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Instruction of truth

CHENNAI: Birth as a human being is rare to attain and according to the scriptures it is the result of merit accrued over countless lives. Hence this chance should not be squandered in pursuit of material ends as there is no guarantee that such an opportunity will come again in the next birth.

In his discourse, Sri R.Krishnamurthi Sastrigal said a person should seek knowledge of one’s real nature to attain liberation from transmigration. Spiritual knowledge is known as Brahmavidya in the Vedic tradition. Sage Vyasa codified the Vedas into four, the Rig, Yajur, Sama and the Atharvana, and it is stressed that it is not enough even if one mastered all of them. What is more important for realising the goal of liberation is practising their precepts in daily life.

The Vedic teachings are in the form of injunctions and hence all may not be able to strictly comply with them in day-to-day life. This is where the secondary scriptures, the Itihasas (epics), Puranas and other literary texts, have an important role to play. These texts couch the Vedic teachings in stories that go down well with laypeople and they can imbibe the morals conveyed in them easily. As the objective of the scriptures is to enable human beings to adhere to Dharma for spiritual progress, they have to cater to the level of every spiritual seeker.

The Chandogya Upanishad, belonging to the Sama Veda, teaches spiritual knowledge as Sadvidya, Bhumavidya and Prajapatividya. This Upanishad comprises eight chapters and the five chapters preceding the Sadvidya are preparatory to this teaching. Why is Brahmavidya called by different names in the Upanishads? Just as the tenets of Dharma are packaged palatably in the form of stories in the Puranas, the Upanishads also teach spiritual knowledge through stories and in different ways (Vidya). Even the meditations (Upasana) described in them are many.

One interesting story in this Upanishad is how Sage Gautama accepted Satyakama for spiritual instruction because he uttered the truth about his lineage (that he did not know who his father was), truth being the foremost virtue. As instructed by his mother Jabala, he introduced himself as Satyakama Jabala.

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