ONLINE SWADHYAYA ON HATHA YOGA PRADIPIKA IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER

 An online Swadhyaya class in Malayalam on Hatha yoga Pradipika by Acharya Kaithapram Vasudevan Namboothiri -Chairman of Patanjali Yoga research training centre, Ernakulum. 25  participants attended the class. MA.Lakshmi Didi welcomed the Acharya and Sri Sudhakarji introduced Acharya to the participants.

The wide knowledge of Acharya kept the participants spell bound.The Acharya began with the introduction of Hathayoga starting with 'Ha'-Hakara kirthita Suryaha and 'Tha' - Thakara chandra ucchate, again 'Ha' is prakriti and 'tha' is purusha  or 'Ha' is Ida and 'tha ' refers to  Pingala nadis  is Hathayoga.. Authored by Yogi Swatmarama who was the disciple of Gorakshanath. 

Patiently explaining each and every sloka from Sanskrit to Malayalam during the month of December. From the 1st versr of prarthana sloka to 16 th verse deals with the disciplines required to become a Hatha yogiFrom the 17th and 18th verse deals with the introduction to asana and 19th  to the 30th verse which deals with asanas namely swastikasana, Gomukhasana,Veerasana,Koormasana, Kukkutasana,Uttanakoormasana,Dhanurasana, Matsyendrasana, Pascimattanasanaand Mayurasana and the method of performing with benefits of . some of the asanas.

WEEKLY SWADHYAYA BY SWAMI VEERABHADRANANDAJI IN DECEMBER

In the month of December only two classes were conducted by Swami Veerabhadranandaji. The two classes were on the subject 

Character of a man reflects the character of the Nation.Swami Vivekananda was one such a person.

The topic of the two classes was 'Swamiji's response to Woman'

He referred to Swamiji's armour being the gift from his Guru Sri Ramakrishna to see the mother in every women.

Another cause of Swamiji's attitude towards women is how his mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi had trained Swamji as to how to treat the women.

 One has to raise oneself up to the spiritual , aesthetic , ethical, moral aspect of one's personality  which can have higher and sublime By yields in one's life just like Swami Vivekananda, and which is the typical characteristic of  Indian culture .  

In the second session Swamiji made it clear how Isha bhakti and Desha bhakti or bifurcation of God and motherland was made one single unified force  by the concept  of Bhakti taught by Swami Vivekananda. When this two bhaktis get unified as was syncronised by Swamiji it turned into a patriotic urge , a practical Bhakti. Hence our motherland becomes God and her citizens the manifestations and naturally the theory of oneness with all automatically develops in one. This  idea of Swamiji was  taken up by all the freedom fighters. Even women of India had tremendous contribution to our National development. Swami Veerabhadranandaji  mentioned many incidents of most unusual sacrificing mothers of India  eg. that of Tamilnadu of Changorkan ( red eyed) Chola King  whose mother consciously  embraced death  to beget a son who would glorify the mother's name and  heredity. Swami Vivekananda's mother too performed penance before his birth. Thus Swamiji wanted that  every women be  approached as 'Tarini' or 'Yogini' or looking upon women with reverence rather than looking at her as a comodity or 'Mohini'.

7th November Weeklly Swadhyaya

 SWAMI VIVEKANANDA GLOWS IN HUMAN RELATIONSHIP

                                                                                   

       On November 7th Saturday, in the online    swadhyaya class titled 'Meditation on  Swamiji,'                         Srimad Swami Veerabhadranandaji, in charge of Ramakrishna Math Haripad was the speaker. Quoting from the reactions of some of the famous personalities, on Swami Vivekananda's life's events and his message  who hold swamiji as a life guiding star eg  Mr Shukorno -the President of  Indonesia who doesnot complete his day without reading Swamiji.Dr Manmohan Singh -ex-Prime Minister of India referred to Swami Vivekananda as 'the tallest man  of the miienium'.

Swamiji commanded reverance wherever he went. Mary luis Burke wrote in her book 'New Discoveries' said that whenever he walked in the  streets of America , there was not a person who stopped and looked at the majestic figure of Swamiji. The reason for this reverance is because Swamiji's talking and walking mingled beautifully. His life's events are like motivating capsules for all types of people. 

