Man is but a beast without it: such a glorious god is Learning. Bhartrhari
मनुष्यः केवलं पशुः एव अस्ति, तादृशः गौरवपूर्णः देवः शिक्षणम् अस्ति। भर्तृहरि
manushyah kevalam pashuh eva asti, taadrshah gouravpurnah devah shikshanam
asti। bhartruhari
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The Glorious God of Learning: Illuminating Humanity's Path
In the grand design of the existence, humanity has always sought to
transcend its primal nature, to ascend from the depths of mere animality to
the heights of intellectual and spiritual enlightenment. At the heart of
this journey lies learning, a beacon of enlightenment that distinguishes
humans from mere beasts. It is through learning that we unlock the vast
reservoirs of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that elevate us beyond
the limitations of our animal instincts.
Indeed, without the transformative power of learning, humanity would
remain shackled to its base impulses, forever trapped in a cycle of
ignorance and savagery. The world does not recognise the intelligence of
the earth remained open with the treasures of spread all over thoughts,
spanning the earth, atleast 10,000 years back; that was the treasure named
and forced to be accepted, by the world as the first literature; RIG VEDAM;
IN SANSKRIT; so, two things a t a time; a language so fluidly sams- kritham
-well-made-out; and literature out of that language. West had written the
expansions of the civilisation. They say men lived as a caveman without any
intelligence as a beast, without any distinction. And to become civilised
it takes so many millenniums. Similarly, while enumerating the development
of a language with the sustenance, west says, that after so many
modifications only, a language becomes well bred. English underwent from
the barbaric Saxons to become so refined only after the 42 mutations; and
Tamil has several mutations as presented in the formatting to the level of
this day. Then as predicted by the west there was a language prior to
Samskritham called Prakritham (Pra=earlier; in front; before). That kind of
unchanged word usages from Rig vedam till date, should have happened, only
after so many millenniums. If all were to be considered, will oit not be a
mere guess to say samskritham, Rig Veda Literature society, must have,
atleast another 20000 to 40000 years? So, oldest community with knowledge
was here; not displaced from Africa and Kenya border. The age of the
language and the literature hub was here in the Bharatha varsham. Man is
but a beast without it: such a glorious god is Learning. Bhartrhari An
animal may become a man and a man may become a GOD Vedas do say.
To comprehend the profound significance of learning, one must first
recognize the fundamental differences between humans and animals. While
both share the basic instincts of survival and reproduction, humans possess
a unique capacity for cognition, reason, and reflection. It is this
cognitive faculty that enables us to engage in complex thought processes,
to contemplate abstract concepts, and to communicate through sophisticated
language. In essence, it is our intellect that distinguishes us as Homo
sapiens, the wise beings, from the rest of the animal kingdom.
However, the full realization of our intellectual potential is only
possible through the pursuit of learning. Learning is the catalyst that
ignites the flame of curiosity within us, propelling us on a quest for
knowledge and understanding. From the earliest moments of our lives, we are
driven by an innate thirst for learning, eagerly absorbing the sights,
sounds, and sensations of the world around us. This insatiable curiosity is
the driving force behind all human progress, inspiring us to explore new
frontiers, to unravel the mysteries of the universe, and to push the
boundaries of our collective knowledge ever further.
Moreover, learning serves as the cornerstone of human civilization,
providing the foundation upon which all cultural, scientific, and
technological advancements are built. It is through learning that we
inherit the accumulated wisdom of past generations, standing on the
shoulders of giants as we strive to reach ever greater heights. From the
ancient philosophers of INDIA ROSE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE Greece to the
visionary inventors of the modern era via JEWS, ENGLISH AND MUSLIMS RUNNING
THE CHAINS OF Generations abroad; when India rose by expanding the BUDDHA,
JAINS, PARSIS AND MANY MORE BRANCHES OF THE HINDUISM. The Vedic history
bears witness to the transformative power of learning, as it has shaped the
course of human destiny time and time again.
Indeed, the glory of learning lies not only in its capacity to expand
our intellectual horizons but also in its ability to elevate our moral and
spiritual consciousness. Through the pursuit of knowledge, we gain insights
into the workings of the natural world and the complexities of the human
condition. We learn to empathize with others, to appreciate diverse
perspectives, and to recognize the interconnectedness of all living beings.
In this way, learning becomes a pathway to enlightenment, guiding us
towards a deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in the cosmos.
Doniger’s anthology groups the RIG VEDIC poems thematically.
Chapter 1, “Creation,” focuses on the origin of the cosmos, variously
depicted as resulting from the sexual intercourse of primal forces, the
creative act of a cosmic embryo, or the sacrifice of a primordial Man.
Chapter 2, “Death,” describes funeral rites, in which Agni, the god of the
ritual fire, and Yama, the lord of the afterlife, prominently figure.
Chapter 3, “The Elements of Sacrifice,” and Chapter 4, “The Horse
Sacrifice,” focus on sacrificial rituals other than the Soma rite, the role
of priests, and the power of sacred speech in the context of ritual and
poetic composition.The Vedic gods Agni and Soma, ritual substances
personified as deities, are the subject of the hymns in Chapters 5 and 6.
