Shastra Quiz 13

The ingenious Lord abridged the Veda and then divided it [vyasta] into four. Therefore, He became known as Vedavyāsa.

While it is true that each Veda individually emanated from the Lord, originally all four Vedas were collectively called the Yajur Veda, because that Veda is much bigger than the other three.

Generally, the largest member of a set can represent the whole set. In Sanskrit, this is called ādhikyena vyapadeśā bhavanti, or the law that the largest constituent represents the whole. A herd of cows with just a few buffaloes in it is still referred to as a herd of cows, and the four fingers combined with the thumb are still called five fingers.

Chapter 171 of the Varāha Purāṇa relates how during a famine Gautama Muni underwent severe austerities to please Śrī Brahmā. When Brahmā offered Gautama a boon, the sage asked to be able to feed all his guests. The boon was granted, and the benevolent Gautama fed his many brāhmaṇa guests for the duration of the famine. When rains finally came, the brāhmaṇas wanted to leave his hermitage. As is the custom, however, Gautama asked them to stay a little longer, and they agreed. After some time they again wished to leave, but once again Gautama prevailed on them to stay a while longer. This happened a few times.

Determined to leave, the brāhmaṇas devised a plan. They created an artificial cow and left it near Gautama’s āśrama. In the early morning, when the sage was going to bathe, the animal blocked his path, and to drive her away, he threw a few drops of water at her. At the first touch of the water, the cow fell down dead. The brāhmaṇas immediately raised a hue and cry, denouncing Gautama as a cow-killer. They declared, “We cannot stay here and accept food from a cow-killer,” and then they left for their respective residences. Later, Gautama performed atonement, but then by his supernatural power, he could understand that he had been tricked. He then angrily cursed the brāhmaṇas that they would lose all their Vedic knowledge.

In this way, Vedic knowledge became covered by ignorance during Dvāparayuga, and thus it was necessary for Vyāsa to bring forth the Vedas again.

After Śrīla Vyāsa compiled the four Vedas, there still remained one billion verses from the original Yajur Veda. These verses became the original Purāṇa, which is still available in the celestial planets.

Out of compassion for the people of Kaliyuga, Vyāsadeva extracted five hundred thousand essential verses from this original Purāṇa. Four hundred thousand of these he divided into the eighteen Purāṇas. The remaining verses formed the Itihāsa called Mahābhārata.

Learn more: Did Women Study the Veda in Ancient Times?

There is hardly any similarity between Sāṅkhya and Buddhism. Sāṅkhya accepts śabda pramāṇa, Buddhism does not. In Buddhism there is no puruṣa, no prakṛti. Buddhism does not accept world as real. It is idealism. But Sāṅkhya accepts the world as real. Sāṅkhya also accepts the principle of sat-kārya-vāda, i.e. the effect exists in cause.

Learn more: Questions on Indian Schools of Philosophy

Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī cites verse SB 11.3.21 in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu to describe both the guru and the disciple. Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī also cites this same verse in his book Hari Bhakti Vilāsa in a similar context, and Sanātana Gosvāmī elaborates on it further in his commentary.

The verse is as follows –

tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam

Therefore, one desirous of knowing the ultimate welfare should resort to a teacher who is well versed in scripture, has realized the absolute reality, and thus is fully peaceful.

The qualifications of the teacher then are as follows. He/she is

• śābde niṣṇātaṁ – expert in the knowledge of sastra.
  The word niṣṇātaṁ means that a person is drenched in knowledge, like one is drenched when taking a shower.
• pare niṣṇātaṁ – has realization of it.
  The guru is also drenched (niṣṇātaṁ) in experience of parabrahman, and not only knowledge.
• Practices it in his/her own life.

To recognize a genuine teacher is not easy. The śābde niṣṇātaṁ part may be easier to determine. One can inquire about

1. Whether the guru spent a significant amount of time with their guru (several years). This is recommended by Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī in the Hari Bhakti Vilāsa (pp. 32 onwards).
2. Whether the guru took systematic training in the different darśanas.
3. Whether the guru is well-versed in Sanskrit, the language of the scriptures.

These are some basic standards that should be met. Of course, it is not possible to discern the pare niṣṇātaṁ part for any disciple.

Japa has three divisions: mānasika (in the mind), upāṁśu (chanting very softly), and vācika (audible). Bhakti-rasāmṛta Sindhu mentions the second one, upāṁśu. When japa is done in the mind, it falls into the category of smaraṇa. When it is done loudly, it may fall into the category of saṅkīrtana, and there, in the definition of japa, only the second type has been included (upāṁśu or sulaghūccāram). Hari-bhakti Vilāsa mentions all three. If japa is mānasika it comes under the category of smaraṇa. Thus, sometimes the word nāma-smaraṇa is also used for nāma-japa.

Learn more: Different Types of Chanting

There is no such thing as brāhmaṇa initiation. Brāhmaṇa is a varṇa or jāti and not a form of dīkṣā.

Learn more: Dīkṣā and Varṇāśrama

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