Basistha temple

Basistha temple, located in the south-east corner of Guwahati city is a Shiva mandir constructed by Ahom King Rajeswar Singha in 1764  along with gift of land 835 Bighas for the ashram. The history of the Basistha Ashram where the temple is located dates back to the Vedic age. According to legend the ashram was founded by the great saint Basistha (Vasishtha).

Temple in the ashram stands on the bank of the mountain streams originating from the hills of Meghalaya, which becomes the rivers Basistha and Bahini/Bharalu flowing through the city.

Basistha Ashram

                    This ashram is believed to be the home of famous sage Basistha, also known as "Vasishtha". The ashram is located a few kilometers (10-12) from Guwahati, on the outskirts of Garbhanga reserve forest which has an ample population of Elephants. This Garbhanga reserve forest is also a proposed Butterfly reserve. Although the ashram has a temple but still the cave in which the Muni Vasistha is believed to have meditated is located 5 K.m. inside the ashram. The ashram also has a waterfall .

Yoga Vasistha  also known as Vasistha's Yoga  is a Hindu spiritual text traditionally attributed to Valmiki. It recounts a discourse of the sage Vasistha to a young Prince Rama, during a period when the latter is in a dejected state. The contents of Vasistha's teaching to Rama is associated with Advaita Vedanta, the illusory nature of the manifest world and the principle of non-duality. The book has been dated between the 11th and 14th century AD) and is generally regarded as one of the longest texts in Sanskrit (after the Mahabharata) and an important text of Yoga. The book consists of about 32,000 shlokas (lines), including numerous short stories and anecdotes used to help illustrate its content. In terms of Hindu mythology, the conversation in the Yoga Vasishta takes place chronologically before the Ramayana.

Other names of this text are Mahā-Rāmāyana, ārsha Rāmāyana, Vasiṣṭha Rāmāyana,  Yogavasistha-Ramayana and Jnanavasistha.

Context

Prince Rama returns from touring the country, and becomes utterly disillusioned after experiencing the apparent reality of the world. This worries his father, King Dasaratha, who expresses his concern to Sage Vasistha upon Rama's arrival. Sage Vasistha consoles the king by telling him that Rama's dis-passion (vairagya) is a sign that the prince is now ready for spiritual enlightenment. He says that Rama has begun understanding profound spiritual truths, which is the cause of his confusion; he needs confirmation. Sage Vasistha asks the king to summon Rama. Then, in King Dasaratha's court, the sage begins his discourse to Rama (which lasts several days). The answer to Rama's questions forms the entire scripture that is Yoga Vasistha.

Content
         The traditional belief is that reading this book leads to spiritual liberation. The conversation between Vasistha and Prince Rama is that between a great, enlightened sage and a seeker who is about to reach wholeness. This is said to be among those rare conversations which directly leads to Truth.

 

The scripture provides understanding, scientific ideas and philosophy; it explains consciousness, the creation of the world, the multiple universes in this world, our perception of the world, its ultimate dissolution, the liberation of the soul and the non-dual approach to creation.

An oft-repeated verse in the text is that relating to Kakathaliya, ("coincidence"). The story is that a crow alights on a palm tree, and that very moment the ripe palm fruit falls on the ground. The two events are apparently related, yet the crow never intended the palm fruit to fall; nor did the palm fruit fall because the crow sat on the tree. The intellect mistakes the two events as causallyrelated, though in reality they are not.

Structure

Yoga Vasistha is divided into six parts: dis-passion, qualifications of the seeker, creation, existence, dissolution and liberation. It sums up the spiritual process in the seven Bhoomikas:

