Before the “new” replace the “old”, many variants must converge to offer one unified path. Compromises must happen. Common denominators must be established before the new rules of engagement (with reality) come into play. In essence the “new” must represent “Truth” because truth is objective reality - “as is”. But rules alone are not enough - they must percolate only through rational consensus. That is the reason most global changes are always “bottom and up” through “gossip”, not “top and down”.

It takes time for consensus to breed itself in the bottom half, and to get all the impacted (on top) on the same page. Change agents on the top reap benefits, neigh-sayers stack losses till they bow down to the inevitable - truth. The point of surrender is called the critical point. A global change is thus arduous till it gets to the critical mass. Once it gets to the critical state, the change gets fast, and irreversible - system adapts new constitution. Surrender is never without a fight albeit different skills to measure as a proof of win - in case of a physical fight the strength of fists is measured, in case of currency fights - it is the liquidity, in case of corporations it is the stock price and in case of a debate - it is the power of expression.

On the other side, the “old” that was once the representation of “truth” stagnates. It doesn’t keep up with the continuously changing (wave) nature of our reality. It perishes because many random forks try to patch the changes. Inter-rivalry becomes the norm. More factions lead to more fragmentation. The change from “old” to “new” is thus keeping up with the truth ¹ - the wave nature.

This path of truth - a vigil appreciation of existing reality; and timely adaptation to the “change”, is righteous, and is called Dharma, as opposed to popular belief that Dharma is some rigid unchangeable monolith (probably inspired from a translation for English word “religion”). Dharma is simply rendering one’s duties without desires. Desire, by definition is an expectation to alter the current reality for personal gains. Religion, on the other hand, most of the times, is fixated either to the celebration of “old” or painful persuasion of the “new” - towards a desired outcome. “Righteous” is simply rendering one’s duties as expected by the current reality, and be welcoming of ensuing natural change. For examples, trees don’t resist the weather. They shed their leaves or grow the new ones to welcome the change. Such objective surrender to the reality, with equal enthusiasm for change, removing self from the picture, is Dharma.

Finding a righteous path is, however, easier said that done. The definitions get nuanced as soon as we peal the first layer unless we know the history of layers. Even then every human sees the reality differently owing to Vritties they reflect in Bramh. Even the meaning of words are perceived differently based on the narrative they subscribe to. And above all, humans have a tendency to justify their actions as righteous - sometimes unaware that their claims were rooted deep into desires. The biggest question thus is “what is the righteous path” and the answer may always stay elusive till we determine “ who we are?“

Dharma

The all important question — if (or not), there exists one unique righteous path? — what is the true definition of Dharma - was a matter of regular discussion that ran deep in the family. Vaśiṣṭha, opined there were many right paths for humans to realize their potential. He truly believed in decentralized power to the people. He felt a farmer was as important as a priest and so was a cobbler. As a pragmatist, Vaśiṣṭha wished peace to everyone no matter what path they chose. One of the reason Vaśiṣṭha was so much influential among the seven Bramhrishies was his unique blend of knowledge with humility. However, his son Śakti Muni added a new dimension. He argued since there were many legit paths; one person, must stick to one path in one life-time. If someone kept changing his course based on changing situations, how they were any different from animals? And how would they accomplish excellence?

This was the definition of Karm Yoga as per Sakti Muni - fully committed to one chosen path. Karm Yoga as an idea, was different from the Nyaan and Naad Yoga in that the purpose was to indulge in Karma - actions. The knowledge gained due to repetitive actions was a mere by-product - quite the opposite of the approach of Nyaan Yoga wherein the goal was to accomplish a desired goal with least actions - find the most efficient way to agriculture, transport or metal works for example. Karmyoga didn’t seek ascetic behaviour as expected from Naad Yogies. In that sense, it was easy to practice for masses. All one needed to do under this ideology was to perfect one specific skill and keep on doing it - just like a machine. In a way, Sakti's Karmayoga was the beginning of “specialization”.

4.1

Śakti Muni practiced what he preached, and he ended up sacrificing his life for the sake of his beliefs. That fateful winter morning, Śakti Muni was en-route to the river with rest of the congregation — for the morning dip in Yamuna — a daily routine,Vaśiṣṭhas had inculcated for many generations. Over time it shaped into a daily procession where commoners could line up to see the saints - to seek their blessings. The first dip used to be for Bramhrishi but he didn’t join that morning - winter was taking a toll on the aging saint. Śakti Muni's wife too excused herself due to morning sickness - a common occurrence in early pregnancy. A mother always have a sixth sense to protect her unborn. She probably sensed the bad omens!

