Although there are many Vedas written, the most important is the Rig, which contains over 1,000 hymns directed to the gods. The content of these hymns includes praises, blessings, sacrifices, and curses. These hymns are the major way in which the Aryan people praised their gods. The subject of the hymns is the personification of the powers of nature.
The hymns are written in poetic form:
“This light hath come, of all the lights the fairest,
The brilliant brightness hath been born, far-shining,
Urged on to prompt the sun-god’s shining power.
Night and Morning clash not, nor yet do linger.” (Bloomfield 30)
Here is another Vedic Song, I would like to share with you.
There was neither non-existence nor existence then; there was neither the realm of space nor the sky which beyond. What stirred? Where? In whose protection? Was there water, bottomlessly deep?
There was neither death nor immortality then. There was no distinguishing sign of night nor of day. That one breathed, windless, by its own impulse. Other than that there was nothing beyond.
Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning; with no distinguishing sign, all this was water. The life force that was covered with emptiness, that one arose through the power of heat.
Desire came upon that one in the beginning; that was the first seed of Mind/Consciousness. Poets seeking in their heart with wisdom found the bond of existence in non-existence.
Their cord was extended across. Was there below? Was there above? There were seed-placers; there were powers. There was impulse beneath; there was giving-forth above.
Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation? The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen?
Whence this creation has arisen – perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not – the one who looks down on it, in the highest heaven, only he knows – or perhaps he does not know.”
– from THE RIG VEDA trans Wendy Doniger ISBN 0140449892
The occasion was Christmas Eve, 1977. The place was the Sathya Sai Mandir in Brindavan, Whitefield, near Bangalore. The assembled audience consisted of a group of students and faculty members of Sri Sathya Sai College as well as a number of visiting devotees. It was in the presence of Sai Baba himself, that the Vedic scholar Pandit Sri Ghandikota Subrahmanya Shastry, was inspired to announce Sri Sathya Sai Gayatri, the mystic formula devoted to Sri Sathya Sai.
Which reads as follows:
The meaning of this is:
“I know through Gurus and Shastras (and by direct experience), that Sai is Bhagavan and ‘Iswara’ (Chosen deity). I meditate on this form in my heart with all my mental faculties. He is the embodiment of truth, divinity, universal consciousness and one who pervades all the words. I pray to such a Saiparameswar to direct our intellects to engage in auspicious and righteous activities. I meditate on this great form.”
This Sathya Sai Gayatri Mantra, like other Gayathris, is on a par with Veda Mantra or mystic formula. It has twenty four letters; it consists of three lines, each with eight letters. Such a composition has unique properties. According to Maharishi Vararuchi, the numerology of all letters adds up to one hundred and eight. This is why recitation is to be done 108 times; to realise the full effect of Siddhi, which is signified by the 108th number, i.e. Meru or the tassel of a rosary of japamala. Ashtottara Sata Nama, the 108 name chanting leads to the realisation of God, which is the goal.
Every Gayatri Mantra has a revealing prophet or Rishi and a presiding deity Adhishthana Devata, who is the subject of the mantra. This mantra is expressed through the inner workings of Sathya Sai through the mouth of Pandit Sri Ghandikota Subramanya Shastry in the presence of Sri Sai Baba. Needless to say that Sai Baba himself is the presiding deity of this mystic formula or mantra.
Shri S. Sastry expressed the essence of the Sathya Sai Gayatri in a verse of metrical form, Anushtup Chandas:
This verse means:
“Let the effulgent energy of Sathya Sai which exists always in my heart as pure consciousness enveloped by the body, direct or influence our mind-intellects to take the path of Dharma – virtue; santhi – peace; Sathya – truth and prema – love.”
“The real purpose of performing Karma is only to get rid of Ahamkara or ‘mine-ness’?; Karma or work, offered for the love of God comes back as grace. This is the strategy of escaping the bondage of Samsara. One must persuade the heart to meditate; persuade your heart and you can persuade the people. If you do wrong, your heart feels it. The heart is your witness. Move from the gross to the subtle, from the sense, the mind and the intellect, are getting closer to the Atman.
