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Aum Namah Shivaya

 

Dear group,

 

I am reposting a message that I had posted a few weeks back on the

vedic astrology list, in reply to certain discussions there. Thought

that I could share it here too.

 

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He who knows the inverted Peepal tree, with roots in the Primal

Being, whose trunk is Brahma, and whose leaves are the Karmas, is a

knower of the Real Meaning of the Vedas"

 

--- Lord Krishna, Sloka-1, chapter 15,

Bhagawad Gita.

 

 

 

 

As a child, I often wondered what lies beyond the sky. At school

when I came to know of the Solar system, I wondered what lies beyond

the solar system and if there are other solar systems, what lies

beyond them; if there are other universes beyond this one … It

would go on forever. Every night whenever I was allowed to go up on

to the terrace, I would lie on my back and watch the stars, wondering

where this immense Universe came from. As children, some of us would

have questioned the origins of existence.

 

 

There is nothing that does not have a mother. Everything in the

world whether a living being, a form of Nature, or an idea has been

generated from another being, form or idea. This generative process

goes back indefinitely, prompting one to ask: who or what is the

first mother? This search for a definite starting point is like

peeling an Onion layer by layer, until one finally reaches the center

where nothing is there except the same empty space that surrounds and

maintains the entire onion.

 

 

The ultimate Reality – the mother of all that is, is beyond all

form, words, thoughts and names. All notions of space and time, in

fact the very mind dissolves into a primordial pool that is

unfathomable. But man always tries to know the unknown through the

known and has tried to understand that which is beyond the mind

through the mind. The Sad darsanas (6 systems of philosophy) explain

the concept of creation from various viewpoints. Apart from these,

the various schools of Saiva and Sakta Tantras also explain the

concept of creation. In essence, all these schools of thought

explain the same. At root all are similar, the external differences

being only due to the various angles from which they approach.

 

 

The ultimate reality, the core of all things and all Beings is beyond

words, thoughts and description. The seers called it by various

names – Param Shiva, Brahman, Pure Consciousness and Cosmic

consciousness. Call it what you want to, but it is the eternal ocean

in which the countless universes arise as waves; the boundless space

within which everything is born, grows and dies; the source of all

things, the substratum upon which all things appear, the one and only

reality which is unproduced, indestructible, motionless, eternal, all-

pervading and beyond time and space. It is a veritable zero of

vibrationless equilibrium.

 

 

While the details differ, most of these schools of thought have

something in common. Most Indian schools (Hindu schools to be

precise) are at root vedic. What do the Vedic seers say about the

universe? For that I have to tell you a story.

 

 

I will tell you a story, the story of the universe – how it was

born, how it evolved and how the various forms that we see today came

to be. In the beginning, long back, in a far-off period, there was

neither the sky nor atmosphere above, neither death nor immortality,

there was neither the Sun nor Earth, nor day, nor night, nor light,

nor darkness, neither naught nor aught. There existed only the One

without a second. The whole universe existed in an invisible, subtle

and unmanifested state. What we see today and call the earth, the

sun, the moon, the stars and the sky was then, only formless matter

in its most elemental and compressed form. That One alone, non-

being, without a second, the ancient vedic seers called it,

the "Hiranyagarbha" – the womb of golden light. This cosmic

womb was all that existed.

 

 

The condition of what we call matter today, in the Hiranyagarbha, was

in its most elemental form, as Infinite Space (Akasha). In this

etheric state, there was an intense vibration, (spanda) which gave it

so much dynamism, that it resulted in luminosity and expansion. Thus

there arose light where there was formerly no light.

 

 

Now the scientist tells us something similar, that there was a time,

nearly ten or twenty thousand billion years ago when the universe was

infinitesimally small and infinitely dense. Then there was a

"Big Bang" and ever since, the universe is expanding. At the big

bang itself, the universe is thought to have had zero size, and so

infinitely hot. But as the universe expanded, the temperature of the

radiation decreased. As it cooled, atoms were formed which combined

to form molecules. After many more events, at regions that were

slightly denser than average, the expansion would have slowed down,

caused them to start to re-collapse, spin fast, and eventually give

birth to galaxies.

