himalayan havoc

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And hence, the himalayan havoc , --------since the laws of nature are wrking flawlessly, no consideration for bhakthas or chidren or old,
it is rain its water its gravitation it is flood it is devastation 
when system has been defined so perfectly, none can tamper, but only learn the rules so that damage does not happen 

and warnings have been ignored , by the officials, event happened, irrespective of holy or ordinary
-------------------------------
Chithrasen sang

mere to mana me bahathee hai ganga 
jamunaa yahaa, kaaveree yahaa


evolved souls referred to the internal temple , all along thru the ages 
ignorant followers are queueing up at temples, 
waiting for hours days, to have a darshan of the great gods in the temples
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Gurus and moreover Followers ---who ---believe that Without visit to Such chaar dham, Hindus don't attain moksha..------------------------are all mistaken miserably, they are ignorant , innocent, poor souls , in delusion and illusion , 

they do not know they have to take a dip in the inner gyan sathganga , the pure consciousness, 
it is the inner holy sacred theerath one has to visit 

adi shankara lamented just exactly as you are lamenting on the ways of the ignorant 

''gabheere kaasaare vishathi vijane ......................

There is neither Good nor evil
Neither deity nor devil
Every thing , actions, reactions, responses, consequences, 
All is happening as per the system 
Wise sees clearly, acts rightly, lives happily 
The unwise is in confusion, acts foolishly, 
He suffers, makes others to suffer
Blind belief makes one to reach charghat to see god
Not knowing that the supreme basis behind the system 
is the pure consciousness that very much exists within oneself 
no need to go outside in search of it.
------------------------

But who is responsible for law of nature?

this is a surd, 

for this there will be / there are countless answers from countless men, ------partially valid / invalid , but never will be agreed by all , nor can be understood by all uniformly and precisely 

system just exists 
it's working as per some laws 
for questions like this who designed the system?, who created the laws?
explanation can be given , based on one's penetrating ability in the system , totally deepest fully 
all sciences arts etc are working / have been working and explaining in their own way 

i will not say brahma created etc 

my understanding is
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My understanding, as per most modern sciences, especially unity physics is

the pure consciousness , ''unified field'' of all the laws of nature, is the basis on which all the universe, forms ,phenomena are originated and are functioning 

more on this can be seen by google '' unified field '' , i can give links after your response

what is consciusness?
consciousness is awreness

what is awareness? how this is related with universe, what is unification, how many laws exist"

these need to be known and understood thru direct experience , without it , nothing will be of real help 

more questions are welcome


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''see the freedom from gurugiri and shishyagiri , all a fuss needless''

but this situation is only after getting lit----this to be understood 

once graduated, the engineer need not again join first yea class to learn 

once the lamp is lit, no need of match stick 

but without the match stick, no light 
without switch on, no electricity flows 

once flow starts no need of switch 

the luxuries knowledge a saint revels in cannot be just availed by the lay 
he must get the guidance to save time, labor ,wrong moves

--------------------------

I made elaboration on this'' I am everything and nothing too..'' in my blog ''allegory , what how why ''''

point is 

first direct flight , skipping all, intermediate stop overs, neti neti , not this not this, 

and then

on the return journey, journey , every thing, every station, is significant , beautiful, valuable, has its place , iti , iti , , iam this this , i am all , i am every thing 

but 
without direct flight, if one stops on the way at any station, he loses every thing since he is stuck with some thing 

most seekers and masters are stuck in this way, since they did not know how to ''skip'', so did not reach the destination, freedom, thru direct flight

they are stuck, their followers are stuck 

but once direct flight done, man reaches his inner source of wealth, thru which he creates , 
great things , new universes, new charactrers,new episodes 

see the blog ''allegory''

Allegories are not reality/
they are descriptions/ explanation about the system and its working using symboles codes icons characters as gods 

there is no kishn as such or ram as such 
these are creations of rishis who has accessed deeepest levels within themselves 
what exists is a system that is well defined perfectly working , gods , there names forms attributes are not to be taken at literary value


