Nidhidhyasanam

Nidhidyasanam is referenced in many areas in Vedanta, the reference here is from the great Brihadaraynaka Upanishad - widely acknowledged as the great forest of knowledge. This Upanishad is acknowledged as one of the major Upanishads and hosts some of the mahavakyas such as aham Brahmasmi, asato mā and pūrṇam adah.

There are 2 ways for gaining spirituality - one is to "know the truth" and the "other is to do "upasana" - Upasana in higher sense is taken as doing meditation.

Any learning happens through steps of hearing (sravanam), comtemplating (mananam) and meditation (nidhidyasanam). The starting phase of knowing the truth is to read the scriptures, and usually as these scriptures are deep in meaning, their meaning is best to be "heard or learnt" from a good teacher.

Shastra do not demand blind belief or acceptance of what is taught. The mode of inquiry, analysis, clarifying doubts and assumptions is  highly encouraged. This is broad what is covered in the mananam phase.

Brihadaraynaka Upanishad (2.4.5) - in this verse, Yajnavalkya tells Maitreyi: “The Self should be seen, heard, reflected on and contemplated upon. By seeing, listening, reflecting, and contemplating, all is known”.

ātmā vā are dṛṣtavyaḥ śrotravyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyo maitreyi
ātmano vā are darśanena śravaṇena matyā vijñānenedaṃ sarvaṃ viditam

Sravanam means listening to the Upanishads, Mananam is reflection on the content, and Nidhidhyasanam refers to the contemplative state which is induced by the verse.

The primary teaching method is a form of indirect implication of verses such as “tat tvam asi” (you are that, Chandogya Upanishad 7.8.7), “aham brahmasmi” (I am Brahmam, Brihadaranyaka 1.4.10) as taken up for study by the teacher.

According to classical Advaita, words have literal meanings (vacyartha) as well as implied meanings (lakṣyartha). The teacher dwells on the verse to draw attention to the secondary implied meaning, which puzzle the student’s mind, thereby stimulating them to negate their individuality and awaken themselves to the actual nature of the pervasive non-dual reality.

This is in contrast to some of the contemporary yoga schools where contemplation is emphasized and textual study is either absent or secondary  (do they teach the comtemplation of  the true meaning of Om/tat tvam asi? Adi Shankarar (8 A.D) says  the truth is clouded by inchoate worldly Karma and can be revealed only by listening and then contemplating the revelations given by the ancient texts). In all Vedic Vidya principles, textual study and contemplation go together.

According to the contemporay Advaiti Swami Dyananda Saraswathi, the reading of the sacred texts during the lectures automatically induces Nidhidhyasana. 

Few golden nuggets from the Brihadaraynaka Upanishad  before closing this blog.

Ōm pūrṇam adah, pūrṇam idam, pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate;
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvasisyate.
Ōm Śāntih! Śāntih! Śāntih! 
This invocatory verse from bṛhadāraṇyaka upaniṣad emphasises about the non dual reality as follows  -

That is Full; this is full. From the Full does the Full proceed.
After the coming of the Full from the full, the Full alone remains.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

oṁ asato mā sad gamaya
tamaso mā jyotir gamaya
mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya
oṁ śānti śānti śāntiḥ – bṛhadāraṇyaka upaniṣad 1.3.28

Lead Us From the Unreal To the Real,
Lead Us From Darkness To Light,
Lead Us From Death To Immortality,
Let There Be Peace Peace Peace!

 Man and women live in a peculiar situation, the intellect that can exercise the power of discrimination between the true self (and the external - such as attachment to body or wordly affairs) is under the influence of the very external world and gets constantly affected and drawn towards it.

quote the KatoUpanishad here --

Many (humans) are not fortunate to hear about the Truth (Self)
Others who have heard about it, may still not undersatnd it
He/she who speaks about it is gifted
More fortunate are those who contemplate about it
The most blessed is he who is able to Understand it when taught by a good teacher who knows that Brahmam

Having the understanding of truth will help conquer Raga (attachment), Dwesha (several meanings anger, hatred)  and Moha (desire) - thus promoting Internal Peace.

There was a cave which existed for millions of years - The interior of the cave had never ever witnessed a single streak of light.

On this occasion of Diwali, a lamp was lit in the cave. Just like the lamp dispelled darkness of the cave not slowly, but rather instantaneosly - let Sravanam, Mananam and Nishidyasanam  bring happiness and peace to One and All.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all. 

