Aishvarya

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Aishvarya (Sanskrit: ऐश्वर्य) which is a noun, means lordship or sovereignty, prosperity or royal or exalted rank. [1] Prosperity, power and recognition by society are the three aspects of man’s life that constitute aishvarya which term also refers to the aishvarya or greatness of God and of Brahman.

Sanskrit ancient Indian language

Sanskrit is a language of ancient India with a history going back about 3,500 years. It is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and the predominant language of most works of Hindu philosophy as well as some of the principal texts of Buddhism and Jainism. Sanskrit, in its variants and numerous dialects, was the lingua franca of ancient and medieval India. In the early 1st millennium CE, along with Buddhism and Hinduism, Sanskrit migrated to Southeast Asia, parts of East Asia and Central Asia, emerging as a language of high culture and of local ruling elites in these regions.

Noun part of speech in grammar denoting a figurative or real thing or person

A noun is a word that functions as the name of some specific thing or set of things, such as living creatures, objects, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas. Linguistically, a noun is a member of a large, open part of speech whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.

Brahman metaphysical concept, unchanging Ultimate Reality in Hinduism

In the Upanishads, of India, Brahman(ब्रह्म) is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists and the highest Universal Principle, the Ultimate Reality in the universe. Brahman is also considered to be the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth which does not change. Brahman as a metaphysical concept is the single binding unity behind diversity in all that exists in the universe.

Contents

Overview

The word Aishvarya is derived from the word ईश meaning supreme, powerful, lord or master or God as in the phrase - ईशावास्यमिदं सर्वं – God certainly resides in all this (Isha Upanishad Mantra 1). It is directly connected with one’s ego at the individual level, and with the assumed nature of God.

<i>Isha Upanishad</i> One of the ancient Sanskrit scriptures of Hinduism

The Isha Upanishad is one of the shortest Upanishads, embedded as the final chapter (adhyāya) of the Shukla Yajurveda. It is a Mukhya Upanishad, and is known in two recensions, called Kanva (VSK) and Madhyandina (VSM). The Upanishad is a brief poem, consisting of 17 or 18 verses, depending on the recension.

Basic understanding of the term

Prosperity, power and recognition by society are the three aspects of man’s life that constitute aishvarya. They are the basic needs and aspirations of man about which he dreams and he plans and for achieving which objectives he performs varying deeds. He also eagerly strives to know about the timing and extent of their fulfillment for which he has devised different means and methods. In Hindu astrology, Vaibhava ('opulence'), which includes Prabhava ('influence'), Dhana ('wealth') and Aishvarya ('magnificence'), is represented by the 6th house, the 9th house and the 11th house from the lagna and their respective lords. Mantreswara in the Chapter XX of his Phaladeepika states that during the dasha of the strong lord of the 6th house one gains aishvarya and crushes foes, during the dasha of the strong lord of the 9th house a person enjoys aishvarya, and during the dasha of the strong lord of the 11th house one experiences constant increase of aishvarya. [2]

Hindu astrology astrology originating from Ancient India

Jyotisha or Jyotishya is the traditional Hindu system of astrology, also known as Hindu astrology, and more recently Vedic astrology. The term Hindu astrology has been in use as the English equivalent of Jyotiṣa since the early 19th century, whereas Vedic astrology is a relatively recent term, entering common usage in the 1970s with self-help publications on Āyurveda or yoga. Vedanga Jyotishya is one of the earliest texts about astronomy within the Vedas. However, some authors have claimed that the horoscopic astrology practiced in the Indian subcontinent came from Hellenistic influences, post-dating the Vedic period. Some authors argue that in the mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata, only electional astrology, omens, dreams and physiognomy are used but there have been several articles and blogs published which cites multiple references in those books about rashi(zodiac sign) based astrology.

In Vedic Astrology Jyotiṣa, the Lagna or Ascendant, is the first moment of contact between the soul and its new life on earth in Jyotiṣa.. Lagna's Rashi and Nakshatra represents the "Atman" (Soul) of a person while the Lagna Lord represents the single most important "Graha" (Planet) of the Horoscope and therefore the Rashi & Nakshatra where the Lagna Lord is positioned is equally important as the Lagna Lord also absorbs the traits and qualities of that specific Rashi & Nakshatra.

Mantreswara was a Hindu astrologer whose work, Phaladeepika, written in Sanskrit verse-format, is a major text on Hindu astrology ranked alongside Bṛhat Parāśara Horāśāstra of Parashara, Brihat Jataka of Varahamihira, and Jataka Parijata of Vaidyanatha Dikshita. He was born Markandeya Bhattathiri/Bhattar in a family of Namboodari Brahmins. The exact date of his birth and date of death are not known, some believe that he lived in the 13th century and some believe that he lived in the 16th century. At the very close of his work, Phaladeepika, Mantreswara confirms that he lived in Shalivati, present Tirunelveli, as a renowned Brahmin astrologer. Well versed in many branches of knowledge he had travelled throughout India, in later years became a sanyasin and took samadhi at the place he was born.

