Article sent from The Hindu on indiaserver.com

[Guest guest]

Hari Om:

 

This essay on Vedic Religion and Culture on human life is written from a talk by

Pujyasri Dayananda Saraswati's discourse in Madras. Read and Enjoy.

 

regards,

 

Ram Chandran

=============================================================

This article is emailed to you by Ram Chandran ( rchandran )

=============================================================

Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Vedic religion, a way of life

 

CHENNAI, MARCH 21. Human beings differ from other living beings

as their personality is much more complex and hence the process

of growth in their case involves an integrated development of the

different aspects of their nature. Some forms of growth are

natural, for example, physical growth, which enables a child to

grow into an adult. In human beings even after reaching adulthood

there seems to be room for further growth as it is obvious that

there are other aspects which need development to enable them to

deal with life in the world.

 

This fact is apparent when we see that mere physical maturity

does not equip an individual to deal with the emotional ups and

downs he faces in life situations. If a person needs to be in

charge of his life then he must equip himself to deal with all

situations with poise. The Vedic scriptures deal with the wisdom

which can enable man to learn this important lesson of life. Mere

learning is not sufficient and wisdom must translate into action

in human lives by creating a conducive environment.

 

In his discourse on ``Culture, Religion and Self-growth'', Swami

Dayananda Saraswati said that the wisdom of the Vedas was

manifest in our day-to-day life, as our culture. Whenever there

is a religiosity involved in a culture we term it religion but we

cannot separate the two; so religion becomes a way of life which

we commonly understand as culture. In Vedic culture the wisdom

that the entire manifestation is God, permeates all human

actions.

 

If we consider the simple task of preparation of food and

partaking it in this culture, it is common knowledge that it is

prepared in all purity and offered to God first. Not only to God,

it is offered to other living beings also and only then is it

eaten. Even the act of eating commences with a purificatory

ritual and it is to the indwelling Lord to whom the food is

offered because the physiological process of digestion and

assimilation is sustained by the life process (Prana).

 

Hence the act of eating becomes a sacrifice. God is manifest not

only as the physical world but also as the vital life force in

His creation. The offering of food to God before partaking it

teaches the truth that human agency comes into the whole picture.

We depend on nature to sustain ourselves and we acknowledge this

in the basic act of eating food.

 

There is a profound truth which is expressed in every simple act

in our culture and we are the inheritors of this wisdom of the

sages of yore. Vedic culture and religion are meant for the

growth of the individual to the critical level where fullness

(Purna) is reached - a stage which cannot be improved upon.

 

Copyrights: 2001 The Hindu & indiaserver.com, Inc.

 

Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly

prohibited without the consent of The Hindu & indiaserver.com, Inc.