All of us love our mother. So, there is nothing wrong if one declares that his or her mother is beautiful even if she is horrible looking 😉 May be to some extent it is acceptable if we say that “my mother is the most beautiful!”. But the problem starts when we say that “your mother is ugly as compared to mine”.
So, if a person shows allegiance to his faith and considers it as great, it is understandable. But when he starts condemning other faiths as inferior, that is when clashes occur.
In my book “Towards a better understanding of Islam” I had quoted following sentences from holy Quran to argue that Islam is not fanatical as many people try to project it. In chapter 109 of holy Quran Allah says that a Muslim when confronted with a disbeliever (Kafir) should say
“Laa a'budu ma t'abudoon Wa laa antum 'aabidoona maa a'bud”-- I worship not that which you worship, nor will you worship that which I worship.Quran 109.2, 109.3“Lakum deenukum wa liya deen”-- To you be your way, and to me mine.Quran 109.6
On the face of it, I don’t see any signs of fanatism in these sentences. But many Quran commentators insist that these sentences are not meant to encourage tolerance of other religions but to emphasize the superiority of Islam.
Islam considers Quran to be the word of God or Allah. So, the Muslims claim that it cannot be wrong since it has come from God himself unlike Judaism or Christianity where the words are that of prophets or some mortals.
Hindus go a step forward and claim that their scriptures namely the Vedas are not even the words of God. They are Apaurusheya or eternal truths not composed or told by someone. They say that the Vedas existed along with God and not even God revealed them! That makes them unquestionable and final authority.
The well-known Vedic commentator Sayanaacaarya goes to large length to prove how Vedas are Apaurusheya. He argues almost convincingly. But somehow his arguments, however strong they are, fall short of fully convincing you and leave back a lot of unanswered questions.
Traditional Indians believe that the Vedas in general, and Upanishads in particular, were ‘seen’ by the great sages when they were in deep states of meditation. That is why these sages are called Rishis – one who can ‘see’. They ‘saw’ the contents of these texts which were ever existent. They did not compose them nor any God dictated it to them. So, the argument is that such texts are unquestionable and final authority.
Mediation is generally believed to be the gateway to ultimate truths. If you read New testament, you come across several places where Jesus Christ is described to be meditating. Even Prophet Mohamad is believed to have meditated in the caves of Mecca before Quran was revealed to him. Buddha too attained the ultimate truth only after he meditated for a prolonged time. So, there seems to be agreement on the belief that great truths are attained through meditation. In Jesus and Mohamad’s case, there was God who was the giver of knowledge, but Buddha never claimed the help of any God.
I personally believe that it is possible to attain the ultimate truth through meditation. I have expressed this in many of my books.
But later Vedic scholars had a problem accepting that. Advaitis like Sankara have a problem accepting meditation as a means to attaining ultimate knowledge. If he accepts that, he then has to accept all that Buddha had said since Buddha also claims meditation as the source. Obviously, Sankara does not like that. So, in one place in his Brahma Sutra commentary, Sankara even goes to the extent of rejecting Yoga as a means to attain ultimate knowledge.
Vedic scholars like Madhva who are hardcore duelists and firm believers in a personified God, claim that only God’s grace can lead to ultimate knowledge and nothing else.
All Vedic scholars including Badarayana accept Upanishads as the ultimate authority since they are eternal, since they were revealed to sages, since they came from God! That brings the entire thing back into the domain of faith!
I continue to believe that meditation is a means to attain the ultimate truth since that is something that can be verified irrespective of one’s faith. My experience is that an unbiased mind gets the same insights when it is put in deep states of meditation. That is what happened to Biblical Prophets, Islamic saints, to Buddha, to the ancient Indian sages and it can even happen to you if you sincerely try!
Then why are there differences? Differences indicate partial knowledge or limitations of human expression. Afterall, you are trying to express something which is beyond human limits.
Having said all this, for the sake of current discussion on Brahma Sutra let us stick to what Badarayana says. Badarayana firmly believes in Upanishads and the truths revealed by them. Since Upanishadic truths are also ‘seen’ by the ancient sages and recorded thousands of years ago, let us take them as the basis of our future discussions, as Badarayana also does.
Let us continue our discussion in the next episode. Thank you.
A series on ancient Indian composition Brahma Sutra. © Dr. King, Swami Satyapriya 2020-21
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