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CHINMAYA |
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THE FUNDAMENTALS |
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Constituent
parts of a human being & main function can be summarized as follows: Body à Gross Physical Instrument, perceives & reacts to the
world of objects Mind à Subtle Instrument,
seat of emotions & feelings Intellect à Subtle Instrument, seat of Discrimination & judgement Consciousness à Life Principle, illuminator of one & all Happiness: Can be
increased by reducing the desires and by reorientation of physical,
emotional, intellectual and spiritual components of ones personality towards the “Path of Good” i.e “Shreyas”. “Preyas” and “Shreyas” Path of the
pleasant “Preyas” à Temporary Joy, Easy to follow, driven by sense
gratifications, finally ends in sorrows. Path of the
good “Shreyas” à Difficult to follow, driven by subtle intellect, leads to
real happiness, prescribed by the scriptures. “Vasanas” The Inherent tendencies & inclinations which are the primary cause
for the “existence” of a personality. “Suppresion” and “Sublimation” “Suppression” is forced self-denial
without the instrument being fit for it. “Sublimation” is a natural
elimination process through right understanding, clarity of vision,
intellectual conviction and dedicated efforts guided in right direction. “Destiny” and “Self Effort” Destiny(Prarabdha)à All that is available at present state,
resultant of all “past deeds/Karmas”. Destiny determines the inertia of any
individual. Self Effort (Purushartha)à The present deeds that have the
potential to shape the future state of any individual. Right efforts as
directed by the scriptures can guide the individual towards the highest goal. Self effort can provide momentum to
an individual to overcome the inertial forces due to Destiny. However the
results in a particular direction get modified depending upon the intensities
involved. “Religion” Religion
provides the fundamental principles, guidelines and finest insights which
help man and society to work out the best “path”. Religion provides pointers
for penetrating the subtlest domains of subjective reality and hence is much
ahead of the “scientific enquiry” which is limited to the gross world of
objects. “Vedas” The four
sections in which the Vedas are divided are described as follows: (i) Mantras à Chants in
admiration of natural elements & forces (ii) Brahmanas à Practices,
Rituals & Sacrifices i.e Karmakand portion (iii) Aranyakas
à Subjective Worship techniques i.e Upasana portion (iv) UpanishadsàThe Final Declarations of the Highest Reality i.e Gyan portion “Five Sheaths” The five sheaths enveloping the Self are as
follows: (i) Annamaya
Kosha(Food Sheath)àGross domain( constituting five organs of perception + five
organs of action) (ii) Pranamaya
Kosha(Vital Air Sheath)à Gross domain (constituting the five Pranas) (iii) Manomaya
Kosha( Mental Sheath) à Subtle domain(constituting the Mind) (iv) Vigyanmaya
Kosha(Intellectual Sheath) à Subtle domain(constituting the Intellect) (v) Anandmaya Kosha(Bliss Sheath)à Causal Domain (constituting the Vasanas) “Gross Body” Gross body
comprises of the Food & Vital Air Sheaths which include the five organs
of perception i.e eye, ear, nose, tongue & skin, five organs of action
i.e hand, leg,speech, genital organ & anus and five pranas i.e prana,
apana, saman, vyan & udan. “Subtle Body” “Subtle Body”
consists of following four factors: (i) Manas(Mind) (ii)
Buddhi(Intellect) (iii)Chitta(
Memory) (iv)Ahamkara(Ego) “Causal Body” Causal Body
comprises of the Bliss Sheath i.e the sum total of Vasanas in unmanifest form
and hence the very reason of existence of personality. “Five Pranas” Five faculties(Pranas) comprising the Vital
Air Sheath are as follows: (i) Prana (faculty of perception) à controls perceptions e.g. seeing,hearing,smelling..etc. (ii) Apana
(faculty of excretion)à controls rejections from body (iii) Saman (
faculty of digestion)à controls digestion of
food in body (iv) Vyan (
faculty of circulation)à controls distribution of digested food in body (v) Udan ( faculty of thinking ) à controls absorbtion & assimilation of new thoughts “Atman” The nature of Atman
can be described as follows: à the sentient
/conscious principle à the changeless
substratum à Illuminator of
one & all “Vedanta” The “final Declarations” or the
“End Portions” of Vedas pointing towards the “highest truth” i.e. the “Ultimate
Reality”. “Maha Vakyas” The four great
Maha vakyas are as follows: (i) “Pragyanam
Brahma” à Consciousness Is Brahman. (ii) “Tat Tvam
Asi” à You are That. (iii) “Ayam
Atma Brahma” à This Atman is Brahman. (iv) “Aham
Brahmasmi” à I am Brahman. “Path of Yoga” The four Yogas
leading to the ultimate goal are as follows: (i) Bhakti Yoga
à Path for the Emotionally dominant Personalities. (ii) Gyan
Yoga à Path for the
Intellectually dominant Personalties. (iii) Karma
Yoga à Path for the Rajas dominant or Active Personalities. (iv) Hath Yoga à Path for the mystics. “Consciousness
& Instruments” The pure
consciousness conditioned by Vasanas is the root cause for the existence
of Body, Mind & Intellect
Instruments. The Identified Body, Mind & Intellect Instruments behave as
Perceiver, Feeler & Thinker respectively in their interactions with the
world of Objects, Emotions and thoughts respectively. “Man of
Perfection” A man of
Perfection is established in his own SELF and has no attachments or cravings
of any kind. He is ever in the state of Total Satisfaction, Happiness &
Bliss. |
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E-Vedanta : The Online
course on Vedanta, email: chinfo@md2.vsnl.net.in |
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