Lord Shiva
By Tina Sadhwani
“As rivers lose name and form when they disappear into the sea, the sage leaves behind all traces when he disappears into the light. Perceiving the truth, he becomes truth; he passes beyond all suffering, beyond death and all the knots of his heart are loosened” – Upanishads
When one looks at the immense sea of knowledge that has come down to us from the Vedic civilization one cannot help but feel overwhelmed at the timeless grandeur and depth of such wisdom. Wisdom that has not only cast its eternal light upon the earth but wisdom that has laid the primal foundations for all the world’s scientific and spiritual ethos. The Supreme Vedic Experience had unfolded within the rishis of antiquity the discoveries of the immutable Source, furnishing cosmological insights into the macrocosm while revealing the transcendental truths of Atma-Vidya, the inner science.
These Vedic rishis, the oldest and highest luminaries of sentient intelligence have been recognized as the primary ‘seers’ of such wisdom. The ‘seers’ of the Veda. It has often been reiterated that the Veda has been ‘revealed’ and not composed. That it is ‘apauru?eya’, not authored or created by man. One is however bound to question the basis of such knowledge that has been mysteriously perceived or ‘revealed’ as opposed to logically arrived at through intellectual endeavour or scientific investigation. How were the ancient rishis, so early in human history, made privy to information that enabled them to understand the intrinsic operations of the universe without the use of scientific technology, the kind that we are so proud of today? How have the immense structures of civilization, of thought, of language, of communication and of knowledge of the workings of the cosmos been grown from and built upon the foundation of faculties that are often considered the antithesis of reasoning, intellect and science?
Most of us often think that our own perception of the world and analysis of things is the only level of thinking that exists and the only standard of reality and normality. Furthermore, the modern mind tends to give more credence to rationalism today and considers any deviation from that norm as invalid, unacceptable or merely the work of an inferior mind. The higher truths cognized by the ancient seers are therefore often dismissed as the primitive compositions of an ignorant race or sensational glorifications reflecting mere religious sentiment.
What is not commonly known is that the fountainhead of ancient enquiry has often been governed by non-ordinary modes of information-processing such as intuition, spiritual cognition and revelation. These have been considered not just alternate operations of the mind but superior and extraordinary modes of experience that transcended the mind.
Moreover, the Vedic mind has always been aware of the multifaceted nature of reality that escapes even the most ingenious forms of speculation and intellectualism. Consequently, the Vedic truths arrived at have been the off-spring of such mystical and intuitive revelations that have occurred through transcendental modes of consciousness. Nevertheless they have still displayed an integrity of the highest intellectual vigour. The supramental consciousness that has been established by the ancient seers in the earth-life, in the world-order, and the power and knowledge that it has unleashed in the form of the Veda, the self-expression of Spirit, cannot be compared to or evaluated by the crudities of the modern rational mind.
Truth of the Veda
By delving into the immense Vedic literature one can easily observe the fact that the Vedas are not a set of books or scriptures, for Vedic knowledge is eternal. More accurately speaking, the Vedas can be understood as a cosmic matrix of fundamental knowledge, embedded in the very fabric of existence, echoing the scientific and spiritual laws of the universe that was first revealed to and cognized by the ancient Vedic rishis in their advanced states of consciousness.
Without an ‘advanced state of consciousness’ which could serve as a provisional key term here to comprehend the basis of such metaphysical insight and knowledge, one could only be considered looking at the infinite knowledge base of the Veda through merely a key hole.
Sri Aurobindo affirms “The perfect truth of the Veda, where it is now hidden, can only be recovered by the same means by which it was originally possessed. Revelation and experience are the doors of the Spirit. It cannot be attained either by logical reasoning or by scholastic investigation… ‘Not by explanation of texts nor by much learning’, ‘not by logic is this realisation attainable.’ Logical reasoning and scholastic research can only be aids useful for confirming to the intellect what has already been acquired by revelation and spiritual experience. This limitation, this necessity are the inexorable results of the very nature of Veda.”