Shravanam, Mananam, Nidhidyasanam

Everything looked dwarfed by the mighty Himalayas, The scale of the height was magnanimous, frightening and slightly beyond comprehension. Horses looked like ants and people were almost invisible. The sight of people walking on the frozen Sindhu river was extraordinary. The mighty river even though is more than 300 feet wide, appeared as a white, thin, long and winding shoe-lace.

We had perhaps visited one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Yet  there was a small concern - what should have been capitalised and grown as a major tourism hub appeared sparsely populated during our visit. Some of the stunning places such as the dal lake wore a deserted look. As a matter of fact, we did not spot another boat on the huge 22 sq kms lake. A few shopkeepers and Shikara rowers looked at us curiously and one man complimented us on our courage. A person had a concerned look when he asked if we were journalists, people who had come without a choice i.e. for livelihood purposes.

The glory of the country, the untapped potenial, it's great culture on one hand - and on the other hand the cynicism - 'nothing will change', pot-holes, poverty, corruption and bureaucracy. This is a dichotomy that begs a serious concern. Whilst the world is capitalising on yoga, curry and the brain-power of us, at home we are embrolied in shameless selfish  hoarding scams and being least bothered to look beyond the I.

Had the government departments and the society at large done their jobs right, we would be in a better position in inviting external investment at this juncture.

However pointing issues is one thing , and participating in the resolution is another - The latter is more fruitful and hence it's better to try to fix and contribute at our own levels - without minding how small the fix/contribution will be.

Unnuvatho oru pudi, Uduputho Naangu Mozaham, Ennuvatho 80 Kodi

This means - you cannot eat more than a fist of food, you cannot wear more than 4 feet of clothes, but you aspire for 80 crores?

How Much Land Does a Man Need? is one of the best short stories by Leo Tolstoy. This is about a peasant called Pakhom who could own as much land as he could walk between sunrise and sunset. The condition was that he had to reach the starting point by sunset. The peasant got greedy and covered a large distance of land, however he had walked off too far away from the starting point. He then ran so fast to return to the strating point, that he fell dead exhausted! Tolstoy says - Greed leads to suffering. Pakhom was then buried in a 6 feet grave. Thus Tolstoy answered the question in the title in an ironic manner. 

Let's now check about the title of this blog, Shravanam, Mananam and Nidhidhasanam  which is an extract from the 6th chapter of Chandhogya Upanishad.

Shravanam means to listen/analyse and understand the simple truth - the Truth of detachment- the Truth of being simple and modest, the Truth of not hoarding beyond what is required, the Truth of being useful to the society and humankind. It is further explained that it is best to get to know about this simple (but absolute) truth through a Guru.

There is a small story in the Upanishad to illustrate this point. There was a rich man who lived in Kandhahar (now Afghanistan). Robbers attacked him, robbed him of this possessions, bound his hands, blindfolded him and took him to a faraway 'dense forest' and deserted him. The person shouted for help in all directions. One person who heard the shoutings - resuced him - he untied his hands and removed his blindfold. He then guided him him back to his homeland. The person reached his homeland after asking for the right direction in several villages on his way. This is the literary meaning (Vaatchiyartham). The inner meaning (Latchiyartham) is as follows. The pure Satvam is free flowing, happy and pure. It is bound by one's actions of paap-punya (good-bad deeds) and accordingly gets thrown into a dense forest whcih is analogous to the body. Once in the body, the Sat shouts for help - this represents the fact that we are not happy  inspite having riches and prosperity. There is always a seeking of inner peace. A Guru - (note who is himself not blindfoled and tied) provides the required guidance and leads the person to the understanding of the Truth. The understanding of he Truth will provide the required inner peace.

Mananam is the re-iteration and the following of the Jnana (the understanding) in real life. This understanding is vulnerable and if a person does not re-iterate the undersatnding time and again, there is a chance that he will go back to his dark days. It is said that the enchanting Maaya (refer the previous blog) that engulfs the world has the power to affect/nullify the understanding and hence push the person back to the dark olden days of selfishness, greed etc.

I will write about Nidhisyasanaam in my next blog. This is related to several subjects such as Meditation and hence deserves a separate blog.

The Earth has enough for everybody's need - but not for everybody's greed  said the Mahatma.

Cheers

Maaya

This poem in Sanskrit has a beautiful expression that stands out in Vivekachudamani, the crown jewel of Adi shankara's work on Vedanta. The meaning of this poem is said to be one of the best efforts to describe Maaya, the indescribable. 

