Seeking my spiritual roots...

We come back to the last part of this beautiful and deeply meaningful verse from the taittiriya upaniSad . In fact, I started my journey of exploring the verse with this last part, and now when I come back to it complete the cycle it feels like I’m seeing it from a different perspective. The meaning of this part of the verse, as commonly stated, is “may there be no enmity between” us, encouraging the teacher and student to be of one mind. This entreaty to be of one mind is stated in an even older text. In the final set of verses in the rg vEda , we see a verse that talks about very similar sentiments. The first line of rg vEda X:191-2 says: संगच्छध्वं   संवदध्वं  ( samgaCChadhvam samvadadhvam ) सं   वो   मनांसि   जानताम्  ( sam vO manAmsi jAnatAm ) “May we move (progress) together May we be of one voice May we be of one mind” At first blush, it looks like it espouses no difference of opinion. I believe it is not so. When we look at the second part of the s...

The value of knowledge (here specifically “ adhItam ” - that which is learnt) has been elaborated upon in several places, and is intuitively also something that rings true. My school (Birla Vidya Niketan in New Delhi) had the following motto, taken from verse 11 of the ISa upaniSad विद्ययाऽमृतमश्नुते  -  vidyayA amrutam aSnutE  (“They gain immortality through knowledge”) What is immortality here? It certainly does not mean freedom from death in the physical sense. For the person who has acquired true knowledge of the self,    it implies freedom from the cycle of births.  But what about the impact of one’s knowledge on others? The knowledgeable ones’ name, earned through the impact they make on others, remains long after their physical death - that is their immortality.  The respect and name a scholar earns is unique. Saint Tiruvalluvar has again captured this beautifully is one of his kuraLs (adhikAram 7, kuraL 69) ஈன்ற   பொழுதின்   பெரிதுவக்...

In this the third part of the verse commencing saha nA vavatu , we see the focus shift from asking for something for the self (protection, material objects) to asking for enablement to do something with the knowledge gained. This verse is translated in many places as “may we do our studies with vigour or energy”. I humbly believe this can mean more than just asking for enthusiasm / vigour / energy for our studies, and to go deeper in to the meaning and import of the same. What is the purpose of education, or seeking? For most of us for most part, it is a means to a livelihood. At some point, maybe it goads us as we strive to understand ourselves and our place in this cosmos. Even for evolved and detached souls like Adi Sankara, or Ramanujacharya, or in more modern times Swami Vivekananda or Swami Chinmayananda, the fruition of knowledge is in its application and in transferring it further to other people; in short, in making the world a better place. Study or knowledge is not an end in...

Its been more than a year since I wrote anything here. First work and then the world caught me up in their grip, and my writing came to a standstill. Recently I came across this aphorism, and it hit me hard - I have to keep moving! Stillness of the mind is a much celebrated aim in not just Hindu philosphy, but practically every evolved system of thought. But does stillness of the mind necessitate stillness of the body? A still body commits no action - and that is not something to be celebrated.