ROADMAPS TO ETERNAL BLISS:
The Message of the Vedas and the Upanishads

Devotees coming to Prashanti Nilayam must have noticed that no important function or Divine Discourse starts without chanting from the Vedas first. They would have also heard extensive chanting of the Vedas during the Dasara celebrations. More recently, Veda chanting has become a regular part of Darshan, especially in the afternoons. Swami listens to the sonorous chants for extended periods, often lost in Bliss.

In this article we shall examine the meaning of these Vedic chants and why Swami attaches so much importance to them.

Bhagavan Baba says that the Vedas are the most ancient amongst the world’s religious scriptures and represent a vast storehouse of Wisdom. What is chanted as Vedas is essentially a compilation of Supreme Knowledge as revealed to the Sages whilst in meditation. Divine revelations are not all that unusual and have occurred throughout history to many people. But what is unique about the Vedas is that the hymns have a powerful tonal quality, so much so that listening to the sounds without even understanding their meaning produces stirring vibrations in the listener.

The revelations accumulated over a period of time were classified in due course into four major Vedas. The Vedas comprise of core texts and diverse auxiliary texts. Those that came later in time were highly philosophical in content. Because they came at the end, they are collectively referred to as Vedanta [Vedanta = Veda + anta], the suffix anta denoting the later appearance. What is popularly referred to as Vedanta actually consists of texts called Upanishads. In other words, the Upanishads represent the culmination of the Vedas. There are many Upanishads, but scholars consider ten of them to be the most important.

Swami has often given the meaning of the word Upanishad. Literally, it means to “sit down near”. Who sits near to whom? The disciple sits near the Guru, thereby absorbing Wisdom and becoming enlightened. This is the outward meaning. The deeper meaning is that the individual must move nearer and nearer to the True Inner Self. The individual, as Swami often reminds us, is an Embodiment of the Eternal Atma - that is to say, Atma cloaked in a Mind and a body. This combination is also referred to as the JivAtma.

The Upanishads help the JivAtma to embark on a voyage of discovery of the JivAtma’s True Nature which is the Pure, Unadorned, Unembodied and Infinite Atma. As Professor Radhakrishnan says, “The Atma is what remains when everything that is not the True Self is discarded.” Sadhana is the process by which the JivAtma discards all the unnecessary trappings that cloud the Atma.

The Upanishads represent the highest Truth, whose value has been recognised by scholars the world over. Professor Radhakrishnan quotes the Greek scholar Plotinus who long ago independently observed:

One that seeks to penetrate the nature of the Divine Mind must see deep into the nature of his own Soul, into the most Divine point in himself. He must first make abstraction of the body, then of the lower soul which built up that body, then of all the faculties of the senses, of all desires and emotions and every such triviality, of all that leans towards the mortal. What is left after this abstraction is the part we describe as the Image of the Divine Mind, an emanation preserving some of that Divine Light.

No one can deny that this is a remarkable and independent perception of the essence of Upanishadic Truth. But the fact remains that the Upanishads outweigh in sheer depth as well as quantity, the insights gained by seekers elsewhere. This is not to comment adversely on other philosophical traditions. Rather, it is a fact of history that in ancient India, seeking the Inner Self literally became a way of life for a very large number of people. Thus it is that Max Mueller, to whom Swami often makes references, says:

It is surely astounding that such a system as Vedanta should have slowly been elaborated by the indefatigable and intrepid thinkers of India thousands of years ago, a system that even now makes us feel giddy as in mounting the last steps of the swaying spire of a Gothic cathedral. None of our philosophers, including Heraclitus, Plato, Kant, or Hegel has ventured to erect such a spire. In the beginning there was but One, and in the end also there will but One, whether we call it Atman or Brahman.

The Upanishads proclaim some very important Truths. The first is:

That which is permanent, is beyond creation. It always exists. It cannot be either created or dissolved.

The second is an obvious corollary. It is:

That which is temporary cannot ever be permanent.

The third follows readily:

That which is permanent cannot be cognised by that which is temporary.

