today's
aadhyaatmaa
lesson
---------------om brhmahye
namah......................
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naarad muni
in skand puraan asks saarsvat-muni
this question: (sKND puraan slok
1.2.34-39):
"Some praise satya (Truth).
Others praise tapasya (penance) and
sauch
(cleanliness).
Some praise sankhya darshan
(philosophy). Others speak of yog shaastra
(system).
Some praise kshmaa
(forgiveness) and tittiksh (forbearance) as well as
excessive straight-forwardness.
Some praise maun-vrat
(vow of silence). Some say that learning is the greatest thing.
Some praise purna GNaan
(complete knowledge). Some praise param asaktah
(supreme detachment).
Some know the dharmik vidhio of
agnistom as the greatest thing.
Some praise the GNaan (knowledge)
of aatmaa (soul), with which one views a lump of earth
or a stone or a lump of gold alike.
When this is the state of GNaan
in the world, people are deluded and confused in the matter of what
should be done and what should not be done.
People begin to argue as to which is
the best GNaan among the above and which is the GNaan
which contributes the most towards our welfare?
You who are conversant with dharma,
it is your dharma to say which of the above GNaan
is the greatest to be pursued by the noble aatmaa.
Which GNaan achieves all
purushartha (purpose, goals and objectives) of life?"
saarsvat-muni
replied: (sKND
puraan slok 1.2.40-41):
I shall speak about the essence that sarasvati-devi
told me. Listen to it.
"The entire vishva (universe)
is of the nature of a shadow. Origin and destruction are its guno
(characteristics features). vishva is transitory like
the bending and breaking of the eyebrows of a veshyaa
(courtesan).
dhan
(wealth), jivan (life), yovan (youth) and
kaam (worldly pleasures) are unsteady like reflection of
the moon in water.
After performing dhyaan1
on this fact intelligently, one should resort to sthaaNu2
and daan (giving of charitable gifts as prescribed
by ved and shaastra which will be
explained later in the study)."
EXPLANATION OF 1: dhyaan
dhyaan is the 7th ang of the 8-ang
yog practice (please refer to TODAY'S PRAYER and VED PAGE for
learning about yog practice in daily life).
dhyaan is defined as a process of
meditation, reflection, thought, contemplation, through which divine
intuition or discernment is received.
Through the process of dhyaan one can form a
mental representation of the personal attributes of a dev or devi
or brhmah or any creation.
Explanation of 2: sthaaNu
sthaaNu is an epithet of shiv-dev who
is a manifestation of the tamas-gun-shakti of creator brhmah.
With this genesis of sthaanu, shiv-dev is
also given the attributes of brhmah-self which are firm,
fixed, steady, stable, immoveable and motionless. Figuratively, the
meaning is take refuge in creator brhmah to avoid the transitory and ephemeral
nature of this creation and all that is experience in creation. Only
creator brhmah
is eternal. All brhmah's creation have origin in
brhmah and hence cyclically perishes at the end of one's cylce
of each life journey by being re-absorbed in brhmah for rebirth
to partake the karma-pahl (fruits of karma)
of each and every karma performed in sansaar
(worldly life).
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND
puraan slok 1.2.42):
SHruti1
says that a person inclined towards the rite of daan
is not liable to commit paap (sins). Similarly, the SHruti1
avers that a devotee of sthaanu does not undergo births and
deaths.
Explanation of 1: Please look up SANSKRIT GLOSSARY
under SHruti
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.43-45): Listen
to the gaathaa (a dharmik verse or song not contained in shruti
in ved but comes from smruti) proclaimed
and sung by saavarNi-muni once
upon a time:
"sthaanu
manifested as brhmah in the
naam (name) and ruup
(form) of shiv-dev is swami
or ishvar (lord) whose vehicle is the bull.
This shiv-dev
is truly tattvaM dharma
(essence of dharma).
This mahaa-dev
(= sthaanu or shiv-dev) is
honoured and adorned. He is called param (most
excellent) dharma.
Only swaami
Hara (= shiv-dev) redeems one from sansaar-saagar
(the ocean of worldly existence).
sansaar-saagar:
is where one gets immersed in its
waters,
is where dukh
(misery) is the whirlpool,
is where tamas-gun
(attributes which are non-sattvik or adharmik like
anger, greed, laziness) is intense,
is where dharma
and adharma
constitute the water,
is where
krodh (anger) is the marsh and mud,
is where ahankaar
(arrogance) and mada
(intoxication due to raag
or attachment) is the crocodile,
is where lobh
(greed) is the cause of all pain and difficulty,
is the bubble, and
is of which abhimaan
(false pride) and gourav
(prestige) is the majestic depth extending as far as paataal
(7 netherworlds where asuraao
have residence and where narak (hell)
exists) .
