Deivathin Kural Series - 42

Om Namah Sivaya.
Deivathin Kural # 42 of 09/10 Aug 2006.

1.These e-mails are translations of talks given by the erstwhile Pontiff of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over more than sixty years, published by Vanady Padippagam, T.Nagar, Chennai, India, in ten volumes, in the Tamil language. The english version is likely to be available very soon. These e-mails are simply an effort on the part of the sender, to share some of his bliss, as it is said, 'Yam perra peru peruga ivvaiyagam'. When he adds any personal observations he uses the phrase, 'KTSV adds'.
(To day's mail is a continuation of yesterday's, ie., # 41 of 08 Aug 2006).
26. Even now there are some evidences of the power of Mantra. It is more noticeable in the misuse of Mantras. In Tamil it is known as, '_Eval', or 'Pilli Soonyam', that the very word Mantram or Mantreekam, creates fear in people's mind. From this we should at least deduce that, if a 'collection of sounds' can have the power to do harm, why can't there be such 'collection of sounds', for doing good? Sometimes somewhere, we also hear of some good news, about the use of Mantras. We read that there was a rain following the conduct of Varuna Japam. Some time we see such an event in our own city.
27. In another place, there may be no rain, even after conduct of Varuna Japam. That does not mean that, there is no power of the Mantra. There are people who are cured by medicines and some do not get cured, despite taking medicines. We do not blame the medicines for that. When the medicine is ineffective, we say that the disease is far advanced. Similarly, when Karma is too powerful, no Mantra may be effective! There is another reason. Medication may fail if, dieting has been haphazard. Same way, for conduct of Yagnas, the participants are required to maintain strict discipline, comparable to Dieting. When they make errors in those restrictions, the desired effect of the Mantra, may not be there. Yoga sastra is a science. In a physics or chemistry laboratory, if we make errors in the conduct, the test results will be going wrong. Person working with electricity, can refuse to wear rubber gloves or stand on rubber or wooden platforms, only at the cost of one's life. Similarly in Yoga sastra, strict adherence to restrictions, is essential. In places where Varuna Japam has failed, I have found that, some rule, such as, 'alavana niyamam', ie., saltless diet, had not been correctly observed.
28. There are peole who have personally witnessed, a dead tree, reviving in Thiruvanaikkaval. The sthala vruksham a white-naval tree, called 'Jambu', (Thiruvanaikkaval is called Jambukeswaram, for this reason), had gone completely dry, except for some green patches in the trunk. Once when 'Kanadu Kathan' Chettiyars had done some Temple Thiruppani, 'Eka Dasa Rudram' was conducted for the tree. The tree revived at that time, by the power of the Mantras, even as the function was being completed. Each sound has an effect in the outer world. When some scientists, repeatedly played some notes of the octave, on the shores of a lake, the vibrations caused ripples of minute particles of water to form a specific shape in the water surface, shining effervescently. They could thus create a response, for each note of the octave. This is proof of my earlier statement that, by Veda Mantra intonation, Devine presence can be physically invoked, as seen by Rishis.
29. The sound can, not only be seen as light, it can spread in the outer world and cause a variety of effects. As it spreads in the atmosphere, Veda Mantras could cause salubrious effect, for the world. Not only the sound, but the 'swara', ie., pitch also has power. Some places have to be lowered, some at par, some raised one or two levels. They are called, 'udaattam, anudaattam and swaritam', respectively, for lower, higher and still higher. ( KTSV says. I may be slightly wrong here.This point will be clarified after going back to India, in Oct.) Par remains unnamed, depending on the starting pitch. Sabdam and swaram, combinedly, do the needful to make the universal powers beneficial to living things.
Why a Seperate Caste?
30. If you say, 'OK. We agree about the power of the Vedas. But why should we need a seperate caste, for learning and chanting it?', there are many reasons, why. Firstly, Vedas are not to be written and read. They have to be got by~heart, by re-iteration only. Then, they have to be tought to the next generation. This cannot be done, if you take up another profession to pursue. So much time is required. Not only Vedas. It is his job to learn and teach other sastras too. It is the job of the Brahmin to learn all Sastras and Crafts, and teach subtleties of those crafts, to people who have that Art or Craft, as their profession. He has this responsibility, to nurture the society's knowledge base and culture. He is required to learn portions of the Vedas concerning other professins, such as, even the fighting art of 'Dhanur Veda' and teach those who have that profession heriditorily. Despite his this wide knowledge, he is not supposed to do and make a living out of it, say the Sastras. He is to teach others, their profession. But he cannot take up that profession, however easy or profitable it may by. Veda Adyayanam (self study and chanting,) and Adyapanam (teach and make them do,) only are his jobs. He is to abide by very stringent rules of abnegation and abstinence, as required for obtaining the powers of the Mantras. By strict control of the tongue, he is to persevere with the minimum of food and live in a hut. He should not earn money by other means, so as to guard against becoming a victim of the desires of the senses. Accumulating wealth cannot and should not be his aim. As a great sacrificer, he should live the life of dispassion; solely devoting all his time, for the welfare of the society, protecting the Vedas.
