SWETASWATARA UPANISHAD ON YOGA

The Second Adhyaya of the Swetaswatara Upanishad is  a motley collection of themes! It begins with a prayer hymn to God Savitr as the rising Sun. He is the embodiment of spiritual illumination as well as the deity of inspiration and self discipline! Moving on, the Upanishad discusses Yoga as a means of Self Knowledge. The body should be held steady. The three upper parts viz the chest, neck and the head should be erect. The mind and the senses should be drawn together into the heart. The Individual then breathes gently, slowly through the nose! A wise man, the Upanishad states, has to cross all fearful streams by means of the boat of the Brahman! He then compresses his breath within the body and has to restrain the mind as vigilantly as he drives the chariot yoked with vicious  horses! How should this Yoga be practiced and where? The Upanishad Indicates the nature of the place and where meditation and Yoga can be undertaken.

The place and ambience for practicing Yoga is very important! The area should be level and clean free from pebbles, dust and fire. There should be no distracting sounds that divert the attention of the the person meditating. No sight that can hurt or be painful to the eye should be present. The place must be a sheltered retret protected from the wind! What is the experience of the meditator? First things that manifest in Yoga are fog, smoke, sun, wind, fire, fireflies, lightnings and a clear moon. It is only after all these appear, that the Brahman follows! After the five fold quality of Yoga results from the elements, earth, water, fire, air and ether, all sickness vanishes, and old age, senility and death disappear! The meditator acquires the body of Yoga produced by fire! The first results of the progress of Yoga are lightness of the body, health, steadiness, clear complexion, pleasant voice, sweet smell and slight excretion according to the Upanishad!

Like the mirror tarnished by dust shines brilliantly after it is cleaned, the meditator, after the vision of the nature of the Self, realizes the oneness!  That is the end to which he comes finally! He is released from the shackles of sorrow! The Upanishad points out that when by the nature of his own self he sees, as by a lamp, the nature of Brahman he is released from all fetters because IT is unborn, eternal, and free from all natures! He is the all pervading God! “He is the first born; and He is within the womb. He has been born and He will be born. He is inside all persons, facing all directions.

The all pervasiveness of the Brahman is stressed by the Upanishad in no uncertain words! “The God who is in the fire, the God who is in the water, the God who has entered into the whole world, the God who is in herbs, the God who is in trees-- adoration be to that God, adoration to Him!” In 2.13 the Upanishad describes the first benefits of Yoga to be agility, better health. clear face, sweetness of voice, sweet odor, regular body functions, steadiness, feeling of lightness in one’s personality! Yoga thus leads to the Knowledge of the Soul!

ON INDIAN DEMOCRACY

“ Our democracy is but a name. We vote. What does that mean? It means that we choose between two bodies of real, though not avowed autocrats” says Helen Keller! How true the statement is! Elections happen regularly, people vote mechanically, governments are formed but nothing changes! Hardships of the common man continue. Water scarcity, inflation, red tape, neglect of the basic amenities stare at the man on the street! There is intense competition between the candidates, all for power and position! “ In every well governed state, wealth is a sacred thing. In democracies it is the only sacred thing” comments Anatole France. Politics has become a business and democracy has come in handy for members to make money! “The ballot is stronger than the bullet” comments Abraham Lincoln! But are our elections free from violence? Fights between parties, murders and other atrocities are common during  elections. Bribing the voter and purchasing votes has become too common! The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter! RKNagar elections were cancelled in Tamilnadu due to terrible corruption by the political parties! According to Winston Churchill, “ Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” The magnitude of the problem is that democracy cannot please every section of society!

