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/chap40.htm

 

Veda-bhasya

 

The

sound of the Vedas must be kept alive. For this purpose, it would

be enough if Brahmins memorised the mantras and chanted them

every day. The power of the sound, the power of the mantras

vocalised, is sufficient to bring good to mankind. I said, you

will remember, that chanting the Vedas with faith, even though

without knowing their meaning, is " viryavattaram " .

The statement, however, does not fully reflect my view.

 

A

student will have to spend many years to memorise the Vedas and

study their meaning. It is not easy to keep him confined to the

Vedic school for such a long time. I must explain here why I said

that " it is not necessary to know the meaning of the Vedas

and their sound is all we need " . To insist that a student

should chant the Vedas only if he knows the meaning of the

mantras is expecting too much of him. It might also mean that

nobody would come forward even to memorise the hymns. In that

case how will their sound be kept alive? That is why I said, half

seriously and half sportingly, that " the meaning is not

necessary, the sound would be sufficient. . . . " .

 

There

must indeed be a large number of people who can chant the Vedas

and keep their sound alive. In addition, there must be a system

by which some of them at least will be taught their meaning. That

is how we have come to be seriously involved in teaching the

Veda-bhasya( commentary on the Vedas). It is because the Vedas

are profound in their import that a number of great men have

commented upon them. Their efforts must not go in vain.

 

We

perform a number of rites in our home: marriage, sraddha,

upakarma, and so on, and during these functions we chant Vedic

mantras as instructed by the priest. By the grace of Isvara we

have not reached the unfortunate state of totally discarding such

rites. However, there is a declining trend, a weakening of Vedic

practices. One important reason for this is that we do not know

the meaning of the mantras chanted. Educated people nowadays have

no true involvement in rites in which they have to repeat the

mantras after the priest without knowing the meaning.

 

We

cannot expect to convince people that the chanting of the

mantras( even without knowing their meaning) is beneficial. The

hymns for each function are different and also different in

significance. If we appreciate this fact, we will realise that

there is a scientific basis for them. Besides, they have an

emotional appeal which willl be evident only when we know their

meaning. So to know the meaning of the mantras is to have greater

involvement in the functions in which they are chanted. That is

the reason why the mouthing of syllables purposelessly has come

to be [irreverently] likened to the chanting of " sraddha

mantras " . The meaning of the mantras ( including those

chanted at sraddhas) must be understood by the priest as well as

by the performer of the rites; we must evolve a scheme for theis

purpose.

 

First

the priest himself must know the meaning of the mantras and the

significance of the rituals at which he officiates. Today the

majority of priests are ignorant of the meaning of what they

chant. If a karta or a yajamana (the man on whose behalf a rite

is conducted) asks his priest, " What does this mean?

" , the latter is unable to give an answer. How would you

then expect the karta to have faith in the rites?

 

I

believe that many middle-aged people today are keen to know the

meaning of the mantras. I also think that if they tend to lose

faith in rituals it is because they have to repeat parrot-like

the hymns chanted by the priest. So we are making efforts to

ensure that those who officiate at rituals (the upadhyayas)

accquire proficiency in Veda- bhasya to enable them to explain

the meaning of the mantras.

 

According

to the Nirukta( one of the

six Angas of the Vedas) a Brahmin comes under a curse by chanting

the Vedas without knowing their meaning.

 

A

number of great men have written commentaries on the Vedas so as

to inspire faith in the sacraments. Sri Madhvacarya has written a

commentary for the first 40 suktas of the first kanda of the Rg

Veda. Skandasvamin has also written a bhasya on the Rg Veda. To

BhattaBhaskara we owe a commentary on the Krasna-Yajur Veda, and

to Mahidhara on that of the Sukla-Yajur Veda. In recent times, Dayananda

Saraswati and Aravinda Ghose as well as his disciple Kapali Sastri have written

expository treatises on the Vedas. Though there are so many

commentaries, the one by Sri Sayanacarya is particularly famous:

many scholars, including Western Indologists, treat it as

authoritative.

 

There

are five Vedas if you reckon the Yajur Veda to be two with its

Sukla and Krsna divisions. Sayana has written commentaries on all

the five. Expository treatises on the Vedas had been written

before him but he was the first to write a bhasya for all the

Vedas.

 

Though

Sayanacarya's commentary had been studied for centuries, a stage

came recently when we feared that it would cease to hold any

interest for students. Those who learned to chant the Vedas,

without knowing their meaning, became priests while those who

studied poetry and other subjects did not learn even to chant the

mantras. So much so interest in the study of the Veda-bhasya

declined. It was at this time that the Sastyabdapurti

Trust was formed with a view to

maintain the study of the Veda-bhasya.

