Saturday, June 29, 2019

Glaring gaps even in works of Ram Swarup and Sita Ram Goel.


Assorted tweets:

Could a movie about the systemic discrimination against India’s Dalits be subtle – especially when the movie is filled with justifiable anger about caste atrocities in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra and elsewhere?
https://t.co/Uiz7TDIszK #Article15
https://twitter.com/KarnikaKohli/status/1144442449093206016?s=19

Most IndoEuropean tribes did not remember where their homeland was by the time they composed literature. But the ancient Zoroastrian text Vendidad give a list of 16 ancestral lands, none of which are in mainland Iran, but most of them are spread over Afghan and & the Indus Valley https://t.co/hqoiIX0kyp
https://twitter.com/JoeAgneya/status/924904005678940161?s=19
An IE group which had Rig Vedic gods & spoke Sanskrit had 'nothing' to do with India! Tell me, who else in Sintahta spoke Sanskrit? Who else had peacocks on their emblems and Zebu? Oh wait....you dont know anything about the language of Sintashta! You guess and claim its science!
https://twitter.com/JoeAgneya/status/1144715912605421568?s=19
As with everything I say, I only intend to convey the gist of the topic in as few tweets as possible. For a proper understanding, do read 'Rig Veda: A historical analysis' by Shrikant Talageri. At the very least the chapter on the Indo-Iranian homeland.
https://twitter.com/JoeAgneya/status/924968862780497922?s=19

Their argument is that oldest inscription is found there. 
https://t.co/Fsiu9uJ7hs This was the article.
https://twitter.com/BramhaNad1/status/1144678376956841985?s=19

Also, all these works are available at a button click online for free now, still Hindus prefer Oak and even his modern successors. It is a sign of the sheer levels of intellectual degeneration that has set in. https://t.co/6YxNgSXs0U
https://twitter.com/ArmchairPseph/status/1144786878127697920?s=19
Savarkar, RC Mazumdar, Jadunath Sarkar, KAN Sastri, there were dozens of great H historians who did genuine, solid work much before Oak and his fakery. Don't show off your ignorance so blatantly. https://t.co/ZsZG7CtCSm

I have analyzed PN Oak's books, have reviewed the evidences he offered, and admit that some appear exaggerated. Yet, probabilistically, his claim of World Vedic Civilization is far more plausible than its negation by some neo-Hindutva intellectuals. https://t.co/HWSZ6iTnfY
https://twitter.com/SanjeevSanskrit/status/1144596562405761024?s=19
PN Oak made single most greatest contribution to preserving roots of non-communist History in most dark era with zero support. Proved Hindu roots of most Islamic architecture. Brought out dark secrets of Muslim Sultans. Even those who bash him today live on his alms.
All other icons of RW history - Ram Swarup, Sita Ram Goel - came AFTER PN Oak. Who was there before Oak to challenge communists? Even I differ with Oak on many things. But still he is a hero because in Data Science, trends matter not individual data point.
https://twitter.com/SanjeevSanskrit/status/1144602249403854849?s=19
There are glaring gaps even in works of Ram Swarup and Sita Ram Goel. Modern RW historians are more of apologists who specialize in twigs than having ability to understand trends.
The World Vedic view is not unique imagination of PN Oak. I can understand Koenraad Elst have ego issues with it because he perhaps believes himself to be an outsider giving gyan/ help to Sanatanis. Maybe those with inferiority complex need his services, definitely not me.
https://twitter.com/SanjeevSanskrit/status/1144604103156199426?s=19

This highlights the qualities thought as great in a leader. Sadly, it isnt true, but quite the opposite. These qualities Modi possesses & we can see the mistrust, non-cooperation, colossal mistakes, cover up, propaganda. India is sliding downhill rapidly.
https://t.co/gkjmSiqmxB
https://twitter.com/aayeff1/status/1144869187761758208?s=19

This kind of senseless, idiotic and brainless schemes from this government is making me feel ashamed for voting for this government. Mr.Modi, earlier you were against freebies and now you are coming up with one or other freebie everyday. Just introspect where are you heading. https://t.co/naBr0Q3lIJ
https://twitter.com/pmrithyunjaya/status/1144876209026691073?s=19

