Veda & Integral Life
15th & 16th January, 2005

Inaugural Speech Delivered by
S. K. Ramachandra Rao

There is quaint text called NIRUKTA SAMIVCHCHAYA by VARARUCHI where certain hymns in the Rig Veda are explained in respect of Nirukta i.e. etymological exegesis.

And there in the introduction there is a mention of what the Veda is.

veda iti ekaª dwe thr¤ni chatv¢ri

Veda is One, it is Two, it is Three, it is Four !

VEDA AS ONE

Veda as One means : apaurusheyatv¢t an¢ditv¢t nityatv¢t purushahitav¢t ekaª

Veda is One in the sense that it is different from all human productions.

apaurusheyatv¢t : Veda has not come out of the intelligence of the human being. It is not a product of reasoning. It is a product of an intuitive understanding by a divine medium. apaurusheyatv¢t is not purusha krita,  or as Bhoja says, kritatetara .. what man does is artificial. But this is diffrerent from being artificial. kritatetaratv¢t apaurusheyatvam. So it is apaurusheya in the sense that a human mind has not created it. Human mind has not produced it.

an¢ditv¢t : It is an¢di ... it is without an known origin. Or, it has not come into being as a result of a response to a need.

nityatv¢t : It is nithy¢ in the sense that it does not alter, it does not change, it does not get corrupted in the three segments of time, the past, present and the future. It is nity¢ k¢latraya abh¢dhitam yat tat satyam nityam iti.

purushahitatv¢t : The main intent of the Veda is to be of help to the people, the human beings. This is termed purushahitatv¢t.

satya yatarthya paratv¢t : It deals with Truth or Reality in its own Nature.

satya yatarthya is the Reality as it is, not as it is perceived, not as it is confounded by the human mind.

The Veda is the only One which satisfies these criteria.

And the Veda is One in the sense that pra´avartha nirupanatv¢t vedaª

VEDA AS THREE

Veda is Three, veda iti thr¤ni !

How are they three ?

richa yajuªa soman¢cha thr¤ni

By the Shabdha r¢si, the verbal field, there are the richas.

richa means stutau.... praises... yajuª means action or karma... s¢mna means singing.

So there are three in the sense that there is the rig veda, the yajur veda and the s¢ma veda.

These three are called the thraye.. the Triad.

And they are three, further, because;

bhash¢y¢ trayividy¢ tr¤ni

By the exigencies of the communication and expression, they are three... in the sense that the bh¢sh¢, the language in which the Veda is expressed is in three different forms.

The first is the darshana bh¢sh¢, where the nët¢rtha becomes important. darshana is pratyaksha.

We look at the text, or, we heat the mantra being pronounced and we arrange it in terms of words, sequence of words, the groupings of the words, and then we look into a Lexicon or consult someone and come to know the meaning of it. The meaning that is evident... the meaning that is explicit..... The meaning that appears.

In technical language it is called nët¢rtha. The word has a Lexicon meaning and we associate these meanings to form a v¢khya or sentence. This is nët¢rtha.

The Veda, however, is not exhausted by this. Veda is to be read between the lines, as they say, in English. There is a hidden meaning. There is a meaning contianed within. The apparent meaning is not the real meaning. The nët¢rtha serves one purpose. But the real meaning is a raºasya. This is called guhy¢rtha.

guhy¢ is what is hidden. It becomes known when you delve deep into it. When you enquire into it. It does not become manifest at the first instance. This is guhy¢rtha. Technically it is called jneya artha. Take a word and then try to understand the meaning in terms of the context.

There is a mantra :

Agne naya upa t¢r¢ye

Agni ! lead us along the good path !

This does not mean the fire that is laid on the altar. The fire that leads us is a different kind of a fire altoghether.

This is jney¢rtha.

From what the mantra says, we enquire into what the import is, what the implicit meaning is. So you don't refer to the lexicon, you don't refer to the dictionary, but you contemplate on it. Deal with the other words also and try to understand the meaning. This is the guhya-artha.

