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Veda Vyasa - Part II

Brahmasutras, Veda Vyasa
The Brahmasutras

Continued From Part IContinued From Part I

When Vyasa had finished, he must have sat back and thought, "What have I done? Who is going to benefit from this book? May be only a handful of people in the whole country!" How many teachers of the Vedas were there who read this literature? The public would not be benefited in large numbers. And again, even among the Pundits, the essence of the Vedas - the Vedanta of the Upanishadic literature - had been slowly getting atrophied and completely forgotten (although the ritualistic portion was being followed faithfully).

The Karmakandins (practitioners of rituals) had started believing that the Upanishads were only for mere repetition and that by repeating them the students would become purified and fit for the Karrnakanda, the rituals.

Veda Vyasa therefore crystallized the philosophic thought enshrined in the Upanishads and wrote the famous text-book called the Brahmasutras. After Vyasa's time, all philosophy in India came to be written in the Sutra style (aphorism), the style employed by Vyasa in the Brahmasutras. The Brahmasutras became the definitive text of Advaita Vedanta. Since his time, all others have been writing commentaries on it! Vyasa's work became the substratum, the very foundation for the entire Hindu culture that grew out of the Vedantic tradition.

The Puranas

When Vyasa had finished this entire exposition of Advaita Vedanta in the Brahmasutras, again he must have sat back and thought, "Now what have I done? First I wrote a book, unnecessarily elaborate book, which might be useful perhaps for only half a dozen people in the country. Now the Brahmasutras are written - may be for three dozen scholars in this country. How can I touch the average man, the lay-man, the man behind the plough, the mason, the ordinary worker! He therefore evolved a new literature called the Puranas.

The Puranas appeal to all. In the case of the average individual, reading of the Puranas generates devotion and the person feels elevated, with his or her weaknesses sublimated and the heart purified and exhilarated.

To a student who is well read in the Upanishads and the Brahmasutras, the same Pauranic literature becomes demonstration of the subtle mystical truths of the Upanishads played out on a dynamic and massive stage.

Much controversy has surrounded the question of whether the Puranas are historically true. Vyasa was not a historian, and therefore did not write history. He was a great student of the Vedas and a man of realization.

All the stories must ultimately be indicative of the one Truth. It is a unique literature. It is not a literature that can fall under the category of philosophy or history, nor can it be approximated by the West as mythology. The nearest kind of literature in the west that approaches our Pauranic stories is the mythology of the Greeks and Romans. And so the West calls the Pauranic literature as "Hindu mythology".

The Hindus have no mythology; nor did the Hindu Rishis ever care for history. History is only a chronological account of the repeated stupidities of the past. Human beings have never learned from history. Besides, history is limited in time, and what the seeker is interested in is the timeless, the source from which all this springs.

So what is the Pauranic literature? To those who have ears to listen (not just hear) and to those who have eyes to see, Vyasa has already announced what it is: Purana. Purana Purusha is the word used in the Vedas for the highest Reality; therefore, the highest Reality is obviously the theme of the Puranas.

To be continuedTo be continued

About the author

Swami Chinmayananda

Swami Chinmayananda the great master's lectures were an outpour of wisdom. He introduced the Geetha Gnana Yagna. He wrote a lot of books on spirituality, commentaries to Vedantic texts, children books etc. He then started spreading His teachings globally.....

Story first published: Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 9:48 [IST]