But then what is real democracy? Abraham Lincoln has defined it as, “ Government of the people by the people for the people.” How far is it valid in the society of today? Democracy is being abused and misused in many countries including India! It can be now be defined as, “Government half the people buy the people for the people!  Not even half the percentage of the electorate cast their vote! Most of them are illiterate and bribed by the candidates! They are more concerned about money. Crores of rupees are spent by candidates for electioneering and purchasing votes! It is a temptation that the voter can never overcome!The candidates vie with one another to extract maximum benefit within the five year period! Public money is siphoned off through devious ways! Assets of elected members increase phenomenally within these five years! Common man can never enter the fray because of high costs involved in contesting. Crorepatis and other rich people rush to become MLAs and MPs! The rich become richer while the poor grow poorer! The days of dedication and service mindedness witnessed in the period immediately after our Independence are no longer witnessed now! Pre Independent zeal and zest for the nation is significantly absent! There is a sense of complacency as India has achieved Independence! Stalwarts and statesmen who sacrificed their lives, power, and position to serve the nation have gone into history! We have no such ideal politicians at the helm who can guide the nation in the right direction.

Democracy works when people claim it as their own! They should realize that it is their nation or state or region and nothing should be done to jeopardize the rights and privileges of the Individual citizen! You are deceiving yourself when you cheat others or damage public property in agitations and demonstrations! The Government is yours and public property is also yours! It is your money that has raised buildings! You are accountable, thus, for the damage you cause. The Supreme Court has stated that parties whose members damage public property should compensate for the loss! The pity with the present generation is that they refuse to take action even as they see injustice and atrocities being committed in front of their eyes! One Traffic Ramaswamy is not enough! Many more alert and responsible citizens should come forward to question the Government when its policies are wrong. Educated, honest, and sincere persons should join the Government through elections to set right the lacuna! Most of the present legislators have a criminal background and ensure a place for themselves in the  government! That should be stopped! More election reforms to weed them out should be introduced.

Equal opportunity should be given to every section of people in a democracy. In spite of its best efforts the Government has failed in this. Various groups and sections are clamoring for recognition and threatening the center with their protests and demonstrations. “Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be President, and anyone who doesn't grow up can be Vice President” says Johnny Carson! As the famous Greek Philosopher Aristotle says, “Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers”. Here, in India, the aam admi-the common man has absolutely no chance to contest the election and come to power! The reservation system has created more troubles and inequalities! More and more tribes and clans are demanding reservations and the Government is in a fix!

Democracy cannot be offered on a platter! One has to work for it assiduously. People have to prepare themselves and be eligible for its arrival by hard work. “ Democracy, like liberty, justice, and other social and political rights, is not “given”. It is earned through courage,  resolution,  and sacrifice” says the Myanmar freedom fighter  Aungsan SanSuu Ky. Corruption has taken a very deep root in India and its politics! There is no area or field of activity that is not affected by corruption! It has spread its tentacles from the grass root level to the topmost position! Steps are being taken seriously only now. Black money has to be brought back from foreign havens where much of our money is stashed by tax evaders! Rules have to be implemented without fear or favor on their merits! Morals and ethics in life, government, and politics have become almost extinct! The number and the way in which murders, rapes, suicides, abductions, frauds,  kidnappings and smuggling are taking place in our country is a cause for great concern! A nation is judged not by its geographical boundaries but by the conduct and character of its people! India, in spite of its advancement falls short of the expectations of a real good Democracy! She has to strive more to qualify herself for the coveted post of an ideal Democracy! There is no point in calling itself the largest Democracy in the world!!