-------------------------
Having known that '' i am consciousness, i am not this, not this, not gods, not rituals'' etc 
he also flows in superlative praise of gods too
shivanandalahari saundarya lahari, and other are best works , and he did the precise rituals on mothers death particularly 
why
he knows ----------the planes earthly and non earthly , and the rules are different in each plane 
rule of para is not applicable for apara 

when he knows he is beyond, punya and papa, virtue and vice, it does not mean he can cheat murder and go free
no 
he necessarily knows it is crime, and he will be punished 
enlightenment liberates, but does not give licence , nor immunity from the laws of the land 

since he planes are different
-----------------------------

I will not be reading any thing extensively , not much of gita, veda, upakhyana, purana, pravachana, not even the blogs a to z , i just quick scroll, and skip 99 %
i can grasp the theme and depth of the writers with slightest samples , for me not necessary, since i get all from within , 
how
it is due to that more than one glimpse of the experience of consciousness
i just answer directly , authentically, without needing others certification, but my explanations are validated by scriptures, me not prior reading them-------no claims, but it is a fact of life, all since, guru lit the lamp , in an instant , and he left 
i do not reveal who my guru, not propagate his name and mahima , guru does not need 
the lamp that is lit guides me, not guru 

hence i enjoy limitless freedom, i can understand shankara without reading his works 
------------------

but shankara also said i am every thing


To understand how a unit works, it is only necessary to get familiar with the system manual of the unit , not necessary to talk to employess , executives, not necessary to look at the buildings and machinery , the conveyor belts and all 

since system manual is the basis on which unit works 

intelligent ceo just glances at it once , and starts owning the understanding oftotality of unit 

unit=people, building, processes, equipment, and all + system manual 

without the manual, one does not know interrelation of every one, every thing
fails to know who reports to whom , left with 1000 questions, all confusion---------------------

---------------------

... I am everything and nothing too..''----------------this was answered too long back as apara and para 

totality-=everything + nothing
=apara+para
=manifest universe+unmanifest consciousness

but the point is

the ''nothing'' is the basis for ''evey thing'', 
ie consciousness, the unified field, is the undeer lying basis for the whole manifest visible universe, once the experience of consciousness is gained, once the para is experienced, ie once one knows what para is----------immediately one gains the grasp of everything , he comes to know that 

totality-=everything + nothing

not untill that 

so 
without the experience of consciousness, what ever one does, what ever one reads, ---all will be inadequate, will not help, so will be a useless exercise, life goes waste 

and once this experience gains, one no more need to do any thing 

once ocean is owned, no need of searching water in the pots, wells, streams, rivers 

and shankara did gain the luxury of that experience and so revels in rejecting small little pursuits------------------

-------------------------
Read again slowly fully, 

I did not glorify avathar 
human creates an image, the best possible, and tries to reach that ideal,
it’s a target set to himself to create an ideal and strive to rise to that ideal
he is not content with two hands
like to have 4 hands, so creates a chathurbhuja
likes to go in space freely , so creates pushpak viman 
likes to kill the evil, so creates chakrapani 
likes to earn knowledge, so creates a saraswathi 

all gods are man’s creations 
each man creates his god
he creates in terms of himself , or his surroundings , or imagination

-----------------

Scriptures epics episodes are allegories metaphors, symbolic, icons, easy stories , just to drive the message of how the universe is working , how one to live wisely

they are not to be taken at literal meaning 
like actor is defferent from the character, the allegory is different from truth that it it portrays

all gods shiva, ram , kishn, are creations of the seers to communicate universal truths thru the generations 

in reality there is no kishan with flute with go gopicas, with chakra , kireet etc 
all these are incidental aids for communication 

see more on the reality of kishan and how man creates his god in this my blog 

''kasthuri tilakam ...........
--------------------------

This understanding dawned on me, decades ago, soon after i got a first experience of unmanifest pure awareness, without reading any big books 
and i am never in illusion on all these beliefs faiths rituals temples gods and all the spiritual teachings , 

that is why a stress on the direct experience at least once, at least for a few moments for the entire life

------------------------
To understand god and his ways is not at all big deal, it is as simple as learning abcd

I am not evading

but truth of spirituality is that ,one will get to know -----all ---------thru direct experience from within .

