Motivation

The vast majority of bharatiya vijnaan literature is unintelligible to today’s audience due to unfamiliar language and exposition style. Overcoming these barriers requires significant time and effort that most enthusiasts cannot afford.

Hence, to enable widespread exploration of bharatiya vijnaan, we need an army of bridging scholars who can paraphrase bharatiya scientific treatises conceptually and present them in a language intelligible today. Graduates of masters in Sanskrit and shaastra scholars can serve as such bridges, and are also looking for opportunities for gainful employment.

Siddhanta Knowledge Foundation (SKF) has pioneered a methodology for authentic concept extraction from shaastra texts, and an engaging pedagogy method for concept-based learning. SKF is launching a Siddhanta-prastuti initiative to groom bridging scholars and create courses for non-traditional audience.

Overview

The objective of this program is to develop short self-paced courses to present shaastras in a concept-oriented manner to mainstream audience.

This is a guided research associate program for graduates of MA Sanskrit and shaastra Master’s programs.

The candidate will be given a portion of a shaastra treatise for study under supervision of an SKF faculty member.

The first phase of 2 months is for detailed study of the text for concept extraction and articulation as a white paper. Based on the quality of output and value, SKF can decide to award a phase 2 extension of 3 months for short course development.

Who Can Apply

To be considered for this program, one must have a Master’s degree in Sanskrit, shaastra or vedic sciences, or a certificate from a reputed shaastra sabha. One must have solid command over Samskrit and English languages and must have studied at least one shaastra in depth. SKF conducts a screening interview to gauge your proficiency and commitment.

How to Apply

Please send an email to [email protected] with the subject Siddhanta Prastuti . Please mention the shaastra or topic area of your interest and your available timeline. If you have preference for a specific text, please mention that also.

The following are the deliverables:

• Phase 1:
  Concept map of the portion.
  A paper giving a conceptual summary
• Phase 2:
  A 1-credit prerecorded video course along with evaluation assignments. This course will consist of 10 hrs of video lectures divided into 30 modules of 20minutes length each, along with quizzes.

The total project is of 4+5+4+5+4 = 22 weeks duration. At 5 working days a week, it will be 110 working days.

• 20 working days for concept map development from an original samskrit shaastra text. We assume 30 minutes of time spent per vakya/shloka. That is 15 vakyas per day. 300 vakyas of text studied.
• 20 working days for writing a white paper describing the conceptual overview of the selected portion.
• 60 working days for developing the prerecorded video course of 30 modules @ 2 working days per module.
• 10 working days for finalization and presentation of the deliverables.

The research associate will be paid a stipend of ₹10000 for phase 1 and ₹50000/- for phase 2 (inclusive of 10% TDS).

• ₹10000 upon completion of phase 1.
• If phase 2 is awarded,
  ₹25000 after completion of 15 modules of course.
  ₹25000 upon delivering all artifacts.
  

Based on your performance in this assignment, SKF may offer a longer term opportunity as faculty.

Example Topics

• Conceptual overview of the bhagavad gita, focusing on detailed study of chapters 16 and 17.
• Rasa siddhanta of natya shaastra – 6th chapter
• Ashtanga hrdaya as a rule base
• Conceptual overview of ashtadhyayi’s word generation process.
• Study of a lesser known but important shaastra text.

Let us examine, if one has to teach ‘Pranayama’, how a textual approach shall differ from a conceptual approach.

Textual approach

To really grasp Pranayama, one must start with ancient texts like the Patanjali Yogasutras or the Hathayoga Pradipika. Pranayama appears in the middle of these works. For instance, in the Patanjali Yogasutras, Pranayama is discussed in Sutra 49 of the second section: तस्मिन्सति श्वासप्रश्वासयोर्गतिविच्छेदः प्राणायामः ॥ ४९ ॥. The journey begins with the very first sutra, योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः, and gradually introduces the eight limbs of Yoga, Astanga Yoga, in sutra यमनियमासनप्राणायामप्रत्याहारधारणाध्यानसमाधयोऽष्टावङ्गानि ॥ २९ ॥, also in the second section. By the time you reach Sutra 49, you’re about halfway through that section.

However, these texts primarily define what Pranayama is—they don’t delve into its importance or effects on personal well-being. To fully understand Pranayama’s significance, one might need to explore additional sources that offer new perspectives.

There’s a gap in this traditional method. A student who only studies the first section won’t learn about Pranayama at all. And even those who study more extensively will find that Pranayama is just a small part of the larger Yoga framework. For someone truly curious about Pranayama, this can be limiting.

A more practical way to approach this would be to study Pranayama through both traditional texts and other complementary materials that provide a broader understanding of its benefits and application.

Conceptual approach

In the conceptual approach, every topic is dealt with independently, where the placement of the topic in the complete work is secondary. The prime objective of this approach would be to understand each and every topic/concept from all possible facades. The same example of the concept of Pranayama would help us understand the effectiveness of this approach.

