Chapter 1	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 26 [unpublished in English]

In ancient times there were two recognized stages in the process of initiation. The first one was Vaedikii diikśá, that is, initiation as per the Vaedik [Vedic] school of thought, and the second one was Tántrikii diikśá, that is, initiation as per Tantra. The most important mantra in Vaedikii diikśá was the “Gáyattrii Mantra”. The spirit of Vaedikii diikśá was to pray to God to get the proper path, the path of bliss; and the spirit of Tántrikii diikśá was to move along that path. In the first phase the aspirant requested God to show the path, and in the second phase the sádhaka had to move along that path.⁽¹⁾ And this “Gáyattrii Mantra” was the most important mantra in Vaedikii diikśá.

Now, what’s the meaning of gáyattrii? It is a common error to say that that mantra is the “Gáyattrii Mantra”; because gáyattrii is not the name of a mantra, it is the name of a chanda. In the Vedas, there are seven recognized chandas, that is, seven recognized rhythms. Those rhythms are gáyattrii, uśńiik, triśt́up, anuśt́up, jagati, brhatii and paunkti. So gáyattrii is a chanda, gáyattrii is a rhythm, and not a mantra. And this particular mantra of Vaedikii diikśá was composed in gáyattrii chanda. The speciality, the special feature, of gáyattrii chanda is that it requires twenty-[four] syllables. To compose a poem it requires a chanda, and there should be three lines with eight syllables in each line – three times eight, twenty-four syllables. For each and every mantra of the Vedas, there are three requisite factors, three essentialities. These three essentialities are chanda, a rśi, and a devatá.

Chanda means the rhythm in which that mantra will be composed. Here in the case of this particular mantra, the chanda is gáyattrii. Gáyantaḿ tárayet yastu – “By chanting which one can get the path of liberation” is gáyattrii. Gáyat (gae dhátu [root verb] + shatr) + trae dhátu + d́a + uniip = gáyattrii. Do you follow? Here the chanda is gáyattrii, then the next requisite factor is a devatá, and finally a rśi.

The devatá is a particular word which has been used for a god, and according to that word⁽²⁾ the mantra is to be made. In this particular mantra, God has been addressed by the word “Savitá” – Tat Savitur vareńyam. “Savitá”. Hence the⁽³⁾ official name of this mantra is the “Savitr Rk”. Rk is the name of a mantra of the Rgveda. So the name of this particular rk is “Savitr Rk”.⁽⁴⁾ The word “Savitá” has been used in this mantra for God.

And the third important factor is a rśi. Rśi means he who composed that mantra. We will not say⁽⁵⁾ “he who wrote the mantra”, because the Vaedik rśis were illiterate, they could not write. The Vaedik people of Central Asia who came to India were illiterate, they had no script of their own. They learned how to write from the indigenous population of India, that is, from the Dravidians. The Sanskrit language has no script of its own. Sanskrit is written in various scripts of different portions of India.⁽⁶⁾ Sanskrit has no script of its own. In Bengal and Assam and Manipur and [[Tripura]] it is written in Bengali script. In North Bihar it is written in Maethilii script, in Orissa it is Utkal script. In Andhra it is Telegu script. In Madras it is Granthakśa, Granthalipi [Grantha script]. Sanskrit has no script of its own.⁽⁷⁾ In order to standardize Sanskrit education, they use Devanagari script in the prescribed books of universities and colleges. Devanagari is not the script of Sanskrit.

So all those Vaedik rśis were illiterate. They composed those psalms, those Vaedik hymns, and those disciples learned them by hearing through the shruti⁽⁸⁾ – the ear – and that’s why the Vedas are also known as shruti. So the rśi of a mantra is called in the Vaedik language a draśt́a rśi: drsh dhátu + trc⁽⁹⁾ (prathamá, ek vacana [first case-ending, singular number]). Draśt́a means “seer” – He who saw the truth⁽¹⁰⁾ is the seer of a mantra. So each and every Vaedik mantra will have a seer. Rśi means “cultured people”.