But sansaar-saagar
is provided and graced with the vehicle of the sattva-guN."
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.46-47):
"Though one's sharir
(body) is asaar (useless,
worthless, unsubstantial, without strength, without value, weak,
feeble, infirm, fragile), one must extract the following tattva
(vital essence of the body) from one's sharir:
daan
= giving of charitable gifts to deserving living beings;
vrut
= good and virtuous conduct in conformance with established rule,
usage, traditions, laws and duty with firmness and to achieve
fame;
vratt
= observances in daily life prescribed by
ved and shaastra
to acknowledge and worship brhmah and all 33 karor
(330 million) devo who
empower all that one can do in life, sustain life and provide
prosperity and continuity of lineages;
vaach
= language, speech, power of oratory;
kiirti =
fame, renown, glory, light, lustre, splendour, growth with
expansion;
dharma =
living daily life as with the laws, rules and regulations as
prescribed by ved and shaastra to conform to one's varna and one's
aashram and with a basic tenet to co-exist with fellow creations
in harmony and with a lifestyle which will never to injure any
fellow creations by thought, words and deeds;
aayus =
life, duration of life, vital power; and
parop.karan
(perfroming sevaa to
fellow creations for their welfare and well-being; benevolence;
philanthropy).
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.48):
"If one gets all of the following,
one has attained the benefit of one's birth:
Attachment to dharma,
chintaa
for kiirti (fame, renown, glory, light, lustre, splendour, growth with
expansion), (chintaa = reflection, consideration,
thinking. chintaa is one of the 33 subordinate bhaav
(feelings) in a living being).
good indulgence in
daan
(charitable gifts to deserving persons),
absence of kaamanaa
(interest and attachment in the sensual objects)."
TODAY'S POSTING
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.49):
"In this bhaarat-varsh1,
after taking the birth as a mankind, which is not sthir
or niSHchal (stable)
and nitya or
akshay (permanent), if one does not pursue activities
conducive to the kalyaan (welfare
and well-being) of aatmaa,
then that aatmaa is
certainly deceived by the person."
EXPLANATION OF 1: bhaarat-varsh:
bhaarat-varsh
is one of the seven continents described in ved forming part of pruthvi-lok
or bhuu-lok which is the domain in this
brhmaand (egg of brhmah which is a universe)
where mortal living beings can take birth and are supported by
pruthvi with all that is required for the sustenance and
continuity of life.
The taking of a birth by an aatmaa
as an embodied being in bhaarat-varsh is said to be very rare and
auspicious as this is the only birthplace in the entire universe
from which moksh can be attained by an aatmaa.
moksh cannot be attained in any other seven lok
(worlds - bhuu-lok,
bhuva-lok, svar-lok, mahar-lok, jan-lok, tapas-lok and brahmaa
or satya-lok, look up lok in SANSKRIT
GLOSSARY) or in any of the seven paataal-lok
( nether worlds) where asuraao lives and where
narak (hell) exists as one the domains of existence.
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.50):
"Birth as a manushya
(mankind) is difficult to be obtained by devo
and asuraao. After
obtaining the birth of a manushya,
one should perform those karma which
would prevent one from falling into narak
(hell). Human birth is the
foundation of all that happens in this creation. It is conducive to
the achievement of all purushaarth
(goals and objectives of life) of artha,
kaam, dharma and moksh."
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.51-52):
"Even if you do not perform
karma to gain anything, at least save the capital of
your punya by all means. The
ship of your body (to travel during this life time) has been bought by
you at a great cot of punya
(merit) in order to cross the dukh-saagar
(ocean of pain and sorrow of journey through this sansaar).
Cross this sansaar before
the ship of the body breaks (meaning before death in this life
time)."
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.53):
" A person could get a body having
no vikaar and dosh
(diseases and dysfunctions) from the fruits of previous punya
karma. But getting such a body is very difficult. But
even after getting such a perfect body when one does not get away from
sansaar (world), one
becomes the slayer of one's aatmaa.
Such a person thus regarded as niich,
annarth and dusht (a person who is
moral-less, adharmik and cruel)."
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.54):
" tapasvio
and yogio
(ascetics including rushio and munio)
perfrom tapasya1; sacrificing
priests perform havan (= yagna1)
and daan
is given - all these are eagerly
pursued for the sake of obtaining par-lok1
(other world then the mortal domain of bhu-lok
such as svarga-lok, svar-lok, etc)."
kaatyaayam asked:
"Of these two, namely
daan
and tapasya, which is more
difficult? Which yields greater benefit after death?