1. Śubhecchā (longing for the Truth): The yogi (or sādhaka) rightly distinguishes between permanent and impermanent; cultivates dislike for worldly pleasures; acquires mastery over his physical and mental organism; and feels a deep yearning to be free from Saṃsāra.
2. Vicāraṇa (right inquiry): The yogi has pondered over what he or she has read and heard, and has realized it in his or her life.
3. Tanumānasa (attenuation – or thinning out – of mental activities): The mind abandons the many, and remains fixed on the One.
4. Sattvāpatti (attainment of sattva, "reality"): The Yogi, at this stage, is called Brahmavid ("knower of Brahman"). In the previous four stages, the yogi is subject to sañcita, Prārabdha andĀgamī forms of karma. He or she has been practicing Samprajñāta Samādhi (contemplation), in which the consciousness of duality still exists.
5. Asaṃsakti (unaffected by anything): The yogi (now called Brahmavidvara) performs his or her necessary duties, without a sense of involvement.
6. Parārthabhāvanī (sees Brahman everywhere): External things do not appear to exist to the yogi (now called Brahmavidvarīyas), and tasks are performed only at the prompting of others.Sañcita and Āgamī karma are now destroyed; only a small amount of Prārabdha karma remains.
7. Turīya (perpetual samādhi): The yogi is known as Brahmavidvariṣṭha and does not perform activities, either by his will or the promptings of others. The body drops off approximately three days after entering this stage.

Excerpts

"The great remedy for the long-lasting disease of samsara is the enquiry, 'Who am I? To whom does this samsara belong?', which entirely cures it."

"Nothing whatsoever is born or dies anywhere at any time. It is Brahman alone, appearing in the form of the world."

"O Rama, there is no intellect, no consciousness, no mind and no individual soul (jiva). They are all imagined in Brahman."

"That consciousness which is the witness of the rise and fall of all beings – know that to be the immortal state of supreme bliss."

"Knowledge of truth, Lord, is the fire that burns up all hopes and desires as if they are dried blades of grass. That is what is known by the word samadhi – not simply remaining silent."

"The moon is one, but on agitated water it produces many reflections. Similarly, ultimate reality is one, yet it appears to be many in a mind agitated by thoughts."

Text origin and evolution
                     The Yoga Vasistha is a syncretic work, containing elements of Vedanta, Jainism, Yoga, Samkhya, Saiva Siddhanta and Mahayana Buddhism, thus making it, in the opinion of one writer, "a Hindu text par excellence, including, as does Hinduism, a mosaic-style amalgam of diverse and sometimes opposing traditions",  providing an example of Hinduism's ability to integrate seemingly opposite schools of thought.  The oldest available manuscript (the Moksopaya or Moksopaya Shastra) is a philosophical text on salvation (moksa-upaya: "means to release"), written on the Pradyumna hill in Srinagar in the 10th century AD.   This text was expanded and Vedanticized from the 11th to the 14th century AD – resulting in the present text,  which was influenced by the Saivite Trika school.  This version contains about 32,000 verses; an abridged version by Abhinanda of Kashmir (son of Jayanta Bhatta) is known as the Laghu ("Little")Yogavasistha and contains 6,000 verses. 

 

Influence

Yoga Vasistha is considered one of the most important scriptures of the Vedantic philosophy. 

Indian freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar has praised Yoga Vasistha. Quotes from his Autobiography "My Transportation For Life"  

• "All of a sudden I fell upon the Yoga Vashistha, and I found it of such absorbing interest that I have come to regard it ever since as the best work on the Vedanta Philosophy. The propositions were so logical, the verse is so beautiful, and the exposition is so thorough and penetrating that the soul loses itself in raptures over it. Such a fine combination of philosophy and poetry is a gift reserved only for Sanskrit poets"
• "When I used to be lost in the reading of the Yoga Vashistha, the coil of rope I was weaving dropped automatically from my hands; and, for hours on end I lost the sense of possessing the body and the senses associated with that body. My foot would not move and my hand was at a stand still. I felt the deeper yearning to surrender it all. All propaganda, all work seemed such a worthless task, a sheer waste of life. At last the mind and the matter asserted their sway over the body and swung it back to work again"

Commentaries

The following traditional Sanskrit commentaries on the Yoga Vasistha are extant

• Vāsiṣṭha-rāmāyaṇa-candrikā by Advayāraṇya (son of Narahari)
• Tātparya prakāśa by ānanda Bodhendra Sarasvatī
• Bhāṣya by Gaṅgādharendra
• Pada candrikā by Mādhava Sarasvatī

Translations

Originally written in Sanskrit, the Yoga Vasistha has been translated into many Indian languages, and the stories are told to children in various forms. 