The Upanishads (Mandukya) further confirms this fact by explaining the gross, subtle and causal conditions of manifested consciousness corresponding to which there are different levels of reality embedded in the very nature of our experiences. Apparent reality (hallucination, dreams, etc), empirical reality (experiences of the conscious, waking state) and higher spiritual reality (experiences of the superconscious state). Therefore the type of cognition and experience we have (apparent, empirical or supramental) differs depending on the state of consciousness we are in and ‘true cognition’ is said to be cognition at the ‘spiritual level’ of direct experience and revelation.
When our consciousness is identified with the physical body (sthula sharira) then we are said to experience the waking state (jagrat). When consciousness is identified with the subtle body (sukshma sharira) then we experience the dream state. When consciousness is identified with the causal body (karana sharira) then we experience the deep sleep state. The common aspect shared by these three states of being is the ‘absence of knowledge’ of the true nature of reality. It is emphasized that it is only in the super-conscious state (turiya) that consciousness breaks free from the limitations of all the bodies and takes cognizance of the Absolute Reality (Brahman).
So the ‘way’ or mode in which we tend to ‘know’ things seems to determine the validity and substantiality of the knowledge thus gained. According to the Yoga Sutras (Patanjali) there are different ways in which we arrive at knowledge, understand it and respond to the environment. These ways of ‘knowing’ are set in a hierarchical mode of information processing in which sensory perception (utilizing the five senses) is considered to be an inferior form of awareness, followed by the conceptual mode (rational, linguistic) and finally by the supramental mode which is intuitive in nature and which reveals to us the true nature of reality.
The Age of Intuition
Observation and sensory perception serve as suitable methods of processing information when it comes to the lower functions of consciousness such as thinking, emotions, volition, etc. However our senses are limited in their range of information processing and cannot always solve all problems, especially those of a metaphysical nature. Reasoning and logic take place through the agency of the intellect (buddhi) and hence serve as useful modes when we cannot rely on our senses to provide us with adequate information. However, the intellect has been found to have its limitations too.
The super-conscious experience on the other hand, moves beyond the faculty of the senses, the mind and the intellect. It enables one to have a ‘direct’ experience of reality without being influenced by the conditioned filters of the mind. It is found most useful in cognizing metaphysical phenomena, true nature of reality, nature of self, etc. The mind and intellect are then meant to serve as useful intermediaries to organize and communicate such esoteric knowledge.
One can clearly see how the age of pure intuition which defined the early Vedic and Upanishadic thinking was then followed by the age of reason which organized the Vedic insights into scriptural, metaphysical philosophies. This period saw the rise of many conflicting schools of thought, each of which founded itself on the Veda but used its text as a weapon of reason against the others. Today’s age on the other hand is defined more by pursuits of experimental science.
Early Vedic thinking has however been more holistic, with a tendency towards the synthesis and unity of all knowledge. So by establishing itself in the higher, supramental mode of being the Vedic experience has very early in history discovered the eternal and spiritual fundamental reality that lies beneath all the formation and movement which constitutes the apparent physical reality.
Considering the intuitive knowing and holistic vision of the Vedic mind, mathematician Pierre Simon Laplace explained it very precisely,
“An intellect which at a given instant knew all the forces acting in nature, and the position of all things of which the world consists… would embrace in the same formula the motions of the greatest bodies in the universe and those of the slightest atoms; nothing would be uncertain for it, and the future, like the past, would be present to its eyes.”
The Doors of Spirit
Given the timeless nature and depth of Vedic insights, it would be safe to assume that the ancient rishis were host to such transpersonal and supramental modes of experience that made them privy to information that is normally out of the range of common awareness. Generally, each and every mode of consciousness gives us access to a different view of some aspect of reality, but the supramental mode offers a more complete and god-like view of existence as one’s consciousness expands to become a super-conductor of information that cannot be otherwise known to us by mere observation or speculation. Hence one seems to then be able to access the universal database or global mainframe because in this state there is a ‘transcendence’ of time, space, personal self and culture. Information processing becomes ‘impersonal’ as there is no longer just a separated, individualized ‘self’ that is having experiences because consciousness expands to include the world and universe at large. In other words, one’s consciousness literally steps out of the conditioned system of the three dimensional reality and moves from being ‘ego-centric’ to ‘world-centric’.
