Last Updated on October 30, 2024 by Tejaswini
In a recent comment, I came to know that there is a practice of showing the Arundhati star in the skies to the new couple as a part of their Vivah Sankar pujas, in the state of Tamil nadu. And this gave me happiness. Our Maharishis are so utterly fantastic, they have woven the Vedant in every aspect of our lives and in such subtle ways. We are just required to systemically follow the traditions of our ancestors, as even this much guarantees Self realisation.
Rishipatni Arundhati was the wife of Maharishi Vasishtha. She is considered as the symbol of devotion, loyalty and love to the husband. She is the ideal wife, pativrata पतिव्रता. In the skies the couple – Vashishtha and Arundhati are represented by the twin stars in the Saptarshi constellation. Their modern names are Alcor and Mizar in the Big bear constellation, in the northern skies.
The modern meaning of this Arundhati Darshan, ‘seeing the Arundhati star’, as is currently understood in Tamil Nadu is that the lives of the husband and wife have to now revolve around each other. They have to support, respect, love etc each other. This is an auspicious thought, which helps them start their married life, Gruhast ashram in a beautiful way.
The Itihas Mahabharat gives the actual meaning of the Arundhati darshan. And it is this – the wife following the husband is auspicious. The Bhishma parva chapter occurs right before the Mahabharat war. In this chapter, Maharishi Vyas describes the terrible omens/ Shakun which indicate that the war is going to be a tragic event. In this, Maharishi Vyas says that Arundhati has moved in front her husband Vasishtha in the skies and this is a sign that there will be a calamity in the near future. (If you have the Mahabharat with you, do read it. If you do not have the book, then buy a set from the Gita press, they are available in the original Sanskrit, translated to other Indian languages. It is the Pancham Ved.)
This is one way of understanding the Arundhati darshan and it is applicable for a gruhastashrami/ householder. The newly married couple now follow this Arundhati darshan in their life together and it will bring auspiciousness.
But our Rishis were extraordinary and so there is a second meaning to this Arundhati darshan. And this is applicable to every follower of Sanatan Dharma. And who is a follower of Sanatan Dharma? – Anyone who says that his ultimate goal is to realise Moksh, either in this current life or a million lives later, sooner or later. A follower of Dharma wants to realise the Self, this is his ultimate desire. And for this to happen, the only route is the Vedant.
The Arundhati darshan nyaya is the fundamental principle on which the entire Vedant, the Jnyan Kaand of the Ved, the Upanishad, is based.
In the phrase ‘Arundhati darshan nyaya’.
- Arundhati – is the star Alcor. This is a tiny star which is often difficult to see in the skies.
- Darshan means – to see clearly. Clarity on the intellectual level. The unobstructed perfection of thought which is supported by the Ved.
- Nyaya means – the ‘logic supported by the Ved’.
The Upanishads do not reveal the Parabrahma directly. The Parabrahma cannot be directly revealed, it is highly subtle. The Self, the Subject, the ‘I Am’ is the Eternal foundation. This is very subtle, extremely difficult to grasp. And the ordinary mind of the aspirant is used to seeing big, visible, things and it cannot grasp the subtlety of the Parabrahma directly. This ignorant mind has to be prepared, made capable of grasping, holding on and then claiming this Atma jnyan.
So the Guru has to use the Arundhati Darshan Nyaya.
Arundhati is a very faint star in the skies, almost invisible. So in the wedding, it is shown in steps, first the north direction, then the bigger stars, the Big Bear /Saptarshi constellation, all which are easier to locate in the skies. Then the Vasishtha star, this is now smaller than the entire constellation. And then finally almost invisible Arundhati star, which is very faint in the skies. But as these steps have been followed, from the grosser to the subtle, now the Arundhati star can be easily seen. Similarly the Upanishad starts off with the grosser concepts and then slowly but surely takes the student to the Self.
The Atmajnyani Guru first teaches the student about the Annamaykosh, the gross physical body, the sthool sharir. This is visible and the concept is also easy to grasp.
Then he shows the disciple the sookshma sharir, the astral energy body. This sookshma sharir has three sub layers.
