SANATANA DHARMA - (14) - "The Five Daily Sacrifices" [ Part (2) ---CHAPTER IV :- page 95 to 99 )]

 CHAPTER IV.

The Five Daily Sacrifices.

         WE have seen that there exists a law of Yajna, of Sacrifice, and that man's glory is to voluntarily work with it. We have now to see how the Sanatana Dharma trained its followers to this end. We may pass over, for the present, the numerous sacrifices of various kinds laid down in the sacred books, and concern ourselves only with the "Great sacrifices " to be offered every day. These are: 

The Sacrifice to Rishi or Vedas.

The Sacrifice to Devas.

The Sacrifice to Pitriis.  

The Sacrifice to Men.

The Sacrifice to Bhutas.

        Each of these has an outer form and inner meaning, and the latter leads the sacrificer on to the full life of sacrifice. Let us try to understand both.

        The outer sacrifice to the Rishis, or Vedas, is study and teaching. Every day a man should* study some sacred book, and thus gradually acquire the knowledge without which he cannot rightly understand himself, his position and his duties.

           And he should ever be ready to share this knowledge with those more ignorant than himself : hence Manu, in describing this sacrifice, calls it teaching*.[Manusmt:3.70] A boy should daily offer this sacrifice, reading and carefully thinking over some shlokas from the Bhdgavad-Glta, the Anugita, Hamsa Gita or other sacred work. The carefulness and closeness of the thought is more important than the amount read. The inner meaning is that all study should be a sacrifice, learning in order that we may teach.

             The outer sacrifice to the Devas is the Homa, the recognition of all we owe to the kindly ministry and protection of this active Intelligences working in nature, and the repayment of it by giving for their service a share of our possessions. The inner meaning is the realisation of our relations with the super-physical worlds, and of the inter-dependence of the worlds. We must learn to be in harmony with nature, in accord with all that lives.

          The outer sacrifice to the Pitris is the Tarpan or offering of water, to the older generations of our family, to our ancestors. The inner meaning is the recognition of the great debt we owe to the past, to the generations who occupied the earth before us, and who toiled and laboured that they might hand it on, improved, and enriched, to us, their posterity. No man is truly human who does not recognise what he owes to the past, his debt to the ancestors.

        The outer sacrifice to Men is hospitality : every day a true Aryan should feed some one poorer than himself. The inner meaning is the duty of serving and helping humanity, of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, comforting the sad. Those who are rich are the stewards of the poor.

       The outer sacrifice to Bhutas, to creatures, is the putting of a little food on the ground, before beginning the meal, for the invisible lower entities around us, and the placing of the remains of the meal in a suitable place for vagrant men and animals. The inner meaning is the duty of caring for those who are beneath us in the human and in the lower kingdoms, the recognition of our debt to them for their services to us, and the practice of kindness and consideration towards them.

        Thus the five great daily sacrifices teach man his relations, with all around him, with his superiors, his equals, and his inferiors. They establish the harmonious relations on which the happiness and prosperity of families and of nations depend. They turn the wheel of life in accord with the will of Ishvara, and so help on the evolution of the worlds. They teach each individual that he is not an isolated unit, but a part of a great whole, a cell in a vast body : and that his happiness and progress, therefore, can only be secure if they subserve the general happiness, and conduce to the general progress.

================

अध्यापनं ब्रह्मयज्ञः पितृयज्ञस्तु तर्पणम् । 

होमो दैवो बलिर्भौतो नृयज्ञोऽतिथिपूजनम्। मनु ३.७० 

"Teaching is the Brahma-sacrifice, Tarpana is the Pitri-sacrifice, Homa (the offering into the fire) is the Deva-sacrifice, Bali (food) is the Bhuta- sacrifice, hospitality to guests the. Manushya-sacrifice."

पंच्चमहायज्ञों के नाम :  शिक्षा देना या पढ़ाना ‘ब्रह्मयज्ञ’ कहलाता है और माता – पिता आदि की सेवा – शुश्रूषा तथा भोजन आदि से तृप्ति करना ‘पितृयज्ञ’ है प्रातः सांय हवन करना ‘देवयज्ञ’ है कीटों, पक्षियों, कुत्तों और कुष्ठी व्यक्तियों तथा भूत्यों आदि आश्रितों को देने के लिए भोजन का भाग बचाकर देना ‘भूतयज्ञ’ या ‘बलिवैश्वदेवयज्ञ’ कहलाता है अतिथियों को भोजन देना और सेवा द्वारा सत्कार करना ‘नृयज्ञ’ अथवा ‘अतिथियज्ञ’ कहाता है ।

स्वाध्याये नित्ययुक्तः स्याद्दान्तो मैत्रः समाहितः । दाता नित्यं अनादाता सर्वभूतानुकम्पकः। मनु ६. ८ 

"Let a man ever engage in Veda-study, and in the rites of the Devas ; engaged in the rites of the Devas he supporteth the movable and immovable kingdoms."

 ‘‘वहां निर्जन में (युवा प्रशिक्षण शिविर में ) वेदादि शास्त्रों को पढ़ने – पढ़ाने में नित्ययुक्त मन, सब से  मित्र भाव और इन्द्रियों का दमनशील अर्थात यदि स्व – स्त्री भी समीप हो तथापि उससे सेवा के सिवाय विषय सेवन अर्थात् प्रसंग कभी न करे,  सावधान, नित्य देने वाला हो और किसी से कुछ भी न लेवे, सब प्राणीमात्र पर अनुकंपा – कृपा रखने वाला  होवे ।’’ 

ऋषयः पितरो देवा भूतान्यतिथयस्तथा । आशासते कुटुम्बिभ्यस्तेभ्यः कार्यं विजानता। मनु  /३/८० 

 "The Rishis, the Pitris, the Devas, the Bhutas, and guests expect (help) from the householders. 

ऋषि – मुनि लोग, माता पिता, अग्नि आदि देवता, भृत्य तथा कुष्ठी आदि और अतिथिलोग गृहस्थों से ही आशा रखते हैं अर्थात् सहायता की अपेक्षा रखते हैं अपने गृहस्थ सम्बन्धी कत्र्तव्यों को समझने वाले व्यक्ति को चाहिए कि वह इनके लिए सहायता कार्य करे ।

स्वाध्यायेनार्चयेत र्षीन्होमैर्देवान्यथाविधि । पितॄञ् श्राद्धैश्च नॄनन्नैर्भूतानि बलिकर्मणा। मनु ३/८१ 

"Let him worship, according to the rule, the Rishis with Veda-study, the Devas with Homa, the Pitris with Shraddha, men with food, and the Bhutas with Bali."

स्वाध्याय से ऋषिपूजन यथाविधि होम से देवपूजन श्राद्धों से पितृपूजन अन्नों से मनुष्यपूजन और वैश्वदेव से प्राणी मात्र का सत्कार करना चाहिए । सेवा-सत्कार करना ही पूजा है। क्यों कि ‘अतिथिपूजनम्’ ‘होमैर्देवानर्चयेत्’ – अतिथियों का पूजन नाम सत्कार करना, तथा देव परमेश्वर और मन्त्र इन्हीं का सत्कार, इसका नाम है पूजा, अन्य का नहीं ।’’

===========:0:============

 

SANATANA DHARMA - (13) - "SHAUCHAM " [ Part (2) ---CHAPTER III;-page 87 to 94 )]

CHAPTER III 

SHAUCHAM

        SHAUCHAM, or Shaucha, consists o the rules laid down for keeping bodily purity, and thus ensuring physical health and strength. Disease is a sign that some law of nature has been disregarded, and the Rishis knowing that the laws of nature are the laws of God, the expression of His being, and that the Jiva is a portion of God enveloped in matter have treated obedience to the laws of nature as a religious duty.

          The visible body, with its invisible double, the Pranamayakosha, being made of physical materials, it is necessary to use physical means to make them pure, and to keep them pure, and we need to understand them in order to do this. The visible body, the Annamayakosha, is composed of particles drawn from the food we eat, the liquids we drink, the air we breathe, and from a constant rain of minute particles, too tiny for us to see, that falls upon us continually from the people and the things around us. This last statement may sound a little strange, but it is true. 

     Our bodies are not made of dead matter, for there is no such thing as dead matter.*[* See p. 67. for what is meant by lifeless matter. A body, as a whole, is said to be "dead'* when the Jiva has left it, although the particles of it arc alive. As this "dead body" decays, the living particles are set free.] Matter is made of tiny living things called atoms, and of other tiny living things that are collections of atoms. A grain of dust is a collection of myriads upon myriads of tiny living creatures, and there are grades upon grades of these minute lives, till we come to what are called microbes, that can be seen with the help of microscopes. 

