The Vedic Doctrines

I know this undecaying, primeval One, the Self of all things, which exists everywhere, being all pervading and which the wise declare to be free from birth. The teachers of Brahman, indeed, speak of It as eternal. [Yajur Veda, Part I, Chapter III, 21]/ He, the One and Undifferentiated, who by the manifold application of His powers produces, in the beginning, different objects for a hidden purpose and, in the end, withdraws the universe into Himself, is indeed the self-luminous-May He endow us with clear intellect! That Supreme Self is Agni (Fire); It is Aditya (Sun); It is Vayu (Wind); It is Chandrama (Moon). That Self is the luminous stars; It is Hiranyagarbha; It is water; It is Virat. Thou art woman, Thou art man; Thou art youth and maiden too. Thou as an old man totterest along on a staff; it is Thou alone who, when born, assumest diverse forms. Thou art the dark-blue bee; Thou art the green parrot with red eyes; Thou art the thunder-cloud, the seasons and the seas. Thou art beginningless and all-pervading. From Thee all the worlds are born.[Yajur Veda, Shvet. Upa. Part I, Chapter IV, 1-4] He who knows Brahman, who is all Bliss, extremely subtle, like the film that rises to the surface of clarified butter and is hidden in all beings-he who knows the radiant Deity, the sole Pervader of the Universe, is released from all his fetters. The Maker of all things, self-luminous and all-pervading, He dwells always in the hearts of men. He is revealed by the negative teachings of the Vedanta, discriminative wisdom and the Knowledge of Unity based upon reflection. They who know Him become immortal. When there is no darkness of ignorance, there is no day or night, neither being nor non-being; the pure Brahman alone exists. That immutable Reality is the meaning of ‘That’; It is adored by the Sun. From It has proceeded the ancient wisdom. No one can grasp Him above, across, or in the middle. There is no likeness of Him. His name is Great Glory (Mahad-yashah). [Yajur Veda, Shvet. Upa.,, Part I, Chapter IV, 16-19]. You have no knowledge of him who created these worlds; some other thing has interposed between you. The reciters of hymns who ravish life in their ritual proceed with their muttering, enwrapped in confusion and ignorance. [Rk Veda X, 82, 7]. Endowed with gunas, the jiva performs action, seeking its fruit; and again, it reaps the fruit of what it has done. Assuming all forms and led by the three gunas, the jiva, ruler of the pranas, roams about following the three paths, according to its deeds. Of the size of a thumb, but brilliant, like the sun, the jiva possesses both volition and egoism. It is endowed with the qualities of both buddhi and Atman. Therefore it is seen as another entity, inferior and small as the point of a goad. [Yajur Veda, Shvet. Upa.,, Part I, Chapter V, 7-8] Rosy Dawn advances, adorned with the brightness of many a beam. She pursues her way on her well-equipped chariot, arousing Men to joy. Come, O twin Spirits, at break of day on your powerful chariots. We offer in sacrifice this honey-sweet draught for your delectation. How is it that, though united and unsupported, he does not fall down? By what inner power moves he? Who has seen? A firm pillar, he protects heaven's vault.[Rk Veda IV, 14, 3-5] The embodied soul, by means of good and evil deeds committed by itself, assumes many forms, coarse and fine. By virtue of its actions and also of such characteristics of the mind as knowledge and desire, it assumes another body for the enjoyment of suitable objects. He who knows the Lord, who is without beginning or end, who stands in the midst of the chaos of the world, who is the Creator of all things and is endowed with many forms-he who knows the radiant Deity, the sole Pervader of the universe, is released from all his fetters.[Yajur Veda, Shvet. Upa.,, Part I, Chapter V, 12-13] If the sunbird, rising, extracted his foot from the sea, neither today nor tomorrow would exist, neither night, day, nor dawn. The eight--wheeled moves on one rim, to and fro, thousand-syllabled. With one half it engendered all creation. Of its other half what sign? [Atharva Veda XI, 4, 21-22] Foremost Purifier, let your lights shine on us now, inspiring us to skill of mind and hand. [Rk Veda IX, 36, 3] Some learned men speak of the inherent nature of things and some speak of time, as the cause of the universe. They all, indeed, are deluded. It is the greatness of the self-luminous Lord that causes the Wheel of Brahman to revolve. He by whom the whole universe is constantly pervaded is the Knower, the Author of time. He is sinless and omniscient, It is at His command that the work which is called earth, water, fire, air and akasa appears as the universe. All this should be reflected upon by the wise. The yogi who first performs actions and then turns away from them and who practices one, two, three, or eight disciplines, unites one principle with another principle and with the help of virtues cultivated by the self and of subtle tendencies attains Liberation in course of time. He who attains purity of heart by performing actions as an offering to the Lord and merges prakriti and all its effects in Brahman, realizes his true Self and thereby transcends phenomena. In the absence of maya, both collective and individual, all his past actions are destroyed. After the destruction of the prarabhda karma he attains final Liberation. [Yajur Veda, Shvet. Upa.,, Part I, Chapter VI, 1-4] The Vedic prayer is: “Arouse us today to success and good fortune. To loftier joys promote us, O Dawn! Grant to us wealth of every kind, O Goddess renowned, friend of Man!” [Rk Veda VII, 75, 2]

