WRITTEN BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No. 13,538

Date uploaded in London – 12 August 2024                 

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.

this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.

tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

https://www.pustaka.co.in/home/author/london-swaminathan

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Sankara says in his Viveaka Chudamani (VC)

योगस्य प्रथमद्वारं वाङ्निरोधोऽपरिग्रहः ।
निराशा च निरीहा च नित्यमेकान्तशीलता ॥ ३६७ ॥

yogasya prathamadvāraṃ vāṅnirodho’parigrahaḥ |
nirāśā ca nirīhā ca nityamekāntaśīlatā || VC-367 ||

VC.367. The first steps to Yoga are control of speech, non-receiving of gifts, entertaining of no expectations, freedom from activity, and always living in a retired place.

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एकान्तस्थितिरिन्द्रियोपरमणे हेनुर्दमश्चेतसः
संरोधे करणं शमेन विलयं यायादहंवासना ।
तेनानन्दरसानुभूतिरचला ब्राह्मी सदा योगिनः
तस्माच्चित्तनिरोध एव सततं कार्यः प्रयत्नो मुनेः ॥ ३६८ ॥

ekāntasthitirindriyoparamaṇe henurdamaścetasaḥ
saṃrodhe karaṇaṃ śamena vilayaṃ yāyādahaṃvāsanā |
tenānandarasānubhūtiracalā brāhmī sadā yoginaḥ
tasmāccittanirodha eva satataṃ kāryaḥ prayatno muneḥ || 368 ||

368. Living in a retired place serves to control the sense-organs, control of the senses helps to control the mind, through control of the mind egoism is destroyed; and this again gives the Yogi an unbroken realisation of the Bliss of Brahman. Therefore the man of reflection should always strive only to control the mind.

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वाचं नियच्छात्मनि तं नियच्छ
बुद्धौ धियं यच्छ च बुद्धिसाक्षिणि ।
तं चापि पूर्णात्मनि निर्विकल्पे
विलाप्य शान्तिं परमां भजस्व ॥ ३६९ ॥

vācaṃ niyacchātmani taṃ niyaccha
buddhau dhiyaṃ yaccha ca buddhisākṣiṇi |
taṃ cāpi pūrṇātmani nirvikalpe
vilāpya śāntiṃ paramāṃ bhajasva || 369 ||

369. Restrain speech in the Manas, and restrain Manas in the Buddhi; this again restrain in the witness of Buddhi, and merging that also in the Infinite Absolute Self, attain to supreme Peace.

Notes:

[Speech—This includes all the sense-organs as well

Witness—i. e. the Jivatman or individual aspect of the Self.

In this Sloka which reproduces in part Katha, Upanishad. I. iii, 13, one is asked to ascend higher and higher, restraining successively the sense-activities, and mental activities, from the gross to the fine, tilt at last one is lost in Samadhi.]

https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/vivekachudamani/d/doc144804.html

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Why Why Why?

Why? The more you talk, the more you are trapped. Yudhisthira, Gautama rishi, Brahma, Vishnu (in the story of finding Lord Shiva’s origin and end;head and feet), Karna (with Parasurama, a brahmin teacher) and many others spoke truth or lies and landed themselves in trouble. 

The second reason is the minute one realises the Truth (God), one cant describe him. The person is drowned in the Ocean of Nectar.

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Arunagirinaathar, a Tamil saint who lived 500 years ago in Tamil Nadu describes it in his Kanthar Anubhuti. (Kanthar= Subrahmanya=Skanda)

அருணகிரி நாதரே பேசா அநுபூதி பிறந்ததுவே என்றும் சும்மா இரு சொல் அற என்றும் கந்தர் அநுபூதியில் பாடுகிறார்.:

செம்மான் மகளைத் திருடும் திருடன்

பெம்மான் முருகன் பிறவான் இறவான்

சும்மா இரு சொல் அற என்றலுமே

அம்மா பொருள் ஒன்றும் அறிந்திலனே

தூசா மணியும் துகிலும் புனைவாள்

நேசா முருகா நினது அன்பு அருளால்

ஆசா நிகளம் துகளாயின பின்,

பேசா அநுபூதி பிறந்ததுவே

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சும்மா இருப்பதே சுகம்!

