Brahmanism 102: The Prophet of Sanatana Dharma and his “idea of India”

‘Hindu’ is a term given to us by others who thought that their religion was better than ours. To them, we were strange people on the other side of Sindhu. Yet, our forefathers called our rituals, our understanding of Dharma by a different name; Sanatana Dharma; Sanatana as in eternal, Chirantan, forever. They did not call ourselves so because they were proud and haughty but because they had a Prophet like no other. The Sun ‘Surya’. His other name ‘Aditya’ means something similar to eternal. Unlike other Prophets, he did not die out but continues to be here helping anybody wishing to learn even today. As our religion is hitched to Him, people are not likely to forget His teachings anytime soon. He had all the qualities of Brahman and was a face of Brahman himself. He taught us everything about Maya and how to overcome it at all one by one. So pleased were our ancestors by Him that...

‘Hindu’ is a term given to us by others who thought that their religion was better than ours. To them, we were strange people on the other side of Sindhu. Yet, our forefathers called our rituals, our understanding of Dharma by a different name; Sanatana Dharma; Sanatana as in eternal, Chirantan, forever. They did not call ourselves so because they were proud and haughty but because they had a Prophet like no other. The Sun ‘Surya’. His other name ‘Aditya’ means something similar to eternal.

Unlike other Prophets, he did not die out but continues to be here helping anybody wishing to learn even today. As our religion is hitched to Him, people are not likely to forget His teachings anytime soon. He had all the qualities of Brahman and was a face of Brahman himself. He taught us everything about Maya and how to overcome it at all one by one. So pleased were our ancestors by Him that many refused to worship anything other than Him as Brahman. Indeed, the only Vedic God who could not be subsumed in the ocean of the Puranas even till Adi Shankaracharya’s Smarta tradition was the Sun Himself. Even now, He commands the same respect as those of the other four aspects of Brahman mentioned in the Puranas and placed in the pedestal of Smarta tradition.

1. Why the Sun?

In Hinduism as well as in other religious traditions native to India, Ṛta is a very important aspect. All Indian religions believe in Circular Time, the Ṛta as the invisible rope moving that Circle and Dharma as the wheel that when constructed over the society makes the movement or journey through time (samsara)as uniform. Dharma in Hinduism is also related to karma-kanda. The making of a perfect life. Samskriti, Making perfect.

Unlike Abrahamics, this is not an entry pass to heaven. This is one where a person incurs monetary loss, the loss of a spouse, one’s illness and death in the same way one has welcomed the good things in life. It is his or her journey through time, where he moves from one ashram to the next without complaining but being blissfully aware of the Maya around him. The term for it is “Sat Chit Ananda”.

Figure 1; God (or Truth), ta, Circular Time and Dharma in Astika, Nastika tradition

The Sun and its Ṛta, Savitr are the most easily determined. It is the first fieldwork assignment of anyone studying the Vedas. Brahmins as a Varna is thus raised specifically for the purpose of getting a sense of the Ṛta. As per the varna system, young boys of the varna are literally plucked from the playground and made to perform Sandhya Vandanam while his friends continue to play.


Sandhya-Vandanam is done in the morning, at noon and near evening. This clueless Brahmin lad has to continuously shift his copper utensils to align with the Sun and when done for a year has actually traced the apparent migration of the Sun. The movement of the Sun is called Savitr and eulogized by the Gayatr mantra. Gayatr’s root word ga denotes movement like gaman, gati and might have to do with Ṛta from movement of the Sun. Thus a young Brahmin boy is not so clueless anymore, conditioned to understanding Ṛta and then explaining it to his peers when he grows up.

Figure 2; The Sun and its movement Gayatr, the source of ta


He thus understands how the Ṛta creates seasons, new fruits and flowers blossom while old ones die out. The Universe for him is ever-changingwhich is Maya. The movement of Sun, Gayatr is like music to his ears. Invariably our ancestors liked to describe the Sun’s movement from South to North due to the bulk of river-water that had flown out South in the monsoons through Ma Saraswati. Mothers do not take, they give back what they take. So, as the Sun picks her up in the cosmos, the Shakti of the stream forces Him to move northwards so that She could be with her other sons once more.

Gayatr and Saraswati become indistinguishable for our Brahmin lad. The Ṛta of the Universe becomes like divine melody to him. The Universe may be Maya but it is created or re-organized and destroyed or transformed again in a pattern, the same musical notes keep repeating again and again. The Ṛta becomes music from Her invisible Veena. Long after the nadi has completely evaporated out, all person who understands the Vedas can thus still hear her music as the Universe around is transformed again and again.