Divine Intervention

It seems not all are at once ready for 'attainment' or 'liberation', mukti, moksha. Each one of us are at different stations in journey of life. some have started early and some late.; those who started early may be nearing the end of their journey.Many have to end till the last, the 'dooms day'! However, there may come a day when his/her life is shattered, shaken from slumber and dreams of this make-believe world and taken out of the rut, the mundane! They suffer a lot, no doubt, but that is the last suffering. There will be no more problems. Many may not return to this death-knell, 'mrutyu loka', by the grace of the Lord. Nobody knows how this turning point comes in the life of a jive. We, as humans, live in a mysterious world. There are invisible force governing our existence. There are a number of subtle aspects such as atomic energy, gravitation,solar radiation, electromagnetic forces, light, heat, sound, waves and vibration of innumerable types like x-rays, alpha, beta, theta, gamma, infra-red, ultra-violet rays seven colors, etc. Each and every one of these, separately and collectively influence our body health, mental health, thoughts and ideas, images, imagination and dreams and our struggle for achieving dreams, success and failures. The Vedic texts and agama shastra have dealt with these in great detail. We have got very few published works on these. The Ahirbudhnya samhita, the Jayakhya, the Lakshmi Tantra, Narada samhita, and a few others are available in print. The scientists are also working on these aspects. What exactly happens in a jiva's life from birth to death, rather from conception to depart from the embodied state? Who decides what in the life of a jiva. Is it luck, destiny, vidhi or karma, purva-punya or some invisible hand called adrushtha? Do the distant stars and planets of our solar system affect our life? What radiation waves affect our body cells and create, mould or shape our body, mind and thoughts, actions and the consequent karmaphala? All these are mysterious. These secrets can be visualized and explained by yogins who take to serious penance, askesis, tapas. We have some secrets revealed in the Gita, as told by Bhagavan Shree Krishna to Arjuna. We have given some clues in these blogs. But not all will ever be able to understand them. What prevents from even attempting to know these may be the karma. Karma is a very strong force by itself! Not all can become yogins, drushtara, or rishi. There comes a turning point in every jiva's life when the tormented jiva seeks solace at the feet of the Lord. The Lord takes pity on the jiva and redeems it. This is 'Divine intervention'.

The 'Transient' and the 'Transcendental'

    The material universe is transient, in the sense, ever-changing. All gross matter- physical, chemical, biological, etc. are transient, in the sense that they come under the law of 'entropy'. They possess a quality that makes them change with time. These qualities are the qualities of nature (prakruti), hence, acquired ones and, not their basic ones. The physical gross matter is the outcome of the manifest brahman, i.e. the eternal, formless, and  unchanging! The basic nature (mula svaroopa) is subtler-most and invisible. There are several stages- from an invisible wave and vibration, sound, syllables, word and its meaning and the gross products- solid, liquid, gas and the plasma. This ever-changing nature is the transient. Everything on this earth, including the planet,is transient. Everything changes from second to second and minute to minute. The forms undergo remarkable changes over time. Nothing can stop this change. Further, all these deteriorate and attain their original nameless, formless, function-less invisible state.