      Now these microbes and the other smaller lives are all floating about in the air, and our bodies and all things are made up of these. Stones, plants, animals, human beings and all the manufactured things round us, houses, furniture, clothes are constantly giving off clouds of these particles. Everything near us, and still more everything we touch, gives us some of its particles and we give it some of ours. If we are to be healthy, we must only take into our bodies pure particles and drive away impure ones. The rules of Shaucha are intended to show us how to do this. 

        The food we eat must be pure. Now all things are becoming more alive, or are getting nearer death ; are being built up, or are being destroyed. Pure food is becoming more alive, has life in it which is unfolding : its next natural stage is one of "higher integration," that is, of greater complexity. Fresh leaves and fruits, grains and roots, are full of life which is unfolding ; we take that life into our bodies, and it builds them up. These things become impure if they are stale, for the life is then departing, they are on the way to death.

        All flesh is more or less impure, because its indwelling life has been driven from it, and it is ready to decay ; its next natural stage is one of "disintegration," that is, of breaking up into simpler forms ; the body built by it is more liable to disease than the body built of plant-products, wounds heal less quickly, and fevers run higher.

        Of liquids, pure water is necessary to health, and infusions of herbs in it, such as tea, coffee and cocoa, taken in moderation, are harmless and often useful. Milk is at once food and drink of the purest kind. Every form of drink into which alcohol enters is impure, and most harmful to the body. It is fermented liquor, that is liquor in which decomposition has begun, and it injures the tissues of the body, and is a distinct poison to the brain. Especially it is mischievous in a hot climate bringing about premature decay  and early death. So also are drinks impure into which enter such stupefying drugs as Indian hemp the popular but health destroying bhung.

       Pure air is as necessary to health as pure food and drink. As we breathe, we send out a gas, called carbon dioxide, which is stupefying, and if we shut ourselves into a confined space, all the air in it becomes laden with this, and unfit to breathe. Further the breath carries out with it waste particles from the interior of the body, and unless the fresh air blows these away, they are breathed in again into our lungs and those of others, and are poisonous in their effects. We must not only build up our bodies out of clean materials, but we must keep the surface of ,the body clean by frequent washing and bathing. The whole body must be bathed, at least once everyday, and well rubbed in bathing, so that all loose particles may be washed away, and the skin kept clean and fresh. Any part of the body that becomes soiled, feet, hands, etc., should be washed and washing before and after food must never be omitted. To eat with unwashed hands is to run the risk of soiling the food with dust and other injurious particles, and the washing after food is obviously imperative. The garments next the body should also be washed daily .

      The Hindu, ever accustomed to look at the outer world as the symbol of the inner, has joined to his outer ablutions the idea of inner purification. As he washes the outer body, he repeats mantras for the purifying of the inner bodies, and thus weaves his religion into the commonest incidents of daily life. 

       Students will now see why the Rishis were so particular about cleanliness. A person with a dirty body, or with dirty clothes, fills the air round him with impure particles, and poisons the people round him. We must be clean, not only for our own sakes, but for the sake of those around us. A dirty person, dirty clothes, dirty houses, are centres of poison, public dangers.

      The purity of the Pranamayakosha depends on the magnetic currents in it. It is quickly affected by the magnetic properties of surrounding objects, and we have therefore to be careful on this point also. Thus some plant-products and plants, while harmless to the Annamayakosha, are very injurious to the Pranamayakosha, such as onions and garlic. Their magnetism is worse than that of flesh. This kosha is also most seriously affected by alcoholic emanations, and by the Pranamaya-koshas of others.

       What is still more important is that it is affected by its own Manomayakosha and, through it, by those of others. Hence the dangers of bad company. Now the purity of the Manomayakosha depends on the purity of its owner's thoughts and desires, and herein lies the most fertile source of impurity in the Annamaya and Pranamayakoshas. These two physical koshas cannot be pure and healthy if the thoughts and desires are impure. A man may observe the rules of Shaucha to the last point of strictness, but if he be proud, passionate, harsh, vain, suspicious, he is pouring impurity into these koshas faster than any rules can wash it out. In the eyes of the Rishis and the Devas such a one is ever ashuchi.

===========:0:===========

दूरादावसथान्मूत्रं दूरात्पादावसेचनम् ।

उच्छिष्टान्ननिषेकं च दूरादेव समाचरेत् ।

 मनुस्मृति ।4/151

" Far from his dwelling let him remove excrement, far the water used for washing his feet, far the leavings of food, and bath water."

दृष्टिपूतं न्यसेत्पादं वस्त्रपूतं जलं पिबेत् । 

सत्यपूतां वदेद्वाचं मनःपूतं समाचरेत् ।

मनुस्मृति /६/ ४६ 

‘‘चलते समय आगे – आगे देखके पग धरे, सदा वस्त्र से छानकर जल पीवे, सबसे सत्य वाणी बोले अर्थात् सत्योपदेश ही किया करे, जो कुछ व्यवहार करे वह सब मन की पवित्रता से आचरण करे ।’’

आचम्य प्रयतो नित्यं उभे संध्ये समाहितः । 

              शुचौ देशे जपञ् जप्यं उपासीत यथाविधि । 

मनुस्मृति २/१९७ 

." Being purified by sipping water, he shall always daily worship in the two twilights with a collected mind, in a pure place, performing Japa according to rule.

" ब्रह्मचारी नित्यम् प्रतिदिन उभे संध्ये प्रातः और सांय दोनों संध्या – कालों में शुचै देशे शुद्ध स्थान में (संध्योपासन के पूर्व शुद्ध जल का आचमन किया करे )आचम्य आचमन करके प्रयतः प्रयत्न – पूर्वक समाहितः एकाग्र होकर जप्यं जपन् उपासीत गायत्री का जप करते हुए उपासना करे ।

उपस्पृश्य द्विजो नित्यं अन्नं अद्यात्समाहितः । 

भुक्त्वा चोपस्पृशेत्सम्यगद्भिः खानि च संस्पृशेत्।। मनुस्मृति २/२८ 

" Having washed, the twice-born should eat food always with a collected mind; having eaten, let him rinse well and sprinkle the sense-organs with water."

" द्विज नित्यम् प्रतिदिन उपस्पृश्य आचमन करके समाहितः एकाग्र मन से अन्नं अद्यात् भोजन खाये च और भुक्त्वा खाकर सम्यक् अच्छी प्रकार उपस्पृशेत् कुल्ला करे च तथा अद्भिः खानि संस्पृशेत् जल से नाक, कान ‘‘नेत्र आदि इन्द्रियों का स्पर्श करे ।’’

" Wisdom, austerity, fire, food, earth, mind, water, plastering, wind, rites, the sun and time are the purifiers of bodies."

अद्भिर्गात्राणि शुध्यन्ति मनः सत्येन शुध्यति । 

विद्यातपोभ्यां भूतात्मा बुद्धिर्ज्ञानेन शुध्यति। 

मनुस्मृति /५/१०९ 

" The body is purified by water, the mind by truth, the soul by knowledge and austerity, the reason by wisdom."

‘‘किन्तु जल से ऊपर के अंग पवित्र होते हैं आत्मा और मन नहीं, मन तो सत्य मानने, सत्य बोलने और सत्य करने से शुद्ध और जीवात्मा विद्या, योगाभ्यास और धर्माचरण ही से पवित्र तथा बुद्धि ज्ञान से ही शुद्ध होती है, जल मृत्तिकादि से नहीं’’

न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते।

"Verily there is no purifier in this world like wisdom."

तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति।। Gita 4.38।।

अपि चेत्सुदुराचारो भजते मामनन्यभाक्।

साधुरेव स मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः।।9.30।।

क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा शश्वच्छान्तिं निगच्छति।

कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति।।9.31।।

" Even if the most sinful worship Me with undivided heart, he too must be accounted righteous, for he hath rightly resolved ; "

" Speedily he becometh dutiful and goeth to everlasting peace. Know thou, Kaunteya, that my devotee perisheth never."

==============:0:================

 

SANATANA DHARMA - (12) - " SHRADDHA " [ Part (2) -CHAPTER II.--page 83 to 86 )]

CHAPTER II. 

 SHRADDHA 

श्राद्ध-कर्म  

    SHRADDHA is the name of the ceremonies performed to help the Jiva, who has put off hie visible body in death, by those who re- main in this world. The Jiva that has put off his visible body is called a Preta, and the part of the Shraddha performed to help him at this stage is called the Preta-kriya. 

      The visible body, the Annamayakosha, is carried to the burning-ground that it may be dissolved into its constituents as quickly as possible ; the ashes are gathered together on the third day, and are thrown into running water, preferably into a sacred stream. When the Annamayakosha is destroyed, the Pranamaya-kosha rapidly disperses, and this dispersal is quickened by some of the mantras used at the cremation.

