Chapter XXII.
The Eternal Truths
The
Veda is the Mother of all the scriptures (sastras). The Veda emanated from God
Himself as inhalation and exhalation. The great sages, who were the embodiments
of the treasure gained by long ascetic practices, received the Veda as a series
of sounds and spread it over the world by word of mouth from preceptor to
pupil.
Since
it was “heard” and preserved by generations, the Veda is known as sruthi, “that
which was heard or listened to”. The Veda is endless.
The Vedas: divine revelations
Who composed the Vedas?
Until today, it has not been possible to unveil their names. Those who recited
it had perhaps no desire to earn renown, for the names are nowhere seen
mentioned in the Veda. Perhaps they attached no importance to their names,
clans, or sects, or it is likely they had no kith or kin or clan.
The word Veda originated
from the root vid, meaning “to know”. “That which reveals and makes clear all
knowledge is Veda (Vidam thu anena ithi
Vedah).” The Veda can be mastered neither by limited intellect nor by
limited experience. The sacred Veda instructs in all that one requires for
spiritual advancement. It instructs in the means and methods of overcoming all
sorrows and grief. It instructs in all the spiritual disciplines that can give
unshaken peace.
No one has understood
correctly the beginning or end of the Veda, so it is hailed as beginningless
and eternal. Since the first and the last of the Veda are not known, it is
everlasting (nithya). The intelligence of humans is tainted, but since the Veda
has no trace of taint, it is concluded that it cannot be a human product. So
the Veda is also characterized as non-personal (a-pourusheya).
The Vedas: a unique source of all religions
The
Veda is its own authority. Each Vedic sound is sacred because it is part of the
Veda. Those who have faith in the Veda and its authority can personally
experience this. The great sages were enriched by such experiences, and they
have extolled it as the source of wisdom.
Human
intelligence can operate only within certain limits. (Buddhi-grahyam
atheendriyam). But the Veda is beyond the reach of intelligence, which is
restricted and can deal only with facts discoverable by the senses and
experiences related to these. It can act only in the area of the visible, the
viable.
The Vedas: source of all sciences
Mother
Veda has been kind to her children —the human race. To sanctify its cravings
and to uplift the race, she has posited the concept of time —and its
components, the years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds. Even gods were
declared to be bound by time. The individual (jiva) is caught in the wheel of
time and space and rotates with it, unaware of any means of escape. But really,
the individual is beyond the reach of time and space. The Veda is bent upon the
task of making it know this truth and liberating it from this narrowness.
Mother Veda is compassionate; she longs to liberate her children from doubt and
discontent. She has no desire to inflame or confuse. Wise ones know this well.
The Vedas: drawn toward India
The atmosphere in India
was congenial for the revelation and growth of the Vedas. The Vedas were drawn
toward the hearts of the sages of this land, this land of Godward activity,
this land of yoga, this land of renunciation. Since in India the spiritual
quest was sincerely pursued, along with material objectives, people here had
the good fortune of Mother Veda incarnating.
The
heroic sages of India (Bharath) were able to receive the Vedic message as a
result of their spiritual practice (sadhana) of denial and detachment, as well
as their capacity to concentrate and to experience the bliss resulting from
practicing it.
The
scriptural texts of India —the Vedas, limbs of the Veda (Vedangas), Upanishads,
law codes (smrithis), Puranas (didactic ancient legends), and historical epics
(ithihasas)— are repositories of profound wisdom. Each is an ocean of sweet
sustaining milk, sacred and sanctifying.
Sanskrit: mother of all languages
A
person who wants to understand clearly the sacred books and scriptural texts of
India, to imbibe their message, must learn the Sanskrit language; that
responsibility, that duty, cannot be avoided. The very mention of Sanskrit
immediately arouses in many among us a prejudicial attitude. “It is the dead
language of a dying culture; it is boosted by the fanatic attachment of
antiquated conservatives”, contemporary moderns declaim.
Sanskrit
is an immortal language; its voice is eternal; its call is through the
centuries. It has imbedded in it the basic sustenance from all the languages of
the world. Revere Sanskrit as the mother of languages. Do not ignore its
greatness or talk disparagingly about it.
Contd...
Love.