That cold ominous morning, a tribal king Kalmashapada happened to be returning from Yamuna, with his queen and chosen savages — drunk and sleep deprived. Apparently they had spent the night on the banks of Yamuna hunting the innocent animals, and roasting them alive to eat with local hooch. The shrieks of scared animals were audible to Śakti Muni in the silent night, though his abode was quite a distance. In the morning he also got the news that king’s men had taken women from the nearby village (with force) and kept them awake whole night — doing whatever they felt right to please themselves and their Rakshsa lords.

In the morning rush hour, Śakti Muni expected Kalmashapada to clear the way for the shruties (spoken scripture) mandated right of path to a sage. A sage was expected to never give up his course. On the other side, the king, oblivious to Śakti Muni's metaphorical extension of the ideology, expected a clear path for himself and particularly his new beautiful queen. He had expected the sage would shower blessings on this new union. In fact, last night, he had hoped Śakti Muni would show up at his picnic place to welcome him on this side of Yamuna - with proper ritual ! Yes - there used to a ritual to welcome the kings in your village or city.

Anyways, the simple discussion turned into an altercation and out of anger, Śakti Muni cursed the king and his troupes to immediately turn into monsters — figuratively — for the monstrosity they spread throughout the night on the peaceful range. That did happen but the king, having turned into a monster, killed Śakti Muni and his team. That is what monsters do!

Story besides, Śakti Muni must have questioned the king for his abhorrent behavior (that is the righteous calling of a saint) and the king was anyways a monster!

The news of the incident spread like a wild fire. Some saw it at the face-value - a sudden rush of blood that went out of control. Others saw a deeper message of stars being misaligned. Many thought, it was a bigger conspiracy. Yes, conspiracy theorists existed even back then! One of the theory claimed Kalmashapada was instigated by Vishwamitra — another Bramhrishi of the same stature as Vaśiṣṭha. No one knows the truth though Parāśara is said to have mentioned this version later in Vishnu Purana.

As many versions of the incident as many mouths! Truth besides, for most it was a time-pass gossip that continued long after the incident. The conversations of impending doom are naturally sticky. Some of them attributed the mishap to humans trying to become Gods. Organized agriculture, burning ore in fire pits, and trying to tame the winds over the rivers was clearly not meant for the humans. The idea that bad times are inevitable, makes the best of sensationalism, but for Parāśara it was personal. It wasn’t something that happened to others - it was his own family. Young Parāśara grew in the shadows of this gut-ranching chatter. Such conversations obviously had a traumatic bearing on his child mind. And more so, because he had a gifted imagination. For one, he developed a deep hatred for the monsters but more importantly he thought if (or not) one must stick to one’s path? Or is there a subset of traits (Vritties) that must be followed by every human no matter what path they were on. As a youth, he wondered what was that ultimate wisdom?

The question that laid heavy on his mind and kinda morphed into a life long quest was to formulate that value system. This is probably where the word “righteous” got added to notion of Karma –> practicing any action was not Karm Yoga - he thought - the actions must be righteous. But then the question was how to define the “righteous”. Killing someone was obviously bad but it turns righteous in a war. And what if the war was to revenge his own clan? How to define the righteous actions because situations may change unexpectedly. And who gets to determine worth of actions? Who is the final arbiter? It wouldn’t be known for at least another hundred years that incidence of Karma is to create a parity symmetry - a better image to understand the shape and nature of supreme knowledge - to understand who am I?

4.2

One thing was certain in his mind — mere “awareness” of the way universe worked, was not enough to attain peace. Just knowing the existence of “One immutable and omnipresent Knowledge” alone didn’t get him the peace he wished for everyone. Not even conducting rituals to appease the deities. The path to knowledge was not in merely knowing it’s existence. It was in being one with the knowledge. How to get there was the million dollar question!

