There are so many scriptures in the world in support of their respective views or religion. But which one is authentic?
That which is impersonal, independent, eternal, and continuing for ever as a living tradition and still available for anyone's immediate experience alone could be considered as authentic.
Vedas alone seem to have all the above qualities. Veda means "to know". As a noun it also means knowledge. It is very obvious that knowledge is everywhere. So it is infinite.Vedas themselves declare that they are infinite. But still its manifestation happens through Rishis and its transmission happens through unbroken chain of teachers and students who are all finite. Also the Vedas unanimously declare that the entire universe is that supreme being or God on whom every particular being is absolutely dependent for existence. This gives credibility to Vedas beyond doubt.
Here are some more reasons:
1. Vedas, unlike scriptures of other religions, are author-less and have been preserved through unbroken teacher-student tradition from time immemorial. The Rishis are not their authors as they never claimed so and they are only "SEERS" of the various mantras that form the infinite Vedas.
2. The meaning of Vedas culminate in the absolute Brahman as the universal, eternal Self, indwelling and supporting the entire universe as the body. The Self of the universe, which is essentially the universe, always remains as the source/abode/destination of all entities with name/forms. Every particular being absolutely depends on this Vedic God manifesting as this universe and this is available for everybody's immediate experience. This cannot be denied by anyone belonging to any faith or no faith. All the many embodied "individual selves" can be said to be reflections or instances of this universal Self. All the many infinite individual 'selves' can also be visualized as inseparably rooted in THAT universal Self as it pervades everything.
3. The entire universe is also looked upon as a manifestation of Vedas and every entity in nature is performing its respective duty which goes by the name of sva-dharma. Humans are supposed to emulate that by engaging in duties according to their nature.
4. The four letters of the sacred syllable OM which is the essence of Vedas, stand for the waking, dreaming, deep sleep and the final absolute state of silence or Bliss, all denoting the absolute Brahman situated as the inner Self which always remains as the absolute.
5. The essence of Veda which is the universal Self that abides in all, by itself is eternal and timeless and as an entity that seem to be born continuously in various infinite forms of beings, it has both the non-historic as well as historic aspect of truth.
Thus Vedas are authentic and eternal as it has its roots in the universal Self that can never be denied by any one. Every other scripture comes and goes in time.
All that is there in the universe are in the Vedas and there is nothing in the world that is not in the Vedas. All the 33 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet stands for the 33 devatas, who are the divinities working behind 33 tattvas or realities in the world. All these devatas are said to be residing in the body of beings who are vedically knowledgeable. So such people are manifestations of God. There can be crores of such people. Hence the justification for 33 crore devatas.
Every entity in the world is "not Self". So they are teaching Brahman through "neti neti" or "Not this, Not this". This can also be understood as "not just this, not just this" as Brahman is the all pervading spirit Self of the entire universe. This establishes Brahman through anvaya and vyatireka (directly and indirectly). So, the individual self and the entire universe are simultaneously identified with Brahman as the universal Self. This is because the self and non-self have no separate identification apart from the universal Self. The identification of all name/forms thus culminates in the Vedic God, Brahman only.
All kinds of world views are included in this Vedic universal view. Dvaita and V.Advaita are not violated here as the Absolute universal Self is neither the subject/jiva nor the object/jada. Brahman as the universal Self always remains as the substratum of both on whom everything depends. The individual selves could be looked upon as the reflection (in the medium of the body) of the universal Self (Ishwara) (as in Dvaita). The individual embodied self can also be looked upon as an inseparable portion or shareera or body of the universal Self (paramAtma) or God as in Vishishtadvaita. The center of the larger circle (brahmanda or universe) and the center of the smaller circle (pindanda or jiva) coincide in such a way that they are ONE. This is Advaita.
Also the realization that Brahman is my "SELF" (in a possessive sense, just like a body would feel with regard to the Self within) is definitely not opposed to Advaita. All sadhana to attain selflessness" is to locate oneself or exist in Brahman, the universal Self which is always non-dual.
So the idea of svatantra-paratantra as in Dvaita is confirmed by the fact that all jivas (embodied selves) are absolutely dependent on Ishwara or Vishnu manifesting as the universe. This is clearly brought out in the Purusha sukta of Veda, Bhagavad Gita-11th chapter and Vishnu sahasranama dhyana sloka.
As all jivas are in the universe, the individual selves obviously will be an inseparable part of the universal Self or God. The universal Self and individual self can be said to be existing in each other.