During the Moghul Dynasty the text was translated into Persian several times, as ordered by Akbar, Jahangir and Darah Shikuh.  One of these translations was undertaken by Nizam al-Din Panipati in the late sixteenth century AD. The translation, known as the Jug-Basisht, has since became popular in Persia among intellectuals interested in Indo-Persian culture. 

Yoga Vasistha was translated into English by Swami Jyotirmayananda, Swami Venkatesananda, Vidvan Bulusu Venkateswaraulu and Vihari Lal Mitra. K. Naryanaswami Aiyer translated the well-known abridged version, Laghu-Yoga-Vasistha. In 2009, Swami Tejomayananda's Yoga Vasistha Sara Sangrah was published by the Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. In this version theLaghu-Yoga-Vasistha has been condensed to 86 verses, arranged into seven chapters.

English translations

1) Complete translation

• Vālmīki (1891). The Yoga-Vásishtha-Mahárámáyana of Válmiki. trans. Vihārilāla Mitra. Calcutta: Bonnerjee and Co. pp. 3,650. OCLC 6953699.
• Vālmīki (1999). The Yoga-Vásishtha-Mahárámáyana of Válmiki. trans. Vihārilāla Mitra. Delhi: Low Price Publications.
• Vālmīki (2000). The Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha of Vālmīki. trans. Vihārilāla Mitra. Delhi: Parimal Publications. OCLC 53149153. Sanskrit text with English translation.

• This complete translation is currently being prepared for publication in the public domain at the Project Gutenberg/Distributed Proofreaders: http://www.pgdp.net. A preliminary version is available at:

http://www.scribd.com/collections/2493058/Yoga-Vasishtha-Mitra-translation

2) Abbreviated versions

Tejomayananda, Swami: Yoga Vasishta Sara Sangraha. Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, Mumbai 1998

• Jyotirmayananda, Swami: Yoga Vasistha. Vol. 1–5. Yoga Research Foundation, Miami 1977. http://www.yrf.org
• Venkatesananda, Swami (1993). Vasiṣṭha's Yoga. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 768. ISBN 0-585-06801-1. OCLC 43475324. Abbreviated to about one-third of the original work.
• Venkatesananda, Swami (1984). The Concise Yoga Vāsiṣṭha. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 430. ISBN 0-87395-955-8. OCLC 11044869.http://books.google.com/books?id=1FFdOj2dv8cC. A shorter version of the above.
• Vālmīki (1896). Yoga-Vâsishta: Laghu, the Smaller. trans. K Nārāyaṇaswāmi Aiyar. Madras: Thompson and Co. p. 346 pages. OCLC 989105.http://www.archive.org/details/yogavasishtalagh00aiyeuoft.
• Abhinanda, Pandita (2003). The Yoga Vasishta (Abridged Version). trans. K.N. Subramanian. Chennai: Sura Books. p. 588 pages. http://books.google.com/books?id=tq9TSJGtemsC.
• Vālmīki (1930). Yoga Vashisht or Heaven Found. trans. Rishi Singh Gherwal. Santa Barbara, USA: Author. p. 185 pages. http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/yvhf/index.htm.

Telugu translations

Complete translation

• Vasishtha Rama Samvaadam, Sri Yeleswarapu Hanuma Ramakrishna.

Audio files available : http://www.pravachanam.com/browse/telugu/srimad_bhagavadgita/yeleswarapu_hanuma_ramakrishna.

 

Vashishta ( Saptarishis)

   Vashishta   is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi) in the seventh, i.e. the present Manvantara,.  Vashista is a manasputra of God Brahma. He had in his possession the divine cow Kamadhenu, and Nandini her child, who could grant anything to their owners. Arundhati is the name of the wife of Vashista.
Vashista one of 9 Prajapatis is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the Rigveda. Vashista and his family are glorified in RV 7.33, extolling their role in the Battle of the Ten Kings, making him the only mortal besides Bhava to have a Rigvedic hymn dedicated to him. Another treatise attributed by him is "Vashista Samhita" - a book on Vedic system of electional astrology.

