MANTRA VARNA MALA 4

KA

The way in which people think varies from individual to

individual. The thought processes of sub-human creatures

flow in four directions — towards food, sleep, survival, and

procreation. Broadly speaking, human thought moves in five

directions - towards food, sleep, survival, procreation and

dharma. Yet there are many sub-streams. Human thought can

be roughly divided into two categories: abhiips'a'tmaka

(a 'sha ' vrtti) and vishuddha sam 'vedana 'tmaka (cinta ' vrtti).

A major part of the world of thought revolves around a 'sha '

vrtti [the propensity of hope]. Goaded by this propensity,

various creatures, especially human beings, are inspired to

work in various ways. Ka is the acoustic root of the abhi-

ips'a 'tmaka a 'sha ' vrtti. It is also the acoustic root oiKa 'rya

Brahma [the expressed universe].

In ancient times, before people learned to dig in the ground,

they collected water from the rivers and springs. Hence,

anything that produced sounds like the roaring of rivers, the

babbling of brooks, or the gushing of spring water, would

inspire the hope of survival in their minds. Ka (derived from

the root-verb kae plus suffix d'a) etymologically means "that

which produces sound". It also means "water", and thus ka is

the acoustic root of flowing water (va is the acoustic root of

water in general).

If someone keeps a matted lock of hair on his or her head,

it will be quite visible even from a distance. If the hair is

properly oiled, it will become glossy. From kae, meaning

"glossy", we get another meaning of ka, "hair grown on the

head".

 Hair when it is curly is called kuntala. And Shiva used to

tie His hair in a knot in such a way that it pointed upwards.

Hence just as one of Shiva's names was "Vyomakesha",

meaning "Hair towards the Sky" (vyoma = "sky" and kesh =

"hair"). He was also called "Khakuntala", with the same

meaning, since kha means "sky" and Shiva's hair was curly.

And, as many people know, another name of Shiva was

"Dhurjat'ii".

We said before that ha is the acoustic root of Ka'rya

Brahma. It is also the acoustic root of creation. According to

Buddhist Ma'dhyamik and Saota'ntrik philosophy, one name

for the created world is Sam'vrtti Bodhicitta (which is also

another name of Ka'rya Brahma). The then Buddhist cult

called those sa 'dhakas who took the noble vow of serving all

in the living and non-living worlds, ka 'pa'likas-Kam' [from

ka} sam 'vrtti bodhi cittam 'pa 'layati iti ka 'pa 'likah. Later on,

the meaning and import of the word ka'pa'lika became

distorted.

As mentioned, ka is the acoustic root of Ka 'rya Brahma.

Ka' ry a Brahma (Sagun'arasa'tmaka Brahma), represented

by ka, is the controller of the livingworld..Ka + iisha = kesha.

Kesha can mean "hair"; it can also mean Na'ra'yan'a.

,-i

KHA

While discussing ka I mentioned that human thoughts are

sometimes guided by a'sha' vrtti, sometimes by cinta' vrtti.

The acoustic root of a 'sha ' vrtti is ka, and that of cinta ' vrtti

[the propensity of worry] is kha. Suppose the train you are

travelling by from Krishnanagar to Dignagar is running late.

In that case you will not only think about the train being late,

but of the probable inconveniences caused as a result, notably

the inconvenience you wilt cause your host in Dignagar if you

 arrive at his house late and expect him to serve you food. So

you decide to eat your supper somewhere near the station

before proceeding to your host's house. All thoughts such as

these are symbolized by the acoustic root kha.

Suppose you are traveling from Krishnanagar to Matiyari.

The thought passes through your mind that at one time

Matiyari had an important brassware industry, which today

is on the verge of collapse, resulting in thousands of its

employees losing their jobs. You wonder whether it might be

possible to revive the industry. But as you are not personally

affected by the collapse of the industry, you are not a direct

player in your own thoughts. Impersonal thoughts such as

these are symbolized by the acoustic root kha.

Kha means "sky", but kha is not the acoustic root of the

sky. The acoustic root of the sky is ha. Kha also means

"heaven", but it is not the acoustic root of all of heaven, either.

The crude aspects of heaven are represented by kha, whereas

the sphere of heaven which transcends the crude is repre-

sented by ks'a.

