Vedic ‘Sai’ Renaissance…
Monday, November 25th, 2019
“The arrival of the Lord is anxiously awaited by saints and sages. Sadhus prayed and I have come. My main tasks are fostering of the Vedas and fostering of the devotees…”, thus declared The Avatar Of Eternity, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai. If at all mankind ever remember One Persona for the revival of the Vedas, for keeping It loose from any catchy grips, it is undoubtedly Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai. A peep into His ‘extra-ordinary’ initiatives in the field of Vedic Renaissance.
Vedahametam purusham mahantam
adityavarnam tamasah parastat
tamevam vidvan amrita iha bhavati
nanyah pantha vidyate’yanaya
Thus, declare the sacred verses of the Purusha Suktham, the purport being:
“I have known that great Purusha, the Supreme Being, Who Is brilliant like the Sun and Who transcends and Is beyond all darkness. One Who knows Him thus becomes immortal here. There is no other path for liberation than this.”
If Atmic Knowledge is what man pursues as his Ultimate-Goal, beyond his most subtle instincts, then the Vedas are the bedrock of this Atma Vidya and thus man’s best and most reliable ally.
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai, Who in no uncertain terms made it clear by way of subtle hints that His Is The Most Unique – One Off – Avataric Phenomenon, has chosen the ‘Renaissance Of The Vedas’ as a premier objective of His mission, declaring: “The arrival of the Lord is anxiously awaited by saints and sages. Sadhus prayed and I have come. My main tasks are fostering of the Vedas and fostering of the devotees…”
Where fostering of the Vedas finds a direct connotation with fostering of the devotees, the Avatar, Whose descend is to primarily help man ascend to his true nature, aims at ‘achieving His Mission’ by reviving the waning ancient treasure of the Vedas to its pristine glory.
“The Vedas seek to promote good thoughts, eliminate ideas of evil, and help mankind lead the good life. Hence they have to be cherished and fostered,” proclaims Bhagawan. It certainly is the right antidote for human malady of modern days.
Bhagawan continues: If the injunctions given in the Vedas and Shastras are followed by mankind, they will be freed from affliction. Most of our troubles have arisen because we have forgotten the Vedas. The Vedic sages had carried out spiritual explorations on the basis of the Vedas. Because their findings were made known in Bharat, it cannot be said that the Vedas are not to be found anywhere else. The Vedas encompass the whole world and are immanent everywhere.
If one closely observes the evolution of Bhagawan’s mission ever since its epochal declaration, it is quite clear that, Bhagawan had long ago resolved to forge ahead with His mission in a ‘Divinely’ strategic manner, steadily engulfing the world with Vedic intonations, not by force but by inculcating awareness of Its sheer absolute significance.
First thing He did towards ‘achieving’ this end was establishing a ‘Veda Patashala’, decades ago, training blossoming minds into the greater efficacies of Vedic learning. Later, when Bhagawan established His educational institutions, Vedic learning became an essential part of the curriculum, as a mandatory co-curricular activity.
…And the grand ‘cosmically effective’ Veda Purusha Saptaha Jnana Yajnam that commenced late in the early part of the sixties, in the very Physical Presence Of The Veda Purusha HimSelf in the form of Sri Sathya Sai??? …and the allied Prasanthi Vidhwan MahaSabha, ensemble of the learned, deliberating on the ‘holy’ in the immediate Holiest Presence! Rightful initiative from the Cosmic Divine towards fixing the maladies of the world and the worldly, through His already promulgated Divine Task of Vedic Renaissance!
As a customary practice, every festival and function in the Divine Presence begins with invocatory Vedic chants. As the next ‘calculative’ step, starting from the year 2003, Prasanthi started reverberating with Vedic ‘Darshan’ chants, per day, per session, accompanying ‘The Beauty Beyond Compare’ – Sri Sathya Sai Darshan.
As is His Divine Sankalpa, the right fillip came yet again, when, on September 8, 2008, Bhagawan gave the Divine directive that everyone should learn and chant the Sri Rudram, in the run up to the 83rd Birthday, supposedly the year of Sahasra Poornacha Chandra Darshan of the Avatar. As per His Divine command, as three of His students commenced chanting the Rudram in stages on the microphone, the rest of the assembly of students and devotees repeated after them twice, thereby proceeding to learn it systematically, under His immediate Divine guidance and supervision, an exercise that stretched from 9th to 27th September 2008. Often times, Bhagawan would be seated on the dais watching the session in progress.
Imbibing inspiration from this Divine directive, devotees, irrespective of barriers whatsoever, have taken to this learning most religiously, thus demonstrating the universal relevance and appeal of the Vedas. Indeed, the Vedas cannot be limited to any particular denomination of humanity; it is a Divine Gift, verily the Breath Of God, a legacy to which every human being is a rightful heir.
The grand legacy is on, as Prasanthi Nilayam witnesses the miracle of this Vedic transformation as a daily experience….and the Sai Centres the world over, under the auspices of International Sai Organisations, follow it in an earnest manner, meticulously taking up the Vedic learning, thus spreading the ancient glory far and wide.
It is no accident that the Vedas received Bhagawan’s prime attention; it was His pure Divine Sankalpa that, the Vedas should be revived for the renaissance of man, helping him to ascend to his true self. If the Vedas are verily the Breath Of God, if the Vedas are the foremost Repository Of Truth, and if the Vedas claim that “I have known that great Purusha”, then man must ponder over, to embrace this ancient technique, optimising the same to the fullest extent, helping himself to synchronise in cosmic harmony and expansion.
Every human being must revere the Vedas. It is the very foundation of life. Every act of daily life has its roots in the Vedas. Whether everyone knows this or not, the Vedas pervade everything. – Sri Sathya Sai
Indeed, in time to come, in fulfillment of the cosmic process, the Vedas will flourish beyond any and every barrier, engulfing humanity, the environment and the world at large as it is the most likely outcome, a natural consequence of the Absolute and Infinite ‘Sai’ Sankalpa… The Divine Will Of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai.
II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II
Posted in Divine Foot Prints, Indelible Impressions, Sadhana - The Inward Path, Sadhana Aradhana |