any explaining to others on such of these will only lead to further endless queries, futile debate

for productive debate towards understanding to happen, the most essential fundamental requirement is the direct experience 

so guru will not explain every thing, 
but gives that light of experience, that happens instantly, and the job is done , and thru that one comes to know what all needs to be known totally, clearly, comprehensively, authentically 

and to get this experience is simplest, a matter of a few hours, just abcd

--------------------

Gravity is one law
there are other laws, like'' fire burns''
fire will burn, not only wood , cloth, but also innocent child , and sincere factory worker , if in the vicinity 

it's the wisdom that saves
it's the ultimate wisdom that provides the grasp on natures laws fully , and cautions to take appropriate preventive actions before the events happen 

blind belief no help
hope , faith will not work , no god will save, even if 1000 coconuts are broken 

knowing the truth matters most


Every thing is a physical phenomina including the holy places, rivers and statues and temples 
happenning as per nature's laws 

inability to predict and no preventive action is due to ignorance and irresponsiblity of the concerned 
to day at bombay one more building collapsed, no god comes and holds a hill on little finger 
the officials are busy in earning money rightly and wrongly 

better those who can, must extend help

What i see is just the gravitation, water flowing down as per gravity , buildings are falling down , mountains are sliding down, vehicles are toppling down, 
gravitation is one of the law of nature, like apple falling down , newton or no newton, 
hurt , damage, no consideration, just one rule ''things fall''

god, holiness, sin, virtue, are human creation , not relevant for ant or elephant

--------------------

Shiva is not that innocent inert, stone statue 
shiva is a principle of nature 
when corpse is rotting, you may see the principle
when scrap getting removed, when cars becoming worn out and disposed you can see the principle 
when new models getting invented you can see the principle of creation---------------------
----------------------
Famines, earth quakes, jungle fires, accidents, crime, s diseases, suffering, ---------list is endless

every phenomenon is happening as per the system of the universe, as per the constitution of the universe

in the universe, there is no any consideration, no love , no hate, no nepotism, favoritism, no irregularities, no violation of rules of the system , natural law taking its own course 

get to know the natural law, then no questions will remain, no oddities will be seen, no more mysteries no enigmas 

you will be in the evenness of vision , and you will declare ''all is well nicely placed''---------------------------
------------------------
A true great guru helps shishya to open himself to absorb updates 
that are ever happening in every field, 

each saint each, teacher, each thinker, each seer has some thing valuable to give 

if shishya is stuck up with one guru, with only his way of thinking, 
though may be of great value, it makes the mind of shishya to close doors 
for other gurus and other teachings, 
he has no way to be with the ever expanding wisdom 
and even is likely to reject , even without seeing what it is 

guru has'' brainwashed'' shishya to that extent , 
that he will be just parroting the message of guru life long , innocently , 
and missing the totality of knowledge for which he has the birth right
it's definitely a great damage guru causes, though with or without intentions or knowledge 
so one must access as many sources of wisdom as is feasible and necessary , and move forward to the field of total freedom , total knowledge, total power
---------------------------

Sir, i totally agree with your very profound views, it's a very great alert , both to guru and shishya

shishya should never become '' a caged parrot '' , 
though the cage may be of gold with food and comfort. 

guru is to liberate, not to bind , 
guru is not for to guide life long , 

not for riding piggy back to heaven , 
nor a crutch , nor a chain to tie with, 

guru is like a match stick, 
he lights, the stick goes, light remains , guides, life long 

shishya not to read , listen and learn every word what guru says
not to popularize his great wisdom 

but shishya to simply do that sadhana which guru did and taught 
and rise himself to that level, and surpass too, 

and to grow as an independent huge tree , 
not to be a pygmy plant under the shade of guru

to be able to excel and update the wisdom taught by guru,
there by guru feels fulfilled and starts learning from shishya 

in the way '' vrudha shishya, guror yuva''
the aged learning from the young

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You have to reach at the real lying at the deep labyrinths , to know its ways 

at the depth it is the unchanging silent ocean, --------it is simply natural laws defining the functioning of system 
at the surface it is the ever changing tumultuous waves, -----it is the working of the system as per the natural laws, 
it's all cause and effect irrespective of the human perception on what is good what is bad, what is beautiful what is remorseful

zoom out your sight, you will see earth as just a tennis ball, a speck, a dot 
zoom in , you will see expansive land, oceans, forms, phenomena, forces, happenings 

it's the level of seeing that matters, not the matter that exists 
so
to get at the true, total ,comprehensive grasp raise the level of your seeing
----------------
Seen your replies
i may have to reemphasize on the absolute need of the direct experience of the unmanifest , which alone can help to reconcile every quiz 

without that there will be no end for debate, no answers for all the queries
-------------------
The tradition of guru shishya is to pass on this most secrete knowledge ''raja guhya'' to help in evolution


-------------------

Since i have the direct experience, all this is just a childs play, i can didest all new and ancient without any conflict 

nothing more is required for me 
if i read , it is just for fun
'do u also posses any quality?''

