My daughter is helping me create a television series about Vedic Knowledge. I am giving her an “entrance exam” in order to join the television staff. Some of the test questions:
- Give 5 names for the one thing out of which all things emerged. Give at least one Western scientific name. Explain.
- What is Rishi, Devata, and Chhandas? Explain.
- What is the Veda? Explain.
- What is the difference between Vedic and Hindu? Explain.
- What does “Knowledge is structured in Consciousness” mean? Explain.
- What is the Reality Continuum? Explain.
- What/Who is Shiva, Rama, Krishna, Durga, Parvathi, Uma, Ganesh, Karthikeya (Skanda), Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Kali?
- Explain the idea of Name and Form. What is a pure language? Give an example.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Great questions! After sitting at your feet more many years,just as she has done, I don’t have the answers to all these questions, but now ruminating on what I do not know. THIS blog is not the place to answer to be fair about the quiz you gave her.
Ooh! Super fun. Thank you for sharing!
Awesome!
I love it! how lucky she is… if we take a stab at the answers can we try for a baggage carrier? 🙂
What a great quiz! Since the knowledge is structured in consciousness, I think my asnswers would be in the preschool level…
This is fun. I love to test myself to see if I at least have some understanding of the Knowledge.
When I contemplated number 7, I realized that I do not know much about the deities. I guess I just chalked them all up as operations in the mathematics that structure nature. It will be fun at this point to read up and get familiar with them as personalities.
Fabulous idea! There is much work to do !
Thanks for the exercise. It inspired me to think and feel withing myself. Here is what I came up with…
Unified Field, Pure Consciousness, Isness, Being, God, Wholeness. The Unified Field is the source of all manifestation. That is the scientific term.
Rishi is the Knower, Chandas is the Known or object of attention, and Devata is the Process of Knowing, that which makes it possible for the Knower to Know.
These terms relate to the fundamental mechanics of creation. Relativity appears within Wholeness when the unified field of pure consciousness curves back on itself and from that perspective sees itself as other. (It’s a little like bending down to look at your own toes. Although they are still connected to you, they are at the same time the object of your attention.) The Unified Field never really splits into 3, but the appearance of 3 emerges within the wholeness. From the initial appearance of three then comes all of multiplicity and relativity based on the complex interactions of the Knower, the Known and the Process of Knowing.
Veda is Nature. You could think of it as the blueprint of Nature inherently part of every particle of creation and every grain of sand. It is in the nature of Consciousness itself and everything that emerges within Consciousness.
I think of Hindu as a religion, a very ancient traditional way of approaching God. I think of Veda as the language of Nature itself. Veda is naturally embedded in the Wholeness of life as well as all its parts so it is the foundation of all of life and every religion whether it is recognized as being there or not.
Reality Continuum is another way of understanding the wholeness of life. The continuum moves from the Absolute Silent Basis of life, thru the finest, most subtle expressions of creation which are sometimes called the finest feeling level. The continuum also includes the more obvious manifested levels of life which we are commonly familiar with. All these levels are part of the Wholeness of life. Reality Continuum is another way of describing the wholeness of life from smaller than the smallest to bigger than the biggest.
Shiva, Rama, Krishna, Durga, Parvathi, Uma, Ganesh, Karthikeya, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Kali are all often understood as names of God. For me the term God is all inclusive and unified. The different names simply describe one aspect of that which is indescribable and beyond words.
There are many different stories in the Vedic Tradition which help to express those different characteristics of Veda and Wholeness. In that context Shiva can be felt as great Silence. Rama is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who demonstrated the living of right action in worldly life. Krishna is another incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Krishna imparted great wisdom about life to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. Durga, Parvathi, Uma, Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Kali are all considered to be different aspects of the Divine Mother, the Feminine Principle which gives birth to relative existence. Parvathi is said to be the wife of Siva. She gave birth to Ganesh who is dedicated to knowledge and is often considered the remover of obstacles. Parvathi also gave birth to Kathikeya who can manifest a great leadership and organizing ability. I feel Uma as the Divine Mother who gently nourishes. Durga is a powerful aspect of Mother Divine who can overcome the demons and destroy our illusions. Durga is said to be composed of Kali, the destructive aspect, Lakshmi the giver of abundance and Sarashwathi the expresser of the arts and also wisdom.
But while there are many wonderful wise stories about all these aspects of God, I understand that Veda, the blueprint of the totality of life is found everywhere. So one can find and experience the wholeness of life from many many different aspects.
If any of this needs “fine tuning” please let me know.
I welcome people to comment on Golda’s entry. Perhaps start with ‘reality continuum’.
ok, ok. I will do a slideshare on the Reality Continuum. Please watch for it. BTW, my compliments to Golda for stepping up to the plate.
Thank you. I will look forward to the slide share.
Really enjoyed this Blog and how I initially responded to it. This was fun!
Great questions to ponder. I’m with Rayshan on that one…
I really appreciate the slide share on Reality Continuum.
It is very powerful and clear. There are an infinite number of simultaneous yet contradictory realities… amazing.
I could have saved myself a some mistakes if I had understood cross realm projection a few decades ago. Silly me for seeking the one ultimate reality in the relative sphere of life. Many thanks.