Wisdom from the Rishis ( Arsha Vidya Deepam )

arjavam,acharyopasanam,saucham,Atmavinigraha,indriyartheshu vairagyam, Anahamkara,janma mrityu jara vyadi dukha dosha anudarsanam,Asakti,Anabhishvangah putra dara gruhadishu, Samachitvatvam ishta anishta upapattishu, these qualities are briefly described to have some clarity regarding the prepared mind which can expose to vedanta to attain self knowledge. Few more things are in the list which is going to come next. It is a process of knowing hence no attempt to leapfrog here will work. Stay with the vision and grow gradually till one gains absolute clarity.

Amanitvadi qualities are essential for the pursuit of self knowledge. One cannot objectify the very subject.So here the method of knowing is unlike any other knowledge. The only saving grace is that the self evident self doesn't required to be objectified to know its reality and to be identified with it as ones swarupa.

We have Mantras to Invoke the blessings of the Lord. Saraswati the goddess of knowledge is the deity invoked through this mantra. Knowledge is not separate from prosperity and wealth etc. So the mantra has "beejaksharas" ( various aspects of the power of the Lord is coded and it becomes complete mantra for the required benifit of chanting it ) To do it continuously is "akhanda nama japa" .

Contemplation is preceded by Sravanam and mananam. In this song which happens to be in sanskrit the vision of vedanta and the method of gaining it are presented . Bhavaye . . . . . paramatmanam....bhavabhaya duram...

9 days are dedicated for puja and generally known as navarathri puja which will culminate in the celebration of vijaya dasami on the 10th day. The day is very much selected for initiating children to the world of knowledge. Everything is looked up on as the manifestation of the "Shakti".Three aspects of the same power is viewed as ichha shakti, kriya shakti and jnana shakti. The capacity to discern and choose and the power to exercise our choice also the power of knowledge to make an appropriate choice is the basis for the success of any undertaking. This is attained through recognising the shakti which is universal and resides in the form of Durga,Lakshmy and Saraswati. So these are visualized the power of Iswara who is non seperate from it. Like the fire and its power to burn are non seperate.so too the Parameswara and the Shakti. Shakti is prakrti which is the manifested world. It has 3 gunas and the these gunas are inherent in the creation. This is Otherwise known as Maya which is behind the creation.Because Iswaras swarupa doesn't change inspite of the creation being what it is. The detailed discussion will bring out the truth behind the creation but here briefly we recognise the presence of three powers which is Bhagavans Shakti only therefore not seperate from Bhagavan but from the stand point of creation we have to look at it severally for our own understanding. These things will be seen in detail during study of vedanta.....OmTatSat

Japa for a condusive mind. repetation of the mantra which can be your "ishta devata" any name of the "Iswara" gives a predictability of ones next thought. if one becomes aware of it one can see the thoughts are objectifiable like our own body.see your thoughts and by doing japa one can extent that alertness to all other thoughts.This way the mind will abide in oneself.It is called a peaceful mind which is essential for further growing in clarity to get the "Atmajnanam" self knowledge. Bhagavad Gita talks about it. There Sri Krishna gives the knowledge of the self also the methods to prepare oneself ready for it. Raga dvesha management through yoga buddhi is elaborately taught. we will see that in study of Bhagavad Gita. Japa happens to be an important aspect to accomplish the readiness of the mind for self knowledge.

Meditation is complete only by validating everything with Iswara's presence in ones life. Without accepting Iswara as the order one cannot find a place to surrender (samarpanam).Guru is the one who reveals it by unfolding the true nature of Iswara. Gurus words in keeping with pramana becomes the source of this wisdom. What the teacher ( guru ) says is important for the student ( Shishya ) but what the shishya doesn't say is important for the Guru. Interaction through proper questions and valid answers is the basis for the clarity of knowledge and this happens when the shishya has proximity to his/her Guru. The teaching tradition therefore calls it the "upanisadVidya" wisdom of the upanisads. This is taught in Bhagavad Gita also when Bhagavan Sri Krishna was asked by Arjuna who was an accomplished person but sarrow of life is following like a shadow and he realized it.So he sought the final answer for the human problem of self non-acceptance.SriKrishna taught him elaborately with karma yoga as the yoga of attitudes for managing raga and dvesha for gaining this knowledge. upanisads being the source which came through Rishis who revealed the vision and known as Vedas. Vedas being the body of knowledge which talks about the ultimate vision regarding the reality of the world and existence as such and known as Vedanta. Vedanta is the subject matter of upanisads and being ultimate knowledge placed appropriately towards the end of Vedas. It is the means of knowledge (pramana) for knowing the self. Without self knowledge there is no possibility of reaching anywhere in the search for the realities regarding this world or oneself.

Pradosha puja . Today (14th Oct.2020) being the pradosha (trayodasi) day. Evening puja is for invoking the grace of Iswara in the form of Shiva the Mahadeva. Our attitudes are expressed in a formal way through Vedic chantings. Some of the chants are made available here.

Any knowledge has to be communicated only through the language people understand which we call as our mother toungue.....Vallatol brings this vision and presents it through this few verses and known to many people who speaks the language malayalam which is geographically located in place called Kerala which again is a name that comes because of the abundance of the "Kera vrksha" coconut trees. Like the city of "Vadodara" in gujarat gets the name because it has lot of banyan trees which is called "Vatavrksha" therefore Vadodara. There the language is gujarati. In Kerala the language happens to be Malayalam. With so many languages we are enriched to have a culture which connects everyone together. So we can see the glory of all languages in this poem. Because the poiet describes it beautifully towards the end of the poem that even the nector like things will taste better if served by the Mother. So too any difficult subject will be easily understood if presented in mother toungue.

In meditation we are finding an opportunity to see the meditator without being judgemental and with more clarity and objectivity. We come in touch with the realities the beauty that is already manifested as your own self. Let us discover the facts about oneself just being an alert being just being conscious of everything around you.