Quotes from Swami on Veda

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Here follows a number of Swami's quotations on Vedas/Vedanta

extracted from Divine Discourses and taken from:

http://saiaustralia.org.au/teachings/Quotes-z.pdf

 

VEDAS /VEDANTA

 

6.10.62

The Vedha teaches man lessons that take him beyond the ken of the

three gunas - the dull, the active, and the calm; the black, the red

and the white.

 

23.11.62

The Vedhas have shaped India and India shaped, is shaping and will

shape, the rest of the world. The Vedhas are without begining or

end; they are eternal messages caught by developed consciousness

in the silence of meditation. The present suffering is mainly due to

the lapses in discipline among the professed followers of the

Vedhic path, their disregard for the morality laid down in the

Shaasthras and their absence of faith in the ancient scriptures.

 

10.4.64

Shaasthras guide you to the truth and leed you to it, in easy stages.

 

18.8.64

The Vedhas tell you those things that cannot be known by

anyhtingelse. The word Vedha means `knowledge', knowledge that

cannot be acquired by the senses or the intellect or even by unguided

intution. The Vedhas endeavour to open the eyes of man to the

falsity of dualistic experience, the reality of the only One.

Adhwaitha (the non-dual One). They proclaim it, loudly and with

enthusiasm.

 

10.10.64

The Vedhas lay down the lines of conduct, the method of living, the

ideals to be followed.

 

12.10.64

All knowledge is derived from the Vedhas.

 

23.11.64

Of the hundred parts of the Vedhas, 80 will be karma, 16 Upaasana

and 4 jnaana. Karma has to be done for educating the impulses and

training the feelings. Then, you develop the attitude of upaasana, of

humility before the great unknown, and finally, you realise that the

only reality is you, which is the same as He.

 

25.11.64

Nothing ever is born without the will of God, nothing ever happens

without His will; that is the message of the Vedhas; understand the

Vedhas well and this lesson will be installed into you. Flees

drink only the blood of the cow; but men draw from her the sweet and

nourishing milk. So, learn from the Vedhas the potence of the Will

of the Lord. Once you are fixed in that faith, you will be able to

brave all dangers.

 

26.3.65

The Vedas have three sections: Karma, Upaasana and Jnana. Karma is

the section dealing with the activities that strengthen and purify

faith and devotion; Upaasana is the section ddealing with worship

of the personal God, the dedication of all acts to the Highest, the

Inner Witness, the surrender of all skills and experiences unto the

Innermost Power - these two endow man with one-pointedness. As a

result of these two, consciousness is able to recognise in a flash

jnaana - the of its being Divinity itself. All these three stages

have to be gone through.

 

27.3.65

The scriptures lay down various stages of spiritual development and

the rigour of the discipline for each stage is tuned to the level

reached by the aspirant. As a child is fed on breast milk for some

months, then on cow's milk and later given bread and crisp bitable

bits when the teeth have grown - so too, man is given by the Vedas

spiritual food to digestive development. In the early stages, the

jnaana of the Unity cannot be grasped. So bhakthi or upaasana is

recommended. Bhakthi comes naturally for it is only the expansion of

the love that is inherent in man. To get grounded in bhakthi, good

activity, good company, good likening and good behaviour are

essential.

 

28.3.65

The two injunctions of Vedas are: Sathyam Vada, Dharmam chara -

Speak the Truth, practise righteousness. Sath-karma (good deed) is

the tree, sad-bhaava (good intention) is the root. The sadbhaava is

that which serves your best interests, viz, lasting happiness, final

liberation form the cycle of birth and death. Take the mind off the

sensory pleasures and fix it upon God; then bhava gets pure;

whatever you think or say or feel will be for the good of yourself

and others.

 

19.4.65

The four ideals of man as laid down in the Vedhas are Dharma, Artha,

Kaama and Moksha. Dharma is the very base. If that is given up or

disregarded, sorrow will persist.

 

2.1.66

The Puraanas and the epics teach the path of devotion and surrender.

They ask that man should do every deed in a spirit of ddedication.