Shakti as Goddess Annapoorna fulfills the most basic physiological need of man that of food items and clothes; as Goddess Durga Shakti fulfills the needs such as shelter and safety from natural and man-made threats; as Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati Shakti fulfills the social needs such as education, social status and recognition in the society; out of the eight forms of Lakshmi, Aishvarya Lakshmi refers to riches and Dhana Lakshmi, to gold and money. [3]

Shakti personification of energy and power in Hinduism

Shakti is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism and Shaktism.

Annapurna Devi was an Indian surbahar player of Hindustani classical music. She was given the name 'Annapurna' by former Maharaja Brijnath Singh of the former Maihar Estate (M.P.), and it was by this name that she was popularly known. She was the daughter and disciple of Allauddin Khan, the founder of Maihar gharana, and the first wife of the sitar player, Ravi Shankar. After her separation from Ravi Shankar, she moved to Bombay and never performed again in public. She remained a private person, yet continued to teach music for free. Her students include many notable disciples including Hariprasad Chaurasia, Nityanand Haldipur and Nikhil Banerjee.

Durga Hindu warrior goddess

Durga, identified as Adi Parashakti, is a principal and popular form of Hindu Goddess. She is the warrior goddess, whose mythology centres around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity and dharma of the good. She is the fierce form of the protective mother goddess, willing to unleash her anger against wrong, violence for liberation and destruction to empower creation.

Upanishadic exposition

The sage of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad describes the all-pervading aishvarya or greatness of the Lord (Brahman) in the following words:

<i>Shvetashvatara Upanishad</i> One of the ancient Sanskrit scriptures of Hinduism

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad is an ancient Sanskrit text embedded in the Yajurveda. It is listed as number 14 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. The Upanishad contains 113 mantras or verses in six chapters.

तमेकनेमिं त्रिवृतं षोडशान्तं शतार्धारं विंशति प्रत्यराभिः |
अष्टकैः षड्भिर्विश्वरूपैकपाशं त्रिमार्गभेदं द्विनिमित्तैकमोहाम् ||
“They saw him as the one rim (of the wheel), with three tiers, sixteen ends, fifty spokes, twenty fasteners, having six variations of eight extensions, one bondage of infinite forms, three different paths and the two (Virtue and Vice) which cause delusion.”

The wheel is the Brahma-chakra, the repeated cycle of origination and destruction of inanimate things, and of birth and death of all living beings; the rim is the singular non-dual support of the Karya Jagat which is the unreal whole world of phenomenon of effects and has Maya as its source. The Karya Jagat is covered by the three Gunasi.e. by (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas), and their sixteen transformations or manifestations (the five primordial elements, the mind, the five sense organs and the five organs of action) which give satisfaction and pleasure through contacts with objects and constitute the Prakrti ashtakam (existence and awareness of objects), the Dhātu ashtakam (the contact of senses with the objects) and the Aishvarya ashtakam (the psychological forces which bind and cause one to rotate in samsara) which are the three kinds of bondages. The fifty spokes are the fifty psychological forces or misconceptions due to Maya. The one bondage of infinite forms is the fundamental bondage consisting of Vāsanā i.e. desire or emotion. There are the eight siddhis or successes. "Righteousness", "Unrighteousness" and "Knowledge" are the three paths, and virtue and vice are the two factors that cause delusion. [4]

Sattva is one of the three Guṇas or "modes of existence", a philosophical and psychological concept developed by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. The other two qualities are rajas and tamas. Sattva is the quality of goodness, positivity, truth, serenity, balance, peacefulness, and virtuousness that is drawn towards Dharma and Jnana (knowledge).

Rajas is one of the three Guṇas, a philosophical and psychological concept developed by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. The other two qualities are Sattva and Tamas. Rajas is innate tendency or quality that drives motion, energy and activity.

Tamas is one of the three Gunas, a philosophical and psychological concept developed by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. The other two qualities are rajas and sattva. Tamas is the quality of inertia, inactivity, dullness, or lethargy.

Aishvarya yoga of Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita in its own way, presents Krishna as the Supreme Godhead and the supreme object of worship. Krishna tells Arjuna:-

न च मत्स्थानि भूतानि पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् |
भूतभृन्न च भूतस्थो ममात्मा भूतभावनः ||

"“Nor do beings exist (in reality) in Me – Behold My Divine Yoga supporting all beings, but not dwelling in them, I am My Self, the efficient cause of all beings.” - Bhagavad Gita IX.5.

