Role of Guru Explained Nicely
it is said ( in s've'taas'vatara upanishad ) that --- one who has as much devotion to his teacher as to god , would get to the root of the subject taught ! no wonder ! !
S'rimad Bhagavad Gita : 4 - 13
this s'loka has to be explained in the context of the previous sloka ( that is , we can not just pick it up singly , out of context ) ; the context is " karma " ; the performance of karma and the experience of the fruits of karma ( both )happen in the world of men only , and not in the world of gods , tiryaks , and sthaavaraas ; this is referred to in the previous s'loka ( 4:12 ) clearly as " maanushe' loke' =
in the human world ; thus , the reference for " chaaturvarn'yam " is to the human beings ; and the division is varn'a , not kula ( which is the professional skills acquired in families ) ; and we may understand that the Lord has organized us into certain groups with certain duties & responsibilities ---- we need not feel bad that He divided & separated us ; ( for Him the entire society is one and we are just different
parts ) ; if we subscribe to this outlook , no question of superiority or inferiority arises !
and we should never forget that this varn'a , i.e., brahman'a-hood or kshatriya-hood etc. , are not permanent ; they are for this life only , which is preceded and followed by innumerable number of lives ; what a brahman'a was in his previous life and what he would be in his next life , nobody knows ! which makes this varn'a a matter of no pride ! all are advised by the Lord to follow "
svakarma " and attain " siddhi " " svakarman'aa tam abhyarchya siddhim vindanti maanavaha ( Gita 18 : 46 )
From: arsha-vi...@googlegroups.com <arsha-vi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Srimad Bhagavat Gita Study Group Digest for arsha-vi...@googlegroups.com - 2 Messages in 2 Topics
To: "Digest Recipients" <arsha-vi...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 5:00 AM
Paritala Gopi Krishna <paritalag...@gmail.com> May 29 01:27AM -0700
The role of the teacher
Why do I need a teacher? Simply because Vedanta is essentially an oral
teaching tradition using the words as a means of knowledge. And they have
to be unfolded by a teacher to a student to accomplish their purpose.
Vedanta says categorically that one should not try to look alone in the
Scriptures and that without teacher one cannot obtain this knowledge. What
are then the skills required to be a teacher of Vedanta?
The teacher is the one who has been exposed to the teaching and the texts
of Vedanta for a length of time and knows the methodology to handle the
words of Vedanta. He also has grown into a more or less mature,
compassionate and objective person. He also should have clear understanding
on the subject matter.
First of all, let us discuss about the words and the manner in which they
need to be handled by the teacher. The words of Vedanta are compared to a
mirror through which I can see myself. The words the teacher employs are
known words. Obviously, he cannot communicate anything with unknown words.
But words are limited by the fact that they can only : (1) describe objects
that have qualities, (2) point out things which belong to a certain
species, (3) unfold a particular type of action or (3) portray the relation
one object has with another. They describe what belongs to the domain of
our empirical reality that can be known through our usual means of
knowledge. Therefore, these same words are inherently incapable of
revealing or capturing the ultimate reality that has no form, no color, is
not connected to anything in the empirical world or is not an object of any
action
How to
overcome this limitation? Does it mean the teacher cannot use any
words to reveal the nature of this reality? In this case the Upanishads
would be useless since they are in the form of words! There is only one
solution to this inherent limitation of the language: the words of the
Upanishads have to be employed deliberately by somebody who knows how
retaining the core sense of the word, take out the usual connotation and
unlock their intended or implied meaning. This way, by implication, known
words can convey the nature of the absolute reality, Brahman.
For example the immediate meaning of the word sat, existence (used in the
satyam jnanam anantam section from Taittriya Upanishad which gives the
essential definition of the ultimate reality), is existence in time and
space. Any object exists in the space-time framework. We have no other
understanding of existence apart from this conventional or
literal meaning.
Thus, while unfolding the meaning of Sat, the teacher has to retain the
root meaning of the word sat as existence. However, he/she has to point out
and prove how this "Sat -existence" mentioned by the Upanishad is not
subject to time but is truth of everything including time and space.
