Vidya Vahini
Students! The Ageless Person, beyond delusion and darkness, has to be cognised by every person through one’s own effort. You have taken birth as inheritors of this estate of Eternal Bliss. You are the dearly loved children of the Lord. You are as pure and as sacred as air. Do not condemn yourselves as sinners. You are lion cubs, not sheep. You are wavelets of Immortality, not bodies compounded from matter. Material objects are there to serve you and do your bidding: you should not serve them and do their bidding.
Do not think that the Vedas lay down a bundle of frightening rules and regulations and laws. Every one of them has been laid down by the Lord, as Lawgiver. All elements in the Cosmos, every particle everywhere, are acting every moment as ordered by Him. This is what the Vedas inform us. No worship can be higher and more beneficial than serving such a Lord. One has to offer Love to Him, more Love than one bears to anything else in this world and the next. He must be loved as the One and Only. He has to be remembered adoringly with such Love. That is the fruit that real education must result in.
The lotus leaf is born under water; it floats on water; but it does not get wet. Man, too, must be in the world likewise—in it, by it, for it, but not of it. This is the special feature of the Higher education, to prepare you for this role.
That is to say, with the heart immersed in the divine and the hands busy in work, man must live thus on Earth. Love should not degenerate into an article of commerce. Love fulfils itself in Love. The Hindu religion does not attempt to establish, through conflict and controversy, any one doctrine or theory. It seeks to evaluate all theories and doctrines by the touchstone of experience.
The tree is judged by its fruits. Codes of behaviour, spiritual practices, and manifestation of Love have all enormous virtues, which promote the progress of man.
According to the point of view of great men and of the spiritual teachers of India, man advances, not from falsehood to Truth, but from the partly true to the fully True. Each individual Atma can be called a Garuda bird. It soars higher and higher and gathering supranatural strength, at last reaches the Solar Orb with unlimited Splendour and Majesty.
The basic truth of creation is unity in multiplicity. This was understood by Indians. All other religions have accepted certain fixed doctrines and built systems on them. They are content with the establishment of such credal groups. They devised methods of worship, prayer, and adoration, in accordance with the feelings and emotions they laid down as valid and valuable. The service that every religion offers to mankind is to expand the consciousness of man beyond the material sphere and light the spark of divinity already in him. The Bharateeya mode of worship is based on the awareness that the One manifests through many discrete forms and many discrete attributes, when confronted by many discrete situations and conditions. So, Bharateeyas have the intellectual tolerance, among all peoples of the world, to proclaim to all the quarters that God exists and can be found in every religion. This is their unique, good fortune.
One of the basic rules of living is not to be ashamed of one’s forefathers. As one reads more and more the history of the past, as one visualises more and more the human condition in those ages, your pride is bound to increase. Let faith in the supreme achievements of your forefathers flow in and energise the blood in your veins. Let the strength of that faith render your body, mind, and spirit equally strong. The fruit of genuine Vidya is the recognition that every community of people and every religion has, along with a basic unity, something special of its own to offer.
In fact, no country in history has been the target of such dire calamities and has suffered under alien rule for so long, as India. Despite this, Bharateeyas are ready to encounter boldly any new calamitous storm, for their lives are still more or less firmly based on the ancient ideals. This has been the stable foundation for their way of life. Faith in God is faith in Atma. They believe, without any hesitation, that it is that faith that has guided and guarded them.
These guiding principles of Bharateeya life were not restricted by the geographical boundaries of the country. Whether the people of this land desired it or not, they are spreading to other lands. They are transmuting their literature by instilling their values into their thoughts and feelings.
The natural sciences can provide us only food, clothing, and such like. Spiritual science alone can add strength and steadfastness to the self. Students should pay special attention to this fact. Consider—of what use are food, clothing, and such like, even in plenty, when one has no strength or steadfastness in oneself.
Again, when it is desired to promote the prosperity of the nation, you must, of necessity, gather into yourself all the spiritual resources that you can. In the past, the need was known and efforts were made to fulfil the need. In future too, this need must be felt and fulfilled. That is to say, all the spiritual inclinations, beliefs, and urges, which are now feeble and dissipated, have to be united and reinforced, one with the others.
The unique features of the Bharateeya religion form its solid base. They are as wide as the sky and as eternal as nature. As part of the religion, creeds and cults may exist as branches for a tree. One need not condemn them as wrong. But, no branch should fight against another or compete with another. When that happens, the tree will be destroyed and all will end in ruin. When creeds indulge in competitive rivalry, religion is ruined and the world is destroyed. “Ekam Sat; viprah bahudha vadanti (Only One Exists; the wise describe it in many ways).”
We may each have different ideas on the nature and characteristics, the form and attributes of God. One person may believe that God has the qualities and form of humans. Another may believe in a God devoid of human form and signs, but yet manifesting in embodiments. Another may believe in God as altogether formless. Every one of these can find in the Vedas declarations supporting their stands. For all have faith in God, that is to say, in a mysterious Power (Shakti), which is the source, support, and sustenance of all, a Power which subsumes all. This is the truth proclaimed and elaborated in the Vedas.
