Sri Sadhguro Pahimam Parama Dayalu Rakshamam

[Guest guest]

Dear Members

" Hindu Dharma " is a book published by Bharatiya Vidya

Bhavan which contains English translation of two volumes of the Tamil

Book " Deivatthin Kural " ; which is a collection of invaluable and

engrossing speeches of Sri Sri Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi

MahaSwamiji.

 

http://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap34.htm

 

What do the Vedas Teach Us ?

 

The Vedas speak of a variety of matters. So how are

we to accept the view that their most important teaching is the

concept of Self-realisation expounded in the Upanisads

constituting the Vedanta? They mention a number of sacrifices

like agnihotra, somayaga, sattra and isti and other rituals in

addition. Why should it not be maintained that it is these that

form their chief purpose?

 

What

are the rites to be performed at a marriage? Or at a funeral? How

best is a kingdom(or any country) governed? How must we conduct

ourselves in an assembly? You will find answers to many such

questions in the Vedas. Which of these then is the main objective

of our scripture?

 

 

The Vedas tell you about the conduct of sacrifices, ways of

worship, methods of meditation. How is the body inspired by the

Self? What happens to it (the body) in the end? And how does the

self imbue the body again? We find an answer to such questions in

these sacred texts. Also we learn from methods to keep the body

healthy, the rites to protect ourselves from enemy attacks. What

then is the goal of the Vedas?

 

The

Upanisads proclaim that all the Vedas together point to a single

Truth (Kathopanishad, 2.

15)What is that Truth? " The

Vedas speak in one voice of a Supreme Entity revealing itself as

the meaning of Omkara. "

 

There

was a judge called Sadasiva Ayyar. He had a brother, Paramasiva

Ayyar, who lived in Mysore. " The Vedas deal with geology,

" so wrote Paramasiva Ayyar. " In those early times,

people in India looked upon the sun and the moon with wonder,

" some Westerners remark. " it was an age when science

had not made much advance. People then regarded natural phenomena

according to their different mental attitudes. Not all are

capable of turning their thoughts into song. But some have the

talent for the same. The songs sing by people in the form of

mantras constitute the Vedas. "

 

Though

the Upanisads declare that the Vedas speak of the One reality,

there is an impression that they speak of a variety of entities.

There is a well-known stanza on the Ramayana:

 

Vedavedye

pare pumsi jate Dasarathatmaje

 

Vedah

Pracetasadasitssaksadramayanatmana

 

" Vedavedye " =one

who is to be known by the Vedas. Who is he? " Pare

pumsi " =the Supreme Being. The Supreme being to be known by

the Vedas descended to earth as Rama. When he was born the son of

Dasaratha, the Vedas took the form of Valmiki's child Ramayana.

According to this stanza, the goal of the Vedas is the Supreme

Being or Omkara, the One Truth. Just as the kathopanisad speaks

of " sarve Vedah " , the lord says in the

Gita: " Vedaisca sarvair ahameva vedyah " (I am indeed to

be known by the Vedas)

 

 

Considering all this, we realise that, although the Vedas deal

with many matters, all of them together speak of one goal, the

One reality. But the question arises why they concern themselves

with different entities also when their purpose is only the One

entity?

 

It

is through the various entities, through knowledge of a

multiplicity of subjects, that we may know of this One Object.

Yoga, meditation, austerities, sacrifices and other rites,

ceremonies like marriage, state affairs, social life, poetry:

what is the goal of all these? Itis the One Reality. And that is

the goal of the Vedas also. All objects and all entities other

than this true Object are subject to change. They are like

stories remembered and later forgotten. (In our ignorance) we do

not percieve the One object behind the manifoldness of the world.

The Vedas take us to the One Reality through the multifarious

objects that we do know.

 

To

attain this One reality we need to discipline our mind in various

ways. Performing sacrifices, practising austerities, doing the

duties of one's own dharma, building gopurams, digging ponds for

the public, involving ourselves in social work, samskaras like

marriage, all these go to purify our consciousness and, finally

to still the mind that is always agitated. (cittavrtti-nirodha).

