WHAT DO VEDAS ENUNCIATE ABOUT VALUES AND WAYS OF LIFE ?
The ancient Indian wisdom, known
under the generic name of the Vedas, has withstood all these centuries acid
test of time so well that now their immunity from corrosion of any kind, is
beyond any shadow of doubt. They form a great human heritage and universalize
the universal. They are the oldest human monuments of religion, philosophy,
ethics, science and literature, all rolled into one. As the most ancient
documents of wisdom, they are universal in their appeal and significance, and
belong to the entire humanity for all times. Vedic lore, stands alone and apart
in its splendour like the pole star, shedding the divine light for the onward
progress of entire humanity. Man is not destined to die as a man. He has to
evolve further and further spiritually, morally and materially.
The Vedas are the oldest known
human documents in terms of religion, philosophy and literature. The term Veda signifies the sacred knowledge and
wisdom. These valuable monuments of Indian sacred lore and learning were
composed in the dim hoary past to show the path of ultimate release from human
bondage. The moksha comes in
ultimately through righteousness, self-knowledge and surrender to the universal
soul. As such the teachings of Vedas cut across all the imaginable boundaries
of caste, creed, country, climate and age. In their appeal and application,
they are universal and hence belong to all the ages and to the entire humanity.
The great German thinker Max
Mueller emphatically says, “I maintain that for study of man, there is nothing
in the world, which is equal in importance with the ‘Veda’. I maintain that to
everybody who cares for himself, for his ancestors, for his history or for his
intellectual development, a study of Vedic literature is indispensable. To the
present day, India
acknowledges no higher authority in the matters of religion, ceremonials,
customs and law than the Vedas”.
The Vedas are generally referred
to as Trayi-Vidya or the three-fold
knowledge, signifying Rigveda, Yajurveda and Samveda. They deal with Jnan,
bhakthi, and Karma. These are in verse, songs and prose. The Rigveda underlines
the path of Jnan or knowledge, the Yajurveda that of karma or action and
Samveda, the path of Bhakthi or devotion and total surrender. Atharvaveda
represents a synthesis of these three. They are invariably referred to as the
‘triple eternal Vedas’ (trayam brahma
sanatanam), probably because the Atharvaveda, the last one, is relatively
of quite a late origin. These four together form the foundation of Indian
civilization and culture, which has survived the ravages of time and successive
alien invasions all these centuries only because it is based on the firm rock
foundation of the wisdom of the Vedas. In order to possess a proper
understanding and an insight into Indian culture, thought and wisdom. It is
essential that one has a good training in the Vedas, the supreme authority and
knowledge of the people.
Each of the four Vedas consists
of the Samhita and the Brahmana. The Brahmanas form the
commentary interpretations of the Samhitas or the original texts, which are
comprised of suktas, hymns and litaries. The brahmanas are again divided into Aranyakas and the Upanishads.
The Aranyakas contain the contemplation and meditation of the forest Hermits
and ascetics on GOD and soul. The Upanishads or the Vedanta, attached to the Aranyakas, contain the secret doctrines
and much of the ancient Indian thought and wisdom. The term ‘Upanishad’
literally means, “Setting at rest ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the
Supreme Spirit”. They form the sacred doctrine whose sole aim is the exposition
of the secret meanings of Vedas. They are the fountain head of the Vedanta and Samkhya philosophies. Then there are the Vedangas the auxiliary sciences known as Kalpa-sutras (or popularly known as sutras). They are aphoristic
manuals on rituals, phonetics, grammar, etymology, astrology, etc.
The Vedas are called Sruthis, revelations communicated by
GOD and heard but not composed or written down by the Rishis. It means to say
that the knowledge of Vedas was received by the Rishis in a state of Supra-normal consciousness. It is just
the same, what is proposed and upheld by the Bible. Moses was chosen by GOD Himself and on Mount Sinai He gave
him the ‘law’ or what is in itself the comprehensive summary of Old and New Testaments, i.e., Ten Commandments. The same is the truth
with the story of Mohammad and Islam.
When the question of authorship arrives, at any point it tends to become
subjective. In the same way non- authorship proclaims the universality of
thoughts. Vedas too possess this peculiar universality, owing to their
non-authorship. Vedic texts reflect the principle
of multiplicity of Gods which is essentially a Vedic doctrine, which proclaims
that all oaths lead to the same goal. The truth is one, and everyone is seeking
it. The individual temperament, time, place, name, etc, create the so called
differences. Indian wisdom did not believe either in regimentation of the
approach to the reality or in limiting the truth. That would have meant
negating the reality. That is why there is so much variety and diversity and
each one is allowed to follow his own path to reality. There are many a flight
of stairs leading to the same unified vision of non-duality.
