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The four doctrines of the RigVeda
Dear Friends:
This I read in the book called 'Lights on the Veda' by Sri T.V. Kapali
Sastry, a disciple of Sri Aurobindo. The text is quoted from Sri Aurobindo.
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Here is the first and central teaching:
The thought around which all is centered is the seeking after Truth,
Light, Immortality. There is a Truth higher and deeper than the truth
of outward existence, a Light greater and higher than the light of human
understanding which comes by revelation and inspiration, an immortality
towards which the soul has to rise. We have to find our way out to that,
to get into touch with this Truth and Immortality, sapanta rtam amrtam,
to be born into the Truth, to grow in it, to ascend in spirit into the
world of Truth and to live in it. To do so is to unite ourselves with
the Godhead and to pass from mortality into immortality.
Here is the second mystic doctrine:
There is an inferior truth here of this world mixed as it is with much
falsehood and error, anritasyabhureh, and there is a world or home of
Truth, sadanam rtasya, the Truth, the Right, the Vast, satyam rtam brhat,
where all is Truth-conscious, rita-cit. There are many worlds ..but this
is the world of the highest Light...the world of the Sun of Truth, Swar,
or the Great Heaven. We have to find the path to this Great Heaven.
And this is the third:
Our life is a battle between the powers of Light and Truth, the Gods who
are the Immortals and the powers of Darkness. These are spoken of under
various names as Vritra or Vritras, Vala and the Panis, the Dasyus and
their kings. We have to call in the aid of the Gods to destroy the
opposition of these powers of Darkness who conceal the Light... we have
to invoke the Gods by the inner sacrifice and by the Word call them into
us - that is the specific power of the Mantra - to offer to them the
gifts of the sacrifice and by that giving secure their gifts so that by
this process we amy build the way of our ascent to the goal.
Finally, as the summit of the teaching of the Vedic mystics comes the
secret of the One Reality, ekam sat, tad ekam which becomes the central
word of the upanishads.
******
With best regards,
Dhruba.