 

 

As time went on the atoms within the clouds of gases started

colliding with one another increasing the temperature, eventually

starting nuclear reactions. The heat given off would raise the

pressure and thereby stop the clouds from contracting any further.

They would remain stable in this state for a long time as Stars or

Suns, burning Hydrogen into Helium and radiating the resulting energy

as heat and light. The outer regions of the star may sometimes get

blown off in a tremendous explosion called a Supernova. The debris

or dust of such a stellar explosion forms many more second or third

generation suns (stars). Our own Sun was formed some five thousand

billion years ago out of a cloud of rotating gas containing the

debris of earlier supernovas. Most of the gas in that cloud went to

form the Sun or got blown away, but a small amount of the heavier

elements collected together to form the bodies that now orbit the Sun

as planets, like the Earth.

 

 

Initially the earth was very hot and without an atmosphere. In the

course of time, it cooled and acquired an atmosphere from the

omission of gases from the rocks. Gradually life evolved in the

oceans some three million years back as macromolecules, then single

celled organisms and slowly multi-cellular organisms. Then the first

amphibian stepped on land, then the reptiles, birds and mammals, till

eventually man came into being.

 

 

This in short, is the story of the Universe, how it came to be. But

this is the story of the beginning of one cycle. Such cycles are

endless. The Universe itself is without beginning or ending really.

It has always been there and will always be. The Brhadaranyaka

Upanisad (2.1,19) compares the Universe to a spider sitting at the

center of its web, issuing and reabsorbing its threads in concentric

circles, all held at one point. This image recurs in several vedic

and tantric works and sums up the Indian world view- Unity in

diversity. All existence is governed by a single principle, the point

of origin of the Supreme Consciousness, from which everything issues

and into which everything returns.

 

 

Thus all complexity came out of simplicity, heterogenity out of

homogenity and variety out of uniformity. All this beauty and

splendor with apparent paradoxes is the result of the sport of

Nature, a Cosmic play, a continuous dance towards order and

perfection.

 

 

Then who are we? Where have we come from? Whether the story is told

by the ancient Vedic seer in terms of the "Hiranyagarbha" or

by the modern scientist in terms of the "Crack in the cosmic Egg"

(in fact Brahmanda can be translated as the `Cosmic Egg') or the

"Big Bang", the essence is the same. "The stuff of stars has come

alive". The living beings of earth are cosmic creatures, products of

celestial events – atomic collisions, molecular unions and stellar

explosions. We are the children of the universe, children of immortal

bliss. Within our human bodies, we have within us a miniature

universe within our consciousness, our inner radiant Self, that

aspect of the all-pervading Cosmic consciousness. We are the center

of the universe. Nay! We are not only the center of the universe,

WE ARE THE UNIVERSE. We are its past and we are its future.

Ultimately we are not an individual body with a soul, but a soul with

a body. Rather with our own inner Self, that spark of the Divine, we

are infinite, ever present and eternal. We are part of the whole,

call it God, the Divine-Mother, Shiva-Shakti, Brahman or Primal

Being. No doubt, we have come a long way from the Primal Being.

The branches and leaves may be far from the roots, but it is to the

roots that they owe their existence. We have come a long way from

our Cosmic roots, nevertheless we are still deeply rooted in that

Ever Blissful Infinite Being called God.

 

 

If that is so, why do we suffer? Though the Atman is identical to the

Brahman who is ever-radiant and blissful, the Jiva (individual)

suffers because he is entrapped by the limiting adjuncts (Upadhis) of

body and mind. The infinite ***SEEMS to be entrapped by the finite

body and mind. Misery is not natural to the Jiva. It comes to

experience a state of misery because of its association with a body.