The conundrum is nothing new. For example, when we see a computer, we all know for sure the existence of programming languages. But just knowing the existence of “programmability” doesn’t mean knowledge of programming. We must do certain actions to learn coding. The necessity to “act” was there in every endeavor — be it mining or handwoven textile. Maharishi was intrigued with this power of actions. What is so potent in “actions” that leads to cultivation of knowledge? — he wondered. Building on his father’s ideas, he named this potency of actions’ Karm Yoga though the underlying science of actions (Karma) was still a puzzle. It had take couple more generations and an incarnation of Vishnu himself (as Krsna) to fully explain the science of Karma.

While young Parāśara had nothing going right for him, there was one silver lining. His mother Adrushyanti was a kind grace. She kept his life together. An Aacharya herself, she was probably the only one who knew what Śakti Muni had on his mind. She made sure the child got his father’s ideology without aberrations. She explained to Parāśara how his father envisioned to true up the goals of his father Maharishi Vaśiṣṭha. The idea was simple, yet powerful. First - the only way to get over the growing mistrust between Naad and Nyaan Yoga was to reunify both these streams into something new. That new unified stream was Karm Yoga. To the outside world, Sakti presented as if he knew the path but internally he was looking up to Siva to hold his hands. He was still solidifying his own ideas and he hoped once more people subscribed the right path would automatically emerge. This was his mistake - explained Adrushyanti to Parāśara - an idea must not be let open in the world till it was fully baked. A half cooked meal might appeal to few hungry but it wouldn’t make you a chef. A learning that Parāśara carried for the rest of his life. He must find the most accurate version of his thoughts or the tools he developed.

And second - the way Sakti Muni approached it was to find the common denominator. He thought the fundamental driver of both the Yogas was life-long dedication to “one” area of expertise. Naad Yogies dedicated their lives to the “recital” while Nyaan Yogies gave up all the comforts for one unique area of exploration. A tight daily routine - controlled food and sleep, endless practice - made the Yogies what they appeared to the external world - the role models. Thus both Yogas had at their core, a lifelong commitment to one set of actions. And hence Karm Yoga was an appropriate name for the new unified practice.

Śakti Muni however, widened the scope of Karm Yoga. He argued if consistent actions could lead to divine recital or path breaking science, then why can’t they be applied to regular streams of mundane works. He believed one can be a Karm Yogi irrespective of the work they were pursuing. It didn’t matter to him if one was a “reciter” or a “weaver” as long as they had intense focus on their objective, and tenacity to stick to one thing - may be generation over generation just like Vaśiṣṭha family. He professed it was the life long practice more than anything else that made one excel - be it recital, research or even burning the dead. In fact he believed one should adopt their family work for a child learns a lot from their parents - children should build on the family business. The idea was adopted by many elite houses in letter and spirit. So much so if a child wanted to do something outside the family traditions, they was termed Varn Sankara - the destroyer of family values.

While Śakti Muni's ideas had vision and he delivered them with conviction, they failed to deliver consensus - particularly the power brokers questioned him. How can a Nishaad (hunter) be same stature as a Naad Yogi! - they reasoned. And if someone could attain Karm Yoga living with their families, doing their parental business, than who would join the congregation? - a valid unresolved fear.

The idea of unification meant a natural degradation of the existing beneficiaries. It had commercial ramifications too - Not only did it threaten the payback system (of Dravya Yazna), it cast a spell of uncertainty on the barter system. If a Chandal (one who burns the dead) is same as a Naad Yogi than he too must render his services free. And if everyone worked for donations, then it would be systemic erosion of barter. It also meant humanity would lose the value of “spoken word” - the basis of barter system ². They felt Śakti Muni's path would lead to anarchy. They thought Śakti's ideas were impractical, since he had no experience of running the state as a king. Vishwamitra - other Bramhrishi wasn’t a saint by birth. He was a king in his early life who reached the title after intense study of all the skills. It was believed he didn’t approve the theoretical designs of Śakti. Thus the theory that Kalmashapada was instigated by Vishwamitra. No one knows because Kalmashapada was never caught or tried in a court.

On the other side, the “old” who wanted status quo with “the jungle rule” saw Sakti Muni as the dangerous bridge to the “new world”. Up until now, the path of Yoga was for select few - those who would sacrifice the pleasures of their life to take on the hard life of Ashramas, but Śakti's ideas could change the balance of power. Karmyoga may very well become a household name. They thought of Śakti as the emerging face of new revolution that could carry a commoner with him. If a civil society as a concept was mass adopted, their muscle power would be severely restrained by the rule of law.