I prefer not to be humble , i say ''yes yes yes''
i am displaying my expanded personality , vishvaroop , in several of my activities, including writing

--------
This incident and such other accidents in pilgrimages are eye openers , one must check what his track is, and correct himself 

krishna is not in photo
shiva is not in statue
god is not in temples 

and i am no atheist

--------------------
Guru is flow of consciousness, gyan ganga, it is a tradition, a system, it is not individual 

this to be understood

individuals are incidental

----------------------

Vital's pandaripur is my birthplace, 
vital , rukmai are my father and mother 
the devotees are my kith and kin 
the river chandrabhaga is my sister 

recluses , mostly they moved with one and all open hearted
they did not bother on remaining aloof unreachable, 
budha too , jayadev, chaithanya, thiruvalluvar, avvayyar, akkamahadevi all were with the society 

these may be brought to his notice
i am not very particular on his seclusion, 
but a wrong grasp on the reality causes perversion in normal behavior, which to be avoided 
i suspect there is some where some inadequacy 
hence i show all this concern as a st soul , only to help him 
if my point is not heeded it's perfectly ok for me
-------------------
Since you are permitting me to be free and frank, i am saying a truth 

one needs essentially the authentic spiritual experience of unmanifest 
brahm 

without gaining this experience clearly, unmistakably, authentically, directly, --at least once --in a life time,--- at least for a fraction of second ---, the manifest aspect of brahm cannot be known truly, comprehensively, correctly, fully 

no surprise, this truth cannot be understood and so will not be accepted, by you and by master but i find this experience is lacking with both of you 

if this experience is gained, then the effect will be 

instantaneous syncing of all approaches all religions,all gods all avathars, all saints, all epics, all scriptures , all arts, all sciences, 

will happen , leaving one with the best understanding of all in infinite perspective 

then

you will find no need To merge all religion , 

you will not be saying ''. No Krishna,no Muhammad, no buddha, no mahavir, No govind, no Jesus.''.. 

but you only worship brahm..in all of them 

you will appreciate all humans still worshiping their avatars and prophets, 

and tthere will be no need for , All avatars and prophets to be put in one shrine showing 

them hugging each other

if you become angry with my saying this , i cannot help 

i am sticking to truth , with the best intention to help you both 

kindly send this message to master and if possible get a response 

but you are free to ignore as you like
----------------------
For the lucky one, It just occurs to him

---- through

---guru grace 

----a deep-insight 

----or a divine-spark 

----or a rare-revelation 

----that induce him to jump in to action 

that makes a man live and die for a cause, 

as if that is the sole objective of his living, 

the meaning and purpose of his life, 

through which only he feels a validation of his very own Being-------------------
----------------------
I am not comparing with ''commercial'', it is my independent genuine assessment , and practical suggestion for moving forward . 

i am not disappointed if it is not acted up on , but i keep my efforts undaunted . giving only i can do , how it is received is not in my hands 

it's guru grace 
------------------------

See how the recluse adi shankaa lived a open unbounded universal life, travelling and debating with out any reservation, 


Mata cha Parvati Devi, 
Pita Devo Maheswarah 
Baandava Shiva Bhaktyascha, 
Svadeso Bhuvanatrayam 

Mother is shakti,
father is shiva, 
relatives are the devotees of shiva 
and all the three worlds is my land
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On master, i read all the good praise from the esteemed st souls 
and i also note the best of appreciation from the great highly placed honorable intellectuals and officials 

with all the due respect and best regard to his present unique, 
independent, new, uncompromising penetrating and expressive ability, 

i find that , he still needs to go a little more further,

to get at the totality into his grip, 

where in he will not be subjected to any more enigmas , mysteries, 

on this subject of god/ brahmand , 

but gets established in a state of ''no more questions , but with all answers''

i wish he joins st, and discuss directly with me, to mutual enrichment .

but this may not happen due to his own reason 

i wish , at least ,he reads my replies at his own sweet convenient time, 

no problem if he ignores


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Life of a recluse..-----------is not physical isolation, nor a frog in the well, nor living in own shell

this is another misconception of even greatest wisest people 

a recluse life s open living , open to every one in the universe , travels, interacts without any reservations , just free, simple , seeing god in every one ,
-------------------------

