sumitsehrawat
June 11th, 2005, 03:59 PM
The study of various scriptural texts is essentially to make a person virtuous and God-centred. He is asked to beware of pleasures which will push him deep down into the valley of agony. The Vedic utterances are in the nature of revelations of the Supreme force which controls the entire universe. The first segment of the Vedas deals with rites and ceremonies to be observed while the latter details the steps to acquire spiritual knowledge through the Upanishads.
Upanishads are defined as those which reveal the Truth to enable a person to get rid of his grief. They describe God as all-pervading, radiant, transcendental and compassionate. They are the cream of ancient wisdom, categorically proclaiming the omnipresence of God. Ignorant persons often raise the question whether God can be seen and if not, why?
Gold, gems and precious metals are hidden in the ground but they cannot be acquired easily. They can be located only with certain aids. Subsoil water can be traced only by divining. So too, God's resplendent vision can be seen through "devotion". Those who have cultivated this assiduously will certainly experience the presence of God.
The Upanishads point out that God declines to be near those who are immersed in worldly pleasures and who are not concerned about the life hereafter. God is close to those who obey His commands, who discharge their ordained duties and dedicate their acts to Him.
Several people are eager to secure salvation to avoid rebirths. What entitles an aspirant to obtain it depends on two factors-implicit obedience of the directives prescribed in the Vedas and equal anxiety not to indulge in misdeeds which are prohibited in the scriptural literature.
Practice of various austerities and adopting the measures suggested in the sacred texts will help a person to subdue the senses. The factors which lure them can be traced to the surroundings in which a person is placed, his association with men lacking character and his closeness with certain undesirable objects.
July 2, 1990
The Hindu
Upanishads are defined as those which reveal the Truth to enable a person to get rid of his grief. They describe God as all-pervading, radiant, transcendental and compassionate. They are the cream of ancient wisdom, categorically proclaiming the omnipresence of God. Ignorant persons often raise the question whether God can be seen and if not, why?
Gold, gems and precious metals are hidden in the ground but they cannot be acquired easily. They can be located only with certain aids. Subsoil water can be traced only by divining. So too, God's resplendent vision can be seen through "devotion". Those who have cultivated this assiduously will certainly experience the presence of God.
The Upanishads point out that God declines to be near those who are immersed in worldly pleasures and who are not concerned about the life hereafter. God is close to those who obey His commands, who discharge their ordained duties and dedicate their acts to Him.
Several people are eager to secure salvation to avoid rebirths. What entitles an aspirant to obtain it depends on two factors-implicit obedience of the directives prescribed in the Vedas and equal anxiety not to indulge in misdeeds which are prohibited in the scriptural literature.
Practice of various austerities and adopting the measures suggested in the sacred texts will help a person to subdue the senses. The factors which lure them can be traced to the surroundings in which a person is placed, his association with men lacking character and his closeness with certain undesirable objects.
July 2, 1990
The Hindu