 

a. So the cause of misery is a body

b. The body (birth) is due to karma (previous actions)

c. Karma arises from attachment and hate, by preference to

certain objects and aversion to some.

d. Attachment and hate arise from Egoism (sense of `I'

and `Mine')

e. This Egoism comes from indiscrimination.

f. Indiscrimination, from ignorance of your true nature, that

you are one with the Brahman

 

 

Any of the reasons cited (in various contexts) as being the

motivation for rebirth, are all covered under some stage of the above-

explained process. For instance take the desire for something as a

cause of birth as some members were discussing in earlier posts. It

is already covered in point C. "Karma arises from attachment and

hate, by preference to certain objects and aversion to some". So

the

desire to "enjoy more whiskey" is nothing but an attachment,

a

preference for a particular object. So this results in Karma (Karma

can be mental, verbal or actual deed (thought, word and deed). Karma

results in birth. So in that sense your desire makes you take birth

again.

 

 

Thus, the root cause of all suffering and Karma is ignorance. The

only way to go beyond this, is to bring the light of knowledge. The

first step in this direction is to change one's attitude, to

retrace

one's steps along the same path that we have come down. In other

words, the only solution is to go back to our cosmic roots, to become

one with the Cosmic Consciousness. That is liberation, moksha,

salvation, whatever you call it. We are born so that we can exhaust

our karmic debts, so that we may be free. This is the only answer,

the only purpose of being born again and again, and thus the purpose

of life too, in a general sense. Here the Yogic tradition offers a

few paths to suit the varying temperaments. Thus the goal is to

manifest the potential Divinity, to attain Oneness with the Whole,

the Cosmic. Do it by Work (Karma), Worship (Bhakti/divine love),

Meditation (Raja yoga) or Knowledge (Gnana). To say that any one path

is the only way, is nothing but ignorance. To each according to our

temperaments. But in reality we all might need a little of each path

with a predominant need for one.

 

 

Jyotish is the light that reveals more clearly,this great truth to us

so, that we may be free. A sincere study of Jyotish can be a great

spiritual education, a Sadhana in itself, for it partly reveals the

eternal mysteries of the cosmos to us. It leads us to the unknown

through the known. It guides us out through the intricate labyrinth

that life is, with its myriad pairs of duality. It shows us the way

and ultimately sets us free, by taking us back to our cosmic roots.

But the process is quite complicated, since we live in a world of

Duality. The One has become the many. We have come long way from

Cosmic Consciousness, the Source or the Roots. And we are all born

with an unconscious desire to attain unity with that Source, with the

Cosmic (refer to the post on Sacred myth for extracts from Carl

Jung's works that tell us that we are born with a desire to know

God!). The individual soul seeks its lost (rather forgotten)

identity with the Cosmic. SADHANA AWAKENS THAT MEMORY.

 

 

The journey back to the Cosmic roots can be done by two paths. The

Direct and the Tantric paths

 

1.Advaitic/Vedantic/DIRECT: Direct realization of one's true

nature

by meditation on the Upanisadic Mahavakyas. This is the path of

Gnana, true knowledge. The emphasis is on the distinction between

the self and non-self. The cause of all misery is traced to

ignorance (Agnana) which vanishes only when supreme knowledge dawns.

This is the path advised by Advaita, a school of Vedantic thought.

 

 

2.Tantric: This path is an indirect one and generally uses a variety

of meditations, rituals, symbols etc., for gradual realization. This

is the path of technique. Innumerable techniques are there for all

kinds of men and women. Since the direct path requires a high level

of spiritual maturity, it is the second path that suits most of us.

Reality is grasped by a series of gradual experiences through a

process of conceptual and intuitive awareness. Reality is a flow of

ever-changing forces. By means of various techniques in accordance

with the innate principles of universal harmony, it is possible to

absorb the illusoriness of life and transmute it into a Conscious

Reality. This is the path of Tantra.