Tales featuring Vashista

Vashista is featured in many tales and folklore, a few of which are briefly described below. In the Ramayana Vashista appears as the court sage of kingDasharatha.

The tale of Vashistha

Sage Vashistha was Ram's guru and the Rajpurohit of Ikshwaku dynasty. He was a peace-loving, selfless, intelligent and great Rishi. He had established Gurukula (residential college) on the banks of the river beas, where he and his wife Arundhati were taking care of thousands of students.

Vashistha was the Sadguru of his time, possessing 20 "kala's" (divine arts) and had complete knowledge of the whole cosmos and the god. Many of his Shlokas are found in Vedas as well.

After being unable to conquer Nandini, Vishwamitra decided to acquire power himself through penance like Vashistha. He gained much power and many divine weapons from Shiva. Once again he attempted to conquer Kamadhenu/Nandini. But even the divine weapons he acquired could not defeat the power of Kamadhenu/Nandini.

Vashista possessed a cow named Nandini daughter of Kamadhenu who could instantly produce food enough for a whole army. The king Kaushika(later called Vishwamitra), who visited Vashistha's hermitage, was very impressed with the cow and tried to take it away from Vashistha by force, but Kamadhenu/Nandini's spiritual power was too great for him.

Vishwamitra finally decided to become a Brahmarishi himself, he renounced all his possessions and luxury and led the life of a simple forest ascetic.

The tale of King Dileepa

King Dileepa or Dilip was a king of the Raghuvamsha dynasty. He had a wife named Sudakshina, but they had no children. For this reason, Dileepa visited the sage Vashistha in his ashram, and asked him for his advice. Vashistha replied that they should serve the cow Nandini, child of Kamadhenu, and perhaps if Nandini was happy with their service, she would bless them with a child. So, according to Vashistha, Dileepa served Nandini every day, and attended to her every need for twenty-one days. On the twenty-first day, a lion attacks Nandini. Dileepa immediately draws his bow and tries to shoot the lion. But he finds that his arm is paralysed and cannot move. He reasons that the lion must have some sort of divine power. As if to confirm this, the lion started to speak to him. It said that Dileepa had no chance of saving the cow because the cow was the lion's chosen meal. The lion tells Dileepa to return to Vashistha's ashram. Dileepa replies by asking if the lion would let Nandini go if he offered himself in Nandini's place. The lion agreed and Dileepa sacrificed his life for the cow. But then the lion mysteriously disappeared. Nandini explained that the lion was just an illusion to test Dileepa. Because Dileepa was truly selfless, Nandini granted him a son.

Arundhati and Vashishtha pair of stars

Vashista Ashram

Mizar is known as Vasistha and Alcor is known as Arundhati in traditional Indian astronomy.  The pair is considered to symbolize marriage (Vashishtha and Arundhati were a married couple) and, in some Hindu communities, priests conducting a wedding ceremony allude to or point out the constellation as a symbol of the closeness marriage brings to a couple. 

Vashista Ashram

Brahmrishi Vashistha had an Ashram in Ayodhya that was spread over 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land. Today all that remains of it is a small ashram in about one fourth of an acre of land. The ashram has within it a well that is believed to be the source of the river Saryu. Brahmarishi Vashistha was the Guru of the Suryavamsha. The King at that time was King Ishvaku who was the king of Ayodhya. He was a noble king and thought of the well being of his subjects. He approached Sage Vashista telling him that the land had no water and requested him to do something to let the kingdom have adequate water. Sage Vashistha performed a special prayer and the river Saryu is said to have started flowing from this well. Sarayu is also known as Ishvaki and Vashisti. It is said that the well is connected underground with the river. Many spiritual people who visit this ashram find an enormous spiritual energy around this well. Some believe that this is one of the better spiritualtirth's in Bharat (India).