THE STRANGE STORY OF GARUDA

Sage Saunaka questions the sage Suka regarding the mistake committed by Devendra, king of Devas. How was Garuda born on account of the tapas of the Valakhilya sages? How did Garuda become the son of the great sage Kasyapa? How did he become invincible and endowed with exceptional power of taking any form he liked? Sage Suka maharshi narrated the details of Garuda’s birth and how he developed unassailable power. Kasyapa prajapati, desirous of a son performed a yajna assisted by Devas and Gandharvas. He directed Indra, the Valakhilya sages and others to bring twigs needed for the yajna. While Indra secured them easily and quickly, the Valakhilyas  could not do so quickly. Arrogant Indra, seeing their plight laughed at them and went away. The powerful Valakhilyas were angry and sad at the humiliation. They performed a homa chanting potent mantras to create a second Indra more powerful and fearful! Indra was terrified at this act of the sages. He approached sage Kasyapa for help. Sage Kasyapa pacified them and said that there cannot be two Indras at the same time and that the Creator Brahma had appointed the present Indra. The sages calmed down and offered the fruits of their homa to Kasyapa stating that he would be blessed with sons! Kasya told his wife Vinata that she would bear two renowned and mighty children! One son will be the king of all birds! Anura and Garuda were born and the former,physically handicapped, became the driver of Sun’s chariot! Garuda was crowned as the king of Birds by the Devas!

Immediately Garuda  jumped up and left for heaven and the Devas! He wanted to bring ‘Amrita’   to relieve himself and his mother from slavery! He defeated the guard of amrita in a terrible fight. He raised a storm of dust by his large and powerful wings that blinded all Devas! Indra and Varuna came but in vain! They could not stand before Garuda! Most of the Devas were injured and bled in their fight with Garuda. Crossing all barriers, Garuda progressed forward when he saw a terrible fire raging all around! He quenched it by getting water from various rivers! Then he took a diminutive form to enter inside. There was a resplendent iron wheel with sharp points revolving and capable of killing anyone entering it! Garuda took an atomic form suddenly and entered the machine! Under the wheel were two terrible snakes that could kill others even with their looks! Garuda threw dust into their eyes blinding them, rose into the skies and cut both the snakes into two! He accessed amrita thus and destroying the wheel rose into the skies without drinking the nectar!

On his way back, Garuda met Lord Vishnu who liked him for not drinking amrita in his possession! He wanted to give a boon to Garuda. Garuda requested that he should be the hood above the Lord and that he should be an immortal without drinking amrita! Garuda then offered to give a boon to Lord Vishnu.! The Lord wanted him to be his Vahana( carrier). Meanwhile, Indra, humiliated, and angry since Garuda was taking away amrit, struck  Garuda with his Vajrayudha! But It had no effect on the invincible Garuda! As a mark of respect for Indra and his weapon Garuda left a feather from his wing! That is how Garuda came to be called "Suparna!” Amazed at the strength and invincibility of Garuda, Indra wanted to be friends with him! Accepting his friendship, Garuda told Indra that he was taking away amrit for a great cause but not to give it to others to rink! Garuda allowed Indra to take amrit to heaven as soon as he placed it in a place!

Garuda returned home and informed his mother

that he has brought Amrit from heaven. She was extremely happy and blessed him. Then he told the serpents, children of his stepmother that he has brought Amrit for them and they can partake of it after their bath! Amrit was kept in a vessel on the holy grass called darbha. lndra came secretly and carried it away to heaven! The serpents knew that they were deceived. With no other alternative, they licked the sharp darbha on which the vessel of amrita was kept. Thus their tongues were torn into two! Darbha became very holy as Amrit was kept on it! Garuda and his mother Vinata were freed from their slavery!!

Kadruva, Garuda’s stepmother was jealous of Vinata! She planned to enslave her and laid a plan. She told Vinata that the tail of the white cow was black while it was actually not so! She called upon her serpent son to remain on the tail of the cow so that she could deceive Vinata! If what Kadruva said was true, Vinata should be a slave to her! At the appointed time Vinata saw the cow from a distance and accepted that the tail of the cow was black! One of the snakes had coiled itself  on the tail of the cow which looked black! Kadruva had won and Vinata and Garuda became slaves! Kadruva said that if  amrit was brought from heaven both Garuda and Vinata would be free! It is for that reason that Garuda went to heaven, fought the Devas and brought amrit to free his mother and himself from slavery! Is it not the duty of a son to bring freedom and happiness to his dear mother?

