Shiksha, Chanda, Vyakarana & Nirukta Vedanga
"The utterance of a mantra without knowledge of its meaning or of the mantra-sadhana is a mere movement of the lips and nothing more." - John Woodroffe, Shakti and Shakta
Shiksha Vedanga
Shiksha is the science of Sanskrit Phonetics. It is said that without the proper intonation and pronunciation a mantra is innert. The sound waves created must be accurate in order for the attributed function to execute. Even if you do not know the meaning of the words, how to pronounce them or even why you are doing it - it is so very important to continue to practice. That is devotion. Eventually you will find yourself discovering a new understanding, when the words develope a new dimensionality. When you find that a single syllable is capable of emitting dormant neurotransmiters, that flood your receptor site and induce overwhelming waves of divine bliss --- you will know that your starting to get it.
Chandas Vedanga
The study of Vedic meter, Chandas, is one of the 6 disciplines of Vedanga.
A meter is the measured arrangement of words in poetry, as by accentual rhythm, syllabic quantity, or the number of syllables in a line.
* jágat?: 4 padas of 12 syllables
* tristubh: 4 padas of 11 syllables
* vir?j: 4 padas of 10 syllables
* anustubh: 4 padas of 8 syllables, this is the typical shloka of later Hindu poetry
* g?yatr?: 3 padas of 8 syllables
(Please forgive the ? that accompany the words above, i've yet to figure out how to get my website to use the correct characters for this language)
Laghu (light) syllables are short
Guru (heavy) syllables are long
Vedic Meters divided by number of padas in a verse, and by the number of syllables in a pada.
A Verse contains a specific number of padas & the padas contain a specific number of syllables.
It doesn't stop here, next time we will break down the different types of verses.
Vyakarana Vedanga
There are some 8000 rules to sankrit grammar, and these are written in the meta-language Upadesa. The sutras may be found in the text "Panini's Astadhyayi". I will work on locating an online copy for our research.
Nirukta Vedanga
Nirukta Vedanga is the study of etymology. Language is the ability to create, sustain and destroy. The experience of language is the aggregate for consciousness and understanding. When one hears 'aum namah shivaya' without understanding, it may produce some effects in consciousness, as chanting is a catalyst for chant. However, when one understands 'aum namah shivaya' word x word, syllable x syllable, it may be broken down into the quintessence of divine consciousness.
Some erratic thoughts regarding language Sanskrit is the language of the Gods, an expression of the divine. It is a powerful programming language that reality overlaps and many languages have developed as subsidiaries of sanskrit. When one understands the origins and etymology , hence Nirukta Vedanga, one doesn't simply understand the sacred texts at their face value but understands the truest meaning of the text.
English is an inert language and a benign form of source code in comparison to sanskrit. Within the western culture, or at least amongst the denizens of the New Paradigm, we had rediscovered a love for language when we broke free from the boundaries of english. The glossalia spoken by children to escape linguistic limitations. The sacred resonance of 'Dead Can Dance' and even the late great terence mckenna, who taught us how to "use your voice to make an object" with his DMT language lessons, have all bestowed in us a desire to rediscover the true power of language.