There is also another ashram past Rishikesh on the way to Kaudiyala on the Devprayag route that is known as Vashistha Guha Ashram. The ashram itself is located on the banks of the River Ganges and it is a very beautiful place. It has a wonderful long cave with a large dark Shivaling installed at the end inside. The head of the ashram is a Sanyasi monk of South Indian origin by the name of Swami Chaitanyanandji. There is also another cave smaller to the side facing the river called 'Arundhati's Cave', also known as 'the Jesus Cave', since the 1930's when Papa Ramdasji had mentioned in his book about his vision of Lord Jesus there.

Vasistha In Buddhism

In the Buddhist Vinaya Pitaka of the Mahavagga (I.245) section the Buddha pays respect to Vasistha by declaring that the Veda in its true form was declared to the Vedic rishis "Atthako, Vâmako, Vâmadevo, Vessâmitto, Yamataggi, Angiraso, Bhâradvâjo, Vâsettho, Kassapo, and Bhagu"  and because that true Veda was altered by some priests he refused to pay homage to the altered version. 

Vashista head

A copper item representing a human head styled in the manner described for the Rigvedic Vashistha has been dated to around 3700 B.C. in three western universities using among other tests carbon 14 tests, spectrographic analysis, X-ray dispersal analysis and metallography.  This indicates that some Rigvedic customs were already known at a very early time. The head was not found in an archaeological context, as it was rescued from being melted down in Delhi.

Kashyapa

Kashyapa (Sanskrit कश्यप kaśyapa) was an ancient sage (rishis), who is one of the Saptarshis in the present Manvantara; with others being Atri, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni,Bharadwaja  

He was also the author of the treatise Kashyap Samhita, or Braddha Jivakiya Tantra, which is considered, a classical reference book on Ayurvedaespecially in the fields of Ayurvedic pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics. It can be safely assumed that there were many Kashyaps and the name indicates a status and not just one individual.

He was the father of the Devas, Asuras, Nagas and all of humanity. He married Aditi, with whom he fathered Agni, the Adityas, and most importantly LordVishnu took his fifth Avatar as Vamana, the son of Aditi, in the seventh Manvantara.  With his second wife, Diti, he begot the Daityas. Diti and Aditi were daughters of King Daksha Prajapati and sisters to Sati, Shiva's consort. Kashyap received the earth, obtained by Parashurama's conquest of KingKartavirya Arjuna and henceforth, earth came to be known as "Kashyapi".
Birth and Lineage
                  Kashyap was one of the Saptarshi Brahmins. According to Hindu Mythology, he is the son of Marichi, one of the ten sons (Manasa-putras) of the Creator Brahma. The Prajapati Daksha gave his thirteen daughters (Aditi, Diti, Kadru, Danu, Arishta, Surasa, Surabhi, Vinata, Tamra, Krodhavaśā, Ida, Khasa and Muni ^[4] in marriage to Kashyap. 

 

• 
  His sons from Diti were, Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha and a daughter Sinhika, who later became the wife of Viprachitti. Hiranyakashipu had four sons, Anuhlada, Hlada, Prahlada, and Sanhlada, who further extended the Daityas. His sons from Aditi or Adityas (Sons of Aditi) were, Aṃśa, Aryaman, Bhaga, Dhūti, Mitra, Pūṣan, a daughter Bhumidevi, Śakra, Savitṛ, Tvaṣṭṛ,Varuṇa, Viṣṇu, and Vivasvat or Vivasvan,  who went on to start the Solar Dynasty (Suryavansha), which later came to be known as Ikshvaku dynasty, after his great grandson, King Ikshvaku, whose subsequent kings were, Kukshi, Vikukshi, Bana, Anaranya, Prithu, Trishanku, and finally King Raghu, who gave it the name, Raghuvansh (Dynasty of Raghu), and then further leading up to Lord Ram, the son of Dashrath. 

