rama Iyer Ramachander

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Gravitational force, Apana Vayu in Prasnopanishad, Ancient Indian Scriptures

gravitational force prasnopanishadIssac Newton discovered universal gravitation in 16th century when he observed an apple fall from a tree.
But Prasnopanishad(6000 BC) described the force that pulls objects down and keeps us grounded on earth without floating.
In Prashnopanishad chapter 3 while describing the panchapranas, the apana vayu is said to be residing in the anus and genitals – paayoopasthepaanam.
It is responsible for throwing out from the body faeces, urine, semen, menstrual blood and foetus. Further, the upanishad says : prithivyaam yaa devataa saisha purushasya apaanamavashatabhyaantaraa
The devata that is in earth she supports this apana. She helps apana for throwing out from the body. Space travellers face difficulty in excretion due to absence of gravitational force there. The link between apana and the earth aiding it is quite clear in this upanishad.
Further in his commentary to this upanishad, Adi Shankara ( 8th century AD ) says
‘tathaa prithivyaam abhimaaninee yaa devataa prasiddhaa saishaa purushasya apaanavrithimavashtabhyaakrishya vasheekrityaadha evapakarshanenanugraham kurvati vartata ityarthaha. anyathaa hi shareeram gurutvat patetsavakashe vaa udagacheta’.
This devata blesses by supporting apana by pulling in the downward direction. Or else, the body would have floated up.
citation-booksfact.com

Size of soul,Atma decoded

None of us have seen actual soul(spirt) that lives in our body with our naked eye.
The Svetasvatara Upanishad (श्वेताश्वतरनोपनिषद् or Śvetāśvataropaniṣad) explains the actual dimension or size of soul.
Śvetāśvataropaniṣad is associated with the Krishna Yajurveda and contains 113 mantras in 6 chapters. It is estimated to have been composed around 4th century BCE.
Most of this Upanishad is attributed to Sage Svetasvatara (Sveta-Asvatara i.e the one owing a white mule).
Other commentators are Adi Sankaracharya, Vijnanatma, Shankarananda and Narayana Tirtha.
Śvetāśvataropaniṣad is the earliest textual exposition of a systematic philosophy of Saivism, for the first time elevating Rudra to the status of Īśa (Lord), a god with cosmological functions such as those later attributed to Siva.
balagra sata bhagasya
satadha kalpitasya ca
bhago jivah sa vijneyah
sa canantyaya kalpate || Svetasvatara Upanishad (5.9)
Translation : When the upper tip of a hair follicle is divided into one hundred parts and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul.

Similar description has been made in Chaitanya Charitamrita by Swami Prabhupada.
keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya
śatāṁśa-sadṛśātmakaḥ
jīvaḥ sūkṣma-svarūpo ‘yaṁ
saṅkhyātīto hi cit-kaṇaḥ || Chaitanya Charitamrita; Madhya Lila; 19.140
That means, a hair tip has to be divided into ten thousand parts and one such part is Cit-Kana (particle of spirit).
Which means that the individual particle of spirit soul is a spiritual atom smaller than the material atoms, and such atoms are innumerable.
Bhagavad Gita also states that soul is imperishable and cannot be seen with naked eye.
avinasi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idam tatam
vinasam avyayasyasya
na kascit kartum arhati || Bhagavad Gita 2.17
Translation : That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.
Mundakopanishad further explains the places where soul resides in human body.
eso ’nur atma cetasa veditavyo
yasmin pranah pancadha samvivesa
pranais cittam sarvam otam prajanam
yasmin visuddhe vibhavaty esa atma || Mundaka Upanishad (3.1.9)
Translation : The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air (prana, apana, vyana, samana and udana), is situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the soul is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited.
Also Prana (Life) moves between Eye, Heart and Throat while we are awake, sleeping and dreaming (3 states of mind explained as Tri-Puras)

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Nirvana Satakam- Sankhya sutra by Adi Shankaracharya


The World Is  Sankya, Nirvana Satakam

By Adi Shankaracharya explaining the various elements in us for understanding Objects  and how we perceive them, the ‘Observer
न च प्राणसंज्ञो न वै पञ्चवायुः
न वा सप्तधातुः न वा पञ्चकोशः ।
न वाक्पाणिपादं न चोपस्थपायु
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥२॥
Na Ca Praanna-Samjnyo Na Vai Pan.ca-Vaayuh
Na Vaa Sapta-Dhaatuh Na Vaa Pan.ca-Koshah |
Na Vaak-Paanni-Paadam Na Copastha-Paayu
Cid-Aananda-Ruupah Shivo[a-A]ham Shivo[a-A]ham ||2||
KatopanishadMeaning:
2.1: Neither am I the Vital Breath, nor the Five Vital Air,
2.2: Neither am I the Seven Ingredients (of the Body), nor the Five Sheaths (of the Body),
2.3: Neither am I the organ of Speech, nor the organs for Holding ( Hand ), Movement ( Feet ) or Excretion,
2.4: I am the Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness; I am Shiva, I am Shiva,
The Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness.
The outside world, to be made known to us has,
Katopanishad
The Prakriti,(The Potential Energy to be known,),of  three constituent  Dispositions of the Prakriti) called the Gunas.
Purusha, Kinetic Energy that Flows,
Mahat, The Intellect, to translate these,
Ahankara,The Feeling of ‘I, Mine” to be conscious,
Mind,(For the Observer)
Five sensory organs,(For the Observer)
Five Motor organs,(For the Observer)
Five Subtle Elements(For The Observed, The World)
Five Gross Elements(For the Observed)
Total 25.
Let us look at each in brief.
What is to be known, has ‘To Be’
That implies presence.
That presence has to be immanent and be inert, to be activated when to it is to be known or aware of.
This presence is Prakriti or the Principle that is permanent, immanent and inert, awaiting to be known.
This is provided by Purusha, the Kinetic principle that interacts with the Prakriti to generate Intellect,(at the macro level)
Now Prakriti is constituted by the Three Gunas or Dispositions(for details see post Gunas under Indian Philosophy)
This Intellect at the Macro level is Mahat.
Once the Intellect is formed, it is ready to be known, both at the Macro-level and at the individual level.
To be  understood, at the Macro-level, the external World has the Following.
Five elements,Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether.
These five elements have five  subtle elements called Tanmatras.
The Five elements of the external world are gross in nature.
Their qualities are a part of them ,  like Heat and Light are the qualities of Fire.
We can not experience them as they are.
The qualities embedded in them make us aware of them, like the heat is known by our bodies, light by our eyes.
To sum up, the external world, the’Observed’ has elements that complement the internal organs of the Individual(Observer).
When these connect Awareness or Knowledge dawns.
Put it in another way , the Observed becomes Observer when connected, when the Individual Ego is identified with it.
Therefore to know the Observer(self), is identical with knowing the Observed(External world), for the elements that constitute both are the same.
The Observed becomes known when the elements of both the Observer and the Observed become  One, when the ‘Ahankara’ or  the ‘I, Mine ‘ is eradicated.
This , in essence, is Advaita of Shankaracharya.
It would be interesting to note that the principles elaborated above are from the Sankhya system of Indian Philosophy , which is called a Nastika, Heterodox, as it does not believe in the authority of The Vedas and for Shankaracharya , the Vedas are his source.
Truth has many facets but destination and truth is one.
From Ramani