An answer to "The Ashwattha Tree Riddle"

Hello friends,
I believe it is time for me to provide an answer for the question I had posed in my previous post:
"Is the Bhagavat Geeta, against the Vedas since it asks to cut the Ashvattha tree, the leaves of which are the Vedas themselves?"
Before I provide one answer to this question (there could be others, far far better that mine), let me tell you that when the answer struck me, my first reaction was to bow to this wonderous land called Bhaarat, that has produced such a culture and such Mahatmas (and we call just one man now-a-days as the "Mahatma", how much have we fallen!). Hopefully, the esteemed readers would realise the greatness and gravity of what I am going to say. So, here goes:

Vedas are no doubt the important and fundamental (well, as fundamental as leaves are, to a tree) philosophical constructs of the Indian philosophy, but they can be understood or chanted only through the indriyas (senses). In this sense, they are only equal to something called "shadba brahman"--The state that has attributes, and is just below complete perfection.So what?
The point is, we are looking at something beyond the indriyas, the state which has no attribute, no qualities, completely neutral, i.e., a state that is nowhere near to anything we see, hear, touch, feel, smell, or taste. We need to aspire for that "totality of nothingness".
When a person becomes "Vedavit" (this word occurs at the end of the first verse), he has no need of either chanting, or understanding the Vedas-- he "knows" the crux of them. In this state, just as a snake sheds its skin when it has to grow, even the mighty and lofty Vedas, which are but a layer and just instruments to help towards that way to perfection, just wither away like leaves on a tree in autumn, when the person has grown to that state.
Then, in such a state, the presence of that cosmic tree called the wordly "samsaara" is an impediment to attain that moksha. Hence, it needs to be cut.

Fine! But there is one more thing that I struck me here. Just imagine-- can Islam exist without Holy Quran, or christianity without the Bible? These personality cults are stuck within their own "koopasthamandookas" and keep revolving around the the personae and books that they themselves have created. On the contrary, just imagine our culture: You take any book-- the puraNas, dharma shastras, geeta, even the Vedas-- everyone of them point to the fact that they are not a central or "indispensable" part of the sanaatana dharma. Thats because we dont worship books or persons in the way they do. They are only a part of our belief system, not central. The real Sanaatana Dharma exists within us. We are the puraNas, shaastras, and the Vedas ourselves.

We need to awaken to this fact and arise as a nation.

Purushottama Yoga: The Ashvattha Tree And the Vedas

Hello friends,

Firstly, apologies for breaking the flow of Attila's thought and beginning an already discussed chapter in the Geeta, but please allow me to defend my decision to do so: Ever since my childhood, the fifteenth adhyaaya of the Geeta was fed into my ears through the everyday chantings of my grandfather. Hence, my natural inclination is to begin any discussion about Geeta from the fifteenth chapter: "Purushottama Yoga". (edited by Attila) I feel that given our lives today, we need--
a) a sneek preview of how deep was our ancestors' philosophy,
b) to know how to interpret what was written thousands of years ago by our seers, and
c) to stimulate those sleeping cells in our minds responsible for higher thinking. A nation devoid of the knowledge of the ultimate truth cannot survive for long.

This is a learning process for myself as well, as I am new to this world of Srimad Bhagavad Geeta. So let us help each other out in this quest for knowledge and truth.

By its very definition, this chapter deals with qualities and attributes of Purushottama or the "supreme person" or the "best among the humans". This is a very important chapter and it reveals the nature of the ultimate truth. Since this is one of the smallest chapters of the Geeta, it is profitable to memorise both the chants and the meaning. Right now, I would like to discuss the symbolism of the imperishable "Ashvattha tree" (with the inputs and blessings from my Guruji) mentioned in the first three verses of this chapter:

ऊर्ध्वमूलम् अध:शाखम् अश्वत्थम् प्राहुरव्ययम्
छांदान्सि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित्

Meaning: With roots at the top (in heaven), branches below, and with chhandaas (meters of vedic hymns) as its leaves stands the imperishable (avyayah= a-vyayah, i.e., that which cannot be spent) Ashvattha tree (Peepal tree, Ficus religiosa). He who knows this is "vedavit", i.e., knower of the truth in the Vedas.

अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रस्तुतातस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवाला:
अधश्च मूलानि अनुसंततानि कर्माणु बन्धीनि मनुष्य लोके

Meaning: The branches of that tree spread upwards and downwards (Urdhva and adah) and its shoots of sensuality (vishaya) sprout according to the gunAs. The roots spread downwards into the world of humans thereby producing karmas and its reactions.

