BHAVAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY eeeetegeseeseeeoveeesee We PEARLS OF Wisbom | “GENERAL EDITORS i. M MUNSHI RR. R. DIWAKARBharatiya Vidya Stands for- Bharatiya Shiksha must ensure that no promising young Indian of oharacter having faith in*Bharat and her culture Bharatiya Vidya should be left without modern oducational equipment by reason merely of want of funds. 2, Bharatiya Shiksha must be formative more than in- formative, and cannot have for its end mere acquisition of knowledge, Its legitimate sphere is not only to develop natural talents but so to shape thein as to enable them to ri absorb and express the permanent values of Bharatiya Vidya. 3. Bharatiya Shiksha must tke into account not only the full growth of a student’s personality but the totality of = his relations and Icad him to the highest self-fulfilment of = _ which he is capable. ==, 4. Bharatiya Shiksha must involve at some stage or =~" other an intensive study of Sanskrit or Sanskritic languages and their literature, without excluding, if so desired, the study of other languages and literature, ancient and modern. “—3. The re-integration of, Bharatiya Vidya, which is ‘the primary object of Bharatiya Shiksha, can only be attained through 8 study of forces, movements, motives, ideas, forms and art off creative life-energy through which it has expressed itself in different ages as a single continuous process. 5 6. Bharatiya Shiksha must stimulate the student's power of ‘expression, both written and oral, at every stdge.in accordance with the highest ideals attained by the great literary masters in the ‘tellectual and moral spheres. ‘ 7, The technique of Bharatiya Shiksha must involve— (a) the adoption by the teacher of the Guru attitude which consists in taking a personal interest in the student; inspiring and encouraging ‘him to achie\ distinction in his studies; entering into. his life with a view to form ideals and remove. psychological ‘obstacles; and creating in him a spirit of consecration: and * (%) the adoption by the student Of the Sahitya attitude by the development of — (i) respect for the teacher, Gi) a@ spirit of inquiry, iii) a spirit of service towards the teacher, .the institution, Bharat and Bharatiya Vidya. 8. The ultimate aim of Bharatiya Shiksha is to teach the younger generation to appreciate and live up to the permanent values of Bharatiya Vidya which is flowing from the supreme art of creative life-energy as represented by Shri Ramachand Shri Krishna, Vyasa, Buddha and Mahavira have expresse themselves in modern times in the life of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Dayananda Saraswati,. and Swami Vivekananda, Shri Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi. 9. Bharatiya Shiksha while equipping the student with évery kind of scientific and technical training must teach the student, not to sacrifice an ancient form or attitude to an unreasoning passion for change; not to retain a form or attitude which in the light of modern times can be replaced by another form of attitude which is a truer and more effective expression of the spirit of Bharatiya Vidya; and to capture the spirit afresh for each generation to present it to the world, DELHI.an it vat: aereat ag favaa: Let noble thoughts come to us from every side —Rigveds,, 1-89+1 BHAVAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY General. Editors * K. M. MUNSHI R. R. DIWAKAR Sar Rana Tayhet New DErns sats. 104 ; PEARLS OF WISDOM : By D. 8. SARMABHAVAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY Organising Committee: may at Aad Re sites Tg ae JLanavat: Munsxui—Chairman 3% weg KK. Birta S. G. NEVATIA Jj. H. Dave S, RAMAKRISHNAN SS if Seat =BHAVAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY PEARLS OF WISDOM By D. S. SARMA WITH A FOREWORD f BY : Dr. S. RADHAKRISHNAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF INDIA. 1970 BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN CHOWPATTY : BOMBAY 7.Copyright and rights of translation and reproduction reserved” by the Publishers . First Edition, December, 1962. Second Edition, January, 1970. Price : Rs. -2.50; Sh. 4/6, $ 1.15 Rupee Price (outside India) Rs. 3.00 " PRINTED IN INDIA By Poongodi Pathipagam at Shree Devi Bhavani Press, 3#404-A, Mount Road, Teynampet, Madras-18 and Published by S, Ramakrishnan, Executive Secretary, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay 7.Nr GENERAL EDITOR’S PREFACE THE Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan—that Institute of Indian Culture in Bombay—needed a Book University, @ series of Books which, if read, would serve the purpose of providing higher education. Particular emphasis, however, was to be put on such literature as revealed the deeper impulsions of India. As a first step, it was decided to bring out in English 100 books, 50 of which were to be taken in hand almost at once. Each book was to contain from 208 to 250 pages and was to be priced at Rs. 2,50. It is our intention to publish the books we select, not only in English, but also in the following Indian languages: Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. This scheme, involving the publication of 900 volumes, requires ample funds and an all-India organisation. The Bhavan is exerting its utmost to supply them. The objectives for which the Bhavan stands are the reintegration of the Indian culture in the light of modern knowledge and to suit our present-day needs and the fesuscitation of its fundamental values in their pristine vigour. 1 Let me make our goal more explicit : We seek the dignity of man, which necessarily implies the creation of social conditions which would allow him freedom to evolve along the lines of his owa temperament and capacities ; we seek the harmony of individual efforts and social relations, not in any makeshift way, but within the frame-work of the Moral Order; we seek the creative art of life, by the alchemy of which human limitations arevi GENERAL EDITOR’S PREFACB progressively transmuted, so that man may become the instrument of God, and is able to see Him in all and all ia Him. The world, we feel, is too much with us. Nothing would uplift or inspire us so much as the beauty and aspiration which such books can teach. In this series, therefore, the literature of India, ancient and modern, will be:published in a form easily accessible to all. Books in other literatures of the world, if they illustrate the principles we stand for, will also be included. This common pool of literature, it is hoped, will enable the reader, eastern or western,.to understand and appre- ciate currents. of world thought, as also the movements of the mind in India, which, though they flow through different linguistic channels, have a common urge and aspiration. Fittingly, the Book University’s first venture is the Maha- bharata, summarised by one of the greatest living Indians, C. Rajagopalachari ; the second work is on a section of it, the Gita, by H. V. Divatia, an eminent jurist and a student of philosophy. Centuries ago, it was proclaimed of the Mahabharata: «What is not init, is nowhere.” After twenty-five centuries, we can use the same words about it. He who knows it not, knows not the heights and depths of the soul; he misses the trials and tragedy and the beauty and grandeur of life. “The Mahabharata’ is not a mere epic; it is a romance, telling the tale of heroic men and women and of some who were divine; it is a whole literature in itself, containing a code of life, a philosophy of social and ethical relations, and speculative thought on human problems that is hard to rival; but, above all, it has for its core the Gita, whichGBNBRAL EDITOR’S PRBFACB vii is, as the world is beginning to find out, the noblest of scriptures and the grandest of sagas in which the climax is reached in the wondrous Apocalypse in the Eleventh Canto. Through such books alone the harmonies underlying true culture, I am convinced, will one day reconcile the dis- orders of modern life, . J thank all those who have helped to make this new branch of the Bhavan’s activity successful. 1, QUEEN VICTORIA ROAD, Ngw DBLHI, K. M. MUNSHI 3rd October, 1951.FOREWORD Professor Sarma has devoted a life time of thought and: reflection on the fundamental problems of religious philo- sophy. He has given in this book a very lucid and readable account of the main problems which concern thinking people, based on the teachings of our classics—the Upa- nishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The illuminating com- ments are related to the selected texts. Each individual will have to attain integration with the Supreme, fellow-men and himself. Yajna, dana and tapas. are the means by which this integration is effected, By tapas we cleanse and purify our nature and reach integrity of person, By dana we establish friendly relations with our fellow beings. By yajna we attain communion with the Supreme. No man’s life is complete if he fails to secure this unity with God, his fellow-men and himself. Divorce between our thought and practice is brought out in many passages. Professor Sarma refers to the great sayings — mahavakyani taken from the four Vedas — prajnanam brahma, aham brahmasmi, tat tvam asi, ayamatma: brahma. All these emphasize the spiritual character of the human being. But this principle is not exemplified in our daily life and social practice. Institutions and forms with which we have lived for centuries are difficult to give up easily, but this has to be done if we are to make our inward. life and outward practice conform to each other,x FOREWORD ———o The quintessence of wisdom of our ancient seers is not unscientific or irrational but is the distilled experience of our great sages. This book—the ‘Pearls of Wisdom”— has a message not only to our people but also to others. It “T is my earnest hope that this book, written under great disabilities by its distinguished author, will be read widely. & RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN, New DELHI 4. S$. RADHAKRISHNAN September, 3 1962. &PREFACE This book is designed as a companion volume tomy editions of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. When I was preparing my Anthology of the Upanishads for the press my friend Swami Ranganathananda of the Rama- krishna Centre at Delhi suggested to me that instead of giving the Upanishadic texts more or less continuously in their traditional order