#purusha

Series on Powerful Nav-Durga! Continued….. – Prof. Bal Ram Singh It is worthwhile to note that Nav-Durga are the devis, perhaps a best model of daughters. How can boys and men relate to those features? While the stories use the form of a daughter or woman, in Hindu philosophy, these are archetypes of energy (Shakti) that exist in every human being, regardless of gender. Men and boys relate to…

Today’s Book of the Day is Yoga Sutras, written by Patanjali around the 2nd century BCE. Patanjali  – पतञ्जलि, also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic, and philosopher, who was believed to be a Siddhar, an enlightened scholar of Yoga and spiritual knowledge. He lived between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE. I have chosen this book because people often ask me which kind of…

In an age long since past, where time and space danced the eternal waltz of existence, nestled in a cosmos teeming with celestial expanse, was a tiny planet. This was Earth, a planet known for its extraordinary vigor, beauty, and lush life. It was here Prakriti danced - a wonder of creation, the material cosmos personified.

Prakriti, in all her grandeur, was the Seen, an enigmatic entity of braided pulsars, clustered galaxies, and swirling neon nebulae. She was the ocean's depth and the mountain's height, she was both the raging tornado and the softest snowflake. Her dance was the seasons and the stars, life and death, creation and decay. In her cosmic ballet, she was everything - and yet, unseen.

Who could appreciate her infinite dance, her celestial choreography? Her cosmic prevalence was too sacred and subtle to be understood by the untrained eye, and thus, unperceived she remained, dancing through the cosmic maelstrom, yearning a worthy observer.

Then there came Purusha, the Seer. He was unlike any other, an entity rare and trustworthy who came from the silence that existed between thought and action. Removing the veils of ignorance and illusions, he sought to comprehend the profound dance of Prakriti, the cosmic spectacle that lay before his transcendental sight.

Purusha watched, and as he did, he realized his fortunate position. Before him danced the Universe, her beauty unparalleled, her dance dazzling. His gaze was unwavering, his reverence sincere. He silently vowed to honor the dance, to see it not with mortal eyes but with a pure, unblemished soul.

The dance of Prakriti continued, flowing through galaxies and echoing through time. And Purusha, with devoted admiration, beheld the dance, a rare and worthy audience. A sacred bond formed between the Seen and the Seer, a communion as old as time itself.

And thus, the dance of the cosmos continued, observed by the Seer, through him acquiring value and through him being understood. But it was also through the Seen that the Seer found his purpose. Theirs was a dance of mutual existence, a dance of unity.

In the end, Purusha and Prakriti together unveiled a cosmic truth: the dance of the cosmos indeed exists, ever-vibrant and divine, but it is in the perception of this dance where its beauty unfurls, where its significance arises, and where its divine freak dances.

Man (purusha) without a woman (power) is a corpse, a woman without a man (will) is dark, negative destruction - Shiva prostrated by Kali. Positive, creative destruction is Shiva opening his enlightened eye to his cosmic dance permeated by the energy of Shakti. However, in the formula of PURUSHAKTI both are necessary moments in the great circle of universal transformation, inasmuch as the will to power works by surmounting obstacles.  

Yagna - Superstition or Science?

Three years back, I had been to Varanasi to meet a business partner. After the day's work, I was back at Varanasi airport, and stepped into its small, compact smoking zone. As I lit my cigarette, a middle aged lady walked in, took out a cigarette from her handbag, lit it and smiled at me. She was a foreigner. We struck a conversation. She told me that she was a German and had come here to invite one of the pandits in Varanasi to visit her home town in Germany, to organise a Yagna for them. I looked at her incredulously. She told me calmly that there is a big market for Yagnas in Europe. I could not believe my ears. As she ground her half-finished cigarette and turned to leave, she smiled and said politely, "Indians have forgotten the science behind Yagnas." And she left.

She was wrong. I hadn't forgotten. I just didn't know that there was a science behind Yagnas.

The above illustration is one of the thousand or so that Devdutt Pattanaik has sketched in his fifty plus publications demystifying Hinduism, its mythology and its complex imagery. Over the past three years, I have heavily banked on him to understand this multi-faceted way of life, originally called Sanatana Dharma, now conveniently but inaccurately called Hinduism. What I share with you below is based on my understanding, however incomplete it may be.

