The Vedic Response

[ancient_paztriot]

Hridayananda…

 

Some aspects of the Vedic tradition are now called Hinduism. It’s a very ancient tradition that actually goes back beyond recorded history into what we call pre-history. And this is the same I think for other traditions as well. As these ideas and processes, these spiritual cultures came down through history and were disseminated and propagated and someways inevitably corrupted,, there is some dispute about what actually is Hinduism. Now the word Hinduism is not a Vedic word, it’s not Sanskrit. There is no Sanskrit word Hindu. In fact, some say it comes from the word Sindu. There was a Sindu river in what is now Pakistan and the people on the other side of that river were called Hindus. So that agglomeration of ideas and practices which is called Hinduism – many of them contradictory and the totality of which is largely incoherent to most people, including scholars – is not actually an original Vedic process or it’s not original Vedic civilization.

 

So in our way of understanding, we accept as a central text Bhagavad-gita. So I suppose you’ve heard of Bhagavad-gita. The word Gita simply means a song or poetic presentation. The word bhagavata actually in Sanskrit is the word bhaga and vata. Vata is a suffix which simply means one who possesses. This is the undeclined stem form, one who possesses. And then in the first case it becomes bhagavan (which is an infamous word nowadays). Anyway, the word vata is just a suffix meaning one who possesses, and bhaga, this word although has various meanings, division or ultimately in this case it means in opulence and this definition has been given by the father of Vyasa. I don’t know if you know this word Vyasa. According to Vedic tradition, this is considered to be an incarnation of God who wrote down all the Vedic literatures. Of course in India everyone knows Vyasa. And his father was called Parasara Muni who defined this word bhaga ???? It means bhaga is one of six opulences which can be power, wealth, beauty, intelligence or knowledge, detachment or fame. In India nowadays, Bhagwan means God. That’s why for an ordinary person or teacher to call himself Bhagwan is actually very offensive, although some misguided people call themselves Bhagavan, even today in India, Bhagavan simply means God. And of course the word Bhagwan is just the declined form of Bhagavata. It means the one who possesses all opulences. In other words, that being who possesses supreme beauty, wealth, fame, strength and intelligence. In other words, possesses all perfection. That’s God. So that’s the meaning of the word Bhagavad-gita, that it’s a song of God. So in the Gita, in the 15th chapter, Lord Krsna says that ??? which means by all the Vedas… for those of you who don’t know Sanskrit… Yes. It means by all the Vedas, I am to be known. In other words, although there are many different branches of Vedic literature, there is a single goal.

 

Unlike the concept we tend to have of scripture which is like a very straightforward thunderbolt coming down, Thou shalt not do this or that, the Vedic literature is quite sophisticated in the sense that it has a very discernible psychological strategy built into it. The Vedic literature definitely begins from the point people are more or less materialistic and fallen and therefore have to be persuaded to take up spiritual life. So we have not simply a series of commandments, but a very complex strategy designed to get people attracted to or engaged in some type of pious life or religious practice and gradually elevate them to the highest perfection.

 

So because all these different levels are operating, it… According to the Vedic conception there are three basic qualities in nature; goodness, passion and ignorance. To give a simple example: If you go to a beautiful forest with a nice river or lake and birds singing it brings you to a higher state of consciousness. So that’s goodness; sattva. Then there’s passion. If you go from office to office in downtown Atlanta doing business, you feel that heavy passionate atmosphere. Everyone is very ambitious, excited and pushing. That’s passion. Then there’s ignorance. You go to a bar where everyone is just lying on the ground drunk. You experience the mode of ignorance. So these are the three primary qualities of existence. This is a very important theme which comes out again and again in the Bhagavad-gita. Whether we’re talking about food, our friends, environments, philosophy or different types of personality, you’ll always find these three modes of nature operating. Some people are peaceful, generous, self-satisfied. Some people are very passionate and ambitious. Some people are in ignorance. They’re practically inert or completely irrational or violent or dirty. So these three qualities are there and the whole strategy of Vedic literature is - in the beginning - to take people who are in ignorance, the lowest position and somehow bring them to the mode of passion.

 

Now this same thing occurs in secular society in different ways. Take a social program which has a goal to take young gang members who just go around committing crimes and killing each other and help them clean up there act; maybe go to college, get a good job, have a family and settle down. In other words, society figures they’ll be somebody if you can just get them to be money making businessmen. That is an improvement for them because as it is now, they're totally in the margin society. Roughly, the idea is to get them involved in more standard social programs. Take a person in ignorance and bring him to passion in the sense of just making him a greedy, hard-working citizen. Then once you have that kind of person, the next step is to improve that person by bringing him to goodness. In other words, a normal , ambitious, hard working person may be asked, “Why don’t you consider other parts of life like religion and philosophy? Maybe you should think more about the important things in life. Don’t just think about making money.” So there’s a whole thing of trying to persuade normal greedy citizens to become philosophical, a little spiritual… to become more generous and understanding and all those things. So that’s the process of bringing passionate people to the point of goodness. Then, someone who is in goodness has to be brought to the spiritual or transcendental level where he can actually go back to God.

 

So in a nutshell, that’s what’s going on in Vedic literature. It’s a very self-aware, calculated process based on a very deep understanding of human psychology. It’s not a self-righteous process. It’s very pragmatic in many ways. It’s a process which gives certain concessions to people in situations where they otherwise would just snap or break or not be able to do it. So if you don’t keep in mind this whole framework within which Vedic literature is operating and you just start reading different books - it just looks like a big mess that which we call Hinduism. “Well here in this book it says to do that” and “that book it says to do this” and “in this book, this is approved” and “in that book it’s forbidden”. So, therefore Krsna says in the Gita, ??? It’s a very important statement in the Gita and pretty much determines our view of Hinduism. The word Vidya… you’ve probably heard the word Veda… means knowledge. So the word Vidya is a type of future subjunctive in Sanskrit which means that which is to be known. That which is to be known, vidya. ??? means I. Just a simple word. I and ??? is an emphatic word which means only or exactly or precisely and so on. In Sanskrit - as in other classical languages - they don’t use so many prepositions which built in the ??? So this means this is the plural… the water is coming. This is the third case plural which means by the Vedas. In English we would use three words and in Sanskrit they use one, so it’s a pretty good trick. They just say Ved?? which means by the Vedas. Cha – also, sarvair, as you can see this ending a in and a i s is basically the same. Ending by all of them. This word compliments this word. By the Vedas, but… In other words, by all the Vedas–which are the sacred books of Hinduism–ahum, I in fact, am to be known.

 

So this is important because it establishes some unity and coherence in what otherwise might appear to be a big conglomeration of different ideas. So the diversity in Indian religion – at least that which is strictly connected to the Vedic literature – does not reflect a diversity of ultimate purpose or intention, but rather it reflects a response to the diversity of human nature. In other words, it’s an attempt to take into account all different kinds of persons and provide something for everyone, so everyone can somehow get involved in what will lead to spiritual life. But the ultimate purpose and intention is one. And that is to know God or the Absolute Truth and to love God and go back to God in a very simple language.