In this regard, Chinmayananda explains that –“In Pure Awareness, in Its Infinite Nature of sheer Knowledge, there never was, never is and never can be any world of pluralistic embodiment. Pure Consciousness, Divine and Eternal, is the substratum that sustains and illumines the entire panorama of the ever-changing plurality.” [5] and Prabhupada explains that the Lord is everywhere present by His personal representation, the diffusion of His different energies because of which creation takes place and therefore all things rests on Him but He is different from all things, this is the yogam aisvaram, the mystic power of God. [6] Jayadayal Goyandaka explains that when a man realizes God, then nothing exists in his conception of God; therefore in the eyes of him who has attained this state, the world does not exist in God, in reality nothing exists but God. The words Aisvaram yogam denote the wonderful power of God, that of remaining absolutely detached from everything, and the words MaMa Atma refer to His qualified, formless aspect. [7]

Shaivite exposition

The Shaivites know aishvarya or Aishvarya-tattva as the Ishvara-tattva, the tattva of realizing what constitutes the Lordliness and the Glory of the Divine Being. It is the stage which succeeds Sada-Shiva Tattva as the stage of making a full survey of, identification with, what constitutes the state of the Experiencer, of the pure and undivided "this" aspect of his being as a whole, of the Ideal Universe hitherto lurking as an indistinct picture in the background of the Being. [8] The Sadakhya or the Sada-Shiva Tattva state is Jnana, the power of being conscious or the experience of the "I", and Aishvarya or the Ishvara-tattva is true identification or the experience of being identified with and merged into the "this" of the vakya "I am This". It is the fourth step in the evolution of mental aspects of universal manifestation. [9]

Vaishnava exposition

Aishvarya is the Sanskrit term derived from Ishvara that refers to the opulence and power of God. According to Gaudiya Vaishnavism, God has both a public face and a private face. Manifesting his power and majesty (aishvarya), he is known as Narayana and is served in awe and reverence, when his beauty and sweetness (madhurya) overshadows his majesty he is known as Krishna-aishvarya (God’s supreme divinity and power) is one of the general dimensions of Krishna’s Divinity described by Chaitanya school, the other two being – madhurya ('divine tenderness and intimacy') and karunya ('compassion and protection'). This school favours the madhurya aspect rather than aishvarya aspect in which the Jiva does not experience a love for God as exalted as is experienced by the devotee in madhurya aspect. Manifestations of the aishvarya aspect assist in the realization of Krishna’s madhurya aspect. [10] According to Vishnu Purana, Aishvarya ('Omnipotence or Controlling power or Transcendent majesty' ) is one of the six folds of God’s majesty, the other five being – Dharma or Virya ('Virtue or Potency or Creative power'), Yasha ('Glory, Fame, Universal honour'), Sri ('Beauty, Prosperity or Radiant beauty'), Jnana ('Omniscience, Knowledge, Omniscient knowledge') and Vairagya ('Non-affectedness or Dispassion or Renunciation or Serene dispassion'), [11] which attributes eternally reside in God in the relation known as samavaya-sambandha ('perpetual co-inherence'), the inseparable relation that exists between substance and quality. God’s divine potency, inconceivable to human mind, is natural to Him and constitutes His essence; God’s relation with his Divine potency is one of inconceivable difference in non-difference known as achintya-bhedabheda, the recognition of the nature of which relation is Chaitanya’s philosophy of achintya bhedabheda-vada. [12] God’s aishvarya includes his embodied life as the universe and his avatars descending into it. Govinda which term means the Indra of cows and the rescuer of earth that was taken to a secret place also refers to the late evening and Phalguna-masa (month) as does Madhava which refers to early morning and Magha-masa (month). Govinda is aishvarya and Madhava is virya. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Vaman Shivaram Apte. "The Practical Sanskrit English Dictionary". Digital Dictionaries of South Asia.
  2. ↑ Mantreswara. Phaladeepika. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 390–391.
  3. ↑ M.K.V.Narayan. Flipside of Hindu Symbolism. Fultus Corporation. pp. 91–93.
  4. ↑ "The Svetasvatra Upanishad". Scar Publications. Sloka I.4
  5. ↑ Swami Chinmayananda. The Holy Gita. Chinmaya Mission. p. 606.
  6. ↑ Swami Prabhupada. Bhagavad Gita – As it is. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. p. 406.
  7. ↑ Jayadayal Goyandaka. Srimadbhagavadgita Tattvavivecani. Gita Press. p. 392.
  8. ↑ N.K.Singh. Siva Linga. Global Vision Publishing. pp. 87–88.
  9. ↑ Subodh Kapoor. The Philosophy of Shaivism. Genesis Publishing. p. 466.
  10. ↑ The Hare Krishna Movement: The Post-charismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant. Columbia University Press. pp. 151, 22, 23.
  11. ↑ Thillyvel Naidoo. Long Walk to Enlightenment. Dorrance Publishing. p. 22.
  12. ↑ Edwin F.Bryant. Krishna: A Source Book. Oxford University Press. pp. 378, 523.
  13. ↑ D. Dennis Hudson. The Body of God. Oxford University Press. pp. 298, 244,.
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