Philosophy of Vedanta - Introduction
“Vedas” are a compendium of knowledge and treasury of universal laws brought to light by Seers and Sages (“Maharshi '') at different periods and revealed to them and born out of intuition through deep meditation techniques. Maharshi is “Mantra Drushtah” or seer of supersensory truth, one to whom knowledge and wisdom are revealed through intuitive meditation is called “Upanishads”. This knowledge and wisdom from the Upanishads are called “Vedanta ''. It is the final or last or essence of the teachings of “Vedas” and teaches about “Atman” meeting the individual “Self”. The Canonical texts of Hinduism the “Upanishads'', “Bhagavad Gita” and “Brahma Sutra” together are called triple foundations (“Prasthana Thraya”) of Vedanta. Swami Vivekananda gave a lecture on the subject of Philosophy of Vedanta at the University of Harvard and said that “It is basically the philosophy of all of Hinduism and comprises core philosophy and various sects of Hinduism ''. The other syncretic scriptures which expounded Swami Vivekananda’s views were Ashtavakra Gita by Sage Ashtavakra, Adhyatma Ramayana by Sage Veda Vyasa, Yoga Vasishta by Sage Vasishta and Badarayana Sutra by Sage Badarayana.
They are neither the
creations of the human mind nor thought constructs or suppositions. Later they
compiled and edited in the form of Vedas. These are very old and the first Veda
“Rig Veda” is a minimum of 5000 years old manuscript. Vedanta is dealing with
“Consciousness” the basic substratum of human existence. It is the eternal and
changeless reality of this universe “Brahman'' which makes the subject matter
very contemporary. Much research and studies is going on consciousness in
many universities around the world. Vedas are the oldest science of
Consciousness which dive and penetrate into the heart of consciousness and what
they understood about the human being and the existential reality of life.
“Ved” means knowledge and “anta” means end so Vedanta means “end of Vedas' '
which has the meaning of the end of knowledge, final knowledge or essence of
knowledge. It can be also called the spiritual knowledge and wisdom derived
from Upanishads. Vedanta is called “Uttara Mimamsa” for the reason that it
consolidated and concentrated on the later (“Uttar”) part of the Upanishads.
The philosophy of Vedanta teaches us our true nature, regarding
the ultimate and changeless reality of this universe called “Brahman”.
Moreover, it is “ever-changeless existence consciousness bliss”. Sage Veda
Vyasa arranged it into four sections namely Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and
Atharva Veda. Each Veda contains portions of Samhita, Aranyaka, Brahmana and Upanishad
parts. The Samhita part contains prayers and mantras, Aranyaka is meant for
those who leave their homes for a spiritual path and meditation when getting
aged, Brahmana contains rites and different methods to be employed for
performing Vedic rituals, Upanishad part contains the knowledge portion.
There is ten
principal (“Mukhya'') Upanishads and they are Isha Upanishad (Yajur
Veda), Kena Upanishad (Sama Veda), Katha Upanishad (Yajur Veda), Prashna
Upanishad (Atharva Veda), Mundaka Upanishad (Atharva Veda), Mandukhya Upanishad
(Atharva Veda), Taithariya Upanishad (Yajur Veda), Aitheriya Upanishad (Rig
Veda), Chandhoghya Upanishad (Sama Veda) and Brihadharanyaka Upanishad
(Yajur Veda). These are the ten principal Upanishads in which Sage Adi
Sankaracharya and Sage Madhvacharya wrote Bhashyas or Commentaries. For centuries, these Vedic thoughts slowly condensed into different
philosophical systems and sub-schools of thoughts within the “Philosophy of
Vedanta”. From BCE 5000 to the current era 1000 many great Sages and Seers conducted threadbare discussions and arguments culminating
all these into six major sub-schools of thought within the philosophy of
Vedanta. Moreover, there are “Shad Darshanas” or six systems of orthodox Hindu
philosophies which were debated and discussed for millennia among Sages and
Seers. Philosophy of Vedanta (“Vedanta Darshan '') deals with the knowledge of
Brahman (“Brahma Jijnasa”) which is the inquiry into the real nature of the
reality of the universe. The primary script is the “Brahma Sutras” which
provides the logical foundation of “Vedanta” composed by Sage Veda Vyasa
primarily dealing with establishing the ultimate “Brahman”, the truth of this
universe. The condensation and crystallisation of the knowledge of Upanishads
are very arduous to understand, grasp and intuit. It is a vast ocean of secrets
of this universe”. There are more sub-schools and it will be explained later.
