What is
the upadhi, support of this univre? On whom are firmly founded earth and sky
and the air in between; so too, the fire, moon, sun, and wind- each one knowing
his own place? Tell me of that Support (upadhi)-who may he be? In whose one
limb all the Gods- three and thirty in number, are Affixed. Tell me of that
Support--who may he be? [Atharva Veda
X, 7, 13].
There are a number of unanswered questions
and modern science is still groping in darkness. Despite much advancement in
scientific studies, there is much to be learnt in the field of waves and
vibrations, light, magnetism, gravity, thoughts, ideas, emotions, will-power,
dreams, and such other forces.Material science cannot answer the questions
pertaining to the spiritual aspects that govern the creation, sustenance, and
dissolution of the universe. Nobody can ever explain where the manas and chitta
(mind and mentation process), prana (life-force), and prajnya (consciousness),
come from.It is also difficult to know how desires arise and how they operate.
The consciousness pervades the universe and encomapass all movable and
immovable materials. It is impossible to explain how a single sperm of thr
millions ejaculated, when it enters an egg-cell, manifests itself! Whether it
is a huge shark, a monkey, an elephant or a human the process of life formation
is similar. Also, it is strange how the structural aspects such as the anatomy
and physiology of the living beings like the quadrupeds or bipeds, or the
humans are designed to such perfection that a jiva can live and function
meticulously for decades after decades! Unlike the modern scientists who search
for the answer in the sub-atomic particles, the yogins turn to transcendental meditative
state and contemplate on specific problems and seek answers. These visionaries
perceive the truth and reveal what they have envisioned in simple vowels and
consonants, sacred words called mantra or formula. This is the ancient visdom,
the spiritual heritage of India.
This has been
handed down to us since times immemorial. It is imbibed in our culture. It
gives us an insight into the cultural tradition of the Vedic people. The power
of the mantra they chanted, the effect of the tapas, the strength and vigor of
the Doctrines that sustained itself all through the ages and what all they
learnt and taught are relevant even to this day. In fact, our very survival
depends on this sanatana dharma. However, today people, due to their
ignorance, have lost interest in these great teachings. The teachings of the
scriptures include the Veda, the Upa.,s, the Brahma Sutra, the Puranas
numbering eighteen, and the Bhagavad-Gita; together these are known as the ‘Ancient
Scriptures’ in popular parlance in India. The Vedic verses are a rich and
resourceful site for our knowledge about creation.
The Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita and the
Brahma Sutras, together are called ‘Prasthanatrayi’. It is the
trinity of the sacred scriptures that reveal the secret of the Brahma. In the
first place the Upa.,s, culled out of the Veda emphatically assert that Brahmn
is the efficient and the material cause of creation. It upholds the doctrines
enshrined in the Veda. Next, the Bahagavad-Gita reveals the secret of Brahmn
and Shree Krishna says that none so far has realized the fact that the supreme
Lord only exists and nothing exists here. What all exists here is the shadow of
the omniscient, omnipotent and the omnipresent supreme Lord. It is the pure
Consciousness that pervades the universe. Lord Shree Krishna stands as Indra,
the Lord of the luminous Mind in Kurukshetra, the battlefield- the Mind, where
‘to do or not to do’- the duality persists; here He stands as supreme
Consciousness (Mahat- Prajnya) whereas Arjuna stands as the confused Mind
(manobhranta), full of attachment (moha).
The Bhagavad-Gita is by far the one of the
scriptures held in highest esteem and it reveals Jnyana; it is the
Yogopanishad revealing the secret of creation. Since these words
(Gitopadesha) of the Lord are first revealed to the Sun, Vivaswan, the
First Manu, Svayambhu Manu. Hence,
it is older than the Veda and the Upa.,s. What all are stated in the Gita are
also found in the Veda and the Upa.,s. The Gita is also ‘apourusheya’, not
spoken by any ordinary human, rather, visualized by great sages in their
transcendental meditative modes, and it is as old as the Universe. It is
dates back to the brain-child or mantrasya putrah or the angirasas, dated back
to unknown times! In a sense it deals with the birth of the Stars and times
older than the Earth and the Moon. Now, the third one, Brahma Sutras complete
this summary reiterating the facts of the Veda, the Upa.,s, and the
Bhagavad-Gita. Hence, all Knowledge is one, the Veda, ‘vid’ meaning
‘Knowledge’. In fact, it was one only in the beginning known as ‘the
Ekaana’, the Veda taught by Lord Sri Hari Narayana to Lord Sankarshana. It concerns
with the para vidya, higher
Knowledge, the knowledge of brahmn, the Self, unlike the material science that
is a lower knowledge (apara vidya).
Whoever knows this is called the Vedavidu, knower of the Brahm.
Thus, the prasthana-thrayee constitutes
the basis of Sanatana Dharma. These three are the essential scriptures
that one should know, keeping in mind the ultimate goal of mankind- liberation
or salvation. Dharma, artha, kama, and moksha are the four constituents
of goal of life, ‘purushartha’and every Hindu tries to achieve
these in his lifetime; however, the last one is so eluding that it is not
within the reach of us, the mortals.