Hence this study session would   deal with events of Swamiji's life under the title 'Swami Vivekananda glows in human relationship'

The multidimensional personality of Swami Vivekananda would be studied. Relationship is a mirror reflecting ones beauty and one can correct and improve oneself looking at the mirror. Inter personal relationship becomes smooth and harmonious. Hence in the study session we shall see how multi Swamiji got related to all - with  nature, with Guru, with our country, with the world countries. 

Rev.Veerabhadranandaji narrated three incidents.

 First one was   how young Vivekananda known as Narendranath saves a poor classmate of his from loosing his future career.The feeling for other people was what Swamji had right from his childhood.That was what Swamiji mentions 'feeling from the heart', finding solution and then executing the solution makes one a real patriot.                                               

Second incident of Swamji's relation with humans was when after becoming famous in USA, a negro man came to shake hands with the Swami, he readily did it. When asked for the reason Swamiji replied that the Nigger was also his brother. 

The third incident was of the incident of the man who ran to Swamiji asking for  forgiveness since  he had been forced to poison the drink which was meant for Swamiji  when Swamiji visited the Church on invitation. Though Swamiji had not could not touch that drink since he felt that his Guru didn't want him to. The answer given to the man by Swamiji proved the magnanimity of Swamiji when he advised the man to promise  never to indulge in such acts again, saying this Swamiji just turned and left.              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

ONLINE SWADHYAYA ' MEDITATION ON SWAMIJI'

                                                                                                                                       Weekly Online Swadhyaya on every Saturday from 5pm to 6pm on Swamiji, titled 'Meditation on Swamiji' started with the inaugural session on 10th October. 145 participants from All over India and abroad have registered . Ma.Didi laid the foundation by taking   three consecutive classes . In her  three classes starting from 17th October, on 24th October and the third on 31st October ,Ma. Didi spoke on Swamiji as 'Vishwa Bhanu',  the one who enlightens the world, 'Vishwamitra' the friend of all and ' Vishwa Guru', the Universal teacher.

JYOTISH SHASTRA 2

Chanting:

Achintya avyakta rupaya nirgunaya gunatmane |Samasta jagadaadhara murtaye Brahmane Namaha ||

Salutations to the Supreme Brahman who cannot be visualised in the mind or

otherwise, who is beyond the mind and who is nirgun, without a physical form in whom manifests the trigunas of Satwa, Rajas and Tamas.

The Ācārya started the session by chanting the initial mantras of Jyothisha. He went on to describe that the above mantra was from the famous Sanskrit treatise on Jyothisha, Surya Siddhanta. This was an insight as we are generally aware of the Surya Siddhanta being one of the primary written books on Astronomy. There are 18 Munis attributed to the contribution of Jyothisha and they are always invoked for their blessings. It is to be noted that no known pictures of these 18 Munis, are available, however, at the Murugan temple in Palani, adjacent to the main sanctum sanctorum, one can find idols of the 18 Munis engraved in stone. They are also known as Ashtadasha Acharyas.

Jyothisha is also known as ‘Vedachakshu’  or eyes of the Vedas. It is important to understand that in all sashtras or forms of learnings, be it Ayurveda, or Natya, the knowledge always originates from the Supreme or Brahma, hence the first of the 18 Muni’s is Brahma Rishi, next is Vashishta, then Atri, Manu, Paulasthya, Rauhasya, Marici, Angiras, Vedavyasa(author  Vyasa Hora), Narada, Shaunatha, Bhrighu(author of  Nadi granthas), Chavana, Yavanacharya(author of Yavana Jathakam), Garga (authored Garga Bhagavatham, also composed Nakshathra Sookthamwhich is a  part of Atharva Veda. Kashyapa , Parashara (author of  Brihat Parashara Hora),  and the last of them is Soorya Muni(author of Surya Siddhantha).

