Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Heaven does not lie up above; Here it is in the world of men. When men lead the good life The world itself becomes Paradise. Embodiments of love! The Vedas are known as the voice of the rishis. The rishis intuitively perceive the truth. They can see the past, the present and the future. They are free from attachments. It is because of such high souled seers that the voice of God was revealed to the world. This revelation demonstrates the truth about the divine. Although it consists of the four Vedas, they have been divided into seven Samhithas. Among these, three are important - Rig, Sama and Atharvana. Samhitha means a collection of manthras. Among these, three types of branches have arisen. These are the Brahmanas, Aranyakas and the Upanishadhs. The Brahmanas embody the science of Reality in the form of manthras. The manthras are related to yagnas and yagas. The primary purpose of the Brahmanas is to teach the rules relating to yagnas and describe their performance. Among the Brahmanas the better known are the Aithareya Brahmana, the Taittariya Brahmana, the Shathapatha Brahmana and the Shadvimsha Brahmana. There is a close connection between the Brahmanas and the Samhithas. The Brahmanas are intended to enable people to realise their desires by reciting manthras relating to God and thereby securing God's grace. They are concerned with worldly and otherworldly objectives and are not devoted to the realisation of Brahman. All human desires are concerned with the world and are associated with desires and hatreds.

Next come the Aranyakas. Although these contain primarily the manthras from the Brahmanas, they contain also poetic and prose passages. As these manthras were intended to be studied by those who gave up family life and entered on the Vanaprastha Ashrama as a recluce and lived in forests, they came to be known as Aranyakas. In ancient times, rishis used to live in the forests and devoted themselves to the continuous recitation of manthras relating to God. Hence, these manthras came to be known as Aranyakas. The Aithareya and Taittariya Upanishadhs belong to the Aranyaka group. The third group consists of the Upanishadhs. The full life of a human being is indicated by one conforming to the four goals (Purusharthas): dharma, artha, kama and moksha. Education is of two kinds - one is worldly knowledge (apara vidhya) and the other is knowledge of the Eternal (Para Vidhya). The Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas relate to the Apara vidhya. These Vedas are helpful for the understanding of the four Purusharthas. The Vedas may help one to understand the divine nature of the Brahman, but they cannot lead one to the Brahman. In the realisation of the divine, there are four stages - Salokyam (seeing the divine), Saruupyam (enjoying the form of the divine), Sameepyam (nearness to the divine) and Sayujyam (merging in the divine). When one reaches the stage of nearness (Sameepyam), the stage of merging (sayujyam) is not far off. Just as the Ganga, when it reaches the sea, will not turn back, similarly one who has experienced nearness to God will not turn back. The four Vedas enable one to approach the divine, but it is the Upanishadhs that enable one to achieve oneness with the divine. The Upanishadhs embody the experiences and ecstatic realisations of rishis who perceived the Reality and enjoyed it. The Upanishadhs also lay down the manner in which they should be recited. It is only when they are recited with due regard to the sound and the meter will they yield the desired results.

There are eight ways of reciting the Upanishadhic manthras, - Jata, Ghana, Mala, Shikha, Rekha, Dhwaja, Dhanda and Radhwa. Of these Jata and Dhanda are the most important. The others are variations of these two. The Jata method of recitation is essential for the performance of the seven Paka-yagnas, the seven Havis-yagnas and the seven Soma-yagnas. The 21 yagnas are associated with the 5 senses of action Karmendhriyas, the 5 Gnanendhriyas (the Cognitive senses) , the 5 7hahmanthras (the subtle elements), the 5 Pranas (life-breaths) and the Principle of the Ego. Consequently every yagna is related to one Indhriya. The Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishadhs are aids for the control of the senses. Although different deities are mentioned in the manthras, it is the one Supreme that is invoked under different names for different purposes. When the Divine is invoked for giving rain, the name of Indhra is called; Varuna is invoked for another purpose. When the Mruthyunjaya Manthra is recited, it is not for conquering death (as it is commonly believed), but for avoiding unnatural or premature death.

It should be noted that every Veda is intended to enable man to make his daily life holy and good. Although human life is transient, the allotted span must be used for sacred purposes and to realise the Divine. The Vedas have the power to enable man to transmute his life and make it sublime. Whether consciously or otherwise, from morning till night, man carries out the duties laid down by the Vedas. Every act is governed by the dictates of the Vedas, but it is only when these acts are done with an understanding of their purpose will their true character be known. Similarly, every sacrificial act, yagna is intended to propitiate the Divine. In yagna, ghee is offered to the fire. To obtain ghee, you have to secure milk, which can only be provided by a cow. The word "Go" in Sanskrit refers not only to the cow, but also to the Vedas. It also refers to the earth. It also refers to the region of the heart. The ancient rishis demonstrated that the "Go" which is represented by the Vedas is the same as the "Go" represented in the physical world as the cow.

The Yajurveda has enjoined protection of the cow as a supreme duty, as it is an animal which lives on sathwik food and has virtuous qualities. The inner significance of Vedhic manthras should be understood by every Bharatheeya. Having been born in the land of the Vedas, to fail to understand the meaning and significance of the Vedas will mean lowering ourselves in the estimation of foreigners. Our whole life is bound up with the Vedas. We must regard every day in our life as a yagna. Every word that we utter must become a manthra.