So here in this actual mantra, the seer is Rśi Vishvamitra. In this particular mantra, the⁽¹¹⁾ chanda is gáyattrii. It has been taken from the third mańd́ala, tenth adhyaya [súkta, composition] of the Rgveda.⁽¹²⁾ The chanda is gáyattrii, the devatá is Savitá, the name is “Savitr Rk”, and the rśi is Vishvamitra.

And I have already told you that the speciality of gáyattrii chanda is that there should be three lines, and there should be eight syllables in each and every line. Here the original mantra is Tat Savitur vareńyam; / Bhargo devasya dhiimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayát. Oṋḿ bhúr bhuvah svah oṋḿ is a later addition.⁽¹³⁾ It is not part of the original⁽¹⁴⁾ mantra. Now here in this mantra the first line is Tat Savitur vareńyam.

Now, mantra – what is the meaning of mantra? Mananát tárayet yastu [“That collection of sounds which, when meditated upon, leads to liberation”]. Manana means “chanting internally”; “speaking internally”, “speaking mentally”, is manana. Mananát tárayet yastu. By chanting internally a mantra, one can get oneself liberated. And that is why it is called mantra. Mananát – “by chanting internally” – tárayet yastu – “that which liberates” – is man-tra. Man + trae + d́a – d́a is the suffix, the Sanskrit suffix.

So the first line is Tat Savitur vareńyam; the second line is bhargo devasya dhiimahi, and the third line is dhiyo yo nah pracodayát. The first line is Tat Savitur vareńyam. The second line is bhargo devasya dhiimahi (go on counting): bhar – go – de – vas – ya – dhii – ma – hi – eight syllables. And the third line is dhi – yo – yo – nah – pra – co – da – yát – eight syllables. But in the first line (go on counting): Tat – Sa – vi – tur – va – re – ńyam – seven syllables. And the rśis say whenever there is any clash between grammar and rhythm, grammar and chanda, chanda should win, and not the grammar.⁽¹⁵⁾ So it will be pronounced like this: Tat – Sa – vi – tur – va – re – ńi – am. Eight syllables. So the correct pronunciation of the mantra is

Oṋḿ bhúr bhuvah svah oṋḿ
Tat – Sa – vi – tur – va – re – ńi – am –

not vareńyam, va – re – ńi – am –

Bhargo devasya dhiimahi
Dhiyo yo nah pracodayát oṋm.

Do you follow?

Now oṋm. What do we mean by oṋm?

Wherever there is an action, certain vibrations are created.⁽¹⁶⁾ For each and every action, there is a corresponding vibration, a corresponding sound. You are walking – a khat́-khat́-khat́-khat́, t́ap-t́ap-t́ap-t́ap sound is created. That sound is the vibrational sound of that action of walking. You are laughing – the sound há-há-há-há will be created, so the sound há-há-há-há is the vibrational representation of the action of laughing. So the vibrational sound of an action is called the acoustic root. So há-há-há-há is the acoustic root of the action of laughing, and khat́-khat́-khat́-khat́ is the acoustic root of the action of walking. This acoustic root is called a biija mantra in Sanskrit. Now, when this universe was created by the Macrocosmic Self,⁽¹⁷⁾ a particular wave came in the Macropsychic body – “I’ll create something” – this desire was created – and this psychic action certainly came from a psychic sound within the mind of the Supreme Self. So the acoustic root of the desire of creation within the mind of the Macrocosm created the sound aaaa-a-a-a-a-a. A is the acoustic root of creation. A is the acoustic root of the action of creation – do you follow? Wherever there is an action, there is some vibration, and wherever there is vibration there is sound. When that Macrocosmic Self created this universe, during the phase of creation a certain vibration was created in His mind, and that vibration created a certain sound. That sound of creation is a. A is the acoustic root of creation, a is the biija mantra of creation.

