Mahakavyas.

The ancient sages instilled the knowledge of the supreme self through four aphorism's which appear as mahakavyas in each of the four vedas.
1. Prajnanam Brahma Consciousness is Brahman: This aphorism appears in Aitareya Upanishad in the Rgveda. It declares that Consciousness in the microcosm is the same consciousness pervading the macrocosm. The all pervading Consciousness is the Supreme reality, Brahman.
2. Tat tvam asi That thou art: Appears in Chandogya Upanishad in the Samaveda. Tat That refers to the Supreme God, Tvam thou to self within, the core of your being. Asi art indicates that God and your  Self are one and the same.
3. Ayam Atma Brahma This self is Brahman: In Mandukya Upanishad in the Atharvanaveda.  Ayam Atma means this Self. It refers to Consciousness within. Atman,the Self within which activates your body to perceive and act, mind to feel, intellect to think. Atman is the same as all pervading Consciousness Brahman.
4. Aham Brahma asmi I am Brahman; Appears in Brhadaranyaka Upanishad in the Yajurveda. this aphorism is the ultimate pronouncement of the spiritually Enlightened. Aham means I, the Self within. Brahman is the Reality, supreme God. The Enlightened declares his Self to be God.  

Paripadal

Your heat and glow are seen in the sun.
Your coolness and softness in the moon,
Your compassion and grace in the rains,
Your guardianship and patience in the earth,
Your scent and brilliance in the blossoms,
 Your image and wideness in the waters,
Your form and sound in the space,
Your appearance and withdrawal in the wind,
Therefore this, that, the rest and everything else
Have descended from you
Yet are depended upon you.

He takes the form desired by the devotees;
Accepts the name decided upon by them;
Even as they love and envision Him
and meditate upon Him ceaselessly,
he becomes that image.


You are the heat within the fire; Fragrance within the flower; Gem within the stone; Truth within the word; Mercy within justice; Might behind valour; Secret within the scripture; Foremost among elements; Splendour in the sun; Coolness in the moon; You are everything; and also the inner substance of these. (Paripadal, iii: 63-68)

Paripaatal contains seventy poems on various deities of the Hindu pantheon. This is a rare example of religious poetry we find in Sangam literature and is possibly the oldest religious composition in Tamil. The poems have associated music (பண்) so that these can be classified as songs (இசைப்பா). There are eight songs on Thirumaal (Vishnu), 31 songs on Kumaran (Muruga), one song on the Sea God, 26 on the mother Vaigai and four songs on Madurai. These songs are written in the 'Paripaatal' meter.

Ettuthokai The Eight Anthologies' - Classical Tamil poetic work - form part of thePathinenmaelkanakku anthology series of the Sangam Literature. Ettuthokai and its companion anthologyPattupattu are some of the oldest available Tamil Literature and dated to belong to between 200 BCE and 200 CE.

Aiṅkurunūṟu	Akanaṉūṟu
Puṟanāṉūṟu	Kalittokai
Kuṟuntokai	Naṟṟiṇai
Paripāṭal	Patiṟṟuppattu
Pattuppattu
Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai	Kuṟiñcippāṭṭu
Malaipaṭukaṭām	Maturaikkāñci
Mullaippāṭṭu	Neṭunalvāṭai
Paṭṭiṉappālai	Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai
Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai	Ciṟupāṇāṟṟuppaṭa

To be continued.

Unfolding of Gita.

Gita can be read as History, but it leads itself to being an allegory.
Arjuna represents the individual soul.
Sri Krishna the Supreme Soul that dwells in every heart.
Arjuna's chariot is the body.
Dhrtarastra the blind king is the mind under the spell of  maya ignorance.
the 100 sons are man's numerous evil tendencies.
The battle eternal going on between the power of the good and the evil.
That warrior who listens to the Lord speaking from within will triumph.
The model of life as presented in the Bhagavad Gita.
Every aspect of life is infact a way of salvation. lord Krishna tells of the innumerable ways to achieve peace of mind to resolve life's dilemma. It is applicable to any one in virtually any walk of life, its message transcends the limits of classical Hinduism.
to be continued.

japa

Japa meditation is also known as mantra meditation. With Japa meditation, the use of a mantra is used to focus the thoughts while quieting the mind. Japa meditation exists in many cultures along with a variety of practice methods.