        Burning is the best way of destroying a dead body, and this destruction is important both for the departed Jiva and for those left behind ; so long as it remains undissolved, the Pranamayakosha hangs round it, in consequence of the magnetic attraction between them, and the Jiva is thus linked to the earth, which is bad for him ; on the other hand, a slowly decaying body in the ground, as in burial, sends out poisonous gases, and this is bad for those remaining behind. 

        The Shraddhas performed after the burning help in a re-arrangement of the materials of the Manomayakosha, partly by the magnetic influences of the objects used, and partly by the vibrations set up by the mantras. After a certain time, the Sapindikarana ceremony is performed, which helps the Jiva to pass from Pretaloka, to Pitriloka, and he is then enrolled among the Pitris, or the ancestors living in the subtler regions of Bhuvarloka.

          Seven generations, one in Bhurloka and six in Bhuvarloka, can affect each other. When the Jiva passes on into Svarga, he has no further need of the help furnished by Shraddha.

===========:0:============

देशे काले च पात्रे च श्रद्धया विधिना च यत् ।

पितृनुद्दिश्य विप्रेभ्यो दत्तं श्राद्धमुदाहृतम् ।। – ब्रह्मपुराण

 "Gifts to deserving Brahmanas for the sake of benefit to the Pitris, in the proper times and places and with faith, are known as Shraddha."

अर्थ: देश, काल तथा पात्र (उचित स्थान)के अनुसार, पितरों को उद्देशित कर ब्राह्मणों को श्रद्धा एवं विधियुक्त जो (अन्नादि) दिया जाता है, उसे श्राद्ध कहते हैं ।

कुर्यादहरहः श्राद्धं अन्नाद्येनोदकेन वा । 

पयोमूलफलैर्वापि पितृभ्यः प्रीतिं आवहन् ।

"Shraddha should be offered to the Pitris, day by day, with corn and water, or even roots and fruits and water, bringing them satisfaction."

गृहस्थ व्यक्ति अन्न आदि भोज्य पदार्थों से और जल तथा दूध से, कन्दमूल, फल आदि से माता – पिता आदि बुजुर्गों से अत्यन्त प्रेम करते हुए प्रतिदिन श्राद्ध – श्रद्धा से किये जाने वाले सेवा – सुश्रूषा, भोजन देना आदि कर्तव्य करे ।

पञ्चभ्य एव मात्राभ्यः प्रेत्य दुष्कृतिनां नृणाम् । 

शरीरं यातनार्थीयं अन्यदुत्पद्यते ध्रुवम्।। मनुस्मृति/१२/१६ 

तेनानुभूय ता यामीः शरीरेणेह यातनाः । 

तास्वेव भूतमात्रासु प्रलीयन्ते विभागशः।। मनुस्मृति /१२/१७ 

यद्याचरति धर्मं स प्रायशोऽधर्मं अल्पशः । 

                    तैरेव चावृतो भूतैः स्वर्गे सुखं उपाश्नुते ।। मनुस्मृति १२.२० । ।

"Out of the five elements a (subtler but) firm body is born (as seeth) for sinful Jivas (after death), that they may suffer punishment therein.

"After the suffering of the punishments awarded by Yama, in that body (the body) dissolves again into the elements.

"If (the J iva) has done more Dharma and little Adharma, he goes on to Svarga and enjoys happiness there enclosed in (another body composed of) the same elements."

चितामोक्षप्रभृति च प्रेतत्वमुपजायते।   

"After the cremation is completed (the Jiva) becomes a Preta."

वर्ष यावत्खगश्रेष्ठ मार्गे गच्छति मानवः । 

ततः पितृगणैः सार्धं पितृलोकं स गच्छति ॥

दत्तैः षोडशभिः श्राद्धैः पितृभिः सह मोदते ।

 पितुः पुत्रेण कर्तव्या पिण्डदानोदकक्रियाः ।

बृहत्पराशरमृतिः, ७/ ४९

"The Jiva remains on the path (r. e., the Pretaloka) for a year, best of birds ; then he passes on into the Pityi-loka (and dwells) with the Pitris. 

"By the offering of the sixteen Shraddhas he is helped to dwell in joy with the Pitris. Therefore should the son ever perform the Sapindikarana rites for the father."

==================0================

SANATANA DHARMA - (11) - " The Samskaras." [ Part (2) -CHAPTER I.--page 77 to 82 )]

 SANATANA DHARMA.

PART II. 

===========

[ GENERAL HINDU RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS AND RITES. ] 

CHAPTER I. 

The Samskaras.

       EVERY religion prescribes a number of ceremonies, or rites, to be performed by its followers. The use of the ceremonies, speaking generally, is: 

(1) to help the Jiva to conquer and purify his sheaths; 

(2) to bring to his aid superior Intelligences, such as the Devas and the Rishis;

(3) to improve the atmosphere around him and so make it easier for him to steady and concentrate his mind.

           To this end are used material objects, gestures, postures and sounds, all carefully arranged to bring about the results aimed at. The objects used are chosen for their good magnetism, and in many cases such as particular flowers offered to a particular Peva because they share the magnetism of the Object of meditation or of worship, and thus make a link between that Object and the worshipper. Thus a " mala", a rosary, of tulasi beads is used in the worship of Shri Krishna ; one of rudraksha in the worship of Mahadeva.

           Gestures and postures, for the most part, affect the Pranas the sub-divisions of the life-breath that circulate in the body ; some prevent the magnetism of the body from escaping into the surrounding atmosphere, and force its currents to move in a way suitable for calm and quiet thought.

          Sounds are used for all the three purposes mentioned above. They give riso to vibrations, and as these vibrations are regular and even, they make the vibrations of the Siikshmasharira which is very sensitive and easily affected regular and even also. When these vibrations of the Siikshmasharira are made regular, the Jiva is much helped in steadiness of thought and devotion. Sounds of a suitable kind attract the attention of the Rishis and Devas to the person uttering the sounds, and they help him. Further, suitable sounds drive away hostile Intelligences and bad magnetic influences, and so improve the sur- roundings of the speaker.

            Sounds thus used are called Mantras. A mantra is a succession of sounds, a definite sequence, the sounds being arranged in a certain order : if the sounds are changed the vibrations are changed, and the results will be changed. That is why a mantra cannot be translated. A translated mantra is like a sentence in which all the letters of the words are jumbled up, and so convey no meaning .

          There is another thing to remember about mantra ; if the man who utters a mantra is not trying to lead a good life, the vibrations of the mantra will do him harm, not good. For, as they work on his Sukshmasharira, they bring to bear on it a force antagonistic to evil desires and evil thoughts, and shake it very violently and may even wound and tear it, as his evil resolves make it vibrate in one way and the vibrations of the mantra force it into another. If his resolves are good then they work with the mantra and cause no conflict ; however weak they may be, they aid and do not hinder.

         Mantras need not be spoken aloud, and their silent repetition is, indeed, more powerful than audible recitation. They affect the subtler kinds of matter more than the denser. Among the ceremonies in the life of a Hindu are some important ones that mark the chief stages of his life ; in old days these were numerous, ten standing out as the chief, but of these ten, only some are now practiced. 

        Seven of the Samskaras relate to infantile life and early childhood. Of these seven, the sixth, Annaprasanam, the first feeding with solid food, is universally observed ; and the seventh, Chudakaranam the tonsure, and with it the piercing of the ears is performed almost universally. 

            Then comes the important eighth Samskara, the Upanayana, the leading of the boy to the Guru who gives him the sacred thread, and teaches him the Gayatri, this initiation making him a Dvija, twice-born. The Upanayana is the beginning of the student stage of life, during which Brahmacharya, entire celibacy, is enjoined, and the duty of the lad is to study diligently. This stage is closed by the formal return home, the Samavartanam, after which he is ready to enter the second stage of life, that of the householder, the Grihastha ; the tenth Samskara, Vivaha, marriage, marking his entry into manhood and its responsibilities.

        In modern India these wholesome rules have fallen into disuse, though the Upanayana and Vivaha Samskuras are maintained as ceremonies. Marriage is incongruously thrust into the midst of the student life, and the duties of manhood and boyhood are mixed up to the injury of both. May the ancient rule be speedily revived.