The above Vishishtadvaitic view also is satisfied which culminates in the advaitic view where the non-dual Universal Self alone is cognized everywhere as everything else is essentially in That.
The Self of the universe is thus one and has the ability to manifest in infinite forms at the same time. Just like fire though essentially one can manifest in many forms. This may also mean the oneness of nirguna and saguna brahman which Sri Shankara has alluded to many times in his BS bhashya.
Nirgunatva is devoid of prakrithic guna. Sagunatva is the ability to support and sustain the entire universe as His "body".
So Vedic scripture alone that has its ultimate meaning culminating in the absolute universal Self, which is eternal, indubitable and spiritual can be accepted as authentic.
Objection:
There are many situations where the prayers of devotees practicing different religions have come true. There are saints and spiritual people in all religions. Theoretically whether it is a Vedic ritual or a prayer from other religion the results are not always positive. There is always a 50-50 chance of the intended wish to happen. So based on this, why should not other non-vedic scripture be accepted as authentic?
Answer:
In the above example even an atheistic person will have a 50-50 chance in getting his wishes or actions fulfilled. Therefore authenticity should not be based on the criteria that some prayers or vedic ritual yields positive results or not. Instead it should be based on the criteria that it is "impersonal, independent, eternal, and continuing for ever as a living tradition and still available for anyone's immediate experience".
As explained above, Vedas alone will qualify as authentic from that point. Also when prayers from other non-vedic religions come true, it is due to the grace of the Vedic God, Brahman only as He is everywhere. Gods of other religions have no existence apart from the Vedic God who is everywhere.
Even atheists and people of an faiths cannot deny the fact that they are absolutely depending on the Vedic God manifesting as this universe, for their existence. So wherever the God of other religion is, He can never be external to and therefore different from Vedic God who is everywhere.
Objection:
If the authenticity is based on the meaning that culminates in God manifesting as the universe then all other scriptures other than vedas like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and so on also become equivalent to vedas right?
Answer:
Vedas alone are well known as apourusheya or authorless and as the ultimate meaning culminates in the absolute Self, they are self valid. All other scriptures are known to have authors and so have a beginning in time but still they gain validity as they reflect the Vedic truths.
Namaste
Suresh
That which is impersonal, independent, eternal, and continuing for ever as a living tradition and still available for anyone's immediate experience alone could be considered as authentic.
Vedas alone seem to have all the above qualities. Veda means "to know". As a noun it also means knowledge. It is very obvious that knowledge is everywhere. So it is infinite.Vedas themselves declare that they are infinite. But still its manifestation happens through Rishis and its transmission happens through unbroken chain of teachers and students who are all finite. Also the Vedas unanimously declare that the entire universe is that supreme being or God on whom every particular being is absolutely dependent for existence. This gives credibility to Vedas beyond doubt.
Here are some more reasons:
1. Vedas, unlike scriptures of other religions, are author-less and have been preserved through unbroken teacher-student tradition from time immemorial. The Rishis are not their authors as they never claimed so and they are only "SEERS" of the various mantras that form the infinite Vedas.
2. The meaning of Vedas culminate in the absolute Brahman as the universal, eternal Self, indwelling and supporting the entire universe as the body. The Self of the universe, which is essentially the universe, always remains as the source/abode/destination of all entities with name/forms. Every particular being absolutely depends on this Vedic God manifesting as this universe and this is available for everybody's immediate experience. This cannot be denied by anyone belonging to any faith or no faith. All the many embodied "individual selves" can be said to be reflections or instances of this universal Self. All the many infinite individual 'selves' can also be visualized as inseparably rooted in THAT universal Self as it pervades everything.
3. The entire universe is also looked upon as a manifestation of Vedas and every entity in nature is performing its respective duty which goes by the name of sva-dharma. Humans are supposed to emulate that by engaging in duties according to their nature.
4. The four letters of the sacred syllable OM which is the essence of Vedas, stand for the waking, dreaming, deep sleep and the final absolute state of silence or Bliss, all denoting the absolute Brahman situated as the inner Self which always remains as the absolute.
5. The essence of Veda which is the universal Self that abides in all, by itself is eternal and timeless and as an entity that seem to be born continuously in various infinite forms of beings, it has both the non-historic as well as historic aspect of truth.
Thus Vedas are authentic and eternal as it has its roots in the universal Self that can never be denied by any one. Every other scripture comes and goes in time.
