MANTRA VARNA MALA 3

 

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The acoustic root of the completion of an action is sva'ha'.

When ghee is offered into the fire, that cannot be called

sva'ha'. Only when the ghee is consumed by the fire, that is,

the ghee is totally effaced from existence, can that be called

sva 'ha '.

 

The sva'ha' mantra is often uttered when any action is

being done with a divine purpose. When action is performed

with a noble purpose in the psychic and spiritual spheres, or

even in the mundane sphere, the controlling acoustic root is

sva'ha'. This is the meaning of sva'ha' in the general sense.

More specifically sva'ha' is used while offering oblations to

fire. In this sense it is related to the acoustic root svadha '. The

general meaning of svadha' is "one who is self-reliant" (sva

+ dha'c = svadha'). Sva'ha' is also used as an acoustic root

for spiritual actions, while svadha' is used while making

offerings to the ancestors.

In ancient times, in the entire Rgvedic period and in the first

half of the Yajurvedic period, su and sva were used almost

synonymously. But later they acquired different meanings:

sva came to mean "own" (svadesha means "own country")

and su came to mean "good" (sujan means "good man"). One

Sanskrit word for "good" is bhadra, from which the Bengali

word bha'lo comes. The Hindi word bha'la'ii is the abstract

noun oibha'la'. In old Ra'r'hii Bengali, the word bha'la' is

used in the sense of "look at". It is an indigenous Bengali

word. Ajana' pathik ek deshke eseche bha'lgo. ["An un-

known traveller has come to our land; look at him." -

Prabha'ta Sam'giita}

Sva'ha' is split up as sva + a'ha' or su + a'ha'. In ancient

times sva'ha' and svadha' were synonymous, but later

sva'ha' came to convey the thought of welfare, that is, "Let

there be prosperity," and svadha' came to mean, "May the

peace of God be with you." Hence sva'ha' was used in the

course of offering oblations to gods and goddesses, and

svadha' for ceremonies in memory of departed ancestors.

In ancient times people used to observe a period of austerity

before offering oblations to the gods or ancestors; this pre-

paratory period was called adhiva 'sa. In the Vedic period, as

far as is known, people had a great weakness for sura' [an

alcoholic drink]. (Sanskrit synonyms for sura ' are somarasa,

madya, madhu, a'sava, aris't'a and sudha'.) During their

adhiva'sa the priests would of course have to abstain from

drinking. So they would cover their shoulders with a mrga-

carma* [a deerskin - a symbol of their adhiva'sa}, so that

other people would not invite them to drink. When they

conducted rituals concerning the gods and goddesses, they

would utter the sva'ha' mantra and would wear the skin on

the left shoulder (in this case the skin was called yajinopaviita,

or upaviita, for short); and when they conducted rituals

concerning the ancestors, they would use the svadha ' mantra

and wear the skin on the right shoulder (in this case the skin

was called pra'ciina'viita.) When they were not conducting

either of these rituals, they would place the skin around their

necks (in this case it was called niviita). While invoking the

gods and goddesses, they would chant the sva'ha' mantra

with the samprada'na mudra'; for ceremonies using the

vaos'at' and vas'at' mantras, they would use the barada'

mudra'; and for ceremonies involving the svadha' mantra

they would use the am'kusha mudra'.

A little while ago, I mentioned that su and sva could be used

almost synonymously. [When reading mantras from ancient

texts, people would understand from the context whether su

or sva meant "good" or "own".] But to use sva in place ofsu

[in the sense of "good"] was not so common.

 

 

 

Rtam' pibantao sukrtasya loke

Guha 'ya 'm ' pravis 't'ao paramepara 'rdhe;

Cha 'ya 'tapao Brahmavido vadanti

Painca 'gnayo ye ca trin 'a 'ciketa 'h.

"Human beings reap the consequences of their own karma

[deeds]." In this shloka, stikrta is used instead ofsvakrta [to

mean "done by oneself", "own" (referring to karma,

"deeds")].

The human mind is divided into two functional chambers:

the karttr a' mi or subjective "I", and the karma a' mi or

objectivated "I". The objectivated "I" moves forward; the

subjective "I" remains in the background, as an observer.

"Just as it is difficult to discern the precise line between

sunshine and shade, it is almost impossible to discern the

transition point between the subjective 'I' and the objecti-

vated 1'. This is what the brahmavids [knowers of Brahma}

say, and it is corroborated by the painca'gnii, or renunciates,

and the trin' a' ciketa, or householders."

Regarding the metempirical entity, the Vedas say:

Dva' suparn 'a ' sayuja ' sakha 'ya '

Sama 'nam ' brks 'am ' paris 'asvaja 'te;

Tayoranyahpippalam' sva'dvattyan

Ashnannanyo abhica 'kashUtL

[Two friendly birds with beautiful plumage are perched on

the same branch of a tree. One of them is eating the sweet

fruit while the other looks on as a mere witness.]

The acoustic root sva'ha' signifies pious resolve and the

psychic 'desire for universal welfare. The sound o is its

super-acoustic root or atibUja. So whatever may be the im-

portance ofo in the alphabetical order, its value as an acoustic

root is immense.

 

 

AO

The posture of surrender to the greatness of another person

or entity is called namah mudra' or namomudra'.  Such

surrender results in one's mental body being vibrated by the

greatness of the Supreme. It is the person doing namomudra '

who benefits, and not the one for whom the mudra' is

performed. The way to do this mudra' to the guru is to lie

prostrate before him with the palms placed together, that is,

with the middle fingers of each hand placed parallel to each

other. This represents the pinpointed concentration of mind

which is directed towards the supreme goal.

In this mudra' all eight parts of the body are engaged.

