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The Vedic vision

CHENNAI: The terms “Muni” and “Rishi” are used in the Vedic tradition to refer to sages who have mystical insight into the Ultimate Reality. Etymologically, Muni means one who is silent and hence withdrawn from the world. Seclusion is necessary for introspection which will lead to the intuition of the truth. One who is able to envision a Mantra is called a Rishi (seer).

Mantras are eternal vibrations (sound) that are present in the cosmos and only a mind that has been trained by penance can develop concentration to intuit it. Normally one associates penance to retirement to forest and retreats for pursuing the spiritual goal in isolation. In the modern context penance can be understood essentially as single-minded pursuit of the objective one has set for oneself by reining in the mind till the goal is attained.

In his discourse, Sri O.R.Devanathan said mystics like the Azhwars were exemplars of the Vedic ideal of a seer. Kulasekara Azhwar in his Perumal Tirumozhi states how the outlook of worldly people and the spiritual-minded are totally at variance: “To the world I am mad. To me the world is mad. Alas! What use dilating on this? O Cowherd-Lord! I call, mad with love for the Lord of Arangam, my master.” Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a mystic who lived in recent times. His God-intoxicated states were legion and have been documented by his disciples. Such seers are not circumscribed by social identities such as class, lineage, caste or gender as their mystical vision makes them truly universal. These Rishis instead of remaining content in revelling in their mystical experiences, out of concern for the welfare of humanity, taught the Mantras to their disciples.

This body of knowledge which has been handed down in tradition has thus enabled those who opted to follow the spiritual path to experience the truth for themselves. These Mantras form the core of the Vedas. What is the thrust of the Vedas? They chalk out the conduct of the individual for his good, the logic being that it is only from the individual that any transformation can happen at the societal level, which can then spread to the whole world. So the ultimate vision of the Vedas is the welfare of the world.

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