CONTENTS
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Light of Truth Satyartha Prakasha (Hindi)
Introduction to the Vedas
Dayanand's Life & Teachings Patanjali's Yoga Darshan
Past dialogues
The Laws of Nature
Frequently asked Questions
DISCUSSION FORUM
Five tests of true.....
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One True Religion
"Behold the wonderful organization of the physical body!
How the learned are wonder-struck with it? First, there is the osseous frame-work girt with a network of
vessels - veins, arteries, and nerves, etc., - invested with flesh and the whole covered by skin with its
appendages - nails and hairs. Then how beautifully are the different organs, such as the heart, the liver,
the spleen and the lungs - ventilating apparatus - laid out. The formation of the brain, of the optic nerve
with the most reticulate formation of the retina, the demarking of the paths of indriyas - the principles of
sensation and action -, the linking of the soul with the body, the assigning of definite places to it for
wakeful state, slumber and deep sleep, the formation of different kinds of dhaatus - tissues and secretions,
such as muscle, bone marrow, blood, reproductive elements - and the construction of various other wonderful
structures and mechanisms in the body who but God could have caused." The Light of Truth
"The earth studded with various kinds of precious stones and metals,
the seeds of trees of a thousand different kinds with their wonderful exquisite structures, leaves with
myriads of different colors and shades, flowers, fruits, roots, rhizomes and cereals with various scents
and flavors none but God could create. Nor could anyone except God create myriads of earth, suns, moon and
other cosmic bodies, and sustain, revolve and regulate them." Light of Truth
"By One Supreme Ruler is this universe
pervaded, even every world in the whole circle of nature, He is the true
God, Fear Him, O man! and covet not justly and wealth of any creature
existing. Renounce all that is unjust and enjoy pure delight, true
spiritual happiness, by the practice of justice and righteousness which is
another name for true religion." Yajur Veda
1. Omnipotent (All-powerful). God does not need the assistance of son,
holy ghost, angels and prophets to do His work, during humankind's earthly existence.
2. Omniscient (All-pervading or knower of all). There is no need for God to test our faith, in pleasure or pain, He already knows all periods
(past, present and future) of time.
3. Omnipresent (everywhere). God does not come or go, up or down, as He is always present,
here, there and everywhere.
All whose faiths
oppose these three characteristics are a clear exibition of ignorance in under estimating His Omnipotent, Omniscient and
Omnipresent power.
"The wearing of
jewelry (gold, silver, pearls, rubies, diamonds. etc.) adds no beauty to
the soul. It only arouses vanity and other lower passions, gives rise to
fear of robbery, and may even be the cause of death. Many have been known
to lose their lives at the hands of cut-throats because of wearing
jewelry."
The Light of Truth
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"But there is another prejudice which is cherished by many scholars evidently
under the impression of its being a well-recognized scientific doctrine. It is
that in the ruder stages of civilization, when the laws of nature are little
known and but little understood, when mankind has not enough of the experience
of the world, strict methods of correct reasoning are very seldom observed." Swami Dayanand
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The truth of every
thing that is learnt or taught should be carefully examined by the following
five tests:-
- The Veda and nature of God
All that conforms to the teachings of the Vedas, nature,
attributes and characteristics of God is right, the reverse is wrong.
The Vedas were revealed in its entirety in the beginning of creation
for all of mankind, depriving none, and it is free of historical
references.
- Laws of Nature
All that tallies with laws of nature is true, the reverse untrue;
e.g., the statement that a child is born without the sexual union of
its parents, being opposed to the laws of nature can never be true.
- The practice and teachings
of A'ptaas,
-i.e., pious, truthful, unprejudiced, honest, and learned men . All
that is unopposed to their practice and teachings is acceptable and
the reverse is unacceptable.
- The purity and conviction
of one's own soul
What is good for you (soul) is good for the world. What is painful to you is
painful to others. This ought to be the guiding principle of one's
conduct towards others.
- Eight kinds of evidence:
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DIRECT COGNIZANCE Back to contents (Praatyaksha) is that kind of knowledge, which is the result of direct contact of the five senses with their objects,* (As of eyes with light and color, or ears with sound, of olfactory sense with smell, of tongue or question sense with flavors, of tactile sense with objects that give rise to the sensation of touch) of the mind (faculty or organ of attention) with the senses, and of the soul with mind. NYAAYA Shaastraa 1: i, 4. - But this knowledge must not be that of the relation of words with the things signified, as of the word "water" with the fluid called "water", For example, you ask your servant to bring you some water. He brings water, puts it before you, and says : 'Here is water, Sir.' Now, what you and your servant see is not the word "water" but the object signified by it. So you have the direct knowledge of the object called water.
