Sound and Creation

[Guest guest]

Shankaram siva shankaram

 

Hi Everyone,

 

Here is a great scientific explanation of Vedas being eternal and

how the world was created by paramacharya in one of his speeches.

This infact contains 2 articles (one on the vedas being eternal and

the other on sound and creation). I posted both of them so that you

might have the context. I could point you to the web site but since

that is very slow to be accesses I have posted them here.

 

- mani

 

It is not possible to tell the age of the Vedas. If we say that an

object is " anadi " it means that nothing existed before it. Any book,

it is reasonable to presume, must be the work of one or more people.

The Old Testament contains the sayings of several Prophets. The New

Testament contains the story of Jesus Christ as well as his sermons.

The Qu'ran incorporates the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. The

founders of such religions are historical personalities and their

teachings did not exist before then. Are the Vedas similarly the work

of one or more teachers? And may we take it that these preceptors

lived in different periods of history? Ten thousand years ago or a

hundred thousand or a million years ago? If the Vedas were created

during any of these periods they can not be claimed to be " anadi " .

Even if they were created a million years ago, it obviously means

that there was a time when they did not exist.

 

Questions like the above are justified if the Vedas are regarded as

the work of mortals. And, if they are, it is wrong to claim that they

are " anadi " . We think that the Vedas are the creation of the rsis,

seers who were mortals. So it is said, at any rate, in the text book

of history we are taught.

 

Also consider the fact that the Vedas consists of many " Suktas " .

Jnanasambandhar's Tevaram consists of number of patigams. And just as

each patigam has ten stanzas, each sukta consists of a number of

mantras. " Su+ukta " = " sukta " . The prefix " su " denotes " good " as

in " suguna " or " sulocana " . " Ukta " means " spoken " or " what is

spoken " . " Sukta " means " well spoken " , a " good word " or a " good

utterence " (or well uttered).

 

When we chant the Vedas in the manner prescribed by the Sastras, we

mention the name of the seer connected with each sukta, its metre and

the deity invoked. Since there are many mantras associated with

various seers we think that they were composed by them. We also refer

to the ancestry of the seer concerned, his gotra, etc. For

instance, " Agastyo Maithravarunih " , that is Agastya, son of

Maithravaruna. Here is another : " Madhucchanda Vaisvamitrah " , the

sage Madhucchanda descended from the Visvamitra gotra. Like this

there are mantras in the names of many sages. If the mantras

connected with the name of Agastya were composed by him it could not

have existed during the time of Mitravaruna; similarly that in the

name of Madhucchandana could not have existed during the time of

Visvamitra. If this is true, how can you claim that the Vedas

are " anadi " ?

 

Since the Mantras are associated with the names of sages, we make the

wrong inference that they may have been composed by them. But it is

not so as a matter of fact. " Apaurseya " means not the work of any

man. Were the Vedas composed by one or more human beings, even if

they were rsis, they would be called " pauruseya " . But since they are

called " Apauruseya " it follows that even the seers could not have

created them. If they were composed by the seers they (the latter)

would be called " Mantra-kartas " which means " those who 'created' the

Mantras " . But as a matter of fact, the rsis are called " Mantra-

drastas " , those who " saw " them.

 

When we say that Columbus discovered America, we do not mean that he

created the continent : we mean that he merely made the continent

known to the world. In the same way the laws attributed to Newton,

Einstein and so on were not created by them. If an object thrown up

falls to earth it is not because Newton said so. Scientists like

Newton perceived the laws of Nature and revealed them to the world.

Similarly, the seers discovered the Mantras and made a gift of them

to the world. These Mantras had existed before the time of their

fathers, grand fathers, great grand fathers,. . . . . . . . . But

they had remained unknown to the world. The seers now made them known

to the mankind. So it became customory to mention their names at the

time of intoning them.