I might arrange them according to the subjects they deal with and that such an arrangement would be of-greater help to teachers and students of religion, This meant, for instance, that all the verses bearing on rebirth os meditation or self-realisation, in whatever Upanisbad they occurred, had to be grouped together. It was then too late for me to alter my plan. I have now acted on the Swami’s suggestion and selected passages © according to their subject-matter not only from the Upanishads but also from the Bhagavad Gita and arranged them in the form of separate chapters. I have also provided a brief introduction to each chapter and a general introduc. tion to the whole collection and added some notes at the selected passages. I regret to say that this book had to be brought out under rather difficult conditions. Soon after I selected the necessary passages and noted down their references my eye-sight, which had already been feeble, gave way almost completely and I could not read or write anything. But I did not Jike to give up this work after all the time I had spent on it. So I had to request others to arrange the passages according to my instructions and also take down the introductions as I dictated them sentence by sentence,xii AUTHOR’S PRBPACE This was a very slow and painful process, and the result, F am afraid, is not very satisfactory. But that was the best Icould do under the circumstances. Moreover, what is important here is not my writing “but the Pearls of Divine Wisdom gathered from the Holy Writ, and these form the major portion of the book. 1 am profoundly thankful to all my friends who so kindly helped me at every stage and enabled me to bring out this book at last in spite of all my disabilities. [am particularly thankful to my old fried and colleague, Sri D. Lakshminarasimhan, for carefully going through the Mss. and not only dotting the i’s and crossing the t's but also making many valuable suggestions and patiently reading out the whole thing to me and also for having kindly read the proofs. extracts from the Gita I have used my own translations of the scripture with the approval of the publishers—the M.L. J. Press, Mylapore, Madras. Simi- larly, in giving the extracts from the Upanishads I have used my own translation contained in the Upanishads—An Anthology, published by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. In giving the D. 8, SARMA Hyderabad April, $, 1962.CONTENTS “CHAPTER PAGE GBNERAL EDITOR’S PREFACE ... we Vv FOREWORD by Dr. S. RADHAKRISHNAN Ix AUTHOR’S PREFACE aa «XI PART I » GENBRAL INTRODUCTION ase l I SCRIPTURES AND TEACHERS... ... 24 Il--FAIFH, REASON AND KNOWLEDGE 33 III Gop’s CREATION eee 39 1V_ MAN, NATURAL AND SOCIAL... we 48 V THE BEGINNING OF RBLIGIOUS LIFE, RITUALS AND MYTHS se see 57 VL MBNTAL AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT... 72 VIL VIRTUES AND VICES a 85 VII). THE LAW OF KARMA AND REBIRTH ... 91 PART Ii IX UNION THROUGH ACTION (KARMA-YOGA) 102 X UNION THROUGH DEVOTION (BHAKTI-YOGA) Bate a 112 XI UNION THROUGH MEDITATION : (DHYANA-YOGA) ae ae 127xiv CONTENTS us XII UNION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE : (JNANA-YOGA) 142 XIII. Gop, MANIFEST AND UNMANIFEST (BRAHMAN) we «133 XIV THE SBLF, INDIVIDUAL AND UNIVBRSAL (ATMAN) se ae ED PART IIL XV. THE WORLD OF SPIRIT (BRAHMA-LOKA) 189 XVI THE MYSTIC SYLLABLE ‘a wee 194 XVII THE MYSTIC ONENESS sea 200 XVIII SELF-REALISATION soe ae 205 MIX SONGS OF BLISS a. 24 XX MISCELLANEOUS eee 216 wa «222. NOTES oe aABBREVIATIONS In giving references the following abbreviations have been used : B.G. Bhagavad Gita, BU. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Ch.U. Chhandogya ra 1vU. Isavasya nm Ka.U. Katha Ke. Kena » Ma.U,. Mandukya MuU, Mundaka 7 PUL Prasna PA S.U. Svetasvatara ” T.U. Taittiriya - * An asterisk at the beginning of an extract indicates that there is a comment on the passage in the Notes at the end.GENERAL INTRODUCTION “The Upanishads are the cows, the Gita is the milk, and those who imbibe it are the wise.” : I, ‘THE UPANISHADS Fora student of Hinduism who is interested in literary form as well as religious thought the reading of .the Upanishads for the first time is one of the most thrilling experiences in life. For, he comes across sentences like the following :— “The face of Truth is covered with a golden disc. Remove it, O God of the solar sphere, so that I, whose © law of being is Truth, may see it.” “He goes from death to death who. sees only multi- plicity here.” “What sorrow, what delusion can there be for a man who sees the Oneness of all things here?” “Lead me from the unreal to the Real. Lead me from darkness to Light. Lead me from death to Immortality.” “Verily that which is Infinite is bliss. There is no happiness in the finite.” “The world of Spirit is one of eternal Light.” “The Sun does not shine there, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor these lightnings, much less this fire. When He shines, everything shines after Him. By Him ali a is lighted.” P.w.—t2 PEARLS OF. WISDOM : “Through fear of Him the wind blows, through fear of Him the sun rises in the east, through fear of Him the fire burns and Indra sends down rain. And through fear of Hin, fifthly, death speeds on his way in the world.” “Verily, it is by the command of the Imperishable, O Gargi, that the sun and the moon stand apart. It is by the command of the Imperishable, O Gargi, that heaven and earth stand apart.” “Verily, it is not for the sake of the husband that a husband is dear, but for the sake of the Self is a husband dear. Verily, it is not for the sake of the wife that a wife is dear, but for the sake of the Self is a wife dear.” “He from whom words turn away unable to reach Him through the mind —the man who knows the bliss of that Brahman has no fears from any quarter.” “The ties of the heart are broken, all doubts are dis- solved, and all actions perish when He who is both high and low is seep.” “J am below; I am above; I am behind; I am in front; Iam to the right; I am to the left; Iam indeed all this.” These are only a few of the Himalayan streams and rills which join together and come down from their moun- tain heights, and passing through Haridwar, go further down to’ make up -that sacred and mighty river—the Bhagavad Gita, which flows majestically through the plains, fertilising a whole sub-continent, and empties itself through various channels into the ocean of the Infinite, The Upanishads are indeed like the Himalayas—they are the Himalayas of the Spirit, Like those lofty mountain sanges they too have their own several peaks soaring high suerauesenerGENERAL INTRODUCTION" 3 and lost in clouds, their own dazzling slopes of white and virgin snow and their own innumerable flowers whose fragrance makes the soul forget its house of clay. And they also have, it must be added, what seem to us to-day to be their own precipitous rocks their own dark caves and shadows and their own long stretches of waste lands covered with moss and thorny bushes. But these too have their place and function in presenting to us a landscape which is atonce the most sublime and beautiful in the world, In traversing these regions of thought and experience we see the beginnings of a great religious tradition which has stood its ground for more than thirty centuries, and is as vigorous today as it was in those far ‘off ages when it shaped itself. It was a world of nascent thought, of eager inquiry, of bold experiment and of boundless enthusiasm for atriving at Truth. The leaders of Upanishadic thought were revolutionaries who, chafing at the bonds of a rather low type of sacrificial religion, were groping their way to the light of a universal mystical religion. And they succeeded in their quest. They were not, however, disloyal to the past. They assimilated all that was useful and suggestive in the Vedic hymns. They appreciated all that was significant and symbolic in the elaborate sacrifices of the preceding age. But they hated to stand ‘still and stagnate. They were anxious to march on and acquire new realms of knowledge. They held frequent discussions with one another, they loved to instruct their pupils in their new knowledge and they ran alter teachers who knew more than they did, asked them questions and waited on them-for years till they got the answers. They - went back and pondered over these answers, And if they4 PEARLS OF WISDOM had any doubts, they returned and waited on the teachers for some more years till they got them cleared. What strikes us most in all these activities of the Upanishadic seers is that thay were never satisfied with mere knowledge. They always put their knowledge into practice and saw whether it transformed their consciousness, whether it enabled them to see the Oneness of all things and whether it led them to self-realisation. The best of the teachers of the period could know, it seems, by merely looking at the faces of their pupils, which of them were “spiritually enlightened and which of them had only a stock ‘of intellectual knowledge. They had great contempt for those who were satisfied with mere intellectual knowledge and greater contempt for those who stopped short of mere “sacrifices, rites and ceremonies. It is significant that in the “Chandogya Upanishad, Narada seeking enlightenment ap- proaches Sanatkumara and confesses that he knew all the “four Vedas, the Itihasas and Puranas and all the fourteen ‘sciences and the fine arts and yet he was only a knower of the sacred texts but nota knower of the Atman. In modern language this means that he had the knowledge of the scriptures but no knowledge of God. And it is also significant that the Mundakopanishad says, “But frail are these boats, these eighteen sacrificial forms, in which the ‘Jower karma bas been told. Fools who praise this as the highest good are subject to old age and death again and again. Abiding in ignorance, wise in their own esteem, thinking themselves to be learned, these fools wander about much aiflicted, like the blind led by one who is himself blind.......Considering sacrifices and good works as most important, these deluded men know no higher good, and having enjoyed, on the heights of heaven, the rewards of ae |GENERAL INTRODUCTION 5 their good works, they enter again this world or evena lower one.” : Asa result of such teachings as these the old Vedic gods recede into the background, the ascendancy of the