Most methods involve repetition of a word or set of sounds. Some common mantras which you may have heard before are "Om" or "Om Mani padme hum". The sound "Om" pronounced "A-U-M", is a sacred sound which represents the creative energy of the universe. There are many interpretations and a great deal of focus spent on understanding the meaning of the sacred sound. Some interpret "Om" to be the sound of the initial creative spirit of the universe, or one true God.

"Om Mani Padme Hum" is also of great importance. It is one of the most revered mantras due to the amount of knowledge transmitted through its use. It is said that the entirety of the Buddha's teachings are contained within the mantra.

When beginning Japa meditation choosing a mantra which focuses the mind is an important step. If you are in contact with a spiritual leader then you may choose to have them select your mantra for you. If you're unable to speak with a spiritual leader, then selecting your own mantra should be your focus before beginning

Some practices believe that repeating the mantra 108 times is a key to successful meditation. If you own a set of prayer beads, then it may be easier for you to keep track of the mantra count. Otherwise don't worry about the number of repetitions. Simply set a time that you will devote to the practice and repeat the mantra as many times as possible within that time frame. Setting an alarm to help you stick to the committed time may be helpful to you.

In any case when you choose to complete a mantra meditation, stick to one mantra. Don't begin the meditation with one mantra and then switch to another. You may not feel completely comfortable with your chosen mantra at first, but that will change over time.

By repeating one singular mantra you will find that the mind will slip into a deep meditative state. This state will help you absorb the teachings of the mantra deep into your subconscious mind. The repetition will also have the benefit of providing the conscious mind with a deep restful state along with increasing your ability to concentrate.

There are many benefits of mantra meditation. Be sure to stick to your mantra meditation in order to see your way through the challenges of life. 

Chitralekha. classic Hindi Literature.

Chitralekha was written by a young man in his twenties. (Bhagawati charan verma) It has been written in an excellent style which has both challenging and provoking theme with ample beauty and imagination. Better explained the story unfolds with warmth and tenderness. the characters enact the varied tragic style to perfection which grips the reader. The pendulum as if it were swings from the romantic and stormy character of a woman whose power was passion to the curious and inconclusive dreams of a renounce who could not renounce his ego; from the immortal life of a sinner who retained the virginity of his soul while he dined, wined and seduced, to the mystic world of the sycophant of God who hallowed his body but prostituted its soul; from the galleries and caverns of ancient faith and religious dogmatism to the wide open avenues of rational thought.
Chitralekha is just not fiction it has a historical perspective too for which it is held in awe. It depicts the period of Indian History, particularly spotlighting the under current of religious thought, when canonical culture and rituals and pedantic learning made religion into inhuman scholasticism and asceticism. It was that time when Buddhism was calling people to the simplicity of truth and the majesty of the moral law, while the more radical and pagan human mind, revolving against conventional morality and ideological stagnation, was crying for the readjustment of values to the needs of a complex mobile social order. It was fighting against the forces of political disruption to lay the foundation of a great and lasting empire. Here we get a glimpse of Chanakya's philosophy - a philosophy divorced from ethics and wedded to politics and expounded by a man who was a contemporary to Aristotle and who lived long before Machiavelli. Chitralekha though retains its fictional qualities of imaginative plot construction, forceful characterisation and artistic presentation.
english version of the hindi novel is available on net.

Great Indian Philosophers.

Name
BCE

Uddalaka       8th Centuary.
Yagnavalkya   8th centuary.


Mahavir      599 - 527
Buddha       563 - 483.