The purpose of different works is to help us in our efforts to

attain the Brahman.

 

" Ved " [from " vid " ]

means to know. The Upanisads proclaim: " The Atman is that by

knowing which all can be known. " The goal of the Vedas is

to shed light on this Atman. The rituals enjoined on us in their

first part and the jnana expounded in the second have the same

goal-knowing Iswara, the Brahman or the Atman. The beginning of

the beginning and the end of the end of our scripture have the

same ultimate aim. During the " mantrapuspa " ceremony at

the time of welcoming a great man this mantra is chanted: " Yo

Veda dau svarah prokto Vedante ca prathisthitah. " These

words are proof of the words mentioned above. The mantra means

: " What is established in the beginning of the Vedas as well

as their end is the One Truth, the Reality of Isvara. " The

works associated with the beginning and the jnana associated with

the end-there is no difference between the goals of the two.

 

For

the rituals that are divided in a thousand different ways and for

the knowledge(jnana) that is but one, the subject is common. That

is the Vedas have a common subject. The senses are incapable of

perceiving the Self. They are aware only of outward objects and

keep chasing them. This is mentioned in the kathopanisad(4.1).when

one's attention is diverted from the object in hand we say

" parakku parppadu " [in Tami] Our object is the Self. To

be diverted from it and to look around-or look away-is to be

" paramukha " -it is the same as " parakku

parppadu " . It is this idea that is expressed by the

kathopanisad. But the mind does not easily remain fixed on our

goal. So it is only by performing outward functions that we will

gain the wisdom and maturity to turn our look inward. We will

develop such inner vision only by refusing to be dragged down by

the mind and the senses, and for this we must perform Vedic

works.

 

After

learning about, or knowing all other matters by inquiring into

them and by making an assesment of them, we are enabled to grasp

that by knowing which we will know everything. That is the reason

why the Vedas deal with so many branches of learning, so many

types of worship, so many different works and so many arts and so

many social duties. By applying the body in various rites we lose

consciousness of that very body. By directing our thoughts to

various branches of learning, by examining various philosophical

systems and by worshipping various deities the mind and the

intellect will in due course be dissolved.

 

We

are more conscious when we are engaged in evil actions than

otherwise. By thinking about evil matters the mind becomes

coarser. Instead, if we perform Vedic sacraments and worship and

chant Vedic mantras for the well-being of the world, the desires

of the body and the mind will wilt. Eventually, we will develop

the maturity and the wisdom to gain inner vision. In this way we

will obtain release here itself( " ihaiva " ) Release from

what? From samsara, from the cycle of birth and death. When we

realise that the body and the mind are not " we " and when

we become free from them-as mentioned in the Upanisads- we are

liberated from worldly existence.

 

 

The purpose of the Vedas is achieving liberation in this world

itself. And that is their glory. Other religions promise a man

salvation after his departure for another world. But we cannot

have any idea of that type of deliverance. Those who have

attained will not return to this world to tell us about it. So we

may have doubts about it or may not believe it at all. But the

Vedas hold out the ideals of liberation here itself if we

renounce all desire and keep meditating on the Self. Moksa then

will be within our grasp at once. there is no room for doubt in this.

 

Other

paths give temporary relief like quinine administered to a person

suffering from malaria. If malarial fever is never to be

contracted by the patient again the root cause of the disease

must be found and eradicated. The Vedic religion goes deep into

the root of life and cuts away that which separates it from the

supreme being The freedom realised in this manner is eternal and

not " temporary relief " (from the pains and sorrows of

worldly existence)

 

The

karmakanda of the Vedas deals with matters that give only such

temporary relief. However, it must be realised that a man racked

by difficulties cannot at once be placed in a position where he

would all the time delighting in his Self. Through the "

Temporary relief " gained from performing Vedic rites, his

consciousness is freed from impurities and he becomes

" qualified " for everlasting peace. Sacrifices, vows,

philanthropic work, and so on, do not take us to the final goal

but they are necessarily to reduce ourselves physically, to

cleanse our consciousness and make our mind one-pointed in our

effort to reach our final goal.

