The beauty of the Indian view of life lies in its focus on multilateral points of view regarding various issues in the fields of both materialistic and spiritual. In India, there was always equal emphasis on issues pertaining to worldly affairs as well as the issues beyond life in this world. A strong cord evolved through thousands of years of work, research, experimentation, practice and expertise on various subjects that established the relationship of the world in which we live with the universe beyond our life on this planet. In this context, numbers assumed significance and they also assumed an important role to play in the given situation. We would discuss the issue pertaining to number six (6) hereafter in this write-up.
Besides the importance of other numbers, the number six has its own importance, distinctiveness and significance. It has connotations in different fields like taste of tongue, seasonal cycle, various schools of philosophy, geometrical mention of spiritual & religious pathways, and the tale of spiritual romance between Shiva and Shakti. Our civilization and culture have existing and functional philosophies in this context that have guided and nourished humanity for the last thousands of years. These can be enumerated in the following manner: Shadha-Ras, Shadha-Ritu, Shadha-Darshan, Shata-Kone and Skanda (Kartikeya) having six heads/faces.
To start with, let us discuss the Shadha-Ras. It is connected with the taste of the tongue. Peculiarly, Shadha-Ras as propounded by the Indian thought process was and is an advanced research in context of taste beyond sweet and sour. Shadha-Ras gives a complete format of the taste of tongue that one can explain after experimenting any kind of a meal, drink, fruit, vegetable or anything worth eating. Every item created by nature or produced artificially or cooked by human beings or prepared professionally by machines have different tastes.
These tastes are of six different varieties. In the Sanskrit Ayurveda literature, they are Madhur, Amal, Lawan, Katu, Tikht and Kashaya. They can be translated as Sweet, Sour, Salty, Pungent, Bitter and Astringent. The best examples of these tastes can be the items like sugar or jaggery (sweet), tamarind or pickles (sour), sea water or rock salt (salty), chilli or pepper (pungent), bitter gourd or coffee (bitter) and green tea or pomegranates (astringent). There is complete correlation between the Shadharas and Shadharitu and they have a great relation with one another; and it can be understood by having an introduction of the Shadharitu first. Each ‘Rasa’ of the six formats of Shadharas has a specific relationship with each ‘Ritu’ of the Shadharitu.
The seasonal cycle of twelve months (in a year) has been divided into six seasons in the Indian context. Our world view doesn’t confirm the ‘four-season’ point of view as enunciated and followed by the west. The conceptualization of year, months, weeks, seasons and important occasions of geographical and astronomical events were the most important part of our world view and it formed an important part of our almanacs as well. For example, it was perceived and followed that in the Indian conditions, there were/are six seasons in a year called-“Shadharitu”. These six seasons are Vasant (Spring), Greesham (Summer-hot season), Varsha-Ritu (Rainy season), Sharad (Pre-Autumn), Hemant (Autumn) and Shishir (Winter). Each season consists of two months and in total the twelve months of a year.
Additional information in this context would be interesting here to note. Keeping in view the local conditions of the Kashmir valley, the thinking minds in Kashmir also adopted this concept of ‘Shadharitu’. However, in practice in Kashmir, there were/are only five seasons. All these five seasons have appropriate Kashmiri names derived originally from the above mentioned Sanskrit names. The first three seasons consist of two months each while the last two seasons consist of three months each. These names are the echo-names of the original names. ‘Vasant’ is called ‘Sonth’, ‘Greesham’ is called ‘Garmi’ (it was also called ‘Greesham’ some six or seven decades earlier) and ‘Varsharitu’ is called ‘Vehraat’; ‘Sharad’ and ‘Hemant’ are amalgamated into one season and the season is called ‘Harud’ (Ha+Rad) and lastly ‘Shishir’ is called ‘Shisher-maas’.
