Arsha Vidya Pitham, Saylorsburg, PA

Swami Pratyagbodhananda Saraswati

Swami Pratyagbodhanandaji, a disciple of Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswatiji, follows the traditional methods of the teaching of Vedanta. Swami Pratyagbodhanandaji is at home in handling three languages – English, Gujarati and Hindi. Swamiji teaches in all these languages, not only Vedantic texts like the Gita, Upanisads, Panchadasi, and the like, but also Tulsi Ramayana and the Bhagavata Purana.

Swami Pratyagbodhanadaji has had extensive satsang with Swami Akhandananda Saraswatiji and his disciples in Brindavan. Swamiji’s discourses on Ramayana and Bhagavatam reflect these invaluable devotion-rich satsangs. Swamiji has been teaching Vedanta for the past 25 years in Surat, India under the auspices of Viswa-Mangalam and also abroad. Swamiji a Vice President of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg, USA. In his tours of North America, sponsored by the Gurukulam, Swamiji has touched the hearts of a number of people. With his love and understanding, Swamiji has endeared himself to all those with whom he has come in touch.

Teachings by Swami Pratyagbodhananda Saraswati

Swami Pratyagbodhananda ji’s Shraddhanjali and Shodasi day Puja

Swami Pratyagbodhananda ji’s Shraddhanjali and Shodasi day Puja Community Shraddhanjali to our beloved Swami Sunday – Oct 4th (1st Sunday)Gita Class (Chapter 4) – 10 am to 11 amCommunity Shraddhanjali

Ganapati Athrvasirsa Upanishad

Ganapati Athrvasirsa Upanishad with Swami Pratyagbodhanandaji and Swami Muktatmanandaji September 4 @ 8:00 pm – September 7 @ 1:00 pm Topics: Ganapati Athrvasirsa Upanishad & Bhagavadgita Ch.3.3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLYTbMLJyGboAgH-QV2_mZZdbC4j7iWQBe&v=twkirR6rq0E

Navadha Bhakti ~ Swami Pratyagbodhananda

Navadha Bhakti By Swami Pratyagbodhananda Sat, Aug 29th to Fri. Sept 4th @ 11:00AM (7 Classes). https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLYTbMLJyGboCWgmL4Qz1x5nk33kLXJxrh&v=m8v4t6Nd76E

Kaivalya Upanisad ~ Swami Pratyagbodhananda

Kaivalya Upanisad Swami Pratyagbodhananda https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLYTbMLJyGboCRAvbSsO1Fo1h2FkUzR9-s&v=Xu4HbQ4kB1k

SHRIMAD BHAGAVATA SAPTAHAM

Shrimad Bhagavata Saptaham By Swami Pratyagbodhananda Saraswati(July 6th to July 12th) All 7 Days – July 6th, 2020 (Mon) to July 12th, 2020 (Sun)7 pm to 8:30 pm EST via ZoomAll are

Subscribe to Ashram Newsletter

© Copyright: 2021 Arsha Vidya Gurukulam

Lord Daksinamurti

In the vision of the Veda, this creation is a manifestation of the Lord. Being the cause, he is all knowledge, especially spiritual knowledge. We have a name for that Lord Daksinamurti.

The Lord presented in this form as Dakṣiṇāmūrti is the one who has eight aspects. The first five aspects are thefive elements. In the Veda the world is presented in the form of five elements—ākāśa, space,which includes time; vāyu, air; agni, fire; āpa, water; and pṛthivī, earth.

In this Vedic model of the universe, the five elements are non-separate from the Lord. In fact, these five elements constitute the Lord’s form, which is this universe.

The next two aspects are represented by the sun and the moon.

When, as an individual, I look at this world, what stands out in the sky are the sun and moon.

The moon represents all planets other than earth, and the sun represents allluminous bodies.

The eighth aspect is me, the jīva—the one who is looking at the world.

These eight aspects are to be understood as one whole. This is the Lord.

When we look at the form of Dakṣiṇāmūrti, we can see representations of the five elements. Space, ākāśa, is represented by a ḍamaru, a drum, in his right hand. In order to show space in a sculpture, it needs to be enclosed.