 

A

variety of subjects are spoken in detail in the Vedas but all of

them have the one purpose of leading us to the Vedantic enquiry

into Truth and jnana. The concluding portion of a work, speech,

article etc, is usually the most significant. If we want to find

what so-and-so has said in a speech or in an article, we do not

have to read all of it. We glance through the first para and,

skipping through, come to the last. Here we get the message of

the speech or article. We are able to decide on the content of

either by going through the first and concluding passages. The

first and last parts alike of the Vedas speak of the Paramatman;

so that can be said to be the " subject " of the Vedas.

 

The

government enacts many laws. But, later in the course of their

enforcement, doubts arise with regard to their intention. Then

another law is enacted to settle its meaning:it is called the law

of interpretation. In this way Mimamsa has come into being as the

law of interpretation for the Vedas which constitute the eternal

law of the Lord. I will speak to you in detail about Mimamsa which is one of the

fourteen branches of the Vedic lore. But one aspect of it I

should like to mention here itself.

 

According

to Mimamsa sastra, there are six ways in which to determine the

meaning of the Vedic pronouncement or " vakhya " . They

are listed in this verse:

 

Upakrama-upasamharau

abhyasao purvata phalam

 

Arthavado

pappati lingam tatparya-nirnaye

 

" Upakrama "

and " upasamhara " together form the first method. The

other five are " abhyasa " , " apurvata " ,

" phala " , " arthavada " and

" upapatti " . These six are employed to determine the

meaning or intent not only of Vedic passages but of, say, an

article or discourse.

 

" Upakrama "

means the initial part of work, treatise, and

" upasamhara " the conclusion. If the first and

concluding parts of a work speak of the same idea, it is to be

taken as its subject. " Abhyasa " is repeating the same

thing, the same idea, again and again. If the same view or the

idea is repeated in a work, it must be understood as its theme.

" Apurvata " denotes an idea not mentioned before or

mentioned for the first time. So a view or idea expressed afresh

in the course of work or discourse is to be taken as the purpose

or message intended. " Phala " is fruit, benefit, reward

or result. If, in the course of work or speech, it is said,

" If you act in this manner you will gain such and such a

fruit or benefit " , it means that the purpose of the work or

speech is to persuade you to act in the manner suggested so that

you may reap the fruit or " phala " held out.

 

Suppose

a number of points are dealt with in a work or discourse. Now,

based on them, a story is told and, in the course of it, a

particular matter receives special praise. This particular point

must be regarded as the purpose of the work or speech in

question. The method employed here is " arthavada " . If

a viewpoint is sought to be established with reasoning it must be

treated as the subject of the work concerned. Here you have

" upapatti " .

 

A

gentleman told me his view of the Vedas based on his reading of

the first and last hymns: " The chief point about the Vedas

is fire worship (Agni upasana). In the upakrama there is

'Agnimile' and in the upasamhara also there is a hymn to Agni.

Both the beginning and the end being so, the purpose of the Vedas

(their 'gist') is fire worship " . Agni is the light of the

Atman, the light of the jnana. The light of jnana is nothing but

the spirit of the Self which is the knower, the known and the

knowledge:this is the ultimate message of the Vedas.

 

However,

to understand the hymns in question in a literal sense and claim

that the Vedas mean fire worship is not correct. The greatness of

our scripture consists in the fact that it does not glorify one

deity alone. The Vedas proclaim that the Atman, the Self, must be

worshipped, the Atman that denotes all the deities(Brahadranyaka

Upanishad), 4. 5. 6 : " Verily,

O Maitreyi, it is the Self that should be perceived, that should

be seen, heard and reflected upon. It is the Self that must be

known. When the Self is known everything is known " . This

truth that the Yagnavalkya teaches his wife Maitreyi is the goal

of the Vedas.

 

What

is the implication of the word " goal " ? Now we are here

at a particular point. From this point, where we start, we have

to go to another point which is final. Such a meaning is

suggested by the word " goal " . " Atah " is what

is pointed to at a distance( " that " ) as the goal.

