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Reflections by Swami Gurubhaktananda on the Series of 54 Lectures by Swami Advayananda ji of the 15th Batch Sandeepany Vedanta Course held at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai, Mumbai. From 16th December, 2012 – 13th February, 2013
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Adi Shankaracharya Swami Sivananda Swami Tapovanji Swami Chinmayananda
SERVE LOVE GIVE PURIFY MEDITATE REALISE
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Thursday, March 17, 2022. 18:30.
MUNDAKA UPANISHAD : 6 Chapters (64 Mantras)
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Chapter-1.
Section-1.
2. Mantram 1.2.
Guru Parampara : Lineage of Teacher (contd.) :
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Mantram 1.2
1 atharvane yam pravadeta brahma atharva,
2 tam purovacha angire brahma-vidyam;
3 sa bharadvajaya satyavahaya praha,
4 bharadvajo angirase .
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Translation :
1 atharvane yam pravadeta brahma atharva, = After this knowledge was taught
to Atharva by Brahmaji, Atharva in turn
2 tam purovacha angire brahma-vidyam; = in that same ancient period,
taught to Angee this knowledge of the Reality.
3 sa bharadvajaya satyavahaya praha, = Then to one of the Bharadvaja clan,
namely, Rishi Satyavaha, did Angee pass it on.
4 bharadvajo angirase paravaram. = Satyavaha passed it on to Angira –
thus it went from the greater to the lesser (from teacher to student).
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Commentary :
1-4 The verse continues describing the details of how this knowledge was transmitted from Brahmaji down to the student from whom we are going to receive it. The lineage it followed is: Brahmaji to Atharva; Atharva to Angee; Angee to Rishi Satyavaha; the ishi to Angira. Angira is the one who conveys this knowledge to us through this text.
4 Paravaram : “from the greater to the lesser”. This is an important route in the context of the entire Vedic knowledge. It describes the manner in which knowledge was perpetuated through a Parampara. The importance of maintaining an unbroken link in the knowledge is of prime importance for it is not to be lost. A civilization is built on values which are treasured by the people. That is the foundation for the entire Vedic civilisation which has survived for thousands of years using this system.
This is how Acharyaji conveyed the essence of the spiritual seeker’s responsibility:
“A light cannot avoid shedding its light. A flower cannot avoid giving off its fragrance.So too, a spiritual person, once he gains mastery of Brahma Vidya by actually experiencing the unity of the Self and Brahman, cannot avoid radiating the divine glow that emanates from him. If we as aspirants do our part to develop ourselves spiritually, God will see to the rest.”
The higher knowledge takes us to Brahman; and Brahman is also immanent in all creation. So the lower knowledge, which teaches us how to live in this world, is also very important. Together these two types of knowledge constitute the whole Vedas. Both are seen as important. The lower is subservient to the higher. The lower serves us in the lower realm, and the higher in the higher realm.
Householders desirous of seeing some results, are asked to do Upasanas which are not part and parcel of this knowledge. Brahma Vidya is an independent field of knowledge, a spiritual science and practice. More will be said about this difference later in this text.
End.
Next - 3 Verse 1.3: Shaunaka’s Question to Angira
To be continued...
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