And the first sound of creation, a, is the first letter of the Tántrika varńamálá. A. What is the first letter? A. A is the first letter of Indo-Aryan script.⁽¹⁸⁾ In Hebrew and Greek alpha is the first letter; and in⁽¹⁹⁾ Arabic, aliph is the first letter.⁽²⁰⁾

Then after creation, you are to preserve that creation,⁽²¹⁾ you are to keep up the creation. After the birth of a child, you have to preserve it; so this preservation is the second phase, and the vibrational sound of this action of preservation is u. Uuuu. So u is the acoustic root of preservation.⁽²²⁾

And after creation, in the last phase of this psychic order, comes the phase of destruction. After creation and preservation there will be destruction. And the acoustic root of destruction is ma. Ma is the biija mantra of destruction, ma is the biija mantra of sarvalaya, ma is the biija mantra of prańásha.⁽²³⁾ So ma is the biija mantra of destruction.

So the entire functional business of the Supreme Self is represented by three sounds, a, u and ma – a-u-mmm. Hence the activated Consciousness is represented by the sound oooṋm.⁽²⁴⁾ And this oṋm now is called prańava.

This mantra starts with the sound oṋm. Oṋḿ bhúr bhuvah svah. A represents generation, creation; u represents preservation, operation; and ma represents destruction. Generation, operation and destruction. The first letter of “generation” is “g”, the first letter of “operation” is “o”, and the first letter of “destruction” is “d”. G-O-D, God.

Footnotes

(1) A sentence here was inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(2) A few words here were inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(3) A word here was inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(4) A few words here were not clearly audible on the tape. They may have expressed that the first case, singular form of Savitr is “Savitá” –Eds.

(5) A word or two here are inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(6) A sentence here, not clearly audible on the tape, mentioned the script used in the Punjab. –Eds.

(7) A sentence here was inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(8) A word here was inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(9) A word here was inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(10) A few words here were inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(11) A few words here were inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(12) A sentence here was inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(13) The next sentence begins “This portion was taken from…”, but the rest of the sentence is inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(14) A word here was inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(15) The next sentence here on the tape was “So here, for the sake of chanda, the mantra is to be…” The final verb was inaudible. –Eds.

(16) The next sentence here on the tape was “And wherever there is vibration, there is… how it is created, where it is created.” A word or two were inaudible. –Eds.

(17) A few words here were inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(18) The next sentence here is not clearly audible on the tape, but apparently says that in other scripts also “ ‘a’ is the first letter.” –Eds.

(19) A few words here were inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(20) A sentence here was inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(21) A word here was inaudible on the tape. –Eds.

(22) A sentence here was not clearly audible on the tape, but apparently recapitulated the meaning of a, u and ma. –Eds.

(23) The next few sentences are not clearly audible on the tape. Audible phrases are: “… and hence ma is the last letter of the vargiiya varńamálá [portion of alphabet composed of phonetic groups]. The last varga [phonetic group]… and the last letter of… is ma – pa pha ba bha ma.” –Eds.

(24) A sentence here was not clearly audible on the tape. –Eds.

Chapter 2	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 26 [unpublished in English]

In an ideal society, every soul ought to get complete scope for development without any impediment. But in a transitional period, when one era is about to end and the next one is yet to dawn, a critical situation arises in social life.

How the Giitá Addresses a Critical Situation

Yá Bhagavatá giitá sá Giitá – “The Giitá is that which is sung by the Lord Himself.” Bhagaván is another name for the Lord. What is Bhagaván? Bhagaván is [He who possesses] the totality of aeshvarya; and in addition yasha, shrii, jiṋána, etc.

Aeshvarya is the sum total of all [occult] powers – ańimá, mahimá, [laghimá], etc. The Lord ought to have powers. His mission is going to be accomplished [by] the use of His powers. Clumsiness is not going to help.

Another attribute of the Lord is yasha. His greatness is recognized and sung[, but] not by all people. Particularly in a transitional period, there is a sharp polarization. People get divided into two blocs. Some pray to the Lord, and some discredit Him.

The Lord has yet another characteristic, that is, shrii. Shrii denotes “attraction”. Shrii Krśńa is one who attracts. Within the word shrii, sha denotes the mutative principle and ra is [the] acoustic root of energy. “Shrii Krśńa”, with this shrii, is “the Lord who attracts everybody”. ([Krśńa] has another meaning, [krśibhúh] – that is, Krśńa is “He because of whom we all are”, that is, Krśńa is Parama Puruśa. We all owe our existence to Parama Puruśa, just as a fish owes its existence to water.)