" Itah " is where we are now(here), the starting point.

From " here " we have to go " there " to reach the

goal.

 

But

as a matter of fact, is not " that " , the goal, here

itself(this)? Yes, when we recognize that everything is the

Brahman, we will realise that " that " and " this

" are the Brahman-in other words, " that " and

" this " are the same. What we now think to be

" this " becomes the true state denoted by

" that " .

 

Like

" atah " the Vedas refer to the Paramatman as

" TaT " which means " that " . At the conclusion of

any rite or work it is customary to say " Om TaT sat " .

It means, " That is the Truth " .

 

We

add the suffix " tvam " to some

words: " purasatvam " , " mahatvam " and so on.

Here " tvam " means the quality or nature of a thing. The

quality of " mahat " is " mahatvam " . The nature

of " purusa " being a " purusa " is

" purusatvam " . All right. What do we mean when we refer

to the truth, the Ultimate Truth, as " tattvam " ?

" Tattvam " means " being TaT " . When we speak of

enquiry into tattva or instruction in tattva it means enquiring

into the nature of the Brahman(or rather Brahmanhood or what is

meant by the Brahman. )

 

If

the Vedas proclaim the Paramatman as " Tat " , that is a

distant entity, how does it help us? Actually, it is not so. What

is far away is also close by. The Vedas proclaim: " Durat dure

antike ca "

 

Once

the parents of a girl arranged her marriage to a boy who happened

to be a relative. But the girl said " I'll marry the greatest

man in the world. " She was stubborn in her decision and the

parents in their helpnessness said to her " Do what you like.

"

 

The

girl thought that the king was the greatest of men and that she

would get married to him. One day, as the king was being taken in

a palanquin, an ascetic passed by. The king got down and

prostrated himself before the sanyasin and got into his palanquin

again. Witnessing the scene the girl thought to herself: " I

was wrong all these days in thinking that the king was the

greatest of men. The ascetic seems to be greater. I must marry

him. " She then followed the holy man. .

 

The

ascetic stopped on his way to worship an idol of Ganapati

installed under a pipal tree. The girl saw it and came to the

conclusion : " This Ganapati is superior to the sanyasin. I

must marry him. " She gave up her chase of the ascetic and

sat by the idol of Ganapati.

 

It

was a lonely place and no devotee came up to worship the god.

After some days a dog came and relieved itself on the idol. The

girl now decided that the dog must be greater than Ganapati. She

went chasing the dog and as it trotted along, with the girl

keeping pace with it, a boy threw a stone at it and it wailed

loudly in pain. a young man saw this and reprimanded the boy for

his cruelty. The girl now told herself " I had thought that

the boy was superior to the dog. But here comes a young man to

take him to task. So he must be the greatest of them all.

" Eventually it turned out that the young man was none other

then the groom that her parents had chosen for her.

 

The

girl in the story went in pursuit of one she thought was far away

but in the end it turned out that what she had sought was indeed

closeby.

 

" You

look for God thinking him to be far from you. So long as your

ignorant(that is without jnana)he is indeed far from you. Even if

you look for him all over the world you will not find him. He is

in truth with you. " " Durat dure antike ca, " says

the sruti(Farther than the farthest, nearer than the nearest).

 

When

we look afar at the horizon it seems to be the meeting point of

the earth and the sky. Suppose there is a palm-tree there. We

imagine that if we go upto the tree we will arrive at the point

where the earth and the sky meet. But when we actually arrive at

the spot where the tree stands we see that the horizon has

receded further. The further we keep going the further the

horizon too will recede from us. " We are here under the palm

tree but the horizon is still far away. We must also go further

to overtake it. " Is it ever possible to overtake the

horizon? When we are at a distance from the palm the horizon

seems to be near it. But when we came to it the horizon seemed to

have moved away further. So where is the horizon? Where you are

that is, the horizon. You and the horizon are on the very same

spot. What we call " That " the lord who we think is far

away, is by your side. No, he is in you. " That thou art,

" declare the Vedas-He is you(or you are He).

