Veda Means Know! (Without Rhyme or Reason)

[Murali_Mohan_das]

On my recent travels, I had the opportunity to listen to an mp3 from which the below passage was crafted. Hearing Srila Sridhar Maharaj speaking the words increased their impact.

 

http://www.scsmath.com/books/Search_Sri_Krishna.pdf

 

Mundane knowledge has no value, for it does not endure. We must inquire elsewhere for permanent

knowledge. Real knowledge is stable; it has a firm

foundation, and Vedic education deals with how to

acquire that knowledge. The meaning of the word veda

is “Know.” No rhyme or reason is shown why you should

know, and no explanation is given: simply “Know.”

 

Because doubt is absent in the spiritual plane, no

cheating is possible. It is a simple, direct transaction—

“Know.” In that transcendental plane, everyone is a

confidential friend, and they are stainless in their conduct.

No cheating tendency is possible there, so there is

no suspicion. Here, we are in the plane of misunderstanding

and doubt, so we want to examine everything.

We are living in a vulnerable and vitiated plane, where

people cheat one another. We cannot rely on others, for

they may deceive us. But where cheating is unknown,

transactions are very simple and straightforward. So,

no reason is given for suggestions that come down from

that plane.

[Murali_Mohan_das]

You can hear Maharaja speaking these infinitely hopeful words here:

 

http://www.archive.org/download/bhakti-rakshaka-sridhara/51_Knowledge.mp3

 

 

http://www.archive.org/details/bhakti-rakshaka-sridhara

[Murali_Mohan_das]

Yep, I too find it inconceivable that I might be able to hear from the Lord and/or His representative and "know" without the nagging doubts of the mind constantly interfering.

[Guruvani]

So, Vedanta must mean "the end of Know"?

 

 

Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon: Search Results

 

