Sri Chandramoulisvaraya Namah:
VEDA
DHARMA SASTRA PARIPALANA SABHA (Regd.) Kumbhakonam
OUR SASTRAS
Our country is called by the name of India. From Himalayas, right down
to Kanyakumari, it is all India. This land was known as Bharatabhumi in olden
days. For the welfare of people living here, Sastras have been produced. There
is a Sastra for the purpose of keeping the body healthy and avoiding untimely
death. That Sastra is called Ayurveda. This Ayurveda teaches many methods for
extending human life span and leading a comfortable life so long as one is
alive. Ayurveda has taught ways to cure people here of diseases by using herbs
produced in this country. But people took to western methods of cure as the
government did not encourage Ayurveda. Once the government started to be run by
ministers drawn from amongst our people, Raja of Panagal established a school
of Ayurveda in Chennai, considering that the medicines from our own herbs are
alone suitable for us and other methods will cause adverse effects. This school
was not extended even a thousandth of assistance given to western system of
medicine. However being well versed in Samskrit, the Raja of Panagal was keen
to encourage our Sastras. Had he lived a little longer, he would have
contributed more to this cause. Now it is only Ayurveda that is encouraged a
little by our government; our Mathematics etc. are still not supported by our
government. They teach the western sciences alone to our children. Ayurveda got
a little encouragement because the Raja of Panagal became a minister.
Like Ayurveda dealing with human body, there is a Sastra for every
aspect of life. There are now many theories in western countries also. But they
have been developed by them in the last hundred years only. They developed
these sciences and got benefits by spending money, only after having ruled
other countries and thus becoming rich. In our country too, in olden days,
brahmanas were given grants by kings and encouraged to do research in Sastras.
Four thousand years ago, our Sastras had reached a level of development higher
than the current stage of growth of sciences in western countries. These
Sastras alone are suitable for our bodily comfort as well as spiritual
wellbeing. We should not discard them. We should attempt to practise our
indigenous methods in agriculture too. Be it agriculture, medicine or spiritual
wellbeing, the benefit from our own Sastras will not be obtained from sciences
of other countries. The western country has cold climate; medicine or
architecture has evolved there suited to that. They eat food from table; their
architecture aims at construction of house suited to that. We eat from leaves
sitting on ground. If we construct houses as per their architecture, our rules
of conduct cannot be followed. Our arithmetic is very easy. One can easily make
computations using indigenous systems like ‘Ensuvadi’, ‘Kizhvai Ilakkam’ etc.
Shirt, fountain pen etc. are not required for the mathematics of our country.
We can compute just mentally. If we do not have a particular type of knowledge
in our country, we can take it from others. Discarding our knowledge and
learning others’ knowledge is not correct. There are excellent sciences with us
for construction of houses, farming, medicine and mathematics. In music, they
know only two ‘Melakartha’ ragas. As per our own science of music, there are 72
‘Melakarthas’. If any of our sciences is gone into oblivion, we can learn it
from them. It is a big folly to discard our own sciences totally. In
Manusmriti, it has been stated that if the bride’s character is good, she may
be considered even if her lineage is not so good. If gold is lying in a drain,
should we not take it? So also, we can learn a science even from a lowly
person. But one should not lay down a rule that we should learn it only from
that person. In our schools, we should teach our own sciences relating to this
world as well as the next; extra knowledge can be taken from outsiders. Surgery
has been described in our Sastra called ‘Susrutam’. Whatever instruments are in
use these days in hospitals, they are all described in this text. There is a
book called ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica’ in English. It is edited and republished
once in every twenty-thirty years. All matters are covered there in detail.
While talking about each science, its history is also mentioned. Details of the
place and time of its initial origin and who transmitted it at what time to
other countries are all given there. Sciences of astronomy, medicine,
astrology, surgery, mathematics, languages, metaphysics, grammar, arboriculture
etc. are all covered there. While talking about surgery, it states that this
science was known in India first, transmitted via Arabia to Greece, then to
Italy and later spread through entire Europe. Though they accept that other
sciences existed in India in ancient times, they clearly concede that they
learnt surgery only from India. Our sciences of medicine and astrology were
translated into Arabic and then carried forward to Europe. The westerners were
unaware of surgery; they learnt it only from India. Our ancient system of
surgery is now not known to anyone; the reason is absence of encouragement of
kings. Now when our people have attained their rights, the small beginning made
by the Raja of Panagal may spread later. Manu has advised that we should not
reject the science of other countries; but should accept them. Learning our own
sciences is alone national education. The benefit of knowledge is spiritual
gain alone. Dharmasastra has been created only for that. It is Arthasastra
which teaches kingly dharmas. Sukraniti, Chanakya tantra etc. are Arthasastras.