 

" That

you are " or " That thou art " (Tat Tvam Asi)is a

Vedic mahavakya. The " Tvam " here does not mean the

quality or essential nature of any entity or object. The word has

two meanings: " essential

nature " ( " beingness " )is one meaning; and " you

" or " thou " is another. The Acarya has used

" Tvam " as a pun in a stanza in his saundaryalahari.

 

It

is a combination of the two words " taat " and

" tvam " that the word " tattvam " has come into

use. Any truth arrived at the conclusion of an inquiry is " tattva " -thus it

denotes the One Truth that is the

Paramatman.

 

What

we call " I " , what we think to be " i " , that

indeed is Isvara; or such awareness is Isvara. If you do not

possess the light within yiou to discern this truth you will not

be able to even concieve of an entity called Isvara, The

consciousness of " I " is what we believe to be the

distant " That " . " That and you are the same, child

" is the Ultimate message of the Vedas.

 

What

we call " this " ( " idam " ) is not without a root

or a source. Indeed there is no object called " this "

without a source. Without the seed there is no tree. The cosmos

with its mountains, oceans, with its sky and earth, with its man

and beast, and so on has its root. Anger, fear and love, the

senses, power and energy have their root, Whatever we call

" this " has a root. Whatever we see, hear and smell,

what we remember, what we feel to be hot or cold, what we

experience-all these are covered by the term " idam " .

Intellectual powers, scientific discoveries, the dicoveries yet

to come - all come under Idam and all of them have a root cause.

There is nothing called " idam " or

" this " without a root. Everything has a root or a seed.

So the cosmos also must have a root cause; so too all power, all

energy contained in it.

 

To

realise this Truth examine a tamarind seed germinating. When you

split the seed open. you will see a miniature tree in it. It has

in it the potential to grow, to grow big. Such is the case with

all seeds.

 

The

mantras have " bijaksaras " (seed letters or rather seed

variables). Like a big tree (potentially)present in a tiny seed,

these syllables contain immmeasurable power. If the bijaksara is

muttered a hundred thousand times, with your mind one-pointed,

you will have its power within your grasp.

 

Whatever

power there is in the world, whatever intellectual brilliance

whatever skills and talents, all must be present in God in a

rudimentary form. The Vedas proclaim, as if with the beat of

drums: " All this has not sprung without a root cause, The

power that is in the root or seed is the same as the power thast

pervedes the entire universe. Where is that seed or root? The

Self that keeps seeing all from within, what we call

" idam " is the root.

 

When

you stand before a mirror you see your image in it. If you keep four mirrors in

a

row you will see a thousand images

of yourself. There is one source for all these images. The one

who sees these thousand images is the same as one who is their

source. The one who is within the millions of creatures and sees

all " this " is the Isvara. That which sees is the root

of all that is seen. That root is knowledge and it is the source

of all the cosmos. Where do you find this knowledge? It is in

you. The infinite, transcendent knowledge is present partly in

you-the whole is present in you as a part.

 

Here

is a small bulb. There you have a bigger bulb. That light is

blue, this is green. There are lamps of many sizes and shapes.

But their power is the same-electricity, electricity which is

everywhere. It keeps the fan whirling, keeps the lamps burning.

The power is the same and it is infinite. When it passes through

a wire it becomes finite. When lightning strikes in flashes, when

water cascades, the power is manifested. In the same way you must

make the supreme Truth within manifest itself in a flash. All

Vedic rites, all worship, all works, meditation of the

mahakavyas, Vedanta-the purpose of all these is to make the truth

unfold itself to you-in you-in a flash.

 

Even

the family and social life that are dealt with in the Vedas, the

royal duties mentioned in them, or poetry, therapeutics or

geology or any other sastra are steps leading towards the

realisation of the Self. At first the union of " Tat "

and " tvam " (That and you) would be experienced for a few

moments like a flash of lightning. The Kenopanisad(4. 4)

refers to the state of knowing the Brahman experimentally as a

flash of lightning happening in the twinkling of an eye. But with

repeated practice, with intense concentration, you will be able

to immerse yourself in such experience. It is like the

electricity produced when a stream remains cascading. This is

moksa, liberation, when you are yet in this world, when you are

still in possession of your body. And, when you give up the body,

you will become eternal Truth yourself. This is called

" videhamukthi " (literally bodiless liberation). The

difference between jivanmukthi and videhamukthi is only with

reference to an outside observer; for the jnanin the two are

identical.

