April 2004 Retreat

What is Vedanta?
A talk by Swami Medhasananda

What are Vedanta Societies?

Around the world we are known as Vedanta Society centres, while in India we are known as Ramakrishna Mission centres. This can cause some confusion, especially when Indian's travel abroad and inquire about local Ramakrishna Missions, as even some Indian embassy staffers do not realize that local Vedanta Societies and Ramakrishna Missions are one and the same. The justification for these duel identities being that it was decided that outside of India more emphasis should be placed on the principles and philosophy than on personalities; a particular incarnation, prophet or saint. "There is no contradiction here," said Swami Medhasananda, "as we see the very embodiment of Vedanta in Sri Ramakrishna."

While many may have heard of Hinduism and have some idea, few outside of India are familiar with the term and it is quite important for devotees, friends and visitors, alike, of these centres to understand the meaning of Vedanta. If one is asked by a friend, 'What is this Vedanta Society?', one should have a clear idea.

"In one sense, this Vedanta is very easy, and in another it is very difficult,' said Swami. He went on to describe a Sanskrit poetic form known as a sloka consisting of two lines of 16 syllables. He said Vedanta is so easy to describe that the great philosopher Shankara is said to have summed up its essence in only half of one line, but the moment one tries to lead a Vedantic life one begins to realize just how deep the waters are. "Yet even though this practice can be difficult," he continued, "to the extent that one practices, to that extent one realizes peace and joy and enlightenment. And to that extent our lives are transformed."

What are Vedas?

"Firstly, it must be understood that the Vedas do not only encompass those spiritual truths that Hindu saints and sages realized, but anywhere in the world, whoever realized spiritual truths, those spiritual truths, too, are also Vedas. In this sense then the spiritual truths found in Buddhist scripture, the Bible and Qur'an, and can also be called Vedas."

"Vedas have two parts; a ritualistic portion and a knowledge portion. The ritualistic portion describe various sacrifices whose aim it is to get enjoyment, not only in this world, but in heaven. Practitioners aspire even to the more intense enjoyments of heaven. These are generally sense enjoyments, and are enjoyed in heaven in a subtle way. So the soul ascends to heaven with the senses, without a gross body of flesh and blood, to enjoy. You may ask, without a physical body, how does one enjoy physical senses? Well, one experiences many sights, sounds and such in dreams without any physical proximity to these objects, yet we experience intense joy and intense fear."

"On the other hand, the knowledge portion of the Vedas tell us that even heaven is not eternal. So should the karma of various sacrifices allow one to enter into this heaven, the effects of that karma do eventually wear away or come to an end and one must again come back to this life in a body. There is no end to this birth and death. Again on this earth you do something and get another birth to either enjoy or suffer. As long as you have desire and you enjoy and you work, there is no end to birth and death. As long as one has desires, there is no end to birth and death and its sufferings. This is the analysis of the protagonists of the knowledge portion. To find eternal peace and joy one must seek an end to this repeated birth and death through various approaches to rid one of desire. The goal is called liberation and emancipation, freedom from this cycle."

"These spiritual truths are described in the Upanishads, and based on these Upanishads a philosophy has been formulated known as Vedanta. Literally meaning, Veda plus anta, or the culmination of or the essence of the Vedas. The sage Badarayana was the major proponent of this philosophy and author of the Brahma Sutras based on the Upanishads. It should also be understood that it is this Vedanta philosophy that enabled Hinduism to survive throughout the ages and to resist the onslaughts of Islam and, later on, Christianity. In this modern age we find that Vedanta is even becoming more popular, not only surviving in India, but spreading throughout the world. The reason for this is that Vedanta is deeply spiritual, rationalistic, comprehensive and universal."

Philosophical Arguments

"One should try to follow the philosophical arguments of Vedanta in order to better understand what Vedanta is. First of all, Vedanta questions the perceptions of this universe that we glean based upon information received through our senses. Are these always dependable and true? Is this world as it appears? For example, we tend to believe what we see is true. The sky is blue. Children's books confirm it. Poets speak of blue skies as good and happy times. Yet we know there is really no such thing as 'sky' and we know it is not 'blue'. The moon appears so beautiful and we enjoy moonlight. Poets compare a loved one's face to the beauty of the moon. Had the poet ever gone to the moon, I am certain he would not compare his beloved's face to the crater-pocked moon. Is the moon really beautiful and does it have any light? It is but borrowed or reflected light. These are examples that appearance and reality are different. Vedanta asks that we not take for granted that what we see is true."