"Clubbing a courtesan with a mahatma may not immediately be understood or approved of by some. But that is precisely where the courtesan belongs, for, in the larger scheme of things and the big picture of our civilization, her role is no less significant.."  #mustread https://t.co/kLIRCOxXpx
https://twitter.com/rumiesque/status/1144836136142962688?s=19

In addition to my usual column, I have this little essay in Mint today on looking at history not through the eyes of "great heroes" and events always, but through women--courtesans, goddesses and their legends, and more. https://t.co/s0Ox7aM5RG
https://twitter.com/UnamPillai/status/1144829455459708928?s=19

The slow disappearance of independent editors from Indian media https://t.co/fSwoK0nrvN
https://twitter.com/seagullbooks/status/1144904165103034368?s=19

idea of foreign correspondents who can't speak any of the local languages, need fixers is dying , today much of readable work on india (or any other region) in the US/UK media etc is by indians (local residents) writing there, not by their correspondents.
https://t.co/draLPI4u1m
https://twitter.com/HartoshSinghBal/status/1144888179264315392?s=19

A must-read piece on the downward slide of Indian pluralism: https://t.co/ienB2tzrCK
https://twitter.com/Ram_Guha/status/1144814013768843264?s=19

Tolerance never existed in Christianism or Islam. Indian secularism was designed to fool people into thinking that those who tolerate other religions will be repaid with a equal and opposite tolerance of your beliefs. This was always a lie.
https://twitter.com/bennedose/status/1144843501042991104?s=19

"Judgment has always been fundamental to human society. The digital age has simply extended and intensified its application."
Book #Review 2: Alexander Hooke on Ziyad Marar's Judged - https://t.co/xGlkMMgbM0
#philosophy https://t.co/CKZQvynpyz https://t.co/MxnGuPDOMj
https://twitter.com/PhilosophyNow/status/1144892124707590144?s=19

Tribute to the Father of the Modern Statistics in India on National Statistics Day: https://t.co/t2SsrTL4d0
@drharshvardhan #NationalStatisticsDay @milindarolkar #Mahalanobis
https://twitter.com/eNewsBharati/status/1144891924056162304?s=19

Science has enabled us to disbelieve most of its findings and no firm assurance is available on how life and the world operates. All philosophical propositions similarly can be questioned. Religions are glorified superstitions. Sri Aurobindo, therefore, is the only reliable voice
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1144798467908235265?s=19

Educated Indians are under the spell of celebrity culture, thanks to Bollywood and Cricket. Mythology perpetuates a feudal environment and politics runs accordingly. Individuality and rationality must come to fore; Savitri Era Party is confident of ushering in such an atmosphere.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1144801786705768448?s=19

Democracy is basically about choosing persons of better capability from among the masses. But elected representatives are turning out to be fundamentalists or ignorant. Awareness of Sri Aurobindo's philosophy should be a minimum criteria in order to establish a liberal atmosphere
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1144806272375508992?s=19

Intellectuals are unable to think in terms of fundamental changes and wrestle with minor reforms or improvements. Evolutionary inevitability announced by Sri Aurobindo gives us the assurance that drastic changes can take place at any moment even without adequate prior arrangement
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1144809589545660421?s=19

People of India must reject impositions done by the colonial regime. Each language claiming its inherent nationhood like the European countries is a basic need. Forming a loose federation of India should be a priority for all instead of Hindu, Muslim, or Backward castes activism.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1144795138603962368?s=19

Marketime: Allegiance to the constitution concept is flawed https://t.co/ruv9sgX69G
Posted by Savitri Era Learning Forum (SELF - since 2005) for eradication of intellectual malnutrition. @NathTusar Director, SRA-102-C, Shipra Riviera, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad - 201014 (UP)
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1144783292870213632?s=19

Plasim Radar

Q & A Session with Dr Alok Pandey in Sydney - On being guided to avoid Guided Meditations. Turning to the Mother. Approaching the Highest via different deities. Only first 14 minutes are captured on v... 