The Sun is thus a re-organizer aspect of the Brahman who is constantly re-organizing our Universe (as opposed to the lazy father of their religion who created the Universe (in one go and out of nothing!) and left us orphaned. The Sun is also a transformer who is constantly destroying the old (as opposed the Abrahamic Judgement Day after which the world is annihilated, destroyed to nothing!). For him, creation and destruction happen simultaneously. The Sun is thus Brahma and Shiva rolled into One.

Figure 3; Transformation (and Re-organization) through ta, in Vedas and Puranas

Preservation happens due to interference, either by human or by other animals; (Who takes animal and human forms?). Humans adapt and change. The smart Brahmin and his friends enjoy mango, lychee, jamun, jackfruit in summer, collects pears, melons, plums the next season, Autumns bring in Pineapple, Pomegranates, Custard Apple and never forgets to relish on apples, pears, grapes in winter.
 

Ṛta causes Hritu. When one constantly moves like clockwork with the Sun, one has achieved the concept of Hritu-khasa or making every season perfect. Far more importantly, the Sun has taught the Brahman the essence of Satva guna, to continuously move along the Ṛta and play with Him. He rewards all who play with Him with Dharma and all forms of Wealth. The Sun hence becomes Surya Narayana, the eye of the Adi Purush Himself.

Figure 4; Sun as Surya Narayana in Bhagavatism


The Ṛta is but ever-present. It is the harmony of the Veena of our mother which makes Brahma create the Universe, the gentle waves on the ocean where Narayana presides preservation, the vulgar steps Shiva gyrates to as he destroys so that Brahma can start the cycle afresh. [Again, not a one-off event as in Christianity. The whole world is not preserved, some things are being preserved as we speak; some things are being destroyed as we speak]



Not surprisingly, all the varnas look forward to him to talk of Ṛta so that they can determine their own Niti and follow Dharma. There is no compulsion to follow Dharma. People follow Dharma to play with or rather balance out the Ṛta for their very own selfish interest; To survive. They eventually die anyway but only after understanding Dharma if not Brahman. Understanding Dharma leads to a perfect society.

Rig-veda (1.191.8-11) sums up all three qualities of Creator, Protector, and Destroyer of Sun.

उत पुरस्तात सूर्य एति विश्वद्र्ष्टो अद्र्ष्टहा | 
अद्र्ष्टान सर्वाञ जम्भयन सर्वाश्च यातुधान्यः || 
उदपप्तदसौ सूर्यः पुरु विश्वानि जूर्वन | 
आदित्यः पर्वतेभ्यो विश्वद्र्ष्टो अद्र्ष्टहा || 
सूर्ये विषमा सजामि दर्तिं सुरावतो गर्हे | 
सो चिन नु नमराति नो वयं मरामारे अस्य योजनं हरिष्ठा मधु तवामधुला चकार || 
इयत्तिका शकुन्तिका सका जघास ते विषम | 
सो चिन नु … || 

Translated by Ralph Griffith (1896);

1.191.8 Slayer of things unseen, the Sun, beheld of all, mounts, eastward, up,
Consuming all that are not seen, and evil spirits of the night.


1.191.9 There hath the Sun-God mounted up, who scorches much and everything.
Even the Āditya from the hills, all-seen, destroying things unseen.


1.191.10 I hang the poison in the Sun, a wine-skin in a vintner’s house,
He will not die, nor shall we die: his path is far: he whom Bay Horses bear hath turned thee to sweet meath.


1.191.11 This little bird, so very small, hath swallowed all thy poison up.
She will not die, nor shall we die: his path is far: he whom Bay Horses bear hath turned thee to sweet meath.

2.  Savitr, Synthesis of Science and Religion

Savitr is the basic Ṛta. The Vedas talk of many different other Ṛta which is beyond our scope here. A true Brahmin is thus destined to hear the natural symphony of the Universe in the form of Ṛta. What does he do next? He like a good religious zealot goes about converting people in the name of Prophet and the one true Lord.

Pratyaksha Pramana is the basic proof in any Indian religion. Jains and Buddhists may not believe in Him but must now believe in Ṛta, the cause of Maya. It is empirically verifiable.

Figure 5; Incoming solar radiation measured on 11th of every month

The above chart is invariably between the two solstices of Summer and Winter. The sensor was exposed to sunlight for 15 minutes at 4 pm on 11thof every month. (12 noon on July and December)

Figure 6Intensity (Power) of Sun through the daylength, lines indicate extremities of the season (Lat. near to Madhya Desha where Vedas were conceived)

Figure 7; Daylength of Sun throughout the year, (Lat. near to Madhya Desha where Vedas were conceived)

How does Solar Radiation and corresponding temperature graph look when plotted year-round? Just like waves in a cosmic ocean……. The Ṛta

Figure 8; Blue represents intensity, Pink corresponding rise in temperature, Lower abscissa denotes months, Higher abscissa denotes zodiac signs

Thing is, every generation has its own share of atheists, people who think talking of Brahman makes them uncool and they try to tell others that they believe only what they see. One can’t see the Brahman but His Ṛta is verifiable. People can see the effects. Thus, Buddhists and Jains still talk of Ṛta and how Dharma saves them. Yet, it causes mental strain in their cognitive capacity to talk of Ṛta and deny the Brahman. For Brahmins, they don’t need to know the Law (Ṛta), they know The Lawgiver like the back of their hand.

