Vyadha gita -its lofty philosophy of Karma Yoga

 Vyadha Gita, literally means Song of the Butcher,  is part of Mahabharat and is actually a collection of  teachings  imparted by a Butcher to a Brahmin Sannyasi. This is our heritage and none less than Swami Vivekananda extolled Vyadha Gita as the essence of Karma Yoga. A Butcher , a housewife and a Brahmin Sannyasi are the three characters in this mystical story occurring in Vana Parva section and is told by Sage Markendeya to Yudhistra, the Pandava Prince.

Lord Krishna, it seems, says in Srimad Bhagavata Purana that this Butcher is someone who attained perfection /realisation/emancipation by Satsanga.

So let us dvelve a little into that incredible story where a Brahmin Sanyaasi is taught Dharma and Ahimsa by a Butcher of all the beings!! In terms of social heirarchy Vyadha is at the lowest status when compared to a brahmin and yet this story finds a prominent place in Mahabharata ,which is acclaimed as the Fifth Veda.

A young Sanyasi went to the forest,meditated, did penance. After years of Yoga practice, and hard work, he was sitting under a tree, when some dry leaves fell on his head.He looked up and saw a crane and a crow fighting on the tree-top .He angrily glanced at them at uttered" How dare you throw these dry leaves upon my head", and a flash of fire emanating from him burnt up the poor birds immly.Such was his Yogic power and he felt elated that he had acquired such powers in his grasp that could burn others if he became angry.Next day he went to a house asking for alms as per his daily ritual and cried out "Mother, give me some food". A woman from inside the house answered "Wait, I will come". In the meantime he felt angry and due to arrogance he thought to himself "This wretched woman has asked me to wait without knowing the power I have". The woman politely answered " I am neither a crow nor a crane!". The Sanyasi fell at her feet and asked her how she came to know of the incident which happened in the forest.She replied " I do not know any Yoga or meditation like you do; but ever since my birth I was ding my duty to my parents initially and now after marriage I am looking after my husband as he fell sick. I have been doing my duty cheerfully and wholeheartedly.that is all.But by doing my duty I have become illumined; thus I could read your thoughts and know what you had done in the forest.If you want to learn further you can go to such and such town and meet the Dharmavyadha(Righteous Butcher)". Sanyasi felt reluctant to go and learn from a Vyadha(Butcher) but he realised that there must be a reason behind this and so he went to meet Dharmavyadha.Vyadha was in his workplace cutting meat and the moment he saw this Sanyasi he enquired whether he was sent by the said woman. He listened to his teachings which are called Vyadha-Gita. According to Dharma vyadha

"no duty is ugly, no duty is impure. My birth placed me in these places,situations and environments. In my boyhood I learnt the trade; I remain unattached, and I try to do my duty well. I try to do my duty as a householder, and I try to do all I can to make my father and mother happy. I neither know your Yoga, nor have I become a Sannyasi, nor did I renounce this world and go into a forest; But all that you have heard and seen has come to me through my way of doing my duty without any attachment and that is my way of life".

Swami Vivekananda says that this Vydha Gita contains one of the highest flights of Vedanta. This story on Karma Yoga of doing one's duty wholeheartedly ,whatever be the station of his life ,without attachment to the results, makes one fully enlightened and leads to the realisation of the soul.

Thus Ved Vyasa unhesitatingly has called this also a Gita.

A tribute to Buddha, the Guru, by a layman!!

 

"Buddha always called his way to salvation the 'Aryan Path'. "- says Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in Discovery Of India , while writing about "What is Hindusism"(Page 74).

If Buddha had held "Aryan" which means Noble in Sanskrit, in such a high esteem, will it pass muster if anybody says Aryan Invasion Theory as being correct or calls Aryans Invaders of Dravidian India. All these Western theories(AIT) are nothing short of a great conspiracy who termed Aryans , a race. Those of us who hold Buddha as a fighter against Brahminical hegemony tends to unnaturally convert him as a crusader against Vedas and Vedantas.

I would like to give few counterpoints and leave the rest to the best judgment of the readers of this post:

1)Buddha accepted Kapila's Sankhya Yoga's principles of this metaphysical arrangement of the world including the universe but without accepting its Prakriti and Purusha connections, as they are not easily verifiable. Kapila rishi, according to Swami Vivekananda, is the first and foremost profound psychologist in the world ,who has also been eulogised by our Vedas as the grandson of Brahma and whose theory also finds a reflection in Greek philosophy.

 In the words of Swami Vivekananda“there is no philosophy in the world that is not indebted to Kapila.”

 If Buddha's philosophy rests on Kapila Muni's theory then is it anti-vedic?He also got the name of Sakhyamuni from this stand point only.

2)Buddha's own words on Rama,the son of Dasaratha: The following is an excerpt from Dasaratha Jataka (no. 461) of the Jātaka-book 

"The Master(Buddha) having ended this discourse, declared the Truths, and identified the Birth: "At that time the king Suddhodana 3 was king Dasaratha, Mahāmāyā 3 was the mother, Rāhulā's mother 4 was Sītā, Ānanda was Bharata, and I myself was Rāma-paṇḍita."

