(This article was first published in the Feb 2016 issue of 'The Call
Beyond', monthly magazine of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, New Delhi.)
The Upanishads speak of a Truth knowing which everything here is known. They say, knowledge of this high, all-encompassing Truth is the goal of man’s life, door to his freedom.
Man thinks of himself as
a mortal being, subject to birth and death; he thinks of himself as a limited
being, one limited entity in this vast universe. This is his Ignorance. The
Truth of his being, if known, will free him from this limited conception of self
and lead him to his Immortality - amṛtam.
Sri Aurobindo explained
that this idea is not only found in the Upanishads but is also at the very heart
of the Veda:
“In the early Vedantic
teaching of the Upanishads we come across a conception of the Truth which is
often expressed by formulas taken from the hymns of the Veda, such as the
expression - satyam ṛtam bṛhat,—the truth, the right, the vast. This Truth is
spoken of in the Veda as a path leading to felicity, leading to immortality.”[1]
The expression, ‘satyam
ṛtam bṛhat, as also the individual terms, occurs throughout the Veda. It is
deeply embedded in the flow of Vedic hymns. Understanding it is fundamental to
understanding the inner meaning of the Vedas.
Satyam or Truth is “the
truth of divine essence, not truth of mortal sensation and appearance.”[2] It is not the truth that one speaks of in
general parlance but a higher, spiritual knowledge that removes Ignorance and reveals
man’s essential immortality.
Ritam is the right
activity of mind and body, regulated by the knowledge of this Satyam. It is a
life founded on the knowledge of Truth.
Brihat conveys the
unrestricted, infinite vastness of this Truth. Since it is the Truth of everything
and nothing is excluded from it, it is vast in the absolute sense.
“The consciousness
that corresponds to it (the Truth) is also infinite, bṛhat, large as opposed to
the consciousness of the sense-mind which is founded upon limitation… Whoever
is in possession of this truth-consciousness or open to the action of these
faculties, is the Rishi or Kavi, sage or seer.”[3]
The entire scheme of Vedic symbolism and imagery is woven around the search for this luminous Truth. Man’s life is described as a journey whose destination is this Truth-consciousness. It is a struggle, a battle, against the Darkness of sense-mind which keeps us from seeing the Light of Truth.
Hence ensues the battle
between devas and asuras, which is nothing but the spiritual struggle of every
man in his striving for the Truth.
Sri Aurobindo writes, “The
gods I found to be described as children of Light, sons of Aditi, of Infinity;
and without exception they are described as increasing man, bringing him light…
increasing the truth in him, building up the divine worlds, leading him against
all attacks to the great goal, the integral felicity, the perfect bliss.”[4]
The asuras, on the other hand, are “powers of division and limitation… powers
that work against the free and unified integrality of the being.”[5]
And so, too, emerges the Vedic
system of lokas:
“The Rishis speak of
three cosmic divisions, Earth, the Antariksha or middle region and Heaven
(Dyaus); but there is also a greater Heaven (Brihad Dyau) called also the Wide
World, the Vast (Brihat)… This “Brihat” is again described as “Ritam Brihat” or
in a triple term “Satyam Ritam Brihat”.[6]
It becomes clear now that
they were the planes of consciousness through which man must ascend to finally
reach the summit – the absolute vastness of the Truth-consciousness.