======================:0:==================

एकः शब्दः सम्यक् ज्ञातः सुप्रयुक्तः स्वर्गे लोके. कामधुक् भवति। 

        यह एक उद्घोषणा (महावाक्य ) है ! महर्षि पतंजलि ने महाभाष्य में कहा है, ‘एकः शब्दः सम्यग्‌ ज्ञातः सुप्रयुक्तः स्वर्गे लोके च कामधुग्‌ भवति।’ अर्थात्‌ एक भी शब्द यदि सम्यक्‌ रीति से ज्ञात हो तथा सुप्रयुक्त हो तो वह इस लोक में और स्वर्ग में मनोरथ पूर्ण करने वाला होता है।शब्द नामक ज्योति सारे संसार को प्रकाशित करती है। जैसा शब्द हमारे भीतर गूंजता है, हम वैसे ही हो जाते हैं। जिसे परमात्मा की तलाश होती है उसके मन में परमात्मा के शब्द गूंजते हैं। जिसे भौतिक और दैहिक सुख की तलाश रहती है उसके मन में भौतिक इच्छाओं की गूंज रहती है। गुरुनानक देव जी ने कहा है, "शब्दे धरती, शब्द आकास, शब्द-शब्द भया परगास। सगली सृस्ट शब्द के पाछे,नानक शब्द घटे घट आछे। शुद्ध उच्चारण का महत्व : आचार्य पाणिनी  ने एक श्लोक में उच्चारण शुद्धता का महत्व कुछ इस प्रकार बताया हैः

मन्त्रो हीनः स्वरतो वर्णतो वा मिथ्या प्रयुक्तो न तदर्थमाह ।

 स वाग्वज्रो यजमानं हिनस्ति यथेन्द्रशत्रुः स्वरतोऽपराधात् ।।

"The mantra defective in Svara (inflection) or Varna (letter or colour) is uttered falsely and declareth not the true meaning. That lightning-word slayeth the performer himself as (the word) 'Indra-Shatru' for fault of Svara (slew Viittra, the performer of the sacrifice, and the enemy of Indra, instead of slaying Indra, the enemy of Vrittra, as intented. 

अर्थात् - स्वर (accent) अथवा वर्ण से अशुद्ध उच्चरित हीन मन्त्र उस अर्थ को नहीं कहता (जिसके लिए उच्चारण किया जाता है) । वह वाग् रूपी वज्र यजमान को नष्ट करता है, जैसे स्वर के अपराध से इन्द्रशत्रु ने किया । 

      { अशुद्ध उच्चारित मंत्र साधक को लाभ के स्थान पर हानि पहुँचा सकता है। त्वष्टा नाम के असुर ने अपने पुत्र वृत्रासुर की वृद्धि के लिए एक यज्ञ किया था, जिसमें “इन्द्रशत्रुर्वर्धस्व” (अर्थात् इन्द्रशत्रु की वृद्धि हो) मन्त्र में इन्द्रशत्रु पद का उच्चारण “इन्द्रः शत्रुर्वर्धस्व” पद के रूप में कर दिया गया, जिससे इन्द्र वृत्रासुर का शत्रु (मारनेवाला), यह अर्थ प्रकट हो गया । फलतः इन्द्र द्वारा वृत्रासुर मारा गया। एक और उदाहरण हमें मिलता है कुम्भकरण का। जिसने ब्रह्मा से वरदान में "इंद्र आसन" मांगते समय गलती से इंन्द्रासन की जगह "निंद्रासन" का गलत उच्चारण कर वरदान को अभिषाप में बदल लिया था। मनुर्भव : अर्थात् मनुष्य बन ! महर्षि यास्क ने मनुष्य का लक्षण लिखते हुए अपने निरुक्तशास्त्र में कहा है- मत्त्वा कर्माणि सीव्यति, मनुष्यमानेन सृष्टाः। मनस्यतिः पुनर्मनस्वीभावे। मनोरपत्यं वा।। (3.37) जो विचार कर कर्म करे, उसे मनुष्य कहा जाता है। कर्म करने से पूर्व जो अच्छे प्रकार से विचार करे कि मेरे इस कर्म का फल क्या होगा? किस-किस पर इस कर्म का प्रभाव पड़ेगा? मेरे इस कर्म से किस का भला और किस का बुरा होगा? साथ  ही यह भी सोचना चाहिए कि बुरे कर्म का बुरा फल होगा और अच्छे कर्म का फल अच्छा होगा। अच्छे और बुरे कर्म ही जीवन में सुख-दुःख का कारण होते हैं, जो जीव को अवश्यमेव भोगने पड़ते हैं।} 

वैदिकैः कर्मभिः पुण्यैर्निषेकादिर्द्विजन्मनाम्।

कार्यं शरीरसंस्कारः पावनः प्रेत्य चेह च ॥

(मनुस्मृति 2-26)

"With sacred Vaidika rites should be performed the Samskaras of the body, namely, Nisheka and the rest, of the twice-born, which purify here and hereafter."

             सब मनुष्यों को उचित है कि वैदिकैः, पुण्यैः, कर्मभिः (वेदोक्त, पुण्यरूप कर्मों से), द्विजन्मनाम् (ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय, वैश्य, शूद्र अपने सन्तानों का) निषेकादिः शरीरसंस्कारः कार्यः (निषेकादि=गर्भाधान आदि संस्कार करें जो), इह च प्रेत्य पावनः (इस जन्म वा परजन्म में पवित्र करने वाला है)। [‘‘वह सन्तान बड़ा भाग्यवान् है, जिनके माता-पिता विद्वान् और धार्मिक हों’’] 

चरक ऋषि ने संस्कार का लक्षण लिखते हुए कहा है-‘‘संस्कारो हि गुणान्तराधानमुच्यते’’ अर्थात् पहले से विद्यमान दुर्गुणों को हटाकर उनकी जगह सद्गुणों का आधान-धारण कराने को ‘संस्कार’ कहते हैं। वेद के अनुसार ही तो वैदिक संस्कृति (वेद से विवेकानन्द तक की संस्कृति ) ने " मनुष्य -निर्माण और चरित्र-निर्माणकारी शिक्षा " की योजना के प्रचार प्रसार के लिए 1967 में अखिल भारत विवेकानन्द युवा महामण्डल को अवतरित होना पड़ा है ! इस योजना को सफल बनाने के लिए ही " चरित्र-निर्माण की पद्धति ", " चरित्र के गुण ",  "जीवनगठन " आदि संस्कारों की पद्धति को "महामण्डल पुस्तिका " और " विवेक-जीवन ' , विवेक -अंजन ' मासिक पत्रिका , पाठचक्र , वार्षिक युवा प्रशिक्षण शिविर ' आदि के रूप में प्रचलित किया है ।

चित्रकर्म यथानेकैरङ्गैरुन्मील्यते शनैः ।

ब्राह्मण्यं अपि तद्वद्धि संस्कारैर्मन्त्रपुर्वकैः ।।

 पराशर स्मृति  ८.१९ ।

"As the outline of a picture is lighted up slowly with (the filling in of) many colours, even so is ब्रह्मण्य with scriptural sanskar .  

 जिस प्रकार  किसी चित्र में विविध रंगो के योग से धीरे–धीरे निखार लाया जाता है, उसी प्रकार विधिपूर्वक संस्कारों के सम्पादन से ब्रह्मण्यता प्राप्त  होती है | 

गर्भाधानं पुंसवनं सीमंतो जातकर्म च। 

नामक्रियानिष्क्रमणेअन्नाशनं वपनक्रिया:।।

कर्णवेधो व्रतादेशो वेदारंभक्रियाविधि:। 

केशांत स्नानमुद्वाहो विवाहाग्निपरिग्रह:।।

त्रेताग्निसंग्रहश्चेति संस्कारा: षोडश स्मृता:। 

(व्यासस्मृति 1/13-15)

=================:0:===================

 

SANATANA DHARMA - (10) - "The Worlds Visible and Invisible. " (CHAPTER VI.--page 66 to 74 )

 CHAPTER VI.

The Worlds Visible and Invisible.

" दुनिया से जाने वाले जाकर , चले जाते हैं कहाँ ?" 

       WE all know one world, the world around us, which we can see, and hear, and touch, and taste, and smell. Science tells us of many parts of this world, which our senses are not keen enough to perceive, things too small for our eyes to see, too subtle to affect any of our senses. These parts of our world, which we cannot perceive but-about which science tells us, are still physical, although invisible to us; they are parts of our world. 

           Physical matter includes solids, liquids, gases, and ethers, all made up of atoms of the same kind. But we have heard of other worlds, which are invisible and are not a part of this world, the worlds into which people go when they pass away from this earth by death. 

         We read of the Triloka, the three worlds, and every one should know some-thing about these, for in these three worlds the Jiva is bound to the wheel of births and deaths, and in these his evolution proceeds. These three worlds are made at the beginning of immense period called a Day of Brahma, and perish at its ending.           Four other great lokas, or worlds, complete the Brahmloka , but they last on through the life of Brahma. We need not deal with them here. 