1: Please look up these sanskrit words in SANSKRIT
GLOSSARY on this web site to fully understand the meaning of the slok.)
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.55):
"There is nothing more difficult
to perform in pruthvi-lok
(domain that support mortal living beings) than
daan.
This is perceived directly with the vishva
(universe) as the witness."
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND puraan slok 1.2.56-59):
"Abandoning their own dear life
for the sake of wealth, mankind enter the oceans, forests and
mountains out of lobh (greed).
They face the great dangers therein. (This is how humankind sustains
itself form the 4th quarter of krut or satya yug with lobh
increasing from then to kali-yug when lobh
predominates and replaces dharma.
In krut-yug all that humankind needs is attained by
mentally desiring and all that is desired is used for performing
bhakti to creator brhmah and for karma
that leads to happiness only.)
Others or some of them adopt sevaa
(here means servitude or dependence) which is known as SHva-vrutti
(a dog's style of life).
Others pursue agricultural activities involving great strain and much
violence.
It is very difficult to give up the
wealth
that has been acquired with
great pain and strain,
the wealth which is more
important and beloved that the praan (five vital breaths) and
the wealth which has been obtained
by means of hundreds of strenuous exertions.
Whatever a rich person gives by
daan
or whatever he consumes is the real asset of the rich person.
When the rich person dies, other
persons amuse and enjoy themselves with the womenfolk and the riches
left behind by this rich person. (This means what has been left behind
rather than giving out in daan
is a waste and becomes ultimately a non-asset of the person though he
worked so hard to get the wealth. Only daan
stays with the dead person as an asset.)"
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND puraan slok 1.2.61):
"That wealth which is being given
as daan is not
wasted.
Wealth given as
daan
increases more and more.
This process is similar to that of a
well from which when water is pumped out, the well becomes pure and
also shows that the well has abundance of water from the water in the
ground stream which continuously replenishes the water in the
well."
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND puraan slok 1.2.62-64):
"One gives up thousands of births
for the sake of sukh
(pleasure, joy and happiness) in one birth.
A gnaani (person with gnaan
or knowledge of brhmah) collects and stores all the sukh
of a thousand births in a single birth.
A foolish man does not give wealth as
daan
because he is afraid of poverty in this world.
An gnaani gives away wealth because he
is afraid of the poverty in the other world.
What will those persons resorting to
their bodies that are fragile and brittle do with their wealth? The
body for the sake of which one desires wealth is not permanent."
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND puraan slok
1.2.65-67):
"In previous times, those who did
not wish to give their wealth as daan repeated continually two
syllables "naa-sti" meaning
"it is non-existent or there is no wealth"'. That false
saying had become the enemy of such people in subsequent life when
they have to say the two syllables "de-hi"
meaning "protect for I need protection from the suffering of
poverty". All the people who
use the two syllable "de-hi"
enlighten a miser thus:
"Give.
I am asking because I did not give in previous times. May you also
not become like me if you give."
It is for helping the donor himself
that the sharan-aarthin
(one seeking refuge or protection, in this case from poverty) says
"Give me". If the
donor gives then he goes to svarga
(heaven) and the receiver of donation stays on pruthvi
(earth like domains where living beings can exists and can get
sustenance)."
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND puraan slok
1.2.68):
"The following persons are born as
described below, because they did not give anything in
daan
in their previous times and lives:
The above people are always victims of dukh."
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (slok
1.2.69-70):
"These two types of persons should
be thrown into water after tying a big rock around their neck:
a rich man who does not give
daan,
a poor man who has not become a tapasvi
meaning who has not developed self-control and self-regulation of
one's indriyo and manas
and start performing bhakti to
the creator brhmah to
be enlightened about the reasons of one's state of
poverty.
(Being thrown in water is a
figurative way of saying in ved that as these two
kinds of people should take re-birth in the same life with
enlightenment of gnaan as
they are not living their life as per dharma
and shaastra. This
lifestyle in turn will incur paap and be futile to achieve the purushaarth
(objectives) of life which are attainment of arth,
kaam, dharma and moksh.)