As a point source from where the Ṛta originates, an apriori assumption of Brahman makes their life very simple and they can build on It (or Him) to build their Hetu-vidya (Science). It makes mental calculation easy, their life very relaxed. Smart Atheists in this tradition invariably find themselves in the fold of the Brahman later in life. Walking around this lovable dark pit every time, they know not when they fall unto Him.

Yet, Hindus fear the face of extinction because – forget the Brahman, the Ṛta is also denied under the present regime. Western Atheism is built to withstand advances of Christianity. To fight one holier than thou attitude, they themselves become what they fight. Hinduism is taken to be of the same mould of Christianity. Yet, Establishment Marxists have never debated, forget properly understand the Ṛta. Stories of exploitation are woven in the western template with merely Indian characters to stigmatize us. Yet, none of their theories on wealth have been empirically proven. However, the one with the halo of elitism is Scientific Socialism, the other has been reduced to a set of superstition.

The Ṛta invariably signify what our Puranic revivalists called waves on the cosmic ocean. Dharmic societies are made to absorb the shock and channelize the Shakti into productive use. Ignoring it is akin to ignoring Gravity. Comfy elites can always outrage whether the hilltop or the gorge is more illiberal denying the Indian the freedom to do fly across the gorge but it is the poor Hindu who will take the fall. They will become a mere statistic as these Elites crushes us.

One of the Sun’s sacred names’ is Mitra. Mitra is frequently mentioned along with Varuna. Establishment historians think Mitra is God of Light. Yet, in popular parlance, ‘Mitra’ translates into ‘friend’ or ‘ally’. How is this possible? Until one belongs to the Establishment and is particularly dumb, The Sun when coupled with its trajectory (Savitr) helps us predict in the dark, the realm of Varuna. Mitra thus translates to both ‘initial condition’ of any equation that is illumined at the present and the infallibility of the equation itself.

A crude example may be the Newtonian laws of motion;

v = u + at

v signifies the result we wish to obtain (The realm of Varuna, darkness)

signifies the initial condition which is derived from the light, of both the Sun (particularly its phase as it migrates through the year) and those of Stars

a is the trickiest variable. It is derived from knowing the Ṛta, or Aditi who governs the Ṛta so that the pattern of repetition is known. (Gayatr/Savitr in cases where only Sun is the factor)

t is defined by the calculating individual (how far he wants to predict)

Note that the result would not be equal but somewhere in the range of the real answer, when measured after time ‘t’. Only Experimental Physicists would understand this pain of being close to but never attaining the answer given in Theory. This logic could be extended to any mathematical function we use in Science.

Figure 9; Mitra, the Lord of infallible equation

So, the Hindu Prophet might not be exactly a fan of miracles and probably didn’t subscribe to parting the ocean, or making wine and bread out of nothing or flying to the moon but Hindus should be eternally thankful that our ancestors were taught the basics of Science by Him.

 

Rig-Veda (5.62.1-3) says of Mitra, Varuna and Divine Law of the Sun;


रतेन रतम अपिहितं धरुवं वां सूर्यस्य यत्र विमुचन्त्य अश्वान | 
दश शता सह तस्थुस तद एकं देवानां शरेष्ठं वपुषाम अपश्यम || 
तत सु वाम मित्रावरुणा महित्वम ईर्मा तस्थुषीर अहभिर दुदुह्रे | 
विश्वाः पिन्वथः सवसरस्य धेना अनु वाम एकः पविर आ ववर्त ||
अधारयतम पर्थिवीम उत दयाम मित्रराजाना वरुणा महोभिः | 
वर्धयतम ओषधीः पिन्वतं गा अव वर्ष्टिं सर्जतं जीरदानू || 
 

Translated by Ralph Griffith (1896)

5.62.1 By your high Law firm order is established there where they loose for travel Sūrya’s horses.
Ten hundred stood together: there I looked on this the most marvellous Deities’ one chief glory.


5.62.2 This, Mitra-Varuṇa, is your special greatness: floods that stood there they with the days attracted.
Ye cause to flow all voices of the cowpen: your single chariotfelly hath rolled hither.