- This knowledge must not be of temporary or transient character, i.e., not the product of observation under unfavorable circumstances; for example, a person saw something at night and took it for a man, but when it was daylight he found out his mistake and knew that it was not a man, but a pillar. Now, his first impression of the thing was of a temporary or transient nature, which gave place to permanent knowledge later on, when the true nature of the thing was revealed in the light.
- It should be free from all elements of doubt, and be certain in character. For example, you see a river from a distance and say: "Is it water there or white clothes spread out to dry?" Or take another example, you see a man from a distance and say: Is it Deva Datta standing there or Yajna Datta?" Now, as long as you are in doubt and consequently not sure about a thing you observe, your knowledge cannot be called Pratyaksha (Direct Cognizance). To be that the element of doubt must be absolutely eliminated from it.
Briefly therefore, that knowledge alone is said to be Direct Cognizance, which is not the outcome of the relation of name with the object signified by it, nor gained under circumstances unfavourable for observation or experiment (Hence transient in character) nor into which any element of doubt enters.
INFERENCE Back to contents (Anumaana- Literally it means that which follows direct cognizance. Two things have been observed to exist together at some time and place, when on some other occasion, one of the two is observed, the other, i.e., the unknown can be inferred.* For instance, you see a child and you at once infer that he must have had parents. Again, seeing the smoke issuing from behind a hill you infer the existence of fire. You infer the previous incarnation of the soul from observing unequal joy and sorrow in this world at the present moment. Inference is of three kinds:- - Purvavat - is one , in which you reason from cause to effect, e.g., the inference of coming rain from the sight of clouds; or, again, you see a wedding and naturally infer that some day the wedded couple will have children. Or, again, you see students engaged in the pursuit of knowledge and you infer that some day they will become men and women of learning.
- Sheshavat - inference is one, in which you reason from effects to causes. Examples:- You see a flood in the river, and infer that it must have rained on the mountain from which the river issues. Again, you see a child and at once infer that the child must have had a father. Again, you see this world and infer the existence of the Spiritual cause - the Creator, as well as of a Material cause - the elementary matter. Or, again, take another example. When you see a man in pleasure and pain, you at once infer that he must have done a virtuous or sinful deed before, since you have noticed that the consequence of a sinful act is pain, and that of a virtuous deed, pleasure.
- Aaamaanyatodrishata - is that kind of inference, in which there is no relation of cause and effect between the known datum and the thing to be inferred, but there is some kind of similarity between the two. For example, you know that no one can get another place without moving from the first, and hence, if you find a person at a certain place, you can easily infer that he must have come to the latter place by moving from the first.
ANALOGY Back to contents (
Upamaana - is the knowledge of a thing from its likeness to another. The thing which is required to be known is called Saadhya, and that which becomes the means of this knowledge from some kind of likeness between the two is called Saadhana Examples: - a man says to his servant: "Go and fetch Vishnu Mittra." The latter answers that he does not know him, as he has never seen him before. Thereupon the master says:- You know Deva Datta, don't you?" Upon the servant's answering in the affirmative, his master continues: "Well, Vishnu Mittra is just like Deva Datta." So the servant went out to find Vishnu Mittra. As he was passing through a street, he saw a man very much like Deva Datta and thought that man must be Vishnu Mittra, and forthwith brought him to his master. Or, take another example. You want to know what a Yak is. Well, some one tells you, it is just like an ox. Next time you go to a jungle and happen to see an animal very much like an ox, you at once know that it is the Yak you asked your friend about. Now this kind of knowledge, i.e., knowledge of Vishnu Mittra from his likeness to Deva Datta and of a Yak from its likeness to an ox is called Upamaana or knowledge by analogy. The words Vishnu Mittra and Yak are called Saadhya, whilst Deva Datta and ox are called Saadhana, in the above two instances.
TESTIMONY Back to contents
Shabda (literally, word) "The word of an A'pt (altruistic teacher) is called Shabda." NYAAYA Shaastra 1:,i, 7.An A'pt is a person who is a thorough scholar, well versed in all the sciences and philosophies, physical and spiritual, is virtuous, truthful, active, free from passions and desires, imbued with love for others, and who is an altruistic teacher of humanity solely actuated with the desire of benefiting the world by his knowledge, experience and convictions. God being the truest and greatest of all A'ptas, His word the Veda is also included in shabda (Testimony).
HISTORY Back to contents
(Itihas - is that which tells us that such and such a person was so and so, he did such and such a thing. In other words, Itihaas is the history of a country or the biography of a person. NYAAYA Shaastra 2: 2,1.[The experience of the past recorded in history can be applied to solve many a difficult question of the day. - Tr.
