VEDANTA DARSANA : FUNDAMENTAL TO ALL FAITHS

VEDANTA DARSANA : FUNDAMENTAL TO ALL FAITHS

By Ramakant Tiwari

Vedanta  is a synthesis of Veda  i.e. to know / cognise and Anta  i.e. end of it. Vedanta Darsana  is the Ultimate Wisdom beyond which there is nothing left in the entire cosmos to cognise.  Vedanta  has always been the most ancient faith in the world yet not so popular or understood properly. Then the question arises, “What makes a faith / religion popular ?”. We shall analyse a few reasons in that regard, also affirmed by Swami Vivekananda  in one of his expositions –

 

It does not have a ‘Holy Book’ !! Such a book is an instant hit with followers like Koran with Islamists, Bible with Christians etc. It is much easier to collect human allegiance around a ‘Holy Book’. Americans tried several times to raise a religion afresh without a ‘Holy Book’ but came a cropper. And it is true with other countries too. Even the Unitarian movement with best of thoughts sprang and fell because it did not have a ‘Holy Book’ !!

 

Absence of some venerable persona. When men are offered an embodied prophet to adore, they flock like birds towards him. Hindu-s / Christians have incarnations while Buddhists / Muslims / Jews have prophets. However, it does not matter so long as there is a physical personality to cling to.

 

Copyright over The Truth. For a religion to become popular, it must nurture the absurdity that it alone can peddle the Truth while all others are flukes. So all existing religions that are expanding all over, are fanatical in disposition. More a sect hates other sects, greater is it’s popularity in drawing more followers to it.

 

Vedanta  does not believe in any of these. Vedanta  does not believe that the Truth in it’s entirety, can ever be captured within the confines of a ‘Holy Book’. Upanisad-s do propound that not by reading ‘Holy Books’ can one know the Real or the Self. Secondly, Vedanta  does not cling to one person / prophet / incarnation / Avatara  etc. No person in gross form can ever be a perfect Vedantista. In Vedanta, a worm is as much venerable as Adi Samkaracarya. ‘Aham Brahmasmi‘ is the real Vedanta-Mantra. Difference lies only in varying degrees of attainments otherwise all are one.

 

Vedanta  believes in a democratic Isvara. In the spiritual regime of Vedanta, everyone is Isvara, the perfect one the moment he / she is attained to himself / herself. Anyone isolated from others is nothing. When in conjunction with all others, we are a terrific force to reckon with. Everybody has equal power and nobody is monarch in the regime of Vedanta. Innumerable deities worshipped by Hindu-s are various aspects of one Supreme Entity i.e. Param Brahmatma. They are vassals empowered to serve a specified spectrum of functions exclusive to the status in the cosmic order that they hold respectively. They are empowered to grant material boons and to a deserving few, inculcate spiritual awakening. However, they are not empowered to grant Moksa.

 

Fundamental perception is that underneath entire gross, physical reality, there is ONLY ONE abstract entity i.e. Param Brahmatma, Absolute Consciousness Incarnate albeit dis-embodied. Having created the entire universe, Param Brahmatma  exists everywhere, governing every aspect of everything in the entire cosmos. Physicists call it Unified Field which in reality, is Param Brahmatma  alone. Creation is real albeit impermanent. The underlying source from which these arise, is permanent, eternal and immortal. Hence, Maya  and Param Brahmatma, both are Real albeit former is mortal while the latter, immortal. Time, Space etc. of Physics are the Kala, Akasa …all emanating from the Unified Field i.e. Param Brahmatma  alone. Whether scientific means are competent to explore innards of Param Brahmatma  is a challenging question today before physicists. Siddha Rsi-s hold that Param Cetana  of Param Brahmatma  can be cognised / perceived only with the means of Cetana  alone. Maharsi Vyasa  too, has stated the same observations in his work BRAHMA-SUTRA DARSANA. Param Brahmatma  is Self-Caused and the Ultimate-Cause of all. He is Saccidananda, an integrate of Sat  i.e. Truth, Cit  i.e. Param Cetana  and Ananda  i.e. Absolute Bliss. As a homogeneous Spirit, He is Suddha-Caitanya. He is imperceptible to gross senses hence, Atindriya. He may be perceived ONLY through ‘divine eyes’ when blessed by a Siddha Guru. He is unique, unrivalled hence devoid of Sajatiya-Bheda  and there is nothing else within or without Param Brahmatma  so as to create Vijatiya-Bheda. Since He has no parts / components, He is devoid of Svagata Bheda  too. He is Nirakara  i.e. being formless, He is omnipresent and ubiquitous. Being devoid of Guna-s, He is Nirguna  and Trigunatita. Since He is absolutely actionless and desireless, He is Niskriyama. He may be at times infinitesimally subtle or infinitesimally gigantic too. Param Brahmatma  possesses entire strength and power that may or does exist being immortal substratum of entire existence, animate as well as inanimate. Yet He is NOT Sunyata  i.e.void. He is Antaryami  i.e. inner Ruler of all beings, pure, non-material Cetana  of the absolute order. 

