Sri Sadhguro Pahimam Parama Dayalu Rakshamam

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Dear Members

" Hindu Dharma " is a book published by Bharatiya Vidya

Bhavan which contains English translation of two volumes of the Tamil

Book " Deivatthin Kural " ; which is a collection of invaluable and

engrossing speeches of Sri Sri Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi

MahaSwamiji.

 

http://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap38.htm

 

Sakhas now Studied

 

People

in the distant past had remarkable abilities and possessed great

yogic and intellectual power. So theym could gain mastery of many

Vedic recensions. As for the great sages it wsas a matter of the

Vedas revealing themselves to them in a flash. Others with their

unusual abilities were able to master not only the Vedas but

other branches of learning. The Vedas in their infinitude being

like the expanse of an endless ocean, no one has been able to

master all of them. Even so in the remote past there were

individuals conversant with a large number of sakhas.

 

In

later times men began to lose their divine yogic power. At the

beginning of the age of Kali it became very weak indeed. The

life-span of man began to get shorter and his health and

intelligence declined. It is all the sport of the Paramatman. Why

should there have been a dimunition in human power and human

intelligence? It is dificult to answer the question. Would it not

be natural to expect an increase, generation after generation, in

the number of people learning the Vedas, performing sacrifices

and conducting Atmic inquiry? Why is it not so? Again it is a

question that is hard to answer.

 

The

Paramatman conducts the cosmic drama playing in strange and ever

new ways. Although scientists like Darwin speak of evolution, in

the matter of Atmic strength, intellectual enlightenment,

character and yogic power, we seem to have be en going further

and further down on the scale.

 

Since

the Krta-Yuga there has been a decline in the powers of man. In

that age a man lived so long as his skeleton lasted. Even if his

blood dried up and his flesh was destroyed he survived until his

bones collapsed. People in the Krta age had much power of

knowledge. They were called " asti-gata-pranas " .

 

In

the Treta age people were " mamsa-gata-pranas " , that is

they lived so long as their flesh lasted and did not perish even

when their blood dried up. They had a special capacity for

performing sacrifices. In the Dvapara age people were

" rudhira-gata-pranas " and lived until such time as

their blood dried up. They were known especially for the puja

they performed. We of the Kali age are

" anna-gata-pranas " and life will remain in our body so

long as the food [nourishment] lasts. We have little capacity to

meditate, perform rituals and puja. But we are capable of

chanting the names of the Lord - Krsna, Rama, and so on. It is

true that by muttering the names of the Lord we will be

liberated.

 

Even so we must not allow the Vedas to become

extinct. They were bequeathed to us from the time of creation.

Must we allow them to be lost?

 

When

Sri Krsna departed from this world, grim darkness enveloped the

world. There is " darkness " in his name itself ( "

Krsna " means dark). He was also born in darkness, in the

dungeon of a prison at midnight. But he was the radiance of

knowledge for all the world, the light of compassion. When he

departed much injury was done to jnana, and darkness descended

into the world. Kali, who is the evil incarnate, acceded to

authority. All this is the sport of Paratman, the sport that is

inscrutable. Sri Krsna came as a burst of light. Then, urged by

his compassion, he decided that the world must not go to waste.

He thought that it could be saved by administering an antidote

against the venom of Kali. This antidate was the Vedas. It would

be enough if precautions were taken to make sure that the "

Kali Man " did not devour them- the world would be saved. In

the darkness surrounding everything they would serve the purpose

of a lamp lighting the path of mankind. In the age of Kali they

would not shine with the same effulgence as in the previous ages.

But the Lord resolved that they must burn with at least the

minimum of lustre to be of benefit to mankind and this he ensured

through Vedavyasa who was partially his incarnation.

 

The

sage who was to carry out Bhagvan Krsna's resolve was not then

called Veda Vyasa. His name too was Krsna and, since he was born

on an island, he had the appellation " Dvaipayana " (

Islander). Badarayana is another name of his. Krsna Dvaipayana

knew all the 1, 180 sakhas( recensions) of the Vedas revealed to

the world by various sages. They were mingled together in one

great stream. Being remarkably gifted, our ancestors could

memorise all of them. For the benefit of weaker people like us,

Vyasa divided them into four Vedas and subdivided each into

sakhas. It was like damming a river and taking the water through

various canals. Vyasa accomplished the task of dividing the Vedas

easily because he was a great yogin with vision and because he

had the power gained from austerities.

