॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
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Summary
This chapter answers a vital question.
कथं चरन्ति श्रुतयः साक्षात्सदसतः परे – How can the Vedas (i.e. the scriptures of Sanatana Dharma) reveal the Truth called Brahman which is beyond dualities like Sat (Truth) and Asat (Falsehood) which are mental constructs?
The answer is provided in the words of great sages – Rishi Narayana, Sandandana, Narada and Shuka. But the actual content is supposed to be a prayer of the Vedas themselves to Bhagavan, who is none other than Brahman when he wakes up in a new cycle of creation. It has already been stated that between epochs or creative cycles, Bhagavan withdraws all creation into Himself and hibernates. So the Vedas are co-existent with Bhagavan! No wonder we elevate Vedas, the core of Sanatana Dharma, as equal to God.
यो वै भारतवर्षेऽस्मिन् क्षेमाय स्वस्तये नृणाम्
A crucial statement is made also about Rishi Narayana. He is an incarnation of Bhagavan Maha Vishnu. He sits in eternal meditation in Badarikashrama, for the welfare of residents of Bharatavarsha! That is why we consider it an unmatched boon to be incarnated in our motherland.
जह्यजामजित दोषगृभीतगुणां त्वमसि समवरुद्धसमस्तभग:
अगजगदोकसामखिलशक्त्यवबोधक ते क्वचिदजयात्मना च चरतोऽनुचरेन्निगम:
Only Bhagavan can destroy Maya or the cause of ignorance of the Supreme Truth or Himself (Brahman). He creates and operates through this universe, empowering it with knowledge like the Vedas. He even allows the Vedas to get an inkling of Bhagavan or Brahman!
लोकमलक्षपणकथामृताब्धिमवगाह्य तपांसि जहुः
For the sages, recounting Bhagavan’s Leelas and Avataras is as important as ascetic Tapas, because it confers two benefits: Gives an inkling of His Reality, and also gives bliss that eradicates the misery of this existence of dualities.
दृतय इव श्वसन्त्यसुभृतो यदि तेऽनुविधा
The Lord alone permeates the five koshas or layers of the body, endowing them with the apparatus for knowing the Truth. The man who fails to know the Truth is breathing in and out senselessly like the mechanical bellows in the hands of a blacksmith.
व्यसनशतान्विताः समवहाय गुरोश्चरणं वणिज इवाज सन्त्यकृतकर्णधरा जलधौ
The human mind is fickle and life is full of suffering for one who is not surrendered to the Guru. Imagine a group of merchants with their wares travelling in a boat in the difficult waters of the ocean without a helmsman!
व्यवहृतये विकल्प इषितोऽन्धपरम्परया भ्रमयति भारती त उरुवृत्तिभिरुक्थजडान्
The Vedas are multifaceted and serve to fulfil worldly activities. Men deluded in this world cannot hope to depend on the Vedas for emancipation as finally, they will only be bewildered.
There are three paths to know Brahman.
1. Meditating on the various Chakras in the body-energy complex culminating in experiencing Brahman in the thousand-petalled lotus that exists in the head.
2. Meditating intensely on the presence of Brahman in every atom of existence as the Enduring Spirit in all that is changing.
3. Loving and serving the Lord as his lover or living even as his enemy, immersed in His thoughts, Leelas or incarnations!
न परिलषन्ति केचिदपवर्गमपीश्वर ते चरणसरोजहंसकुलसङ्गविसृष्टगृहा:
Those who are fortunate to develop total and undivided Bhakti towards Bhagavan have no use for the Purusharthas of life – living life with values, pursuing wealth or pleasures, OR EVEN MOKSHA. This is because they are already in that permanent bliss, dwelling like swans in the divine lake of love, making their home in the lotus feet of their beloved Bhagavan who is none other than Brahman, and having no more attachment to this world. There is also a caution sounded. Those who do not connect with the Supreme Truth when given the opportunity of human birth will wander from life form to life form through rebirth in utter misery.
अत ऋषयो दधुस्त्वयि मनोवचनाचरितं कथमयथा भवन्ति भुवि दत्तपदानि नृणाम्
When the Vedic Rishis worship various deities, they are actually directing all their prayers only toward the Ultimate Brahman, just as when one steps on a stone of a clump of grass, he is stepping on the earth alone as it is the ultimate foundation beneath all.
Some important tips to know Brahman
1. Lead a life of surrender to the Lord. This opens up your potential to know the Truth.
2. Lead a life of great self-control as even the best mystics could fall prey to temptations.
3. Keep yourself busy through Satsang and Yatra - travels to holy places sanctified by saints and sages.
ख इव रजांसि वान्ति वयसा सह यच्छ्रुतय-स्त्वयि हि फलन्त्यतन्निरसनेन भवन्निधना:
The Vedas describe how all creation is like specs of dust spinning in the space of Brahman as a part of the Time-Space phenomenon of creation which is the sport of Bhagavan Himself through His Maya. By pointing out that Brahman or Bhagavan is not the dust, but the eternal and unmodified space in which the dust is, the Vedas succeed in informing us of Brahman!
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