What is “Vedanta” and
its true essence is deeply explained by the script called “Vedantasara ''
written by Sage Sadananda Yogendra Saraswati in the 15th century CE. It says
that,
“Vedanta nama
Upanishad pramanam that upakareni shareerika sutra ithi”
This can be translated
as “Vedanta is the evidence provided by the literature of Upanishads and
supportive scriptures like Shareerika Sutras or ''Brahma Sutras”.
This scripture also
deals with the preconditions and necessary preparations for beginners who want
to follow the path of Vedanta. There are four preliminaries which are known as
“Anubandha Chatushtaya” which encourage and inspire us to study the scriptures
of Vedanta. They are “Vishaya”, “Adhikari”, “Sambhandha” and “Prayojana”.
Vishaya:
It is a subject matter
in which we intend to deal with the topic of interest.
Adhikari:
Adhikari is the one who
is qualified to study the scriptures.
Sambandha:
Sambandha is the subject
matter and all the scriptures of the philosophy of Vedanta.
Prayojana:
Prayojana is the purpose
of the study of Vedanta and the intention of the study and the
final goal of the path.
It is only through the
practice of four-fold steps of discipline “Sadhana Chatushtaya '' that the
necessary knowledge is revealed. These are “Viveka”, “Vairagya”,
“Shad Sampatthi” and “Mumukshvathvam”. Actually, it is nine in
total if we include the six items of treasures of "Shad Sampatthi".
1. Viveka:
It is the philosophical
discrimination and understanding between the real and unreal, permanent and
impermanent and self and non-self. The mind and body are subjected to change.
Sometimes the mind is overpowered by emotions and sentiments and “Viveka”
allows us to discern the true nature which is a very challenging task.
2. Vairagya
(Detachment):
It is the
dispassion for things, enjoyment, worldly pleasures and even heavenly objects
and pleasures. It is detached from objects even when in contact with them.
Neither wants to avoid nor possess them and maintain a neutral attitude because
they are transient in nature. It is the detachment from the entire realm of
this phenomenal world. This is attained through the practice of perception of
the difference between the “Individual Self” and the “Non-Self”. The mind is
detached from all potential objects of this phenomenal world which is the
highest degree of detachment and accomplished only through the clarity of
wisdom.
3. Shad Sampatthi:
Shat Sampatthi is a
class of six qualities and virtues that restrain mental faculties and lead
one to spiritual freedom.
They are Shama, Dhama,
Uparathi, Thithisksha, Shraddha and Samadhan.
A. Shama:
It is the serenity and
tranquillity of the mind and allows one to pull the mind from other than
“Shravana”, “Manana” and “Nididhyasana” which are the three basic practices of
“Vedanta”. “Sravana” is the learning of scriptures, “Manana” is the understanding
of the essence of the scriptures and Nidhishyasana is the clarity that arises
from Sravana and Manana. Promoting high thoughts in the mind, again and again,
will allow one not to be hypnotised by the momentary pleasures of the material
world.
B. Dhama:
It
is the restraining of the five senses that are repeatedly attracted to sensory
pleasures. One has to minimise all external activities that put a hindrance on
the path of spiritual pursuit. Any pursuit of excellence in life is not
possible unless we avoid disturbances and non-attentiveness.
C. Uparathi:
It is the withdrawal of
the mind from the outside world and sensual pleasures. It is the energy that
one had derived from Shama and Dhama and not allowing the mind to reverse
direction. Lack of Uparathi will result in distractions when we are surrounded
by various problems. This quality is very essential for students who are
pursuing an academic career where so much focus and attention is needed. When
one is focusing intensely on one subject, a few seconds of interruption and
scattering of concentration will break the flow of the rhythm of study. A study
reveals that simply reading an SMS on a cellphone will result in the loss of 21
minutes to return back and resume the flow again.
D. Thithishksa:
It is
the endurance and spiritual fortitude and the ability to enter our energy into
the truths of “Vedanta”. The situation will always be unfavourable for any kind
of achievement. This spiritual toughness will drive one through the turbulence
and adverse conditions to victory. Sage Sankaracharya says that withstanding
all kinds of sufferings without complaint and regret is needed in the path of
spirituality.
E. Shraddha:
It is
the positive affirmative state of mind (“Asthikya Buddhi”) and faith in
Vedanta. This is the working faith that if you follow the teachings and
principles of a teacher in Vedanta you will get enlightenment.
