Vyasa and Ganesa - August 2017 Newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami

I am in Los Angeles teaching a 50 hour 10 day program on Bhagavatgita in the teaching of Krishnamacharya to a compact nice group. I have six more days to go. I am also teaching in the evenings a 20 hour 10 day program on core vinyasakrama asana program. In September I am scheduled to teach a 15 hr Samkhya Karika program at Chicago Yoga center  Sep 15/17 , 2017
http://www.yogamind.com/workshop-ramaswami-samkhya_2017.shtml

Vyasa and Ganesa

Above: My interpolation into Ramaswami's newsletter of the opening Vyasa/Ganesha scene from Peter Brooks' delightful Mahabharata.

Vyasa is the name associated with much of ancient Sanathana dharma in India. Vyasa as Vedavyasa is credited with codifying and compiling the four major vedas the main text (grantha) in ancient India. The name Vyasa is also associated with the 18 puranas or mythology that in the form of divine stories  explains the dharma of the vedas. Then he is also credited with writing an important itihasa called the Maha Bharata believed to be the longest epic ever written. Itihasa would mean a historical account --iti (thus) ha (surely) Asa (it was) indicating that Mahabharata is a historical account of the Chandra or moon dynasty. Vyasa himself is an important player in the Mahabharata. After what happened to the kauravas and pandavas in the Kurukshetra war, Brahma is said to have approached Vyasa to write the story of Mahabharata so that human beings will have an authentic account of this phenomenal historic happening and also let people learn dharma from this story. When he then decided to write the whole story he found it would be an extraordinarily voluminous work and he thought if he could dictate the story  at the rate of speaking and if one wonderful person would write it down, it could be save time and also he could keep pace with the thought flow. Then he approached the lovable Lord Ganesa the elephant headed son of Siva/Parvati. Ganesa agreed but he put forward a condition. He said that Vyasa should dictate continuously without a break. It suited Vyasa well but he put forward a counter condition. Vyasa said that Ganesa should understand the real import of the matter and not merely take down without understanding. Ganesa who is also known as fire of wisdom by Tirumular agreed immediately.  And then the great epic work started. Every now and then Vyasa would introduce a verse which required some reflection on the part of the Ganesa and as Ganesa would ponder over the sloka, Vyassa would compose the next bunch of verses. These occasional speed breakers came to be known as Vyasa's secrets.

There is a Sanskrit word

प्राज्ञ prājña. 

This can be split as pra+ आज्ञ ājña or pra+अज्ञ ajña  pra would mean  thorough and jña would mean one who knows. The prefix 'aa' would mean ''complete".

So प्राज्ञ prājña would mean one who has thorough and complete knowledge. The other split of the word would  pra + अज्ञ ajña. अज्ञ ajña is jña with the prefix 'a' 'a' means not whereas aa is complete.

So प्राज्ञ prājña could mean a highly wise person or a consummate idiot depending how the word is split.

In Sanskrit at the ending vowel of pra and ajña will become prājña and pra+ ājña also will also be prājña. Ganesa will have decided quickly if the word prājña meant a wise man or an idiot.

There are several instances where the slokas require some reflection to understand the sloka.
In the Bhagacat Gita which is a part of the Mahabharata, here is an interesting half sloka

करमण्यकरम यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः

Karmaṇyakarma  yah paśyed yakarama  yaḥ akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ

It would mean “One who can see non action in action and action in inaction ….

What does it mean?

The truth that the Self Is action less is clearly taught in smriti sruti  and surely by reason. It is however a deep rooted habit of the mind  to connect action with the action less Self even as it is contrary to the real nature of the Self. So it is said that even wise are deluded as to what action is and what non action is. Action pertains to the physical body (sarira) but man falsely attributes action to the Self and imagines “ I am the agent , the action is mine and I shall reap the fruits of my action”. (Karmaṇyakarma  yah paśyet )Similarly he falsely imputes to the Self the cessation of activity in the state of nirvikalpa Samadhi or nirodha Samadhi which pertains to the citta and not the self. The cessation of activity of the citta is itself an activity as the active citta has to perform an action of stopping to come to a state of non action. So the knowledgeable one is said to see that the Self which is non acting appears  to act due to erroneous perception. Likewise the citta  which is usually active reaches a non acting state of nirodha or brahma nirvana or karmani akarma

Srivatsa Ramaswami


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