The Religion of Brahmins Part2 (The words in italics are the Sanskrit words.

. These words can be read in the Sanskrit English dictionary by Sir Monier Williams, available in Internet at <http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.unikoeln.de/monier/> The Sanskrit words in italics are in Itrans) (You may please read the other publications like Vedas, Veda and Deva, The Religion of Brahmins Part-1 etc. before going through this article for a better understanding.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The word akShara also means alphabet. As every ray radiated from the Sun is the Sun itself, similarly these alphabets are, which are being radiated from the akShara and thus they are also called akShara. How powerful these alphabets are! They make and break the world, forms and reforms in blinks. Like m+o+o+n becomes moon and n+o+o+n becomes noon! This is how the every grain of the world is made. akShara is cast in every form by His shakti (Power/Energy). Thus these alphabets, are the mothers, the little goddesses, who create the akShara as kShara in innumerable ways. As the male finds the female, as the sperm finds the womb, so the praaNa (akShara in activity) finds vaak (the fundamental word goddess, the shakti of akShara). As the female takes the male inside and reproduces the male in another form, so the vaak splits akShara in infinite ways. The whole creation and re-creation is by praaNa (akShara); by praaNa(who is active form of akShara) and vaak. They (praaNa and vaak) are the conjugal pair in the beginning. (Refer Chandyogya Upanishad). They are the A(akShara) and B(vaak) s, the Alphas and Betas, Alphabets. Alphabets are degrees of Goddess vaak, they are also the Goddess, our Mothers (varNa maatRikaa). In this ONE-ness every One is an expression or personality of Consciousness. Whatever is there in akShara is also in kShara. Everything is mapped in us. So the alphabets which are the mother tongues are also our mothers. The alphabets are also called varNa which means Colour, Race, Class, Clan etc. Any expression is characterized by a colour. The colour expresses degrees or varieties of vaaks actions on akShara. Thus vaak, as each alphabet, is a consort of akShara. They cast akShara in all the forms! In Sanskrit, the first group of alphabets (similar to vowels) is called svara varNa. svara means sva (Soul)+ ra (ra~njana =colour). svara means radiance or colours of the soul. Then, like consonants there is another group called byanjana varNa byanjana means bi + anjana The word bi signifies duality (like bi-direction) or diversity. anjana means, pigment or applying pigment. Chandyogya Upanishads (Chapter-2) has said sarvey(all) svara(svara) indrasya(of indra) aatmana(soul). This means all the svara varNa, which are the radiance of soul are the elements of indra. indra (the king of heaven) means who is the centre of all revelations! This is why indra has been mentioned as the One who resides in the eye ! indra = idang(any thing that can be termed as it) + dra(=draShTRii=seer)! As you are seeing everything like it is flower, it is water, it is bird.., so also indra, who is there in all our eyes. The difference between us and indra is that indra sees every thing as the radiance of his soul and we see everything as different from us. The Vedas /Upanishads have said that we see the death because we see every thing different! manasa (by the mind) idam(this) aptavayam (is achievable) neha (not here) nana (difference) asti (is existing) kimchana(in any way)

mRityo(from the death, from the duality) sa (he/she) mRityum gachhati(will get into death) ya(who) iha(here) naneva(apparent difference) pashyati(sees)(Katho-Upanishads, Chapter-2)