Empty space is enclosed in the ḍamaru, enabling it to issue sound, or śabda.

Next, vāyu, air, is represented by Dakṣiṇāmūrti’s hair with the bandana, the band, holding his hair in place against the wind. Bandana is a Sanskrit word which comes from the root band, to bind.

In his left hand, you will see a torch, which represents agni, fire.

Āpa, water, is shown by the Gaṅga, in the form of a Goddess, which you can see on Dakṣiṇāmūrti’s head.

Pṛthivī, the earth, is represented by the whole idol.

Then there are people, the jīvas, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanātana and Sanatsujāta, who are the disciples of Dakṣiṇāmūrti, sitting at the base of sculpture.

The sun and moon are also shown in this form of the Lord.

On the left side of Dakṣiṇāmūrti you will find a crescent moon, and on his right side there is a circle, representing the sun—a whole circle.

So we see five elements, two planets and the jīva constituting the aṣṭa-mūrti-bhṛt, the Lord of these eight factors that are the whole.

You can worship Dakṣiṇāmūrti as the Lord, the one who is aṣṭa-mūrti-bhṛt, or you can invoke him as a teacher, because he also is in the form of a teacher.

His very sitting posture, āsana, is the teacher’s āsana. What does he teach? Look at his hand gesture. That shows wha the teaches. His index finger, the one we use to point at others, represents the ahaṅkāra, the ego.

The other three fingers represent your body, deha, mind, antaḥkaraņa and sense organs, prāņa.

They also may be seen as the three bodies, śarīras, the gross, subtle, and causal. This is what the jīva mistakes himself to be. The aṅguṣṭha, the thumb, represents the Lord, the puruṣa. It is away from the rest of the fingers of the hand, yet at the same time, the fingers have no strength without it.

In this gesture, mūdra, in Dakṣiṇāmūrti’s right hand, the thumb joins the other fingers to form a circle, teaching that the jīva, who takes himself to be the body, mind and senses, is the whole. The circular hand gesture visually states the entire upadeśa, teaching: tat tvam asi, “You are That.” Just as a circle has no beginning or end, you are the whole. That is the final word about you. Nobody can improve upon that vision; no culture can improve upon it.

Even in heaven, it cannot be improved upon, for the whole includes heaven. Therefore, you have the final word here, because you are everything. It is better that you know it. That teaching is contained in the Veda, represented by the palm leaves in the left hand of Dakṣiṇāmūrti. And to understand this, you require a mind that has assimilated certain values and attitudes and has developed a capacity to think in a proper and sustained way.

This can be acquired by various spiritual disciplines represented here by a japa-māla, The fact that the Lord himself is a teacher, a guru, means that any teacher is looked upon as a source of knowledge. And the teacher himself should look upon Īśvara, the Lord, as the source of knowledge. Since the Lord himself is a teacher, the first guru, there is a tradition of teaching, so there is no individual ego involved in teaching.

Dakṣiṇāmūrti is seated upon a bull, which stands for tamas, the quality of māyā that accounts for ignorance. This is the entire creative power of the world and Dakṣiṇāmūrti controls this māyā; Then, there are bound to be obstacles in your pursuit of this knowledge. Dakṣiṇāmūrti controls all possible obstacles.

Underneath his foot, under his control, is a fellow called Apasmara—the one who throws obstacles in your life. This tells us that although there will be obstacles, with the grace of the Lord, you can keep them under check and not allow them to overpower you. There is no obstacle-free life, but obstacles need not really throw you off course; you keep them under control.

Thus, the whole form of Dakṣiṇāmūrti invokes the Lord who is the source of all knowledge, the source of everything, the one who is the whole, and who teaches you that you are the whole. He is Dakṣiṇāmūrti, the one who is in the form of a teacher, guru-mūrti.

We invoke his blessing so that all of you discover that source in yourself. If this self-discovery is your pursuit, your whole life becomes worthwhile. This project of self-discovery should be the project of everyone. That is the Vedic vision of human destiny