    The 'transcendental' is the 'one beyond'. Here, the existential 'reality' is beyond the threshold, the border, the boundary. It is a state where all vibration stops. It is the natural state. All that exist in gross diverse material forms have manifested from this base. However, this base is not the one with any quality, form or function. It is subtle, almost potent and not yet become kinetic, almost static and not yet become dynamic. As humans, we all see that is kinetic, dynamic and the functional. We cannot dwell deep in that state unless we cross the threshold!

    The yogins who wanted to know the truth, the reality of existence, tried the yogic path and reached the core of the existence. They realized the existence of several boundaries and tried to cross them, one by one, and transcend all limitations. These limitations are time, space and causality. Once the yogins crossed the basic three levels of bhu, bhuvah and svah, as ell as, the muladhara, svadhishthana and the manipura plexus of consciousness which represent the earth (soil/food), water, and fire (ethereal/pranic) principles, the yogin reaches the aerial (vayu tattva, clairvoyant state).  

   The transcendental state is thus one of 'beyond the senses and mind. Here the senses are withdrawn from their external wanderings and the mind is stilled (at rest). The yogic trance is the state where the yogin is deeply involved with the abstract, non-material, divine and the other-worldly (paramarthika) seeking redemption from the cycle of rebirths. The path suggested by Patanjali, Shandilya, Bhagavan Shree Krishna are jnyana, viveka, vairagya and yajnya, dana tapas. This way, the yogi chants the name of his choicest mantra and the devata and rests in peace with. This leads to samadhi. This is the first step toward attaining liberation, salvation, mukti or moksha- the very purpose of life, purushartha sadhanam. After all, who wants to appear in different gross forms and suffer transient states?

'Attainment'-Transcending the Boundaries.

  As we are all children, we would love to play. We first lay down the rules of the game. We mark the boundaries and then cry foul. We mark the boundary of the cricket field only to shout a 'four' when the ball rolls out of it, or shout a 'Six' when the ball flies high and crosses beyond! We mark the foot ball or tennis field and cry 'out'. It is we who have created the boundary lines where there was none. Those who are fed up with this play, eraze all lines of boundaries and go home!

   'One' vast unlimited deep expanse of Space (akasha) is filled with material objects like the stars, galaxies, the sun and its planets,including the varied life forms. This is in totality. This 'One' is identified as each one, separate, and this and that by the intelligence. Where there is 'none' comes the 'one' and the one only appears as one more, one more and the 'many'.  In all reality, it is one only. It is like the bachelor who becomes one more with a wife and one more and  one more like the children; all are one, one family, progeny! The human mind is ingenious in identifying, imagining, and creating things which do not exist! All that exist here is transitory and 'do not really exist' as the eternal!

  So also, the ingenious mind marks the boundary where there is none. It can create, divide, dissect, disseminate and do all sorts of tricks. These thresholds, the boundaries, rules and regulations, etc are all creation of the mischievous mind. We write down a Constitution and becomes out-dated, obsolete, and we cry foul when we do not follow it! So also, we create dos' and don'ts and castigate those who do not follow them. This problem prompted the great social thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, Rousseu to proclaim that "we are born free and we are in chains everywhere". 

   This boundary, the threshold, the limitations are thus either self-imposed, or may be, even divine. For instance, we have the sapta lokas- bhu,bhuvah, svah, mahah, janah, tapah and the sat. So also, we have seven levels of Consciousness from muladhara at the base (basal plexus) to sahasrar over the head running through svadhishthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddhi, and the ajnya; so also, there are seven levels below the waist/seat- atala, vitala, sutala. . . patala. One who is an adept yogi can transcend these levels in yogic trance (samadhi) and reach the highest. When one reaches the highest level of consciousness, that is pure and clear (without any blemishes like mada, matsarya, krodha, etc.) he, the yogi, realizes the 'oneness'. This is attainment in the real sense.