Coming to the word ‘value’,
unquestionably it is the desirability of a thing, often in respect of some
property which has worth, merit and importance. It should ultimately be useful
and exchangeable in any field because value has a relationship with the moral
principles and beliefs or accepted standards of a person or social group. These
values do not change with generation, but surely their magnitude and variables
go through gradation. It does not necessarily mean that they have changed
altogether.
Vedas are irrevocably referred to
the religion – Hinduism. But what they deal is not the ‘Roll-call’ of Gods and
their greatness, but the ‘reality’ which is to be realized through religion –
the soul of truth, the delight of life and the bliss of mind, the fullness of
peace and eternity. It is in fact the unrealized, unnoticed innermost core of
man and the essence of all existence. When the prehistoric man defied natural
phenomenon and offered worship to the unseen powers, he expressed his
dissatisfaction with the first view of things and was conscious of a ‘beyond’.
At a very early stage of his existence, man discovered that the sphere of his
senses was not at all that which previously existed. The physical world was not
the only reality. He was able to get closer to the infinite. The Vedas are the
foundational scriptures. These ‘srutis’ are what were ‘heard’ and are to be
remembered – ‘smrithi’. Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi
encountered a tryst with God, and through a series of successful experiments
realized that the core Vedantic philosophy aims at universality and any
religion or doctrine should serve the whole humanity.
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan says, “Those
who are anchored in spirit suffer for mankind as a whole, regardless of distinction
of caste, class, creed or community. The truth of religion is eternal, the
social forms and institutions are temporary. They have to be judged by each
generation according to their capacity to implement the permanent values”. We live in an age when creeds are shaken,
dogmas are questioned and traditions are dissolving. In this world light, joy
and peace can be found only through religion and that’s what these scriptures
have emphasized.
Vedas comprehensively deal with
the Dos and Don’ts of a human life. They make an individual truly realize and
become confident about his potential and the role he has to play in balancing
the entire life system in this world. In the present circumstances where even
ecology is disturbed by the ignorance of a man, a primary knowledge of a secret
formula called industry, perseverance and then power can be a right answer to
the wide spread violence around the world. Values are not inborn qualities but
passed on from generation to generation mainly with the help of education.
Siksha or education must be formative more than informative and cannot have for
its end mere acquisition of knowledge. Its legitimate sphere is not only to
develop natural talents but also to shape them as to enable them to absorb and
express the permanent values of Indian Education. These values take into
account the full growth of a student’s personality, the totality of his
relations and lead him to the highest self-fulfillment of which he is capable.
The ultimate aim of Indian
education is to teach the younger generation to appreciate and live up to the
permanent values which are flowing from the supreme art of creative life-energy
as focused and represented by Sri Ramachandra, Sri Krishna, Buddha and
Mahaveera. These have been expressed in modern times in their life styles and
teachings by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Dayananda Sarawathi, Swami
Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi. Education while equipping the
student with every kind of scientific and technical training must teach the
student, not to sacrifice an ancient form or attitude to an unreasoning passion
for change. If an attitude can be replaced to capture the fresh spirit of the
new generation, it will never be a set back to the values and standards.
Vedas, Bible and Quran proclaim
support to only one attitude i.e.., “let noble thoughts come to us from every
side”. All of us in this world practice values in different forms and rituals.
Religion will give this a new dimension because, correct knowledge of Hinduism
will make Hindus better Hindus, Christianity, Christians better Christians, and
Islam, Muslims better Muslims and all of us better citizens in a consolidated
nation as C.Raja Gopalachari Says in his work “Hinduism - Doctrine and Way of
Life”. India has her importance
in the world and knowledge of the basic elements of India’s culture would enable people
to understand her better. The Government of India is secular in the sense that
the state does not support one religion or the other, but is firmly pledged to
impartiality towards people of all faiths. This does not mean that the people
of India
have given up the spiritual and moral doctrines and values in which they have
been brought up, which form the basis of all their cultural and social set up.
These values qualify and shape all future additions to that culture.
It is very true that agnosticism
or skepticism may do no harm and on the contrary may do good to the minds of an
enlightened few that find satisfaction in it. In the mass, skepticism
inevitably and steadily leads to positive denial. A divorce between action and
moral responsibility follows. This is not good either for the present or for
the future generations. Customs gather fragrances and associations around them
that are not perceived by any but those who have for generations really
experienced rapturous presence of a divine supernatural HIM.
In conclusion, for all of us
either theists or atheists, the only value which is foundation for everything
else is the belief in the supernatural power which unquestionably guides us.
Trust and faith in this value gives us confidence to practice all other values.
Though there is no hand of man in the creation, the chief purpose of everyone
is the preservation of values. This gives meaning to our civilization and the
participation in this is what gives significance ultimately to the individual
human life. But until man concentrates on the price of everything, values are
sure to take a back seat in this materialistic world.
Dr. D. Ashalatha