 

The

Rgvedic sakhas contain hymns to invoke the various deities; the

Yajurvedic sakhas deal with the conduct of sacrifices; l the

Samaveda sakhas contain songs to please the deities; and the

Atharvaveda sakhas, besides dealing with sacrifices, contain

mantras recited to avert calamities and to destroy enemies. The

Samaveda had the largest number of recensions, 1, 000. In the

Rgveda there were 21; in the Yajus 109( Sukla-Yajur veda 15, and

Krsna Yajur veda 94); and in the Atharvaveda 50.

 

While,

according to one scholar, the Visnu Purana mentions the number of

sakhas to be 1, 180, another version is that there were 1, 133

recensions- the Rgveda 21, the Yajurveda 101, the Samaveda 1, 000

and the Atharvaveda 11.

 

Considering

that people in the age of Kali would be inferior to their

forefathers, Krsna Dvaipayana thought that it should be

sufficient for them to learn one sakha of any one of the four

Vedas. It was the Lord that put this idea into his head. Vyasa

assigned the Rgveda sakhas to Paila, the Yajurveda sakhas to

Vaisampayana, the Samaveda sakhas to Jaimini and the

Atharvanaveda sakhas to Sumantu. ]

 

Krsna

Dvaipayana came to be called " Vedavyasa " for having

divided the Vedas into four and then having subdivided them into

1, 180 recensions. " Vyasa " literally means an

" essay " or a " composition " . Classifying

objects is also known as " vyasa " .

 

According

to Krsna Dvaipayana's arrangement, though it is obligatory for a

person [ that is a Brahmin] to learn only one recension, it does

not mean that there is a bar on learning more. The intention is

that at least one sadha must be studied. Even after Vyasa's time,

there have been examples of panditas mastering more than one

sakha from the four Vedas. ( Vyasa divided the Vedas some 5, 000

years ago. This has been established to some extent historically.

Instead of accepting this date arrived at according to our

sastras, modern historians maintain that the date of the

Mahabarata must be 1500 B. C. But of late, opinion is veering

round to the view that the epic dates

back to 5, 000 years ago.

 

I

said that there was no bar on anyone learning more than one

sakha. Even today we find North Indians with appellations like

" Caturvedi " , " Trivedi " and

" Dvivedi " .

 

We

had a " Trivedi " , who was

governor of one of our states. " Duve " and

" Dave " are derived from " Dvivedi " . One

descended from a family well versed in the four Vedas is called a

" Caturvedin " . In Bengal he is called a

" Catterji " . Those who have mastered three Vedas are

" Trivedins " . Today it is rare to see a man who has

learned even one Veda, but the fact that members of some families

still call themselves " Trivedins " or

" Caturvedins " show that in the past there must have

been individuals who knew more than one Veda. Jnanasambandhar

calls himself " Nanmarai

Jnanasambandhar " . Since he was

suckled by Amba herself it must have been easy for him to master

the four Vedas.

 

During

these 5, 000 years and more since Vedavyasa divided the Vedas,

many sakhas have been lost. Out of the 1, 180 we are in the

unfortunate position of having only six or seven. Of the 21

sakhas of the Rgveda there is only one extant- it is called the

Sakala Sakha, or the Aitareya Sakha, since the Aitareya Upanishad

occurs in it. Of the 15 recencions of the Sukla- Yajurveda only

two are extant, the Kanva Sakha having a large following in

Maharashtra and the Madhyandina Sakha in North India. Of the 94

sakhas of the Krsna- Yajurveda, the Taittiriya has a large

following, particularly in the South. We have lost 997 of the 1,

000 sakhas of the Samaveda. In Tamil Nadu those who follow the

Kauthuma Sakha are more in number than those who follow the

Talavakara Sakha, while in Maharastra there is a small following

for Ranayaniya. Once it was feared that out of the 50 recensions

of the Atharvaveda none was extant. But on inquiry it was

discovered that there was a Brahmin in Sinor, Gujarat, who was

conversant with the Saunaka Sakha of this Veda. We sent students

from here ( Tamil Nadu) to learn the same from him.

 

The

Aitareya Brahmana and the Kausitaki Brahmana ( also called

Sankhayana Brahmana) of the Rgveda are still available to us. The

Aitareya Upanisad and the Kausitaki Upanisad, which are part of

the Aranyakas belonging to these, are still extant.

 

Of

the Sukla- Yajurveda we have the Satapatha Brahmana. This is

common- with minor differences- to both the Madhyandina and Kanva

Sakhas. It is a voluminous work which serves as an explanation

for all the Vedas. Only one Aranyaka is extant from this Veda and

it constitutes the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad. I have already

mentioned that the Isavasya Upanisad belongs to the Samhita part

of the Veda.

 

Of

the Krsna- Yajurveda the Taittiriya Brahmana alone is extant.

Among the Aranyakas of this Veda we have the Taittitiya; the

Taittiriya Upanisad and the Mahanarayana Upanisad are part of it.