DEDUCTION or CONCLUSION Back to contents
Arthaapatti - It is a conclusion which naturally follows from the statement of a fact; for instance, one says to another: "Rain falls from clouds" or " and effect flows from a cause." The natural conclusion that can be drawn from the above statement is: "There can be no rain when there are no clouds," or "no effects follow when a cause does not exist."
POSSIBILITY Back to contents
Sambhava - When you hear a thing, the first thing that enters your mind is whether such and such a thing is possible. Anything that runs counter to the laws of nature is not possible, and hence it can never be true; for example, if you are told that a child was born without parents, such and such a person raised the dead to life again, or made stones float on the sea, lifted mountains, broke the moon into pieces, was God incarnate, or saw horns on the head of a man, or solemnized the marriage of a couple born of sterile mother. You could at once know that it could not have possibly happened, being opposed to the laws of Nature. That alone is possible which is in conformity with the laws of nature.
ABSENCE or NEGATION Back to contents
Abhaava - You infer the existence of a thing in some other place from its absence from the place where you were told you find it; for instance, a gentleman said to his man: "Go and bring the elephant from the elephant-house." He went there but found that the elephant was not there. He naturally conclude that he must be somewhere near about. So he went out and looked about for the elephant and found him not very far from its proper place and brought him to his master. These eight kinds of evidence have been briefly described. Their number can be reduced to four if History be included under Testimony, and Deduction, Possibility, and Negation under Inference. It is only by means of these five criteria that a man can ascertain what is right or wrong and not otherwise.
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THE GAYATRI MANTRA Back to contents
 Yajur Veda 36:3
O soul of life, the Holy King of kings! O God of all the regions, high and low, O Lord of joy, Whose Glory Nature sings, Who shapes the earth and lets the mortals grow.
We seek Thy blessed Feet to meditate, Upon Thy Glorious Form of Holy Light Which drives away the gloom of sins we hate And make the souls of righteous people bright.
My heart, O Father, meekly prays to Thee To win Thy Grace, to make me good and wise, And bless my mind with knowledge, full and free From dark and vicious thoughts of sins and lies. An explanation of its use for Divine contemplation. Audio |
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A TRIBUTE Back to contents
In my daily prayers, I humbly bow in reverence to these great souls, who have inspired and guided me in my search for this great wisdom.
OM SAHANA VAVATU SAHNA BHUNAKTU, SAHA VEERYAM KARWA WAHAI
TEJASVINA WADHI TAMASTU MAA VID VISHAA WAHAI.Taittiriya Upanishad
May we together provide for our common enjoyment, may we together contribute towards strengthening and energizing each other. Let our studies be a means of glorification for both. Let there arise no ill will betwixt us (teacher and student). May our mind flow in one mingled current and each should look after the other as genuine co-partner.
May the teacher and the student be a successive link in the long chain of advancement of culture and each fulfill our supplement, the task of the other.
Salutations to ISHWARA (God) whose knowledge and power is infinite and who in the beginning was HIRANYAGARBHA - the one true Lord of the creation who sustains the sun and the earth. I adore Him, the All-blissful Being.
Salutations to the APTAS (altruistic teachers), Maharishi Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the last reformer, who has rediscovered the faith of the true teachings of the past saints and sages of yore, Agni, Vayu, A'ditya, Angira, Brahma, Jaimini, Manu, Patanjali, etc., for the purpose of enlightenment and the possible emancipation of the soul.
Salutations to my GURU (teacher) my younger brother, Brahmachari Subhanandaji, M.A., whom I am proud to call a master in Vedic (Yoga) Philosophy. He has immensely strengthened my courage to undergo a renewed sense of learning, a process that no doubt practically nourished my willpower, daunted by many, many years of atheistic views, back to life and its true form. His first hand approach in theory and strictness in practice after ten years of Gurukul study and training in India, has filled the gap in my quest to acquire the wisdom to present this truth, as rationally as I can, to all the world via the internet. It is from this wise and humble personality that I have also learnt, the correct knowledge, even though rightly thought to be always beneficial could also be harmful in the absence of action(the correct practice).
ANDHANTAMAH PRAVISHINTI YE VIDYAAMUPAASATE
TATO BHUYA EWA TE TAMO YA U VIDYAAYAA RATAAH. Eshopanishad.
They enter dark regions (lives) who are wedded to the path of ignorance
the practice of rituals without knowledge; but far more darkness is the
lot of those who are wedded to knowledge without action (the correct practice).
Salutations to my ACHARYA (father), the late Shri Pandit Ramoutar Singhji, who by some virtuous Sankaras, made good on the emergence through birth of a few highly inclined souls into such a noble family. I cannot deny for one moment, that our early upbringing, the little he taught us, had no effect in nurturing us to this great and vast knowledge of the Vedic religion. |
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