Visishta Nirvachana Vaani
Visishta Nirvachana Vaani means … Superior voice of definitions!
Master Ekkirala Krishnamacharya (Master EK) is one of the greatest Sanskrit – Telugu – English – scholars and also one of the “Saint-Masters” of our time from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. I happened to live very near (a minute’s walking distance) to where he lived in Guntur during my boyhood and teenage days – absolutely oblivious to the fact that I will be venerating him one day – in my later part of life.
Master EK had authored many books in varying subjects, lectured and taught people – on Sciences, Yoga & Spirituality. I have studied quite a few of them, heard his recorded speeches on variety of subjects with great interest – learnt a lot and benefited from that learning. For this benefit obtained by me – I owe my debt of gratitude to my close childhood friend – Shri Vavilala Umapathi (S/o Shri Vavilala Somayajulu – a contemporary and a very close friend of Master EK) who supplied me with the books and CDs of Master EK from his personal Library.
Mandra Gita & Shakharavam are just two of many books that have flown from the ocean of outpourings from this great Master EK. His daughter Smt. P. Lakshmi Devi, picked up some important and very useful definitions from the above two books to present them in one lot – for the benefit and convenience of those who seek greater clarity in understanding the ancient philosophical scriptures. “Visishta Nirvachana Vaani” is probably the smallest booklet written and published in Sanskrtised Telugu – and flowing from the very own daughter of this great “Man-Institution”. This booklet encapsulates in a nutshell most of the clarity needed on definitions of words in order to comprehend clearly (without the normal confusion) the essence of – Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and Bhagavat Gita.
Those who have studied Indian scriptures to some extent and understand at least some words of Sanskrit but have no full clarity on them (due to lack of clarity of definitions) – will get greater clarity form these “Capsules of Wisdom”. For the benefit of the English readers (who cannot read Telugu original) – I am attempting this transliteration (plus very little of translation) from Telugu to English. I have tried to preserve to the best of my ability – the original flavour of Master EK’s style and that of Smt. P. Lakshmi Devi – which is inimitable for its precise brevity. This is done so – notwithstanding the fact that it is extremely difficult to totally convey the complete, extensive and voluminous meaning of what is said in Sanskrtised Telugu into another and grammatically different language like English – with the same or identical precision & brevity.
I had gone occasionally – beyond the “strict script” in my transliteration – wherever I thought the additional information given in brackets is essential to ensure the conveyance of the full purport to the English reader – to help proper understanding. I also kept the Sanskrit words bold for easy noticing with their English meaning given in the brackets – for quick references later. Here are 224 Invaluable Gems of definitions (Delivered in some form of axioms or aphorisms) – each one containing the equivalent “substance-content” of a text book – if only to be elaborated for simplification or for elucidation.
These Nirvachanas (Definitions / Axioms / Aphorisms – call what you may) are individually capsules of wisdom and also clarifications by themselves. They have been picked up at random only from the 2 books of Master EK’s works. They are not organized in any particular order to establish or accomplish any kind of connectivity serially – or in accordance with any predetermined flow as you proceed sequentially. This will be similar to a dictionary that is not alphabetically organized – but meanings clearly defined. Hope the readers will benefit as much as I did – reading the original Telugu works of Master EK.
Karma – Janma
Life, when examined deeply, will appear to be an endless chain of “causes & effects”. Every effect becomes the cause for further downstream effects. After considerable time passes (decades, centuries, millennia) – the cluster of effects are so large in number with random inter-relationships – one cannot make out which is the cause and which is the effect. It then becomes “chicken-egg” or “seed-tree” puzzle as to which came first. The original puzzle that preceded all puzzles of human mind is the cycle of “Karma-Janma”. Karma is dynamic thought & action – while Janma is physical birth … which came first? This can be left to any one’s own imagination and self conviction – as no convincing is possible by others.
What I am going to attempt now is to get some clarity on the definition & theory of Karma itself – which often is very nebulous, when one tries to get some insights into it. Sri Malladi Venkata Krishnamurthy – a Sanskrit scholar has drawn extensively from “Niralambopanishad” to give us some clarity on Karma-Janma – I am grateful to him.