The sense of death, fear, originates from the sense of duality. This is why Upanishads have said, dvitIyat (from the duality) vai (certainly) bhayam (fear) bhabati(forms). The fear comes from duality. Every fear is a part of the fear of death. Under certain circumstances we feel fear, because we do not feel comfortably our existence under those conditions. Whenever we have a fear, uneasiness, it is knowingly or unknowingly our sense of existence that becomes our concern; it can be subtle, but certainly it is this. The word, bhaya(pronounced as voy) meaning fear in Sanskrit is probably has a relation with the word void or inane. We see void every where, all around, because we are obsessed by death, deprived of the Knowledge or existence of consciousness. indra is the son of aditi(the mother of the Gods, as mentioned in the Vedas. aditi means, a (without) + diti (duality). We have explained in the earlier published articles that eye or the sun is the centre of all revelations, i.e. centre of vision and the centre from where the time evolves. indra is in this center, so indra relishes, enjoys every thing that is there in time and space, he is the king of heaven as recited in the Vedas. The principle consonants in Sanskrit are the first 25 alphabets, arranged in a matrix of 5 x 5; these alphabets, starts from ka and ends in ma. These 25 alphabets are known as sparsha varNa. sparsha means touch. The Chandogya Upanishads(Chapter-2) has said, sarvey(all) sparsha(the alphabets of touch) mrityor (are of Deaths) atmana (soul)-------all the sparsha varNa(alphabets of touch) are the elements of yama (God of the death). This means all the alphabets of touch have constituted mRityu, yama.. Also it means deity form of any alphabet of touch is inherently yama. When we say deity it signifies a particular personalized form of consciousness with whom we can communicate. The touch can only happen when there is a duality. The duality starts at the beginning of creation, when akShara becomes praaNa and the time starts flowing. Thus duality is related to both life and death. We see the duality all along our life; we do not realize that the death is also a form of the Consciousness, a form of our soul. If we know this then the death becomes the God of death, a living personality, known as yama in the Vedas. Consciousness unfolds as our life and death. Nonexistence is a form of Consciousness. As the creation happens, as the praaNa flows, the air flows, the touch is created. The creation is from desire (kaama in Sanskrit). The word kaama starts with the first alphabet ka and ends with the last (25th consonant) alphabet ma, thereby signifying that it contains all the forms of touch or all the alphabets of touch. Thus the word kaama is the combination of the first and last words of the alphabets of touch. The desire is related to touch. In the beginning there was/is a desire to split------tad oikakhat (she desired) bahu syam prajayeya (I will create many) (Chandyogya, 6th Chapter)! Thus duality is there at the beginning of creation when the praaNa (Time) started (starts) flowing. This flow (air of life) is touch. Thus kama which also means generally desire and also sexual desire (i.e. desire to multiply) is fundamentally touch and duality. Thus all the alphabets of touch are the elements of the god of death or yama. In the plane of deities, two things simultaneously exists, continuum, analogous feature as well as split-feature or quantum behaviour, as is known in physical light. Thus in this plane the deities are entangled with each other, mixed, although can split as a separate entity. yama, the god of death is the covering deity of the praaNa, the god of life. Such deity is known as aavaraNa devataa. avaraNa means---dressing/cover/ornament. This is why yama is one of the most renowned preachers, who with superb mastery described the Immortal soul (refer Kathopanishada---the preaching of yama to Nachiketa).

Also the Chandyogya Upanishad has said, sarvey(all) UShmana(the alphabets of warmth) prajapatey(are of prajaapatis) aatmana (soul)-------all the UShma varNa(alphabets of warmth) are the elements of prajapati(praja means who has been created; pati means lord; prajapati means the lord of creation, lord of the creatures. This means, all the alphabets of warmth have constituted prajapati. There are four consonants, sha, Sha, sa, ha which are the UShma varNa or the alphabets of warmth. The fundamental elements or particles by which the whole universe is made are the alphabets or varNa which we find in us as the elements those constitute our ideas, our emotions, our expressions, our creations in the mind. prajapati is also known as the god brahma whose colour is red. As we know red also scientifically represents the colour (varNa) of warmth (UShma). prajapati is the first in the creation among the deities: brahmaa devanam prathamam samvabhuva (brahmaa originated first among the deities) vishvasya shraShta bhuvanasya gopta (the creator of the universe and the protector)(Mundak Upanishad, 1st chapter) As you look at this colourful earth it compliments your mind with so many varieties of feelings. The lush green, the azure sky, the milky snow, the golden sandall are formed by the combination of feelings, combination of alphabets. The alphabets which apparently do not convey any sense, make the most meaningful, expressive world when they combine in the desire of creation. The shakti, the wife, the consort of the god brahma is the goddess sarasvatI who is the goddess of the words, goddess of the words toward expression, toward creation. brahmaa is the divine mind. Our mind is a part of the divine mind. All the shapes and forms are created in the divine mind. This is the realm of formed words. brahmaa is the final manifestation of trinity(described as tribit in the Vedasrefer Chandyogya 6th Chapter). The colour of brahmaa is red, the longest wavelength of the visible light, the extension toward the outward expression, the colour immediately before the creation. The colour of sarasvatI is white, the colour in which all the colours, all the varNa, all the alphabets are in equilibrium toward expression. It has been described in the purana (Mythology) that brahma was created from the navel of the god viShNu. The word for navel in Sanskrit is the word naabhi. navi in Sanskrit also means axial point or nave. viShNu means that aspect of praaNa (the Life God) who is running the creation. The first expression from the churning of praaNa (Time) toward manifestation is the brahmaa, the divine mind, who can be found at the axial point of the praaNa, at the navel of churning consciousness, who is the god viShNu who is the praaNa embracing the creation. Beyond the mind is the heart or plane of emotion and desire. viShNu is this centre. This creation is from the heart, out of desire, out of love. As the praaNa flows, the cycle of time starts; viShNu is at the axis of the cycle and from their brahmaa stems out and then the deities and the expressed universe. This is why in the hymns of viShNu in the Vedas, this centre of revelation (which is also the eye or the sun as explained before) has been many a times addressed by describing the eye of viShNu and also by his legs or feet(which represents the motion or flow of time). The three steps of viShNu is

