Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-11, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in

Vethanthamum Vethathiria Yogamum

K.K. Aathava1 & Dr. M. Jothilakshmi2 1Research Scholar, Vision for Wisdom, Bharathiyar University- 9944180137, 2Guide, Asst. Professor, Department of Tamil, Bhishop Heber College, Trichirappalli.- Mob: 99761 49778,

ABSTRACT: religious texts, which are called sm ti. The Veda, VETHANTHAM: The have stories about for orthodox Indian theologians, are considered the Hindu gods, instructions for rituals, hymns, revelations, some way or other theṛ work of the poetry, and prayers. The word "Vedic" means Deity. In the Hindu Epic the , the something about the Vedas. The language of the creation of Vedas is credited to . There are Vedas is called Vedic Sanskrit. Later types of four Vedas: the , the , the that are very different from the types of and the . Each Veda has Hinduism that follow the Vedas respect them. The been sub classified into four major text types – the four Vedas are: the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Samhitas ( and benedictions), the Sama Veda, and the Atharva Veda. Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices The Vedas are the four holiest books of the Hindu and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas religion. They are believed to be one of the oldest (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and books ever made by mankind. They are written in sacrifices), and the (text discussing an old Indian language called Sanskrit. They have , philosophy and spiritual knowledge). words (called mantras) which are chanted at the Some scholars add fifth category – the Upasanas religious ceremonies. (worship). Although they were finally written down in 1,500 The various Indian philosophies and denominations BCE. They are actually much older and were have taken differing positions on the Vedas. passed down orally from one generation to the next Schools of which cite the Vedas possibly over thousands of years. as their scriptural authority are classified as VETHATHIRIUM: Simplified "orthodox" (āstika). Other śrama a traditions, such (SKY) - The human being is a combination of the as Lokayata, Carvaka, Ajivika, physical body, mind and life force. To acquire and and , which didṇ not regard the maintain inner peace and harmony, self-knowledge Vedas as authorities are referred to as "heterodox" and systematic physical and psychic practices are or "non-orthodox" (nāstika) schools. Despite their essential. The complete system, referred to as differences, just like śrama a traditions, various “SKY”, evolved by Maharishi consists of the Hindu traditions dwell on, express and teach following. Simplified Physical Exercise: To similar ideas such as (retributiveṇ action) and maintain health and prevent disease; KayaKalpa (liberation) in the fourth layer of the Vedas Yoga:An ancient Siddha practice for enhancement – the Upanishads. The Vedas are called Ma ai or of life energy; Simplified Kundalini Yoga: A system Vaymoli in parts of South India. Marai literally of meditation Clarity and strength of mind; means "hidden, a secret, mystery". In some ṛsouth Introspection: A practical methodology for Indian communities such as Iyengars, the word sublimating the negative emotions of greed, anger, Veda includes the Tamil writings of the Alvar vengeance, worries, etc. saints, such as Divya Prabandham, for example Tiruvaymoli. KEYWORDS: Hymns, harmony, enhancement, “Yoga is a complete process of perfection of an worries, greed, anger, and vengeance, individual by developing consciousness to its fullness” --VETHATHIRI MAHARISHI. Man is mortal. His life is in between birth and death. INTRODUCTION: Everyone has come to this earth with a return The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ticket. The date of onward journey is fixed but ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the there is no date fixed for one’s return. Though texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit man’s life span is 120 years, it depends on one’s literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. health and his ability to maintain it. consider the Vedas to be apauru eya, which means "not of a man, superhuman" and SIMPLIFIED KUNDALINI YOGA : "impersonal, authorless". Vedas are ṣalso called Simplified Kundalini Yoga (SKY) is founded by śruti literature, distinguishing them from other Thathuvagnani Vethathiri Maharishi who was born

