Vedant : My Personal Interpretation

Vedant : My Personal Interpretation

This is a question I answered on a Whatsapp group; wherein someone asked what is Vedant; the below is my response. It is my interpretation basis my reading of the reference material given in the bibliography

Vedant is in simple terms, the path to reach The One God, The Creator. It recognises only the presence of One Creator, known by many names. It mandates a certain lifestyle - mark my words; it is not choice, nor is it force It is a mandate in the sense that without living that lifestyle you cannot progress; as you sequentially move forwards towards adopting the lifestyle, your progress happens on the path, and vice versa. So, an understanding of Vedant requires first an understanding of the lifestyle it requires, mandates. This is a curious thing – it doesn’t mandate in written, but you cannot succeed unless you walk the path with a genuine effort to acquire these qualifications;

Vedant - The Lifestyle

Vedant places extraordinary emphasis, repeated ad infinitum in most scriptures, on Saty; Sat is a name for The One God, in fact. The first primary requirement is a situation in truth - speaking what comes to your mind { there are no - repeat, no - exceptions granted. Every lie, howsoever small, creates a binding, a karm. Yudhishthir's one lie kept him denied from Moksha, he had to spend one day for atonement. There is no escape, no excuse acceptable; Truth is above and beyond all in Vedant }.

There are many other mandates on your living - speaking truth, but doing so without causing hurt or injury, Ahimsa,  Absence of Rag, Dvesh, Kaam Bhaavnaa  [ This is not lust, it refers to all actions that create binding to material world }, Ahankaar; Saatvic Daan, Swadhyay, Tap - meaning kasht sahan for the path of Vedant, total detachment to the material world, being aware of and doing your duty to the nation, to society, to family... { Nowhere does Vedant mention any duty towards self. That is, in Vedant, immaterial. Your body is for a purpose, which is not for the mistaken self  }

There are conditions on eating - Saatvic { there is no mention of either veg or non-veg }; Prescribed yadnya {specifically Agnihotra, which is the only yadnya mentioned as Avashyambhaavi},  Total Faith in The One God, Surrender to the One God {later stages; for us walkers on the path this is the target, the ideal};  Swadhyaay { given above; forgot to clarify - this means reading the scriptures which is mandatory as per my understanding, or the sharan of a Guru - ideally both },

Faith in the Guru and the elders, not harming anyone intentionally, controlled Chitt and Mind, Not criticizing anyone at all, Dayaaa bhaav towards all, Control of the senses, Feeling shame in doing Lokviruddh and Shastraviruddh actions, absence of enmity towards anyone - even those who hurt you, and pride in anything at all, patience, and complete purity - internal and external - of your body and the environment you live in. These are some of the requirements of the path of Vedant as per my undestanding...

Understanding Vedant : The Basics of the path

Moving on from my previous comment, let me now try and encapsulate Vedant meaning  as I understand it. Vedant deals with The One God; called Brahman { different from the much later casteist term Brahman }; or Parabrahm, or Parmatma. These are all the same; and are referenced by the sound " Om ". { There is an entire Upanishad adhyay,  on Om; let us leave this here }. Normally referred to as Parabrahm. This is not relatable to classical trimurti iconography directly; The Parabrahm  is the progenitor of the cycle of creation, who creates the Hiranyagarbha - also known to us as Brahma, the first of the Trimurti.

An aside here : it is a fallacy that Shri Krushn and Vishnuji are the same, or avataran. Shri Krushn  is The Parabrahm himself, The One God, above Trimurti. He manifests as Vishnu, not vice versa. This is as per The Vedantic Literature. It maybe hard to believe - but the Geetopanishad is crystal clear in this, in Adhyay 11 there is no doubt left in my opinion

The Parabrahm has two forms; the Formless and the Form. The Form has been seen only once in all creation; Arjun-Krushn sanvaad, or the Geetopanishad 11th Adhyay. Never before or since is there a recorded instance of Revelation. In neither form can The Parabrahm be experienced by our senses; Parabrahm is ateendreey, or beyond sensory perception. Parabrahm gives genesis to Hiranyagarbh at the cycle of creation, and all the bhuts { living beings }, Prakruti { Maya, Yogmaya }.