         There are also some sub-divisions within the great lokas, to which the same name of loka is given, such as, Pretaloka and Pitriloka in Bhuvarloka, and Indra-loka and Suryaloka in Svargaloka. The three great lokas with which we are concerned, the Triloki, are: Bhurloka, the physical world, or the earth; Bhuvarloka, the world of "be-coming" intermediate between the earth and Svarga; Svargaloka, the heaven world. Of these three, Bhurloka is partly visible and partly invisible to us; Bhuvarloka and Svargaloka are invisible. In Bhurloka the Prithvi Tattva is the basis of all forms: it exists in seven modifications solid, liquid, gaseous, radiant, etheric, superetheric and atomic. These later four are spoken as आकाश ? "the ethers." In Bhuvarloka seven similar modifications exist, but the basis is the Apas Tattva. In Svarga-loka there are also seven similar modifications, but the basis is the Agni Tattva.

            The Jiva has three sheaths corresponding to these worlds the Annamayakosha, the Prftna-mayaskosha, the Manomayakosha. The Anna-mayakosha, or food- sheath so called because it is- built up out of the food we eat corresponds with the visible part of the earth and is composed of solids, liquids and gases. The Pranamayakosha or Prana-sheath, corresponds with the invisible part of our earth and is composed of ethers. Prana is the life-energy, and includes all the forces that science calls magnetic and electrical, but is much more than these. Both these sheaths are connected with Bhurloka. The Manomayakosha, mind-sheath, has two parts ; the denser part, in which the passions have their seat, is connected with Bhuvarloka ; the finer part, in which play the emotions and thought, is connected with Svargaloka. Other names are used for these sheaths, according to the object for which the classification is made, but the student need not become confused by these, for as he advances, he will find that his increased knowledge makes them quite intelligible. We will only notice three names very commonly used.

          The sthulasharira, or solid body, is the same as the Annamayakosha, made of solids, liquids and gases. The Sukshmasharira, or subtle body, includes the Pranamayakosha and the Manomaya-kosha; in addition to these, it includes another kosha, the Vijnanamayakosha, the knowledge-sheath, which connects the Jiva with maharloka, a loka beyond the Triloka in which his pilgrimage is carried on, one which is not destroyed, though it is rendered uninhabitable, at the close of the Day of Brahma. This part of the Siikshmasharira, the knowledge- sheath, is relatively permanent, and lasts through the series of births and deaths.

              ***A table may make these two classifications, and their relation to the lokas, clear:

स्थूल शरीर =अन्नमय कोष = भूर्लोक 

सूक्ष्मशरीर = प्राणमय कोष = भूर्लोक 

सूक्ष्म शरीर = मनोमय कोष = स्वर्गलोक 

{ these perish at or after death and are renewed at rebirth. मृत्यु के समय  या बाद में ये नष्ट हो जाते हैं और पुनर्जन्म पर इसका नवीनीकरण किया जाता है। }   

सूक्ष्म कारण शरीर = विज्ञानमय कोष =महर्लोक / {these does not perish at or after death , so is not renewed at rebirth . ये मृत्यु के बाद या उसके बाद नष्ट नहीं होते हैं, इसलिए पुनर्जन्म पर इसका नवीनीकरण नहीं किया जाता है।} 

     The स्थूल शरीर contains the organ of action called कर्मेन्द्रिय , but the true कर्मेन्द्रिय , the nerve-center which direct and control the organs are in sukshm-shrira .Thus joy or grief , or any strong emotion affects the nerve-centers and through them the organs ; the hand twitch , the feet tap , speech is impeded , in irritation and so on .इस प्रकार आनंद या दु: ख, या कोई मजबूत भावना तंत्रिका-केंद्रों और उनके माध्यम से अंगों को प्रभावित करती है; हाथ की चिकोटी, पैरों का हिलाना , वाणी में हकलाना और जलन होती है। } The ज्ञानेन्द्रिय  have also their centres in the Sukshmasharira, while their organs eyes, ears, tongue, nose and skin are in the Sthulasharira.

        Now let us see what happens at death. First, the Sukshmasharira is separated from the Sthula-sharira, the Jiva drawing it away by means of the Pranamayakosha. This leaves the Sthulasharira a mass of "lifeless " matter ; that is, of matter from which the life that held it together is withdrawn ; there is plenty of life left in the cells of the body, and they begin to break away from each other, but the ruling life is gone. The Jiva re- mains in his Sukshmasharira. Very quickly he shakes off his Pranamayakosha. and has then the denser part of the Manomayakosha as his outer most garment. He is then called a Preta, and is an inhabitant of Pretaloka. 

             If he has been a very good man on earth, he dreams away happily while in this condition ; but if he has been a bad man, he suffers while a Preta, craving for the earthly pleasures which he is no longer able to obtain. After a shorter or longer time according to the strength of these cravings and the consequent length of time needed for their exhaustion the densest part of the Manomayakosha falls away, and he goes as a Pitri into Pitriloka.

        Having spent there sufficient time to purify the Manomaya-kosha from all elements unfit for Svarga, the Jiva in the purified Manomayakosha goes on into Svarga, and enjoys there the fruit he has stored up. When this is exhausted, the time has come for his return to earth, and the purified Manomaya-kosha dissolves away, leaving the Jiva in the Vijnanamayakosha. He quickly puts forth his power to form new vehicles, and creates a new Manomayakosha for his coming life in the lower worlds. The Devas build for him a Pranamayako-sha and an Annamaya-kosha, according to his karma, and he is again born into Bhurloka.

        These are the recurring stages of the Jiva's pilgrimage : life in the visible world, death, life in the invisible worlds, re-birth. This is repeated time after time, time after time. At last, the Jiva grows weary of these three worlds, and longs for higher, subtler experiences and more expanded life; he turns away from all these worlds can offer him, and finds delight in meditation, in worship, in the compassionate helping of the weaker; he no longer uses his vehicles to gain pleasure for himself, but only to do service to others, and, so used, they can no longer imprison him . 

       He (The 'C-IN-C' नवनीदा )  dwells in the higher lokas, guiding his lower vehicles as his instruments in the lower worlds, and becomes a co-worker with Ishvara , either retaining his vehicles for service or throwing them away and entering into Brahman.

=========================:0:===================

" अथ त्रयो वाव लोका मनुष्यलोकः पितृलोको देवलोक इति।"  

(बृहदारण्यकोपनिषद -१/५/ १६ )

" Now verily there are three worlds the world of men, the world of the Pitris, the world of the Devas." and the world of the gods through meditation. The world of the gods is the best of the worlds. Therefore they praise meditation.

जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च।

तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि।।2.27।।

अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत।

अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना।।2.28।।

"For certain is death for the born, and certain is birth for the dead ; therefore over the inevitable thou shouldst not grieve. 

" Beings are unmanifest in their origin, manifest in their midmost state, Bhiirata, unmanifest in their dissolution : what room then for lamentation. 

सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद्ब्रह्मणो विदुः।

रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः।।8.17।।

अव्यक्ताद्व्यक्तयः सर्वाः प्रभवन्त्यहरागमे।

रात्र्यागमे प्रलीयन्ते तत्रैवाव्यक्तसंज्ञके।।8.18।।

" The people who know the Day of Brahma, a thousand Yugas in duration, and the Night, a thousand Yugas in ending, they know day and night.

" From the unmanifested all the manifested stream forth at the coming of Day ; at the coming of Night they dissolve, even in that called the un-manifested."

त्रैविद्या मां सोमपाः पूतपापा

यज्ञैरिष्ट्वा स्वर्गतिं प्रार्थयन्ते।

ते पुण्यमासाद्य सुरेन्द्रलोक

मश्नन्ति दिव्यान्दिवि देवभोगान्।।9.20।।

ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्गलोकं विशालं

क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति।

एव त्रयीधर्ममनुप्रपन्ना

गतागतं कामकामा लभन्ते।।9.21।।

" The knowers of the three (Veda to Vivekananda), the Soma drinkers, the purified from sin, worshipping Me with sacrifice, pray of Me the way to Svarga; they ascending to the holy word of the Deva Indra, enjoy in heaven the divine feasts of the Devas.

" Having enjoyed the spacious Svarga-world, their holiness withered, they come back to this  world of death. Following the virtues enjoined by the three (Yedas), desiring desires, they undergo this passage to and fro."

बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते।

वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः।।7.19।।

" At the end of many births the man full of wisdom cometh unto me :' Vasudeva is all,' saith he, the Mahatma, very difficult to find."

========================:0:==============

           

 

SANATANA DHARMA - (9) - "Sacrifice " (CHAPTER V --page 56 to 65 )

 CHAPTER V.

