veda- a hint, a symbol

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namaste


Many times people read the veda and look to its literal meaning. This often causes confusion between the word, intent, and the subtle meaning of what is being offered.

The veda works within parokṣa, saṃketa and śailī to give us a deeper sense of the truth. What are these words ?

• parokṣa- beyond the range of sight ; in an invisible or imperceptible manner; secretly , mysteriously. We can consider this word to mean subtle, beyond the initial meaning.
• The other approach is saṃketa - a hint , sign or signal or gesture . It is rooted (√ )in kṛ meaning 'to give a signal '.
• śailī - (2nd derivation) is a special or particular interpretation

In this and future posts I thought to offer some examples of this that we find in the ved and in various śāstra-s. But before a listing of examples, why does this occur ?

Some think it is a method to keep hidden the deeper truths and only meter them out to the worthy. Those that pursue the knowledge to go deeper and wider into the knowledge.
Others think it is written for those that are realized beings, who will know what the śloka-s mean and will preserve the accuracy and meaning of the wisdom and properly pass it on.
There are others that use the aitareya upaniṣad - 1st adhyāya, 3rd kanda (or chapter 1 part 3) as a guide. This upaniṣad informs us parokṣa priya iva hi devaḥ - that is, the devatā are fond or like (priya) to be addressed in a certain manner (iva) , parokṣa or secretly, indirect, accordingly (hi).

What would be an example of this ? The very same upaniṣad informs us that indra's name is idandraṁ�. Because the devatā's like the indirect method he is known as indra.

So, in the next few posts I will offer some of these ideas of parokṣa and saṃketa for one's consideration. One does not need to look far into the ṛg (rig) ved to find examples .

praṇām

words

• idandraṁ is a very unique word form. Some tell us it comes from idam adarśam iti.
  
  • idam = this or that; it also means known
  • adarśam = can be viewed as ā-darśa and means a mirror.
  • iti = thus

Hence this says to me idandraṁ is a reflection (adarśam) of that (idam).

• Others say idandraṁ means 'It seeing' (It darśa). In both cases what is being seen or reflected ? That or brahman.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

Let's start taking a few examples to see the wisdom and insight of parokṣa applied in the śāstra-s.

We have talked much about one of the key upaniṣad-s called īśāvāsya upaniṣad ( some write īśāvāsyopaniṣad ) http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=4677 , let's make use of one of the conversations.

Let's review the 2nd śloka which says:

kurvann eveha karmāṅi
jijīviṣecchatam̐ samāḥ |
evam tvayi nānyatheto'sti
na karma lipyate nare ||

This says engaged in actions (karmāṅi) one should wish to live ( jīv¹) 100 years (jijīviṣecchatam̐ samāḥ).
Certainly (evam) if done there is no other way by which actions do not adhere (lipyate¹) to you as a human or person (nare = nara)

One should desire to live one-hundred years - jijīviṣecchataṁ samāḥ. To the casual reader, we accept the well wishes of the ṛṣi offering this sūkta.

One may take note that the first three śloka-s are one group of ideas. This 1st group gives a vision of how
one may wish to live to enjoy the potential of human life leading to liberation - this is all influenced by the invocation (śānti pāṭha) of pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṃ - That is full (whole) this is full (whole).
It talks of the fullness of life and the fruition of life that one can enjoy this fullness.

Now this 2nd śloka is still within this 1st group of one's full potential offer. So, the ṛṣi suggests we should
aspire to live 100 years. This has several implications:

• good health / well being
• living with right actions
• living harmoniously

Yet this 100 is key , it is the 'code word' (śailī¹) for living in fullness, pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṃ -
if 'That' is full and 'This' is full, then you too are this fullness. This is the notion of 100 , having 2 meanings -
that of health and longevity but also the fullness of the relative field of life & the Absolute field of life.
This 100 can be looked at as the union (1) of the relative field of life depicted by zero (0) and the
Absolute field of life depected by the 2nd zero (0).
Combined we have unity (1) of both the Absolute (0) and the relative (0) field of life. together they
are 1+0+0 or 100.
This 100 is this ~code word~ mentioned for calling out the fullness of Being - as it is the bhūman ( fullness)
of the absolute and relative combined.
For me to say 'combined' is just rhetoric as Being is one fullness itself , it is the human condition that sees 'many'.