Saanapya Sannapya Ubhayatmi Kano

Binnapya Binnapya Ubayatmi Kano

Sangapya Sangapya Ubayatmi Kano

Maha Adbhuta Anirvachar niya Rupa

Maaya is delusion, it is the wonderful world around that gets us engrossed in Arishadvarga — the six passions of mind or enemies of desire, kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (delusion), mada (pride) and matsarya (jealousy), the negative characteristics which prevent human from realizing the Atman (Reality).

Maaya literally means (maa=not, ya=that, “Ya ma samaaya” – that which is not there, that is Maaya.

Maaya is described as most beautiful, indescribable (anirvacharniya), wonderful (maha adbutha) entity.

A funny story to explain the complicated subject - there was a wealthy king who was a terrible miser. Once when walking with his courtiers, he accidently slipped and fell into water. He started drowning and the people around him tried to save him. "Give me your hand", the courtiers shouted. He refused. His clever minister said "Take my hand". He immediately took the minister's hand and was saved. The minister then explained to the courtiers "don't you know our king does not like to give, he only takes? "

The story continues ... and ends with the saying that the moral is " An ignorant man hoards beyond his needs, a good man understands his true needs and shares the rest even when living".

The ignorant King in the above story was affected Maaya. Other people such as Gandhiji and mother Theresa understood the truth beyond the obvious and they offered their lives to the upliftment of others.

Others such as Bill Gates and Narayanmurthy who called it a day and set out to do something more meaningful, probably have also self-reaslised.

Unfortunate that we do not have time or willingness to self-reflect.

Maaya is the grand illusion that can be explained based one of the Mahavaakyas in Upanishads   -  Brahma satyam jagan mithya.

Will explain about this in my next blog,

The key message from the upanishads and Advaita is that of Brahman. Brahman is the word given to express "Oneness" - which is the universal and eternal. It is often mis-quoted as the name of an entity or God or some such thing, but Brahmam is a word that is used to define "oneness" of masnifestations, nothing beyond that.

So If Brahman is One only, without a second, how do we experience the manifold world? The answer from the literature reference is Maaya that "covers" the One and "projects" the Many. These are spoken of as the veiling power (avarnasakti) and the projecting power (vikshepasakti) of Maaya. The ignorant  (ignorance here which is used in a different context, the most intelligent and most learned is ignorant if not self-realised) gets affected and live entwined with it.

 This blog is dedicated to a friend who asked What was Maaya. He was going through "how did I believe this for so many years" syndrome. The short answer was that he was affected by Maaya like the rest of us.

 

Cupboard Fear

Thiruvalluvar glorifies rain as follows:

Kural 12

Thuppaarkkuth Thuppaaya Thuppaakkith Thuppaarkkuth
Thuppaaya Thooum Mazhai

(even a non Tamil speaker can distinguish the rhythm above. All couplets in the Thirukural are only 7 words long,  however each couplet is packed with depth of wisdom).

The meaning is as follows: Rain produces the food and the like for the world, it also serves as food (in the form of water), hence it benefits the world.

In the next couplet, Thiruvallur asks a question

Vinindru Poippin Virineer Viyanulakaththu
Ulnindru Utatrum Pasi?

What is the use of the four oceans circling the land? If the rain ceases to fall, the disease of hunger will stalk the world and torment all the living beings.

It had rained and the weather was perfect for a long walk with a friend and her son.  As the cool breeze was blowing, we treaded on an interesting topic about the friend’s 12 year old’s “cupboard fear”. When my friend wishes her son Goodnight before going to bed, her son would always request “to check if the cupboards were closed”. Though this appeared very innocuous, and we laughed off the cupboard fear, I wished to understand further. What was revealed was rather serious and is the topic of today’s blog with a special appeal to all parents out there.

After a few questions, the friend’s son said matter of factly , “This is because of Maggie, she would lock me in a closed cupboard and I’m still scared of cupboards”.
The reply was surprising, and I almost froze in my steps.

Who was Maggie? My friend recollected that she was the nanny of the day-school where her son spent his afternoons after coming back from school. Maggie picked the child from the school bus and according to my friend, was a good woman, kind and smiling.

 This made me solemn- several questions popping my mind at the same time, How long did he go to the playschool? For a year of so – between 4 and 5 years of age.  Why did she lock the child in the closet? Which cupboard? How many times? Why? And Why First of all is the child remembering about this even after 7 years? And second of all, Will he ever forget the incident? For how many years will this fear stay? Why didn’t the child tell the parents about his? Were there ways for the parent to find out about the ‘kind smiling woman’s action?

What started as a joking conversation had opened a huge can of questions.

Kural 61 states

Perumavatrul Yaamarivadhu Illai Arivarindha
Makkatperu Alla Pira

The greatest blessing of blessings to a person, in this world, is the blessing of a good progeny.

