The
Veda Samhita is the sum
total, ‘‘Totality of Knowledge’, sampoorna jnyan (‘vid’).
It is the ‘knowledge of the Absolute’, paaramarthika jnyan. This is
also the ‘Knowledge of the Self’, ‘atmajnyan’, since the Atma is the
Self-referral consciousness that is omniscient. It is the key to emancipation, release of the embodied soul or
promotion of the jiva from lower level of consciousness to the higher and
higher levels. Initially, it is said that the Soul got embodied as a result of its
‘Desire to experience the qualities and,
this ‘Desire is of Brahman’, the divine will.
“Desire is Brahman”. Brahman
manifest as the universe; as Jivatman created its own shell (Kosha) by weaving annamaya kosha, pranamaya kosha, manomaya kosha, vijnyanamaya kosha,
and the anandamaya kosha and, in the process acquired the Gunas and the ‘Qualities
of Intelligence’ (QI). This desire as the upadhi
of the Atman to experience the quality of its terrestrial embodied existence, Life, strengthened the will and
enforced action that led to metempsychosis, I.e., the repeated cycles of births
and deaths. When the soul that was free and pristine realized its mistake (of
embodiment) it tries to get rid of the shackles and finds it extremely
difficult to extricate itself out of the shells and get rid of the qualities, Guna.
This finally leads the Jivatman to take recourse to intense contemplation, askesis, and finally release from
bondage. This realization of the self experienced by the emancipated soul (Atmajnyani) is the goal of life, the
central theme of the Rk Veda Samhita.
The Jivatman
who seeks redemption himself becomes the Observer (Devata) in order to perceive Truth and, a means of knowing by
observation (Chandas) and finally
becomes enlightened Rishi. This is expressed in the Rk Veda Samhita- the Rishi,
Devata and Chandas aspects of Samhita.
The Sage, once being happy and contented
with his mortal existence, realizing the futility of a further existence, craves
for redemption. Thus, he takes to spiritual Sadhana. He first makes a fervent
appeal to the deity of the Body- Agni,
and then to Indra, the Lord of the
luminous Mind, and through him to his supporters- Rudra, Varuna, Maruta, Mitra, Ashvins, Vasus, Vishva Devas, etc. the Sage prays
for steadfastness in Yoga and begs for release of his soul from bondage of
repeated embodiment in an elemental body. Much earlier to the ‘Realization’, Enlightenment, it (the Jiva) ignorantly craves for better, and a
much better, living conditions asking for food, health, wealth, progeny,
protection, security, etc. and, finally disgusted of its unending desires, cravings,
and disillusion of life it prays for its release from its state of embodiment (in
a gross elemental body). It (the Soul) realized the fact that it is due to the ‘desire’ and ‘attachment’ that the Soul got its entanglement in an elemental body;
now it seeks redemption moksha, mumukshutva, liberation, with the help
of this Knowledge (‘vid’), the Veda.
dIrghatamA mAmatEyO jujurvAn
dashamE yugE |
apAmartham yatInAm brahma bhavati
sArathi
|| (I. 158, 6)
Desire and attachment makes a person blind to
reality and becomes old and feeble by his divisive activities. A mature person
on the other hand realizes the true nature of this world seeks Energies (Divine
Waters/pure Consciousness) and gets divine grace. For such a realized person Brahma, the potent word, becomes the
Guide like Shree Krishna to Arjuna. It also means, for a person who has been in
ignorance for a long time, the Lord only bestows grace and leads him to higher knowledge
and realization when he intently, devotedly, seeks redemption. The Tenth
Mandala of the Rk Veda is an ideal guide to mankind for salvation.
Hence, the Rk Veda Samhita is the Science of Consciousness- the path of
Enlightenment and Liberation, Emancipation, mokshagati, or Mumukshu tattva.
It is the synthesis of Yoga
This concept is
elaborately dealt with in great detail here. The Aryaman is a mumukshu here praying all the Deities
for help and guidance. He addresses his Prayers first to Agni and Indra, and
then to Rudra, Varuna, Maruta, Ashvins, Vasus, the Vishve Devas and the like. There
are certain misunderstandings arising out of our confusion of Itihasa, Purana,
Upanishads and other scriptures. These are, no doubt, constitute the Vedic
Literature as well in the strict sense of the term; but, we living in the
Twenty-first Century of the shalivahana shakha, or the Christian Era (CE), in
the Prathama Charana of Kali yuga of
the Seventh Kalpa (Vaivasvata manvantara)
have to go back to the prathama charana of the Satya Yuga (Krita Yuga) 4.30
million years ago, the times when not even the Vedas were uttered! The Sun,
Vivasvan was just born and was instructed of the fundamental principles of
creation, sustenance, development and dissolution by Lord Shree Krishna. In
fact, the Veda comes after this instruction of Gitopadesha to Sun God Vivasvan
(4.56 Billion Years ago). The Nasadiya Sukta of the Rk Veda Mandala X came
later when the Rishis got enlightened and became Maharishis (Sages of
higher consciousness/Drushtaras). They
cried in joy of enlightenment, in an exalted state of pure consciousness that
came to be known as ‘the Veda’, the
‘Revealed Knowledge’. It is this apourusheya
ut githa now available to us in tit bits that is causing so much difference
of opinion and confusion.