Dharma or Righteousness is selfless
action in the interest of common good. Artha is the material progress,
and kamana is the ‘desire’ that is never fulfilled in one or two lives. Much of our life
is wasted in fulfilling the basic needs of life. The two major aspects-
artha and kamana (desire) ie, material pursuits and sensuous life, make us
slave of our senses and body comforts; we tend to forget dharma, the very
essential basis of life, the foundation of our existence. This is not clearly
understood with the result there is so much of misery everywhere.
These
ancient scriptures are put in the mouth of the enlightened sage-seers, rather,
the breath of Sri Krishna dvaipayana, who later came to be known as the
Sage Veda Vyasa; the most intriguing part of the story is that sage Veda
Vyasa dictated this to none other than Lord Ganapati, the Lord of the
Knowledge. These scriptures are mysterious age-less ones and nobody knows how
these have come down to us. The practice during the earlier times was to learn
the Veda by-heart and spell with phonetic perfection without writing down the
scripture. That apart, there are many coded words and secret messages in the mantra.
The
central theme of all the Shrutis and Smrutis is deliverance, liberation
(mukti, moksha) of the embodied soul.
These are the eternal sciences (jnyan-vijnyan) and a spiritual guide for
us.
The Veda and Upa., Doctrines reveal the
secrets of the origin, sustenance, and dissolution of the Universe. These are
the primary sources of secrets- of life on earth, development and
transformation and the true nature of our existence. They hold a clue to the
future of mankind. The humans have experienced life in many ways and often get
perplexed at the mysterious ways of turn of events. Almost all are eager to
know everything about these mysteries, but there is no body to tell anything
for sure about these. Thus, many take recourse to hear-say, the heard and the
un-heard, the cock and bull stories, fiction and mythologic stories and finally
get disgusted. As long as one is sailing in the Ship of this Planet Earth,
there is none else who can save from the calamities that loom large and only
someone, a superior power from some other planet, or someone who created this
earth, only should help the poor creatures here. Till then, one has to struggle
hard, fight a losing battle, and die, only to return again here in some form or
the other to continue the unending journey. This is the sad predicament of the
jivas on this earth, called the mrutyu
loka.
Some of the most important abstract aspects
of spiritual nature that are essential for our understanding of the mysteries
of the Universe, and the ways of God, devi devatas, and great rishis or learned
sages are explained here. For instance, the Vedic Gods and the rituals are not
actually what the text reads, but contain any number of symbols, signs and
images, coded words and syllables (full of meaning!). Horse is not an animal
but a symbolic expression of speed and the cow stands for Light here!
The Veda, that was initially just one magnum
opus of “Supreme Knowledge”, credited to
different sages, having almost a lakh verses, was later separated into
four divisions- the Rk Veda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, and the Atharva Veda.
These verses called Rks of the Rk Veda contain everything about the creation of
the universe, evolution of Consciousness, involution of consciousness,
sustenance and dissolution of living beings, the goal of life, etc.
Moreover, it is open to any number of interpretations!The
Samans of the Samaveda are for singing the greatness of the Vedic Gods,
praising them for favours, too. The Yajurveda contains elaborate rituals for
yajnya and yagas. The Atharva Veda is full of details about socio-economic
aspects of society and guidance for a happy and successful living. Nowhere do
we find such scriptures and many foreign schoalrs like Max Mueller, Monier
Williams, Fawley Dawson and Deussen are all praise for these.
At present, the available Vedic verses number
about 20 000. The Rk Veda contains 10,552 Verses or aphorisms. These Rks (Rucha
or Mantra) are the self-emanating udgitha; they are an
exclamation in adoration of the revealed knowledge and Prayer Mantras. When
properly contemplated upon, these appear to have a sort of hidden ‘secret’ in
every letter, word, and the Mantra, ie, Rucha (Rk). There is an order and
rhythm, ‘a refer-back system of sounds in dynamic silence (GAPs) alternately’,
Mandala aspect in it; and, no one knows the nature of its origin or since when
these are in existence! Every letter, every word, and every Rucha is so
mysterious that it is very difficult to understand it. It is so esoteric and
mystic and potential that even today its secrecy is well maintained and
imparted only to a few trusted initiated ones by the enlightened sage-seers.
The esoteric and mystic nature of the Rks
lies in the creative energy, force and power inherent in the sound of the
letters. In fact, the letters of the alphabets have emanated from the breath of
the Creator Brahma through his Creative energy or Shakti called Saraswati. Each
letter is the mother (Matrikaa) of the next letter and the subsequent
letter that goes to make a word/ ‘pada’ and the sentence ‘Vaak’ (ya). The Vakya
is the sentence that makes complete sense, but it is shrouded with secrecy
here. The secrecy lies in its power of creation, power of transformation, and
the power of dissolution, and that explains everything in a coded language. So
far, the Veda has not been successfully decoded!