SWETASWATARA UPANISHAD

Swetaswatara Upanishad is an ancient text embedded in the Yajurveda. It is the fourteenth in the Muktika Canon of one hundred eight Upanishads. It has one hundred thirteen mantras in its six chapters. It is a part of Krishna Yajurveda and sage Swetaswatara is considered the author of the Upanishad. It is a principal Upanishad of Hinduism.The Upanishad is a foundational text of Saiva philosophy as well as the Yoga and Vedanta schools of Hinduism! As in the case of many Upanishads, significance is attached to the Self and the Brahman as the individual and the Atman! The omnipresence of the Brahman is emphasized. The Upanishad opens with meta physical questions about the primal cause of all existence, origin, and end. What is the role of  time, nature, chance and the spirit as the primal cause?

People question the cause of existence! “From where were we born? By what do we live?  Where is our final rest? By whose command do we undergo pleasure and suffer pain? Those who know the Brahman have to respond to these questions. Can we consider Time, one’s own nature, the elements,  mother’s womb, male energy as the cause for our existence? This combination is not the cause of existence because of the presence of the soul! The soul is not responsible for one’s pleasure and pain.It is God who presided over all the causes from ‘Time’ to the 'soul’. That is the realization of those who meditate and concentrated on God!l The soul revolves up and down the cosmic wheel as long as it thinks it is different from the Mover! Blessed by Him it becomes Immortal! The Vedas sing of the Highest  Brahman composed of the triad that is its firm and imperishable support. By Knowing its contents, the devotees of Brahman merge into it and are freed from birth! God supports the perishable and the imperishable, the manifest and the unmanifest but the soul is bound because it is the enjoyer! It is liberated when it realizes the Lord!

What is this “Triad?” They are the knowing and the unknowing, the one all powerful and the other powerless respectively. The third is the one that connects the enjoyer and the enjoyed and that is the “Infinite Self of Universal form who is inactive. While matter is perishable, the Lord is imperishable and immortal. He governs over both matter and the soul. Merging with Him is the   “complete cessation of the illusion of the world! The third arrives by meditating on Him and that is that of universal lordship! The soul is the repository of the Eternal beyond which there is nothing else to be known! The threefold Brahman, thus, is a combination of the knowledge of the enjoyer, the object of enjoyment and the Ruler!

Fire, latent in wood cannot be seen outside. Neither can it be destroyed. Fire can be produced again and again from the wood by means of a drill! The Self has to be gained in the body by means of the Pranava ( the syllable Aum). The Upanishad makes use of the wood and fire as a metaphor.  The body is the under stick or wood! The syllable Aum is the upper stick! Meditation is the drill by which God can be seen as the hidden spark! Where is this Self? The Upanishad declares that the Self is hidden “as oil in seeds, as butter in cream, as water in riverbeds, as fire in sticks of wood”. The Self is embedded in self itself! One can realize this through penance and truthfulness!

The Self is all pervading! ” Ekah paratma bahudehavarti”. It has no birth but takes different forms! “ ajayamano bahudha vijayate”. This omnipresent Self is rather difficult to understand and realize! Though we readily understand that milk contains butter, wood conceals fire and seeds store oil, when it comes to spirituality and philosophy, we find it difficult to equate it with the Self! The Upanishad  points out that self knowledge and penance alone can unravel the nature of  the Brahman--” That is the highest Upanishad.

