'Anekantavada'

Each one has certain limitations and cannot understand everything. Moreover, everybody is right in his own way as far as his understanding goes. Not all are bestowed with the same intelligence or capacity to understand. There is a beautiful exposition as regards "Understanding" in the Upanishat as quoted below. Poet Kuvempu used to say, "You will understand what i say when you grow up to my stature". Whatever Shankaracharya or Madhvacharya said may not have been properly understood since the followers did not grow up to their stature. There is every possibility that the followers of Buddha, Shankara, or Madhva have misunderstood and misrepresented the statements of their teacher. Hence, it is better to try to understand the times and nature of the people and then arrive at any conclusion. There will be no difference of opinion when we appreciate each and every thought for it is only a thought that impels us to think further; nobody need to stick to or hold on to the same old thoughts and ideas that do not fit into our times.
  "Each one is right in his own way according to his/her understanding". This is the 'anekantavada' of Mahavira. We should respect the right to express one's opinion however we dislike. This puts all arguments aside and paves way for an intellectual discussion. However, it should be understood that the subject matter of Atma, the Soul and Paramatman, the Super-Soul; the Atman and Brahman or the question of the jivatman merging in paramatman, atma-brahmaikyata, does not come under intellectual discussion. yatra vacho nivartante apraapta manasa saha | says the scriptures. The question about Atman is not for discussion. No words can express 'IT' or thoughts ever reach 'IT'. It, the Atman, is beyond the reach of our senses, mind, or buddhi to understand 'IT'. It, the Atman, is the core, the soul, of the substance. It is the same in all objects- caraachara, moving and non-moving. It is rather, the Creator, a manifest form of the supreme creator. Nobody can ever understand 'Atman' for, it is not 'an other' (an object) to know or understand. It is the 'Self of all' and, as such, it is 'one only' and 'nothing exists besides it'. One can see, touch, hear, smell, or know if it is 'an other'. When 'one only' exists there is no question of knowing anything called 'an other'. Our inability to understand these abstract issues keep us ignorant of our Self and, as jiva, we suffer in ignorance. The moment we realize the fact that all that we say- 'me', 'mine', and 'my' etc. like the body, mind, the objects i posses, my senses, buddhi, etc. are not 'I', the 'Self'. The curtain of ignorance drops and the jiva shines in its own Light when 'jnyanodaya' occurs to jiva. The cycle of birth and death ends when the jiva realizes its true nature. This is what is said to be the 'attainment' or attaining to the ultimate brahman. Our 'Understanding' should take us to Brahman.

 This is what the Upanishat says on 'Understanding'-

   'Understanding' is, verily, greater than meditation. Understanding makes one understand the Rk Veda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, the Atharvaveda as the fourth, the epics and the ancient lore as the fifth, the Veda of the Vedas, the rules of sacrifices by which the Manes are gratified, the science of numbers, the science of portents, the science of time, logic, ethics, etymology, Brahma-vidya, the science of elemental spirits, the science of weapons, astronomy, the science of serpents and the fine arts; heaven, earth, air, water, fire, gods, men, cattle, birds, herbs, trees; animals, together with worms, flies and ants; and also righteousness and unrighteousness, the true and the false, the good and the bad, the pleasant and the unpleasant, food and taste, this world and yonder world. Meditate on understanding.

    He who meditates on understanding as Brahman attains the worlds of understanding and knowledge and can, of his own free will, reach as far as understanding reaches-he who meditates on understanding as Brahman. Narada said: Venerable Sir, is there anything greater than understanding? Of course there is something greater than understanding. Please tell that to me, venerable Sir. [Sama Veda, Chan. Upa.,  VII, VII - Understanding as Brahman, 1-2]

 When one understands the True, only then does one declare the True. One who does not understand the True does not declare It. Only one who understands It declares the True. One must desire to understand this understanding. Venerable Sir, I desire to understand. [Sama Veda, Chan Upa VII, XVII - Truth depends upon Understanding, 1]

When one reflects, only then does one understand. One Who does not reflect does not understand. Only one who reflects understands. One must desire to understand this reflection. Venerable Sir, I desire to understand reflection. [Sama Veda, Chan Upa VII, XVIII - Understanding depends upon Reflection, 1]

When one has faith, only then does one reflect. One who does not have faith does not reflect. Only one who has faith reflects. One must desire to understand faith. Venerable Sir, I desire to understand faith. [Sama Veda, Chan Upa VII, XIX - Reflection depends upon Faith, 1]

When one is single-minded in one's devotion to the teacher, only then does one have faith. One who does not have single-mindedness does not have faith. Only one who has single-mindedness has faith. One must desire to understand single-mindedness. Venerable Sir, I desire to understand single-mindedness. [Sama Veda, Chan Upa VII, XX - Faith depends upon Single-Mindedness, 1].