Gebser, Glass, and The Crisis of Paradox - Bear with me, I’m on a bit of a roll this morning. Some of you may have read Marty Glass’s Yuga: The Anatomy of Our Fate, and may have also read Jean Gebse... 

Five Videos of the Mother - Five Videos of the Mother June 28, 2019 / 0 Dear Friends, We are taking the opportunity of sharing with you five videos of the Mother which have been upl... 

Not concerned with evaluation of evidence - Assorted tweets: The Mughals were an integral part of India – so why are they being labelled foreigners? https://t.co/I5Gd0dZS7X [Replug] https://t.co/Lt... 

Five Videos of the Mother - Dear Friends, We are taking the opportunity of sharing with you five videos of the Mother which have been uploaded in the youtube channel of Overman Founda... 

Mind and Supermind, Part 3 - The challenges facing all of humanity require a different way of looking at issues and responding to them. The mind characteristically operates through an... 

Mansoor as Ram Charitra - If both our hearts were clopen, not mine a wound you reopen, then, by the axiom of choice, a constructible Nadim were our Mithra, Trusting in whose gore th... 

Constituting religion: From South Asia to Malaysia - At the start of his outstanding new book, *Constituting Religion*, Tamir Moustafa explains that initially his ambition extended beyond Malaysia to a comp... 

cosmopolitan outlook - When sense and sensitivities get polished by unbiased observation based rational sophistication or as an aspect survival necessity, there emerges as part o... 

Integral Yoga & Human Defects (IV) : What About Psychoanalysis Today ? - I recommend to all those who can read English the great cascade of comments posted yesterday by my psychologist friend Don Salmon who lives in the USA. All... 

Allegiance to the constitution concept is flawed - Assorted tweets: Best book, in my modest opinion, about D-Day is Antony Beevor's masterpiece D-Day. [As Dutchman I read it in the Dutch translation.] https...

Fighting against fascists is no less fascist - Assorted tweets: https://t.co/c1ei3UElpw Rare Video of The Mother Playing Long Tennis @SAADelhiBranch https://twitter.com/SAADelhiBranch/status/114451905...

Sri Aurobindo provides diverse perspectives to sense imperatives -Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Beliefs of the Indian Right https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn=935305530X Swapan Dasgupta - 2019 - ‎Preview This ...

Nietzsche or Emerson say to be more individual, Kant tells us to be more universal - Plasim Radar Lab of Evolution Yoga Intégral & Défauts Humains (III): Sri Aurobindo sur la Psychanalyse - NOTE DE SATPREM SUR LE PASSAGE DE “L’AGENDA DE MÈ...

Geography and nature teach the primacy of diversity - Tweets in original by @SavitriEraParty and @NathTusar Five hundred years back, Copernicus was struggling to prove that planets are revolving around the Sun...

My original contributions to understanding Sri Aurobindo - My original contributions to understanding or interpreting Sri Aurobindo can be summarised under a number of heads: 1) Against Hindutva, Mythology, & Astro...

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Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Sri Aurobindo is far wiser than the scientists


Assorted tweets:

India-#China Spiritual Kinship:
I was overjoyed to meet my old friend Dr Yu Longyu, renowned Indologist, Hindi teacher and head, Centre of Indian Studies, #Shenzhen University.
(L) Dr Wu Weilin, Sanskrit teacher; (R) Dr Zhu Xuan, Maharshi Aurobindo scholar. https://t.co/Q6NEFk9sQ1
https://twitter.com/SudheenKulkarni/status/1143867257962954752?s=19

The transformative potential in any age seems to lie in "the mind behind the mind". That Aurobindo's interesting way of putting what McGilchrist describes as the Master and the Emissary.
https://twitter.com/fourfoldvision/status/1143863909087993856?s=19
The "Mind behind the mind" I've also read described elsewhere as "the You of you". This is also Nietzsche's (and Jung's) "Self" and "Ego" distinction.  Evidently, this "Mind behind the mind" is what has traditionally referred to as "Soul".
Gebser calls this "Mind behind the mind" by the names "the Itself" or "the diaphainon". It would be the principle of integration.
The distinction between intentionality and will would then correspond to the distinction represented in this phrase "Mind behind the mind", which would relate as background and foreground, or context and text respectively.