Buddha revered Ramayana and that is why he chose to visit Sri Lanka many times.

In Divurumpola, which is considered as Hindu holy spot where Sita Mata did Agni-Pariksha, a sapling from Boddhi tree from Anuradhapura was planted here as a mark of respect. This is a holy place for Buddhists also and a Buddhist temple has also been built here.

Similarly Kelaniya temple built in memory of King Vibhishana originally, has become a Buddhist temple and in Buddhist traditions, Vibhishana is crowned as King by Buddha instead of Rama. 

3)Thailand which boasts itself as being Buddhist still names its monarch as Rama.Thailand 's native Ramayana, which is called Ramakein has its origins in Dasaratha Jataka narrated by Buddha.

4) Buddha also accepted the hindu concept of rebirth based on one's own karma and expounded on the laws of karma based on Cause and Effect cycle.He even praised and identified who is a True Brahmin in his Dhammapada.

Buddha, who did not accept the abstract concepts of Vedanta with respect to Atman, and the unquestioned authority of Vedas & its animal sacrifice rituals, never deviated from the path of Charanam, Dharma,Sangam and Vinaya, which are the tenets of Sanatana dharmam as a way of life.

He was as devout as Kapila Muni and was a true Kaivalyarthi as propounded by Bhagavat Gita. That is why Poet Saint Jayadeva following Suka Rishi's Bhagavata Purana, called him an avatar of Vishnu. Even the great Adi Sankara subtly accepted Buddha's concept of Pure Consciousness.Ahimsa and agreed that the path to Salvation is through Self-enlightenment i.e Gnana marga by giving up all the worldly desires. He only condemned Buddha's Sunyata concept but complemented and supplemented it with Poornatva of Purusha/Brahman based on Vedanta.Like different schools of thought and philosophy in Sanatan Dharma , Sankara and Buddha schools are accepted as ways of life,even though both are held up against orthodox schools of Hinduism . Was Adi Sankara not accused "pracanna Buddha"i.e both are in the same side of Sanatan Dharma which included Charvaka and Nastika schools also!!!

That is why Buddha is also truly a Guru in our long lineage of Guru Parampara.

Hanuman and Ganesha!

 

The two major loved deities of the Hindu pantheon are Hanuman and Ganesha.

Let us dwell into the concepts and significance of these two dieties.

Ganesha, the son of Parvati and Shiv, is worshipped first before starting any new job or work. Even if you want to start writing or reading , you invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesha who goes under various names- Ganapathi, Vigneshwar, Vinayak, and  Pillayar in Tamilnadu. Ganesha Gayathri, Pancharatnam are some of the important Ganesha mantras and hymns.

Adi Ganesha idol is in a Temple near Tiruvarur in Tamilnadu with a human face.The mythological story says that Shiv slew His head and then fixed the head of the animal that He saw first after this beheading of His son. Ganesha after that with the elephant head is worshipped as the wisdom god by Hindus.

Why only Hindus. He is worshipped in Indonesia where He finds Himself in their currency notes. He is considered the destroyer of evil in Japan. In Mexico, Ganesha idols were said to have been found in archaeological excavations.

Now let us move to Hanuman or Maruti. His name has been given to the car that moves India. He is a monkey-faced god found in Ramayana epic. When Sage Valmiki describes Hanuman, he calls Him the most learned, the valorous, and yet the most humble servant of Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman is also called by several names-Maruti, Anjaneya,Pawankumara, Vayuputra,Ramadasa etc.Hanuman Chalisa is the most famous hymn dedicated to Him.

There are some striking similarities apart from the fact the both have animal faces yet considered and worshipped for conferring on the devotees the education, wisdom, valor to face any obstacle and overcome it, the erudition, and the true enlightenment.

Both of them are sung highly by praising the chivalry they showed in removing the sadness and hassles of two women- Parvaati ( Umasutham soka vinasa) and Sita(Janaki sokanasanam) by Ganesha and Hanuman respectively.

Both of them involved in Bhagavat Gita- one for writing it when Sage Ved Vyasa composed Mahabharath verbatim and another remaining in the flag of the chariot of Arjun listening to Lord Krishna when  He sang Gita for the benefit of humanity.

Ganesha wrote Mahabharath by breaking his tusk which he used as his pen. This story shows that Ganesha would go to any extent to help His devotee to fulfill a great task on hand that will serve humanity. Hanuman blessed Arjun that he would provide him with His prowess in the war against the evil and adharma supporting Dharma.

There is a form of deity which is the combined form of Ganesha and Hanuman and that goes by the name Athyandha Prabhu. This form is worshipped in South India and under the directions and blessings of Kanchi Paramacharya,a temple for Athyandha Prabha has been built in a place called Madhya Kailash in Chennai.