Faith and Belief Systems.

Ever since man appeared on this earth he has developed some fear, anxiety about the world and has found ways and means to combat it. Even Yoganidra Narayana when came out of yoga felt lonely and fearsome and said, "Why fear when I am alone? There should be fear if two are there. So I shall become many, He said" - Ekoham bahusyam | (Rk Veda and Vishnu Purana) So, He, the Lord, only manifest in different forms like Lakshmi, Vasudeva, Sudarshana, Sankarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and all the powers that be.

   Itihasa and Purana speak a lot about all these. People worshiped King as God. If some people worshiped Rama some worshiped Ravana (Dravidas). Some worshiped Mahishasura and some worship Durga Devi. So Evil is worshiped due to fear and God is worshiped for favor, help. In the dva para yuga Krishna became Bhagavan by his special qualities. But all these Rama Krishna Nrsimha or Buddha are not Gods. They are all evolved souls into pure Consciousness. People call whoever help them as God. God is one who helps! It is deva or devata for us in India; deva means da i eve meaning one who lifts up- lifts up from poverty (lakshmi), ignorance (Sarasvati), from evil forces (Ganapati or Rudra or Bhairava), etc.In the beginning there were no separate Gods and alre One Narayana only. Narayana only becomes aditya (dvadasha adityas), and ekadasha rudras, sahasra koti devatas. So, we worship everything in faith for fear or favor (may be, animals, birds, stones, plants, pitrus/ elders), everybody (parents, teachers, guests). and ultimately, even make idols in clay like Ganesha and worship Him. 

  Ultimately, what is God. God is the manifest Energy, Knowledge, Intelligence, and Lakshmi manifests as an embodiment of Narayana's Shakti, jnyan, aishvarya, bala, virya tejas and these are delegated powers of Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha from whom Manu and manu-manus and manavas manifest as just energy and nothing else. That is how one energy particle fro a distant star enters the earth, cloud, rain, food, father and then through his virya mother's womb and finally emerges as the like of the parents- piglet or human, makes no difference! Everything is vibrant energy, prana, prajnya and when vibration stops everything stops. So God is everywhere and what all we see in everybody's eye (pupil) is our own image and nothing else! He is the person in the eye, the akshi purusha (Brahma sutra).
  We have already discussed about devi devatas More in the next.

KAALA (TIME)- Manvantara and Yuga

Kaala (Time) is a concept that comes under 'maya'. The term 'Maya' itself is a concept that is under discussion for over 2000 years and there is no definite clue as to what this 'maya' is. However, 'ma' and 'ya', or 'ya'  and 'ma' mean just 'that which comes under measurement'! Thus, when we say my time starts now, that means a measurement of my activity (including my life or breathing) is recorded in secs, minutes, hours, days, years, etc. and my age is said to be this and this. So and so lived for so many years, or such and such activities happened in terms of time. Thus, Time (kala) exists in a relational or event-based one. And, all events and relational existence are unreal. In that sense, even the, so called, 'Time' does not exist since it depends on so many other factors. For instance, Time on earth depends on the planet's movements- rotation and revolution. Time emanates from the Sun's radiation as electromagnetic waves and creates 'Space' along with its movement. There is astronomical time, real time, relative and absolute aspects of Time. Since Time cannot be measured, its accompanying 'Space', too, cannot be measured. Thus there are many versions of Time and Space that are elusive. It is the mind's gimmick that these Time, space and causality and the subsequent objective world are created. But, all these things are meaningless, an illusion, a maya. The concept of 'maya' contains kala (Time) and niyati (Destiny) within its power of creation as prakruti or pradhana.
   Who created Time? Time is God. Time is God's will. Time is lila (elan) of the Lord. Time creates, projects, creates an illusion, imageries of objects, and finally destroys everything. Everything exists in Time and its adjunct 'Space'. Both these Time and  Space exists in the Mind and Mind exists in Consciousness. If Mind disappears Time also disappears! Consciousness is what makes Time, Space, and objects appear and disappear on the Mind-screen.
  It is the ingenuity of human intelligence, the power of the mind that things are created in images and destroyed, and make them appear, as if, real! Time is one such that is divided and sub-divided! So also Space and all that appears on the mind screen are subject to division and sub-divisions like the atoms- electrons, protons, neutrons, bosons and fermions. Human ingenuity knows no bounds. IfTime is an illusion, the Space created by it is also an illusion, and so also, the objects that fill the imaginary space in time! The real world experience too disappears! Everything disappears in deep sleep, unconscious state, and in samadhi yoga. While a yogi visualizes the truth in samadi yoga, it is not the case in unconscious and deep sleep states.
Thus, there are innumerable Calendars, calculations of Time and a few interesting ones are presented below.

