VEDANGA JYOTISHA

Ca is the acoustic root of viveka [conscience].

CHA

Cha is the acoustic root of vikalata 'h vrtti [nervous break-

down]. A nervous breakdown occurs when one's mind, which

had previously been functioning properly, either starts mal-

functioning or stops functioning altogether.

JA

Una is the acoustic root oidambha vrtti [the propensity of

vanity]; ja is the acoustic root otaham'ka'ra vrtti (ego). The

ego becomes inflated when one allows one's "I" feeling to

take a predominant role. "Since I was there, I was able to

control the situation. But I wonderwhat would have happened

in my absence. I'm sure that had I not been there the world

would have met its final destruction." So spoke Aurangzeb,

the last powerful Mughal emperor of India. It is an expression

of aham 'ka 'ra vi-'yi.

JHA

Jha is the acoustic root of lolupata', lobha [greed] and

lolata' [avarice] vrttis. The Bengali word nola' [the greedy

fascination of a cat or a dog] is derived from tola or lolata'.

INA

Ina is the acoustic root of kapat'ata.' vrtti [hypocrisy].

Another Sanskrit word for''hypocrite" ispa's'an'd'a, which

 was more widely used in the past. In Hindi a hypocrite is

called pa'khan'd'ii. Hypocrisy can take many forms, but we

are mainly acquainted with the following three: (1) getting

one's purpose served by exploiting or cheating others; (2)

unnecessarily dominating somebody to conceal one's own

ignorance or weakness; (3) pretending to be moral by criti-

cizing the sins of others, which one secretly commits oneself.

T'A

T'a is the acoustic root of vitarka vrtti [overstating one's

case]. Many people think that vitarka means a type of debat-

ing, but this is only partially true. It also means overstating

one's case to the point of garrulousness. Vitarka is a combi-

nation of a bad temper and garrulousness. It is in no way

synonymous with kas'a'ya vrtti [speaking harshly to hurt

others]. The following is an example ofvitarka vrtti.

Suppose a person arrives at the Howrah railway station in

Calcutta a tittle late and asks a well-dressed gentleman,

"Excuse me, sir, has the Uluberia local train departed yet?"

The gentleman snaps angrily, "Is it my duty to keep informa-

tion about the Uluberia local train? Am I a railway timetable?

How idiotic! People like you make life hell for others. This

is the reason the country is going to the dogs. What do you

think I am, an enquiry office?" Another gentleman standing

nearby says helpfully, "Were you asking about the Uluberia

local? The train will leave from platform eleven in five

minutes. If you hurry you'll catch it."

The first gentleman has an uncontrolled vitarka vrtti

whereas the second gentleman has utteiedpramita va 'k [bal-

anced statements]. Inpramita va'k only relevant words are

..„„.J

T'HA

T'ha is the acoustic root oianuta 'pa vrtti [repentance]. One

is seized by a feeling of repentance when one realizes (either

from within or with the help of a second person) the impro-

priety of one's action. In northern India anuta'pa is called

pascha 'tta 'pa. Both ana andpascha 't mean "later" or "after";

ta'pa means "heat".

.  D'A

D'a is the acoustic root of lajja' vrtti [the propensity of

shyness].

D'HA

Senseless, sadistic killing is calledpishunata ' vrtti. If meat-

eaters slaughter animals in the way that inflicts the least pain,

that is notpishunata '; but if they kill them slowly and cruelly,

first chopping off their legs, then their tails, then their heads,

it  is  definitely pishunata'.  These  days  in  many  civilized

co~tries people are unable to give up meat-eating, but have

at least devised modern methods to kill the animals less

painfully. But remember, the killing of animals, no matter

h6w it is done, is contrary to the spirit of Neo-Humanism.

Once I saw a harrowing sight in a market place: part of a

live tortoise had just been chopped off and sold, but the poor

creature was not completely dead and was trying to crawl

away, leaving a stream of blood. Such cruel things should be

abolished altogether. The cruel slaughter of that innocent

tortoise is certainly a case ofpishunata'.

To kill human beings is totally undesirable, but if people

do want to eliminate their enemies, they should do so with a

 minimum of torture. The kings of old used to kill criminals

by impaling them on spikes; or by half-burying them in the

ground, sprinkling salt over them, and letting the dogs eat

them. Sometimes people were flayed alive. These actions

certainly deserve universal condemnation. They are all exam-

ples ofpishunata'.

N'A

N'a is the acoustic root of Urs'a' vrtti [the propensity of

envy].

TA

Ta is the acoustic root of staticity, long sleep and deep

sleep. It is also the acoustic root of intellectual dullness and

spiritual inertness. That which brings about the cessation of

dullness and staticity is called Tantra - Tarn 'ja 'dya 't ta 'rayet

yastusatantrahparildirttitah.

