“HINDUISM” FOLLOW ONE CONCEPT “ONE IN MANY & MANY IN ONE”
Ancient cultures / civilizations (INDIAN , ROMAN , EGYPTIAN , NORSE , etc) always respected nature , natural phenomena/process/procedure/activities , animals , plants / trees , birds , spirits , etc as “Mothers , Fathers , Teachers , Gods , Goddesses , Devils”.
As this topic is concerning Indian culture/civilization , so lets have an idea about it. For instance Indian culture/civilization regards Tulsi , soil , water , etc as mother goddess.
For example ,
Gangaputra Devavrata(popularly known as Pitamaha Bhishma)
was brought up and trained by many eminent sages.
- Brihaspati and Shukracharya taught Devavrata the duties of kings (Dandaneeti), or political science and other Shastras.
- The sages Vashishtha and Chyavana taught the Vedas and Vedangas to Devavrata.
- Sanatkumara,the eldest son of the god Brahma taught Devavrata the mental and spiritual sciences.
- Markandeya,the immortal son of Mrikandu of Bhrigu’s race who acquired everlasting youth from the god Shiva taught Devavrata in the duties of the Yatis.
- Parashurama,the son of Jamadagni trained Bhishma in warfare.
- Indra,the king of the Devas. He bestowed celestial weapons on Bhishma.
In the same manner , Guru Dattatreya or Lord Dattatreya learned his knowledge and experiences from 24 teachers(24 Gurus) who were nature themselves or part of the nature. In The Uddhava Gita, Lord Krishna tells how Avadhuta Dattatreya discovered 24 gurus by observing this world.
The 24 teachers(24 Gurus) are mentioned below :
Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto 11: Chapter 07: Slokas 33-35 “OR” Srimad Bhagavatam 11.7.33-35
पृथिवी वायुराकाशमापोऽग्निश्चन्द्रमा रवि: ।
कपोतोऽजगर: सिन्धु: पतङ्गो मधुकृद् गज: ॥ ३३ ॥
मधुहाहरिणो मीन: पिङ्गला कुररोऽर्भक: ।
कुमारी शरकृत् सर्प ऊर्णनाभि: सुपेशकृत् ॥ ३४ ॥
एते मे गुरवो राजन् चतुर्विंशतिराश्रिता: ।
शिक्षा वृत्तिभिरेतेषामन्वशिक्षमिहात्मन: ॥ ३५ ॥
pṛthivī vāyur ākāśam
āpo ’gniś candramā raviḥ
kapoto ’jagaraḥ sindhuḥ
pataṅgo madhukṛd gajaḥ
madhu-hā hariṇo mīnaḥ
piṅgalā kuraro ’rbhakaḥ
kumārī śara-kṛt sarpa
ūrṇanābhiḥ supeśakṛt
ete me guravo rājan
catur-viṁśatir āśritāḥ
śikṣā vṛttibhir eteṣām
anvaśikṣam ihātmanaḥ
Synonyms
pṛthivī — the earth; vāyuḥ — the air; ākāśam — the sky; āpaḥ — the water; agniḥ — the fire; candramāḥ — the moon; raviḥ — the sun; kapotaḥ — the pigeon; ajagaraḥ — the python; sindhuḥ — the sea; pataṅgaḥ — the moth; madhu-kṛt — the honeybee; gajaḥ — the elephant; madhu-hā — the honey thief; hariṇaḥ — the deer; mīnaḥ — the fish; piṅgalā — the prostitute named Piṅgalā; kuraraḥ — the kurara bird; arbhakaḥ — the child; kumārī — the young girl; śara-kṛt — the arrow maker; sarpaḥ — the serpent; ūrṇa-nābhiḥ — the spider; supeśa-kṛt — the wasp; ete — these; me — me; guravaḥ — spiritual masters; rājan — O King; catuḥ-viṁśatiḥ — twenty-four; āśritāḥ — taken shelter of; śikṣā — instruction; vṛttibhiḥ — from the activities; eteṣām — of them; anvaśikṣam — I have properly learned; iha — in this life; ātmanaḥ — about the self.