The latter contains a number of mantras commonly used. The

Maitrayani Aranyaka and the Upanisad of the same name also belong

to the Krsna- Yajurveda. As mentioned before, of the Katha Sakha

only the Upanisad( Kathopanisad) is available, not the Samhita,

Brahmana and Aranyaka.

 

(Similarly,

the Svetasvatoaropanisad of the Krsna- Yajurveda is still extant,

but no other part of the relevant sakha. )

 

Nine

hundred ninety- seven sakhas of the Samaveda are lost and of its

Brahmanas only some seven or eight have survived- Tandya, Arseya,

Devatadhyaya, Samhitopanishad, Vamsa, ( Sadvimsa, Chandogya,

Jaiminiya). The Talavakara Aranyaka of this Veda is also called

the Talavakara Brahmana. The Kenopanishad comes at the end of it:

so it is also known as the Talavakara Upanisad. The Chandogya

Brahmana has the Chandogya Upanisad.

 

To

repeat what I mentioned earlier, we still have three important

Upanisads from the Atharvaveda- Prasna, Mundaka and Mandukya. (

The Nrsimha Tapini Upanisad also belongs to this Veda. ) The only

Brahmana of this Veda to have survived is Gopatha.

 

We

should be guilty of a grave offence if the seven or eight sakhas

of the 1, 180 that still survive become extinct because of our

neglect: there will be no expiation for the same.

 

In

the South, which is called " Dravidadesa " , Vedic

learning is still kept alive by the Namputiris in Kerala. And it

was well maintained in Andhra Prades until recently. A great

encouragement to this was the annual Navrathri festival at

Vijayavada every year when examinations for Vedic students and an

assembly of Vedic scholars were held. Those who took part in the

assembly were given cash awards as well as certificates.

Brahmacarins and pandits came from all over the country to take

part in the examination and the assembly respectively. The

certificate was highly valued. A scholar returning home with the

certificate was honoured by householders all along the way. There

was a custom in Andhra Prades to set aside a tidy sum to be

presented to Vedic scholars at weddings. Vedic learning

flourished in that state because of such incentives.

 

A

Brahmin ought not to run after money; if he does he ceases to be

a Brahmin. However, we have to consider the fact that today any

occupation or profession other than that of the Vedic scholar is

lucrative. One learned in the Vedas cannot make ends meet. Such

being the case it becomes incumbent on us to devise a system by

which the Vedic scholar too can live without any care. It is

because the minimum needs of Vedic students and scholars were met

in the Telugu country that scriptural learning flourished there.

 

We

are making efforts to promote Vedic learning all over India and in particular in

Tamil Nadu- and

a scheme has been drawn up to raise funds for pathasalsas( Vedic

schools). In Tamil Nadu there was patronage for Vedic learning

until the reign of Hindu rulers like the

Nayakas. Later it received

encouragement from the princely states. A Brahmin who has

mastered an entire Veda sakha is called a " srotriya " ,

from " Sruti " meaning the Vedas. It was customary for

Tamil rajas to donate land to such Brahmins and sometimes an

entire village was given away, it being exempt from taxes. This

is described as " iraiyili " in old inscriptions.

" Brahmadesam " is the name given to lands made over to

Brahmins as gifts. In the royal edicts the word used is

" Brahmadeyam " . " Caturvedimangalam " was the

name given to a village donated by royalty to Brahmins proficient

in all four Vedas. Those who spent all thier time in learning and

teaching the scriptures had no other source of income. So they

were exempt from kisti. This exemption

was in force even during the rule of the Nawabs, the East India

Company and its successor British government. Even though the

British did nothing to promote Vedic studies, they exempted

srotriya villages from taxes. However, the Brahmins during the

time sold their lands, converting them into certificates, and

abandoned the villages of their forefathers to settle in towns.

This also meant something most unfortunate, severing their

connection with the long Vedic tradition.

 

Our

country has an ages- old tradition- and it is a glorious

tradition- that has no parallel in any generation, worked not

only for their own Atmic uplift but for the well- being of the

entire society. And this they have done to the exclusion of being

involved in worldly affairs. Later, however, they ( Brahmins )

failed to recognise the unique importance of such a tradition and

broke away from it to take to the Western way of life. A

situation soon arose in which others also forgot the importance

of having a class of people devoting themselves solely to the

Atmic quest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JAYA JAYA SANKARA HARA HARA SANKARA

 

Thwameva Maathaa Cha Pithaa Thwameva Thwameva Bhandhuscha Sakhaa Thwameva

Thwameva Vidhyaa Dhravinam Thwameva Thwameva Sarvam Mama Dheva Dheva.