No one knows for sure, but targeting Sakti along with all his well wishers appeared to be an easy way to crush the new revolution! And probably Śakti Muni, in a hurry to change the world, forgot to handle the balance of power that his father Vaśiṣṭha had so carefully navigated to this date. He didn’t know abrupt change might cause ruptures never seen before!

4.3

It wasn’t that Śakti Muni coined a new word. The idea of Karmyoga was definitely older. Later in Bhagwat Gita, Dwaipayana scribed that Karma was the basis of manifestation and evolution. He wrote: the supreme knowledge shared this secret first with Vivswata (Sun) who told it to Manu (the first man) at the dawn of “Age of Humans”. In the first verse of Chapter four, Krsna - the embodiment of supreme knowledge said to Arjuna…

This imperishable (system of) Karm Yoga I declared to Vivaswat: Vivaswat declared it to Manu; and Manu communicated it to Ikshaku. Descending thus from generations, the Royal sages came to know it.

Sun is the deity of light and time. It does change it’s course with seasons but it does show up everyday to work. This repetitive nature was described as Sun’s Yazna and of it came the four parts of the day - the most ancient measure of time. In Vaidik Science, each part was called a Prahar. With advent of sophisticated time keeping, we have divided the day into hours and minutes but our new system has detached us from the motion of Sun. In Vaidik Science, the first Prahar started with Sun Rise and fourth ended with Sun Set. The Prahar could be longer in summer and shorter in winter. The daily routine or Yaznas ; time for food, rest and play; were designed to synchronize Praharas, by those who studied the eternal motion of Sun and it’s effects in different seasons on different work streams. The effects on agriculture and medicine were quite evident though the system got extended to all skills in due course. Even different moods of music (Raagas) were tied to the parts of day (or night).The designers of the time system were jointly represented as a Deity - Sun. In essence there was a full body of knowledge on time keeping and underlying goal was to render humans a predictable lifestyle that focused on regular and repetitive Karma.

Manu was the beginning of bipedal humans with fully grown conscious mind and well developed hands to indulge in actions. This ability, available to only humans in this world, was the effect of immense practice by Manu and of course a call to action for a humble reciprocation for the divine gifts of Sun - the very source of “action enabled” consciousness in it’s bright light. In fact, humans are the only bipedal beings on planet earth for they dedicated two front legs to develop hands (and fingers) to indulge in sophisticated actions. Human hands are called Karmendriyas - the work organs for action. It is because of our hands that we could indulge in a vast range of actions (including scribing and typing).

Even prior to Manu, the story of evolution through various incarnations of Vishnu is the story of intense practice. Sirla Bhaktivinoda in his 1873 book Datta-kaustubha and again in his 1880 book Kṛṣṇa-saṁhita premised Vishnu an evolutionary force. Vishnu, through his incarnations , takes consciousness to ever higher levels. From Matsyavtara (fish) to Krsna, Vishnu's incarnations kick-start a progression in consciousness through Karm Yoga.

• The first incarnation of conscious beings was Matsyavtaar - the fish. Life was born in water with singular sense of touch (possibly Amoeba). A fish, expanded the consciousness with the ability to see.

• After millions of years in the water and a consistent goal to explore beyond water, led to the next incarnation of Vishnu - Kurma - the turtle. How much consistent effort must a fish had done to accomplish this change! This effort was depicted equivalent to churning the entire ocean - Samudra Manthan.

• Again after trillions of trials, the turtles developed a back bone and legs to lift them above the ground. The next incarnation of Vishnu is known as Varahavtaar - the incarnation into a boar. The first four legged being.

• There was a period when quadrupeds started experimenting standing up but the hands and the tools for survival were not available. During this phase, Vishnu incarnated as a Lion-Man combination - Nar Singh to keep the bi-peddling efforts safe from the predators.

• The next incarnation of Vishnu - Vamanavtar - a dwarf was the first with somewhat vertical back. Being able to stand on two feet, not only freed up the hands for sophisticated actions, in Hathyoga it is said to have opened the route for higher consciousness. As said earlier, Naad Yogies attained the skill of recital by moving the life energy to the upper Chakras.