The root-verb ton means "to expand", if a person bound by

ropes manages to expand his body, the ropes will sna~,',

automatically. That which leads to liberation through tan,

expansion, is also Tantra - Tarn' vista'ren'a ta'rayetyastu

sah tantrahparUdirttitah.

THA

Tha is the acoustic root of vis'ada vrtti, of melancholy

(melancholiness, melancholia).

DA

Da is the acoustic root of peevishness. If one speaks in a

nice way to a peevish person, he or she reacts adversely; if

one speaks in a harsh way, he or she takes it calmly.

DHA

Dha is the acoustic root of thirst for acquisition. This

limitless craving for wealth, name, fame, power and prestige

is called trs 'n 'a in Sanskrit. Here trs 'n'a does not mean "thirst

for water". To divert all the pure and impure thoughts of the

mind towards Parama Purus'a is the only cure for limitless

psychic craving.

NA

Na is the acoustic root of moha vrtti [blind attachment or

infatuation]. This propensity of blind attachment is usually

divided into the four categories of time, space, idea and

individuality. When one loses one's rationality out of blind

attachment for one's country, it is called deshagata moha,

"geo-sentiment". People who live in a country where not even

a blade of grass grows, where people die of starvation, and

which imports huge quantities of food grains from other

countries, become so infatuated with their country that they

say it has an abundance of water, has a bountiful fruit harvest,

and is a net exporter of food to other countries.

Ka'lagata moha is blind attachment for a particular period

of time. One becomes so attached to a certain period of time

that one is unable to discern its positive or negative aspects.

Some people complain that the behaviour of the present

generation of children is disappointing. They say that when

 they were young they could easily digest iron pans, but the

present generation has trouble digesting even water! They

lament the great misfortune that has befallen the present age.

When a particular idea has a strong impact on mind, the

mind rushes towards it again and again. Thieves, in the shock

of the moment, always make a quick getaway from the scene

of the crime. Later, however, they brood repeatedly about the

place, and often return, straight into the hands of the police!

A person who uses an object for a long time develops a

fascination for that object. This is called a'dha'ragata moha

[fascination for an object]. There are many rich people who

have a strange weakness for some old, battered object such

as a rickety chair with one arm broken off. I know a story

about how a pretty pot made of bell-metal was the cause of a

bitter quarrel among the daughters-in-law of a certain family,

so bitter that it led to the eventual break-up of the family. Na

is the acoustic root of moha vrtti.

The only way to free oneself from the clutches of infatu-

ation is to superimpose the ideation of indifference and divert

one's mental thoughts towards Parama Purus'a. It may be

possible to control this propensity of wild fascination tempo-

rarily by intimidation or by enacting laws, but only temporar-

ily. Those who believe in the equal distribution of the world's

wealth, naively underestimate the power of moha vrtti. The

human mind can be sublimated only by spiritual ideation, not

by any high-sounding philosophy. This Utopian idea has

proved ineffective in the past and in the present and will

continue to prove so in the future.

PA

'Pa is the acoustic root of ghrn'a' vrtti [the propensity of

hatred or revulsion].

The underlying weaknesses which cause immense harm to

human beings are called ripus [enemies]. They are six in

number: ka'ma [longing for physicality], krodha [anger],

lobha [avarice], mada [vanity], moha [blind attachment], and

ma 'tsarya [jealousy]. And when ourvarious mental bondages

exploit these ripus in order to tighten their grip on the mind,

they become known aspa'shas [fetters]. These pa'shas are

eight in number:

Ghrn 'a ' shaunka ' bhayam ' lajja '

Jugupsa' cetipaincamU;

Kulam' shUlainca ma'nainca

As't'aopa 'sha 'h prakiirttita 'h.

[Hatred, doubt, fear, shyness, dissemblance, vanity of line-

age, cultural superiority complex and egotism — these are the

eight fetters.]

Pa is the acoustic root of the fetter of hatred. It is a defect

not directly traceable to any one ripu, but stemming from

more than one ripu. Although hatred and fear are related to

other ripus, they are mainly related to the moha ripu, or

propensity of blind attachment. [E.g., when one's desire for

something becomes frustrated, one may develop hatred for

what was the object of desire.]

When one's psychic attraction is toward the crude, the mind

has a downward tendency (in Sanskrit the root-verb/wf or

patati carries this sense), which leads to one's eventual down-

fall. But when the mind moves upward it is called anurakti

[attraction for the Great]. The consummation of this attraction

is devotion. For this the Sanskrit verb is u'rdhva gam or

u'rdhva gacchatL

One who is weakened by excessive attachment to alcohol

falls an easy prey to the fetters of hatred and fear. Moha ripu

makes people the objects of hatred to others, and makes others

the objects of fear to them. Such is the deceptive allurement

 of moha vrtti that people rush toward their objects of desire

without any discrimination. I already explained the different

types of moha while discussing the consonant na.