priests and their sacrifices is overthrown, meditation takes the place of worship and the acquisition of divine know- ledge becomes much more important than the performance of rites and ceremonies, Some Western critics are of the opinion that in the Upanishadic age the robust optimism of the earlier age of Vedic hymns gives place to pessimism. This is quite incorrect. ‘On the contrary, we may say that the childish.delight of an earlier age in the possession of cattle and crops and victory over the enemy gives place to true spiritual manhood which feels that the everlasting happiness of man consists not in the possession of worldly things but in the possession of the Self. The seers of the Upanishads exclaim “What shall we do with offspring— we who have this Self and this world of Brahman?” Having thus risen above the desire for sons, wealth, and possessions they wander about as mendicants. They do not long for death, they long for eternal life. They teach that sacrifices lead only to a temporary heaven after death, whereas divine knowledge leads to immortal bliss even here on earth. Thus in the Upanishads, jnana (divine knowledge) takes the place of yajna (sacrifices), the Absolute Brahman with which is identified the Atman or the Spirit in man, takes the place of the old gods, and Karma is given a wider meaning than mere rituals and is connected with the idea of rebirth. And liberation from the cycle of births and deaths is to be sought only through jnana or the realisation of the Oneness of all things in God. Varna and Asrama are pushed into the background like the gods and the sacri-6 PEARLS OF WISDOM fices. In this universal religion, Brahman becomes the goal and jnana the means of reaching it. These two concepts come to occupy the foreground of religious life. All other things like Upasana, Yoga, and Karma become subsidiary. No wonder therefore that the mystics and seers of the Upanishadic age were able by their cryptic utterances to lay firmly and strongly the foundations of Hinduism. The later ages only built a superstructure on those foundations. All the sects and schools of philosophy which arose in the fold of Hinduism in the following centuries looked upon the Upanishads as their authoritative scriptures and tried to justify their own doctrines by referring to some Upanishadic text or other. The very fact that rival sects with opposing systems of philosophy claim the Upanishads as their authorities shows that these scriptures present various levels of thought and that the Upanishadic sages never bothered themselves to see that their teachings were all of a single pattern, The Upanishadic seers were prophets and poets, not philosophers or theologians. They taught as the spirit prompted them at the time and never cared to build up any system of thought. Founders of religions do not build up systems of thought. They leave it to lesser men of a later age to systematise the truths contained in their inspired utterances. e may summarise the more prominent parts However w ic seers and put them in of the teachings of the Upanishadi the form of the following propositions : (i) That the ultimate Reality behind this universe is the Absolute Spirit (Brahman) which transcends all categories of human thought and in which there is neither time nor space, neither cause nor effect, neither life nor death, but only peacefulness and perfection.GENERAL INTRODUCTION 7 Gi) That the temporal phase of that same Absolute is the personal God (Iswara) who has created the world” out of Himself as a spider brings forth its web out of its . own body, and who permeates it and guides all its phenomena. : (iii) That the same Absolute Spirit is also at the centre of every human being, beyond his senses, beyond his mind and 'beyond his understanding and personality. (iv) That the eternal happiness of man consists in overcoming the limitations of his body, mind and under- standing and realising this Absolute Spirit already present in him by progressing spiritually through a series of lives, if necessary, till that goal is reached. (v) That the way to this self-realisation consists in acquiring right knowledge, which makes one see the oneness of all things in‘God behind the multiplicity of the world, (vi) That the man who has thus realised the Self is free from the round of births and deaths, becomes immortal and lives in God till all the creation together - with the Creator lapses once again into the ultimate Reality, the Absolute Spirit. (vii) That this world, where we see a grand spiritual progression from matter to life, from life to mind, from mind to intelligence and from intelligence to perfect bliss, is only a means to the end of self-realisation for all beings. These are the roots of the religious thought that have gone down deep into the consciousness of India. Of them the tap-root is the statement which says that the eternal Spirit which pervades the universe is conspicuously pre- sent in the human heart and that those who realise it and bring it into their consciousness become immortal and have8 PEARLS OF WISDOM eternal peace and happiness, The Kathopanishad puts it neatly in the following verse: “The one Ruler, the Self within all beings who makes His one form manifold—the wise who perceive Him within themselves, to them belongs eternal happiness, not to others.” : The Taittiriyopanishad says “ He who knows Brahman, the Real, the Intelligent, and the Infinite, placed in the depth of the heart as well as in the highest heaven—he realises all desires along with Brahman, the Intelligent.” Statements lixe these are innumerable in the Upanishads. We may, therefore, say that they form the central. teaching of these scriptures. It must be said that these exalted teachings of the Upanishadic seers are inevitably mixed up with the primitive scientific conceptions social beliefs customs and manners of an age which is removed from us by more than three thousand years. We have already referred to them in figurative language as the precipitous rocks, the dark caves and shadows and the long stretches of waste land of the Himalayan landscape. We should make due allowance for them in estimating the value of the Upani- shads. We can never exaggerate the importance of the Upa- nishads in the history of Hindu religious thought. They form the sources of all the later schools of philosophy in the Hindu fold. All Orthodox schools of Hinduism accept them as authoritative revelation. The famous Bhagavad Gita is said to be only the essence of the Upanishads and the equally important Brahma-sutra is described as only tho thread that strings together all the Upanishadic fowers, and even the religion of the Buddha, rightly interpreted, isGENERAL INTRODUCTION 9 only a continuation of the Upanishadic revolution. There- fore, we may say that the Upanishads form the supreme guthorities for Hinduism. . : Il. THE BHAGAVAD GITA It may be said that the Upanishads are the outcome of the first Renaissance in the history of Hinduism after the dry and dreary age of the Brahmanas. The second Renaissance came in the epic age which gave us in their final form the Ramayana the Mahabharata and the inimi- table Bhagavad Gita. If the Age of the Upanishads was one of revolution, that of the Gita was one of expansion and consolidation. For it is a remarkable synthesis of the religious thought of that heroic age, during which the Indians colonised the islands in the Eastern seas and laid the foundations of greater India and at home brought about the fusion of Aryan and Dravidian cultures. There is nothing like it in the history of Hinduism, till we come to our own times and to the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. 7 The synthesis of the Gita may be viewed from three standpoints viz., (lt) That of the ways and means of religion (2) that of the ultimate Reality which isthe end.and aim of all religious endeavour, and (3) that of the contemporary schools of thought which deal with both the means and the end of religion. FI (1) The Gita calls itself a Yoga-sastra. The message it delivers is called Yoga. The Avatar who delivers the message is termed Yogeswara and the man who accepts the message and acts according to it is called a Yogin.10 PEARLS OF WISDOM Therefore, the word Yoga is the key to the Gita. This word is used in its primary sense‘of union and not in the secon- dary sense of thought-control as in Patanjali. The English ‘word yoke and the Sanskrit word Yoga are cognate terms. Yoga thus means yoking together. In the Gita it is largely used in the sense of fellowship with God. The opposite of Yoga is Sanga. If Yoga means union with God, Sanga means attachment to the world. And if a man who is in fellowship with God is called a Yukta, a man who is attached to the world is called a Sakta. The whole object of the Gita may be said to be to convert a Sakta into a Yukta, to convert a man of the world into a man of God. Sakta and Yukta are poles asunder, and the entire path of spiritual discipline lies between them. Fur- ther, the Gita speaks not only of Sakta and Yukta, but also of nitya-yukta or satata-yukta, that is, one who is in constant union with God. In other words the union should not be confined to moments of prayer and meditation but should be a constant sub-conscious feeling. That is the ideal set forth in the Gita. The three well known paths to this union with God are Karma-yoga, Bhaktiyoga and Jnana-yoga that is, union © through action, union through devotion and union through knowledge.