 Here is a brief account of calculation of Time (kaala). The smallest unit is the nemisha (Time of an eye wink) and the largest is the Yuga/kalpa. Brahma's One day is the world's existence and one night is its disappearance; whatever appears disappears! But, the question is whether there is anything called 'Brahma', at all?
 Indian Calendars used manvantaras, yugas and other such duration, to date and narrate what and when things happened. The original calendars were of shorter duration and related to people; longer ones related to astronomy came later and Aryabhata is supposed to be our first astronomer followed by Varahamihira, Bhaskara and others.

  The first manu is Vivasvan, the Sun. Time starts from the moment radiation of electromagnetic rays move out of solar disc. The age of Sun is said to be 4.56 billion years (NASA). Earth is born out of the condensation of the solar flares ejected by the rotating solar mass of Hydrogen under fission and fusion creating Helium waves.  Thus, Bhagavad-Gita says, Sri Krishna taught Gitopadesha to Vivasvan the first manu. From manu comes Light, Guna (qualities), Prana (Life-force), Manas (Mind), Space air, fire, water and earth and all living beings-  manu-manus, and manavas. The first manvantara is devoted to formation of the earth. Second to mountains, rivers etc and the third to plants and fish and such other aquatics. The next one to amphibians, reptiles and birds nd then came the quadrupeds, monkeys and man. The present one is the Vaivasvata  Manvantara and the last quarter Kaliyuga. This Kaliyuga also has four quarters and the first one is coming to a close.

The manvantaras were originally as long as the period of a manu’s duration or regime. One Manu Pruthiu is said to have ruled for 10 million years! and shed light wherever he went! Now the reference to the duration for manvantaras are not individuals but astronomical events. Some more details are quoted from texts available (with credits at the end).

The Manus: The lineage of manu is traced to Vishnu Purana where it is stated that the first manu was Dhruva’s grandfather, Uttanapada’s father and the next four were his cousins-Swarochishta, Uthama, Taamasa, Raivatha. The story goes on. Dhruva’s son Sishti, had a son called Ripu and a grandson called Cakshusha. Cakshusha married Pushkarini,  the granddaughter of Varuna. (See : Dvadasha Aditya). Their son was Cakshusha Manu. So Chakusha manu was the great-great-grandson of Dhruva. 

   It is said the Vishnu appeared in several avatara- from Nara Narayana to Prithu. This avatara occured during the Cakshusha Manvantaram. Caksusha Manvantaram ended with the Matysa Avatara when the great pralaya in the form of flood occured, The Lord appeared in the form of a fish to rescue the earth (submerged part) symbolically said to be Lakshmi/Bhu/Shree) and the save the VEda and its adherents. Thus, Matsya (fish) avataras is the first avatara of the Vaivaswata Manvantara.

  The present manvantara is the 7th in the order and another seven are to follow. Hence, we are in the Vaivaswata Manvantara.

   There are Fourteen Manvantaras in a Kalpa. A manu or an Indra lives for 1 manvantara. 1 manvanatara is a 100 years of Indra. This is an astronomical number. But it does not mean that each of the manus were living such long time!  

  The earth is about 1 kalpa old (4.32 or 4.53 billion years old and much time has taken to cool down to accommodate the present life forms.). Age of rocks can be calculate bu Uranium-lead ratio. The oldest rocks in India are about 25o million years and the Himalayas are just a Million years old!

Many Stars are just born and some are very ancient. The first star born did not last even for a second but its light waves are still to reach the Earth!? The Sun is 93 million miles away from the earth and it takes the rays seven days to reach the earth. The earth rotates on its axis at a mean velocity of  1040 Km. per hour at the Equator. It takes 365 days 6 hours to go round the Sun once and comes near in summer, and goes far away in winter during this rotation causing winter and summer, respectively causing changes in duration of days and nights on earth.  …
   The first yugas were just one year old. (But what is One year with reference to the linear velocity of the Earth in relation to the Sun? The earth was nearer to the Sun and its rotation was much faster than now. Mahayugas (Carturyugas) grew in length from the 5 years of the Paitamaha siddhanta to the 4,320,000 years of Aryabhata, as more celestial bodies were taken into consideration, for computing Yuga durations. Since this article refers to astronomy and to the Vishnu Puranam and it requires people to learn a little mathematics, astronomy and samskrutam.