 

 

Once again most often we come across various teachers who actually

prescribe a mixture of both the direct and the indirect paths. The

essence of Tantra is Vedic while the myths and deities are Puranic in

origin. Present day Hinduism, it should be noted, is a mixture of

all these approaches. In fact, a lot of it is closer to practical

tantra than we imagine. The principal Vedic deities like Prajapati,

Indra, Agni, Varuna, Soma etc., are not really an integral part of

popular modern Hinduism. There are almost no temples to these Vedic

deities in India today, while all the key deities popular in present

day India- like Shiva (the auspicious and the destroyer), Vishnu

(the sustainer), Saraswati (patron Goddess of learning), Durga, Kali,

Lalita (all aspects of Sakti) who are more Tantric and Puranic in

origin- have hundred thousands of temples throughout India. Most of

the scriptures today are at root Tantric, if not in source at least

in aspiration. It is hard to differentiate between the vedantic and

tantric traditions today, in present day Hinduism, as they are

intricately woven into each other. To say that Tantra came later and

influenced the Vedic (vedantic) tradition, is far from the truth.

Both the traditions seem to have existed since ancient times,

influencing each other. Today even an orthodox advaitic parampara

like the sringeri math, prescribes agamic (tantric) practices for its

followers. Thus both the Tantric and Vedic (vedantic) traditions are

co-existent and often intricately linked.

 

 

Here I should tell you that Jyotish and Tantra (Agama) are also

intricately connected. So allow me to tell you more about the much-

misunderstood science of Tantra. Yes it is a science, but in a very

different way. It is the science of the spirit. The word Tantra is

made up of two words: tanoti and trayati. "Tanoti" means to

expand to

stretch, to extend while "Trayati" means to liberate or free.

 

Therefore Tantra (tan+tra) means to expand one's experience and

awareness of everything till all boundaries cease, till our

consciousness becomes one with the Cosmic, and thus attain liberation.

 

 

Tantra is actually a compendium of many other systems; it encompasses

a wide selection of the different aspects of human life. Its

nebulous beginnings lie in the mist of pre-historical times. It grew

slowly and developed spontaneously as man moved through and lived in

the various bygone ears. It was not thrust on man, but developed

naturally in response to man's needs, maturing with man as he

adapted

to new situations and adopted new ways of living. It is a system

that adapts according to the needs of the times. In fact, it is a

tantric belief that old tantric texts will face away and new ones

will always be written to replace them. The essence remains the

same, but the expression and relationship to prevalent social

conditions will be different. Tantra has changed through the ages,

not remaining attached to fixed dogma. It is still growing and

adapting itself in the new age, and will continue to mould itself to

man's needs in the coming ages.

 

 

Tantra teaches knowledge and experience of the macrocosm through the

microcosm. It utilizes the material to tune into the non-material,

the known to reach the unknown; the manifest to know the un-

manifest. It is a science that teaches us how to fully know and

use the world we live in, as well as to full in tune with higher

consciousness.

 

 

Tantra is an open spiritual tradition that accepts all useful

practices and insights including the wordly. It is world-

affirmative, granting a reality to the external world however,

affirming its reality as consciousness. Thus Tantra does not deny

the external world as totally non-real. It is sympathetic to the

immediate needs. It addresses the more mundane problems, by helping

to solve some problems through occult knowledge, and in the process,

tries to raise the individual awareness gradually towards the higher,

towards a transformation, which is its actual goal. It is the alchemy

of transformation- of transforming the lower into the higher. Tantra

being essentially a mystic affair, ordinary language cannot express

the teaching effectively. Hence a unique style of writing was

evolved using "symbolic speech". No doubt, all could read

this "Sandha bhasha (often translated as "twilight

language"), but

few could understand it. This "enigmatic language" (as

Burnof

referred to) is a distinct feature of Tantra.

 

 

Intricately woven into the theory of Tantra is the practical aspect

of Tantra as a scientific path. Tantra is concerned with providing

us tools to practically experience the truths that Tantra declares.