Tirumular in his Tirumanthiram also says

 பேச்சற்ற இன்பத்துப் பேரானந் தத்திலே
மாச்சற்ற என்னைச் சிவமாக்கி மாள்வித்துக்
காச்சற்ற சோதி கடன்மூன்றுங் கைக்கொண்டு
வாச்ச புகழ்மாளத் தாள்தந்து மன்னுமே. 

 How Guru Transformed Jiva Into Siva

He cleansed me of my blemishes,

Transformed me into Sivam Supreme,

And immersed me into His bliss infinite;

Bliss that is beyond, beyond words!

The fire of His Grace scorches not

Yet drank dry the three seas of mine impurities;

And annihilating my primal ego to its traces

He granted me His Feet of Grace;

And there does he abide, forever, in me.

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செயலற் றிருக்கச் சிவானந்த மாகும்

செயலற் றிருப்பார் சிவயோகம் தேடார்

செயலற் றிருப்பார் செகத்தோடுங் கூடார்

செயலற் றிருப்பார்க்கே செய்தியுண் டாமே

 In Actionless Contemplation Divine Message Comes

To be actionless is Siva’s bliss;

They who are actionless

Seek not Siva Yoga;

They who are actionless

Will not in world merge;

Only to them who are actionless

Is the Divine message to be.

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 சத்தும் அசத்தும் சதசத்தும் தான்கூடிச்

சித்தும் அசித்தும் சிவசித்த தாய்நிற்கும்

சுத்தம் அசுத்தம் தொடங்காத துரியத்துச்

சுத்தரா மூன்றுடன் சொல்லற் றவர்களே. 25

Suddhas Reach Mauna State

Espousing,

The Sat, Asat, and Sat-Asat,

The Jiva becomes

The Chit, Achit, and Siva-Chit;

Those that reach that Turiya State

Where neither Suddha (Pure) or Asuddha (Impure) Maya is,

They verily are the Suddhas (Pure ones);

Transcending the States three,

(Sat, Asat and Sat-Asat)

They reach Silentness, surpassing.—Tirumanthiram

https://www.bhagavadgitausa.com/08TirumantiramTamil-English.htm

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Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar and India’s greatest philosopher Adi Shankara give us guidelines about lying. Both of them allow us to tell lies if they can bring immense good. We have some anecdotes in Mahabharata where in there was a dilemma to tell the Truth or not.

Story of Kausika

Sometimes truth may be worse than a lie. There is a beautiful story in the greatest and the longest epic in the world Mahabaharata. Kaushika was a Brahmana who made a vow of always speaking the truth. One day robbers were chasing a group of travellers in the forest. When they passed by Kaushika, he also noticed them. The robbers came to Kaushika and asked him whether he had seen the travellers. He told them where the travellers were hiding. The robbers went there, tortured and robbed the travellers. Kaushika had to go to hell for speaking the truth.

That is why Valluvar puts a sub clause when he said ‘yes, lying is allowed’:

Even untruth might attain the value of truth, if it is productive of UNMIXED GOOD, without the least blemish (Tirukkural 292)

“If one’s speech does not wrong any living creature, while being factually correct, that is truthfulness (291)”

Adi Shankarar’s View

Adi Shankarar in the Prasna Uttara Ratna Malika (Gem Garland of Questions and Answers) hymn says

There are 67 verses in question and answer format. In the 46th verse he puts one question ‘Who is not to be trusted?’ The answer is ‘one who as a rule utters lies’.

In the next verse (47), one of the questions is ‘on what occasions even a lie is sinless?’ ‘That which is uttered for the sake of protecting righteousness (Dharma)’.

One should not harm anyone while telling a truth and one can tell a lie if it can bring some good to someone.

Aswaththama Hatha: Narova Kunjarova

“ In the Mahabharata, Dharmaputra’s true statement, drowned in noise and made to appear false, in order to produce a certain good result, was also considered to come under this category. In Tamil Nadu the proverb that Even a thousand lies would be worthwhile to bring about a marriage, is based on the same principle of Plato’s Noble Lie.”

Aswaththama Hatha: Narova Kunjarova: (Aswaththama dead; whether man or elephant)

Krishna had arranged to have an elephant named Aswatthma sacrificed in the battle. Yudhistra confirmed that Aswatthma had been killed adding in a lower tone Aswaththama ‘the elephant’ or man which had been killed. This news shattered Aswatthma ‘s father Drona who threw down his arms in despair. Un armed Drona was killed by Dhristadymna . Like story of Kausika, this is also from the Mahabharata.