<!-- SQL query: select buch,st,en from tamil where buch=1 and (st regexp '[[:<:]]veda[[:>:]]') order by st --> <table cellspacing="3"><tbody><tr><td align="right" valign="top">1</td> <td valign="top"> veDa</td> <td valign="top">n. a kind of coarse sandal (= %{sAndra-vicchinna-candana}) L. ; (%{A}) f. (also written %{beDA}) a boat L. (cf. %{veTI}). </td></tr> <tr><td align="right" valign="top">2</td> <td valign="top"> veda</td> <td valign="top">1 m. (fr. 1. %{vid} q.v.) knowledge , true or sacred knowledge or lore , knowledge of ritual RV. AitBr. ; N. of certain celebrated works which constitute the basis of the first period of the Hindu1 religion (these works were primarily three , viz. 1. the R2ig-veda , 2. the Yajur-veda [of which there are , however , two divisions see %{taittirIya-saMhitA} , %{vAjasaneyi-saMhitA}] , 3. the Sa1ma-veda [1015,2] ; these three works are sometimes called collectively %{trayI} , `" the triple Vidya1 "' or `" threefold knowledge "' , but the R2ig-veda is really the only original work of the three , and much the most ancient [the oldest of its hymns being assigned by some who rely on certain astronomical calculations to a period between 4000 and 2500 B.C. , before the settlement of the A1ryans in India ; and by others who adopt a different reckoning to a period between 1400 and 1000 B.C. , when the A1ryans had settled down in the Panja1b] ; subsequently a fourth Veda was added , called the Atharva-veda , which was probably not completely accepted till after Manu , as his law-book often speaks of the three Vedas-calling them %{trayam@brahma@sanAtanam} , `" the triple eternal Veda "' , but only once [xi , 33] mentions the revelation made to Atharvan and An3giras , without , however , calling it by the later name of Atharva-veda ; each of the four Vedas has two distinct parts , viz. 1. Mantra , i.e. words of prayer and adoration often addressed either to fire or to some form of the sun or to some form of the air , sky , wind &c. , and praying for health , wealth , long life , cattle , offspring , victory , and even forgiveness of sins , and 2. Bra1hman2a , consisting of Vidhi and Artha-va1da , i. e. directions for the detail of the ceremonies at which the Mantras were to be used and explanations of the legends &c. connected with the Mantras [see %{brAhmaNa} , %{vidhi}] , both these portions being termed %{zruti} , revelation orally communicated by the Deity , and heard but not composed or written down by men [cf. I. W. 24 &c.] , although it is certain that both Mantras and Bra1hman2as were compositions spread over a considerable period , much of the latter being comparatively modern ; as the Vedas are properly three , so the Mantras are properly of three forms , 1. R2ic , which are verses of praise in metre , and intended for loud recitation ; 2. Yajus , which are in prose , and intended for recitation in a lower tone at sacrifices ; 3. Sa1man , which are in metre , and intended for chanting at the Soma or Moon-plant ceremonies , the Mantras of the fourth or Atharva-veda having no special name ; but it must be borne in mind that the Yajur and Sa1ma-veda hymns , especially the latter , besides their own Mantras , borrow largely from the R2ig-veda ; the Yajur-veda and Sa1ma-veda being in fact not so much collections of prayers and hymns as special prayer- and hymn-books intended as manuals for the Adhvaryu and Udga1tr2i priests respectively [see %{yajur-veda} , %{sAma-veda}] ; the Atharva-veda , on the other hand , is , like the R2ig-veda , a real collection of original hymns mixed up with incantations , borrowing little from the R2ig and having no direct relation to sacrifices , but supposed by mere recitation to produce long life , to cure diseases , to effect the ruin of enemies &c. ; each of the four Vedas seems to have passed through numerous S3a1kha1s or schools , giving rise to various recensions of the text , though the R2ig-veda is only preserved in the S3a1kala recension , while a second recension , that of the Bha1shkalas , is only known by name ; a tradition makes Vya1sa the compiler and arranger of the Vedas in their present form: they each have an Index or Anukraman2i1 [q.v.] , the principal work of this kind being the general Index or Sarva7nukraman2i1 [q.v.] ; out of the Bra1hman2a portion of the Veda grew two other departments of Vedic literature , sometimes included under the general name Veda , viz. the strings of aphoristic rules , called Su1tras [q.v.] , and the mystical treatises on the nature of God and the relation of soul and matter , called Upanishad [q.v.] , which were appended to the A1ran2yakas [q.v.] , and became the real Veda of thinking Hindu1s , leading to the Dars3anas or systems of philosophy ; in the later literature the name of `" fifth Veda "' is accorded to the Itiha1sas or legendary epic poems and to the Pura1n2as , and certain secondary Vedas or Upa-vedas [q.v.] are enumerated ; the Veda7n3gas or works serving as limbs [for preserving the integrity] of the Veda are explained under %{vedA7Gga} below: the only other works included under the head of Veda being the Paris3isht2as , which supply rules for the ritual omitted in the Su1tras ; in the Br2ihad-a1ran2yaka Upanishad the Vedas are represented as the breathings of Brahma1 , while in some of the Pura1n2as the four Vedas are said to have issued out of the four mouths of the four-faced Brahma1 and in the Vishn2u-Pura1n2a the Veda and Vishn2u are identified) RTL. 7 &c. IW. 5 ; 24 &c. ; N. of the number `" four "' VarBr2S. [1015,3] Srutabh. ; feeling , perception S3Br. ; = %{vRtta} (v.l. %{vitta}) L. (cf. 2. %{veda}).</td></tr> <tr><td align="right" valign="top">3</td> <td valign="top"> veda</td> <td valign="top">2 m. (fr. 3. %{vid}) finding , obtaining , acquisition (see %{su-v-}) ; property , goods A1s3vGr2.</td></tr> <tr><td align="right" valign="top">4</td> <td valign="top"> veda</td> <td valign="top">3 m. (perhaps connected with 1. %{ve} , to weave or bind together) a tuft or bunch of strong grass (Kus3a or Mun5ja) made into a broom (and used for sweeping , making up the sacrificial fire &c. , in rites) AV. MS. Br. S3rS. Mn.</td></tr> <tr><td align="right" valign="top">5</td> <td valign="top"> veda</td> <td valign="top">4 m. N. of a pupil of A1yoda MBh. ; (%{A}) f. N. of a river VP.</td></tr></tbody></table>

[Murali_Mohan_das]

 

So, Vedanta must mean "the end of Know"?

 

Sure, as in the "aim, end, or goal of all knowledge"--that to which all knowledge leads.

 

Make sense?

[Murali_Mohan_das]

Ultimately, from whom do you wish to take shelter, the self-realized Acharya, or the dictionary?

 

 

So, Vedanta must mean "the end of Know"?

[Guruvani]

 

Ultimately, from whom do you wish to take shelter, the self-realized Acharya, or the dictionary?

Well..............

Srila Prabhupada followed more closely the dictionary or common usage of the term Veda.

 

Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Introduction,

 

What are the Vedas? The Sanskrit verbal root of veda can be interpreted variously, but the purport is finally one. Veda means knowledge. Any knowledge you accept is veda, for the teachings of the Vedas are the original knowledge.

So, actually, Srila Sridhar Maharaja was just giving the verbal root of the term Veda. His version was actually more strictly following grammatical rules than common usage.

 

So, I accept both Srila Prabhupada and Srila Sridhar Maharaja's version.

 

However, I think that "the end of all knowledge" is a more practical and common explanation of the term Vedanta than is "the end of know".

[Guruvani]

Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 7.72 purport,

 

 

Vedānta means "the end of knowledge"