Musings of a pico-Jignasu - I

Firstly the etymology– The Bhagavad Gita(7:16) says that there are four types of devotees – Artha, Arthaarthi, Jignasu and Jnani. The last one  is of course ruled out for me and I consider a major part of myself not belonging to the first two categories. However, I know that I am  not a full-fledged Jignasu and therefore the adjective pico(10^-12)

 I was in the second year of my Under-graduation and was having a basic couse in Real Analysis. We were being introduced the Natural Numbers and the infinity of Natural Numbers (pronounced aleph naught). Now, 2 + 2 is 4, x + x is 2x but + is not  2 but . Promptly, my professor told us what the scriptures say “Poornamadah Poornamidam Poornaath Poornam Udachyathe Poornasya Poornamaadaaya Poornameva Vasishyathe”

I had the good fortune to learn some RigVedic chants in my higher secondary school and college. However, I must  humbly admit that I can only recite them very imperfectly. I only have a millionth of a millionth of rudimentary knowledge of the Vedas. I beg the pardon of the wise for my audacity in this attempt. I wish to mention two things that made a very profound impression on me from the Brahmanandavalli :

1.       It goes  "Akaashadh Vayuhu, Vayoragnihi, Agnairaapaha, Aabyah Pruthvi ..."  It means Air emerged(was born) from the Ether; Fire from Air; Water from Fire; Land from Water...  But hold a second! Water was born out of fire! They are opposites right? You use water to put off fire. And then came the revelation to me. An examination of fundamental chemistry told me that when Hydrogen burns in oxygen water is what comes out!

2.       In the same Brahmandavalli there is a description of Ananda. A unit of  human happiness is defined using a young and healthy happy man with lot of other parameters and then the happiness is measured across various beings and the description goes upto defining one unit of happiness of the Brahman. Now I know of Metre as an unit of distance, gram as an unit of weight etc... But to define a unit for happiness (and with a very high degree of precision, in my opinion) is something awe inspiring for me.