This kind of experience tends to surpass ordinary sensing, perceiving, conceptualizing, reasoning or understanding and is unlike anything remembered or imagined. It is, the Hindu mystics say, pure intuition, pure consciousness, ‘sat-chit-ananda’ if you may. Yet, even this description of the Supreme Experience is simply akin to the finger pointing to the moon, which is not the moon. It can never be conceptualized or described as it is beyond all thought and imagination. It is nothing within the mind or outside it, nothing in the past, present or future for all these are merely conceptions in time and space.
In the context of the Vedas, ‘sravas’ literally means ‘hearing’. From this is derived ‘sravana, sruti, sruta’, meaning “revealed” or knowledge that comes through the opening of the mind’s channels. Drsti- direct perception of the truth and Sruti- direct hearing of the truth are hence the two chief powers and faculties of that advanced consciousness, which corresponds to the old Vedic idea of the Truth, the Ritam. Whoever is thus at this advanced level of consciousness, possesses and becomes invariably open to the faculties of drsti and sruti and is then considered the Rishi or the Kavi, sage or seer of Truth.
In the secret of the Veda, Aurobindo explains that “The Rishi was not the individual composer of the hymn, but the seer (drast¯a) of an eternal truth and an impersonal knowledge. The language of Veda itself is S’ruti, a rhythm not composed by the intellect but heard, a divine Word that came vibrating out of the Infinite to the inner audience of the man who had previously made himself fit for the impersonal knowledge.”
Furthermore, according to psychologist and philosopher James, an important quality of these non-ordinary states of consciousness is that they are noetic or knowledge-laden. “They are basically states of insight into the depths of truth, unhindered by the discursive intellect. They are illuminations and revelations about the universe at large, full of significance and importance… they carry with them a curious sense of authority for after-time.”
The Supreme Vedic Experience
Such has been the power and authority of the Supreme Vedic Experience that has left us the treasure of universal, eternal truths and insights. Such insights can only be decoded by the same process that led to its revelation. And it is for this same reason why everyone cannot be considered qualified to interpret the Vedas, unless their consciousness has expanded enough to transcend its own cultural conditionings.
Moreover, the symbols and terms used in Vedic verses when properly recognized and understood possess great value: they are ‘evocative’ and induce direct intuitive understanding. Hence they are meant to be meditated upon and not merely rationalized or intellectualized. He who takes the Vedic verses literally will not be able to move past them towards the higher realities that they point to. That is essentially why one requires the ability to synthesize all visions and perspectives expressed in the Vedas and comprehend it holistically, as an organic whole.
Interestingly, this is also the reason why in the ancient era ‘Brahmins’ were primarily entrusted with the responsibility of preserving and disseminating the Vedic knowledge, not because of some misconceived racial superiority but because they were considered the most advanced in their consciousness through intense yogic disciplines of meditation and tapasya.
The ancient Vedic seers have also been aware that no individual could claim to be the exclusive custodian of a direct link to the Divine which is why they never set up any hierarchy, dogma or religion to access or experience the Absolute Reality. With fullness of being, fullness of life and fullness of consciousness they have manifested on earth the sublime voice of Spirit and endowed with such Brahman-Vidya or Supreme Illumination they have ingeniously preserved and delivered to us these universal and sentient truths through the many changing cycles of time.
“Vast is That, divine, its form unthinkable; it shines out subtler than the subtle: very far and farther than farness, it is here close to us, for those who have the vision it is here even in this world; it is here, hidden in the secret heart” – Mandukya Upanishad III.1.6
References:
Sri Aurobindo (1956) The Secret Of The Veda
Sri Aurobindo (1940) The Life Divine
Swami Prabhavananda (2003) Patanjali Yoga Sutras. Ramakrishna Math. Chennai.
Mandukya Upanishad – http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mand_0.html
http://www.swamij.com/mandukya-upanishad.htm
James William (1902) The varieties of religious experience. NY Modern Library.
