Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
Shad Darshan – Vedanta philosophies (contd.):
Swaminarayan philosophy – Summary
Summary
Swaminarayan philosophy can be summarized as one of the major philosophical trees in the garden of the main stream Hinduism. Its main trunk of Dharma, Gnan, Vairagya, and Bhakti is based on the five fundamental realities (tattvas), namely, Jiv, Ishwar, Maya, Brahm, and Parabrahm. Its religious rituals and observances, such as, observation of tapa, vrata, dāna, yoga, yagna, kriyā-kānd, dharma, dhyān, gyān, vairāgya, pujā, pāth, and bhakti are its branches and leaves. Aksharbrahm is its flower and Parabrahm Purushottam (God) is its actual (sākār) fruit having real existence.
Looking to its features, Swaminarayan philosophy can be summarized as the sum total of the essences of all other philosophies of Hinduism. In it one can always find something good of other philosophies and other religions of the world. One can possibly find from it the answers for many of the ontological and philosophical questions arising in understanding the other philosophies. Not only that, for those who are interested, it also mentions some of the major scientific (physical) aspects of the creation or physical world (cosmos) first given by Hinduism to the mankind, such as, the ideas of multiverse or many universes (anant koti brahmands), the Fifth force (akshar) which pulls or accelerates galaxies away from each other, invisible shields (ashtāvarans) of forces or energies around the universe (brahmand), radiation (sutrātmā) body, Black Hole (avyākrut), White Hole (Chidakash), Worm Hole (Archi Marg), space (ākāsh) in atom, divisions of mind (four types of antahkaran), consciousness (chitt), division of living-beings (udbhij, svedaj, andaj, and jarāyuj), superbugs (antahshatrus and swabhāvas) which are subtler than even viruses and the main cause of the social epidemics, disturbance of the world peace, malfunctioning of the society, loss of mental peace, and physical health of the individual body.
All of the realities that we see or observe in the cosmos could easily fit into one of the above five categories of fundamental ontological elements or tattvas.
The question may arise, why five fundamental elements and not just three? The two new fundamental realities or elements are not new or newly discovered. They were there in the scriptures of Hinduism, but, the scholars did not, somehow, specify or identify them until Shri Swaminarayan came, explained, and identified them.
Now, let’s try to understand their presence, by elimination method, to see what happens if we take them out or eliminated one by one. Jiv (soul) and Maya (matter) or Nature (material world) cannot be eliminated from the religious philosophy. If we eliminate soul tattva then the whole system of salvation and worship falls apart. Who will get salvation and from what? If the category of Ishwar tattva is taken away or removed, then either many Purushas (universal souls of each brahmands) will become many Gods or God will be directly involved in the creation, sustenance, and destruction of each and every brahmand. This will be like the president stepping down to the position of CEO. If the category of Brahm is eliminated, then the souls will have to become God-like instead of Brahm-like or the souls will have to be at the God’s level for salvation and the unparalleled God would be paralleled by many God-like figures. If Parabrahm or God’s category is eliminated, then it would be like removing the head leaving behind rest of the body. The whole creation would be without Godhead. The abode of God (Brahm) would be without his master. So, five fundamental categories of Tattvas seem to be necessary to explain everything that exists in the nature or creation. We can reduce all the realities, whether they may be one, two, three, or five, to finally just one reality – God and can say it the “Spiritual Theory of Everything” (S-TOE), as against the material Theory of Everything (TOE).
This concludes the major philosophies of the Hinduism in a nutshell.