CE

Nagarjuna    200
Asanga         350
Vasubandu    350
Bharati hari    450 - 510.
Dignaga         480 - 540
Dharmakirti    600 - 660
shankara         700 - 750
Jayarashi         800
Udayana        1050
Shriharsha      1150
Ganesha         1320
Raghunatha     1500
Gadadhara      1620.

to be continued.

Upanisad (AP) World view.

The word upanishad is the conjuction of three words, upa, ni and sad meaning near below and sit respectively. upa near indicates the receptive attitude required of a student to learn the great truth imparted by a master. Ni below indicates that the disciple occupies a seat at a lower level to look up to the guru. The higher position occupied by the guru has a psychological association with devotion. The disciple requires the feeling of devotion for gaining self knowledge. Sad sit suggests the introvert nature of the student. a student needs to be introvert to apprehend the Self. Thus etymologically the word Upanishad itself indicates the qualities necessary for a seeker to gain the knowledge of the Supreme God.
The Upanishads are simple and graceful in language. some in prose, some in verse and some in both. Their subject matter is terse, cryptic, abstruse. they are a matchless record of scientific exposition of Brahmavidya, the science of knowing the supreme Reality.
Sri Aurobindo views the Upanishads as a kind of poetry - word of vision and rhythm of the Spirit that has not been written before or after. alone of extant scriptures gives one and all without veil of stinting, with plentitude and a noble catholicity the truth of the supreme God, Brahman, Its aid to humanity is therefore indispensable.
Swami Vivekananda spoke of the universality of the Upanishads as being founded on eternal principles while every other religion depends upon the life of the founder.
Swami Rama Tirtha acclaims Vedanta as a religion which is found in the streets, which is written upon the leaves, which is murmured in the brooks, which is whispered in the winds, which is throbbing in your veins and arteries, a religion which concerns your business and thought, a religion which you have  to practice by living it in your every day endeavour.
Upanishads are the highest authority in all matters pertaining to philosophy and religion. The philosophy of Vedanta rests on three canonical works known as the Prasthanatraya; The Upanishads, Brahmasutras and Bhagvad gita. Badarayana Vyasa, the author of the Brahmasutras roots its aphorisms to the text of the Upanishads. As such it becomes impossible to understand or interpret them without reference to the Upanishads. The Bhagvadgita, the central theme of the epic Mahabaratha also rests its authority upon the Upanishads we can see several verses taken verbatim from the Upanishads.
George Herbert Meade eulogises the Upanishads as a world scripture. written thousands of years ago by the wise Indian seers - simple and graceful in inspiring Samskrta poetry. a matchless record of Brahmavidya, the knowledge of Brahaman, the Supreme God.
Victor Cousin, the historian and Philosopher of France, says there can be no denying that the ancient Hindus possessed the knowledge of the true God. Their philosophy their thought is so sublime, so elevating, so accurate and true that any comparison with the writings of the Europeans appears like a Promethean fore stolen from heaven as in the presence of the full glow of the noon day sun.
William Jones professes that the Greeks derived their knowledge from Vedanta, the clear comprehensive system of philosophy of the Hindus of India.
John Gough believes the Upanishads to be the loftiest utterances of Indian Intelligence.
The German Philosopher Schlegel considers the highest stretches of European philosophy as dwarfish pygmies before the majestic Titan of Upanishadic thought. He considers the Upanishadic philosophy to be noble, clear severally grand. Deeply and reverentially expressed as no other human language in which men have spoken of their God.
Paul Deussen found the philosophy of Permenides, Plato and Kant in a nutshell in the Upanishads. He claimed Vedanta as the greatest philosophy.
Arthur Schopenhauer's philosophy is unmistakably transfixed with the doctrines expounded in the Upanishads. He eulogises the Upanishad as most sublime, elevating, rewarding and refers to it as the solace of life and death. Max Muller endorses this view with a lifetime study of religions in the world and all the systems of philosophy.
Theosophists regard the Upanishads as a world scripture. A scripture appealing to lovers of truth in all races at all times without distinction.