Consequence of Misinterpretations

[kisalipa]

Based on this unfortunate misinterpretation, the ‘Gayatri’ was also prohibited to women, especially, when Gayatri is said to be a woman! What is the meaning of the word Gayatri as per the Veda? Gayatri means only the name of one of the seven meters in the Veda (Gayatri chandah). Gayatri does not mean any deity as said in the ritual Sandhya Vandanam. It is said that God is the deity of Gayatri (Savitaa devataa). The word savitaa again means only the creator and not the Sun as per the root meaning of the word (Shunj praniprasave). The meaning of word Gayatri is the style of the sentence, which is the form of song (Gayantam trayate). Gayatri means any song related to God. But today, Gayatri is just a verse that is repeated by the unfortunate male Brahmins! The actual Gayatri is only with women, who sing well on God! The fate of the egoistic male Brahmins is reminding Me the statement given by Swami Vivekananda “The fruits have already fallen in the drainage and you are quarrelling for the vacant basket”. The thread marriage, the initiation to Gayatri is a function that introduces singing on God through sweet songs. The three threads (Upavitam) put in this function mean that a form made of three qualities (trigunas) of God should be sung and not the absolute God, who is beyond words and even imagination. Thus, women not having this function of Upanayanam are not suppressed at all from Gayatri. In fact, the men were suppressed from the real Gayatri, who do not sing on God and just repeat a verse written in the Veda in Gayatri meter. You can reach God more easily through song, since a song gives more inspiration than prose and poetry. The unfortunate men were confined to prose (Yajur Veda) and poetry (Rug Veda) leaving the song (Sama Veda) to women. The Gita says that the Samaveda is the best. Therefore, the best path is left to women only! Hence, the women were not suppressed by the foolish misinterpretation done by some men. In fact, the men were suppressed from real Gayatri. Remember, those, who suppress others are suppressed by God and those, who are suppressed by men will be uplifted by God. In fact, praising God through prose and poetry is also a path to reach God, which is allotted to men. Praising God through songs is another path to reach God, which is allotted to women. The reason is that women are more talented in singing.

The Upanayanam and Gayatri mean only the initiation done to a male or female to praise God. The separation between two paths is only according to the convenience and therefore, the women and other castes need not feel suppressed, since the introduction of the three threads is not done for them. If you understand the real meaning of three threads, you will not misunderstand the tradition. These three threads cannot take you to God! They stand only to indicate God in form. There are several non- Brahmin devotees (men and women), who reached God without these three threads. It is only a symbol indicating the form of God. Even a male Brahmin is said to reach God after samnyasa only in which the three threads have to be removed! The sages with the three threads could not reach God and could reach God only when they were born as Non-Brahmin women (Gopikas). Therefore, the same path is not meant for all. According to convenience, anyone can reach God by any path. If both husband and wife sit together doing Sandhya Vandanam by reciting Vedic hymns, who will cook the food? Therefore, one path is allotted to men and another path is allotted to women to reach God. For the sake of convenience only, one path allotted to one person is prohibited to other person. In this sense only, Ramanuja wrote that the male men were only eligible to a particular path of Vedic rituals, while writing commentary on the first Brahma Sutra. This does not mean that you will reach God only by the path of Vedic rituals and not by non-Vedic (ritualistic) path of devotion by singing songs on God. In fact, Ramanuja gave the Narayana Mantra to all non-Brahmins and therefore, you can understand the sense of His commentary. In fact, the path allotted to women, who sing on God is more effective and easier to reach God. The ways of worship related to Vratams done by women are full of songs and the real Gayatri is with them only. Analysis shows that men are suppressed by God and the reason for this is only their ego. Similarly, the spiritual path of non-Brahmin devotees is more effective and easier than male Brahmins, since male Brahmins have the ego of caste and gender. In fact, the women in caste of Brahmins were allotted the path of non- Brahmins to show that the entire caste of Brahmins did not suppress non-Brahmins. If the function of three threads is done by all men and women of Brahmins, certainly there should have been a misunderstanding that the entire caste of Brahmins has suppressed the other castes by confining this function to their caste (males and females) only. The Brahmin ladies were given this alternative path of devotion by songs to show that this path is also leading to God. Without understanding this, other castes and the women of Brahmins need not blame male Brahmins with jealousy. Without understanding this, male Brahmins also should not feel egoistic. Both jealousy and ego are enemies for spiritual path.

[Vinayaka]

I prefer the view, differing interpretations' rather than the word 'misinterpretation'. Generally, in scholarly debate, when people take a stance, all other stances are 'misinterpretations'. It is all about 'I'm right and you're wrong' and not about finding a sense of harmony, not agreeing, but being content with the idea that someone may have a differing view that you do.

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by Vinayaka

I prefer the view, differing interpretations' rather than the word 'misinterpretation'. Generally, in scholarly debate, when people take a stance, all other stances are 'misinterpretations'. It is all about 'I'm right and you're wrong' and not about finding a sense of harmony, not agreeing, but being content with the idea that someone may have a differing view that you do.

Namaste, Vinayaka.

Exactly!

How I learned it, is that the Gayatri Mantra is in reference to Savita (Surya) or the 'Sun God' from the Rig Veda.

It also denotes the 'Inner Sun' or the dawning of consciousness or awareness, describing all the lokas or planes of existence from the lower realms (chakras) to the higher ones, as denoted by the bijas "Bhu", "Bhuva" and "Swah" which can also refer to the three Gunas or modes of existence within the universe.

