navagraha- Nine Celestial Bodies.

Graha is a planet, a star or a celestial body. Since the sun is one of the navagrahas, and sun is not a planet , we assign the 'celestial body' meaning to graha in the translation.

And even the use of the word body in translating graha is very meaningful. The sun, the moon and other seven bodies in the navagraha include the bodies of seven eponymous Gods. Indeed we have seven Rushis (saptarshis) seen as stars. Child-rushi Dhruva is a star. The Arunachala Hill at Tiruvannamalai is Lord Shiva Himself , in lacklustre form, to bless devotees. Kailaas is His abode. Annamalai is He Himself.

The Sun and 6 planets (Moon, Mangal, Budha, Bruhaspati and Shukra) known to us today), lend their names to the seven weekdays. And two shadow planets, Rahu and Ketu, are all together called navagrahas. These seven influence our lives intimately. This is operative part of karma in action.

Sun is manifestion of the sacred Om and is visible to us. Savitaa is his other name. Gaayatree or Saavitree mantra is His mantra form.

Moon (Chandra) is son of Sage Atri and his sagacious wife Anusooyaa.

Mangal is son of Vishnu and Mother Godess Earth.

Budha is son of Chandra and His consort Tara.

Bruhaspati is son of Maharshi Angeerasa. Priest of gods.

Shukra is the Priest of the Demons.

Shani is son of Sun and Samvarnaa, known as Chaayaa, Shadow.

Rahu is son of Simhikaa (daughter of Hiranyakashipu) and Viprachitthi. He sided with the demons during distribution of Amrut and was beheaded. He survives as a head only. Black, shadow-like, he is always hidden in the shadow of Chandra.

Ketu is beheaded Rahu.

Astrolgy is based on navaghrahas. Since more planets are known today, astrology is invalid, some say. Since ghraha is not a planet, this objection is null and void.

How can distant bodies affect us?, ask many. Now, we know gravitaional forces of heavenly bodies. Only quantitatively. We know moon's force is one-sixth of earth's. But qualitatively we know nothing. Earth attracts moon but moon attracts water . There is a qualitative difference. Sun attacts earth but not able to snatch moon away even when the moon is on the same line i.e. in between it and earth on newmoon days! And the moon is nearest toun. Qualitative difference explains.

Distances are so large no force can penentrate, some say. In homeopathy, higher the potency less is the medicine. Scientists are baffled. But it works. Don't deny unless. The court does not accuse as guilty unless proved.

Western countries talk of zodaic signs. The stars are farther away than the solar system. Then why think of distances of our astrology?

We had advanced mathematical and astronomical which are still valid. Predictions are more correct than wrong. Astrologers may go wrong but not astrology. Do not some doctors go wrong? Why blame medical science? Practise may falter. Theory is proven.

srUshTi-- Creation.

UNMANIFEST BRAHMAN WAS ALONE. HE CREATED THE UNIVERSE BUT REMAINS ALONE STILL.



OM WAS THE FIRST MANIFESTATION- SOUND AND LIGHT , sookshma, subtle, transcendental. Called WORD also.



TANMAATRAAS: Five elements- subtle and gross. Aakaasha( ether), vaayu (air), tejas(light ),jala (water ) and pruthvee (earth ). Both Subtle and Gross we can not sense. Something we are not in the know of.

Each gross is split into two, one half of each further split into four each. Each half mixes with the four one-eighth of other four and real gross FIVE elements emerge. Ether is remains unknown entity. Other four also are not what we call as such. Vaaayu is not composed of oxygen, hydrogen etc. Light is not sunlight and any other man-made light.



The subtles after Pancheekarana, give rise to Antahkarana ( inner-organ -mind) . Influenced by Satva, ether gives knowledge( jnaana) whose seat is brain. Air gives manas(mind), light gives buddhi( intellect) , water gives chitta (memory) and pruthvee(earth) gives ahankara (ego ).

These five , called Samashti ( collective ) can opertateb collectively or individually with any five senses or five organs. With Rajoguna, they change to Vyashti( individual ) as Jnaanendriyas. ( Senses like eye, ear etc )With Tamoguna, as Karmendriyas.( hand, leg etc.)

Intution of our ascestors is yet beyond labs of modern science.

NOTE.
23rd .June: Brsahman is ALONE before and after creation. But He is not aloof. He pervades and permeates his creation -like water outside an iceberg and inside the iceberg too.

upanishadukti- An Upanishadic Truth.

