Source: San Diego Spiritual Center (fb.com/sandiegospiritualcenter)
Sat Parashar, PhD
This is the world of data and information. We hear of information explosion; good, bad and ugly. Knowledge is the application of data and information to solve human problems. Wisdom is knowledge acquired by personal experience.
There are many pseudo intellectuals and motivated interests including ‘divide and rule’ politicians who will relegate Vedas to the relics of the past; ancient; written in Sanskrit, a language not known to most of the 7.8 billion people today on this planet.The fact is Vedas and Vedic knowledge is wisdom for the humanity.
It is a set of experiential knowledge of Rishis, Maharishis, Saints and Seers of the past.Actually, when Maharishi Ved Vyasa along with his team compiled and organized Vedic knowledge in the form of Vedas, he compiled experiential knowledge/ wisdom of the Rishis, Maharishis, Saints and Seers of the years gone before him.So, if Ved Vyasa lived at least 5000 years ago, the Vedic Knowledge is of many more thousands of years.
There are today some agnostic persons, who say, I believe what I see with my eyes.Saints and Seers of the past saw not only what is visible to the agnostic’s eye, but something more.They saw manifest and unmanifest realities of life.Manifest is nature and its evolutes. Unmanifest is the energy/ primordial matter that is at the origin of nature and its evolutes.Human being of the pre- Veda period named it Ishwar or Parmatma.
Can I have Vedic Knowledge without knowing Sanskrit?Sure.5000 year back, it was in Sanskrit. Today, it is available in many languages of the world.Hindi is closest to Sanskrit. Sanskrit has 43 letters, Hindi as 38. English has just 26.No translation can capture 100% of the original intent, thought or phenomenon, but you get a workable link.I can mention here two, free of cost, 24×7, sources:1. Vedicheritage.gov.in2. Vedpuran.netThere are others also.
If you want to learn Sanskrit and read in Sanskrit, there are many resources available.We are in wonderful times. There is no deficit of data, information, knowledge and wisdom. Deficit of attention is the main problem.
Bhagvad Gita- The Gist of Vedic Knowledge.You are busy. You are short of time. No problem. For a person on the go, there is Bhagvad Gita that is the gist of Vedic Knowledge. The Bhagvad Gita with English translation published by Gita Press Gorakhpur, UP, India is my favorite.
It still costs less than 20 cents in India.Bhagvad Gita, as you may know, has been written by Ved Vyasa, the same person who led compilation of Vedas and wrote Puranas including Mahabharata, of which Bhagvad Gita is an Upanishad. That assures the continuity of thought.Vedic Knowledge in Non- Sanskrit languages.
The two realities of life, what Veda taught, manifest and unmanifest, have been expressed by spiritual leaders of the later years in their own language.
Kabir Das (15th/ 16th AD)
एक राम दशरथ के बेटे,एक राम जो घट घट बैठा,एक राम जो सकल पसारा,एक राम जो सब से नयारा ।।
Meaning, In one way or sense, Ram is son of King Dashrath (Human being). In another way or sense, Ram is that soul in each of us (The origin of all). In yet another way or sense, all those forms, animate and inanimate, that you see on this planet and in the Universe are the forms of Ram (The origin of all)And in the yet another way, Ram is yet distinct from all forms (as the origin and creator).
Why Ram is called a phenomenon by Kabir is because राम = र् + अ + म Ram (राम) is an abbreviation of: र् = रचनाकर्ता अ = आलन- पालनकर्ता म = मृत्यकर्ता
That is very true, as before Ram Son of King Dashrath, we have had divine personality by the name Bhagwan Parsuram.
Baba Nanak (15th/ 16th AD)Baba Nanak gave mool mantar (the most fundamental verse/ message)एक ओंकार सत गुर परसाद।
Meaning, true Guru/ Guide/ Creator is ॐ (Om or Aum), and everything else is His creation. He is the origin of all.Why Baba Nanak called ॐ as the creator or origin of all.B’cause again, ॐ is an abbreviation.ॐ = उ + अ + म Where,उ = उपजना अ = आलन- पालनकर्ता म = मृत्यकर्ता
The same three functions of Generation, Operation and Destruction.Do you see an abbreviation of GOD here?How can this wisdom help make this world better to live and leave for the next generations?
That we shall discuss in a follow on.