However, I am just focusing on the title of this thread for now, because 'walls of text' are difficult for me to intellectually scale.

The consequence of misinterpretations, is that the misinterpreted meaning can be twisted to fit whatever the religious school/belief is according to those misinterpretations.

The opening poster made another thread, where his translation of Sanskrit was totally incorrect, leading to a whole false view and concept which he then elaborated on and tried to fit that in with his own belief system.

Not since I read the purports by Prabhupada for the Bhagavad Gita (As it IS) have I been dismayed with the amount of liberties taken with an actual translation to fit in with an ideology.

http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/sh...d.php?t=112861

...but I am over it now...after saying this.

Om Namah Shivaya

[kisalipa]

'Gayatri' means the meter in which a poem is composed and is sung with the attractive tune or rhythm. It is said that Gayatri means the meter only, which is the mode of song (Gayatri chandah). Gayatri does not mean a deity. The deity is said to be God only (Savitaa devataa). 'Savitaa' means the creator. The three threads put on the boy in the thread marriage denote the three qualities, which constitute the creation. It conveys the concept that you should worship the unimaginable God through an imaginable item of the imaginable creation only. The three qualities (Satvam, Rajas and Tamas) exist in any human being. The living beings other than human beings consist Rajas and Tamas only because knowledge (Satvam) is absent in them. Therefore, the three qualities indicate that God should be worshipped through the human form only. When you express your love on the contemporary human form through songs, each song is 'Gayatri Mantra'. The language can be your mother tongue. The language should be the vehicle of communication of the meaning. Singing in languages like Sanskrit is of no use since the meaning is not realized by you. The climax of the tragedy of Hinduism is to chant some hymn in unknown language without any trace of singing and to call that as 'Gayatri Mantra'!

'Gayatri' means the song of God that protects all the human beings irrespective of caste and sex (Gayaan traayate iti). Thus, any song of God that attracts your mind provoking you to sing again and again so that the knowledge conveyed by it is constantly revised. Today, people chant some hymn of the Veda present in a meter called 'Gayatri' without any trace of singing and which does not attract your mind to repeat and revise the knowledge again and again, is considered as 'Gayatri Mantra'! In view of the actual concept, it cannot be treated as 'Gayatri Mantra'. The foolish priests stamp such hymn as 'Gayatri Mantra' and further say that the females and other castes are not eligible for it. First of all, what you say as 'Gayatri Mantra' is not 'Gayatri Mantra' at all in view of its actual concept. This is the first mistake.

The second mistake is to deny such false 'Gayatri Mantra' to ladies and other castes. 'Gayatri' means any song of God in any mother tongue that protects any soul (Gaya) irrespective of caste and sex.

The third mistake is to treat 'Gayatri Mantra' as a female deity, which actually means singing on God in any convenient language.

The fourth mistake is to deny 'Gayatri Mantra' to females for which a female deity is super-imposed and reject all the female souls as not eligible. Thus, the actual concept is totally buried and a chain of misinterpretations have buried the true concept resulting in blind tradition of ignorance.

[Shivani Devi]

Namaste.

Apart from the fact that you have just re-iterated what your first post stated...

I guess that I am a rebel. NO priest tells me what I can or cannot do.

I mean, if it were up to them, ladies wouldn't be allowed inside temples or to chant mantras at ALL because they bleed once a month and that is seen as 'unclean' or 'unholy'.

If it were up to them, no other caste would be allowed to do anything either because they are not 'qualified' or fit to do so.

Brahmavidya requires no sex, no caste, no divisions of wealth or labour.

It is up to us to prove that the 'ineligible' IS eligible through experience alone.

If I am chanting Gayatri Mantra in the privacy of my home and a priest tells me that I cannot do it, I will simply tell him to kiss my...lingam.

Om Namah Shivaya

[sky]

Originally Posted by The Necromancer

Namaste.

Apart from the fact that you have just re-iterated what your first post stated...
K
I guess that I am a rebel. NO priest tells me what I can or cannot do.

I mean, if it were up to them, ladies wouldn't be allowed inside temples or to chant mantras at ALL because they bleed once a month and that is seen as 'unclean' or 'unholy'.

If it were up to them, no other caste would be allowed to do anything either because they are not 'qualified' or fit to do so.

Brahmavidya requires no sex, no caste, no divisions of wealth or labour.

It is up to us to prove that the 'ineligible' IS eligible through experience alone.

If I am chanting Gayatri Mantra in the privacy of my home and a priest tells me that I cannot do it, I will simply tell him to kiss my...lingam.

Om Namah Shivaya

good on you, but whats a lingam

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by sky123

good on you, but whats a lingam

A phallic symbol that is worshiped to represent Shiva.

[sky]

Originally Posted by The Necromancer

A phallic symbol that is worshiped to represent Shiva.

Ha ha, I thought it was slang for something else. I've learned something today
Your humour is contagious, don't ever change, love it.

[Vinayaka]

Not all people interpret the lingam as a phallic symbol. In fact, most don't. So as the thread says, there are many and various interpretations of lots of things in Hinduism.

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by Vinayaka

Not all people interpret the lingam as a phallic symbol. In fact, most don't. So as the thread says, there are many and various interpretations of lots of things in Hinduism.

Too true...too true and I wouldn't either, but the fact it is situated within a yoni...well, you know.