Sri Aurobindo has criticised learning by snippets but most people including ardent followers and devotees seem to be satisfied with knowing him in snippets. There's palpable reluctance to understand his versatility and resistance against consulting multiple dimensions of his work
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1143922360770125824?s=19
Savitri Era Political Action: Sri Aurobindo points out that the real evolutionary force is supramental https://t.co/KV3ZsCsRFz
Aurora Mirabilis: Sri Aurobindo provides diverse perspectives to sense imperatives https://t.co/rCkPwtYBc6
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1143765737258926080?s=19

Namaskar,
I would like to share with you a short article of mine titled "Ramana Maharshi and the Socratic Method" recently published in the May-June 2019 issue of Direct Path, which is a magazine of the Ramana Kendra, New Delhi.
I will be glad if you can kindly take a look at the attached PDF and share your thoughts in this regard.
The full magazine and earlier issues are available on this link: http://www.ramanakendradelhi.in/direct-path.html
Thanks, Kushal.
---
Kushal Shah @ EECS Dept, IISER Bhopal
http://home.iiserb.ac.in/~kushals
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/Online_Sadhu_Sanga
To view this discussion https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/Online_Sadhu_Sanga/CABSgQwoy8rRFtMnVX-y5mLxkZmThgvF3WJdJGBkASYRE8WsBNg%40mail.gmail.com


Ok, forgive me for being a bit critical.
One of the most frustrating things, for me, in the world of integral yoga is the tendency to take something said by Sri Aurobindo (in this instance, over 80 years ago) and apply it uncritically to something happening today.
Bhaga, I have no idea if this applies specifically to you, but I know many devotees who, when hearing the world “psychoanalysis” (or even worse, “psychotherapy”) will simply quote this letter you posted as if it is applicable, without any thought, to all therapy.
1. I think that Sri Aurobindo’s comment is perfectly applicable to he way psychoanalysis was practiced a century ago.
2. Almost no therapists practice psychoanalysis today as it was practiced a century ago.
3. Yet IY’ers will, upon hearing about therapy today, apply Sri Aurobindo’s comment as if it was fully applicable to the therapy of today.
I find this is the case with many many many things that Sri Aurobindo wrote a century ago. One of the comments of his that I keep very much in my consciousness when reading Sri Aurobindo refers to the fact that he completely deconstructed and reconstituted his entire “system” (that was his word) FOUR TIMES.
So people will quote something he wrote in 1900 as if it were intended to convey the exact same Consciousness as something he wrote in 1949.
This is religion.


hi again – hopefully the rest of the new dawn maintains infinite calm and peace in the cells, as always:>))
I am not aware of any therapists I have read about (and I try to keep a sense of how the process of therapy is going around the world, as much as possible, including groups with thousands of therapists globally) – I am not aware of any at least in the last quarter century who still maintain the old Freudian view, at least in the extreme form which Sri Aurobindo rightly critiqued from a century ago, but which by even the 1970s was dissolving and by the end of the 20th century – the idea that all can be explained by the vital – was pretty much gone.
now, there’s something much worse – which isn’t quite caught by His comments – that all can be explained by the purely physical. There are other comments from Sri Aurobindo, written even before WW 1, which to me are better refutations of materialism/positivism/physicalism/naturalism-fundamateralism – than anything I’ve seen from contemporary philosophers.
So of course I’m not saying nothing Sri Aurobindo wrote 100 years ago is applicable! Savitri is eternally young, just to mention one:>))
Just this particular point about psychoanalysis and explaining the higher Reality by the lower vital – and the fact that it has been almost obliterated as a point to be taken seriously is actually, I believe a tribute to Sri Aurobindo!!!


