Posted on: 27 Jul 2018
O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,
[July 27, 2018 Guru Purnima Afternoon] God is omniscient and knows every language. He gives value to the meaning of your spoken statements and does not mind your language through which your feeling is conveyed (Bhaavagraahii Janaardanah). Is God not responding to the prayers of Christians and Muslims done in their mother tongues? Of course, Sanskrit is the mother tongue of angels and is the grandmother tongue of all of us and we must respect her as we respect our grandmother. This does not mean that God knows only Sanskrit and does not know other mother tongues. The Vedic hymns are mainly concentrating on the practical steps to be taken in the service to God or ‘Karma Yoga’ (Amnaayaanaam Kriyaarthatvaat). If these practical steps are implemented, there is no need of those statements instructing the practical procedures. The practical philosophy is very important involving sacrifice and service to be done to God and hence, 80% of the Veda is concentrating mainly on the practical worship only. The theoretical prayers and theoretical spiritual knowledge occupy 20% of the Veda only. In any ritual, practical sacrifice and practical service to God is the main essence. To achieve this practical devotion, theoretical devotion is needed as the mother of practical devotion. Spiritual knowledge is the mother of theoretical devotion. The prayers to God can be done in the mother tongue. The spiritual knowledge about God can also be preached in mother tongue. For practical steps, no language is needed since practical implementation doesn’t require any special language. Since these practical steps can be instructed even in mother tongue, in every ritual, the part of spiritual knowledge covered by special hymns is coming under the head line ‘Upanishat’. The spiritual concepts are given in the Upanishads on which lot of discussion and analysis can be done to any extent in your mother tongue. These three parts (knowledge, devotion and practice) constitute the entire subject of the Veda.
Due to the continuous blind recitation for long period, the brains of these priests lost the faculty of intelligence that does analysis in spiritual knowledge. Due to this, these priests do not have any talent in performing the worldly duties also. They fail in Pravrutti itself due to their inert brain called as Chaandasa’, which is mocked by the Veda itself and by several scholars. The Veda says that these priests are divine animals (Devaanaam Pashurahaha) and mocks at them (Ahaha). The great scholar poet, called as Shriharsha, says that the priest is inert in brain due to blind recitation of the Veda and calls such a priest as ‘Veda Jada’ (Na Veda taam Veda Jadah…). In such case, you can’t expect that they will give any worthy analysis of spiritual knowledge. Not only we are spoiled by them, but, they are also spoiled by this blind tradition, which is followed blindly without even a trace of analysis!
At least, the literal meaning of the Vedic hymns must be revealed by the priests instead of no meaning at all. Spiritual meaning of the Vedic hymns is far better than the literal meaning, which gives spiritual interpretation about God. For example, if we take the first verse of the Rug Veda, its literal meaning is that you are praising the deity of fire, called as Agni, who is doing the activity of delivering welfare in advance (Purohitam), who is the God to be worshipped in the ritual (Yajnasya devam) in the form of priest (Rutvijam) (The priest can also be treated as deity of fire as said in the Veda – agneyo vai Braaahmanah), pouring the ghee in to fire (Hotaaram) and bearing the fruit-gems of worship to be given to devotees (Ratnadhaatamam). This literal meaning increases the devotion on deity of the fire, called as Agni.
The spiritual meaning of the same above verse will be like this—I praise the deity of fire, called as Agni. The word Agni comes from the word Agri meaning the very beginning of this creation when God, called as Agni existed. Such God looks like fire because He is the first energetic incarnation, called as Datta or Eshwara. The energetic body is taken as the fire. Hence, Agni means God Datta, who is the first expressed first energetic incarnation of the unimaginable God. He is called as Purohita, who brings welfare to the devotee by obstructing the obstacles even before they enter. Such God Datta becomes the human incarnation by merging with a human devotee, called as human incarnation or Sadguru, who is worshipped in sacrifice (Yajna) through practical sacrifice and service like God (Deva) since such Sadguru is actually the God expressed in human form. The ritual for sacrifice or worship proceeds as per His direction and hence, He is called as the priest (Rutvik). Such Sadguru-priest is to be worshipped in the beginning itself by giving ghee fried food, called as ‘Ghee’ or ‘Havis’ before others eat it (hence, He is called as Agri or beginning meaning that He should be worshipped in the beginning). While eating this Havis, He is submitting this holy havis to His hunger-fire called as Vaishvaanara Agni and hence, He is called as Hota or Submitter of Havis to the fire. This meaning is logically supported since the inert fire itself or the deity of fire appearing does not submit Havis to itself. By such sacrifice and service, He is pleased very much since we have given such Havis to Him without aspiration for any fruit in return. Hence, the pleased God gives us the best boon-gems even though we did not desire for those gems from Him. This spiritual meaning develops the devotion to the ultimate God expressed in human form as Sadguru. Such spiritual meaning will give the real devotion to devotees. Every word used in the Veda as deity means the first energetic incarnation, called as Datta or Eshwara merged with the human form. The word Indra can mean the Lord, who rules this creation and the word Eshwara or the ruler (idi-Eishvarye) is the meaning of the root word (idi) of the word Indra. Apart from such spiritual meanings for the Vedic prayers, Upanishads dealing with the spiritual knowledge directly must be also discussed in one’s own mother tongue as the main part of the ritual.