Pranam KR On Sun, 5 May 2024 at 22:33, 'Bala N. Aiyer' via KeralaIyers < keralaiy...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
> Excellent and very informative article about Vedic Studies. > This must be read by all Hindus. > While some Western Authors are corrupted by their own Biblical thinking > and some had overt desire to destroy the Indian culture and convert the > population, there were several really good scholars who did lots of real > service to our traditions by studying and popularising the teachins that > many Hindus failed to do. > > With kind regards & best wishes, > > Bala N. Aiyer > > > On Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 09:52:00 PM CDT, Rajaram Krishnamurthy < > keyarinc...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > *Western Vedic Research * > > In the present sorry state in which the nation finds itself it has to > learn about its own heritage like the Vedas from the findings of Western > scholars called "orientalists" and from Indians conducting research on the > same lines as they. I concede that European scholars have made a very > valuable study of the Vedas. We must be thankful to them for their work. > Some of them like Max Muller > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#MAX%20MULLER> conducted > research out of their esteem for our scriptures. They took great pains to > gather the old texts and published volume after volume incorporating their > findings. > > Two hundred years ago Sir William Jones > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#SIR%20WILLAIM%20JONES>, > who was a judge of the Calcutta high court, started the Asiatic Society. > The number of books this institution has published on Vedic subjects should > arose our wonder. With the help of the East India Company, Sir William > published the Rgveda with the commentary of Sayana and also a number of > other Hindu works. Apart from Englishmen, Indologists from France, Germany > and Russia have also done outstanding work here. "The discovery of the > Vedas of the Hindus is more significant than Columbus's discovery of > America, " thus exclaimed some Indologists exulting in their findings. > > These foreigners discovered Vedic and Vedantic texts from various parts of > the country. They translated the dharma-, grhya- and srauta - sutras > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#SRAUTA%20SUTRAS>. > The Kundalini Tantra gained importance only after Arthur Avalon > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#ARTHUR%20AVALON> had > written extensively on it. A number of Westerns have contributed studies of > other aspects of our culture also. It was because of the Protection of > Ancient Monuments Act that came into force during the viceroyalty of Lord > Curzon <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#LORD%20CURZON> > that > our temples and other monuments were saved from vandals. Fergusson > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#FERGUSSON> took > photographs of our artistic treasures (sculptures) and made them known to > the world. Men like Cunningham > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm>, Sir John Marshall > and Mortimer > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#SIR%20JOHN%20MARSHALL%20&%20MORTIMER-WHEELER> > -Wheeler did > notable work in Indian archaeology. It was because of the labours of > *Mackenzie* who gathered manuscripts from various parts of India that we > come to know about many of our sastras. The department of epigraphy was > started during British rule. > > We suffered in many ways at the hands of the British but it was during > their time that some good was also done. But this good was not unmixed and > had undesirable elements in it. The intention of many of those who called > themselves orientalists or Indologists was not above reproach. They wanted > to reconstruct the history of India on the basis of their study of the > Vedas and, in the course of this, they concocted the Aryan- Dravidian > theory of races and sowed the seeds of hatred among the people. Purporting > to be rationalists they wrongly interpreted, in an allegorical manner, what > cannot be comprehended by our senses. In commenting on the Vedas, they took > the view that the sages were primitive men. Though some of them pretended > to be impartial, their hidden intention in conducting research into our > religious texts was to propagate Christianity and show Hinduism in a poor > light. > > A number of Westerners saw the similarity between Sanskrit and their own > languages and devoted themselves to comparative philology > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#COMPARITIVE%20PHILOSOPHY> > . > > We may applaud European Indologists for their research work, for making > our sastras known to a wider world and for the hard work they put in. But > they were hardly in sympathy with our view of the Vedas. What is the > purpose of these scriptures? By chanting them, by filling the world with > their sound and by the performance of rites like sacrifices, the good of > mankind is ensured. This view the Western Indologists rejected. They tried > to understand on a purely intellectual plane what is beyond the > comprehension of the human mind. And with this limited understanding of > theirs they printed big tomes on the Vedas to be preserved in the > libraries. Our scriptures are meant to be a living reality of our speech > and action. Instead of putting them to such noble use, to consign them to > the libraries, in the form of books, is like keeping living animals in the > museum instead of in the zoo. > > > > *Methods of Chanting * > > Our forefathers devised a number of methods to preserve the unwritten > Vedas in their original form, to safeguard their tonal and verbal purity. > They laid down rules to make sure that not a syllable was changed in > chanting, not a svara was altered. In this way they ensured that the full > benefits were derived from intoning the mantras. They fixed the time taken > to enunciate each syllable of a word and called this unit of time or time > interval "matra*"uot; . how we must regulate our breathing to produce the > desired vibration in a particular part of our body so that the sound of the > syllable enunciated is produced in its pure form: even this is determined > in the Vedanga called Siksa. The similarities and differences between the > svaras of music and of the Vedas are dealt with. So those differences > between the sounds voiced by birds and animals on the one hand and the > Vedic svaras on the other. With all this the right way is shown for the > intonation of Vedic mantras. > > A remarkable method was devised to make sure that words and syllables are > not altered. According to this the words of a mantra are strung together in > different patterns like "vakya", "pada", "krama", "jata", "mala", "sikha", > "rekha", "dhvaja", "danda", "ratha", "ghana". > > We call some Vedic scholars "ghanapathins", don't we? It means they have > learnt the chanting of the scripture up to the advanced stage called > "ghana". "Pathin" means one who has learnt the "patha". When we listen to > ghanapathins chant the ghana, we notice that he intones a few words of a > mantra in different ways, back and forth. It is most delightful to the ear, > like nectar poured into it. The sonority natural to Vedic chanting is > enhanced in ghana. Similarly, in the other methods of chanting like krama, > jata, sikha, mala, and so on the intonation is nothing less than stately, > indeed divine. The chief purpose of such methods, as already mentioned, is > to ensure that even not even a syllable of a mantra is altered to the > slightest extent. The words are braided together, so to speak, and recited > back and forth. > > In "vakyapatha" and "samhitapatha" the mantras are chanted in the original > (natural) order, with no special pattern adopted. In the vakyapatha some > words of the mantras are joined together in what is called "sandhi > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#SANDHI>". There is > sandhi in Tamil also; but in English the words are not joined together. You > have many examples of sandhi in the Tevaram, Tiruvachakam, Tirukkural, > Divyaprabandham and other Tamil works. Because of the sandhi the individual > words are less recognisable in Sanskrit than even in Tamil. In padapatha > each word in a mantra is clearly separated from the next. It comes next to > samhitapatha and after it is kramapatha. In this the first word of a mantra > is joined to the second, the second to the third, the third to the fourth, > and so on, until we come to the final word. > > In old inscriptions in the South we find the names of some important > people of the place concerned mentioned with the appellation "kramavittan" > added to the names. "Kramavittan" is the Tamil form of "kramavid" in the > same way as "Vedavittan" is of "Vedavid". We learn from the inscriptions > that such Vedic scholars were to be met throughout the Tamil country. > > In jata patha, the first word of the mantra is chanted with the second, > then the order is reversed-the second is chanted with the first. Then, > again, the first word is chanted with the second, then the second with the > third, and so on. In this way the entire mantra is chanted, going back and > forth. In sikhapatha the pattern consists of three words of a mantra, > instead of the two of jata. > > Ghanapatha is more difficult than these. There are four types in this > method. Here also the words of a mantra are chanted back and forth and > there is a system of permutation and combination in the chanting. To > explain all of it would be like conducting a class of arithmetic. > > We take all kinds of precautions in the laboratory, don't we, to protect a > life-saving drug? The sound of the Vedas guards the world against all ills. > Our forefathers devised these methods of chanting to protect the sound of > our scripture against change and distortion. > > Samhitapatha and padapatha are called "prakrtipatha" (natural way of > chanting) since the words are recited only once and in their natural order. > The other methods belong to the "vikrtipatha" (artificial way of chanting) > category. (In krama, though the words do not go in the strict natural order > of one-two-three, there is no reversal of the words-the first after the > second, the second after the third, and so on. So we cannot describe it > fully as vikrtipatha). Leaving out krama, there are eight vikrti patterns > and they are recounted in verse to be easily remembered. > > *Jata mala sikha rekha dhvaja dando ratho ghanah* > > *Ityastau-vikrtayah proktah kramapurva maharsibhih* > > All these different methods of chanting are meant to ensure the tonal and > verbal purity of the Vedas for all time. In pada the words in their natural > order, in krama two words together, in jata the words going back and forth. > The words tally in all these methods of chanting and there is the assurance > that the original form will not be altered. > > The benefits to be derived from the different ways of chanting are given > in this verse > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#IN%20THIS%20VERSE>. > > *Samhitapathamatrena yatphalam procyate budhaih* > > *Padu tu dvigunam vidyat krame tu ca caturgunam* > > *Varnakrame satagunam jatayantu sahasrakam* > > Considering that our ancestors took so much care to make sure that the > sound of the Vedas did not undergo the slightest change, it is futile for > modern researchers to try to establish the date of our scriptures by > finding out how the sounds of its words have changed. > > *Mantrayoga* > > The fourteen worlds > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#THE%20FOURTEEN%20WORLDS> > constitute > an immensely vast kingdom. It has an emperor and all living beings are his > subjects. This kingdom as well as its ruler is eternal and it has its own > laws. If the kingdom and the king-emperor are eternal, the law also must be > so. This law is constituted by the Vedas. Though the kingdom, the cosmos, > is called "anadi", it is dissolved and created again and again. The only > eternal entities are the Paramatman and his law, the Vedas. > > The world comes into being, grows and is dissolved in the deluge. Thus it > alternates between being and non-being. The