- Sublayer one is the Pranmaykosh, the sheath where the vital energy/ Pran moves in the Nadi channels.
- Sublayer two is the even subtler Manomaykosh, the part of the ‘mind’ called Manas. Here the Manas, creates and holds on to ideas, concepts and accordingly feels attracted or repelled by these ideas that it has generated itself. This can be called as an ‘ideating mind’.
- Then the Atmajnyani Guru takes the shishya to the ‘discriminating mind’, the Buddhi, the refined mind, this is called the Vijnyanmaykosh.
Exactly following the Arundhati darshan nyaya. Leading from the gross to the subtle, the Teacher shows the disciple the third body, the causal body, the Karan sharir. This has one sub layer – the Anandmaykosh. This is called the ‘sheath of ignorance’ for a regular human. It is here at the very core of the personality that the confusion regarding the Self resides. This sheath has the ‘darkness of self ignorance’.
Then Guru makes that final jump and points towards the ever pervading Self, the Parabrahma to the disciple. And as the disciple sees it, he understands it, he claims it as his own Self and his journey is complete.
This is the Arundhati Darshan nyaya.
One thing that all students of Vedant must remember is that ‘anand’ does not mean the emotion of happiness as is translated in English. This is the greatest mistake which creates an expectation in the mind of the student and for several aspirants this mistake puts a stop to all further evolution. This is a critical mistake which can become fatal, so keep your understanding clear. Emotions are a part of the Manomaykosh. The student handles the challenges of the Manomaykosh in the early stages of the spiritual quest. Only after the Manomaykosh is handled successfully does the subtler Vijnyanmaykosh become accessible and after this is understood fully does the Anandmaykosh become available for discussion. And only after that comes the Atma.
‘Anand’, in Devbhasha Samskrutam, actually means the ‘incoming intelligence’. ‘Nand’ means intelligence. The prefix ‘aa’ indicates the incoming, rise, grasping, claiming. Claim the Parameshwar as the Self is Anand. That is, if you can say, ‘I am the Atma, I am the Eternal, I am the Existence, I am the Knowledge, I am the Pure Intelligence, I am Limitless, I am the ever Auspicious, I am the Substratum of this Creation, I Am ’, with full confidence, with full understanding, without the least bit of self-doubt, it means that you are now an Atmajnyani Mahapurush, a Guru.
So as a realised soul, claims his Identity, the Anandmaykosh gets illuminated by the light of Intelligence, Atma Jyoti and thus now it becomes the actual intelligence filled layer, ‘Anandmaykosh’ in the real sense.
Back to the marriage event. This Sanskar, ‘appropriate action’, is the entry into Gruhastashram, householder life. The new couple will now follow the Vedpurva, do karmakaand. They will think of the Arundhati star example and have loyalty, respect and love for each other. With time they will have children, pass on their learnings to the next generation. Then they will retire, Vanprasth, and do Upasana as per the Vedpurva. Finally they will enter Sanyasashram and start with the Jnyan Kaand of the Vedant, ie read the Upanishad under the guidance of a Guru. Now, they will understand the real meaning of the Arundhati star that they were shown at their wedding maybe 30yrs ago. Now, they will follow the Arundhati darshan nyaya in the real sense and realise the Self.
Our Maharishis made sure that the newly weds are made aware of the Arundhati darshan nyaya concept at the exact point of the entry into the Gruhastashram itself. (As you know, after the child stage, Balyashram, the person has a choice, either take up Sanyas ashram now or first go through Gruhast and Vanprasth and then take up Sanyas ashram.) The energy / intention of this foundational Nyaya is yoked to the power of the Vivah Sanskar. This in preparation for their eventual Sanyasashram. As they go through their married life consciously holding to one meaning of the Arundhati star, the other subtle meaning is also active and ready in their subconscious.
Our Sanatan Dharma is beautiful, every action is meaningful. Our nation, Bharat is beautiful, because our culture is based on the Ved. So do follow your traditions, whatever your grandparent generation did, do follow it as much as you can. These actions have multiple layers of meanings, which you may or may not realise at that time, but their ultimate purpose is always to lead you to your Self.
Dr. Tejaswini Arvind Patil
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