Allow the wind of doubt or the Sun of despair to affect the pot of

aanandha you have filled, and it will evapourate quickly. But keep

the pot in the cool waters of good company and good deeds; it can be

preserved undiminished for ever. Aanandha too grows when you

dwell on it in silence and recipitulate the circumstances which

yielded it. That is why manana is held important a part of spiritual

effort.

 

16.3.66

The Vedas and Shaasthras, since they were won by penance and travail

by sages and seers who were interested only in the welfare of

humanity and the liberation of man and the greatest repositories of

hitha (beneficial). They advice that Man must regulated his `out

look' and develop the `in look'; the inner reality is the foundation

on which the outer reality is built. It is like the inner wheel in

the car, which drives the outer wheels. Know that the basic reality

is God, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent. become aware of it and

stay in that awareness always. Whatever the stress and storm, do

not waver from that Faith.

 

23.3.66

The most valuable message the scriptures convey is this: carry on

your legitimate duties; discharge your obligations; live up to your

rights; but do not allow attachment to grow. be like a trustee so

far as family, riches, reputation, knowledge and skills are

concerned. Leave them gladly aside, when the call of death come.

 

3.7.66

Forbearance is the best saadhana, fortitude is the foremost

saadhana. That is the greatest lesson of the Shaasthras.

 

17.10.66

The Vedas are for all mankind; they have prayers for peace,

subjugating the anger of the elements and of human communities; they

invoke the forces of nature to be calm and beneficient, so the

recitation of the Vedas promotes world peace and human welfare.

Any balance of Karma-consequence will invoke some years of

imprisonment in the body. The Shaasthrs advise man to wipe off the

balances by four steps: by scotching all sparks from the fire, by

getting rid of all signs, symptoms and causes of fever; by paying

off all balance of debt; and by suffering off all consequences of

karma.

 

21.4.67

The Vedas are inspired by the holy spirit of Divine Mercy; they seek

to transmit to humanity the secrets of a happy life here and of

liberation for ever. Thee reveal the essence of the Divine Glory.

They are the source of spiritual knowledge over the millenia for all

mankind. The Vedas declare that it is only by renunciation,

surrender, submission that immortality can be acquired.

 

4.7.68

The Vedas teach that man must earn wealth through the path of

Dharma, that is not taken to heart; wealth is accumulated any how!

The Vedas teach that men should have only one Kaama (desire),

namely, for moksha (liberation)

 

6.10.70

Vedha is said to be the breath of God, for word or voice is breath;

the Vedha is Akshara, the indestructible, the letter, the symbol for

the vibration that spreads and affects the Universe for ever. The

word is valid for all times; it has become the Akshara, the visual

symbol.

 

10.10.70

The Rig Vedha is the Vedha full of prayers to God for the

realisation of the aims of life; the Yajur Vedha describes the

cereminial and ritual aspects of worship; the Sama Vedha extols the

Gods through song and poetry; the Atharva Vedha gives the secret

formulae for preserving health and security of body and community.

 

Nov.70

The Vedhas have prescribed five steps, to enable the individual to

cultivate the spirit of Yajna. Dhava yajna (adoring God in the

domestic altar) ; Pithru yajna (keeping in mind the debt one owes to

the parents who endowed this body and fed the lamp of life);

Manushya yajna (feeding guests and those who come seeking shelter

and food); Brahma yajna (the study of the sacred scriptures and the

initiation into the spiritual path) and Bhautha yajna ( the feeding

and fostering of pet animals, of cattle of horses and sheep and dog

which are the helpmates and comrades of man). The Vedhas insist on

every householder to attend to these five rites, everyday and thus,

he is encouraged along the path of dedicated living to reach the

goal of total surrender to God.

 

1.9.82

The flower is karma, the tender fruit is dharma and the taste which

gratifies is Brahman. The bud blossoms through devotion and the

fruit emerges into virtue and ripens by the acquisition of the

awareness of one. The three are inevitable ingredients.

 

20.10.82

Sleep is a short death: death is a long sleep. You, the `I' in you,

endow the inert material vehicle called body with consciousness. You

are the Cosmic Consciousness, God, temporarily in the role of `I'.

The body-mind-complex is the instrument to be utilised for that

role. Use it for furthering God's purpose, executing God's Will.