 

The publisher of a book is not necessarily its author. The man who

releases a film need not be its producer. The seers disclosed the

mantras to the world but they did not create them. Though the mantras

had existed before them they performed the noble service of revealing

them to us. So it is appropriate on our part to pay them obeisance by

mentioning their names while chanting the same.

 

Do we know anything about the existance of the mantras before they

were " seen " by the rsis? If they are eternal does it mean that they

manifested themselves at the time of creation? Were they present

before man's appearance on earth? How did they come into being?

 

If we take it that the Vedas appeared with creation, it would mean

that the Paramatman created them along with the world. Did he write

them down and leave them somewhere to be discovered by the seers

later? If so, they cannot be claimed to be anadi. We have an idea of

when Brahma created the present world.

 

There are fixed periods for the four yugas or eons, Krta, Treta,

Dvapara and Kali. The four yugas together are called a caturuga. A

thousand caturugas make one day time of Brahma and another equally

long period is his night. According to this reckoning Bramha is now

more than fifty years old. Any religious ceremony is to be commenced

with a samkalpa( " resolve " ) in which an account is given of the time

and place of performance in such and such a year of Brahma, in such

and such a month, in such and such a fortnight (waxing or waning

moon), etc. From this account we know when the present Brahma came

into being. Even if we concede that he made his appearence millions

and millions of years ago, he can not be claimed to be anadi. How can

then creation be said to have no begining in time? When creation it

self has an origin, how do we justify to the claim that the Vedas are

anadi?

 

The Paramatman, being eternal, was present even before creation when

there was no Brahma. The Paramatman, the Brahman are the Supreme

Godhead, is eternal. The cosmos, all sentient beings and insentient

objects, emerge from him. The Paramatman did not create them

himself : he did so through the agency of Brahma. Through Visnu he

sustains them and through Rudra he destroys them. Later Brahma,

Visnu, Rudra are themselves destroyed by him. The present Brahma,

when he became hundred years old, will unite with the Paramatman.

Another Brahma will appear and he will start the work of creation all

over again. The question arises : Does the Paramatman create the

Vedas before he brings into being another Brahma?

 

We learn from the Sastras that the Vedas has existed even before

creation. Infact, they say, Brahma performed his function of creation

with the aid of Vedic mantras. I shall be speaking to you about this

later, how he accomplished the creation with the mantras manifested

as sound. In the passage dealing with creation the Bagavatha also

says that Brahma created the world with the Vedas.

 

Is this the reason (that Brahma created the world with the Vedic

mantras) why it is said that the Vedas are anadi? Is it right to take

such a view on the basis that both the Vedas and Isvara are anadi? If

we suggest that isvara had made this scriptures even before he

created the world, it would mean that there was a time when the Vedas

did not exist and that would contradict the claim that they are

anadi.

 

If we believe that both Isvara and the Vedas are anadi it would mean

that Isvara could not have created them. But if you believe that

Isvara created them, they cannot be said to be without the origin.

Everything has its origin in Isvara. It would be wrong to maintain

[according to this logic]that both Isvara and the Vedas have no

beginning in time. Well, it is all so confusing.

 

What is the basis of the belief that the Vedas are anadi and were not

created by Isvara? An answer is contained in the Vedas themselves. In

the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad(2. 4. 10) ---the Upanishads are all part

of the Vedas---it is said that the Rg, Yajus and Sama Vedas are the

very breath of Isarva. The word " nihsvasitam " is used here.

 

It goes without saying that we cannot live even a moment without

breathing. The Vedas are the life-breath of the Paramatman who is an

eternal living Reality. It follows that the Vedas exist together with

him as his breath.

 

We must note here that it is not customory to say that the Vedas are

the creation of Iswara. Do we create our own breath? Our breath

exists from the very moment we are born. It is the same case with

Iswara and the Vedas. We can not say that he created them.

 

When Vidyaranyaswamin wrote his commentary on the Vedas he prayed to

his guru regarding him as Iswara. He used these words in his

prayer : " Yasya nihsvasitam Vedah " (whose --that is Isvara's --

breath constitutes the Vedas). The word " nihsvasitam " occurs in the

Upanishads also. Here too it is not stated that Iswara created the

Vedas.

