Sanskrit

When you say um and nah, you are actually saying yes and no in Sanskrit.  Pretty cool, eh?

Renay

Asana…  one of the eight limbs of aSTaNgayoga — Asana is the word, ancient, and modern, that is applied to yoga postures and typically translated as “seat” even in the Sanskrit dictionary.

To be sure, the development of a proper seat is essential to meditation and the yoga postures do that, as well as create a seat, a base, for traversing the 4 aims of life.

However I think one can go deeper and perform an Asana on “Asana”:

“sana” means “gain or act of presenting”

“A” means the opposite of that

so Asana really means a release, a going in.

Renay

This has been said before (actually many times before) but it bears repeating here.

The speed of light is in the Rk Veda, and not hidden in metaphors either.

In ManDalam 1, SUktam 50, the Vedas clearly say

It is remembered, Salutations to Thee [the Sun], the traveler of 2,202 yojanas in half a nimisha.

Yojana is a unit of distance, nimisha, a unit of time.

If you do the calculation, it comes to approximately 185,000 miles per second.

Compare that to the currently accepted value for the speed of light of 186,000.  In fact the small difference could be accounted for by conversion error.

This is from a text dated at least to 7,000 BCE.

I think this is one of the coolest things I’ve learned ever.

For a look at the original Sanskrit click here.

Renay

In my Ayurveda and Astrology self-biographies, I use the word “para-published”. By that I mean, published outside of this site.

What does “para” mean? It’s actually a Sanskrit word:

para 1 mf(%{A})n. (1. %{pR} ; abl. sg. m. n. %{pa4rasmAt} , %{-rAt} ; loc. %{pa4rasmin} , %{-re} ; nom. pl. m. %{pa4re} , %{-rAs} , %{-rAsas} ; cf. Pa1n2. 1-1 , 34 ; vii , 1 , 16 ; 50) far , distant , remote (in space) , opposite , ulterior , farther than , beyond , on the other or farther side of , extreme ; previous (in time) , former ; ancient , past ; later , future , next ; following , succeeding , subsequent ; final , last ; exceeding (in number or degree) , more than ; better or worse than , superior or inferior to , best or worst , highest , supreme , chief  ….

That actually is not the sutra, but it’s a fair translation, and it comes from Paul Valery (1871-1945).

It was my favorite quote in my 20’s. Figures I could find it in the Yoga Sutras.

Here it is:

zabda GAnaAnupati vastu Zunyo vikalpaH

Conceptualization [one of the unhelpful definitions/limitations on the field of consciousness] is when you don’t have an actual object but rely upon concept in language. (I.9)

Gosh, growing up and getting educated in the 80’s all I was surrounded with was Foucault and post-modernism.

What a waste of time.

I wish that I had known that all I have to do is SEE!

Renay

(Check the transliteration page for more clarity on my question.)

When I first was reading the Yoga Sutras, I understood that OM is pranava or something like that. I didn’t pay that much attention to diacritics and embarassed as I am to say now, I thought it had to do with prAna, the life force in us all and in all things.

Actually, OM has everything to do with praNa: “old” or “ancient” (and certainly nothing to do with prANA which is destruction of life.) See how the transliterations matter?

Physicists tell us that the Big Bang had a sound and that it still is around today.  Could this be praNava, the ancient one?

Here are the Yoga Sutras that talk about OM, starting at Chapter One, Sutra 24 and going to 29.

kleza-karma-vipAkAzayair aparAmRSTaH puruSa-vizeSa IzvaraH

Izvara is a distinction of deep self, untouched by accumulations of the fruits of action coming from deep obstructions.

tatra niraitiZayam sarvaGatva bIjam

There (in Izvara) the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed.

sa pUrveSAm api guruH kAlenAnavacchedAt

That (IZvara), being unlimited by time, is also the teacher of ancients.

tasya vAckaH praNavaH

The speech of that (Izvara) is praNava (OM).

After that is a talk on the blocks and then how to prevent them. Brilliant stuff.

Renay

yada-yada-yada

This is a well-known phrase in our culture, but has no entynmology in English, Latin, or Greek.