5.62.3 O Mitra-Varuṇa, ye by your greatness, both Kings, have firmly stablished earth and heaven,
Ye caused the cows to stream, the plants to flourish, and, scattering swift drops, sent down the rain-flood.


The floods are, of course, the river Saraswati who has come back to make the Earth fertile again.
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3. Sun and Chaya; the early idea of Society and Economics in India

Figure 10; Chaya 1: Static source of Cover and the Dynamic Sun

When Savitr forces the Sun to traverse the entire East-West spectrum of the sky, shadows are born on the ground. Chaya is the earthly equivalent of the divine feminine. Not surprisingly, most notable rajas including Manu (of Manu-Smriti fame) trace their ancestry to the divine marriage between Sun and Chaya.

The thing about Chaya is that it is a dynamic phenomenon governed by Surya but also its motion; what does it convey to a layperson? The impermanence of all things on Earth and the Brahman as the source of this impermanence. Ṛta is, of course, the pattern that dictates this impermanence (Maya).

The Sun produces dynamic shadows on Earth. A person can thus achieve the Satva guna by working along with the Sun and resting by the shade.

Figure 11; Chaya 2: Dynamic Cover and Dynamic Sun

All prehistoric occupations from cattle rearing to hunting required the Sun. The rich pastures do not grow in the shade of the forest but in open fields. Yet, one needs to rest in the shade and maybe take a sip along with the cattle in the water beneath. This would have evaporated had the Sun had its way. Chaya, thus, is much more than a consort of the Sun. She is the protector of niche, determiner of activity range.

Just like new start-ups (or any industry) require a niche to grow and must optimize between a maxima and minima spectrum, like

  1. Skilled Labour (Expensive) versus Cheap Labour (Unskilled)
  2. Land in raw material rich area (hinterland, poor transport) versus well connected (urban, costly raw material)
  3. Raising capital from bank loan (risk burden full but no loss of autonomy) versus from shares (risk is shared but autonomy diminished).

An individual succeeds when he plays with the Sun and Chaya and chooses the optimal conditions for him to prosper based on his needs.

Figure 12; Chaya 3; Nature of Impermanence created by Sun on Earth

There is an equivalent in the Puranas to the Sun and Chaya; the dice game of Shiva and Shakti. The Universe to them is composed of primal waters. Shiva provides consciousness while Shakti provides Energy (manifested through Time). Not all part of waters is affected equally when Shakti hits them. This heterogeneity makes the Universe like a playdough being played with and deformed continuously.

To make matters worse, Shiva throws in Consciousness unequally like oil droplets inside this water. Winner is the one who makes a conscious use of Shakti and gets what he was looking for.

Figure 13 The game of Maya; Humans as game-piece of Surya-Chaya; Siva-Shakti;

Any and all conscious beings are game-pieces. They are anyway pawns of Shakti as they eat, grow materially through the arrow of Time. They have some consciousness so that they feel hunger, pain, sorrow but can borrow consciousness from Shiva to understand the game and ride the beast of Time carefully to make the most of their life.

Dharma is when this is balanced right. Artha and Kama are the prize for keeping Dharma. Moksha is when the ultimate aim of the game is realized and the individual refuses to be a game piece anymore. His mortal body is used to create other organisms while his consciousness merges with that of the Universe.

Guna as Game StrategyIncursNet Result
TamasFavour of Shiva, Wrath of ShaktiFailure (less than optimal input)
RajasFavour of Shakti, Wrath of ShivaFailure (more than optimal input)
SattvaFavour of Shakti, Favour of ShivaSuccess (Optimal input)

This is where things get political. The Entry pass to the cocktail party called India has always been this game. Our Prophet and His pious wife want to test everybody before handing them the keys of India. There were indeed aberrations, but the question is whether they were stable polities. A little digging in History will tell us there were hardly any stability in the Islamic Sultanate. They were shaky coalitions of power akin to 3rd front governments who vied for the pleasure of the Caliph (akin to the President as sovereign). Nephews murdered uncles and sons’ murdered fathers, all encouraged by sections of nobility.

The Mughals called themselves ‘Pad Shahi’ to escape the trap (they were less related to Caliph than the Turkish nobility and their claim would have been futile), a concept so Hindu it makes Communist Fictioneers throw up in their mouth. Yet, it took only one Mughal ruler to bring down the entire House down.

4. Sun and the founding of Kshatra in India

Figure 14; Sun and Solar King; The Chakravartin as India’s earthly sovereign

Just like all Islamic families of repute trace themselves to the Qurush tribe if not the Prophet, all successful Rajas took Him to be their mind born father. The Sun as the pole of the Humanity was reflected in the perfect Raja. He stood like a tower overseeing the society and yet he had to constantly face the test presented to Him by his father. That of navigating the Ṛta.