This is the message of Rig Vedha. When the boy is initiated into

Vedhic studies or the recitation of the Gayathri and other manthras,

when some one has to be blessed on some happy occassion, when a

wedding has to be ceremoniouly performed with the invocation of God,

and when the body is buried or burnt after the soul has left, the

Rig Vedhic hymns are chanted. They have great potency and arouse

beneficial thoughts on reciters and listeners. Rig Vedha is entirely

the product of the insight of sages such as Viswamitra. Every name

you use for God, every illustration we imagine of His Glory, are in

the Rig Vedha. Rig Vedha teaches the lesson of serenity. Praise is

like rose water; when it is sprinkled on you, suffer it but dont

drink it - that is to say, accept it and thrive on it. Blame is like

a medicine. Examine yourselves whether you have the illness and if

you have, accept the blame and benefit by it. Serenity is a divine

virtue. All the Vedhas are intent on helping man to become aware of

Divinity in him and all around him. Piucture for yourselves the

peace that seers gained by that awareness and yearn to learn the

lessons the Vedhas treasure, for all mankind irrespective of caste,

creed, race or nationality.

 

21.10.82

The present socialist ideal of the unity of mankind is a Vedhic

concept; in fact the Vedhic ideal was even wider and more

comprehensive. `Let all the world be happy and prosperous'. `The

world is one family', the Vedhas proclaimed. It is wrongly assumed

that the Vedhas had only the one section of the population, one

caste, one race, one community in view. This is the result of

misreading and mistaken inference. They are concerned, it was said,

only with Brahmins and with the Pandiths among them. This too is a

wrong conclusion. Every Vedhic ritual had as its goal the prosperity

and peace of the world. The Vedhas yearn to establish the welfare of

the three worlds - the nether regions, the earth and heaven. It is a

pity that a narrow outlook is foisted by short - sighted people on

such profound texts. The Vedhas do not allow scope for distinctions

on the basis of caste or creed. They assert, `I shall save whoever

keeps me in memory'. `I shall be beside whoever is beside

me'. `Whoever adores me in whatever form and through whichever

name, I shall manifest myself before them with that form, becoming

that name'. Each hymn of the Vedhas is called a Rig which

means `praise'. And the word `Vedha' is derived from the root,

Vidh, `to know'. And what exactly should we strive to know? We must

know the One, which has no second, no another, no other. So, every

word, every statement in the Vedhas, every manthra or Rig in them,

counts only the one,. Though out of insufficient or wrong

undewrstanding people mistake the lesson and ascribe the words and

indicate the Many. The yajur vedha describes the flames of the

sacred fires as the Tongues of God. When the offering is

dropped into fire, in the name of the God, the proper name and

address have to be uttered at the same time. It is like the post

box. When a letter is properly addresses and dropped into the box at

Prashanthi Nilayam, it will reach any place even as far as Japan or

Russia. It the address indicates Prashanthi nilayam, it will be

delivered to the person at prashnthi Nilayam. The address has to be

full and correct, that is all, And, the stamp has to be of the

correct value. The Vedha mentions many specific items that are to be

used as offerings to Gods, conveyable through the emissary, fire.

They are milk, curds, ghee, grains, the juice of the plant named

Soma and what is designated as `Vapa', a term wrongly taken as

meaning the diaphragm of a lamb or other sacrificial animal. It is

necessary to clarify the real meaning and significance of offering

the Vapa. The Vapa of a young lamb is preferable, it is said. The

mind, the heart of the human child, is pure, tender, unsoiled by

greed or pride. And the lamb is much more so. The Vedhic texts

describe such a heart as serene, unattached, abode of good, eternal,

stable, unblemished, alert, free, unaffected, pure. Offering the vapa

of the lamb means, therefore, dedicating ones heart, after rendering

it soft and sweet, and not casting into the flames the diaphragm of

a slaughtered kid! The Vedhas desire man to give up the animalist

ego, and its complement, anger. The evils of envy, pride and spite

belong to the same brood. These are all `bestial' though human in

appearance. They declare that love, tolerance, compassion, non-

attachment, and adherence to truth are the genuine human

traits. Every rite laid down in the Vedha has thin air only - to

promote selflessness and universal love. Concentration on sensual

gratification, anger, fury, hatred - these are bestial

characteristices. Man must be ashamed to have even a trace of such

traits. The characteristics of human nature are, and ought to be,

love, forebearance, detachment, renunciation and truth.