31. To protect the Brahmin from dying of hunger is the job of others. He should be looked after by providing him the minimum wherewithal. He should be enabled to collect the necessary requirements for conduct of his yagas and other rituals. In other jobs, we pay a weekly or monthly salary. We pay the cost of an item purchased. We do this in appreciation of the srvices rendered or the value of the material. Similarly the society should pay back for what the Brahmin does for the social welfare, by way of Veda Samrakshanam and Yaga Karma~anushtanam. In this also the Sastras do not ask us to give him a palace or loads of money. He has to be paid for a simple livelyhood and material or cash for conduct of yagas and rituals. He is not to aspire for luxury in his personal life. He is to starve his senses of worldly pleasures and thereby attain to the powers of Mantra Siddhi, for other's well being.
32. Now let me give you the reason why, I have been saying that, the Brahmin is to get the Vedas committed to memory, by hearing and chanting and not by writing. Since we need the Veda Sabdam, resounding in the atmosphere, we are not to print them as books. Neither is it needed nor is it to be done. Once the Vedas are published as books, daily chanting and committing it to memory will go. I have no doubt about this. 'After all, what we need to know is in the books. So why should we take pains to committ it to memory? Whenever we have doubts, we can refer to the books! Why should we waste our time and energy?' That will become the attitude. The deep involvement required will vanish. I will give you a recently noted phenomenon. The man required to do obsequies for the fourth caste people was known as, 'panchankaran or panchankakaran'. By his name arises this misunderstanding. Actually his job was to cast the daily almanac, known as 'panchangam'. What is a panchangam? Each day has five parts, (aindu angangal), 'thithi', 'varam', 'nakshatram', 'yogam', and 'karanam'. Thithi stands for the number of the day, after full or new moon. Varam is the day of the week. Nakshatram is the star ascendant in the sky, that day. Yogam stands for, 'Amirta, Siddha and Marana', yoga timings. ( More about this also in Oct.) To decide as to what can be done and what is not to be done, everyday, we should know these five things. To-day astrology is big science. Till as recently as three or four generations back, this Panchankakaran, in each village, was a master of such calculations. Without a computer or calculator, what this villager could do, would make a modern Astro Physcisist wonder with awe. He did this with the help of, 'Jyotisha Sastram'. He used to write the day's, five important information of Thithi, Varam, Nakshatram, and Yoga and Karanam timings, on small piece of palm-leaf. (The palm-leaf was called, 'chuvadi', and since his palm-leaf was small and short, the man himself was called, 'kuttai-chuvadi!'.) he was also known as Panchankakaran, because of this.
33. To-day if the Panchankarars have forgotten this capability, what is the reason? Printing press came. Instead of Panchangam for each day, books were published for the whole year. The original root sastra, which was to be committed to memory by practicing everday, has come to be forgotten. The Panchankakaran of to-day, not only does not know his speciality, but he does not know as to why he has this name either! Thus we see that, what was common knowledge, has become inaccessible. Jyotisham is a portion of the Vedas, and Panchangam, is sub-part of Jyotisham. That knowledge is disappearing and going by default. Had the rest of the Vedas been printed, the same fate could have overtaken them. The world would have been denied, the chances for redemption whatsoever.
36. Our forefathers were very much aware of this hazard. The person writing and reading the Vedas, was called, 'Adaman', ie., the renegade. In Tamil Vedam was known as, 'ezhudak kizhavi', meaning, non-written scripture. In Sanskrit, Vedas are known as, 'Sruti', meaning, 'The Heard'. Since it was spoken by the mouth and heard by the ear and committed to memory; it was not a part-time job, but a whole time profession. One man chanted each, 'Padam', and the students repeated twice,( called 'sandhai' ). The sound of such chanting, spread in the atmosphere. Thus for many thousands of years, the Veda Sabdam, has been brought down, upto the start of the 21th century, by mouth and ear, only. If we destroy this 'eons~old~tree~of~knowledge', by our short-sightedness, there can be no greater Sin!
(To be Continued.)
Sambhomahadeva