Ancient Spiritual Scriptures- their Esoteric Nature

Most of the Samskruta Texts of spiritual texts in Agama Shastra- Shaiva, Vaishnava, and the Shakta or the Tantras available to us in print or manuscripts so far are highly esoteric having deeper meaning that only a person of self-knowledge (Atma-jnyan) can know or understand.Even when one understands the teachings of such scriptures, it is next to impossible to experience them! It is so simple that "it is not possible to dwell in spirituality, unless the worldly life is given a secondary importance, if not, altogether abandoned"! The choice is always there to chose. It is also not open to all. The specified qualification is also there to come to spiritual pursuits.

   Some of the spiritual scriptures of great importance are already given. the most important ones are the Agama shastra samhitas, the Upanishads, the Brahma sutras and the Bhagavad-Gita. The most difficult suktas to understand are that of the Rk Veda and, next come the Brahma Sutras. Even the Bhagavad-Gita is not very easy to undertand. For instance, Bhagavan Shree Krishna says, "I Told this Gitopadesh to Visvasvan, the Sun, at the beginning" To this, Arjuna says, "Bhagavan,you and i are here and the Sun, the 'surya deva' is there shining. How can i understand these words of yours?" For that, Bhagavn says, "Arjuna,you and I are always there even before the Sun is born and will be always there even after He is gone". Further, He the Bhagavan says, "I only exist and nothing besides Me". Also, He reiterates, "I Am the Self of all". Thus, these words of the Lord can be understood only by the spiritual seekers, that too when they study these with utmost care, contemplation and insight!  Similarly, there are many episodes, such as that of Vishva Mtra and Urvashi.Vashishtha is said to be born to Urvashi due to Mitra Varuna infatuation in her.Some pundits use the words normally used to child birth among the humans, not even know that Devi Devata are mere cosmic forces and not humans! Moreover, Vishva Mitra is the Sun, friend of all, and Urvashi is the sunrays, the Light emitted by the Sun, solar radiation, electromagnetic waves? Thus,our understanding is shallow. To know is different from understanding and experiencing!
   The scholarly interpretation of our scriptures by Max Mueller, Monier Williams, Fawley Dawson, Duessen, and many others fall short of the true meaning of the words depicted in the Rks.  Even the scholar- amatya Sayana who edited the Veda says, "I do not know the meaning of almost 400 words!" Every samskruta shloka has lots and lots of background knowledge involved. Some words have different shades of meaning and many are dummies and have no meaning to convey since they are used with a secret purpose! Thus,these scriptures call for further research. 

"Shreevidya"- an Esoteric Spiritual Science.

"Shreevidya is one of the most ancient Hindu scriptures. It is Text of Vedic Science and Technology, called mantra, yantra and tantra is Samskruta bhasha. It has got a number of designs based on which the universe is created and entrusted to guards and devi-devata to manage- as in the Shree Chakra. It has got the mantra or aphorisms that are full of creative knowledge, power, forc and technology within and produce anything that is ever imagined. These are also depicted in the design of Shree Chakra. There are the technological processes involved that can be learnt by any sincere student!. Ultimately, it is also said that all these are embedded in the humans. The human body is the yantra (a machine), and the Lotus heart or hrut-kamala, the most beautiful seat of Consciousness and, the brain equipped with the nerves and neurons that can think, imagine, create images and produce the products of imagination. Thereby, there is no separate Deity, or mantra, tantra, or yantra than the human? 

Ancient Hindu Scriptures

    It has been mentioned earlier that the scriptures of Hindu lore are innumerable starting from the unwritten to the published ones like the Agama shastra, the Veda and its sub-divisions, the Vedanta or the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita and the Brahma sutras. These scriptures are of great esoteric value and full of symbolism, imageries, and other inexplicable yantra, mantra and tantra. The study of these may take several decades and may not be completed in one or two lives!

