Banyan Tree

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The Aranyakas/Wald Texte der Veden,  (Sanskrit आरण्यक Äraṇyaka) are part of the Hindu śruti, the four Vedas; these religious texts were composed in Late Vedic Sanskrit typical of the Brahmanas and early Upanishads; indeed, they frequently form part of either the Brahmanas or the Upanishads. „Aranyaka“ (Äraṇyaka) means „belonging to the wilderness“ (araṇya), that is, as Taitt.Ar.2 says, „from where one cannot see the roofs of the settlement“. They contain Brahmana-style discussion of especially dangerous rituals such as the Mahavrata and Pravargya, and therefore had to be learned in the wilderness. They have also served as receptacles of later additions to the Vedic corpus. However, they have nothing to do, as later tradition has it, with Sannyasins or Vanaprasthas and they are not of „mystical“ nature but very close to the Brahmanas proper. Read More: > HERE <

The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the older, „primary“ Upanishads commented upon by SHANKARA. It is associated with the Taittiriya school of the Yajurveda. It figures as number 7 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. It belongs to the Taittiriya recension of the Yajurveda and is constituted by the seventh, eighth and ninth chapters of Taittiriya Aranyaka.

The tenth chapter of the same Aranyaka is the Mahanarayana Upanishad. The Taittiriya Upanishad describes the various degrees of HAPPINESS enjoyed by the different beings in creation. Read More: > HERE <

Real Identity of Asvattham tree. It is called “Arasa Maram”

There is some confusion in books about the identity of Asvattham tree. It is called “Arasa Maram” (Ficus religiosa) in Tamil Nadu, Ravi-manu in Telugu, Aruli-mara in Canarese. One calls it a Palm tree; another calls it Pipal (Ficus religiosa-pagoda fig-tree); and yet another calls it Banyan Tree (Ficus Bhengalensis) with the adventitious aerial roots. Both (the latter two) are related to each other. It is a humongous tree with bright green leaves chatting with each other with a pat on the back as they rustle in the gush of wind. It is music to the ears. The breeze sets the leaves dancing in the wind and doing partial pirouette on their spindly petioles. When the wind quiets down, the song and dance stop suddenly.

One thing we know is that it is a cosmic tree. The berry of the Pipal is sweet, and Soma (intoxicant) is prepared from its juice according to some accounts. (There is another claim that says the soma juice comes from a mushroom.) Images of Pipal tree appear on the Harrapan seals. Asvattham is said to be a “body-tree.” “A” is no; “THA” is existence; “Shva” means “after tomorrow:” No existence after tomorrow. It tells us that life is precarious. The body tree itself is imperishable (HAM), because God pervades it.

The tree is rooted in heaven and since its aerial adventitious roots go down to anchor to the earth and Prakrti (matter), we are susceptible to the temptations of evil. The middle branches are the men and the sap that keeps flowing inside and sustaining the branches are the Gunas (modes). Cutting the branches and the aerial roots figuratively depicts transcending the gunas and a move to a higher plane― that of SannyÄsi.

In Chinese lore, the body is compared to the Bodhi tree (Tree of Wisdom). Katha Upanishad 2.3.1: With the root above and branches below the fig tree stands: That is pure, That is Brahman, That is immortal. In It the world rests and no one goes beyond it. The upside down Tree of Life has roots in Brahman: The tree, the roots, the trunk, and the branches represent Manifest Brahman or the phenomenal world of Isvara, matter and beings.

Katha Upanishad describes Manifest Brahman as follows: He is self-born and first-born from the waters (Mula Prakrti, root cause or matter) by an act of meditation. He resides in the cave of the heart of beings and is immanent in all causes and effects. He who knows this knows the Absolute in Him. Verse 2.1.6

It goes on to describe the Mother Goddess. She is Aditi, the Boundless. She is born as Prana (Breath or life) from the Absolute genderless Brahman, the nameless, and the formless. She is the Devatamayi (Mother of gods) and the soul of all beings. She stands in the inner recess of the heart. Verse 2.1.7

The Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bo tree; Bo is short for bo-gaha, tree of wisdom; Bo tree is Pipal or Banyan tree; Bo is wisdom, Bodhi is enlightenment, Buddhi is knowledge and the Buddha is he who attained enlightenment. Bodhisattva is potential Buddha meaning that the aspirant has wisdom (enlightenment) and virtue (Bodhi + Sattva).

