Hinduism 04
Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Prayer
ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
हरिः ॐ
Asato mā sadgamaya,
Tamaso mā jyotirgamaya,
Mṛtyormā amṛtaṃ gamaya
Hari ḥ Om
Lord, lead us from the unreal to the real.
Lead us from ignorance to illumination.
Lead us from death to immortality.
Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.
Divine Revelation and the Foundation of Vedic Scripture
Opening Invocation
Om Sahanavavatu Sahanau Bhunaktu Sahaviryam Karavavahai Tejasvinavadhitamastu Ma Vidvishavahai Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hariḥ Om
Om, may Brahman protect us both. May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge. May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge. May what we both study reveal the truth. May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.
Introduction to Hindu Scriptures
Last class I was talking about the foundational scriptures of Hinduism. In that connection, I mentioned that there are two types of scriptures: they are divinely inspired, and human constructs based upon these divine revelations. In Sanskrit, we call them Śruti and Smṛti.
Every religion believes that their foundational scriptures are divinely revealed. This statement led, leads, and will lead in the future also to a lot of misunderstandings and bloodshed. As I mentioned, there are some sects which worship the book itself as a manifested form of God. If you show irreverence to it in any form, then they may insult you, they may abuse you, they may even kill you. Why does this kind of fanaticism arise? Because we do not understand the precise meaning of what is called divine revelation.
Understanding Divine Revelation
This is the first point we have to be very clear about. So, the Vedas are the foundational scriptures of Hinduism, or Vaidika Dharma, Sanātana Dharma. What exactly do we mean by every letter, every sentence, stories, and descriptions? Do we mean to say all these are divine revelations? Does God have no other business than telling you how many bricks this way or that way to arrange in the ritualistic portions?
What does it exactly mean, divine revelation? Swamiji himself had dealt with the subject in a very brief manner, and therein he expressed this opinion: that whatever truths are not available to us through our five sense organs—these truths, supernatural truths, supersensuous truths—they alone deserve to be called divine revelation.
Three Categories of Divine Revelation
These fall into roughly three categories:
First: About God, the Afterlife, and Other Worlds
Does God exist, and if so, what is His nature? You have no way of knowing unless the scripture tells you.
Secondly, what happens to us after death? Where do we go, and what type of life is in store for us after death? This is the second part.
Are there other worlds? For example, every scripture gives descriptions of heaven and hell. Do they exist, or is it only human figmentation? I have come across lots of contradictory opinions about it. Some people say they are all in the mind. From one point of view, it is absolutely true, but from the other point of view, no, it is not true. There is a hell; there is a heaven.
The devotees of Ramakrishna earnestly believe that if they lead a good life and please Ramakrishna, they will go to Ramakrishna Loka. Some people go to Vaikuṇṭha; some people go to Kailāsa. See, Ramakrishna himself had seen Madhusudan Bābu, and he made a statement that Madhusudan Bābu had gone to the world of the Divine Mother, Devī.
Now, do you have to believe it is all his figment of imagination, or is it a truth? We have no other way to know about these things except by accepting the statements of the scriptures.
Second: The Law of Karma
Then Hinduism also speaks about karma, the law of karma, karmaphala. If someone has done very meritorious deeds, but we do not see the results of those deeds now in this life, at this period of time, during the life period of that person, does it mean to say all has gone down the drain, or is there a result coming to him? If so, where and when and in what form? There is no way for us to know except by accepting what the scripture tells us.
Similarly, if somebody has done a terribly wrongful deed, a sinful deed—you know, in history, how many dictators, how many fanatics, how many cruel people—now what happens to them? Where do they go? Do they go scot-free? And if you believe they go scot-free, then most of us would like to be like that. But because we believe that we don't go scot-free, that is what keeps us very good people, bhadraloka. So this is the truth which we can know only from the scriptural statements.
Third: Rituals and Their Results
And the third is: what type of ritual can lead to what type of result? You know, as I told you briefly, the Vedas consist of Āraṇyakas; the Vedas consist of Brāhmaṇas. This Brāhmaṇa portion is that part which explains: you do this particular type of ritual, and this would be the result. This is the practice; this is the result. How do we know that if we do this kind of practice, it will lead to this type of result? How do we know? The only way for us to know is by accepting the statements of the scriptures. There is no other way.
Examples of Scriptural Teachings
Let me give an example. Holy Mother gave a teaching about japa siddhi. By doing japa, the repetition of God's name, man gets liberated. That is a practice. How do you know that it is going to give liberation? By accepting, having faith in her statements.
So, of course, this is a slightly different example, but in the Vedas, you arrange the bricks in a particular way, and you repeat this particular mantra. You offer these particular materials into the fire or whatever, and this would be the result you get. And it is seen, especially in the tantric practices, that there are varieties of practices which give varieties of results.