   Thus, it may fairly be deduced that nobody can claim mastery or authority over these scriptures. The tragedy is that many of the samhitas of Pancha Ratra Agama shastra numbering almost 200 are not even available! Only a dozen of them are seen in print like, the Lakshmi Tantra, Jayakhya, sadakhya, ahirbudhnya, narada samhita. Even the Vedic sukta are not well depicted in writings since there was strict instruction not to write them down or explain with commentary and should be pronounced with phonetic perfection and need be heard properly and remembered. Under these circumstance, one has to be content with what is available! There are a hundred ways of gaining the scriptural knowledge if one takes the trouble of going through the ancient gurukula system. We have to first learn samskruta bhasha and take to yoga culminating in samadhi. Deep contemplation of the Vedic doctrines may help only after 'realization of the Self' (Atma sakshaatkara). May be, mere looking inward with great discipline, svadhyaya, nidhidhyasana, and japa or dhyana will also help. nahinjnyanena sadrusham. [See A History of Indian Philosophy By Surendranath Dasgupta, MLBD, Delhi]

The Problem of the Hindus

The main problem of Hindus, not Hinduism, is that of 'lack of unity' as a class of Citizens of Bharat. The root of the problem lies in the definition, meaning and purport of the religion called 'Hinduism'. Hinduism is a discipline of total freedom for one to shine in the glory of the Sun. Every jivatman is a free, unhindered,uninhibited soul. The Soul is unborn, immortal, eternal and pure. There is no need to do anything to recognize, except to contemplate on it! Thus, one can become free from all dogmas, and isms and schisms. The Hindu Rashtra, the Hindu Bhasha,  the Hindu samaja strives for this recognition, this atma sakshatkaar. Thus, there is no place for a second person here. This is the beauty of Hinduism. It paves for a universal outlook. All great [poets have aimed at becoming a 'vishva manava', rising above all pettiness, narrow parochialism. One should become a 'yuga purusha', the torch-bearer.This is the way the ancient saints and sages lived and have shown us the way.  This should not be mistaken for weakness of the people.

Hinduism and the Hindus

 Probably, the ancient Greeks called Bharat as the Land of R. Sindhu that came to be known as Hindustan. Even today, the neighboring States call 'Bharat' as 'Hindustan'. Alexander invaded India and the later history is full of invasions. The wealth of India created a desire in ruthless thugs like Ghaszni Mohammad, and Taimur the Lame, and others to invade and loot and kill! Even today, the country Bharat is very rich and famous! Actually, India is a 'yoga bhumi', a land of pious people, great thinkers who aspire for total liberation, emancipation, freedom from the cycle of births and deaths.   

    India, i.e., Bharat is the home of the great saints and sages. 'Bharat' is the name of the King, a descendant of the King Ikshvaku of the Sun-worshiping clan, who ruled this country in the ancient past. Actually, therm 'Bha ra ta' means the land of Sunshine. The Tropic of Cancer (23 and 1/2 Deg. N) lies midway passing on Varanasi,  India, where the vertical rays of the Sun creates hot summers. Bharat is the real name of the country  The term 'Hindu' is derived from the River Sindhu, that came to be anglicized as the 'Indus'. A thousand years ago, this River Sindhu was flowing draining the area of Sindh,making it a fertile land. Now, the gradual desiccation, global warming, has rendered it to an insignificant one as compared to the R.Ganga, R.Yamuna and other rivers. Another, version of the Hindu is from the word 'Hind'. The Japanese called Bharat as 'India' since the the land was considered a paradise, ('Indie' in Japanese) on earth! Now, the real issue is not of the name Hindu,but that of the religion of the people of Hindustan. 