Perchance did Seinfield’s word genius connect him with the vibe of the ancients?

“Yad, yad, yad” is said in Sanskrit to mean “whomever, whichever, whatever”:

yad (nom. and acc. sg. n. and base in comp. of 3. %{ya}) , who , which , what , whichever , whatever….

Renay

from the dictionary:

2 veda 1 m. (fr. 1. %{vid} q.v.) knowledge , true or sacred knowledge or lore , knowledge of ritual RV. AitBr. ; N. of certain celebrated works which constitute the basis of the first period of the Hindu1 religion (these works were primarily three , viz. 1. the R2ig-veda , 2. the Yajur-veda [of which there are , however , two divisions see %{taittirIya-saMhitA} , %{vAjasaneyi-saMhitA}] , 3. the Sa1ma-veda [1015,2] ; these three works are sometimes called collectively %{trayI} , `” the triple Vidya1 “‘ or `” threefold knowledge “‘ , but the R2ig-veda is really the only original work of the three , and much the most ancient [the oldest of its hymns being assigned by some who rely on certain astronomical calculations to a period between 4000 and 2500 B.C. , before the settlement of the A1ryans in India ; and by others who adopt a different reckoning to a period between 1400 and 1000 B.C. , when the A1ryans had settled down in the Panja1b] ; subsequently a fourth Veda was added , called the Atharva-veda , which was probably not completely accepted till after Manu , as his law-book often speaks of the three Vedas-calling them %{trayam@brahma@sanAtanam} , `” the triple eternal Veda “‘ , but only once [xi , 33] mentions the revelation made to Atharvan and An3giras , without , however , calling it by the later name of Atharva-veda ; each of the four Vedas has two distinct parts , viz. 1. Mantra , i.e. words of prayer and adoration often addressed either to fire or to some form of the sun or to some form of the air , sky , wind &c. , and praying for health , wealth , long life , cattle , offspring , victory , and even forgiveness of sins , and 2. Bra1hman2a , consisting of Vidhi and Artha-va1da , i. e. directions for the detail of the ceremonies at which the Mantras were to be used and explanations of the legends &c. connected with the Mantras [see %{brAhmaNa} , %{vidhi}] , both these portions being termed %{zruti} , revelation orally communicated by the Deity , and heard but not composed or written down by men [cf. I. W. 24 &c.] , although it is certain that both Mantras and Bra1hman2as were compositions spread over a considerable period , much of the latter being comparatively modern ; as the Vedas are properly three , so the Mantras are properly of three forms , 1. R2ic , which are verses of praise in metre , and intended for loud recitation ; 2. Yajus , which are in prose , and intended for recitation in a lower tone at sacrifices ; 3. Sa1man , which are in metre , and intended for chanting at the Soma or Moon-plant ceremonies , the Mantras of the fourth or Atharva-veda having no special name ; but it must be borne in mind that the Yajur and Sa1ma-veda hymns , especially the latter , besides their own Mantras , borrow largely from the R2ig-veda ; the Yajur-veda and Sa1ma-veda being in fact not so much collections of prayers and hymns as special prayer- and hymn-books intended as manuals for the Adhvaryu and Udga1tr2i priests respectively [see %{yajur-veda} , %{sAma-veda}] ; the Atharva-veda , on the other hand , is , like the R2ig-veda , a real collection of original hymns mixed up with incantations , borrowing little from the R2ig and having no direct relation to sacrifices , but supposed by mere recitation to produce long life , to cure diseases , to effect the ruin of enemies &c. ; each of the four Vedas seems to have passed through numerous S3a1kha1s or schools , giving rise to various recensions of the text , though the R2ig-veda is only preserved in the S3a1kala recension , while a second recension , that of the Bha1shkalas , is only known by name ; a tradition makes Vya1sa the compiler and arranger of the Vedas in their present form: they each have an Index or Anukraman2i1 [q.v.] , the principal work of this kind being the general Index or Sarva7nukraman2i1 [q.v.] ; out of the Bra1hman2a portion of the Veda grew two other departments of Vedic literature , sometimes included under the general name Veda , viz. the strings of aphoristic rules , called Su1tras [q.v.] , and the mystical treatises on the nature of God and the relation of soul and matter , called Upanishad [q.v.] , which were appended to the A1ran2yakas [q.v.] , and became the real Veda of thinking Hindu1s , leading to the Dars3anas or systems of philosophy ; in the later literature the name of `” fifth Veda “‘ is accorded to the Itiha1sas or legendary epic poems and to the Pura1n2as , and certain secondary Vedas or Upa-vedas [q.v.] are enumerated ; the Veda7n3gas or works serving as limbs [for preserving the integrity] of the Veda are explained under %{vedA7Gga} below: the only other works included under the head of Veda being the Paris3isht2as , which supply rules for the ritual omitted in the Su1tras ; in the Br2ihad-a1ran2yaka Upanishad the Vedas are represented as the breathings of Brahma1 , while in some of the Pura1n2as the four Vedas are said to have issued out of the four mouths of the four-faced Brahma1 and in the Vishn2u-Pura1n2a the Veda and Vishn2u are identified) RTL. 7 &c. IW. 5 ; 24 &c. ; N. of the number `” four “‘ VarBr2S. [1015,3] Srutabh. ; feeling , perception S3Br. ; = %{vRtta} (v.l. %{vitta}) L. (cf. 2. %{veda}).
3 veda 2 m. (fr. 3. %{vid}) finding , obtaining , acquisition (see %{su-v-}) ; property , goods A1s3vGr2.
4 veda 3 m. (perhaps connected with 1. %{ve} , to weave or bind together) a tuft or bunch of strong grass (Kus3a or Mun5ja) made into a broom (and used for sweeping , making up the sacrificial fire &c. , in rites) AV. MS. Br. S3rS. Mn.
5 veda 4 m. N. of a pupil of A1yoda MBh. ; (%{A}) f. N. of a river VP