And then, the mantra after all being apaurusheya... being an¢di.... being nitya..... being satya..... yat¢rthyapara.... the Veda has come into being .... not as a result of reason, intelligence and imagination, but by an individual who is superior to us and who is involved in a contemplation, in a contemplative mood. This is what is called sam¢dhi bh¢sha.

The Rishi who gives expression to a mantra... he is possessed by a divine fervor, and in that contemplative mood, in that absorption, he is able to say :

aham rakshasyareriv¢

kirti bhrastangareriv¢

aham rudrasyadhanur¢dhanumi   or

aham suryasch¢bhavam

This is when the Rishi is in that divine communion. He is one with the entire existence and He has touched His very depth.

And the Vedas contain that and this is called the sam¢dhi bh¢sha.

And in the last line, the Nirukta mentions that each mantra of the Rig Veda, 10,552 of them, are to be interpreted at three levels.

One is as they seem to  mean at first glance. They refer to, are used, by the rituals.

adhi yaj®¢rtha

In a retualistic sequence, when you light the fire, when you tend the fire, when you make the fire glow, you utter a mantra. The mantra is meant for the ritual, it is called adhi yaj®a. The mantras which have a viniyoga in a ritual are called adhi yaj®a. And then, each mantra has a reference to the daiv¢, dev¢.

The word dhyuª means :

yothan¢t deeeepan¢th va devaª

The deva is one that shines.

yothan¢th and deepan¢th

He reveals.... he shines.... he becomes manifest and he reveals the matters of significance.

yothan¢th deepan¢th va devaª

agni, varun¢, v¢yu, etc are nowhere in the outside.... they are here in us and they are luminous. And they make everything clear.

And the mantr¢s of the Rig Veda deal with this. This is called adhi daiv¢, pertaining to the dev¢s.

And thirdly, they have a significance for our inner constitution.

Each individual has to rise above ..... he has to rise from his normal existence to an existence that is worthwhile.

The taittir¤ya br¢hma´a says

anruth¢ sathtamupayemi

m¢bysga daivamupayemi

Let me rise from the falsehood to the Truth, from the illusion to the Reality, May I rise from being human to being Divine....

So the meaning that is pertinent, that is relevant to the human is the ability to rise from human level to the Divine.

And this is called adhy¢tma.

So the Veda is Three - tr¤ni - because there is the

adhi yaj®¢rtha

adhi daiv¢rtha and

adhy¢tm¢rtha

And each Vedic mantra has three dimensions :

ri¾hiª devat¢ chandhaniti tr¤ni

Each mantra has a rishi, a seer, to whom, it was conveyed.

ri¾hischakila darshan¢th

He could see the mantra. How could He see the mantra �?

By a medium that is beyond the sensory. He could see the mantr¢s. He could visualize the mantr¢s, He could grasp the mantr¢s, He could apprehend the mantr¢s.

And this is the real rishitva

Ri¾hiª mantra darshan¢th bhavati

We remember Viswamitra every time we recite the g¢yatri, because

viswamitra ri¾hiª

savita devat¢

g¢yatri chandaª

So this Viswamitra was the one who perceived this mantra, crystallized it and then communicated it.

And then there is the devat¢.... to whom is this mantra addressed ? Who is the illumining spirit behind the mantra ?

savit¢ devat¢

The Sun, the s¦ (hapeksha???)..... the one from whom everything comes into being, He is the devat¢.

And in what material form is the mantra conveyed to Him ?

g¢yatri chandaª

chandas is the metrical form, a metrical form where there are three lines, three pad¢s and 24 letters.

This becomes the g¢yatri as a metre... g¢yatri chandaª

So in every one of the mantr¢s there are these three components.... treni. These are the three... and the traye artha..... there are three meanings for each mantra.

Apart from what Y¢ska says, there is a mantra :

Amn¢yascha kriy¢rthatv¢t

anarthakyam athadarth¢n¢m

Jaimini, in his mim¢msa s¦tra, says ""All these mantr¢s are meant for work, are meant for your effort.... ¢mn¢yascha kriy¢rthatv¢t..... They should lead you to some concrete action ..... ¢narthakyam athadarth¢n¢m.....