And what, according to Weinberg, is the ultimate explanation? “The more we discover about the universe, the more we realize it is pointless, meaningless.”
And thus, we have Sri Aurobindo, nearly a century ago, far far wiser than the scientists, with an infinitely deeper understanding of the limits of our current science than all but a few truly humble and sincere scientists.
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Friday, June 14, 2019

Even in retirement Sri Aurobindo was more active


Assorted tweets collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

We are working on various innovative projects and keep organisig various programs for learning Sanskrit and Indian Culture. Follow us if you are interested to participate and learn. @Sampadananda @beloome #LearnSamskritam @languagecurry

The Gurus come together for the Unmesa programme to teach Sanskrit, Ganit & Temple Architecture. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at Unmesa programme takes places at Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry, starting July 28, 2019! Follow the link. https://t.co/j9iW2L6ST6 https://t.co/X2PxLxBkuf

From today, we have started adding the entire publication catalogue of Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, to the #IBC site.
We will start posting threads subject-wise and today, it is #anthropology.
@IIASShimla @ShimlaIias @MakrandParanspe @IndicAcademy
Indigeneity Tales and Alternatives : Revisiting Select Tribal Folk Tales

But there is also another aspect to this particular issue. The Hindu's silence is killing him everywhere. I am personally all in favor of vocal Hindus anywhere & in any form, even tweets. Even Sri Aurobindo for eg. openly lent his voice during critical junctures like WW2 & Cripps
Even in "retirement", Sri Aurobindo was more active than any man alive! Even in his outer activities where other Sadhaks were involved in assisting, when they wud want to call it a day & he wud keep going. In his inward action of course there is no telling where to draw the line.

Inner Silence is meant only for those leading spiritual life-which is more than doing basic yogic practices daily. Others, who misunderstand this Silence for apathy from world affairs when they themselves r deep in sensual pleasures, r only fools. Agree fully with you.

Colonial cabling: internet fibre optic cables around the world trace out the routes of former empires. Imperialism didn’t stop with decolonisation: it just moved up to infrastructure level | @jamesbridle https://t.co/IHbUXXd7HV
New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future – our best-selling book of last year! – is now out in paperback and 40% off until Monday https://t.co/dikvEoPt8a https://t.co/rn1YteKKDq

"In any profession, 90% of people are clueless but work by situational imitation, narrow mimicry & semi-conscious role-playing. Except social "science" and journalism where it is 99% and 100%, respectively." - @nntaleb

Right from 2013 we have been telling that Modi is not the right PM candidate and a vast country like India deserves a better qualified one. So nothing much is expected of him than vacating the chair in 2024. Those discovering his betrayal must check their own intellectual calibre
We sensed moderation in the approach of Modi govt and extended support. Apart from people like Jaitley or RSS, Reliance may be responsible for the middle path. Hindutva and Dynasty are aberrations and must be thrown away. Following Sri Aurobindo therefore is the most sensible way
Each religion is a bundle of superstition and people have no option than to carry forward that burden. They are fighting with each other without having any hand in creation of the religions. The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have clearly said about the end of the reign of all religions.
Reading has become a prominent avenue of riding the intellectual or aesthetic vehicle but language barriers are a reality. A vast population however manage their affairs without reading anything and many vocations don't need any rendevous with the alphabets. Visuals are to rule.

Publications

K. Ramakrishna Rao - 2019 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions
“His work”, wrote Sri Aurobindo, “is a constant music of the overpassing of the borders, a chant-filled realm in which the subtle sounds and lights of the truth of the spirit give new meanings to the finer subtleties of life” (Prasad and Srivastava 

Anirban Ganguly, ‎Shiwanand Dwivedi - 2019 - ‎Preview
36. 37. May 2014. The episode of Sri Aurobindo visiting Shah's ancestral house was also narrated by Shah to the trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry, while on a visit to Puducherry in August 2015. In conversation with the authors.

Karen Armstrong - 2019 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions
The most momentous debate on the Gita's significance, however, was conducted between Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi (1869–1948) and the scholar and poet Aurobindo Ghose (1872–1950), who were sharply divided about the legitimacy of 

Matthew J. Taylor - 2018 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions
Aurobindo, S. (1993) Integral Yoga: Sri Aurobindo's Teaching & Method of Practice. Pondicherry, India: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust. Bhagavad Gita 2:47 Accessed January 18,2018 at www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/ verse/47. Barron ...