Jyothisha offers  two distinct paths to the seekers of Truth; the Ganapathi way and the Skanda(Subramanya) way; guiding the individual to the path of Moksha or enlightenment. Unfortunately, it is a matter of great regret that today’s jyothishis never touch upon this aspect, but merely stress on forecasts and use this ancient wisdom as a tool to garner material wealth and fame.

Let us have a slightly detailed look at the two paths to the “Eternal Truth” discussed by  the Ācārya.

Skanda or Subramanya in his quest for Truth rode on his mount the peacock, in pursuit of truth and he unveils knowledge on the evolution of karma, the reactions of karma, the structure of karma, understanding of prarabdha karma¹(collection of past karmas to be experienced in this life) which is a part of the sanchita karma (accumulated karma). The name Subramanya itself has such a deep meaning. Subramanya is also known as Deva Senapati or Commander of the Devas, which in itself is fascinating and improbable, considering the fact that he is a mere boy of about 6-7 years. How is this possible; conflicts happen at two different planes, the external and the internal. To fight the external there is the need for force, strength and power, however we are aware that even the most ferocious and angry individual is calmed by the innocence and unconditional love of a small child. Hence for spiritual learning and enlightenment it is essential for the mind and the thought to be pure. The inner purity is like the innocence of a small child. The innocence that can win over anything. Subramanya is also known by other names like Aandavan, Velayudhan and so on.

The swift-flying peacock symbolises the enchanting ego of an individual, and Subramanya riding his mount denotes overcoming of this beautiful ego, a necessity to understand Karma.

On this occasion Ācārya also touched upon the mount of Ganesha, mooshika, which symbolises desire, controlling which is of utmost importance.

The other path which is very short but difficult is the path of Ganesha which is to directly seek the Truth within the self, an inward journey.

The devata of Jyothisha Sashtra is Subramanya , hence if one seeks knowledge in this area, the blessing and grace of Subramanya  is indispensable. Subramanya is also credited to have destroyed Tarakasura (taraka is ego) Tarakasura symbolises Ego, at a human level, with each of us desiring to be the star amongst others, a form of ego. There is a saying that at Pazhani the abode of Lord Muruga, one cannot completely count the number of steps to the top. This again is symbolic of the fact that for the individual who sets out to seek the Truth, the time that will be taken to achieve the goal can never be known in advance. ‘Jyoti’ in the word Jyotisha symbolises Consciousness or Supreme Awareness. Hence Jyotisha is the Science of Consciousness or Cosmic Intelligence.

Today’s temples are generally constructed on a bought on land bought from someone or land donated by someone unlike in earlier days, when temples would only be constructed at a suitable land after considering the various factors of Vastu Shastra.

Jyothisha Deeksha can be compared to a situation where the electrical wiring is complete and is waiting for the electrical connection. The moment power is supplied everything becomes live. The moment of connection is the catalyst of change, when the individual will start seeing the world in a way where nothing is bad or good.

“Everything that is happening is the parinama of Karma” The moment the mind understands this subtle truth, the individual becomes Lord Rama, said the Acharya. He was citing the incident from Ramayana, when Lord Rama was taking leave for vanavasa and he informed one and all that Kaikeyi Mata and Mandara Mata should not be blamed for anything that has happened. After all it is my Niyogam (loosely translated as fate) and has nothing to do with what they have done or how they have acted upon. The lord did not have any resentment against any individual, as his mind was clear. Hence it is important to look at Jyotisha as a Spiritual Science.  After all this is how the Maharishis have tried to explain Jyotisha.

Ācārya then touched upon the word Hora, which indicates the karma done by the individual in the past, which can include all our past lives. According to Jidu Krishnamurthy the ego has an age of 1000’s of years; what the individual is today is a parinamam of the tapas of 1000’s of years, hence for each of us to be together in this session today, is a result of the individual tapas of all of us. Of course, one cannot define this, after all it is like asking a vellarumkallu (quartz stone) who created it and presented this form to it. If the stone could speak it would say, it is not a single person or entity, I was a rock many years back, the sun, the rain and the weather, weathered me down to this present form which has been transformed into this beautiful idol. In the same way numerous forms of karma, that have happened in the path of our  lives,such as  facing hardships, failures,  victories, experiencing and sharing the empathy and sympathy, result in the formation of “Aham”, the  “I”, the “Ego”, which needs to be weathered down for the purified form to emerge.