Very nicely written and explained. The Truth of this universe both in its gross as well as subtle form needs a vision from “Seen to Unseen” and that requires the ultimate experience; to be gained by transendental meditation only – “Revelation through direct Experience”. Tina has expounded it briefly but succinctly in her above column.
Like any knowledge, the knowledge of this subtle truth requires first a firm faith, then study it under the guidance of an experienced Guru who is himself an enlightened person. Otherwise it ends up like a blind man guiding another blind man. This or as a matter of fact, any other knowldge of a subject, requires a steadfast faith and persevearance to achieve the goal. Unfortunately today in the industry of rampant religion and its fierce competition in the “God Market” needs to be taken care of; it is this modern secular calculus that has become a richest thriving business that is driving and misguiding the larger populace for their socio-political gains, dengrating the real spiritual knowledge. This is the reason that is giving rise to undue razing controversies in the rest of the world against the practice of “Yogas”.
Cudos to Tina for her brilliant master piece article; but it needsa serious person to absorb its subtle meaning. Keep it up.
God bless
Dr. O. P. Sudrania
Tina Sadhwani, you deserve to be felicitated for this excellent article.
Most of us have difficulty in understanding the hymn of Rg Veda because we have not been able to elevate level of our consciousness on a higher plane prerequisite to understanding of Veda.
For example, ” At first sight, the Dirghatamas’ astronomy looks rather bizarre and obscure. Some authors even think that they are so confused that we should give up trying to offer a satisfying and coherent interpretation. The only way of understanding Dirghatamas’ astronomical ideas, however, is to take them seriously and treat them as such, that is, as astronomical ideas. The best way is to draw the picture of each celestial wheel according to description as contained in the verses and superimpose these pictures to get a total picture. If it is done , it will appear that many of the features of his Perpetual Motion Celestial Wheel that look strange at first sight make perfect sense on a closer inspection. Here, a similar attempt has been made to reconstruct Dirghatamas Celestial Wheels and to show that such attempt eventually leads to understanding of Dirghatamas’ conception of a heliocentric solar system, and its working principles. Here these wheels can be described in brief as follows.
Fascinated by order and harmony of the universe, Dirghatamas conceived 7 Celestial Perpetual Motion Wheels, in some cases fixed on chariots that at first glance correspond to a different description of the world in his verses but in fact, they share many salient features. As already stated, each design when superimposed over other and investigated properly leads to a total picture of the world. Interwoven with each other, these celestial wheels in toto represent remarkable features of the world that can be imitated to produce a gravity perpetual motion machine. The information found in different verses of Asya Vamasya Hymn provides us a key to the understanding of perpetual motion. Besides, Asya Vamsaya hymn RV 1-155-6 also describes a perpetual motion wheel ascribed to Vishnu. Deva Ramananda explains Dirghatamas’ celestial wheels in his words as follows:
“Cosmology and astronomy of Rhisis Dirghatamas is based on a number of wheels; each in state of perpetual motion. By visualizing time and world in the form of the circular wheel, Dirghatamas indicates that Space-time is a frame in which the physical universe exists. He shows that time is not linear and space is not flat, rather they are interwoven and curved. The Dirghatamas presents a Sun-centered conception of the cosmos. At first glance the cosmology seems weird, but a closer look reveals that not only does the cosmology of the Dirghatamas describe the world of our experience, but it also presents a much larger and more complete cosmological picture. The Dirghatamas’ mode of presentation is very different from the familiar modern approach. Each wheel has a specific design.” What are these wheels? Ramananda Deva further explains: “Descriptions of solar system have features that identify it as a model of the solar system. Wheel represents plane of the ecliptic (the orbit of the sun) in most of the cases. These different wheels may be considered as different intersections of solar system or entire world containing different regions and dimensions with different curvature and size connected to each other and be part of one universal dynamic process. When one wheel is used to represent several features of cosmos or several composite wheels are drawn to represent a cosmological map, there are bound to be contradictions. But these do not cause a problem if we understand the underlying intent. Not only does the Dirghatamas use the ecliptic model, but it turns out that the wheel of solar system corresponds in many details to the actual gravity perpetual motion machine that was invented by Orffyreus around 1712. The solar system is nearly flat. The sun and the seven traditionally known planets all orbit nearly in the ecliptic plane.”