The Yajur Vedha elaborates the importance of Yajnas. These promote

the peace and prosperity of the world, as that is the primary aim of

all the Vedhas. The Yajur Vedha hymns extol the glory of the gods

and propitiate the Divine Forces. As a result, gold and grain wealth

and welfare, plenty and progress are secured by mankind.

The Yajur Vedha has a name for Agni, Tiger! When Agni is treated

without faith and reverence, it destroys the very perosn who feeds

it, just as the tiger which tears its own cubs with its deadly claws.

Another characteristic of Agni is its presence everywhere.

Scientists and technologists ttoday are proud that they have grasped

the secrets of the five elements - sky, wind, fire, water and earth.

But, they are still unaware of the intimate kinship each of them has

with man and his ddaily life. The sages of the past have delved into

the mystery and revealed it to the world. Notice, for example, that

birds do not rest on the ground at night. They prefer tree tops. Why?

The rishis of Vedhic times explain that they seek to avoid the heat

latent in the earth but patent to them. Man is unaware of this foet

but the birds know it. Living is in fact a real Vedhic yajna,

whether one knows it or not. In the yajna that is being performed

here (Prashanthi Nilayam) every formula that is uttered and every

offering made has to be suffered with renunciatory feelings and the

awareness of the Divine. We have here Suryanamaskaar (Salutations to

Sun God) on one side, Rudrahoma (Fire offering to God Rudra)

nearby, worship of Shakthi (Divine mother) at the end, and Pandiths

reciting Devi Bhaagavatham, Raamayana etc. Why are these varied

items gone through? Among these priests, the chief is termed Brahma.

One of them will be reciting the Rig Vedha, another will be reciting

musically the Saama Vedha, and the third person will be reciting the

Yajur Vedha. The Atharva Vedha includes the very essence of the three

Vedhas and it is recited by the person designated as Brahma. The

deities extolled in the Vedhas are here invoked and invited to

shower Grace on all mankind. The Chief priest, designated as

Adhwaryu, watches the activity and sets right any fault or failing.

His is the overall supervision of the Sacrificial Fire, its upkeep

and worship and his is the responsibility for meticulous performance.

The Yajur Vedha deals with Yajna or Ritual Adoration of fire, as the

medium of communication with the Gods.

 

22.10.82

The Vedhas are known as the voice of the rishis. The rishis

intuitively perceive the truth. They can see the past, the present

and the future. They are free from attachments. It is because of

such high souled seers that the voice of God was revealed to the

world. This revelation demonstrates the truth about the divine.

The Yajur vedhas has enjoyed protection of the cow as a supreme

duty, as it is an animal which lives on saathwick food and has

virtuous qualities. Our life is bound up with the Vdhas. We must

regard everyday in our life as a yagna. Every word that we utter

must become a manthra. The Rig vedha, the first among the four, has

come down to us in exactly the same way that it was recited in the

past. It is a far spreading tree, with many branches. Of the 25 that

once existed, only two are now available. But these have been

preserved intact by means of an elaborate system of memorisation, by

which while one set of pupils recite seratim, another does so back

for forth, a third with alterate syllables omitted, etc. The

technigues have distinct names like Jada, Maala, Shitha, Dhandha,

Ratha, Dhwaja, Geetha etc. The Rig Vedha speaks of 3 bonds that

encumber man - Adhyaathmic - where Aathma means the person and

adhyaathmic bond refers to the illness and diseases that affect the

person, physically and mentally. Adhibouthic bonds bring about pain

and suffering through involvement with other living beings,

especially poisonous insects, scorpions, wild animals etc.

Adhidaivik bonds causes terror and loss by what can be called `acts

of God', against which man is helpless, such as floods and draught,

volcanic erruptions, earthquakes, avalanches, thunderbolts and

meteors. The Rig Vedha prescribes means to overcome or modify the

consequences of these calamities, by achieving progress in physical,

mental and spiritual fields of activity. The Rig Vedha is primarily

concerned with karma and is part of the karma kaanda. There are three

stages in the soul's journey to its source: Karma, Dharma and Brahma.