* We have seen how in the Upanishads the path of jnana is stressed almost exclusively. The Gita on the other hand lays equal emphasis on all the three paths. Taking a hint from the Isa-Upanishad, it elaborates the doctrine of Karma-yoga and laying under contribution the teachings of the Bhagavata school of theism it develops its doctrine of Bhakti-yoga and adds these two to the doctrine of Jnana-yoga which it derives from the Upanishads. The * These are dealt with in detall below in Chapters IX to” XIEGENERAL INTRODUCTION ir originality of the Gita further lies in making these three paths almost inseparable. It is only for the sake of analysis that we sometimes speak of Karma-yoga, Bhakti-yoga and Jnana-yoga separately. Another important point made out in the Gita is that this union or integration with God involves two other in- tegrations, namely, integration with oneself and integration with the society in which one lives, Integration with one- self means bringing all the faculties of one’s mind into harmony with one another so that there may be a single- ness of purpose in life. An integrated personality is the first and foremost pre-requisite of spiritual life. The Gita stresses this on almost every page. In one place it calls this. discipline Atma-samyama-yoga. Side by side with this self- integration there should be also social integration. One should be in harmony not only with oneself but also with the society in which one lives. The Gita says that the ideal devotee of God is a man who does not harass the world and whom the world does not harass. Integration with society is to be effected by every man doing his duty honestly and efficiently in the place which he occupies in society. This is the Gita doctrine of Swadharma, By every man acting according to his Swadharma, that is, by doing his own duty in a selfless manner, he promotes the good of the whole society (loka-sangraha). Thus the Yoga that is taught in the Gita is a remarkable synthesis of integra- tion with oneself, integration with society and integration with the Supreme Spirit through Karma, Bhakti, Dhyana and Jnana. These three integrations are again reflected in the ritualistic formula—Yajna-Dana-Tapas—which is so often repeated in the Gita. Yajna is sacrifice offered to God, Dana is gifts made to men and Tapas is the discipline Of the self.12 PEARLS OF WISDOM Nothing is more typical of the spirit of expansion and consolidation of the Gita than the way in which it extends the meaning of the traditional concepts of Yoga, Karma, Yajna and Dharma and connects all of them together in its gospel. As we have already seen, Yoga is not merely thought'control as in the technical Yoga-Shastra, but the whole of spiritual life which aims at union with the Supreme. Karma in the Gita does not mean mere obligatory or optional rites as in the ritualistic codes, but all human actions having any moral or spiritual value. So also Yajna in the Gita does not mean animal sacrifices, nor sacrifices of merely material objects, but all activities of man promp- ted by'a spirit of sacrifice. A life of self-control is a sacri- fice and a life of disinterested scholarship is also a sacri- fice. Lastly, Dharma in the Gita is not simply the caste- duty of popular ethics, but the duty imposed on man by . his own nature and tendencies as well as by his birth and profession, and it has always to be judged in the light of the end viz., Yoga, which it has in view. Thus the Gita everywhere follows the old tradition, but everywhere ex- tends it in such a way as to re-create it. It retains the old Upanishadic ideal of Jnana, but balances it with Karma and Bhakti. ; (2) In the Gita there is a synthesis not only of the ways and means of religious life but also of the various concepts connected with the end and aim of all religious endeavour. Saints and mystics all over the world have Te- garded the ultimate Reality, the goal of man’s religious en- deavour, in various ways. But all thess may be said to fall into a few patterns :— . Firstly, the Reality may be symbolised as a place of bliss, a heaven or a paradise, a Vaikuata or a Deva Loka.GENERAL INTRODUCTION 13 In this case the aspirant becomes a pilgrim, and his pro- gress in spiritual life is described as pilgrim's progress, as in Bunyan’s well-known book. Secondly, the Reality may be looked upon as a person, a personal God or Iswara, a Saviour or an Avatar or a Devi. In this case the aspirant becomes a worshipper and the relationship between him and the object of his worship may be that of a servant to- wards his master, or that of a child towards its father or mother, or that of the lover towards the beloved. This is, of course, the most popular type of mysticism. Thirdly, the Reality may be looked upon as the immanent spirit. In this case the aspirant becomes a mystical poet like Wordsworth or Tagore to whom all objects in Nature become signs and symbols of one indwelling Spirit. This type of mysticism has been called Nature-Mysticism. Fourthly, the ultimate Reality may be looked upon as the transcendent spirit, called Godhead or the Absolute or Brahman. In this case the aspirant becomes a philosopher who regards the world not as something which reveals God but as something which hides Him and who therefore tries to look beyond its snares and delusions for the Reality he is seeking. Lastly, the Reality may be looked upon, not asa place of bliss, nor as a person of glorious qualities and powers, nor as the spirit immanent or transcendent but asa transfigured state of one’s own consciousness. In this case the aspirant is not a - pilgrim marching to a paradise, nor a worshipper longing for union with the personal God whom he worships, nor a poet having a vision of the Spirit behind the beauties of Nature, nora philosopher arriving at the Eternal Truth, but a sleeper ora dreamer awakened from his sleep— awakened from all illusions to the one Reality of his own Self, which is also the Self of the universe, It is remarkable. that all these symbols of the ultimate4 PEARLS OF WISDOM Reality are employed in the Gita. Being a predominently theistic scripture it naturally employs most frequently the symbol of a personal God identified with the Avatar who imparts the teaching. But other symbols also find a place init. The words Loka, Sthana, Pada, Gati and Dhama are used to indicate the symbol of place. The words Iswara, Purusha and the pronouns A'iam, and Sah are used to indicate the symbol of a personal God. The words Vibhu, Atma, Jiva, Tat etc., are used to indicate the symbol of the Immanent Spirit. The words Avyakta, Akshara, Parah, and Brahman are used to indicate the symbol of the transcendent Spirit. And lastly the words Sthiti, Siddhi, Santi etc. are used to indicate the symbol of the state of consciousness. And what is most interesting is that two ‘or more symbols are used in the same verse without producing any sense of incongru:ty. Take for instance the following verses :— ‘This Unmanifested (Avyakta) is the Imperishable (Aksara). It is said to be the Ultimate Goal (Gati). Those who reach it never come back. That is my supreme Abode (DHAMA)’ (VIII, 21). «1am the goal and the support (gati, bharta), the lord and the witness, the abode (nivasah), the refuge ‘and the friend. I am the origin and the dissolution, the ground (sthanam), the treasure-house and thé © imperishable seed’ (IX; 18). Thus in the Gita we have a synthesis of the various concepts of the ultimate Reality as well as of the various ways and means of approach to that Reality. (3) Again the greatness of the Gita lies in effecting a synthesis of all that was good in the contemporary schoolsGENERAL INTRODUCTION 15 of religious thought. There are five or six such schools to which reference is made in it either directly or indirectly. It tolerates almost every belief prevalent at the time and gently points out how it may be improved. It is only such beliefs as are likely to lead to social disruption that it condemns, For instance, it denounces in scathing terms all atheists, materialists and free thinkers, as their doctrines lead to immorality and disruption of the social order. The reference here is probably to those who later came to be called Charvakas, - The second group whose practices we may consider in telation to the teaching of the Gita consists of Vedic ritua- lists (those who later came to be called Mimamsakas). The Gita gives rites and:ceremonies their due place in religious life but condemns the ritualists who make a fetish of them and say that there is nothing higher than ritualism in the teaching of the Veda. Along with the ritualists we may mention the polytheists who worship many gods and pray for material benefits or heavenly rewards. The Gita says that they may have their reward. They may go to heaven and enjoy the celestial pleasures of the gods but they have to return to the world of mortals when their merit is ex- hausted and become again subject to death and rebirth. On the other hand those that worship the one Iswara not for any rewards but only for His fellowship learn to live in Him and enjoy eternal happiness, The next group to which reference is made consists of Vedantic quietists. These took their stand on the Jnana- Kanda of the Veda, as the ritualists did on the Karma- Kanda. They believed that one should desist from every kind of activity if one wished to get moksha. According to them, every action led to bondage as its consequences had to be experienced in another life through rebirth. There-16 PEARLS OF WISDOM fore, they taught that moksha or freedom could come only through contemplation and not action. One should, there- fore, retire from the world altogether, become a recluse and spend one’s time exclusively in contemplating on Brahman, the ultimate Reality. We may say that the whole of the Gita is a long protest against such a view. The Gita of course accepts the principle of sanyasa or renunciation but gives it a higher and healthier interpretation in the same way as it accepts the principles of Yajna or sacrifice and gives ita higher interpretation. Sanyasa according to it is not renun- ciation of all works but renunciation of all selfish motives which generally prompt men to work. It says that he who does the work he ought to do and does not seek its fruit isa true sanyasin. A true sanyasin is he who takes part in all activities that fall to his lot in life but offers them to God in the spirit of a sacrificer. His renunciation is internal, not external. He lives in God but works in the world as His agent and serves His purposes. This is the Gita’s great message of Karma-yoga. This is the reply which it gives to the Vedantic quietists. We may next consider the relation of the Gita to the metaphysicians and psychologists of the age whose followers Jater constituted the schools of Sankhya and Yoga. There is no doubt that, at the time of the Gita, Sankhya and Yoga were no rounded systems of thought. They were stillina rather fluid state. However, the Gita assimilates some of their doctrines in its exposition of the Upanishadic philo- sophy. It.includes Kapila, the reputed founder of Sankhya, among the Vibhutis or manifestations of God and tries to work the speculations of that great thinker into its synthesis, The following are some of the features of Sankhya school pressed