Brihad Aranya Upanishad is a huge body of work in Sanskrit and has eight chapters. It deals with the essence of Hindu thought. Brihad in Sanskrit means vast, Aranya means forest and Upnishad means to sit near down and near. A posture the disciples in India adopt when in the company of their Guru. The complete literal meaning of the name thus becomes - sitting down and near a Guru in a vast forest. However in Sanskrit which is a language that transmits data at six levels, the literal meaning often reveals very little. One needs a Guru to explain the nuances of thoughts expressed.
A Guru had an Ashram in a forest usually far away from the materialistic life of a city. People sent their wards for study and they would sit facing the Guru and listen to his teachings. Guru always sat on an elevated seat befitting his higher status in learning. Knowledge like water must flow from higher to lower levels.
The following is the first Shlok from Upanishad and beautifully explains the origin of the universe.
Shanti Paath – the opening Shlok
Om Poorna mada Poorna Midam Poornaat Poorn Mudach yate
Poornasya Poorn maa daye poorn meva vashishyate
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.
Translation
He (unmanifested Param Bramha energy) is full and complete and this creation (his manifestation) is also full and complete. Fullness emanates from fullness, and after having removed fullness from fullness what remains is also fullness. May there be peace in mind, body and spirit.
It can also be translated slightly differently,
(unmanifested Param Bramha energy) is full and complete and this creation (its manifestation) is also full and complete. At the time of the dissolution of this creation into parent energy only Param Bramha remains. May there be peace in mind, body and spirit.
Send your bouquets and brickbats at
rajset@indian-vedicastrology.com also visit my website
http://indian-vedicastrology.com
Rajiv Sethi
Your feedback and suggestions about blog quality and blog topics are very welcome.
© copy right 2009. No part of this article can be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the author
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your question and comments are very important for me, as are your suggestions for new topics. Trust me when I say that it is extremely difficult to find new topics every day.