2019 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions
Aurobindo died in December 1950, and his work was continued by Richard until her death in November 1973. Several centers that promote Aurobindo's teachings have been established in the US; the two most significant are the Atmaniketan ...

Plasim Radar
Isha Upanishad: the Methods of Realisation, Part 5, the Role of the Divine Will - The final two verses of the Isha Upanishad apply the divine standpoint to the evolutionary process of growth and spiritual development of the individual th...

Aesthetics like nutrition should seek the right-mix - The irony of disowning one's culture The New Indian Express-04-Jun-2019 It is not wise to confuse the treasures of our heritage with the Hindu religion as

8.3 Microbes and Illness - The normal human condition is a state filled with apprehensions and fears; if you observe your mind deeply for ten minutes, you will find that for nine o...

Catherine Prueitt hired by the University of British Columbia - Continuing the good news about Canada: Catherine Prueitt has accepted a position in at The University of British Columbia. Congratulations to her and to UBC!

Antithesis of Yoga - Antithesis of Yoga is a non-fiction novel about Auroville’s first 25 years. Jocelyn one of the early settlers in Auroville since 1969, chronicles the sto...

A Sellarsian solution for the self? - The conflict between Buddhism and qualitative individualism is a major difficulty for my own philosophy. In addressing that conflict, there … Continue read...

Geography and nature teach the primacy of diversity - Tweets in original by @SavitriEraParty and @NathTusar Five hundred years back, Copernicus was struggling to prove that planets are revolving around the Sun...

A Series Inspired by India’s Rebirth – 3 - Author: Beloo Mehra (2019). Published under the title ‘When Young India Awakes’ in Sri Aurobindo’s Action, Vol. 50 (2 & 3), pp. 16-19. Continued from Part 

Kusum-ben Nagda: In Memoriam by Anurag Banerjee - Dear Friends, On Sunday, 12 May 2019, one of the senior-most inmates of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram community as well as one of its most loved members breathe...

The Nature of Matter in Indian Thought – M S Srinivasan - In our earlier discussions on the nature of matter, we have studied in some details. The discoveries of New Physics in the series of articles, The Nature ...
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Location: Shipra Riviera, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201014, India

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Sri Aurobindo knew the Origin of all languages


Well, for high-pitched sounds there is the accent mark as an aid. But it is an aid for them only whose, so to say, mother tongue, is not Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a kind of 'foreign language' even in India for those who have been entirely brought up in a vernacular milieu. They would not know the correct pronunciations in such a 'foreign language'. So the accent mark maybe helpful to them, but it is an artificial aid. If that artificial aid has to go, they have to make Sanskrit as their 'mother tongue'. This is absolutely important when we come to poetry and metres and rhythm. When Krishna and Arjuna are talking on the battlefield they are talking in their native language and the question of accent marks or anything never arose. So, if you want to get into the spirit of the Rig Vedic poetry make Sanskrit your mother tongue. It is as simple as that. When you want to read Savitri make English as your native language, and not a learnt language with props. We must prepare ourselves first in Sanskrit or English to participate in its poetic expression. No external aids needed.
RY Deshpande

Totally agree with you. It is the language of the  Rishis, Arsha Bhasha, it is their Mother Tongue, and to make it our own we need to learn Vedic Sanskrit and also Chandas and Vyakarana and Nirukta and Shiksha. 
And of course neither Arjuna nor Sri Krishna needed any markings of Udatta, they were not reading the text, they spoke their own language, the same as the Rishis of Rigveda also didn't need them.
It is the tradition which made these marking for us to save the text in time. They considered it to be of the utmost importance. We should try to see "why".
Vladimir

That's perfect. But one clause.
[we need to learn Vedic Sanskrit and also Chandas and Vyakarana and Nirukta and Shiksha ...]