 

The Lord says in the Gita : " It is I who am known by all the

Vedas " (Vedaisca sarvair aham eva vedyah). " Instead of describing

himself as " Vedakrd " (creator of the Vedas), he calls

himself " Vedantakrd " (creator of philosophical system that is the

crown of the Vedas). He also refers to himself as " Vedavid " (he who

knows the Vedas). Before Vedanta that enshrines great philosophical

truths had been made know to mankind, the Vedas had existed in the

form of sound, as the very breath of Isvara -- they were ( and are)

indeed Isvara dwelling in Isvara.

 

The Bhagavata too, like the Gita, does not state that the Lord

created the Vedas. It declares that they occured in a flash in his

heart, that they came to him in a blaze of light. The word used on

this context is " Sphuranam " , occuring in the mind in a flash. Now we

can not apply this word to any thing that is created a new, any thing

that did not exist before. Bramha is the premordial sage who saw all

the mantras. But it was the Parmatman who revealed them to him. Did

he transmit them orally? No, says the Bhagavatha. The paramatman

imparted the Vedas to Bramha through his heart : " Tene Bramha hrdaya

Adikavaye " says the very first verse of that Purana. The Vedas were

not created by the Parmatman. The truth is that they are always

present in his heart. When he mearly resolved to pass on the Vedas to

Bramha the latter instantly received them. And with their sound he

began the work of creation.

 

The Tamil Tevaram describes Isvara as " Vediya Vedagita " . It says that

the Lord keeps singing the hymns of various sakas or recensions of

the Vedas. How are we to understand the statement that the " Lord sees

the Vedas " ? Breathing itself is music. Our out-breath is

called " hamsa-gita " . Thus, the Vedas are the music of the Lord's

breath. The Thevaran goes on : " Wearing the sacred thread and the

holy ashes, and bathing all the time, Isvara keeps singing the

Vedas " . The impression one has from this description is that the Lord

is a great " ghanapathin " . Apparsvamigal refers to the ashes

resembling milk applied to the body of Isvara which is like coral. He

says that the Lord " chants " the Vedas, " sings " them, not that he

creates ( or created ) them. In the Vaisnava Divya Prabandham too

there are many references to Vedic sacrifices. But some how I donot

remember any reference in it to the Lord chanting the Vedas.

 

In the story of Gajendramoksa told by the Puhazhendi Pulavar ( a

Tamil Vaishnava saint - poet), the elephant whose leg is caught in

the jaws of the crocodile cries in anguish. " Adimulame " [vocative in

Tamil of Adimula, the Primordial Lord]. The Lord thereupon appears,

asking " What? " The poet says that Mahavisnu " stood before the Vedas "

( " Vedattin mum ninran " ). According to the poet the lord stood infront

of the Vedas, not that he appeared at a time earlier than the

scriptures. The Tamil for " A man stood at the door " is " Vittin mun

ninran " . So " Vedattin mun ninran " should be understood as " he stood

at the comencement of all the Vedas " . Another idea occurs to me. How

is Perumal (Visnu or any other Vaisnava deity ) taken in procession?

Preceeding the utsava-murthy ( processional deity) are the devotees

reciting the Tiruvaymozhi. And behind the processional deity is the

group reciting the Vedas. Here too we may say that the Lord stood

before the Vedas ( " Vedattin mun ninran " ).

 

In the visnava Agamas and puranas, Mahavisnu is refered to specially

as " Yajnaswaroopin " ( one personifying the sacrifice) and

as " Vedaswaroopin " ( one who personifies the Vedas). Garuda is also

called " Vedaswarupa " . But non of these texts is known to refer to

Visnu as the creator of the Vedas.