Valluvar  in Kural 67 

Thandhai Makarkaatrum Nandri Avaiyaththu
Mundhi Iruppach Cheyal

This means - The greatest responsibility of a parent is to ensure that the child is brought up in an environment that will make him a great scholar; a person who will be revered by wise men.

Vulnerability of children is oft debated topic – it refers to a child's capacity for self-protection. The human baby as compared to all other comparable species (such as the orangutan), is the most under developed at birth. It is estimated that it would take full 21 months for a human child to have the same neurological and cognitive development of a newborn chimpanzee. The newborns of four- legged animals such as cows and rabbits can move around within a few hours after birth, similar effort for a human baby can be achieved only after 10 to 12 months.

A Stanford univ report states that a newborn child sees the world in gray, black and white, and also can’t see anything that is more than 6 inches away. It seems babies see images upside down and only over time their brains turn the image right up. Documented evidence says children can’t estimate distance of objects from the eye properly. Of particular importance is its applicability such as when a child tries to cross the road –  a child (of even 5 or 6 years)  will perceive vehicles as being  is farther away than reality, because the eye sight is still developing.

The appeal hence is to be vigilant about children, they are equally vulnerable on the mental plane. Within this dynamic, children can be subject to intimidation, fear and emotional manipulation. Working parents find it inevitable to trust children’s safety with other people. Some factors that you may want to consider are age, physical and mental defenselessness of children when considering the environment.

As I and my friend try to track down Maggie at the day care centre (which is now closed) in vain, we hope no other child is subjected to dis-care by another Maggie in any part of the world. And that no other child will develop “cupboard fear”.

There are more insights on this topic, the intention here is to trigger a thought for the safety of children. Ending with a sweet Kural (66) dedicated to parenthood.

Kuzhal Inidhu Yaazhinidhu Enpadham Makkal
Mazhalaichchol Kelaa Thavar

"The pipe is sweet, the lute is sweet," say those who have not heard the music of their infant’s lisping lips.

Adieu

Plant Zeal

All for a Banana!

Recently a cousin visited us. The family had settled in the west for a number of years and the kids knew the language of the adopted land much better than the mother tongue. Having a strict diet plan for kids she wanted to buy bananas. We went to the nearest super market. I was a bit surprised when she picked just one banana (don't we buy in bunches). Probably this is as per the diet plan! However the gesture at the counter made me remember another incident that happened when we travelled recently. BTW the lady at the counter just slipped the banana with the rest of the stuff and said it was ok, no need to pay for one banana.

When we were travelling recently, we took a walking tour in an exotic famous city. Just like in any walking tour you walk for around 8 to 10 kms and then you are tired and hungry. We were tired and were happy to spot a small fruit shop (like a kiosk) on the roadside. We picked a bunch of bananas and the person weighed it using a pair of hand scales. The precision with which he measured was amazing. He slid the 100 grams weight, and then replaced it with 50 grams, then with 20 and then 10 grams. A banana measured to a precision of 10 grams - it was the first time I ever noticed anything like that.

Back home, bananas are considered pretty common fruit - very inexpensive, often the altruistic and animal loving buy this fruit to feed it to the stray cows.

A banana is a banana but strikes various connotations in different parts of the world.

Plants are truly inspiring - It is said that they feel and live life like any of us. Dr Jagdish chandra Bose, one of pioneering Indian scientists proved through his experiments that plants have Nervous system. Ironically, he did not get recognition  and this fact is much more acknowledged by todays scientists . He invented an instrument called the crescograph that recorded the reaction of plants to stimuli such as plucking a leaf. The pulsation of the plant stopped when the leaf was plucked.

An article about a farmer in Australia is about using taped sound of crickets to stimulate growth in crops. The theory behind this being - crickets usually chirp right before a rain, the chirping sound tricked the plants to open their stomata’s (the breathing pores) on the underside of the leaves and enabled them to absorb more mist that helped them grow. Can plants actually hear sound?  Thank God, nobody knows and we can conjecture and debate upon this as we wish.

Another Plant physiology journal had an interesting observation. "Plants not only seem to feel, they can even communicate to their fellow plants”. This research was done in Africa. When animals chew the leaves of Acacia tree, firstly the tree pumps a chemical to make the leaf taste bad. It then sends out a gas through its leaves. As the gas drifts to other Acacia trees, the other trees start their defence mechanism of pumping the chemicals in their leaves. These trees communicate with each other, signaling danger and marshaling defenses against perceived threats.

