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H.H SWAMI VIVIKTHANANDA  SARASWATHI ( REGIONAL HEAD CHINMAYA MISSION ,KERALA) HAS VISITED ARASHA VIDYA SAMAJAM TRIPUNITHURA ON 23.11.201

ARSHA VIDYA SAMAJAM

Email:arshavidyasamajam@gmail.com

Phone : 0484 6444618,9846038360

                            OM KRIYA BABAJI NAMAH OM

                                     OM NAMA SIVAYA

ADYATMIKA SASTRAM COURSE

Objective : By studying this unit the student will be able to know what is meant by ’Adyatmika Sastram.

At the out set one may wonder that when the lesson is taught in English is it not proper to give a heading in English itself, like ‘Spiritual Science ‘ rather than  mentioning the same as ‘Adyatmika Sastram. There is specific reason for that. Very often our translation of a word from English to Malayalam encounters this problem. Malayalam as  we know is very much indebted to Sanskrit as all other Indian languages. Very often the meaning of words like ‘Sastram’ cannot be correctly translated to their prevalent English counterpart like ‘Science’. We will be dealing with this elaborately as we move on in our endeavour to explain the particular subject in the coming paragraphs.

As is evident the heading consists of two words viz. ‘Adyatmikam’  and ‘Sastram’. We can consider the first word  Adyatmikam and see what exactly is meant by that. It means  relating to or pertaining to ‘Atma’ or to use a more near word in English it is ‘Soul’. Then the question arises what is Atma or Soul. Almost all Upanishats which are widely acclaimed through out the world  as authoritative treatises on spiritual subjects and  also considered as the gist of Vedas firmly  hold the view that one who has attained realization of God only will be able to experience the Atma or Soul aspect of his existence or of the whole universe for that matter. It is very often told by ancient ‘Rishis’ of India that Soul is that which cannot be polluted by words. When dealing with the subject they very often use the word ‘Arvacheenam’ meaning  beyond words. We cannot experience the same  through our five senses because it is beyond their capacities. But for studying the subject we should have an idea regarding the same.

 In this context it will be very useful to  quote  the 23^rd and 24^th verses of the second chapter in Bhagavat Geetha. Bhagavat geetha is the repository of all the spiritual knowledge of India enshrined in 18 chapters. It forms a part of the famous epic poem of our country by name ‘Mahabharatha’ of Vyasa Rishi (in the VIth chapter entitled “Bheeshma Parvam” of Mahabharata). Epic Mahabharatha is having about one hundred thousand verses  and it is  more than 10 times the joint  length of the two Greek epics by name Illiad and Odyssey.

“Nainam chinthathi sastrani, nainam dahati pavaka

 Na chainam kletha yanthiapa, na soshayathi marutha.

Atchedyoyam,adaahyoyam akledyo asoshya eva cha,.

Nitya, sarvagatha, sthanu achaloyam sanathana."

It means : weapons cannot injure It, fire cannot burn It, water cannot moisten It, and wind cannot dry It . The Soul cannot be cut, nor burnt, nor moistened nor dried up. It is  ever lasting or eternal, all pervading, It cannot be moved.  It  is the ancient.

That which cannot be expressed in words cannot be defined, it can only be indicated in terms those  of which we have a clear idea. As such we can say It is  the ultimate reality of an individual or the ultimate reality of this whole universe. It is the changeless substratum that lies beneath the changing world  or  we can say It is the root cause  of all existence in the living and non living world. It is  the immutable and ultimate truth which cannot be understood through our sense organs, but can be experienced through clear cut  planned procedures designed by our Rishis.

In fact it is the  above aspect of the individual or of the whole world of names and objects that we normally call by the term GOD or Brahmam, or Para Brahmam, or Iswara etc. It is the same Jahova  as mentioned in the Holy Bible of  Christians or Allahu of Muslims as mentioned in their Holy Khoran . In that sense we can say that adyatmikam deals with God.

Now we can deal with the second word ‘Sastram’. As we know it is a sanskrit word. In Sanskritthe word is explained in four different ways. First it means that which directs or gives guide lines on any subject of knowledge. It should not be a wasteful exercise; rather it should lead us to some particular thing or worthwhile experience.

Secondly while considering the various rituals and ceremonies the branch of knowledge that  clearly indicates the wrong paths so as to avoid them and points towards the right path one should adopt, will come under the purview of Sastram. This right path should definitely lead one to truth and goodness. It is because of this we in India consider Tharka, Aesthetics, Sadachara etc. as ‘Sastra’.

A third definition of Sastra states  that  any branch of knowledge  that deals with the dos and donts  for acquiring or attaining  ‘Chatur Varga’ can be considered as Sastra. Yet another name for chatur varga is ‘Purushartha’. Purusha means Man. The term ‘Arthikkuka’ means to seek. So together it means that which man should seek in life. Ancient rishis of Bharath states that purusharthas are four in number viz.”Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. In fact according to our rishis the above are the four things a man should seek in life. Of the four the last one viz. Moksha  is considered as the parama purushartha meaning most important among the four. The four together is also called as Apavargam .