into service by the Avatar of.the Gita. The Gita accepts the concept of Prakriti with its three gunas— Si eaeGENERAL INTRODUCTION 17 Sattva, Rajas and Tamas—and the evolution of the-twenty four tattvas, It admits that our actions are to be attributed to the forces of Prakriti and the impression that the self is the doer is a delusion. It also admits that the liberated soul is free from this delusion, knows his own true nature and transcends the three gunas of Prakriti. But the Gita alters the trend of the whole Sankhya thought by its Upani- shadic conception of the one Purusha, called Parama Purusha or Purushottama, of whom the other purushas are only individual manifestations. And this supreme Purusha is not simply a witness of the changes of Prakriti, as in the Sankhya school. He is also the governor. Prakriti is His prakriti, subject to him. Its changes are directed by. His will. Prakriti is His lower manifestation, while the souls Gjivas) are His higher manifestation. As Prakriti is thus only an aspect of God, contact with it is no evil. On the contrary, it is only by working in conjunction with it to carry out the purposes of God that the individual can get his salvation. Again unlike the Sankhya school the Gita teaches that the liberated soul is not only free from the thraldom of Prakriti but also in conscious union with God. He lives in Him and becomes one with Him. Thus at every stage the atheistic dualism of the Sankhya is avoided by the Avatar of the Gita. He simply makes use of the Sankhya analysis of nature and human personality to popularise the teaching of the Upanishads. The skilful way in which the technical terms of Sankhya are employed in the Gita to express the universal religious experience of men is well illustrated by its use of the words, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. If we regard these three terms simply as the technical scientific jargon of the Sankhya, we missa good deal of the teaching of the Gita. If, on the other oa a them as referring to the moral, the emotio-18 PEARLS OF WISDOM nal and the animal nature of man respectively, someof the verses in which they occur throw light on the universal human experience. We may admit that the Sankhya ana- lysis and its account of evolution have now been superseded and have given place to more scientific theories. But that does not invalidate the teaching of the Gita which is ulti- mately based on religious experience. The relation of the Gita to Patanjali’s Yoga system is similar to its relation to Kapila’s Sankhya. In fact there is no essential difference between the Sankhya and Yoga systems except that the latter makes a faint mention of _ Iswara and prescribes a graded course for reaching Kaivalya or isolation from Prakriti. Patanjali who later systemati- sed Yoga accepts the Sankhya dualism of Purusha and Prakriti and believes in the theory of the evolution of the universe from the juxtaposition of Purusha and Prakriti. He defines Yoga as Chitta-Vritti-Nirodha or the stopping of the movements of the mind and he prescribes a system of graded exercises for achieving this end. But the Gita, as we have seen, rejects the dualism of Sankhya and uses the word Yoga in afar wider and more varied sense. It uses the term sometimes to denote power, well-being, and synthesis. But above all, as we have already said, it uses it in the sense of union or fellowship with God. It is only in Chapter VI that it uses the word in the sense of mental concentration as in Patanjali. Here and elsewhere the Bhagavan of the Gita makes mention of some of the steps of the graded system of Patanjali but not vat allina rigid and systematic manner. The upward way 19 the Gita is a natural slope, not an artificial staircase OF ladder. The teacher takes particular care that the regulations he pres- cribes are not harsh. He advocates moderation in eating and sleeping and riot severe fasts OF vigils. He advises no~ Peete eet GENERAL INTRODUCTION 19 difficult -postures or prolonged breathing exercises; He severely condemns all, mortifications of the flesh. Ina word; the Yoga-of Patanjali’s system is amere channel of mental descipline while.the Yopa" of the Gita is an eae of spiritual life. eet Lastly, the relation of the Gita to the Bhagavata school of theism is particularly intimate, as the very name Bhaga- vad Gita shows. There isno doubt that the Gita’s emphasis on Bhakti is derived from this source. Also the doctrine of Prapatti according to which a man who wishes to be saved has to surrender himself absolutely to God and pray for His forgiveness and mercy was originally a Bhagavata doctrine. It is also given expression to in the Gita in the following well known verse :— “Setting aside all rules of Dharma, come unto Me alone for shelter.Do not grieve.’ I will release thee from all sins.” The emphasis on the personal aspects of God making the Gita primarily a theistic scripture and not a mere philoso- Phical treatise is also due to the Bhagavata religion. Some critics even go to the length of Saying that the nucleus of the Gita was a Bhagavata manual and that it gradually grew into its present form. This is an exaggeration. Fof the message of the Gita is much more comprehensive and pro- found than that of the Bhagavata theism. Also the numerous echoes that we fiind in the Gita from the Upani- shads, specially the Kathopanishad, and the use of the term Brahman in all the three Upanishadic meanings of the impersonal Absolute, the personal God, and the immanent Spirit are a proof of the fundamental Upanishadic basis of the Gita. But it must be admitted that a warm current of20. PEARLS OF WISDOM love and devotion to a personal God—Vasudeva—flows from the Bhagavata school into the Bhagavad Gita. Thus we have in the Gita a grand synthesis oot only of the various ways and means of religion, not only of tlie various concepts symbolising the ultimate Reality but also of the various schools of religious thought prevalent at the time when this great scripture came into existence. We have already compared the Gita to the Ganges. To continue the figure we may say that many tributaries join it in its course from the Mimamsa, the Vedanta, the Sankhya, the Yoga, and the Bhagavata regions. But the main stream comes from the Himalyan heights of the Upani- shads. Lower down the stream if we taste the water we cannot say from what tributary it comes. The waters mix perfectly, and it is all one stream. Modern scholarship has no doubt discovered a few inconsistencies here and there in the teaching. But they are only in details which are of no significance. We may say, therefore, that once in the history of Indian thought a grand synthesis was achieved. All schools were harmonised and from acom- mon platform went forth an appeal for Yoga oF union with God. The Gita calls upon all without distinction of Varna or Ashrama to lead a holy life, to seek refuge in the Spirit, to look upon all creatures ‘as aspects of one Reality and to perceive behind the claims of every duty, » the stern voice of God. That is why though it is addres- sed to a soldier on the battle field it comes home to all of us. In a verse which Sankara regards as the very essence 6f the scripture, the Gita says :— « He who does my work and looks upon Me as his hout other attachments goal, he who worships Me wit! and’ who is without hatred towards any creature— he comes to Me, O Arjuna. ai‘MG a se GENERAL INTRODUCTION a Ill. THE PRESENT RENAISSANCE We have said above that the Upanishads represent the first Renaissance in the history of Hinduism and that the Gita and the epics in their final form represent the second Renaissance. The third Renaissance came in the fourth and fifth centuries of the Christian era and gave us the early Puranas, Tantras, and in their systematised form the Darsanas. The fourth came in the seventh and eighth. centuries and gave us the Bhakti poetry of the Alwars and Nayanmars of Southern India and the Advaita philosophy of Sankara. The fifth came in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and gave us the theistic systems of Ramanuja, Madhva and Saiva-Siddhanta. The sixth came in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and gave rise to the great: Bhakti movements in Northern India connected with the names of Ramananda, Chaitanya, Vallabha and the saints of Maharashtra, The seventh came inthe nineteenth and the twentieth centuries and is still continuing. The morning star of this Renaissance was Ram Mohan Roy, the founder of the Brahmo Samaj. And after the pioneering work done by the Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj and the activities of the Theosophical Society, the actual Renaiss- ance may be said to begin with the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa which cover the entire orbit of Hinduism. This modern Renaissance has enriched our Teligious literature with the lectures of Swami Viveka- nanda, the poems of Tagore, the message of truth and non-violence of Mahatma Gandhi, the “Life Divine” of Sti Aurobindo and the reinterpretation of Hindu Philosophy by Dr. Radhakrishnan—to mention only a few of its achievements, This Renaissance differs from all the previous Renaiss-22 PEARLS OF WISDOM ances in two important respects. Firstly, during its time, India is no longer separated from the rest of the world. In fact, the Renaissance itself is India’s reaction to all the forces that began to operate in the country as a result of the British conquest—forces represented by Christian missions and English education which opened for us the doors of European science, European history and European political institutions, Secondly, the present Renaissance is not confined to religion. It covers the entire field of natio- nal life. If, as we have said, the age of the Upanishads. is one of religious revolution and the age of the Bhagavad Gita is one of expansion and consolidation, the present age is one of all-round reconstruction. The work of reconst- ruction is proceeding on all fronts at a rapid pace espe- cially after India gained independence. We are today striving hard to bring into existence a welfare State, a socialistic pattern of society,a balanced and self-supporting economy and an integrated system of education and fine arts, But all these secular activities represent only the body of the nation. Its soul is the moral and religious idealism of the people. And there is a good deal of