The effulgence of Atman transcends the senses, whose nature is fickleness. The senses do not have the capacity of power of decisiveness. Karma and upasana (spiritual instruction) are the two wings which enable us to fly upward to God. Karma is for disciplining body, mind and intellect; Karma is not slavery to senses or fate; life is a long journey which is helped by Yantra, Tantra, and Mantra; these make the journey easier. We must reduce our luggage. Being detached in samsara (our desires – destiny) is like mascara in the eye, like ghee on the tongue, one need not leave the worldly activity. The journey should be continued till the end. Don’t get off the train in wayside stations. One should reach the real destination with enthusiasm and animation, with a pure heart. Your pole-star or light is the name of God; that supreme light is the light of life, ‘jivanjyothi.)
The performance of duty by the God-given body is essential. Man’s accumulated blemish or sin is washed away by such action. Karmakanda, the field of action is like the flower from which follows the Upasana Kenda, the field of spiritual practice, which is like the raw fruit. This subsequently ripens into a sweet fruit of jnana, (wisdom).
The one supreme is described in different ways by the wise. Ekam Sat: Viprah Bahudha Vadanti. The puranas and the Vedas (holy Hindu scripture), contain the knowledge about Nature, (Prakruta Jnanam.) They teach the path of subtle action. They teach that immortality is the fruit of sacrifice; the path of enjoyment or bhoga, leads only to illness and suffering- Roga. It is often said one cannot cross the path of Karma on a dusty road. It is only when you stop the moving vehicle that one is overtaken by the trailing dust. So long as you keep moving or performing Karma in a detached way, you are not overtaken by its bondage. Narada, who is omniscient, did not leave the field of action of Karmakanda.
There are really two aspects of conduct, good conduct and bad conduct; with egoism it becomes bad conduct. Ahamkara, ‘mine-ness’ or selfishness is the crown of all bad qualities. Wearing such a crown, even such notable personalities as Kamsa Sisupala, Danta Vaktra, Vishwamirtra and Sathyabhama came to grief.
All the lights of life are lit up on Divali Day; so light up the darkness of the past, which enveloped the Light of The Real Self in the past. The technique is to remove the threads of attachment one by one; at the end, the ‘cloth’ disappears and the mind is clear and pure.
Man is a bundle of desires. It is necessary to live in seclusion in order to avoid the wrong paths, thereby, avoiding the five wrongs or blemishes of sight, speech, mind, action and intellect. Moksha or liberation is nothing but Mohakshaya, the depletion of infatuation of the mind. One should engage in spiritual practices to remove all blemishes. Strength and support are gained thereby for the performance of one’s own duties and actions. Imitations or comparison with others are harmful and weakening.
Pursue the 5 F’s in life:
Follow the heart, the conscience, the atma in the heart.
Follow an adapt in spirituality.
Face the devil or evil without fear or favour.
Flight to the end.
Finish the game of life with success and liberation.
Daily life is Tapas. Tapas is devotion to the living Gods-Father and Mother. Sadhana is the cultivation of special attention to one’s true self. Sankaracharya expresses it in a paradoxical manner: “I have committed three sins, Oh God! By my pilgrimage to Benares, I have offended the principle of God’s all pervasiveness. Two, by meditation on You, it seems as though I have confined you who transcends the mind. Three, by praising you, I have committed the sin of limiting you who transcends speech.”
YO DEVASSATHYA SAYI NAH BUDDHIM DHARMADIGOCHAR AM
This verse means:
“Let the effulgent energy of Sathya Sai which exists always in my heart as pure consciousness enveloped by the body, direct or influence our mind-intellects to take the path of Dharma – virtue; santhi – peace; Sathya – truth and prema – love.”
Although there are many Vedas written, the most important is the Rig, which contains over 1,000 hymns directed to the gods. The content of these hymns includes praises, blessings, sacrifices, and curses. These hymns are the major way in which the Aryan people praised their gods. The subject of the hymns is the personification of the powers of nature.
Children Of Light 