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Other Tamil saints including Manikkavasagar (maanikkavaasagar) and Avvaiyaar, sing about this Speechless state.

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On Telling Lies

MANU SMRITI SAYS

तद् वदन् धर्मतोऽर्थेषु जानन्नप्यन्य्था नरः ।
न स्वर्गाच्च्यवते लोकाद् दैवीं वाचं वदन्ति ताम् ॥ १०३ ॥

tad vadan dharmato’rtheṣu jānannapyanythā naraḥ |
na svargāccyavate lokād daivīṃ vācaṃ vadanti tām || Manu 8-103 ||

In some cases, a man who, though knowing the truth, deposes otherwise, through piety, does not fall off from heaven. This is a divine assertion that they reproduce.—(103) 

This is only a praising of false evidence under special circumstances.

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शूद्रविड् क्षत्रविप्राणां यत्रऋतोक्तौ भवेद् वधः ।
तत्र वक्तव्यमनृतं तद् हि सत्याद् विशिष्यते ॥ १०४ ॥

śūdraviḍ kṣatraviprāṇāṃ yatraṛtoktau bhaved vadhaḥ |
tatra vaktavyamanṛtaṃ tad hi satyād viśiṣyate || Manu 8-104 ||

Where the telling of the truth would lead to the death of a Śūdra, a Vaiśva, a Kṣatriya or a Brāhmaṇa,—in that case falsehood should be spoken; as that is preferable to truth.—(104)

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama (13.24-25).—‘No guilt is incurred in giving false evidence in case the life of a man depends thereon;—but not if the man involved be a wicked one.’

Vaśiṣṭha (16.35).—‘Men may speak an untruth in marriage, during dalliance, when their lives are in danger, or the loss of their entire property is imminent; and for the sake of a Brāhmaṇa; they declare that an untruth spoken in these five cases does not make the speaker an outcast.’

Viṣṇu (8.15).—‘Whenever the death of any member of the four castes is involved, if witnesses give false evidence, they are not to blame.’

Yājñavalkya (2.83).—‘When the death of a member of any caste is involved the witness may speak an untruth.’

Bṛhaspati (7.34).—‘Let him preserve, even by telling a lie, a Brāhmaṇa who has sinned once through error, and is in peril of life, and oppressed by rogues and others.

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வாய்மை எனப்படுவது யாதெனின் யாதொன்றும்

தீமை இலாத சொலல்.–குறள் 291

You ask, in lips of men what ‘truth’ may be;

‘Tis speech from every taint of evil free.

Truth is the speaking of such words as are free from the least degree of evil (to others).

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பொய்மையும் வாய்மை யிடத்த புரைதீர்ந்த

நன்மை பயக்கும் எனின்.–குறள் 292

Falsehood may take the place of truthful word,

If blessing, free from fault, it can afford.

Even falsehood has the nature of truth, if it confer a benefit that is free from fault.

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Let him say what is true, let him say what is pleasing, let him utter no disagreeable truth.

Let him utter no agreeable falsehood. This is the Santana Dharma, the Eternal Law – Manu smrti

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All meanings, ideas, intentions, desires, emotions, items of knowledge are embodied in speech, are rooted in it and branch out of it. He who misappropriates, misapplies, and mismanages speech, mismanages everything.

–Manu smriti

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If one answers harshly, for instance a father or a mother, or a brother, or a sister, or a teacher, or a Brahmin, people say to him: ‘Shame on you! Verily you are a slayer of your father! Verily you are a slayer of your mother! Verily you are a slayer of your brother! Verily you are a slayer of your sister! Verily you are a slayer of your teacher! Verily you are a slayer of a Brahmin!

–Chandogya Upanishad. 

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Darts, barbed arrows, iron-headed spears,

However deep they penetrate the flesh

May be extracted, but a cutting speech,

That pierces, like a javelin, to the heart,

None can remove; it lies and rankles you.

–Mahabharata

–subham—

Tags- Less talking, Silence, Speechless state, Bliss, Actionless, Telling lies, Hindu views, Truth, Don’t talk ,Sankara’s Advice, My Research Notes on VC-39, Kausika, Ashwathama, Yudhisthira , சும்மா இரு சொல்லற