#Ancient Culture ( Samskaram ) of Bharatham-3.9 : Swami Krishnananda

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# OPINION : 29/03/2020 : 2111.

#Chapter 3: The Vedas – the Foundation of Indian Culture - 9.

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1.

#The third specialisation is ethical and legalistic. To this we turn our attention now, the specialisation of the ethical and legalistic side of the import of the Vedas, known as the Smritis or the Dharmashastras. 

##All the things that I told you up to this time come within the purview of what is known as Veda Rashi – Sruti, to put it briefly. 

###Now, the second specialisation is Smriti, ‘the remembered’. Smriti means ‘that which is remembered’. 

####In Sruti, it is only heard from the Guru by the disciple, whereas in Smriti it is remembered in the sense of how it has to be actually employed in the performance or the conduct of one’s own life.

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2.

#The conduct or the behaviour that is required of us, the ethical mandate, is the subject of the Smritis. 

##The greatest of all the Smritis is the Manusmriti, and all the other Smritis follow the line taken by Manu. 

###There are eighteen Smritis. We need not go into the details of all these. Eighteen Rishis wrote eighteen books of law and order and ethics, and the conduct and behaviour of people – how in society and in our personal life we have to conduct ourselves. That is the subject of the Smritis. 

####The most important one, as I told you, is the Manusmriti. The next important one is the Yajnavalkya Smriti. The third important one is the Parashara Smriti. Generally only these three are studied.

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3.

#The Manusmriti is so very strict in its injunctions that it has been found to be difficult to follow in this age where people are weak in mind and will, and in everything. 

##There are four ages of time cycles called Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali: Krita Yuga, the Golden Age; Treta Yuga, the Silver Age; Dvarpara Yuga, the Copper Age; Kali Yuga, the Iron Age. 

*"We are now in the Kali Yuga, the Iron Age, not Copper or Bronze or Silver or Gold." 

###In the Golden Age people were able to follow the injunctions of the Manusmriti, which are very strict, and in the Treta Yuga it became difficult, so the Yajnavalkya Smriti was the text for the Treta Yuga. 

####The text of Shankha and Likhita Rishi was for the Dvarpara Yuga, and for the Kali Yuga they say the Parashara Smriti is the only one that can be followed.

To be continued ...

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JAI HIND

JAI BHARATHAM

VANDHE MATHARAM

BHARAT MATHA KI JAI.

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