''Only readers who hungers for updated-n-novel wisdoms are invited on this blog''

but i am no more hungry, 
since i have the access for best, latest, ever updating, -n-novel wisdoms that are blossoming abundantly within me, moment to moment 

so i love to participate and share my findings

With all the adversities of environment, the species , animals, trees, continue to survive and flourish , so human too, and hence nation too

Maharishi University of Management - Library - Get help - Guidelines for PhD Candidates - Richo Akshare Line

Maharishi University of Management - Library - Get help - Guidelines for PhD Candidates - Richo Akshare Line

Equation of Life: 20 + 30 + 15 + 10 = 75 | Mysticism Blog on Speakingtree.in

Equation of Life: 20 + 30 + 15 + 10 = 75 | Mysticism Blog on Speakingtree.in
But my equation is 

man=miniature universe, containing every thing every being every phenomena in seed form , seeds needing to activate to sprout and grow , he can be a monkey , and or donkey , an ant, an elephant, a devatha a rakshasa, a rishi, an illiterate, a pandit, an artist , any thing every thing possible, 
he is a field of all possibilities 

 vivekananda ----''Be bold! My children should be brave, above all. Not the least compromise on any account. Preach the highest truth braodcast. Do not fear of losing your respect or of causing unhappy friction. Rest assured that if you serve truth in spite of temptations to forsake it, you will attain, a heavenly strength, in the face of which men will quail to speak before you things which you do not believe to be true. People would be convinced of what you would say to them, if you can strictly serve truth for fourteen years continually, without swerving from it. 
It is only in our scriptures that this adjective is given to The Lord - Abhih, Abhih. We have to become Abhih, fearless and our task will be done.'' 

THE VEDAS - THEIR EVOLUTION AND SIGNIFICANCE

By: Jitender Verma on Jun 08, 2013 | 51 Views | 22 Responses | Report Abuse

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THE VEDAS - THEIR EVOLUTION AND SIGNIFICANCE

The Vedas are the most ancient among the world’s scriptures. They are a vast storehouse of wisdom. Manu has declared, “Everything is derived from the Vedas.” The Vedas are immeasurable, unrivalled, and filled with Bliss. The word Veda is derived from the root word Vid, which means to know. Knowledge of the Supreme is Veda.

The Vedas – A collection of Divine Revelations

The Vedas consist of hymns, thousands and thousands of them. They represent an ocean to which countless Sages have contributed, going back to a period when there was only the spoken language and no script. The hymns of the Vedas represent thoughts and revelations that came to the Sages of yore during their meditations. These revelations were in the form of hymns, which the Sages transmitted to their disciples. Thus it was that they were passed from generation to generation. For centuries, all this happened entirely by word of mouth. The written version came much later. Thus the growth of the Vedas is like a series of small streams joining to form tributaries that feed big rivers, the rivers all finally merging into the ocean. This analogy is very apt, because the water that the streams get is from the rain, whose source is really the ocean. In the same way, the revelations that the Sages had were from the Divine; and the Ocean made up by the collection of revelations that constitutes theVedas, is also Divine.

The Sound Aspect of Vedic Hymns – It’s Significance

I must pause here to make a few important comments. The first is that the Vedasexist in the form of chants, and the sound aspect is therefore very important. The Vedic hymns must be chanted properly and there is a spiritual significance to the chant, which the late Paramacharya of Kanchi explains as follows: Vedas must be chanted with grandeur so that the sound can be properly heard. Vedic Mantras not only produce beneficial vibrations in the pulse of the one who chants them properly, but also similar vibrations in those who may hear them. Since it is spread in the atmosphere, it ensures wellbeing here and hereafter. The outstanding feature of the Vedas lies in the fact that the sound of the Mantras by itself when chanted has a meaning, apart from the words themselves, which too are pregnant with significance.

The sound aspect has been preserved from very ancient times and that is something remarkable. The sound aspect is linked intimately to the words, and the two, namely the sound and the word together have been so intertwined that over time, Vedic hymns have defied corruption and mutation. This is an important point and needs some reflection.

Let us take any language, including English. All languages have evolved. If say, an Englishman who lived fifteen hundred years ago were to suddenly appear before us and start speaking, I am sure most of us would not be able to understand what he is saying. The words would be different and so also the style. This is true of almost all languages. Languages evolve with time, these days over even short periods, but the Vedic language has remained invariant over the several thousand years during which the Vedas evolved.