 

It is only in the " Purusasukta " , occuring in the Vedas themselves,

that the Vedas are said to have been " born " " (ajayatha) " . However,

this hymn is of symbolical and allegorical signifcance and not to be

understood in a literal sense. It states that the Parama-purusa (the

Supreme Being) for sacrifice as an animal and that it was in this

sacrifice that creation itself was accomplished. It was at this time

that the Vedas also made their appearence. How are we to understand

the statement that the Parama-purusa was offered as a sacrificial

animal? Not in a literal sense. In this sacrifice the season of

spring was offered as an oblation (ahuthi) instead of ghee : summer

served the purpose of samidhs (fire sticks); autum havis (oblation).

Only those who meditate on the mantras and become absorbed in them

will know there meaning inwardly as a matter of experience. So we can

not construe the statement literally that the Vedas were " born " .

 

To the modern mind the claim that the breath of Isvara is manifested

in the form of sound seems nonsensical, also that it was with this

sound that Bramha performed his function of creation. But on careful

reflection you will realise that the belief is based on a great

scientific truth.

 

I do not mean to say that we must accept the Vedas only if they

conform to present-day science. Nor do I think that our scripture,

which proclaims the truth of the Paramatman and is beyond the reach

of science and scientist, ought to be brought within the ken of

science. Many matters pertaining to the Vedas may not seems to be in

conformity with science and for that reason they are not to be

treated as wrong. But our present subject -- how the breath of the

Parmatman can become sound and how the function of creation can be

carried out withit -- is in keeping with science.

 

 

 

 

What is sound? According to modern science, it is vibration. " If you

examine the core of an atom you will realise that all matter is

one. " This Advaitic conclusion is arrived at according to nuclear

science and the concepts of Einstein. All this world is one flood of

energy (sakti); everything is an electromagnetic flow. But how do we

account for the manifestation of different objects? It is to be

attributed to different type of vibrations.

 

Where there is vibration there is a sound. Conversely, to produce a

sound the vibration corresponding to it must also be created. The

scientific concept that the different vibrations of the same energy

are the cause of creation is the same as the belief that world was

created with the breath of the Paramatman manifesting itself as the

sound of the Vedas.

 

Consider human beings and other creatures. What is it that determines

their health and feelings? The breath that passes through our nadis,

blood vessels, during respiration produces vibrations and on them

depends the state of our health. Those who keep their breathing under

control through the practice of yoga are healthy to an amazing

degree. They do not bleed even if their veins are cut. They are able

to remain buried in the earth in samadhi stopping their pulse and

heartbeat. They are not poisoned even if they are bitten by a snake

or stung by a scorpion. The reason is that they keep the vibrations

of the nadis under control during breathing.

 

Breath is vital not only to the body but also to the mind. The mind

which is the source of thought and the vital(pranik) energy that is

the source of breath are the same. Healthy or unhealthy thoughts are

to be attributed to different vibrations of the nadis. You may test

this for youself. See for yourself how you breathe when you are at

peace before the sanctum of a deity or in the presence of a great and

wise person and how you breathe when your mind is quickened by desire

or anger. The happiness you experience when you take part in

something divine, like a bhajan or atemple festival, must be

different from the pleasure that sensual gratification gives you: the

vibrations of the nadis concerned will also be correspondingly

different.

 

When you experience joy of an elevated kind the passage of breath

will be through the right nostril, but when you are enjoying sensual

pleasure it will be through the left. When you meditate, with

increasing concentration, on the Reality Serene which is the source

of all your urges and feelings, the breath will pass through both

nostrils slowly, evenly and rhythmically. When you are absorbed in

the object of your meditation breathing itself will cease, but there

will still be life. The great awareness called jnana will then be in

bloom as it were.

 

The inert body of a man and the awareness that is the vital essence

of his life are both dependent on the course of his breathing. They

grow or decay according to it. The course of a man's breath keeps his

inner vibrations in order.