Thus, these eoics (Purana), history (Itihas), Nirukta (thesaurus),
Vyakarana (Grammar), Shiksha, Phonetics and study of Languages were produced
out of this Knowledge. Thus, we have to imagine a situation where the Rishis
and Devatas communicated only through signs and symbols- blessings of
crystal-clear thought-particles like electric charges. Words come later
than the images, Ideas, ‘Thought-forms’. So we have to think in terms of the Veda without
any influence of our present-day knowledge, particularly of the Puranas like
Mahabharata and Ramayana. Then only, we would be able to clearly understand the
Veda, as what the Veda is, and
not as what Veda ought to be.
At the present state
of mind, fully loaded with all sorts of trash in the name of knowledge, we are
bound to get confused with what we read as the Vedic Texts. Since we have come
a long way from the height of pure consciousness to a muddled brain and mind
full of desires it is difficult to rise again from the muddle. All those
desirous of release from this bondage of avidya (Maya) seek guidance in the
scriptures, the Veda. In a way, there is no constraint of Time and Space for
Knowledge (Jnyan/’vid’), the Rk Veda Samhita, an intuitional
Knowledge of the enlightened
Sages, the ‘Drushtara’, The Rishis are
thus not of the bygone eons but anybody could be one if he/she reaches the exalted
state of Mind, that level of pure consciousness. These Rishis are those who
attain to this highest level of Consciousness, now and here, or anywhere.
Anybody who is eager to attain Enlightenment, mokshagati may try and attain it and Prakruti/Nature also helps him/her in this adventure of consciousness.
Hence, the names of the Rishis indicate
the heightened levels of consciousness and these are only symbolic. The names
of Dirghatamas, Madhuchanda, Vishva Mitra, or Ghrutsmad, etc. signify the state
of existence at different levels of Consciousness. For instance, Dirghatamas
was the one who was in a state of ignorance or darkness for quite a long time
before he became enlightened. Anybody who attains the heightened state of consciousness
and gets revelation of a mantra is a Rishi, drushtara.
He attains this by Sadhana- spiritual practices like Dhyana, Dharana,
Pranayama and Samadhi or, simply called Yoga. So, Sage Vishva Mitra here
becomes the Sun, a friend of all. So also the Sage Bhrugu, Brishaspati or
Brahmanaspati is the teacher of all- gods and men.
The Rishis have neither noted down their Yogic
experiences, nor do they remember (smarana)
their revealed Knowledge (obtained in a state of trance) intact and conveyed it
to others in writing. Hence, the scriptures now available to us seem incomplete,
incoherent, vague, ambiguous, abstract, and incomprehensible. These are known only
as ‘shrutis’, the heard
voices, anahata dhvani.
In fact, there is no fixed time and place
of origin of the Veda since it is said to be nitya, shuddha, and nirantara. Taking cue from this statement of
the Veda, one can infer that the Veda
is an ‘Eternal Science’ and
could be easily obtained by anybody
now and here, or anytime
anywhere!
However, it must be noted that, in fact, the Veda is not something
(Knowledge/vid) to be attained; it is only Realization (anubhaava), experience
(svaanubhava). It is not something that comes within the grip of Time or Space,
nor it could be grasped by Mind or Intellect; once attained, it is not
something that could be expressed by words in concrete terms. It is abstract.
It concerns the Self, the Brahman, i.e., the Absolute Abstract, Atyantaabhava, a Dynamic Silence from
where Sound, Time, Space, Causation, Light, Energy, Force, electricity and
magnetism, creation- all begin.
The Rk
Veda Samhita presented here is not the traditional puritanical version that
is restricted to Samskrut scholars or the Yajnic ritualists. It is the Samhita,
not just a collection of Verses/Mantra/Rks
but the Totality, Wholeness, of ‘vid’
and it encompasses all faculties of Knowledge- science, philosophy, religion or
spirituality, art and what not! It is a very rational and scientific rendering
of the most important knowledge concerning the Self. It is an exact science in
the sense that it explains everything going back to the Black Hole where the
matter collapsed and disappeared under the weight of its own mass only to re-emerge
at the end of it, the White Hole. It concerns with the origin of Stars, the Galaxies,
the ‘Go Loka’, and Life and Death. It
deals with the subtlest of the subtlest state of matter and goes back in its
trail to the Spirit of the Matter, the Soul or the Atman. It goes back to the state of the ‘Unmanifest’ manifest in subtlest form of
vibration! It is the centre and the periphery, the Veda and the Vyasa, the
Island or ‘Dvaipayana’! It is the
undiminishing pure Consciousness, Krishna Consciousness!