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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-11, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in in the year 1911 in a village near Chennai, South of the Sacrificial formulas”, for liturgy. Atharva- India. His early life was struggle against poverty, Veda “Knowledge of the Magic formulas”, named but he won through sheer determination and self after a kind of group of priests. The Vedas are the effort. Probing into origin and purpose of live, the four holiest books of the Hindu religion. They are self-educated philosopher perfected the Simplified believed to be one of the oldest books ever made Kundalini Yoga, a safe and highly beneficial by mankind. They are written in an old Indian system of meditation and yoga exercises. Swamiji language called Sanskrit. They have words has served mankind for over 55 years in cause of (called mantras) which are chanted at the religious world peace (ie) when each individual realizes the ceremonies. Although they were finally written value of self and learns to preserve harmony with down in 1,500 BCE. They are actually much older environment. If the life is to be happy, successful, and were passed down orally from one generation and harmonious, good physical health is to the next possibly over thousands of years. The indispensable. Realizing the importance of proper Vedas have stories about the Hindu gods, exercise, and meditation, Thathuvagnani Vethathiri instructions for rituals, hymns, poetry, and prayers. Maharishi has synthesized and simplified the The word "Vedic" means something about the earlier ones and dedicated to the humans. Vedas. The language of the Vedas is called Vedic VEDAS: The Vedas are a collection of hymns and Sanskrit. other religious texts composed in India between about 1500 and 1000 BCE. It includes elements LATER VEDIC PERIOD: : Six such as liturgical material as well as mythological technical subjects related to the Vedas are accounts, poems, prayers, and formulas considered traditionally known as vedā ga "limbs of the to be sacred by the Vedic religion. Veda". V. S. Apte defines this group of works as: ORIGIN: The origin of the Vedas can be traced "N. of a certain class of works regardedṅ as auxiliary back as far as 1500 BCE, when a large group of to the Vedas and designed to aid in the correct nomads called the , coming from central pronunciation and interpretation of the text and the Asia, crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains, right employment of the Mantras in ceremonials." migrating into the Indian subcontinent. This was a These subjects are treated in Sūtra literature dating large migration and used to be seen as an invasion. from the end of the Vedic period to Mauryan times, This invasion hypothesis, however, is not seeing the transition from late Vedic unanimously accepted by scholars today. All we Sanskrit to Classical Sanskrit. The six subjects of know for certain, mainly through linguistic studies, Vedanga are: Phonetics (Śik ā), Ritual (Kalpa), is that the language gained ascendency over Grammar (Vyākara a), Etymology (Nirukta), the local languages in the Indian sub-continent. The Meter (Chandas), Astronomy (Jyotiṣ a). language of the Vedas is Sanskrit, an ancestor of Pariśi a: Pariśi a "supplement,ṇ appendix" is the most of the modern languages spoken today in term applied to various ancillary worksṣ of Vedic South Asia. Vedic literature is religious in nature literature,ṣṭ dealingṣṭ mainly with details of ritual and and as such tends to reflect the worldview, spiritual elaborations of the texts logically and preoccupations, and social attitudes of the chronologically prior to them: or priestly class of ancient India. The the Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and . Vedas were first composed sometime around 1500- Naturally classified with the Veda to which each 1000 BCE in the north-western region of the Indian pertains, Parisista works exist for each of the four subcontinent - present day Pakistan and northwest Vedas. However, only the literature associated with India - and they were transmitted orally over many the Atharvaveda is extensive. The Āśvalāyana generations before eventually being committed G hya Pariśi a is a very late text associated with to writing. Like the Homeric epics, parts of the the Rigveda canon. The Gobhila G hya Vedas were composed in different periods. The Pariśiṛ a is a ṣṭshort metrical text of two chapters, oldest of these texts is the Rig-Veda, but it is not with 113 and 95 verses respectively. The Kātiyaṛ possible to establish precise dates for its Pariśiṣṭas, ascribed to Kātyāyana, consist of 18 composition. It is believed that the entire collection works enumerated self-referentially in the fifth of was completed by the end of the second the seriesṣṭ (the Cara avyūha)and the Kātyāyana millennium BCE. Śrauta Sūtra Pariśi a. The K a Yajurveda has 3 parisistas The Āpastambaṇ Hautra Pariśi a, THE VEDAS: which is also foundṣṭ as theṛṣṇ second praśna of The basic Vedic texts are the Samhita the Satyasā ha Śrauta Sūtra', the Vārāha Śrautaṣṭ “Collections” of the four Vedas: Rig-Veda Sūtra Pariśi a For the Atharvaveda, there are 79 “Knowledge of the Hymns of Praise”, for works, collectedḍ as 72 distinctly named parisistas. recitation. Sama-Veda “Knowledge of the : Aṣṭ traditional view given in the Melodies”, for chanting. Yajur-Veda “Knowledge Purana (likely dating to the Gupta period, attributes

