UNDERSTAND THE UNDERLYING PRINCIPLE

The entire philosophy of Santana Dharma is one of inclusion and balance. It is not Vedas versus Vedata or the Perishable versus the Imperishable, the Devatas versus the One Supreme or Dvaita against Advaita. Each of these has a unique value and place in the eternal balance of the Universe.
Within a few weeks of a child’s birth, he/she starts becoming conscious of his/her body and the limits of his/her body. The moment the child is aware of the limits of his/her body, he/she realizes that all that is beyond the limits of the body is ‘outside’ of the body and hence all that is with the limits of the body has to be ‘inside’ of the body. Hence the first impressions on the mind of the baby are that of ‘duality’ – and – from then on starts the journey of recognizing that there is a duality in everything. Thus the purpose of man’s life is to first recognize and understand the duality in all of the Nature, come to terms with it - - reconcile to it and yet try to see the ultimate ‘Oneness’ in that ‘Duality’, the Advaita in the Dvaita – and the moment this realization dawns on him – he is liberated! But then this broadening of the consciousness starts as a sensory perception. Thus sensory perception is the first step towards higher knowledge – and – this is what Science is all about. Science (as we understand it today) started as understanding through direct sensory perception – and then extending the limits of the body senses with the help of instruments to understand the external environment. Today, however, it is reaching the state of universal or spiritual realization in the form of Einstein’s theory of relativity, the quantum mechanics, boot-strapping theory etc., where scientists are realizing the interconnectedness of all phenomena. Their thirst to find the ultimate building blocks of this universe has brought them to a point where the study of hadrons, quarks etc., is making them grudgingly accept the truth of the theory of the Spirit and oneness of the mind, matter and energy.
So also, when we read legends from our scriptures about gods and demons etc., - at the sense level they are just stories of entities with supernatural powers. Later we realize that the gods and demons are the powers or phenomena of Nature that have been humanized, i.e., made in the image and hierarchy of humans and human society. These stories were formed to give the lay person an idea of the knowledge of the workings of the external world (and since these stories reflect humans they also give an insight into the conditions existing in human society at that point of time). But for a highly realized individual or an individual who has access to a higher level of knowledge, the symbolism of the story and hence its essence becomes important. For him the universal truth behind the story (in simple language – the moral of the story) is of significance, rather than the story itself. This is the reason why the great seers always advised to their disciples, “Do as I SAY and not as I DO”. However, the lesser evolved persons always do the opposite – they try to imitate what is done rather than what is SAID – as it is difficult for them to discern the underlying teaching of what the Masters have said! However, the highly realized person is able to discern the underlying universal truth in what has been said. Thus for such an individual the myth transforms into mysticism. But the ordinary, the entire human drama of birth, death and rebirth is to rise above the Myth to understand the True mysticism of the Oneness of Nature inspite of its very real Diversity! Hence the knowledge of the Vedas – (which actually just directly declares the Absolute Truths) - got from long years of very meticulous perception by the rishis, and the rituals prescribed therein for appeasing the powers of Nature that be, slowly transforms to the knowledge of the Upanishads – which believes in listening, reflecting and understanding on the Truths already told in the Vedas - and – this slowly leads to the knowledge of the Vedanta, which basically is how to imbibe the learnt, theoretical knowledge in one’s daily life – to finally uplift the entire mankind!
The real purpose of the Vedas is to prepare and qualify the individual for Vedanta. Performing Vedic sacrifices over a life time requires intense self discipline. The sonorous chanting, hypnotically flickering flames, scent of aromatic herbs, all help the seeker transcend the physical body. Similarly, memorizing and chanting extensive mantras and understanding their meaning stills the mind and tranquillizes the intellect which so necessary to ultimately understand the Great underlying Truths – so that humans can raise their intellectual levels even when performing mundane jobs. But instead of raising the levels of our mind and intellect, we have got stupefied and entangled only in the rituals and the words!
Science today is at the level of the Vedas today – it has to travel the distance to the Upanishads and finally Vedanta. That is why blindly following Science (in the material sense) creates so much frustration, unrest and unhappiness. It is like being caught up only in the rites and rituals of the Vedas. We will finally have to break that barrier to understand and reflect – creating an amalgam of the body and the Spirit to finally imbibe the true spirit of Science into our daily lives – basically develop a scientific temper - so that Science starts working for the true welfare and upliftment of mankind. This pendulum of knowledge has been swaying from one to the other side since time immemorial – and today mankind is poised at the position where the pendulum is all set to sway towards the other end – the end where again the fine lines start blurring and Science starts blending into philosophy – to the realization that Science and Philosophy/Religion are two sides of the same Ultimate Reality – to the finality where the lines completely vanish into Nothingness and only the Wholeness remains!

Dr. Poonam Mehra