Tags:abode of God, Akash, akshar, Aksharbrahm, anant koti brahmands, Andaj, antahkaran, antahshatrus, Archi Marg, ashtāvarans, atom, Avyākrut, bhakti, Black Hole, body, Brahm, Brahm-like, brahmand, cause, Chidākāsh, chitt, consciousness, cosmos, Creation, dāna, Darshan, destruction, dharma, dhyān, disturbance, elements, energies, Fifth force, forces, fundamental, galaxies, Gnān, God, Godhead, gyan, Hinduism, identify, invisible, Ishwar, Jarāyuj, jiv, kriyā-kānd, living beings, malfunctioning, many universes, master, material, matter, maya, mental peace, mind, multiverse, Nature, observances, observe, ontological, Parabrahm, pāth, Philosophy, physical, physical health, pujā, purushas, Purushottam, radiation, realities, religious, rituals, S-TOE, sākār, salvation, scholars, scientific, Scriptures, Shad Darshan, shields, social epidemics, society, soul, space, specify, Spiritual Theory of Everything, subtler, Summary, superbugs, sustenance, Sutrātmā, svedaj, swabhāvas, Swaminarayan, tapa, tattvas, Theory of Everything, TOE, Udbhij, universal souls, universe, unparalleled, Vairagya, Vedānta, viruses, vrata, White Hole, world, World Peace, Worm Hole, worship, yagna, Yoga
Posted in Hinduism - Philosophies, Navya Vishishtadvaita, Shad Darshan – Vedanta philosophies, Summary | Comments Closed
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Shad Darshan – Vedanta philosophies (contd.):
Swaminarayan philosophy – Brahm
Brahm, Akshar, or Aksharbrahm: Part III
Two aspects of Brahm The scriptures also describe two aspects of Brahm, namely, sagun and nirgun. The sagun and nirgun aspects of Brahm are the special divine powers or potentials of the original form of Brahm. The original eternal form of Brahm is the manifest visible human form of Brahm. The distinction of sagun and nirgun applies only to Akshar, Brahm, or Aksharbrahm. Purushottam is beyond and transcendental to both of them.
Sagun aspect or form of Brahm is extremely large, vaster than the vastest objects combined in the creation. Compared to the vastness of Brahm, infinite number of brahmands (universes) appears to be like dots or mere atoms (anu) compared to each of his pore or a hair follicle (roma). It is not that those brahmands shrunk in their sizes but because of the extreme vastness of Brahm that multiple brahmands appear to be extremely small.
Nirgun aspect or form of Brahm is extremely subtle, subtler than even subtlest object in the creation. It is subtler than even an atom, subtler than even an ordinary space, because it is cause of them. In his nirgun form, Brahm is pure (shuddha), bright (prakāsheyukta), non-associating (asangi), and non-attaching, non-sticky, or non-interacting (nirlepa) with maya and its effects. These are nirgun qualities of Brahm.
Two forms of Brahm
The scriptures have also described two swarups of Aksharbrahm. Swarups are divine forms of onself. These two forms are: Impersonal and Personal. Swarups are like two physical states or forms of the same entity that differs in several of his properties, like different physical states of matter or different physical forms of carbon. But the ontological element (tattva) of both these forms is the same confusing the philosophers. This is the reason why nirākārvādi philosophers (believers of formless or impersonal Brahm) differ from the sākārvādi philosophers (believers of personal Brahm or God). Both forms have been described in the scriptures, but philosophers and their followers couldn’t believe both opposite and contradictory characteristics in the same entity so they gave them preferential treatment and propone one particular form. Shri Swaminarayan (1781-1830) could easily grasp that reality explained to the world.
Having these two contradictory forms of one entity is rather difficult to understand and perceive meaningfully and intellectually. It is like the wave-particle duality of matter, the most puzzling phenomenon in the universe, in which a particle behaves like a wave and wave behaves like a particle. But, it is the widely accepted and proved fact, which can be explained by the quantum mechanics fathered by Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901-1976) by first publishing his theory of uncertainty in 1927.
The same thing is true about Brahm. Shri Swaminarayan explains that, Brahm is nirakar in the sense that it has no māyik trigunātmik ākār or form; instead it has divine Sachchidanand form. Brahm is never described in the scripture as an abstract entity. Brahm is sakar in the sense that he is like a person or personality but in divine sense. Brahm is not like a person having mayik or worldly characteristics, such as, gender difference, aging, external signs of maturity, internal signs of organ systems, personality characteristics, traits, temperaments, behavioral patterns, mood changes, etc.
Brahm serves Parabrahm Purushottam – the Supreme Being, in a two-fold manner.
In his impersonal (amurta) form, he is like the light (prakāshrup) – limitless, and formless (nirākār). Impersonal form is known as ekarasa (homogenous), chaitanya (consciousness), and chidakash (divine-space as against ordinary space). In this form, he is also known as divya (divine) tejomaya (light-like), and Brahm-mahol (abode), and serves God by being God’s supreme divine abode that supports or sustains countless brahmands, akshar-muktas (liberated souls), and Parabrahm (God).
In his personified (murta) form, Aksharbrahm always remains at the service of Parabrahm (God) as His humble servant and never goes away from His eyesight or vision even for a fraction of a second.
Though Purushottam (God) is present everywhere (omnipresent) in His creation, by His inner guiding (antaryāmi), inspiring (prerak), and controlling (niyantā) power, as much as He is present in His Aksharbrahm, He is not present in Prakruti-Purush, Pradhan-Purush, Mahattattva, Virat Narayan, Brahmā, Marichi-like Prajāpati, Kashyap-like Prajāpati, and devatas like Indra, as well as, in Human Beings, animals, birds, insects, plants, and others, respectively. This is known as tāratamya presence of God in His creation.