If you do not give attention, if you do not perceive the action that is enjoined in each mantra, the mantra is useless... anarthkyam.. anarth¢.... is without meaning, it is meaningless, unless you employ it in your s¢dhana.

Each mantra has a dimension of the s¢dhana, for example,

tr¤nipad¢ vichakrame vishnur gopa ad¢bhyaª

In the Vish´u S¦kta, the Rig Veda speaks to Vishnu as vy¢paka, all pervasive.

viºavy¢pane.... viºatru-vy¢pane.... viºatru is to pervade. vish´u is the all pervasive spirit. What did He do ?

Tripad¢ vichakrame vish´uª

He took three steps ....

Viº´uª gop¢ adh¢bhyaª trenipad¢ vichakrame

What are these three steps that Vishnu took ?

He went beyond these .... vemahimni.... He rested in His own realm... but before that, He took three steps:

bhurityeke bhuvayiti suvayiti

trenipad¢ viºnuª vichakrame

Vyasa speaks of bhuª, the earth as one step, the atmosphere as the second step and the celestial realm as the third step.

bhuª bhuvaª suvaª iti

Well, this is an interpretation that has to be translated into the s¢dhan¢. Hence, amn¢sy¢ cha kriy¢rthatv¢t ¢narthakyam athadarth¢nam

So unless the Vedic mantra is put into your daily practice, the Vedic mantra is useless. There is no point in you studying it.

What are the three steps ?

n¢bhau... hridhi.... ¦rdhi.... iti trenipad¢

The all pervasive spirit in you must be garnered at the n¢bhi, this is the nethermost region. The heart is the atmosphere and the head is the celestial region.

Unless you know how to transcend from one to the other, the Vedic mantra becomes useless for you.

And this is the pr¢n¢ ap¢n¢ madhye... the pr¢n¢ is the one that rises from the n¢bhi to the head in a sort of triangle. And the ap¢n¢ or praº¢sa, is that which goes from the ¦rdhi to the n¢bhi in an inverted triangle.

And when you perform this ºv¢sa-praºv¢s¢.... pr¢n¢-ap¢n¢....kriya, there is this intermingling of the two traingles, forming a man²ala, which is sh¢kony¢.... six cornered geometrical figure..... you visualize that inside you and the countermost point is the kendr¢ or bindhu.

So unless you can breathe in and breathe out with this visualization, the mantra...""threnipad¢ vishakrame viº´uª'' .... becomes useless.

It is not merely for explaining what the three means, but you have to practice and see the Viº´u within you..... the pervasive spirit within you..... as the centermost point in this six-angled figure.... sh¢dgunya yantra.

So this is the tr¤ni. The Veda is three .... in the sense that it should come into your practice everyday.... unless you do it, the Veda is useless. Because the Veda is meant for ¢mnasyasya kriy¢rthatv¢t.

Jaimini, thousands of years ago, has proclaimed, ""Veda'' has to be practiced! It is not merely to be recited. It is not merely to be written about, spoken about.... you have to practise this yoga inside you. This is tr¤ni.... this is why, the one pra´ava is reduced to a triad... ak¢ra ....uk¢ra..... mak¢ra.... the A, U, M are the three dimensions of the omk¢ra to be translated to your n¢bhi, hridi, and ¥rdha.

VEDA AS FOUR

Finally, they say, chatv¢ri..... veda is Four.... Rig, yajur, s¢ma and atharv¢ngirasa... Rig Veda is one, yajur Veda is the Second, s¢ma veda is third and atharva veda is the fourth.... Veda thus has these four divisions.... why do they become four ?

viniyùg¢rthena

It is meant to be used in a particular way .... viniyùg¢.... is the purpose which is fulfilled by these four .....

richa yajurva s¢mn¢ atharv¢ngirasa yat s¢dhaya... that which is done by each Veda...

Man has four purpose to be fulfilled in life... it is called purush¢rtha chatustay¢, the fourfold values or purposes of life .... dharma, artha, k¢ma and moksha.. so these four Ved¢s contribute to the fulfillment of these four arth¢s or purush¢rthas.