 

Is it not from the Paramatman that so many countless inert objects

and so many sentient beings have originated and grown? The movements

appropriate to these should have also occured in the Ultimate Object

that is the Paramatman.

 

Even according to non-dualism, the Brahman that is utterly still and

is unconditioned and has no attributes (nirguna) manifests itself in

the countless disguises of this cosmos with the power of Maya, Maya

that cannot be described. Disguises or no disguises, we have to

concede the existence, in a mundane sense, of the inert world and of

the sentient beings. But we must remember that even Maya has its

source in Isvara who is " Mayin " . But the power of Maya apart, all

that we see have arisen from the vibrations in the Object called the

Parabrahman. At the same time, with all these vibrations, this Object

remains still and tranquil inwardly. This stillness not withstanding,

there are movements that are apparent to our perception. They are not

disorderly movements but constitute a system embracing vast heavenly

bodies like the sun at one end and the tiniest of insects on the

other or even something as humble as a blade of glass.

 

It is this orderliness that goes to make worldly life happy. The

Paramatmam has created this by bringing all powers of nature within

an orderly system. But if you sometimes see flaws in it and the

natural forces going against us, it is because he likes to be playful

now and then.

 

The human mind can go astray to any length. Indeed it keeps wandering

aimlessly like a globin or an imp. Whatever the extent to which

cosmic life is orderly, it (the human mind) breaks free from all

control and runs about like a mad dog.

 

When the powers of nature are unfavourable to us, is there a way to

change their behaviour and make them favourable to us? Is there also

a means by which our mind could be brought under control when it goes

haywire? If everything is caused by vibration, by sound, there must

be a way of making the forces of nature favourable to us and of

purifying our mind and bringing it under control through this very

sound. The Vedas constitute such sound.

 

By controlling our breath through the practice of yoga, it is

possible to gain access to the breath of the Paramatman and by this

means perform such actions as can uplift our own Self as well as

mankind. Here the vibrations of the nadis do not produce the sound

that is audible to us. Science tells us that there are sounds outside

the range of human hearing in the same way as there is light that

does not pass through the lens of the human eye.

 

However, it is possible to bring within us (within our reach) that

which is without. When a musician sings on the radio, the sound of

his music is converted into electromagnetic waves which travel

through space. But how do we hear music? The receiving set captures

the electromagnetic waves and reconverts them into sound waves.

 

(Science is not opposed to religion. It seems to me that it even

helps in the growth of religion. A century ago, before the radio and

the telephone were invented, it would not have been easy to counter

the arguments of an atheist who dismisses claims made on behalf of

the sound of the Vedas as absurd. Now the discoveries of science have

come to our rescue. )

 

It is possible for humans to earn the power of energy possessed by

such an inert object as the radio set. Indeed we can earn much more,

do much more. It is tapas, ascetic endeavour, that will give us such

energy. What is tapas? It is the determination to find the truth: it

is keeping the mind one-pointed in this search, forsaking food,

sleep, home, everything. But when you are a seeker like this, you

must remain humble and erase the least trace of egoism in you. You

must realise that the truth you seek will be revealed to you only

with the grace of Isvara. The sages performed austerities in this

manner and attained to the highest plane of yoga. They could perceive

the vibrations in creation, that is the course taken by the breath of

the Supreme Godhead. Besides, they also knew them as sound capable of

being heard by the human ear in the same manner as electric waves

converted into sound waves. It is these sounds that they have passed

on to us the mantras of the Vedas.

