Concepts & Words of the Ved - some baseline thought
Hari Om
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Namaste,
This post comes from conversations started on Puranas and Nilakantha, and a desire to better understand the words/phrases found in the Ved.
This may be one of the monthly subjects proposed by satya, so I will just do an entry writing for now and pursue this in-depth when this comes part of the monthy subject matter.
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First it must be agreed upon that the valli's, sutras and mantra's of the Rk Ved has more then just face value to them.
Insight, interpretation and understanding of the meaning behind the words are key. The risi's continually used words and concepts that have multiple meanings (slesa). Fundamentally, the rishi's intent is to lead every human ( that desires this) to higher levels of consciousness. Its though the collaboration of the devata and humans via the yajya to raise one's consciousness beyond its present limits.
Many looked to the Ved as ritual only, ( modern scholars, and some Mimamsaka or the school of Jaimini) that is, the yajya and agnihomam. This is a very good thing, but is only half of the total yajya. That is , the outward expression of the homam is the inward-conscious experience to create kavikratuh or truth consciousness for the sadhu. Many scholars have interpreted the Ved ( and Upanishads) and the interpretations have fall short of the fullness the rishi's wished to express. This is the due to the level of consciousness that the scholar's possess viewing the Ved and the Upanishads for its word-value and perhaps symbolism, yet not functioning from that level of consciousness that knows only the truth ( ritambhara prajna). This is why it is desirable to have srotriya brahmanishtha guru's and swami's in our society. They 'see' the yatha-rthanu-bhava [ true presentational knowledge] some call prama or true knowledge. Where is this idea supported in any of the shastra's?
Richo akshare parame vyoman yasmin deva adhi vishve nisheduh,
Yastanna veda kim richa karishyatiya it tad vidus ta ime samasate.
(Rk Veda, 1.164.39)
The Veda or rks, reside in the transcendental field or akshara, of the highest (parame) etheral Being (vyoman) in which reside all the adhi vishve deva's (or impulses of creative intelligence, the laws of Nature), responsible for the whole manifest universe. He whose awareness is not open (na veda) to this field, what can the verses accomplish for him? Those who know this level of reality are established in evenness (samasate or rest contented) , in That ( Tat or Bhuma, fullness-wholeness of life)."
What does this say in short? Of what use is the ved, for he whom is not becoming established in the Absolute? Where will be the value of this great knowledge other then words... it says, become established in atman, the avyayam (undecaying), the even-ness to reap the full value of the knowledge.
Let me stop here, and list out the various resources I have had the opportunity to access, and may be used in further conversations: points:
- Secrets of the Rig Veda - R.L. Kashypa
- Krishna Yajur Veda Taittitiya Samhita - R.L. Kashyap
- The Secret of the Veda - Sri Aruobindo
- The Essence of the Veda - Swami Sivananda
- Rk Ved 9th and 10th Mandala's - the translations are Sayanachara's ( dating from ~ 1500's) and interprets the Rk Ved from the ritualistic ( outword yajya) point of view; Most start with Sayanachara's work for interpretation. He is a noted Mimamsaka
- Brihadaranyaka - Swami Sivananda
- The Principle Upanishads - Swami Sivananda
- Chhandogya Upanishads and commentaries - Swami Krishnananda
- Lights on the Upanishads - T.V. Kapali Sastry
- Upanishads - Alistair Shearer , Peter Russel
- The Works of T.V. Kapali Sastry
- 112 Upanishads ( more achidemic) K.L. Joshi, O.N. Bimali, Bindia Trivedi
- Bhagavad Gita from multiple authors - Srila Prabhapada, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, S.Radhakrishnan, Sri Janandeva
Ekam sad; vipra bahudha vadanti Rig Veda I.164.46 rsi dirghatamas
pranams,
Last edited by yajvan; 19 August 2008 at 05:41 PM.
यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
_
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