Ved¢rtha iti dharmaª

The entire §ig Veda.... what does it connote ? Mim¢msak¢s have no two opinions about it. Dharma is the purpose of the §ig Veda. §ig Veda  is mean to augment, to engender and to stimulate the quest for Dharma....

Dharma is dham dh¢rane... dharmo dharayeti iti

Dharma is the one that bears you up in life... against all odds that arise in life.. Dharma is what makes you move, makes you hold your head up, makes you survive, that which makes you not to yeild to circumstances... but rise higher, this is Dharma. So §ig Veda is mean to contribute to Dharma.

The Yajur Veda is principally connected with yaj®a... a way of worship. The word yaj®a is peculiar.... it has two roots.... dwitatuª yaj®yaª... yaj is one root.... gnya is the other. Yaj is to worhsip.... gnya is to know.... to worship knowingly... this is yaj®a... where you know the meaning of what you are doing, the significance of what your are doing and you do it willingly... deliberately... this is yaj®a. So Yajur speaks of this yaj®a.

And yaj®a is k¢mya... k¢mya is you have a desire and so you perform a yaj®a.

swarga k¢mo jyothishto venayajeta

If you desire this, you perform the yaj®a. Paºu k¢maª or yashas k¢maª... whatever you desire to have... you perform an appropriate yaj®a.... this is artha..... artha is the purpose.... the purpose with which you perform the yaj®a.

And in times of rising above the normal requirements of the recitation as well as the performance of the rituals, there are the interludes, in which the s¢man songs are sung.

While §ig Veda has only three levels or pitches, udh¢ta, anudh¢ta and svarit¢, s¢ma Veda has seven pitches, seven nodes... so you rise higher.

And this is to rise above the level of the gods, above the level of the yaj®a, to a higher realm. And this is k¢ma.... the desire that is uppermost in every individual. And the desire or urge from which the entire existence came into being.

So k¢ma mayak¢ bahusy¢m praj¢ ey¢ªa iti

When that praj¢pati, the creator looked around

ekam evegadat dwitiyamscha

And He said

bahusy¢m praj¢ ey¢ha iti.... may I become many

This is k¢ma..... Kama is the desire which rises from your depths.....

So this s¢ma Veda is meant to instill this k¢ma in you... to unite you with this k¢ma which is fundamental to existence.

The desire to live.... Sok¢mayatha or

k¢masthat agre samavartha adi

manaso retha prathamam yad¢sid

In the vachasiya sutra in the §ig Veda

k¢maª tat agre prathamam yathatheetª

Before the existence, it is k¢ma which is fundamental, which is basic... and without this k¢ma you cannot breathe, you cannot live, you cannot do anything.

k¢mattat agre samavarthatha adhi

Over and above your existence there is this k¢ma. And Sama Veda is meant to fulfil this k¢ma aspect.

And then, atharv¢ngirasa... a comprehensive view of all forms of existence here and there.... and the method of union with what the atharva veda calls the skambha.. skambha is the central pole round which the entire hut is built.

A skambha is the central pole. Likewise, there is a central pole in us, which the atharva veda calls skambha. And this skambha is the one around which the sth¦la sharira, the s¦kshma sharira and the k¢rana sharira, the body, the sense organs, everything is built round this skambha. How to reach this skambha is taught in the atharva veda.... that is moksha.

Therefore these four Vedas or Viniyog¢s are connected with the four  purush¢rth¢s

Purush¢rtha chatusthaya r¦p¢t chatv¢ri

The fourfold values of life are fulfilled by the Ved¢s

And ved¢nga tatva cha

Each Veda is divided into four groups, or four units :

The first is the mantr¢s.... where

man¢n¢m mantraª

It appears to your mind, to your reason and by thinking about it, you are protected. This is mantra...  is the samhita part where each mantra must be contemplated upon, must be meditated upon, and it has an inbuilt power to defend you, to protect you.... This is mantra.