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Krishna states that He is Asvattha tree among trees. Jesus Christ says that he is the true vine. It appears the trees have souls from what Lord Krishna and Jesus Christ say. Why are we cutting them indiscriminately and depleting our forests?

Sage Narada cursed the two sons of Kubera to become trees for knowingly playing naked in the shoal of a river with Ghandarva women. (You thought that having a shower mate is a modern phenomenon: not so from what you read here.) The young women in a turn of modesty put on their clothes while the Kubera’s sons ignored the sage, who cursed them to become trees for their feral nature, arrogance, insolence, and ignorance; Krishna released their souls and bodies after one hundred divine years by uprooting the trees.

Krishna drank water from River Sarasvati, sat, and meditated under Asvattha (Pipal) tree in a reclining position, before his departure to Goloka, Bhagavata Purana 3.4.3 and 8. River Sarasvati went dry before 1900 B.C. At present Sarasvati River features as a pentimento from satellite earth images.


Mantra Pushpam – Vedic Hymns

This mantra is from Taithreeya Aranyakam of Yajur Veda

Asva, meaning horse, is the root word for Asvattha, the tree; Asvamedha, horse sacrifice; Asvatthaman, he who cried like a horse at birth; Asvatthaman, the elephant; Asvini, the wife of Asvins, who took the form of a mare; and Asvinikumaras, the sons of Asvini-the sons of a mare. Asvattha tree gained such name because people used the tree’s shade as shelter for horses. Professor Bokonyi of Hungary an expert in the anatomy of horses tells that the true horses were present in Kutch area during the late Harappan period. The Aryans migrated from India in several waves to Iran to Caucasus riding on the horses as early as 4000 B.C. Rg Vedic civilization was before 5000 B.C. Indo-European languages have loan words like Aspa, Aihva, aszva, aspa, asa, iss, issi, issia, assa, sisu, equus. Where did they originate from? Yes, from Sanskrit. Let us look at another view. Domestication of horse: the credit goes to Akkadians; that is one view. The majority opinion is that the Indo-Aryan was the first domesticator of the horses. They wrote the first manuals for horse training.

Between 2000 B.C. and 1700 B.C. the Aryans (the late comers) in Babylon domesticated the horses which were then called the ass of the East. The horse was later introduced in Egypt before 1580 B.C. The Aryan victory march was attributed to tamed fast horses and chariots.

Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati calls this tree The Mystical Tree. He says that this imperishable tree has roots above and branches below. The human body, according to him, resembles the upside-down tree in that the brain forms the root structure; the spinal column, the tree trunk; and the leaves, the thoughts, emotions and distractions. The occult truth and the secret knowledge of the Mystical Tree cannot be understood until the aspirant gets spiritual awakening.

Let me touch upon the significance of tree in Christianity. As you see Krishna’s image on the cosmic tree, it reminds us of Jesus Christ on Holy Rood, the tree of immortal life, and he is himself the fruit of the tree. Jesus on the cross, the Buddha under the tree, and Krishna on the cosmic tree–my interpolation, are the same figures. Page 107 The Power of Myth, by Joseph Campbell. Joseph Campbell, the universal man, sees oneness in Jesus Christ and the Buddha. Campbell is one among the rarest of breeds who knows the essence of (a generic) religion. He can see through the apparent differences among the religions and find the common Truth.

15.2: Its branches extend downwards and upwards nourished by Gunas, with sense objects as shoots or sprouts; and its roots extend downwards to the world of men, bound to karma.

The tree has many adventitious roots, coming down from the tree branches; the wider the tree grows the more adventitious roots there are. These adventitious roots, compared to ego, ignorance and vasanas supporting the heavy branches grow down, while the cosmic roots of the tree trunk grow towards heaven and anchor in Brahman. The lower branches are synonymous with human beings, animals, birds, reptiles, worms, insects, and insentient and immovable matter. The upper branches are comparable to Ghandarvas, yaksas, gods, and goddesses.