(According to a'yurveda the human body has eight main

parts. The a 'yurvedik system of medical treatment is called

as't'a'unga [eight-limbed] cikitsa' vijina'na.) The body it-

self becomes as straight as a staff [one Sanskrit word for

which is dan'd'a}, and thus one of the mudra''s names is

dan'd'avatpran'a'ma.* This is namomudra', the systematic

endeavour to acquire greatness in return for one's surrender

unto greatness. {Namah is the acoustic root of acquiring

greatness in life; and ao is the super-acoustic root of namah

biija.}

The science of dance recognizes about 850 mudra's [mean-

ingful gestures], such as namo mudra', lalita mudra',

barada' mudra', abhaya mudra, am'kusha mudra', maha'

mudra', ka'kacaincu mudra', tejasii mudra', a'mbha'sii

mudra', pa'rthivii mudra', va'yavii mudra', a'ka'shUmud-

 

 

ra' bha'va mudra', shparshika' mudra', cetasii mudra',

sarpa mudra', kapa'lii mudra', and many, many more.

In order to master the art of dance, one must become skilled

in the art otmudra'. Dance as practised in human society can

be broadly divided into two schools: *chandapradha 'na nrtya

[rhythmic dance] and mudra'pradha'na nrtya [mudraic

dance]. Occidental dance (such as ballroom dance) is more

rhythmic, whereas Oriental dance is more mudra '-ori-

ented.** Of course, mudra's are used in Occidental music

also, but their role is secondary; and rhythm is an integral part

of Oriental dance, but is nevertheless secondary to mudra'.

The sound ha is the acoustic root of the sun, of the stars,

and of the ethereal factor. T'ha is the acoustic root of satel-

lites, such as the moon. When the moon, which is the physical

symbol of the psychic realm, and the sun, which is the

physical symbol of mundane energy, are made to become one,

that is called hat'ha yoga (Hat'hena kurute karma). When an

action is done abruptly, out of sudden impulse, there is a

sudden release of energy called hat'hatah (hat'ha + tas) or

hat'ha't (fifth case-ending of hat'ha in Sanskrit). A synonym

othat'ha't is bala't, meaning "by force" or "suddenly"; and

another meaning of hat'ha't is "to get expressed suddenly

without giving any scope for thought". To do something good

or bad suddenly without prior thought is called bala'tka'r.

Remember that the meaning of bala'tka'r is not necessarily

a bad one.

   The magnanimity of Shiva was as vast as the sky. People

used to show their veneration for Him either in namah mudra '

or with the sound ao. Hence the acoustic root oiShivatattva

[essence of Shiva] is haom': Haom' Shiva'ya namah. Those

entities who were very dear to Shiva by virtue of their

personal simplicity, naturalness and spirit of selfless service,

were also revered using the sound ha. Shiva's favourite

flower was the common dhustara flower. Ha is the acoustic

root of the dhustara flower. Thus you can easily understand

why haom' is the acoustic root of Shiva.

 

 

AM'

Am' is the acoustic root of an idea. The same sound, when

uttered with a different mental ideation, acquires different

meanings, and the effect it has varies from person to person.

The word bet' a', for example, can be used as an endearing

term for one's child. A parent may say, A 'ja ' bet' a ', kha 'na '

kha'le ["Come, my dear child, come and eat your food"]. In

this case bet' a ' ("my child") sounds very pleasing to the ears;

when the child hears it s/he feels very gratified. But one could

also say, A'y bet' a' toke dekhe noba; tor caudda purus'er

shra'ddha karchi. ["Come here you wretch, I'll teach you a

lesson! I'm going to send you and fourteen generations of

your ancestors to hell!"] In this case the utterance ofbet'a'

injects poison into the mind of the listener. The acoustic root

of the poisonous mentality which utters poisoned words is

am'. The acoustic root of that pleasant ideation which adds

sweetness to a word is ah. You should remember that when-

ever you speak to someone, or recite a poem, or play any part

in a drama, or sing any song, you should know the underlying

meaning of what you are expressing. Only then will you be

abl"e to touch your listeners' hearts and influence them.

 

 

AH

 

 

 

There are some words which are neither good nor bad,

but adopt a positive or negative meaning due to the way in

which they are uttered or due to the mentality behind their

utterance. A' ja'na' bet'a' baet'hna', kha'na' kha'ye ho?

["Come and sit here, my child. Have you had anything to

eat yet?"] In this example the word bet'a' is very pleasing

to the ears. It is uttered in such a sweet way that the child

will feel gratified. But when someone says, A'y bet'a' toke

dekhe noba! ["Come here, you wretch, I'll teach you a

lesson!"] the word bet'a' becomes repulsive.

If one tells a boy, Eso khoka' mis't'i niye ya'o ["Come,

little child, take some sweets"], a very pleasant mentality is

expressed. But if one says, 0 a'r nya'ka'mi kare khoka'

sa 'jte habe na ', aman d'ham ' anek dekhechi ["Stop being so

childish. I'm sick of it"], that same pleasing mentality is not

expressed. The same word, khoka', when uttered with a

different mentality takes on a different meaning. Where the

mentality is bitter or repulsive, it is indicative of poison, and

its acoustic root is am '; and where the mentality is sweet or

attractive, it is indicative of nectar, and its acoustic root is

ah. So when singing, or reciting a poem, or acting in a play,

or even when saying ordinary things, one should have full

control over one's expression, be it pleasant or unpleasant.

Singers should also remember this and sing accordingly. The

controlling point of vis 'a [poison] and amrta [nectar] is the

vishuddha cakra. * Thus one should exercise a certain degree

of control over the ku'rma na'd'ii [a nerve] at the vishuddha

 

MATERIAL FOR BA PART 3 PAPER 5