1. What is Karma…?
Kriyate Anena Iti Karma! This means everything that gets done is Karma. The word Karma originates from the root word “Kru” meaning dynamic thought & action. Karma means an action committed by mind or body! The completed work is called “Karma”, while the work in progress is called “Kriya”. Hence the seed of Karma lies in the Kriya.
Niralambopanishad defines Karma as – “Any action by mind or body with full involvement of all 5-senses and awareness of –“I am doing” – is Karma. There is never a moment in human life – that one is not involved or engaged in doing some type of Karma or the other. Hence there is no life without Karma.
Naari – The Woman of India
Where women are respected, honored and venerated – gods will dance in ecstasy! Where women are subjugated, insulted and ill treated – gods will vacate that place, nothing will prosper there – only misery and sorrow will prevail – that place will never have peace or happiness! This is the extract from Manusmruthi – the ancient Indian ethical & moral code book of culture.
How true it is even today! – if only if we open our eyes and take an unbiased look! The present and recent past generations of humanity may have taken objection to many tenets of Manusmruthi and argued about their irrelevance to the needs of the time – but no one can deny the fact that there are eternal principles in the order of creation and nature that continue to prevail timelessly. These principles remain “changeless laws” in the midst of all changes! Out dependence on gravity to stay on earth did not change – our dependence on Sun for energy did not change – our dependence on rains for food did not change … and these will never change – no matter how wildly different the Sci-Fi projections about the future of human survival and behaviour.
Despite all the impressive and concurrent technological progress in diverse fields of science & technology – ethical & moral degeneration of mankind witnessed in the modern times has not allowed the benefits of that material progress to contribute to life and provide happiness & peace to the mankind. The starvation for peace & happiness continues and is more rapidly & widely growing than the material prosperity. Why? Read the rest of this entry
Ten Tips From Yogic Texts And Sages
1. Eat nutritious foods that suit your constitution … in moderate quantities.
2. Walk every day … if possible.
3. Avoid people who are manipulative, loud, obnoxious, and destructive … if at all possible.
4. Keep company of people who are pleasant, easy going, cheerful … and supportive.
5. Remain silent when you have the urge to be … sarcastic or make fun of someone.
6. Help people who are in need … within your capacity.
7. Take the time to be alone everyday … and be with yourself.
8. Never give into peer pressure to drink or do drugs or go to wild parties (Get together with good friends for fun – singing & dancing is OK!).
9. Develop confidence in your own ability to do what you need to do.
10. Engage in introspection at the end of the day. Mentally wishing everyone well, always go to bed with a clean slate.
Friendship
In friendship an ‘openness’ of each to the other is found that can be seen as an enlargement of the self. A good friendly person is related to his friend the same way he is related to himself. He / She considers the friend as another “self” or extension of “self”. Friendship therefore opens the door to an escape from “egoism” or “belief” that the rational course of action is always to pursue one’s own self-interest. It is notable that friendship requires sentiments. Sentimentality is not always rational – but forms an essential foundation of friendship. It is a purely personal matter, requiring virtue, yet which runs counter to the universalistic requirement of impartial treatment of all. Friend is someone who is treated differently from all others always. An outstanding example for this is found in Mahabharatha – the friendship between Karna & Duryodhana!
Values that are found in friendships is often the result of a friend demonstrating the following traits on a consistent basis:
- The tendency to desire what is best for the other!
- Sympathy & Empathy!
- Honesty – perhaps in situations where it may be difficult for others to speak the truth – especially in terms of pointing out the perceived faults of one’s counterpart.
- Mutual understanding!
- Mutual compassion!
One problem is to reconcile these apparently diverse and occasionally conflicting requirements. Mishandling this may cause either temporary or lasting strain in relationships. But one irrefutable element in friendship is – you can talk “neutral nonsense” freely – without the fear of being seriously judged. It gives lot of freedom to be occasionally stupid – which is a release from stress! Friendship is easier to repair when spoiled, than all other relationships, as forgiveness is in-built into it.
MSR Ayyangar's Blog 