All that is there in the universe are in the Vedas and there is nothing in the world that is not in the Vedas. All the 33 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet stands for the 33 devatas, who are the divinities working behind 33 tattvas or realities in the world. All these devatas are said to be residing in the body of beings who are vedically knowledgeable. So such people are manifestations of God. There can be crores of such people. Hence the justification for 33 crore devatas.
Every entity in the world is "not Self". So they are teaching Brahman through "neti neti" or "Not this, Not this". This can also be understood as "not just this, not just this" as Brahman is the all pervading spirit Self of the entire universe. This establishes Brahman through anvaya and vyatireka (directly and indirectly). So, the individual self and the entire universe are simultaneously identified with Brahman as the universal Self. This is because the self and non-self have no separate identification apart from the universal Self. The identification of all name/forms thus culminates in the Vedic God, Brahman only.
All kinds of world views are included in this Vedic universal view. Dvaita and V.Advaita are not violated here as the Absolute universal Self is neither the subject/jiva nor the object/jada. Brahman as the universal Self always remains as the substratum of both on whom everything depends. The individual selves could be looked upon as the reflection (in the medium of the body) of the universal Self (Ishwara) (as in Dvaita). The individual embodied self can also be looked upon as an inseparable portion or shareera or body of the universal Self (paramAtma) or God as in Vishishtadvaita. The center of the larger circle (brahmanda or universe) and the center of the smaller circle (pindanda or jiva) coincide in such a way that they are ONE. This is Advaita.
Also the realization that Brahman is my "SELF" (in a possessive sense, just like a body would feel with regard to the Self within) is definitely not opposed to Advaita. All sadhana to attain selflessness" is to locate oneself or exist in Brahman, the universal Self which is always non-dual.
So the idea of svatantra-paratantra as in Dvaita is confirmed by the fact that all jivas (embodied selves) are absolutely dependent on Ishwara or Vishnu manifesting as the universe. This is clearly brought out in the Purusha sukta of Veda, Bhagavad Gita-11th chapter and Vishnu sahasranama dhyana sloka.
As all jivas are in the universe, the individual selves obviously will be an inseparable part of the universal Self or God. The universal Self and individual self can be said to be existing in each other.
The above Vishishtadvaitic view also is satisfied which culminates in the advaitic view where the non-dual Universal Self alone is cognized everywhere as everything else is essentially in That.
The Self of the universe is thus one and has the ability to manifest in infinite forms at the same time. Just like fire though essentially one can manifest in many forms. This may also mean the oneness of nirguna and saguna brahman which Sri Shankara has alluded to many times in his BS bhashya.
Nirgunatva is devoid of prakrithic guna. Sagunatva is the ability to support and sustain the entire universe as His "body".
So Vedic scripture alone that has its ultimate meaning culminating in the absolute universal Self, which is eternal, indubitable and spiritual can be accepted as authentic.
Objection:
There are many situations where the prayers of devotees practicing different religions have come true. There are saints and spiritual people in all religions. Theoretically whether it is a Vedic ritual or a prayer from other religion the results are not always positive. There is always a 50-50 chance of the intended wish to happen. So based on this, why should not other non-vedic scripture be accepted as authentic?
Answer:
In the above example even an atheistic person will have a 50-50 chance in getting his wishes or actions fulfilled. Therefore authenticity should not be based on the criteria that some prayers or vedic ritual yields positive results or not. Instead it should be based on the criteria that it is "impersonal, independent, eternal, and continuing for ever as a living tradition and still available for anyone's immediate experience".
As explained above, Vedas alone will qualify as authentic from that point. Also when prayers from other non-vedic religions come true, it is due to the grace of the Vedic God, Brahman only as He is everywhere. Gods of other religions have no existence apart from the Vedic God who is everywhere.
Even atheists and people of an faiths cannot deny the fact that they are absolutely depending on the Vedic God manifesting as this universe, for their existence. So wherever the God of other religion is, He can never be external to and therefore different from Vedic God who is everywhere.
Objection:
If the authenticity is based on the meaning that culminates in God manifesting as the universe then all other scriptures other than vedas like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and so on also become equivalent to vedas right?
Answer:
Vedas alone are well known as apourusheya or authorless and as the ultimate meaning culminates in the absolute Self, they are self valid. All other scriptures are known to have authors and so have a beginning in time but still they gain validity as they reflect the Vedic truths.
Namaste
Suresh
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