Dharmasastra teaches how one can advance without accumulating sins. Atma is
eternal; body is transient. If science of the body is in conflict somewhere
with Dharmasastra, one should follow Dharmasastra only. If the doctor advises
us to consume the medicine called cod liver oil, Dharmasastra prohibits it.
There we should choose to follow Dharmasastra. There is no need to indulge in
matters of government, which would spoil our spirit. Hence in matters of conflict
between Arthasastra and Dharmasastra, one should reject Arthasastra alone.
Dharmasastra teaches about our daily activities. It shows the way to
reach the supreme state by following Iswara’s orders and doing bhakti.
There are certain outer signs of being the slave of Bhagavan. In schools
there are groups like Scouts etc. They have a certain sign. There is a belt
worn as a sign of being a servant in court of law. There is a sign worn by the
recipients of the title of ‘Sir’ from the government. Nobody is shy of wearing
such signs. But people are shy of wearing the Tulasi necklace of Iswara. Books
dealing with spiritual wellbeing are Vedas, Sastras, Agamas, Puranas, Itihasas
etc. Itihasas are actually Puranas only. The root of all of these is Veda.
Dharmasastra teaches as to how we should conduct ourselves at home and the
conduct of the lineage. It is twofold: Acharakanda and Vyavaharakanda. Eighteen
Maharishis like Manu, Yagnavalkya and Parasara have written Dharmasastra. Veda
is indeed the base of all of them. Religions based on Veda are known as Vedic
religions. The rest are ‘Nastika’ (atheist) religions. Jainism, Buddhism etc.
preach that there is no Iswara or that Veda is not the authority. The teachings
of Jaina, Buddha et al are the basis of those religions. Saiva, Vaishnava etc.
are Vedic religions. Saivism is even known by the name of ‘Vedic Saivism’.
Periya Puranam (the Tamil epic detailing the life stories of 63 Saivaite
saints) mentions ‘Veda neri tazhaittonga’ (for the fertile growth of Vedic
path). Nammazhvar has been described elsewhere as ‘Vedam Tamizh seidan maran
Satakopan)’ (the great Satakopan, who wrote Veda in Tamil). Nammazhvar is also
known as Satakopan. In Vishnu temples, after having darshan of the Lord, they
place ‘Satakopam’ on the head of the worshipper. Its import is placing
Satakopan and other great devotees on the head. Satakopan, who is at the feet
of Bhagavan, is placed on the head. Such Vedic religions have as their base
five texts including Veda. They are generally known as ‘Vaidikam’ and not named
after any one person. Christianity was established by Christ; but our religion
was not started by any one person. Krishna says he came only for making people
realise Veda. Veda has been in existence from time immemorial. Iswara caused Veda
to appear in the hearts of Maharishis and blessed us with Veda through them. It
is not possible to say when Vedas came first into existence. Vedas etc. are the
authorities for the six systems of worship we follow. (The six systems are
worship of Ganapati, Siva, Ambika, Vishnu, Subrahmanya and Surya). Veda is
common to all these six systems.
Agamas are separate texts for each system. We have Saiva Agamas, Amba
Agamas, Vishnu Agamas, Ganesa Agamas, Kumara tantram etc. Agamas tell us how to
install and worship each of the respective Devatas.
There are 28 Saiva Agamas and 64 Devi Agamas. In each Agama, there are
two parts; Vamabhaga (left hand) and Dakshinabhaga (right hand). The reason for
these two divisions in the Agamas is the Dharmasastra, which stipulates strict
rules of conduct for some and relaxed rules for some others. Brahmana should
not drink liquor, whereas drinking is not so condemnable for certain others.