Yantra, mantra and Tantra, the three main aspects of the science,

usually go together. The tantra is the teaching and yantras and

mantras are its tools. Frequently one comes across another tool of

Tantra, which is similar to the Yantra, -the Mandala. Thus Tantra

makes use of various tools like mantras, yantras and mandalas. While

a yantra is a geometric representation, a mandala is a visual

iconographic or pictorial representation of the same energy. The

linear designs (yantra) are more common to Hindu Tantra while there

seems to be a preference for the Mandala in Buddhist Tantra. But

both the mandala and the yantra are seen in Hindu Tantra, the former

generally adoring the roofs of sacred places and the latter for

ritual worship.

 

 

Just as an equation in mathematics is represented by a graph, the

mantra can have a corresponding Yantra. The risis of ancient India

were able to "see" the truths of the Universe through

meditation, and

rendered them as mantras and yantras. Most of these patterns reflect

either a specific attribute of the Supreme Divinity, or the Divinity

in its entirety. The entire phenomena of creation, preservation and

destruction are reflected in some of these geometrical patterns. In-

fact, these Yantras when constructed accurately, are capable of

generating a tremendous force that every time the adept looks at it,

he experiences Creation itself!

 

 

"As body is to the soul and oil is to the lamp, a yantra is to

the

deity"

 

– Kularnava Tantra (V.86)

 

The yantras are the dwellings of the Gods. The Sanskrit word

"Yantra"

derives from the root "yam" meaning to sustain, hold or

support the

energy inherent in a particular object or concept. Simply, a yantra

is just an "instrument" or "tool". In the art and

science of

spirituality, Yantras are tools of transformation, which aid in

meditation, heighten awareness and help in a transformation of our

energies. Mahat, (Cosmic Intelligence) the greatest casual force,

possesses all sound and light forms. Tantra uses its radiance in the

form of lines of light to give form (through the yantra) to deities,

who often correspond to the possible phases of psychic unfoldment, in

the individual soul's journey back to the cosmic source. They

are a

synthesis and harmony of the diverse and some times conflicting

energies of the human psyche.

 

 

 

The gulf between the parent Cosmic consciousness and the individual

consciousness disappears with the aid of the Tantric tools. The

tools of Tantra help the individual to recover the lost unity and

assume the nature of the original Cosmic consciousness. The tools of

Tantra make use of precise, vital images and symbols to awaken the

lost memory of our true nature. When this memory is awakened through

a series of dreams, visions and other experiences, which the practice

of Tantra evokes in the consciousness of man, one realises the

identity of his inner self with the whole, eventually melding the

cosmos.

 

The images and symbols used by Tantra are not

randomly selected, but very precise. Thus when a specific deity or

mantra or yantra is chosen by a jyotishi after a careful analysis of

the chart, it is like a tailor made plan, a road map, for the

individual's journey back to the cosmic roots. Does that mean

that

one cannot seek to do it in any other way? No. The other paths of

Gnana (a more direct path that requires a high level of spiritual

maturity), or Karma (Work done with a Nimitta bhava, without

attachment to results), or Meditation, or Bhakti (spiritual

love/devotion), are all good. But as stated earlier, the path of

technique is said to be the easiest. The ishta devata or any deity

selected, is also part of the same scientific process. (please refer

my other post on sacred myth and archetypes for an explanation of the

various forms of gods with reference to archetypes and Carl

Jung's

views ).

 

 

Guess I have to stop writing now. I will end this post by reiterating

what I said earlier. A sincere study of Jyotish can be a great

spiritual education, a Sadhana in itself, for it partly reveals the

eternal mysteries of the cosmos to us. It leads us to the unknown

through the known. It guides us out through the intricate labyrinth

that life is, with its myriad pairs of duality. It shows us the way

and ultimately sets us free, by taking us back to our cosmic roots.

 

 

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