In the conceptual approach, Pranayama would be dealt with independently, with secondary relation to the core text, such as Patanjali Yogasutras. In the conceptual approach, we start to understand what ‘prana’ and ‘ayama’ are. To understand what prana is, Tarkasangraha and Brahmasutras elaborate. In Tarkasangraha, while explaining the definition and classification of Vayu (air) there comes शरीरान्तस्सञ्चारी वायुः प्राणश्च। स चैकोप्युपाधिभेदात्प्राणापानादिसंज्ञां लभते। (The air that moves within the body is called prana. It acquires the specific designation of prana, apana, etc., due to the difference in functions). And further In the commentary of the brahma sutra – न वायुक्रिये पृथगुपदेशत् 2-4-9, he states – वायुरेव अध्यात्मं आपन्नपञ्चव्यूहः विशेषात्मना अवतिष्ठमानः प्रणो नाम भण्यते, न तत्त्वन्तरं नापि वायुमत्रं (prāṇa is neither mere vāyu nor something completely different from vāyu. Prāṇa is the vāyu that is present inside the body). 

Then, we understand what Aayama is. The bhashya of the sutra of Pranayama gives us the meaning of Aayama as regulation. Therefore, Pranayama means the regulation of air and the flow that is present inside the body.

Further Dharmashastra classifies pranayama into two – अपि ध्यानं विना गर्भः सगर्भस्तत्समन्वितः (स्मृ.मु.फ) as agarbha and sagarbha. 

Prāṇayāma, which does not have dhyānaṃ or japa as a part during pūrka-kuṃbhaka and rechaka is called ‘agarbha prāṇāyāma’. Prāṇayāma, which is done along with dhyānaṃ or japam in the stage of kuṃbhakaṃ or pūrka-kuṃbhaka and rechaka is called sagarbha prāṇāyāma.

Again, sagarbha prāṇayāma is of two types:

1. Japagarbha prāṇayāma

2. Dhyānagarbha prāṇayāma

Japagarbha Prāṇāyāma

According to yogayājnavalkya, Japagarbha Prāṇāyāma is described this way:

“Bhūrbhuvasvarmaharjanstapaḥ satyamathaiva ca| 

pratyoṃkārasamāyuktaṃ tathā tatsavituḥparaṃ||

Omāpojyotirityetacchiraḥ paścāt prayojayet| 

omāpojyotirityeṣamantro vai taittirīyakaḥ||

trirāvartanayogāttu prāṇāyāmastu śabditaḥ||” 

After performing pūrakaṃ for at least 12 seconds, in the state of kuṃbhakaṃ, one should repeat the following mantra for three times:

“Om bhūḥ om bhuvaḥ om suvaḥ om mahaḥ oṃ janaḥ om tapaḥ oṃ satyaṃ oṃ tatsaviturvareṇyaṃ bhargo devasya dhīmahi dhiyoyonaḥ prachodayāt||” 

People belonging to old age and tender age, who cannot hold their breath for such an extended period, should repeat – Om bhūḥ om bhuvaḥ om suvaḥ om mahaḥ oṃ janaḥ om tapaḥ oṃ satyaṃ –  at the stage of kuṃbhakaṃ. After performing kuṃbhakaṃ in the said way, one should perform rechakam. 

This kind of Japagarbha Prāṇāyāma is a constituent part of nitya, namittika, kāmya and prāyaścitta rituals. Sometimes Prāṇāyāma itself is prāyaścitta. For example, if one steals gold, depending upon the amount of gold stolen, specific number of Prāṇāyāma is prescribed as prāyaścitta.

Dhyānagarbha Prāṇayāma

When in the stages of pūrakaṃ, kuṃbhakaṃ and rechakaṃ, meditation on a deity is done, that type of prāṇāyāma is called as Dhyānagarbha Prāṇayāma. Like:

“nābhimadhye sthitaṃ dhyāyetkaṃ raktaṃ pūrakena tu| 

nīlotpalābhaṃ hṛtpadme kumbhakena janārdanaṃ|| 

lalāṭasthaṃ śivaṃ śvetaṃ recakenābhicintayet||” 

While performing pūrakaṃ one should meditate on the navel area concentrating on the red colored-four-faced brahmā. During kuṃbhakaṃ one should meditate on black colored-viṣṇu at the chest area. While performing rechakam one should meditate on white colored-śivaat forehead region. This is one kind of Dhyānagarbha Prāṇayāma. There are various kinds of Dhyānagarbha Prāṇayāmas prescribed in various smṛtis and texts.

In this way, the conceptual approach provides a holistic understanding of each topic and will help the learners to apply the wisdom in day-to-day life.

Graphical representation of the difference between the two approaches: