New Moon -amāvāsya

Hari Oṁ
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Namaste

We have talked of pūrnīmā in past posts. This pūrnīmā is another name for the full moon…from pūrṇa meaning filled , full , filled with or full.

We also looked at a tithi's¹ prada प्रद- the giving , yielding , offering , granting , bestowing , causing , effecting , uttering, influence. Yet we have not spent much time on the new moon amāvāsya. Let take a look.

The moon via the tithi expands and contracts, some call this spanda. The expansion to the fullness of pūrnīmā and the contraction
to amāvāsya. This happens in 15 stations of the moon's motion.
This amāvāsya is made up of amā + vāsya: amā अमा means together, at home + vāsya वास्य means to be covered or enveloped. So how does this apply to the new moon? The sun (Śiva) + the moon (Śakti) are together, enveloped. This is Sa + Umā, coming together. ( the t is dropped in sat).

Who is this Sa? There is a view given in the Trika system that calls sa the 3rd Brahma. This Sa is held in the highest regard. From this sa, we have sattā , existence itself, satya or truth, saṃpat or acquisition. This sa is found in some of the most notable mantra-s e.g. amṛtabīja.


Yet why the attention on this? It’s a way of looking at Brahma as oṁ tat sat. The 3rd quality is sat. And what is this sat ? it is Being, That (tat) which really is. Who says this? Kṛṣṇa in Chapt 17, sloka 23 of the Bhāgavad gītā says oṁ-tad-sad iti nirdeśo brāhmaṇas. What this says is oṁ-tad-sad is the indication/identifier (nirdeśo) of Brahman ( the Supreme).

So we know Sat is Supreme, Brahman. And Umā is Śrī Devī, Pārvatī.
Now when Sa(t) comes together (amā + vāsya) with Umā what is created Soma. That is when a+u are joined in sanskrit we get o.
Hence s(a+u)ma = soma.
What do we call the moon? Soma ( also Chandr¹). When Śiva and Pārvatī are joined together we get Soma. Hence for amāvāsya, the new moon Śiva and Pārvatī come together, are enveloped, become Soma.

Perhaps this is why Śiva is always seen with the crescent moon over His head.


ॐ विरूपाक्षाय नमः
oṁ virūpākṣāya namaḥ
(We bow to Virupaksha, the One of spotless form)

pranams
words and references

• sat सत् - Being, existenence, real, actual, that which really is.
• umā उमा - is Śrī Devī, Pārvatī; this is also splendour , light ; tranquility, night ( as when the moon is present)
• candra चन्द्र- glittering, shining; having the brilliancy or hue; a lovely or agreeable phenomenon of any kind
• Tithi Qualities - http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=23311&postcount=3

Soma is an actual person, a deity? One person, named Soma?

hariḥ oṁ
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Quote:

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Originally Posted by ConnieD

Soma is an actual person, a deity? One person, named Soma?

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Namasté and hello ConnieD

I wrote

Quote:

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What do we call the moon? Soma ( also Chandr¹). When Śiva and Pārvatī are joined together we get Soma. Hence for amāvāsya, the new moon Śiva and Pārvatī come together, are enveloped, become Soma.

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Soma has multiple meanings... it is a name for the moon. Yet this soma सोम is also defined as the juice of the soma plant. The juice is extracted by the leaves being pressed between stones by the priests , then sprinkled with water , and purified in a strainer.

Now that said, there are over 1200 verses we find in the veda on this soma let alone the entire 9th maṇḍala related to this soma. Sure seems lots of attention in the Veda on a plant and its juice, don't you think?
The wise say the following:
Laymen and/or the ritualists may regard soma as a creeper (the plant itself) to be crushed for getting its juice for use in the ritual. But to the wise (kavi or ṛṣi-s , these seer-s, are also called kavi) soma is not something to be drunk.

Well this soma is also called vanaspati¹ - and this helps us get to its real meaning. Vana¹ means abundance, a ray of light; vanas means loveliness. From these this abundance, loveliness, rays of light conjures the notion of delight. This soma is vanaspati, the lord (pati) of delight. But delight of what? The deight of existence.
The notion is the following. There is 'delight' in every aspect of existence... we miss most of it as we have our attention in other places. But we still are able to experience some joy , some delight from actions. That could be from giving, receiving, doing, helping, etc. There is this feeling we get some delight... it is there then it fades, but we experience it.

As I comprehend it, every action exerts some pressure on existence that surrounds us. This is the squeezing between the stones that was mentioned above ' pressed between the stones'. This squeezing (suta) releases this delight (soma) - we feel delighted, and as the rig veda tells us, the devatā ( the creative impulses , the devā-s) rejoice in enjoying this soma too, they 'drink' it.

That is why the wise say, its other then a plant.


praṇām

words

• vana वन - also means a forest , wood , grove , thicket , quantity of lotuses or other plants growing in a thick cluster ; a fountain , spring; earnest desire; plenty , abundance
• vanas वनस् - loveliness; also longing, desire.
• vanaspati वनस्पति - 'lord of plants'; an ascetic; also another name of viṣṇu

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
Namasté
I mentioned the following in the last post...

Quote:

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The notion is the following. There is 'delight' in every aspect of existence... we miss most of it as we have our attention in other places. But we still are able to experience some joy , some delight from actions. That could be from giving, receiving, doing, helping, etc. There is this feeling we get some delight... it is there then it fades, but we experience it.

... every action exerts some pressure on existence that surrounds us. This is the squeezing between the stones that was mentioned above ' pressed between the stones'. This squeezing (suta) releases this delight (soma) - we feel delighted, and as the rig veda tells us, the devatā ( the creative impulses , the devā-s) rejoice in enjoying this soma too, they 'drink' it.

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I thought to add just a bit more…
Abhinavagupta-ji¹ suggests the following in the Tantrā-loka: In the Kulaguhvara Tantra we are told that the energy of Creation (visarga) is found in all conjunctions because it is the creative energy. By the contact of two something else is created. It may be joy, it may be satisfaction, but something is created.
As I see it this is Abhinavagupta describing soma.

Now lets look to another adept svāmī Lakṣman-jū, who helps us ( me) better understand this and takes it a bit further. He says, the conjunction of two (kāma) does not only refer to sex as some would believe. The conjunction of two also exists when the eye is united with form ( rupa). It exists when the ear is united with sound, the nose united with smell, the skin with touch.

This is the notion of kāma-kalā¹ - the conjunction or togetherness of two. Many quickly wish to fast-forward to the union of male and female ( some call this siddha-yoginī union). Yet this absorption is called samāveśa¹. The traditional view is the notion of the union of male and female, yet svāmī Lakṣman-jū tells us this absorption or conjunction occurs within any two perceptions… the the eye and form, the ear and sound, etc. But he informs us that he is not referring to the physical ear or eyes, but to the energy of seeing, the energy of hearing. This occurs with all contact . That is, siddha refers to 'I' Consciousness and yoginī refers to the object of perception. Hence the union ( of 2) occurs with perceptions.

This union is called mahāmelāpa - or the great festival of unification ( mahā= great , melā = assembly, pa = the act of drinking i.e. taking in).
Hence as I view this soma, delight occurs with mahāmelāpa and brings delight to the devatā.

praṇām

words and references

• More on Abhinavagupta-ji can be found at this HDF post : http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3150&highlight=Abhinavagupta
• samāveśa समावेश - meeting , penetration , absorption into ; entering together, or at once.
• kāma-kalā - more can be read on this notion in Chapter 5, Self Realization in Kaśmir Śaivism, The Teachings of svāmī Lakṣman-jū, by John Hughes