Of the four Artha and Kama relates to ones mundane or worldly life. That which promotes ones mundane life is called in Sanskrit as ‘Preyas’ . Attainment of Dharma and Moksha leads one to  success in spiritual life. The exact word  in Sanskrit which promotes spiritual success or attainment of  Mokhsha is called ‘Sreyas’. Hence as t per the third definition any branch of knowledge that deals with the dos and don’ts relating to attainment of Purusharthas are to be considered as sastra.

While closely examining the above three definitions we can see that they are actually dealing with  the objectives of  the word sastra. But there is another definition of the same term which in fact throws light on the methodology of these branches. Truly speaking the English term ‘Science’ which we very commonly use while translating the word  Sastra to English  points towards this definition. Here through previously structured or decided  procedures using relevant equipments for the study which were  evolved through previous researches we can extend the frontiers of our knowledge. Science is exactly adopting this method.

From the  fourth definition it is clear that in each field of study there are structured methods of attaining knowledge. In the case of modern science the student or researcher uses his sensory organs, mind and intellect and uses several equipments to enhance the capacity of his sense organs such as telescope, microscope etc and studies a topic, he then arrives at several hypothesis, puts the same to rigorous tests which are all coming under the purview of his mind and intellect. Through this procedure he arrives at certain conclusions or theories.

But in the case of sastras too there are rules, regulations and procedures for studying the subject. But the faculties which a student uses for a study of sastra is not only his mind, intellect, available equipments  existing knowledge etc. on the subject but he will go beyond their purview too. He  will also act in the field of intuition which is possible  only  when one is prepared to go beyond his mind and intellect. So we can see the term science conveys only a small aspect of the word sastra. That is we must say that sastra includes science but science cannot fully contain a sastra. In other words sastra is wider in its scope than science. Thus  when one asks is Astrology a science or Palmistry a science  or Adyatma Sastra a science, we will be forced to say that they are more than a science.

On further elaborating the point under discussion, we can see that God realization achieved through intuition  which is gained through the   study and practice of sastras like Yoga vidya, Tantra Vidya, Vedanta etc.or the Dharmic sense to be understood through the application of intellect or the aesthetics sense developed and   enjoyed through the application of mind etc cannot be measured through the experiments or equipments designed and developed by modern science. For example can we measure the beauty or fragrance of rose flower? It is purely subjective. Scientific equipments will also be limited in its applicability since they are intended to support the sense organs which themselves are having the same limitations imposed by the mind and intellect of the person who uses the same.

We must know  that any field of knowledge has got its own specific rules and regulations for its study. A student of a particular subject should meticulously follow them if he wants to get proper results. For example in Yoga Sastra study is conducted through Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Prathyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and  Samadhi. While following that procedure the Sadhaka (student) will be  able to  withdraw his mind from the world of objects, resulting in concentration of the same in one particular point  and at the Samadhi stage, ultimately he surpasses his mind and intellect thereby becoming  able to identify with the ultimate reality  lying far beyond. When such a person tries to express his experience after coming back from that stage and hearing the same  if a modern scientist arrogantly states that what he has told is absolute non sense,  we can only feel pity for him. True it may not be science but by no stretch of imagination we can state that it is not a Sastra.

  

Thus we cannot fail to note one important  point of difference  between a modern science  and a Sastra. In the case of Sastras like Adyatma Sastra etc  the search is  into our subtle inner realms such as mind ,intellect and still further into the Self or Soul.  Whereas  in modern sceice  the search is directed to the outer world of  names and objects. The search is not conducted in the subtle aspects of these objects.

A student of Adyatma Sastra has to invariably enter into his inner subtler aspects and identify the ultimate reality within himself and then only he will be able to find the same in all the living and non living  things in this world. So we must say that depending on the objective of study we have to decide the methodology. We have to admit that  the procedure of study by invoking the abilities of mind and intellect and utilizing existing material resources is the same  to some extent in both the cases of the study of a modern science and subjects coming under  Adytma  Sastra, But in the latter case as we progress on the path of our search the methodology changes. At this latter stage the scope of Panchendriyas ie that of sense organs comes to a grinding halt and the aspirant enters into a field of intuition which beyond mind and intellect. Yoga vidya, Tantra Vidya, Vedanta etc are all adopting the same tecenique evolved by our Rishis through years of contemplation.

To conclude we must state that Adyatmika Sastra deals with the study of our ultimate Reality. It is more than a science. The methodology of study of this subject  shares a common route with the study of any other subject to some extent. That means for conducting this study one must utilize his body, mind and intellect and other material resources just like he studies other material subjects. But as one progresses on the path there comes a stage where one has to fully withdraw his senses from the outside world, concentrate them on one point within himself and then at the final stage completely move away from their  influence and dwell on the ever widening horizons of his intuition.

                                                                        With Love & Prayers

                                                                                    Chairman