The contribution of India to the philosophical spectrum comprises six different points of view and are called “Shadha-Darshan”. Popularly they are known as the six schools of philosophy. They cover the core of the thought process of India which has been in vogue for the last thousands of years. The proponent of each school of philosophy is a well recognised Rishi of the ancient times. These rishis achieved a great place in the civilization and ethos of India and besides their contribution in the said six schools of Indian philosophy, they immensely subscribed to volumes of Indian literature, scriptures and other rich historical and spiritual texts.
Rishi Ved Vyasa propounded the theory of Vedanta (also called Uttar-Meemansa), Kapil gave Sankhya-Shastra, Patanjali subscribed Ashtangyoga, Gautam Rishi gave the school of philosophy called Nyaya Shastra, Kannada propounded the Vaisheshik Shastra and Rishi Gemini postulated the philosophy known as Purva-Meemansa. A variety of these schools of thought engage with and also incorporate communication as a key aspect of their philosophical inquiries. These schools take a look at how knowledge-transmission, language and the process of understanding impact our understanding of reality and the self.
Vedanta or Uttar-Meemansa investigate the ultimate nature of reality, focusing on the concept of Brahman and the non-dual nature of reality. Sankhya Shatra focuses on the analysis of matter and spirit with a fundamental belief in the dualism of Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (matter). Yoga emphasizes a practical path to liberation through various techniques of physical and mental discipline particularly the practice of being pure and virtuous, yoga postures, pranayama, meditation and ultimate samadhi. Nyaya Shastra is a school of epistemology and logic, exploring the nature of knowledge and tvalid means of knowing. Purva-Meemansa primarily is concerned with the proper interpretation and performance of vedic rituals, emphasizing the authority of the Vedas.
Shat-kone is a geometrical preposition having a typical diagram depicting two triangles that create six angles (and triangles). In another sense, it is a six-pointed star symbol in Sanatan philosophy representing the sacred and divine unity of two forms of energy i.e. male and female or masculine and feminine. They are mostly depicted as Shiva and Shakti. The Shat-kone is formed by two interlocking triangles, the upward pointing triangle represents Shiva (Purusha, the supreme being) and the downward pointing triangle represents Shakti (Prakriti, mother nature or causal matter). The union of Shiva and Shakti is believed to have given birth to Kartikeya also called Kumara whose pious and sacred number is also six.
This union of Shiva and Shakti is recognised as a source of all creation. The symbol of Shat-kone is a well established Hindu yantra and is authoritatively known as a sacred diagram. It has a very special relationship with the son of Shiva and Shakti -Kartikeya, also known as Subramanium and Murugan in the South of India, who is the sacred creation of the spiritual romance of Shiva and Shakti (Shankara & Parvati). One of the best works of the world famous Sanskrit poet Kalidasa -the Kumarasambhavam is a beautiful representation of this spiritual romance and the birth and feats of Swami Kartikeya.
Shat-kone is also stylistically identical to the Jewish Star of David and the Japanese Kagome crest. People in India and those having their allegiance and association to the Hindu thought and way of life also call it the Shiv-Shakti Star. The hexagon, a geometric shape with six sides and six angles, is important both culturally and spiritually. It is used in various cultures to symbolize equality, balance, and the flow of energy. It is often used in astrology, tantra, and art. In Jainism, the hexagon is believed to symbolise the six forces of the world like life, death, happiness, suffering, knowledge and ignorance. In Buddhism, the hexagon is believed to symbolize the nature of Buddha. In Tantra, the hexagon is believed to symbolise the balance between the Purusha (upward triangle) and Shakti (downward triangle).
In the Sanatan Dharma universal view, the hexagon is believed to symbolise the structure of the universe and the cycles of nature. In India, the hexagon is also known as the Vishnu-Mudra, which symbolizes the creation and maintenance of the universe. In astrology too, the hexagon is used to represent the positions of the planets and their influence. In meditation, the hexagon can be used to help focus and achieve inner peace. Conclusively, the hexagon is a versatile, multi-sided and resourceful symbol that is used in various cultures, belief systems and spiritual traditions. It symbolises equality, balance, flow of energy and spiritual journey. The magic, supernatural explanations and the glamour of number (6) is surely fascinating and worth exploring.
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