yajvan
12 October 2011, 07:21 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté
Loka's are considered a region, space, or any division of it. This word also means that which can be seen, as in cákṣur-loka. We will see it also written lokān meaning to live, breathe move (an) within the loka ( region or space).
Three lokas and/or 7 loka-s are usually called out; there will be those reading this that say there are 14 loka-s and I am fine with this number.
Within kaśmir śaivism we are told there are 118 bhuvanādhva ( path of all the worlds). This is bhuvanādhva is a component of a 3 part division. I am comfortable with the 2nd and 3rd divisions called tattvādhva and kalādhva , yet I do not comprehend the 118 levels of bhuvanādhva, nor even know their names. To this, I continue my search to understand this 118 level bhuvanādhva .
That said, I thought to offer some notions on the 3 loka-s, considered earth, heaven and the space in between. What is interesting ( to me) is some of the names these areas are known by.
Earth is bhū-loka and also known as mara.
The space between heaven and earth ( some say between earth and the sun) is known as bhuvar-loka yet is also called antarikṣa.
svar-loka , heaven, above the sun or between it and the polar star is generally called dyau ( or dyu ).Earth
The earth is also called pṛthivī defined as wide world 'the broad and extended One'. In this use it is capturing all of creation, as creation is of the tattva of matter. It is called the daughter of pṛthu defined as broad , wide , expansive , extensive. It is associated with pṛtha a measure of length, as within the material levels things can be measured out.
If we look at this word pṛthivī and consider the pṛ and vī component of the word it is very foretelling.
pṛ is to excel, to surpass
vī is defined as the act of going , motion ; to go apart or in different directions , diverge , be diffused or scattered or distributed or divided or extended.Within pṛthivī it is suggested it is ever in motion, excelling, in different directions. We know this from physics, it tells us this whole creation is ever in motion, expanding; that at the sub-atomic levels every thing is a vibration, in motion.
Hence with pṛthivī we find the following wisdom¹ to be applicable:
na hi kaṣcit svasmin ātmani muhūrtam avatiṣṭhate , or there is nothing that exists in its own form even for a moment (muhūrta or a moment , instant).
But what of this middle term pṛ+thi+vī ? It is my conjecture that 'thi' and 'tha' are related. This 'tha' means preservation, also 'eating' . It is from pṛthivī that one finds preservation via eating, as all of creation offers the human anna or food. Yet one could stretch this idea a bit more and suggest 'thi' - > 'tha' - > 'ṭa'. This 'ṭa' fits nicely in the theme and is defined ( feminine gender) as earth.
Yet this vī is also revealing in another way. The 3rd derivation of vī is 'perish , disappear' Which brings us to another name for earth. Earth is also known as mara. It is called out as such in the aitareya upaniṣad. Mara is rooted (√) in mṛ dying , death ; mara is considered the world of death. It aligns with our perception that all here come and go, death is a integral part of this earth.
Even if one is a perfect vegetarian it is from the death of plants that one sustains his/her life. We die every moment - we are being ~ used up~ though our metabolism. If this frame is not refreshed with food , we wither away and the frame goes back to its elements.
We will take a look at the mid-region antarikṣa in the next post.
praṇām
1. We find this wisdom in the tattva kaumudī by vāchaspati miśra-ji in his work addressing the sāṁkhya kārikā-s.
~~~~~~
namasté
Loka's are considered a region, space, or any division of it. This word also means that which can be seen, as in cákṣur-loka. We will see it also written lokān meaning to live, breathe move (an) within the loka ( region or space).
Three lokas and/or 7 loka-s are usually called out; there will be those reading this that say there are 14 loka-s and I am fine with this number.
Within kaśmir śaivism we are told there are 118 bhuvanādhva ( path of all the worlds). This is bhuvanādhva is a component of a 3 part division. I am comfortable with the 2nd and 3rd divisions called tattvādhva and kalādhva , yet I do not comprehend the 118 levels of bhuvanādhva, nor even know their names. To this, I continue my search to understand this 118 level bhuvanādhva .
That said, I thought to offer some notions on the 3 loka-s, considered earth, heaven and the space in between. What is interesting ( to me) is some of the names these areas are known by.
Earth is bhū-loka and also known as mara.
The space between heaven and earth ( some say between earth and the sun) is known as bhuvar-loka yet is also called antarikṣa.
svar-loka , heaven, above the sun or between it and the polar star is generally called dyau ( or dyu ).Earth
The earth is also called pṛthivī defined as wide world 'the broad and extended One'. In this use it is capturing all of creation, as creation is of the tattva of matter. It is called the daughter of pṛthu defined as broad , wide , expansive , extensive. It is associated with pṛtha a measure of length, as within the material levels things can be measured out.
If we look at this word pṛthivī and consider the pṛ and vī component of the word it is very foretelling.
pṛ is to excel, to surpass
vī is defined as the act of going , motion ; to go apart or in different directions , diverge , be diffused or scattered or distributed or divided or extended.Within pṛthivī it is suggested it is ever in motion, excelling, in different directions. We know this from physics, it tells us this whole creation is ever in motion, expanding; that at the sub-atomic levels every thing is a vibration, in motion.
Hence with pṛthivī we find the following wisdom¹ to be applicable:
na hi kaṣcit svasmin ātmani muhūrtam avatiṣṭhate , or there is nothing that exists in its own form even for a moment (muhūrta or a moment , instant).
But what of this middle term pṛ+thi+vī ? It is my conjecture that 'thi' and 'tha' are related. This 'tha' means preservation, also 'eating' . It is from pṛthivī that one finds preservation via eating, as all of creation offers the human anna or food. Yet one could stretch this idea a bit more and suggest 'thi' - > 'tha' - > 'ṭa'. This 'ṭa' fits nicely in the theme and is defined ( feminine gender) as earth.
Yet this vī is also revealing in another way. The 3rd derivation of vī is 'perish , disappear' Which brings us to another name for earth. Earth is also known as mara. It is called out as such in the aitareya upaniṣad. Mara is rooted (√) in mṛ dying , death ; mara is considered the world of death. It aligns with our perception that all here come and go, death is a integral part of this earth.
Even if one is a perfect vegetarian it is from the death of plants that one sustains his/her life. We die every moment - we are being ~ used up~ though our metabolism. If this frame is not refreshed with food , we wither away and the frame goes back to its elements.
We will take a look at the mid-region antarikṣa in the next post.
praṇām
1. We find this wisdom in the tattva kaumudī by vāchaspati miśra-ji in his work addressing the sāṁkhya kārikā-s.