In the 28) The SIX Keys (Part-1) we have explored the two keys of Intonation (Śīkṣa) and Ritual (Kalpa). In this article let us explore the rest of them.
What is grammar? Is it man made? May be English’s grammar is man made and that is why it has so many flaws (well one can write a whole blog on how inefficient English is to convey any complex ideas, with its illogical structure. Unfortunately, I am using it so, I can not blame it more, out of due respect). But, the grammar of Vēdic lore is most certainly not invented, but discovered. A grammar is like a structure house for proper utterance. An utterance is symbolic for creation and sustenance, and that is why, BRAHMA is said to have uttered this creation. So, an utterance of BRAHMA has in it, the laws of NATURE as its grammar. So, we too imbibed this inevitable “facts” into a set called grammar or Vyākaraṇa.
Let us take an example. In nature, we have subject – object – predicate as an inevitable triangle. This trinity aspect is what we call “Karta (doer), Karma (done) and Kriya (doing)” in the grammar. But, this is not man made. It is inherent in our understanding. We sees ourselves, others and a link that relates ourselves to others, in the form of actions. The same is understood by us as First, Second and Third persons which is akin to the three planes that I keep mentioning (contemplate, you will get it)!
Another example would be “Saṃdhi” – the art of mixing the words. In Vēdās, as Aurobindo suggests, a seer discovers a seed word as per the realization and the seed word develops into a tree of family of words. We know Śiva is “HARA” and Śakti is “Īśvarī”.
But, you see the approach behind arriving at the Saṃdhi! That is what makes all the difference. One must know when to unite and when not to. The birth of complex words is not man made, and follows the union of many dēvās or principles as realized by seers. Similarly, grammar has Samāsās, declensions, tenses, etc. which are structured finely after the laws of nature.
If, we ask in our modern languages why certain entity is feminine and the other is masculine in its usage, what would be the answer? We have been taught that “this is so and so” rather than giving us the logic. In Sanskrit and Vēdic languages, the gender depends on just three principles. Any aspect in this world has three entities inside it: A source (MALE), its expressive nature (FEMALE) and both united as one (Neutral) i.e. Śiva, Śakti and BRAHMAN. Now, take as many examples as you want:
So, the same object can be any of the three genders depending on the way it exists, in our conversation. If this key is not known, some blind rules of “words ending with ‘i’ are female, etc,” will be followed and the inquirer will fall into his own dug hole.
Thus, without the key of grammar, the approach to vēdās would lead us into a disastrous understanding. Pāṇiṇī’s work is the best till date on this key. One must remember that even before him, the grammar was structured. He just exposed it to the world. The same is teh case with Patanjali’s Yōga. They never claimed themselves to be “inventors” of their works, like any other true seer!
This is the most famous key used in modern times and Swami Dayananda utilized this key to translate vēdās. Nirukta is not a dictionary (Nighantu), but something more than dictionary. It gives us the Etymological key. Etymology of Vēdās is very complex. Not for the reasons we think. Modern scholars like Max Muller and others have blundered to the extent of bringing disgrace to the ancient lore. That was because, they did not know what they were dealing with. Without Nirukta key, it is a blindfold journey into the path of thorns.
As we mentioned earlier, vēdic root words are realized by seers and not invented. But the tree of family of words is developed by seers to bring out their realizations into a tangible form. So, when ever one has a doubt in the meaning of a word, one must go back to the roots. These roots and their trees are preserved by the key of etymology.
Two examples that I often stress are “Aśva – the horse” and “Gau – The Cow”.
In this way, one needs to unlock the vēdic wisdom using key of etymology
This is what we call Sanskrit Prosody or Key of Meters. What is a meter? It is something that measures. Measure of what? Measure of anything that you can measure!! – Like revolutions of planets, your heart beat, seasonal periodicties, etc. Every entity of Universe has some measure associated with it. These measure are broadly classified into what we called Chandas. In vēdās we often get the term “Chandō Gamanaṃ”, meaning the deity has a movement (gamanaṃ) of Chandas, i.e., the deity has all teh splendors related to that specific movement.
The soul of these Chandas are numbers. Because, the only way to measure anything is in numbers. These numbers represent the “number of syllables” in a line (called as pāda) of a vēdic stanza. This number specifically characterizes the “contents” of the stanza. Forst let us see a few Chandas and then explore how this key is to be utilized:
In this way, we have many other meters like Gayatri (look: 21) Gayatri & The Mantra), Anuṣṭup (8 syllables – implying the eight vasūs or lords of materializations), Jagatī (12 syllables – implying the world of Ādityās or the orbs of light)etc.
So, when ever a stanza needs to express a glory of an entity, it will be expressed in related meter/Chandas. For example, if the same “mantra” is expressed in Triṣtup as well as in Jagatī, with some modifications, it would imply that the mantra expressed in Triṣṭup (being 11) is describing about RUDRĀS while that which is expressed in Jagatī (12) is describing ĀDITYĀS. So, the essence is completely changed by the usage of meter. So, if one does not know what meters imply and they just want to use the “dictionary” meanings of words, they will lose the direct import!
This is my favorite key. Not because it is fancy, but it is alluring to me. Jyotiṣa means that which shed light on something. In a dark street, if we have to pass from one end to the other, we would stumble upon many obstacles. But if streetlights are there, we can take care of our walk on the path. The role of streetlight is what Jyōtiṣa or Astrology takes. There is a lot of misapprehension on this field of ancient art. I am yet to write a comprehensive article on it, but you can look to 8) Astrology and Karma Theory for a brief overview on my perception of this field.
How is this key related to Vēda anyway? The true astrological key is called “The eye of the VĒDA”. This is because many an aspect of the vēda are intmately related to the true astrology. Only after reading the aforementioned 8th article will you understand what I am saying here. At any rate, let us take few examples o see how this key is helpful:
Thus, astrological key is to be used to unlock vēda. Note that it is just one of the keys and hence is not a complete science/art in itself. This key’s purpose is to unlock the “Self” an not for entertaining the whims of petty mind. So, the modern usage of astrology for predictions and other usages only shows how pathetic the state of evolution of our sub-race, at present is. No wonder most of them fail at the very start! Not that prediction is not possible. But prediction is not the goal and hence, one will eventually stumble. But if the goal is to rectify or help selflessly, the art sure shows its splendors in its own way (of course there are very very few in the world as of now, who can/did use this key so accurately)
Thus, One must use all the six keys onto each other by including their own-self as the final seventh key. This makes a total matrix of 7 x 7 which then unlocks the TRUTH of “THAT” of the vēdās. This article was just to give an overview. Any interested aspirant should approach proper guru and learn the keys and their unlocking mechanisms.
PhD (Quantum Physics), M.Sc. (IIT Madras), B.Tech. (LNMIIT).
Bridging the depths of Science and the wisdom of the Vedas
End of Content.