    

The Threshold

   The threshold comes in between the two- the 'in' and the 'out'. Actually, it is a bench mark. It is the imaginary line that separates that which is 'one'only. It is like an earthen pot that separates the space within and without and the difference of being in and out ceases to exist when the separating earthen wall breaks! The threshold marks the the external and the internal. As humans we are all made of the five fundamental principles, pancha mahabhuta tattva. These are water (70%) followed by earth (28-29%) or soil/food, fire, air and space (remaining 1 or 2%). Since we are within the threshold of the gross water, soil and food we live just by eating, drinking and sleeping. There is air (we breath), heat, and space within us all. These same principle are also there outside of us. What separates us from the outside is the earthen shell supported by food- breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. We indulge in merry-making unconcerned about the main purpose of life. Some even question as to what is the purpose! 

   The threshold separates us, as the human bodies, from the external and the internal only insofar as we think as a physical body. The Mind works both inside and outside and thereby keeps us engaged with the outside world. When the Mind stands still, stops functioning, the jiva rests in peace with itself without bothering about the world. This stillness of the mind is obtained by laya yoga- manonasha or manonasha as in Samadhi. The physical body is only an accessory and it works on the advice of the mind, buddhi, ahankara with the help of the ten sense organs, indriyas. These are provided only to keep the body engaged- eat, drink, sleep and recreation. These are in no way helpful for the larger purpose of attainment of liberation, salvation. This salvation is attained once the jiva erases the borderline, the threshold and the inner and the outer becomes one! This happens in samadhi.

    The threshold is an imaginary self-imposed border line due to avidya of the jiva. This avidya is not the lack of knowledge, but 'knowledge shrouded by selfish interests'. The ari-shadvarga, such as, ego, jealous, attachment, pride, anger, and greed. Once the jiva gets rid of these qualities and raises above all the  attachment, dependence, and realizes its true nature, the threshold is erased. This merger of the inner and the outer is symbolically practiced by breaking a water-filled earthen pot at the time  of cremation of the dead body. However, a yogi does this even while he/she is living by discarding all the acquired qualities.

   Hence, it is important that we get rid of all these attachments to the sensuous world and remain happy and contented with what we get on its own. The Bhagavad-Gita has explicitly stated this point of view. sarvarambha parityagi is very dear to Me. We get into problems by our indulgences in worldly affairs. It is not necessary to indulge ourselves, unnecessarily go out and get into trouble, or poke our nose everywhere. Each jiva should strive to get rid of the shackles that bind us to this mrutyu loka where every thing has to deteriorate and disappear only to reappear in another form. Humans are the worst sufferers- with old age, sickness and death or bereavements. These sad states of affairs are the result of attachment. Wisdom lies in closing all accounts of good and bad results (papa and punya) and be liberated once and for all.

Surrender to the supreme Lord, a higher force and be liberated, even while living. 

Evolution

   Evolution of life on earth is an enigma. Darwin tried to make some sense by arranging the different species and giving it some sort of a sequential order. When the theory of 'Monkey became Man' was  brought into text books it went into lots of arguments and discussions.Is there a sequential development, order of succession in evolution is the question. However, the ancient sages had already presented a very simple Vedic doctrine of  creation that holds good for all times. The principles of creation are enunciated in the Sankhya.
    The scientists try to deduce from what is seen and the defect lies in the fact that we cannot see and know everything, all at once. The Vedic doctrines, on the other hand, are very clear about Creation. It says, "the Lord Willed". In fact, what we call the Veda is not some thing like Rks, Saman, or Yajus. It is 'vid', the very 'Knowledge'! It is this 'Knowledge' (jnyan) only that exists. It is the first manifest function of brahmn. This 'brahhmn' is 'Knowledge'. Knowledge is 'chit'. What all we find in this world is some sort of a knowledge only. Each one of us is a 'faculty' and go by a profession we adopt for most part of our life. When when we do not profess anything, or when we are recognized as 'so and so', it is a specialized knowledge like doctor or engineer or lawyer!
    Everything emanates from 'brahmn' and this includes all that we find here including the living beings and non-living things. The Vedic doctrine is that things manifest from elements, the pancha mahabhuta, and this includes all living-forms. Life is a form of energy, force. There is nothing that can create or destroy life here since this life-force (prana) always exists, and may or may not take a formal body! The fundamental principles of creation, sustenance, development, and dissolution are enunciated in all the epics. There are no controversies or ambiguities in this regard.  