It is the pure, the Eternal, Unchanging and the All-pervading ‘sat’ and ‘cit’; rather, it is the ‘sat’ out of which the ‘cit’
(Knowledge), ‘citi’ (the Fire/Agni), chetasa, chetana, chaitanya, and ananda
(Bliss) manifest. It is the creative force and, all that is found here is the
product of this single inexplicable ‘tat’ or that something (that can never be known by
the Intellect or the Mind); it is the Unmanifest
Brahman, the Veda Brahma. It is the beginning and the end by itself, like a
point on the circle! It is the centre as well as the periphery. It is Poornam, complete in itself. “Poornamadah poornam idam…”
Thus,
this approach to the study of Veda may seem to be a little different from all that
we know so far. It is needless to say again that this is not a classification
of the Veda(s) as ‘this and that’, but, it is the Rk Veda Samhita- not merely a collections of verses or
Suktas. It is the Totality, Undivided, single, all-inclusive Knowledge/JNYAN. It is the ‘Wholeness on
the move’. It is ‘poornam’,
Total Knowledge (vid). It makes no difference between science,
philosophy, art, or religion. It concerns the Soul (Atman), the Spiritual
component of our system- body, mind, nerves and neurons and the soul- complex. Since
all Knowledge is considered as ONE
and ONLY- the Veda is by itself a plural number;
it is not called the Vedas here. In fact, it is first the Atharva Veda
(consisting of more than Twenty thousand Rks) that was imparted by Prajapati
Brahma to his first manas putra (Brain-child)
Atharvan, and it includes everything about creation, sustenance, development,
and dissolution. Later, it was classified into four divisions to suit the
requirements of the rituals of fire sacrifice and whoever did it is called the
Veda Vyasa. But, this is also not an appropriate name since the term Veda and
Vyasa means the part and the whole, the centre and the periphery connected by
the radius, focal point and its outer sphere, the Circumference and the radius
connecting the focus in geometry. It is totalty, wholeness or poornam. The
world of Mathematics begins here and it is called the Vedic Mathematics. This
aspect of the Veda is dealt with later in this Text.
The Veda covers the whole gamut of Knowledge-
of the Forty Divisions and Sub-divisions, such as the Rk, Saman, Yajus,
Atharva, Stapathya, Gandharva, Ayurveda, the Upanishads- Sankhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa, and Vedanta- the Shad-Darshanas,
culminating in the Totality of Knowledge. There are also techniques of learning
such as the Shiksha, Vyakarana and Nirrukta, the Veda Pratishakhyas, etc. Thus,
it encompasses the entire Knowledge of the ‘holoverse’
or multiverse- everything in the universe. In fact, it unveils all the Qualities of Intelligence (QI) emerging from the Silence and
the Sound (Shabda)- the static and
yet the dynamic, the waves and vibrations, impulses, turbulence of the fluctuations
of the radiant energy- electricity and magnetism, flowing in the form of Radiation
of Light, the electro-magnetic waves (Quanta) pumped into space by the Sun
(Solar Dust) and the Star Dust of host of Stars, may they be smaller or the
larger, nearer or the farther ones. It is a mysterious science of Brahmanda,
Mutiverse, at that!
Secret of the Veda is the secret of the
secret of our existence. The secrets revealed in the Rks of the Veda emerge when
we decode the Samhita that contains the Rishi, Devata and the Chandas values
that go to structure the Veda Samhita. It goes to the point where the impulses
start and create waves, sounds, and vibrations, that in turn, create Space (the
Akasha), Mind (Manas), life-breath (Prana)- all due to Consciousness (Prajnya).
“In
pronouncing and listening to the sounds of the
Rks of the Veda and the other Vedic Literature the universal holistic value
of consciousness is enlivened in the total brain physiology and in each fibre of the brain, rather the nerves and neurons of the brain.”
Much research has been done in this regard and this has been proved beyond all
doubt” [Maharishi University of Management, U.S.A.).
“The structure of the Veda, the sequential
unfoldment of sound, which at the same time is the sequential unfoldment of the
form (of the sound), is the sequential unfoldment of the shruti that which is heard by the Aatmaa, the self-referral
consciousness, and darshan that which
is seen by the self-referral consciousness” (ibid).
Thus,
the Veda is the science of ‘Consciousness’ that pervades the universe and presents itself (manisfests) as the Absolute Undifferentiated (Unmanifest), ‘cit’. It is the secret of our
existence! Every living or animate being is the function of consciousness. The
sounds of the Veda, the impulses of consciousness in the form of Rks of the
Veda are actually seen (darshan) on
the level of self-referral consciousness by self-referral consciousness. This
is atma darshan. These sounds
structure the forms in creation. “All the material and non-material expressions
of creation have specific frequencies (sounds). These fundamental frequencies
are also the frequencies which structure the human physiology and the universe;
there is correspondence between consciousness, speech, text, the physiology and
the entire creation (universe) in the Rk Veda and Vedic literature numbering
forty in all, including the Rk Veda. The sequential development of the entire
universe by the sound and the word is explained later.
(Excerpts from :DECODING THE VEDA- Rk Veda Samhita"by the same author of these blogs)
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