Ka is the acoustic root otKa'rya Brahma. First comes ka,

Ka 'rya Brahma, and then follows the rest of creation. That is

why ka is the first consonant. And as ka plus ha equals kha,

ka is immediately followed by kha in the Indo-Aryan alpha-

bet

 

GA

Every entity, whether animate or inanimate, has the poten-

tiality of expression. An animate entity can arouse that dor-

mant potentiality through both external and internal means,

whereas an inanimate entity acquires impetus through exter-

nal means. Suppose poetic genius lies dormant in a certain

person. If he arouses that latent genius by applying his will-

 

 

force, he can become a renowned poet. But if he fails to do

that due to lethargy or for some other reason, his poetic genius

will remain unexpressed. The effort made to arouse one's

dormant potentiality is called ces't'a'. Ces't'a' is one of the

psychic vrttis [propensities] and is the main cause of mundane

development and spiritual elevation. So its value in the mun-

dane and supramundane spheres is immense.

Ga, being the acoustic root of ces't'a' vrtti, plays an

important role in the physical, psychic and spiritual spheres

of human life.

 

GHA

Mamata ', the vrtti of love and attachment of human beings

and all other creatures, is related to time, space and individu-

ality. It is not unusual for people to praise even the goods of

the poorest quality manufactured in their own country and

criticize the best-quality goods made in other countries. This

occurs due to their irrational attachment for a certain place. It

is a kind of psychic disease. The same sort of thing occurs in

individuals as well. The mother who feels so much love and

affection for her child that she sacrifices everything in life for

its comfort and welfare, mercilessly slices young kai fish

[walking fish] into pieces without the slightest emotional

feeling. The young kai fish cry out in the agony of death, but

the cruel heart of the human mother does not melt. Mamata'

vrtti is also related to the time factor. The same mother cow

who so lovingly suckles her calves and licks them clean today

kicks them away when they grow up tomorrow.

Thus mamata' vrtti is limited by the relative factors. Only

human beings can make mamata ' vrtti transcend the bounda-

ries of time, space and individuality, after persistent and

 intense efforts. This is something impossible for other beings.

Gha is the acoustic root ofnwmata' vrttL

 

UNA

Una is the acoustic root of dambha vrtti [the propensity of

vanity]. The popularstory goes that the great sage Vashis't'ha

traveled to. China to learn the Chinese school of Tantra. In

China he learnt the use of ana in the utterance of Tantric

mantras, and introduced it in India on his return. Una is used

extensively in all the dialects of the Indo-Chinese languages,

even in Tibetan, Laddaki, Sherpa, Manpa, etc. It is said that

Vashis't'ha learned that una is the acoustic root of vanity. It

is also said that he first learned the Ta'ra' cult of the Buddhist

Va'ma'ca'ra Tantra from China. Since then in Buddhist

Tantra, the Ta'ra' cult has been trifurcated: Ugra Ta'ra' or

Vajra Ta'ra' is worshipped in India; Niila Ta'ra', or Niila

Sarasvatii, is worshipped in Kim'purus'avars'a (Tibet), and

Bhra'marii Ta'ra' (Krs'n'a Ta'ra') is worshipped in China.

It is believed that in the post-Buddhist period Vajra Ta'ra'

or Ugra Ta'ra' was accepted as the Ta'ra' deity in

Varn'a'shrama Dharma [medieval Hinduism]. Today names

such as Ta'ra' Da's, Ta'ra'pada, Ta'ra' Kumar, etc., are quite

common. It is generally accepted that the Niila Ta'ra', or Niila

Sarasvatii, of Tibet was later converted into the [Hindu]

goddess Sarasvatii by the supporters of Varn'a'shrama

Dharma.

The acoustic root of Vajra Ta'ra' of India and Niila Ta'ra'

of Tibet is aern'. The black-coloured Bhra'marii Ta'ra' of

China is accepted as the goddess Ka'lii in Varn'a'shrama

Dharma. Their acoustic root is the same, kriim ' (ka symbol-

izing Ka'rya Brahma plus ra symbolizing the luminous

factor).

 

 

MATERIAL FOR BA PART 3 PAPER 5