[Advaita-l] Vedasamrakshanam / Qn. on 'Nirukta'

[Anand Hudli]

>Don't you think that interpretation is just a compromise formula?
No. Suppose a boy's upanayana (thread ceremony) is performed during his
eighth year (garbhAShTame .aShTame vA), which was usually the case in olden
days, after which he lives in the house of his AchArya or Guru to learn
the Veda. It takes 12 years to learn one Veda, so the boy essentially grows
up into a young man under the AchArya's care. By the time the student
completes his study and returns home to his natural parents, he is in his
twenties, or later, if he learns more than one veda. He spends more time in
his Guru's house than in his own! Just doing this simple arithmetic, it is
easy to see that the role played by the natural father is of lesser
importance than that of the AchArya who teaches the Veda. This is not even
considering the importance of the Vedic instruction imparted by the AchArya.

Anand

From: Anand Hudli <ahudli at
gmail.com<http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l>
>
Subject: [Advaita-l] Vedasamrakshanam / Qn. on 'Nirukta'
To: advaita-l at
lists.advaita-vedanta.org<http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l>
Date: Monday, January 3, 2011, 7:44 AM

>*How then Manu says that father is more respectable than Acharya and mother
*is respectable than father.
True. This occurs in Manu Smriti 2.145, but the word AchArya in that verse
refers to one who officiates in samskAra ceremonies such as the upanayana
and one who teaches proper conduct (AchAra). It is not used in the sense of
one who teaches the Veda, as per the commentary of MedhAtithi. Therefore,
there is no contradiction between 2.145 and the next, 2.146 referred to
earlier.

Anand