It should be noted that every vedha is intended to enable man to

make his daily life holy and good. Although human life is transient,

the allotted span must be used for sacred purposes and to realise the

divine. The Vedhas have the power to enable man to transmute his

life and make it sublime. Whether consciously or otherwise, from

morning till night, man carries out the duties laid down by the

Vedhas. Every act is governed by the dictates of the Vedhas, but it

is only when these acts are done with an understanding of their

purpose will their true character be known. Similarly every

sacrificial act, yagna is intended to propitiate the Divine.

 

27.10.82

The Vedhas declare:

`Poornam adhah Poornam idham

Poormaath Poornam udhachyathe

Poornasya Poornam Aadhaaya

Poornam eva avashishyathe'

`That is wholly Divine. This is wholly Divine. From the totally

Divine arose the totally Divine. When the totally Divine is taken

from the totally Divine, the total Divine remains! `That' means `the

thing after, apart', `the entity that is beyond the reach of the

human instruments of perception'. `This' means the visible world,

the objective world, cognisable with the senses and amendable to

experience. This too is as divine as the rest. Aasthi (existence, Is-

ness), bhakthi (shining) and priyam (endearing), (Sath, Chith and

Aanandha) are the characteristics of Divinity and these three are

found in everything. Only the form and the name are transitory,

subject to change.

 

6.9.84

The Vedhas, Upanishadhs, Sastras and Puranas - all serve as sign -

posts. They indicate the direction one should take. They show to

goal that should be sought, but the journey has to be made by

ourselves.

 

22.3.85

Vedantha reveals four categories of wakefulness: the fully awake,

the wakefulness of the mind only, as while dreaming, the wakefulness

of the self alone, as in deep sleep, and the illumination of the self

awakening into the Overself. These are named Sthoola, Sookshma,

Kaarana and Maha Kaarana, the Gross, the subtle, the Casual and the

Super Casual. The gross body that is activated in the waking stage

is the composite of many items - the five senses of perception, the

five senses of action, the five inner instruments, the five elements

in creation, the five vital airs and the self - 26 in all. This is

the Jagrat stage, wakefulness. The subtle body that dreams has only

the five vital airs, the five senses of perception and the five

fundamental elements - 15 items all as the Sookshama, the Yaathana

vehicle which, according to Vedaantha, undergoes the consequences of

good deeds and bad. Casual or Kaarana body is the third. It

possesses only one nature, namely, Prajjna, Consciousness, pure

and unmixed with the subjective and objective worlds. Since the

Sthoola body is fully involved with the objective world, the Viswa,

it is called Viswa; the Sookshma body or the dream body illumined by

the mind and the inner light (Tejas) and so it is called Tejas; the

body in the deep sleep stage, when it is latent in the cause,

subsumed in the Consciousness, is called Prajna. The truth, namely,

Brahman, eludes all these three bodies. They are involved

in `brahme' (illusion), not in Brahman, the Absolute. What appears

true in the dream is falsified when one awakes; what one

experiences while awake is distorted and devalued in dreams; sleep

wipes out of memory both the dream-world and the wakefulness-world.

The awareness that survives these three passing stages is the

Maha Kaarana, the Superconscious. The Super or Supreme Consciousness

is the Thought that becomes all this, the Hiranyagarbha, the

Golden Womb, theprimal urge, the foirst concretisation, Easwara.