F. Samadhan:
It
is the attentiveness and one-pointedness of the mind for the desired period.
The wastage of energy is to be curbed and utilised and engaged for
concentration and meditation.
4. Mumukshvathvam:
Mumukshvathvam is the
intense longing and desire for spiritual freedom. This is the deliverance from
conditioned and compulsive thought processes about this material world. Elimination
of the bondage of ignorance and the gaining of true knowledge about the reality
of this universe and the individual “Self”.
Application of Vedanta:
In simple words
“Vedanta” is the journey from ignorance to the wisdom of our true nature of
reality. Even though the path of the Vedanta is very difficult, it is
achievable once you venture into this path. It is the reality of our “true
being” and the core of our “I” “Consciousness”. There are a series of
systematic methods with which the mind turns inward and guides us to understand
inquiry into the truth of Vedanta. Moreover, it is the investigation and
journey into the real nature of existence. Swami Vivekananda states that it is revelation and realisation since the truth always lies within us. Hence it
is not any kind of invention or creation rather it is the realisation of
divinity already lying within us all the time. The philosophy of Vedanta leads
us directly towards the truth and heart of consciousness and our ambiguities
and illusion about this phenomenal world are dispelled and cleared. We do not
know about this consciousness and conduct our lives with the physical body and
mind. Even though we are not aware of this consciousness, the sense of “I” ness
remains unchanged throughout our life period. The mind undergoes various states
and sorts of feelings, emotions and behaviours are expressed. According to
circumstances joy and misery are experienced. If we take the physical body, the
destruction of human cells is happening and new cells are synthesised. Human
beings are complex organisms considered to contain around thirty trillion
cells. If we look at photographs of our babyhood, we cannot recognize them, and
only our mother can identify them. We were babies, toddlers, teenagers
and youths and the same “I” persisted. The facts of our memory itself show the
immutability of what is cognized. Despite all these pains and pleasures,
there is an ontological reality that witnesses all these developments. The true
being is changeless, infinite in nature, untouched by time, unpunctuated by
space and it is ever-present. We are always aware and in that awareness, there
is a thought process. This thought process allows us to identify with the body
and world of objects. Even though the mind and objects of this world change,
the sense of “I” never changes; it is constant throughout our life and the rest
is intermittent. This awareness is fundamental to the thought process and it is
called consciousness which remains steady throughout our life. This is available
to the entire humanity irrespective of religion, race, language and country. An
example of this is – if you click a selfie and you are watching that selfie,
here what happens is the eyes are watching through the mind, and intellect is
acknowledging the mind that you are seeing the photo of your body. These
processes are happening in your awareness and therefore fundamentally we are
that awareness. The mind and body are tools through which we perceive the world
of objects. Awareness is fundamental to the thought process and everything is
objective to it. I am aware of the objects around me and the objects are not
aware of me. If anybody asks about our age, we have to remember our age and not
feel our age. It is only through the thought process that concocts or
conceptualises something and identifies and detects age. Since it is beyond
time (“Kala”) awareness never ages. The “Self” or “Atman” within us is eternal,
unchanging, and continuum and is the source of our existence. This “Atman” is
the witness of everything, self-luminous by itself and everything is objective
to it. It is the very source of our conscious experience and this “Atman”, the
pure being represents the real nature of human beings.
Swami Vivekananda
propounded a universal spiritual humanism that accepts all human beings and
embraces all philosophical ideas. This view was based on the “Vedanta”
philosophy since it explains that the “Supreme reality” is one and it is
omnipresent, attribute less, transcendental and absolute reality lies within
all of us. It does not dismiss the other philosophies and belief systems.
Lord Krishna in the 18th
Chapter 61st verse of the Bhagavad
Gita states that
“Iswara sarva
bhoothanam Hridhesherujana thishtanthi Bramayan Sarva bhoothani Yantra roodani
mayaya”
This means that this
cosmic and imminent reality is lying within all of the living beings and not
outside of us. This reality is available to everybody even though one does not
believe in this reality as the unity of existence, the oneness of existence and
the inherence of divinity. Therefore, in the Vedanta philosophy even
non-believers and atheists have a place and do not discriminate against anybody
on the ground of race, religion, sex, country, complexion, rich, poor or
anything. This divinity not only dwells in all human beings but also in the
entire creations of this universe.