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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-11, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in the current arrangement of four Vedas to the head of the ancient Hindu pantheon. Agni, the god mythical sage Vedavyasa. Puranic tradition also of fire, is often referred to in Vedic literature as the postulates a single original Veda that, in varying most important god, and is considered to be the accounts, was divided into three or four parts. flame that lifts the sacrifice to heaven, a symbol of According to the Vishnu Purana (3.2.18, 3.3.4 etc.) the fiery life and spirit of the world, the “vital the original Veda was divided into four parts, and spark”, the principle of life in animate and further fragmented into numerous shakhas, by inanimate nature. Another important deity is Lord Vishnu in the form of , in the Dvapara Varuna, who was initially associated with heaven. Yuga; the Vayu Purana (section 60) recounts a Varuna eventually developed into the most ethical similar division by Vyasa, at the urging of Brahma. and ideal deity of the Vedas, watching the world The (12.6.37) traces the origin of through his great eye, the sun, and was thought to the primeval Veda to the syllable aum, and says know everything, to enforce justice and to preserve that it was divided into four at the start of Dvapara the world’s smooth functioning. The Vedas also Yuga, because men had declined in age, virtue and have a hymn to , a primordial deity who is understanding. In a differing account Bhagavata sacrificed by the other gods: Purusha’s mind Purana (9.14.43) attributes the division of the became the Moon, his eyes the Sun, his head the primeval veda (aum) into three parts to the Sky, and his feet the Earth. In this same passage we monarch Pururavas at the beginning of Treta Yuga. have one of the first indications of a caste system The Mahabharata (santiparva 13,088) also with its four major divisions: The Brahmans or mentions the division of the Veda into three priests, came from Purusha’s mouth, The in Treta Yuga. Kshatriyas, or warrior rulers, from Purusha’s arms, Upavedas: The term upaveda ("applied The , or the commoners (land-owner, knowledge") is used in traditional literature to merchants, etc.), from Purusha’s thighs, The designate the subjects of certain technical works. , or labourers and servants, from Purusha’s Lists of what subjects are included in this class feet. differ among sources. The Charanavyuha mentions four Upavedas:[99] Archery (Dhanurveda), SIMPLIFIED KUNDALINI YOGA: Yogiraj associated with the Rigveda, Architecture Shri Vethathiri Maharishi (1911–2006) was a (Sthapatyaveda), associated with the Yajurveda. spiritual leader and founder-trustee of the World Music and sacred dance (Gāndharvaveda), Community Service Center in 1958 in Chennai. He associated with the Samaveda, Medicine had founded over 300 yoga centers around the (Āyurveda), associated with the Atharvaveda . world and wrote about 80 books, many of which Other Vedas: became academic textbooks. He was declared the Some post-Vedic texts, including 19th Siddha by the Dravidian University. the Mahabharata, the Natyasastra[102] and Vethathiri Maharishi claimed to synthesize a certain Puranas, refer to themselves as the "fifth complete science of living for the betterment of Veda".[103] The earliest reference to such a "fifth humanity through: Simplified Kundalini Yoga Veda"is found in the Chandogya Upanishad in hym meditation, Physical Exercises, Kaya Kalpa Yoga n 7.1.2.First chapter of Nātyaśāstra,Abhinaya and Introspections. [Vethathiri’s life time works are Darpana - "Divya Prabandha", for example called Vethathiriyam], which literally translates as Tiruvaymoli, is a term for canonical Tamil texts a roadmap to the mountain of knowledge. He considered as Vernacular Veda by some South claimed that a deep understanding of nature is Indian Hindus. Other texts such as the Bhagavad essential for living in harmony with the law of Gita or the Sutras are considered shruti or nature, while balancing material well-being with "Vedic" by some but not spiritual progress. universally within Hinduism. The movement, and Gaudiya in particular Simplified Physical Exercise: To maintain health extended the term veda to include the Sanskrit and prevent disease; Epics and Vaishnavite devotional texts such as the Pancaratra. KayaKalpa Yoga: An ancient Siddha practice for enhancement of life energy; ACCOUNTS OF GOD & MYTHOLOGICAL : Despite the fact that the Simplified Kundalini Yoga: A system of Rig-Veda deals with many gods, there are some meditation clarity and strength of mind; who get a lot of attention. More than half the hymns invoke just three top-rated gods of the Introspection: A practical methodology for moment: Indra (250 hymns), Agni (200 hymns), sublimating the negative emotions of greed, anger, and (just over 100 hymns). Indra was the vengeance, worries, etc.

