Sathyartha Prakasha - Page 1

          The Swami begins the book and the first chapter (Prathama Samollasa) with a Manthra from Thytheriopanishad. He does not begin with a traditional ’Mangalam' declaration, such as ‘Om Ganeshaya Namah'. He says he follows the tradition of ancient scriptures which begin their treatises with the words ‘Atha’ and ‘Om’ only.

In the Manthra the Swami begins this book, viz., “Om Shanno Mithraha …’ God is mentioned by multiple names: Mithra, Varuna, Aryama, Indra, Brihaspathi, Vishnu, Urukrama, Brahma and Vaayu. But the Swami has written that the meaning of all the names in the Manthra to be only Om. And that Om stands for its three constituents viz., A, U and Ma.

Each of Om constituents represents multiple meanings such as A for Virat, Agni, Vishva, etc. From U we mean Hiranyagarbha, Vaayu, Thaijas, etc. From Ma we understand Eeshwara, Adithya, Praajna, etc. The Swami further says that all these names refer to Parameshwar only. With this the Swami stresses that there is only one God and not many different gods. He refers to this one God as Parameshwara.

The Swami recognized the Upanishads as equal to Vedas. And. that the Vedas and Upanishads are the true scriptures of Hinduism. He considered the Puraanas and many similar books which were written later to be inconsistent with Vedas and Upanishads. He considered  epic Ramayana and epic Mahabhaaratha to be historical books and Rama and Krishna to be only great men and not Gods.

Puraanas, epic Ramayana and epic Mahabhaaratha  were written much later and they contained false narratives and therefore their contents are not all true Hindu scriptures.

The Swami gives 100 names of God that one comes across in not only Vedas and Upanishads but also in subsequent Hindu scriptures. But the Swami says that they are not different gods but refer to one God Parameshwara. Puraanas give stories of Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, Ganesha, Lakshmi, Parvathi, Saraswathi, etc., as individual gods. But the Swami says that the stories given in the Puraanas are fiction, and not to be relied upon. He says, "All these names are descriptive terms of one God in different contexts."

Also, the Swami gives many Pramanas (evidences) to say that the Vedas were transmitted to four earliest scholars, viz. Agni, Vaayu, Adithya directly by Parameshwara and Angira soon after He made them knowledgeable of Sanskrit language. Since the Vedas were heard from Parameshwara, they are called Shruthis (shruthi means heard). All those scriptures that appeared later such as the Upanieshads, Vedangas, Brahmanas, etc., till the books of Vyas Muni are reliable. Those that appeared later such as the Puraanas could not be accepted as valid because they contain numerous false and fictitious narratives.

From the 5th day after menstruation and until 16th day (counting from the day menstruation started), is the appropriate period for Rithudaana (intercourse). Avoiding Ekaadashi and Thrayodashi there are 12 nights available every month for Rithudaana.

Intercourse is best avoided during other nights than these and for one year after a period is missed and pregnancy is confirmed. The would-be-mother should eat healthy food and a little more than usual since another individual is also growing in her womb and shares what she eats.

The Swami goes on to explain how a mother after birth of a child can maintain her body like it was before delivery and look like a girl. (1) The baby may be fed mother’s breast milk only for 6 days from birth, after which a Daadi should feed the child. A Daadi is a woman who delivered a baby at about the same time and seeks to earn some money by offering her extra milk to another baby. She breastfeeds both babies; her own and the customer's.

(2) Any drug, application of which prevents milk production should be used to stop breasts from enlarging due to milk production, either by local application to the nipples or orally administered. (3) The woman suffers body weakness after delivery and therefore a Daadi feeding the baby takes the strain off the woman.

The Swami believed in Athma or soul and in rebirth. He supported preparation of Certificate of birth with or without a Horoscope chart showing position of various planets and stars at the time of birth. But he opposed the practice of predicting the future life of the baby based on the concept of planets and stars influencing the life course of the new-born child.

The Swami condemns the unscrupulous men and women in the garb of wise people and mislead the innocent parents by making untrue predictions based on the position of stars and planets at the birth of their baby. Those who are ignorant are made to spend a lot of money on measures to pacify the stars and planets and save the child from their alleged adverse effects.

The kind of schools the Swami envisaged were to some extent like the present military schools in which a student is taught not only ABCD but also how to be a soldier. The teacher or his assistant lives with the students and instructs them how to dress, eat, exercise, sleep, wash, brush teeth, take bath, etc., and in Swami's schools the syllabus propoesed is 70% Vedas, Upanishads, Smrithis such as Manusmrithi and ancient scriptures that stress on prayers, Agnihothra  (fire sacrifices) and on celibacy. It can be estimated that Swami's school is a monastery and not a modern school.

Yet some of the suggestions are relevant even today, such as the schools must admit every boy or girl between the ages 6 and 24 years regardless of their caste and that the government must punish the parents or guardians of those children who for no proper reason were kept away from school.

Most of the schools in those days were run by one single teacher who was also the owner, executor, director, principal and teaching all subjects in his own individual style. The government had no control over either the syllabus or the teacher.

Examinations were optional and conducted separately at exclusive testing institutions for different subjects. The student can opt for getting tested in one or more subjects at these so-called Ghatikasthana (test center).

Like Hindu schools (Pathashala) there were schools (monasteries) belonging to Mohammadens, Christians, Pharsees, Jains, Buddhists Sikhs, etc. Among Hindus there were schools run by Brahmosamaj, Prarthana Samaj, Basava Samaj, Goswamis, Bhakti groups, Vaishnavas, Shaivas, Krishna worshippers, Rama Worshippers, etc. Among Mohammadans, there were Madrasas and Maqtabs for Sunni sects, for Shia sects, for Ahmedi sect, for B' hai sect, etc. Among Christians, there were seminaries of Catholic and Protestant groups. In the South there were schools for Orthodox Christians and for Syrian sects.

The curriculum begins as stated in Panini's Shiksha and Kalpa. Ashtadhyayi Suthras are taught first. After Ashtadhyayi Mahabhashya is taken up for study. The language of medium of instruction is Sanskrit regardless of student’s mother tongue. Both Ashtadhayi and Mahabhashya are taught repeatedly for 3 years by which the study of grammar is completed.

In the next four years the students are taught the four Brahmanas viz., Aithareya, Shathapatha, Sama and Gopatha, and lastly the four Vedas.

Studies do not end here but continue with Health sciences, Archery, Military science, Administrative science, Arts such as Sculpture, drawing, painting, music, dance, etc. I would add in present period, studies such as Construction industry like Architecture, building, etc. Also Manufacturing, engineering, computer science, electronics, Astronomy. Archaeology, Medical studies such as Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, Pathology, Internal Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Not all of this for one student. Each student can take up a study that would help him take up a career he likes.

The teachers and students must keep away from learning about stars and planets foretelling the future such as by horoscopes and zodiacs, and determining auspicious days and time as in Astrology.

Books by Jaimini Muni, Vyasa Muni, Kanada Muni, Gauthama Muni, Vatsayana Muni, Patanjali Muni, Kapila Muni, Bhaguri Muni, Bhodhayana Muni, etc. are all acceptable for study.

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