A good or bad thought is enough to bring changes. Hence it is important to purify the ego by churning it in the yagagni of life and karma. It is like the offering of butter to Lord Krishna. The Lord is not looking for the physical butter but the sacrificial yagna of karma offered in the form of butter.

The Ācārya next focussed on the ritual of ‘Ellu Villaku’ (Black Sesame Lamp), which of late has become a very common practice in almost every temple. Referring to Bhagavad Gita, he continued, “yajñārthāt karmaṇo ‘nyatra lokoyaḿ karma-bandhanaḥ tadarthaḿ karma Kaunteya mukta-sańgaḥ samācara”, doing work in this physical world should be in the form of a sacrifice, work that is done not just for the physical benefits, but for pleasing Lord Vishnu.  Consider karma as a form of yagna which can lead the individual to moksha. The lighting of the ellu thiri (villaku) is the shortest form of yagna and symbolically it means burning off the individual’s inner ignorance. Unaware of this deep implication  we look at the activity at the mere physical level, buying and burning numerous ellu thiri’s. We foolishly believe that solutions to our problems can be purchased with wealth, externally. Sadly the problem is within the individual and the correction is also needed in the ‘Self’. An activity is composed of many aspects, including and not limited to observing, inferring, understanding, executing, dispensing, and many other subtle facets…

Jyothisha deals with self-realisation, and within Jyothisha itself there are thousands of ways for liberation, secrets and methods that reveal itself only to the sincere seeker!

Onam is a few months away, let us understand a bit about Onam from  a Jyothisha perspective, said the Ācārya. Onam begins on the nakshathra ‘Atham’; it is also the birth star of Swami Vivekananda. Atham’s devata is Shiva. Atham to Thiruonam is 10 days, basically it is 10 days of ‘Sadhana’. Many of us are aware that from Atham the laying of the pookalam(Rangoli with flowers) begins and the design of the kolam is circular, however on the 7^th day(‘Moolam’ nakshathra) the kolam gets 4 corners. The laying of the pookalam with different varieties of flowers denotes the birth and growth of the human culminating on the 10^th day of Thiruonam, when one is expected to install and consecrate Onathappan(symbolising Vishnu) suggesting the joining of the atma to the paramathma (or self realisation).  Surprisingly no thantri(Priest) is required to install and consecrate Vishnuin the courtyard of the houses!

The star Atham is also the nakshathra of revolution, not externally but within, individual born on this nakshathra have revolutionary ideas and thoughts. Atham is from the Kanni Rashi, which is considered as the force of kundalini.

Ācārya then focussed on another important sacrament of human life and its association to Jyotisha, namely vivaham(marriage). The sankalpa of vivaham from the bharatiya context starts with the union of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi. On the day of the vivaham it is the  groom who arrives at the home of the bride and it is also the bride  who first garlands the groom. We generally address the couple as the bride and the groom, vadhu-varan, similarly Lakshmi-Narayanan, Uma-Maheshwaran; here we can notice that the woman is addressed first then the man; emphasising  the importance of the woman. The objective of marriage is moksha.  There are  8 different types  of marriage; Brahma, Prajapatya, Daiva, Arsha, Asura, Gandharva, Rakshasa, and Paishacha. Unfortunately today the marriage ceremony cannot be attributed to any of the 8 types. It is only the economics that reigns supreme. However as the objective of marriage  is moksha or liberation from the belots of samsara, jyothisha play an important role in this samskara. Marriage  lays  the foundation for the  family and hence there is the need for ‘porutham’(compatibility) in  many aspects. The granthas talk of 25 poruthams, of which 10 are important, and amongst the 10, 5 are most important for a good marriage . The Ācārya went on to explain that if there is mana porutham or compatibility of the minds then all other forms of porutham are baseless. He cited that for Brahma, Prajapati, Daiva and Gandharva only mana porutham was considered. After all marriage is not a business transaction of commodities, but an auspicious association Lakshmi and Vishnu leading to moksha.