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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-11, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in

SIMPLIFIED KUNDALINI YOGA: By practices were linked to this new spiritual sincere practice of meditation, the senses come approach: meditation, celibacy, and fasting, among under the control of our mind and we do our others. actions with constant awareness of the cause and Simplified Kundalini Yoga or SKY is effect system. Kundalini is the life-force; the a physical, mental and spiritual discipline energy of the body and mind. Simplified Kundalini packaged by Yogiraj Vethathiri Maharishi for Yoga is the practice to utilize the life-force for the developing strength, awareness, character, and object of meditation; merging the mind with the consciousness. The practice of Pranayamam, life-force takes one to the subtlest frequency, which Acupressure, and Thavam in Simplified enhances awareness and furthers intellectual Kundalini Yoga raises the body awareness to sharpness and understanding. Process: Meditation, prepare the body, nervous system, and mind to Introspection, Sublimation, Perfection. handle the Life energy better. The system of Development: Expansion of Mind, Understanding physical exercises developed by Shri Vethathiri law of nature, Awareness of thought, word and Maharishi after years of intense research, fulfils deed. Benefit: Perspicacity, Receptivity, the need of maintaining the proper circulation Adaptability, Magnanimity, Creativity. Result: of blood, heat, air, energy and bio-magnetism, Harmony, Satisfaction, Happiness, Wisdom, Peace. ensuring maintenance of health and prevention Through this Simplified Kundalini Yoga of disease in a gentle way. Simplified kundalini meditation, the mental frequency can be yoga is a form of meditation to merge the mind streamlined. During the meditation, the mental with the subtle life force. Kayakalpa is a frequency will be reduced to the extent of depth of specialized field of practice revered within the the mind. If the meditation is practised, the and Siddha medical systems of India thought, deed, the experience and enjoyment as the ideal treatment for health, vitality, activated through emotional stage become longevity and higher consciousness. indulgence crossing limit. The frequency of the mind is separated into four stages according to the REFERENCE: emotional mood - Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta 1. Cristian Violatti, editor of Ancient stages. The mind crosses the limit of emotional History Encyclopedia mood (14 to 40 cycle per second) Beta to peaceful 2. Vedic period - Flood, Gavin. An state (8 to 13 cycle per second) Alpha. Further, the Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge mind is expanded to the level of universe the University Press: Cambridge, 1996. ISBN mental frequency will be reduced to 4 to 7 cycle 0-521-43878-0. per second - Theta stage. On further expansion of 3. Michaels, Axel. Hinduism: Past and mind, the mental frequency will be reduced by 1 to Present. Princeton University Press: 3 cycle per second Delta stage. Now it gets 2004. ISBN 0-691-08953-1. unification with Divine State. This practice of 4. Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli; and Moore, meditation called Kundalini Yoga is to be learnt Charles A. A Source Book in Indian stage by stage through an experienced teacher. Philosophy. Princeton University Press, Vethathirian nine types of Meditation by 1957; Princeton paperback 12th edition, concentrating the mind on the life force and 1989. ISBN 0-691-01958-4. conclude it by focusing on the eternal state which is 5. VETHATHIRI MAHARISHI’s - Yoga for the origin of life force. Human Excellence Books 6. Vethathiri Maharishi (1972). Yoga for CONCLUSION: Modern Age, Erode, Vethathiri Humans performed sacrifices and rituals, Publications. and the gods would return their favor under the form of protection and prosperity. During the later Vedic period (from c. 800 to c. 500 BCE), the priestly class was seriously questioned. The rituals, the sacrifices, the detailed rulebooks on ceremonies and sacrifices, all of these religious elements were being gradually rejected. Some of those who were against the traditional Vedic order decided to engage in the pursuit of spiritual progress, living as ascetic hermits, rejecting ordinary material concerns and giving up family life. Some of their speculations and philosophy were compiled into texts called The Upanishads. A number of

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