We need to know this in order to understand Ayurveda and other words. The usual translation, “study of”, doesn’t suggest sincerely enough, that it is of KNOWLEDGE, of TRUTH, of LORE.

In truth, Ayurveda is an upaveda, an ur-veda, and not part of the vedas themselves strictly speaking.

I love the #4, broomset. This makes perfect sense after reading that sutra means to thread together.

There are three doshas (actually in transliteration it should be doSa) of Ayurveda: vAta, pitta, and kapha.

They are the three “humors” or arrangements of the 5 elements: vAta = air and space, pitta = fire and water, kapha = earth and water. The names come from the words related to movement, heat, and phlegm respectively.

There as some very nice sUtras that have to do directly with the doshas.

In brief, vATa, pitta and kapha are the three doSas.  They support/maintain the body the body when normal and they destroy the body when abnormal. (VAghbhat)

I love this sentence. It is often said at ashrams around the world.

LokaH SamastaH Sukhino Bhavantu

Let’s look at it linguistically.

LokaH — all these places

SamastaH — we all come together

Sukhino — sandhi alert! — happiness

Bhuvantu — in being / realizing / becoming / creating / fulfilling

Thus, we have, all of us being in all places together we are/become/create/fulfill/realize happiness.

Via the law of repetition, by chanting this, we can actually make it come true.

A very beautiful simple powerful prayer.

definition:

pitta n. (etym. unknown) bile , the bilious humour (one of the three humours [cf. %{kapha} and %{vAyu}] or that secreted between the stomach and bowels and flowing through the liver and permeating spleen , heart , eyes , and skin ; its chief quality is heat) AV. &c. &c.

Pitta in its normal state maintains digestion, body temperature, vision, production of hunger, thirst, appetite, complexion, intelligence, courage, valour, and softness of the body. (Vaaghbaat, 11)

Pitta is aggravated by consuming foods that are pungent, sour, sharp, hot, fermented or that cause burning sensation, or anger. It is increased during late spring, mid-day, midnight, and the middle part of disgestion. Headstand, heated discussions, exposure to the sun’s heat, mid-meal, and summertime all aggravate pitta in the person. (Vaagbaat)

Pitta causes the “woulda, shoulda, couldas” in a person and is responsible for “inflammation, perforation, ulceration”. (Dr. Lad)

Fire is dangerous but also gives off heat and energy. Don’t mess around with pitta. Respect pitta. That’s all it wants from you.