famous in Vedic hymns and these three steps (past, present, future) are known as krama meaning sequence or succession. The famous weapon which the lord viShNu displays on his finger is the sudarshana chakra. su(elegant) +darshana (vision) +chakra(wheel). Thus this is the tool in his hand which is the centre of vision, centre of revelation and which cycles the time. The time is fragmented by this rotating sharp wheel in future, present and past. viShNu = vish+nu. vish= to enter, to pervade. nu means certainly; so viShNu means who has certainly entered into everything or who is certainly inside everything; Word viShNu can also be considered as the combination of the two words vish (to enter) and UShma(warm); thus viShNu means the warm praaNa, the warm life, the god of life existing in every entity. UShma----the warmth----praaNa. viShNu, praaNa is there everywhere as every ones warm life. It is for this reason, the vaiShNava (the followers of viShNu) are vegetarian and renounces all forms of cruelty i.e. act of tormenting or annihilating the life. viShNu is the praaNa who has entered in all the forms and shapes; praaNa who is active everywhere, praaNa whose motion is the motion of the nebulas, motion of the sun and the planets, cycles of the seasons, praaNa who is in the earth as gravity holding us, who as air is flowing outside as well as inside (through our nose) bridging the internal and external(aayu---life span, life flowing and vaayu---air), who as water is always cleansing us from the dust of mortality and physicality, quenching our thirst the beloved life..is the divine life god viShNu. Life, Consciousness, can not be without vision, can not be without motion! We are all moving. viShNu is placing his steps, which is time. He is our Life, thats why He is looking at us----this vision is all pervading, all permeating, all knowing! In you, your eyes bear all your desires, all your vibration, all the motions and all the emotions! This is why the hymns of viShNu in the Vedas sing about His eyes, all pervading vision, about his steps, about his legs, about his circulating motion. When we see the universal praaNa as the flare of the universal soul, as HIS manifestation we call praaNa as agni. When we see the praaNa holding us in his heart (field of gravity), rearing us with HIS love, expressing HIM in all the forms, at the root of this manifested universe, we call HIM viShNu. Some hymns of viShNu in the Vedas are below: ato (now) devah (the deities) avantu nah (favour us) yato (wherever) viShNur vichakrame (viShNu moves through, circulates through) pithivy( the earth) sapta dhmabhi(and also through the seven abodes) idam vihur vichakrame (in this circulation, movement of viShNu) tredh nidadhe padam(in three ways his steps, his motions are being held or registered) | samham (the root, the pivot) asya(is in this) pmsure(from where the radiation or vision is emanating. Tad (that) viShNo (viShNu) paramam (supreme) padam (foot, post, status) sad (always) pashyanti (see) sraya (the deities) (The deities always see the supreme foot or supreme motion of viShnu) | divva (like the divinity, like the heaven, like the all revealing) chakhur (eye, vision)) tatam (spread all over). (It is like an all revealing eye or vision spreading all over!) The word chakra(the spinning wheel weapon of viShNu) and the word |