As the Ṛta changes, the society would have to be turned to be in sync with it which made the Raja the centre of the wheel of Dharma. How to engage the Ṛta? The Raja had to invariably resort to balancing the metaphorical dynamics of Light and Darkness. Tax Optimally and Spend Wisely. The White Sahibs have a fancy name for the arrangement; Laffer Curv. When in control of the Ṛta and the Raja has navigated satisfactorily a few cycles of Ṛta, he is conferred the title of “Chakravartin”, holder of the cosmic wheel of time.

Chaya’s dynamics require light. What happens in the night? The downfall of one Chakravartin creates a power vacuum which must be filled by another person. In the political darkness, he again uses the sunlight from the moon to chart his course on the ladder of power politics. Son of the Sun, raised by the Moon. Chandra becomes his foster dad. What about new moon night, Amavasya? Well, The Sun’s fire creates light and Fire exists as the Sun in Dyuloka, as Vajra in Antariksha, and as Agni on Earth.
 

Thunder is itself caused because of Sun’s evaporation of water, stored in the atmosphere where energy dynamics inside the cloud causes charge separation generating a Voltage. When it strikes the ground, it produces fire. Just like churning of cloud particles produces Fire, churning of sticks produces Fire. (Ask any Establishment LGBTQ activist on the two mothers of Agni theory…) Fire fosters children to their way to glory in absence of Sun and Moon. All notable royalty invariably traces their lineage to Sun, Moon or Fire (Suryavanshi, Chandravanshi, Agnivanshi)

Figure 15; The Solar, Lunar and Fire dynasties in politics of India

Prithviraj Raso traces all lineage of Rajput clans to Agni, where the ancestors have supposedly jumped out from during yagna. When the dice-board is seen in the backdrop of Chaya, India becomes an embodiment of Shakti, Bharat-Mata. The yearly monsoons brought by the Sun becomes the dictator of the Ṛta and she purposefully treats each region unequally each year.

Figure 16 India’s Geography, unequal monsoon, soil type and perpetual unsettling of political arrangement

In terms of geopolitics, India has multiple cores and even more periphery.
 

The Tamizh country may not enjoy a big river but gets the blessings of Shakti twice. That and its presence in the tropics ensure bounty harvest twice a year. It should, therefore, be no surprise that Pandyas of Madurai trace their origin to Meenakshi-Amman, who comes ashore from the oceans and with her divine eye blesses their geopolitical core with the Agricultural Capital to fight twice as hard. The Cholas combined this with the monetary capital from rich maritime trade and gave birth to one of the finest empires in India.

She then lives in Bengal the longest and feeds all the rivers of the East. There is a single crop which culminates in an autumn harvest when Bengalis come down to worship her glory in the autumn. The rivers also provide flowers, jalpushpam, fish that makes Bengalis smart and the region prosperous. This has ensured Bengal could punch hard in India’s geopolitics. The Pala dynasty controlled the Gangetic Valley and their influence extended till Kannauj. The Sens migrated from South and set up their rajya here. Bengal Sultanate was largely independent of Delhi and more than often inter conflict of Islamic nobility (regarding tribal loyalties) ensured Hindus like Raja Ganesh could seize power. The English set up base, looted this region to expand their control to the last of India.

The Upper and Middle Gangetic Plains perhaps make the most of Shakti. All the rains on the windward side of Himalaya flow back through the river system and this stretch is the goldmine every Political Power wants to latch unto. Yet, if administration is as piss poor as that of Delhi Sultans, the other end of this core will invariably get independent and a Jaunpur Sultanate will be born. The English nibbled away territories like Varanasi from Nawab of Awadh and ultimately ousted Him on spurious charges. The reason was of course to control the rich territories and more importantly to kill the last geo-political threat to their base in Bengal.

The Western Monsoons hits the West Coast but its narrow geographical expanse ensures that this region is not much helpful in consolidation of agricultural politics. The expanse of South Gujarat ensures better prosperity in the Lower Narmada and Tapi Valley. Its importance however lies in the rich maritime trade. Most European powers set-up their trading base in Surat. Shivaji’s sack of Surat was the most outstanding move the Marathas ever pulled. It gave the Marathas as a benign political power access to the taxing of the new Indo-European trade.



Islamic middlemen were being removed. Producers (Indians) and consumers (Europeans) both gained from cutting the middleman to size. The control of trading posts was the ghee to the Maratha fire. The Capital would soon spread the flame of Hindavi Swarajya till Peshawar. Precisely for this reason, The English saw to it that Bombay was given as dowry by the Portuguese and they gradually captured the entire Konkan coast. The English were first to chip off the coastal regions from the nose of Tipu Sultan, so much for his expert strategy making.