The sap of Gunas nourishes the branches, the product of Prakrti; the sap flowing through the upper branches contains Sattva (goodness and virtue), while that of the lower branches comparable to animals, contains Tamas (ignorance and delusion). The middle branches are the men with varying combinations of the Gunas and thrive by the sap of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas in varying combinations. The adventitious roots of the middle and lower branches represent bondage of the human beings and animals. The lateral branches are the sense objects, namely sound, vision, smell, taste, and touch; the growing ends of lateral branches are the ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and skin; the leaves representing the Vedas reach for the sun and illumination from God.

The adventitious roots originate from branches, which draw nourishment from Gunas: they are extensions of these branches and therefore of the gunas, which are responsible for the way men behave. The adventitious roots or the gunas anchor to Prakrti and bind the jivatma to karma and therefore to SamsÄra. In this world of beings, man has the most opportunity to advance to a higher state, fall to lower state, or remain in the same state. The animals are born in the lower state because they have to resolve the prÄrabda (past) karma inherited from the past life; they do not accumulate new karma in the present life because their acts are commensurate with their animal traits; and they are incapable of making informed choice from Sattva, Rajas, or Tamas. But, man on the other hand can accumulate new karma because he can choose his (thought), word, and deed.

Krishna in his discourse in The Uddhava Gita, Dialogue 7.21-7.24 describes the Tree of Life. (based on translation by Swami Saraswati.)

The tree of Samsara bears flowers and fruits; good and bad deeds are its seeds; desires are its deep roots; Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas are its support; earth, water, fire, air, and ether are its five secondary branches through which five kinds of sap (smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing) flow. The five branches fork into ten branches: five motor organs, five sensory organs plus the mind. Two birds (The Supreme One and Ahamkara) live in their nests in the branches. The bark has three layers, the three humors of the body: wind, bile and phlegm. The tree bears two fruits: joy and sorrow. Some eat the fruit of sorrow; some on right path eat the fruit of joy. Krishna tells Uddhava to cut down the tree and free the Self, identifying himself with the Self.

15.3: Neither its form nor its end nor its beginning nor its support is seen. Having cut this firm-rooted Asvattham tree by the strong weapon of detachment…

15.4: Thereafter, seek out that goal, attaining which one does not return again. Surrender to the (first and) Primal Person from whom the ancient manifestation comes forth.

We have to cut the adventitious roots to prevent lowermost branches from getting the sap of Tamas (darkness and delusion); then we have to cut the adventitious roots, which supply the Rajas sap (motion and passion) to the middle branches; now we are left with the upper branches (and their adventitious roots), whose sap is Sattva (goodness, virtue, and calmness). To attain to Brahman, we have to transcend all three Gunas and therefore have to cut the tree, roots, and all. The tree represents the nonself or Prakrti, and we have to separate the JivÄtman from Prakrti, so it merges with the Higher Self.

Let me explain what attaining to Brahman means. It points to a certain quality of life and behavior. It is simply not having the didactic knowledge of the Holy Scriptures; it is not simply the rituals alone. Dharma, duty; sama, equanimity; dama, self-control; vairÄgya, indifference to worldly objects; uparati, desisting from sensual enjoyment; sraddhÄ, faithfulness; and atha, “much more or more over,” (auspiciousness, authority, flair and divine grace) are the preconditions for reaching Brahman. The fit person is the one who knows his Vedas, has the attributes (described above), and is devoted to the Lord only and detached from the world.

  • Dharma
  • Sama
  • Dama
  • VairÄgya
  • Uparati
  • SraddhÄ
  • Atha
  • Duty
  • Equanimity
  • Self-control
  • Desirelessness
  • Abstinence
  • Faithfulness

SraddhÄ is implicit faith in Hindu Holy Scriptures. “Atha” has no English equivalent and means “much more” or “more over” meaning auspiciousness, authority, flair, and divine grace.

15.5: The wise ones, without false pride and delusion, having vanquished the evil of attachment, eternally devoted to the Supreme Self, divorced from passion (KÄmÄh), free from dualities of HAPPINESS and distress, and delusion, reach the eternal state. ( Suka and Dukha = þýÀõ (Inbam) and ÐýÀõ (Thunbham) = HAPPINESS and distress.)