These rules are weighty for some castes. Even castes, who eat non-vegetarian
food, are prohibited from eating certain animal foods. The Vamamarga practice
was meant to instruct even the eaters of animal food to offer it first to
Bhagavan and then to eat. Those who are expected to follow Dakshinachara are
criticised if they adopt Vamachara. (Vamamarga was described by Sankaracharya
as the path of offering liquor and non-vegetarian food to Easwara). Societies,
which stand for kindness towards animals, object to offering animals to Easwara
in pursuance of Vamamarga. In butcher’s shops, many animals are killed every
day. These Societies for kindness to animals do not protest in front of those
shops. But they will protest the killing and offering of an animal by a Pujari
in a village temple to the deity. It is correct that no animal should be put to
trouble. But no fault will attach if the stipulation of Veda is followed with
devotion. Sri Kannappa Nayanar offered animal food to Bhagavan, who accepted
it. This is because there was only devotion in the mind of Kannappa; there was
no thought of committing fault. It is not a fault to do something with
devotion, even if it appears sinful. But the Society for kindness to animals
protests if brahmana performs yaga or if Pujari offers an animal to God. Every
day many animals are killed for the food of the whites. Why are these Societies
not looking into it? There is no evil thought in performing yaga and offering
animal to God in village; hence there will be no sin. Sastra stipulates that
the guest should be offered a cow and that the guest should release the cow to
roam as it pleases. It is only out of compassion to animals that Sastra
stipulates in this manner. Siruttondar (a Saivaite Nayanar) offered the flesh
of his own son as food to the guest. This only indicates that we should
renounce everything totally.
There are four divisions in Agamas. They are Charya, Kriya, Yoga and
Gnana. Before we go into it, let us refer to another issue. All timeless
systems of religion are Vedic religions alone. But modern researchers say that
Veda came from the north and they had a different book in the south; Aryans
were Vaidikas and southerners were Dravidians; thus these researchers create
quarrels. It is said that in Samskrit, there were nine basic texts of grammar.
Out of them, Eindram is one; this was written by Indra. It is said that the
oldest grammar text in Tamil, Tolkappiam is based on this Eindram. It is not
possible to say on the basis of books in our country that there was a religion
different from Vedic religion. Certain Tamil words explain this. ‘Yagam’ is
denoted by ‘Velvi’ in Tamil; ‘Veda’ is ‘Marai’; ‘Achara’ is ‘Ozhukkam’. How
does the word ‘Marai’ mean Veda? Veda describes that which is unseen or hidden;
hence it is called ‘Marai’ (hidden) in Tamil.
Such words exist from ancient time in Tamil. Hence the matters they
refer to, must be ancient, without beginning. When ancient Tamil books refer
extensively to Vedas, Yagas and Paramasiva, it is not correct to say that Veda
came from the north. They also talk about Agama, Charya, Kriya, Yoga and Gnana.
Charya talks about activities to be performed by a devotee of Iswara. It is in
‘Kriya’ that temple is covered. One might ask: God exists everywhere; why to
confine him to a stone. Though we say that God exists everywhere, that thought
is not present in our minds. If the thought that God exists everywhere is
present in the mind, will anyone tell lies, or indulge in evil deeds? It is
true that God exists everywhere; but this is not enough for us. We have to
obtain His grace. How to worship Him in order to get His grace? This is what
the Agama teaches. There is the ray of Sun; every ray is indeed fire. But when
a cloth is exposed to Sun, it does not catch fire. When a lens is held against
the Sun and the cloth is held below the lens, the cloth catches fire. The lens
enables close convergence of many rays of Sun. Electricity is everywhere. To
bring it out, a power station is needed. In the same way, for making the grace
of the omnipresent God available to us, temple is needed. People complain of
the lack of purity of the Gurukkals (Temple Pujaris); they say: what if
everyone goes inside. We should remove impurity from the temple and not
introduce new defilement. If a thief enters a house, does anyone remove the
latch and leave the house ever open? Maharishis have created large pilgrim
centres and temples in such a manner that their sanctity is not affected by
ordinary impurities. That is why we should go and have darshan in those places,
though there would be a temple in our own place. We should purify the temples
by removing the existing pollution. One should not change the tenets of
religion with political ends in view. If we interfere haphazardly in the
working of an electrical machine, we will lose our body. If we interfere in the
working of the machine of Spiritual Welfare, we will lose Atma. It is but
proper to remove the existing deficiencies. If we make attempts to keep the
temple pure, the Gurukkals and trustees will return to the right path. What is
new will not last long. When new flood water comes in the river during the
month of Adi (Ashadha), it will eat into the banks in some places. We do not
worry about it. We need not get angry with new passionate ideas. It will go
away on its own. What is permanent in this world? Dictators have ruled at some
times in the past. Now the communist system is becoming popular. Nothing is
permanent. Just by permitting everyone to go inside the temple, not all will go
there. If we go and apprise the people of what is proper, they will listen. The
reason why temples do not function properly is that we are not going there.