And then, when you have to act, you have to deal with the other people, you have to deal with the world around you, because you have a body, you can perceive, and because the body can be hungry, it can be thirsty, it has needs, and the needs have to be fulfilled, the individual has to do. This is the next part of the Veda, called Br¢hma´a.

br¢hmana brahma anatheethi br¢hma´a

Brahma is growth.... brahmnatv¢t brahma..... the individual needs to grow.... grow from minute existence to a broad existence. And what contributes to this is the Br¢hma´a.... the Br¢hma´a text not merely tell you to perform this ritual, perform that ritual, do it this way, or that way, not merely that

Ajeevam yaj®yamthanuthe... your entire life is yaj®a.... whatever you do is part of the yaj®a.... so the br¢hma´a states :

Ajeevam yaj®am thanuthe

Jeevanam hi yaj®am iti

Life itself is a yaj®a... so whatever you do in this life do it with an understanding that your are performing a yaj®a.

You can't go wrong.... you can not do evil... when you do it this way.....

Yaj®arthat karma´ù yatra

Bhagavat Gita says.... unless you do everything as a yaj®a, what you do will bind you.

Yaj®¢rthat kritarta karma´aª anyatra bandhanaª

Unless you do a thing in the spirit of a yaj®a, you are bound to be imprisioned, you will be bound.

So this is Br¢hmana, the second division of the Veda, tells you how to live.

Jëvema sharadashshatham

Brabhruv¢ma sharadashshatham

Nand¢ma sharadashshatham

Ajët¢sy¢ma sharadashshatham

The Ved¢s do not look at life as a useless thing. Life is precious. Life has been given to you to realize the highest existence. So, therefore, live (jëvema) for a hundred years and enjoy all the hundred years of this life (nand¢ma sharadashshatham) and let us talk and let us communicate (bhrabhuv¢ma) what we have to others... and let us not fail (ajët¢sy¢ma) in our long life.... ajëtaha... that which is not controlled over... let us control the world and let us not be controlled by the world.

The third part is called Aranyaka.

When you have lived your life as a normal citizen, there is a time when you should leave it and retire to solitude. This is called ¢rany¢. Ranya is troubles... Aranya is trouble-free. You are not troubled by anything. You are on your own. So when you retire to an Aranya, retire to a jungle, the real Aranya is inside your heart, not outside. You don't find the forest outside. You should retire into your own heart and find... Arany¢n h¨de!... in your heart is the Aranya.... the jungle retreat is in your heart... retire into you heart.... and when you retire into your heart, you rise above the body, above the normal existence, to a serene void and vacuity above....

The s¢ma Veda has two groups of mantr¢s..... one is called gr¢me dhyeya... which is to be sung within the township, within the settlements. There is another part of the s¢ma Veda which is more important, more significant, and more obscure, naturally,  and this is called aranye dhyeya.... when you are within yourself, you feel like singing. This song does not reach your ears. It rises above your ears... aranye dhyeya... so the s¢ma Veda is the third part..... the Ara´yaka....

And the fourth part, when you look at the world,......

parekshyalùka anu.....  you look around... n¢sti akrutat.... what you have around you is all made by man.... and there is not happiness in that... akrutat. What is not made by man is the source of happiness. You go to that .... parekshya lokanu... so before that you look around you.... what gives you happiness, how much and for how long.... and then you can see akrutat karma´aª... there is a pleasure, a happiness derived from that which is not make by man. And this is the thrust of the upanishads.

All the upanishads.... ten upanishads.... ask you to look around and aspire for something that is not made by man... the Atman or Brahman.

So Yagnavalkya tells Maitreyi, ""You should look at the Atma !''

Atm¢nam vij¢ niy¢d

Any¢ v¢cho vimunchath¢

The Atman is to be known.... leave off all other talk. So this is the upanishads.

So the mantra, brahmana, Aranyaka and the  upanishads..... these constitute the chatv¢ri...the fourfold Vedas.

so therefore, Vararuchi's Nirukta Samuchchaya says :

Veda yat ekaª dwe tr¤ni chatv¢ri

This comprehends the entire gamut of the Vedic literature.

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