“Horethya horaatravikalpmeke,  vaangchhanthi poorvaaparavarnnalopaal” chanting this Ācārya continued, 'ahoratra' meaning day/night and symbolically it means happiness and sorrow (in life). The compounding of the two Sanskrit words Ahas and Ratri gives the word ‘ahoratra’. 24 hours as per modern astronomy, one revolution of earth, which is 360°. If we drop ‘a’ from the beginning and ‘tra’ from the end of ahoratra, what remains is ‘hora’, hence it also deals with the good and bad aspects of life. In Jyotisha, every aspect has to be analysed and understood in two planes, the external and the internal. Here it is important to understand that both are not separate. It is just like observing a huge tree. One can see the tree physically which is symbolic of life as we see. The roots of the tree are not visible; however, it is the roots that hold the tree together. In the same way our inner plane needs to have a strong foundation and one should ensure that it does not get corrupted and weakened. However, the reverse is not the same, a little injury or damage externally will eventually get restored, just like in the tree. Here it is important to also understand that at the inner plane if one is righteous in one’s thoughts, decisions and actions, the entire universe will stand by him and vice versa! Outer world is the reflection of the inner world, what ever the individual is going through is the outcome of the individual’s own doing, be it good or bad. Hence according to jyothisha it is not necessary to meet the individual, even the place where the individual dwells is indicative of the person. Similarly, the kitchen in a house can portray the spirituality of the house, in the western world however it is the bathroom that does so. In the Bharathiya samskaram, the kitchen is the place of homam. In a new house Ganapathi homam is conducted in the kitchen.

Anything and everything that we do at every moment of life has an explanation in jyothisha. The ten-day celebrations of Onam are a means to conquer the ten indriyas or ten senses, 5 active and 5 cognitive. Similarly, the three steps of land symbolise the trigunas.  Onam also brings into memory the Vamana avatar and how Vamana asked for 3 steps of land; here we can visualize an infantile thought process, if given the right nourishment, it can expand to infinity. IN Sanskrit Onam is indicated as Sravanam, the period of knowledge. Onam falls in the month of Chingam, which is Simha Rashi. It is a month of Atma Sadhana. It is also a month wherein famous personalities have been born; Sri. Aurobindo, Narayana Guru, Ayyankali, Brahmananda Siva Yogi, Sahodaran Ayyapan. Chingam is also the first month of the year according to kollavarsham. An individual’s karma has a profound effect on their sreyas, and preyas, at time even leading to their destruction. So all forms of pariharams(external remedial measures) are basically parivarthanam(changes) that should happen within. Hence it is the individual’s karma that needs to be offered as a payasam (remedial measure) to the Supreme. Perform the karma as a yagna for the benefit of the world. It also means that every quality is within the individual, only it needs to be activated.

Ācārya also touched upon the days of the week, Ravivāra or Sunday, Somavāra or Monday, Mangala, Budha, Guru, Shukra and Shanivāra. All the days represent the planets.

................to be contd.

¹Prarabdha is the portion of the past karma which is responsible for the individual’s present body or incarnation,  the portion of the sanchita or accumulated karma  which the human life acquires in the present incarnation, one that cannot be avoided or changed, one that will only be exhausted through  experiences.

                                JYOTiSH SHASTRA

                        PRABHASANA PARAMPARA

                                                              – By Acharya Sethumadhavanji

The credit of opening up human minds to the magnificence and immense potentialities hidden in the cosmos, goes to Indian Seers  It is they who through their extraordinarily deep meditations brought out the mystery behind the unimaginably immense cosmos with its infinite astral  bodies and cosmic phenomena which influence humans. Before the Western philosophers and scientists woke up to the reality of the immensity of the  Universe, our Indian Rishis were far ahead with their knowledge about the physical nature of the celestial bodies, Mother earth, including the baffling relationship that exists between human and the cosmic bodies.

We had been planning for a long time to invite a truly scientifically minded scholar to explain the wonderful Shastra of Astronomy with its essential ingredient of Astrology- directly related to human lives.