In trying to appreciate the deeper implications of the Upanishads, one must have the following mental picture in mind. We must go back thousands of years to Vedic India when young students, between the ages of five and eighteen gathered in small groups, and lived with their Guru in an Ashram. The Ashram was called Gurukulam, and the young seekers were called Brahmacharis, or ‘the seekers of the Supreme God’, known in Sanskrit as Brahman. The Guru instructed, guided and counselled the disciples, Sishyas as they were called. Siksha means instruction, and thus, Sikshavalli is all about the instruction that the Guru gives to the disciples.

What exactly is the meaning of seeking Brahman? Why were these young men in quest of God Almighty? If indeed the young disciples were in quest of the Supreme One, then why did most of them marry, thereby immersing themselves in the turbulent sea called family life? Some clarifications concerning these are necessary so that we can appreciate better the teachings and the purpose of the Upanishads.

Before we come to the issues mentioned above, we need a quick survey of the evolution of human thought and understanding so that the Upanishads may be placed in the proper context.

Long ago when man first appeared on Earth, he wondered about the many things surrounding him. He was both awed and fascinated by what he saw, like lightning and thunder for example. He assumed that these were controlled by agencies beyond what was visible, and he assigned spirits or supernatural agencies to various natural phenomena. Thus it is that quite independently, tribes and communities in different parts of the world conceived of the Rain God, the Fire God, the God of Thunder, and so on. Ancient India was no exception, and people then believed that various deities were in charge of the five elements and the various forces of Nature. These deities were called Devas, a word that is often translated as demigod. Names like Indra, Varuna, Vayu, Agni, etc., that we hear so often during Vedic chants are all the names of various deities. The Devas, it was believed, lived in a world of their own which was, in popular language, heaven; the technical name for this is Devalokam. It was believed that here in the land of the Devas, one could enjoy uninterrupted pleasure.

This popular belief must be seen against what happens on Earth; here, as Swami reminds us, pleasure is an interval between two pains. Unwilling to accept pain, man invented a world where there was no pain! And he also devised rituals whereby Devas could be propitiated for gaining entry into their world. This is how many rituals first came into existence in ancient India, as perhaps in other parts of the world too.

In due course, many societies and communities of people became more spiritually evolved and they now began to recognise that there was something way above the so- called spirits that controlled the forces of Nature. In ancient India the learned ones said that there was a God Supreme, above and beyond anything else. Aspects of Nature regarded as Devas were nothing but aspects of this Supreme One, referred to by the ancients of India as Brahman, ParamAtma, etc.

The idea that there is God Almighty above everything else, Who is also the Creator of the Universe is nothing unique to the philosophy of the ancient Indians, the philosophy known as Sanathana Dharma. All the major religions of the world emphatically proclaim the existence of an Almighty God who is the Creator and is beyond Space and Time. All religions also teach how this God must be obeyed and worshipped. But what is unique about the philosophy of ancient Indians is that it delves far deeper than what is usually accepted as the proper relationship between man and God. Vedanta is unique because it not only declares that there is nothing other than God, but also how man, normally tied down by the body and the Mind, can by special effort, actually experience and become one with the Supreme State. This is the extraordinary road map that the Upanishads unfold, step by step.

What is truly remarkable about the Vedas and the Upanishads is that they do not dismiss anything in Creation; everything has a place and a purpose and evolution must take place against this background. Thus it is that Swami NikhilAnanda says:

In spiritual evolution, one cannot skip any of the stages. Hence, for those who, prompted by their natural impulses, seek physical pleasures on earth, the Upanishads lay down the injunctions to discharge various duties and obligations. For those who seek pleasures in heavens the Upanishads prescribe rituals and meditations by which one can commune with the gods, or higher powers. Gods, men and subhuman beings, in the tradition of the Upanishads, depend on each other for their welfare. The key to enduring happiness lies in co-operation with all created beings and not in ruthless competition.

(The last remark is perhaps relevant in the context of what is happening today, when man is not only dominating but even wiping out many species.)