vichakrama(meaning circular or periodical movement) are connected. chakra=cha +kra. cha means char or chal meaning to move. kra means krama i.e. succession or sequence. So, chakra is the centre or source from where all the periods, cycles, sequences of time of regulations are generated. In akShara, in shiva, everything is at a single instance of time. =Cha +Kra. Time is not sequenced there. It is not in succession. In akSharas action, i.e. when HE becomes praaNa, time starts flowing, or time is sequenced. These are the three steps of viShNu, the past, future and present. In the past, every thing is in ONE, it is all same, it is saama veda. The future joins the past and present, this is yajur veda, by which we are joined! The past sprouts as future and becomes present, the present cycles back to the past. Suppose you will go home. The home and going are already in you, in your instincts, in your knowledge or consciousness. This is past, {maha-purva(the great pristine) }. This event of going home becomes active as the birth of a seed (that is how you feel that you will go home after some time), and then you go home, the event happens or materializes as present or Rik veda. The whole thing, your going home, is the movement of viShNu. This is how it is in every action, in every action of energy, in every event, in every moment of time. The Time is His Knowledge or knowing and this manifests itself as creation, existence and annihilation. Thus viShNus feet are held in three states. viShNu is the praaNa at the pivot of the great wheel, the wheel of time, whose rotation is the unfolding of Time eternal (maha kala). The Vedic hymn is like this ara iba (like the spokes of) ratha (the chariot) navou (navel, centre) praney (in the praaNa) sarvam(every one) pratiShThitam(is held, bonded) nd (Prashnopanishad,2 Chapter). (As the spokes of a chariot wheel connected to the centre, every one is connected and bonded to the praaNa). This is the chariot of Sun, at whose centre is viShNu, whose warmth is our life, whose vision is the motion of time, who is the eye of the universe. praaNa, life is flowing. In Sanskrit, flowing is represented by the word pava means purification and also air. praaNa is the air and praaNa purifies. We are desecrated if we do not see praaNa. Seeing death, not seeing consciousness is getting desecrated. This is why in Hindu custom, there is a ritual to touch the fire (praaNa) if any one touches a dead body or attends a funeral. This fire outside is absolutely same as the life burning in us. We are living with a little life, life force, thats why this fire, this water etc. are inert to us. This is why during any religious activities, if there is a breach, one gains back the former status by calling viShNu. As you see your days and nights, your lives and deaths in consciousness, as the motion of viShNu, as the phases of Consciousness, you will get amRita(eternity) both in life as well as in death. In your coming and going you will see viShNu is moving. This is why there is a pilgrimage of the Hindus in a place called Gaya, where there is an impression of viShnus foot and where the Hindus perform the rituals to get their deceased relatives released from the darkness of the death to the shine of the life. Gaya means gacchati (going) and aayati (returning). Our coming to the earth and leaving are from the motion of ViShNu, if you see this then the death becomes a

