Lesson 1 (Vedas)
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What are the Vedas?
Veda means knowledge.
The original knowledge in this creation is the teachings of the Vedas.
These teachings were revealed by Lord Vishnu to Lord Brahma in his
heart.
When we are in a conditioned state (that is what we are) our knowledge
is subjected to many deficiencies. These deficiencies are there because
the conditioned soul has four defects:
a. Committing mistakes: Human being is prone to making mistakes. You
must have read the famous saying, "To err is human".
b. Subject to illusion: We are all subject to illusion (maya). It means
that we perceive or see things which they are not. The meaning of maya
is "that which is not".
c. Imperfect senses: Our senses are imperfect. We cannot see beyond
some distance, we cannot hear everything and so on.
d. Cheating propensity: We have a tendency to cheat. It is difficult
to accept this for us but if you sincerely think about it you will
agree that we tend to cheat at least in minor ways - don't we?
These deficiencies make us unfit for having perfect knowledge. An
imperfect being cannot create a perfect knowledge. Look at American or
Indian constitutions - how many amendments have taken place since they
were written?
In contrast Vedas are apaurusheya, which means they are not
compilations of human knowledge. Vedic knowledge comes from the
spiritual world, from Lord Krishna (Vishnu), the Supreme God. It has
remained unchanged since time immemorial. No person has ever been able
to find a single mistake in the script of Vedas. And that is why we
accept them as authorities. It is better to follow something which is
perfect rather than something which is prone to mistakes or
imperfection.
In the beginning the first living creature was Brahma. He received the
Vedic knowledge from Lord Vishnu. The existence of Vedas is Sanatana -
eternal - no beginning or end.
Vedas are compared to desire tree (kalpa vriksha) because they contain
all things knowable by man. They deal with day-to-day material
necessities as well as spiritual realization.
The main purpose of Vedas is to gradually elevate human beings to a
spiritual platform. This is recommended through the system of Varna &
Ashrama. Vedas talk of 4 varnas and 4 ashramas.
The varnas are Brahmana - the intellectual, Kshtriya - the ruler and
administrators, Vaishya - the farmer and merchants and Shudra - the
worker. The ashramas are Brahmacharya - students, Grihastha - family
men, Vanaprashtha - retired people and Sannyasa - mendicants). These
are based on one's quality and work and not a caste system as it
prevails in our society. The caste system is perversion of the
Varnashrama system as propogated in Vedas. Lord Krishna confirms this
in Bhagavad Gita.
The Vedas say that the highest spiritual realization is knowledge that
the Personality of Godhead is the reservoir of all pleasures, spiritual
tastes.
The Vedas were compiled in Sanskrit which is the most advanced and
perfect language and source of all languages.
The Vedas are source of all knowledge. There is no independent
knowledge beyond Vedas.
The Origin of the Vedas
When discussing the origin of the Vedas, we must keep in mind the fact
that the Vedas are eternal transcendental sound vibrations. Therefore
we cannot use the word create in its general usage to describe the
source of the Vedas. At the same time everything has a cause except for
the Lord. That is the meaning of the verse anadir adir govindah, sarva
kaarana kaaranam, "Govinda has no beginning, yet He is the beginning of
all. He is the cause of all causes."
When speaking of the spiritual realm, we must always remember that
there is no limitation of time. Time practically does not exist in that
realm. Only when you come down to the level of creation of the material
world can we actually say that time is acting on anything. So any
discussion of something constitutionally beyond the realm of material
world is by nature free from the influence of time. Therefore there is
no room to bring in the idea of a point of creation. With that in mind,
when we speak of something spiritual such as the Vedas, we can never
bring in the concept of a point of creation. I.e. "it was created at
this point in time".
Therefore nothing spiritual was ever created in the general sense of
the word. But still everything has a source, something on which it is
dependent. Vishnu is the only sva-tantra (self- dependent principal)
and all others are para-tantra (dependent on another).
Everything has a cause, and that cause is directly the category of the
Supreme God. But this dependence is eternal dependence. Never was there
a time when it did not exist. So, though Vishnu is the cause of
everything, everything eternally existed beyond time.
One may ask, "How to understand this?" If you don't already understand
it there is no mental gymnastics that will make you understand it.
The Srimad Bhagavatam clearly states right in the first shloka: om namo
bhagavate vasudevaaya janmaadyasya yato 'nvayad itartash charthesv
abhijnah svarat tene brahma hrda ya aadi kavaye. (Translation : O my
Lord, Sri Krishna, son of Vasudeva, O all pervading Supreme Person, I
offer my respects to you. I meditate upon you because you are the
absolute truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation.)
Why the statement "tene brahma hrda ya aadi kavaye" is linked directly
to the statement of janmadyasya yatah? Because everything is an
emanation of Krishna, including the eternal spiritual sound vibrations
(brahma) of the Vedas. Furthermore, we should remember that the Vedas
are describing Him, the Supreme God.
The Vedas are also called Shruti - learning by only hearing. In the
earlier yugas the vedic knowledge was passed on from gurur to disciple
by just recitation and hearing. In this age of Kali (kali-yuga) our
memories are comapratively duller and hence for our benefit the Vedas
were compiled in written form. There are many suggestions about the
exact time they were compiled but they still remain the oldest
scriptures in this world.
(The details will be discussed in the next lesson.)
(Next lesson : The 4 Vedas - Vedic Sciences)