This is an article series. Please read all previous articles before reading this article. The URLs for all previous articles are located at the bottom of this page.
I am very happy to inform all readers that at least 2 scholars, who’ve completed the study of “nyaaya sudha” (explanation in future) under His Holiness Late Shree Vishvesha Teertha, have read these articles. One of them advised that the sentence below be elaborated on:
“A person who can reach this state remembers what he/she sees/hears… like how it is in the awake state; did not compose what he/she saw/heard… like how it is the dream state; and was in a state of 100% bliss, disconnected from the external world… like how it is in the sleep state.”
Here is some elaboration on the above statement:
Jeevaatma is tiny, nanoscopic. It is wrapped by 3 bodies (shareeras) each inside the previous. The outermost is the external “Gross Body” (sthoola shareera). Inside this is the “Subtle Body” (sookshma shareera). And the innermost is the “Linga Body” (linga shareera). All three bodies are external attachments to the Jeevaatma. All the internal faculties (antah-karaNas), sensory organs (jnaanEndriyas), and motor organs (karmEndriyas) are components of the external attachment, i.e., the linga body, which further manifests out in the “Subtle Body” and the “Gross Body”.
Also read Article 1: https://orangenews9.com/question-to-hindus-how-much-do-you-know-about-hinduism/
Left to itself, the Jeevaatma is in a state similar to COMA. The jeevaatma can hear, but does not realize what it is like to hear various sounds. Therefore, bound in the body that it lives in, Jeevaatma’s ability to hear has been connected with the external ears of the body. Similarly, jeevaatma can feel the touch, sense the temperature, feel the itch, etc., and that has been connected with the skin of the external body. Similarly, jeevaatma can see, taste, and smell… all of which have been connected with eyes, tongue, and nose, respectively. This explains all the sensory organs (jnaanEndriyas). Similarly, the jeevaatma can talk, do various skillful things, walk/run, etc., and these abilities have been connected with the external vocal organ, hands, and legs, respectively. This explains all the motor organs (karmEndriyas). Similarly, the “Internal Faculties” (antah-karaNas) are also external to the Jeevaatma. It can perform all those functions on its own, but does not realize this until it reaches the fourth state.
Thus, in the fourth state of consciousness (tureeya avastha), the Jeevaatma can perceive/experience on its own and then come back to the “Awake State” (jaagRuta avastha) and reveal it to the deserving people, so that they too can pursue the same. Thus, what the great Rishis personally perceived/experienced in the fourth state (Tureeya Avastha) is the Veda. In other words, Veda is a revelation to the Jeevaatma.
Ok… Fine!!! Let’s admit that the Rishis personally perceived the Vedas and that it is a revelation to the Jeevaatma. So what? Why do we have to follow the “Vedic way of life”? Let’s take an example:
Suppose a little 5-year-old child goes to its mother and asks, “Mom, how did I happen? How did I come into being?”. The mother can’t explain all the biological processes. So, she says, “Well, God created you”. The little child accepts her answer… and later goes to the father and says, “Dad… Mom said that God created me. Have you seen God?”. Dad says, “What? Your mom is stupid. There is no God”. Well, now the child is confused. So, it goes to the uncle and asks, “Mom says God created me, but Dad says that there is no God. Who is correct?”. Uncle says, “Well, both are correct”. Now the child is totally confused. It wants to know the truth. Does this sound familiar?
Well, isn’t this the state we all are in? We have questions, such as… Who am I? Where did I come from? Is there God? If yes, then what’s my relationship with God? And the most common question… “I have various difficulties and troubles. I showed my kunDali to jyOtishi. He/she told us to do so-and-so pooja, go to so-and-so temple, give so-and-so things to so-and-so, and so on. We did all that… but my problems have not been resolved. Why? What more should I do?”