न रूपमस्येह ततोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा
अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलं असंगशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्वा

Meaning: Within this world, that inverted form of the Ashvattha tree cannot be seen--Neither its end, nor its beginning, nor its foundations. (So), sever this tree, strongly rooted in attachment, with the sharp sword of detachment (to attain the blissful state from where there is no need to return to the cycle of birth and death).

To start the discussion, lets begin with the obvious things-- what we already know from the straight meaning of the verses:
We know that
1) there is an imperishable fig tree that has roots above and branches below with leaves being the vedic meters,
2) the branches of the tree spread upwards, sideways or downwards depending upon the gunas (satva, rajas, and tamas) of the individual,
3) the roots of the tree spread according to the karmas, or the actions (good or evil) of the individual,
4) we cant see it, and one who sees it as it is, is the knower of the vedic truth (sort of like Neo in The Matrix who can see the source code),
5) one needs to cut this tree (with the sharp axe of detachment), to attain salvation.

The Ashvattha Tree, or the Peepal tree grows only in south Asia and it belongs to the Ficus family of trees. It is considered the best of the trees with many medicinal and spiritual properties in the Sanatana Dharma and Sri Krishna himself declares "I am Ashvattha among the trees." The symbolism behind being inverted is that this tree is the cosmic tree of life, so it was born in the heaven, and is continuously growing downwards into the world of mortals. This kind of symbolism is one of the common traits in many religions, possibly a central seed of thought was carried many millennia ago to many civilisations.

So the Ashvattha tree is the way in which the samsaara, or the dream of the Supreme Being (according to Sri Adi Sankara's Advaita philosophy), called the "mundane life" manifests itself as. He who performs righteous deeds causes the branches to grow upwards, and he who performs evil ones is further entangled in the roots of his actions and has the branches moving downwards.

Now there is a problem here: since one needs to cut this tree, the obvious conclusion here is, this Ashvattha tree---certainly not good! But then, the very first verse calls the leaves of this tree to be "chhandaah" , the vedic meters (or the Vedas themselves). Hmm! So does this imply that the Geeta, or rather Sri Krishna, is against the Vedas?

This would be a nice riddle to meditate upon. I eagerly await the responses of the learned readers.

Yada yada hi dharmasya?

Today, we come to the 4th chapter of the Bhagvada Gita.

Whenever we Indians (particularly hindus) are in distress, we (at least a few do) invoke these shlokas from the Bhagvada Gita.

७
यदा यदा ही धर्मस्य
ग्लानिर भवति भरता
अभ्युत्थानं अधर्मस्य
तदात्मानं स्र्जमी अहम्।
"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself."

८
परित्रनाया सधुनम
विनासाया का दुस्क्रितम
धर्मं-सम्स्थापनार्थाया
सम्भावामी युगे युगे।
"To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium."

Now, with this post, I don't want to criticize what has been written in the Gita since long, and don't want to come out as a heretic personality. As has been agreed upon millenia ago, He will come down onto earth once again, and clear up this mess.

But we in India seem to be obsessed with this. Rising corruption, bad roads, ill-maintained railways, internal tensions, vote-bank politics, you name it, we have it. Also having a look at the rabble of states we have around us, sometimes gives me a thought, that why doesn't a concerned power do something about them. (wicked smiles)

My question is, who are we waiting for to clean all of this up? We do not know as yet when 'Kalki' avatar of Shri Vishnu is coming. But from my questions to Gurus, it seems that it will still take centuries if not millennia for him to come. Are we going to sit on our palms for this long a time?

People who consider themselves atheist and agnostic are more at fault than commoners in India. (This I write because I consider that most people in India would associate themselves with one religion or the other, and hence those are what I refer to as commoners). Since they do not believe in God, then why don't they take up the responsibility of reforming the society themselves?

Whenever people have stood up in unison in India, things have taken place. I would like to see that sort of unity occurring in rooting out all evils from India, no matter what the cost.

Again, from the last shloka of the chapter.

४२
तस्माद अज्नना-सम्भुतम
हर्ट-स्थं ज्नानासिनात्मनाह
चित्त्वैनाम सम्सयम योगं
अतिस्थोत्तिस्था भरता।
"Therefore the doubts which have arisen in your heart out of ignorance should be slashed by the weapon of knowledge. Armed with yoga, O Bharata, stand and fight."

New Author

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To enrich our understanding of the Bhagvada Gita, we have a new author on board. I will soon be giving a link to his profile and blog on my sidebar.

I assure you that he's a more prolific and versatile writer than me, and you should expect to get more intelligible and coherent posts in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Admin.