Ramananda Deva further states: “In every verse of Vedas and in every syllable, there are various meanings. This appears to be true, in particular, of the cosmological and astronomical Asya Vamsaya hymn, and it is interesting to see how we can bring out and clarify some of the meanings with reference to modern cosmology and astronomy. Asya Vamsaya hymn describes that the universe lies within a giant wheel containing series of wheels inside. Although the Dirghatamas conception of different designs of celestial wheels may look unrealistic, careful study shows that the Dirghatamas’ cosmology and astronomy is based on at least four reasonable and consistent facts: (1) Dynamics of cosmic processes as close cycle (2)The Celestial Bodies as Wheels (3) design of the solar system incorporating principle of perpetual motion, (3) secrets of gravity perpetual motion (4) the celestial realm of the demigods that constitutes Vedic thermodynamics in sharp contradiction to classical thermodynamics.”
Besides, Katapayadi sutra can be applied to the verses to derive the diameter of the earth, the velocity of earth, the value of acceleration due to gravity g, and the total area of the celestial sphere….”
Dr. Ramesh Menaria
PS: Above excerpts from the my forthcoming Volume 3: “Wisdom of Vedas and Follies of Science”
A Treatise on Vedic Thermodynamics. Exploring Philosophical, Astronomical and Cosmological Foundations of Perpetual Motion in Vedas
Length 700 pages
http://ramesh-menariya.tripod.com/id27.html
Tina Sadhwani, I hope you will enjoy this limerick.
Let us chant Vedic holy hymns
Of Aditi, Indragni, Agni and Indra
Savitri, Usha, Pushan and Ashwins
Varuna, Marut, Mitra and Aditya
All thee divinities of nature
powers of nature defied into god
They guide our past, present and future
Du, shining space is their abode
We worship thee deities forever
May reveal us secret of perpetual motion
Bestow divine grace, don’t move thither
We pray thee forever with all passion
Let us meditate and break the Vedic code
Discern, how gods augment their power
Learn how gorgeous gods operate
govern the gigantic majestic order
OAgni wise dispersing ambassador
O Indra efficient gravity and Inertia actuator
O Ashwins, fastest light charioteer
O Surya, perpetual illuminator
Though thee one in essence
Seen by senses diverse in nature
Due to limited perception of sense
I fail to see mystery of space time curvature
Universe, One in essence alike
A Continuum of particle and energy
A Divine expression of Potential and kinetic
Order and disorder, their symmetry and synergy
Unified Universe is perpetual melody
Of expansion and contraction
Of Harmony and disharmony
Of rest and motion
Of particle, wave and frequency
Of Cause and effect
Of Contradictory and complementary
Of the whole and part
Of matter and radiation
Of life and death, dark and light
Of rest, Rhythm and pulsation
Of Finite and infinite
Of the content and the form.
Of matter, mind and consciousness
Of constraint and freedom
Universe Unified one in essence
Of the inner (inherent) and outer,
Of Plasma, gas, liquid and solid
Of Various forms of energy and matter
Of Dense and rare, hot and cold
Of balance and imbalance,
Of rational and emotional,
Of essence and appearance,
Of general and individual,
Of Physis, psche and sense
Of Gravity and inertia
They are unified, one in essence
Make no mistake in arcane area
The logical and sensory,
Objective and subjective, Dry and wet,
Relative and absolute are complementary
Simple and Abstruse, abstract and concrete
Behold Nature, its Unity and diversity
One essence set in perpetual motion
Move forever by its divinity
Create universe out of nothing by volition
Behold perpetual motion wheel of nature
Cyclical Creation, conservation and dissolution
All intelligent designs bear His signature
I see god everywhere, hardly need a mention
Dr Ramesh Menaria