Sacrifice.

      THE idea of "offering sacrifices" is very familiar in India, but a student needs to understand the principle which underlies all sacrifices, so that he may realise that every one should sacrifice himself to the good of others, and that all sacrifice of other things are meant, to teach a man how he ought, at last, to sacrifice himself.

       The first thing to grasp is that creation is sacrifice. Ishvara confines Himself, limits Himself, in matter in order that a universe may be made manifest. Shruti and Smriti alike proclaim this truth, as in the Purusha Sukta of the Rigveda or as in the allusion by Shri Krishna to the formal sacrifice that causes the birth of beings.

[*अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते।

भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः।।8.3।।

श्रीभगवान् बोले --परम अक्षर (अविनाशी) तत्त्व ब्रह्म है;'स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते'--स्वभाव (अपना स्वरूप) अध्यात्म कहा जाता है; --'स्वो भावः स्वभावः'।  स्थावरजङ्गम जितने भी प्राणी देखनेमें आते हैं उनका जो स्वभाव अर्थात् होनापन है उस होनेपन को प्रकट करने के लिये जो विसर्ग अर्थात् (यज्ञ, त्याग , प्रेरक बल) है , उसको  कर्म कहते हैं।   The Blessed Lord  said,  " Brahman is the Imperishable, the Supreme; Its essential nature is called Self-knowledge; the offering (to the gods) which causes existence and manifestation of beings and which also sustains them is called action.]

 Immersion in matter is, in spiritual language, called "death" {आध्यतमिक भाषा में स्थावर -जंगम प्राणि के जड़ शरीर या अन्नमयकोष में विसर्जन (विसर्ग) को मृत्यु कहते हैं ! उस होनेपन को प्रकट करने के लिये जो विसर्ग अर्थात् त्याग है उसको कर्म कहते हैं।?????*}  and Ishvara thus sacrificed Himself in order that He might bring into separate being portions of Himself, the Jivas who might develop all His powers in matter in an infinite variety of forms. This is the primary sacrifice, and on this is based the Law. This also gives us the meaning of sacrifice : it is the pouring out of life for the benefit of others.*

        The Law of Sacrifice is the Law of Life for all Jivas. In the earlier stages of their growth they are forcibly sacrificed, and so progress involuntarily, without their own consent or even knowledge, their forms being violently wrenched away from them, and they propelled into new ones, a little more developed.

        Thus the Jivas of the mineral kingdom are prepared to pass on into the vegetable, by the breaking up of their mineral bodies for the support of plants. The Jivas of the vegetable kingdom are prepared to pass on into the animals, by the breaking up of their vegetable bodies for the support of animal life. The Jivas of the animal kingdom are prepared to pass on into the human, by the breaking up of their bodies for the support of other animals, of savages, and of certain types of men. And even the Jivas of the human kingdom are prepared to rise into higher races by breaking up of their human bodies for the support of other human lives in cannibalism, war, etc. 

        In all these cases the bodies are sacrificed for the benefit of others, without the assent of the embodied consciousness. Only after untold ages does the Jiva recognise, in the body, the universality of the law, and begin to sacrifice his own upadhis deliberately, for the good of those around him. This is called self- sacrifice, and is the showing forth of the divinity of the Jiva, the proof that he is of the nature of Ishvara.

    A wonderful story of uttermost self-sacrifice is told in the Mahabhartam . Indra, the King of the Devas, was sore beset by the Asura Vrittra, born of the wrath of a Rishi, whom Indra had offended by an unrighteous act. Vrittra heading the Daityas, defeated Indra and his armies in battle, drove him away from his capital, Amaravati and took away his sovereignty.

        Long the Devas wandered with their King in exile, and repeatedly they made endeavour to regain their capital, but were vanquished again and again. Finally they learnt that the righteous wrath of a Rishi could not be allayed, except by the voluntary self-sacrifice and pity of another Rishi ; and that Vrittra could be slain by no other weapon than the thunderbolt made with the self-given bones of a holy one. And they went eagerly to the Rishi Dadhichi and told their woeful tale to him. And he was filled with a geat pity and said , " I give to you my body willingly to make what use of it you like." 

       And when their artificer Vishvakarma shrank from laying a rude and painful hand upon that shining body of purity and tapas, Dadhichi smiled and said,  "Cover this body up with salt; bring here a herd of cows; they shall lick off the salt and flesh together; and ye shall take the bones which only ye require; and so naught of this body shall be wasted." And this was done and Vrittra fell before the might born of that wondrous sacrifice.* {* Mahabharatam -Van Parva } 

    The Jiva is led up to this point by the teachings of the Rishis, who bid him make sacrifices of his possessions for a good that he does not receive immediately: they show him that when a man sacrifices to others, his gifts return to him increased in the future. A man is to sacrifice some of his goods, which may be looked on as outlying pieces of himself, and he is promised that this act of self-denial shall bring him increased possessions.

           Next he was taught to make similar sacrifices and to deny himself present enjoyments, in order that he might lay up for himself increased happiness on the other side of death in Svarga. Thus the practice of sacrificing was made habitual, and man, by sacrificing his possessions in the hope of reward, prepared to learn that it was his duty to sacrifice himself in the service of others, and to find in the joy of that service his reward. *{* Mahabharatam -Van Parva } 

         Another lesson taught in these sacrifices was the relation man bears to all the beings round him; that he is not a solitary, isolated life, but that all lives are inter-dependent, and can only prosper permanently as they recognise this inter-dependence. The Rishis taught him to sacrifice daily to the Devas, to Rishis, to ancestors, to men and animals, and showed him that as all these made sacrifices to enrich his life, he had incurred to them a debt, a duty, which he must pay by sacrifice. As he fives on others, he must, in common honesty, live for others. Sacrifice is right, a thing that ought to be done, that is owed.

         The Rishis taught him to sacrifice daily to the Devas, to Rishis, to ancestors, to men and animals, and showed him that as all these made sacrifices to enrich his life, he had incurred to them a debt, a duty, which he must pay by sacrifice. As he lives on others, he must, in common honesty, live for others. Sacrifice is right, a thing that ought to be done, that is owed.

           Finally, as the Jiva recognises his parentage, his identity in nature with Ishvara, sacrifice becomes happiness, a delight, and the pouring out of life for others is felt as a joyous exercise of innate divine powers. Instead of seeing how much he can take and how little he can give, he tries to see how little he can take and how much he can give. He begins to look very carefully into what he takes for the support of his own upadhis, and seeks to reduce to the lowest point the suffering inflicted by the breaking up of lower forms for his support. He abandons the foods and the amusements which inflict pain on sentient beings and tries to become "the friend of all creatures.' He realises that while the preying of animals on animals, of men on men, and the slaughter of animals by men for food or sport, are necessary at certain stages of evolution for the development of needed faculties and powers, men should gradually evolve from these, and cultivate the faculties of gentleness, sympathy and tenderness, regarding the weaker as younger Selves to be helped, instead of as victims to be immolated.

     As a man lives in such thoughts of his nonseparateness from younger Selves, he begins to feel more really his non-separateness from elder Selves and from the Universal Parent, Ishvara. Slowly he realises that his true function is to live for others, as Ishvara lives for all, and that his true happiness lies in becoming a channel in which the life of ishvara is flowing, a willing instrument to do the will of Ishvara. Then every action becomes a sacrifice to Ishvara, and actions no longer bind him. Thus the law of sacrifice becomes also the law of liberation.

====================:0:====================

सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः।

अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक्।।3.10।।

देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः।

परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ।।3.11।।

इष्टान्भोगान्हि वो देवा दास्यन्ते यज्ञभाविताः।

तैर्दत्तानप्रदायैभ्यो यो भुङ्क्ते स्तेन एव सः।।3.12।।

यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषैः।

भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात्।।3.13।।

अन्नाद्भवन्ति भूतानि पर्जन्यादन्नसम्भवः।

यज्ञाद्भवति पर्जन्यो यज्ञः कर्मसमुद्भवः।।3.14।।

कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भवं विद्धि ब्रह्माक्षरसमुद्भवम्।

तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्म नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम्।।3.15।।

"Having in ancient times emanated mankind together with sacrifice, Prajapati declared :' By this shall ye propagate ; be this to you the Kamadhuk : 

" With this nourish ye the Devas, and may the Devas nourish you ; thus nourishing one another ye shall reap the supremest good. "

" For, nourished by sacrifice, the Devas, shall bestow on you the enjoyments you desire. A thief verily is he who enjoyeth what is given by them without returning them aught. 

" The righteous, who eat the remains of the sacrifice, are freed from all sins ; but the impious, who dress food for their own sakes, they verily eat sin. 