Yes, we need to learn these branches, but learn the way they must have learnt. Surely, that could be different from the formulations of the scholastic-academic schools which came some 4000 years later.
How do we get there? Sri Aurobindo knew it. That is how he not only picked up Sanskrit; he picked up the Sanskrit of the Rig Veda. Or, is it that he remembered that ancient Sanskrit? Seems so.
It is unfortunate the closest disciples of his at that time didn't prod him regarding it. Or, is it that he has already dropped guiding hints which we are unable to decipher? Possibly.
RY Deshpande

Agreed. I thought we are trying to do it His way. Don't we?
Of course, we do not have his power of consciousness, skills and memory. Besides, Sri Krishna himself revealed to him the Origin of all languages. And we try to learn from Him all we can... OM    
Vladimir

In the context of analytical-discursive and perceptive-intuitive approaches of looking at the Rig Veda let us take a couple of examples.

[1]
This is from the opening scene of he Gita when Bhīshma has already sent the lion-roar, सिंहनाद, announcing the start of the war, the war that is being fought on the war-field of righteousness and duty. There is the response fro the other side, beginning with the blowing of Pānchajanya, पाञ्चजन्य, by Sri Krishna and Devadatta, देवदत्तं, by Arjuna:

पाञ्चजन्यं हृषीकेशो देवदत्तं धनञ्जयः ।
पौण्ड्रं दध्मौ महाशङ्खं भीमकर्मा वृकोदरः ॥ १-१५॥

Pānchajanya is coming from the Rig Veda, Pancha Janah. That is straightforward. Devadatta is the conch given by God to Arjuna. But the compound Devadatta also allows the meaning “given to God”, a name we give to baby-child, Datta or Dattā. The compound Devadatta allows both, “given by God” or “given to God”. No rules of Sandhi, of the compound, can spell out which is which. But from the context Devadatta of the Gita is certainly “given by God”.

We are applying here not scholastic-academic stipulations, we are simply employing our perception and discernment, the contextual sense also. And it is that which should count, it is that which should count, we have to be alert to it, sensitive to it, psychologically ready to meet it. Naturally, therefore, no accent marks are needed for the shloka of the Gita when quantities of sound, the  long-shorts, can be easily recognised.

[2]
The second example is a little more complex, profounder also. Here is the text from Mundaka Upanishad:

यदा पश्यः पश्यते रुक्मवर्ण कर्तारमीशं पुरुषं ब्रह्मयोनिम् ।
तदा विद्वान् पुण्यपापे विधूय निरञ्जनः परमं साम्यमुपैति ॥ [III:1:3]

Its rendering into English with the footnote is from Sri Aurobindo.

When, a seer, he sees the Golden-hued, the maker, the Lord, the Spirit who is the source of Brahman*, then he becomes the knower and shakes from his wings sin and virtue; pure of all stain he reaches the supreme identity.

[* Or, whose source is Brahman; Shankara admits the other meaning as an alternative, but explains it as 'the source of the lower Brahman'. ]

Do we shake from our wings the desirable and the harmful? No, we do not. Then with their stains, with their active marks still present how can we reach identity with the Highest? We cannot. Metaphysically we get caught in the Shankarite interpretation.

The compound Brahma-Yoni, ब्रह्मयोनि, means the womb, the source from which Brahma comes; it also means Brahma as the womb, the source from which things come out. The Spirit as the Source of Brahma, the womb from which Brahma comes out, the Spirit, Purusha, Sachchidanada, he is the creative power of Sachchidanada. It is through Brahma that the Spirit, Sachchidanada throws himself into an act of manifestation. So the entire responsibility about this creation rests with Sachchidanada, Brahma as the Agent of Sachchidanada. In it there is the hope for this creation in the efficacy of dynamism of Sachchidanada. But when Brahma himself becomes the Source, the Womb, Sachchidanada in a sense stands away. That becomes a dangerous situation. When Shankara accepts it, he is slowly slipping into the trap of making this creation a Māyā, Mithyā. No wonder, the consequences are disastrous.

So the choice of accepting one or the other sense of Brahma-Yoni, ब्रह्मयोनि, does not really depend upon scholastic-academic considerations of the language, in fact these scholastic-academic considerations are in a way of no value, of no significance. It all depends upon our sense of perception, upon the consequence which should be happily acceptable.

