Swami teaches... Vedas, Upanishads, Shastras, Sutras - Eternal Light of Wisdom

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Light and Love

 

Swami teaches...(17 December 2004)

 

Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, Sastras - Eternal Light of Wisdom

 

The Vedas are A-pourusheya: they have no identifiable human authors. They

have emerged from God Himself and they are 'heard' by sages attuned to the

Voice of the Divine. They communicated the Word to their pupils and they in

turn taught them to their disciples. This process of imparting the Vedas and

the Wisdom enshrined in them has continued through generation after generation

of gurus and disciples up to our own times.

The Upanishads are the very core of the Vedas, the very essence of their

teachings.

Sutra (aphorism) enshrines, in a few words, vast expanses of meaning, vast

depths of fundamental significance. The Brahma Sutras build up the science of

Vedanta. They gather multicoloured flowers from all the Upanishads and string

them together to form an enchanting garland.

The Brahma Sutra is also known as Saareeraka Sastra and Vedanta Darsana.

Sareera means the Body. Saareeraka means all the components of the Embodied -

Atma: Ego (Jivi), Senses etc. Sastra implies "examining the nature of all these

to the greatest possible degree". That is to say, the Sastra establishes that

the Brahman (the Cosmic Self) is the basis on which all else is imposed, that

one's Reality is Ananda itself.

About the name Vedanta Darsana: Darsana means 'sight'. Darsana promotes the

sight or experience of the Truth.

All the Sastras derive their value and validity from their source - the

Vedas. They lay down modes and norms in consonance with the principles and

purposes defined in the Vedas.

 

Acquisition of the Higher knowledge alone can fulfil the main purpose of

human life. Such knowledge makes one aware that he is not the inert

non-sentient body, etc., but that he is Consciousness itself manifesting as the

embodiment of Sath-Chith-Ananda, Existence - Awareness - Bliss. When this Truth

dawns and is experienced, man is liberated; he is freed from the fog of

ignorance, Ajana, even while life endures till its term ends. He becomes a

Jeevan-Muktha.

 

The Jagath (the objective world) is unreal, non-existent; the

misunderstanding that it is real has to be renounced. The understanding that

the idea of jagath is a superimposition by our mind on the Reality is the

Jnana. Though the jagath appears real, one must be aware that it is deluding us

so. And as a result, one has to give up the yearning for deriving pleasure from

the objects that appear and attract, both here and hereafter. The Ajnana or

false knowledge can be destroyed only when one knows the Atma Principle. When

the false knowledge disappears, the sorrow produced by one's involvement in the

ups and downs of Samsara or the World of Change, also gets destroyed.

 

Ajnana and Duhkha (sorrow) cannot be destroyed by rituals and rites (Karma)

- this is the lesson the Upanishads teach us. In fact, what is happening now is

Man has forgotten his real nature. He believes that he is the body, the senses

etc. He deludes himself that he can secure Ananda by catering to the body and

the senses.

The awareness of Brahmam cannot be won by the accumulation of wealth or even

by the giving away of riches. Nor can it be achieved by reading texts, or rising

to power, or acquisition of degrees and diplomas or by the performance of

scriptural sacrifices and rituals.

So, man needs to be directed towards the right means to attain Ananda.

Wherefrom can one gain Ananda? It does not inhere in external objects.

The body is an ant-hill which has inside the cavity, the mind. And the mind

has hidden in it the serpent named Ajnana (Nescience). It is not possible to

kill the serpent by resorting to satisfaction-orientated works (Kaamya Karma).

Jnana is the only weapon that can kill it.

"Sraddhaavaan labhathe jnaanam". That person alone who has sraddha can

secure jnana. And Sraddha means steady faith in the statements laid down in

scriptual texts (Sastras).

The Brahma Sutra, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita - the Three Source

Texts - clarify the Truth that you are the very embodiment of Ananda. These

three sources stand on one to help man attain the highest wisdom. (A tiny

compilation and extracts from: Sathya Sai Baba. "Sutra Vahini," pp. 1 - 5).

 

Namaste - Reet