" From food creatures come forth ; from rain is the production of food ; rain proceedeth from sacrifice ; sacrifice ariseth out of action.

"Know thou from Brahma (from the Veda to Vivekananda ) action groweth, and Brahma (the Veda) from the Imperishable, cometh. Therefore Brahman, the all permeating, is ever present in sacrifice."

काङ्क्षन्तः कर्मणां सिद्धिं यजन्त इह देवताः।

क्षिप्रं हि मानुषे लोके सिद्धिर्भवति कर्मजा।।4.12।।

" They who long after success in action on earth sacrifice to the Devas ; for in brief space, verily, in this world of men, success is born of action."

एह्येहीति तमाहुतयः सुवर्चसः सूर्यस्य रश्मिभिर्यजमानं वहन्ति।

प्रियां वाचमभिवदन्त्योऽर्चयन्त्य एष वः पुण्यः सुकृतो ब्रह्मलोकः ॥

मुण्डकोपनिषद् १/२/६ 

एह्येहीति तमाहुतयः सुवर्चसः सूर्यस्य रश्मिभिर्यजमानं वहन्ति।

प्रियां वाचमभिवदन्त्योऽर्चयन्त्य एष वः पुण्यः सुकृतो ब्रह्मलोकः ॥

मुण्डकोपनिषद् १/२/६ 

" Whoever works (sacrifices), pouring libations into the shining of these [the seven flames previously mentioned] at the proper time, him these sun-rays lead where dwells the one Lord of the Devas. Saying to him “Come with us”, “Come with us”,' these resplendent libations carry the sacrificer by the sun-rays, worshipping him and saying the sweet words to him, by the rays of the Sun speaking to him pleasant words of sweetness, doing him homage, “This is your pure well-deserved ब्रह्मलोक  world of Brahman and the heaven of your righteousness.”

यज्ञशिष्टामृतभुजो यान्ति ब्रह्म सनातनम्।

नायं लोकोऽस्त्ययज्ञस्य कुतो़ऽन्यः कुरुसत्तम।।गीता 4.31।।

" The eaters of the life-giving remains of sacrifice go to the eternal Brahman. This world is not for the non-sacrificer, much less the other, best of the Kurus.

गतसङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञानावस्थितचेतसः।

यज्ञायाचरतः कर्म समग्रं प्रविलीयते।।4.23।।

" From one with attachment dead, harmonious, with his thoughts established in wisdom, his works sacrifices, all Karma melts away.

यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत्।

यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम्।।9.27।।

शुभाशुभफलैरेवं मोक्ष्यसे कर्मबन्धनैः।

संन्यासयोगयुक्तात्मा विमुक्तो मामुपैष्यसि।।9.28।।

" Whatsoever thou doest, whatsoever thou eatest, whatsoever thou offerest, whatsoever thou givest, whatsoever thou doest of austerity, Kaunteya, do thou that as an offering unto Me.

" Thus shalt thou be liberated from the bonds of action, (yielding) good and evil fruits. "

=================:0:==============

SANATANA DHARMA - (8) - "Karma " (CHAPTER IV -- 44 to 55 )

CHAPTER IV.

KARMA

         KARMA is a Sanskrit word which means action, but it is generally used to mean a certain definite connection between what is being done now and what will happen in the future. Things do not happen by accident, by chance, in a disorderly way. They happen in regular succession ; they follow each other in a regular order.

         If a seed is planted in the ground, it sends up a little stem, and leaves grow on the stem and the flowers come, and then fruits, and in the fruits are seeds again. And one of these seeds planted will produce a stem, and leaves, and flowers and fruits and seeds. The same sort of seed produces the same kind of plants. Rice produces rice-plants; barley produces barley; wheat produces wheat; thistle produces thistle; cactus produces cactus. If a man sows thistles, he must not expect a crop of sweet grapes; if he plants prickly cactus, he must not expect to gather juicy apples. This is karma, and a man, knowing it, sows the seed of the thing he wants to reap. This is the first thing to remember.

      Now an action is not quite so simple a thing as it looks. If I ask a person, "Why do you walk into the town?" he will say: "I wanteds pair of shoes, and I thought I could get them there;" or - " l wanted to see a freind and I thought he was in the town;" and so on, in many ways, but always:- " I wanted and I thought therefore I acted." These three are always found together.

     Now a want is what is called a desire; we desire to get something that is the first stage; then we think how to get it that is the second stage; then we act so as to get it that is the third stage. This is the regular order; every action has a thought behind it and every thought has a desire behind it. These three things action, thought, desire are the three threads that are twisted into the cord of karma. 

         Our actions make the people round us happy or unhappy; if we make them happy, we have sown happiness like a seed, and it grows up into happiness for ourselves; if we make them un- happy, we have sown un-happiness like a seed, and it grows up into un-happiness for ourselves. If we do cruel things, we sow cruelty like a seed, and it grows up into cruelty to ourselves. If we do kind things, we sow kindness like a seed, and it grows up into kindness to ourselves. Whatever we sow by our actions comes back to us. This is karma. But action has thought behind it.

           Now thought makes what is called our CHARACTER , the nature and kind of mind that we have. As we think about a thing a great deal, our mind becomes like that thing. If we think kindly, we become kind; if we think cruelly, we become cruel; if we think deceitfully, we become deceitful ; if we think honestly, we become honest. In this way our CHARACTER is made by our thoughts, and when we are born again, we shall be born with the CHARACTER  that is being made, by our thoughts now.

               As we act according to our NATURE , or CHARACTER  as a kind person acts kindly, or a cruel person acts cruelly it is easy to see that actions in our next life will depend on the thoughts of our present life. This is karma.

      But thought has desire behind it. Now desire brings us the object we wish for. As a magnet attracts soft iron, so does desire attract objects. If we desire money, we shall have the opportunity of becoming rich in another life. If we desire learning, we shall have the opportunity of becoming learned in another life. If we desire love, we shall have the opportunity of becoming loved. If we desire power, we shall have the opportunity of becoming powerful. This is karma.

     The student should think over this again and again till he thoroughly understands it. Only when he understands this, can he go on to the more difficult problems of karma. Karma may be summed up in a sentence : " A man reaps as he sows. " 

             But the student may ask : " If my actions now are the outcome of my past thoughts, and if my past thoughts are the outcome of my past desires, am I not helplessly bound? I must act as I have thought. I must think as I have desired." That is true, but to a certain extent only ; for we are changing constantly as we gain new experiences, and the Jiva thus gains more knowledge, and by the help of that changes his desires. In other words, while we have actually desired, thought and acted in a certain way in the past, the possibility of desiring, of thinking otherwise has also been present throughout that past ; and this possibility may be turned, at any time, into actuality, as soon as we realise, by means of new experiences, the evil consequences of acting as we have actually done in the past.

          Suppose a man finds that he has acted cruelly: he learns that his cruel action was caused by his cruel thoughts in the past, and that those cruel thoughts grew out of desire to get an object which could only be obtained by cruelty. He sees that his cruel actions make people miserable, that these people hate and fear him, and thus make him lonely and unhappy. He thinks over all this, and he resolves to change, but the pressure of his past thoughts and desires is very difficult to resist. 

       He goes to the root of the trouble the desire for the things that he can not get without cruelty, and he who is the Jiva says to himself : "I will not let myself desire those things, and whenever I begin to wish for them, I will remember that the desire breeds misery." He uses thought to check desire, instead of letting desire control thought. Then instead of desires carrying him away, as if they were runaway horses, he gradually uses thought as a bridle, and keeps his desires in check. He will only allow them to run after objects that bring happiness when they are obtained. Young Jivas let their desires run away with them, and so bring much unhappiness on themselves; older Jivas grow wiser, and when the desire runs out to an object the possession of which would, as he has found in the past, cause unhappiness, he remembers that past unhappiness, and by his thought pulls the desire back.