 

The

goal of the Vedas is inward realisation of the Brahman here and

now. we learn about happenings in the world from the newspapers.

The news gathered by reporters stationed in different countries,

at different centres, also through news agencies. It is recieved

through letters, telegrams or teleprinter messages. There are

things that cannot be known by such means, things that are not

comprehended by the ordinary human mind. should we not have a

special newspaper to keep us informed about them? The Vedas

constitute such a paper. They tell us all about things that

cannot be known to ordinary news-gatherers and also about things

occuring in aplace where there is neither telegraphy nor any

teleprinter. It is through the medium of this newspaper that the

sages who possess trans-sensual powers keep us informed about

matters that are beyond this world and beyond the comprehension

of the average man.

 

There

are, however, certain portions in the Vedas that are to be

discarded. " To be discarded " is not to be taken to mean

to be rejected outright as wrong. There cannot be anything wrong

about any part of the Vedas. Even to think so is sacrilegious.

There are matters in these texts that are prelimnary to an

important subject or that lend support to it. According to the

arrangement made by our forefathers the important part is to be

retained and the other prelimnary or supporting portion is to be

excluded. Certain things are necessary at a certain stage of our

development. But these are to be excluded as we go step by step

to a higher stage.

 

There

are then passages that are of atmost importance and have the

force of law. These are to be accepted in full, Things that are

to be discarded belong to the category of " arthavada "

and " anuvada " .

 

The

Vedas contain stories told to impress on us the importance of a

concept, stories that raise ideas to a higher level. The

injunctions with which these stories are associated must be

acepted in full but the stories themselves may be discarded as

" arthavada " , that is they need not be brought into

obsevance.

 

What

is " anuvada " ? Before speaking about a new rule or a new

concept, the Vedas tell us about things that we already know.

They go on repeating this without coming to the new rule or

concept, that is things known to us in practical life and not

having the authority of Vedic pronouncements. This is

" anuvada " .

 

Anuvada

and artavada are not of importance and are not meant to convey

the ultimate purpose or message of the Vedas. What we do not know

otherwise through any other authority and what the Vedas speak of

is " vidhi " . And that is the chief " vada " , the

true tattva, the true intent of the Vedas.

 

To

explain further. What is mentioned in the Vedas but can be known

by other (mundane) means is not incontrovertible Vedic authority.

The purpose of the Vedas is to make known what is not known. They

speak about things we know and do not know, but their chief

purpose is the latter- what they state about what we do not know.

It is out of compassion that they speak about what is known to us

as a prelude to telling us what we do not know. But if telling us

they deal with things that we do not know? If the Vedas deal at

length with the things that we are ignorant about, would it not

be ridiculous to discard them and retain only what we know

already? Indeed such an act would be sacrilegious. The question,

however, arises: why should things known to us have been dealt

with at length?

 

The

Vedas could have been silent about them. Well, what is that we

know, what is that we do not know?

 

There

are two views about all mundane objects, worldly phenomena. Do

all the objects that we percieve constitute one entity or are

they all disparate? Opinion is divided on this. Based on our

physical perceptions we regard all objects to be separate from

one another. It is only on such a basis that our funtions are

carried out properly in the workday world. Water is one hting and

oil is another. To light a lamp we need oil [to feed the wick].

We cannot use water for the same. But if the lamp flares up and

objects near by catch fire we will have to put it out with water.

With oil the fire will only spread. We have thus to note how one

object is different from another and to learn how best each is to

be used.

 

To

view each object as being distinct from another is part of

" Dvaita " , dualism. Many of the rituals in the Vedas,

many of the ways of worship found in them, are based on the

dualistic view. As Advaitins (followers of the non-dualistic

doctrine) we need not raise any objections on this score. We

must, however, find out whether or not the Vedas go beyond

dualism. If they do not, we have to conclude that their message

is Dvaita. But what is the truth actually found expressed in

them?