The most commonly used translation of Yagna is Sacrifice. Devdutt Pattanaik says that Yagna was infact conceptualized, not as a mere sacrifice, but as an Exchange. As such, it consisted of two parts - A Sacrifice or an Offering, made in return for an Expectation.

The initiator of the Yagna was called a Yajamana. He initiated a Yagna because he had a material desire that he wanted to fulfill - a son to continue his lineage, or wealth for his treasury, or rains for his kingdom, or victory in a war, and so on and so forth.

In order to fulfill his desire, he was willing to make an offering (donations of cows, wealth etc), represented by Svaha - This of me, I offer to you.

The fulfiller of his desires was a Devata - an energy form, representing the material apiration of the Yajamana. More on this guy later. The Devata fulfilled the desire saying Tathastu - So be it!

So, a Yagna was a mechanism of invoking a Devata to fulfill a particular desire. It was a "give and recieve" mechanism, a practical, material process, as against the misunderstood "noble" concept of simply a sacrifice.

This process of invoking the Devata was highly technical, and required an expert who knew its technolgy. This expert was called a Rishi, who was a Brahmana (one who is in communion with the Brahman).

Ancient Indian Rishis were scientists, who knew the science and technology behind invoking different energy bodies (Devatas) representing different material desires.

Okay. But did Devatas exist? Are they these so-called energy bodies, or are they just figments of mythology? How do we get a grip on this idea?

To understand this, lets see what modern science has to say. I take modern science's reference, not because it is more advanced or more accurate, but simply because it is contemporary and so, we relate to it better. Lets see what its foremost scientist, Albert Einstein, had to say.

The crux of Einstein's entire life is a small formula, probably the most well-known formula in the world, E=mc2. Through it, Einstein states that:

Matter is nothing but condensed energy.

Different types of matter resonate with different energy levels.

Now, compare this with what the Sankhya Yoga, one of the six schools of Indian philosophy, expounded by Kapila Maharshi, says.

Consciousness (Purusha or Shiva) manifests as Energy (Prakriti or Shakti).

Energy manifests as various forms of matter - from the very subtle (Shoonya), to the subtle (Sukshma), to the gross forms of matter (Sthula).

So, Energy is condensed Consciousness. Matter is condensed Energy.

Through a set of processes, it into possible to change matter into energy, or energy into matter, or tap into higher or lower energy levels, and change the forms of matter.

So, it is possible to invoke an energy form that will bring rain to a land. Required frequencies have to be tapped. It is possible to invoke a male child in a barren womb. Those particular frequencies have to be tapped. This Yagna was called Putrakameshthi Yagna. It is possible to invoke wealth. A different frequency, and hence a corresponding energy form needs to be tapped. This energy form can be given a name (for example, Kubera) and can be considered a deity (worthy of worship), but in essence, I understand a Devata as an energy form, corresponding to the frequency of a material, physical aspect.

So, there can be a water god (Varuna), or a fire god (Agni) or a wind god (Vayu), or a tree god, or an elephant god (Ganesha) or a goddess for wealth (Lakshmi), or for knowledge (Saraswati), or for any of the 33 million gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. They may just have been various energy forms corresponding to various frequencies on the material plane.

Next, how can one invoke these deities (Devatas or Devis)?

The set up of the Yagnashala itself is applied science, ie. highly advanced technology. Take for instance the Havan Kund, also called Yagna Vedi.

The Havan Kund works on a simple scientific principle that geometry (shape, direction, size, location) influences the flow of energy. This is the same principle on which Vaastu Shastra is based. So the shape of the Yagna Vedi varies with the type of energy to be invoked.

A funfact - the word pyramid means fire in the middle. It was an ancient geometrical tool to create a particular energy field within itself.

The second aspect of invoking the Devata is the use of Mantras. There is a beautiful book on this subject by Om Swami.

Basically, mantras are sounds. Sound is infact energy. If a particular sound is uttered, a vibration is created. This vibration has a particular frequency. So different syllables generate different frequencies.

