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by
Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL
No. 78
August: 2007
PRASTHANATRAYAM –THEIR IMPORTANCE IN SANATAN PHILOSOPHY.- Part 3
Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty
So in the last two issues we identified and understood the significance of the three authoritative scriptures, the prasthana trayam, that provide the base for the sanatan philosophy. These are the group of Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahmasutras. The Upanishads or that specific portion of The Vedas, provide the basic knowledge about The Brahman, The Bhagavad Gita provides the manual for practicing this knowledge in life and the Brahmasutras providing further directions to expand this knowledge.
Those who are serious about their spiritual sadhana, can not proceed far without the study of these. By no other means one can acquire in-depth knowledge of The Satchidananda, which is our ultimate goal. All saints and seers, all sadhakas – the great ones and those in the midway, all rely on these in their expositions, writings etc.
What should be the attitude of a common person towards these scriptures? All sincere Gurus make of us this earnest request. For most of us the concept of spiritual pursuit seems to be limited to coming to satsangs once in a while, quietly listen to what is said, and closing the doors of the mind as soon as we cross the doors of the venue. How many of us follow it up with further study of these scriptures? When did we last opened the pages of an Upanishad, or The Bhagavad Gita or the Brahmasutras? How many of us realize the great waste this means to our life? If getting a human birth is so difficult and rare then getting it, then wasting it away must be the height of foolishness. Does it really bother us that in our next life, we may not be born as a human and may as well be a dog or a worm, because we did not know how to utilize this precious gift when we got it? Does it bother us that we did not measure up to the expectation of the Lord when he chose us to be born as humans? It is simply like getting promoted to a higher class in the school and then failing miserably because we did not mind our studies. Does this thought gives us nightmares in our sleep, or we are like an animal peacefully unaware of what we really are? They say nothing pains God to see His offsprings abandoning the requirements of dharma as nothing pains more the parents than seeing their child going astray in life.
Many cite hundreds of excuses such as lack of time, the pressure of vocational life, the demands of worldly existence etc. Some attend few satsangs, some camps, and some even show their vanity by doing a charitable work here and there and believe their duty is over. They judge their own life without knowing what and how much burden they are already carrying on their back. No amount of spiritual sadhana can be considered enough and no neglect of one’s spiritual duties are ever condoned by nature.
So the Gurus advise us, extract as much time as you can from your engagements, read those scriptures and meditate upon them. The benefits are too great to ignore.
Some people also quite honestly tell that they get too confused and frustrated while reading the scriptures and it is difficult to retain concentration. That is very true. But one must remember that this confusion is really the beginning of our antahkarana (the mind, intellect and performing self) coming to grip with the knowledge. Perseverance- dhrti and abhyasa- eventually opens up the mind. If you are confused, is it not better to know what you are confused about? Is it not many times better that instead of being confused and frustrated about the ways of the Government, the law and order, the world situation etc, you are atleast confused about Brahman? Don’t’ you see that at least through this confusion you remain connected with the object of your confusion- The Brahman? The worldly confusion has no worldly solution at all. It is confusion and more confusion. But the Brahman confusion has a solution. And that solution even has the power to solve all the worldly confusions. Not being able to see this way, is very childish. Dharma is the only cure for all worldly problems. Follow dharma to understand the power of dharma.
Thus the prescribed scriptures containing the essentials of the dharma shall always remain our constant guide. Not to study them regularly is like a miser who has hoarded tons of money but continues to live in misery without spending them.
Returning to the books of knowledge is like returning to your own wealth and support. Reading the scriptures is a necessity and not an intellectual pastime.
We all have been brought up with the sanskar that The Vedas are our supreme guide. Unfortunately, most of us have an unclear picture of Vedas in our mind. Therefore a few introductory words on the Vedas should be appropriate here.