O Arjuna, know that rajas is characterized by passion, arising from desire and attachment. It binds the Embodied One by attachment to action. (BhagavAd GIta, 14)

Attachment to action. I know this one well. I am writing this entry exactly because I have an attachment to action in writing these posts. (I MUST write a post a day, or whatever.)

Rajas is a big part but not the sole part of pitta, and I am pitta.

Pitta, vaata, and kapha do NO map directly onto rajas, sattva, and tamas. That is another post.

Renay

I will be using the Devanagari equivalent of all letters from now on, out of a pursuit for accuracy.

So Shiva will be spelled Ziva, for example.

a	aa or A	i	ii or I	u	uu or U
R	RR	lR	lRR
e	ai	o	au	aM	aH
k	kh	g	gh	G
c	ch	j	jh	J
T	Th	D	Dh	N
t	th	d	dh	n
p	ph	b	bh	m
y	r	l	v
z or sh	S or shh	s		h

definition:

kapha m. phlegm (as one of the three humors of the body see also %{vAyu} and %{pitta}) Sus3r. ; watery froth or foam in general (cf. %{abdhik-} , %{megha-k-} , &c.)

shlesmaa stiratva snigshatva sandhibandha ksamadhibhihih (Vaaghbaat, 11)

Balanced kapha gives stability, lubrication, firmness of joints, patience, and forebearance.

Kapha is aggravated by the sweet, sour, salty, oily, hydrophilic, and cold foods, because ofmaion of panchakarapies, love for sleeping and eating, indigestion, sleeping during the day, anabolic therapies, by improper administration of panchakarma therapies, during spring time, in the morning, and just before sunset.

The signs and symptoms of excesss kapha are: low agni, excess salivation, malaise, heaviness, coldness, flabby body, cough, breathlessness, and excess sleep. (Vaaghbaat, 11)

Translations, Dr. Lad.

definition:

tamas n. darkness , gloom (also pl.) RV. (%{-maH} , %{pra4NIta} , `” led into darkness , `” deprived of the eye’s light or sight , i , 117 , 17) &c. ; the darkness of hell , hell or a particular division of hell Mn. iv , viii f. VP. ii , 6 , 4 Ma1rkP. xii , 10 ; the obscuration of the sun or moon in eclipses , attributed to Ra1hu (also m. L.) R. VarBr2S. v , 44 VarBr2. ii VarYogay. Su1ryas. ; mental darkness , ignorance , illusion , error (in Sa1m2khya phil. one of the 5 forms of %{a-vidjA} MBh. xiv , 1019 Sa1m2khyak. &c. ; one of the 3 qualities or constituents of everything in creation [the cause of heaviness , ignorance , illusion , lust , anger , pride , sorrow , dulness , and stolidity ; sin L. ; sorrow Kir. iii ; see %{guNa} and cf. RTL ; p. 45] Mn. xii , 24 f. and 38 Sa1m2khyak. &c.) RV. v. 31 , 9 R. ii S3ak. Ra1jat. v , 144 ; N. of a son (of S3ravas MBh. xiii , 2002 ; of Daksha , i Sch. ; of Pr2ithu-s3ravas VP. iv , 12 , 2) ; [cf. %{timira} ; Lat. {temere} &c.]

tamas tvajnaanajam viddhi mohanam sarvadehinam, pramaadaalasya nidraabhis tan nibadhnaati bhaarata (Bhagavad Giita, 14)

Know, O Arjuna, that tamas is born of ignorance, confusing all embodied beings. Through distraction, sleep, and laziness, it binds.

Tamas is the third of the gunas, often getting the worst rap. It is still just attachment, same as sattva, but of course has the worst side effects.

The rap is for good reason. The teachers tell us that ignorance (tamas) IS sin.

kaaya ruupa sanyamaat tad graahya shakti stambhe caksuhuh prakaashamprayoge’ntardhaanam (Yoga Sutras, III, 21)

By sanyama (cessation of mindstuffs) on the form of the body, while suspending its ability to be seen - that is, the disconnecting of the light to the eye - there arises invisibility (placement within)

Word has it that the Great Maharishi Mahesh Yogi would sometimes give this siddhi to select members of his meditation group in the early days of the movement. He stopped when it was apparent so to speak that the comrades of the dissapeared siddhas got upset.