"Then there are relative truths and absolute truths. The sun photographed from various distances are relative representations of the sun. The photos of the sun are relative suns, while the actual sun is absolute. Vedanta asks us to apply these principles and ask whether our ideas about ourselves, this universe and God are relative or absolute truths. We must ask if it is real or unreal and whether is it relative or absolute. This is the philosophical inquiry required by Vedanta.

No Compromise

"This is the real search for the truth and here Vedanta makes no compromise with our sentiments, our traditions or our religion. Vedanta is uncompromising in that search for truth, and to follow Vedanta one must not compromise with any illusion or untruth. Vedanta is for the courageous. One who is weak in body and mind, intellect and emotion can never realize the spiritual truth of Vedanta. Vedanta encourages us to 'Know Thyself'. We have a body and a mind and intelligence and Vedanta asks us to examine if we are really these. Are you really just this gross body? Are you really just the senses, the mind, the vital energy, the ego, or something else? Begin your inquiry here.

Turn these questions to the universe as well. Is it really as you see it, as it appears? Are these stars and galaxies naturally occurring phenomena? Do these plant and animal life-forms represent the real nature of the universe, or is there something else, something deeper? Is God just some picture or image or some bearded fellow in the sky?

The True Nature of God

According to Vedanta, God is the Supreme Reality known in Sanskrit as Brahman. This Supreme Reality is absolute existence, absolute knowledge and absolute bliss. It is smaller than the smallest of what we can perceive; It is greater than the greatest that we can perceive. It is eternal. It is infinite. It is universal.

What is meant by absolute existence, knowledge and bliss? And what, then, is relative existence, knowledge and bliss? I just returned from a visit to Greece and Rome and saw many old structures, 1000 years old. So 2000 years before they did not exist, and 2000 years from now, there is every evidence that through forces of nature these same structures will not exist. This is relative existence. Something that was there, but no longer exists, or something that is there, but will not exist, all conditioned by time and space; this is relative existence. When I was in Greece, I could not be in Japan at the same time. I am conditioned by time and space; limited by location and time, this is relative existence. The Supreme Reality, Brahman, by contrast, is everywhere in all time.

In the same way our knowledge is limited or relative; someone's intelligence greater or lesser than another's. Think of Einstein, the great scientist and accomplished violinist, did he also write great poetry? Was Shakespeare also an inventor of machines? This is all limited knowledge. Bliss is joy. We get joy on certain occasions, but soon we understand that this joy is short-lived. Brahman is absolute bliss, joy without beginning or end. Brahman is without birth or death, eternal. Brahman eternally free, Brahman has not acquired freedom. We are bound and we acquire freedom. Our freedom is not eternal. Brahman is free from birth and death; free from illusion and delusion; free from imperfection, eternally perfect. Even the saints acquire perfection, but Brahman is eternally perfect; free from the qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas. Brahman is the substratum of the universe. As the Sun lends its light to the Moon, Brahman lends His consciousness to human beings and animal beings, to the Earth and the Sun and the galaxies, and we become conscious. This is the nature of Brahman, the Supreme Reality.

Brahman and the Universe

Brahman created this universe and entered into it. An example of this has been given in Hindu scripture: As the spider creates a web out of itself, enters into it and lives within it, in the same way, Brahman created this universe, entered into it, and lives in it. Shankara says this is why although all things are apparently different; man, woman, plant, animal, stone, earth, moon, all are actually nothing but Brahman. The universe as it appears is just an illusion.

As referred to earlier, when Shankara summed up the Vedanta philosophy in half a sloka, he said:

Brahman is the only reality,
This universe, as it appears, is only illusion.

Vedanta says that whatever you see, everything, is only Brahman. Why we see things as being different is the because of name, form, action and quality. Vedanta further reduces these to name and form. Name and form is just relative, apparent, short-lived. If we eliminate the differences of name and form, that which is temporary, relative and apparent, what is left is the substratum of this universe, Brahman. As a concrete example, take a gold ring, a gold bracelet and gold earrings. What makes them different? Melt them down and they are all gold, the difference is name and form and use. In the same way, because of our name and form and works or actions, we appear to be different. But we are all Brahman.

Or take the Yukimatsuri, the Snow Festival, in Sapporo, Hokaido. There along the central parkway, artists form buildings and animals and many beautiful renderings out of ice. We say, 'Look at that beautiful house.' 'Look at those animals.' But they are all made of ice, of snow. The Upanishads give many such examples, made of lumps of clay, of stone or of iron, the differences only in name and form; which is but short-lived; which is but relative; which is but apparent.