How Have the Vedic Hymns Remained Uncorrupted

I once asked a scholar how this was possible since languages have all evolved the world over. The answer he gave was interesting. He said that the Vedic hymns have remained uncorrupted because of the sound aspect. They had a particular metre and when chanted, they had a certain completeness of their own. Any mutation or distortion of the words would severely disturb the sound aspect, and this disturbance could be easily detected. Since the sound aspect was dominant, corruption could be spotted and eliminated immediately; this is how, I was told, the pristine purity of the Vedas had been preserved. Sounds plausible I would say.

Anyway, the fact of the matter is that the way the Vedas are chant now is the same as the way they were chanted thousands of years ago. I must of course qualify this by adding that there are some special schools of Vedicchanting but I am not considering that here; rather, I am confining myself to the standard method of chanting.

Just to make myself clear, let us say there is a Vedic Pandit from the Northern India and another from Southern, say Kerala. Both live at least  thousand kilometres apart. The respective Vedic scholars would have imbibed their tradition from their ancestors in those two widely separated parts of the country, parts, which, until recently, did not have good communication between them.

Suppose these two scholars meet and one of them starts chanting say the Taittriya Upanishad. The other would have absolutely no difficulty in joining the first scholar in the recitation. That is because the recitation tradition is the same for both, and that is because the recitation is fixed and has remained invariant through the ages. I hope you get the point. If you reflect on it, you would find this aspect unique.

Sathya Sai On Why The Vedas

Let me now go back for a minute to the Divine revelation aspect. Such revelations are not as rare as people might imagine, and have occurred to people in various places at various times in history. Indeed, even in science, such revelations have occurred. Of course, historians of science would not record it that way. They would instead say that Archimedes had a flash of discovery, Einstein had a flash of intuition, and so on. However, these flashes are nothing but the revelation of the Divine, maybe in relation to the material world, but revelations nonetheless. Back to Sathya Sai and let us find out what more He has to say about the Vedas. Here is a quote: The Vedas took form, only to demonstrate and emphasise the existence of god. The Veda is a collation of words that are the Truth, which were visualised by sages who had attained the capacity to receive them into their enlightened awareness. In reality, the Word is the very Breath of God, the Supreme Person. The unique importance of the Veda rests on this fact.

Why are the Vedas called Sruthis

Because the Vedas originally existed only in sound form, they are sometimes referred to as Sruthi. In scriptures, Sruthi means that which is heard. The real reason for giving the name Sruthi to the Vedas is that Cosmic Vibrations which cannot be seen were heard by the mediating Sages as sound. That is also one of the reasons why the sound aspect is given so much importance. Great stress is therefore laid by the teachers of Vedas on the correct pronunciation of the word and the intonation while chanting. Listeners who have heard the extended Vedic chants by Sai students, would be able to appreciate what I mean.

The ancients of India devised elaborate recitation drills so that through the ages, the chants would remain the same, without mutation and corruption. This is something remarkable, and I am not sure if there is any other comparable example.

The Structure of The Vedas

I must now say something about the structure of the Vedas. It is usually said that there are four Vedas. Yes there are, but this classification came after several thousands of years. Before that, it was, shall I say, a period of discovery? Revelations came to people belonging to different times, and these were encapsulated into Vedic hymns. There were thousands and thousands of hymns but unfortunately, most of them have been lost in time. What has survived is only a small part. Even so, they are not only grand in themselves, but tell, in their own way, the story of the evolution of human thought. I shall come to that aspect a little later but for now, I shall stay with the topic concerning the structure of theVedas.

Today we recognise four Vedas, the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Atharvana Veda. Apparently, it was Sage Vyasa who made the compilation and classification of Vedic hymns in this manner. It is customary to identify in each Veda, three portions known respectively as: Samhita, Brahmana and Aranyaka. Thus, the Rig Veda has its own Samhita, its own Brahmana and its own Aranyaka. The same holds for the other three Vedas also.

The Division within Each Veda

Now what do these three portions signify? Why this division? That is the question I shall address next. In a sense, the three portions are indicators of evolution of Vedic thought. The word Samhita means that which has been collected and arranged. The Samhita portion of a given Veda contains theMantras belonging to that Veda, arranged in a systematic manner. These Mantras comprehensively convey the main objective or the purpose of that particular Veda. The Vedic Mantras that we often hear come mainly from the Samhitas.