Purushottam is the cause of Aksharbrahm and Aksharbrahm is the cause of creation. From tiny portion of space (ansh or amsha) of Aksharbrahm Mahapurush is born, which initiates and activates Mahamaya to create countless pairs of Pradhān and Purush. From each pair of Pradhan and Purush, a Virat-Purush (the essence of brahmand), Mahattattva (primordial matter of brahmand), and the whole brahmand (universe) is created. The whole creation is described in detail in Purans and other scriptures of Hinduism.
This Brahmdham or Akshardham, as the abode of Purushottam, is transcendental and beyond even the space-time. The space-time curvature stops there or folds over itself, so that the time (kāl) or the multidimensional and multidirectional space (desh) doesn’t reach there. Universe is limited by the space-time, so that, the nature (maya), and even deeds or actions (karma) doesn’t reach there. Only the souls (jiv or ātmā) free from their three kinds of worldly bodies reach their after becoming brahm-like (brahmrup). Without developing, cultivating, or attaining Brahm-bhāv, (Brahmanization), that is, without becoming brahm-like (brahmrup) even souls cannot reach there and by developing Brahm-bhav even without dying soul enjoys the same bliss and happiness of Brahm and Parabrahm on this very Earth.
Tags:abode, abstract, actions, aging, ākār, akshar, akshar-muktas, Aksharbrahm, Akshardhām, amsha, amurta, animals, ansh, Antaryāmi, anu, asangi, aspects, ātmā, atoms, behavioral patterns, birds, bliss, Brahm, Brahm-bhāv, Brahm-like, Brahm-mahol, Brahmā, brahmand, brahmands, Brahmanization, Brahmdhām, brahmrup, bright, cause, chaitanya, characteristics, Chidākāsh, consciousness, contradictory, controlling, Creation, Darshan, deeds, Desh, devatās, divine, divine-space, divya, duality, Earth, effects, ekarasa, entity, form, formless, forms, gender difference, God, guiding, hair follicle, happiness, Heisenberg, Hinduism, homogenous, human, Human Beings, impersonal, Indra, insects, inspiring, jiv, Kal, Karma, Kashyap-like, liberated, limitless, Mahāmāyā, Mahapurush, Mahattattva, manifest, Marichi-like, matter, maturity, maya, mayik, mood changes, multidimensional, multidirectional, murta, Nature, nirākār, nirākārvādi, nirgun, nirlepa, niyantā, non-associating, non-attaching, non-interacting, non-sticky, omnipresent, ontological element, organ systems, Parabrahm, particle, person, Personal, Personality, personified, phenomenon, Philosophy, physical states, plants, pore, Pradhān, Pradhan-Purush, Prajāpati, prakāsheyukta, prakāshrup, Prakruti-Purush, preferential, prerak, primordial, properties, Purāns, pure, Purush, Purushottam, quantum mechanics, roma, Sachchidanand, sagun, sākār, sākārvādi, Scriptures, servant, Shad Darshan, Shri, Shuddha, souls, space, space-time, Supreme Being, Swaminarayan, swarups, Tāratamya, Tattva, tejomaya, temperaments, time, traits, transcendental, trigunātmik, universe, universes, Vedānta, Virat Narayan, Virat-Purush, visible, wave, wave-particle, worldly
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Monday, February 15th, 2010
Sharir – Tattvas Part III (contd.):
Prans – in General I
According to Hinduism, the structural body (sthul sharir) of the jiv consists of five gross (sthul) elements called Panch-bhuts, namely, Pruthvi, Jal, Tej, Vāyu, and Ākāsh.
The functional body (sukshma sharir) of the jiv consists of nineteen elements: Five motor organ systems called Panch-karmendriyas, namely, speech organs – Vāk, upper extremities – Pāni, lower extremities – Pād, excretory organs – Pāyu, and reproductory organs – Upastha.; Five sensory organs systems called Panch-gnanendriyas, namely, ear – Karna, skin – Tvak, Eyes – Chakshu, Tongue – Jihvā, and Nose – Ghran; Four psyches called Antahkarans, namely, Man, Buddhi, Ahamkar, and Chitt; and five vital functions or processes called Panch-Prans, namely, Prān, Apān, Vyān, Samān, and Udān. Five prans are part of the five subtle elements called Panch-vishays or five tanmatras, namely, sound – Shabda, touch – Sparsh, light – Rup (Roop), taste – Ras (Rasa), and smell – Gandh.