 

When

the Trust started to conduct examinations, the Veda-bhasya meant

no more than the printed text of the Vedic commentary kept in

bookshops. The publishers were then worried that not many copies

would be sold. After the creation of the Trust we gave students

not only scholarships but also copies of the Veda-bhasya. Our

worry now was whether there would be enough copies in stock for

fresh students. It is with the grace of Parasakti, the Supreme

Goddess that we have succeeded in reviving the study of the

Veda-bhasya. And so long as we have her grace there will be

students ready to learn the subject and there will also be enough

copies of the text.

 

On

the eve of a wedding, upanayana or simanta ceremony, we

must consult a Vedic scholar who knows the Veda-bhasya to explain

the meaning of the mantras employed in these rituals. On the day

of the function itself the time at our disposal would be short.

If we grasp the meaning and significance of the mantras

beforehand we will have a more rewarding involvement in the

function.

 

Nowadays,

we do not have a month's time in which to prepare for a wedding.

The problem facing the bride's people is which group is to play

the band, who is to give the dance recital, how the marriage

procession is to be conducted. . . We attach the least importance

to that which is the very soul of the marriage sacrament, I mean

the Vedic mantras chanted at that time. Those who recite these

mantras, the Vedic panditas, are also treated as the least

important to a marriage celebration. There are perhaps a few who

have faith in the mantras and for their benefit and enlightenment

at least some Brahmins must be instructed in the Veda-bhasya.

 

We

print invitation cards for wedding and upanayana ceremonies and

distribute them among a large number of friends and relatives -

in fact we invite an entire town or village to the function. And

we spend thousands. But we do not pay any attention to the ritual

itself, to its significance. This is not right.

 

If

we know the meaning of the mantras chanted at a function, we

stand to gain more benefits from it. We go through rites because

we do not have the courage to give them up. Similarly, we must

come to realise that it is wrong to perform a rite without

knowing the meaning of the mantras chanted; we must therefore

take the help of a pandita in this matter. As mentioned before,

going through works with a knowledge of the significance and

meaning of the mantras is more beneficial. We

must have faith in the Upanishadic saying " Yadeva vidyaya

karoti tadeva viryavattaram bhavati " .

 

At

an upanayana, it is the brahmacarin (as the karta) who chants the

mantras; similarly it is the groom alone who intones them at a

marriage. What do you expect of all invitees to do at such

functions? Do they come only for the luncheon or dinner, or to

keep chatting, to see the dance recital or to listens to the

nagasvaram music? Is their part only to make themselves happy in

this manner? No. The Vedic mantras deserve our highest respect.

When they are being intoned we must honour them by listening to

them intently. The mantras create well- being for all. If the

invitees and others at a function listen to them and are able to

follow their meaning they will earn merit even though they do not

have the role of the karta in it.

 

Take

the case of the asvamedha (horse sacrifice). Only a king who has

subdued all other rulers, that is a maharaja or a sarvabhauma, is

qualified to perform it. So only a monarch during a particular

period in history, a monarch whose sway extends all over the world, is entitled

to conduct this sacrifice. The

asvamedha brings more benefits than any other rite. Now the

question arises: In any generation only one individual is perhaps

capable of earning so much merit( by performing the horse

sacrifice). Why are the Vedas so partial that they have made it

impossible for the vast majority of people (who cannot perform

the sacrifice themselves) to earn such merit? Is it true that

only a ruler, who has immense strength and enormous resources at

his command, is capable of benefiting from such a sacrifice? If

people of good conduct and character are denied the same merit as

a powerful emperor can earn, does it not amount to deceiving

them? How can the Vedas be so partial to one man?

 

In

truth no partiality can be ascribed to the Vedas. A Vedic rite is

admittedly beneficial to the man who performs it. But, at the

same time, it does good to all the world. If I light a lamp in

the darkness here does it not bring light to all the people

present and not to me alone?

 

It

may be that the performer of a Vedic work receives more special

benefits than others. But the sastras shows the way by which

these others may also reap the same fruits as the karta- in fact

the Vedas themselves mention it. If ordinary people cannot

conduct a horse sacrifice they may get to know how it is

performed. They may pay attention to the hymns chanted during the

sacrifice and also try to follow their meaning. In this way they

derive the full benefits of the sacrifice performed by an

imperial ruler. This fact is referred to in the section dealing

with horse sacrifices in the Vedas.

 

In

the same way, whether it is a marriage or a funeral, the merit

will be earned in full if we closely follow the rite and listen

to the mantras with due knowledge of their meaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JAYA JAYA SANKARA HARA HARA SANKARA

 

Thwameva Maathaa Cha Pithaa Thwameva Thwameva Bhandhuscha Sakhaa Thwameva

Thwameva Vidhyaa Dhravinam Thwameva Thwameva Sarvam Mama Dheva Dheva.