With a few virtues only but with scholarship vast What good can one do? What honour can one gain? With ten acres of land on which no crop can grow What can one gain ?
'Tis enough, if one has a fertile patch. Embodiments of Love, The Rig Veda, the first among the four, has come down to us in exactly the same way that it was recited in the past. It is a far-spreading tree, with many branches. Of the 25 that once existed, only two are now available. But, these have been preserved intact by means of an elaborate system of memorisation, by which while one set of pupils recite seriatim, another does so back for forth; a third with alternate syllables omitted, etc. The techniques have distinct names like Jada, Mala, Shikha, Dhandha, Ratha, Dhwaja, Ghana, etc.. The reality in man is laid down as Prana (Vital Energy), in the Rig Veda. But, this is inconsistent with the view also found therein that the Atma which is embodied in man and all living beings is eternal Universal Conscious...
Understand this clearly. Butter is very soft, but it does not melt unless you heat it a little. Similarly, God is very soft and sweet, but in order to experience Him, you need the fire of spiritual wisdom (jnana).
This can be illustrated by the life of a couple living in a forest during the recluse (vanaprastha) stage. The wife arranges three bricks in the form of a hearth and places a vessel on it. She pours rice and water in the pot and lights fire under the vessel.
Her husband, always immersed in the contemplation of Brahman, sees this and gives a spiritual interpretation to it. He compares the three bricks to the three qualities (gunas) of serenity, passion, and sloth (sathwa, rajas, thamas), the vessel to human body, rice to desires, water to love, and fire to the fire of wisdom.
Then comes Vedanta (the doctrine of nonduality), which is the ultimate goal of spirituality. In fact, the beginning and end of spirituality is contained in Vedanta. Vedanta leads to three types of yoga, which has immense importance for everyone. Even students should listen to this with full attention.
The first type is tarakam, the second is sankhyam, and the third is amanaskam. These three are the essence and also the goal of Vedanta.
What is tarakam? Tarakam consists of understanding and experiencing the principles of subtle yogic postures (mudras) like khechari, then going beyond these postures and, concentrating on the centre of the eyebrows (nada bindu) and the I-am-God (soham) principle, and ultimately experiencing ExistenceKnowledge-Bliss (Sat-Chit-Ananda).
Tarakam essentially means the merging of one's mind in the supreme principle of SatChit-Ananda Absolute and attaining total wisdom.
Editor's note: This is the alternative translation of the discourse originally published in Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 29.
You may master the Vedas and Vedanta,You may be an expert composer of beautiful poems and prose,
But if you lack purity of heart, You will ruin yourself.Never forget these good words.(Telugu Poem)
Embodiments divine Atma!
Since ancient times, Indian culture has been propagating the principles of four objectives of life (purusharthas), namely righteousness, wealth, desire, and liberation (dharma, artha, kama, and moksha), and also the principles of the Vedas and their auxiliary sciences. The word Veda is derived from the root vid, which means knowledge. This knowledge teaches one how to lead a meaningful and noble life in this world by performing good deeds to attain the four main objectives of life.
The Vedas are infinite
Sages and seers, in their state of deep contemplation, received the knowledge of the Vedas directly from Brahman. Initially, the Veda...
The name Aranyaka signifies that one is supposed to study this part of the Vedas when living in the forest as a recluse (vanaprastha), along with one's wife, after completing the householder stage (grihastha ashram). The rules that govern this stage are very hard. Only when one adheres to these rules steadfastly as a recluse will one earn eligibility for the renunciant (sannyasa) stage.