 

The

non-dualist truth is proclaimed in a number of hymns and in most

of the Upanisads, but this is not in keeping with our outward

experience. The ultimate Vedic view is that all objects are

indeed not separate from one another but are the outward

manifestation of the same Self.

 

Our

religious and philosophical works have two parts - purvapaksa and

siddhanta. In the purvapaksas or initial section of a work, the

point of view to be refuted [the view opposed to that of the

author of the work] is dealt with. If we read only this part we

are likely to form an impression opposite to what the work

intends to convey. To refute an opinion other than one's own, one

has naturally to state it. This is the purpose of the purvapaksa.

In the siddhanta section there is refutation of the systems

opposed to one's own before the latter is sought to be

established. scholars abroad are full of praise for the fact that

in our darsanas or philosophical works the views of systems

opposed to those expressed in the darsanas are not concealed or

ignored but that their criticisms and objections are sought to be

answered.

 

From

what is said before, does it mean that non-dualism is

incorporated in the purvapaksa of the Vedas so as to be refuted

in the latter part? No, it is not so. The jnanakanda in which the

Upanisads lay emphasise on non-dualism is the concluding part of

the Vedas. The karmakanda which speaks of dualism precedes it. So

if the Vedas first speak about the dualism that we know and later

about the non-dualism that we do not know, it means that the

non-dualistic teaching is the supreme purpose of the Vedas.

 

I

will tell you why the dualism in te purvapaksa in the Vedas is

not rebutted. The works and worship performed with a dualistic

outlook are not a hindrance for us to advance on the path of

non-dualistic experience. On the contrary, they are a means to

make precisely such progress. So the works and worship are not to

be taken as constituting a point of view opposed to the main

message of the Vedas and to be refuted in the second part. First

the flower, then the fruit. Similiarly, we have to afvance to

non-dualism from dualism. The flower is not opposed to the fruit,

is it? Do we despise the flower because the fruit represents its

highest [natural development]?

 

From

the non-dualistic standpoint there is no need to counter other

systems, viewed on their own proper levels. It is only when these

levels are exceeded that the need arises to counter them. That is

how our Acarya and other exponents of non-dualism countenanced

other systems.

 

By

the grace of Isvara scientific advancement so far has done no

injury to things Atmic and indeed modern science takes us

increassingly close to Advaita whose truth hitherto could not be

known by anything other than the Vedas. In the early centuries of

science it wasd thought that all objects in the world were

different entities, seperate from one another. Then scientists

came to the conclusion that the basis of all matter was

constituted by the different elements, that all the countless

objects in the world resulted from these elements combining

together in various ways. Subsequently when atomic science

developed it was realised that all the elements had the same

source, the same energy.

 

Those

who meditate on the Self and know the truth realise that this

power, this Atman, is made up of knowledge, awareness. And it is

knowledge (jnana) that enfolds not only inert objects but also

the individual self to form the non-dualistic whole.

 

Whether

it is one energy or one caitanya, the One Object that both

vijnanins (scientists) and jnanins (knowers) speak of is not

visible to us. We see only its countless disguises as different

objects, that is we see the One Object dualistically [or

pluralistically]. You need not seek the support of the Vedas for

this, for what is obvious. Why do you need the testimony of the

Vedas for what our eyes and intellect recognize? If they speak of

a truth that we are not aware of but which we can realise from

what we know, and if this truth is proclaimed to be their final

conclusion, we must accept it as their ultimate message. This

message is the doctrine, the truth, that the individual self is

inseperably (non-dualistically) dissolved in the Paramatman to

become the Paramatman.

JAYA JAYA SANKARA HARA HARA SANKARA

 

Thwameva Maathaa Cha Pithaa Thwameva Thwameva Bhandhuscha Sakhaa Thwameva

Thwameva Vidhyaa Dhravinam Thwameva Thwameva Sarvam Mama Dheva Dheva.