The uniqueness of the Upanishads, lies in that they not only instruct us in rituals but, (besides giving hints of their inner meanings) indicate how man, bound as he presently is, can elevate himself to experience the Divine, or the ‘Ultimate-Ultimate’ as Prof. Radhakrishan refers to Brahman. We are concerned here primarily with the Universal aspects of the teachings of the Upanishads.

As mentioned earlier, the Upanishads cater to the entire spectrum of aspirants. In a modern school, we have many classes like the first standard, the second standard and so on, all the way to high school level. Naturally, the level of instruction varies with the class. In the Gurukulas of ancient times, there were no classes because the number of disciples was usually a handful. Keeping this in mind, the hymns catered to students with all levels of spiritual evolution. There was no such thing as the same formula for all; instead, it was a case of “each according to his capacity”. Krishna and Swami are of the same opinion that: in whatever way the devotee relates to the Lord, the Lord relates in the same way back to him.

The ancients of India understood human psychology very clearly. They knew that most people are strongly attached to the world, and for such people the directive was, in Swami’s language, “ceiling on desires”, and a strict adherence to Dharmic life. It was this strict adherence to morality in daily life that established what is today referred to as the rule of law; only the law was not that of man but that of God. Everyone from the king to the pauper recognised that there is a Moral Law governing the Universe and adhered to it within the framework of the individual’s position in life.

However, merely being a good person is not enough. Something more is required if one is to experience the Divine and become one with It, and that too is explored in the Upanishads.

Swami says, “The purpose of life is to prepare you to return to your natural habitat. You have come from God and you must return to God.” What does this mean and how does one go about it?

Swami says that God is the Embodiment of Pure Bliss. That is why He once sang: “Bliss is My Form,” a song familiar to all of us. The Sanskrit word for Bliss is Ananda. The word Ananda is not easy to translate. Often, Ananda is translated as joy or happiness. Both these words are totally inadequate; by comparison, Bliss does a better job.

Joy and happiness relate to experiences we have in this world. These experiences are no doubt nice but they also have an opposite, which is pain or misery. By contrast, Bliss or Ananda has no opposite because Bliss belongs to the non-dual world - that is the world of God.

In as much as man is a child of God, his true nature also is Bliss. But once man gets immersed in the world, he becomes easily deluded and readily accepts fakes like pleasure as being Bliss. The senses deceive him, and he falls into a trap. It is nice to be a good person, perform all duties and rituals diligently and so forth. But that cannot ever lead to union with God because of residual attachments. Even a good man has desires, though they may seem harmless. For example, many good people want to go to heaven after death. This may seem acceptable superficially but heaven is the wrong destination! That is why Swami says that even Sattva binds; it is like a golden rope! Then what does one do? One must become unbound, which means one must shed all body-consciousness.

In the Upanishads, the Teacher gently draws the attention of the young disciple to what exactly the goal of life ought to be. One ought not to get sucked in and overwhelmed by the turbulence of life. One must look far beyond, never losing sight of the final destination which is where Eternal Joy and Bliss are found.

The Upanishads speak of the five Koshas or five sheaths that envelope the Self. The imagery is that when the Atma becomes embodied and takes on a human form, then five sheaths cover it, so to speak. The seeker who wants to become one with God must penetrate or pierce through these five sheaths. Concerning this, Swami says:

The Divine Power that vibrates in Annamaya Kosha or the Food Sheath is nothing but body-consciousness. The Divine Power that functions in the Praanamaya Kosha or the Life Sheath is nervous consciousness. The Divine Power that shines in the Manomaya Kosha or the Intelligence Sheath is Intelligence consciousness. And the Power that pervades the Anandamaya Kosha or the Sheath of Bliss is nothing but the Pure Divine Self.

Swami elaborates further in the Prashnottara Vahini and discusses in detail the nature of the five sheaths as follows:

Kosha means a sheath, a case, a cover. A sword is put into a scabbard, and money is kept in a treasury. The Real ‘I’ is similarly encased in five sheaths. To get at the Absolute Truth, one must remove these five sheaths.