    Although, different life-forms exist on earth, there is no uniformity and standardized model here.  Each living being is a universe by itself! Every living being exhibits its state of existence at any time and there are many states such as germs,viruses, insects, animals and birds in different ecosystems and humans. All these are the gross aspects of energy and the subtler aspects have to discovered. Most of the gross forms emanate from subtler, invisible forces, vibrations and waves of sounds! The invisible forces are visualized by the saints who contemplate them in a transcendental meditative mode. These forces are given names and forms by artists and called gods! There are just thoughts, images and even knowledge in subtle forms. These are experienced and personified as sages and saints, whereas, they do not exist at all! Seer or a sage is an embodiment of knowledge, with or without a formal body. A person transcends all limtations of body, mind, senses, intellect and ego before becoming a Sage (rishi), Seer (drushtara). For instance, Vishva Mitra, the name of a sage, is just Light, Knowledge, Bliss! So also, the Rishis who are just visionaries, Seers.
    We have wrong notions of these and do not understand unless and until an attained 'Guru' teaches us. Here again, the Guru is one who is fire of knowledge within us all and not a person who lives like us! Bhagavan Shree Krishna says, "I am the Self of all". Atma eva guru | So, one should go into meditative trance and visualize and become a Seer. 

Should We indulge in Worldly Affairs?

The Bhagavad-Gita is a handy guide book to take us step by step to kaivalya.  Here, the first doctrine enunciated is work, action, karma. None can keep quiet without doing any work. So, one has to work and this includes eating, drinking, breathing and earn a livelihood. This may or may not include your indulgences in marriage, family, society and national interests! However, whatever one does attracts results of action, karma phala. These will be the seeds for the next lives and one has to be careful about this. In fact, Blessed Lord reveals the secret as to how to get rid of these karmakleshas. He says, "Do whatever you like, but do it in my name and offer it to Me. Say, 'Krishnarpanamastu'!" This will absolve the doer of action from being afflicted by karma kleshas."

   Second doctrine is that of Yoga which enables one to concentrate and contemplate. Method of performing yoga is also explained in the Gita. Yoga will also help to transcend time, space, and causality. Yogins can stay unperturbed under all grave provocations and thereby be always happy and peaceful. The doctrines of bhakti (devotion), jnyana (Knowledge), and dhyana (concentration on the higher self) are given as the essential steps to attain liberation. When one exhausts all these and fails to attain salvation, the doctrine of self-surrender, sharanagatim principle is advised. This will certainly bring total solace and eternal joy and happiness since the self or the ego is erased and the devotee rests peacefully with the Bhagavan. This Bhagavan is none else but the Self, the Atman, who breathes and holds us day and night till our body deteriorates to the point of stopping breathing! This state of being with one's self is really the ultimate one can expect in this world. 

   Hence, the question is whether one should go on in an endless search for happiness indulging in sensuous life and suffer dualities? Yes and No. This depends on the age factor. One can enjoy as long as one is not aware of the true nature of the world. Once the true nature of the  transient world is realized nobody will go after it. One should realize the self before one leaves one's last breath.
  There is another problem with the jiva indulging in worldly affairs. It is the fickle mind that keeps him busy with the external world. It is, first, to go out to  get food and then seek recreation. Most of the time we spend time in matters that do not concern us, at all!  Since mind has no intelligence, it acts foolish and the person fails to use the intelligence bestowed to it. May be some are unaware of it, or may be, do not have it at all due to early stage of evolution? However, this problem can be solved by taking recourse to yoga and silence. There is no meaning worrying about anything and foolishly seeking pleasure and happiness from people and things outside. One who is established in one's self is the happiest since the self is the fountain of happiness.