Translation
O King, I have taken shelter of twenty-four gurus, who are the following: earth, air, sky, water, fire, moon, sun, pigeon ,python; the sea, moth, honeybee, elephant and honey thief; the deer, the fish, the prostitute Piṅgalā, the kurara bird and the child; and the young girl, arrow maker, serpent, spider and wasp. My dear King, by studying their activities I have learned the science of the self.
नीति के महान जानकार आचार्य चाणक्य ने हमें पशु-पक्षियों से मिलने वाली ऐसी ही सीख के बारे में विस्तार से बताया है
बगुला-
इन्द्रियाणि च संयम्य रागद्वेषविवर्जितः ।
समदुःखसुखः शान्तः तत्त्वज्ञः साधुरुच्यते ॥ ०६-१७
नीति के महान विद्वान आचार्य चाणक्य कहते हैं कि मनुष्य को बगुले की भांति अपनी इंद्रियों पर संयम रखते हुए देश, काल और अपनी शक्ति यानी क्षमता के अनुसार कार्य करना चाहिए |
मुर्गा-
प्रत्युत्थानं च युद्धं च संविभागं च बन्धुषु ।
स्वयमाक्रम्य भुक्तं च शिक्षेच्चत्वारि कुक्कुटात् ॥ ०६-१८
आचार्य चाणक्य कहते हैं कि व्यक्ति को मुर्गे की भांति सूर्योदय से पहले में उठना चाहिए | रण में पीछे न हटते हुए डटकर मुकाबला करना चाहिए || स्वजनों में मिल-बांटकर खाना चाहिए और अपने बल पर स्वयं का भोजन प्राप्त करना चाहिए ||
कौआ-
गूढमैथुनचारित्वं काले काले च सङ्ग्रहम् ।
अप्रमत्तमविश्वासं पञ्च शिक्षेच्च वायसात् ॥०६-१९
आचार्य चाणक्य कौआ के गुण को बताते हुए कहते हैं कि इंसान को हमेशा सतर्क रहते हुए किसी पर विश्वास नहीं करना चाहिए | खुले स्थान की बजाय छिपकर मैथुन करना चाहिए , साथ ही समय-समय पर अपने लिए चीजें भी जुटाते रहना चाहिए ||
श्वान-
बह्वाशी स्वल्पसन्तुष्टः सनिद्रो लघुचेतनः ।
स्वामिभक्तश्च शूरश्च षडेते श्वानतो गुणाः ॥ ०६-२
आचार्य चाणक्य के अनुसार हमें हमेशा कुत्ते से स्वामी भक्ति का गुण सीखना चाहिए | साथ ही श्वान निद्रा की भांति कुछ इस तरह से सोना चाहिए कि आहट मिलते ही आप जाग जाएं ||
सिंह-
प्रभूतं कार्यमल्पं वा यन्नरः कर्तुमिच्छति ।
सर्वारम्भेण तत्कार्यं सिंहादेकं प्रचक्षते ॥ ०६-१६
आचार्य चाणक्य कहते हैं कि मनुष्य को सिंह यानी शेर से सीख लेते हुए किसी भी कार्य को पूरी शक्ति से करना चाहिए | मालूम हो कि शेर अपने शिकार पर पूरी ताकत से हमला करता है फिर चाहे वो छोटा सा खरगोश ही क्यों न हो ||
In the same manner , Gautama Buddha and Vardhamana Mahavira believed and taught non-violence concept because they agreed to the fact that all living beings have a portion of God/Goddess/Father/Mother/Teacher in one form or the other.
In short , ancient cultures / civilizations had found God/Father/Mother/Teacher in everything and every living being . We must always remember that God/Father/Mother/Teacher exist in one or the other form like skills , attitude , intelligence , power , courage , wisdom , etc . Human beings always learned from others (every non living things and every living beings) since the starting of human era . That is the reason why human beings are associated with nature and natural process/procedure.
Sikhs , Rajputs , Bengalis , North East Indians , Central Indians and other Indian origin / Indian civilization followers use surname as “Singh” means lion. Also throne of princes , princesses , kings , queens , emperors and empresses means “Singhasana/place where lion rests”. Moreover “Lion” is the vahana of Devi Maa (Goddess Mother).
So , “one in many and many in one” symbolizes “the union of all in one” and “presence of one in the union”.