Chapter 7, “Indra,” focuses on the heroic deeds of this pre-eminent god of
the early Vedic pantheon. Chapter 8, “Gods of the Storm,” contains hymns
about the minor nature deities who serve Indra: The Maruts, and Parjanya
and Vayu—gods of the thunderstorm and wind. Chapter 9, “Solar Gods,”
features hymns about gods with solar characteristics, including the Sun,
Dawn, Night, Pusan the divine charioteer, and the Aśvins, twin benefactors
of mankind. Chapter 10 contains poems about the primal deities Sky and
Earth, mythical parents of mankind. Varuna, a sky-God who becomes the
sovereign deity presiding over moral and ethical behaviour, is the focus of
the hymns in Chapter 11. Chapter 12 features poems about Rudra, father of
the Maruts and antecedent to Siva in classical Hinduism, and Visnu, a Vedic
deity whose scope significantly expands in later Hinduism. Chapter 13,
“Realia,” sheds light on the worldly pleasures, anxieties, and the
day-to-day life of the Vedic tribes. Chapter 14, “Women,” depicts the role
of women and the tensions of marital life, often comically. The final
chapter features a selection of incantations and magical spells, shedding
additional light on domestic life and popular beliefs.
Rig Veda 1.164.45 describes that speech and its concomitant
cognition is of four kinds. The names of these kinds of speech are
described by Bhartihari (c 450 AD) in his *Vakyapadya to be vaikhar*,
Madhyama, pasyant, and para. Vaikhar represents gross sound; Madhyama is
the level of mental images; pasyant represents that gestalt or
undifferentiated whole that sounds emerge from in the process of speaking
and into which they merge in the process of hearing; para is the unmanifest
sound that resides in one’s self or universal consciousness.
Bhartihari argues that reality (sampratisatta) when seen through
the window of language reduces to a formal reality (aupacarik satta).
Language can only deal up to the level of pasyant, the gestalts underlying
mental constructs, and it remains limited because para speech lies beyond
it. Bhartihari calls the word or sentence considered an indivisible meaning
unit as the Sphota. He bases this concept on the Vedic theory that speech
(vak) is a manifestation of the primordial reality. The word-Sphota is thus
contrasted from word-sound. Meaning is obtained at a deep level based on
the sequence of sounds.
The discovery of a very large number of phonetic symmetries in the
first hymn of the Rig Veda that cannot be conceived to have been
deliberately introduced gives support to the thesis that language captures
only some of the symmetries that nature’s intelligence can express. This
discovery is summarised thus:” In our search for phonetic symmetries in the
first suktam of the Rig Veda, we examined the occurrence frequencies of
more than 50 sound classes. Of these more than 40 sound classes were found
with occurrence frequencies which are integral multiples of 8and more than
20 sound classes with occurrence frequencies which are even *integral
multiples of 24…* Moreover, in many cases, the occurrence frequencies of
phonetically related sound classes form simple integral ratios, for
example, the ratio of 2:1 between the frequencies of voiced and voiceless
consonants and the ratio of 1:2 between the frequencies of long and short
vowels. Thus, fundamental oppositions of the phonological system are
reflected in the quantitative distribution of sounds in the text… The order
which has been found underlying the phonological structure of the text is a
hidden order. It cannot be perceived consciously while reading or listening
to the text… Although the order found in the distribution of the sounds in
the text is unfolded sequentially in time, it is in itself not a linear,
but a global phenomenon… [and] it is multidimensional.”
Bhartihari’s theory speaks of a reality richer than the expressive
power of any language. Like the observables of quantum theory, language
picks only processes associated with its expressions. The classificatory
systems developed in the Indian tradition do not address the paradoxes of
consciousness. Rather, categories are defined, such as that of universal
experience, which can be seen to be explain the “complementary” nature of
human experience. These categories clearly assign central role to
selectivity, or context, and change. The Vedic system takes the mind to be
emergent on the ground of the neural hardware of the brain, but this
emergence is contingent on the principle of the self. In the earliest
literature, the gods represent various cognitive centres.
Tantric texts use esoteric diagrams or yantras for their
representation. There are other systems which are based on basic sounds of
the alphabet related to fundamental aspects of the mind. Such ideas have
been, by tradition, consigned to philosophy or yoga and tantra. But it is
possible, indeed likely, that there is much more than speculative thought
in these models. The ancient tradition of consciousness study in India,
long limited to philosophical studies, remains an unexplored frontier in
the history of science. This is just an introduction to the problem.
Further advances in a scientific understanding of consciousness will lead
to a better appreciation of the Indian literature on the subject. One hopes
that a comprehensive chronology of the various developments in the
structural models of consciousness will be eventually produced.
In conclusion, it is evident that learning is far more than a mere
intellectual exercise; it is the very essence of our humanity. Without it,
we would be no more than beasts, driven solely by our primal instincts and
devoid of higher aspirations. But with learning as our guide, we are
capable of transcending our animal nature, reaching towards the stars with
minds enlightened and spirits uplifted. Truly, such is the glorious god of
learning, whose light illuminates the path of human progress and
enlightenment. K RAJARAM IRS 22524 23524
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