• Garuda and Aruna are the sons of Kashyap from his wife, Vinata  
• The Nāgas (serpents) are his sons from Kadru.
• The Danavas are his sons from Danu.
• The Bhagavata Purana states that the Apsaras were born from Kashyap and Muni.
• Uttar Ramayana says Diti had a son named Maya who was the lord of Daityas 

In the family line of Kashyap, along with him there are two more discoverers of Mantras, namely, his sons Avatsara and Asita. Two sons of Avatsara, namely, Nidhruva and Rebha, are also Mantra-seers. In the Manvantara period named 'Svarochisha', Kashyap was one of the seven Sages (saptarishi) for that manvantara. The Indian valley of Kashmir in the Himalayas is named after him.

Kashyap In Buddhism
 

In the Buddhist Vinaya Pitaka of the Mahavagga (I.245) section the Buddha pays respect to Kashyap by declaring that the Veda in its true form was declared to the Vedic rishis "Atthako, Vâmako, Vâmadevo, Vessâmitto, Yamataggi, Angiraso, Bhâradvâjo, Vâsettho, Kassapo, and Bhagu"  and because that true Veda was altered by some priests he refused to pay homage to the altered version. 

Kashyap in Sikhism

In Brahm Avtar composition present in Dasam Granth, Second Scripture of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh mentioned Rishi Kashyap, as second avtar of Brahma . According to him, Rishi Kashyap had great knowledge of Vedas and interpreted it very thoughtfully to whole world which bring them internal relief . He married with four wives, Banita, Kadru, Diti and Aditi and have many children out of them some remain religious(Deities) and other became irreligious(Demons).

Kashyap and Kashmir

The Valley of Kashmir got its name from Kashyap Rishi .According to the Hindu mythology, the Kashmir valley was a vast lake called Satisaras, named after Sati or Parvati the consort ofShiva. The lake was inhabited by the demon Jalodbhav. The Nilamat Puran of the 7^thCentury mentions the region being inhabited by two tribes - the Nagas and the Pisachas. The lake was drained off by leader of the Nagas called Ananta (Anantnag region of Kashmir is named after him) in order to capture and kill the demon. Ananta later names the valley as Kashyap-mira after his father Kashyap. Kalhana in Rajatarangini (The River of Kings) also mentions Prajapati Kashyap killing Jalodbhava with the help of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The lake was then drained and comes to be known as Kash-mira after the Rishi Kashyap. 

Kashyap gotra

Kashyap is a gotra. Several Indian and non-Indian communities claim descent from the Vedic Rishis. A person of Kashyap Gotra is a person who traces or claims to trace his descent from the ancient sage Kashyap and Suryavansh.

Govinda Bhagavatpada

Govinda Bhagavatpada (  Govinda Bhagavatpāda) was the Guru of the Advaita philosopher, Adi Shankara. We know little of his life and works, except that he is mentioned in all the traditional accounts (Shankara Vijayams) as the teacher of Adi Shankara. He was the disciple of Gaudapada(  Gauḍapāda).  He is mentioned in the first verse of Adi Shankara's Prakaraņa grantha (treatise) Viveka Chudamani. He is named after Gaudapada in the Guru Parampara (lineage) of Sringeri Sharada Peetham. 

Meeting Adi Shankara
           As per the Madhavīya Shankaravijaya, after leaving Kerala, Adi Shankara reached the banks of the river Narmada where he met Govinda Bhagavatpada. The Madhavīya Shankaravijaya states that Adi Shankara once calmed a flood from the Reva River by placing his kamanḍalu (water pot) in the path of the raging water, thus saving his Guru Govinda Bhagavatpada who was immersed in Samādhi in a cave nearby. Govinda Bhagavatpada is said to have asked Adi Shankara who he was. Adi Shankara then replied with a verse composed extempore, that brought out clearly the Advaita philosophy in regard to the Self. Shankara was then initiated as Govinda Bhagavatapada's disciple,  thus formally entering sanyasa.

 

Adi Shankara was then commissioned by his Guru to write a Bhashya (commentary) on the Brahma Sutra and spread the Advaita philosophy far and wide.