              The student, then, who would make happiness for others and for himself, must look well after his desires, must find out by observation and study which objects in the long run bring happiness, and which bring unhappiness, and must then try, with all his strength, to desire only those things the out- come of which is happiness. It is very important to realise that escape from the bonds of birth and death is not gained by any special mode of life, but that, as Shri Krshna says :

सर्वभूतस्थितं यो मां भजत्येकत्वमास्थितः।

सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि स योगी मयि वर्तते।।6.31।।

मेरे में एकीभाव से स्थित हुआ जो योगी सम्पूर्ण प्राणियों में स्थित मेरा भजन करता है, वह सब कुछ बर्ताव करता हुआ भी मेरे में ही बर्ताव कर रहा है अर्थात् वह सर्वथा मेरे में ही स्थित है।

 " He who, established in unity, worshippeth Me, abiding in all beings, that yogi liveth in Me, whatever his mode of living."* 

         Janaka, the Kshattriya King and Tuladhara, the Vaishya merchant, equally reached liberation, and that, not by fleeing to the forest, but by the absence of desire for worldly things. Janaka was King in Mithila over the Videhas and, having attained to tranquility of mind, he sang this song: "Unlimited is my wealth, and yet I have naught. If the whole of Mithila be burned up with fire, yet for me there will be nothing lost." ** 

         And so he told Mandavya, having repeated this, that whatever possessions a man might have were but a source of trouble, and that the gratification of desire, here or in heaven, could not afford the sixteenth part of the happiness which comes from the disappearance of desire. As the horns of a cow grow with the cow, so does the desire for wealth grow with its possession. Wealth should be used for the good that can be done with it, but desire is sorrow. Looking on all creatures as on himself, a wise man gains freedom from all anxiety.**  (Mahabharatam , Shanti Parva, clxxiii/* Mahabharatam , cccxxvii.* Mahabharatam , cccxxvii. ) 

        By the teaching of the sage याज्ञवल्क्य , King Janaka attained liberation, for it "enabled him to attain to that Brahman which is auspicious and immortal, and which transcends all sorrow." ** (See the great discourse of Yajnavalkya to King Janaka; Ibid. Shanti Parva, cccxi cacxix. libid cccxxvi cccxxviii.) And having thus learned, he became in his turn a teacher, to whom even Vyasa sent his son, Shuka, to learn the religion of emancipation.     

       Jajali made great tapas, and became filled with pride; and one day he thought within himself: "who in this wide sea and spacious earth is like to me ?" Then cried a voice-. "Say not such words. Even Tuladhara, busy in buying and selling, should not thus speak, and to him thou art not equal."           

         Then Jajali wondered much that a mere merchant should be put above himself, a Brahmana and an ascetic, and he set forth to find Tuladhra, and thus solve the riddle. Vexing himself, he reached the city of Varanasi, and there found Tuladhara, a mere shopkeeper, selling, to whomsoever came, all kinds of goods. Tuladhara stood up, greeting the Brahmana as was fitting and to him Tuladhara re- lated the story of the great penance that had inflated him with pride: "Angry, thou hast come to me, O' Brahmana; what service can I render thee ? " 

        Much amazed was Jajali at such knowledge of his past shown by this humble trader, and eagerly he pressed for explanation. Then Tuladhara spoke to him of the ancient morality known to all though practised by so few of living in a way which inflicted harm on none, or when harm could not be totally avoided, a minimum of such harm; he himself asked no loan from any, nor with any quarrelled; attraction and aversion he had conquered; equal his look on all, without praising or blaming any; when a man is tearless and is feared by none, when he neither likes nor dislikes, when he does no wrong to any, then he reaches Brahman. Very beautifully did Tuludhara discourse of the injuries inflicted on animals and on men by cruelty, of the nature of sacrifice, and of true pilgrimage, showing how liberation might be gained by harmlessness. *

काममय एवायं पुरुष इति। 

स यथाकामो भवति तत्क्रतुर्भवति। 

यत्क्रतुर्भवति तत्कर्म कुरुते। 

यत्कर्म कुरुते तदभिसंपद्यते॥(बृहदारण्यकोपनिषत् ४।४।५ ॥) 

"Man verily is desire-formed; as is his desire so is his thought; as (his) thought is, so he does action; as he does action, so he attains."

" पुरुष काममय है । जैसी उसकी कामना होती है, वैसी उसकी कर्म की चेष्टा, संकल्प होता है; जैसा संकल्प होता है, वैसा कर्म करता है; जैसा कर्म करता है, वैसा फल पाता है । [यह वर्णन स्पष्टतः सामान्य जीवात्मा के विषय में है ।  जो पाप भी करती है और पुण्य भी, जबकि ब्रह्मवेत्ता या  ब्रह्मविद  (ब्रह्म= बृहद , बड़ा, सर्वश्रेष्ठ) –को जानने वाला तो जीवन्मुक्त आत्मा होती है, मोक्ष की भागी होती है । ] 

" तदेव सक्तः सह कर्मणैति लिङ्गं मनो यत्र निषक्तमस्य ।" (बृहदारण्यकोपनिषद ४/४ / ६) 

" So indeed the desirer goes by work to the object in which his mind is immersed."

[ "Because of attachment, the transmigrating self, together with its work, attains that result to which its subtle body or mind clings. Having exhausted in the other world the results of whatever work it did in this life, it returns from that world to this world for fresh work.Thus does the man who desires transmigrate." 

"  But as to the man who does not desire-who is without desire, who is freed from desire, whose desire is satisfied, whose only object of desire is the Self-his organs do not depart. Being Brahman, he merges in Brahman.] 

अथ खलु ऋतुमयः पुरुषो यथाक्रतुरस्मिंल्लोके पुरुषो भवति तथेतः प्रेत्य भवति।  (छान्दोग्य -३/१४ -१/२) 

"Now verily man is thought-formed; as man in this world thinks, so, having gone away hence, he becomes."

न मां कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति न मे कर्मफले स्पृहा।

इति मां योऽभिजानाति कर्मभिर्न स बध्यते।।4.14।।

एवं ज्ञात्वा कृतं कर्म पूर्वैरपि मुमुक्षुभिः।

कुरु कर्मैव तस्मात्त्वं पूर्वैः पूर्वतरं कृतम्।।4.15।।

"Nor do actions affect Me, nor is the fruit of action desired by Me. He who thus knoweth Me is not bound by actions."

"Having thus known, our forefathers, ever seeking liberation, performed action ; therefore do thou also perform action, as did our forefathers in the

olden time. "

यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः।

ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तमाहुः पण्डितं बुधाः।।4.19।।

त्यक्त्वा कर्मफलासङ्गं नित्यतृप्तो निराश्रयः।

कर्मण्यभिप्रवृत्तोऽपि नैव किञ्चित्करोति सः।।4.20।।

निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः।

शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम्।।4.21।।

यदृच्छालाभसन्तुष्टो द्वन्द्वातीतो विमत्सरः।

समः सिद्धावसिद्धौ च कृत्वापि न निबध्यते।।4.22।।

गतसङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञानावस्थितचेतसः।

यज्ञायाचरतः कर्म समग्रं प्रविलीयते।।4.23।।

"Whose works are all free from the moulding of desire, whose actions are burned up by the fire of wisdom, him the wise have called a Sage."

"Having abandoned attachment to the fruit of action, always content, nowhere seeking refuge he is not doing anything, although doing actions.

"Hoping for naught, his mind and self controlled, having abandoned all greed, performing action by the body alone, he doth not commit sin."

"Of one with attachment dead, harmonious, with his thoughts established in wisdom, his works sacrifices, all action melts away."

यदा सर्वे प्रमुच्यन्ते कामा येऽस्य हृदि श्रिताः।

अथ मर्त्योऽमृतो भवत्यत्र ब्रह्म समश्नुते ॥ कठोपनिषद् -२/३/१४ 

"When all the desires hidden in the heart are loosed, then the mortal becomes immortal, then he here enjoyeth Brahman."

आत्मानं रथिनं विद्धि शरीरं रथमेव तु ।

बुद्धिं तु सारथिं विद्धि मनः प्रग्रहमेव च ।।

इंद्रियाणि हयानाहुर्विषयांस्तेषु गोचरान् ।

आत्मेन्द्रियमनोयुक्तं भोक्तेत्याहुर्मनीषिणः ।।

यस्त्वविज्ञानवान्भवत्ययुक्तेन मनसा सदा

तस्येन्द्रियाण्यवश्यानि दुष्टाश्वा इव सारथेः ॥

यस्तु विज्ञानवान्भवति युक्तेन मनसा सदा

तस्येन्द्रियाणि वश्यानि सदश्वा इव सारथेः ॥

यस्त्वविज्ञानवान्भवत्यमनस्कः सदाऽशुचिः।

न स तत्पदमाप्नोति संसारं चाधिगच्छति ॥ (कठोपनिषद् १/३-७)  

"Know the Self, the chariot-owner, the body the chariot ; know Reason the charioteer, and the mind as the reins; they call the senses the horses, the sense-objects their province. The Self, joined to the senses and mind, (is) the enjoyer; thus say'the wise. Whoever is ignorant, always with mind loose, his senses (are) uncontrolled, like bad horses of the charioteer. Whoever is wise, always with mind tightened, his senses (are) controlled, like good horses of the charioteer. Whoever is indeed ignorant, thoughtless, always impure, he does not obtain that goal (but) comes again into Samsara."

======================0===============