The most important core of India is of course the Punjab and Sindhu basin. It is only because of their control of Punjab that the Islamic rulers could repeatedly raid India. The English dare not touch the Sikhs till Maharaja Ranjit Singh was alive. Once he died, they dare not rest till each corner of Punjab has been subjugated. Punjabi Jats were made a martial race and given free pass in the military to cement control over Punjab, the farthest core from Company’s base in Bengal. The Peripheral regions were far more important than the Core. Core provided agricultural capital, food for the children to grow and become soldiers, for the hungry soldiers to march and take on the adversary.

Yet, to fight, one needs weapons. The trade routes crisscrossing India through the middle plateau’s provided the monetary Capital to buy arms, ammunition and train troops. Delhi, covered on three side by Aravalli ridges but on the East by Yamuna, giving access to the Ganga Basin and very near to Shatudra (Sutlej) and the Punjab is, was and will be the ideal Capital India could hope for. The harvest from the two basins, wealth from the trade between them and natural defense of the area saw that Delhi saw minimal siege in the medieval age. Yet, Sun and Chaya are in continuous play mode. The trade routes connecting the sea in Sindh and Gujarat with Delhi through Rajputana and Malwa provided fuel for the Rajputs to fight back Islam in medieval India.
 

The South had two regions like Delhi. The Golconda region was on steep high hills, surrounded by Musi connecting it to the entire Godavari basin with its source waters in Maharashtra as far as Nashik, saw the growth of modern Hyderabad. As a cherry on top, it had diamond mines. Just South of the Raichur Doab on the Kaveri basin lay the Bangalore Plateau area. Excellent for defense, near to Mangalore port but oversees the Kaveri plains from Mandya till Pompuhar. The Tanjore basin is just North of the Madurai basin on Vaigai. The Tamizh coast again has twice the grain harvesting capacity compared to other areas. Mysore, Seringapatnam, Bangalore were Capitals built to tap this geopolitical potential. Even now, many Kannadigas wonder why too many Tamils are found in Bangalore.

Only a person having the intelligence of Surya or Shiva can be an Adhipati of this perpetually shifting landscape of Chaya and Shakti (Bharatmata). How does India look as a dice-board between the two?

Figure 17 India as the dice-board of Shiva and Shakti; the Kaleidoscope of Time

The ruler must constantly change his tactics, focus the eye on the prize, the Sun (or the Brahman) and negotiate deals with the people (or lesser rajas) of these territories. If he betrays and goes back on his words and covers this wrong with might, people will betray Him in their turn, Dharma will catch up and before he knows what happened, the empire will slip away like sand.

It requires full time Satva. Any laxation or Tamas, his feudatories may get unequal gains from the monsoons, not pay his fill in the treasury and declare his independence. Any vigorous activity or Rajas, his feudatories will be bitter of over-taxation and look for reasons to betray even more. The political structure on which stands the Sun Chakravartin will come crashing down.

Dharma, and not brute force, is the key to ruling India. Dharma (and Satva Guna) happens when a game-piece is blessed by the Sun and Chaya, by Shiva and Shakti. It is for this reason alone, in spite of their frail physique, the strong Raja came to the Vedic Brahmin for advice and assistance.

There is a very dark problem here. Shiva and Shakti are actually part of the same Brahman. She denotes His potency and He denotes Her intelligence. So, why divide to play a game of dice? The answer lies in the question itself. People play games with oneself when they are bored. Maya is not the enemy of Brahman. He has no enemy, there is nobody else in this Universe. Maya is useful in cloaking the Brahman so that he uncovers His own design through us when our consciousness, a small part of Him chases Her (Food, Wealth, Flesh, Power) and fail miserably by the brute force technique. Brahmanism does not understand Good and Bad like Abrahamics. The dichotomy is between Brahman and Maya, a Universe where everybody is conscious of being one with Brahman and there is no Maya versus a Universe rife with chaos (Maya) where nobody understands the Brahman.
 

Because Shakti is Time, both of these extreme societies are possible. They are the two extreme cases. In the first, Time ensures wise men die out and are replaced by fools. The pendulum swings towards Maya as the hedonistic tamasic elites cut the very branches of “Artha” that keeps the society in place. First, the Vedas and then Lakshmi both get lost in the depth in the Cosmic Ocean. On the other hand, stupid people who work hard in the other extreme see no improvement in life. They begin the quest to build a harmonious society. Sun (Shiva) has bestowed them with intelligence. They rewrite the Vedas from scratch and work back their way to the other extreme. Soon after, Lakshmi come bearing gifts from the Cosmic Ocean.

The wheel or Circle of Time will continue to roll. There cannot be any stagnation like Full Communism or Protestant Predestination. This brings us to a greater point. How many sects of Protestantism and Islam exist? How many splits has the Communists have had? In all these regimes, it is assumed that all are created equal and there is One Truth which cannot be questioned. Thus, disagreements lead to splitting up in the first possible instance.

