(This article was first published in the April 2016 issue of 'The Call Beyond', monthly magazine of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, New Delhi.)
“All is based on the central Vedic
conception of the supra-mental or Truth-consciousness towards which the
progressively perfected mentality of the human being labours as towards a
consummation and a goal.”[1]
– Sri Aurobindo, The
Secret of the Veda
In order to raise our present state
of mind to the supra-mental or Truth-consciousness, we first need to purify and
perfect our thoughts. This mental preparation is represented in the Veda by
invoking two deities – Varuna and Mitra. They are called upon by
the Rishis to prepare the intellect, the buddhi or simply the dhi,
as one of the first steps towards the Truth-consciousness.
Sri Aurobindo works upon the
following hymn to reveal who Varuna and Mitra are and what role they serve:
Mitraṁ huve pūtādakṣaṁ, varuṇaṁ cā
riśādasam;
dhiyaṁ ghṛtāciṁ sādhantā – R.V. I.2.7
Mitra is pūtādakṣa – it brings about
a purified discernment – a pure intellect capable of doubt-free judgement and
action based on Truth. The purification is effected by a harmonizing mental
process, which amicably removes the impurities of doubts and confusions. Mitra
represents this process.
Varuna is riśādasa, destroyer
of all enemies or obstacles in this progress. The obstacles here are influences
which interfere with the growth of Truth by limiting it. Varuna represents the
vastness of Truth that overcomes these limiting forces.
Sri Aurobindo writes:
“Varuna in the Veda is always
characterised as a power of wideness and purity; when, therefore, he is present
in man as a conscious force of the Truth, all that limits and hurts the nature
by introducing into it fault, sin and evil is destroyed by contact with him.”[2]
“Mitra, a power like Varuṇa of Light
and Truth, especially represents Love, Joy and Harmony, the foundations of
Mayas, the Vedic beatitude. Working with the purity of Varuṇa and imparting
that purity to the discernment, he enables it to get rid of all discords and confusions
and establish the right working of the strong and luminous intellect.”[3]
The intellect or dhi is
adjectified with the word ghṛtāciṁ. This is a perfect example of how the
Rishis perceived ghṛt, the clarified butter offered in the sacrificial fire. It
had a psychological significance like all other symbols in the Veda.
The root ghṛ contains the
meaning of brightness or heat. Therefore, it was used to mean a “rich and
bright state or activity of the brain-power, medhā, as basis and substance of illuminated
thought.”[4]
By invoking Mitra and Varuna, the intellect is purified and then each
thought is an illumined thought with which man can progress towards
Truth-consciousness.
The next mantra indicates this:
Ṛtena
mitrāvaruṇāv, ṛtāvaṛdhāva ṛtāsparśā;
kratuṁ bṛhantam
āśāthe – R.V. I.2.8
Mitra and Varuna work as agents of Truth,
ṛtam. They increase ṛtam, ṛtāvaṛdhāva, and they touch the ṛtam or
enable the seeker to touch it, ṛtāsparśā.
They are kratuṁ bṛhantaṃ āśāthe,
enjoy the use of a vast effective Will, “a will that is in harmony with the
Truth, guided therefore by a purified discernment.”[5]
This is how one is to understand the role of the Vedic deities Mitra and Varuna
in one’s spiritual progress.
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