The Trimurti does not find a specific mention in Vedant; there is a mention of Vishnu, and of Rudra and of Brahmadev, but all separately.  The Trimurti are the "Managers" of the current cosmic cycle, and will dissolve into The Parabrahm at the end of one cycle, to be resurrected in the next cycle beginning. Beings not achieved Moksha will remain in suspended animation, only to re-enter the cycle of birth and death in the next cosmic cycle per their karmic balance.

Yogmaya, or Prakruti is manisfested as various Goddesses as per Vedant, and serves the purpose of hiding The Parabrahm; the reason is that The Soul, The Aatman, is a part of The Parabrahm { Advait }, and thus can only rejoin the master creator out of own choice. This is the basic philosophy of Vedant; what remains is the paths to Parabrahm.

Understanding Vedant : The path options

There are two prominent paths : Bhakti-Yog; and Karm-Dnyaan-Yog. I personally regard DnyaanYog and KarmYog to be the exact same; you cannot walk either path without knowing the other. If you walk one path, you eventually land up on the other. Despite 5 years of thought, I have not been able to differentiate KarmYog from DnyaanYog. You cannot operate in KarmYog without Dnyaan, and Vice Versa. Despite this, The Parabrahm has identifed these as two paths clearly - meaning different people will take different entry points per their Gun and Karm.

BhaktiYog is a completely different path, and involves unconditional surrender to The One God; not to any intermediary. Karm-DnyaanYog is a different path, involving focus on the self, purifying the senses, coming true on the qualifiers mentioned in above; a full description is beyond whatsapp comments. KarmYog means focussing on our duties per your station in life; doing everything for The Parabrahm; whereas the more difficult DnyaanYog is about realising unity with the Formless God. That is the key difference; KarmYog is easier as it involves focussing on action. Most of Vedant is focussed on the DnyaanYog path, with the exception of some sections of the Geetopanishad..

There are 4 states of existence of humanity, or rather to be more accurate - 4 types of behaviour: Saatvic, Rajasic, Tamasic, and Unity. Goodness, Passion, Ignorance, and Union with The One. As per Vedant, even Good Deeds are binding, and meant to be abandoned. Anything that creates an action in response is to be overcome; as it stands in the path of Moksha. Good Deeds also, due to various reasons, create a response. The whole of Vedant is to rise above all Karm, despite being in the Body; this duality is the most vital aspect of Vedant. While the Body exists, there is no escape from Karm; but unless you reach Akarm, you cannot escape the cycle.

DnyaanYog involves realising you are different from the Body; that the body is a mere tool; that it is given to you for a purpose, that is to reach Unity, or Aham Brahmasmi, or Tatvamasi. It means reaching a situation of Akarm, a state when none of your actions create Karm { being in the Body, every millisecond you create Karm } - reaching Akarm. It means realising self as separate from the body; and reaching your innermost soul. DnyaanYog, or Upanishadic philospophy, involves turning the senses inward, and connecting with the deeper realms of your Hrudayaakaash. Both Dnyaan and Karm paths involve rising above the 3 states, and into the state of unity

Understanding Vedant : Conclusion

In summary and conclusion, normal relations with God involve a level of transactionalism; I will do/be good; please give me this that, please forgive me; give me a happy life. Vedant tells us this is existing in the cycle, and has no meaning, and no end. This is the realm of Abrahaminic Thought to some extent, transactionalism. Curiously, Vedant has a lot in common with the more recent Judaism, and other religions despite this

Vedant tell us to rise above these dualities and connect with The One, that this world is Mithya and Meaningless, Nashwar; yet you are here for a purpose. Recognise and complete that to reach your destination - The One. It gives no cognizance to the material world beyond it existing as a temporary state. Vedant is all about looking inwards  & appreciating, recognizing your soul - The Immortal Soul, and its journey to its creator. That is the essence of Vedant.

Bibliography :

1. Shrimad  Bhagwad  Geeta  - Geeta  Press marathi n Hindi; also The Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta: The  Song of God, Swami Mukundanand

2. Upanishads : Eesh, Kathh, Ken, Prashn, Taittriy, Aitrey, Mundak, Manduky, Mahanarayan, Shvetashvar, Bruhadaranyak (Yadnyavalkya Maitreyi Sanvaad) various editions