BE STILL AND KNOW I AM GOD. AnUpanishadic statement, found in the BIBLE.
Be still. Jesus says. No movements- physical or mental. No thought should cross your mind. And KNOW-not THINK, is the key word.

Kill the mind. It covers up your understanding and confuses you in knowing things wrongly.
During saadhanaa stage, restrictions on physical movements are there. Once the mind is annihilated, no movements will disturb YOU, GOD in person !

How to lead life without a mind ? It is like a pilot putting controls under AUTO-PILOT. He rests and plane lands under difficult sitiuation with ease.

Man is provided with auto-pilot instrument and it does all the functions which he thinks his mind does. Science says main life-sustaining functions are involuntry .( breathing to begin with.) Man does not breathe as such . He cannot help breathing is the real fact. All his action likewise FORCED on him. First a feeling comes over him and he acts. EVEN A THOUGHT IS FORCED ON HIM.
NOTE: (20th june)
1. Senses are just windows collecting data from outside world on behalf of the mind. Eyes are mere cameras. Just like a spoon not aware b of the taste of the food , eyes know nothing of the sights seen. The mind decides on the quality and usefullness of theb sights and decides to delete it, store it or react. It directs KARMENDRIYAS to act.
Mind can concentrate on oneb sense and shut off all other senses. When you read a newspaper, you do not hear your wife calling you to breakfast table.When you see your sweetheart , nothing else is seen. Mother waiting for a cry from her child listens to no other sounds around.
If the mind shuts off all senses and concentratesv on itself, CALLED A SILENT MIND, hears OM.

manovijnaana- Physcology

Sigmund Frued is considered father of physcology. Two centuries ago. But the science was well known in India much before Christ, why, much before Adam even.



Mind is a powerful tool given to man by God. Scientists feel God is a product of weak-minded men. Partly correct. Man creates God to the extent he moulds the unseen , unmanifest GOD into a shape and gives a Name to his creation. Man makes ornaments of gold; but he is not able to create gold !



Mind is just a bundle of thoughts which it collects from the store-house of brain. Brain is the seat of mind during waking and dreamimg states. Always agitated . During deep dreamless , mind rests in the HEART and is in Bliss.



Mind is not an organ of the body like the kidney or brain. Similarly , the HEART is not an organ. No, it is not the musdcular ,blood-propelling heart on the right side of the chest. It is the SPIRITUAL HEART on the right side. 72,000 nerves from the brain spread out to the various parts of the body.( science is yet to start counting nerves ! ) Equal number of spiritual nerves connect HEART to the brain. Mind moves between the two i.e. brain and HEART;

Now physcology has touched only one side of the mind. The objective side. dealing with God and world. i.e.second person and third person. It has not looked into the subjective side which deals with the first person i.e. "I". Our upanishads are all about this "I". I is the essence and "you "and "he" are chaff. If "I" is known all is known, nothing remains to be known.

ybernetics is another modern scientific tool . But God has put cybernetics into us during creation itself. IT RUNS OUR LIFE, so to say. MIND can give up all objective thoughts and be at peace subjectively. The involuntary functions are cybertnetically governed . SO ALSO all our activities. You act when goaded by a feeling to act so. You feel thirsty, you drink. You feel sleepy, you sleep. WHO MAKES YOU FEEl , who goads you. Kenopanishad discusses this . Age old science.

( Awake, arise, countrymen ! You are riding high on the shoulders of spiritual giants. Be proud of your ancestors. Proudly announce you are a BHAARATEEYA ! )

yoga-viyoga-- Union - Seperation.

Four paths are prescribed for Union with God. I can adopt anyone of them . I is the base in following any path. I have to do bhakti. I have to perform Karma. I have to undergo yoga. I have to meditate.
Who is this I ? Is this I seperated from God to begin with, Ramana asks.
I is one and identical with God. You shed off you clothes, the external (dress ) and internal ( body with five koshas.) Go naked. It is actually Viyoga of what is not one and integral with YOU !

Of course for immature souls like us, the four paths help in shedding off the coverings. Ramana's PATH is direct. Question the very existence of coverings. You are GOD yourself when you start, on the path, whichever you have chosen and when you reach the destination. Incidentally , destination was the starting point itself. This comes as a revelation.
It is like dreaming you are going to Ramanashrama while sleeping in Ramashrama itself and waking up to see you areTHERE itself !

Anugraha - Grace

Grace is generally taken as God's gifts for us. It is not so.

