vedabhASya - Vedic Studies

Background This was my post on prAna prathisthA . Here is a summary of it. idol to mUrti mUrti' is not just an idol. mUrta is that which has settled into a form or shape. mUrti means embodiment or manifestation of something. When scultpors carve or painters paint or we create, idol is created. prAna prathistha is the process by which we make the idol into an embodiment or manifestation or mUrti of a divinity. Unless an idol or picture has gone through prAna prathisthA it is not an embodiment or manifestation. In all pUjas, we do prAna prathisthA to make that idol or picture into an embodiment or manifestation. For eg. in Ganapati pUja, we invoke the Ganapati in the Idol. In Sarasvati Puja we invoke the sarasvati in the idol. We make the idols/pictures embodiment or manifestation of the divinity that we invoke. The Concept if we believe 'aham brahma -asmi', that we have the brahman/evolution in us, we are giving that evolutionary power to the idol and   make...

Background We, the matter and beings are knowledge of that Atman. The Universe is born out of the 'intelligence' of Atman, which is the performance of Sacrifice or Yajna by Atman. Refer (1). Since Human beings have their own intelligence, I ended the last post saying Humans could be the artificial intelligence of that Atman. We are Atman's (Artificial) Intelligence and we are producing artificial intelligence. There are few salient characteristics of Atman's Intelligence amidst a whole lot of characteristics, which I thought stand significantly different from Human's Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence – Machine Learning – Deep Learning Much of Artificial Intelligence (AI) concentrates on Machine learning and more/deep learning from a set of information. In that way they are powerful tools for decision as there are lot more information than few human minds could grasp from a data-set. But as independent beings, they lack the true capabil...

Entropy – Information Content – Knowledge – Buddhi The possible micro-states matter can occupy is called Entropy. It is the ‘information content’ or ‘knowledge’ of any system made of matter forms. When spacetime holding the matter itself expands or contracts, the possible micro-states that matter can occupy changes. When there is expansion, possible micro-states or entropy or information content increases. When there is contraction, it decreases. Similarly when energy is added to matter/system, the vibrations of matter, which is the thermal energy of the system increases. But some part of the input energy also goes into increasing the possible microstates that matter can occupy. That is entropy also increases. This perceivable /visible entropy/possible micro-states is the information content or knowledge or buddhi. Prajna (Residual Entropy) and Buddhi (Entropy) Pra-jna means the ‘first of knowings’ or ‘first of the information content’. It can also be seen as the residual knowing...

Isa Upanishad iSa Upanishad also called iSAvAsya Upanishad has 18 verses. It is part of Shukla Yajur Veda. It talks about ‘iSa’ the one that resides in all matter and beings, whatever that is born and moving in all the worlds. It does not abhor/hate anything. iSa is ‘love’, ‘priyam’(2). This iSa is nothing but a manifestation of Atma in all matter and beings with the ‘purpose’ of making them to desire to live for 100’s of years. Let’s see more about this ‘iSa’. Sloka 1 to 1e8 Īśa āvāsyam idaṃ sarvaṃ yat kin͂ca jagatyāṃ jagat iSa inhabits/dwells (AvAsyam) in everything here (idam sarvam) whichever (yat) born and moving (ja-ga-tyam) in the worlds. tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasyasvid dhanam By Him (tena) by giving up/by abandoning (tyaktena) he enjoys (bhunjita) not (mA) coveting/desiring (grdhah) whose indeed/someone else (kasya svid) property (dhanam) Meaning iSa inhabits/dwells in everything here, whichever born and moving in the worlds. That iSa enjo...

Background "andham tamah pravisanti ye avidyam upasate tato bhuya iva te tamah ya u vidyayam ratah" - says Isa upanishad. One who is situated/worships/serves avidya enters the blind tamas. Those who enjoy vidya also become similar". I translate vidya as learning and avidya as un-learning. If that is so, Isa Upanishad says that only un-learns is blind tamasic. Tamasic means lack of information. Blind tamasic means bereft of any information at all. This is understandable. If someone (or something) keeps un-learning, they would soon be bereft of any information at all. But it also says those who learn only are also blind tamasic. This means that if one keeps learning new information, then also they become bereft of any information. "vidyāṃ cāvidyāṃ ca yastadvedobhya saha, avidyayā mṛtyuṃ tīrtvā'mṛtamaśnute" - Learning and Unlearning both together overcomes the mortality to immortality. This means that one who wants to acquire knowledge has to ...

Background Like speech is the expression of beings, this Universe is the expression of that Atman. Rg Veda Mandala 1 Hymn 164 talk of four-fold vAk, which is the four-fold expression of Universe.  vAkyapadiya maps this four-fold expression to human speech. Rg Veda Mandala1 Hymn 164 says what is being talked about are all those in the fourth stage only. The rest three are only known to the learned of the Brahmanas. vAkyapadiya also says the vaikhAri, the fourth stage is what is expressed outside and other three are hidden. vAk is Atma's prajnA - What it means..? This four-fold expression is also described in Brhadharanyaka Upanishad.  Brhadharanyaka Upanishad describes this four-fold expression of Universe the 'vAk' as 'prajnA'.  prajnA means 'first of the knowings', the consciousness. vAk, the four-fold expression of Universe is prajnA, the consciousness of the Atman. Like the Prajna/consciousness that arises in few organic molecules evolves ...

Human expression and Universe’s expression Like speech is the expression of beings, this Universe is the expression of that Atman. Like speech carries the 'knowledge', the Universe carries the 'matter' forms. These matter forms are the 'information content', 'entropy' of Universe or 'Veda' or 'Knowledge' of Universe. Thus 'we' the matter and beings of the Universe are 'thoughts/knowledge' of that Atman, that arises from its consciousness, the quantum oscillations of the vacuum. This Veda/knowledge of the Universe, its information content, is of three types. They are trayi-Veda. The knowledge of Universe is distributed in Rca, sAma and Yajur. Apart from them is the atharvana. What is Rca..? Rg veda Mandala 1 Hymn 139 describes rca thus Rco akSare parame vyoman yasmin devÀ adhi viZve niSeduH  yas tan na veda kim RcÀ kariSyati ya it tad vidus ta ime samÀsate Meaning The ‘devas’ of Universe repose/...