I will go for Sachchidanada as the Womb of Brahma, Brahma’s Source, Brahma carrying the Will of Sachchidanada, Purusha of the Upanishad, the Spirit. There is the happy possibility of something happy and felicitous happening to the mortal, in the mortal world, in this great and well-designed Mrityu-Loka.

[3]
This example is from the English compound: self-born. This is a very tricky one. If you lay stress on the first, self, it has one meaning; if you lay it on the second, born, it conveys something different; in metrical language self-born is a trochee, and self-born an iamb. As a trochee it would mean born from the self, coming from the Atman; as an iamb born by itself, what we call swayambhu. A selection of the choices has to be based on the context, upon our sense of discernment and perception, upon our psychological build-up. Rules of grammar and considerations of etymology and what not fall flat in those respects. We have to understand the limitations of the language and go by our perception, by our intuition the quality of which will depend upon our psychological growth and wideness.

Don’t go by grammar, to put it rather crudely; go by the inner discernment, by sensitivity, by perception, by intuition, these which have to be made more and more pure, more and more keen, more and more intense, by tending them in the Fire of the Spirit. All correctness comes only out of this Fire-Yajna, the Yajna of the Rig Veda.

The Fire of the Spirit — that’s the thing.

Let auspicious things be to all
विश्वेषां मङ्गलम् अस्तु
RY Deshpande
...

one needs to go outside one's own house in order to see it in the right perspective. This is also the reason why I strongly recommend to all students to take some classes dealing with topics which are far away from them in history, culture or geography. Even if they want to specialise on, say, art-history or medicine as they know it in their own country, they should reach out to gain a broader perspective. This suggestion of mine becomes even more imperative in the case of philosophy. As a matter of fact, a philosopher should first of all be someone who is not afraid to ask questions and unsettle what they thought to be the case. Therefore, they must also constantly look for stimuli from the outside, which could prompt new questions and new unsettlements.

Thus, if we refrain from engaging with other perspectives, we would do better by calling things by their names and call our departments ``Euro-American psychology/architecture/literature…", as discussed not too long ago by Jay Garfield and Bryan Van Norden (here).

Then, there is our ethical obligation towards our neighbours, which should make us consider it our duty to try to work for mutual understanding instead of refusing any confrontation whatsoever. How can we expect our students and co-citizens to feel welcome if we refute to engage with anything but the well-known?

Now, at this point I feel I should deal also with the objections I would prefer never to hear.

``The Western model is now dominating the world. Why should we bother learning about any other?"
Well, I will probably not convince you, if the language of domination is the only one you understand. Would you however be ready to draw all the consequences you would need to and, for instance, decide that there is no need to study the ancient Greek culture, or be ready to learn Chinese and give up Adam Smith, if China turns out to be the dominant culture of the 21st c.?

More seriously, don't you think we have an ethical obligation to make the world a place where there is not only one dominant model? Don't you think that, especially when we deal with philosophy and ethics (mentioned separately to put more emphasis on it) it is irresponsible and ethically blameable to try to impose a single model? [...] https://wp.me/p486Wp-Zb
by elisa freschi

"Darwin's idea, that the same processes occurring slowly and steadily today also have been active throughout Earth history, slowly but steadily shaping the landscape, is known as uniformitarianism."
Happy Darwin Day. Here's @adammaloof on Earth History: https://t.co/FiapqPLw33

Feel Philosophy: Offering a corrective to parochial philosophy https://t.co/aNsYeAi32a
the Orchid and the rOse: Bruno Ganz, Gary Gutting, and Roderick MacFarquhar https://t.co/aWwcgyZYJQ
Because Thou Art: Art ought to be an enabler https://t.co/K7AWNqsMTC 
Savitri Era: I won't allow anyone to wash my feet https://t.co/BeOE0J36sm by Tusar Nath Mohapatra @NathTusar

Plasim Radar

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Savitri Satsang 083 pp. 146-147 - A weekly sharing on Savitri by Dr Alok Pandey (an audio recording in English). The post Savitri Satsang 083 pp. 146-147 appeared first on AuroMaa.

Does Śāntideva think bodhisattvas are happy? - A while ago William Edelglass put up a paper for discussion on academia.edu about Śāntideva and happiness. I made some … Continue reading

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