In order to illustrate the importance of this problem, here follows an
imagined dialogue between a student and a teacher who neither knows the
subject matter nor the methodology of teaching. This teacher just utilizes
one descriptive word after the other, contributing nothing to the
understanding of the student:
"You are ignorant about yourself. In reality, you are immortal. Why?
Because you are eternal. But I am mortal? No you are beyond time and space.
How is it possible? Because you are not made of any parts. Therefore you
are untouched by anything and eternally pure. But sometimes
I feel sad and
unhappy! Because you have not yet realized that you are eternal
bliss....what you need now is to meditate upon these words and you will
experience the bliss that you are."
Secondly, the words of the Upanishads are found within a certain context
and are used with a certain intention to convey a specific meaning. One has
to decide what meaning has to be given to a word . There are also times
that sentences seem to contradict each other . Finally, sometimes sentences
are cryptic and often in the form of paradoxes . The teacher has to know
exactly what is the intention of a given text, how it is introduced from a
specific standpoint and elaborated by following a particular method of
teaching. Hence the teacher should be extensively exposed to the method of
teaching from his/her teacher to unfold the vision of Vedanta . We can note
that this is not peculiar to Vedanta but is common
to any discipline of
knowledge. If I want to get Masters Degree in quantum physics, I have to go
to a professor who has at least a PhD in this field.
Finally, a qualified teacher will also make clear to the student that he is
not speaking about a reality other than himself. Therefore, the knowledge
born of the words will be direct knowledge. If Vedanta was speaking about
an object remote from me in space or time, it would give me only indirect
knowledge. But here, what is unfolded is not a concept or an abstract
reality, it not an object away from me, Vedanta is talking about the true
nature of myself, the self-evident me, always available as 'I am'.
If the fact that the words of Vedanta give me direct knowledge of I, is not
understood clearly, the study might turn into a scholarly pursuit of the
system of philosophy. In some other cases, one may start believing that
words of Vedanta
give theoretical knowledge and it is practice or
experience that enables me to verify the nature of I being limitless.
One needs to clearly understand that this reality is already me, it is
available here and now, I only need to know it as it is. It seems to be
away from me because of my ignorance. Hence, the teacher must have the
skill to eliminate this ignorance, and that is the essential quality of a
teacher of Vedanta.
JAJISARMA <saisar...@gmail.com> May 28 08:03AM -0700
ప్రియ భగవత్ బంధువుల్లారా!
జైశ్రీమన్నారాయణ.
"చాతుర్వర్ణం మయా సృష్టం" (BG 4.13) అనే శ్లోకం చాలా మంది ఆ శ్లోకం
తప్పుగా అర్ధం చేసుకుని, కులాల విభాగం పరమాత్మకు అంటగట్టుతున్నారు.
మన స్వామి మనల్ని ఎప్పుడు కులాలవారిగా విడదీయలేదు. చాలామంది ఈ
శ్లోకానికి అర్ధం "బ్రాహ్మణ,క్షత్రియ, వైశ్య, శుద్ర," అనే విభాగాలుగా
మనస్వామి
చెసినట్లు వక్రభాష్యం చెప్పుతున్నారు.మనస్వామి చేసిన విభాగం
"దేవ,మనుష్య,తిర్యక్,స్థావరల"నే నాలుగు విభాగాలు మాత్రమే.
దేవ అంటే దేవతలు, మనుష్య అంటే మనుష్యులు, తిర్యక్ అంటే అడ్డంగా నిలువుగా
తిరిగే పశువులు పక్షులు, స్తావరాలు అంటే, వృక్షాలు, కొండలు ,కోనలు
మొదలగునవి మాత్రమే. మొత్తం మనస్వామి సృష్టి యావత్తూ ఈ విభాగములోకే
వస్తుంది.
ఇది శ్రీశ్రీశ్రీ
త్రిదండిశ్రీమన్నారాయణ చినజీయరు స్వామి వారు ప్రవచించిన
సత్యము.
హరేరామ, హరేరామ రామరామ హరే హరే, హరేకృష్ణ హరేకృష్ణ కృష్ణకృష్ణ హరేహరే
జైశ్రీమన్నారాయణ.
భవదీయుడు,
జాజిశర్మ.
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