Vivekananda on the Vedas (part 137)

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Parts 1 to 136 were posted earlier. This is part 137. Your comments are welcome... Vivekananda Centre London

Earlier postings can be seen at http://www.vivekananda.btinternet.co.uk/veda.htm

 

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON THE VEDAS AND UPANISHADS

By Sister Gayatriprana

part 137

8. Shankaracharya, the Greatest Teacher of Vedanta

i. Shankaracharya Showed That There Is Only One Infinite Reality and Humans Can Come to It through All the Various Presentations

Shankaracharya… caught the rhythm of the Vedas, the national cadence…. Indeed, I always imagine that he had some vision such as mine [of a rishi chanting the Rig Veda] when he was young, and recovered the ancient music that way. Anyway, his whole life’s work is nothing but that, the throbbing of the beauty of the Vedas and Upanishads.(72)

The greatest teacher of the Vedanta philosophy was Shankaracharya. By solid reasoning he extracted from the Vedas the truths of Vedanta, and on them built up the wonderful system of jnana that is taught in his commentaries. He unified all the conflicting descriptions of Brahman and showed that there is only one, infinite Reality.(73)

Shankara says: God is to be reasoned on, because the Vedas say so. Reason helps inspiration; books and realized reason - or individualized perception - both are proofs of God. The Vedas are, according to him, a sort of incarnation of universal knowledge. The proof of God is that He brought forth the Vedas, and the proof of the Vedas is that such wonderful books could only have been given out by Brahman. They are the mine of all knowledge and they have come out of Brahman as someone breathes out air [brih. Up, 2.4.10]; therefore we know that It is infinite in power and knowledge. It may or may not have created the world - that is a trifle; to have produced the Vedas is more important! The world has come to know God through the Vedas; there is no other way. And so universal is this belief held by Shankara in the all-inclusiveness of the Vedas, that there is even a Hindu proverb that, if a man loses his cow, he goes to look for her in the Vedas! (74)

Shankara showed, too, that as a humanity can only travel slowly on the upward road, all the varied presentations are needed to suit its varying capacity.(75)

Work and worship… are necessary to take away the veil, to lift off the bondage and illusion. They do not give up freedom; but all the same, without effort on our own part we do not open our eyes and see what we are. Shankara further says that Advaita Vedanta is the crowning glory of the Vedas; but the lower Vedas are also necessary, because they teach work and worship; and through these many come to the Lord. Others may come without any help but Advaita.(76)

Relative knowledge is good, because it leads to absolute knowledge; but neither the knowledge of the senses, nor of the mind, nor even of the Vedas is true, since they are all within the realm of relative knowledge.(77)