    Now, the Hindu religion as such is no religion, at all! It has no single teacher or a Text to guide! The people have followed 'dharma', piety, a self-less service as the motto. To help each other with compassion, love and sacrifice is the religion of the Hindus. This has been mistaken by the invaders as a weakness and they have taken undue advantage of this kindness."Too much of goodness is bad is the lesson to be learnt here?" The later invaders, thugs, cheats, who looted and who remained here subjugating the weak and the gullible, preaching their religious dogma, is the cause of present turmoil. Neither a Jesus, nor a Mohammed was ever born here and people who were converted by the invaders still boast of this? The situation today is one of cross-culture threatening the native inhabitants? Lack of unity among the Hindus who constitute nearly 82 per cent of the population, on the one hand and Minority people ruling in the guise of 'secularism', on the other, is one of the major issues, followed by large scale insurgencies, influx of refugee population taking shelter here is another?  This situation is further complicated by terrorism and the unscrupulous insiders supporting outsiders destabilizing the country. National security is of paramount importance and Hinduism has to be restored to survive as a nation and prevent further invasions?

   The term 'Hinduism' denotes a discipline. The people of 'Bharat' were a great civilized people and it is eulogized in Ramayana as a 'Ram Rajya', a land of dharma- equity and justice. It is important here to note the fact that people have lost their original, true nature and become perverts over time! Foreign invaders have destroyed the civilization, as in most parts of the world like Mexico, Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, etc. The bane of India is the invaders who found a rich and famous country of simple peaceful people and easy to loot and conquer. They stayed here to ruthlessly destroy the original culture! As a race, the Hindu is still the most respected and emulated religious people. Today, the situation is one of crucial nature. It is a big question whether to go back and restore the pristine glory or move forward to one inter-mixed races bereft of.all human values, living a materialistic life. The answer lies in renaissance, restoration of values. 'dharma'. Bhagavan Shree Krishna says, it is essential to fight 'adharma' , injustice and restore moral values. There is a deterioration in human values and it will destroy the human civilization.    

Ancient Wisdom

"They solved the problem with the words: Revered Sirs, Uddalaka the son of Aruna knows, at present, about the Vaisvanara Self. Let us go to him. They went to him." [Sama Veda, Chandogya Upanishad V, XI - Concerning the Universal Self, 2].

   The Veda and the Upanishads constitute the 'repository' of ancient wisdom. These are termed the 'shruti vakya' (Heard Voices as anahata dhvani) and 'smrutis' (Recollections by the learned sages). Each one of the Vedic statement has to be understood in deep contemplation and mere reading will not do. In fact the Veda was forbidden from writing and commentary since these were considered the 'heard voices'. The great sages went into long periods of askesis, tapas, and got revelations. Transcendental meditation is the best way to reach samadhi- savikalpa where revelations occur and, finally, it culminates in the 'nivikalpa' samadhi where the duality ceases to exist!. Many heard the inner voices as if heard from God from space! In fact, one is called a 'Rishi', a drushtara' only when he has 'heard' a mantra! Even today, there are devices in ear phones which give you many dimensions of voice, as if heard all around above the head! It is no wonder there were sages who sat in deeper contemplation on issues like space, prana, mind, jivatman and paramatman and such other abstract issues and realized their real meaning and purport. Anybody can do this, provided there is that conviction faith and earnestness seeking the 'truth'. Mere reading scripts will never help unless one goes into deeper contemplation.

  The Muktikopanishad gives a list of all the 108Upansihads as revealed by Shree Ramachandra to His beloved Anjaneya. These Upanishads are derived from the Veda and dwell upon various issues like the origin of the universe, life-forms and their creation, sustenance, dissolution, emanations, manifestations, etc. There are the Upanishads concerning Atman, Narayana, Narasimha, their mantra, and there are many concerning yoga, Liberation or mukti and moksha. Most of the Upanishads deal with the creation of the universe.

   In addition to the Upanishads there are six 'darshan shastra' (loosely termed philosophies) that deal with these very same doctrines. It is, indeed, essential that one should master these Upanishads and the darshan shastra if one has to gain complete knowledge. This may not be possible in a person's life-time! It is carry-over of several life of the jiva that attains sound knowledge of these ancient shruti and smruti. Careless and casual talks on these spiritual texts are dangerous. Half-knowledge is dangerous and that is  what most of the so-called self-styled teachers do these days? May be, a wise man shuts his/her mouth and keeps quiet!