A mantra is a combination of different syllables in a particular order, which when uttered aloud, repeatedly, creates a particular energy field. There are mantras for various material and spiritual aspirations - for health, for wealth, for relations, for mental peace, for spiritual growth, so on and so forth.

Another funfact - the most powerful mantra in the universe is a simple syllable - Om, also pronounced as AUM, a corruption of which is seen in every religion - Amen in Christianity, Amin in Islam etc.

Another aspect of the science of Yagna is the use of Fire - Agni.

Fire is one of the five primordial elements - Agni (fire), Vayu (air), Apah (water), Akash (space) and Prithvi (earth).

The discovery of Fire by man is a pivotal moment in his evolutionary journey, primarily because it marks man's evolution of consciousness. Reminds me of the movie - Jungle book, by Disney - where Mowgli is captured by a bunch a monkeys because the monkey king wants to know how man made fire.

More importantly, fire is energy - heat energy. It also signifies purity. It burns away impurities and leaves a pure residue.

I read somewhere that there are 1008 types of Yagnas in the Vedas.

I wonder why the only narrative of Yagna I heard as a kid growing up was that it involved animal sacrifice. I wonder why I have always considered Yagna to be a superstition. And I wonder how Germans heard another narrative and decided to import its technology from India.

Hindu Mythology & Deities

- The Gods of Rig Vedic Period (11)-

Tvaster

In the historical Vedic religion, Tvastr is the artisan god or fashioner. The Purusha Sukta refers to the Purusha as Tvastr, who is the visible form of creativity emerged from the navel of the invisible Vishvakarma. 

Purusha Sukta and the tenth mandala of the Rigveda, his character and attributes are merged with the concept of Hiranyagharbha/Prajapathy or Brahma. 

Both Prakriti (female gender) and Purusha (male gender) put together become Brahman : the Absolute.

Tvastr, is the heavenly builder, the maker of divine implements, especially Indra's weapon called Vajra and the guardian of Soma. 

Travstr is mentioned 65 times in the Rigveda and is the former of the bodies of men and animals,' and invoked when desiring offspring, called garbha-pati or the lord of the womb.

Hiraṇyagarbha means literally the 'golden womb' in Sanskrit, poetically translated as 'universal womb' is the source of the creation of universe or the manifested cosmos in Vedic philosophy as well as an avatar of Vishnu in the Bhagavata Purana.

In classical Purāṇic Hinduism, Hiraṇyagarbha is the term used in the Vedanta for the "creator". Hiraṇyagarbha is also Brahmā, so called because it is said he was born from a golden egg, while the Mahābhārata calls it the Manifest. Some classical yoga traditions consider Hiraṇyagarbha as the originator of yoga, though this may also be a name for Rishi Kapila.

インド神話と神様たち

−ヴェーダ時代からの神々（１１）–

トヴァシュトリ

トヴァシュトリとは、ヴェーダの宗教における、世界で最初に生まれた創造主である。プルシャ讃歌はプルシャをトヴァシュトリと呼んでいる。

そこでのトヴァシュトリは、不可視のヴィシュヴァカルマンの臍から出現した、創造の力の目に見える形態である。リグ・ヴェーダ第10巻において、トヴァシュトリの特徴と属性は、ヒラニヤガルバ／プラジャーパティまたはブラフマーの概念に吸収された。

トヴァシュトリは天界の工匠であって、神々のための道具、特にインドラの武器・ヴァジュラの制作者である。そしてまた神酒ソーマの守護者である。

トヴァシュトリはリグ・ヴェーダの中で65回言及され、胎児が望まれたときにその力を発揮する人類や動物の肉体の形成者であり、ガルバパティ (garbha-pati) または「胎の主」と呼ばれる。

ヒラニヤガルバとは、サンスクリット語の直訳では「黄金の子宮」を意味しており、インドのリグ・ベーダの賛歌に説かれる世界創造の原因。太初に現れ万有の唯一なる主宰者となった。天地を安立し，山や海を生じ，神々の生気となり，神々および生類を支配し，世界の秩序を維持する。特に「神々の上に位する唯一神」であることが強調されている。