Geographically, there are multiple cores and peripheries. Hypothetically, India as an Abrahamic theonomy or a Communist realm will fall apart in a span of days. We will have small polities all over. This will be nasty. In Hindu India, Rajas did not fight each other because the other had belief in an inferior Truth. They wanted to test who had a better understanding of the Ṛta, the dynamics of Sun and Chaya. Men of only Kshatriya varna were involved and there were strict rules of engagement. Often, the vanquished would get his daughter or sister married to establish relationship with the winner to learn more about the ways of Brahman from him. There was competitive spirit, not any zeal to banish the undeserving, the heathen. To be killed in battle was considered a privilege, because the killer had a superior understanding of ‘Brahman’ and the ‘Ṛta’ and was thus closer to Him. (To be killed by Brahman is considered a boon and a way to liberation in all traditions)

Consequently, the different regions of India can still identify with a common religion and homeland, a Christian, Muslim or Communist not so much. The first thing on hearing of Hindu Indonesia or Hindu influence on China and far east is not: are they lesser Hindus than us? Do they undertake this fast/pilgrimage/method of worship?

The Thirty Years War showed the shallowness of Christianity. In the Islamic World, The Turks consider themselves Europeanized and Superior. Iran sees itself as the Messiah of Shia world, Saudi Arabia looks at brown Pakistanis with disdain. In the Communist Order, The Sino-Soviet split showed how binding Communism was as an ideology, as a Truth. Not a tear was shed when USSR split up.



A precise reason the Islamic Colonization was a failure was the fact that Turks (who converted first) looked down on Afghans, who in turn looked down on Hindu converts, who looked down on Hindus themselves. To prevent any of the latter from seizing power, they invariably allied with a group of nobles even lower in the hierarchy. In the game of power (Maya), they forgot their other aim of spreading Islam.

The Mughal Rule added Central Asian and Persian nobility in the mix. Aurangzeb looked down on Shias and later the Shia nobles supported Muhammad Shah to the throne and became independent (what else?) Nawabs who then allied with Hindu zamindars to check their Sunni underlings.
 

The British were rather uniform in that they did not disturb any of the Social fabric so long as the subject paid taxes and the administration of native states was left to the British Resident. Proselytization actively by the government post 1857 was thoroughly frowned upon. This probably explains why they had a firm grip on India. Yet, their folly lay in not paying attention to the economy. Severe famines anyway opened the door for conversions and as other world powers began to take an interest in India and India herself became poor to pay for her defense, the British exited with grace from India.

So, Sanatana Dharma is the only religion that can uphold the idea of India. There is precisely One Truth, Brahman. This is cloaked in Maya. The journey of Samsara is one from Maya to Brahman. A belief of One Truth imposed from above harms rather than contributes to the harmony of Indians (or any society). The aim of all activities from the renunciation of the celibate to the conquering of India politically all require understanding of Dharma. Understanding Brahman leads to understanding His Ṛta, Understanding His Ṛta leads to understanding Dharma. This Dharma is here to say, it is Sanatana, eternal.

5. The twelve sacred names of our Prophet

The Sun as the Adi-guru display qualities which are akin to the Brahman in the later Puranas.

NameMeaningReasonAspect of Brahman
MitraThe FriendThe Explorer of Tatvas, The infallibility of EquationsGanakarta (Shiva)
RaviThe RadiantThe Giver of the LightParamjyoti (Shiva)
SuryaGiver of BeautyProgenitor of NaturePrajapati (Brahma)
BhanuCatalyst of EmotionOne who sets the template of time and seasons in which people live(Narayan)
KhagaAwesomeThe Sun as the mover of the Universe, an object of awe and reverenceAchintyah (Narayan/Shiva)
PushnaNourisherThe giver of food-grain and abundaceMahardhi (Narayana)
Hiranya GarbaThe All-InclusiveThe Primal Cause of UniverseHiranyagarbha (Brahma/Narayan)
MaricaDestroyer of DarknessBanisher of darkness and ignoranceDakshinamuthi/Nataraja (Shiva)
AdityaIlluminator of the WayThe eternal guideSadashiva (Shiva)
SavitraThe ArouserThe arouser of the Kundalini (Shakti) that makes the Rta (Savitr)Nahusha (Narayana)
ArkaFlash of WarmthThe provider of comfort in darknessIjya/Durarih (Narayana)
BhaskaraLiberatorThe patient illuminator of the road to MokshaSahishnu (Narayana)