work to be done in this direction so as to make our religion a live force among the common people prompting them to lead purer and more purposeful lives. The religion has to be freed from the entanglements of the caste system, its rituals have to be simplified and made meaningful, its beliefs have to be cleared of all the superstitions of a primitive mythology and legendary history, its priests have to be well educated and trained for their duties, and its essential doctrines have to be taught in the light of modern knowledge in all the educational institutions of the country. In all this work we cannot have better sources of inspira- tion than the words-of wisdom contained in the UpanishadsGENERAL INTRODUCTION 23 and the Bhagavad Gita which strike for usan unmistakably universal note in religion. Some of the well known verses from these scriptures, classified according to the subjects they deal with and arranged in a logical order, may well become a grammar of spiritual life. A humble attempt in this direction is made in the following chapters.PART I CHAPTER I SCRIPTURES AND TEACHERS “Scriptures and Teachers are only the sign-posts on the Way.” Every well-established religion has its own authorita- tive canon. Christianity has its Bible, Islam has its Koran and Buddhism has its Tripitaka. Similarly Hinduism has its Vedas. But Hinduism is rather unique in that it has no single founder. It is an ethnic religion like judaism, not a creedal religion like Christianity or Islam. Its history coincides with the history of the race which produced it. It did not come into existence suddenly along with the life of a single individual as Christianity did with the life of Christ and as Islam did with the life of Mohammad. It grew slowly as the spiritual experiences of a great many seers came to be handed down from generation to genera- tion and looked upon as a holy tradition. It has no definite creed by subscribing to which one can become a Hindu. It is much more complex and has much greater variety than the creedal religions of the world. In fact one may almost say that Hinduism is more a league of religions thana single religion. Hence its well-known spirit of toleration and res- pect for the other religions of the world. It looks upon all religions as so many ways leading to a single goal. At the same time it insists on every man following bis own religion accepting its authority and practising the disciplines it prescribes. This double spirit of toleration towards other religions and unswerving faith in one’s own religion is very well brought out by the well-known verses in the Bhagavad Gita. The Avatar of the Gita says on the one hand ‘“‘How-SCRIPTURES AND TEACHERS 25 soever men approach me, even so do I accept them” and. on the other hand “Better one’s own Dharma though imperfect than the Dharma of another well-discharged. Better death in one's own Dharma; the Dharma of another is fraught with fear”. Religions which have no authoritative scriptures and which do not insist on faith in them will never have any strength, however reasonable their teachings may be. When a religion admits that it believes equally in all the scriptures of the world, and takes the best in each of them, it becomes only electic and lifeless. Garlands of flowers gathered from various trees may appear at first rather attractive but they fade away in a day and will soon become dry as dust. It is only a living tree that can produce crops of fresh flowers every day. Every great religion is a living tree which produces flowers of its own in every season. In former times it was believed that the authoritative scriptures of every world-religion were directly inspired by God. Christian theologians used to maintain the prin- ciple of verbal inspiration. And even now the orthodox view in Hinduism is that the Vedas are uncreated and eternal. Similar views are held by the teachers of other religions. But it is one thing to recognise an authorita- tive canon and quite another to say that every word of it is either eternal or directly inspired by God. It should be remembered that the divine light comes to us’ through human channels and is therefore conditioned by human limitations. Even the saviours, prophets and avatars belong to a particular age and so their teachings are conditioned by the limitations of that age. Therefore, it is but reasonable to hold that the principle of authority applies only in general terms to the whole body of scriptures which every great religion holds as sacred. This is tacitly26 7 PEARLS OF WISDOM admitted by every religion when it emphasises some parts. of the canon and allows others to fall into desuetude, It is very important that we should be able to dissrimi- nate between the. husk and the living seeds. All references in any scripture to the scientific, sociological or economic beliefs of the age which produced that scripture belong to the husk. They cannot be put on the same level as the spiritual truths taught by that scripture. Those beliefs are bound to change from age to age. Therefore, those who in- sist on the equal validity of the scientific beliefs and spiritual truths of the scripture do a great dis-service to religion. It is for this reason that we regard the living tradition connected with a religion as important as the scriptures themselves. Religions which confine themselves to the authority of a particular scripture and do not recognise the importance of teachers who belong to the tradition flowing from that scripture become stunted, as they arrest a natural growth. A great teacher isa living scripture. His authority helps to preserve what is vital in the original revelation. The Taittiriya Upanishad signifizantly says that when a student of the Veda has any doubts regarding what is to be done in certain circumstances, he should seek the guidance of a teacher of irreproachable character and do as he does. Hinduism accordingly lays great stress on the sanctity of a guru. It teaches that a guru should be Jooked upon as almost equal to a god and the teaching imparted only by the living voice of a guru can become fruitful. But this principle, like all good principles, may easily be exaggerated. It is not always easy to find a man who has all the qualifications of a guru. Sri Ramana Maharshi, therefore, wisely observes that a guru need not ways have a human form. One's own Ishta-Devata may al ru and give him all the light that he needs, ~ pecome one’s BUSCRIPTURES AND TEACHERS 27 It is well known that the scriptures of Hinduism are divided into two classes — the Sruti and the Smriti. The Sruti consists of the four Vedas and each Veda consists of four parts —namely, the Mantras, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads. The Mantras are hymns addressed to various gods and goddesses. The Brahmanas are explanations of the Mantras and of the rituals to be performed. The Aranyakas are meditations on the meaning of the mantras. And the Upanishads are mystical treatises revealing the highest truths. These are supremely authori- tative. The Smriti consists of the Codes of Law, the Itiha- sas or Epics, the Puranas, the Agamas, and the Darsanas. These are all secondary scriptures. Their authority is derived from the Sruti, They only develop the vatious aspects of the Sruti. The Itihasas andthe Puranas may contain some historical materials. But their object is not to give historical facts but to teach religious truths. They are religious treatises not historical ones. They exemplify _ the truths of the Veda by means of chronicles, legends and stories. The Agamas are sectarian scriptures giving details of worship of the principle deities, namely, Vishnu, Siva and Sakti. Hence they are divided into three classes— Vaishnava, Saiva and Sakta. The Darsanas are Pphiloso- phical treatises which develop the philosophical aspect of the teaching of the Veda, The Upanishads, the Brahma-sutras and the Bhagavad Gita which is a part of the Mahabharata are called the Prasthana Traya — the triple authority. The Upanishads occur at the end of cach Veda and are therefore called Vedantas. They contain the highest teachings of Hinduism, The Brahma-sutras are only discussions Tegarding the © interpretations of the various passages of the Upanishads, The Bhagavad Gita contains the essence of the Upanishads28. PEARLS OF WISDOM in the attractive form of a historical dialogue. All schools of philosophy accept the authority of the Prasthana Traya, though they give their own interpretations of them in their commentaries, There can really be no end to the production of new scriptures in conformity with the teachings of the Veda. Every age may produce its own scriptures in the future, as in the past, to give guidance to men in carrying out the principles of the Veda in the altered conditions of the time. Hinduism certainly contemplates the production of new scriptures, as it does the advent of new Avatars and the promulgation of new laws—all in conformity with the spirit of the Veda. For instance in our own generation the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi on truth and non- violence are in the process of becoming a new scripture. The oracles of God who is eternal never cease to function. At the same time we should not forget that all scriptures are only means to an end and not ends in them- selves, Theend is God-realisation. The knowledge of scriptures is one thing and the knowledge of God is quite another. If the former does not lead to the latter it is quite useless, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa has a very instructive parable on this point. If a man gets a letter from his village asking him to bring a number of things from the city, he bas to acquire those things and take them home and not simply get by heart the list of things con- tained in the letter. Similarly, we have to carry out the teachings of the scriptures, put into practice the principles which they advocate and acquire the qualifications which they lay down before we go back to our home in God. Every scripture is a way leading to our true home. We should reach the home and not linger on the road.SCRIPTURES AND TEACHERS 2° 1" a: ueafafirgagea ade are: | aa fafenardft + oe a Tt af But he who discards the scriptural law and acts as his desires prompt him—he attains neither perfection nor-hap- piness nor the highest state. 