There is a story to illustrate how Brahman pervades this universe. A teacher, when asked by his disciple to explain this further, told the student to put salt in a bucket of water and bring it the following day. The next day the teacher asked if the student could see the salt. "No," was the reply. "Taste the water from the top," said the teacher. "How does it taste?" "Salty," was the reply. "Now taste some water from the middle of the bucket. How does that taste?" Again it was salty. "And from the bottom?" "Salty," said the student. We can't see the salt, but it is there. In the same way, we can't see Brahman, but He is there.

Our Relationship to Brahman

Vedanta says that although it appears that I am body, I have mind, I have vital energy, I have ego, in reality we are only consciousness, we are only Brahman. Our real nature is just like Brahman, absolute knowledge, absolute existence, absolute bliss. All these; body, mind, vital energy, are short-lived. Our real nature is Atman, soul, which is eternal, infinite, universal, perfect, pure.

Why don't we experience this? Vedanta says that we do experience it everyday, unconsciously, involuntarily. There are four stages of our consciousness; waking, sleeping with dreams, dreamless sleep and pure or supra-consciousness. In the third stage, in dreamless sleep, when there is no function of mind or ego, nothing, we involuntarily identify ourselves with the Atman, pure consciousness. Because this identification happens involuntarily, unconsciously, there is no effect on our character, there is no transformation of our life. If, however, through spiritual practice and conscious effort, we can realize that Atman, in the fourth stage of existence, supra-consciousness, it totally transforms our character. We are transformed. We become a saint, a realized soul. This state is known as Jivanmukta, liberated while still in the body.

What prevents us from realizing Brahman while in the three lower stages of consciousness? According to Vedanta, it is because of Maya, or illusion. It is due to spiritual ignorance. Think of the magician and his magic. The magician creates such an illusion that we cannot see the trick, only the illusion. In the same way, that Great Magician shows us only illusions, so that even in our waking state we are fooled and deluded. Naturally deluded. We are always watching the show without understanding that we are being fooled and deluded, love and tears and fighting, whatever.

Process of De-superimposition

Our struggle is to rid ourselves of this spiritual ignorance, this Maya. To get rid of Maya, we have to understand how Maya works. Maya acts in two ways. First it covers the truth,  the real nature of Brahman, then it superimposes or shows us something else, which is untrue, illusion. An example of this is a rope, mistaken in darkness to be a snake. First Maya covers the real nature of the rope with darkness. Maya then projects something different, super-imposes snake on the rope, super-imposes unreal on the real. Maya covers our real nature, which is Brahman; then projects that we are body, super-imposes that we are body over Atman. In the same way, everything in the universe is covered. Brahman is covered and this universe is projected. We have to go through a process of de-superimposition.

This process starts by hearing; listening to the truth and reading about the truth again and again from a qualified spiritual teacher. I am not the body, I am Brahman. We are so identified with the body, that unless we listen again and again, and again and again, that de-superimposition is not possible. When we bring the light of a lamp on that snake and see that it is rope, still there is fear, our heart palpitates and we repeat, it is not a snake, it is not a snake. Slowly we get calm. In a much deeper and intense way we identify with our body. I am a man. I am a woman. I am Japanese. I am so and so. My family is, my wife is, my husband is, my children are, and on and on. All this is just super-imposition. We must hear truth again and again. Tat Twam Asi, Thou Art That. The next step is intellectually understanding that spiritual truth. No, it is not a snake, it is rope. The next step is meditating on that truth which you have heard and understood from the guru, the teacher. Go deeper. Meditate on that truth which you have understood intellectually.

This is also known in Vedanta as a process of negation. Neti, neti, neti. Not this, not this, not this. Continuous awareness. According to Vedanta meditation is not sitting and closing one's eyes. Meditation is continuous awareness. Continuous discrimination between the unreal and the real; I am not body, I am not body, I am not mind, I am not mind. This is necessary because we constantly and strongly feel the opposite way. When experiencing joy, who has the experience of joy? When diseased, are you the disease? Sadness. Who is sad? It is the mind that is sad. I am not mind, I am Atman. I am pure consciousness. I am Supreme Reality. This is meditation according to Vedanta.

The culmination of all this long, sincere spiritual practice is that by the grace of the Supreme Reality, one realizes that one is really Brahman. The final stage is nirvikalpa samadhi. Where all this multifold universe loses its differences, and is united in one. We, the universe and God, all become united in consciousness. The result is all one's delusions and illusions vanish. All his ignorance and sufferings vanish. He becomes full of peace and eternal joy. He becomes free, even in this life. There is no more birth and death for him. He becomes a man of eternal wisdom. Thus, he fulfills the purpose of human life.  ･