• The next one Parshurama was full human wielding an axe as a symbol of tools that conquered the lands. Parsuram was in lineage of Manu. The supreme knowledge imbibed from the Sun, invoked Karm Yoga into Manu. It explained to him that his generation with vertical spinal column and sophisticated hands were there to indulge in Karm Yoga - the very practice that led to their ability to stand tall. Only with practice they could survive and flourish. They must build skills to answer the final quest - understand the nature of supreme knowledge held with in.

Adrushyanti explained the purpose of Vishnu's ever evolving incarnations to young Parāśara in narratives that accommodated him imagination. She explained to him there was no way for the waterborne and the amphibians to know who they were. The quadrupeds were able to recognize their fleeting reflection in the water and on the lands. They chased their shadows not knowing why could they never touch their own reflection. In absence of vocal communication, they couldn’t even confirm (with their network) that the reflection was actually their own selfie - and that the selfies are always just a fleeting reflection. They can at best be a starting point of the eternal quest but by no imagination the true shape, for the true shape is in the reflection of universal mirror. All that we see and feel and touch is nothing but us. Our “reality” is our true selfie.

Young Parāśara was captivated by the ideas of evolution and the ultimate purpose but much like everyone else, he had no clue how to be one with the knowledge. How to find himself in million shades of the reality! As he grew up, this knowledge took shape of Vishnu Purana.

4.4

While Maharishi Parāśara was pondering over the ideas of Karm Yoga, there was another parallel movement happening on Naad Yoga side — Bhakti Yoga — the Yoga of extreme devotion. Many of the Aacharyas had built a mass following. Almost like a cult. Their ideas based in grand vision of public good, but the underlying goal, to (also) promote their own moat. Many walled garden were formed. The followers developed blind faith in the words of the high priests. They even translated their narratives (or discussions) into local dialects and narrated them in poetical stories. So much so, the followers started believing mere chanting the names of their Gurus could get them to eternal peace. These narratives, mostly in spoken format, were called Puranas - the old stories.

In a way, Puranas are essential for proper appreciation of Vedas, for they provide the historical context. As we alluded earlier, thanks to the stories of Vishnu that mother roped in his Sanskara, Vishnu Purana was recited by Parāśara himself (later scribed by Dwaipayana). He told these stories to his disciple Maitreya and they are among the most cited conversation in Hindu Mythology. Sometimes referred to as Puran-ratna — a gem among Puranas.

The oldest English translation of Vishnu Purana is available at internet archives. The book was published by H. H. Wilson (in 1864) in five volumes. The first volume is embedded here for reference.

Maharishi Parāśara witnessed Bhakti Yoga evolving first-hand. The popularity of this tradition had Maharishi reassess the integrity of Naad Yoga. He was convinced that extreme devotion did open the entry into the power structure and thus material success, but he was not sure if it was a legitimate path to eternal peace (as promised).

At the same time he would wonder if he, himself, was on right trajectory. He thought the intense dedication of Bhakti Yoga was good, if it motivated the followers to indulge in Karma, but mere chanting didn’t appear to him a passage to the eternal solace. In modern times we have many schools of meditation. There are numerous apps to help people meditate. All that is good as a relief to confused and tormented souls but they in themselves are not the solution. For the eternal peace is not in forgetting ourselves, it is in knowing who we are? The question was how?

There were many questions that still remained unanswered. Many mysteries unresolved! A Nyaan Yogi was caught in ‘duality’ — Karm Yoga or Bhakti Yoga.

4.5

Age, didn’t treat Maharishi any different. Despite his extensive work on understanding the manifestation Vishnu Purana, scribing of Krishi Parashra and path breaking research on Astrology, the quest to know the supreme knowledge was still unfulfilled. He knew he must have someone to carry the torch forward. And the answer was in Astrology. He believed it was a gift to fulfill the dreams of his lineage ..

After years of careful study of motion of heavenly bodies and their co-relation with birth of human intelligence, stars were finally aligned. Maharishi Parāśara was ready to take a child as his born son. And he named him long before the physical birth — Krishna Dwaipayana — Someone who would go beyond duality just like an island between two never-meeting banks of a river. Someone who could establish a middle spot amongst two never concurring ideologies — for the truth lies somewhere near the center. The literal meaning of Dwaipayana is ‘born on an island’.

And he saw the potent qualities in Matsyagandha, as prospective surrogate mother. Despite her ordinary circumstances, she honed in her, the curiosity and poise and the imagination, to gift this world an immortal writer !

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