Two more attributes of the Lord are jiṋána and vaerágya.

Jiṋána, or knowledge, is the subjectivization of an objectivity. And regarding vaerágya, vaerágya is not renouncing the world and going to the Himalayas. Vaerágya is derived vi – rańj [+ ghaiṋ + vyain]. If in spite of remaining amidst objectivities, a person does not get attached to them, then it is called vaerágya. Lead life fully, but keep the mind unaffected by it. Sádhaná is for the living, not for the dead.

The [propensities] are to be controlled by the mind, and not the mind by base propensities. The Lord said in the Giitá:

Yadá yadá hi dharmasya glánirbhavati Bhárata;
Cábhyutthánamadharmasya tadátmánaḿ srjámyaham.
Paritráńáya sádhúnáḿ vinásháya ca duśkrtám;
Dharmasaḿsthápanártháya sambhavámi yuge yuge.

[At a time when dharma is distorted and adharma is ascendant, I create myself out of my own fundamental factors. I incarnate Myself in this world from age to age for the protection of the virtuous, the destruction of the wicked, and the restoration of dharma.]

That is, whenever there is gláni, or downfall, of dharma, God appears on the scene.

Dharma

Dhr means “to [uphold]” or “to support”. Dharma is that which supports life and its properties. Dharma alone stands forward, come what may. The dictates of dharma ought to be heeded. Everything else – wealth, logic, intellect – is secondary.

Those who abide by the dictates of dharma are called sádhus. In the traditional sense, a sádhu means a devotee wearing white clothes, with the word dása suffixed to his name, and after whose death the ceremony of shráddha and bháńd́árá is performed.

(A sannyásii, on the other hand, uses saffron clothes. Sannyásiis have the word ánanda appended to their names. No shráddha ceremony is performed after their deaths.)

But this is only a traditional meaning of sádhu. Sádhu really means “one who abides by dharma”. Lord Krśńa says [in effect]: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” That is, whatever is required by me may also be required by others. This consideration for others is dharma, and one who acts like this is a sádhu.

Dharma is your real friend. So, strengthen dharma when dharma itself starts deteriorating, when life becomes unnatural and [threatens] our destruction; because everything in life has to have its proper place. [When] dharma [is moved from] its place, that is called the gláni of dharma; when dharma gets displaced from its proper position in life, then there is dharma[sya] glánih.

In our shloka [couplet], bhárata means “king”. That is, one who does bharańa. Bhr means “to feed”. One who feeds life, in the physical, mental and spiritual strata, is a bhárata, a king.

Abhyutthána means abhi – utthána, that is, the “ascendancy” of adharma. In such a situation the Lord says, tadátmánaḿ srjámyaham – that is, “I create myself.”

Tráńa is just “relief”, as one is to give in floods, cyclones, earthquakes, etc., where the tragedy will recur. But paritráńa means “permanent protection or relief”. The Lord appears in order to give permanent protection to sádhus. [To build a perennial and just social order is the job of the sadvipras, spiritual revolutionaries.] But when the sadvipras are not able to do their job by their own power, the Lord [creates Himself] and applies His power to that job.

Vinásha is to be differentiated from pranásha and násha. Násha means “destruction”; pranásha means “transformation of an entity [back to its] original [source]”; but vinásha means “special destruction”.⁽¹⁾

The word saḿsthápana is important. Sthápana means “placement”. Saḿsthápana means “replacement to the proper position from which a thing has been displaced”.

[Sambhavámi means] samyak rupeńa bhavámi [“I incarnate Myself in a proper way”]. Bhavámi means “to come into existence [by employing all the material factors] which He Himself has created” in order to protect the sádhus and to cause the [special or] total destruction of the wicked.

The Lord says, “I create myself in a special way;” that is, Parama Puruśa promises that in a period of transition, He will incarnate Himself with His special powers to destroy the wicked and to give dharma a proper place in society.

Footnotes

(1) “Something is apparently destroyed, but actually it metamorphosed into something better.” (Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, “Párthasárathi Krśńa and Vishiśt́ádvaetaváda”, in Namámi Krśńasundaram, 1981) –Trans.