Vedas and Adi Sankara - Part 3 By Sri.Sri.Muralidhara Swamiji.

[Guest guest]

Radhe Krishna To all,

 

The glory of the Vedas lies in that it speaks of innumerable mysterious

spiritual matters. The Vedas have been given by the Maharishis who possessed

subtle divine vision (‘Divya Drishti’). The glory of our religion is the

Presence of the Vedas. Even those who refused to accept the Vedas conducted

research into this.

 

Balagangadhara Tilak conducted a research into this. He conducted his research

based on the period of the Rig Veda. Max Mueller conducted such a research.Sri

Aurobindo conducted a research into the Vedas. The founder of Arya Samaj

conducted one such research. Even these great people accepted the Vedas to a

certain extent. Even the Buddhists who do not accept the Vedas conducted a

research into it. But none is able to fix the Vedas to a particular period or

age. Even when this was tried based on the transformation of the language of the

Vedas it has not met with any success.

 

Taking Sanskrit on the one hand and all the other languages (termed as

‘prakrithamãna’) on the other hand we find that Sanskrit can be spoken only

grammatically while all other languages are not so. In the case of other

languages the spoken language is different from the literary one. They are not

spoken grammatically. Sanskrit can be spoken only grammatically and not

otherwise. If we take up an old Tamizh weekly we find that the term used for

‘index’ has been totally different some 25/30 years back. The words used in

stories, articles have all undergone total transformation. It is so with other

languages, too. Thus the languages have lost their original form.

 

So when certain research scholars tried to ‘study’ into the transformation

of the language of the Vedas and thus fix its age, the sages of the Vedas

condemned it. The reason that they cite is that, let us say, that a small metal

pot (‘chombu’) is used for various purposes viz. drinking water, watering

plants, washing our body, etc. Being put to several and frequent use it loses

its colour and shape in due course of time. Whereas, let us say that we have a

small silver pot which is sparsely used. Suppose it is used as a ‘Kalasa’ in

a Puja or for offering ‘Purna kumba’ to a visiting Mahan and the rest of the

time it is kept locked up in the cupboard. Now can the same level of

depreciation be applied to this silver vessel as applied to the other metal pot?

No, certainly not. Similarly, it is argued by the supporters of the Vedas that

one should not apply to the Vedas/the Vedic language the same scale that is

applied to others. The Vedas

cannot be chanted anywhere and at anytime as one fancies; cannot be chanted

after eating, should be chanted only with the set discipline (‘niyama’), the

Vedas have ‘Jada’, Gana’ and many strict rules and regulations. So, these

scholars say that one cannot apply the same value of depreciation to the Vedas

as one would to worldly (‘Prakritik’) matters.

 

‘Sanskrit’ means that which needs no cleansing. Now a word is born from

within us and there is some matter that I wish to convey but say, “It is

within me but am unable to put forth the same in words.†We wonder, ‘What is

it that the mind says?’ We then try to bring forth the same in words. Now,

this thought is first born in some language. Is it not? It is first born within

us in some language and then comes out as speech.

 

The scientists opine that language is something created and learnt by us. But

the Mahatmas opine differently. They say that the language was even when Man was

born. We tend to disagree on the opinion that the first Man (‘adivãsi’)

first produced sounds such as ‘ah’! ‘woo’!’ and then gradually a

language was born. We boldly say that Man had a proper language to express

himself. From the Vedanti everyone agrees that it was ‘Sound’ that was born

first and from the Sound was born ‘Form’. First was born the ‘Pranava’

sound and from this were born Name (‘Nama’) and Form (‘Roopa’). Ever

since creation (‘srishti’) Man was speaking a language. It is not that he

spoke unintelligibly and gradually a language was moulded. And this language is

Sanskrit.

 

!!! Will Continue !!!

 

Regards

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

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