One may take the position that really, the ṛṣi is saying aspire to live 100 years and leave it at that. Well ,
in the age of kali the maximium age that is called out from a jyotish POV is 120 years and is defined as viṁśottarī daśā ( 120 years) within the jyotish system.
Who came up with this? None other then the father of jyotish¹ , mahārishi parāśar-ji father to veda vyāsa,
and one of the seers of the rig ved. Hence the wise are aware of this 120 year system and the ṛṣi could have
said live a full life (jīv) of 120 years, but chose 100. This is key.
Combine this with jijīviṣecchatam̐ samāḥ that is called out in the śloka and we get a better hint (saṃketa - a hint , sign or signal or gesture).
This samāḥ is defined as a year but it is also 'full , complete , whole'. Here is the additonal insight... the ṛṣi's aspiration for us to live 100 years is in wholeness ( 100) and infers the whole notion of the opening invocation pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṃ - if 'That' is full and 'This' is full, then you too are this fullness.

Live in this fullness and no actions will cling or adhere (lipyate¹) to you. You are beyond the tri-guna ( 3 gunas), the field of actions and karma.


praṇām

words

• śailī - (2nd derivation) is a special or particular interpretation

• jīv = to shout long live or jīva
• lipyate = lip+yata : 'lip' is to attach to, stick, adhere + yata = held in
• Mahārishi parāśar is the author of the brihat-parāśara-horā-śāstra, a monumental work and cornerstone of jyotish wisdom.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namaste

The ṛg veda 1.7.3 offers this one portion suggesting an action of indra:

indro dīrghāya chaṣasa ā sūryam rohayat divi |
vi gobhiḥ adrim airayat ||

This says, indra with his far reaching (dīrgha - long, lofty ) sight raised the sun ( sūrya) in heaven ( div)

The key part of the śloka is the second line - lets look at each word:

• vi = apart , asunder , in different directions
• gobhiḥ = go+ bhid
  
  • go - is cattle, cows, a herd; it is also applied as " the herds of the sky " , the stars. Yet too it is
    defined as rays of light
  • bhid - to disperse (darkness); to split , break , shatter ; to open
  
  
• adrim = adri = a mountain, stone, rock
• airayat aira + yat aira = . a heap or plenty of food or refreshment + yat = ' to stretch' ; to exert; to endeavour to reach , strive after

This says that the mountain (adrim) was shattered (bhid) apart (vi) by a heap (airayat) of cows (go).
So , one must think how can we take this literally ? That indra broke or shattered apart a mountain with a flurry of cows . We need to look at it another way by saṃketa - a hint , sign or signal or gesture.

The mountain is ~stone~. It is the symbol of the hardness of ignorance. It is shattered apart ( bhid= disperse of darkness) by the rays of light (go). Rays of light ( go) is the spiritual purity of consciousness. It is this purity that indra can wield.


Now the question then who is indra ?

praṇām

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

Let's return to the īśāvāsya upaniṣad and look at the fourth śloka which says:

Unmoving, the One (ekaṁ) is swifter then the mind; The devā-s¹ do not reach It because it is ever ahead of of them.
It ( or that, tad) standing still outpaces those who run. Within Its being the all pervading vital air (mātariśvan¹) upholds (dadhāti¹) the activities of beings.

Some of the interesting ideas for consideration:

• It is unmoving yet swifter then thought.
• It stands still but outpaces those that run - not even the senses (devā) reach It.
• Within ItSelf It upholds the activities of all beings .

What do you make of this ? What do think is being offered here?

praṇām

words

• devā - means the senses.
• mātariśvan - is considered air , wind hence vāyu and the connection then to praṇa but there is a deeper definition for those that are interested.
  We find the definition as - formed or composed of 'growing in the mother' that is, in the fire-stick. A name of agni or of a divine being closely connected with him who is vivasvat; he who brings down the hidden fire to the bhṛgus , and is identified with vāyu; From vāyu the alignment to air and praṇa is made.
  