Just to remind you, one example that I will give you: those who read the life of Śrī Ramakrishna know that there was a paṇḍit called Gauri, Gauri Paṇḍit. You know, Śrī Ramakrishna used to say nobody could defeat him in argument. Second, he would stretch out his left hand, put forty pounds worth of firewood on his left hand stretched out, arrange it in a particular way—the faggots—and light the fire and go on pouring all the oblations there.
Now, how did he, how could he manage it? It is a miraculous act. Nobody can keep his hand stretched out with forty pounds of weight and then light it up, and for one and a half hours, two hours, go on pouring when the fire is burning there. It's impossible. He had many other miraculous powers. Now, how did he get them? Because he followed his guru who told him: you do this practice, and this would be the result, and he wanted that result. So he did practice that, and he got the result.
This is what the scripture is telling: that this particular practice will yield this particular result. This particular practice would result in this particular result.
To make this point clear: those who are aspiring, for example, to become good doctors or chemists—say you mix these and these chemicals, this would be the resultant product. But you don't know until you have done it. But if you have to do it, you will have to have faith in them. But these are the things which can be verified right in front of your eyes.
But spiritual matters, they can be verified only not in public but in private experience. Public experience means everybody can see it. Private experience means only that particular individual can experience it. In spiritual matters, it is all private experience, nothing public.
The Need for Different Practices
So how do we know which type of practice would yield which type of result? Why is it necessary for us to know? Because all men are not of the same type. Some people want spiritual results; some people want worldly results. For example, there are people who want wealth. The scripture must provide a way for them to fulfill their desire.
So how does it do it? Just to give an example, there is a sūkta called Śrī Sūkta. It is a hymn about the goddess of wealth. Śrī means Lakṣmī. You repeat it so many times in this particular manner for so many number of days and times, and wealth will come to you.
Interestingly, you know, Śaṅkarācārya—he went one day for begging, and he went to a widow's house. The widow had nothing to give except one dried āmalakī. She told, "My child, I wanted to give you more, but I don't have anything. This is the only thing. Please accept it." He was so moved that he immediately prayed to Mother Lakṣmī, and that hymn is called Kanakadhārā Stava. Because as soon as he finished doing that, immediately hundreds of myrobalans rained—golden myrobalans. If you do it with faith, it really works. Faith is the root of all our results.
These are some of the examples. And also you must remember, Śrī Ramakrishna was approached by a young man. Śrī Ramakrishna asked him, "What do you want?" He said, "I want money. I want to become rich." And Śrī Ramakrishna said, "Very good. Bring some jalebī. I will make you rich." What an easy practice!
This is what scripture tells us. These are the practices; these are the results. Now you choose what you want, what particular result you are seeking after. This information is not obtained in any other way except through the scriptures. So these are the three things.
For example, in the Brāhmaṇa portions you will get: you arrange the bricks in this particular way, you utter these particular mantras, and for such and such a time, and you will go to heaven. This is mentioned as an example in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad. Yama teaches to Naciketas that if a man wants to go to heaven, how can he do that? Then Yama teaches: these are the types of bricks; these are the ways you have to arrange them particularly, and this is the way you perform the ritual.
We have no other way except through the scriptures to believe them and to put them into practice and to verify them by our own personal experience.
The Question of Language
Now comes the interesting part. These are all based upon belief, but the Vedas are written in, recorded in which language? Sanskrit. So God knows how many languages does God know?
So there was this war going on, the Second World War, between England and Germany, and both armies were facing each other. The battle was about to start, and there were chaplains who were praying for both of the armies for their success. So the English chaplain prayed and said, "I assure you, you are going to win the war." One fellow had his doubts. He said, "But Padre, I see that the German chaplain is also praying." He said, "You stupid, God doesn't understand German language!"
Is Sanskrit a Divine Language?
Sanskrit language—is it a divine revelation, or is it a human reception? So I will give an example of how this can be misunderstood and how it should be understood properly.
Suppose I speak to you in Sanskrit and you do not know it, then can you understand what I am talking about? You see, sometimes damaging results can happen if you don't understand. Śrī Ramakrishna's Gospel gives an example. A man was getting shaved, and there was an ache, and the man exclaimed, "Damn!" "What is the meaning? What do you mean by 'damn'?" the barber asked the gentleman. He said, "No, no, it is nothing. It is just an expression." But he was not satisfied. He said, "If 'damn' means good, damn me, damn my father, grandfather, fourteen generations. If it is bad, then damn you, damn your father."
So what do you mean by Sanskrit? How come that these divine revelations have been recorded in a particular language? Is it divine revelation in Sanskrit language, or divine language intuitively understood in the language familiar to us?