 This research prompted the Swiss government to pass the first-ever Plant Bill of Rights. This bill states that plants have moral and legal protections, and citizens have to treat them appropriately. Hence in Switzerland, be wary; unnecessary and careless acts such as decapitating flowers is considered an offence. In short, this law re-iterates that all living things should be treated with respect.

Plants have tremendous zeal , their perseverance to survive against odds is truly inspiring . A seed tries its best to sprout and a sprout tries its best to grow. They bend towards light and bend away from things that are harmful (like this one in the pic below).

 

 

This plant at home has been steadily moving away from the TV during the past 2 years. It was a pretty straight plant when it first arrived 2 years ago and it's reaction,  provides more evidence than the reports that CRTs/ LEDs may (or may not) have gamma or any other electromagnetic rays that will harm cellular life. 

The following 2 kurals emphasize the need to have Zeal in life, something that we can learn from plants if we watch them carefully.

Ullam Utaimai Utaimai Porulutaimai (Kural 592)
Nillaadhu Neengi Vitum

There is no lasting wealth like Zeal. All riches can fade away, Zeal is the true wealth that without it, he is really poor, despite all his other possessions.

Vellath Thanaiya Malarneettam Maandhardham (Kural 595)
Ullath Thanaiyadhu Uyarvu

The stalks of water-lilies are proportionate to the depth of water; the life of a person will flourish in proportion to the Zeal of his mind.

 

Plant Thuje Salam

 

 

Happy New Year

Let the New Year be filled with positivity and cheer.
Let the Spark in ourselves be nurtured so that it glows brightly ever.

"This wish is more applicable to the elderly folks - for the people who have more salt and pepper in their hair, isn't it?" quizzed the 16 year old at home.

Hmm .. this got me thinking -  he is right isn't he?  - perhaps there was a reflection of my thoughts in the wish - so much true for the salt in my hair!

Positivity, Cheer and Sparks occur naturally for youngsters. Kids are born with sparks - they are naturally born with enthusiasm and cheer, they get excited by Super Mario, Spongebob, Harry Potter, barbie dolls....

Why does this change as we go through the toils of life? In short why do the sparks fade as we age?

According to Vedanta, there should indeed be no difference with age - as the inner spirit of a child and that of an old person are absolute, which is Suddha, Chaitanya, Paripoorna Atma. The innate nature of the Atma (inner most self) is to be happy, positive and cheerful.
The reason for the change is because we get too entangled and embroiled with the happenings around us and get carried away by the worldly existence.
To get the knowledge (Jnana) and to remain detached (as much as possible) is the recommendation in a nutshell.

Lets step back from sprituality, as they say getting the Jnana needs the right kind of effort, training, reading of scriptues and a good Guru. So this may take some more effort to explain and to understand :-)

 Lets relate this to real life existence - to our daily lives, work, home -  small and big things such as the morning circus to send kids to school, the metro, politics, neighbours, friends, media et al.

Which are the things that would nuture the "Cheer" and what possibly are the dampeners?

With some thought, I have highlighted the following in brief - however there can be many more.

The spark would be nutured if we have a holistic purpose or goal in life. What is meant by 'purpose in life' is something bigger than "building a house" or "getting a promotion". Though there is no intention of undermining financial achievements -  the Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be used as a reference - we should set up a goal that would give us a sense of personal fulfillment. The purpose should be holistic touching beyond 'I',  in my humble opinion.

Taking joy out of simple and small things in life,  caring for family, friends and society, having a balanced and moderate approach to things will keep the spark glowing.

What are the dampeners -
being overly sensitive to failures, disappointments and losses, being serious, critical, getting frustrated are possible causes that would blow the spark out. Sometimes we see unfairness around us and this put us off. Sometimes luck parts way when we need it most and this will dampens our spirit.

We do not control the circumstances or govern the luck, but we can control the "Reaction". Hence the solution is again similar to the solution proposed by the ancient Vedic philosophers - not to be overly sensitive to the happenings, to recover and move on towards the purpose in life. Not to have fear and to recoup quickly from the dampener.

To conclude, lets take a look at Kural 355

Epporul ethanmaith thaayinum

apporul Meypporul kaanpathu arivu.

 

Whatever be the apparent diversity of a circumstance; the wise will analyse and pursue the basic truth of the matter. One should understand the real import of things, and not to be misled by the circumstances in which they appear.

 

The extension to this would be to analyse, pursue, understand, take the learnings and to move forward in life with the Positivity, Cheer and Spark of a child.

 

Cheers and Wishing a Great Year.