There is another logic for the non-applicability of the Vedas in the state of liberation.

[V Subrahmanian]

There is another logic for the non-applicability of the Vedas in the state of liberation.

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.3.22), it is stated:

"Here, a father becomes not a father; a mother, not a mother; worlds, not worlds; gods, not gods; Vedas, not Vedas. Here, a thief becomes not a thief; a murderer of an embryo, not a murderer; a Chandala, not a Chandala; a Paulkasa, not a Paulkasa; a monk, not a monk; an ascetic, not an ascetic. He is not followed by good, not followed by evil, for he has then crossed beyond all sorrows of the heart."

Here, it is explained by the Veda itself that in sleep, as in liberation, the Vedas do not apply due to the absence of an eligible person. In the commentary on this, it is said:

"Similarly, the Vedas - which describe the relationship between means and ends, and which are in the form of mantras that serve as parts of rituals when recited, whether studied or to be studied - are connected to a person only for the sake of rituals. At this time, when one transcends those rituals, even the Vedas become non-Vedas."

This same idea is conveyed in the Bhagavad Gita, based on the words of the Lord. For instance:

"The Vedas deal with the three gunas. Become free from the three gunas, O Arjuna. Free yourself from the pairs of opposites, be ever balanced and unconcerned about acquisitions and preservations. Be established in the Sattva." (2.45)

In the commentary of Shankaracharya: "The Vedas have the three gunas as their subject - they are meant to reveal the three gunas, which constitute the world... Be ever established in sattva, always resorting to the quality of sattva."

By this, while instructing that the karma section of the Vedas is to be transcended by one desiring liberation, it is said that being established in pure sattva is for the purpose of engaging in hearing (the scriptures) etc., which are means to liberation. From sattva arises knowledge.

The Vedas' role in achieving the four goals of human life is also mentioned there:

"In the beginning, having created beings along with sacrifice, the Creator said: 'By this shall you achieve your ends; let this be your wish-fulfilling cow.'" (3.10)
"With this, you nourish the gods, and may those gods nourish you. Thus nourishing one another, you shall attain the highest good." (3.11)

In the commentary: "Let this sacrifice be for you the wish-fulfilling cow, yielding desired results, specific fruits... You shall attain the highest good, characterized by liberation, through the gradual attainment of knowledge."

This shows that the Veda is a means for attaining all desires, including liberation.

In the Adhyasa Bhashya: "Presupposing this mutual superimposition of the Self and the non-Self, which is called ignorance, all worldly and Vedic transactions involving means of knowledge and objects of knowledge proceed, as do all scriptures dealing with injunctions, prohibitions, and liberation."

This indicates that even the desire for liberation falls within the state of ignorance.

The Lord has said:

"There is no being on earth or in heaven among the gods that can be free from these three gunas born of nature." (18.40)

All entities, including the Vedas, are within creation. The Veda itself becomes manifest in each creation cycle as "that from whose breath the Vedas came," and becomes unmanifest in dissolution. But Brahman exists even beyond the universe, so it is understood that the Veda, which deals with the three gunas, does not exist there. By the Vedic pramana "All beings are His one quarter, three quarters are immortal in transcendence (Purusha sukta)," it is known that liberation is the nature of Brahman untouched by the manifest world, and there, no desire for human goals, or the Veda as a means for them, is applicable.

"But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a quarter aspect of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe." (10.42)

The Sutrakara also says, "And thus it declares that Brahman does not obtain in the condition of  the transformed world." ( Brahma sutra 4.4.19). In the commentary, for the next Sutra,  it is concluded: "Thus, the intention is that the non-contact of the Supreme Brahman (with the created world) is well-established."

Shankaracharya has said elsewhere (in the Gita Bhashya 13.2): "Let the scriptures be purposeless in the case of the oneness of the jiva and Brahman; but they have purpose in the realm of ignorance - just as for all dualists, the scriptures etc. have purpose only in the state of bondage, not in the state of liberation."

Thus, the Vedic statement "where the Vedas are non-Vedas" is consistent with the aforementioned statements from the Smritis. In the state of liberation, due to the absence of an eligible person for liberation, the absence of the Veda, which is required for that, is accepted by the Veda itself. Since liberation is in the form of attributeless Brahman, denoted by the word 'nirguna' (without qualities) and devoid of the three gunas, the non-applicability of the Veda there is established by the statements of the Gita.

Om Tat Sat