Vedas being the oldest of all religious literatures of the world is a settled issue. Vedas contain both mantras and brahmanas. Mantras are the spirit of the Vedas. Brahmanas are explanatory commentaries on the mantras. They are needed because mantras are like mines of jewels in their meaning and experience. Deeper you go inside a mine, more jewels you discover. Likewise deeper you go into a mantra a new and more profound meaning is revealed. It is inexhaustible and matches step by step with every layer of your mental development. Therefore it is said that mantras are not there merely for mechanical chanting or for literal understanding. They are to be ‘seen’ and ‘realised’, by continuous contemplation again and again and again. They have different impact on different levels of our consciousness, the physical, the mental and the psychic, until they are ‘seen’ as done by our seers (drstas) have seen them.
We have gone through this at length if you recall when we discussed the topic ‘Manah, mantra and maunatvam’ (Refer AHWAN December 2005 to February 2006 issues).
Veda mantras known as srutis are so well constructed that not a single word, sentence or text is replaceable or interchangeable. No adjectives can describe their perfectness. They are simply called suktas. Sukta means su i.e. very well and ukta i.e. expressed- something that is very well expressed or rendered to perfection, is a su- ukta or sukta. The whole effectiveness of the result or meaning it produces, gets distorted if it is altered in any manner whatsoever.
Mantras grouped together are known as samhitas and also mandalas. We have four groups of samhitas known by the four Vedas such as Rk, Sama, Yajur and Atharva. Out of these, The Atharva Veda is not considered to be of same class as the first three. Rk, Sama, and Yajur are a family, whose mantras have linkages in terms of the subject they deal with which is Brahman.
The structure of the mantras is not always the same. Some mantras have fixed syllables in their sentences. They are known as Rks and the Rk Veda contains them in smaller groups called mandalas.
Some mantras do not have this fixity of syllables in their sentences. One can call them mukta chandas or open verses. They are compiled in The Yajur Veda.
Amongst the fixed syllable verses, some are phonetically so composed that they are meant to be sung loudly. Their singing is designed to produce very specific sound patterns that produces harmony and overall benefit to the universe. Singing enhances their power all around and especially on the mind of the singer. These singing verses are grouped to form Sama Veda.
So much of planning, purpose and execution that has gone into the scriptures of sanatan philosophy, is not found in any other religious scriptures. They are unique. That is why they are regarded as the unmatched heritage of human civilization, impossible to recreate and irreplaceable. Everything else can be modified and redone. Vedas can not be modified or recreated.
An essential part of one’s spiritual development is to read the Vedas and other scriptures on a daily basis. Reading of the vast Vedas is life-time occupation. Not even one life time but may even extend to many lives. But the essence of the Vedas being in the Upanishads it is absolute foolishness for any one who ignores study of the Upanishads. Not exposing oneself continuously to the knowledge in the Upanishads is judged as if one’s human birth is being destroyed (a total vinasti) and one may as well be leading an animal existence. Through the revealation of the truth embedded in the Upanishads, Brahman is to be realised by studying, listening, discussing and constantly contemplating on the mantras of the Upanishad if one is intelligent enough to be aware of his human existence. Swami Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada says ‘Every activity of the human being is to be considered a failure unless he inquires about the nature of The Absolute.’ Many of us though born human, remain unaware of our human status. Knoweldge of the Absolute truth, no matter how little we acquire, is the defining distinction between manhood and animalhood. Atma va are drstavyah shrotavyah mantavyah nididhyasitavyah.
The Bhagavad Gita is quite candid about this.
AdhyAtmajnAnanityatvam tattvajnArthadarsanam
Etat jnAnam iti proktam ajnAnan yat atah anyatha.
Knowledge of the eternal Brahman and His essential nature is what jnana is. Rest are all exercise in ignorance.
This knowledge is recorded for us in the prasthanatrayam. If The Vedas are too vast for some to begin with, The Upanishads provide the solution.
Every one should do this and not waste away his life. The scriptures prescribe this as a daily routine. Life becomes simpler to live with.
