12-16-2005, 06:11 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-Bharatvarsh+Dec 16 2005, 05:06 AM-->QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ Dec 16 2005, 05:06 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->What it means is that the knowledge of Brahman that is in those books is not man made but revealed by Brahman to the authors of the Vedas.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<i>[Gangajalji very good post, I basically agree with everything you have said but this statement seems to bracket Sanatana Dharma into the Abrahamic mould, it is like Muslims saying that the Quran is the revealed word of God, the Vedas in my opinion were written by highly spiritual people and they recorded their observations/knowledge about Brahman and passed it on to future generations, once you classify a book as being revealed by God/Brahman then the next step is to claim that every word of Vedas is infallible and cannot be changed as it is the revealed word of God (afterall Brahman cannot be wrong or can he/she/it be wrong?), now all this sounds eerily similar to one so called religion of peace, ofcourse I maybe wrong about this or probably misundertood what you are trying to say, would appreciate your response</i>.
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Bharatvarshji,
If Brahman does not tell, is it possible for any human being to know about Brahman? Reason can not be used to prove the existence or non-existence of Brahman. Svetasvara Upanishad says
"I know this great Person who is resplendent like the sun and is beyond darkness. By knowing him alone one transcends death; there is no other path to go by." (Sv. Up 3.8)
Even Gita 4.1 says," I imparted this immortal Yoga to Vivasvan, Vivasvan to Manu, and Manu to Iksvaku". So without the interference of Brahman it is impossible for man to know about Brahman. In that sense Sruti is revealed. There is still, however, a difference between Abrahamic religions and dharmas. As Ashokkumar ji has pointed out the Abrahamic religions stress blind belief and do not allow any questioning of the revealed texts. Dharmas allow reason for the interpretation of the texts. Moreover, dharmas also say that mere intellectual understanding of the revealed texts is NOT enough. Gita says that purification of mind is sine qua non for salvation: "<b>In which he (the Yogin) experiences the endless bliss which is beyond the ken of the senses but is intuited by the purified intellect; wherein established, one does not waver from the Truth.</b>" (Gita 6.21) The quote from Svetasvara Upanishad given above also makes the point that ONLY BY KNOWING BRAHMAN will one transcend death. It is this experiential knowledge that differentiates dharmas from the Abrahamic revealed religions.
Gangajal
<i>[Gangajalji very good post, I basically agree with everything you have said but this statement seems to bracket Sanatana Dharma into the Abrahamic mould, it is like Muslims saying that the Quran is the revealed word of God, the Vedas in my opinion were written by highly spiritual people and they recorded their observations/knowledge about Brahman and passed it on to future generations, once you classify a book as being revealed by God/Brahman then the next step is to claim that every word of Vedas is infallible and cannot be changed as it is the revealed word of God (afterall Brahman cannot be wrong or can he/she/it be wrong?), now all this sounds eerily similar to one so called religion of peace, ofcourse I maybe wrong about this or probably misundertood what you are trying to say, would appreciate your response</i>.
[right][snapback]43234[/snapback][/B][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Bharatvarshji,
If Brahman does not tell, is it possible for any human being to know about Brahman? Reason can not be used to prove the existence or non-existence of Brahman. Svetasvara Upanishad says
"I know this great Person who is resplendent like the sun and is beyond darkness. By knowing him alone one transcends death; there is no other path to go by." (Sv. Up 3.8)
Even Gita 4.1 says," I imparted this immortal Yoga to Vivasvan, Vivasvan to Manu, and Manu to Iksvaku". So without the interference of Brahman it is impossible for man to know about Brahman. In that sense Sruti is revealed. There is still, however, a difference between Abrahamic religions and dharmas. As Ashokkumar ji has pointed out the Abrahamic religions stress blind belief and do not allow any questioning of the revealed texts. Dharmas allow reason for the interpretation of the texts. Moreover, dharmas also say that mere intellectual understanding of the revealed texts is NOT enough. Gita says that purification of mind is sine qua non for salvation: "<b>In which he (the Yogin) experiences the endless bliss which is beyond the ken of the senses but is intuited by the purified intellect; wherein established, one does not waver from the Truth.</b>" (Gita 6.21) The quote from Svetasvara Upanishad given above also makes the point that ONLY BY KNOWING BRAHMAN will one transcend death. It is this experiential knowledge that differentiates dharmas from the Abrahamic revealed religions.
Gangajal