When Being `thought', it became the Many, or rather, it put on the

appearance of Many. The Maha Kaarana, is beyond Consciousness; the

Sthoola, Sookshma and the Kaarana bodies into which it proliferated

are beneath Consciousness. The former is true knowledge (eruka) the

latter is illusony experience (marupa). God is the Lord of eruka,

the Jivis the slave of marupa (forgetting). The Maha Kaarana, the

Cosmic Consciousness, is often denoted as `Param', `beyond', in

Vedantha; since the concept is obviously contentless, it does not

arise and fade; nor does it originate and disappear. It has no name

and form, for it cannot be defined or limited or identified as

separate. It is understood as Brahman - the unmoving, immovable

Totality (Poorna), the Eternal, the True, the Pure, the

Attributeless. Just as the unmoving road enables the car to move

along it, the Brahma principle is the basis for the existence and

activities of the Jivi. In fact, there is only One. The One appears

to be split vision as two. Look outward, It is Jivi. Look

inward, It is God. The outer vision makes you forget; the inner

makes you remember. When man seeks to rise to the divinity which is

his reality, he is remembering, struggling to know and

experience. When he gravels in the lower levels of consciousness and

is entangled in dis-ease, he is caught in the coils of

forgetfulness. Removing selfish desires and expanding one's urge to

love and serve are the most effective means to succeed in merging

with Supreme Consciousness, the Primal Cause, the Cosmic Thought,

the Maha Kaarana.

 

13.5.88

The truth, that the Vedas teach man is: `Soham: That is I; the

Principle that is Immanent in the Universe is the Principle that is

immanent in Me, too'. Meditation on thisgrand thought gradually

leads man to know that there is no dictinction between That and I,

that both are One, that there is no separate Sah and Aham and so

there is only Om. The Vedas also teach three other basic beliefs:

1) Karmapala - every act has an inevitable consequence. Every cause

has an effect. If you act with an eye on the conssequence, you have

to suffer the consequence. 2) Punner-janma - Rebirth according to

result of action and 3) the unique birth of the Lord as Avathar to

save humaniyt from the fall.

 

6.5.95

The Vedas are infinite and human life is limited. How to master the

infinite within the short span of one's life? Keeping this option in

view, Sage Vyaasa codified the Vedas into four major divisions and

named them RIG, YAJUR, SAAMA and ATHARVA Vedas. Rig Veda is manthra-

swaroopa (consisting of mantras). The Yajur Veda is a compilation of

rituals or Yajnas and the Saama Veda is a compilation of rits set to

music. In order to maintain the health of the individual and ensure

the protection of the country, the `Atharva Veda' was compiled.

 

22.10.95

Trust everything as God's work, whatever your vocation or

profession. By dedicating all actions to God, you sanctify every act

in daily life. That is the message of the Vedhas.

 

17.11.95

The Vedhas have declared that sacrifice is the only means to achieve

immortality. It is necessary to devise means to ensure that the

resources of ashrams and temples are used solely for the public good.

 

17.2.96

The principal teaching of the Vedhas is that all men should strive

together in amity. Through unity humanity can achieve purity,

leading to divinity. The three great enemies of man are: lust or

desire, anger and greed. These have to be eliminated. The greatest

quality in man is love. Love is God. Live in Love.

 

Apr.96

The Vedhas, together with the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the

Upanishadha, provide the guidelines for the proper conduct of the

four stages (Ashramas) in life - Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha

and Sanyaasa. In addition, they serve also as essential guides to

the pursuit of the four Purusharthas (the basic goals of human

life) - Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha (Righteousness, material weel-

being, desire realisation and Liberation). Vedha means that which

demonstrates the Divine principle. The Veda permeates the universe.

It is the embodiment of Truth. It flows in eight streams:

Sabdabrahmamayee (manifesting as all-pervading Cosmic sound);

Charracharamayee (pervading all moving and unmoving objects);

Jyotimayee (all-pervading effulgence);

Vaangmayee (sacred speach);

Nityanandamayee (eternal-bliss);

Paraatparamayee (embodiment of the Omniwill);

Mayamayee (manifestation as Maya);

Srimayee (the embodiment of all prosperity).

 

Man has to be guided by the directives of the Vedas. Of the three

Vedas - Rig, Yajur and Sama - the Rig Veda contains the essence of

all the three. Its principal teaching is humility and duty. The Yajur

Veda enjoys the quality of Dharma. This means that whatever hardship

you experience, you should fulfil your duty with fortitude and

forbearance. Through both these means you can develop your human

qualities to the highest extent. The essential teaching of the Sama

Veda is Propriety. This tells you how to conduct yourself with any

person, how to behave towards elders and supervisors, how to treat

guests, how to approach God and what is the right behaviour in any

situation. These three Vedas provide the basic rules for right

living: Devotion to duty; steadfastness; and Propriety. The Love

principle integrates all those guidelines laid down by the Vedas.

 

Om Sri Sai Ram