The other day we spoke about the Vedas and the Vedic literature as the context for authentic spiritual practices of Yoga, Tantra and meditation. It is not possible to understand the Esoteric Teaching apart from the original Vedic literature. So it is a good idea to become familiar with the different classes and divisions of Vedic literature, as the context for the content of the Teaching.
The original seed of all Vedic writings is the four Vedas: sacred texts meant to be chanted by the priests of Vedic fire sacrifices. In these ancient rites, four priests sit around an altar of sacred fire, chanting the eternal Vedic hymns to the four dimensions of the universe. As they chant, they offer various objects and substances through the portal of the fire, which is seen as a gateway to the spiritual world, or the mouth of God. The four Vedas are called Rk, Sama, Atharva and Yajus,according to the traditional titles of the priests who chant them. The disciples of these four types of priests form the basis of the four authorized lineages of Vedic disciplic succession.
The four Vedas are properly understood to be divine mysteries, whose esoteric meaning is beyond ordinary human comprehension. This is confirmed in the mantras of the Vedas themselves: vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau [Brahma-samhita 5.33]. Simply reading the four Vedas will leave us with more questions than answers. Therefore it is impossible to understand the confidential purpose of the Vedas simply by studying the four Vedas or performing the Vedic ritualistic fire sacrifices. More information and greater understanding are required.
Systematic analysis of the four Vedas reveals far more questions than answers. These questions are explicated in the Upanisads, a class of Vedic literature dealing specifically with the mysteries of the four Vedas. Upanisad means an inquiry into the ultimate questions of life, and the Upanisads are full of questions and answers about the hidden meanings of the four Vedas. There are 108 principal Upanisads, and hundreds more minor ones. Out of the principal Upanisads, nine are most important:
- Sri Isopanisad
- Mundaka Upanisad
- Kathopanisad
- Svetasvatara Upanisad
- Taittireya Upanisad
- Aitareya Upanisad
- Mandukya Upanisad
- Garga Upanisad
- Gopala-tapani Upanisad
The Upanisads contain the keys to the mysteries of the Vedas and reveal many of the secret concepts of the Esoteric Teaching.
The Vedas, Upanisads and their many commentaries are consolidated in the Vedanta-sutra, which presents the ultimate conclusion of the great Vedic tradition. Veda means knowledge, and anta means end or final determination. So Vedanta means the end of knowledge, or the ultimate realization of the Vedic spiritual path. However, the Vedanta-sutra is composed of sutras—terse codes or notes made by the author, Srila Vyasadeva, while he was in deep meditation. Therefore it is impossible to understand the real meaning of Vedanta-sutra without exegesis or commentary, and anyone who claims to do so is bluffing.
Fortunately, Srila Vyasadeva left his own commentary on Vedanta-sutra, which is the Esoteric Teaching. Beginning from the first sutra (janmady asya yatah | Vedanta-sutra 1.1.1) the Esoteric Teaching guides the qualified student step-by-step to the actual recondite purport of Vedanta-sutra. The Esoteric Teaching is the greatest of the Puranas, a class of supplementary Vedic literatures intended for the understanding of contemporary people. Purana means sacred history, and the Puranas narrate histories—many of them quite ancient—connected with the sacred purpose of the Vedas. While there are eighteen classical Puranas, other historical works such as Ramayana and Mahabharata are often considered among the Puranas.
There are many other Vedic works, principally the Tantras, consisting of over 11,000 volumes of practical instructions on various aspects of human life in the context of spiritual realization. While it is a fact that a few of the Tantras discuss various aspects of human sexuality, most of them cover other subjects of applied spiritual knowledge: construction of temples and other important structures, farming and animal husbandry, diet and healing, community and family management, politics, economics and trade, etc. A smaller group of Tantras contains instructions for spiritual life, such as the proper conduct of the aspirant, choosing a suitable teacher, and various techniques of yoga, meditation and worship.
Both the Puranas and Tantras are divided into three classifications according to the degree of spiritual realization of the reader. The classifications of consciousness and activity according to the three gunas, or modes of material consciousness and activity, are discussed in detail in Chapters 14-18 of Bhagavad-gita, the most popular and beloved of all Vedic works. Briefly,
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The yogis, brahmanas and Vaiṣṇavas are in the sattva-guna (mode of goodness) under the protection of transcendental devotional service to Lord Visnu. They go to the higher planets in the next life.
- The karmis or fruitive workers in the rajo-guna (mode of passion) take shelter of conventional religion under the guidance of Lord Brahma. They take birth again on earth in human bodies.
- The foolish living beings in the tamo-guna (mode of ignorance) seek the false shelter of intoxication and sinful life, and live in the mode of darkness controlled by Lord Siva. They gradually fall down to a hellish condition of life.
Knowledge of the gunas is very important for the successful practice of Yoga, and it will be covered in detail later in this series.
Of all the Vedic literature, only the Esoteric Teaching stands above the classifications of the gunas, as it is meant for the paramahamsas, or the fully self-realized beings who have mastered spiritual life and attained complete self-realization.
Finally, completing the catalog of Vedic literatures are the Itihasas, thousands of volumes of supplementary literature dealing with mundane history, mathematics, Sanskrit grammar, logic, various systems of philosophical analysis, astrology and other arts and sciences. All of these have commentaries by the various Vedic lineages and schools, making the complete library of Vedic literature extremely extensive.
To recap, the Vedic literature is a transcendental mystery, the accumulated spiritual wisdom revealed to Humanity through the great sages and incarnations of the ancient past, passed down as an oral tradition, divided into four sections or lineages, and also divided according to the quality of consciousness of the disciple, and written down in its present form about 5,000 years ago. The Vedic literature is composed of several classes of Sanskrit works:
- Four Vedas: Rk, Sama, Atharva and Yajus
- 108+ Upanisads (questions and answers on the Vedas)
- 18 Puranas (histories) + Ramayana & Mahabharata
- 11,000+ Tantras on multifarious subjects
- Numerous Itihasas, commentaries and other supplements
- The Vedic literature, especially the Upanisads, Tantras and Puranas, are divided according to the three gunas, or modes of material consciousness: goodness, passion and ignorance.
- The Esoteric Teaching stands above these classifications, as it is meant for the paramahamsas, or fully self-realized beings. Of all the Vedic works, the Esoteric Teaching is the best and most complete expression of the eternal Absolute Truth of Vedanta.
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