Post by radha on Mar 29, 2017 10:09:42 GMT 5.5
OM SRI GURUPYO NAMAHA RESPECTFUL PRANAMS TO SRI KANCHI MAHA PERIVA
FAITH
Pravahana’s questions
MARCH 28, 2017
Chandogya Upanishad tells the story of Svetaketu, son of sage Gautama. Svetaketu went to the court of Pravahana, who asked him if he had finished studying under his father. Svetaketu said that he had. Pravahana then asked him some questions to test his knowledge, said M.K. Srinivasan in a discourse.
The first question was: “Where do people go when they die?” Pravahana then asked if the dead returned to earth; the third question was about the point at which the path of gods and the path of pitrus separate; the fourth question was why the other world did not get overcrowded with all the souls that had left the earth. The last question was how water was connected with the birth of man.
Svetaketu did not know the answers to Pravahana’s questions. He went back to his father sage Gautama, who said that he had not taught Svetaketu all these things because he himself was unaware of them. Gautama then went to meet Pravahana, who offered to give him many gifts. But Gautama said that what he wanted was to be enlightened on the subjects Pravahana had spoken of to Svetaketu. Pravahana told Gautama that he would have to be prepared for a long period of study to understand what he (Pravahana) was going to teach him.
Pravahana said that Panchagni Vidya, would answer all the questions that he (Pravahana) had put to Svetaketu. Pravahana said that so far it had been taught only to Kshatriyas and not to Brahmins.
It was a closely guarded secret of Kshatriyas. But Pravahana said that since he had promised to grant Gautama a boon, he would honour his word.
Pravahana then taught Gautama Panchagni Vidya — that is knowledge of the five fires, which would answer all the questions he (Pravahana) had put to Svetaketu.
Chandogya Upanishad tells how King Pravahana taught sage Gautama the Panchagni Vidya, knowledge of the five fires, said M.K. Srinivasan in a discourse. The first fire is svargaloka.
The sun is the samit (sacrificial stick) of this fire. The rays of the sun are the smoke, while the day is the flame. The moon is the ember. The stars are the sparks of this fire. When Agnihotra is performed, the jivas become Soma raja and enter svargaloka.
The second fire is Parjanya. For this fire, vayu or the air is the samit. The cloud is the smoke. Lightning is the flame. The thunderbolt is the charcoal. The roars of the fire are the sparks. Somaraja (jiva) is the oblation in this fire.
The third fire is the earth. For this fire, the year is the samit. Akasa, that is the sky, is the smoke. The night is the flame. The directions are the live charcoals. The directions are the sparks. The oblation in this case is rain. When the rains reach the earth, food is grown.
The fourth fire is man himself. His speech (vaak) is the samit. His prana is smoke. His tongue is the flame. The eyes are the live charcoals, and his ears are the sparks. Here the oblation is food. From that food the seed of man is born.
The fifth fire is woman. The interaction between man and woman is the live charcoal here. The small pleasures are the sparks here. The oblation here is the seed of man, and from this does a newborn emanate.
Thus the Chandogya Upanishad says that jivas go to svarga, but their stay there is temporary. From there they come down to the earth as rain and then become food, which then gets transformed into the seed of man, resulting in procreation. The important point to note is that while the jiva passes through all these various stages, its essential nature remains unchanged.
SRI KANCHI MAHA PERIVA THIRUVADIGAL CHARANAM
FAITH
Pravahana’s questions
MARCH 28, 2017
Chandogya Upanishad tells the story of Svetaketu, son of sage Gautama. Svetaketu went to the court of Pravahana, who asked him if he had finished studying under his father. Svetaketu said that he had. Pravahana then asked him some questions to test his knowledge, said M.K. Srinivasan in a discourse.
The first question was: “Where do people go when they die?” Pravahana then asked if the dead returned to earth; the third question was about the point at which the path of gods and the path of pitrus separate; the fourth question was why the other world did not get overcrowded with all the souls that had left the earth. The last question was how water was connected with the birth of man.
Svetaketu did not know the answers to Pravahana’s questions. He went back to his father sage Gautama, who said that he had not taught Svetaketu all these things because he himself was unaware of them. Gautama then went to meet Pravahana, who offered to give him many gifts. But Gautama said that what he wanted was to be enlightened on the subjects Pravahana had spoken of to Svetaketu. Pravahana told Gautama that he would have to be prepared for a long period of study to understand what he (Pravahana) was going to teach him.
Pravahana said that Panchagni Vidya, would answer all the questions that he (Pravahana) had put to Svetaketu. Pravahana said that so far it had been taught only to Kshatriyas and not to Brahmins.
It was a closely guarded secret of Kshatriyas. But Pravahana said that since he had promised to grant Gautama a boon, he would honour his word.
Pravahana then taught Gautama Panchagni Vidya — that is knowledge of the five fires, which would answer all the questions he (Pravahana) had put to Svetaketu.
Chandogya Upanishad tells how King Pravahana taught sage Gautama the Panchagni Vidya, knowledge of the five fires, said M.K. Srinivasan in a discourse. The first fire is svargaloka.
The sun is the samit (sacrificial stick) of this fire. The rays of the sun are the smoke, while the day is the flame. The moon is the ember. The stars are the sparks of this fire. When Agnihotra is performed, the jivas become Soma raja and enter svargaloka.
The second fire is Parjanya. For this fire, vayu or the air is the samit. The cloud is the smoke. Lightning is the flame. The thunderbolt is the charcoal. The roars of the fire are the sparks. Somaraja (jiva) is the oblation in this fire.
The third fire is the earth. For this fire, the year is the samit. Akasa, that is the sky, is the smoke. The night is the flame. The directions are the live charcoals. The directions are the sparks. The oblation in this case is rain. When the rains reach the earth, food is grown.
The fourth fire is man himself. His speech (vaak) is the samit. His prana is smoke. His tongue is the flame. The eyes are the live charcoals, and his ears are the sparks. Here the oblation is food. From that food the seed of man is born.
The fifth fire is woman. The interaction between man and woman is the live charcoal here. The small pleasures are the sparks here. The oblation here is the seed of man, and from this does a newborn emanate.
Thus the Chandogya Upanishad says that jivas go to svarga, but their stay there is temporary. From there they come down to the earth as rain and then become food, which then gets transformed into the seed of man, resulting in procreation. The important point to note is that while the jiva passes through all these various stages, its essential nature remains unchanged.
SRI KANCHI MAHA PERIVA THIRUVADIGAL CHARANAM