One in hundred is born as a heroic
warrior;
one in a thousand is a born as a scholar;
one in a hundred thousand is born as an orator; but
a person who will be a daani (donor)
may or may not be born."
saarsvat-muni
continues to reply: (sKND puraan slok
1.2.71):
"pruthvi-lok
is sustained by these seven creations:
cows,
braahmano,
ved,
women who observe pati-vrat (meaning
who are devoted to only one husband),
persons who live by dharma
of satya ( meaning,
always making a statement of actual truth after
discriminating between dharma and
adharma and also giving
a correct statement without causing pain to others of what has
been seen, heard, inferred and experienced by oneself.
persons who are not lobhi
(greedy) and
persons who continually give
daan.
brahmaa-dev confirmed
the above as satya (truth) from saarsvat-muni
and adds : (sKND puraan slok
1.2.83):
"daan
is protects yagna (in the sense without giving daan after completion
of yagna makes the purpose of yagna void). In
this world, all living beings obtain livelihood from
daani
(donors).
Living beings broke down enemies through daan.
Through daan, enemies becomes friends. Everything
is founded on and is sustained in daan.
(The sustenance provided by brhmah's shakti satya-gun in the naam
(name) and ruup (form) of vishnu-dev and laxmi-devi depends on the
foundation and operation of dharma which has four paad (supporting
columns): dayaa
(compassion), daan, satya
and tapasya. Hence
living beings speak of daan
as the greatest karma in
the practice of living by dharma.
"
(Please
look up all sanskrit words in SANSKRIT GLOSSARY on this web site
for understanding in-depth the meaning of this slok) brahmaa-dev continues
to add to the explanation from saarsvat-muni
about
daan: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.84):
"
In the daarun saagar of
sansaar meaning agonizing, pitiless, harsh, frightful,
cruel, violent ocean of worldly existence comprising of eternal cycle
of birth-death, which is full of waves creating
mal (paapi karma)
due to waves of dharma and
adharma one should resort
to daan.
daan is like a ship (to
cross sansaar as noted
above with an aim to achieving moksh)."
bRHmaa-dev continues
to add to the explanation from saarSvat-muni
about
Daan: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.85-87): This knowledge from bRHmaa-dev is
about how the creation was populated with
bRaaHmANo who would are ordained to practice the
dharma of giving and receiving Daan for the
continuing sustenance and welfare in sNsaar of the
created as explained in the preceding slok:
"At the beginning of creation), it
is after thinking thus that bRaaHmANo were settled by me
at puSHker (one of the highly regarded tiiRthN)
Then in kRt-yug, bRaaHmANo
were established by SHRii and hri (lKSHmi
and vishANu) between
gNgaa and ymunaa in the Doab (land
between these two rivers).
Most excellent ones among the knowers
of ved, that is bRaaHmANo were established
by SHRii-gaurii (paaARvtii-Devi);
naagaro ( a sect of bRaaHmANo) were
established by rudRR (shiv-Dev) and
shkti-puurbhvo ( a sect of bRaaHmANo) were
established by paaARvtii-Devi.
Similarly, bRaaHmANo were
established at SHRiimaal by
lKSHmi-Devi.
Thus, these and other agRHaaro
(daan of land given to bRaaHmANo for
sustenance and practicing their dharma) were provided by
excellent suro (Devo and Devio) with a
desire for uplifting sRv-lok (all worlds)."
bRHmaa-dev continues
to add to the explanation from saarSvat-muni
about
Daan: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.88): This knowledge from bRHmaa-dev is
expressing the welfare of Daan to living
beings in pRuthvi-lok only:.
"We (beings residing in
svARg-lok, mHr-lok, jn-lok, tps-lok and sty-lok)
do not have any kaamnaa (desire) for the benefit of the
puNy viDHi (holy rite) of
Daan.
Daan is for the sake of
protecting DHaarmik people that that is why
Daan is glorified by us (Devo and
Devio)."
bRHmaa-dev continues
to add to the explanation from saarSvat-muni
about
Daan: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.89): This knowledge from bRHmaa-dev is
expressing the welfare of Daan to living
beings in pRuthvi-lok only:.
"bRaaHmANo who have been
endowed with grants (through Daan)
of adequate houses, uplift the other three vARAN
by means of teachings of various kinds in the matter of dharma.
Therefore bRaaHmANo are
extremely worthy of puujaa and nmskaar."
bRHmaa-dev continues
to add to the explanation from saarSvat-muni
about
Daan: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.90-91: This knowledge from bRHmaa-dev is
expressing the welfare of Daan to living
beings in pRuthvi-lok only:.
"Daan
is of four types:
Daan
= giving up ownership over one's possession or wealth and giving the
ownership to another person with a condition that the donor will not
use what has been given up as Daan.
utsARg
= Daan given through
constructing with one's wealth and resources for the use of all other
creations of water tanks, wells, lakes, planting of trees, educational
institutions, temples, monasteries, water booths, houses, farms.
klpit
= Daan given from a thought
or idea that occurred to one through SRuti (intuition)
or smRUti (remembrance through memory activation of the
past).
sNSRut
= giving as Daan that
which has been promised to after hearing about it.