28 Teor THT & arateriarafeadt | ae URafaaried at adfrerdfa i Therefore let Scripture be thy authority in determining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Knowing the scriptural law thou shouldst do thy work in this world. ; B.G. XVI, 23, 24. 3. maar agfedt a mer: agents aed tt faa: | apadt aur guise cerssadt sar Huargae: “He who cannot be heard of by many and whom many, even hearing, do not know—wonderful is the man who can expound Him, and adept is the man whocan find Him. And. wonderful indeed is the man who can know Him, even when taught by an expert. 4. Tato sie oe gfe agar FRAT: | waraited aferca arfer aefarree TTT Ut “When taught by an infetior man, it (the self) is not easily known, even though often meditated upon. Unless it is taught by a different man, there is no way to it, for it is inconceivable, being subtler than the subtle. Ka. U. 5. Siar are wer Terfeatere geen arer fafa ST BT TaeTenaet aafet ve30 PEARLS OF WISDOM Arise, awake, obtain the best teachers and learn of them. Sharp as the edge of a razor, hard to cross and dif- ficult, is that path—so the sages say. : Ka. U. 6% wafer ¢ ara mf a gy agra wary sft go ufart anita HST ENT! ag wager araatéa fae fafeat arfice smracttfer tt “Verily, my boy, you are shining like one who knows Brahman. Who has taught you?” _ He replied, “Others than men. But, Sir, I wish that you teach me. For I hav: heard fiom persons like you that only knowledge which is lcarat froma teacher leads to real good.” Ch. U. 7. wena oer aie: ear a Ta TA aeae afaar erat: waraest HET: 1 carat Hares fet ut When these subjects are taught toa high-souled person who feels the highest devotion to God and to his Guru as to God himself—then will they shine forth, then will they shine forth indeed, S.U. 8° Feaniisdaferngmiea) wet ae1 oH AT Sareararar wae: t ararata fred aA THAT AT eqaweedl: 1 aaa wafenory) aaa Tafeaery | gaara srafeaery yt a wafeaery ears sawaeat a waaay : Having taught the Veda the teacher instructs the pupil :— 7@ SCRIPTURES AND TEACHERS 31 “Speak the truth! Do thy duty! Do not neglect the ‘study of the Veda! After bringing to thy teacher the re- ward that is pleasing to him, do not cut off the line of thy progeny ! Do not swerve from truth! Do not swerve from duty! Do not neglect well-being! Do not neglect prospe- tity! Do not neglect the study and the teaching of the Vedal 9." lafagerateat a wafererq aged wa fagaat wal areal wa afafaedt wa aearrentt await aft afacenft ay erofr: area gafenta ofa eeterenta tt eerefir “Do not neglect the rites due to the gods and thy an- cestors! Let thy mother be to thee like a god! Let thy father be to thee like a god! Let thy teacher be to thee like a god! Let thy guest be to thee like a god! Whatever actions are blameless—those should be performed and not others. Whatever good practices there are among us—they are to be adopted by thee, not others, 10.8 & & sreregaiet aren: at earate safer | sam tq) arzastay 1 fiat 8ay 1 fear Raq frat Ray 1 afrer aaq | : “Whatever good Brahmanas there are superior to us— they should be given a seat and served by thee. Whatever thou givest—give it with faith, not without faith. Give generously, give with modesty, with fear, with sympathy, 11* aq afe & wafaPaticar ar qafafatacar at erg 2 aa we: aentae: | ger SGT: | oye a aor: yl Ta A Ta AIST war aa ade: | awarqremg! & Ta wen: arate) gar32 PEARLS OF WISDOM age: | agar wre: BBN TATA wa aITT aor aa aaa) oe aM UT eT adafiag | magurany | UAgTeTy! ary ; aagirery tt “If there should be any doubt in thy mind with regard to any deed or with regard to conduct—in that case con- duct thyself as Brahmanas do who are competent to judge, who are devoted, but not led by others, and who are not harsh lovers of virtue. “And then with regard also to spoken against, conduct thyself towards thei do who are competent to judge, who are devoted, but not Jed by others, and who are not harsh lovers of virtue. “This is the rule ; this is the teaching. This is the secret of the Veda. This is the command. Thus should one observe. Thus indeed should it be observed.” T.u. persons who have been m as BrahmanasCHAPTER IT FAITH, REASON AND KNOWLEDGE “Faith is a flash of light in darkness, Knowledge is the u nfating light of day, and Reason is the read that lies between,” The counter part of authority in religion is Sraddha or faith. Mancannot live without faith of some sort. If today by any accident all the temples, churches and mosques in the world are destroyed, and the scriptures of all religions are burnt, the faith of man is bound to create again new temples, churches and mosques and produce new scriptures to satisfy his religious instinct. We, human - beings, are surrounded by a mystery on all sides. Even this visible world isa great mystery. And the worlds beyond our ken are still greater mysteries. All creation is a mystery and it is with the aid of faith and reason that we grope our way through it. Faith is a tremendous force not only in religion but in all departments of life. Faith ina military leader helps anarmyto victory. Faith in a national leader helpsa nation to success. Faith in a doctor cures a patient, And we see that, in this count ry, faith in a mantra enables even an ordinary man to effect miraculous cures of even a deadly snakebite. In the history of nations it is the ages of faithithat ae crowded with heroic.achievements. Ages of scepticism and tationalism are comparatively sterile. In a ‘Temarkable verse, the Bhagavad Gita says “Man is of the nature of hig faith, what his faith is, that verily he is”, The enemy of P.W.—334, PEARLS OF WISDOM faith is doubt (samsaya). And the Gita soundly declares that a man who ever doubts goes to ruin. But doubt and reason have their own part to play in religious life, though an inferior one. The respective func- tions of faith and reason are exactly .those of a poet and A poet is a creator; a critic is an interpreter. It is of the critic not only to interpret the creations of the poet, but also to point out their shortcomings. Similarly reason has to point out what is wrong, or out of place or out of date in faith. In short, faith should be above reason ‘and not against it. There are some things in religion which are above the reach of reason but which can be grasped only by faith. But there are a good many things included in traditional religion on which reason can exercise its authority- For-instance there are animal sacrifices and religious persecutions which have become out of date with the progress of man. In all such cases it is reason that should come to our aid and help us to discriminate between what is permanent and what is temporary in the teachings of scriptures. Thus though reason is below faith it has an important part to play in religious life. If reason is totally div orced from faith, the latter becomes blind faith and will do more harm than good, In Hindu philosophy reason is assigned a very important place. Its function is toconvince of the truth of the scriptural revelations. Tarka or ic may not be able to reveal God to us but it can cere ly clear a’ a critic. the duty way all our misconceptions regarding Him. + ain has always to be tested by practice. Just as t take on trust statements given in textbooks then test their validity by experiments in labora- an jes, 8° also in religion we have to take scriptural state- tor oD trust and test their truth by experiments in the mooratories of our own hearts and lives. In this way we ital tain! Faith ag jn science we firs!FAITH, REASON AND KNOWLEDGE 35 should make the experience of ancient sagés our own. It is only then that we derive the full benefit of our study.of scriptures, Thus faith has to be supplemented at every step by reason and practice. An important question is raised at the beginning of the seventeenth chapter in the Gita, about the relation between scriptural authority and independent faith. Arjuna asks Krishna “What is the nature of the worship of a man who has faith but does not strictly follow the ordinances of scriptures?” The answer given is that that depends upon the nature of the man’s faith. One man’s faith may lead him to the worship of true God but another man’s.faith may lead him to the worship of false gods and demons. Therefore the best. kind of worship is. that. in which both scriptural authority and individual faith co-operate. For, while the worship in which scriptural ordinances are followed without individual faith is only sterile, the worship in which scriptural authority is set aside and individual notions are followed and acted upon may be positively harmful. Especially in the early stages of religious life the individual should act in accordance with the scriptural authority. Otherwise he may fall a victim to mere egotism. Freedom from authority can only be acquired by a long process of discipline and ‘obedience. Till this freedom is gained, doubt will continue ‘to haunt the mind of the man of faith especially if he is a nian of wide culture. The more cultured a man is the-more often is he assailed by doubt. When we acquaint ourselves with the conclusions of modern science, especially those of astronomy and also when we make an impartial study of all the great religions of the world, we may find that “many of our cherished notions are undermined. But this ‘only mzans that our faith, should progress and go on toa36 PEARLS OF WISDOM higher stage. Doubt and reason may upset faith for sometime,-but faith has to return, not of course the old faith. Else there would be no progress. Proceeding thus by stages we have to reach our goal where perfect know- ledge replaces faith. Then we shall not only believe but also-see. In other words ‘Sraddha’ then blossoms into ‘Inana’. For Sraddha is only the spark of divinity in man, but jnang, as some Hindu mystics say, is God Himself, : L* sraraterwa art are: daafizw: 1 at wear it mfrafatnfinrett : ‘He who is full of faith and zeal and who has subdued his senses obtains divine knowledge: and when he has obtained it, he sodn gains supreme peace. B.G. IV-39 2. aaarrgarna deere fare ara aeisfet a TO at GS Maa: 1 But the man who is ignorant and has no faith and wlio always doubts goes to ruin. There is neither this world nor the world beyond nor happiness for the man wha always doubts. BG. IV-40 3.0 ahidercentt snaafordaa 1 area 3 aif fracaiar aresrr Works do not bind the man, O Dhananjaya, whom Yoga prompts to selfless action and whose doubts are destroyed by divine knowledge and who ever possesses his Ratt rd B.G. IV-41 42 Terarrarg yet warfare: | fortt dud ahrnfastfess wT : Wherefore, having cut asunder with the sword of knowledge this doubt in thy heart, which is born of jgnorance: betake thyself to Yoga and arise, O Bharata. 