Upanishad Ganga Appreciation Thread: A MUST-WATCH! - Page 8

Originally posted by: Cool-n-Fresh

Yah,Srujadi made a post related to this in another thread!Earlier I was a bit confused.But came to know that Krishna's wives are symbolic.Here's the link - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/indian-mythology/3697467/allegory-in-history Post under main post.😊

Originally posted by: shubsmayur

Thanks for the link i didn't know that so much to learn from Mythological Section, will definitively go through the whole post, well do you ever hear "Bhagwat Katha" on TV or from any Scholar?

Originally posted by: Cool-n-Fresh

Na never had that much time to spare...Have to study+cover many shows(on TV)+movies...Sorry for the excuse I made...(hiding my face)..

I learned a bit from my Teachers,from some spiritual talks,many on this forum(thanx to members like Srujadi,Minudi,Hermione...)😃

A common Sanskrit word to denote elephant is GAJA. Here Gajanan means elephant faced - a name for Ganapati. But the word Gaja has a much deeper connotation. GA indicates gati, the final goal towards which the entire creation is moving, whether knowingly or unknowingly. JA stands for janma, birth or origin. Hence GAJA signifies GOD from whom worlds have come out and towards whom they are progressing, to be ultimately dissolved in Him. The elephant head is thus purely symbolical.

We observe creation in its two fold manifestation as the microcosm (sukshmanda) and the macrocosm (brahmanda). Each is a replica of the other. They are one in two and two in one. The elephant head stands for the macrocosm (representing vastness or bigness), and the human body for the microcosm. The two form one unit. Since the macrocosm is the goal of the microcosm, the elephant part has been given greater prominence by making it a head.

The Chandogya Upanishad has pronounced a philisophical truth as TAT-TVAM-ASI, THAT- THOU -ART. It simply means "You, the apparently limited individual, are in essence, the cosmic Truth, the Absolute". The elephant-human form of Ganapati is the iconographical representation of this great Vedantic dictum. the elephant stands for the cosmic whereas the human stands for the individual. The single image reflects their identity.

Vedanta is the synthesis of the 'within' and the 'without'; the macrocosm and the microcosm. The study of this 'within' of nature through an inquiry into the 'within' of man, who is the unique product of nature's evolution, is religion according to Indian thought. The synthesis of the knowledge of the 'without' , which the physical sciences give, and the 'within' which religion gives, is what India achieved in her Vedanta. This she calls BRAHMA - VIDYA or philosophy; God or Brahman('BRAHMAN' is the Upanishdic term for the Supreme Reality, God) standing for the totality of reality, physical and non-physical. Brahma - vidya is Sarva - vidya- pratishtha (philosophy is the basis and support of all knowledge) says the Mundaka Upanishad (i.i.i.).

The Ganapati Upanishad identifies Lord Ganesh with the Supreme Self. Lord Ganesh represents the Pranava (AUM) which is the symbol of the Supreme Self. Taitiriya Upanishad (1.8.1.) states: "AUM ITI BRAHMAN -AUM is Brahman (GOD). AUM is all this . Nothing can be done without uttering it. This explains the practice of invokong Lord Ganesh before beginning any rite or undertaking any project.

Originally posted by: shubsmayur

Back to the Episode Discussion- Here two personalities are shown one is Satyadharma who comes in search of a Guru to learn more about Bhartiya Dharshan and on other hand Narendra who don't find it relevant to current scenario but his father's words laid very deep impact on his conscience, its not like he was against that knowledge but his mind was clouded in many aspects but later on he realized it. it shows how deep inside he too lives and believe in that Vedic Knowledge 😊.