Each one of the above four types of
Daan is of different nature
and they have been guno (characteristics and attributes)
have been described with praise in the above order."
TODAY'S POSTING
bRHmaa-dev continues
to add to the explanation from saarSvt-muni
about
Daan: (sKND
puraan slok
1.2.92-96: This knowledge from bRHmaa-dev is
expressing the welfare of Daan to living
beings in pRuthvi-lok only and should be read with the
preceding slok for in-depth understanding:
"If any person were to perform any
puANy kARm while performing the above four types of
Daan full puANy
is obtained by the person. Whereas only one-sixth of
puANy accruing therefrom is obtained by bRaaHmAN
who has given the same Daan.
Among all these, settling bRaaHmANo with
Daan of houses and land is
the greatest Daan.
Providing temples for Devtaao
also is a kARm of DHARm, because it has
DHARm as its root. The share of the pitruo
(ancestors) of the donor in puANy remains as long as the
temple constructed as Daan lasts.
The share of the pitruo (ancestors) of
the donor in puANy remains as long as the house of the
bRaaHmAN given as Daan remains firm and usable.
When old ruins are restored and renewed the benefit is
stated to be double the same as of utsARg Daan
given which are Daan
given through constructing with one's wealth and resources for the use
of all other creations of water tanks, wells, lakes, planting of
trees, educational institutions, temples, monasteries, water booths,
houses, farms .
This is a small form of trade yielding
much benefit. (This means daan
given multiplies many times to return as puANy for the
daani (donor) as is explained in
sKND puraan 2.1.18.4: "The
benefit of puANy to mankind is increased by kror (1
kror = 10 million) moment after moment").
Hence, I (bRHmaa-dev) too
say this: "There is nothing equal to
Daan.
What saarSvt-muni said was true."
TODAY'S POSTING
After bRHmaa-dev
finishes his teachings on Daan, naard-muni resumes with his additional
teachings on
Daan: (sKND
puraaAN slok
1.2.99-101):
"virANchi (= bRHmaa-dev)
spoke sty (Truth).
Why does one live, the one by whom not
a single thing has been done whereby the one could have the
satisfaction of having done a dharmik kARm?
How can I clearly perform the dharmik kARm
of Daan? My only asset is a
dhoti (lower garment of a male in vedik lifestyle
consisting of a 3 yard cloth which is worn at the waist and covers the
body below waist and thighs and shanks of each leg. gaandhiji
always wore a dhoti. dhoti is worn
in different styles in different peoples and locales) and a DND
(walking stick carried by a tpsvi). I do not have even a
little of Dhn (wealth).
What happens if one gives to a
non-deserving person or if one does not give to a deserving person.
Hence the dharmik karma of giving
Daan is a difficult one to perform because one
has to distinguish between the deserving the non-deserving."
(The above are the obvious questions
that arise in the mind of a prospective
Daani (donor) who has never given
Daan in one's life. And unless one finds
vedik answers to these questions one's rare birth as a human
is wasted away by using up puANy of the previous lives
rather than creating a future in the current life with puANy
attained through DHaaARmik kARm such as giving
Daan. If one's previous
puANy are exhausted in this life and new puANy
is not put in one's kaARmik bank through DHaaARmik
kARm then one will take future births in lower forms of mobile
and immobile living forms.)
...om
brhmahye namah....
.....om shaanti shaanti
shaanti...
....om
tat sat....
------------------------
(saarsvat-muni in
sKND puraan will
continue to reply IN THE NEXT POSTING to enlighten us as to who we are as human
forms of embodied aatmaa and
what is the purpose of life of this human body with embodied aatmaa)
(This continuing presentation is prepared by shree champaklaal
dajibhaai mistry who acknowledges his debt to guru brahmaa-dev,
vyaas-muni, naarad-muni and saarsvat muni for their transmission of
original ved GNaan in sanskrit version of skand puraan. The above
presentation is based on sanskrit to English translation of skand
puraan by shree Dr. G. V. Tagare, G. P. Bhatt as published by Motillal Banarasidass
Publishers to whom shree champaklaal and PVAF acknowledges a debt with
offering of pranaam. The above presentation contains additional ved
text to the original puraan text for ease of understanding and learning
without corrupting the original text and its original GNaan.
Explanatory text from other ved sources is also added in brackets to
further facilitate the understanding and learning where it is deemed
necessary)
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