The first lecture in the series- Astrology as a Science- took place on 9^th June, Saturday from 4p.m.to 6p.m. The speaker Acharya Sethumadhavanji from Tirupati University, is a very learned scholar who is currently working on his thesis on Astrology. The talk was devoted to the introduction of the topic and for more than two hours the audience sat and listened spell bound. Some of the points are presented in the ensuing summary of his lecture.

Talking on Jyotisha the speaker categorized it into four- Vaidica Kala Jyotisha, Siddhanta Kala Jyotisha, Samhita Kala Jyotisha and Modern Jyotisha as we know it. While the earlier ones are more ‘Spiritual’, the present day Jyotisha has more of ‘Tamoguna’. During Vedic period the great seers had an open mind regarding Jyotisha.There was no scope of dispute or criticism. The earlier proponents were mostly rishis like Vyasa, Parashara, Sovanam, Yavvanam and others who were great rishis who had no inclination towards worldly affairs. Jyotish Shastra was referred to as the ‘Vedas Chakshu, ‘eyes of Veda’

Jyotisha itself can be divided into Skanda trayam – Prapancha or cosmic analysis, Bhautic , Worldly or Nature’s analysis and lastly, One’s inner self analysis

Speaking about the importance of jyotisha, the speaker said in India, each and every festival in temples or otherwise is decided by the planetary star positions. All our temple utsavas are thus identified with some astronomical sign or event. Utsavas are meant to elevate the human mind to a higher level of consciousness.

 Jyotisha’s approved text is Surya Siddhanta which is available only in Sanskrit. One of the chapters of Surya Siddhanta deals with ‘Jyotish Upanishad’,and provides an interesting conversation between mind and Brahma. In answer to the question on diversity, is the revelation that the earth is ‘golakar’ (global), so there is an unavoidable diversity in everything. This is probably the first statement about the global nature of earth-1000 of years before the West catches up with the idea.

(The word jyothisha refers to cosmic intelligence or consciousness). Coming to Jyotisha he emphasized that the ultimate aim of Jyotisha is to take man to liberation. It is the science of unfoldment of one’s ‘Karmaphala’. The position of ‘Guru’ in one’s horoscope provides clues as to the spiritual status of the person. In Jyotisha lies the keys to unlock the treasures hidden in a being and to decode their meaning and possibilities. Jyotisha can provide an unmistakably analytical study of one’s life.

Speaking of the role of Jyotisha in marriage, the speaker first gave the true meaning of the word ‘vivaha’ – as the carrier of the most auspicious. Marriage is the reflection of the union  of Prakriti and Purusha- cosmic mother and father. To make marriage wholesome and fulfilling 25 linkups are to be scrutinized so that there is perfect physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual balancing between the man and the woman. If there is clear ideological understanding and unconditional love, there is no need for jyothisham to step
in.                                                 

                                                                                         (more in the next)

                                                                                                                  

It was a good fortune to start our Vimarsha series with Acharya A.K.B Nair. Sri A.K.B Nair is a renowned exponent of spiritual literature in Kerala. After a long and spotless career in the Indian Revenue Service, he took up studies  in Sanskrit and Spiritual literature and emerged as an extremely well-versed speaker on Bhagavata,Devi Bhagavatam, Ramayana and so on.Of special interest to him is Ezhuthacchan's Adhyatma Ramayana in Malayalam.He has produced a well-studied commentary on this Malayalam Ramayana, which he says,the Holy Book of Keralites. The talk on 18th April, 4pm to 6.30p.m.was based on the innumerable anecdotes which make it a manual for self-unfoldment and societal well-being, in essence, it was an enlightening exploration into the Dharma as depicted in the life of  Maryadapurushottam Sri Ramachandra. One could easily understand why Sri Rama was called 'Vigrahavan Dharma'. How Rama behaved  as an  elder brother, as a husband, as a son, as a friend and as a King, became the dharma of a brother, a husband, a son, a friend and the rastra dharma of a King. Hence he assured that if the reading  and understanding the meaning of Ramayana becomes the part of the life of each family, life will be smooth and without failures.