7 B.G. IV-42.FAITH, RBASON AND KNOWLEDGB 3F 5. waQUMT: Gear vaeaTET TTT area at Frade geydarcacifr Men who have no faith in this doctrine do not come tome, © dreaded Arjund, but return to the path of death and birth. : BG. IX-3 6.* waren wea sar waft are | Taras Gel Wt aegs: T UT TT ,.. The faith of every man, O Bharata, is in accordance with his natural disposition. Man is of the nature of his faith ; what his faith is, that verily he is. B.G. XVU-3 7. area gi ot area at TAT | wef wh + a aie aT EE ; __ Whatever offering or gift is made, whatever austerity 18 practised, whatever rite is performed—if it is done without faith, it is called “Asat”, O Partha. It is of no account here or hereafter. B.G. XVII-28 8.° Aer caer afrte Hearts gaat ss | at ware: aerate ares Tt Yara: TST Not by argument is this knowledge obtained. But, O dearest, when taught by another, it is easy to; understand, You have obtained it now, holding fast to truth. May we always have an enquirer like you, O Nachiketas! Ka. U. 9. Sa aren a AAeT eet wea ANT I aeitfa qadisaa et TGA 1 Not by speech, not by mind, not by sight can He be teached. How can He be apprehended unless one says to > oneself that He is? Ka. U,38 PBARLS OF WISDOM 10.* aattttraerereretarta at: 1 weitere aera: seattefer It is by saying ‘He is” that He is to be apprehended together with His twofold nature. His real nature reveals itself to those who apprehend that He is, Ka. U.CHAPTER Il GOD'S CREATION “In God's creation law is the form and will is the substance.” God's creation of the universe isa mystery. How this universe came into existence and how this is going to end we shall probably never know. Nor is it strictly ne- cessary for our purpose here. The Gita says, “ Mysterious is the origin of beings, manifest is their midmost state and mysterious again is theirend”. Modern science has come to the conclusion that the cosmos came into existencé about five billion years ago, that the solar system was formed about five thousand million years ago, that our earth took its present shape about two thousand million years ago, that life made its appearance on this planet about a thousand million years ago and that man made his appearance ten million years ago. We are also informed that the sun around which our tiny planet revolves is only a medium- sized star in a corner of a huge galaxy of stars called the milky-way and there are innumerable such galaxies spread out in boundless space. In fact, using the two hundred inch telescope, astronomers have found more galaxies in ‘space than the stars in our own galaxy which is supposed to contain more than a hundred thousand million stars. And some of these galaxies are at such enormous and unimaginable distances that light from them travelling at * the rate of one hundred and eighty six thousand miles per second can reach us only after five thousand million years, “It seems to be now, well-established that the more power-40 7 PEARLS OF WISDOM ful the telescope which we use, the greater is the number of galaxies that we can see, and we can see them only as mere faint patches of light. It is in the light of such facts that we have to con- sider the accounts of creation given in some of the an- cient scriptures of the world. Obviously those accounts are only fancyful and poetic and not scientific. It is a mistaken ingenuity to try to square them with the findings of modern science, Scriptures are intended to give us instruction on the internal world of spirit and not on the external world of matter. Therefore we should concentrate our attention on.the attitude of great seers and. prophets of the world to God’s creation as a whole, The prophets are never ¢arried away by the mere phenomena which they observe around them, as some scientists are. They never ignore the source of these phenomena, they never think that na- ture has an independent existence of its own, and never commit the mistake of imagining that the whole cosmic drama is evolving of its own accord. On the contrary, what charaterises their attitude is the burning sense of the presence of God behind every phenomenon. For instance an Upanishadic seer exclaims : “It is through fear of Him that the wind blows, it is through fear of Him that the sun shines, it is through fear of Him that the fire burns and it is through fear of Him that death runs across the world.” Another seer exclaims, “It is by the command of the Eter- ‘nal that heaven and earth stand apart and it is by the command of the Eternal that what are called moments, hours, days, nights, half-months, months, seasons, and years—all stand apart » And a third exclaims, “The Inf He is to the south, He is to the north, He is indeed all this”. The Avatar of the Gita points out that nature is the’ nite is below, He is above, He is behind, He is in front, ©GOD'S CREATION 41 mother of all teings, but that He Himself is the generating Father. Accordingly, the prophets never lose sight of either the organic unity of the universe or its inseparability from God. They significantly compare God and His creation to a spider and its web. Asa spider produces its web from its own body so does God project Himself into His creation.” One great poet in the Taittiriya Upanishad with pro- found insight traces the cause of spiritual evolution on the earth and suggests to us the basis on whicha great civiliza- tion can be raised. He points out in effect that evolutioa has proceeded from matter to life, from life to mind, from mind to intelligence and from intelligence to perfect bliss, Or, to put it more concretely, the evolution has proceeded from stones to plants, from plants to animals; from animals to men and from men to the Supreme Spirit. The begin- ning and the end of this grand cosmic process ate shrouded in mystery. For, they are beyond time. The timeless Spirit divides itself in time into spirit and matter. At the first stage of the evolution it is all matter and the spirit is dormant. Atthe second stage the spirit makes its ap- Pearance as life and begins to rule matter. At the third stage mind or consciousness is evolved and gains further control over matter with which it is associated. At the fourth stage represented by man, intelligence and. reason come into play and dominate matter. And finally at the last stage the spirit reaches perfection, . comes into its own and the matter lies dormant in it. It will be observed that in this mighty process of evolution as spirit gains in power, matter shrinks away and that, in between the beginning and the end, we have dual beings consisting partly of spirit and * partly of matter and that perfection of spirit is the goal towards which all are marching. Therefore, as man is “nearer the goal than a stone or a plant or an animal, so44 PEARLS OF WISDOM do we live? Where is our final rest? O ye who know Brahman, tell us — at whose command do we abide in Pleasure or pain? 8% ara: erat frafriesor amit af: gee fr feerqt dant wat aeareraTaTarenrori: qasaaat: 11 Time, one’s own nature, necessity, chance, the ele- ments, the female womb, the male energy—should these be considered as’ the cause? It cannot be their combination either, because of the existence of the soul. But the soul also is powerless in respect of the cause of pleasure and pain. 9° % arming atertacrafs — eyvifa- qerq a: sronfa fafeearte ay srarcageres- fatto: 11 . Those who were devoted to meditation and concentra- tion saw the power of God Himself, hidden in its own -qualities. He is the One who presides over all these causes, from ‘time’ to the ‘soul’, S.U. 10. aa arate dart ata atten anieetar- fad ade ogwttenn anfeatarfectet TAT: AHTAT Ut “Be it so, my boy. In the beginning, there was Being alone—One only without a second. Some people say that jn the beginning there was non-being alone, onc only without a second and that from that non-being Being was produced. 11. srg eq aad emfaft are saTTT: aT t aaa ara andterarfadtay iGOD'S CREATION 45 “But how indeed could it be thus, my boy?” said he. “How could Being be produced from non-being? No, my boy, in the beginning this was Being alone—One only without a second. 12, waa ag St smaafe | Tasisgaa | Teer tea ag eat smrafe actsgaa i a art tera aogu: ware somes ar arerrgereT It thought, may I be many, mayI grow forth. It sent forth fire. The fire thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth water. The water thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth food. CHU. 13° aemead 2ar ager Tenge: Tear agen: gwar aaifey sromat aifgadt are at aed aa fafra From Him are born the various gods and demi-gods, and men and cattle and birds; and. also the breaths of life, rice and corn, penance and faith, and truth chastity and law. 14, aa: agar firene aaserreree fered: THET: 1 wae wat Heat wanes Pte qahersst CATT th From Him come all the seas and the mountains ; fronr Him flow the rivers of every kind; from Him come all the herbs and their juices, by which this inner soul subsists. along with the elements. Mu. U. 15." advienia: gat Tea Ten CfrerieereTaT 1 TIT Te: TRTHAATATA. TAS ATCTETAME FHT42 PEARLS OF WISDOM isa saint nearer the goal thana sinner. This profound law of spiritual progression which the Upanishadic seer observed in the universe has become the basis of Hindu civilisation. For, according to Hindu writers teachers and law-givers, every movement in society or in the history of nations has to be tested by this law. Its worth has always to be esti- mated by the spiritual values which it helps to generate. That society is the best which gives the highest place to the spiritual values of truth, righteousness, beauty and love, a lower place to the intellectual values of cleverness, dexte- rity and skill and a still lower place to the physical values of strength, solidity and speed. That civilization is again and. subordinates. all physical and intellectual values to them. In their long and chequered history the Hindus have tried with varying success to uphold this ideal of spiritual progression in all spheres of life—social, educational, ethical and religious. Therefore one may say that the law of spiritual progression is the master-key to Hindu civilization. 1. ered qari eaemrearft we