The Universal Nature of Divine Truth
Now, I said I will give an example. You see, supposing you are sitting here and you know various other languages. Some know Hindi, some know English language, some know some other language. So just observe me. I make this gesture. All of you see. How do you understand? What is the language you use in your mind? If you are Bengali, say "āmāke ḍākche." If you are Hindi, "Swamiji bulā rahe haiṁ." If it is English, "He is asking me to come," right?
Even though the gesture is one, you are putting it in your own language with which you are familiar, right? This is what Swami Vivekananda wanted to tell to us. The Bible and the Qurʾān and the three Piṭakas and the Vedas—all these, there are divine truths, spiritual truths, which are not accessible by our five sense organs. In the hearts of pure people, intuitively these truths have been revealed to them. But their minds, being particularly habituated to one particular language, those divine truths have been instantaneously as though they heard them in their own language.
You know, in the Bible there is a beautiful expression that those who are possessed by the divine spirit, they will understand different languages; they will speak different languages. It is a supernatural truth, supernatural power. The truth is one, but it is received in a particular vessel.
To give another example: water is common, liquid. Pour it in different shaped vessels. How does it look to us? According to the shape of that container.
So Sanskrit is called divine language. There are some fanatics who say, "Sanskrit—God speaks only Sanskrit language, not unfortunately English language." No, God doesn't speak in any language, so to say, because He doesn't need a language, because that is the language of love; that is the language of truth. Truth and love—there is no language; it is beyond the language, beyond description.
But these truths, when they are received by limited minds like ours, they can receive only according to our own mental constructs. Mind you, language is only one medium of such kind of reception, but there are also other ways of receiving it.
For example, a Christian is accustomed to worship God in a particular way or in a particular building, so he receives the intuitive knowledge that "you must call upon me." Where do you think he will go? He will not go to a Hindu temple; he will go to a building which he calls church. Or a Muslim would go to a building called mosque.
The point I am making is that the language is not divine revelation; the places of worship—these are all human receptacles. But the intuitiveness, that is common to everybody—direct experience of truth as it is.
Key Points to Remember
So these are the points which you have to keep in mind: by Veda is not meant any particular type of books or language, but they are the only supernatural truths, truths beyond the five sense organs, and they reveal to us at least three things, as I mentioned. What are those three things?
- About God
- About afterlife and other worlds
- About what type of spiritual practices we need to do, and which type of result they will give us
These are the things which we have to know. Language, etc., are human constructs. If this point is clear, how much bloodshed would have been avoided!
Śruti and Smṛti
Now coming back, as I mentioned, all the religions have their foundational scriptures. Hinduism has its own foundational scriptures; they are called śāstras. And these śāstras are divided into two parts: one is divine revelations about which I talked—they are also known as Śruti.
The literal meaning of the word Śruti is "that which is heard." But do not again misunderstand "that which is heard" to mean whatever sounds enter into the ear through the ear—there is no ear there. When the person is deeply absorbed in meditation, is it again human construct, hearing, seeing, etc.? But it is the state of mind. Certain truth immediately comes into the human mind when it becomes sufficiently pure, like a clean mirror reflects whatever is in front of it clearly without distortion. That is called intuitiveness. And as I mentioned many times, don't think you are endowed with intuition. So until you do that, you need tuition. So you need to come to these classes!
So these scriptures are classified into intuitively received truths, and based upon them, all other scriptures—they are called Smṛti. Smṛti's literal meaning is "based on memory." Smṛti means memory.
The Distinction Between Śruti and Smṛti
What is the distinction between these two? One is direct revelation through an intuitive purified heart. Second is the explanation, the elaboration of these Vedic truths for the common mind.
Why are Vedas called Śrutis? There are two meanings to that. One is the original founder or ṛṣi, called ṛṣi, mantra-draṣṭā, the seer of the supernatural truth. He received it intuitively as though he heard, as though somebody whispered it and he heard it.
Second is when he wanted to pass this knowledge to his disciples, devotees, or followers, he did it in the form of oral teaching from the mouth of the teacher into the ear of the disciple or recipient, follower. That's why Śruti means the disciple heard it. This is the oral tradition that comes even today among the Hindus: that you cannot read a book and understand. It should come from a qualified teacher to a qualified student.
Especially this is true with regard to what is called mantras. And by the way, all the Vedic revelations are called mantras. They are called mantras because by believing in them, by practicing them, they will yield certain results.
By the word mantra we usually understand the initiation mantra. A guru gives a holy name to the disciple. This is never shouted through a microphone or emailed through the internet. It has to pass from the mouth of the teacher into the ear of the disciple. So you caution them also: "Don't reveal it to anybody. You have no authority. Until you are authorized, you cannot say it to anybody."