Index
Preface
The Perennial Quest
True Vidya
The Present Educational System And Its Defects
True Education Promotes Self-Control
The Genuine Nature of Man
The Concept Of Spiritual Education
The Goal of True Education
Selfless Service – The Purpose of Vidya
Samskaras – The Seeds of Education
Holiness – The Root Cause Of Success
True Education Directs The Mind Towards Happiness
The Meaning of ‘Vidya'
From Falsehood to Truth
Education Arouses Faith and Awareness
Selfless Service – A Sign Of Nobility
The Qualities of Ideal Students
Jealousy, Hatred – The Enemies
Remedies For Inner Sadhana
An Ideal Teacher
From Falsehood to Truth
Students! The Ageless Person, beyond delusion and darkness, has to be cognised by every person through one’s own effort. You have taken birth as inheritors of this estate of Eternal Bliss. You are the dearly loved children of the Lord. You are as pure and as sacred as air. Do not condemn yourselves as sinners. You are lion cubs, not sheep. You are wavelets of Immortality, not bodies compounded from matter. Material objects are there to serve you and do your bidding: you should not serve them and do their bidding.
Do not think that the Vedas lay down a bundle of frightening rules and regulations and laws. Every one of them has been laid down by the Lord, as Lawgiver. All elements in the Cosmos, every particle everywhere, are acting every moment as ordered by Him. This is what the Vedas inform us. No worship can be higher and more beneficial than serving such a Lord. One has to offer Love to Him, more Love than one bears to anything else in this world and the next. He must be loved as the One and Only. He has to be remembered adoringly with such Love. That is the fruit that real education must result in.
The lotus leaf is born under water; it floats on water; but it does not get wet. Man, too, must be in the world likewise—in it, by it, for it, but not of it. This is the special feature of the Higher education, to prepare you for this role.
That is to say, with the heart immersed in the divine and the hands busy in work, man must live thus on Earth. Love should not degenerate into an article of commerce. Love fulfils itself in Love. The Hindu religion does not attempt to establish, through conflict and controversy, any one doctrine or theory. It seeks to evaluate all theories and doctrines by the touchstone of experience.
The tree is judged by its fruits. Codes of behaviour, spiritual practices, and manifestation of Love have all enormous virtues, which promote the progress of man.
According to the point of view of great men and of the spiritual teachers of India, man advances, not from falsehood to Truth, but from the partly true to the fully True. Each individual Atma can be called a Garuda bird. It soars higher and higher and gathering supranatural strength, at last reaches the Solar Orb with unlimited Splendour and Majesty.
The basic truth of creation is unity in multiplicity. This was understood by Indians. All other religions have accepted certain fixed doctrines and built systems on them. They are content with the establishment of such credal groups. They devised methods of worship, prayer, and adoration, in accordance with the feelings and emotions they laid down as valid and valuable. The service that every religion offers to mankind is to expand the consciousness of man beyond the material sphere and light the spark of divinity already in him. The Bharateeya mode of worship is based on the awareness that the One manifests through many discrete forms and many discrete attributes, when confronted by many discrete situations and conditions. So, Bharateeyas have the intellectual tolerance, among all peoples of the world, to proclaim to all the quarters that God exists and can be found in every religion. This is their unique, good fortune.
One of the basic rules of living is not to be ashamed of one’s forefathers. As one reads more and more the history of the past, as one visualises more and more the human condition in those ages, your pride is bound to increase. Let faith in the supreme achievements of your forefathers flow in and energise the blood in your veins. Let the strength of that faith render your body, mind, and spirit equally strong. The fruit of genuine Vidya is the recognition that every community of people and every religion has, along with a basic unity, something special of its own to offer.
In fact, no country in history has been the target of such dire calamities and has suffered under alien rule for so long, as India. Despite this, Bharateeyas are ready to encounter boldly any new calamitous storm, for their lives are still more or less firmly based on the ancient ideals. This has been the stable foundation for their way of life. Faith in God is faith in Atma. They believe, without any hesitation, that it is that faith that has guided and guarded them.
These guiding principles of Bharateeya life were not restricted by the geographical boundaries of the country. Whether the people of this land desired it or not, they are spreading to other lands. They are transmuting their literature by instilling their values into their thoughts and feelings.
The natural sciences can provide us only food, clothing, and such like. Spiritual science alone can add strength and steadfastness to the self. Students should pay special attention to this fact. Consider—of what use are food, clothing, and such like, even in plenty, when one has no strength or steadfastness in oneself.
Again, when it is desired to promote the prosperity of the nation, you must, of necessity, gather into yourself all the spiritual resources that you can. In the past, the need was known and efforts were made to fulfil the need. In future too, this need must be felt and fulfilled. That is to say, all the spiritual inclinations, beliefs, and urges, which are now feeble and dissipated, have to be united and reinforced, one with the others.
The unique features of the Bharateeya religion form its solid base. They are as wide as the sky and as eternal as nature. As part of the religion, creeds and cults may exist as branches for a tree. One need not condemn them as wrong. But, no branch should fight against another or compete with another. When that happens, the tree will be destroyed and all will end in ruin. When creeds indulge in competitive rivalry, religion is ruined and the world is destroyed. “Ekam Sat; viprah bahudha vadanti (Only One Exists; the wise describe it in many ways).”
We may each have different ideas on the nature and characteristics, the form and attributes of God. One person may believe that God has the qualities and form of humans. Another may believe in a God devoid of human form and signs, but yet manifesting in embodiments. Another may believe in God as altogether formless. Every one of these can find in the Vedas declarations supporting their stands. For all have faith in God, that is to say, in a mysterious Power (Shakti), which is the source, support, and sustenance of all, a Power which subsumes all. This is the truth proclaimed and elaborated in the Vedas.