The technology inherent in this ancient sUtra is striking too in that the Western military is just catching up now.

Renay

bhuvana jnaananam suurye sanyamaat (Yoga Sutras, III.26)

By sanyama [perfect regulation of thought via dharana, dhyana, and samadhi) on the sun, knowledge of the worlds.

Ammachi, Karunamayi, even the Hymn to the Ganga refer to the three worlds.

I think it’s interesting that by the Sun, one may have knowledge of these worlds. Not just our solar system.

The “three worlds” makes sense from an advanced physics view, that there is one “brane” to the side of us, one that we are in, and one to the other side of us.

I am also thinking of the Surya Siddhanta (”Abilities from the Sun”, a grand mathematical treatise on the solar system) but I think this sutra actually goes beyond that, from the world, to the three worlds (the bhuvana or the planes of existence). I like that word, bhuvana, coming from bhu - to be and -vana, a place to dwell, often used for forests.

I have absolutely no cognitive experience of the three worlds and can’t comment further.

candre taara-vyuuha-jnaanam ( Yoga Sutras, III.27)

On the moon - knowledge of the organization of the stars

This one has everything to do with astrology obviously.

I love this sutra’s clarity of construction and its fruits. Dharana, dhyaana, and samadhi on the MOON gives you knowledge of the organization of the STARS.

That is how the ancient seers knew such advanced astrology and highlights the importance of the Moon in it. (For example, the nakshatra (lunar mansion) of the Moon determines your starting place in the Vimshotteri dasha system and much else.)

Our next sutra related will be on how to have knowledge of the worlds.

the word for syllable in sanskrit is

akSara mfn. imperishable ; unalterable ; m. a sword L. ; S3iva L. ; Vishn2u L. ; (%{A}) f. see %{a4kSarA} below ; (%{am}) n. a syllable ; the syllable %{om} Mn. ; a letter [m. Ra1matUp.] ; a vowel ; a sound ; a word ; N. of Brahma ; final beatitude religious austerity , sacrifice L. ; water RV. i , 34 , 4 and i , 164 , 42 [3,3] ; Achyranthes Aspera.

I love that. Imperishable.

Here is the map of the syllables on the human body. If you are very still as you vocalize, you can feel them in the part of the body. This also has meaning in Ayurveda. To connect with a certain body part you may chant the seed syllable.

Click on picture to enlarge:

source unknown

There are a lot of deeper meanings here as well, of Agni and Soma, of the chakras, the five elements and more.

definition:

AyuH (in comp. for %{Ayus} below).

Ayus n. life , vital power , vigour , health , duration of life , long life RV. AV. TS. S3Br. Mn. MBh. Pan5cat. &c. ; active power , efficacy RV. VS. ; the totality of living beings [food Sa1y.] RV. ii , 38 , 5 and vii , 90 , 6 ; N. of a particular ceremony (= %{AyuH-SToma} q.v.) ; N. of a Sa1man ; of the eighth lunar mansion ; food L. ; (%{us}) m. the son of Puru1ravas and Urvas3i1 (cf. %{Ayu}) MBh. Vikr. VP. ; [cf. Dor. $ ; perhaps also $.]

shariirendriya sattvaatma samyogo dhari jivitam, nityagash caanubandhash ca paryaayair aayur ucyate (Charaka, 1)

The term aayuhuh expresses the combination/conjunction of the physical body, the sense organs, the mind and the Self and is described by the synonyms: dhaari, jiivitam, nityagahah, and anubandhahah. (Translation, Dr. Lad)

Finally, a real definition of life. What is life anyway? Here it is.

• the physical body
• the sense organs
• the mind
• the Self

Can you think of anything missing?

Here it is, pre-dating “I think therefore I am” by millenia.

The word aayuhuh or AyuH is where the “ayur” in Ayurveda, the study of life, and this web site name comes from.

(The ending change has to do with sandhi.)

Renay