 We see the characters in Mahabharata created by Vyasa or Veda Vyasa, or Krishna Dwaipayana, the son of Parasara and Satyavati, the great grandson of Vasishtha and the father of Suka, All these are mere stories albeit with much secrecy, symbolism, imageries, involved and lot os hoidden meaning (antarartha). The Characters such as Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura and a hundred and one Kourava clan are noteworthy. These characters are traced to Dvapara Yuga preceding the present Kaliyuga, dated back to just 3500 years or so. However, as per Devi Bhagavata, every Dvapara Yuga, had its own Veda Vyasa, (the one who classified the Veda?). These Puranic episodes are not to be taken seriously. For instance, King Dasharatha was worshiping the idol of Rama and gave that name to his son Ramachandra. So who is the real God Rama? Further, Madhvacharya got an idol of Rama from the King of Odisha when his disciple Narahari was taking care of the young prince. This makes us think how history and purana are mixed up.  

 It is also said that the son of Satyavati and Parashara, called Sri Krishna Dvaipayas who classified the One Veda- Ekayana told by Lord Nrayana to Sankarshana, which was lost, again came to be told by Brahma to his first brain-child Atharvana, and that was Atharva Veda. This Atharva Veda was too bulky with almost a lakh verses and was classified into four parts by Veda Vyasa (the 28th Vyasa Deva?); so it may be surmised that in each Yuga there will be a Rama, a Krishna, and a Buddha and Kali?).
 All these require some in-depth study and research in the light of Rk Veda, Brahmasutra, Bhagavad-Gita, where Bhagavan Sri Krishna says, everything is "His own manifest forms" as in Vibhuti Yoga. Which one should we believe? Puranas seem ridiculous sometimes!?

    So, Asvatthama, the son of Drona will be the Veda Vyâsa in one dvapara yuga.

 Twenty-seven Veda Vyâsas had expired and they duly compiled each their own Purâna Samhitas in their own (Second of the Four Quarters) Dvâpara Yugas.

1.    In the first Dvâpara, Brahmâ Himself divided the Vedas;

2.    In the second Dvâpara, the first Prajapati Vyâsa did the same;

3.    So S’akra, (Indra) in the third,

4.    Brihaspati, in the fourth,

5.    Surya in the fifth;

6.    Yama, in the sixth,

7.    Indra, in the seventh,

8.    Vasistha, in the eighth;

9.    Sarasvata Risi in the ninth,

10. Tridhama, in the tenth;

11. Trivrisa, in the eleventh,

12. Bharadvâja, in the twelfth;

13. Antariksa, in the thirteenth;

14. Dharma, in the fourteenth;

15. Evaruni in the fifteenth;

16. Dhananjaya, in the sixteenth;

17. Medhatithi in the seventeenth;

18. Vrati, in the eighteenth;

19. Atri, in the nineteenth;

20. Gautama in the twentieth,

21. Uttama, whose soul was fixed on Hari, in the twenty-first,

22. Vâjasravâ Vena, in the twenty second;

23. His family descendant Soma, In the twenty-third;

24. Trinavindu, in the twenty-fourth;

25. Bhârgava, in the twenty-fifth;

26. Sakti, in the twenty-sixth,

27. Jâtûkarnya in the twenty-seventh

28. and Krisna Dvaipâyana became the twenty-eighth Veda Vyâsa in the Dvâpara Yugas.”

kRSNa dwaipAyana was of the 28th Dwapara Yuga, his grandfather Sakthi was of the 26th Dwapara Yuga, his great grandfather Vasishta was of the 8th Dwapara Yuga. 

·         Krishna Dwaipayana Veda Vyasa is fifth generation from Brahma, but in the 28th Caturyuga.

The statements made in this blog will be further clarified later.

   The concept of Time or calculations of Time from a wink of our eye (nemisha) to a Millenia is not an easy one to be understood easily. We say we are now in Kaliyuga and it lasts for 432000 years; and, further we say that only about 2000 years have lapsed! Today is a date of February 2016 AD. What do we mean? Does our Calendar (Time/ kala or Week and Day/ vaara and  tithi),  starts with death of Jesus whom we do not consider as a Manu. What about the Hijari, and the Shalivahana Shakha Calendars? . What about theSolar, the Lunar, and the Solar-Lunar Calendars that we follow??
Let us go into this in detail later.

(To be contd,)