The body grew in the womb of the mother with the help of the food partaken by the mother. After birth, it is food that helps to not only sustain the body but also helps it grow. After death, the body returns to the elements and the earth which produces food. Thus it is that the body is referred to Annamaya Kosha.

The Praanamaya Kosha is basically the sheath of the five senses. Senses delude and this delusion must be overcome.

Beyond the Praanamaya Kosha is the Manomaya Kosha which is the sheath of the Mind. It is the Mind that creates the feeling of ‘mine and thine’. It follows the senses and runs out into the world in order to experience transient pleasure. It is very unsteady and is always flitting.

The body is not evident before birth or after death. The Wise man thus tells himself: “I always exist. I am not material. I am separate from the body. So I cannot be the Annamaya Kosha or any of the other Koshas up to Vijnanamaya Kosha. I am the Witness of these Koshas.

In short, the Upanishads are a road map to Eternal Bliss. The goal of Eternal Bliss can be attained only when man realises from where he originated, and has an intense urge to return to his natural state. If, on the other hand, he chooses to become immersed in the world seeking pleasure, he will for sure be ever immersed in the world through repeated rebirths. Swami often calls attention to this foolishness, via the teachings of Adi Shankara, and the Bhajan “Bhaja Govindam”, which He sings from time to time.

There is an interesting story in the Upanishads relating to our subject. Bhrigu, the son of Rishi Varuna asks a question to his father about Brahman. The father, who in this case is also the Guru, asks his disciple-son to think and meditate, and come back with the answer himself. In other words, the answer is to be found by self-enquiry and not via tuition. The disciple does as told and comes back with what he thinks is the answer. The father tells him to go back and meditate some more because his answer is not complete and represents only part of the Truth. The disciple returns a few more times and every time he is sent back to enquire more. However, this is not a futile exercise because in every attempt, the disciple manages to refine the answer he found earlier. Finally there comes a stage when the disciple does not come back to report to his father. This is because having found that Brahman is nothing but Absolute Bliss or Ananda, he becomes one with It! Thus, the Upanishads give us hints about how one must enquire while seeking the Ultimate Truth.

Swami says,

The Upanishads are very important for those seeking Brahmajnana or Knowledge of Brahman. It is in the nature of things that Avidya or ignorance prompts men to crave for plentiful fruits through the performance of actions. This craving produces despondency when there is failure. And such attachment binds further, making it even more difficult to become free. Even though the turmoil called life involving birth, decay and death is frightening, man finds that the clutches of attachment are difficult to shake off.

Change is the sign of untruth while Constancy or Changelessness is the sign of Truth. Brahman is Truth, that is to say, It is Changeless. All that is that not Brahman that is, the Universe that is projected out of Brahman, is subject to change. All objects subject to change come within the purview of the intellect. Here, the Knower, that which is to be known and the process of knowing, appear separate. But beyond, there is that Oneness which is Brahman.

The Upanishads exhort you not to swerve from the path of duty and learning. Listening, rumination, and meditation are the three steps in Realisation. Listening refers to the Vedas, which have to be revered in faith and learnt by heart from a Guru. Rumination of what is learnt, fixes the notion of Brahman in the Mind. Meditation helps in single-minded attention on the Principle so installed in the Mind.

We hope that by now you have a fair idea about the message of the Vedas and the Upanishads. In a recent Discourse, delivered during Dasara, during October 2004, Swami stressed that those who do not know Vedas should learn them. Those who have learnt them ought to chant them. And those who chant them ought to digest them and put them into practice.

Swami has given the formula for the easiest way to practise the teachings of the Vedas:

There are today countless number of scholars who expound the Vedanta and they have numerous listeners. The outcome of it all is precious little. This is because there is no practice of the teachings of Vedanta. All study of Vedanta is of no avail if the precepts are not practised.

People have to find out what are the easy methods of putting into practice the precepts of Vedanta. The easiest way is to cultivate harmony in thought, word and deed. Rather than listening to a ton of precept, it is better to practice an ounce of teaching.

Such a simple formula! Given with such Love by Swami, the formless God of the Vedas, who has come again with a form to uplift His children!

Let us make the most of this great chance by putting His words into practice!