I

BATTLE BETWEEN LORD SIVA AND NARAYANA

 In the Moksha dharma parva of Santhi Parva of the Mahabharatha there is a very interesting Conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna! The Lord tells Arjuna the names by which he is   and   explains the meaning and the  significance of those names. The name ‘Govinda’ means one who has attained the earth! (Go means earth). ‘Aja’ is one who has no birth. He was never born, is not born and will never be born! He is called Krishna as he is dark in color. He is called ‘ Achyuta’ because he never fails Dharma. He is worshipped as 'Ananta, Anadhya and Amadhya as none could find his beginning,middle or end! During the Varaha avatar the Lord had three humps on his back. Hence he was named ‘ Trikakuth’. The sun and the moon wake up the world and make people happy respectively.Thus the Lord is called ‘ Hrishikesa’. He is called ‘ Sipivishta’ because he has no hair or Indriyas or parts of the body!The body is composed of the three dhatus or elements viz Vata(air), pittha(bile), Sleshma( phlegm). When these decline the body dies. Thus he is called ‘ Tridhatu’. He always hears the deserving and pure speech not the sinful talk. Hence He is named ‘ Suchisrava’

Lord Krishna continues and tells Dhanajaya that for some reason he was born as the son of  Dharma and came to be called as ‘ Dharmaja’. He also took birth as Nara and Narayana! Following the path of Dharma he performed severe tapas in those two forms on the Gandamadana mountain! It was at that time that Daksha Prajapati performed the great yajna.  Arrogant Daksha denied the ‘ havirbhaga’( offering)to Lord Siva who became angry and  sent his trident, flaming Trisula to destroy the Yajna!  The Trisula, after totally destroying the Yajna,  came to Badarikaranya where Nara and Narayana were immersed in severe penance! Thus started the battle between Narayana and Lord Siva! The trident of Lord Siva came suddenly with lightning  speed and pierced the chest of Narayana! The radiance of the trident covered the locks of hair of Naryana and thus he came to be called “ Munjakesa”! Repulsed by Narayana’s roar, the trident went back to Lord Siva! In his anger, Lord Siva went after the sages involved in penance! Observing this, Narayana grabbed the throat of Lord Siva! Siva’s throat became black because of Narayana’s hold!  Thus Lord Siva came to be called as ‘ Siti kanta’!

Nara then chanted a mantra and sent an axe to attack Lord Siva! But that terrible axe broke into  pieces! Thus he got the name ‘ Khanda parasu’! Hearing this narration of the battle between the two Gods, Arjuna was wonderstruck! He was inquisitive and wanted to know who won the battle. Lord Krishna said that the entire universe became agitated. God of Fire refused to accept offerings. The earth trembled! The sun lost his dazzling brilliance! The sea became dry! Creator Brahma slipped from his seat! The Himalayas developed cracks! Terribly afraid, the Devas and Brahma came to the scene of battle between Nara Narayana and Lord Siva! Brahma requested Siva to relent from his anger and become calm for the sake of the welfare of the world. He pointed out that  Nara and Narayana have arrived to establish Dharma. They are great  ‘tapasvis’. Lord Siva was impressed with the words of the Creator. He controlled his anger and grew calm.

Lord Siva pleased  Narayana and even surrendered to him! Lord Siva and Narayana

greed for a truce! Narayana was much pleased and told Siva that if one who knows him he shall know Narayana also. There is no difference between Siva and Narayana! He said that the mark left by the Trisula on his chest shall henceforth be  called ‘ Srivatsa’! He will be called ‘Srikanta’ hereafter since his throat turned black when he caught it! Later Nara and Nrayana continued their penance. Lord Krishna told Arjuna that he has been moving about the earth and the Goloka with his many forms! He has protected Arjuna to win the Kurukshetra war! It is Rudra advancing before him who was born out of Krishna’s anger! It is He who has killed the Kauravas before Arjuna killed them. Lord Krishna directed Arjuna to bow down to Lord Siva and offer his respects!

It is significant to note that Lord Krishna himself explains how he came to be called in different names. We have heard about a war between Sri Rama and Anjaneya but not the battle between  Siva and Krishna! The events belong to Krita Yuga and appear to be impossible and miracles for us in this Kaliyuga! The authority of the Mahabharatha has to be believed whatever be our opinion! There are many such incredible situations in the Mahabharatha and other epics and Itihasas like the Bhagavata Purana!