 

Pace with which the universe is expanding, may be reversed to estimate the time to reach it’s starting point i.e. when the big bang occurred. It turns out to be some 14 billion years away in an extremely dense and absolutely inconceivable concentrate of time-space-mind-matter-energy. In Vedanta, big bang is in reality Vaksphota  i.e. explosion of Dhwani  i.e. sound and the Dhwani  happened to be AUM  i.e. Pranava. From Pranava, originated entire universe. Three constituents of Dhwani  i.e. A, U and M  constitute three dimensions of Akasa. Thus, what we call matter, is indeed energy of Dhwani  !! When energy is congealed, so-called matter is created. As a matter of fact, matter does not exist. Entire universe, entire existence is in the manifest of energy of Dhwani  i.e. Spandana (modulations) alone in various forms. Evolution of creation is known as Vivarta  during the phase of Prabhava  and it’s opposite, Avarta  in the phase of Pralaya. Currently, entire world is in the phase of Vivarta. Entire multitudinous, pluralistic creation manifests from that homogeneous Param Brahmatma  alone and merges into it upon our waking up to the Truth of His Reality.

 

With such an intense reality of Vedanta, being most ancient existence and religion, how can it afford to have a ‘Holy Book’, prophet or the doctrinaire belief bordering fanaticism ? Vedanta  is as fundamental to all faiths in the world, prospectively as well as retrospectively, as water is to all drinks. Without this basic substance of Vedanta Darsana, no faith / religion can exist or be raised. Everything else is a man-made worthless additive / contaminant. Four Mahavakya-s i.e. most important injunction of Veda-s declare –

 

Prajnanama Brahma  i.e. Supreme Consciousness alone is Brahma,

 

Tat Tvam Asi  i.e. Thou art That,

 

Ayamatma Brahma  i.e. The Self within me is Brahma  and

 

Ahama Brahmasmi  i.e. I am Brahma. First two are Adesa, third one is Abhyasa  while the fourth one, Anubhava. 

 

Thus, Vedanta  enunciates and propagates Universal Oneness and not Universal Brotherhood. 

 

How to pursue Vedanta Darsana  so as to be truly spiritualised without touching any of the man-made worthless religious additives or contaminants –

 

Read Veda-s formally with their auxiliaries, inculcate intellectual conviction,

 

Shun actions motivated by desires and prohibited actions,

 

Perform elements of Svadharma  and observe penance for unintentional prohibited actions,

 

Meditate on deities,

 

Discriminate between Real and unreal,

 

Inculcate dispassion for unreal goals, both here and hereafter,

 

Inculcate self-restraint, withdrawal of mind from objects of senses, Sraddha  in scriptures and Guru,

 

Engage intellect in pursuit of Jnana,

 

Inculcate desires for emancipation from deaths and births,

 

Seek a Guru  to be mentored on the path of Advaita,

 

Listen to expositions and sermons of Guru  on Atma, Jivatma  and Param Brahmatma, remove obstacles on the path of Advaita.

 

In this action-plan, all aspects of mundane life have been taken care of viz.

 

Active i.e. Karmayoga  with use of hands,

 

Emotional i.e. Bhaktiyoga  with use of heart,

 

Meditative i.e. Dhyanayoga  with use of mind,

 

Intellectual i.e. Jnanayoga  with use of head.

 

Thus, Vedanta Darsana  is complete and perfect in all respects. This is one wisdom which can be ascribed to Param Brahmatma  directly. Vedanta  holds the key to future, universal religion without boundaries and divisions and an answer to strife of all varieties.