Turning next to the Brahmanas, these spell out how certain rituals ought to be performed. About theBrahmanas, Sathya Sai has this to say:

The Brahmanas constitute an important part of the Vedas, and deal with the correct procedures for performing rituals like the Yajnas and Yagas. Being ceremonial rites for acquiring mundane pleasures, such ceremonies, however, cannot offer Atmananda or the Pure Bliss of the Atma. They can only enhance sensory enjoyment and provide epicurean pleasures, which are intrinsically transient. The search for pure abiding Bliss of the Atma led the ancient Rishis to the solitude of the forests.

This leads me on in a quite natural fashion to the Aranyakas. This word is derived from the wordAranya, which means forest. Thus, the Aranyakas are sometimes referred to as forest books and with good reason. As already pointed in the quote from Swami, neither the Samhitas or the Brahmanas ask a person to give up everything and retire to the forest in order to contemplate on God and focus totally on spiritual development. No doubt chanting Mantras from the Samhitas does promote some purity ofmind, but where spiritual development is concerned, they can take a person only so far.

The Aranyakas have a different objective. They are meant for people who wish to reach higher levels of development through intense contemplation and meditation of the Supreme One in His most abstract aspect. The famous Upanishads come at the end of the Aranyakas and represent the quintessence ofVedic Knowledge. As Sathya Sai puts it, “Ancient Sages have communicated the spiritual wisdom revealed to them through the Upanishads.”

Evolution Of Vedic Thought – The First Step

The above brief introduction to the Vedas also enables me now to comment on the evolution of Vedic thought. If one goes carefully through the Vedic texts that span the ages, one can see a clear line of evolution. The very early hymns are in the Rig Veda, and they not only express ancient man’s sense of wonder but also reveal how he identified specific deities like Indra, Agni, Vayu and so on with forces of Nature. About all this, Sathya Sai says,

The very first experience in Indian thought is the thrill of wonder. This is expressed in the hymns or Riks found in the Rig Veda. The Riks are all about the deities or the Devas, like Indra, Varuna and so on.

From this we see that the very early seekers did not straightaway understand Brahman, the Ultimate and all that. Like people elsewhere, the ancients of India also were struck with wonder about Nature and all the forces that formed a part of her, like thunder, lightning, wind, rain, etc. They also understood, perhaps in their own way, that there was a subtle synergy between the various agencies of Nature that promoted the sustenance of life on earth.

Everything from the ant to the elephant was seen as a part of some mysterious Cosmic cycle. And so, the very first thoughts related not only to the inevitable sense of wonder but also to an important question of logic. If there were forces in Nature, there ought also to be agencies that controlled these forces. It is these that were identified asDevas, and the Devas in charge of different departments, shall I say, were given different names like Indra, Agni and so forth. This is what I would call the first level of thought in a long evolutionary process.

It is interesting in passing to note that the Greeks also went through almost a similar thought process. As would be recalled, the Greeks too had a god of fire, a god for this, a god for that and so on. In fact, tribes everywhere had their own spectrum of deities or spirits, be it in Africa or North America. What this shows is that ancients everywhere had the implicit belief that there was something in the Universe more that what one could merely see with the eyes and experience with the senses.

The Second Step – Worshipping the Elements

Having decided that there were Devas who controlled various aspects and forces of Nature, the next task was to worship them and perform various rituals to propitiate them. Thus it was that rituals came into existence, almost soon after the Devas were accepted. Listeners may recall, for example, that Emperor Dasaratha performed a ritual called the Putrakameshti Yaga for having children. By the way, this ritual is sometimes performed even these days by the childless.

So the first step in the evolution process was to identify Devas and worship them. In due course, the more intensive of the Vedic seekers decided to probe further beyond the Devasand concluded, in the first instance, that there must be an overlord for these deities. The deities were like Viceroys, and there must be a Rex or a King who ruled over them. Thus it is that they convinced themselves about a Power superior to the deities. That power was called God.

Now arose an issue. Whom to worship? Some said, “Worship the deities for particular favours, and worship the God who ruled them when the deities were unable to deliver the goods.” Thus in ancient India, many started worshipping Varuna the God of Rain when the monsoon failed but prayed to another God when they wanted progeny or cure from illness and things like that. This is like going to different counters in a bank when one needs different kinds of service.