Also read Article 2: https://orangenews9.com/starting-point-of-spiritual-pursuit/
We want to know the truth. Why? Because we know deep inside that only Truth can help us. But when we ask someone about it… each person gives a different answer/advice, and each one of them is based on their intrinsic nature, learning, personal experiences, family background, and so on. And therefore, each answer/advice is prejudiced in one way or the other. And therefore, a person in search of “The Truth” can’t go by anything that can be prejudiced. A Truth seeker must always go by something that’s unprejudiced. As a corollary, any opinion/answer/advice coming from a certain individual is potentially prejudiced. And therefore, for an answer/advice to be unprejudiced, it must be authorless… Is there such an authorless set of words? Yes. And that is “Veda”.
Veda is a revelation to the Rushis at the pinnacle of their dhyaana. Well, what if the Rushis heard the mantra, but did not understand what it meant? What if it is like us hearing a Chinese song when we don’t understand the Chinese language? Of what use is it to Rushi or anyone else?
Answer is… The Rushis did not simply hear the mantra… they understood everything about the mantra… such as what it means, the benefits of chanting it, the circumstances under which that particular mantra is to be used, and so on. They know about that mantra through their own personal experience.
Have you met any Rushi in your life? I’m not talking about sanyasis or Baba Jis. Have you met a Rushi? Ok… let alone meeting a Rushi… Have you ever met a CIA agent? Or a Mossad agent? Or a MI6 agent? Or a RAW agent?
I was asked the above question. I said “No”. Then I was told that the correct answer is “I don’t know”. Why? Because the CIA/Mossad/MI6/RAW agent never revealed to you his/her identity. Likewise, the only way you’ll know that you met a Rushi is when he/she reveals his/her identity to you. And they’ll reveal to you only if you earn it… through your humility. And only then you’ll know that Rushis are not individuals living in forests, having long matted locks, wearing orange robes… but instead, much to your surprise, they may look very sophisticated outside, wearing suits, a tie, shoes, nice haircut with a well-trimmed beard. Their looks can be deceiving. But internally, they are a treasure trove of knowledge. One such Rushi personally told me about personally experiencing a certain Veda Vidya.
Anything that is authored by some puruSha (person) is called pauruShEya. Since Veda is authorless, it is referred to as apauruShEya. Also, since these words are authorless and were only heard by everyone, Veda is referred to as Shruti (something that was heard and not composed).
Now… whatever we hear is in one of three forms, i.e., prose, poetry or musical. Likewise, Veda Mantras are also of 3 types, i.e., prose, poetic or musical. A compilation of mantras in prose form is referred to as the Yajur-Veda. A compilation of mantras set to specific meters (chandas) is called the Rig-Veda. Music best suits poetry and not prose. The musical set to the poetic mantras of the Rig-Veda is referred to as the Saama-Veda. So, there are only 3 types of Vedas, i.e., Rig, Yaju, and Saama.
In Bhagavad-Gita (Chapter 15, Verse 15) Shree Krishna says “vEdaishcha sarvairahamEva vEdya”, which means that he is the one experienceable through the entirety of the Vedas. God is Ananta, i.e., infinite. Therefore, whatever there is to be said about God is also infinite. A finite Jeevaatma cannot ever fathom the infinite God. Therefore, Veda, which talks about God, must also be infinite.
A finite set of metered verses has been offered to us by Maharshi Vedavyasa as the Rig-Veda Samhita. This is said to have some 24 volumes. But only 1 volume remains today. Similarly, a finite set of mantras in prose has been given to us, by Shree Vedavyasa as Yajur-Veda Samhita. This is said to have 101 volumes. But only 1 remains today. A 1000 different ways of singing the metered verses of the Rig-Veda Samhita have been given to us, again by Shree Vedavyasa, as the aama-Veda Samhita. These were studied rigorously in the past, but hardly anyone studies them today.
A collection of both metered verses and prose mantras was compiled by another Rushi by the name Atharva. This is referred to as the Atharva-Veda. This is said to have 12 volumes. But hardly any remains today.
All of the above is a topic of very elaborate study among Vedic scholars, which is way beyond the scope of this series of articles. The above is to be taken as a very flawed summarization of the Vedas, somewhat like a primary school teacher trying to summarize the topic of calculus for his/her students who don’t have enough background to understand calculus. It is being offered, with good intentions, only to help you get an idea. Please consult scholars to gain a better understanding.
Also read Article 3: https://orangenews9.com/the-three-avasthaas/