  • FYI mātariśva is also a name of a seer, a ṛṣi
  
  
• dadhāti = dadha +ati
  
  • dadha= giving, preserving +
  • āti = expresses beyond , over , excessively

[Mana]

Namasté yajvan,

Are we being offered a gimps of that; the underlying universal oneness of all. Karma and Dharma entwined by guna. No physical effort done ahead of Karma, no thought out side of Dharma?

On rereading this beautiful upaniṣad; upon your thought provoking postings. It has occurred to me that to remove the golden disk; one might simply observe the sky at night, toward cityA above? That in 100 years one might observe Guru move from Lagna to Sukha; an auspicious evolution indeed; when one considers Guru's route.

Thank you for your consideration.

praNAma

mana

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

Are we being offered a gimps of that; the underlying universal oneness of all. Karma and Dharma entwined by guna. No physical effort done ahead of Karma, no thought out side of Dharma?

Thank you for your post... you are correct with the universal oneness idea. Yet the śloka wishes to offer the expansiveness of Being.
Because we're within the īśāvāsya upaniṣad , it is called īśa. Īśa means ruler, lord, another name of śiva or rudra; it means Supreme, powerful.

This Supreme outpaces all because it is there already - there is no place it is not. It is unmoving because if it is everywhere , where does it have to move and where would it need to run ?

Yet why does this śloka say the senses (devā-s) cannot reach it? Because it is not an ~object~ of knowledge. This is where many people fall down in wishing to understand the Supreme.
We are taught all of of our lives that we interrogate and inspect a thing ( an object) to know of it. Yet īśa is not a thing as that would make it finite, no ? It pervades every-thing but is no one-thing. It is an-anta meaning 'endless'.This is the brilliance of this śloka.

With this an-anta it also is amātra defined as boundless, without (a) measure (mātra). Because of this it is called viśva = all-pervading or all-containing , omnipresent; this is the fundamental root of viṣṇu.

But why mention vital air (mātariśvan) in the śloka ? Because it upholds every being. Praṇa no doubt is vital air that supports all beings, but praṇa (too) is energy and it supports all entities that are in the universe. One looks at a rock and says it is an inanimate object . This may be so, yet it is composed of atoms, sub-atomic particles that are ever moving. How can they move? Praṇa.

This śloka expresses a key idea of the Supreme - it is satatoditam¹ -that which has no break or pause . It is continuous Being without a break or pause anywhere. It is wholeness itself.

praṇām

words
If I look at this word I see it as sat + a-tu + dita. Which says to me, that which really is (sat) + not (a) + to have authority (tu) + bound or divided (dita). Or that Reality that cannot be bound or divided

[Mana]

Namasté yajvan,

Thank you for your inspiration.

I see the import of air to pressure (either), Sat to Guru,Shani; This creates heat.
What do the wise say of heat?

Is this prANa changing form?

How beautiful it is that; a flame can transport electricity in plasma; electricity, can transport a flame within heat.

praNAma

mana

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namaste


Let's take another look at this idea of parokṣa that is found in the ṛg ved 10.90.1; it is called puruṣa sūktaṁ.

oṁ sahasraśirsā puruśaḥ sahasrākśah sahasrapāt
sa bhūmim viśvato vrtvā atyatistaddaśāngulam

Here is svāmī kṛṣṇananda's translation
Thousand-headed is the puruṣa thousand-eyed and thousand-legged. Enveloping the earth from all sides, He transcends it by ten fingers length.

So , does one think this Comsic Being , puruṣa , has 1,000 eyes and legs ? The ṛṣi ( rishi) is informing us that puruṣa, the Cosmic Being is everywhere , there is no place He is not.

Is this suggesting that our eyes and feet are also part of this Being? This could be. The sūkta points to the fact that all beings are an extension of this Being. That of Consciousness, we are the limbs of this Great Being. This Being is the composite of everything, and the nature of That is consciousness.

