The Elusive Nature of Knowledge

by Michael Mamas | Saturday, February 7, 2015 | The Veda | 7 comments

Consider the following Vedic quote:

Richo akshare parame vyoman yasmin deva adhi vishve nisheduh,
Yastanna veda kim richa karishyatiya it tad vidus ta ime samasate.
(Rig Veda, 1.164.39)

This essentially means that the knowledge of life (Vedic Knowledge) is rooted in awareness of the Transcendental level of life. It then points out that without awareness of that level, the meaning of Vedic literature slips through ones fingers. It asks the question, “If a person is not established in the transcendental level of life, what use are the verses of the Veda to him?” In other words, knowledge of life is not found in the memorization of facts, verses, or words. It lies deeper. It is more elusive. Repetition of wise words does not mean a person is wise. Wisdom lies deep within.

Now consider the following Vedic quote:
  To the enlightened brahmin all the
  Vedas are of no more use than is a
  small well in a place flooded with
  water on every side.
  – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 46

Combining these verses can be viewed as a perplexing problem. The unenlightened cannot comprehend the Veda so what use is it to them? The enlightened already understand the Veda so they have no need for it. They already have ‘it’ so what use is it to them?

Just as these verses say, the resolution lies not in the surface but in the depth. Comprehension lies in the depth… in the transcendental level. It points out that ultimately a knower of Veda is not one who has memorized the texts or chants or Sanskrit language. A knower of Veda is one whose awareness is established in the transcendental level of life, even if he has never even read a single word of Vedic literature.

Of course, if ones relationship with the Vedic texts is wise, they can be used as a catalyst to assist one in awakening to the transcendental level. On the other hand, if the relationship is not wise, one may consider himself to be a knower of Veda, even a Vedic scholar, simply because the verses have been memorized. Consider the Vedic texts to be elusive Secret Doctrines. But understand that they are not secret because they are hidden away. They are secret because even after one reads and memorizes them, they remain a secret to that person.

Of course, the enlightened find great joy in reading the Vedic literature. They rest in the beauty, insight and knowledge of the words. They also find them of great value in assisting others to awaken to the transcendental level of life. Do not sell yourself short. The truth of the Veda dwells within you as You! You are a divine being. Spiritual growth means awakening to that… awakening to your true nature… the Truth that is found in the depth of Vedic Knowledge… the Truth of your Divine Nature.

Knowledge is Elusive

by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, December 17, 2014 | The Veda | 8 comments

As I read through Vedic Scripture, I see every sentence as elusive, so easily slipping through the fingers of the reader.

Better to understand one line, than to memorize many. Yet understanding is not a set of concrete thoughts or perspectives…  it is a place… of unending humble reflections within… without edges, without handles, ungraspable, yet full.

Consider the following:

Never be idle in your studies.”  – Taittireeya Upanishad 1.11

What does ‘studies’ mean here?  Isn’t every moment an ardent study for the wise, regardless of what they are doing?  ‘Laughter, play, frivolity, or earnest academics… it doesn’t matter.

Isn’t no moment a study for the unwise, regardless of what they are doing?

Yet to not be idle does not mandate effort.  It is the path of joy.  Everything is profound, beautiful, and fascinating for the wise.  The greatest emotion is fascination.  Fascination is the root of all positivity in life.  It makes the world spin around.

“Willed by whom does the directed mind go towards its object?” – Kena Upanishad

The only possibilities here are dharma, karma, or some combination of the two.
Action established in Being or action determined by karma.

Indeed, Dharma, in its truest sense is freedom.  Yet some think of Dharma as bondage.

The ‘whom’ that directs the mind is the Self, if Dharmic.
The ‘whom’ that directs the mind is the Lord of Karma, if not Dharmic.
Dharma is the freedom of living ones true nature. Karma is that which shrouds ones nature. The confused often blur the two.
The number of such knots people tie themselves in is without limit.

Here is another example.  If asked the question to what degree you are free, the wise person knows that question cannot be answered and thereby is free.  Upon hearing the response of the wise, the unwise may choose not to answer the question and thereby considers himself free.

The beauty of knowledge ultimately lies in its elusive nature.

Mundaka Upanishad

by Michael Mamas | Friday, December 12, 2014 | The Veda | 13 comments

“Not through discourse, not through the intellect, not even through study of the scriptures can the Self be realized. The Self reveals Himself to the one who longs for the Self. Those who long for the Self with all their heart are chosen by the Self as his own… Those who know the Self become the Self. Freed from the fetters of separateness, they attain to immortality.”

Like all aspects of the Veda, this quote from Mundaka Upanishad cannot really be understood until after the Self is realized. The crux here lies in the phrase, “longs for the Self”. What does that really mean? Often, longing may be thought of as an emotional state. But ‘longing’ here means much more.

Everything manifests from Oneness and everything gravitates back to Oneness. As the iron filing gets closer to the magnet, the pull gets stronger and stronger… as one gets closer and closer, the ‘longing’ is ‘with all of their heart’. Such longing is all consuming. It is not just emotional… it is physiological on all levels of ones being… it comes not from the emotional heart, but from the heart (the depth) of ones being. This is the experience of gravity in the broadest sense of the word ‘gravity’. It is Longing. It is not fully understood, not clearly understood, until after the Self is truly known. Along the path gravity pulls you…. there you find discourse, intellectual understanding, scriptures, etc. The closer you get, the stronger the pull, the clearer the vision, the more ardent the quest. Yet water remains water until it crystallizes into ice. Similarly, the Veda is not understood until the Self is realized. And then the word ‘understood’ takes on new meaning as well.

Echoes of Truth, perceived as Truth, hold Truth at bay. Echoes of Truth, perceived as echoes, assist one along the path back to Oneness… neti, neti, neti… not that, not that, not that. Humility comes with wisdom. To know everything is to know nothing.

Like water tumbling down a mountain stream, the gravitational pull is experienced in many ways with varying degrees of choppy chaos, swirling distraction, pooling stagnation, and utter confusion… with varying degrees of clarity of purpose, commitment, and understanding. At some point, the pull becomes so great that you will settle for nothing less than Truth. Everything else you have learned is then questioned. The veils of all indoctrinations, dogmas, misinterpretations, temptations, and identities are reexamined, discerned, and pierced… experienced as hollow and unsatisfying.

As if from afar, it calls you. Truth, in its purest form, is the only true focus of longing… the only nectar to quench that seemingly eternal thirst… the only healing balm… the balm of Pure Knowledge.