 

The Vedas are called " Sruti. " That which is heard is Sruti. " Srotra "

means the " ear " . The Vedas have been handed down orally from

generation to generation and have not been taught or learned from any

written text. That is how they got the name of " Sruti " . Why were

these scriptures not permitted to be written down? Because the sound

of the Vedas cannot be properly transcribed. There are sounds or

phonemes that cannot be accurately represented in any script. For

instance, the one between " zha " and " la " . Such sounds have to be

learned by listening. Besides there are svaras for Vedic mantras

(tonal variations, proper accentuation): " udatta " (raised

syllable), " anudatta " (lowered syllable) and " svarita " (falling

syllable). Mistakes in enunciation are likely even if diacritical or

some other marks are used in the printed text. Wrong chanting will

not bring the desired results. There is much difference in the

vibrations caused by pronouncing a syllable laying stress on it and

pronouncing it without any stress. Correspondingly, there will be

changes in our feelings and urges and the divine forces that rule

nature. There is a story in the Taittiriya Samhita of the Vedas which

illustrates how wrong chanting can produce results contrary to what

is intended. Tvasta, the divine carpenter, chanted a mantra with the

object of begetting a son who would be the slayer of Indra. But he

went wrong in the intonation of some syllables. So, unwittingly, he

prayed for a son who would be slain by Indra instead of one who would

slay that celestial. And his prayer (that had gone wrong in the

intonation) was answered. When the wavelength shifts even minutely on

our radio we receive the broadcast of a different transmitting

station. Fine-tuning has to be done to get the required station. So

is the case with the intonation of Vedic mantras. There should not be

the slightest mistake in the svaras. Just as we receive a different

station on our radio when the wavelength is changed, so the result is

different when we go wrong in the intonation.

 

This is the reason why it is of the utmost importance to learn the

Vedas by listening - hence the name " Sruti " , in Tamil " Ezhutakkilavi "

(unwritten old text). Another explanation occurs to me for the

name " Sruti " . The sages heard, did they not, the sound of the divine

vibrations that cannot be perceived by the common people? Did they

read the Vedas in any book or did they compose them themselves? Sruti

is an apt name for the Vedas since they were made known to the world

after they had been first heard by the sages.

 

The Vedic seers have the name of " mantra-drastas " --a " drasta " is one

who sees. In Tamil it is " parppavan " . " Parppan " also means the same

thing. If the sages " saw " the mantras it would mean that they did

not " hear " them. Which of the two versions is correct? Did the sages

see the mantras or did they hear them? If they saw them, in what

script did they appear? There was no script at the time, neither

Devanagari nor Grantha nor Brahmi, the basis of all. But, then, the

sound of Vedas, their svaras, cannot be truly written down in any

script.

 

The answer to this problem is that when the sages were meditating the

mantras of the Vedas appeared to them in a flash in their hearts. It

may be that in this state of theirs they could neither see nor hear

anything. The mantras must have appeared in a flash in the inner

recesses of their minds.

 

" Seeing " or " looking " does not denote merely what is perceived by the

eye. It is a term that covers a variety of perceptions and

experiences. When we say that a man has " seen " all sorrows in his

life, does the term " seen " imply only what he " saw " with his eyes?

Does it not mean what he has " experienced " ? The term " mantra-drasta "

also could be taken in a similar manner as referring to what is

perceived through experience. It is further believed that the sages

were able to hear the Vedas with their divine ears.

 

Arjuna wished to see the Lord's cosmic form (visvarupa). The Gita has

it that Krsna Paramatman said to him: " You will not be able to see

my cosmic form with this eyes of yours. I will give you a celestial

eye. . . . . "

 

Just as Arjuna was endowed by the Lord with a divine eye, the sages

must have been invested with celestial ears to grasp the sound

emanating from the Paramatman and pervading the vast space.

 

The vibrations of the Vedas serve the purpose not only of creation

and the conduct of life. There are indeed Vedic mantras that help us

to transcend this life and become one with the Ultimate Truth. When a

man returns by the same way as he comes, does he not arrive at the

starting point? In the same way when we go seeking how creation came

about, we are led to the point where there are no vibrations, no

movements, where there is utter stillness. Some mantras that create

vibrations in our nadis accomplish the same noble task of taking us

to such a goal. Such are the Upanisadic mahavakyas and Pranava.

 

In sum, the Vedas are not anyone's compositions. The sages did not

create them, nor were inscribed by the Paramatman on palm-leaves.