emperor and the law remain > eternal. At the time of every creation the emperor, the Paramatman, also > creates authorities or "officials" and invests them with the yogic power > necessary for them to function. In the yoga sastra is taught the truth that > one's ears are not to be differentiated from outward space. When we > meditate on this truth we acquire a celestial ear. It is with this ear and > with the grace of the Paramatman that the authorities appointed by him > obtain the sound waves that are always present in outward space. They were > the first to know the Vedas and they are the maharishis (the great seers or > sages) of the mantras. > > Vedic chanting is a mantrayoga. The vibration in each nadi creates certain > feelings or urges in the consciousness. Sensual desire is aroused by some, > sloth by some and sorrow by some others. To reverse this, when there is > sensual desire there is a vibration in some nadis, and when there is anger > there is vibration in some other nadis, and so on for each type of feeling > or emotion or urge. We know this from actual experience. When we are at > ease there is a special glow on our face and this glow is caused by some > nadis being cool and unagitated. There is a saying "One's inner beauty is > reflected outwardly on one's face". Our emotions cause their own reactions > in our nadis. If we succeed in bringing the nadis under control we shall be > masters of our urges and feelings. There will then be no need to depend on > any external agency for the purpose. > > One way of acquiring control over the nadis is the practice of Rajayoga > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#RAJAYOGA> of which > pranayama is the most important feature. Mantrayoga is another. When we > vocalize a syllable, the vital breath is discharged through the space > intervening our throat, tongue, lips, the upper and lower parts of the > mouth, etc. It is then that the syllable is voiced or the "aksara dhvani" > produced. Vibrations are created in the nadis located in those parts of the > body where the vital breath courses through as a consequence of the > aksara-dhvani. > > What are the Vedic mantras like in this context? Chanting them means only > voicing such syllables as would cause beneficent vibrations of the nadis, > beneficent vibrations that would produce such mental states as would lead > to well being in this world and the hereafter and ultimately to liberation. > No other type of vibration is caused by the chanting of the mantras. > > What is a mantra? "Mananat trayate": that which protects you by being > turned over again and again and again in the mind. By birth the Brahmin is > invested with the duty of chanting mantras again and again and producing > such vibrations in the nadis as would bring Atmic well being. Through the > power of the mantras he must create this well-being not only for himself > but also for all creatures. > > How are the mantras to be chanted so that we may master them and derive > the full benefit from them? But first let us consider the faulty ways of > chanting. > > *Giti sighri sirahkampi tatha likhitapathakah* > > *Anarthajno lpakanthasca sadete pathakadhamah* > > "Giti" means one who chants a mantra as he likes setting it to tune, as it > were, like a raga. The Vedas must be recited only in accordance with the > tones appropriate to them. " Sighri" is one who hurries through a hymn. To > derive the full benefit from the mantra the right matras must be maintained > in the chanting. "Sirahkampi" denotes one who keeps shaking his head as the > chants. There must be a certain poise about the man who chants the Vedas. > The nadi vibrations must be such as are naturally produced in the course of > the intonation. There must be no other vibrations. If the head is shaken as > in a music recital the nadi vibrations will be affected. The > "likhitapathaka" is one who chants, reading from the written text. As I > have said so often the Vedas must be taught and learned without the help of > any written text. The "anarthanjna" is one who does not know the meaning > (here one who does not know the meaning of what he chants). All those > belonging to these six categories > <https://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/referp5b.htm#SIX%20CATEGORIES> are > described as "pathakadhamah" belonging to the lowest types among those who > chant the Vedas. > > K RAJARAM IRS 6524 > > -- > On Facebook, please join https://www.facebook.com/groups/keralaiyerstrust > > We are now on Telegram Mobile App also, please join > > Pattars/Kerala Iyers Discussions: https://t.me/PattarsGroup > > Kerala Iyers Trust Decisions only posts : https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrust > > Kerala Iyers Trust Group for Discussions: > https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrustGroup > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "KeralaIyers" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to keralaiyers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/CAL5XZopMbAbgJKc1oghLARMXPd9HH2F4pQS7%2BNOnabL6WsCqeQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/CAL5XZopMbAbgJKc1oghLARMXPd9HH2F4pQS7%2BNOnabL6WsCqeQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > On Facebook, please join https://www.facebook.com/groups/keralaiyerstrust > > We are now on Telegram Mobile App also, please join > > Pattars/Kerala Iyers Discussions: https://t.me/PattarsGroup > > Kerala Iyers Trust Decisions only posts : https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrust > > Kerala Iyers Trust Group for Discussions: > https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrustGroup > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "KeralaIyers" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to keralaiyers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/1949170273.6018322.1714966378582%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/1949170273.6018322.1714966378582%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thatha_patty+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZoo6Ko1kVTrngsNb%2BJsQyA-4be%3D4tn87GSOH9GHVJPnABg%40mail.gmail.com.