So Śruti means, one, the original founder who received it intuitively. Secondly, he passed it on through an unbroken oral tradition from the ancient times, and it is still continuing. It is only of recent times that these Vedas have been collected and put in a printed form.
The Essence of Scripture: Tattva, Hita, Puruṣārtha
First of all, what do these scriptures teach? Before I go further into details, we want to know: what is the essence of these scriptures? What do they do? They have to do three things. These are called Tattva, Hita, Puruṣārtha.
Tattva (Truth)
Tattva means: what is the truth? What is the truth about God? What is the truth about the world? What is the truth about you? This is called Tattva. Tattva means truth.
Puruṣārtha (The Goal of Human Life)
Second, Puruṣārtha means: what is a human being supposed to do? We think we know what we are supposed to do. No, we don't know. What are we supposed to do? There is a definite guideline from the scriptures.
In the Gospel of Ramakrishna, there is this beautiful conversation between Śrī Ramakrishna and Bankimchandra Chatterjee. Śrī Ramakrishna asks, "What do you think is the duty of a human being?" "Eat, drink, and have sex life. Beget children." You see, Śrī Ramakrishna got very annoyed and said, "If a man eats garlic, he will belch garlic. What a man thinks day and night, that is what comes out of his mouth."
What is the teaching of Śrī Ramakrishna? What is the goal of life? God realization. What ought a man to desire? What is the most desirable thing? That is what the Vedas are supposed to teach us. This is called Puruṣārtha. I will come to the details later on in next classes.
Hita (The Means)
And the third thing that he says: "Yes, I know now what is the truth. I know what is to be desired. Now how do I reach it? What is the way?" That is what the scripture also says. This is called Hita. Hita means the way to attain the goal elaborated or explicitly explained in the scriptures.
These are the three things: Tattva, Hita, Puruṣārtha—the goal, the means to that goal, and what every human being ought to do. These are the puruṣārthas.
The Meaning of Dharma
These Hindu scriptures, what do they teach? These three things. And these three things go by one name. It is called Dharma. Hinduism means Hindu Dharma. We call it Hindu Dharma.
One particular meaning of Dharma is a way of life: righteous way—speak truth, don't be selfish, and don't harm anybody, etc. That is not the only one. Dharma means here—the great Śaṅkarācārya explains what is Dharma. Dharma consists of two things. It's a wonderful subject which I would go into details in my next class, which would be in September.
But very briefly: the whole of human life should be conducted according to Dharma. Dharma consists of two things—happiness in this world and happiness also spiritually and materially. In this life, in the next life, a man has the right to be happy, but he also has a responsibility. There is a way, a way of life which leads to happiness both in this world and in the other world. So that is why we call Dharma as a religion, identify it with religion.
Abhyudaya and Niḥśreyasa
How does it do it? Abhyudaya and Niḥśreyasa. Abhyudaya means happiness in this world, complete happiness in this world and then in the next world. And then a time will come: "I do not want this worldly happiness. I want to be eternally one with my true nature." That is called Mokṣa. That is called Niḥśreyasa—liberation or self-realization.
So happiness in this world as long as we are in this world—and in this world means not only this planet called earth but afterlife, call it heaven, Indraloka, Candraloka, whatever it be. Until I am released, I have to be happy.
Correcting Misconceptions About Hinduism
Why am I mentioning this specially? Because many, many Western scholars have misunderstood Hinduism. "It is an otherworldly religion that Hinduism denies this world. Hinduism doesn't encourage happiness in this world." Is it true? It is not the teaching of the Veda, but it is true because some Hindus who misunderstood it propagated this view that this life is nothing. It is just a myth. It is an illusion. It is a mirage. And especially if the husband is very bad, then you will have to think of spiritual life!
No, that is not the case. This is also the world of God. But those who preached this, there is mostly post-Śaṅkarites, Māyāvāda—the Vedas have never taught this. They taught: when you are here, be happy. When you want spirituality, that is the ultimate—temporary happiness and permanent happiness, worldly happiness and spiritual happiness. And they coined two words: Abhyudaya and Niḥśreyasa. And there are two paths to attain this, called Pravṛtti and Nivṛtti. Both belong to this word Dharma.
This is what the great Śaṅkara, at the very beginning of his commentary in the Gītā, has expounded. It is worth reading that introduction just for understanding at least this much.
Conclusion
These Vedas, these scriptures tell us three things:
- What is the goal of life?
- How to attain it?
- Why we ought to attain it?
They try to convince us. So this is what every scripture tells. This is what Hindu scriptures called Vedas also tell. And how they convey this message to us throughout in an unbroken tradition until now—that's what we will discuss in our next class.
So further understanding of how many scriptures—such a beautiful subject—I will deal in my next class.
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti.
Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.