There is more ...

If we look at the term bhū ( in bhūmim )'earth' in the second verse it is considered all of manifested creation. And for dasangulam or 10 fingers wide, there is an in-depth post offered on HDF that gives some ideas on this 10 : http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=13877&postcount=6


What are your thoughts of this notion of 10 fingers length ?
praṇām

words

• parokṣa- beyond the range of sight ; in an invisible or imperceptible manner; secretly , mysteriously. We can consider this word to mean subtle, beyond the initial meaning.
• The other approach is saṃketa - a hint , sign or signal or gesture . It is rooted (√ )in kṛ meaning 'to give a signal '.
• śailī - (2nd derivation) is a special or particular interpretation

[Mana]

Namasté yajvan

Such a thought provoking subject; Thank you.

Ten fingers length, brings to mind the left and right hand; five spanned fingers making a hemisphere, Ten fingers thus a full circle of two halves. left and right; Seen unseen, occluded and visible. Ida, Pingala. Rahu, Ketu.

Why the connection to four? To my mind there is a simple beauty to the relation between the seasons of a year, four quadrants devised by two equinox and two solstices for one revolution of the sun.

10 years to complete a cycle; The moon above Orion in the north, 10 years until she returns with her phase inverted. (Orion is I suspect the zenith of the moons Arc, the Azimuth.)

A sea like motion about the earth. 10 years between phase reversals, of Rahu and Ketu for the same house, as they move forwards two quadrants.

I don't yet know how many degrees are in the Jyotish circle I must look into this.

10 in this respect also makes me think of the mathematical conundrum, which is to "Square the circle".

The area of shape of infinite bounds, converted to a square of four sides with the exact same area.

Given certain axioms we could argue that:

1²=0

?

Time her self, Kali and Mahakali, with 4 and 10 arms. Signalling Change; is that Rahu's head in her hands? Maybe even Orion's! I believe Orion is called Mrigashīrsha in Sanskrit.

Also Ravana has 10 faces to help him learn the 4 vedas


It strikes me that if we have no words to speak and no distractions to mind, no language to disturb citta, these cycles and effects must be so clearly visible. The effects easily discerned felt within the bones, bones which them selves store electricity.
When we find the words, they will evolve around that which we already know.

(I am not sure but this may well give rise to the charts for High and low tides. Food for thought for another day.)

It seems to me that thought of 10 year cycles relating to 12 year cycles maybe stimulating a little introspection as to the irrational nature of fractions.

As the moon falls in line with the earth about her orbit of the sun, she takes on an electronic charge, from the earth's electro magnetic tail. Could this charge be re-dispersed amongst all that is electromagnetic on earth. Any who understand the workings of the force de La Place will know that moving an electrically charged object next to an other will create both inductance and resistance. This is how a loud speaker works to transfer a vibration or signal. Giving the Moon yet another way to reflect electromagnetic waves back at us.

Ideas, I look forwards to hearing your thoughts. I am enjoying seeing The Upanishads in a new light. I Hadn't even realised that my version of Chandogya Upanishads, is somewhat lacking. It would appear that my perspective is shifting somewhat.

praANam

mana

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

Lets look at one idea of śailī ( 2nd derivation) , a special or particular interpretation, that we find several times in the upaniṣad-s. The dhyānabindu upaniṣad informs us:
if a (human) hair is divided into 100,000 parts this nāda is 1/2 of that still further divided; and even when this is absorbed the yogin attains to brahman.

This upaniṣad is describing just how subtle , how refined the ātman is - in this case we're talking of it as turīya - the 4th. A very refined level of consciousness. We're talking of the vehicle ( sound, or nāda) that gets more and more refined and then one transcends this sound - we may know it as a mantra or other internal sound within the body, and one then is deposited into anāhata¹.

So the notion is this ātman is not the fractional (1/100,000) size of a human hair . It is a way to assist us in saying it is very very subtle. So refined it is beyond sight.

praṇām

words

anāhata is defined as unbeaten , not multiplied. It is another way of saying the 'wholeness' state of Being.