"The Soul's Journey to its destiny" -Chap 1 summary

[Guest guest]

namaskaram.

Thanks for the series. Makes very interesting reading indeed!!

Let me give you my understanding for your questions, and I hope

knowledgeable list members will correct me where I am wrong.

 

-

Rajan PBV <rajanpbv

"The Soul's Journey to its destiny"-Chap 1 summary

> Part D: Personal queries (not from the book)

> 1) Was all this knowledge "revaled" in one go like

> Koran or was it in small doses in different Vedas and

> then edited by "Vyasa" in vedanta?

 

Each mantra in the Vedas have a rishi (the "discoverer"), the chandas (the

"meter") and the devataa (the diety) - hence, the answer to your question

is, it was not a one shot dictation by God to one person, or group of

persons. Veda Vyaasa (literally meaning "the one who split the Vedas into

parts") is credited with compiling them and arranging them into four parts.

Previously, there was supposed to be only one Veda, or body of mantras, all

"heard" or "discovered" by the rishis.

Vedanta is just a part of the vedas, sort of like philosophical moral of

the story kind of sections, containing musings by other great rishis.

> 2)The whole theory hangs on one major assumption "as

> it were". What is the proof?

 

Proof of the pudding is in the eating!! One has to realise for oneself - the

other proof is to accept the statements of sruti as proof in itself (this is

still not the same as realising IT oneself). But this sort of proof pertains

only to the realm where one cannot determine oneself through other means.

The realm of theory and its proof, or theory of "pramaNa" is a whole subject

in itself. There have been several postings on this subject in the past.

Please check the archives.

> 3) Did Hindus start with this theory which is really

> mind blowing or did it evolve from previous theories?

 

The term "hindu", I believe, is a fairly recent development. I believe the

matha was just called vaidika matha - "principles of life based on the

vedas" - there were ofcourse, even in the vedic times, personalities who had

other points of view. In a sense, what we have today is clearly only an

evolved form of previous theories and more importantly, the experiences of

previous saints. Sort of like each individual actually realising the truth

because he or she stands on the "shoulder of giants".

 

bhava shankara desikame sharaNam

Vaidya.

 

 

 

 

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