At this stage, some thinkers said, “Hey wait a minute. Let’s examine this business in some more detail.” They did so and came up with an answer that is best illustrated by using the analogy of a Bank. Just go to any Bank during the working hours. You will find that many customers are seated with the Manager. Often, these are what we can call VIPS who have big deposits in the Bank. They may have things they want to do like withdrawing some money, getting some foreign currency cashed, making new deposits and so forth. For every such activity, there is an assigned person and a counter for conducting the transaction; yet the VIP customer gets all his jobs done simply by sitting with the Manager. In the same way, these profound thinkers in ancient India came to the important conclusion that though there were deities who took care of limited portfolios, all the favours one wants can in fact be granted directly by God who ruled all the Devas, and that there was no need to separately take these issues up with the lesser deities or Devas.

The Final Understanding – The Existence of The Supreme One

In short, step by step, the seekers realised that there is a Supreme One who is beyond this world, beyond the Universe in fact, and beyond Space and Time too. The seekers also realised that this Supreme One who was beyond Space and Time itself, could not be described in words, and could not be cognised by the Mind too. We have heard so many speakers quote this Vedic phrase:

Yato vaache nivarthante aprapya manasachaha.

This phrase refers to Something that is beyond description and even thought.

Space-Time is a curtain that divides the Creator from the Creation. Creation is on this side of the curtain, while the Creator in all His absolute and pristine glory is on the other, so to speak. In short, slowly but surely, the seekers were zeroing on the existence of the curtain and the presence of something Supreme beyond that curtain. That something is God, whose children we all are, irrespective of race, religion, creed or nationality.

The Vedas Are Universal

In this sense, the Vedas are Universal and it is for that reason that Sathya Sai makes it a point to draw attention to the Vedas, and NOT because they are Indian in origin.

To repeat, the Vedas focus on a MYSTICAL ETERNAL SOMETHING that is beyond this world, beyond this Universe, beyond Space and Time itself, and is changeless. It is that Something beyond words and even the Mind that the Vedic seers were in quest of, and with good reason too. Indeed, across the ages, seekers elsewhere too have been engaged in this very quest, though by different means. Einstein was one of them, and he gives expression to this beautifully. Explaining why he pursued Science, Einstein once said: A knowledge of the existence of Something we cannot penetrate, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our Minds – it is this Knowledge and emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, I am a deeply religious man. Einstein tried to catch a glimpse of Cosmic Infinity through Science while the seekers of the Vedic age sought that very same ETERNITY via the path of devotion and Spiritual inquiry.

The Supplementary Units of The Vedas

I will have more to say about the Vedic concept of God and related subjects later, but for now, let me for the record mention that in addition to the four main Vedas, there are many supplementary units that include six Vedaangas and four Upaangas.

The word Anga means a limb; thus the Vedaangas represent, so to speak, limbs of the Vedas while the Upaangas represent subsidiary limbs. I shall not go into details concerning these but I must mention one important Upaanga, and that is the Puraanas. The Puraanas are important because they cater to the masses. The late Paramacharya of Kanchi has this to say about the Puraanas: The Puraanas can be called the magnifying glasses of the Vedas as they magnify small images into big images. The Vedic injunctions which are contained in the form of pithy statements are magnified or elaborated in the form of stories or anecdotes in the Puraanas. This is an important point. Take Sathya or Truth, for example. The importance of adhering to Sathya come what may is wonderfully exemplified by the story of King Harishchandra, which, until recently, used to be regularly performed as a drama in villages all over India. That is how ordinary folk learnt the importance of abiding by Truth. I have myself seen unlettered villagers say, “I am bound by Truth.” We should also not forget that it was one such village drama depicting the story of Harishchandra that made a profound impact on Gandhi when he was a young boy, making a difference not only to his own life but, in some measure, to humanity as well.

Sathya Sai on How The Vedas Help Man

I think it is best for me to bring this talk to a close with a quote from Baba: The Vedas teach man his duties. They describe his rights and duties, obligations and responsibilities, in all stages of life – as a student, householder, recluse and monk. In order to make plain the Vedic dicta and axioms and enable all to understand the meaning and purpose of the do’s and don’ts, the Vedaanagas, the Upaangas, the Puraanas and the Epic texts appeared in course of time. Therefore, if man is to grasp the significance of his existence and his own reality, he has to understand the importance of these later explanatory texts also. I guess that places the Vedas and all the supplementary compositions in their proper perspective. Next time, I shall give you a glimpse of one of the interesting Upanishads.