Veda10- Too much of secrecy is bad

[Quick links]

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode we discussed whether the ancient Indians who propagated the Vedas were illiterates. This doubt arises since Vedas were never written down and were passed down from generation to generation in a purely oral tradition. What could be the reason?

 

A couple of years ago, when I published my book “A Mantra to enhance your mental capabilities”, one of my readers from India wrote to me that I should not have written such a book. The Mantra that I talked about in that book is a Vedic Mantra and it is sacrilegious to make it known to people who are not qualified. Many traditional Indians hold this view. But I made the mistake of opening it up to the entire world where anyone who can read English can read the book and practice that Mantra.

 

Today in the context of open media and information boom, such Mantras are known to many people and there is absolutely nothing secret about it. But can you believe that even today, traditional Indians take utmost care to ensure that such Mantras are not revealed to people who don’t meet some criteria?

 

When this Mantra is administered to a new initiate, every care is taken so that it is not overheard by anyone else. The boy is made to sit on the laps of the teacher, and a veil is used to cover both the teacher and the student sitting on the laps. The teacher whispers the Mantra into the ears of the student who sits pressed to him. The veil is to prevent anyone reading the lips of the teacher! And in some cases, even loud drum beats are made so that no one can overhear even a word of the Mantra! So much of secrecy!

 

This observation of secrecy is followed when it comes to chanting any Mantra in the Vedas. It was never to be chanted in the public. Never in front of people who are not ‘qualified’. One of my Vedic scholar friend got into problems when he refused to chant some Mantra in front of his boss in his office. The refusal was because this boss belonged to a caste who are forbidden to acquire the Vedic knowledge.

 

All these things may look very strange today. But they were practiced in India, and still practiced in some remote places in India. The reason was the fear of getting this knowledge into the hands of unscrupulous people who could misuse it!

 

And that could be the real reason why the Vedas were never written down. And not because ancient Indians did not know how to write!

 

If you write down something, the way I did in the case of my book, anyone who can afford a few bucks can buy it and acquire that knowledge. Neither me nor the seller has any control over what he would do with that knowledge. It is like disclosing the nuclear technology to the terrorists 😉 At least that is how the traditional Indians thought!

 

But you have to keep that knowledge alive. Only way you can do that is to pass it on to next generation in a controlled way. So, it was passed down purely in an oral tradition from teacher to the disciple and so on. Disciples are well screened and every care is taken to make sure that they don’t misuse it or re-propagate to wrong people. Only those with certain background are accepted as students. Others were excluded.

 

That was the root of the often-criticized caste discrimination in India which later became the biggest dark spot on the Indian tradition.

 

For the purposes of smooth running of the society, there were caste divisions called Varnas. One could be a Brahmin focusing mainly on knowledge acquisition and dissemination. Or one could be a Kshatriya or a warrior who could provide protection to others and impart justice. Or one could be a crafts man, farmer, or a merchant selling goods. All these people were qualified to learn the Vedas from proper teachers if they pass the Guru’s screening process. The criteria were strict moral conduct and a home environment where there is some guarantee that the acquired knowledge is not misused.

 

But the society is not always Brahmins, warriors, craftsmen, and farmers. There were also menial laborers who served their masters. They were called the Shudras. They were totally under the control of their masters. Teaching the Veda to them meant that their master can easily snatch that knowledge from them since they are totally under his control. So, the Shudras were not allowed to learn the Vedas. Not because they are inferior but because they are vulnerable.

 

That is how it started.

 

But originally it was not so. There are many stories in the Upanishads where a Shudra was imparted Vedic knowledge. The well-known cases are of Mahidas Aitareya and Satyakama Jaabala. Mahidas was the son of a maid servant. And Satyakama was the son of a prostitute or a girl ‘who served many men’. Both became great sages. Both of them have Upanishads composed by them. So, they not only studied the Vedas, but also contributed to them.

 

But gradually, these restrictions were used to oppress helpless people. Shudras were looked down as inferior. The caste system which was otherwise a great concept – if only implemented in the right way – became a black spot on the Indian religious practice as everyone knows today.

 

 

For the same reason of secrecy, even women were kept out of the knowledge of the Vedas. As it is, women are physically weaker and anyone can force them to share the secret knowledge. Besides, in a male dominated society, a married woman would have to go and live with her husband who may be a wicked person unqualified to learn the Vedas. Such a person can grab the knowledge from her since she is under his control. So, women were also not allowed to learn the Vedas.

 

But at least originally, there was no such thought that women are inferior in any way. There were many women who contributed various mantras in the Vedas. All of them were well acknowledged. There were great women Vedic scholars like Gargi who had the courage to challenge great scholars like Yajnyavalkya in an open debate.

 

Women were not always forbidden from learning the Vedas but they had ‘restricted entry criteria’. One of the ancient religious lawbooks of India namely the Haritha Dharma Sutra allows women to study the Vedas under special conditions. This special condition is that they should forever remain unmarried! Such unmarried women dedicated to Vedic study were called Brahmavadini. Gargi was one such Brahmavadini.

 

Even today, in most traditional Hindu religious rituals, a man cannot perform a ritual without his wife sitting by his side. In fact, she has to hold one of his hands to indicate that they are performing the ritual as a pair and it is not just the husband doing it. There are cases where a widower is disallowed from doing certain religious functions. So, women were not considered inferior. It is just an aberration that crept into the Indian tradition. The root cause was secrecy about the Vedic knowledge, which later became a weapon to oppress helpless people, be it women or the Shudras.

 

So, too much of secrecy is bad 😉

 

 

A series discussing the most ancient of the Indian scriptures, nay the world scriptures namely the Vedas. © Dr. King, Swami Satyapriya 2021