The Sun in India; a conclusion

Verily then, the Sun is a founder of the original “Idea of India” The Sun as a guiding God, face of Brahman guides us all in teaching about Ṛta, Maya and what to do about it. Sun provides all life forms with energy. Energy from food transforms the human cognition into burning like the Golden Sun. Enlightened humans pay oblations and closely follow His trajectory. His movements are closely followed as he helps bring the monsoons which can play havoc in the dice-board of India. Yet, following him and not these distractions leads us to the Brahman. God, or Brahman can only be reached by balancing oneself on the Ṛta and over Maya. One must engage yet not be overwhelmed by it. Before “Middle Path” became fashionable, the operative term was Satva. Satva meant to stay on course and balance the Ṛta. The Niti which balances the Ṛta is called Dharma. Maya is the game, Dharma is the answer, Brahman is the prize. If India wishes to be a land of Dharma, we have to again stand in attention at the feet of our Prophet and ask Him to teach us that.

 


References / Footnotes

Figure 5,6,7 were sourced from the Geography dept. of University of California, Santa Barbara (Check out https://www.geog.ucsb.edu/ideas/Insolation.html)

Photo-credits:

The Sun’s clipart common to most figure was accessed from; //pt.pngtree.com/freepng/hand-painted-yellow-sun_3414506.html

 1. Wheel: By Shazz, Esteban.barahona [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons

 2. Sun’s migration;  http://www.erewise.com/current-affairs/apparent-migration-of-the-sun_art569507ad0b97b.html#.W8STKXszbIU

 3.   Tree through Seasons; https://stephanieorefice.net/2015/12/31/2015-the-year-of-season/

        Brahma; http://www.mcremo.com/vedic.htm

        Siva-Tandava; www.deviantart.com.akki2294.art.lord-shiva-Tandav-494624626

 4.   Surya Narayan;  http://www.harekrsna.de/artikel/sun-chariot.htm

 5.   Sun’s insolation measurement; https://www.geog.ucsb.edu/ideas/Images4pages/Insolation/pyrano_chart.jpg

 6.  Sun’s Downwelling Shortwave Radiation at fixed location on Surface; https://www.geog.ucsb.edu/ideas/OtherImages/DownwellingSWatSURFACEdiurnalUCSB.png

7.   Daylight Length at specific place for a month; https://www.geog.ucsb.edu/ideas/OtherImages/DaylightLengthInSantaBarbaraGraph500w.png

8.   The Cycle of Sun; https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Phases_of_the_Sun_%28NHemi%29.png

9. Tree; https://in.pinterest.com/pin/346706871290538321/
      Normal Distribution;  https://onlinecourses.science.psu.edu/stat200/book/export/html/124

10. Overlapping Distributions; https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-642ca1639fa6af71dc0c735dcde477e1

11. Tree; https://gallery.yopriceville.com/Free-Clipart-Pictures/Trees-PNG-Clipart/Tree_PNG_Transparent_Clip_Art_Image#.W8SdjnszbIU

12.  Shiva & Shakti on Dice; https://in.pinterest.com/pin/475692779369046280/

        Man Growing up;  https://open.summerofcode.be/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/evolution-300×162.jpg

13.    Savitr https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Phases_of_the_Sun_%28NHemi%29.png

14.    Logos of Royalty; http://www.jairajputana.com/2012/12/rajput-logo-and-symbol-collection_4.htmlWorldArtsMe

Earth Clipart; https://www.clipartmax.com/middle/m2i8K9Z5Z5K9d3m2_earth-clipart-planet-earth-clipart-clipart-panda-free-world-clipart/
Burning Trees; file:///E:/Work/Pictures/Downloaded%20Pictures/tree-on-fire-clipart-1.jpg

15.     India Physical; http://brhectorsgeoworld.blogspot.com/2009/03/c1-saarc-nations-location-and-physical.html

16.     India at different times;

Maratha Empire; By Charles Colbeck – The Public Schools Historical Atlas by Charles Colbeck. Longmans, Green; New York; London; Bombay. 1905.University of Texas Libraries, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=141433

British India;
https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/

1929;

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist151/India/maps.htm#1909

Ancient Map;

https://www.ancient.eu/india
http://www.wikiwand.com/ru
http://www.wikiwand.com/id/Dinasti_Satavahana

About Author: Debtanu Chakraborty

Debtanu grew up in a Bengali Brahman household listening to stories of the French Revolution and Europe from his maternal grandfather. One of the very first novels he read was Gorky's 'Mother' which romanticized the Russian Revolution. An avid Marxist in school, he became a free market radical in college because of disenchantment. He became interested in Indian thought having read the Classics after passing out. He not only believes that Indian Civilization should be preserved but that it can hold a mirror to the current Western Civilization where it has never been hit; its philosophy of materialism. His interest lies in Biology, Evolution, Economics, and Politics. You can follow him at @parshu_rama .

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