Panch-prans are grouped under a common heading or common noun “pran.” Prans are important subtle elements of the body. They are important for sustaining the life. Just as Panch-vishays and Panch-tanmatras, Panch-prans are also considered as five subtle elements. As such, Panch-Vishays are not elements but they are processes of perceiving sensory stimuli by five types of sensory organ systems. They are neurological processes by which the recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli are effected or resulted. Panch-vishays are also considered as the objects of enjoyments for the jiv via body. Similarly, Panch-prans are also physiological, but vital, processes for sustaining the life. Because of their subtleness, in Hinduism, both the panch-vishays and panch-prans are categorized under the heading of Tanmatras.
Hindu scriptures describe that, five prans are like five flames of one single fire collectively called as “pran”. Of all the 24 elements, pran is the main vital force of the body that is necessary for the life, through which all the functions of the functional body and its organs are carried out. From the Upanishadic story of pran one can easily conclude that pran is life of the body. So, could it be the soul (jiv)? From the ancient time Hinduism knows and explains that the pran, the vital force of the body, is different than jiv (soul), the life force of the body. Jiv is ontologically different entity than the pran. Both prān and jiv (soul) are quite distinct and different entities. So, prān as an element is prān and cannot be translated as “soul” or “jiv”. Pran (the proper noun) is also the name of one of the five prans. It represents the group of five prans. So, just like other proper names, Pran should not be translated. Sometimes pran, as an element, is translated as “vāyu,” “breath,” “energy,” etc. These kind of explanatory translations misrepresent the pran. So, it should also be avoided. Similarly, Apan, Vyan, Udan, Saman are also proper nouns or proper names and should not be translated also,
Panch-Prān:
Prān and jiv (soul) are two ontologically distinct entities. Prān is decayable, destructible, able to cease, or able to stop functioning, whereas, jiv is eternal and sustain forever, not destructible, and not decayable. Jiv is called the knower of the pran. Prān is the vital force of the body that regulates other body processes. Without pran, jiv would leave the body instantaneously. Without pran life cannot sustain. Therefore, prān has become almost synonymous with the jiv. Hinduism describes 10 Prāns – five Prans and five Upa-prāns. Five Prans are: Prān (prāna), Apān (apāna), Vyān (vyāna), Samān (samāna) and Udān (udāna). Five Upa-prans are: Nāg (Naga), Kurm (Koorma), Krikar (Krikara), Devdatt (Devadatta) and Dhananjay (Dhananjaya). Prāns are superior to the Antahkarans (or mind in general) and to all the other elements derived from Mahattattva. When the new body is created around the soul or jiv, among the other non-divine things, prans are the first to enter or appear in the body and last to go. Dhananjay pran remain for a while even after death and is the last one to leave the body.
Chhandogya Upanishad describes Pran as the oldest and the greatest of all the functional elements of the body. “yo ha vai jyeṣṭhaṃ ca śreṣṭhaṃ cha veda jyeṣṭhaś cha ha vai śreṣṭhaś cha bhavati | prāṇo vāva jyeṣṭhaś cha śreṣṭhaś cha ||” Meaning, “He who knows what is the oldest and greatest becomes himself the oldest and greatest. The pran, indeed, is the oldest and greatest.” (Chhandogya Upanishad: 5.1.1.)
Prāns appear in the body first then the Antahkaran develops. After chitt (the site of basal instincts), ahamkar (self or ego) is evolved. Then, man and buddhi are evolved. During the deep sleep, antahkarans (mind) becomes inactive but prāns still remain active and functional. Prans play major vital role in the body compared to antahkarans (mind). Without cognitive functions (functions of antahkaran) a person can still survive or remain alive but without vital functions (functions of prans) the person surely dies.
Tags:Ahamkār, antahkaran, antahkarans, apān, Apān (Apāna), Apana, body, Buddhi, Chandogya, Chhāndogya Upanishad, chitt, consciousness, Devdatt (Devadatta), Dhananjay (Dhananjaya), Hinduism, Indriyas, Krikar (Krikara), Kurm (Koorma), life, Man, Nag, Nāg (Naga), Naga, prān, Prān (Prāna), prāns, Sāman, Samān (Samāna), Samana, sharir, tattvas, udān, Udān (Udāna), Udana, Upa-prans, Upapran, vyān, Vyān (Vyāna), Vyana
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