Such matters are covered in the ‘Kriya’ part of Agama.
Next is ‘Yoga’. It talks about how Atma should merge in Iswara; how one
should meditate on Him. The final state is covered in the ‘Gnana’ part. This is
what Agama is about. Dharmasastra teaches us as to how we should conduct
ourselves on our own and in relation to others.
Agama tells about the methods of worship. There are 28 Saiva Agamas.
Each of them has four parts. These are all our indigenous Sastras. We do not
read them; hence there is no awakening. All education is western; hence there
is desire to behave like them. Swadeshi is being indigenous on the outside as
well as inside. Being western inside, why to show Swadeshi outside? The
reformists do not know our Sastras. As they have not read them, they become
angry. We should not get angry with them for their actions. We need to be kind
with our opponents too. We should be telling them the principle of our
religion. Agama, which was not cared by anybody, is now gaining some currency.
Agama also talks about village deities. In those temples there is still a lot
of power. Pollution has not entered there too much. Like other religionists
going with shoes inside the temples of Siva and Vishnu, they do not go into
temples of village deities. As there is wealth in the temples of Siva and
Vishnu, they go there for seeing the fun. As there is not much wealth in the
temples of village deities, pollution is less. When there is fall where there
is much rise, the fall will be swift. It is only in the Tamil and Telugu
countries that higher purity was maintained. Now it is here that impurity is
higher. The north Indian brahmana may sport a moustache and smoke hookah; even
if he has shaved his head, he will still have a small tuft of hair. In our
part, people have fully cropped head. In the north, there are disciples of
Acharyas of the south. The pure habits of our area attracted them so much. As
you travel towards south, impure habits like eating leavings of food of others,
cigar, hookah, fish, non-vegetarian food etc. are all less. But the English
culture is more here. Englishmen came here first! We have more of their habits.
In northerners, though Achara (ritually good conduct) may be less, devotion is
higher. In Gujarat, you find more of peaceful nature and firmness. That is the
place where Bhagavan Sri Krishna lived. That is the area where Gopikas
expressed their devotion. Hence devotion is greater. In Maharashtra, there is
more of passion and devotion. In the Telugu country, you find more of harshness
and devotion. In Bengal, there is more of deceit and devotion. The Tamils do
not involve themselves in anything. If others work, we occupy the leader’s
position in time. As all are intelligent here, there is none to follow a
leader. In Gurjara country, 70 percent of people do not eat non-vegetarian
food. There the term ‘Vaishnavas’ means those who do not eat non-vegetarian
food. In our area, there is no restriction on eating animal food for those
Vaishnavas who are not brahmanas.
In Veda, Agama, Dharmasastra, Itihasa and Purana, the ways of spiritual
wellbeing have been taught. Itihasa tells all dharmas in the form of stories.
Purana tells about each dharma as a story. These dharmas are eternal. There is
no person’s name associated with our religion. The Acharyas who came in between
only emphasised certain paths. Sri Ramanuja said devotion is supreme. Sri
Sankara said Gnana is supreme. In the 56 countries (listed as parts of Bharat
in ancient texts), countries like Persia are also included. We must make all
people accept and practise our dharmas. In our Sastras, there are many paths
laid down for advancement in this world as well as the next. In the books of
other religions, methods have been taught for achieving comfort in the present
life alone. But in our Sastras, ways have been taught for being comfortable as
long as one lives here; also for achieving good state after death without
difficulty. As we do not study our Sastras and act according to the principles
laid down there, we always worry and suffer. Our prayer is that Iswara may
bestow good Gnana on us for us to go through our Sastras as far as possible, to
learn from those who know well and thus to get rid of our present troubles and
reach the supreme state.
VEDA DHARMA SASTRA PARIPALANA SABHA
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