part of life, death remains no longer death. We get rid of the compulsory circulation from death to life and life to death. viShNu lies, sleeps in the water, the water of creation or re-creation. This water is called kaaraNa (cause) arNava (ocean). Actually the word arNava is the retroversion of the word varNa. In this water we remain dissolved, in this water our physicality dissolves but we remain like a solute dissolved in water, we remain without forms. From this water we are again formed with dimensions. As we discussed in an earlier article (Veda and Deva), water is that form of consciousness, that deity, where every thing is achieved, accomplished. Word water is aapa in Sanskrit meaning aapti or achievement, where all thirsts, all desires are quenched. When we sleep, we sleep with all our desires. They remain dissolved in this water. When we are awake, we rise from our sleep with our previous desires and determinations. Thus we are re-created every day. Thus also the creation is re-created from this Water of cause, Water of creation. Here the memories remain, instincts remain, in the water. The god of water is varuNaa. This is connected with the word avaraNa meaning a cover or a shroud. There are two famous conjugal Vedic gods, mitra and varuNaa. varuNa belongs to the western direction, mitra ( a name of Sun-god) belongs to the east. mitra means friend. When you desire for a flower, it becomes your east, the flower or its desire is now in your front, this happens by that aspect of consciousness known as mitra. If we see this aspect of Consciousness, then the friend, mitra, will rise to us as whatever we desire. When something rises to you thats your east, and then all other things, all your other desires get shrouded at that time making only the one that you have desired as prominent. All other things remain in the west, behind you. The flower desired rises in you covering every other thing. They remain covered by this aspect of consciousness called varuNa. This is because we can not take things at a single time. We are krama dharmI, i.e. characterized by the habit of knowing one by one or in succession and not at a time. We take things in sequence, one at a time. So we rise with something and sets with it, then we rise with another thing and sets with it. This is called ahoratro= aha (day) + ratri (night). We are passing through days and nights, revelation and annihilation. In the water all remain as impressed. Impression is called mudraa in Sanskrit and the sea is called samudra. sam (samyak=perfect) + mudraa(imprint, impression). {The palmistry is called samudra vidya (Knowledge). Whatever we do remains imprinted in our Consciousness and appear as physical prints or impressions on our palms; on every part of the body}. The shakti of viShNu is lakShmI. The word lakShya means aim / target/ something marked or defined etc. viShNu has stuck everything by his vision, this is his shakti, Power, named lakShmI. lakShmI is on lotus. Lotus is called padma in Sanskrit. padma=pada +maa (measure). lakShmI measures the pada (leg or foot) of viShNu. This means, viShNu, praaNa becomes defined and measurable by His shakti lakShmI. Wherever viShNu puts his step, there is a centre (chakra) or lotus (padma) of revelation. This is why any thing, any material is called padaartha=pada +artha (meaning) = meaning or interpretation of visnhuns pada or motion. (Probably the word earth is from the word artha meaning that this earth is the realization of viShNus steps.) In consciousness, there is no difference---the observer (draShTRi), the power of observation or process of vision (darshana) and the object (dRishya) are same. akShara, viShNu, lakShmI, brahmaa, sarasvatI are all the different aspects of the

same Consciousness. viShNu is the medium place. Medium (madhyam in Sanskrit) does not only mean midway it also means the medium that permeates through all and connects all. It joins everything and is yajur veda. HIS vision has constituted a plane called antarIkSha, means antara (inner) + IkShaNa (vision, or flow of time). Here everything is inside, inside the heart, everything is held in side HIS vision, inside the vision of eternal life god. In Upanishads, praaNa is called adhiardha= adhi (in excess by ) +ardha (half), i.e.1-1/2(1.5 or one and half). This is praaNa, who has fragmented himself and every fragment, every half he has held in him. Thus we are all clung to praaNa, by the force of heart. What we know as gravity is the attraction of the heart which keeps us living on this dear earth. This is how viShNu is in the earth! This reminds us of the mantra ---prithvi tvaya dhRita loakah (ye earth everyone is being held by you) devi tam viShNuna dhrita (ye goddess earth you are being held by viShNu) tam cha dharaya mam nittyam (so you also hold me always) pravitram kuru chasanam (and also sanctify the seat, my foundation). We are held by the earth, earth is held by viShNu the eternal Life God, praaNa. The way we are held expresses our character, our properties. The word dharma meaning religion in Sanskrit also means properties those hold a matter or a being or those define a matter or an entity. Through viShNu, through earth we are characterized. The word society is called samaaja=sama (same, synchronized) +aja (without birth or without beginning, i.e. akShara or immutable eternal soul). The activity of akShara, activity of the immortal, immutable ONE is viShNu. To be really a sociable person means to remain synchronized with the motion of viShNu, to remain synchronized with the immutable, eternal ONE from whom we are, by whom we are.

There is a hymn: yato cha udeti surya (from whom the sun rises) yato astameti (into whom the sun sets);

praaNad ba udeti surya (the sun rises from the praaNa) praney astometi (the sun sets in the praaNa) tam deva chakrirey dharma (the deities follow this as their religion) sa aeva adya sa u shva (HE is the time as present, he is the time as future / he is the ever present, he is the flowing time ). {This is written from the teachings received from the Seers Shri. Bijoykrishna Chattopadhaya (1875-1945), and his principle disciple Shri Tridibnath Bandopadhaya(1923-1994). This article was earlier published in Scribd.-----Debkumar Lahiri (you may write to the author at dkldk@rediffmail.com debkumar.lahiri@gmail.com for any comments or query) or