We face miseries in life. On the face of it, we suffer. But in reality it is as good as suffering in a dream. Under the snare of Maayaa we suffer. God's Grace turns off Maayaa and you realise it is all a dream. No substance there.

Jesus suffered on the cross. Cancer, more painful than crucifixion, troubled RaamakruShNa and RamaNa. We will suffer for our sins, our karma. God's Grace only keeps you happy despite the pain and worries.

Maayaa - Illusion

MaYa is yaa+maa - what is seen is not what it is.

Illusion is taking an appearance to be real and a shady appearance as real. Water in a mirage is not real. All that glitters is not gold.

Maayaa has two aspects - aavaraNa and prakShepa - Covering up and projecting a false picture. AavaraNa acts in all our three states - awake, dream and deep sleep. Aavarana puts up a smoke screen to confuse you.
prakShepa projects false pictures in awake and dream states. It is inoperative in sleep. That is how you feel bliss in dreamless sleep. But aavaraNa prevents you from knowing why you are in bliss. In sleep you are in company of God. So to get out of maayaa, you must learn to be awake to God when you are awake. You feel that Bliss you unconsciously enjoyed in sleep.

Prema-Aananda - Love and Bliss

Love makes you happy. Happines makes you love. They are one and same.
Love is an expression of our natural state of bliss.
Love for God is devotion. You enjoy pure bliss in His company.
Love for all is a blessing.
Physical love is rerstrictive and transient. Pass over. Don't linger long there.

Dwandwa - Pairs of opposites

Good and bad is present in all, almost in all.

Yudhisthira said all are good people. Duryodhana saw all bad. This means former was a rare soul who was good himself and saw only the good in all others. Not that all were all good only.
The latter , bad by himself , saw only bad in all others. Not that there was no good in any one.
To clean anything youy require a clean cloth. How to clean yourself ? By looking at only good of others, talk only good of others and doing only good to others. As you sow so you reap. If you look for bad in others you will become worse yourself.

A resident of Ramanashram was bad in all respects and none had any respect from him. When he died , all were relieved he is gone.
When they reported to Ramana expecting him to heave a sigh of relief, he remarked - But his clothes were always washed cleanest of all.

When you go to a temple , dont look at the dirt around or waste time talking of money-minded priests. Concentrate of God, the main purpose of your visit.

NOTE:
2nd June ,2008.
Sukha-Dukha is another common dwanda. Actually , dukha is as non-entity. It is just absence or negation of sukha. Negation is negative approach to sukha which is our natural state. Sukha i.e. happiness is absolute whereas dukha i.e. unhappiness is tyransient and relative, never absolute. In our ignorance we seek sukha in wrong things or by wrong methods and away from sukha get into dreamland of dukha .For example, drinking alcohol.

Sex

GOD created the world. Out of HIS mind He created Manus and asked them to fill the world with progeny. WE ,humans i.e.maanavas came from the manus.
God in His Wisdom, put maximum pleasure in sex so that world will ever be full humans , animals and all others living beings, including plant kingdom. He knew man cannot be trusted. If there was no pleasure in sex, we would have gone extinct long back.
Our Seers knew this. But lest we think that sex is the goal, the best in life and purpose of life, they said pleasure of sex is same as between a dog and a bitch and Indra and his consort Sachi. There is BLISS beyond pleasures.

Ramakrushna had said- Bliss of meeting God is as if enjoying pleasure of sex in every pore in the skin of your body. Max Muller called him vulgar for this statement but it is the Naked truth.

Sex has a place in life - TO keep world going. It is the secret and personal bond between husband and wife. A way of mutual expression of love and understanding.No sin in it. Why give it a bad name and blame it ?

Seetaapati - Sita's husband

Dasharatha called Him as Rama. All others generally called Him as Ramachandra. Queen mothers called Him Ramabhadra. The Sages called Him Vedas in person. The subjects called Him Raghunaatha. For the people of Mithilaa, Sita's home, He remains as Sita's husband. He had no other identity. Just husband of Our Sita.

Brahman is the only Reality. The world is unreal, an illusion. Thus says Shankaracharya.

We have elements made of atoms and protons. These are indestructible. So are the elements. This is beyond man's capacity to splilt them. But to the One Who created the elements out of Himself and formed them into elements, they all remain only Himself i.e. Brahman.

Gold is gold in all ornaments, by whatever form you see them, by whatever name you call them.